Two's eyes grew wide at Haji's words.

"Sgt!" Two exclaimed.

Oh here we go, thought Haji to himself. "Is there a problem, Two?"

Two approached the desk. "Why are you sending the two of us? Teamwork wise I'd be better off with One. Or even Three."

"Well, everyone has to start somewhere. This would be a good time to start building that."

"But sir - last time he went up against Reapers he was laid up for a week. He should be doing more training, not risking someone else's life on an actual mission."

"Remind me, who was in charge of that again?"

"....tch." Two didn't have a response to that one.

Meanwhile Zero didn't speak up at all. He was too busy feeling like the unwanted stepchild. Haji looked over at Zero but could tell that this conversation was creating a divide more than anything.

"Well if you're done whining.." He pointed towards the files in Zero's hands.

Two reluctantly snatched the files out of Zero's hands and looked them over. Zero saw his face go from frustrated to surprised to almost…sad.

Haji already knew how Two would feel about this being the mission. "So you understand why you're the one going with Zero now?"

"...I'll go get ready."

"Huh?" Zero said as Two dropped the files on the desk and walked out. He looked to Haji for some kind of explanation.

"You should go get ready too, Zero. Pack well. You could be gone for a day or two."

Zero packed his military issued backpack with the bare necessities and a change of clothes. He put on his full outfit: gloves, utility pouches, reinforced jacket, and boots. Unlike some of the others he didn't have any special gear or weapons.

Once he was all packed, he knelled down by his bed and pulled out a bag that was shoved deep underneath it. Opening it up there laid the clothes, cloak, and mask he wore the other night in the city. He was able to scrub the mask clean and wash the clothes in the shower so there wasn't any blood left. The cloak was black so there were no visible stains. Since he didn't want anyone walking in and stumbling upon it, he decided it was best to shove it deep in the closet.

He didn't know what the fallout was from Harvey's murder or if they had any suspects - but if anyone DID happen to catch a glimpse of him, he didn't want to leave any evidence lying around.

Zero finished up, threw on his backpack, and started towards the elevator. As he walked the long hall of everyone's rooms he couldn't help but feel conflicted about his first mission. He was excited to finally get a chance to go out in the field after all this time. However…having to work with someone who probably hates you makes things a bit more tense.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Once he came up on the elevators he saw that Five was leaning up against the wall by them.

"Ah, there you are!" He said as he approached him.

"Oh, hey Five. Were you waiting on me?"

"Yep. I ran into Two a few minutes ago and he said you guys were heading out on a mission."

"Did he happen to say anything else about it?"

"No. He did seem…less hostile than I figured he would be about working with you though."

Zero thought back to Two's change of demeanor after having to find out about the mission. "Hmm. I see."

"Any who, I wanted to give you this before you headed out." Five reached in his pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a necklace. It had a silver chain and a small black oval shaped pendant attached to it.

Zero took the necklace from his outstretched hand. "Thanks…but why?"

"Well, back when I was the NEW new guy, Zero and Three took me on my first mission. Well, the other Zero I guess." Five's eyes drifted to the side for a second as he paused before continuing, "But anyways, I was still having some issues controlling my ability. Right before the mission Zero had given me this necklace and said it would help me control my power. No idea if it actually did anything or not, but ever since it seemed easier to coordinate and develop my electromagnetism."

He smiled confidently at Zero. "Now it's your turn. Keep it on you and come back alive."

Zero looked down at the necklace and grasped it tightly in his hand. It felt nice to have someone care about him.

He half smiled in return. "Thanks, Five. I'll be sure to do that."

Zero took the elevator up to the ground floor and went outside to meet with Haji and Two. One of the soldiers on guard detail waved him down. "Head to the helipads out back."

The helipad? He thought to himself. Zero figured they would be taking the jeep again.

He had actually never been to the helipad before. He only knew that's where they kept all the aircraft, but he had yet to ride in one. Zero headed out back to meet up with the others.

Zero arrived at the helipads located on the backside of Alpha Base - there were about 5 helipads located in the area with a large shed(much larger than the vehicle depot) where they kept all the aircraft. He had no idea how many aircraft Alpha base owned in total.

There was only one aircraft out on one of the helipads. It was a medium sized helicopter equipped with turrets and a missile launcher. Not quite as large as the one they rode in to capture Azrael. The whirling of its blades was kicking up small bits of dirt that had settled in the area.

Zero ran up to the aircraft and climbed into the open hatch. There were only 4 seats facing each other; one was occupied by Two but Haji was nowhere to be seen.

He chose a seat on the opposite side of Two. "Where's Sgt. Sadiki?" Zero asked, having to raise his voice a bit over all the noise.

"Sitting with the pilot." Two replied in a dry voice. Zero noticed that Two was wearing just his military uniform like he was. By his foot was his book bag and a sizable suitcase however. He wasn't even going to try asking about it.

"Is that you Zero?!" Haji yelled out from the front.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good! Both of you put your headsets on!"

Without a heads up Two tossed a headset at Zero - he caught it at the last second before it smacked him in the face.

"Well, this is off to a good start…" He knew the helicopter would drown out his words.

They both slipped on their headphones. Haji's voice sounded off in their ears.

"Alright. Buckle up, we're about to take off."

*Fwwwwwwwwm* The doors automatically slid shut. There were no windows on their side of the helicopter so they were cast in slight darkness. Zero could still make out Two's stoic face thankfully.

They both swayed as the helicopter began to lift off into the air.

"It'll take us about an hour and a half to get there. Feel free to gossip among yourselves."

Haji thought himself a comedian.

Zero leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He thought not of the mission ahead, but rather if anyone actually ever found Harvey in that alley.