(A/N) Hey all, time for another update in Phase Two: Betrayal! Our last update, featuring Agent Wyoming, went up just over twelve hours ago, so if you haven't seen that one yet I'd recommend that you check it out before this one! A Minnesota chapter, I'm sure you're all glad to hear, as it's been too long – this time written by FlygonNick, who will be taking over the character from XxXshadowkitsuXxX. As I mentioned in the last update, Phase One: Genesis hit 100 favourites yesterday, so I'd just like to take the chance to thank all of you for reading our work, and inspiring us to create these fics.
As always, enjoy.
Chapter Sixty-Five – Stepping Out of the Shadows
Agent Minnesota
Written by FlygonNick
"The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind." – Marcel Proust.
"So…knock-knock?" Wyoming began. I heard Cal groan from across the room, a sentiment shared by myself and 'Rado, who was sitting next to me. Alaska simply sighed while Maine growled softly in warning to Wyoming, who ignored him.
"Who's there?" Nebraska asked. Why? Why did you have to do this to us, you son of a bitch? Why did you indulge him?
"Spell," Wyoming stated.
"Spell who?" Nebraska replied curiously.
Oh god…here it comes.
"Sure. W.H.O. Who," I heard Wyoming chuckle as Cal slammed his head repeatedly into the side of the pelican, no doubt attempting to merge his skull into the wall so he could tune Wyoming out. Maine simply shook his head while I decided, right then and there, that I would rather eat my rifle than hear another goddamn knock-knock joke. I guess Wyoming was trying to keep the mood somewhat light, despite the kind of mission we were on. Can't fault him for that, I guess.
Nebraska smiled thinly and said, "Nice one."
"Wyoming…?" 'Rado said in an offhand tone from within her harness, unable to throttle the Brit because 479er would begin chewing them out if they started a fight on her ship.
"Yes?"
"Please…for the love of God, stop! Stop with the fucking knock-knock jokes before I go up there and crash us into the closest object I can," 'Rado growled. I had to keep from remarking how 479er would probably kill her if she even thought about taking control of the ship, but refrained from doing so. She was a lot of talk sometimes, though I did have to admit, she could back it up when she wanted to…sometimes.
"'Rado, you really should just take a second and appreciate the intricacies of the lost art of knock-knock jokes," Alaska remarked in a casual way. He seemed to be in his own little world throughout the flight, not saying much of anything. In fairness, that really was just standard Alaska - the only people he had ever really bonded with had been Penn and Florida, and the former wasn't really applicable anymore.
Rado sighed, cooling down for a moment, and said, "Yeah, yeah."
"Hey, it's fine. We're all a bit anxious for a chance to kick some ass. No shame in that," Nebraska said offhandedly. Well, except when you got so hot-headed that you couldn't see straight. Nebraska and Rado were two total opposite ends of the temperament pool. 'Rado was more hot-headed than South, but Nebraska was as cool as Alaska…literally.
I really wasn't all that impressed with the rookies so far. Jersey and 'Rado had shown a bit of skill as of late, but in the end they didn't quite have the oomph that they needed.
While Nevada and Connie were more computer oriented then combat oriented, I thought that a bit of balance was key there, and the two of them had shown that that was not the case.
Kent was impressive when it came to explosives, displaying a sort of proficiency with them that I had only ever heard of. That said, the guy was kind of…well, silly is a word that you could use. Idiotic is another.
Nebraska was alright, though he lacked Jersey and 'Rado's skill and gave off a vibe that unsettled me. I wasn't sure what to make of him, though the less amount of time I spent in his company, the better.
West wasn't half bad, then again, with Virginia as a sister that was unsurprising. I actually liked her a bit more than her sister, but seeing as how I don't interact with Virginia that often, that wasn't saying much.
Utah, however, had impressed me. Not many can go toe to toe with Maine for more than thirty seconds, and even then Utah managed to give Maine a good fight in a straight up fight. Because of that, he had somehow gained the massive man's respect, and surprisingly, mine as well. Though I didn't show it. I didn't show a lot of things, but I did have respect for some of my teammates.
Of course, that didn't mean I trusted them. Trust led to attachment. Attachment creates bonds, and bonds can be broken. Broken bonds can be painful. Immensely painful. Cal was proof of what happened when precious bonds were severed by tragedy…
Hence my position, and why I was indifferent to them. No need for unnecessary suffering, not when there was a job to be done. Anything extra would just complicate things…and things had gotten painful and complicated enough…
"So, any idea why we're sticking our necks out for some scientist?" Nebraska asked the others in a curious tone, his distaste with the situation evident. I agreed with his irritation. I wasn't willing to die because some scientist pissed Ark off either, though the others figured the risk was worth it because they didn't seem too bothered by it.
