by Chloe Gunter
I desperately wanted to comfort him, but his eyes met mine and determination showed in those emerald eyes.
Refocusing on the images in front of me, I started analyzing and cataloguing everything I could wrap my head around, from the direction the snow flurries drifted, to the way Benoit seemed to quickly whip his head off to the right.
What I saw next floored me.
As the men were approaching the warehouse where the sensor warnings indicated, a portal opened up directly in front of them and out stepped three men.
It was clear to see who was in charge, the inky haired man in the middle quickly tossing an illuminated object towards Benoit and Reed.
Benoit being slightly in the front took the brunt of the blast, and I watched as horror unfolded on the hologram. The pit in my stomach gnawed at my insides as the view suddenly staggered to the ground, Reed having fallen to his knees as the image swayed.
The man sauntered forward, arrogance and superiority bathing him even more completely than the tailored suit he was wearing, until he stood directly in front of Reed.
He tilted Reed's head up, his expression smug and righteous, but from the hitch in his upper lip and the tension in his brow, I could tell that he was vindictive. This was a man that was setting out to prove something.
One of the men in the background opened a gate as he and the other man carried a black footlocker through, disappearing from the shaky scene.
The next thing that filled the screen was the man raising his hand, electric blue pulsing clearly from his skin as he brought his hand quickly down against Reed's head effectively severing the feed and forcing us all back into the reality before us.
"That’s not possible. He died," a voice spoke up from across the circle, sounding haunted, and I realized it was Mark, Beth by his side and a look of disbelief on his face.
"What's more concerning is the fact that the two men he was with seemed to possess Sparks. Crash, can you run them through the system and see if they're registered?" Wellington asked.
Crash brought up the feed again, manipulating the hologram with his haptic gloves as he zeroed in on the faces of the two accomplices, pulling up a piece of glass that was stowed somewhere on him as he quickly ran the data.
The slow shake of his head at Wellington had a frown pulling at the stoic leader’s face.
"Can someone fill us in on exactly who it is we're dealing with, and why he was thought to be dead?" I asked, needing more to go off of.
I wanted to punch that inky-haired bastard in the face twice as hard as he hit Reed. Only cowards attacked men on the verge of death who were already on their knees, after they had thrown a freaking bomb at them.
"Alexander Shepard," Mark said, his tone brimming with emotion. "He was a novitiate six years ago, sponsored under Atlas, who was the only member of his cycle who accepted and successfully completed the Rites. He heeded the call under the handle Occam. Four years ago, there was an incident."
"Everest, Atlas, and Occam were sent to destroy biochemical cultures that the CDC in Atlanta had been researching. They were on the threshold of developing a super vaccine. Unbeknown to them, their research had been tainted with a biowarfare agent that one of their scientists had brought in from Europe that if distributed, the virus would’ve wiped out a third of the vaccinated population, instantly causing catastrophic fatalities." Wellington spoke up, clearly seeing that Mark needed a moment.
No wonder Mark needed a moment. His call was Everest, and if he was on that mission with Atlas and Occam, then I knew it didn't have a happy ending. I had yet to meet an Atlas, and that spoke volumes to this story's fate.
"I was positioned in the hall as point, the three of us in reflective wear so we would be virtually undetectable. They managed to get the liquid samples, but something else in the lab caught Occam's attention. He moved across the screen quickly to another set of samples, clearly deviating from the plan. When he went to take one, the lab completely locked down and a gas security feature, meant to immediately knock out intruders, descended. That would have been fine on its own, our tech can handle that no problem. But in the chaos, Occam managed to drop the samples of the virus as well, and in a perfect storm, the virus managed to mutate within seconds, with no time for them to call a portal, becoming airborne and causing both of them to die instantly."
The circle was silent as the story was retold. It was obvious that Occam was still very much alive, but the question remained of whether or not Atlas was.
"We'll have to check the tomb," Katya said. "We need to know how far this betrayal goes."
"And we will," Wellington promised. "But we need to focus on locating him and whoever it is that he's working with. He's been off our radar for four years doing god knows what, and he finally decides to show his hand now? That was a statement and a declaration of war if I’ve ever seen one. We need to think about any connections he may have had, and where he could be staying. I want a full comprehensive docket with everything we have on him."
I cast a look to my men who all seemed to be processing this new development. Gage's fingers flexed, a sure sign that he was no doubt about to do the deepest dark web hack he'd ever done.
"With the release of this information, every single one of us is going to be under the microscope of the European and Asian factions. Be prepared for their questions, and have your own in return. But above all, remember your oath, Atlanteans. Remember our purpose, and may the Spark show us the way," Wellington finished.
Voices echoed around the room, strong and steady as the men and women around me steeled their spines and prepared.
"May the Spark show us the way."
It had been two days since the Conclave and we had absolutely nothing.
An entire fleet of Atlanteans, who had been charged with protecting humanity for thousands of years, turned up nothing on one measly man.
And while the other two western factions were no doubt exercising their safe guards and balances with our North American outfit, given the fact that it was a former member of our branch responsible, they were working closely together with us to make sure no stone was left unturned.
