Angels with Newfound Hope
Act 2 Chapter 22: Calm
Alex's Apartment - Day 10, 9:00AM
Alex returned to his apartment late in the night, only getting two hours of sleep before his nightmares deviled him once more. He began to wonder if being with Bryce was the only way to stop them.
The doorbell rang with Sebastian entering right as he found a place for his P90. It would be a lot less conspicuous if he didn't show that off, ever.
"Hey Alex." The runner greeted the moment his foot crossed that threshold.
"Hey. So what have we got going on today?" Alex went straight to the point.
"Straight on it again, eh?" And Sebastian couldn't help himself. "Fair enough. So we've got this letter from the facility you and Reza visited..." He fished out a plain white envelope. It looked a little thicker than before, but it could've just been Alex. "And next, something else happened last night. The chief will explain everything once we're there."
"Let's not keep him waiting, then." The two were almost out the door when Alex noticed something on a side table. It was his Five-Seven's magazine, freshly loaded. Perhaps Mongoose loaded it from his P90. Either way, such a thing could come in handy just in case...
Their arrival at the orphanage was unsurprising. After all, everything was playing out like Groundhog Day. He knew most of what to expect.
There you guys are. We're almost done here, so I'll keep it short. Reza broke into the hatchery. There's another murder victim: an employee who was on night duty. her body was found quite a ways away. There's evidence of a struggle, but she covered a lot of distance before it was ultimately over. Loud bangs assumed to be gunshots were heard near where she was found, and there are wounds consistent with previous victims and his gun." Alex reabsorbed everything before tossing in his two cents.
"No smaller bullet wounds, right? None consistent with my pistol?" He asked, wanting to make sure his PDW wasn't used nefariously.
"Thankfully no. There were three, and they're all equally large. What made you ask that anyway?" Bryce shot back. It was a suspicious question to ask.
"I found something interesting last night. It may not even be related, but I'll bring it to your office later." The human offered. He wasn't scared of getting his new weapon taken away. If there were no 5.7 rounds fired, there wouldn't be a reason. Hell, they both saw the cauterized wounds on the first victim. Metal bullets didn't do that.
"We could just swing by yours on the way. It shouldn't be too much of a detour. But anyway, we have bigger fish to fry. Reza made off with a generator and a few eggs. Luckily, the power was restored before anything happened to the remaining ones, but those parents aren't going to be happy." Bryce redirected the conversation before it could fly off the rails any further.
"Why am I not surprised? He shoots three people, two to death, and then kidnaps unborn children! When I find him-"
"Maybe we should focus on the why first? That seems rather important, don't you think?" Sebastian cut in, leaving a seething Alex to simmer down.
"Good idea. He'll have to escape eventually. Using the eggs as a bargaining chip would make sense if he got caught. But what if he stays undetected?" The chief pondered until an answer was provided by an ally.
"Probably slavery." Alex finally cooled down enough to speak rationally. "The worst case is that he takes those kids through, and they're born as slaves for the human race. And of course, he'll shut the portal down the instant he gets through."
"That's assuming the portal is somehow fixed. You saw the state of it." Bryce argued calmly.
"Maybe he has the required parts to fix it, and with them, everything needed to escape. He could trade the eggs for safe passage, fix the portal and leave." Sebastian speculated in-verbatim to last time.
"That's also assuming he doesn't react violently. You know I have a scar on my forehead from when he shot me." Alex reminded them with a quick point to said scar. Right between his eyebrows did it lie, very light in contrast to his natural skin tone.
"I'm reminded every time I see you. But what's more important right now is that Reza's actions are growing desperate. He kidnapped defenseless eggs, and even used his weapon in the process. He may very well be slipping up, or has already. In any case, let's head back and decide what to do next. Hopefully some tests will tell us something." Bryce started leading them back with that statement ending the encounter. Reza was slipping up just like last time, and that meant that this was coming to a close, hopefully for good...
Back at the station, the trio went over the test results, with their pitiful amount of information leading them to a dead end again.