Alaska sighed in response, a mock sigh, of course, and said, "Anyone that Arkansas is targeting is someone that we need to keep away from him."
"It would hardly do to let that bastard get his way. Besides, there's another reason why we're doing this," Wyoming said casually.
"Because these targets will be dealt with by Ark personally. He'll be here, and that's why we need to be here to stop him," I said, finally speaking up for the first time during the flight. Wyoming nodded in reply, and then started as Maine spoke up as well.
"And where Ark is…Penn is," Maine rumbled.
I smiled slightly, remembering that Maine had his own reasons to fight. He and Penn had shared an interesting relationship before Penn's betrayal, and between Alaska and Maine, it was hard to say which one I would bet on to be the one put that behemoth down. However, I'd say York had already calculated the odds, and probably had a pot somewhere, already collecting people's bets.
I recalled that Wyoming had a different sort of motivation to take down the behemoth who sided with Ark, rather than the mastermind himself. Wyoming, and Virginia as well, had been close to Massa before she was killed by Penn. Since the both of them were rather like me, not very good at the whole friendship thing, they had taken Massa's death very hard.
That was all fine with me. They deserved the chance to get their own vengeance, to take care of their own vendettas. Penn had betrayed them for his own reasons (ones that didn't involve being wronged by the UNSC), and for that I hoped that Maine ripped off Penn's arms while Alaska and Virginia took turns beating him to death with them. Then Wyoming could put a round in his forehead and they could go home with some sense of satisfaction.
"And where they are…Harper will be there too," Cal murmured, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes with a rather twisted smile on his face. That was right…How could I forget?
Harper and Cal has some sort of relationship in the past, and for that Cal wanted nothing more to feed the man his own heart and unload a clip into his throat. Hopefully circumstances would let me see Cal enact his revenge and put down the bastard who had put him through so much hell. He deserved that kill more than anyone else here.
I could only pray fortune would smile upon me and let me put a bullet into Ark's skull, though. I knew that others were vying for that honour like I was, such as Carolina, but I hadn't trained so hard to fail at this.
"I can't wait…I want to be the one to take down Harper," 'Rado said in a somewhat eager tone, as though ready to fight someone with such a history with the program and prove herself. Kind of naïve, really.
"Not a chance!" Cal growled venomously from his harness.
'Rado scoffed in reply and said, "What's with you?"
Not a smart question to ask him, kid.
"So basically, today we can all walk away today with our vengeance quenched and blood on our hands. How delightful," Alaska breathed softly, a familiar gleam in his eyes as he tried to derail that conversation before it started.
"Why do you have to make it sound so…weird?" I said with a small laugh, earning a shrug in return from Alaska, who replied by saying,
"What's weird to you is normal to me, Minnesota."
"I guess that makes sense," I replied evenly, and 'Rado said,
"Hey, doesn't matter if it's a bit weird. Whatever gets the job done."
"Fair enough," I replied. Whatever got the job done, eh? That'd work for me.
To be honest, it hadn't been an exactly interesting flight so far, but I welcomed it. I wasn't much of a talker anyway, and neither were my teammates really. The relative quiet was nice though, because it gave me a chance to mull things over…to plan…
After all, this was my chance.
The Director had finally seen fit to send me out on a mission where I could show them what I could do. I had to admit, I was nervous, but only because I had to make sure that I was the standout. I had to be the best here. No mistakes, no chance of failure.
This was a chance to prove that all my hard work was worth it. That I was worthy of the honour of putting those bastards out of their misery.
Massa and I hadn't really bonded all that much, since our interactions on the Mother of Invention were few and far between, but the times we did talk were nice enough to warrant me wanting to avenge her death. She had died trying to save Mich…she was a friend and a loyal teammate to the end.
And as for Mich…
Well, I would be lying if I didn't say that her death had hurt. She was the only person besides Cal I really felt close to in Project Freelancer, the only other person I could really trust. I just didn't trust people easily. It took a lot for me to consider someone my friend. Mich and Cal were two of them, two people who had earned my trust and two people I let get close to me…I guess you could say they were my best friends…
And then Mich died, and the pain I tried so hard to avoid hit me like a truck. I didn't know how to handle the anger and grief that I felt…So, I left the project, and that was that. Vengeance made me come back, nothing else. Not the Director, not my teammates, just revenge for the fallen, and the hate towards those who had betrayed them.
