The Kras City vehicle was finally repaired. Bill had left for South Town to escort the car to the city. He told Keira to stay out of trouble, saying he'd be back by the weekend. Keria had found herself more conscious of being alone; it was too quiet in the shop now that Bill was gone, and even the music she played couldn't hide this fact. Whenever she found herself alone after her shift, she always asked for Errol or a Guard to accompany her to her car. Haven City still managed to give her the creeps.
That evening, Keira was deep into her translations, finding nothing else to work on. The child was out and about, under Tess' care for the day, leaving her feeling a bit lonely. She was so used to having to keep him out of trouble as he wandered around the garage.
One of the pages had already been translated, and Keria had given it to Ashelin to take to Torn. She'd found out that the Baron had made plans to illegally obtain natural Eco from Haven Forest, which was protected by environmental laws. Keira hoped the Underground agents were up to the task of stopping such an event. She sighed to herself, her chin in her hand, watching as the computer mapped out the language. There was music playing in the background, and she hummed along, running her finger along the petal of an ocean blossom absently. She was slipping into a daydream when the computer beeped shrilly, signaling it had finished. Keira straightened up, fingering the keyboard.
According to the translation, Errol was taking orders once again from Baron Praxis. Keira quickly skimmed the words, almost bored, her chin still in her hand. It was all military formality; nothing she hadn't seen before. It was toward the end when her breath suddenly caught in her throat.
"Oh my God…" she breathed.
Keira leapt out of her seat, scrambling for her comlink.
*********
Torn found himself making last-minute checkups for the mission that night in the Wasteland. He'd been planning it for weeks, now. He needed to get to the place before anyone else did; that Eco was very important for the war against the Baron. Torn's eyes scanned the intelligence reports, flicking once or twice back to a map of the city. Everything had been carefully scoped out so that all the agents would be protected. They were waiting in a safe house in South Town until nightfall. It was an air-tight plan. If he had to, he could find a replacement for anyone.
The sudden sound of a cruiser engine caught his attention. Torn's gaze lifted to the door of the hideout, hearing distressed cries from the alley. Frowning in concern, he walked toward the entrance. He could hear Ashelin crying,
"Just hang on! Oh God… Libby…"
The door slid open with a bang. Torn's eyes widened and he gasped. Ashelin came running into the room along with another agent named Jinx. Sprawled across their arms was Libby.
"What the hell happened?!" Torn demanded, opening the secret door as fast as he could.
Libby moaned pathetically, sobbing. Ashelin and Jinx quickly ran her to the medical room. Torn followed at their heels.
"The KG attacked," Ashelin replied in between breaths, "She and a few other agents were caught in a surprise reprisal."
"Reprisal for what?!" Torn shouted, snatching up a roll of gauze and bandages from a nearby shelf.
"I don't know. But we've done something to piss them off."
Ashelin and Jinx gently set the sobbing woman down on a table. Libby was covered in blood; bruises were visible on her arms and legs, and several slashes glistened red on her skin. Her clothes were ripped and her dark hair was matted with blood.
"What kind of attack?" asked Torn, trying to force calm back into his voice. He tore open a packet of clotting powder with his teeth.
"Explosion," Jinx answered, "They caught us in a corner; Hellcat cruiser took us out with one shot. The zoomer's wasted."
"You're lucky to be in one piece."
Jinx made a face, as if he agreed. Torn had never completely trusted Jinx as an Underground agent, seeing as how the man worked for Krew, the owner of the pub in South Town who was involved in several 'shady' dealings. Jinx was more like a mercenary than anything; he worked for the Underground because they paid him well. He didn't get involved more than he had to.
Libby shrieked in pain as they worked to stop her wounds from bleeding. Ashelin swore after being kicked in the arm. Libby continued to thrash around, her fist cracking against the overhead light. It swung back and forth, causing the shadows to distort and the beams of light to scatter. Jinx held down her shoulders firmly and she whimpered. Torn ripped open a plastic bag that contained a needle, saying,
"Ashelin, get me a painkiller!"
Libby screamed, momentarily taking everyone aback. Her face was smeared with dirt and blood. She gazed up at Jinx with bleary eyes, saying,
"Is it bad?! What's happening?!"
The blond-haired man glanced down at her beaten form, preventing himself from grimacing. Her breath was coming in short gasps; her eyes were bright with tears.
"It ain't as bad as it looks," he told her, "You'll be alright."
Torn had straightened out her arm and administered the shot of painkillers. Ashelin had wrapped up one of Libby's legs, shaking her head. Her eyes locked with Torn's as if to say, It's not looking very good. The girl had relaxed somewhat, although her breathing was still shallow and labored. She hardly took notice of the fact Ashelin had pulled a fairly large piece of shrapnel out of her side. She did see the blood however, and panicked a bit, snatching Jinx's hand in her own.
"Torn," she bawled, "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to screw everything up!"
"It's alright, Libby. You couldn't have done anything about it," he replied in somewhat soothing tones, quickly working to stitch up a gash on her arm.
"No- I mean it! Th-they forced me to do it…they told me they were going to kill me!"
Ashelin frowned. She looked up at Jinx for an explanation; he only shook his head. Torn cut the thread, moving on to the next wound. Ashelin had managed to stop the bleeding on Libby's right leg, though the girl was still in bad shape.
"I'm sorry," she half-sobbed, half-slurred, "I…don't want to…harm anyone…But, I-I was…scared."
Jinx could sense something was wrong. He watched as Libby's eyes closed, and her grip loosened around his hand.
"Torn-!"
"Oh my God," Ashelin gasped, "She's-!"
"Go into the storage room and get the biggest jar of eco you can find!" Torn screamed, "NOW!"
Ashelin sprang into action. Torn leaned over Libby, pressing an ear to her chest. He could detect a faint heartbeat, though it was fading. He swore, feeling fear grip him tightly.
"Hurry up, Ashelin!" he bellowed.
She came sprinting back into view seconds later, a large jar in tow. The substance inside swirled several different colors. Torn snatched the jar from her hands, turning to Jinx.
"Hold her up for me," he ordered.
"Torn, what are you going to do?!" Ashelin demanded, her voice cracking with fear.
"Just trust me on this."
That was all he said.
*********
They failed to hear the comlink left on the table crackle to life. A terrified messenger revealed their information.
"Stadium to HQ! Repeat, Stadium to HQ!"
There was no reply; from somewhere in the back of the hideout, Torn and Ashelin were shouting. The comlink buzzed with static for a moment, then the messenger cried,
"HQ, pick up! It's Keira- this is top priority!"
She was greeted by silence once again, and she sighed helplessly.
"Torn, I know you're still mad at me, but this is important!"
The comlink crackled, yet again awaiting an answer. The shouting continued down the hallway. Keria replied once more, sounding more urgent than she previously had.
"Torn, you have to listen to me!! Tonight, the mission you're leading into the Wasteland- the Baron is launching a surprise attack! You can't go, do you understand? You have to send someone else! They've been planning this for awhile- the Baron wants to get rid of all the top agents, and this is the only way to do it!!"
Keria couldn't stand the silence. She pressed down the button again, her voice sharp from imminent tears.
"Dammit, Torn, DO NOT go on that mission! They're going to kill everyone!!"
With that, the hideout fell silent. Torn's muse had pricked up her ears during the messenger's stressful speech. She hopped down from the table, slinking to the backroom where the shouting was still to be heard, her tail swishing behind her.
