Final Episode of Act I

The Long Road Ahead

Act I

Episode VIII

Puzzle Pieces

Whatever Commander Mardukas had woken her for must've been important. Tessa had barely drifted into sleep before a private alarm howled in her bedroom. Maybe she had been asleep for an hour. But the alert was sent to just to her. All the rest of the base was still silent. No other bedrooms were stirring and no other personnel had been roused from their slumber. The entire base was still silent, save for the ever so quiet drone of the electricity that pulsed through the ceiling and walls. Her black heels once again clacked on the metal flooring of the hallway. The repetitive sound echoed down the corridor. Although now the noise was more annoying than anything else. Teletha hadn't even bothered to fix her hair. No longer was it in a ponytail like she usually sported. Instead now it was a frizzy grey mess that hung about her back. At least she didn't need to change. Luckily she had fallen asleep in her Mithril uniform, yet it wasn't exactly clean and straight as it should've been. But Commander Mardukas' call was something the Mithril Captain couldn't exactly brush off. So now she was briskly, albeit sluggishly, stalking down the long hall toward a briefing room.

Yet, Tessa couldn't deny that she had become already rather annoyed and perhaps outright angry at what this night was spiraling into. First she had to deal with the spike in duties of her job. After that she broke down to near tears in front of David. Being seen like that was embarrassing and taxing enough. Now she had to deal with whatever Mardukas had asked her for. She gritted her teeth at the thought. Tessa couldn't even get a good few hours of sleep in before being disturbed. The thought crossed her mind that she had less to deal with back on the road with David when they were hiding out back in the States. Then it was simply just getting from one day to the next. But now that she was back at Mithril it seemed that she was back to pushing around papers and late nights with little sleep.

Tessa turned right. In front of her she saw the large metal door to the briefing room where Mardukas must've been, the same room where he sent the message which woke her up. There were no guards standing beside the door. It was oddly unprotected. Tessa didn't know whether it was just too late in the night, or just the information wasn't important enough to warrant security. If it was something that could've waited until morning she nearly felt like she could blow a gasket. The base was deathly still. Everyone was still in their bunks and rooms off in their dreamland while Teletha Testarossa wearily stepped toward this meeting with Mardukas.

She finally reached the metal door and it slid open with a tiny hiss…

It was a small briefing room. Tightly pack tables and a number of computers and laptops filled its small space. Piles of white papers with black type were spread out on the tables and a group of intelligence officers were shifting through them frantically with a very disturbed look on their face. On the papers Tessa could see the furious plastering of the fluorescent yellow-green highlighter ink that had marked out specific lines on each document. The intelligence officers scurried about the room, some picking up and dropping papers while a number of others were shifting through photos and files. Much to Tessa's surprise no one greeted or saluted her as she walked in. Whatever they were working through had completely engulfed their attention. She could still see the same disturbed and very trouble looks on all their faces as if they were working against the clock to stop some sort of bomb from going off.

Commander Mardukas was the first one to emerge from the pulsing mass of bodies. "Ma'am!" He barked as usual giving her a salute. "Forgive me for waking you, but this is a matter that needs your immediate attention."

Tessa forgot to salute back she was so tired. "What is it Commander?" She mumbled, getting straight to the point of all the confusion.

Mardukas also was quick to get to the point. He pressed a number of buttons that sealed the door tightly shut behind Teletha. "Follow me." He spoke as he pin-wheeled on his boots and marched toward a large table.

Sluggishly moving along, Tessa was soon to join him. "Commander…" She began as an officer rushed by her, nearly knocking her over. "…What is the meaning of all this? I didn't authorize anything."

"That's true madam captain, you didn't. It was all my doing. Forgive me if I overstepped by bounds here on the base, but from what I've uncovered I believe that the risk was worth it. I will fully accept punishment at a later date."

She lifted her small fingers and rubbed her still tired eyes. "What is possibly the matter, Mr. Mardukas?"

He wasted no time in thrusting a file labeled 'Case Report: David A. Reed' into her hands. It was a small group of papers and pictures, nothing too heavy. Although Mardukas knew that that file would soon be growing in size within the next few hours and days. Mardukas said nothing; he waited for Tessa's response.

For a brief few moments Tessa couldn't come up with a reply. Her grey eyes were now locked to the file in her hands. The title is what drew her attention. Thoughts ran through her mind on why such a file would exist in the first place. She thought David was a normal enough, and trustworthy enough, person to be allowed on the base. Tessa didn't expect bringing him here would thrust him into some form of investigation on his character.

Mardukas took a step backward. "Once again, Ma'am, forgive me if I've overstepped by bounds. But I will not back down from my action. I believe this to be worth it."

The young woman almost took no note of Mardukas' statement. "What is the meaning of this, Commander Mardukas?" Tessa uttered, sounding slightly annoyed.

