Uranium ➵ The Old Guard

➵два

Aleandra had to strain her ears to hear him speak.

"WHAT?" she asked, lifting her head more. He shook his head in annoyance.

"I said," he yelled. "It's nice to finally meet you!" Aleandra still couldn't hear the man and shook her head with a confused look drawn across her face. He rolled his eyes and motioned for the men to bring her in the helicopter.

"THIS ISN'T PROTOCOL," she yelled at his face. He merely smirked at her and scoffed. 

She knew what type of person he was, he was of the same breed as Alexei and David and everyone else she worked with. Except for Christian, but he was a militant, programmed to take everything seriously and follow protocol. The man that was taking her in his helicopter was less about protocol and safety and more about greed and comfort–a similar but slightly different vein than her colleagues.

The two men carrying her picked her up from the stretcher and sat her down in one of the seats strapping her in. She struggled slightly, not particularly enjoying having no control over where she could go. The blades were even more deafening now, she didn't get a headset like the rest of the people in the helicopter.

The tall man that had unceremoniously greeted her earlier rolled a metal ball out towards where the rest of the facility was and said something in the headset. They lifted off the ground and Aleandra pressed her back against the seat not feeling as comfortable as her travel partners were. She felt the air rock the helicopter back and forth, grabbing the front of the seat until her knuckles turned white.

One of the men who had carried her laughed a little at her. She tried to glare at him but her fear was bigger than her pride. Her ride in the air wasn't very enjoyable, but she relaxed slightly more when they stayed up there for a while.

Finally, she felt a small bump on the bottom of the aircraft signaling its landing. The door of the helicopter opened and one of her carriers picked her up bridal style and carried her out onto the pad. A gray building loomed over her and a gust of wind hit her, making her shiver.

"Well," the tall man started. "I believe I owe you a proper introduction. My name is Kenny Wisteria, I run this establishment," he gestured around himself, "Wisteria and Co."

Aleandra let a small amount of amusement reach the corner of her eyes. What kind of name was Kenny?

"You may think my name is funny, but soon all will know and fear it."

"Is this a hospital?" Aleandra asked blankly.

"No," Kenny answered slightly confused.

"Then why am I here?"

"You work for me now." Aleandra gave him a confused look and shook her head.

"I need medical attention, not a new job." Kenny chuckled. He signaled for the man carrying her to step closer to him.

"This is Nathaniel," he patted his shoulder. "He'll make sure you get everything you need." Nathaniel nodded to his boss and Kenny turned to walk into the building, his other goon right behind him.

Nathaniel marched her through the gray doors and into the echoing building. His grip was strong against her body but she still snaked her arms around the man's neck for extra support. He took her to a room and laid her down on a bed.

"I'm going to look at your wounds," he told her. She nodded silently and laid her head back.

–

The ground crunched under Andy's feet. Snow had fallen recently, making everything a haze of white. The scene was clear of people, letting the cold distant silence ring in the group's ears.

"Where is the building?" Nicky asked squinting. Booker shrugged and pulled out a pair of binoculars from his bag.

"There's smoke just over there but it's too much for a normal nuclear plant." He lowered the binoculars and looked to Andy. Joe and Nicky followed suit.

"Let's go check it out then."