Chapter 3: Adjustment
New York City
Dark Zone, DZ07, Entrance
The long night has passed and new day has dawn on the Dark Zone, after a night's rest both Sarah and Andrew decided that it was time to pull out of the Dark Zone themselves and try to reconnect with any surviving Frist Wave agents or the JTF.
They trekked through the city while either fighting or avoiding any Rikers or Cleaners left in the area until they finally reach the entrance, they had hoped to get out as soon as they saw the entrance but only to find it guarded by Last Man Battalion soldiers.
"There must be at least twenty soldiers guarding the entrance and they have serious firepower and tech; I don't think there's any way we can sneak past them." Said Andrew
Andrew was right, other than soldiers, there were drones and heavy ordinance in the area. Sarah scan the area for points of vulnerability and due to her hunter instinct, she sees several ways to take out the Last Man Battalion.
"Andrew, what configuration did you put your launcher?" Asked Sarah while still keeping watch.
"It's in flashbang configuration, why?" Asked Andrew.
"Because I need you to fire your launcher into that squad of LMB." Answered Sarah.
Andrew was surprised at her plan; they have been fighting together for a while and he can see that most of her tactics employ ambush or surprise attacks. This frontal assault seems out of place.
"Sarah are you sure this is a good plan? A frontal assault might draw in more enemies from the surrounding area."
"You're right Andrew, that might happen and that's why we have to attack fast and hard then get out as quickly as possible before the Rikers or Cleaners catch on."
Sarah then explained her plan to destroy the LMB's hold on the exit, it is bold but it is the kind of plan that has Sarah's flare in it as well. Andrew agreed to it and waited for her to flank the enemies' right side and for her signal to kick off.
Sarah approached the right flank and placed a Seeker Mine near her position while also activating a Vulture drone and place on overwatch behind the enemy. Once her preparations were completed, Sarah gave Andrew the signal.
Andrew fired off his launcher in the middle of the LMB position and detonated the bomb which blinded the LMBs leaving them exposed for Sarah's surprise attack.
Sarah activated her Seeker Mine which spill out smaller several smaller mines that began to roll towards several LMB before detonating a few feet away and launching its explosive into the air before it bombarded the area with incendiaries, scorching majority of the LMB and destroying all of their drones.
"We're under attack, tell the Capt-" Before the soldier could finish, he got shot in the head by Andrew who is busy picking off any LMB that weren't hit by the bombardment with some help from the Vulture drone.
Sarah also ensure none of the scorched LMB would get up but notice that the LMB heavy was getting up, without a second to lose she drew her knife and ran towards the heavy, pinned him down and stick her knife into his throat through the gap in his armor.
The LMB force were in disarray without their senior officers to give commands, the rest of their forces were easy pickings. Once the last of the LMB force have been eliminated, Sarah and Andrew regroup near the entrance.
"Wow that was more exciting than I thought and while I'm at it, what's with the drone and your Seeker Mine. I've never seen Shade tech like those before." Asked Andrew
"Well you wouldn't. The drone is my creation, I call it the Vulture while the Seeker Mine is my own customization." Sarah answered while still scanning the area for enemy reinforcements.
"Wow, I'm surprised that the commander let you make your own custom job or even take-home Shade tech to work with."
"Well, it did take a lot of convincing but I manage to wear him down on assurance that my tech is fitted with a tracking chip so as to ensure that none of my tech goes missing or end up in enemy hands." Sarah explained while recalling her drone.
Andrew was surprised and impressed that anyone was able to convince their hardcase commander of anything even more so to make customization on their Shade Tech.
Once they ensured that the surrounding area is free of hostiles, they took this time to search the bodies for ammo and medical supplies. Andrew decided to leave first to ensure there weren't any hostile on the other side of the entrance while Sarah decided to comb the area for more ammunition.
While searching the bodies, she came across one that piqued her curiosity, it was a body of a First Wave agent haphazardly placed atop bodies of civilian. Sarah was saddened to find another fallen comrade and took a moment of silent.
"ECHO available."
Sarah was startled by ISAC sudden proclamation. She always hated viewing this ECHOs but she decided to because she needed to know what happen to both the agent and civilian.
The ECHO shows the agent down the street leading a group of civilians towards the exit.
