Northern Region of the Deadlands: 936, November 6th, Tuesday, 10:30 AM.
“What!?” Claire shouted as a corner in her lips curved with confusion
Having dealt with Hydra’s unexpected ambush during their operation, which resulted in the death of three soldiers from the aforementioned company. Bloodhound promptly carried their bodies inside the building of their outpost, and proceeded to investigate the ‘package’ they were entrusted to deliver during their mission.
Claire guided her team through the empty halls of the building, keeping a watchful eye on every corner as she and her team secured the officers in body bags. Bloodhound wasted no time in rushing back into the hallways however, following behind their lieutenant as she carried a sturdy suitcase in one hand. Its spotless carbon fiber demonstrated the importance of said object, only reinforced by an electronic padlock, and a keyhole that maintained its contents sealed from anyone who did not possess the item and knowledge to open it.
The group speed walked through the stairs until reaching the highest floor, furnished with a long rectangular table made from sturdy hardwood, and many chairs of the same material placed around it. On top, rested an incomplete map of the outpost’s surroundings, with a red warning mark placed around foggy areas that led towards the center of the Deadlands.
Eric was the last member of Bloodhound to enter the room as they all followed Claire with haste. He pushed the door shut, and made sure to lock it behind him before joining the others. The lieutenant stood next to the table, and hurled one of the chair’s away to give with a quick motion of her arm.
“Alright,” she said under her breath while slamming the suitcase on top of the table’s hardwood. “Let’s begin…”
“I hope it’s safe to open…” Tori expressed concern with furrowed brows—followed by Scott’s more positive take on the situation.
“Well… we do have a strong looking specter in our side.” He smiled while offering a thumbs up to the young medic, which revealed the bloody cuts inside his mouth and some areas around his lips. “Ow! Ow…”
“I told you not to move too much!” Tori scolded him.
The snapping sound of a clip caught the pair’s attention immediately however, bringing their eyes back to the heavy suitcase on the table. The lieutenant scanned the object thoroughly, turning and flipping it around to make sure no detail escaped her before attempting to break into the suitcase.
“Not going to be easy…” she said through gritted teeth. “Let’s try some numbers.”
“Are you sure?” Eric calmly asked. “What if you lock it forever? Or activate the super-secret auto destruction nuclear reactor hyper radioactive dimensional—”
“It’ll be fine,” the lieutenant quickly interrupted.
Despite the undeniable confidence behind the girl’s words, no progress in unlocking the sturdy object was made through her many attempts. The lock did not specify the number of digits necessary to unlock it, and getting to break through it seemed almost an impossible task without the key. As Claires grew desperate for an answer however, a wise sentence uttered by the young sniper of her team suddenly resonated in her mind.
“We do have a strong looking Specter in our side,” she remembered him say.
“That’s it!” the lieutenant slammed both fists in the table, making Bloodhound jump with surprise.
“Y-you figured it out, lieutenant?” Tori nervously asked.
“I don’t think shooting it is a good idea,” the noble stated confidently—already aware of Claire’s idea of a plan.
“I’m won’t shoot it,” replied the girl as she took a quick step back from the table. “I’ll try to call him… Heretic.”
“I… you will try to rely on that thing already?”
“Heretic!” Claire shouted while materializing both Juno and Jupiter in her hands. To her frustration and disappointment however, no response ever came from the horned specter as silence filled the room. “Dammit… uh?”
At the most distant part of the room—stuffed like canned sardines in a corner, stood Eric, Scott, and Tori—who hid behind both men while peeking over their shoulders. The young men served as a protective wall to her, but made the choice to face the wall instead—choosing not to face the crimson demon at Claire’s command.
“You have to be—I told you it’s fine!” protested the lieutenant with a growl. Her snarling expression quickly faded by Tori’s pointing finger however, whose trembling hand signaled her to look behind.
Claire followed the quivered girl’s finger, and spun around to look behind. She flinched back slightly as her forehead hit a crimson wall, and proceeded to rub her forehead while lifting her gaze. Mere inches away from her position stood the crimson demon known as Heretic, staring down at her with an intimidating gaze that could draw fear from the most valiant of souls.
