Humming voices and activity wrapped Breanna in a blanket of familiarity. Noting the addition of high tech surveillance stations and equipment as she looked around the war room.

"Bre," Calla called, "good to have you back."

Tina strode from her station in black fatigues, wrapping Breanna in a warm, friendly embrace.

"Good to see you on your feet," Tina smiled. "Michael and Craig are through there in the video conference room," she pointed in the general direction.

"When did we get a video conference room?" Breanna frowned, "what has been going on here since I've been laid low."

"A lot," Iris smiled, walking by with a stack of files, "lots of work to do and very little time to do it in."

"When did Iris start with the cliché quotes?" Breanna chuckled, moving toward the conference room.

Tina cleared her throat, walking with Breanna, "When you all came back with Kelvin carrying you through the door."

"I'm not following," Breanna frowned.

"Iris thought you were dead. She tapped into a few of us with fighting skills and kicked Kelvin's ass," Tina shrugged, "I've tried to find a polite way to say that. There just isn't."

"You're kidding," Breanna stared at the gathering group around her, "is Kelvin okay?"

"He's strutting around sporting a black eye, a split lip and an arrogant attitude," David chuckled. "He keeps saying that he has succeeded in getting Iris to be his girl."

"Are you serious?" Breanna chuckled, "what has Iris been doing?"

"She has been voicing cliché encouragements," Tina grinned, "saying that she has brought Kelvin to heel and no one better touch him."

"I guess that is one way to get into a relationship," Breanna shook her head, "is it a relationship?"

"It has been for a while," David said, "but all from Kelvin's side. I don't think Iris knew what was really going on."

"It's been interesting," Clio grinned at David, "even though Craig has been a dictator with the whip cracking."

"What are we looking at?" Breanna asked.

"We have our first office relationship," Tina sighed dramatically.

"At this point, we don't know what we're looking at," Valencia chuckled, "I think she meant that" Valencia grinned at Tina while nodding toward the mysterious door.

"Bre, you'd better go in before your brothers come and find you."

"Thanks," Breanna nodded, moving toward the open door with Michael looking out; Breanna noticed Craig sitting at a table flipping through a thick pile of files.

Breanna entered the room.

A round table sat in the centre with ten chairs circling it. A large video screen hummed on the other side of the room, turning from blue to black.

"Hey, little sis," Craig smiled, "glad you're up and about."

Michael gently hugged Breanna around the shoulders, helping her lower herself into the nearest chair. She felt like a train had dragged her along the tracks for hours. A glass of water appeared in front of her on the table. Smiling, she murmured her thanks while looking between the two men. Blinking rapidly, she looked away. She remembered everything about them. Her mind seemed to bounce around like a sugar energised child.

"What happened to me over the past three days?" she asked, cupping her head with her hands.

"You got the brunt of the explosion; you were delusional, hallucinated, tried to kill whoever touched you, had memory loss and lapses and then woke up," Craig rattled off.

Breanna stared at him feeling numb. That sounded like an awful three days.

"Then why am I here," she whispered."

"You nearly weren't," Craig said.

"Apart from that, you were treated for burns," Michael said. "You weren't healing as you should. Rose and Hana discovered you had a reducing blood count. Your body didn't seem to be making new cells," the two men looked at each other before Michael continued. "We made a call, and Craig gave you blood."

"What? I needed a transfusion?" Breanna frowned.

Michael glanced at Craig again, "The burns were bad, Bre, and so were your memory lapses."

"I'm not sure what your healing rate is," Craig said gently, "but you were not healing... at all."

"I don't understand," Breanna said.

Michael cleared his throat, "Whatever Darcia had done to you is unravelling. Well, some of it. We chose the transfusion because one of Craig's many enhancements is fast-acting microbodies which assist with healing."

"What are you not telling me?" Breanna asked, fury erupting from her core.

"My blood has the abilities to knit the body together," Craig said unapologetically. "You were in a bad way, and I didn't see you healing any time soon. If at all."

"How bad was I that my body wasn't knitting" Breanna whispered, the sudden fury becoming an icy chill.

"Bad enough to send Rose and Hana into a frenzy," Michael supplied.

"If you were on the one side of the transfusion," Breanna ground out looking at Craig, "and I was on the other …" she gulped air into her lungs, "who did the monitoring?"

Michael cleared his throat again, "Rose and Hana monitored while Valencia and Simon did the logistics of the transfusion."

"You decided for me. You decided what would or wouldn't be needed?" Breanna scrubbed her hands over her face.

"Yes," Craig said, "not only as your elder brother but also as someone who knew how it felt to be helpless and contained. Bre, I understand what it is like to watch your people being instructed and led by someone else because you are incapable of doing so."

