A.N.: Holy... An early update! What has the world came to?!
"Agent Daniels," Mrs. Jones's voice issued loud and clear over the small hand-held device Ben had in his hands, "We have received another piece of information regarding the organization."
Ben was alone in the car as the soldiers went to check out the hotel. He was left with the job of finding a parking space to park the vehicle, which was hard, considering that right next to the hotel was a large tourist attraction. The parking lot outside the hotel was full.
"The organization Pirmors," Mrs. Jones said, "Is Scorpia."
Ben inhaled sharply, steering the car momentarily left his mind "Pirmors is Scopia?"
"Yes," Mrs. Jones sounded impatient.
"Then...capturing Alx…"
"Smithers had concluded that they want to eliminate Agent Rider," Mrs. Jones continued.
"Is he still alive?" Ben asked bluntly without formality, pushing down the bubbling anxiety.
"Yes," Ben nearly sighed in relief at the reply, "At least he was three hours ago, that is the best Smithers can get regarding his situation." That didn't help much. Ben gripped the steering wheel tightly without knowing. Alex...
The car behind him honked at him and Ben quickly started the engine again, progressing slowly down the street in search for a place to park, "Anything I should alter in the rescue mission?"
He could hear the hesitation in Mrs. Jones's voice, even though he couldn't see her, "There will be a slight alteration to whatever plan you have."
"I'm listening," Ben knew that whatever he said was informal, but he couldn't care less at the moment.
"The priority of your mission will be changed," Mrs. Jones stated, "Get both the information disk and Agent Rider out."
Ben couldn't help but smile a little, "Both as the priority?"
"Yes, both, the others will be your second priority," Mrs. Jones replied curtly, "You may make changes to whatever plan you have according to the new information."
"Permission to ask?"
"Granted."
"What exactly linked Pirmors with Scorpia?"
"Anagram," That was all Mrs. Jones said.
"Anagram?" Ben frowned.
"'A Force Pirmors'," Mrs. Jones told him, "Is an anagram for Scorpia reform."
"But...how do you know that they want Alex dead?"
"It was merely a statement by Smithers," Mrs. Jones said, her voice cracking slightly over the transmission. Clearly, she wasn't keen on explaining it to him.
"I've always thought the name to be some sort of Star Wars reference," Ben chuckled as he pulled over on the last spot in the parking lot, just as one of the cars left, and stopped the engine.
Mrs. Jones was silent, not that Ben expected any responses to his statements.
"And Agent Daniels?" Mrs. Jones spoke up against just as Ben was about to end the call and get off the car.
"Yes?"
"Blunt might not have cared, but he is still one of the agents," With that, Mrs. Jones ended the call herself. Ben didn't need to ask to know who 'he' is.
Ben sat there for a moment before he let a small smile grace his lips, "Damn, Alex. she cares about you."
He got out of the car and headed toward the hotel, his steps a little lighter as well as a little heavier after the conversation. Hold on just a little longer, Alex.
The hotel they checked in, Georgian Town House, was a good half a mile away from the compound. It wasn't far and there were tourists milling around, giving them an almost perfect cover. The compound sat in the middle of a large tourist attraction, the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
"Who the hell build a compound right next to a cathedral?" Wolf muttered as he swept his binocular across the cathedral, landing on the small building behind, hidden by the mass of trees and greeneries around it. The visible parts of it seemed plain but decorated, almost blending and in context with the cathedral. The location from the distress signal had come from inside the compound. They were in there.
"Maybe they feel like cleansing their souls," Falcon agreed.
"Or they have a sense of humor," Eagle grinned.
They were dressed like ordinary tourists. To avoid attention, they had split up in groups of three. It would be too conspicuous if nine of them were all together. The compound was small, comparing to the large towering cathedral next to them, but it gave the small building a perfect cover. It was almost invisible and hard to see if you weren't particularly looking for it, like them. It was hidden amongst the tall trees that were enclosed in a large metal gate surrounding the cathedral. A large path extending from the front gate led to a road that winded around the cathedral. Tourists were taking pictures and peeking through the gate, glimpsing the large entrance to the cathedral. To reach the compound, they would have to get in through the front gate, and head into the trees. The location of the compound must have been planned beforehand. It was not visible if looked from outside the fence, and was barely visible when viewed from a height.
"Alright, what do we need to find?" Wolf asked.
Each group were assigned to get information regarding one aspect of the mission.
"How to get in," Falcon supplied.
They were in charge of finding the way in without getting attention, the remaining member of M-Unit were trying to get their hand on some sort of blueprint on the compound or basic information about it and Ben's group was in charge of finding a fast way out when they get the remaining members of J-Unit and the agents out. As soon as they gathered their information, they would return to the hotel and strategize a plan. The sooner they get the people they need, the better.
