Perifidy

Chapter Twenty: Phase Two Prep and Valentines day

1400 Hours

February 14th, 2018

Herefordshire, England

Hereford Base, The Spire

          Kade stood in front of his whiteboard, his eyebrows knitted together in deep concentration. The board was covered in pictures, scribbles, and arrows pointing every which way. He was aware the end results of his planning often looked like evidence boards on cop shows but tried to not let it bother him too much. He had almost the whole team set, there was just one missing piece he couldn't seem to figure out. Thatcher's "social chameleon" comment had made Kade realize the other day that in the setting of Metropolitan college, that was exactly what he needed. Someone that would slip in and out. Unnoticed, unseen. Kade had no way of knowing how deep the White Mask had infiltrated his once beloved home, so having an operator who could infiltrate and provide valuable intel would be instrumental to their success. At the moment Caveira was a front runner. Though, the problem with assigning her that role was that she had such a powerful presence that the White Mask would likely notice her almost immediately; making her function there effectively useless. He was also heavily considering Alibi but she'd only recently joined the team. With how large the scope of the mission was, he wasn't sure he could trust her with such an important role. Yet. He nearly jumped out of his skin when two hands suddenly crept under his glasses and covered his eyes. He hadn't heard them at all. Was it Caveira? His heart began to pound. Not again.

"Might I have the pleasure of knowing who stands behind me? It's not often I'm hoodwinked so severely," Kade said carefully, his mind working rapidly in an effort to guess who was behind him.

"Not often is putting it lightly, Doctor Summers. I might one of the only people in the entire world who can." His heart immediately leaped with joy.

"Q!" he gasped, turning around as her hands receded. She was of average height and her visage was mostly hidden by a hood but Kade could see her smiling lips covered in black lipstick and the glint of her eyes. He embraced her tightly and she did the same. After a while they stepped back slightly, kissing each other's cheeks in standard Dutch fashion.

"It's Nokk now, actually. Your director told me as much. Said I might be needed for an upcoming operation," Nokk said, Kade shaking his head with mirth. Six was something else, to put it lightly. How did she know exactly what he'd needed without him even talking to her about it? "But of course, that doesn't mean you can stop calling me Q. I missed you, Kade." His smile showed all his teeth.

"And I missed you my dear. We have so much catching up to do. First, however, I must give a debriefing of the upcoming operation. Care to sit in? You are the missing piece, after all," Kade said, motioning to a seat at his table. He went over to the bar and began the process of making coffee. "You still prefer decaf, two cream, and sugar, yes?" Nokk nodded.

"I was worried you'd have changed after all this time. It appears I had nothing to worry about."

"Ah well I've gotten old while you were away, Q. Once you get where I am in life, you start to feel pretty comfortable in your own skin." Nokk snorted.

"Oh please, Kade. It hasn't been that long since we've seen each other. How are Robert and Anna? Your mother?" Kade only paused for a second making the coffee but it was a pause Nokk noticed nonetheless. "Kade? What's wrong?" The worry in her voice made Kade's heart break all over again. She had no idea. Kade brought her coffee over to the table then took a seat next to her.

"There's no easy way to say this, Q, but the White Mask attacked my home. Killed CJ, Benji and Ma. Eric managed to get Robbie, Anna and Mary out but just barely. There's nothing left. They razed it to the ground." A shudder seemed to travel through Nokk's body as she processed the information. Before Kade could say anything more she wrapped him in a fierce hug.