Relative Strangers (book 3) Nature VS Nurture

18. Guardians

During the rest of the week, E and Matt started searching for houses that were for sale on the same street.
E also decided to put her project on hold for the time being, and look more cloesly at the risks she was taking. She didn't want her research to kill her, so she was going to make sure it was as safe as it could be, before continuing with it.
This decision pleased Matt, even though he still wasn't completely happy that E wanted to live in a different house to him, as he wanted her to be close to him at all times.

At the end of the week, Lester called Matt and E to his office for an update on the recruiting he had been doing.
When E and Matt entered the room, they saw a group of soldiers all with ARC jackets and EMD's.
"Ah, there you are. Do come in" encouraged Lester.
As E looked closer at the people in the room, she noticed name badges on them all, and she had to hold back a smile when she realised that Lester had followed her instructions.
Half of the people inside the room were also women, which pleased E further.

"These are your new team mates. They know all about the ARC and what we do here. And I expect you to be nice to them, as this was your idea in the first place" reminded Lester.
"Yes it was. What do they know about me and Matt?" Asked E curiously.
"They have read both of your files, so they know that you are both from the future. But they won't really understand what you are like, until they start working with you. I'm sure it won't take them long to realise just how difficult and annoying you are" answered Lester.
"But do they know who I am?"
"They know that you are the daughter of Nick and Helen Cutter, but since none of them met either of those scientists, their names don't really mean anything to them".

"What is their official job, when we are on missions?" Questioned Matt.
"Their job is to stop you from getting yourselves killed" informed Lester.
"They're not going to try and order me about are they?" Asked E.
"No, that would be rather pointless, since you don't take orders from anyone. Matt is the team leader, and you are his second in command, his Beta, if you will. Which means that they must all do what you say" revealed Lester.

E smiled, "That will please Becker".
"Captain Becker is still in charge of his soldiers, so he can give commands, just not to you" replied Lester.
"So, I outrank Becker?" Questioned E.
"Yes. Just try not to brag too much, because the last thing I need is Becker wining to me all the time"
"I will try and keep the boasting to a minimum"
"Good. I've assigned specific soldiers to follow each of you around on your missions, to learn the ropes from you all. And I don't expect to hear any complaining from you Miss Cutter, since you promised that you would be alright with this arrangement".

"I did say that" sighed E, as she realised just how annoying it was going to be to have someone following her around and asking stupid questions.
"Rachel and Luke have been assigned to you" informed Lester, as he pointed to the soldiers who would be accompanying E.
"I trust they know what to do when the anomaly detector goes off. Because I don't want anybody to hold me back" admitted E.
"Don't worry, they know what they are doing. They know how to operate the detector and lock anomalies. But the real training comes from learning on the job. There's no easy way of teaching someone how to chase a dinosaur"
"No, there's not".

****
E didn't have much time to get to know her soldiers, as the anomaly alert went off shortly after their meeting with Lester.
When they arrived at the location of the anomaly, Matt split up the team, allowing them to all go off in separate directions to search for the anomaly and any loose creatures.
E and her soldiers were partnered with Connor and his soldier Kieran.
She didn't like how Lester had assigned her two soldiers, but since it had been her suggestion to include the soldiers in missions, she knew that she couldn't complain.

"How far to the anomaly?" Asked Connor.
E looked down at the device in her hands, "Not far".
The 5 of them were running in the opposite direction to the crowds of people who were trying to flee the town centre.
A few moments later, E saw exactly what they were running from.
"Albertosaurus" mumbled E and Connor at the same time.

The dinosaur was causing mayhem in the town, so the group began ushering it in the direction that they hoped the anomaly was.
They succeeded by firing their EMD'S at the creature, until it ran back through the anomaly.
"Well, that was easy" panted Connor, as he tried to get his breath back.
"It's too early to say that, because we don't know that the Albertosaurus was the only thing that came through the anomaly" reminded E.

"You're right. Come on guys, let's get this thing locked" instructed Connor, as he turned to face the newbies.
Rachel and Luke dropped to the ground and began unpacking the locking equipment, while Kieran wandered closer to the anomaly.
"Did you see the size of that thing? And its scars?" Questioned Kieran.
"Yeah, well it's a dinosaur mate. You get used to it" admitted Connor.
"It was incredible"
"Yes, it was. But Kieran, that's probably not the best place to stand".

Before Kieran could return to safety, the Albertosaurus re-emerged from the anomaly, making everyone jump.
To avoid being eaten, Kieran was forced to dive through the anomaly.
The rest of the team fired at the dinosaur, convincing it go back to its home.
"Kieran!" Yelled Connor.
"You know that sound doesn't travel through anomalies" reminded E.
"I know... I guess we are going to have to go and get him" sighed Connor.
"We are not supposed to go through the anomalies. The other's aren't going to like this".

"Are you saying that we should just leave Kieran to find his own way back? This is his first mission remember, he doesn't know how to survive in a different time period" admitted Connor.
"I wasn't saying that we shouldn't go, I was just pointing out that the rest of the team won't like it when they find out that we went through" replied E.
"So, do you want to wait for them?"
"No. Matt will just force me to stay here, because he will think that going through is too dangerous. We should go now before they get here".

"I should go with you. I'm supposed to protect you" admitted Rachel.
E shook her head, "No, you need to stay here and stop anything from coming through. I don't want you following us".
"But Lester said-"
"Lester says a lot of things. But I am in charge, and I'm giving you a direct order to stay here. Keep the anomaly unlocked until we get back. And don't let the others come after us. One rescue team is enough, and we don't want to upset the timeline by having us all going through the anomaly" interrupted E.

Connor looked over at E, "Are you ready?" He asked.
E noded her head, "Let's go and get Kieran. Who knows what kind of trouble he has gotten himself into".
"Alright then, after you" replied Connor.
E took a deep breath and stepped through the anomaly with Connor following closely behind her.
She had no idea what she was about to face, but all that was on her mind was rescuing Kieran, because he wouldn't have ended up through the anomaly if it hadn't been for her.