"So what now, we go over the timeline again?" Sebastian suggested blindly.
"Not- Come in." Bryce was cut off by a familiar knocking. Maverick entered with his map, seemingly freshly drawn. "Maverick? What are you doing here?"
"Chief, there's something I want you to see. It's about Reza." Like a knight in shining scales, the officer came to their rescue.
"Well, you're looking at his task force. Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of us all." The chief encouraged him. He lay the map down after much space freeing so he could explain.
"So I think I know where he is. I've been tracking him for a while now. I almost got him when he was at the portal a few days ago. I managed to tail him for a while before the trail went cold. Based on that, where he's been, and where the victims were found, I managed to triangulate his whereabouts." Maverick placed a single claw exactly where Alex expected. His sanguine eyes even met with the stormy ones of the human expectantly.
"A farmhouse?" The vigilante played dumb. Of course he'd still be there. Although, it was unlikely now that he remained.
"When did you figure all this out?" Bryce interjected. His interest gave him a hardened look much akin to Maverick's own.
"Just a few minutes ago. I came here immediately after I did." The suspended officer rubbed an irritated bullet wound. Perhaps, that was Alex's fault for not making him go back home.
"Damn, Maverick. this may be it. Sebastian, we're going there right now. What about you?" The chief directed a concern toward his coworker.
"I'm still on sick leave. Besides, if I see Reza right now, I may do something regrettable." Maverick's head hung a little lower. It seemed he was probably ashamed to a degree.
"Alex?" The copper male shot his ally an expectant glance.
"I'll need to prepare beforehand. If Reza turns up and starts shooting, I don't want anyone to get hurt." The man gave his interest a soft look. It worked in the least, as the dragon mulled it over for a moment.
"You go do that, then. Meet us there and keep your cool. Let's get going, Sebastian." Without another word, Bryce shuffled out with his runner companion.
"Do you think he's still there?" Maverick began a few seconds after they disappeared.
"Not at all, but everything he stole is. I just hope he didn't notice my tampering with his trap." The human expressed his own concerns with this operation. The scariest thing that could happen to him would be Bryce going in without him.
"Be careful, then. Losing someone else isn't something we can afford. Not even if it's some cunt who got my best friend killed. Now get going. You have generators to take back." The dragon passive-aggressively ushered him along...
Abandoned Farm - 10:11AM
"There you are." Bryce addressed an approaching Alex. On his back seemed to be the gun he acquired during the second investigation.
"Any activity so far?" The man knelt down, drawing the aforementioned weapon. looking through the scope didn't reveal anything too useful. It was just as quiet as the night he infiltrated it with Maverick.
"None so far. It doesn't help that the windows are too dirty to check inside without giving ourselves away." The officer scowled at that fact.
"But he mainly operates at night, so he could be asleep." Sebastian added another two cents in, making his contribution four for the day.
"In that case, we'd only have to worry about noise. Reza could be a light sleeper. Even a single creaky board could blow this whole operation sky high. Anyone who goes in will have to be swift and silent." Alex continued surveying for any more little 'surprises' that could've been left for them. Thankfully, there weren't any from his point of view.
"He could also have spotted us during the stakeout, slipped away undetected with time to destroy at least some of the evidence." The runner pointed out.
"I'm going in. The quicker we are, the better. We need to make sure those eggs are okay. Sebastian, go around back and wait. And Bryce? You keep around the corner. Subdue Reza on sight, and do not hesitate. He won't be so kind himself." The human ordered them both.
"Since when are you the one giving orders?" Bryce half joked with a mock glare.
"Since my plan was formulated first. Now come on, we're losing time." Alex fired back more gently than he'd have been with anyone else. He nearly left them behind as he crept up, karambit in hand.
He took a deep breath as he gripped the door handle. With his shield equipped, he cracked the door only an inch before...
Alex awoke in an uncomfortably familiar location. The comforter of his bed lay draped across his numb body. Memories of the dragons kept replaying, making him question if he'd been dreaming the whole time. But what shocked him to his very core was the person laying next to him.
"Zoe...?"
