Melissa strode purposefully towards Tessa's office annoyed and more than ready to let the little brat have a piece of her mind. It was one thing to react on emotions but to trust someone even when the signs were right in front of your face? It was foolish and dangerous and now it was going to get Sousuke killed.
She flung the office door open without even knocking and found Tessa scurrying around her office. "I may be your subordinate but I am also your friend," Melissa began with a heavy tone. "And it is my duty as your friend to point out when you are behaving like an ass!"
Tessa looked over her eyes filled with annoyance. "I don’t need a lecture from you, Melissa. I am fully capable of recognizing the mistakes I made."
"How could you?" Melissa just stood there her hands on her hips. "You put our lives in danger when you sent us out there! Are you so blind that you couldn’t see what was right in front of your face?"
"I knew what was going on! I know my brother lied to me!" Tessa screamed.
"And you still sent us out there, knowing that he had set us all up?"
"We had the situation fully under control! I never meant for Mr. Sagara to be taken! We had you fully covered from the outside; I don’t know what happened," she blurted out breaking her sworn silence.
Melissa's eyes widened in abhorrence. "I want to know everything," Melissa harshly demanded. "That's one of men out there!"
Tessa continued to hurry around busily. All this time, all the secrecy, trying to plan it down to the very last second…and it had blown up in her face. "We have been watching my brother for some time now and have known his connection with Amalgam. When I requested that Kaname be brought the Melida Island base it was for her own safety. When I realized that the threat had spread to the base, it was too late; Mr. Sagara had already brought her there. I told him to take her far away and to not look back.
"I tried so hard to steer Leonard away from their trail without him finding out I knew but he was always just one step ahead of me. That was when I invited him to stay aboard the de Danaan, so I could keep a closer watch on him, maybe do a little snooping. That was when I found out that he had a man on the inside and I was determined to find out who it was before it was too late and something awful happened." She looked away stifling the tears that threatened to fall.
"You should have told me, told one of us," Melissa reprimanded. " Of all people, Sousuke had a right to know!"
"I wanted to tell him, on so many occasions but I had my orders." Tessa reached over opening one of her drawers pulling out a series of manila folders and packing them in the open briefcase on her desk.
"Who's the leak?" Melissa whispered venom in her eyes.
"We still don’t know," Tessa replied glancing up briefly. "But they are only privy to a certain level of Mithril, a high one—so it's been narrowed down considerably. Intelligence has called us in for a full investigation into the leak; this is our last chance to find the informant before any more vital information gets into the wrong hands."
Melissa crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. Tessa was a great captain but she had her secrets, which was fine in Melissa's eyes but not something this severe.
Tessa continued. "And sources have informed us of another attack, this time against Washington DC. We have to help, that is what Mithril is all about! How am I supposed to do that when all I can think about is saving Mr. Sagara?"
Melissa finally asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going topside with the fleet," Tessa said flinging her bag over her shoulder. "We'll be arriving in Washington DC by morning. Mr. Kalinin and I will be meeting with officials at 0800 hours tomorrow." She stopped dead in her tracks and looked over at Melissa her eyes serious and grave. "I need you on that field, Melissa."
"I'm not going to leave my man out there like that," she said angrily.
"That's an order Sergeant Major," Tessa said a sudden sternness to her voice. "I don’t like it but you have a job to do. You are dismissed."
Melissa eyed Tessa with poison in her eyes before walking out the office. She couldn't disobey a direct order even if she tried but Weber could and he would if it meant saving his friend's life.
After Melissa left Tessa's office she met back up with Kurz and Kaname who were waiting in the hangar with the rest of the deployment. She filled them in on what Tessa had told them leaving nothing out. "Once you reach land you have to find out where he is flying to and follow as quickly as possible."
"Don't worry, I made a few calls and the minute he takes off we'll be right behind him," Kurz said grabbing his bag. "He's being tailed as we speak at JFK airport; he won’t be able to piss without someone knowing what he's doing."
"Kaname," Melissa said turning to her with a sympathetic expression. "This trip is not suitable for a civilian."
Kaname suddenly stood up straight trying to hide her now rampant anxiety ridden emotions. "I'm not going to let that dumbass die on me! Besides, I have a few choice words for that jerk Leonard."
"Then make sure you stay close to Kurz and keep your eyes open," Melissa said lowly, giving them both a nod.
"Don’t worry, sis," Kurz said with a wink. "I've got a man on the ground waiting on the strip. We'll meet up with you in DC."
"Bring him home, Kurz," she said walking off to join the rest of the unit.
"Kaname, we better get going," Kurz said signaling her along. "We have to sneak out without anyone noticing."
"Won’t they notice you're missing from your squad?" she asked as they hurried down the narrow hallways.
Kurz chuckled. "Let's just say 'ole Kurz called in sick today."
.o.o.o.o.
It was beginning to get more and more difficult for Sousuke to keep his head up. Not only did they have him on steady antibiotics to avoid infections, they were feeding some kind of barbiturate into his IV; it was the only excuse he could come up with for his continued uncontrollable drowsiness. It wouldn't work, he thought. He clenched his eyes shut in an attempt to clear his now blurry vision against the drugs.
A faint door closing…footsteps…
He summoned all the strength he had left and lifted his heavy head staring through clouded vision. A man stood before him with dark hair and dark clothing but he couldn’t focus enough to make out any distinct features.
