Their Guardian

Chapter 5

Edited. 

*Noella's POV*

When Noella first came to Moscow, she had little possessions. In fact she only had one, and it was the first thing she was forced to give up. Attachments were a dangerous thing, and that little necklace meant more to her than money could ever. So after one week undercover she was forced to pick a hiding spot. 

First she met with her handler. He gave her passports, some money, and a pair of antique daggers. They were easy to conceal and relatively small, but she knew better than to keep them on her person, so they all ended up in the same place. 

Her hiding spot was brilliant. The only issue was getting there. 

Noella had to face the facts. She was now a ghost, everyone she knew, everyone she ever looked at, believed she was dead, and she was hell bent on keeping it that way. That included the entirety of the Russian highlife, the Americans placed throughout the city, and just about everyone in between. Noella knew a lot of people.

To make it to her destination undetected, it would take a day at least. Yet that was only if she was careful, and waiting was not something she wanted to do right now. Something was coming, she could feel it. 

She ducked around a corner as a standard patrol passed, cigars hanging form their mouths. Being back in the city has reminded her how little things change. The streets still felt eerie and unsafe, and the people were just as dangerous as she remembered, especially this late at night. 

She looked down at her attire and cursed. Young girl walking alone was sure to attract some unwanted attention. 

She reached into her bag and pulled out a hat. She quickly stuffed her long hair into the beanie and reached down to collect grime on her fingers. She blended it onto her skin, hiding as much of her girlish features as she possible could. Next, he cleared the alley before changing her clothes.

When she emerged, she looked nothing like the girl that entered. She was dressed in loose fitting trousers and a shirt that swallowed her. She looked like the average street kid, the perfect disguise. Moscow has plenty of them. 

In her disguise she looked shifty enough to avoid, yet not dangerous enough to watch. A true medium. 

In her new identity moving through the city became ten times easier. However, she knew she needed to find somewhere to sleep for the night. 

She eventually came to a park, not that far from her hiding spot. With nowhere else to go she decided to cozy up in the foliage and try not to be seen. Around 2 am her eyes started drooping and before she could stop herself, Noella fell into a deep dream-filled sleep...

*Third-persons POV*

Getting a train to Moscow was easy, especially when they were more awake than ever. This was the closest they have ever been to the girl, and they were not going to let themselves fall behind. 

They already had an apartment in the city, so when they arrived thats where they went. Moscow was just like they remembered, and each of them were thrilled to be speaking Russia again. However, there was a constant shadow in the back of their mind. Their girl was all alone in a city that wanted her blood, and they knew better than anyone how dangerous Moscow can be alone. 

 Noella. They needed to get used to calling her by her name now. She was no longer their unknown soldier. She was now their family. 

Once they got back to their apartment, they immediately jumped into action. They knew when the got her they would need to lie low and they wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. Each of them worked quietly, but underneath they were all a bundle of nerve. In this moment all they wanted to do was go and find her, but even they could acknowledge that she knew this city better than they did. They haven't been in Moscow for years, and things have changed. The team knew a pre-war Moscow and surveillance has definitely been increased, and they knew.  They would need to be extra careful when they approached her. If some random people walked up to Noella calling her name she would flee or cause a scene to escape. Their biggest disadvantage was that they only got one chance to approach her. If they all try and she gets away, they no longer have the dreams to fall back on. This would have to be planned perfectly. 

"We have to take her by surprise, kill or drug her." Andy said with certainty. Deep down she hated the idea. This girl was flighty and if they messed up there was a very good chance she was gone for good. Not to mention the fact that gaining her trust would likely take some time.

"If we do that she will probably never trust us, or bolt as soon as she gets the chance." Joe said tiredly. He was trying to be the voice of reason, only in this situation there was none. All of them were desperate, and he didn't want to spook the girl they had worked so hard to find. 

"If we do this, one of need us needs to stay behind so we can find her again if need be," Nicky said softly. He didn't want to do it this way. He wanted to meet her normally, yet it's too risky to leave her alone right now. So he proposed the smartest way to proceed with their crazy plan, even if he didn't fully agree with it. 

"It should be you Joe. You're the best artist so if she slips through our fingers you can draw the dreams." Booker said, he was all for this plan, purely because he just wanted to see her in person. She had been bugging him since she first awakened and he was ready to start figuring out their newest puzzle. 

"She seems crafty, we need to corner her, then we can just pin and capture her, she's small so we should be able to take her easy enough" Booker then said with confidence, they were trained soldiers who have learned over hundreds of years, she was a 16 year-old spy with at most, half of his body weight. 

"I'm sure she will give us a good fight, Book. But we should be able to take her. Or you guys should seeing as I've been benched," Joe said snarkily. He hated being left out, especially because of how badly he wanted to meet her. But despite his frustrations he understood where they were coming from, and it was the smart play.  

"Then let's plan this thing. We do it tomorrow night." Andy said finally, she was ready to put an end to this chase once and for all. Ever since she had awoken, the group had been incomplete, she was ready to remedy that. 

They immediately jumped into action, looking at various maps of the city for potential ambush spots, with Joe giving input occasionally, trying his best to keep attitude out of his commentary. At around 3 am they finally had a semi-concrete plan to get Noella, they just had to hope it was enough. 

*Noella's POV*

The sun rising woke her up from yet another dream-filled sleep, the same people dancing around her head and messing with her thoughts. How can you dream about people you have never met? Noella hated being distracted and that's exactly what they were, distractions. Her sleep no longer felt resting, and each day was a struggle with her already limited amount of energy. She needed to get her shit together. 

It took longer than expected to find a safe place to change, but when she emerged she looked perfect. It was a Thursday morning, and she was going to blend in nicely. 

She was in the typical schoolgirl outfit. A red skirt, high stockings and braided pigtails. She looked so innocent it was sickening. She walked towards Saint Mary's Preparatory Academy for girls with a slow pace. 

She needed to time this right if her plan was going to work. Her stuff was hidden in a locker not far from two different exit points to allow for easy exits. Seeing as she never attended school here, no one should recognize her. Easy peasy.