"Come on everyone, we are almost there." Said the agent
"How do we know that it's safe on the other side." Asked a woman in the group
"I don't but it can be worse than in here. Now hurry up, the faster we are out of here the faster we can get to the nearest safe house."
It was then three other First Wave agents appeared near the entrance and blocked their path.
"Guys, it's good to see you. I have a group of civilians in need of assistance. Can you he-" Before the agent could finish, the other agents open fired on the civilians and wounded the agent.
"W-What ha-have you done? Those people needed our help!" the agent exclaimed but the only respond he got was a bullet to the head.
The three agents then began looting the bodies and left them there.
Sarah didn't know what to make of this, it was one thing to hear her fellow agents going rogue but to actually witness them turning their backs on their duty and turn into looter even worse is that they are killing one of their own without so much as batting an eyelid was atrocious.
Sarah broke out of her thought and wanted to regroup with Andrew until something else caught her eye, among the weapon crates that the LMB had brought in there were two that didn't bear their insignia.
The crates were black in color and bear the symbol of a diamond with an arrow in the middle. Sarah recognized the symbol belonging to a PMC group that calls themselves the Black Tusk from her time as a Private Independent Contractor.
She remembered that she had a few run ins with them during her missions for the CIA but what was odd about the Black Tusk was that there was very little information to be found and how high tech their equipment is.
Sarah open both crates and discovered that both contain two different drones. One was labelled as 'Mini-Tank' it's a UGV that came equipped with a machine gun and grenade launcher while the other is labelled as 'Warhound' it's a quadruped robotic drone equipped with what seems to be a marksman rifle.
The presence of this drones, can only mean that the Black Tusk were operating somewhere in New York or are selling their equipment to the LMBs. Sarah is hoping it is the latter otherwise The Division would have another faction to deal with.
It was then Sarah had the idea to use the drones for herself. She assembled both drones in no time then began the process to slave the controls to her Shade Tech. The process didn't take long and began to test both drone motor function and weapon function, once satisfied she left the Dark Zone with her two new prizes in tow.
After a hot chemical bath for herself and her equipment, she was on the other side of the Dark Zone for the first time in weeks, Andrew who has been waiting for a while came up to Sarah worriedly until he notices her new acquisitions.
"Woah, where did you get those drones? They look badass." Asked Andrew while checking the drones out.
"They were among the crates that the LMB brought in." Sarah answered coldly
Andrew took noticed of her change in behavior, he knew something must have happen during the few minutes they were apart or she may have seen something that shook her, he wanted to ask but felt it was best that he leave her alone until she felt like telling him herself.
The journey to the safe house was silent and awkward, the only sound that can be heard were the occasional gunfire but it was most the drone's servos that were the most distracting.
Andrew wanted to break the ice but didn't know what to ask. It was then he noticed that Sarah was looking at a photo upon a closer look, it was a photo of Sarah with eleven kids. Andrew knew right then he found his icebreaker.
"Cute kids, are they yours?" Asked Andrew.
Sarah was startled by the sudden question but maintain her composure. "Yeah, yeah they are."
"Really wow, you must have been very young when you had your first kid. Since there are eleven of them."
Sarah chuckled at the thought, it has become I of her top five question whenever someone asked about her kids. "I didn't give birth to any of them, I adopted them."
Sarah then recounted on how she first met the kid's biological parents, became their godmother to the time they loss their parents and how she came to adopt them and care for them for the past eleven years.
Andrew let Sarah talk for a long while even when they finally reach a safe house. He always felt that Sarah was trying to put on a strong face but now he knew that she wasn't trying to be strong, it was her determination, she is trying to end the conflict in the city as quickly as possible so she could finally come home to her children.
"Sarah, I feel like I should apologize for my initial behavior when we first met. I put you on a pedestal but I forgot that you are just as human as anyone else, maybe even more so then anyone else these days." Said Andrew apologetically.
Sarah was stunned which Andrew took noticed. "Is something wrong? Did I say anything weird?"
Sarah sighed as she felt that recent events kept reminding her of someone she cares about. "No Andrew, you didn't say anything weird. It's just your words, were almost exactly the same as what Aaron told me when we first met."
