Date: October 21st 2012

Location: CHROME Medical Bay

A quiet atmosphere had settled in the CHROME lobby, rumours having spread of Shadow's failure already, judging by the distress call Angry had received only hours ago. There was usually at least a quiet chatter from cars that were dotted around in small groups, though silence was the only thing that ensued now, as several pairs of eyes were watching the sliver-blue Faultless drive back and forth, a fixed frown upon his face. Wren watched from her balcony, noting the stern aura that Finn carried about him now, knowing he was worried quite severely about the events that had taken place. It wasn't clear what had gone wrong… Nor what had caused the mission to go wrong, only that the distress call had ended rather abruptly, and no further contact had come from her directly. Luckily, Angry was always prepared, having commissioned Siddley to be on stand by and track her position, he had managed to fire into the warehouse and retrieve her, beaten and bruised as she was. Shadow had been out cold to start with, though had regained consciousness once more on the journey back, secretly dreading her arrival back to CHROME.

The double doors to the lobby swung open, the light piercing the building as all eyes swept to see the Celica limping through, her hood lowered as she was being gently supported by a medical pittie. Finn stopped his pacing, looking to the Toyota with a mixture of emotions. Fear and worry could be seen plastered across his face as he moved toward Shadow now, his entire body language tense. She moved her hood away from his approach, her eyes diverted away from him as she tried to think of the best explanation she could to reason why things had gone so badly.

"Carlisle, What…. What happened?" He asked gently, looking her up and down as if to assess her injuries for himself. Her body was buckled, clear dents where she had been hit, as well as nasty scrapes and cuts. Who knew what other kind of damage she possessed, but he was relieved to at least see her alive.

"We were all worried.. That distress call-"

"Was my fault" Shadow started now, looking away still.

"I screwed up… It was my fault. I made a stupid mistake" She continued, though Finn now frowned once more, not sure if he fully believed her.

"What happened? You're always so careful-"

"I said it was a mistake, okay? There's nothing more to it. I let my location be known, they found me. I'll take the consequences" She snapped quickly, causing Finn to widen his eyes in surprise. She had never spoken to him in such a way and it was very alarming to hear such a viscous tone from her.

"Carlisle-"

"Leave it, please. I don't want to talk about it"

"I don't-" He started again, going to move in front of her, before Wren appeared, silent as ever.

"Finn, I'm going to need to take Shadow to the Medical bay for tests and repairs… I'm afraid you will have to work this out later" She spoke with a no-nonsense tone, deterring the older agent from pushing things any further. Shadow still wouldn't meet his gaze, and he knew something wasn't right, but he could do nothing now but wait until Shadow was discharged. He felt the sting of worry still settle into the pit of his tank, watching as Shadow was taken away to have her wounds seen to. For now, he would wait until she was ready to talk and try to assure her that it wasn't her fault.. He couldn't truly believe that she was at fault here… something really wasn't right, and he could feel it. He knew he would find out the truth, one way or another.

Date: October 24th 2012

Location: Wren's Hangar, London

Despite having been in medical for not that long at all, it hadn't taken Shadow long to annoy Wren to the point of an early discharge, though much to Wren's dismay, Shadow had turned up at her house later that evening, her mind set on the burning problem that Wren had talked about a few days previous. With Skipper still present, the initial break in wasn't received well by the male, though he was more accustomed perhaps to the Celica's antics, even if she always managed to beat his wife home. Without fail.

"Clearly…. We need to compromise" The male Corsair snorted, glancing from Shadow to Wren, unsure about how he felt upon the Celica's interference in the matter, though Shadow had approached the subject with caution…. Sort of.

"There is no compromise Riley!" Wren immediately retaliated, and Shadow could already see the tension thicken in the air once more. Skipper opened his mouth to snap back, though the SuperCorsair was quick to cut him off.

"No! Don't you dare! Don't. You. Dare" She seethed for a moment, props spinning a little.

