Chapter 34

Waking up in her quarters was Mika in a large button-up shirt. She was stretching as the porcelain legs were revealed. Mika yawned as she stood up, and stumbled to the shower. While the water was heating up Mika removed her shirt and began doing situps followed by a brief workout session.

Staying in shape was essential to keep up with breachers, and there wasn't enough time to stop at the gym regularly. Time management was a skill all agents had to be familiar with to stay in the field. Getting stuck behind a desk in a bunker wasn't a life Mika wanted. The water was ready, and Mika carefully slid out of her clothes to refresh herself.

'The report should be done by now.'

Mika stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself tightly in a towel. She leaned over to wrap her hair up as she wiped the fog from the mirror. Mika reached for her phone and began the morning routine.

She walked back into her room and grabbed a black suit off the wrack. Mika laid it out on the bed as she grabbed a new sports bra and spandex. Once her pants and shirt were on Mika approached the dresser. Spread out across the table was three pairs of magazines with different materials embedded into the rounds.

'Really wish they would identify him already. For all, we know these rounds are useless.' Mika sighed.

After sliding the magazines into their proper compartments she slipped her jacket on. Once she adjusted her holsters Mika went for the door. She stopped momentarily to glance at a picture along the wall.

'It might be a while before I come home again, but know you're always with me.'

Mika exited her quarters locking the door as Omar looked up from the table. He made sure to get up early to have breakfast with Mika. She walked up to the spread prepared and went for the usual mango, and yogurt. Before she loaded her plate one of the chefs exited with fluffy pancakes and air-fried bacon.

'I can make up for it tomorrow, and no telling when the next hot meal will be.' Mika waited for the chef to return to the kitchen before discreetly loading her plate.

Omar was trying to find the right way to approach Mika. Not wanting to miss the opportunity by overthinking he got up. Omar tried his best to look casual as he went for a tray.

It didn't occur to him that Mika already saw him sitting at the table muttering. She even waved politely, but he was lost in thought. Currently in the messroom were ten agents, but Mika found an empty spot near the elevator.

Omar was waved down by several colleagues, but his interest was elsewhere. He declined politely under the guise of today's briefing. Omar took a seat next to Mika and ate quietly while he gathered the courage to speak.

'There's gotta be some way to break the ice again. She's usually focused on work, but I don't have much to offer right now. Maybe I can get her talking again.'

"Have any guesses on what we're chasing?" Omar asked.

"Can we talk later?" Mika requested while covering her mouth with a napkin.

"Su-sure. Sorry." Omar got up from the table.

The meals in the mess hall were very sacred to Mika. She found eating in the van uncomfortable due to the close quarters, but the other reason was people watching. She was already embarrassed about the number of pancakes she grabbed.

When Omar sat down she tried to be polite, and as a result, ate slower. She could've made it through the meal in time, but not if they had a conversation. Having just taken a bite she was concerned about syrup on her cheek, and her words came off cold.

'I'll tell him sorry later. I wonder if they have fresh strawberries.' Mika looked at the clock.

While eating Mika scrolled through her phone with the uploaded dossier. This was the usual method for transferring data, but Murphy preferred a hands-on approach. She was analyzing Jeffery's background and noticed his frequent moving. This was a common occurrence for those marked by visitors.

'Every town he visited had a substantial amount of missing person cases. Abductions?'

It only took two taps for Mika to have a detailed case of every missing person. She divided each city he lived in and went back several months before his arrival. In the periods Jeffery was present there was indeed a spike close to his residence.

Mika isolated the cases and found something unusual. She saved the cases and worked through the list. In most abduction cases a pattern is difficult to find, but Mika found a trail.

'All of them look the same, and a few of the bodies were even recovered. The coroner reports don't match up for an abduction.'

Mika put a pin in the subject and began her research on the others. When reviewing their pictures once more she froze. Megan was a spitting image of the other women present. She switched back to Jeffery and accessed his juvenile files.

'The visitors weren't involved in the storms at all. If he was a hybrid there would've been a manifestation earlier than this. Maybe it was the adrenaline of almost dying that sparked it.'

This revelation led to Mika finishing her meal promptly, and grabbing Omar. They rushed to the elevator and moved to control. Mika was expecting a snail mail report for Murphy, but nothing was present.

"You said it would be ready by now," Mika stated.

"That's what the director said, but I haven't seen him since. I can try to reach him again."

"That won't be necessary. Follow me." Director Kurt was standing at the doorway.

Mika didn't see a report in his hand, but she had to follow protocol here. Kurt was leading them towards the elevator when Mika halted in her tracks. Omar failed to notice the concerned look on her face. The director reached the elevator turning back to see Mika frozen.

"Are you coming?" Kurt asked.

"Yes, s-sir," Mika replied.