"Aaron? You mean Aaron Keener? I didn't know you knew each other."
Sarah look at Andrew bewilderedly. "Are you trying to psychoanalyses me? You been asking me a lot of personal questions for the past hour."
"Well my job before activation was a therapist, look I noticed that your mood had changed after you got out of the Dark Zone, so you must have seen something that shook you. I was going to wait until you tell me yourself but keeping it in for too long is not exactly healthy, so do you think you are ready to talk now?" Andrew asked worryingly.
Sarah surprised to hear that Andrew's job was a therapist but it would also explain his behavior at times though normally she doesn't like the idea of going for therapy but just this once she is willing to open up.
"Well for starters, I known Aaron since childhood, secondly, I saw an ECHO and what I saw is this city affecting us, The Division itself. Agents killing each other, killing the people we are meant to protect, just for self-gain or gratification. I know what we are doing is noble Andrew but I just can't understand why, why are our own people betraying their oath." Sarah confessed
Andrew took note of everything she said and concluded that Sarah is probably the most righteous person, is a patriotic person who values loyalty but most of all is her drive to return home judging from her constant checking of her family photo.
"Sarah, I will not pretend to understand our former colleagues' motivation but from how the situation in New York quickly devolve, it's clear that the more opportunistic of us would take advantage of the situation."
Andrew paused for a moment to consider his choice of words and hopefully lift her spirits. "What I can say though, is that there are still First Wave agents who are still loyal to our oath and if we anyone can rally the others to fight back. I believe that someone is you."
"And what makes you think, that the others will listen to me." Asked Sarah.
"Because you are driven person, what we need now is that drive to keep going, to help us remember what our duty is."
Sarah considered his words for a moment and began to think of a time when she led soldiers into battle when she was in the army but ultimately decided to put it off once she has taken her rest.
"I will think about it but please let me have some rest first, I can't think about this at the moment." Said Sarah as she lay down on the nearby couch.
Sarah tried to sleep as her thoughts began to drift back to when her kids began to adjust living in her home.
11 years ago
Royal Woods, Michigan
Sarah's mansion
A month has passed since the Loud kids now Anderson kids moved into Sarah's home and though the passing of their parents is still fresh, Sarah has done her best to help them adjust to their new life by bonding with each of them.
The kids were even given permission to be home school by their respective school principal until they felt that they were ready to come back and unlike the last time, the kids actually did their workbooks before goofing off.
Home school has been beneficial for the kids especially for Leni who has great improvement in her intellect and less of an airhead. Lynn has some improvement in not just her academic but also her sportsmanship, she has also stop doing her 'good luck' rituals when Sarah drilled into her head that sports is about skill not luck especially when she heard about the 'Bad Luck' incident.
On Sarah's part, she still works for the CIA but has opted to only take critical missions despite knowing that it will affect her income, to keep supporting her family she has taken up ownership of Lynn Sr's restaurant, and works there as a cook alongside Kotaro, Grant and manages with Lori. The fact that she can cook was a big surprise, even more surprising is how she could perfectly replicate Lynn Sr's recipe when Kotaro or Grant has trouble replicating it even with the cookbook available.
Another surprise was when Sarah gave the kids the keys to their old home, she told them that she had bought it so as to ensure the kids will always have a home away from home and even outfitted the house with a security system built to her customization to ensure that squatters wouldn't be able to break in and promised to celebrate every holiday at their old home.
At the moment the kids are enjoying some downtime in their very big backyard either playing with each other or simply tanning in the sun.
"Ahh I haven't felt this relaxed in weeks, I'm so glad that we finally finished refurbishing the house." Said Lori
"Oh totes, I was going crazy without my sewing machine. I had to survive reading and rereading fashion magazine." Said Leni who shivered at the thought.
"I'll say and it's cool that mum has been home schooling us despite the fact that she is managing … managing pop's restaurant." Said Luna depressingly.
Luna is one of the kids who is still having trouble coming to grips with their parent's passing. Lori and Leni pulled Luna into a hug who is doing her best to hold back her tears.
After a while, Luna finally calm down. "Thanks dudes, I know we should move on and mum has been doing everything she can to keep their memory alive and I'm grateful but it still hurts just thinking about it."