"Ever since I met you, It's always been the same! I have to be the soft spoken one, whilst you flare your cowling and sling your bad mood around. Well now it's MY turn. It's MY turn to be angry! I've been so patient with you! You wanted long distance? You got it! You didn't want me in the navy anymore? I left! Mood swings, temper tantrums, using this hangar like a hotel… Spending time in America and…. Not here… I've been through it ALL with you!" Wren finally seemed to break a little, tears once more stinging her eyes as she let spill all the cooped up emotion that she had been hanging on to for some time now. Skipper watched her carefully, for once keeping a hold of his lip and not snapping in response. Shadow was watching intently from the side, ready to step in if it was needed… Shadow hadn't let slip to anyone where she was going or what she was attempting to do, but she would have been naive to think that Finn wasn't onto what she was up to. He still wanted the truth about her mission, and it was evident she was avoiding him a little, knowing his routine rather well. He had kept quiet about his own plans, vanishing early on in the day in a bid to fool everyone into thinking he'd either gone home or to do something boring and mundane, like shopping. In actual fact, he had followed Shadow after she departed CHROME, tracking her all the way to her favoured window in Wren's house, sneaking and sitting below it to listen in to the conversation, ready to take Shadow away in case things between the Corsairs turned sour again.

The car watched as Skipper's expression slowly turn softer as Wren's words sunk into him, elevators twitching a little as he tried to think of what to say to make it better. He seemed to begin to see in this moment, that she was always waiting for him, but he was always too concerned with getting back home to really consider what it was putting her through.

"Wren… Sweetheart…" He began, though words once more failed him. There was a moment of still that settled on the three, Finn still listening with bated breath as he thought of what could still go wrong. The Corsair moved now, using his wing to tuck her in gently and pulling her in toward him in a hug gesture, though being planes, it was a little more tricky. Thankfully, years of practice meant they had perfected this move.

"I miss you…. You star spangled prat…." Came a gentle insult from Wren, to which Skipper gave a slight smile to her, a more settled atmosphere surrounding them now. Little to their knowledge though, Shadow was far from done. She had let Wren and Skipper come to a peaceful end, and having seen what Wren was constantly put through, it was not something that Shadow took lightly.

"That's all very cute and wonderful, and you may be able to win her over with a smile and a few nice words, but it doesn't cut it this time" Came Shadow's voice, causing Skipper to shoot a gaze at her.

"Excuse me?"

The tone of the Corsair made Finn tense a little, backing up as he judged the window and how quickly he could get through, ready to intervene should Skipper launch for the Celica again.

"Pfft, seriously, you have no idea what you put her through" Shadow retaliated, causing Skipper to move away from Wren for the moment and stare at the Celica. Natural instinct told her to back away, with him towering above her, though she fought this feeling. If push came to shove, she'd be better prepared this time. Though she hoped it wouldn't come to that, Skipper needed to know the truth with what she saw so regularly.

"Shadow it's fine, we can-" Wren began, but the Toyota was quick to cut her off.

"Bu-Bu-Bu! No, Wren, he needs to listen for once" Shadow stated, returning her own harsh gaze to Skipper, something she only really did when she really believed in something.

"Skipper you literally have no… clue, as to what Wren really goes through when you vanish off to your comfy little life in the states… you really have it good, I hope you realise. You get to come here whenever you wish, lounge about and have Wren run round after you, then return home whenever you wish and do whatever the hell you want whilst Wren is never right for days after you leave. It upsets her to come back here to an empty hangar each night whilst you do whatever makes you happy. As long as you're enjoying yourself, I suppose that's all that matters eh? As long as YOU are happy, screw everyone else right? Including your damn wife!" Shadow seemed to drive toward him a little, though the way she was looking caused Skipper to glance to Wren in an unsure fashion, though the SuperCorsair was busy watching her friend in slight shock. She hadn't realised that Shadow really paid attention, though again, Shadow had a clever way of covering up the fact that she was rather intelligent, by acting like an idiot, so it shouldn't have surprised her.

"You seem to pay no attention to the fact that every second Wren gets with you is precious to her. She rushes home every day after work to spend as much time as she can with you when you're over here, cause she misses you so damn much. She watches you leave on the airstrip every time you go home and she stands there long after your silhouette has gone, like she's waiting for you to change your mind about taking off without her and come back. But you never do. And you have no idea how heartbroken she looks when she realises that you aren't in fact going to turn around and reappear." She continued, still staring hard at the male. Finn was still by the window, listening closely and using his mirror to watch above the windowsill and judge by Skippers body language how he was going to react.