"You thought it would be okay to take away my choice," Breanna looked between the two men. Michael looked away, but Craig met her furious gaze.

"Yes," he stated, "you want to throw a tantrum, go ahead. You were not making sense on any level, never mind being conscious enough to make a decision. You had a good chance of not making it. There was a choice to make, and I made it. Get over some childhood need to be absolutely independent. I refused to sit by and watch my baby sister die while I have the means of saving her life."

Breanna stared at her brother, who had risen from his seat, leaning on the table glaring at her. Nodding in acknowledgement, she waited until he was seated before speaking again.

"What exactly did you do?" Breanna whispered.

"We did a transfusion of two pints," Craig said smoothly, "enough to make sure that your body has sufficient to do what is necessary and repair. Nothing more."

"I needed two pints? Wait. We don't have the same blood type," confusion heavy in her words, "how can we do something like that without the same blood type?"

"That is where the microbodies come in," Michael said, "they ensure that your body can accept the blood, make more and do the repairs required. They continuously monitor your body's requirements and adjust accordingly. Hana and Rose estimated you being off your feet for about six months. After the transfusion, it took a little less than two days before you made a big improvement."

"Is that how fast you heal?" Breanna asked.

"Depends on the severity of the injury," Craig said, "it may be minutes, hours or days. That's not why we are here," Craig looked at Michael.

"Why, then?" Breanna asked.

"Darcia," Craig stated, "we were able to get a team of her fanatics incarcerated. They were rather destructive during a bar fight."

"We thought we finally had a chance to interrogate one of them," Michael said, "but before we could get to the chattiest, Darcia showed up."

Breanna nodded, "What happened?"

"She took out two teams of the best we had guarding him," Michael shook his head, "stepped into his cell, grabbed him by the arm and was in the middle of trying to exit when we put the cell into lockdown. She threw a tantrum …. and the fanatic. We activated the division lockdown dividing the two."

"What happened to her fanatic?" Breanna asked.

"He is doing well," Michael sighed, "apparently Darcia injected him with something while giving him instructions."

"We didn't want the same thing with the commander to be repeated," Craig added. "We thought we finally had Darcia. We were notified that she broke free from the holding two hours ago," Craig said.

"She's out there … again?" Breanna asked.

"Yes," Michael said, "we're not sure what she has planned, where she is or what she is up to. Unfortunately, that is where we stand at the moment."

"What about the teams you've been taking out at night, Craig?" Breanna asked thoughtfully.

"What about them?" Craig asked.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"What is happening with that?" Breanna asked. "Has anyone heard anything that could possibly lead us to her?"

"A group of us go out each night to make sure the population is not terrorised by Darcia's free, loose and happy fanatics," Craig said. "Until she came for her crew, we didn't know where she was."

"If they are doing that, she has given them the go-ahead to behave as they wish, distracting from her true intentions. Where was the last sighting of Darcia? "Breanna asked.

"She was seen in this vicinity," he brought up a map on the main screen displaying a general area, "we have not had a positive sighting of her yet."

"That looks like the area she was last," Breanna said, "near Milkwood Forest?"

"I'm not certain," Craig said, looking at the location, "it does have similarities, but we cannot be sure."

"What are the coordinates of this specific location?" Breanna asked

Michael typed something into the keyboard at the side of the screen. A flicker on the screen displayed the coordinates.

"Those are similar to the ones I've been trying to figure out for about a year and the ones you gave me," Breanna said, "can you send those to Val."

"Sure," Michael said.

"What's this about?" Craig asked.

"I'm not certain," Breanna said, "but I think Darcia may have the mad scientist version of a safe house."

"I heard this morning she requested three laboratories built for her," Michael said. "Justifying the requirement by implying it may be necessary to move the operation should a problem occur in the primary one."

"What was she using when she had us in her torture chamber?" Breanna looked at Craig.

"Apparently, that was her primary location," Craig said, "the department responsible for decommissioning the facility was unaware it was recommissioned. There is an ongoing investigation."

"While they do that, we will have to look at the real possibility she has someone in her pocket," Michael added.

"That or she cloned them," Breanna braced herself on the table, pushing to her feet.

Craig stood, their eyes met. She took a moment to really see him; he had aged since the last time she had seen him. Caution and concern shone in his grey eyes, and her abilities sensed a yearning for connection. Smiling slightly, she headed to the door.

"None of this is what anyone wants to hear," Craig sighed, slowly following her.

"Nope," Breanna paused, looking back at her brothers in the open doorway, "but that is the reality of Darcia. She manipulates her way through life until she gains exactly what she wants. Follow that with lying to cover up anything she cannot explain. You have two or more facilities probably written off but still fully functional and updated. Who knows, she could have more."

"Wonderful," Michael muttered.