"Luna trust me, all of us understands. It was a difficult moment for all of us and sure some of us may have moved on but like you said thanks to mum, we can come to terms with it. You just have to move at your own pace." Said Lori
The sisters shared a passionate moment that was witness by a friend nearby. "Wow that is so sweet."
They were startled by the sudden but familiar voice who turns out to be Aaron Keener, Sarah's childhood friend and now a family friend who the kids have regarded as an uncle since he has come over to their house almost every day.
The day Aaron came into their life was as Lori put it 'similar to the day Sarah came into her life'.
According to Sarah, she and Aaron have been through all sorts of trouble from when they were kids to when they were in the army but sadly after Sarah left the army, they even went through the same training that Sarah has refused to specify though after that she and Aaron have never been in contact with each other. It was mostly due to the fact Sarah fell off the grid though Aaron said he tried to find her for a couple of years but failed miserably since most leads led to dead ends or were meticulously placed to throw off her scent.
Aaron chatted with Lori, Leni and Luna until the rest of the kids saw him and asked him to come play with them of which he complied and spend hours playing with them until he remembered what he was here for.
"Sorry to cut this game short kids but I need to find your mum, is she at home at the moment?" Asked Aaron
"Yeah I think she's in the kitchen or maybe in the basement again." Answered Lincoln who wanted to ask a question though knows what it would be.
"Lincoln, I know what you are going to ask me and all of you know that your mother has forbidden me to tell you what's in the basement." Said Aaron.
"Ah come on! It's not like she is going to know!" Lola pointed out a fact which the rest agreed.
Aaron then quickly shush the kids in a panic while checking the house for signs for Sarah. "Look, I would love to tell you what is in the basement but in all seriousness your mother would literally kill me if I tell any of you and trust me, she has ways of finding out." Aaron whispered while looking very afraid, the kids have never seen this side of Aaron and agreed to drop the matter entirely. Well most did.
That night when Sarah finally fell asleep, Lynn called for a siblings meeting and they gathered inside Lori and Leni's room.
"Okay Lynn, we are all here! What is so important that it can't wait till morning?" Asked Lola who is peeved at being force to stay awake past her beauty sleep.
"Chill Lola, your beauty sleep can wait a few more minutes. Anyway, doesn't it bother you that whenever uncle Aaron comes, mum always takes him down to the basement. The basement which mum has forbidden us to enter, like that even possible but I have a full proof plan." Said Lynn
Everyone could tell where this is going and groan simultaneously. "Lynn, we been over this. We are not breaking into the basement and that's final and even if we want to, mum installed a keycard security system and she is always carrying the card with her at all times." Said Lori
"Oh, don't worry I have a full proof plan." Lynn then explained her plan though it does sound full proof, most of the kids were still hesitate but their curiosity got the better of them and agreed to help Lynn.
The following day it was a typical day for the Andersons, the kids were doing their own activities while Sarah was in her study busying doing the accounting for the restaurant at least until Lynn came in.
Sarah noticed that something was wrong with Lynn and stopped what she was doing. "Lynn, is something wrong?" Sarah asked worryingly.
"Oh, nothing mum, it just I was wondering about something." Said Lynn while considering her words. "Mum, can we have another challenge!? I know I can beat you this time."
Sarah for a moment thought that Lynn had done something terrible but was relief to hear that her daughter had just wanted to spend some time with her but knew she had to reject the notion due to work.
"Lynn honey, you know I would love to but I have to finish the accounting before Monday maybe we can play later." Said Sarah
"Ahh and heard I thought that you were the best at playing basketball. I guess I inherited the throne by default then." Said Lynn innocently.
This got her attention though Sarah is acutely aware that Lynn is goad her into taking another one of her challenges but she is wise enough to not take the bait.
"Lynn, I know what you are trying to do and it's not going to work." Said Sarah as she dives back into her work.
Lynn felt her plan was failing until she realized a way to provoke her, she just hopes Aaron could forgive her. "Well Uncle Aaron said your skills in basketball is laughable. I thought I could give you the chance to prove him wrong but I guess it's true then."
Again, Sarah knew she is being goaded but she can't let go of the fact that Aaron might have talk smack about her. She rose from her chair and approach Lynn in an almost menacing manner which made Lynn retreat a little.
