Deceit (Alt.)

"Feng, how many heat signatures in that car? Over." Athena's commanding tone in my ears snaps me back to the present.

"Just one. Human. No HVT. Last seen entering house 0900. Lost her when they were moving."

Feng had been eyeing that house since earlier this morning. There were supposed to be a maximum of five Rogue Demons based on his report. Furthermore, two humans have been seen coming and going. Identity and affiliation still unknown.

Officially, the only two residents registered were the two rogues we're hunting, "Cesar" and "Alice." We tried to save the human hostage Cesar had used against us, but Cesar killed him after seeing my hair under my helmet and discovering I was Reborn. The lecture he tried to give me about betraying "our kind" still pisses me off.

These two have supposedly been off grid for a long time, but clearly time hasn't made them rusty. Alice is evading Feng of all people, and her unique ability still remains unknown despite years of activity. As for Cesar, he nearly killed me and Athena when he started to self destruct in that house. I was shaken at first, acting on pure instinct, but I guess I'm ready for whatever now. Especially after something so up close and personal.

My the tips of my claws are still crusted with dried blood after tearing through Cesar's abdomen. At least it stopped him from blowing us up.

"Feng, slow it down. Quietly. Non-lethal. Human might have useful intel. And Specialist," Athena turns to me, off radio, "Are you alright? You can retract your claws now."

"Ah." Well, she doesn't know why I'm keeping them out. This is ridiculous, but the last time I retracted my claws before cleaning them, my fingernails felt icky for hours. This time, it's with blood. This is stupid. I'm a soldier. I just killed a self-destructing veteran Rogue Demon. "Roger, Athena."

Well, my hands still feel nasty, but this won't kill me or anything. Feng just fried the lights on the getaway vehicle and planted a remote drone. Provided it doesn't fall out during movement, Wolfgang should be able to kill the engine soon.

"There. Feng, car facing east. Highbeams. Track it. Over."

"Roger. Driver is tricky. I'm sending you a new route. Check monitor. I say unlock Specialist Atlasz. Out." I wasn't expecting Feng to ask Athena to disable the locks on my monitor. I wonder if my giddiness shows on my face. I hope not. Athena would probably think I'm weird.

"Roger, Feng. Heron. Over." Athena comms back to Jess at headquarters. The repeated clunking (Dishes, I think?) makes me wonder how many times Jess dropped her earpiece before being able to reply. Isn't she supposed to be ready?

"This is Heron." Short and sweet, just like her size and character, I tell myself.

"Grant full access to Specialist Atlasz's monitor. Re-upload Feng's map data."

"Roger, Athena. Specialist, rebooting you now. Out."

I'd like to review my monitor, but I'm kind of running full speed right now! I can't exactly tell Athena to stop and give me a second at this pace. She's able to keep up with me because of the assistive robotics installed in her leg gear, but we'll have to slow down soon if we want the element of surprise. Unlike me, her moving at this speed makes far too much noise.

"Thank you, ma'am." I say to her, off radio.

"Stay focused, Specialist. The lights went out." And to the radio, she says, "Wolfgang. Did you kill the car? Over."

I think I heard Feng laugh a little when he heard Wolfgang's denial over the radio. "No. Must have been the driver. Need time. Junk is old and has parts installed in weird places. How the hell does this piece of crap even run? Wait, out."

"Roger, Wolfgang. Will this car be loud enough for the Specialist? Over." Athena asks. I mean, we could hear it from here, I tell myself. I'm sure humans could pick this up too, even from our distance.

And now the driver somehow started projecting his highbeams in different directions in the streets, erratic and random. I can't figure which direction he's actually going anymore.

"Yes. Suggest send Specialist Atlasz to ID the car's location when I kill it. Over."

"Precisely." Athena replies in agreement. This team works with such amazing synergy; it's almost like they can read each other's minds. And I'm a part of this. I even saved the Captain (and my own ass) earlier.

"Specialist, Atlasz. Hold." Athena turns to me after bringing us to a stop. "Your natural hearing and speed are better than my equipment when it comes to stealth. Your monitor should be done. Get a feel for the new display, and find my marker on the map. Go here and find the car when Wolfgang finishes. Mark both the car and a rendezvous point. I'll catch up with you."

She's giving me complete independence on this next objective. Holy crap. This whole mission is moving at such a fast pace. First, I visually IDed our remaining three demon friends for Feng. Second, I punched the guts out of a self destructing veteran rogue. Third, my monitor! Now, a solo run?

"Specialist!" Jess pages me on a private channel. Only she, Athena, and I can hear this channel. "This is your first op. I get it. But you've done a great job so far, kiddo. Just because Athena won't be beside you on this next bit doesn't mean you're alone. Trust me. If I had to choose Feng from a mile away vs a platoon right beside me, my money's on Feng for covering fire. You got this."

Athena nods. That's all I need. I lunge forward and cross the street in a single leap into the alleyway ahead of us. I kick off of the walls and eventually jump my way to the top. I run forward, leaving Athena behind me.

"Heads up." Wolfgang radios in. "I got it. Blowing the drone. Disabling car. You're up, Specialist."

I listen and hear the "noise" that Athena predicted. Honestly, it was just a fancy way of saying this clunky old car's gonna creak or something on the inside. She was right. It doesn't take long to hear.

I see the car and mark it for Wolfgang. "Driver is cruising. Speed steadily decreasing. Tracking live on map."

"Not bad." Wolfgang announces, sounding impressed. "Driver reacted quick, so it'll keep moving for a bit. Too bad for him, though. No turns, no hills to use. Expect car to stop here. Check map. Out."

A new marker from Wolfgang appeared on my map. Just eyeballing it, it actually does look like that's where the car should stop. But I see something more. "Visual on car. Two bodies inside. Second one looks female. Could be our other HVT."

"Specialist, verify. I see one human. Verify." Feng's input means only one thing. That MUST be Alice. Something must let her hide her heat signature from Feng's view.

"Roger, Feng. I verify two in car. If no thermals, strongly suspect the passenger is HVT." I repeat back. This could also be why she was so hard to find over the years.

"Hold position, Specialist. Stay in cover." I drop below the ledge immediately. Athena's warning me about something, but I'm not sure what yet. "HVT is invisible to Feng. No thermals. Wait at rendezvous point. I'll approach from—"

"Athena, car door just opened. Human driver just jumped out. He's—" Oh, no. This can't be right. I thought this car looked familiar. My heart is sinking. "He's running."

"Then I will engage Alice." Athena responds instantly. "You go pursue the human. Capture and interrogate. Find a connection to the demons. Lethal force authorized. Wait."

"Feng, overwatch. Guns cold. Don't shoot unless you need to. Out."

Why, Felix? Was it all a lie? Were you just spying on me? Did you stage that car crash? I can't jump to conclusions—but I can't dismiss the possibility, either. He knows a surprisingly great deal about Reborn, possesses a potentially dangerous intellect, and conveniently knew all the right things to say. Most of all, he exited the bloodied up house and escorted Alice while evading us with unexpected efficiency.

I really wish it didn't, but the evidence implies your guilt.