"I would give anything to have someone look at me the way she does with you, to have someone that is truly that upset when I leave, countdown the days the way Wren does until your next meeting and is that excited when I come back. If I was ever lucky enough to find that, I would never, ever take that for granted… Wren loves you to death, why can't you see that what you're doing…. She would do anything for you and she's stuck by you through all this time… it seems to me you're only thinking about what pleases you most. Chrysler, I mean, why not have kids? You are both happily married and have been for years… this is meant to be insanely happy for the two of you! You'd both make great parents… I mean she's a doctor and you're a teacher… you should stop the 1st world problems here…. Enjoy it" Shadow seemed to finish, causing Skipper's expression to soften once more. It was finally hitting home in the Corsair just how much he put his wife through, the comments that Shadow made still ringing in his ears.

"She…. she has a point" Skipper seemed to half grumble, though he was looking to Wren as he spoke. Wren smiled gently in return, moving forward and brushing her nose against his in a soothing motion, the two becoming distracted in comforting one another. It was here that Shadow decided her work was done, slipping away slowly and back to her 'escape route'. Little did she know that Finn was still there, having heard everything she had said, it had rendered him a little speechless, his mind cranking rather quickly as he soaked in what she spoke of. She had no idea….

He heard her approach, and bolted to the side of the building as silently as possible, peering round the side to see Shadow making her way rather smoothly out of the window, her break ins now rather flawless. Once she landed safely on the grass, she seemed to stop, staying still as she stared at her hood a little as her own problems seemed to come back to her. Sure, she could try to help others… but not herself. Her failed mission still hung above her, a dark cloud blocking any happy thoughts she could have had. That, and the growing feelings she had stirring within her for the one car that couldn't know… She sighed out, as she thought of how easy Wren and Skipper made it seem… And then there was her, who couldn't seem to even get any kind of romance going, let alone a stable relationship. Finn watched her have some kind of inner struggle for a moment, before a loud sigh escaped the Toyota, her engine revving gently as she pushed herself forward, her mind whirring. Her thoughts drifted back to failed mission with Jace, realizing that she hadn't seen the Suzuki since. She frowned a little, remembering her finished paperwork about the mission was still on her desk, ready to hand in, though hesitation and anxiety had prevented her from doing so.

She thought about returning back to the office for a moment, before deciding against it… she couldn't face CHROME at the moment, and was fairly sure at this point Finn would still be in the office, and she couldn't face him right now. He wasn't stupid… she knew that. He could see that something hadn't sat right on this mission and she was perhaps being foolish to hide it from him. Finn watched her leave quietly, knowing that he would have to arrive back home later on to avoid any suspicion, though by the time he would eventually return, he was a little hurt to see she had already locked herself in her room, avoiding any and all contact with him.

Date: October 24th 2012

Location: CHROME Headquarters

She began the slow journey back to her office, her mind elsewhere and thinking deeply, practically merging with traffic and traveling on autopilot, until she saw the towering building of CHROME before her. She hadn't noticed it had in fact actually taken her a couple hours to get here, though upon entering the lobby doors, something felt off. Glancing to the top offices, she could see that both Finn and Angry were not at their desks, and that her own door light was green…. Great. Someone was in her office.

She slowed down upon approach, the exterior of her office being glass so she could peer in easy enough. Immediately she recognised both her superiors sat there, leafing through the document she left on the desk, which made her cringe just a little, remembering how exactly she had described the mission. She was sure at this point that Finn had deliberately dragged Angry in to make her confess what had happened... A couple of other agents were in the room also, ones she didn't recognise, though one she noted was actually Jace's mentor and partner…. Someone knew something. Angry lifted his gaze as her door slid open, the Celica laying her eyes on each presence before her, lingering just a little longer on Finn as he regarded her with a serious expression. She stopped before her desk, the silence making her uncomfortable and shift a little as she waited for someone to speak.

"Carlisle, I cannot accept these forms" Angry started, glancing to her mission papers, flicking the paper up a little with his tire.

