JTF Base of Operations

Barracks

That evening

"Thank God this place has A/C." Kelly sighs as she flops down on her rack. I quietly nod in agreement, reflecting on the day's events.

Our first day in D.C. has been quite a bit to take in. We were nearly killed as we got here after a five hour drive. Then our first mission resulted in us saving the President. I absentmindedly shake my head at that. We met a friendly Agent, who lead us to a civilian settlement, who in turn sent us back to the White House after a full debrief on what's going on in the city. Every step of the way, we've been reminded of how far D.C. has fallen. How much is working against us. How much is at stake.

The sound of Jay and Kelly laughing off to the side pulls me back to reality for a moment. My partner appears to be telling a story from our Marine days, which Kelly is completely engrossed in. I can't help but smile at them as a feeling of nostalgia washes over. The few moments of downtime we had in Manhattan, even the maddening amounts of it in Afghanistan all suddenly come back to me. But for once we aren't busying ourselves with depressing, brain-meltingly repetitive activities like cleaning our weapons for the umpteenth time that day, wandering around the base, masturbating, or talking ourselves and each other out of killing ourselves...or each other. Despite the terrible things that stress, anxiety and war in general do to the mind, somehow I find comfort in comparing those days to the present.

The voices of my friends and the ambience of the mess hall a few doors down fade as I drift back into thought.

Faye told us just about everything about Thomas and Alani. They both seem like capable Agents. Especially Alani, one of the first women to complete Army Ranger school. I've met a few Rangers in my time, one of them being an instructor. He said that several women have tried Ranger school, as well as BUD/S for the SEALs, but none had ever completed it. SEALs training classes often start with around eighty trainees, but usually only ten or twelve make it.

Then there's Thomas. A native Bostonian. He sometimes comes off as more lackadaisical than me, and that's saying something. He can be commanding when he wants to though, being from a law enforcement background. According to Faye, he was a first responder to the Boston Marathon Bombing. Thinking of that reminds me of being in New York on September Eleventh, in high school, only fifteen years old, and at the moment I had no idea how much that one day would impact my life. The whole reason I joined the Marines was because of it, which is where I met Jay, and is why I am where I am today.

"...to Sarah! Come in Sarah!"

"Huh?" I'm snapped back by Kelly waving to me from her rack on the other side of Jay.

"Tired, eh?" My partner asks.

"No just, lost in thought." I reply, sitting up and stretching. "On another planet, I believe."

"That wouldn't surprise me." Jay replies, gesturing to me and Kelly to join her on her bed. "I asked the mess folks to hold onto these." She reaches into a black plastic bag and produces one of the bottles of wine Dr. Kandel gave us before we left. The bottle glistens with condensation, likely having been on ice since we arrived.

"That was kind of them." I say, reaching for the bottle opener on my keychain.

"A shame we don't have appropriate wine glasses." Kelly muses.

"We have coffee mugs." Jay offers after a moment.

Elsewhere on the Base…

"So what else brings you to our fine nation's capitol, Faye?" Thomas asks, finishing off a glass of water. "Other than our call for help." Around the mess hall, civilian volunteers help the JTF kitchen staff with serving what's left of evening chow, which mostly consisted of canned meat mixed with vegetables from the garden outside. Whatever it was, it was satisfyingly filling. One of the cooks learned of our arrival, and convinced enough of the rest of the staff to help him make a cake for us as a welcoming gift.

"Finding out where our medicine shipment went." I reply with a frown. "It seems too easy to say that the True Sons have it."

"They control nearly every road out of the city. The southeast part of town is thehs, which is where the shipment would've come from. Hyenas have the northeast and centeh, and Outcahsts have the west and the watah."

"I understand that, but… it seems a little too convenient, if you catch my drift."

"Well then who has it?" Alani questions. "Where could it be?"

I look around instinctively to make sure no one is listening.

"I think Ellis knows more than he's letting on."

The bomb drops. Alani, Thomas, even Dima look at me like I have three heads.

"Why would he hide anything?" My partner asks.

"I mean, sure Ellis was rather...vocal in opposing the Division's creation as well as our deployment, but surely now he sees that we're America's last hope?" Alani says, almost sounding as if she's trying to convince herself more than us.

"I think he knows where the shipment is." I press on. "Or at least what happened to it."

"Impossible." Thomas says with a shake of his head. "Waller had the most sound and bulletproof administration this country's had in a long time. Ellis never showed any hint of deviation from Waller's cause. Why would he change now?"

I look down at my empty plate. "I don't know yet. Just call it a gut feeling."

