From the reports the BEP Division compiled, Heather had stayed off the radar for these past months, only popping up in small areas. Those occurrences were questionable, as the witnesses never saw much of her to be sure. And no one was found under control or dead from her gas ability. The FBI had frozen her assets, run her picture on the news regularly, and offered a reward for any information leading to her capture. Still, she managed to evade them.
However, the latest incident changed that. She appeared to have been injured somehow and had broken into a hospital last night, stealing what she could for a wound in her leg, according to the employees. She had gassed an orderly, and he was later found in a daze. The report said he was recovering, and there hadn’t been any other victims, aside from shaken nurses and doctors, in whose faces she’d rattled a gun.
Arthur was apprised of the situation and immediately scheduled a flight back with Dilbert, the BEP Division’s pilot, for that night. Barrett opted for an early ending to her own vacation and returned with Arthur to the Cave. Lydia, Jando, Aidan, and several others stood by, waiting. When they landed, Barrett was out first, fiddling with and reattaching the clasp to her chain necklace and tucking the ring on the end into her T-shirt. She appeared rather refreshed, peaceful, and odd without her traditional white coat, Lydia thought. Her normally hard face was soft and content. At the bottom of the steps, she lit a cigarette and greeted everyone.
Coming after her, Arthur coughed loud and dramatically. “Can you put that out?”
“I waited until we were off the plane.”
“You’re blowing it in my face.”
“Not yet.” She sucked a long drag on the cigarette and popped out a ring in his direction. He swatted it into a blob of smoke and weaved beneath it. Then Barrett tugged at the back of her necklace. “Ow. Did my hair get caught in this?” she asked, showing her blonde curls and the chain to Arthur.
“Yeah, hang on.” He set his luggage down and a few of the employees carried it off, while he removed the strands of hair caught in her clasp. “There.”
“Thanks,” she said, dropping the cigarette and squashing it underfoot.
“How was the graduation?” Lydia asked Arthur.
“It went well, thanks. Would’ve been nice to stay and celebrate with her longer, but we’ll see each other this Christmas. But let’s focus on why we’re here. What’s the situation on Heather?”
“Still no change,” Sylvia said, handing him a file. He perused it, walking along with everyone to the Center’s elevators. “Going by her supposed movements and this latest one, our best guess is that she’s fleeing to Canada. Her injuries might be slowing her down.” They stepped onto the elevator, leaving Lydia, Jando, and Aidan behind.
“Hey, wait!” Lydia’s protests fell on preoccupied ears and the unflinching security guard blocking the elevators. Frustrated, Lydia wandered the Center, leaving the boys on their own. It’s not fair to leave us out. We were there to stop her last time. We deserve as much right to know what’s going on. She couldn’t force herself to become too riled. It was late and her bed beckoned her to its warm sheets. The darkened rooms and the humming, tranquil neon-blue lights of the hall hung heavy on her eyes, as if the whole Center’s bottom floor was submerged in water, dragging her down to a lethargic shuffle. She yawned and forgot about Heather. It was unlikely anything would happen tonight, and she could file a complaint tomorrow.
Passing by the pool, she decided to stop in for another futile attempt at catching Nina. To her excitement, Nina was above the water, her face buried in the stone sides of the pool. She honked her nose and asked in a harsh croak, “What do you want?”
Lydia wasn’t too taken aback. It wasn’t much different from Nina’s normal attitude. “I wanted to know where Cooper’s been.”
“None of your business,” she said, dipping beneath the water.
“Wait! Please, tell me what happened.” She kneeled, yelling close to the surface. “Did they move him?”
Nina appeared again, still underwater except for her mouth, and her hair spread out along the surface, like a wild design of yellow-green seaweed in the water’s hue. The dancing waves obscured her features, but Lydia could easily identify the angry blue eyes and fast flapping gills on her neck. “What’s it matter to you? Are you going to do something about it?”
“I just want to know. Please.”
For a few moments, Nina said nothing and hovered in that spot. Finally, she sighed. “He was moved upstairs to the second floor. He’s getting out.”
