Reaper stormed through the atrium toward the lab. Fury fueled each step as he dove into the dark corridors. He barely secured each hall before moving on. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have fallen for that fucking stunt? In all the years of being seen to the infirmary, he should've known that Vera couldn't die that easily. He turned the corridor and came upon the Carmack's lab. Reaper stalked inside and headed toward the work table. He spotted the sample racks along the wall. The same place where Sam had found Chromosome 24. Reaper stormed over and found the rack was completely empty of every vial of C24.

"You bitch." Reaper shook his head. "Gale, you make any progress?"

"I did."

She answered. "I couldn't pin point exactly when the system was erased, but I managed to decipher it was erased after we arrived. After everyone of the ARC personnel had left."

"Why doesn't hat surprise me?" Reaper asked.

"Sir what do we do?" Mathiss asked.

"Stay at the Infirmary, I'm gonna scout out the corridors." Reaper replied. How in the hell had she survived the transport explosion. More importantly, how had she gotten to Olduvai without anyone recognizing her? What the hell was she even doing on Oludvai? The latter question was probably the easiest to answer. Vera had been furious with UAC covering up the massacre at the facility. Erasing the data was good enough. Erase the data, erase every hope of recreating it? But why take the serum? Why not destroy it before someone else took it? What good would it do? Nothing seemed to make sense to him.

Reaper rounded the corner, back tracking, when he caught her scent. He followed the scent through the corridors, backing himself toward the atrium. Reaper moved quickly, coming up just near the airlock when he spotted her. It wasn't difficult locating the two white braids in the dark halls. Her back was to him, allowing her to stare ahead of the corridor toward the airlock. It was the brief moment Reaper needed. he silently moved up behind her. Her own weapon was shouldered behind her back, but she was brandishing her boot knife. Reaper quietly came up behind, barely six inches from her. That was when he knew she knew, that he was behind her, but it was too late for her. He pressed the barrel of the gun against her head, ceasing her movements.

"Drop. The. Knife." Reaper ordered. His voice was tight and threatening. He heard Vera sigh just before the knife clattered to the floor. "Put your hands up...Vera"

Vera did as she was told without a fuss.

Reaper inched forward and removed the weapon from her back. He reached onto her thigh holster and took her secondary weapon. Finally he removed the final pistol form the back of her pants. Once her weapons were removed, Reaper watched her closely. "Turn around. Slowly."

Slowly, Vera turned around to look at him. She squinted under the gunlights beam, but held her arms well enough in sight. Reaper couldn't believe he was really looking at Vera. Just days ago he'd thought he'd watched her die. But it was her, from her violet brown eyes, to her white hair, down to the infected lacerations sporting each cheek of her face. Her pale lips parted as her steady voice echoed through the hall. "If you're going to kill me, John, you might want to wait until you kill your missing soldier."

Reaper's brow furrowed. "Hazard?"

"If he's sewer boy partner, then yeah." she answered. "His infected ass is heading for the ARC as we speak."

"Give me one good reason why I should believe a dead soldier?" Reaper questioned.

Vera winced regretfully. "Because you don't want this fucker getting back to Earth just as much as me."

Reaper weighed the value of her words. On one hand, he didn't want to trust her. Couldn't afford to with everything that had happened. Yet on the other hand, Hazard was still missing. and if he was infected and heading toward the ARC, then they needed to stop him regardless. Dammit! Reaper lowered his weapon, but kept his eyes on her. "Skeet, Hazards heading your way. Take him out. I repeat, take him out."

The comm was silent.

"Skeet do you copy?" Reaper demanded. "Shit." He tossed Vera her two pistols. "On point!"

Without another word, the sprinted out into the atrium toward the ARC chamber. The second they're in descent lighting, Reaper notices the bloody footprints leading to the ARC chamber. They're mutated, massive, and not belonging to an Imp. Reaper increased his speed, easily catching up alongside Vera. They sprinted together, their steps running parallel to each others.

"Skeet do you copy?" Reaper shouted. Still there was nothing.

"ARC travel in five...four...three...two...one!"

They sprinted into the chamber just as the metallic sphere vanished. Reaper and Vera stopped near the doorway. The chamber was empty of everyone but Skeet. Skeet was on the floor by the control panel. Blood rolled down a gash on the side of his head, but there were no other wounds on him to suggest Hazard had infected him. But Hazard was gone.

"Der'mo." Vera muttered. She raced to the console. "Olduvai Two, this if Oldivai One, do you copy?"

Reaper walked to Skeet and checked his pulse. It was steady and strong. He'd live. "Skeet?"

"Olduvai Two, this is Olduvai One, do you copy?" Vera repeated. She looked up form the console toward Reaper. "Nothing."

Suddenly the ARC lights shut down. Reaper sprang to his feet and lifted his weapon. Vera lifted her pistols. Both moved back to back and stared around the chamber.

"System reboot." called the robotic female voice. "Time require to begin renewed operations. Twenty minutes."

"Shit." Vera snapped. "What the fuck do we do now?"

Skeet groaned on the floor. He opened his eyes, blinking and wincing a few times. "What'd I drink last night?"

"Nothing worth it." Reaper answered. "On your feet, man."

Skeet took Reaper's hand and stood. He leaned against the console and placed his hand against his head. "Hazard. Sir Hazard-"

"He's gone. Went through the ARC." Reaper stated.