Snapping to attention at Teletha's tone, the commander spoke. "Madam Captain, we have reason to believe David Reed is a covert operator for the organization known as "The Collective." We have uncovered near proof of my statement."

Hitting Tessa Testarossa's heart like a bullet, Commander Mardukas' words took the young captain completely by surprise. She couldn't believe it. How could David even be a part of The Collective? He had protected her from them; at least that's what she thought. "What…W-W-What evidence d-d-do you have to support this c-c-claim, Commander?" Tessa said, stuttering. She knew all too well that if somehow, someway, Commander Mardukas was right, it would be her head on the chopping block for bringing him to the Merida Island Mithril installation.

"Everything we know up to this point is in that file you hold in your hands, Ma'am." He said, blunt and to the point.

Teletha hesitated. Holding the file in one hand, she reached for a chair with the other. She was just sitting down when Mardukas spoke again.

"That being said, that is everything we know up to this point. Our intelligence officers are looking into his background and forming up addition information. This just what we know from the incident at the airport up until the present. We've combined it with information from 'Case File: TC-1' and came to some…interesting conclusions."

At this point Tessa's head was throbbing. She could hear her own heartbeat. The night had just taken a turn from bad to worse. At least Mardukas had kept this under wraps and didn't have the whole base in an uproar. The captain didn't want to have to deal with a lynching. Yet still, even before she opened the file, Tessa still had doubts about what Mardukas was saying. "Lead me through the information, Commander." Teletha stated as she adjusted herself in the rather uncomfortable seat in the small cramped room. Setting the file on the table she peeled back the cover as Mardukas began to speak.

The first thing that was shown was a group of photos with time numbers printed on them. These photos were taken at the airport, probably from security cameras, where she was ambushed the first time and where all of this craziness began. Tessa's eyes scanned them furiously, still partially in disbelief. She didn't want to believe such a claim.

Mardukas walked over leaned over the other side of the table. He used on hand to spread out the colorless photos in front of Tessa. Placing them in some sort of order he began to explain. "This photo here…" His finger pointed to the first photo, it was a picture of Tessa at the check-in station at the airport, flanked by both of her now deceased bodyguards. "…As we can see this is you at entering the airport."

Tessa grew a little irritable. There was nothing in that photo that proved anything. "And?"

His finger moved to the next picture and pointed out a new figure. The numbers show that only a minute or so had passed since the first. Tessa was now leaving the check-in area and was now out of the frame. Sure enough, it was David, his sunglasses over his eyes. Clearly, his eyes were locked onto Tessa by the direction he looked. "Here we see David Reed."

Still the pictures didn't prove anything. According to David he had orders to keep her alive. So far, the photos were still proving his point. "Yes, I see that." Tessa mumbled wearily, her head now leaning slightly to the side. "You know as much as I do that David said he had orders to keep me alive."

A stern expression crossed across Mardukas' face. It was as if his information was all falling into place. "Yes, that's true. But, protect you from what exactly?" His finger moved to the final picture of the first group. "Look here…" He tapped the photo a couple of times. "…This photo right here."

Looking toward the third photo Tessa recalled the events. It was an image of when she was at the snack vendor in the airline terminal. She could tell by her own expression in the photo that she was conversing with the man behind the counter. Yet, something did catch her attention. Unlike what she believed at the time the picture was taken, David did not enter the restroom. Instead he was leaning up around the corner of wall next to the door. He was using the payphone.

Mardukas spoke before Tessa could. "Although we couldn't get logs of the conversation, we were able to track the call to its destination." Mithril's way of getting information never ceased to amaze. Even though the call had been made before Mithril got to the area, they were still able to recover at least some of the information.

Confused, Teletha glanced up to Mardukas. "To where?"

The commander's tone dropped. "It was a mobile number that was just outside the airport's perimeter."

Almost instantly Tessa heart skipped a beat. "W-What? That makes n-no sense." Her grey eyes grew wide in a mixed form of horror and pure panic. "B-But that can't prove he was responsible for the airport attack."

Shaking his head, Mardukas continued. "I never claimed he was responsible for the attack. We don't have the proof to maintain that accusations. In fact, information we gathered proved otherwise."

Teletha Testarossa rubbed her palms against her eyes, as if the action would change the story the pictures told. "What information, Mr. Mardukas?"

Mardukas flipped through the case file's pages and pulled one out onto the table. "This…" It was a page full of financial transactions. "…Through our databases we've concluded that those sent to attack you and David were a number of different criminal organizations hired to do so. Mithril was keeping tabs on a number of these for some time even before the airport attack…A bounty was placed on you, Madam Captain." The commander pulled out the file Tessa had at the airport, 'Case File: TC-1,' and placed it behind the rest of the papers on the table. "We've tracked the numbers. The money that was used to hire your assailants came from the same place as the transactions mentioned in the case file you had. The Collective was the one who placed the bounty on you."