They had been walking on foot around the gate surrounding the cathedral for a while. It was large in size and they had barely finished a perimeter check around the cathedral in time. The sun had not yet descended, but it was on its way down, casting bright golden rays down on the streets of Liverpool. They had gotten their hands a map, given out for free in the hotel, on the surrounding area and Wolf pulled it out, tracing a finger around the cathedral.
"The fastest way to get in without attention is to go through the front door, or one of those gates near the parking lot," Falcon spoke up, glancing at the gate that they had just passed by during their walk, "Then we will go into the forests."
"Damn 6," Wolf muttered, "We're not bloody spies, we are soldiers."
"It wasn't entirely 6's fault that Pirmors planned the compound right next to a large tourist attraction."
"We should just clear the civilians and bomb the compound," Wolf objected, "It'll take less time."
"Agent Daniels told us to surprise them instead of heading straight in, didn't he?" Falcon shook his head, "We don't know if they will kill them or not."
"It's not like they are hostages," Wolf said, "They aren't even ransoming for anything."
"They're trying to get information out of them," Falcon said, glancing at him, "Something about a disk."
"So we're still going for the inconspicuous path?" Wolf grunted.
"Yes."
"Look," Eagle said suddenly, pointing at the map, "There."
They leaned closer, "What?"
"That gate," Eagle pointed at the map, "There is a path that goes through the trees."
They leaned in closer and Eagle tapped the road, "Right outside this…St. James Road. There's a path leading through the trees." He trailed his finger across the small path, "It's a side entrance."
"Anyone have a pen?" Wolf asked.
They shook their head and Wolf grunted as he grabbed his binocular purchased from the tourist store and ripped the price tag off. He taped it onto the location of the compound on the map, "The trail that you mentioned, it should cut straight through the forest," Wolf followed the trail with his finger, narrowing missing the sticker that was the compound, "and if we head this way, we should be near the compound faster."
"My point exactly," Eagle nodded.
Wolf, Falcon and Eagle shared a glance, "Should we take a look?"
"Why not?" Wolf said as he put his binocular away, letting it hung on his neck and shouldered the small fake tourist pack he carried, "We still have time."
Following the road, they headed around the cathedral. From the front gate to the gate Eagle mentioned was about one fourth of the whole perimeter of the cathedral. There were short black poles outside a rock-paved ground to keep the cars out but not tourists. There was a gate near the stone archway but it was closed, a sign hung by the bars. They walked closer to read the sign.
"A musical performance at night," Wolf summarized, "They are making all visitors go through the front door to avoid traffic." The gate was shut with a lock and the stairs next to it had been sealed off as well. Wolf peered at the forests beyond the gate. He couldn't see the compound just yet, but he knew that it was nearby.
"I guess we have to go through the front door after all," Falcon sighed as they retreated.
"Do you think we can have a closer look at the compound if we head into the cathedral?" Wolf suggested, "It's high enough and if we can find a window of some sort, we can take a closer look."
"You got money for admission fee?" Eagle asked a little unhelpfully.
Wolf stared, "Well…"
Falcon pulled out a flyer from his pocket, tapping his finger on it, "It's free. It's one of those free tourists sites."
"Thank god," Wolf muttered.
"Are you really that poor, Wolf?" Eagle asked slyly.
Wolf just glared but it wasn't enough to shut Eagle up. They had all gotten used to Wolf's glare, it happened common enough that they knew when he meant it, and when he did not.
There were no one guarding the gate to the cathedral, which wasn't unusual. There were probably cameras around. Acting as casually as possible, they headed toward the front gate. No one gave them a second glance as they headed toward the front door of the cathedral. Falcon was right, there were no admittance fee. The large door that led to the inside was open. The cathedral looked ancient on the exterior, with a dark red and beige color that was worn down over the years. The interior nearly took their breath away.
It wasn't every day that they had time to tour the streets and enjoy the view. The cathedral was humongous, lights shone from all direction, illuminating the ground with the colorful mosaic windows high above. There was a second floor with large wooden stairs connecting them to the first floor on the side. The railings looked polished, shining brightly as the lights flickered across it. The whole cathedral was literally shining under the gradually descending light of the sun. The lights were on even before the sun completely descended. There were rows and rows of seat before the front where a cross stood upon. People dressed in long white robes were walking around, greeting the tourists with smiles and engaging in conversations with them. Wolf wasn't educated well enough in such studies to know what exactly their titles were, but he was sure that it was something that was extremely cathedral-like. Priests? Bishops? Wolf shook his head. None of his business.
"Anything I can help you with today?" One of them greeted them.
"Eh, is there a window?" Wolf said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Window?" The man looked mildly amused by their question, "There are a lot windows aligning the second floor, if you wish to look outside."
"Thank you," Wolf said, trying to act as holy as possible to avoid doing anything wrong, "Are we allowed on the second floor?"
