David watched Breanna push a full magazine into the base of the gun she held. The frown on her brow had not unfolded; something seemed to worry her. Her actions were on autopilot. He wondered when he should draw her attention to the seven guns she had cleaned and loaded in the past twenty minutes.
"What do you think of the fire-throwing guy in the infirmary?" David asked, holstering his gun, his eyes never leaving her intent expression.
"The prisoner is being transported to holding," Breanna said quietly, holstering her own weapon, "whoever he was got twisted up into who he is now."
"Do you think the original person is in there?" David frowned, "it seems hard to figure out where the essence of someone could go or is it there but has been damaged?"
"Good, I'm not the only one with questions," Breanna said, leaning on the table. "I've seen enough when it comes to Madden and Darcia working on people. Not only are their bodies tortured, but their minds are not always strong enough ..." Breanna breathed in deeply, closing her eyes. "It's not difficult to believe someone good and pure can become twisted and like ..." she sighed, "... he turned out."
"What about Craig?' David cleared his throat, "what do you want to do about his sudden lack of control?"
Breanna paused a moment, holding the knife in one hand and the sharpening block in the other, "Craig has always had strong self-control. Seeing Jaxon opened up a can of worms for him. Now, this new guy just made it worse. Don't think I haven't noticed how he struggles to control this ability that suddenly appeared. Maybe it's always been there. He has had so much self-control it never came to the surface," Breanna began sharpening her knife, "perhaps Tina can get him to open up a little and deal with it."
"How did the names come into being?" David shook his head, "do you think Darcia and Madden sat down to breakfast and brainstormed what they wanted in an army?"
Breanna chuckled, "I wouldn't put it past them. The one I'm concerned about is Nigel. He has five or six emotional strands in him."
"What do you mean? He schizophrenic?" David frowned, meeting Breanna's steady gaze.
"In a manner of speaking," Breanna nodded, "I sense separate personalities living in him. Each can leave the central body go in different directions."
"Whoa," David leaned on the table, "Nigel has others who can separate from the body. Appear somewhere, do anything they want to, and then go back to the original and join the others."
"Yes, the original Nigel knows someone is missing, but he doesn't know who until they come back," Breanna nodded.
David stared at the wall, "He could be a mix of good and evil, doing loads of things against the Agency or for it, and Nigel would never know."
Breanna nodded, "So where does he stay? Safehouse or prison?"
"Prison if I have anything to say about it, but right now," Craig said, appearing on the other side of the table, "we need to move out. Michael texted that the plane for Europe is leaving in an hour."
"Are you prepared to move out?" David asked, "is my sister in a better emotional state?"
"We talked," Craig said, smiling, "the air is clear, we have an ... understanding, and before you bristle ... we love each other and have committed to being there for each other."
"This trip to Europe may be lengthy," Breanna said, "what if you don't see your family for some time."
"According to Michael," Craig said, "Tina is working with his team, so we may see each other more than we originally thought."
"Fair enough," David said, "let me finish packing, and we can head toward the departure point."
"Then let's go," Breanna said.
"Where are we landing?" Trevet murmured, looking out the plane's window.
"No idea," Craig said, taking in the airstrip flanked by tall grass and trees while a dirt trail could be seen on the other.
The slight jolt of the plane landing drew a collective sigh; it had been a long flight. Silently gear was gathered in preparation to disembark. Everyone seemed unusually tense and focused.
Stepping out of the plane, Craig looked around their landing area. He couldn't help wondering where they really were. There was a path ... it would be stretching to call it a road, tall grass, and a mix of small and tall trees, casting a shadow over the dirt road. He could see no hanger or a refuelling station for the plane to be housed. Just then, the pilot pulled jerrycans from the back of the aircraft and went about refuelling. Remote is what anyone would call this area. Very remote.
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"The extraction point is to the North," Breanna said quietly, swatting flies buzzing around them, "let's get moving."
"How does she know it's North?" Iris whispered, stopping next to Craig.
Pointing over his shoulder, he indicated the sunset, "The sun sets in the West."
"Oh," Iris whispered, looking at the beautiful shades of orange and yellow mixing in the sky, "I didn't know that."
"How ..." Craig stopped short, frowning as he remembered the isolation of the clones beginning, "always something new to learn ... even for us."
"Yeah," Iris sighed, "easy for you to say. You have the basics and can survive ... we don't know much."
"Is that what you think?" Craig asked, lifting a heavy gear bag to swing over his shoulder, "you guys are knowledgable in many ways others in this group are not."
