Both Maple and Alyssa came sprinting down the steps into the Underground, panicked to report what had occured. The sun was beginning to set, making the entryway seem like some dark void. The two passed through the terminals, making a direct line for the conference room. Some of the refugees stopped in bewilderment, watching the two girls bolt past, causing a stir among some.
As the two rounded the final turn, they ran headlong into one of Generation's more seclusive figures, Akatsuya. A middle aged man, Akatsuya rarely socialized with anyone outside of Generation and was a man of few words. He was of thin frame, but his presence was not to be underestimated. Trained in many forms of martial arts and being acrobatic, he was more like a ninja than anything else. He wore a standard gray cloth uniform, layered with leather plates but kept his face concealed by a tenugui cloth, allowing only his eyes and hair to appear from behind his mask.Around his neck, he wore a deep scarlet red cloth, used to conceal the scars created from his power.
He extended both arms outwards, catching both Maple and Alyssa around their collars and bringing their run to a complete stop. They reeled back on their heels, Alyssa almost falling in the process.
"Why in such a hurry?" Akatsuya's voice was deep, but harbored no malice. He was simply concerned to see two young girls in such a panicked state.
"We have to talk to Dad. We were out scavenging at that old car repair center and we encountered someone. They knew my name and about the refugees." Maple's voice was shaky and rattled. It was evident to Akatsuya that they were not simply pulling a prank. Their tone was too serious.
"He's still back in the conference room. Briggs and Amanda are still there as well. I suppose I should go fetch Germaine if it's this serious." With those few short words, Akatsuya began walking towards the residential area, leaving no moment for Maple or Alyssa to continue their explanation. The two girls resumed their route to their destination and within a few short moments, arrived at the conference room.
Barging in without even knocking, Maple and Alyssa stormed into the room. At the far end of the room, going over a regional map with markings and other indicators stood Briggs and Marcus. On the right, a bottle of water in hand, sat one more member of Generation, Amanda Keyes. Originally a part of a special forces anti-terrorism group, Amanda made the move to become an Alpha to further her career and better serve the people. She possessed a larger muscle build than most women, and striking red hair that she kept pinned up, Amanda was capable of turning heads for multiple reasons. Her face had a soft texture until she found herself in battle, capable of holding together units like a seasoned general. After the fallout of Alphas, Amanda had joined Generation to continue her work, considering Helix to be a terroristic force herself.
All three inhabitants of the room turned to face the two girls, Amanda raising her brow in a confused expression.
"Dad, we've got problems. There was somebody staying in the old car care center, and they knew both my name and about the refugees." Maple still hadn't calmed her voice down.
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Marcus' let a moment pass before responding, "First, I'm glad you both are fine. Second, you said they knew your name?" The concern in Marcus' voice was obvious. It was possible that the rumor of refugees could have attracted attention, but to know his daughter's name was specific knowledge.
"Yeah, they also knew about us running ambushes on Helix. I thought they might have been part of a hunter squadron, but they didn't offer any resistance and said something about being the enemy of their enemy."
"The enemy of their enemy?" The phrase made Marcus feel uncomfortable. There was plenty of people that hated Helix, but almost nobody would ever speak up for fear of persecution. Then again, Maple and Alyssa weren't part of Helix.
Marcus spoke up once again, "I assume this person didn't give you a name?"
Maple folded her hands. She had planned to get information out of the woman, but that situation had eluded itself, and she had give up more information instead. "No, she didn't give her name. She only said that the time wasn't right. We did a glimpse of her though. She had lavender colored hair, and wore a raggedy cloak with a hood. She was also faster than a standard human."
"So she wasn't another Alpha. I really don't like the sound of this. Nomads don't generally travel that far into the city anyways." Marcus glanced at Briggs who had sat by and was patiently listening. He had a brooding look on his face, and Amanda was sharing the same expression. If this person knew more than what they had already revealed, then there was going to be serious problems around the Underground.
A moment of tense silence passed before Alyssa spoke up, "Um, Mr. Wright. What are going to do now?"
Briggs spoke up before Marcus could answer, "Well, if we take her for her word then it doesn't sound like she's an enemy does it?" Briggs was obviously trying to bring comfort to the two girls. Even though both had been born into a world of ruin, the rest of Generation had seen many conflicts and intense situations. They never had time to worry.
As Alyssa was contemplating Briggs' statement, the door to the conference room swung open once again. A tall and stout man stepped in, sporting cleanly kempt and styled hair, completing his demeanor with a styled moustache. He had a thick and broad face, with bright blue eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses. His maroon dress shirt pressed a little too tightly against the core of his body, and revealed a delicate but conditioned system of muscle. A pair of black suspenders kept his black dress pants sun against him, and a pair of dulled dress shoes topped off the entire look. It couldn't have been anybody else but the final member of Generation, Germaine.
In an exaggerated accent, he quickly leaned down to Maple's and Alyssa's height gasping, "Oh thank goodness you two are alright. Aki took a brief second to tell me you two encountered some sort of predicament?" Discarding the absurd nature of Germaine's way of speaking, he meant every word sincerely.
After a retelling of what Alyssa and Maple had told the others, Germaine proceeded to take a seat at the conference table. He now bore the same gloomy expression that was on the face of everyone else. If the attacks on Helix had been what caused the woman to take notice, then they would have to cease them for fear of drawing attention directly from Helix. This presented another problem however. There would be no way to provide to themselves or the refugees. There was also no way of keeping the entire population nomadic without drawing attention. They always knew they were running on borrowed time, but nobody expects that time to ever truly run out.
If anyone had been standing outside of the Underground, they might have heard the air being torn apart by the sound of distant helicopters. Fortunately, Akatsuya often had an innate sense of when things were going to turn south, so he had climbed one of the buildings near the Underground. Far off in the distance, he watched the flock of jet black helicopters sit down in a large plaza. That was definitely the trouble he was expecting...