"Fantastic," sighed Craig, "lead on. Let's see if we can do the normal version of not losing our heads."

"I don't think that will happen," Breanna chuckled, "besides, there are too many of us for everyone to lose heads."

"True," Michael said, grinning, "let us all come home with our heads."

Grinning, Breanna moved into the central area of activity. Wending her way through moving bodies, she stopped at Valencia's station.

"The coordinates Michael sent you," Breanna said, "what have you got?"

"Nearly there," Valencia typed quickly, "we are cross-referencing those with the coordinates we're working on. We are trying to find what exactly is at that location."

Breanna waited while Valencia worked, watching the screen above the bank of computers, making markers on the map before it began to synchronise. Breanna watched as the shape seemed to form as the mix of coordinates merged on the screen.

"Is that above ground?" Breanna asked, "or under the forest?"

"Not too sure," Clio shrugged as she handed Kyle a printed map.

"We need to be sure," Breanna sighed, "we need to be exact."

"You are back," David nodded, "Craig did a good enough job," David grinned over his shoulder, "but he isn't you."

"Thanks," Breanna said, "the rest?"

"All got out fine," David said, "they owe you their lives."

Breanna shrugged, looking up at the screen. The shape seemed to ripple before settling again.

"We're done," Calla said, spinning on her chair, "the coordinates seem to be fairly close, but each coordinate covers a vast area."

"Vast?" Breanna asked, looking at Calla, "how vast?"

Kyle pressed a button zooming the screen into one of the coordinates, "On a large scale, it's just a dot, but if we go to each coordinate," he looked at the screen, "it's really …. vast."

Breanna heard Craig and Michael swear softly behind her, "Are these above ground?"

"No," Kyle said, shaking his head, "both are below ground."

The computer beeped, drawing his attention. Turning to Breanna, he cleared his throat.

"It appears they all are," he glanced at Calla before looking back at Breanna, "she has three extensive underground bunker types."

"Go in closer," Craig said, waiting as Kyle zoomed the satellite further in. "It's directly under the town built there," Craig spoke quietly, "it's definitely a bunker and free volunteers within reach."

"Michael, did you find out if there was a secondary bunker in that town where Darcia was seen?" Breanna asked.

"Yes," Michael said, "here it is."

Breanna looked at the plans. Slowly she turned it until they corresponded with the ones on the screen.

"Tina. Valencia. Can we get one of those designs to turn until it looks like this?" Breanna asked, laying the paper between them. The two women chatted before working silently before turning to the room. The image on the screen wasn't exactly the one on the map but close.

"Apart from the three revealed," Valencia stood walking toward the table. "Tina found something else. We looked at why those coordinates kept going to this," she pointed to a map, "it's a forest outside Mexico."

"Calla is getting it on screen now," Tina said. "if we're right, we suspect Darcia could have a hideout closer than we originally thought."

A deafening silence filled the room. Breanna felt every eye on her waiting for her reaction to this news.

"That explains a lot," she said, turning to Jesse, Clio and Reilly. "The feeling of being watched, increased activity in the past months, and newbies who were actually sent as moles."

"She was watching us like rats in a laboratory," Clio whispered, "but how did she get the use of a fourth facility?"

"Oh, it's not," Calla said, turning from the screen, "it's more like a storage site."

"Storage of what?" David asked.

"We're not certain, but it seems to be information," Calla said.

"Let me see what I can get from it," Kyle said, "show me where you were."

The two put their heads together, murmuring. Breanna looked at the screen above them, "We were still her experiments."

Some felt different; Breanna felt … new, her mind felt clear, her chest expanded with a feeling of restored life. Whatever Craig's blood was capable of, for her, it seemed to be undoing whatever restrictions her sister had put on her memory.

"Got something," Kyle said, "Darcia definitely uses this place as an information storage unit."

"What kind of information?" Clio asked, picking up a map from the table.

"Everything she does, where she goes, who she sees, and …" Kyle grinned, "what has been done to her experiments."

A murmur scattered around the room. Valencia gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Does it have the names?" she asked.

"I'm good but not that good," Kyle shook his head, "to know that we need to download first. She has encryption on here that makes it impossible to hack."

"That means manually planting devices," Jared said, "Darcia could have fanatics waiting for us. It could be another trap."

"It could and probably is," Craig said. "This information is priceless, especially to people like us; we have been waiting for this opportunity. Are we going to pass it up?"

Breanna looked around the room, waiting for an objection. None came.

"We have work to do," she said, giving a definite nod, "find the exact location. When that is done, we prepare to visit. We can only hope she is there, and we can finally end this.

Silence fell and became too still. Looking over her shoulder, she came face to face with surprised, anxious, stunned, and angry faces.

