(A/N) Ok guys, sorry this chapter is going up a little late. Here we get to see the fallout from the previous chapter, which I'm delighted to see has shocked our readers in the way that I hoped it would. This chapter is from the POV of Agent Carolina, from the mysterious ParabolaOfMystery. (How do I come up with this stuff?)

Here's our third link! Only one more to go and then we'll be accepting submissions. So from Saturday 16th of March onwards we'll be accepting applications for the next batch of Freelancers.

hddp:/images,wikia,com/rvb/images/e/e3/Character_Three,jpg

As before, change ds to ts, change commas to full stops and add a / after the :

Enjoy!


Chapter Fourteen – The Price of Failure

Agent Carolina

Written by ParabolaOfMystery


"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." – Bill Gates


They were all ready when the pelican landed. The hatch opened with a hiss of air, and as soon as the ramp hit the ground Carolina, Wyoming, and Alaska carried the limp Penn onto the ship. Alaska was especially silent; Carolina knew that if he had his way, he would've left Penn where he went down. She felt the same way. All she kept thinking of was the simulation trooper folding in half like some sort of bad horror flick.

"Jesus," 479er said as they carried him past her. "What happened to him?"

"Best you don't know," Carolina muttered.

The pilot clicked her tongue. "Well, just strap him in like normal. There's nowhere else to put him. They haven't given us any medical equipment yet. Probably because they didn't think we'd need it." Carolina didn't blame them. Why would the Director think that any of his Freelancers would get themselves shot on the first mission? It should've been so easy. Capture the flag. He honestly gave them the simplest task he could… yet still they managed to screw it up.

They were all silent during the flight. Wyoming had taken off his helmet and was leaning in his seat, twirling his moustache. Alaska was sitting straight up, staring at Penn, whose arms swayed limply in his seat. He seemed to mumbling to himself, but that was normal for Alaska. Carolina knew that what Penn did had to do something with Alaska. The two of them had been avoiding each other like the plague. She thought back to the scoreboard, and remembered that Alaska had been placed one slot above Penn.

Oh god. What is happening to us?It was just like the Director to push people against each other, to watch them climb over each other to the top. She knew firsthand- it was how she got here. Somehow she'd thought that it would be different here, with people working together to accomplish something. No. It was all part of some plan the Director had.

It was like natural selection, almost. The best would climb to the top and survive. The weak would fall to the bottom and- die? Get thrown out of the project? She didn't know, and she didn't want to know. All she knew was that she was already at the top, and she had to stay there. She buried her face in her hands. What would happen when they were all consumed by the mentality that they had to be the best or die? They would be a team built of enemies. It would get worse and worse every time there was a new scoreboard.

479er's voice crackled in her ear. "Get your butts ready, guys. We're there. I already called a med team, so help get your buddy off my ship. I don't want any bloodstains. I just cleaned the floors."

As soon as they landed, the three Freelancers jumped out of their seats- Alaska quite reluctantly- to get Penn. Alaska undid the belt fastenings while Carolina and Wyoming each grabbed an arm and wrapped it around their shoulders. Penn grumbled something but Carolina couldn't make out what it was, although she could have sworn he'd mentioned Alaska.

The other Pelican landed as the med team wheeled Penn away. Carolina groaned. The other team had won, obviously. She wondered how many snide comments Virginia or Massa would make at her defeat. York jogged out of the Pelican, helmet under his arm and grinning wide, followed by Florida, who seemed more cheerful as usual. Carolina relaxed a bit. At least there would be two people who wouldn't be snarky or just plain miserable about the mission.

York's smile vanished when he spotted her. "What happened to you? Are you hurt?"

"What?" She looked down, and realized she was covered in Penn's blood. It stood out shockingly red against her light blue armour. "Oh, it's not mine. Penn's."

He spotted the stretcher being wheeled away. His eyes narrowed and he frowned. "Poor guy. I have to say, it was only a matter of time. Big guy's a little too violent."

Carolina scoffed bitterly. "A little?"

"Why, what happened?"

"You don't want to know."

York pouted. "Come on, I want juicy details!"

She grimaced and started toward the facility. "Bad adjective. Really bad adjective."


"As you have been expecting, the scoreboard has been updated based on the last two missions." The Counselor's cool monotone voice echoed slightly around the room. None of the Freelancers paid much attention to him; everyone was staring at the blank scoreboard, waiting for their names to show up. Carolina could hear her pulse in her ears. She knew that she wasn't going to like it. She couldn't lead a failed mission without getting punishment for it, especially one where a teammate almost got killed.

York stood next to her, trying to look relaxed, but Carolina noticed his fingers were fidgeting. Alaska was muttering to himself again, Florida was bouncing on his toes, and Virginia was tapping her foot. Everyone seemed as anxious as she was.

The screen lit up. There was a collective intake of air as everyone searched for their names.

1. York

2. Carolina

3. Massachusetts

4. Wyoming

5. Virginia

6. Florida

7. Alaska

8. Pennsylvania

Heat rushed to Carolina's face. She felt Massachusetts staring at her smugly. Second. She deserved it. She failed a mission. It could have been worse. Now she just had to climb her way back up… over York. She glanced at him. He stared silently at the board, eyebrows furrowed. It seemed like he wasn't sure whether to celebrate or be worried. Celebrate while you can, Carolina thought. She felt empty. She wasn't sure why. She'd expected to be angry, or miserable, but she found she was determined instead. She would beat all of them next time.

Meanwhile, Alaska was fuming. "How am I seventh? I did what I was supposed to. I did my job!"

"But we lost," Carolina said. "Badly. It was bound to bring all of us down."

His cold eyes turned to her. "Really? It didn't bring you down that much."

She felt her temper rising. It was surprising it had stayed down this long. "Maybe I was that much higher up to begin with." Alaska didn't answer. She felt his eyes on her even when she turned away.

The others began to file out. Wyoming left, followed by Virginia, who had a smug smile on her face. Not surprising, considering she had gone up in rank. Carolina doubted that it was because of improvement. She'd only gone up because the others did much worse. Massa followed her, ramming into Carolina's shoulder as she went.

"Better watch your back," Massa snipped in her ear.

"In your dreams," Carolina whispered back. She heard York snigger next to her, and felt herself smile a little.

Florida cocked his head at the board. He didn't seem overly upset. "More room for improvement," he said cheerfully.

Then it was just her, York, and Alaska left. Alaska had gone back to staring at the board. Carolina felt kind of bad for him. He'd been dragged down from the mission worst out of everyone. It wasn't really his fault either, but Carolina could almost see why he'd been brought down. His anger was going to motivate him even more, make him more aggressive. As long as he didn't go down Penn's path, he could be one of the strongest Freelancers there.

York tapped her arm. "Sorry you're second," he said quietly.

Carolina shrugged him off. "It's fine." He's competition. You should treat him like it."I deserved it."

"Not really. It was Penn's fault. I'm sure if he didn't go all crazy, you guys would have had a good mission."

"Maybe. But I was leader. I should have done something to stop him."

"You tried," Alaska said bitterly from behind them. Carolina frowned. Why was he suddenly sticking up for her? Just a second ago he was against her. Then again, Alaska was a weird guy. "I heard you. That guy's just batshit-crazy."

York chuckled. "Very true." He took one last glance at the scoreboard and sighed. "Might as well enjoy the sight of my name up there while I still can." He smiled at Carolina. "Who knows? I might be kicked off next time by someone."

"I hope you mean me," Alaska muttered.