"Mr. Sagara," the man said and his voice sounded distorted and wavy. "My name is Nathaniel Pascal and I am the one who ordered you to be brought here. You have given me such trouble, young man." His voice held no annoyance, simply a condescending tone.
Sousuke closed his eyes and felt his head waver as his mind swirled from the drugs. He tried to talk, wanted to voice to the man how he would never betray Mithril but all that came out was a garbled mess of sound.
"Is this how you will protect her? Is this how you will keep her safe? By dying to protect an organization that once tried to separate you from her?" Nathanial stared down at Sousuke as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "I can promise you that if you tell us where Mithril Intelligence Headquarters is, not only will we let you live, we will guarantee the lovely Miss Chidori comes to no harm."
Upon hearing Kaname's name a surge of adrenaline gave him just enough strength to open his eyes again, now narrowed in disgust. He knew it was a trick to weaken him but he felt the anger and fear nonetheless. Whatever he says he is lying. They would never allow me to live.
"Such a sweet young lady," he remarked walking over to the table examining some of the tools that were used. "We mean her no harm; we only want her help. And every time we tried to obtain that from her you had to step in and interfere."
Sousuke watched as the man picked up one of the larger blades examining it as he continued to talk. "I'll never help you," he whispered his voice barely audible.
Nathaniel turned his head slightly at Sousuke's words and chuckled. "I told them you wouldn't. You're too proud, am I wrong?"
He walked over to Sousuke still holding the large blade as the man in the white coat stood back allowing him full access to Sousuke. "I should kill you now for all the trouble you have given us," he growled placing the blade against Sousuke's throat but not piercing the skin. Sousuke closed his eyes ready to give in to the death that he had been preparing himself for these past few hours.
Nathaniel took a deep disappointing breath and Sousuke felt the cold steel leave his neck. "But I'm afraid that gift has been bestowed upon someone else," Nathaniel hissed moving away clanking the knife back onto the table.
He turned to the other man a sternness in his voice. "Take it easy on him. When Silver gets here he wants him coherent enough to know who's standing before him witnessing his last breath."
"Yes, sir," the man replied with a nod.
"And he should be here very soon," he said over his shoulder before slamming the door shut behind himself.
"Nurse, sanitize the instruments and add a very small dose of medicine for the pain," the man said leaving also.
The nurse stood to his side and Sousuke looked up as she injected something into his IV line. "I'm really sorry about this," she said looking away. "You are the first man who has lasted this long under the Doctor's administrations."
Her eyes suddenly turned very sympathetic and she almost looked like she was going to cry. "Please just tell them what they want to know, sir. I cannot stand to watch you waste your life like this. You owe this Mithril nothing!"
Sousuke ignored her and let his head fall forward as the pain medicine began to take effect. It was the first reprieve he had felt since the torture had begun and he took the opportunity to regain some of his strength.
"Then please allow me to give at least this small gift to you," she said squeezing the syringe all the way down until it was completely empty.
He didn’t owe Mithril anything but he owed Kaname everything. And as long as Mithril existed they would strive to protect all the Whispered. Tessa would never let anything happen to Kaname…
It was the last coherent thought before the medicine lulled him into a deep painless sleep.
.o.o.o.o.
Kaname and Kurz rushed down the helipad to already waiting helicopter. Kurz was on the phone and Kaname strained to listen.
"There's nothing there but ice!" he screamed over the loud engines of the helicopter's blades. "You're positive that's where they would have taken him?"
Kaname stared anxiously at Kurz searching his face for any sign of hope. It sounds as if they know where he is, she thought with hope.
"Let's just hope your source is right!" he added before helping Kaname aboard the helicopter and flipping his phone shut.
"Sergeant Weber," the pilot called over his shoulder. "Target is heading North."
He nodding to the pilot to take off. "He's apparently being held in an underground compound just off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Satellite images have confirmed land vehicle activity within the last few hours."
"Roger that," the pilot said as the helicopter lifted off the ground.
Kaname could barely concentrate, everything was happening so fast. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back trying to ignore the anxious feeling rising in her stomach. What if they didn’t get to him in time? She shook her head chasing the horrible idea from her mind and tried to conjure up the sound of his voice.
.o.o.o.o.
Several soldiers scurried quickly across the frozen icy ground surrounding the compound's only entrance. They were all dressed in white fully equipped with M16 rifles and slowly assembling into formation around the entire compound.
One soldier moved closely behind a large bolder of ice and crouched down taking cover. "Alpha leader, this is Bravo leader," he said holding a finger over his ear. "Do you copy?"
"Bravo leader, I copy you," another deep male voice said over the transceiver. "What is your location?"
"Twenty degrees south by southwest…over," the soldier replied peaking over the huge chunk of ice so he could survey the land covertly.
"Copy that…Alpha Leader— hold your position. Over and out."
The soldier glanced around then crouched back down signaling to his team to hover close. "This is an easy extraction, boys. Get in, snatch the target and get out. Leave the prisoner extraction to Charlie and Delta."
The other soldiers all nodded in agreement.
"Once inside, follow me closely. This is hostile territory," the man said a distant look in his eyes. "Trust no one."
"Who is this guy, Mike?" one of the guys asked out of curiosity. "They didn’t tell us much except that it was vital he be removed in a timely fashion."
"He some kind of diplomat or something?" another asked securing his weapon.
Michael looked off in the distance then spit on the ground his eyes grave and solemn. "Sergeant Sousuke Sagara of Mithril's West Pacific Fleet..." he paused again his expression becoming ever more grave. "My brother."
To Be Continued...
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