Everything was still a large broken puzzle to Tessa. But in her tired state she began to piece everything together. "That still makes no sense. If The Collective wanted me dead by hiring those people, and if Mr. Reed is an operator, why didn't he kill me himself?" She was still holding onto the hope that it all was just a large misunderstanding and David was simply in the wrong places at the wrong times

"Because…" Mardukas turned David's case report over, revealing more photos. They were all similar. One was in the clothing shop Tessa and David had visited. Once again, as Tessa lost sight of him he went immediately toward the nearest phone. "…The Collective knew that David, if that is his real name, would keep you alive. That's why they hired those mercenaries." He tapped the TC-1 file again. "After they hacked our system, they got something. They stole some information. We don't know exactly what, but…All this leads me to believe they stole information of the planned procedures if Mithril was to be hacked. They used it to anticipate our moves. It's how they found you in the airport in the first place…"

Teletha let out a long drawn out sigh. Her world was now crashing down around her. It would even get worse if this all turned out to be true. Her slender fingers grabbed at her frizzed mess of grey hair.

"…They wanted you to get close to David. They wanted you to trust him. They wanted him to get back here."

Her heart stopped cold. She couldn't breathe. Tessa's fingers started to tremble as they hovered over the black and white photos in front of her. As she opened her mouth, her words were dry and sheepish, like she was terrified beyond anything she had ever been before. "Commander Mardukas…We can't condemn David on just these assumptions." It was as if her hopes for resolving this situation were little fingers holding her on a ledge. "We need concrete proof that David is a part of The Collective before we take any action against him. We don't even know what he would be after here on the island."

"Ma'am…" Mardukas muttered, almost like he was taking down to his own child. His fingers slid into the TC-1 file and pulled out a single photo and put it right in front of the captain. The photo had been taken from a security camera across the street. It was one of the warehouses that had been purchased by The Collective. Tessa remembered this photo.

Tessa stared downward at it. She said nothing.

Out of the other file on the table Mardukas pulled out another photo. It was clearer, enhanced, and enlarged. In the corner of the photo stood two highlighted figures walking within a group. One was the mysterious man from the TC-1 file, but one of the others was all too familiar. David Reed was walking besides that man. He was a member of The Collective "…We have all the information we need."

A frantic voice crackled over the radio on Mardukas' belt. "David Reed is gone! I repeat David Reed is not in his quarters! He's disabled the base alarms! I repeat, David Reed has disabled the base alarms!"

Tessa sprinted as fast as she could down the long hallway. Her heels had been kicked off and now she was running barefoot. She wanted to get to David and solve this before Mardukas had the chance to gather men to find and arrest him. There was no way off the island save one, by air. David must be making his way toward the hangars. If David was a so called "Collective" operator, there was no telling what he could accomplish on his own in the Merida Island base. Hopefully, her so-called friend would listen to her and stay to sort this situation out. Teletha turned left down another corridor. She was nearing the hangars now.

The base alarms had yet to start screaming. Tessa knew she could've used her rank to prevent Mardukas' actions and keep David out of handcuffs; but doing so would only dig herself in an already deeper hole. She at brought an enemy agent into their secret base. The Council was going to have her head on a pike when they found out. Everything was quickly going to hell around her. Tessa knew she only had a couple minutes before the base would be at arms by soldiers going door to door. David was smart. That was the reason he disable the base alarm system. It bought him more time. But she still knew that Mardukas would be right behind her. And there was no telling what he would do if he caught David Reed.

Teletha rounded the final corner leading toward the hangars. She saw a familiar body slink through the door leading out into the area where the planes were being held. As the door began to shut, Tessa leapt through, colliding with the floor of the hangar and rolling to a stop in a heap.

Everything fell silent around her.

"David!" Tessa scream as she lay sprawled out on the hangar floor. Tears now flowed freely from her eyes. "David!"

Just barely, she was able to pick herself up. Her own poor coordination, lack of sleep, and the pure emotion that pulsed through her small frame made her legs uneasy and wobble. Tessa placed her hands on the sides of her mouth to amplify her voice. "David, god damn-it answer me!"

A harsh grasp got a grip of her uniform and Tessa was flung against the metal wall next to the door. Teletha let out a painful squeak as she collided into the hard surface. Whoever grabbed her now held and pinned her painfully against the wall, the figure now constantly pushing her against metal.

Dazed, her eyes caught sight of David who now stood imposingly in front of her. He had her pinned. Tessa couldn't go anywhere. Tessa could feel her heart sputtering as her brain sent mixed messages of panic and thanks that she had gotten to David first.

Pulling her off the wall and quickly slamming her back into it, David grunted fiercely through his clinched teeth. "Lock the door!"

