CHAPTER FOURTEEN

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Three days, as it turns out in not a lot of time to plan an operation the likes of which we are undertaking, particularly with the limited amount of training we have under our belts, but by the time we're set to ship out I am confident, for the first time since our failed mission at Eden, that we can do this.

On the chopper that will take us to Manhattan, Lucas sits beside me, staring out the window with a foggy sort of expression on his face. His uniform is a light grey, thick and smooth, his helmet visor dark, imposing. Since returning with us to the Zoo he has settled in as well as can be expected, for being the only outsider to our group, but there is a weariness to him that I can recognize. It weighs on him, heavily, the loss of Olivia and every time I see that look in his eyes, I feel the guilt of my failure.

"Hey, Idrium... You got this?" I ask, and he turns to me, smirks lightly.

"You worried about me, Cruz? Hell... aren't you a married lady?"

Rolling my eyes, I wiggle my ring finger, "Engaged... not married. Not yet. And I wasn't hittin' on you. Or worried. You just... you look a little dazed, there."

"Just thinkin'. Never figured myself for the hero type, you know? I mean, maybe I'm not supervillain material, but I'm not exactly a nice guy. Dunno if you've noticed, or not. This whole thing, it just feels crazy to me. We're flyin' in to protect these people we don't even know, who probably don't give a crap if we live or die, and I can't help but think... why the hell am I doin' this. But then I think about Liv, and I guess it makes sense. Maybe I'll never see her again. Maybe Jarr's already... you know... but on the odd chance that some day I'm face to face with her again, I wanna be the type of man she can be proud of. The type of man worth forgivin'..."

Smiling faintly, I reach out and pat his arm, "...Sounds to me like you're already there, Lucas. And I haven't forgotten that promise I made. We will get her out of there, someday. Just... hold on to that, okay?"

"Only thing I got, right now, to hold on to."

The chopper gives a small jolt as our altitude lowers and we start our descent. Looking up, I catch Gideon's eye across from me and he smiles. I know that he'll never admit it outloud, but he's proud of the work he's accomplished, rallying us together. Preparing us for this moment.

The chopper lands and we depart - all in all it will take a while for all of us to arrive, but when we are gathered, Gideon brings us together, leads up from the roof to the hatch which will take us down into the building.Through the door we are met by Donner and a few men, decked out in uniform - I can only guess that these are his superiors, and from the looks of their faces we are not what they were expecting. We're an odd assortment of colors wrapped in skin tight fabric... To them, undoubtedly we look more like a strange musical troupe than we do a legitimate team of trained operatives. But in the end our actions will outweigh the abnormalities... or so I hope.

"Welcome..." Donner says, with his trademark smile, "Glad to see you all got here in one piece. Gentleman..." He turned to the men beside him and nodded, "This is the team. I'd make introductions, but, well.. half of that's classified and what isn't, I can't remember. At any rate, not a whole lot of time to waste lollygagging anyway, so why don't we get started."

Gideon stepped forward, turned to address us, "First step is a full sweep of the building. I want every nook, every cranny, every corner scowered. Anything looks off, you report it. After we've combed every inch of the building, we will meet downstairs in the conference room where we'll being--"

"Excuse me, son..." One of the men to Donner's right steps forward, clears his throat. He's a tall man, with bright white hair parted down the center, shortly cropped to his head. His face is clean shaven, which is a strange look, really, because he has the type of facial structure that would benefit from a bit of scruff. His eyes are a clear blue, but not reflective... cold and steely, and sharp like a blade. He looks at Gideon with a quiet but obvious disapproval and irrationally, I want to punch him in his slightly bulbous nose, "I realize there may have been some confusion as to what you fine folks will be doin' here at this summit of ours. If you'd just allow me to make some clarifications."

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