I was now down one person I could trust, and despite my friendship with Cal…
It's not what it was anymore, as much as I tried to tell myself that it was. After what he did to Georgia…What he had said and done…There was no denying it anymore.
Something in Cal had broken when Mich died. That part of him that was my best friend is now smothered beneath hate and anger and pain that her death created, and all I felt when I looked at him wass guilt…
I was weak…I had abandoned my best friend in his moment of need, because I was too weak to stay. I was too weak to protect her…protect him…I was a failure as a friend. I failed to keep Cal sane, and whatever dark voices whisper in his ears now have him under their complete control. What he did to Georgia wasn't the actions of the Cal I knew…
I felt alone now...There was no one I could talk to about this, because most of the other freelancers at this point considered Cal a lost cause…I know my friend is down there, somewhere…I just wish I knew what to do…And it's not like I can ask the others for advice…
I had considered it, once or twice. Perhaps reaching out to the others, joining in their fun and friendship and all that cheesy stuff. Maybe even try my hand at the whole romance thing, since everyone on the ship seems to have some sort of secret crush or something…
But then I look what Mich did to Cal…the way her death tortures him. What happened to her…it changed him. I couldn't let that happen to me. She was just a friend, and her death had made me leave the Project. What would the death of someone who was more than that do to me? I don't think I could bear that level of pain…I guess that's why I avoided people so much…because losing them was too painful for me to handle.
If they're not close, then they couldn't betray my trust, and they couldn't hurt me…
A quote came to mind then, a book I once read to my sister so many years ago when we were little. In the story, the main character had recalled a story about his abusive father who had killed his pet falcon, and the boy's father had told him, as he dropped the dead bird to the ground at the feet of the weeping child "to love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be the one destroyed."
Not a chance…I knew that I was overlooked by many in Freelancer, as a sort of a wallflower who never stuck out. It frustrated me to no end, but then again, I didn't make any efforts to bond with the others…But that didn't mean that I didn't want to get noticed.
"So, what's the plan for when we attack?" Nebraska asked Wyoming, breaking me out of my musing.
"Arrive. Raise hell. Leave." Maine growled, earning a laugh from 'Rado and an amused chuckle from Nebraska.
Wyoming then began to explain the exact plan of attack, and I listened in, drinking in every word. Normally I wouldn't be so attentive to the Biritsh sniper's words, but this was a direct attack on the Crimson Sun, and this would have to go perfectly for the other part of the plan to work so the others could extract Dr Grace.
As Wyoming finished the rundown, I heard 479er call back, "We're here! Get ready!"
The harnesses were released and I stood up and stretched my muscles, feeling the excitement come. Finally, something to take out all my pent up emotions on. Pain, anger, frustration…all of them could finally burst free…
All of it would be directed on the Crimson Sun who awaited us below. The others seemed to share my sentiments. Wyoming chuckled darkly under his breath as he grabbed his rifle, no doubt imagining putting a round through Penn's eye socket.
Nebraska and 'Rado seemed to exchange a glance at one another, probably eager about showing their stuff and taking on the Crimson Sun. I wondered if they really knew what they were in for.
Alaska simply shouldered his DMR, muttering under his breath. Al was a bit of a wild card, and always had been to me. I never knew what quite to expect. He was good though, I had to give him that. He seemed more than ready to spill some blood, especially if some of that blood was Penn's…
Maine rolled his neck and growled softly as he cracked his knuckles. I glanced over at the monster-sized man and said, "You ready?"
"Always…" Maine growled back, a hint of amusement in his tone. I found myself smirking at the giant's response, and then looked over at Cal, who stood at the back of the Pelican, flicking his knife in his hands with a sort of trancelike way…
Cal simply stood there, unmoving and unspeaking to the others as they discussed ideas and plans of action. What was on his mind?
On second thought…I didn't want to know.
"Get ready!" 479er yelled to us, and as she said those words my smirk turned into a wide grin.
This was my time. My time to show them. All of them. No more waiting in the shadows.
No more being ignored.
"Opening rear doors!" 479er called as the doors slowly opened, revealing the complex and swarms of the Crimson Sun crawling around the place, already engaging in a brutal firefight with the UNSC forces stationed there. Looks like we had arrived just in time, as the UNSC forces where clearly overwhelmed. I gripped my rifle tightly and as the smile grew on my face I stepped in front of the others.
Showtime.