"There is no restriction," The man replied.
"I see. We'll be going then," Wolf said, nodding his head slightly.
"May God be with you," The man smiled.
"You too," Wolf quickly said. The man departed after a moment, gliding to another group of tourists. He was definitely not good at dealing with civilians like those white robe priest people. Asking the priest that question was literally like trying to demand an answer while being polite.
They headed toward the wooden stairs and climbed upstairs. There were few people on the second floor corridor and most tourists were on the first floor, admiring the grand interior. Eagle leaned against the railing and glanced down, "We're so high up."
"It's so fucking large," Wolf grumbled as he glanced down as well.
"Mind your language," Falcon suggested, "We're inside a cathedral. Unless you want a bar of soap..."
"Right." Wolf glared at the man who was completely unfazed. Damn, when did they get so immune to his glares?
They headed toward a window and pushed it open. What hit him immediately was how high up they really were, once looking outside. The trees were directly beneath them. They glanced out, peering for the location of the compound. The gray compound didn't stand much of a chance of staying hidden when they had a height advantage and knew what they were looking for.
Wolf glanced down and squinted, "There are paths inside the trees. If we follow them, we can double around over there and reach the compound. The trees will give us the perfect cover."
Falcon nodded and Eagle joined them at the window, "Do you see any cameras?"
"No, if there are any, they are too small for us to see at this height," Wolf shook his head, "Panther's group will probably get that information when they get their hands on a blueprint of some sort."
"What do we do now?" Falcon asked after a moment of silently glancing at the compound.
"We should head back and wait for them," Wolf suggested.
"Can I help you with anything?" They nearly jumped as one of those cathedral personnel walked up to them, "You seem to be lost."
"No, it's-"
"May I ask you a question?" Falcon interrupted Wolf before he finished.
"You may," The man smiled at them kindly. He was in his late fifties, judging by his look. The white robe that he wore stopped just barely above his ankles.
"If someone you know is in danger," Falcon said, ignoring the glare Wolf shot him, "Will you put preserving the cathedral's structure before them?"
"'Preserving the cathedral's structure'?" The man seemed genuinely confused at his words then he blinked, "The opposite of destruction?"
"Yes."
"You mean choosing between saving the cathedral or someone I know."
"Yes."
"Why, of course I will put the life of someone I know before this building."
"But it's ancient," Falcon pointed out, "It's a historical place."
"A building can be rebuilt, but a life passed away cannot be retrieved." The man shook his head, "May I ask as to why you asked such question?"
"Someone I know is in danger," Falcon said, purposely ignoring Wolf who started forward, "The fastest way to get to him might cause damage to the building."
The man met his gaze, "May I ask what it is that you are planning to do?"
Falcon shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I cannot answer that."
"I see," The man's tone was calm and neutral, "If you close your eyes and listen to your hearts, the answer will come to you."
"Pardon?"
The man just shook his head with a small smile, "Say, are you planning to come to tonight's performance?"
"I'm afraid that we will be missing that tonight."
"There will be a second one tomorrow night," The man informed him as he handed them a small flyer, "You should consider paying us a visit tomorrow night instead if you cannot come tonight."
Falcon blinked, then he smiled, "We should."
The man bid them farewell and left, walking away slowly as if nothing happened.
"What the f-," Wolf grunted, swallowing back his words as the man was still in hearing range, "What was that?"
Falcon waved the flyer before Wolf and Eagle's eyes, "We got a reason to enter the cathedral. We'll strike tomorrow evening."
It hurt. That was all Alex know. There were pain, more pain, and even more pain. There was no end to it. He gritted his teeth as Pine lashed out against, his foot catching him on the jaw and he jerked back, feeling stars exploding before him.
"Where's the disk?" Pine said as he stood and towered over him.
Alex laid on the ground, curled up slightly but not the whole way because of the bruise across his mid-section. He had no doubt that his face was bruised up and he was probably looking like a distorted ugly blue and purple squash.
"Go to hell," Alex spat.
His vision was dim and blurry and he couldn't see a thing except the blurred up image of Pine and the gray metal room he was held in. This was the fourth time they had dragged him out within the past twenty-four hours. He could barely make out Pine's face as the man kicked him on the stomach. He hissed.
Alex heard the safety of a gun being unlocked. Wearily, he glanced at the blurry black hole staring down at him and smiled, "I won't tell you even if you kill me."
The man seemed to consider it for a moment before he raised his hand, calling in the two guards, "Get the other two here."
Alex's eyes widened by a fraction as he heard it. The other two…Bear and Agent Belworth, "Don't! Don't harm them!"
Too late, he realized his mistake. Pine laughed, "That's the problem, isn't it? You don't want them to die for you."
"You bastard," Alex hissed.