"How?" Iris challenged.
"We may have been in the education system for most of our lives," Craig said, "been conditioned to only see and accept things in a certain way. The four of you see things in a fresh and unchallenged way. It's something special to have."
"Huh," Iris nodded, "didn't think of it that way."
"Come on," Craig grinned at the spunky woman, "we have a long way to walk ahead of us, and the night will be longer."
"Guess everyone will need to lend a hand on this mission," Iris huffed, "you guys see so much action."
"Believe me, we are trained to react to what happens out there," Craig said, "we lose a lot, give more than should be expected and sometimes, if we had a choice to go back and rewrite the story … we wouldn't live the way we have."
"Really?" Iris sighed, "our lives seem… boring."
"After the life I led," Craig adjusted the bag on his shoulder, "I could do with some boring right now."
Iris grinned and widened her stride to keep pace with the group.
An hour later, Breanna silently called for the group to halt. They had agreed that silence would be the best policy before leaving the base. Campfires were built behind shields while perimeter senses were put in place; the team's security was paramount.
Craig found Breanna leaning over a makeshift table, looking between a map and a compass. She seemed to be plotting another course.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Something doesn't feel right," Breanna said, "we need to be here, but we've been dropped here."
"You think the pilot had something to do with our location?" Craig murmured.
"Perhaps," Breanna sighed, "where was Nigel when we left?"
"At the safe house," Craig said, looking at his sibling.
"Are you sure about that?" Breanna frowned.
"No," Craig shook his head, "how far are we from where we need to be?"
"About another hour's walk," Breanna cleared her throat, "Jasmine will need to take us in as close as possible."
"Who gave you this information?" Craig frowned.
"The only person alive to tell us how to get to it," Breanna sighed, "Nigel."
"Hold on," Craig shook his head, "he's not the only person alive to tell us."
"What are you talking about?" Breanna frowned at Craig.
"Jaxon," Craig said, "he just didn't want anyone to know."
Craig pulled out his mobile, dialling a number, "Jax, it's Craig," Craig said, "we're here, but we think the information given to us is bogus."
Craig fell silent, then walked over to the map looking at the info Nigel gave.
"Thought so," Craig nodded, "thanks so much and hug that family of yours for me."
Cancelling the call, Craig looked at Breanna, "Your gut is right. We should be here tonight," he pointed at an area on the map, "not where we are. Jax says from this point, Jasmine can get us into the compound without having to trip any alarms."
"Why didn't Jaxon come with us?" Breanna asked.
"He was away from his family for nearly a year," Craig said, "getting kids out of this damn facility. He needed to spend time with his own family. Besides, Mandy and Alexis are clingy. Mandy cries every time he isn't with her, and Alexis won't let go of him for a minute."
Breanna nodded and grinned, "Fair enough. If he did come, he would have extra limbs. Did he say if Nigel helped kids get out of that facility?"
"If he did," Craig shrugged, "it wasn't when he was working with the team to get them out."
"Why were we sent here?" Breanna frowned, "a trap, perhaps."
"Yes," Jarred said urgently, glancing around, "we need to move."
"Do it," Breanna said, "but we're not moving to the coordinates given. Now we'll move in a little closer."
"Won't we be seen?" Jarred frowned, concern etching his handsome features.
"Perhaps, but at least we won't be sitting ducks here," Breanna muttered, looking into the shadows, "let's move out."
Jarred moved to each group, telling them what needed to be done. Craig watched as he helped Breanna pack up the equipment, and within fifteen minutes, the camp was on the move.
"Tania," Breanna pointed to the front, "Kyle with her."
The two moved to the front of the line, vigilant and watching for anything threatening.
"Craig, Trevet, Scott, David," Breanna indicated the edges of the line, "span out and watch for anything that isn't normal."
The men nodded, leaving to guard the side of the line leading to the new coordinates, Jarred in the lead.
Breanna motioned for Clio to join Simon, Frank and herself at the back of the line.
"They don't need to know we have more firepower than they can see," Breanna murmured, carrying a gear pack. "The only way anyone will know to expect more is if they have met us, we can blend in and make sure the back is protected."
The two men ambled off to join the amblers at the back of the line picking up the last of the gear as they went. Breanna couldn't help but smile.
"Clio," Breanna nodded, "we bring up the rear."
"My pleasure," Clio nodded, "I have the left."
"Good," Breanna nodded, "I'll watch the right."