CHAPTER SIX-RUN

As a group, each of them stood at attention; hands behind their backs as they scouted the inner and outer banks of the camp. They saluted in respect as the Camp Sargeant hauled away their fallen brother. They could see the head above the blanket covered in old blood as his body decomposed in the burning sun. There had been rumors circulating the area that it was one of their own, but nobody wanted to admit to it. They'd gone missing overnight and there were tracker dogs and other members out looking for them as there was no trace within the walls of the camp. The leader's computer had gone missing after the General was killed and if it had fallen into the wrong hands, the program would be at risk to the rest of them and could potentially cause public panic. They could not have that, as the Beta had not been tested on humans yet, not even their own. As their leader, no one could find or get a hold of Zander, either which concerned him, but was not worried enough to cause panic to his employees.

"Sir, the guard post who was on duty when the General was killed stated that he spoke with Zander shortly after." The leader put the binoculars up to his face to scan the site again, attempting to find any sign of anyone who looked out of place.

He spoke in a hushed tone, "Has anyone been able to locate Zander? We need to find that laptop as soon as we can. If it falls into the wrong hands, the entire organization will collapse." He pulled the binoculars down, handing them over to his comrade. "Someone get the GPS device activated on the laptop. We need to find it, maybe if we do, we can figure out what happened with Zander."

"Yes, Sir. Do not worry. If he had something to do with this scenario, we need to find out why." The leader crossed his arms and paced the outer base as his members frantically began their searches.

Hours later, their leader was sitting at his desk with his feet kicked up and his hands behind his head, doing his best to keep his cool. A knock on the door startled him, kicking his feet off his desk and back in position. "Enter."

The member bowed in respect and handed him a small folder. "Seems we found the laptop, Sir and it seems Zander has it in his possession now, I found traces of his login within the system and he was active within it just an hour ago."

He flipped through the papers and looked up. "Very good." He was not only angry but concerned on an extreme level. "Where is he? Where is the laptop? It seems as though he left without warning, a true crime indeed."

His member sighed, "It seems he went back to the States, somewhere called Silvergrove."

Lieutenant Cooper ran a damp handkerchief down the side of his face, leaning back in his desk chair trying to read the room. He had been the best at the force; even when he was in the police academy, he was at the top of his class. He was a second-generation Lieutenant as his Father had groomed him to be from the moment he could walk. For the remainder of 25 years, he solved many cases and put the most evil behind bars with the help of his fellow officers. Although, he couldn't seem to keep a partner around for fuck all. The prescient he ran was small enough that they had the resources they needed to get the job done, but not enough work to give to all officers as Silvergrove's crime rate wasn't high enough to keep a full staff. He was a chunky man himself, unlike most of his friends he had a rounded stomach and pants that never fit quite right unless he was wearing his suspenders. His life consisted of take-out burgers, lonely nights, and a bottle of old Jack just to shut his eyes every night. After his wife left for a much younger man, he said goodbye to a 10-year marriage but wasn't as torn up about it now. He checks in every now and then, but they live two different lives these days and luckily for him, he didn't have children to worry about which he was always content with as she didn't want children.

Sipping his lukewarm coffee, he opened the Haven file. Something about the girl never was quite right, even questioning her after her parents disappeared. Her story never wavered from the first meeting; almost as if it was rehearsed. He licked his index finger and flipped through witness statements and pulled the photos of her home out from the back of the file, gazing over them curiously. No forced entry, nothing missing, whoever was in the home knew them very well and did not hesitate to clean up the mess if there was one to clean up. He set his cup down and ran a hand over his face with a sigh of frustration. Closing the file, his partner came over and handed him a piece of paper, her hand on her hip.

"We just got a call from a resident who lives on Park Ave, about a mile down the road from where Juniper lives. She was walking her dog and found a mysterious bag along the riverbank. Figured we go check it out."

He stood up, downing the rest of his coffee and grabbing his walkie. "Lead the way."