Matters Of Time and Fate

Chapter 2

The rage was like a fiery knot, getting tighter and tighter and tearing Olivia up from within. She curled in further on herself, glaring at the floor of the van while her heart pounded furiously. She plotted revenge: she had no idea how she would do it, but she would strike all of them, any of them, and rip them to bits. It was as if, for a moment, she forgot there was a significant size difference between herself and these adults who had just inserted themselves into her life, and she also forgot that she was unarmed and without her father. She was helpless.

The van stopped, and she heard Miss Pauling speaking. "So, this is it, huh?"

"Yes," The Administrator replied from the passenger seat. "Our stay won't be long, only a few weeks..."

"You know," Miss Pauling glanced over at the other woman. "You don't have to stay here with us. If you want your own privacy, I can get you a hotel nearby,"

The Administrator shook her head. "No, no...I don't currently have access to any camera equipment, and I'd like to keep my eyes on all of you at all times," she undid her seatbelt, shifting around to look at Olivia. "Saxton Hale could arrive at any time, and when he does, the signing will take place. Do you understand?"

Olivia only glared at Helen, and after a moment she stuck out her tongue at the older woman. Helen pursed her lips together, before opening the car door. "Of course,"

Other cars began pulling up on the front lawn of the Townhouse and the mercenaries began to emerge from each one, coming together for the first time in a few days.

"God, this place looks ancient," Scout wrinkled his nose, approaching the siding and running his finger up it, collecting a bit of dark brown dust. "Ugh, look at it! It's all grimy and shit..."

Spy rolled his eyes, nudging Scout and handing him a box of belongings. "Be grateful we have a place, I think it looks rather nice..."

Demo carried a few boxes through the front door, and when he stopped in the kitchen doorway, he glanced around the place with a somewhat saddened look. "What was wrong with our old base? Why'd we have tae stay here?"

"It's being used as storage, we don't have rights to it at the moment," Engineer explained, coming up behind Demo and fishing out a cooler from one of the boxes. "But that's okay—right here is a good place to rest our feet for a while, y'know?" he opened the fridge but grimaced a little. "Ugh, would ya look at that?"

"What?" Sniper looked over his shoulder, before making a face. "Seriously?"

Engineer pulled out a container of moldy orange peels and a half-gallon of milk, which he promptly threw away. "What's wrong with people? Damn...leavin' your old stuff at a rental house...goodness me,"

Once the fridge had been emptied and cleaned, Engineer unloaded a few beers from the cooler. "Once we're all done with this, fellas, how'd you all feel about goin' to the market and gettin' some groceries?"

"That sounds wonderful!" Medic replied, walking in briskly to fill a pitcher with some water. "I'm afraid I'll have to stay behind, though, Heavy and I have to get the doves settled,"

Engineer nodded. "That's fine, but hey: the rest of us can go, it can be our lil' team bonding activity!"

"Hell yeah!" Scout agreed. "It's been freakin' ages since we all got to go out and do shit together," he reached into the fridge, getting out a beer for himself. "God, thank god that old bat kicked the bucket...we don't gotta worry about his bullshit anymore!"

If Scout had noticed Olivia standing in the kitchen just a few feet away from him, perhaps he wouldn't have made that comment about the now-deceased Gray Mann. But he didn't see her, and he didn't even know she was behind him until he heard her counting, "One...two...three!"