"Go grab your ball and meet me at the courtyard. I going to show you once and for all that I can play basketball better then Aaron thinks and after I'm done, he and I are going to have a chat" Said Sarah with a dark tone.
Elsewhere Aaron was busy closing a deal until he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The only time he ever had this feeling was when Sarah came looking for him after he had trash talk about her, just then he received a text message from Sarah which simply states 'You and I need to have a chat'.
Seeing this message caused him to well up with fear of what's to come.
Meanwhile in the Anderson residents, Sarah and the kids have gathered at the courtyard to watch their mother and Lynn compete in basketball but truthfully they had been waiting for Sarah to remove the passholder hanging around her neck but sadly even halfway through into the game, Sarah has yet to remove said keycard.
"Ok timeout mum, I need to rehydrate." Lucy then passed a bottle of water to Lynn. "This isn't working guys, I thought mum would have set aside the keycard but she just keeps holding on to it."
"Yeah, who knew mum could play in this heat even while wearing that polo T and long sleeve shirt combo, she must be really sweaty by now." Said Leni which gave Lynn an idea.
"Hey mum, aren't sweaty playing with that polo and lanyard on? Why not take them off for a second, like you said heatstroke is no joke." Said Lynn
Sarah considered her words for a while then began to remove her polo shirt and the passholder as well. "You're right, I guess I got too into the game that I didn't realized how uncomfortable it is. Now timeout over, let continue."
As Sarah and Lynn continued with their game, Lincoln slowly took the keycard from the passholder and place a cardboard duplicate in its place then made his way back into the group while signaling Lynn that he has done his part.
Lynn having seen Lincoln's signal did her best to naturally throw the game. "Wow mum, you were right. You do play basketball better than me; I can't believe how you completely dominated the game from start to finish."
"I told you I am one of the best basketball players on this side of the country." Said Sarah in between breaths. "Now if you kids excuse me, I'm going to take a nice long hot shower."
As Sarah made her way back into the house, Lincoln showed Lynn and the others the keycard that he swiped from their mother's passholder. "Good job Linc, I knew you could pull it off. Let's go, I can't wait any longer."
"Uh Lynn, how about you take a change of clothes first, you really stink at the moment." Lori pointed out Lynn's pungent sweat smell which was so unbearable for everyone, much to Lynn's embarrassment.
After Lynn took a change of clothes from her room, the Anderson kids made their way down to the basement to finally open the door, just looking at the door is a remarkable sight. It wasn't a typical door but was a steel door that look like the ones that are used at banks which made the kids think that whatever is behind the door was either valuable or so dangerous that their mother had to lock it up.
The kids argued for a moment on who would open the door and agreed that Lynn should open it as it was her plan that got them the keycard. "Wow, guys I don't know what to say except let's get this over with." Said Lynn who is feeling honored with the level of trust from her siblings.
Lynn place the keycard into the slot and expected the door to open but instead nothing happens except for a beeping noise that usually means incorrect. "Hey, what gives why isn't the door opening." Puzzled that the door isn't open, the kids tried several methods to open the door like blowing into the slot or wiping the keycard but none seem to work.
"I don't get it guys. This is definitely the keycard that mum uses to open the door so why isn't it working." Lynn tried one more time and it beep again much to her irritation and was about to give a whack to the door lock.
"Well what do we have here." Cried a voice which startle the kids including Lucy as it turns out to be Sarah's who came out of nowhere.
"W-Where did you come from? There's only one way into the basement." Asked Lola, Sarah then went to the nearby wall behind her and push it lightly to reveal a hidden passage behind it.
"Woah, I didn't know that we have secret passages in the house." Said Luna as her mother closes said passage.
"Well I found these passages by accident when I first moved in here but that's not important issue right now. What are all of you doing down here when I have explicitly instructed to never come down here!" Said Sarah sternly
If looks could kill, Sarah's would, the way she is looking at the kids was so overbearing that none of them dares to look at them in the eyes. It took everything in Lynn to finally muster up the courage to face her mother.