“You did listen…” the lieutenant spoke softly as she met the specter with a smile. “Can you help me out?”
The girl stepped aside to reveal the sturdy suitcase to the demon, who stepped in closer to take a quick look at the object with a silent and curious stare. Confused—and doubtlessly ignorant on technical knowledge about electronics, it simply stared deeply at the suitcase for a short couple of seconds before turning its glowing eyes back to Claire.
“I mean… I thought you could maybe… break it?”
The demon lifted its chin, and moved its gaze towards both pistols resting in the lieutenant’s hands. Claire understood the specter’s skepticism without a need for words, making Juno and Jupiter disappear with crimson particles before hiding them both hands behind her back.
“Ahem!” she cleared her throat. “I don’t want to use them for that… please, just this once.”
Bloodhound looked at each other, and back to the odd exchange between the girl and her demon—watching as such powerful creature followed her command with little protest. Heretic shook its head slowly however, an unexpected reaction that almost threw Claire off the loop. Such unexpected sign of annoyance towards her idea felt warmly familiar, not only its expression, everything about this demon reminded her of the man she’s been chasing after ever since she joined the company. Heretic decided to humor her plans regardless of its own thoughts about it. He grabbed the suitcase with both hands, and ripped the object in half with relative ease.
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“What!?” Claire shouted as a corner in her lips curved with confusion—watching a pile of rocks fall off on top of the table and the floor.
Cerberus HQ, Female Barracks: 936, November 24th, Saturday, 10:00 PM.
During a warm and cozy night at headquarters, a place that remained in high alert despite being greeted by the silver light of the moon, and the songs of the whistling wind carrying the mixed scent of embers and earthy snow.
Inside the female side of the barracks, its empty halls accompanied by nothing but the white lights of the ceiling. Most dormitories were already locked as the soldiers rested from their daily duties, which now consisted of rigorous training for the most part, as operations in the Deadlands had diminished considerably. Gentle splashing sounds echoed through the hallways of the lower floor, emitted by the only illuminated room of the barracks during such a silent night.
Inside the many large tiled rooms for the officers to share—each one with multiple shower heads along the walls. Claire and Tori took a shower by themselves in the empty room, with the young medic deciding to shower across the lieutenant’s position.
Claire—while not muscular, exhibited a highly athletic body that she made sure to maintain in shape through rigorous training and diet. Tori in the other hand, had a fairly average composition. She was slightly frail, but not enough to get in the way of the lieutenant’s training regimen.
“…”
The quiet and peacefully atmosphere brought many thoughts to Claire’s mind as she rubbed her head—keeping her eyes closed as she enjoyed the cold water that rained down of her. Her mind scattered between Lucy, Sovereign, Yeon, and later on, her latest mission in the Deadlands. Seeing nothing but rocks fall out of the heavily secured suitcase brought nothing but questions to her mind. Arwen himself planned out the mission, which almost eliminated the idea of Hydra’s ambush being an intended act from the boss himself. At least in her mind, the thought itself made no sense.
The devotion and loyalty she felt for the company pleaded to report with honesty and every possible detail. Thanks to Eric’s protests and nagging however, she made a choice to only report the deaths of Hydra’s officers, and their attempt in taking her life. Arwen seemed shocked by the news, and unsurprisingly asked about the contents of the suitcase—to which she claimed was destroyed during the battle, offering proof by handing the boss a single rock she brought with her.
Such news drew a frown of dissatisfaction on the man’s lips, who promptly dismissed Claire once returning to his usual friendly smile. Despite her reports on Hydra’s attempt against her life however, no action had yet to be taken from Cerberus’ CEO to deal with the issue. Things returned to normal in headquarters, and no word from the incident was made public.
“Lieutenant?” Tori’s voice snapped Claire out of her own thoughts. “I’m done showering… if you want to leave.”
“Ah…” it took a quick second for the lieutenant to realize she was back in the showers, sighing with a smile towards the young redhead before replying with a nod. “Yeah… let’s head back already.”
