BLACKBIRD

Chapter Six

Alana and James had practically sprinted back to camp, propelled by a minute sense of anxiety. Though they said nothing to each other, they seemed to agree that they both believed the guy to be related to the people that had broken into the Cadotte residency. It fueled a sense of urgency in both of them, worried for the safety of those tending to the observation camp.

When they broke through the tree line, Alana could spot a man surrounded by several agents, dressed in black with clueless confusion marring his face. He appeared to be a civilian, halted several feet away from the observation camp by Andrea and two liaisons hovering near. James quickened his pace with them in sight, Alana following on his footsteps.

"Sir, you need to return to your vehicle," Andrea ordered, a hand braced between her and the newcomer.

"I just need help. Please. I'm not asking for much," The civilian persisted.

Alana decisively took the lead with this situation, putting herself between Andrea and the civilian, forcing the latter a few steps backward. She turned to Andrea, gesturing with her head for the scientist to return to the camp, a signal that she and James had this covered. Andrea complied albeit with an irritated huff, taking the two liaisons with her. James filled her missing space, mindfully placing himself at Alana's side, a hand cautiously hovering just above his gun.

"Sir, could you explain what's going on?" Alana asked carefully, drawing the civilian's wide-eyed attention.

He was tall and muscular, fair skin without a wrinkle to be seen and round eyes blown wide. He appeared young, no older than twenty-five, Alana's junior by about a decade. And around his neck, strung by braided twine, lay a pale wooden pendant just smaller than her inner palm, oblong with a bird-in-flight burned into its center.

"My car broke down - " the civilian gestured to a vehicle on the side of the roadway, its hood propped open, " - and I need help. Either to fix it or to call like a tow or something."

The civilian's eyes dropped to James' hand, hesitation flickering across his face as he noticed how near it was to his gun. The civilian slowly raised his hands, taking a few cautious steps back as his eyes shot to James' face.

"Hey, look man, I don't mean any harm, alright?" The civilian said, voice quite nearly wavering.

James' eyes only narrowed in suspicion, trailing across the civilian's body in a visual frisk, his own body tensing. Alana stepped forward slightly, placing herself as a buffer between the two men until they could figure things out.

"Can I ask about that pendant you're wearing?" Alana said.

"Oh," The civilian muttered lightly.

His gaze fell to the pendant around his neck, his hand rising to grasp it at the top where it met the twine, holding it forward for Alana to see. An odd look of admiration twisted his face, pride in the symbol around his neck shadowed by a sense of obsession, a supreme dedication to whatever stood behind it.

"This?" He asked, adulation ringing in his voice, as his hand wound to the back of his belt, "This the Halcyon, the solution to all of our problems."

The civilian pulled a gun from his belt, swiftly taking aim at Alana just as James unholstered his own gun, holding the man in a standoff. However, Alana's reflexes were deft and quick. She grabbed the civilian's gun with one hand, pulling to the side as she threw a sharp fist with the other, connecting to his jaw. As the civilian stumbled, Alana hooked a foot around his knee and pulled, bringing him to the ground as she bent his arm around to his back. The gun fell from his hand without struggle, tossed aside as Alana placed a knee along the civilian's spine, keeping him on the ground.

James kept an aim on the civilian as Alana detached a pair of handcuffs from her belt and bound the civilian's hands behind his back. As she heaved him up on his feet, James turned to the forest, eyes frantically scanning the trees.

"There's gotta be more of them," He said, "I'm going to get some others and do a search."

James was hustling away before Alana could even call out his name, hurriedly sprinting towards camp as he called for the agents to join him, directing them to the forest. They slowly peeled out of the observation camp one by one, leaving behind the scientists and the liaisons with little combat experience, a realization quietly sweeping throughout the team. Alana headed towards the camp with the civilian in a forceful tow beside her even as he dragged his feet in a wordless protest.

"Molly!"

Alana called out to their lead liaison, picking her out from the crowd as she hovered at the edge of camp, watching the field agents disperse with a panicked expression. Molly McCoy was a mousy woman, both in appearance, stature, and disposition, silky brunette hair falling past ivory shoulders, but seemingly dedicated to her job within Madcap. Molly's head snapped to her, prompted into a hurry as she recognized what was going on, meeting Alana halfway to the camp.

"Take him into custody," Alana instructed, "He's a suspect for the Cadotte break-in and threatened several agents."

Molly nodded, accompanied by a quiet 'okay', as she traded Alana's hold on the civilian with hers. However, as Molly began to haul him away, the civilian struggled, a sudden furious burst of fight as he spat at Alana.

"The Halcyons will take flight and you will fail, little bird! The Commandant wills it so!"

Alana froze, her heart dropping and skin prickling, even as the civilian was dragged from her sight. The Commandant. No. No, the Commandant had gone missing. The Commandant was dead. He had been for years now. It had to be a coincidence. It had to be a coincidence. It had to be a coincidence.

But what if it wasn't?

A jolt of fear sparked through Alana, jostling her out of her panic as she swiveled to the forest. James was in there, searching for any accomplices. What if the Commandant was still alive? And what if James came across him, a man who had not a single thing to do with this yet was a CIA agent all the same? He'd certainly be killed, without hesitation, without question, another name on the long list of innocents caught between crossfire.

No. That wouldn't happen. Not today. Not to James.

Alana was running towards the forest before she could process her own movements, catapulted forward by an instinctual fear built into her over decades and a residual anger that simmered beneath it all. The Commandant had taken damn near everything from her. He wouldn't take this too.

"James!"

Her cry echoed dully through the forest, muffled by quivering leaves and insouciant birds, the lack of response that followed strident in her panic. It rang in her ears, the horrid silence piercing through her veins like ice, hastening her into a sprint. Instinct was pulling her towards the vestige, however, the thrumming had vanished, leaving her to chase nothing but a gut feeling and her memory.

Alana skidded to a stop at the edge of the depression in the ground, horror engulfing her veins as she spotted James unconscious, sprawled out on the ground with a dead vestige in one of his hands. Distress and dread submerged her suddenly, coupling to choke her as she fought her innate reaction to his unconscious form. Not him too. Oh, please, not him too.

She pushed herself forward, sliding down the edge of the concavity on unsteady legs, stumbling to kneel at James' side. He seemed peaceful, the lines on his face eased and the hard look in his eye subdued by closed eyelids, taking years off his appearance. That resigned, almost saddened aura had evaporated as well, replaced by a minute radiance of quiet warmth. Like the vestige had had.

Alana's fingers found his neck, checking his pulse with a silent plea. Then she sighed heavily, a rush of relief easing her worry as she found the dull yet steady beat of his heart, tears threatening to prick at her eyes. She maneuvered to take her jacket off, folding it into a ball and gently placing it beneath James' head.

Her eyes fell to the vestige lying in his hand, his fingers still curled securely around it. The luminous solar glow had vanished completely, leaving behind a piece of marble no different in shape from that of the Tethys Vestige but embellished with a symbol she didn't recognize. She carefully pried his fingers off of the vestige, gentle in her handling for fear of hurting him any more, and placed it on the ground next to her.

"Zwane to base camp. Send medics to my location."