"I wasn't finished with those-"

"You know it's a crime to lie on your mission details, don't you?"

"..Yes.. I… I do-"

"And are you positive this is what happened?"

"Why do none of you believe me?! This is what happened on the mission-"

"Shadow…" Finns calmer tone washed over her now, her gaze moving from the BMW to the Faultless as he cut in.

"It's not in your character to make such a… novice mistake. You excelled with top scores in all your stealth classes, and exceeded all my expectations… you were caught rather easily in this, and beaten up. You're hiding something, a good agent needs to be honest, how can you expect me to teach you if you're not honest?"

"I…"

"How can we be mission partners if there is no trust between us?"

Shadow backed away a little as Finn approached and despite his gentle tone, she felt cornered and flustered. If she let them know that Jace intervened, it would only make things worse for her. She had no idea Jace was there… perhaps the mark of a bad agent, not knowing her surroundings. Her gaze dropped to the floor, feeling stupid and childish as she could feel the slight prickles of tears sting her eyes, avoiding Finn's eyes as best she could. She backed up a little more, hood lowered as she tried to think of the best way out of it, her tank churning and making her feel sick. She gagged for a small moment as the rising feeling tensed her entire body, the automatic door sliding open once more as she backed up further.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to go" She mumbled, reversing out the office and bolting through the corridor, hearing Finn's calls as she left. She burst into the Medical bay frantically, startling the SuperCorsair from her work, as she towered above a busted Chevrolet agent. Wren noted immediately that Shadow was paler than usual, and seemed to be hyperventilating with no ability to control herself, and moved her immediately to a small bay, pushing Shadow in place with concern.

"What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Finn….Angry…. Mission…" She panted, her panic mode from the sickness still high.

"...Ok, so is Finn angry? Or is it Finn and Angry…. Spit it out and stop dying for a moment" Wren replied, watching as Shadow closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. Wren was aware that Shadow couldn't deal with sickness well, after her family busted her up and ripped parts out, it always made her feel ill and weak, so therefore she associated the feelings now, whipping herself into a greater panic.

"Finn…. And Angry… cornered me about the mission…" She finally breathed, exhaling slowly as she did so.

"So why did you run away?"

"Cause I can't tell them what happened"

"What did happen?"

"Wren, I can't say anything. I won't be able to live it down and it'll damage my already crumbling reputation"

"Hey, what's said in this room, stays in this room. Unless you're talking to Phil. In which case you kill him first"

"Wren…"

"I'm being serious! I wouldn't pass on your business, perhaps it might help to get it off your hood. You… certainly helped me and Skipper out when you intervened. Why didn't you say anything the other day? Being friends is a two way street Shadow… you should have let me know you were struggling"

"I know Wren but-" The Toyota began, though the low rumblings of engines cut her off as Finn and Angry slipped into the medical room, looking about for a moment in curiosity and finally spotting Shadow with Wren. The SuperCorsair snorted as they made their way over, moving toward them with a scowl.

"No more than one at a time here please, you're going to have to leave" She said sternly, though Angry only scowled back.

"Goodyear, stand down, this is important"

"What? Excuse me, but this is my area. This is a place for agents to get healed and recover… it's in Carlisles best interests that you wait outside. I'm doing what's right by my patient"

"Very nice, I'm doing what's in the agency's best interest, stand aside Wren" Angry warned the SuperCorsair, causing the two to glare at one another. A thick tension seemed to grip them all quite suddenly, Finn at this point moving to slip by and up to Shadow's side, giving her a somewhat worried glance. He said nothing to begin with, his gaze drifting to her wheel arch as he slowly moved his wheel to brush at yet another scuff that Shadow had obtained. Her gaze lowered once more, though she felt him nudge her a little as Angry seemed to drive around a very irritated Wren. All eyes fixed in the Celica for a moment as Shadow raised her gaze to Finn finally, who seemed more troubled with her silence.

"Shadow we know what happened…" Finn sighed, glancing to Angry, whom only nodded. Shadow felt her heart nearly stop, her breath leaving and eyes widening in panic as Finn watched her reaction. How did they know? She racked her brain quickly for answers, though when none came, she seemed to clear her throat a little. They were most likely calling her bluff… They didn't know. Surely?