An uneventful walk through the empty halls allowed bot girls to bond as they talked about their interest. A theme in particular always returned to the conversation, despite the lieutenant’s best attempts at avoiding Tori’s favorite subject.
“Mom wanted me to marry a doctor,” the young medic said. “But that’s not how love works! What do you think, lieutenant? Have you met someone?”
“Guk!” Claire flinched, avoiding any sort of sharp movements to hide her surprise. “I don’t know… I don’t pay attention to these type of things…”
“Really?” Tori recoiled slightly. “You read so much romance I thought you—”
“I don’t read that much of it!” retorted the lieutenant, trying to convince herself more than the young redhead. “I read legends! About the champion!”
Tori giggled while covering her mouth with one hand, amused by Claire’s red cheeks and flustered reaction. “Well, if you say so.”
A short set of laughs and giggles later, both girls reached their dormitory with happy smiles. The lieutenant unlocked the door with her key before twisting the doorknob, and stepped aside to allow Tori entrance into the room before her.
“Thank you,” the girl said. “Ah…”
“What happened?” Claire asked with a smile while locking the door behind her. She obliviously turned around, and the smile in her face quickly vanished at the frustrating sight.
“Oh hey…” Scott said, greeting the girls by raising his hand slightly.
He was sitting on the floor at the very end of the room, where Claire’s bed was placed facing the wall. Scott leaned his back on said object, but was not the only invader causing the lieutenant’s blood to reach boiling point. Sitting at the edge of Tori’s bed, which was placed near the entrance door, was Eric. The man shuffled a deck comprising of many Cards O’s cards, and stoically met the gaze of both the lieutenant and the redhead as he continued with his activities.
“Good evening,” the noble said while standing from the bed.
“You better have a good reason to be here…” Claire growled. “Before I kick you both out through that window…”
“Of course!” Scott happily stood up. “We wanted to play Cards O’s.”
“Tori…”
“Yes, lieutenant?” replied the girl.
“I’m about to commit a crime…”
“Don’t!”
“Wait!” Scott said while approaching the group—stepping next to Eric. “We thought, well… truth be told, we are both worried about you.” He concluded.
“They tried to kill you,” Eric reminded Claire with a scolding whisper. “Who’s to say that it will not happen again? It’s been almost a month, and your boss expects us to just ignore it, or forget it even happened.” His tone grew angrier despite his voice retaining a leveled pitch. “As if it wasn’t obvious enough already, they go and casually plan your execution in the Deadlands.”
“W-we don’t know if that’s true…” Tori said in an attempt to calm Eric.
Claire found herself unable to speak at the words of both men, clenching her jaw while avoiding her gaze. An exasperated sigh escaped her, and her hardened expression was replaced by a warm smile of both gratitude and concern. A sense of shame crawled down her skin, feeling trapped about her situation in Cerberus.
“I’m sorry,” the lieutenant said with furrowed brows. “I know it’s not ideal but… I just… I can’t leave… I don’t want to leave.” She told them as her smile slowly faded. “My father is here, and…” her thoughts quickly moved to Lucy, and later to Sovereign’s promise to reunite her with Sebastian—who she’s yet to see after officially joining Cerberus at the beginning of the year. “I can’t leave without him… I have to see him again.”
Her completely smile vanished as her mouth curved into a frown, earning the sympathy of her team. They took in the silence for a quick second, but Scott and Eric refused to back down on their motives—with the noble being the first to speak.
“Let us stay the night… at least for today.” He requested.
“Eric and I have had sleepless nights playing Cards O’s!” Scott proudly announced. “Nothing and no one will put their dirty little steps in this room… Let us help too, lieutenant.”
Despite the violent urge to object against their claims, and simply kick them both out into the hallway and not deal with the issue. Claire listened to the angel in her shoulder and agreed to have both Scott and Eric stay in the room, asking for Tori’s approval before making the final decision.
The young medic had nothing to object against, and Bloodhound spent the entire night together. Against the original idea of have them rest while Eric and Scott guard the surroundings, all four members of Bloodhound ended up playing Cards O’s the entire night—forgetting about their problems for the night instead.
END OF CHAPTER