"Oh," Breanna sighed, "I guess not everyone knew that."

"When did Darcia go missing?" Kelvin stood suddenly.

"When were we going to hear about this?" Clio asked, anger rippling through her jerky movements. Squaring up to Breanna like the gladiators of old, "you expect us to follow blindly into something we don't have all the information on. Since when did we not have a choice?"

Breanna felt everything in her still as cold fury rose against this verbal attack. Valencia pushed her chair away from the desk, rolling away from the reaction zone. Tina moved in the opposite direction pulling Rose and Calla with her. Kyle sank to the floor.

"Clio," David said, warning in his words, "what are you doing?"

"I want a question answered, and I want it answered now," Clio snarled, "that is what's happening. I'm not going to standby while decisions are simply made, and the rest of us have to follow blindly."

"We just decided as a group," David tried again, "besides, there has just been a meeting. You don't know what was said. The knowledge that Darcia is out was probably just discovered. Think about what you are triggering here."

"What is going on?" Craig asked, staring at Breanna, who slowly raised her eyes while turning her head toward Clio.

"Everyone down," Valencia, Jesse and David yelled in unison, dropping to the floor. Everyone followed their lead except Clio.

Breanna closed her eyes slowly before snapping them open; looking directly at Clio, she jerked before sinking unconscious to the floor.

"Anyone feel they need a rest?" Breanna asked quietly while turning toward the table and the papers spread out on the top. Silence followed the question. Breanna looked around the room, pointing at Kyle and Jarred, "Take her to her quarters," she waited as Jarred and Kyle carefully carried her out.

Slowly the room returned to normal as tasks were attended to.

"What the hell was that?" Craig asked Jesse.

"That," Jesse inclined his head toward Breanna, "is your little sister putting someone in her place. Any stronger, and we would have had a medical emergency or death."

Craig turned a stunned gaze on Jesse before gaining his feet and moving toward the table.

"Anything my team can help with?" Craig asked, "apart from carrying unconscious team members to their quarters."

Breanna raised emotionless eyes to meet her brothers, shaking her head "besides, we do not have time for someone throwing a tantrum."

Craig's eyes widened, "Why are you behaving like this?"

Breanna stared at him, "What do you want?"

"You could have simply put her in her place," Craig said, "you didn't have to act like...that"

"I did put her in her place," Breanna ground out, "now … we have more urgent matters to deal with than everyone's behaviour."

Breanna met surprised gazes; bracing her feet, she addressed the room.

"We used to have a small group of people who depended on each other. A family. That hasn't changed. The family is simply larger. We still make decisions together; however, the direction of this group will be made by the leadership. We have a lot of people with a lot of strengths. How you decide to use your strengths will be up to you. No one can do what we do on our own."

Jarred and Kyle came back into the room, nodding to Breanna. She waited for them to take their places before continuing.

"We need to cover each other's weaknesses with strength at this point. We will not pick each other apart. If you cannot take an order from a woman, that is your problem. Our current issue is that Darcia is on the loose, and we have discovered she has more facilities than we thought. Blame is not laid anywhere within this group for Darcia's actions," Breanna met Kelvin's seething gaze, "Darcia is a cunning enemy with no boundaries. She is the type of person who uses her own family to further her cause. There is nothing she will not do to accomplish her goal."

"Since when has Darcia been loose?" David asked.

"A few days," Michael said quietly, "just after Breanna extracted the team Darcia took out the security detail assigned to her and left the cell looking like this."

Michael walked to a computer where he brought up a picture of a jail cell with the middle bars bent in an oval and electrical wires hanging from the ceiling.

"She walked right out," Rose whispered, "no one stood a chance."

"So you wait until Breanna is awake to let us all know," Kelvin said.

"If you haven't noticed, Kel," Craig said, staring at his teammate. "We have been busy with medical issues of our own here. Besides, Michael wasn't advised until an hour ago."

"Where does that leave us?" Scott asked.

Breanna grinned at Scott's offhand manner toward the tension as though it had happened before.

"We need to track and locate Darcia," Breanna said, indicating Tina and Valencia, "hopefully to her current location and get her back in custody."

"That seems simple enough," Jarred nodded, "where do we stand with the tracking bit?"

"We have an idea of where she may be," Valencia said.

Tina and Valencia joined Jarred at the table. He picked up a photo. Quietly discussing it between the three before returning to the computer bank.

Breanna watched them for a moment, fascinated by the flow between the two teams. Turning to David, she raised her eyebrows questioningly. He shrugged, grinning at her. Shaking her head as his lips turned up in a smile, she looked between the conversing trio, Jarrod, at the table with Tina and Valencia working at their computers.

Somehow, she felt she had missed something while incapacitated, but she couldn't put her finger on it.