"Please. Tell me what Jace did" Finn urged gently, causing Shadow to rip her gaze from the floor and back to her mission partner.

"W-what?" The Celica could only stammer, her heart rate increasing at this point. How? How did they know?

"I should perhaps make you aware, Carlisle, that agents deployed on their first solo mission… have their headlight cameras activated. A live feed is then produced and sent directly to me. There is no use lying." Angry finally spoke, and Shadow stared in disbelief. She had no idea of this protocol...

Another silence passed, and the car could now feel Wren's eyes upon her in addition, sinking further into her spot. Finn still hovered closely, apparently not intending to speak until Shadow answered his request. She averted her gaze once more before feeling herself relent… there was no use trying to deny it now.

"Ok, well… I suppose things weren't… exactly as I told them…" She began, glancing up to see Finn's expression still rather calm. He nodded his hood to encourage her, to which she looked away again, exhaling deeply.

"I… I still blame myself, I should have seen he was there but I-"

"Shadow"

"Ok, alright. It was after I had obtained the info, I was making toward my escape route and remained undetected until they started shutting everything down… Like they knew I was there. It was then that I heard Jace calling and… he claimed he needed help. I attempted to help him and once I freed him, he…. Pushed me over the side. My mission was compromised by another agent" She finally admitted, looking away. If she were to be honest… it felt like a large weight had been lifted off of her roof…. Though she still felt terrible for making another agent look bad in this way… even if it was Jace. There was a moment that passed after, to which Shadow wasn't sure what else to say, looking once more to Finn, who was smiling gently. He rubbed her side in praise, before Angry spoke.

"Thank you for your admission Carlisle… It must be duly noted that the agent responsible for this shall be suspended until further notice"

"..Me or Jace?"

"Do you see me handing you a notice right now with your suspension?"

"...No?"

"Well then."

Shadow shifted again, looking to the floor as she played with her tire a little in distraction, feeling rather sheepish by it, though once more feeling Finn touch her side in reassurance.

"Despite what happened at the end… You were doing an excellent job Carlisle. We were impressed how you handled yourself. Though, I also have to firmly remind you that a major part of your job is to report back to McMissile or myself, you are not to keep information to yourself. That is not the mark of a good agent."

"Yes sir, Roger that"

"Very good"

It was with that, the BMW turned and drove slowly away, his engine rippling at the silence that once again hung over seemed to sigh, slouching a little more in her spot, before glancing to Wren wearily. The SuperCorsair seemed to raise an eyebrow, though moved on quickly, allowing Shadow to stay in her small reflective moment. Maybe she wasn't such a bad agent after all.

Date: November 15th 2012

Location: CHROME Headquarters - Medical Bay

" 6 Letters Across, another word for 'Stupid'...

"Hm… How about 'Shadow'?"

"Ha. HaHa. Funny. How about 'Corsair'?"

"Shadow that's 7 letters"

"Yeah well… I had no comeback"

"...This isn't what I called you in here for"

"Yeah but you leave the crosswords when you read the paper and I like doing them"

"... Shadow"

"Hm?"

"I've found that I'm…. a little bit pregnant"

"...What? Wait… really?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh my Chrysler! Wren! That's fantastic!" The Celica abandoned the paper she had been holding to drive up the plane now, a permanent smiled fixed on her face.

"And… Perhaps a good thing too"

"Why's that?"

"Well I noticed you were… getting a little… you know…." The Celica started, before puffing out her cheeks a little at the Corsair.

"I was gonna tell you to.. You know, lay off the biscuits a little"

"...How illegal is it to murder an Agent?"

"Very. But anyway that's… amazing! How far gone?"

"About 12 weeks… but it's too soon to tell anyone yet, keep it hush okay?"

"Ok sure sure, what does Skipper think?"

"He's over the moon… buuut there's a small issue"

"And that is?"

"We only really kinda planned for one"

"Oh… you having two!?"

"...Not quite. I'm having four"

"FOUR?!"

"...Yeah."

"Wow….. Ok well…. Congratulations on ruining your body!"

"Very funny"

"What? I'm right you know"

"Screw you. You're rude"

"You're face is pregnant rude"