Gage and Gavin had to head back to Catania, but Gage had been searching every avenue possible on the web and turned up nothing. The guy didn't even exist digitally until he was registered with the foster system.
From there, it was a pretty straight forward tale of him aging out, joining the Marines, and serving there for over a decade before he made the transition to GRAVITAS. A detailed record of his missions and assignments were included, as well as the digital recordings of him undergoing the Rites.
A brush against my mind had me more alert, sitting up from the slouched position I had fallen into while leaning over my tablet.
You rang, Ice Queen? I asked playfully, raising a hand to rub the soreness out of my neck.
Ptichka, get on your boots and meet me in the bar in ten.
Katya's voice left no room for argument, and truth be told, I needed a fucking drink. Walking out of my room, I saw Reed and Ramsey sitting at the dining room table, notebooks, glass, and laptops spread out in front of them. A quick glance at some of the papers told me that Reed was once again focusing on the chemistry of it all, looking for any markers that could potentially be traced to where Alexander/Occam might be.
"I'm going to Veritas to grab a drink with Kat, you guys interested?" I asked, stopping by the table.
Reed's hand wrapped around my arm as he leaned back from his chair, tugging me closer to him and in for a kiss.
His large palm cupped the side of my face as he gave me a tender kiss before pulling away to reveal a goofy smile. His eyebrows wiggled, and I couldn't help but be amused. Even when shit hit the fan, Reed could always lighten the mood.
"Don't think that just because you have two other boyfriends, I'm not cashing in on all the advantages of us living together, Char."
"And what advantages are you speaking of, Mountain Man?" I asked. Ramsey just smirked as if I s
hould have already known the answer to that question.
"Well we were already best friends, but now we're best friends with benefits. And those benefits mean that I can kiss you whenever I want and steal spoonfuls of ice cream from your dish on movie nights."
I tried so hard not to burst out laughing. Even though his words were sweet and way too innocent for anything Ramsey was probably thinking of, I reigned in the smile threatening to spread wider across my face and stepped closer, placing a hand on his chest.
"Is that what we are, Mountain Man? Best friends with benefits?" My tone was low and teasing.
He must have heard the hint of warning, the slight goading in my voice, because his eyes grew wider, realizing exactly what he had said before he drew his bottom lip in between his teeth. Even with his short, sandy beard, he still managed to look boyishly bashful as his cheeks flushed with heat.
"Char, I—", he stumbled over his words, "you are one of my best friends...well, besides Ramsey and—"
"Charlotte darling, put our dear man out of his misery, please," Ramsey requested, smirking before he took a long sip of his tea.
"Reed. I love you. You love me," I said simply.
"We're a happy family?" he completed with a laugh, and I couldn't help but join in.
"Yes, Mountain Man. We're one big happy family now. We have each others backs, and sometimes their fronts too," I finished with a wink. "I won't be gone long, there's a few things I still want to go over tonight. Maybe we can brainstorm then?" I said motioning to the papers spread around the table.
Saying one last round of goodbyes, a kiss for Reed, and a slight shoulder squeeze for Ramsey, I headed out the door to meet Katya.
Veritas seemed to have a steady stream of patrons, like it usually did on the weekends, but since it was still early in the evening, it wasn't packed.
Katya was waiting for me in one of the corner tables, a gin and tonic already situated across from her by the open seat. Sliding onto the stool, I raised my drink to her in thanks before taking a refreshing sip.
She looked tired, the platinum blonde of her hair somewhat lifeless as shadows darkened under her eyes. It was the same look I had been sporting the past few days, and I knew that we weren't the only ones who were going stir crazy.
We wanted to help. No, strike that. We needed to help.
And not having the resources available to find Occam was driving us to a breaking point. Especially since we were so used to having access to almost anything given our jobs and our affiliation with Ethos.
"Did you watch all the tapes?" she asked, cutting straight to the point.
It was one thing I appreciated about Katya, she never beat around the bush, and unless she was testing you, you always knew where she stood.
"No. I've analyzed all of the ones after he was initiated into Ethos, and I've done a full sweep of his digital file from the time he came on the grid, till when he supposedly passed away. The man was a fucking ghost before he turned fifteen, and Gage can't find a single shread of information about him. Hell, even his file from foster care after that until he joined up is bare bones reporting."
She nodded her head, acknowledging what I was saying before she said, "You need to watch his first video logged under Ethos. Back when he was a novitiate, before he had accepted the invitation to undergo the Rites."
Her words brought me to a halt. Katya was every bit as observant as me, she kept me on my toes constantly and gave as good as she got. My mind started to race with what could possibly be in that video that she wanted to talk to me about.
"What am I looking for?" I asked slowly, nervous tension starting to build within me.
"A friend of ours makes an appearance in the video. You'll know exactly who I'm talking about," she said, taking a deep drink.
My mind started racing with all the people that Katya and I knew. Names and faces scrolled behind my eyes as I tried to piece together the growing puzzle.