Pine caught him by his arm, twisting it painfully back. Alex couldn't help but howled in pain, gasping for air as the man finally released it, "It's the only way to get you to speak."
A moment later, the door opened and he saw two bodies being thrown inside the room. Squinting slightly, he recognized Bear and the agent.
Pine cocked the gun at Bear though Alex knew that the man's gaze never left him, "Now, tell me the location, or I will shoot him."
"You wouldn't dare," Alex said, glaring at the man with hatred.
The man fired once. Bear choked back a gasp of pain as the bullet embedded itself in his right arm.
"Stop!" Alex cried as he saw red flowing out from the wound.
"Will you tell me, or should I just kill him?" Pine asked sweetly.
"I'll tell you!" Alex nearly yelled as Pine leveled the gun at Bear's chest. The soldier stared back at the man.
Agent Belworth and Bear both stared at him as if he was crazy, "Coyote, don't!" Agent Belworth said softly, "Our lives are not worth it."
Our lives are not worth it. Alex shook his head, "Stop…"
"You're going to betray 6 as well?" Bear roared at him and Alex flinched, "You traitor!"
"I…" Alex was at a loss for words as he looked away.
"Now, tell me," Pine said in his sickly sweet tone.
"It's under the bed in the cell," Alex muttered, looking anywhere but at Pine. He desperately hope that his plan would work, even if it was only temporarily.
Pine lowered his gun and crouched down next to him, tipping his chin upward so that their eyes met. Alex let a small flicker of anxiety and uncertainty enter his eyes. Come on, he thought, get the hint.
"You're lying," Pine stated.
Alex would have smiled a little if he weren't in the situation, "I'm not."
Pine fired once, the bullet grazing Agent Belworth's neck, leaving a trail of blood. The agent hissed, biting his lips to keep the pain at bay.
"Tell me the truth," Pine demanded, "Now."
"Go to fucking hell," Alex spat.
Just one more, one more, and then he will buy the lie. Alex thought anxiously. Just as Pine raised his gun at Bear, Alex, using his remaining strength, threw himself at the soldier. He cried out as the bullet slammed into his side, overlapping the barely-healed wound he received.
"Coyote!" Agent Belworth exclaimed.
"You think dying before them will help," Pine said, dragging him upright by his neck. He was choking him. Alex squirmed in his grip, gasping loudly for air. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't fucking breathe.
"You're killing him!" He heard the agent shouted.
"Where's the disk?" Pine's voice was low and venomous.
"Kill me, I don't care," Alex gasped out loud.
"Them, or the disk," Without looking, he knew that Pine had leveled the gun at Bear.
Dimly, he heard the door being flung open behind him. Someone walked in and he was dropped onto the ground unceremoniously.
"Pine, don't kill him just yet," He heard the newcomer said. He had a low and raspy voice as if he hadn't spoken for years, "They will not be pleased."
"Alright," He heard Pine grumbled.
Alex massaged his throat gently as he regained his breath. Pine jerked him upward by the tattered remaining of his shirt, "Next time, I will make you spill, presuming that you don't die before then," The man hissed before throwing him back onto the ground, "Guards, take them back to their cells."
He felt himself being hauled up, his wound screaming at him. They carried them out the door, throwing them back inside their cell. It took all he could to stay awake through the haze of pain. It fucking hurt so much. He felt a pair of hands dragging him upright against the wall. There was a soft curse.
"You shouldn't have taken that bullet, "Agent Belworth told him.
Alex shook his head, "Don't have much of a choice."
"The disk, is it really…?" Agent Belworth hesitated.
"No," Alex replied with a small smile that he barely managed.
"Lie still, I'm going to bandage the wound," Agent Belworth ordered and Alex nodded, easing himself onto the ground as softly as possible with a grunt. It didn't exactly work and he let himself drop onto the hard ground with a wince.
"Agent Belworth?"
"Belworth is fine," The agent said immediately, "I'm getting tired of hearing 'agent belworth' constantly from you." His tone was laced with amusement and Alex knew that he wasn't as annoyed as he put it.
"Belworth?"
"What?"
"It's dark," Alex said, careful to not let the nervousness or the anxiety crept up to his voice.
"I know. We're probably underground," Agent Belworth informed him, "But you can still see something from that small light by the door."
"No," Alex shook his head, a little desperate, "It's dark."
The agent paused, "Dark?"
Alex nodded, swallowing slightly.
He felt the agent shifted then the man spoke again. From the sound, the man was right next to him, "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"I can't see," Alex shook his head, "It's too dark."
There was a long moment of silence before the agent spoke again, "Coyote, I think...you are blind."
I was on a writing rampage, but not anymore. The next update for this story will probably be...a week later, XD.
Thanks for your speedy and immediate reviews, and don't forget the follows and fav.s!
(I want cookies...)