"Are you ever lucky with 'gut feelings'?" Dima asks.

"Well, I had a good one about you." I say with a small smile. "And one about Sarah and Jay. And look where we are now."

"Starting all over again?" The russian native quips, making me scowl at him.

"You sound like Sarah."

JTF Base of Operations

Roof

"So that makes four Hyena patrols in the last hour." Finnigan says as he scribbles on a clipboard. "You think something's going on, Ant?"

"Lazka said something about there being an all-out war between the Hyenas and True Sons." I reply, not taking my binos off of the small pack strolling down 15th Street. One, what Manny called a 'Rusher' towards the back, keeps looking around nervously. She keeps furiously scratching herself, likely wearing a hole in her shirt sleeve. One of her packmates takes her hand to get her to stop, but she whips out a pistol and points it at him angrily. They loudly argue back and forth, but we're too far away to make out any words.

"Drug addict lunatics." I mutter under my breath.

Suddenly, a True Sons squad appears further down the street. After assessing the situation, most of them hang back, letting their sniper easily wipe out the four distracted Hyenas.

"What idiots." I comment idly. "They're just as incompetent as the Rioters."

"Make that three Hyena patrols." Finnigan says with a chuckle.

I lower my binoculars and sit down next to him at the round patio table, looking up at the full moon lighting up the city.

Off in the distance, lights still shine in some building's windows. Street lamps glow dimly on most of the surrounding streets, reflecting off of puddles from the rainstorm earlier, but light pollution is so low that the night sky is covered a dizzying flurry of stars. The Milky Way itself has even made an appearance as a streak of red, blue and white stars dominates what looks like a painting that would make Van Gogh himself jealous. Off to the side, Shelby Lazka appears, six pack of Jonns in hand. The light from the moon shows that she's rested some, her thin and scarred face looking even more attractive than before.

"Sure is beautiful out here." She says, making Finnigan nearly fall out of his chair. The two of us can't help but chuckle at the poor kid.

"Jeez, Lazka!" He hisses. "You scared the shit outta me!"

"Sorry. Here." She tosses him a beer. "As an apology."

"That'll work." Finnigan replies with a nod.

Shelby looks up at the night sky along with me, taking the empty seat and taking in the stars and ambience of crickets in the grass down below. She takes two more bottles out of the pack, offering one to me and setting the rest on the table.

"You ever seen a sight like this?" She asks.

"No." I answer simply, popping the cap off. "Jersey isn't exactly known for it's stargazing."

"Missouri is." Shelby says. "Some parts, anyway."

"So that's where you're from." I say with realization, earning a nod and a small smile. "I had you pegged for Texas, or maybe Alabama."

"Nope." She shakes her head, ponytail flopping from side to side. "Ole' Miss is home for me." I can't help but be fascinated by how the stars dance in her pale blue eyes.

"How are things there?" I shake myself out of my trance.

"Better 'n here." She says with a snort. "But, shit anything's better than D.C."

"New York certainly is."

"Then why'd that Faye character drag your sorry asses all the way down here?"

"A few reasons. First, New York is faring far better than it once was. Second...well...a cure for Green Poison was developed in Manhattan by Jay and Sarah...sort of."

Lazka raises her eyebrows at me.

"Samples were sent to all the major cities and quarantine zones, including here. But this one never arrived. We're here to find it."

The guardsman at my side is silent for a moment, taking in the information.

"Where do you s'pose it is?" She asks, taking a swing from her bottle.

I shake my head. "I couldn't even begin to guess. Kelly said that Manny thinks the True Sons may have stolen it."

"It's possible" She shrugs. "A fair number of supply convoys got sacked by them...back when there were supply convoys. Now there's just the occasional Mercy Drop from CERA, but they're too busy restoring the rest of the country to be bothered with this sad backwater." She gestures to the city. "It's a good thing y'all are here. Maybe we can finally do somethin' about that."

A/N Time!

If Thomas' dialogue is hard to follow, try to read it in a Boston accent, like 'Bahstin', ya'know? It's all spelled how it sounds.

Everyone on the team is getting some well deserved R&R after a long drive and hectic first day.

I can already hear some of you typing this question, so Miller and Lazka ending up together will probably happen. (I like to think I know my audience)

Their first day back in business, and Faye of all people is the one to question Ellis' credibility. I wonder if she'll be right?

Things you like or don't like? Questions, complaints, concerns? Just along for the ride and not really sure what's going on? Leave a comment! All feedback is welcome.

Thanks for reading!