Skeet's eyes grew wide. "Shit. I tried to raise you on the comms, but they were dead. Sir I don't know what's going on, but something's wrong with Hazard he's-"

"Mutated." Vera stated.

Skeet turned to her, realizing she was there for the first time. "Who the fuck are you?"

Reaper grabbed Vera' arm and pulled her toward the door. "She's a ghost, let's move. Cal, Bio, Mathiss, Gale, regroup in the Atrium. We've just been royally fucked. Bring Sam with you."

"Copy that." Gale stated.

Reaper lead Vera out of the chamber and into the Atrium. He pushed her toward the water fountain baring UAC's logo and mission. To her credit, Vera didn't struggle or retaliate against him. She leaned against the marble fountain and folded her arms against her chest.

"Your weapons." Reaper ordered.

Vera held a hard gaze. "We really gonna go through this shit again."

Reaper took a step toward her. Towering Vera's small form. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't."

"You know me, John." Vera stated.

"I thought I did." he retaliated.

Vera nodded. Clearly the nobility tactic was not going to work this time. "Alright. John about there's a fucking Imp still roaming the facility. I'm not going up against it unarmed. So I keep my guns, or you can shoot me right here."

"What the fuck is she talking about?" Skeet asked.

"Long story." Reaper replied. He pried the pistols from Vera's hands.

"Gonna take longer than twenty minutes?" Skeet replied.

"Sir!"

Reaper, Vera, and Skeet turned toward the corridor. Cal, Mathiss, Gale, and Bio jogged into the Atrium. Sam followed close behind them, easily keeping up in her chair. Her eyes fell to Vera's form, widened with surprise. Before she could raise any questions, Cal reached them first.

"What happened?" he asked.

Reaper sighed heavily. He looked around and each face. It was time to let the cat out of the bag. "Hazard fled back to earth."

"What?"

"The hell is he thinking?"

"He wasn't." Reaper answered. "Not the way he used to."

That caught everyone's attention. "Used to."

Skeet shook his head. "Man, I don't know how to explain it, but that was and that wasn't Hazard. I've never seen anything like it."

"What Skeet saw," Reaper continued, turning toward Cal and Mathiss. "What you heard in the tunnels, was the result of a secret experiment conducted by Doctor Carmack several days ago. A virus meant to enhance a persons capability. What they didn't know was that in the wrong host, they mutate into demon. Massive, deformed, blood thirsty, demons."

"Those are what we came here to kill." Gale stated.

Reaper nodded.

Mathiss shook her head." I don't believe it. There's no virus on Earth that can twist up a human like you're describing."

"Does it look like we're on Earth?" Vera snapped.

All eyes shifted to her.

"Who the fuck are you?" Mathiss demanded. She tightened her grip on her weapon.

Vera held Mathiss hard stare. She dropped her hands to her hips. "I'm the one who came to kill these fucking things. Only your boy toys got in my way."

"Bitch!" Mathiss swung her fist at Vera, only to strike the empty air. Skeet and Gale held back Mathiss while Reaper pinned Vera against the fountain with little effort. If the situation hadn't been so fucked up, Reaper wouldn't said it was just like old times, holding back Vera before she killed Portman. There was nothing to her then, and there was even less to her now.

"Knock it off!" Reaper ordered. He turned to Vera. "I suggest you start explained yourself, Vera."

Gale frowned. "Dimitrov?

Vera turned toward Gale. "Do I know you?"

"I thought you died on the transport?" Gale stated.

Vera shook her head. "I didn't, but not for lack of trying."

"What are you doing here?" Skeet asked.

"Trying to make sure the assholes that started this project never finish it." Vera answered.

Gale's eyes widened. "You wiped the computers."

"No data, no research, no experiments." Vera replied lightly. "No backtracking and recreating the mess."

"Great, you fucked us over." Cal stated.

"You were already fucked over." Vera snapped. Her eyes shifted toward Reaper. "Nobody bothered telling you just how fucked you were."

Skeet frowned. "What's she talking about?"

Mathiss pulled herself from his hold. "They sent us on a suicide mission in hopes we failed. But if, by some miracle, someone survived, they'd been dead once the data was sent out. Right?"

Reaper nodded. "Right."

"And you knew." Mathiss spat. "You knew and you never warned us."

"You're smarter than you look." Vera stated.

Reaper stepped between Vera and Mathiss to prevent any further conflict between them. "Where are they?"

"What?"

"The disks." Reaper answered shortly. "I wouldn't out it past you to have those disks somewhere in the facility so you can destroy them back on Earth. Same with the virus."

Vera held his gaze for a long while. Reaper found himself staring at the same heated eyes that first walked into the barracks four years ago. Defiant, angry, and resilient. She would stop at nothing to finish what she started, be it beating Portman to a bloody pulp, or stubbornly hiding her injuries from him. Her lips turned a tiny fraction, hinting at a smile. "See, you still know me pretty well."

"Good thing." Reaper spat. He pushed Vera toward the labs. "We're going to retrieve them."

"Are you-"

"Mathiss cover us." Reaper ordered. "The rest of you, seal the ARC and maintain a perimeter outside. I don't want anyone inside that chamber until we return."

for those of you that were expecting a heartwarming reunion...forgive me while I laugh. you should know nothing was that easy between them. but I'll be nice and you'll get filled in on everything in the next chapter. and if you need a translation for that Russian word...then I have given up on you. I've used FAR too many times to need a translation for it.