"If we're both friends with this person, then why isn't this something you're moving forward on? What exactly are you asking of me?"
"Ptichka," she said, setting her glass down, "you're closer to them than I ever have been, and you might just be the one to convince them to help us."
"Wait, are you trying to tell me that this friend knows a certain person we're interested in?"
"It only clicked after I had watched the tapes again, something someone had said to me in passing, about how it was a shame they had to keep some parts of their lives separate from their best friend."
My hand rose to push my bangs aside as I began to rub at the growing tension in my temples once again, trying to decipher another complex subtext to the situation. Downing the rest of my drink, I rose out of my seat and met Katya in a hug.
"However you want to handle this, I'll take your lead on this one, Ptichka," she spoke softly into my ear. "They've been nothing but good to us, and I don't feel right just leaving them exposed to deal with whatever repercussions might come their way from a former friendship."
I squeezed her closer, knowing that whatever I was about to race home and watch would most likely make the proverbial shit hit the fan.
"I'll talk to you soon," I promised, bidding her farewell as I weaved my way through the now growing crowd and out the door.
I made it home in record time, having hauled ass as fast as I could without raising any suspicion. As I came in the door, my stride determined and sure, Reed and Ramsey's gaze swung towards me.
Not much time had passed, they were still sitting at the table going over their paperwork. But at the site of me, and what must have been a serious expression, they both rose quickly, looking ready for action.
"What's going on, Char?" Reed asked.
"Can I use this?" I asked, already grabbing their glass tablet that was on the table and pulling up the Ethos archives on Occam.
"What did Katya tell you, Charlotte?" Ramsey asked, demanding an answer to both Reed and himself.
"She told me to watch a certain video archive. That there was more than meets the eye to that video, and it was up to me on how I wanted to pursue the situation going forward," I said, swiping my fingers along the glass until I reached the very first Ethos entry.
"That sounds vague as fuck, Char," Reed said, moving to stand behind me.
"Yeah, I know," I muttered. "I have no idea what I'm about to watch here, these were on my list for tomorrow, but something is telling me that this could be the key to finding Occam."
With Ramsey and Reed behind me, I pulled up the video, immediately getting absorbed into the scene around me. The main camera feed kept rotating to find the best picture, the other views minimized on the side of the screen.
One by one, bodies were deposited on the chamber floor, black bags over their heads, Ethos members in full ceremonial robes. There were a total of five people, smaller than my own unprecedented cycle, and I watched as five of our members stepped up to the unconscious people on the floor and placed a shrouded hand on their heads.
A faint blue glow could be seen on the feed, no doubt the Spark doing its work, before the Atlanteans moved to the side of the room, activating what I knew to be their camouflage.
I had always assumed they entered from the antechamber during my own experience. Turns out they were in the room the entire time, listening to everything that was said with their own eyes and ears.
The five potential novitiates began to stir and familiar words that I remembered echoed in my own experience were spoken to the group.
“You may be feeling disoriented right now, which is perfectly normal. We’ll be removing the bags shortly, and all will be explained. We mean you no ill will,” one of the Ethos members said.
I watched the scene play out, the members disengaging their camouflage and stepping into the room, forming an impressive arc, then the bags were removed from the heads of the people on the ground.
Occam was the second person to be revealed, followed by two people I didn't recognize. It was the last r
eveal that caught my attention and had me sucking in a harsh breath.
"Did you already know about this?" I asked the men standing behind me.
"We've seen the videos," Ramsey said simply.
"There's a formal record of sponsorship as well," Reed added. "We've known for awhile. But honestly, Char, we really didn't think anything of it because of how it all plays out."
"What are we missing here, Charlotte?" Ramsey asked, clearly knowing that something was swirling around my mind.
"I need to be sure," I said softly, my attention focused on the screen and the two men who held my interest.
Alexander Shepard looked almost exactly the same, his hair still haphazardly swept across his brow, his gaze sweeping the space he had now found himself in until his eyes fell on the other man who held my attention. Who, judging by the non-verbal interaction between the two, seemed to know the other man very, very well.
Wyatt fucking Ridley.
His hair was closer cropped to his head, his dark hair lacking his distinctive silver kissed temples I had come to know. This Wyatt looked every bit the lethal warrior I imagined him to be in the field, the years of his Assistant Director position not having rounded him out just yet.
I watched the stolen glances between him and the man who would become our greatest threat today. When it was time for the potential novitiates to ask questions of their sponsors before they decided if they wanted to undergo the Rites, I quickly pulled up the side feed, selecting to watch the interaction with Ridley and his sponsor.
Katya had told me to watch this video. Only this video.
I knew what was coming, there was only one explanation for why Wyatt Ridley would only appear in one clip related to Ethos.
He declined the invitation.
The scene unfolded between my eyes, Wyatt was way too reluctant and suspicious to accept anything he was being told. The simple fact was Ridley didn’t believe them. When time came for him to make a decision, his attention turned and looked out of the alcove, no doubt wondering what decision his friend was going to make.