"Mum, don't blame them. I was the one who asked them to help me steal your keycard. I mean we are just kids, if you tell us not to do something, well we are going to do it and I think somethings wrong with your keycard, it won't open the door b-but I swear we didn't break it." Lynn then presented said keycard to their mother.
Sarah took the keycard, examine it for a while then threw it away nonchalantly much to the kid's shock. "Of course, it wouldn't work, the keycard that you took was a decoy, a fake." Sarah then took out her wallet and took out a similar looking card. "This is the keycard; you think I didn't know about your scheme."
The kids were at a loss for words, the whole time their mother knew about their plan all along and had been pulling the wool over them. "I can tell you kids are wondering how I found out." The kids just nodded their head in agreement. "Well, next time you want to formulate a plan in the middle of the night. Make sure the person who is not supposed to hear it, isn't nearby."
"Wow mum, you knew this entire time and still played basketball with me." Lynn felt touched knowing that Sarah had taken some time off from her busy schedule to spend time with her, something that she has been missing since most of her siblings also covet her attention.
"Well you did need improvements on your positionings plus I needed the exercise." Sarah pondered for a moment on what kind of punishment to give them and came with an idea that would also put their curiosity to rest. "Since you kids are so keen to find out. I am going to open the door but only this one time."
The kids were shocked then overjoyed but also curious as to the sudden change but as always, they put it at the back of their minds. They waited in anticipation as Sarah insert the keycard and unlocked the door.
The door slowly open and the kids quickly rushed in and saw a great space filled with all manner of weapons and a gun range. Lisa calculated that the space was about thirty kilometers which is only a third of the land around the mansion.
The kids began to explore the surrounding area saw the number of guns, knives and a large assortment of ammos though all of them were locked behind a gun cabinets or glass cases but it was what appears to be a small workbench with what look like a drone, ball like object and a rectangular box. Lynn was about to touch it when Sarah stopped her.
"Don't go near my workbench, there are some highly explosive stuff and I haven't finish putting it together." Warned Sarah
"Wow mum, I didn't know what to expect but guns and a gun range! Do you think I can shoot one of your guns!?" Said Lynn who is visibly excited at the idea as well as the rest of the kids.
"No! I will never let you kids shoot one of my guns. God knows your parents would jump out of their graves and haunt me if I did." Said Sarah much to the kid's disappointment. "But I will teach once all of you are older." And the kids became motivated again
"Although there is something you can do while you're here." Sarah paused for a moment while she has their attention. "You are going to help me clean this place as punishment for defying my one rule."
The kids began to complain as cleaning the entire area would take their entire evening. "Well if you kids can clean the house as fast as you can play or goof around then I'm sure, you'll be able to clean this place before evening."
Sarah then went to a nearby locker and took out several cleaning supplies as well as brooms, mops and towels. "You can find water over there in the corner." There was indeed a water outlet in the corner and the kids began to do their task. "Although if you kids are fast enough, I might consider teaching one of you but only the older kids, how to shoot a gun right now but I won't let you keep one."
Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan and Lynn began to scramble around to get to clean while the younger kids groan and took their time to begin cleaning as Sarah chuckle at the scene.
Meanwhile in the city of Chicago, several arm men wearing white shirts and ties, black pants and black shoes were minding their business until another one such man entered the room carrying an orange folder.
He entered another room where a man wearing the same clothing but with a black balaclava over his head who is looking at a map of the country with strings of red yard marked all over the country.
"We found her sir." The man then threw the folder onto the table and photos of Sarah Anderson and her kids spill out. "She's in a place called Royal Woods in state of Michigan."
The man wearing the balaclava picked up one of the photos. "Hmm so, she has kids now? I thought she was barren, doesn't matter it only means she has become soft. Is this information reliable? Is she still there?" he said in a raspy voice.
"She's still there. Those photos were only taken a few days ago."
Though no one could see, the man with the balaclava was smiling. "Order the men, we are going to Royal Woods."
"Are we finally going to take her out?"
"No, we are going to keep surveillance on her. This woman has taken out a good number of us, we can't just rush in without knowing what her capabilities are and post some of our men in the nearby city as well."
The man complied with his order and left the room while the man with balaclava picked up another of Sarah. "You are going to get what's coming to you, leaving me alive will be your greatest mistake ever. The True Patriots are coming for your blood!"