"D-D-David?!" Tessa stuttered. David slammed her into the wall again, this time a little bit harsher.

"Lock the damn door!" David's purpose filled eyes glanced to the control panel next to the hangar door. "Do it Tessa, or I swear to god I'll…" He began to tighten a fist.

David couldn't finish. Tessa immediately reached over and pressed a combination of buttons and locked the door shut. The captain wasn't sure whether she did that out of fright or friendship. Was she a prisoner now or still a friend?

Once the door was locked David loosened his grip on Tessa's clothes. He didn't say anything; he just looked at her with a fire in his eyes.

"D-David…" Tessa began, finally catching her breath. Although she didn't cry, tears were streaming down her face. "…Why?"

"Because…" David began, he moved in a little bit closer to Tessa, their faces coming close together. She could feel his body heat they were so close. He looked her right in the eyes. "…Somebody has to win this."

"The Collective?!"

David slammed her up on the wall again. "No…Me…I have to win this. I'm playing this little game for me."

"What are you talking about? I know everything, David. I know who you really are!"

His grip on her shirt lightened again. "Yes…Yes you do, Tess."

The reaction from David's confused her. She was half expecting him to deny that. "But why David? Why do you work for them?"

"Because."

"Because why, David!? Tell me!"

David looked down at the floor and then back up. "Because, I have to."

"You have to?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Tessa…You don't know what you're getting into. None of Mithril does."

"David, just listen to me. You don't need to work for them, just let me…"

"No! God Damn-it, listen to me, Tessa! You got yourself involved in something bigger than yourself, all of Mithril did."

Tessa began to feel anger swell in her heart. "And you're helping them?! I thought we were friends, David!"

He slammed her into the wall again. This time the back of Tessa's head hit the wall, stunning her. "This is a warning, Tessa. Your Mithril friends better get ready. The world is about to get a whole lot worse for all of us. This is a game that everyone has to play now. We each have to play it our own way. You're going to have to trust me."

"Oh, and you want me to trust you after all of this!"

David cringed just a little at the comment. "Tess, you know me."

"I don't know you, Mr. Reed!" She attempted to push herself away from him, but he wouldn't budge. "Is that even your real name, David Reed?"

He cringed once again. "Just listen…You know me…I've told you as much as I could. You're going to have to figure this out. You have to figure this out!"

"You're making no sense."

"Please…" David finally let her go as he dropped his hands to his sides and backed away. He still gazed into her eyes. "…Tess, you're going to need to trust me. I need to you figure this all out. This puzzle is yours to solve."

There were some voices behind the locked door. Mithril was now trying to figure out a way into the hangar.

Tessa looked at him in a confused manner. Once David let her go her body crumpled to her knees. She now sat on the solid floor. None of what he was saying was making any sense. "What do you mean "Figure this out?" That doesn't make sense!"

"Tessa, I know I've done some bad things. I know you have no reason to trust me anymore. But I assure you, you know me. I haven't lied to you. You need to somehow trust me after all of this. Once I leave, everything will start making sense." David continued to back toward a dual propeller plane in the middle of the hangar.

"But…Why, David…Why The Collective? Why me?"

He continued to back away. "I don't have any other option. The Collective plays their own game and I need to play along to get what I want…I have to play their game…"

Teletha Testarossa couldn't utter a response. She just sat there on the cold floor looking at up him as he got closer to the airplane.

"…Tessa, I assure you. You know me. Once you put all the pieces of the puzzle together you'll know what I'm doing."

"David…" Tessa sighed painfully "…I don't know what you are talking about. Please, just tell me."

"You'll figure it out soon enough." He stepped onto the steps leading up into the plane.

"David…" Tessa whispered in emotional agony just loud enough for David to hear. Tears were streaming down her face and she started breaking down into shattered sobs. The events of the day became too much for her. The raw emotion that pulsed through her body made it unbearable.

David turned around one last time before he pulled up the steps. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I put you through…But I have to play the game myself, just like you have to. We both have things we want the most in the world…And I need to get mine back…"

Tessa Testarossa shut her eyes and listened as the plane sputtered to life. She could hear it start down the runway and vanish off into the distance. She could send fighters to destroy that plane. It wouldn't be hard. But she couldn't give such an order…She didn't feel like it…There was no use…Not tonight…

David Reed was gone…

End of Act I

Author's Note:

Well, there is the end of Act I everyone! I hope you enjoyed what just happened and I hope it keeps you around for the rest of the story!

I'm going to take a short break from this story to work on a few other things. But don't worry; soon Act II will be on its way!

So please, in the meantime, leave a review, share this with your friends, and tell me what you think!

Thanks, and see you soon!

Mr-Watch

P.S – If you find an error, please PM me and I'll fix it ASAP!