Lydia’s brain slowly processed this. “Getting out? As in out of the Cave?”
“No! He’s getting out for some sun! Needs to work on his tan!” She rose out of the water, her eyes bloodshot and pale face burning red. “Of course out of the Cave!” She dropped back into the water, gulping and calming down. Then she pushed her mouth above the surface once more. “Now leave me alone.” She flipped about and swam to the bottom of the pool.
Lydia walked back to her dorm, stunned by the news. The twins had been at the Cave for years! Now all of a sudden, one of them was getting out? One twist after another all week. What’s next? Wren takes a vow of silence? She considered visiting Cooper that night, but figured the security guard at the elevator would refuse her again.
The next morning, a rapping at the door woke Lydia. She turned to her alarm clock, focusing her bleary eyes for a moment. It was an hour too early for her to be up. “Lydia Penner?” a muffled voice asked. She threw off her blanket, crawled out of bed, and opened the door to a security guard. Lydia leaned on the door frame, straightening higher and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Yes?” she asked. Her vision grew sharp as she studied his name tag. Morella.
“Security Chief Morella. Arthur has requested you to come to his office,” he said.
Lydia nodded and smacked her lips. She shut the door and changed clothes while Morella waited outside. She joined him and he led her to Arthur’s office on the third floor. “What’s this all about?” she asked Morella on the elevator.
“Arthur will explain it to you,” he said. As her mind cleared, she wondered what he wanted. A part of her hoped he was planning to let her into the loop as to Heather’s whereabouts, but she tempered her expectations.
They stepped off the elevator, and he left her in front of Arthur’s office. When she entered, Jando and Aidan, equally as sleepy as she was and drooping in their chairs, greeted her. Sylvia and Arthur stood before his desk. The raven-haired woman shook her head and whispered in his ear, pointing in the teenagers’ direction.
“Good morning,” Arthur said, offering Lydia a seat. “Sorry for calling this meeting so early, but I’m afraid this can’t wait. As you already know, we’ve located Heather Stanson.”
Lydia sat up in her chair and paid more attention. “Normally, a pair of agents would do be sufficient to capture a BEP like her. Unfortunately, Sylvia is our only available agent. The others are on their own assignments and are unable to act on this as fast as we need them to. I contacted the FBI as well, but they’re unable to spare any people at this time.”
“So what does that have to do with us?” Jando asked.
“I’ve been toying with the idea of letting you three head out on a mission for some field experience.” He leaned on his desk. “In any other case, I’d arrange for something simple, but given the current situation, Sylvia will need backup.” Arthur pouted his lips thoughtfully, as if reconsidering what he was about to ask. “I’d like you three to be that backup.”
Sylvia’s sour frown and creased, worried eyebrows explained her opinion of the suggestion, but she didn’t interject. “To anyone else, I know this would be a sink-or-swim situation. However, you three have proved yourselves before, which is why I’m making this exception. Don’t think this will be easy though,” he said. “Going after Heather will be dangerous, regardless of your previous encounter. Not only because she’s desperate and on the run, but because it’s possible that the Rogue BEP Brigade knows her
location as well by now. Therefore, it’s vital we find her first. She may shed some more light on the group and its members, or any other rogue BEPs she may have worked with.”
Lydia wondered if that included verifying Rooke’s claim that he hadn’t ordered her parents’ kidnapping. The BEP Division found nothing conclusive in their investigation so far, and that worried her. If he told the truth, that same person who took her parents once may be out there, plotting something else. “If any of you have doubts and feel you’re not up to the task, let me know now,” Arthur said.
The three teenagers glanced at each other. All silently agreeing, Lydia turned to Arthur and said, “We’ll go.”
“Good.” He still looked a little uneasy. “Sylvia will be in charge for this mission. I expect all of you to follow her directions to the letter.” Sylvia glanced pointedly at Lydia, who nodded. “Dilbert is refueling the plane, so you’ll leave this afternoon. You’re excused from school today so you can prepare. Dismissed.”
Rogues of Overwatch Page 9
