Patrick and Keith sat glued to the screens in the Comm’s office on level four, watching as Strike Team Two entered a building in Taylor’s Lakes. The four-man squad had granted access to their neural interfaces, allowing the scene to be transmitted to the Institute for live action viewing. Four different angles were projected onto the main screen in front of them.

  “Who’s got the lead?” Patrick asked.

  “That’d be Smith; solid, dependable. Not very creative, but gets the job done.” Keith, despite being easily dismissed by most due of his blunt speech and blockish looks, rarely missed a beat when it came to the capabilities of the Institutes main teams. He was firmly embedded within the training division when not out on missions as part of Pat’s team.

  “They’re a good group, been working together for years. Got a new close range damage dealer, but they’ve been integrating well. The healer is top ten ranking in the Australasia division, puts Baz to shame if I’m honest.”

  Heavy footsteps interrupted their discussion, the sound followed not long after by Simson as he entered the room. The Comms Officer’s saluted the Major on entry, who quickly dismissed them back to their work.

  “What’s the current status?” Simson asked.

  “Just entered the building and clearing the ground floor. The van was located on the same block. Scouts predicted they’d be secluded in the lower ground with quick exits via basement and car parking. We have two other teams watching the exits.” Keith said, eyes not leaving the screen. Simson grunted, pulling up a chair next to them.

  “Do we have screens for the exits?” Simson turned to one of the comm’s techs.

  “I’ll patch them through to a separate screen, Sir.”

  “Good man.” Simson turned back to Keith and Pat. “Anything picked up from the van or the surrounding areas?”

  “At this stage, nothing. Everything has been scrubbed. They’re covering their tracks well, more so than usual. Certainly, more resources than their usual recruitments.” Pat said, Keith being too fixated.

  “Matches with what we have been hearing from the other States. FYI Pat, we will likely be sending you to Sydney in the coming days, they’ve had a major event that needs a bit of political smoothing. Their Director has requested your assistance.” Pat grunted in response.

  On screen, the team progressed slowly and professionally through each of the floors before making their move towards the lower levels.

  “No sounder on the team?” Pat asked.

  “Nah, though their radiant can scan,” Keith said. “Old fashioned way for them, though they make up for the loss of utility with assault power.”

  “Radiant heals?”

  “Don’t scoff, that man pushes out the HPS like no one’s business. Misses out on the finesse being mostly focused on group heals. Really shines in large raid situations. I’ve heard he’s already started working on his concepts.”

  Pat turned towards Simson. “I didn’t think it was possible for your concepts to be recognised until you hit the mind stage?”

  “Not normally no, this kid’s a bit of a prodigy. First gen migrant family from South Korea. Was getting hassled by the dominant family of the clan and we granted amnesty.”

  “Hard choice there,” Pat said. “How’d you poach them from the States and China?”

  “Didn’t have to try too hard, some of the maternal extended were already here, though from the non-talented side of the family,” Simson said.

  Conversation stopped as first contact was made. The screen flared with lights as the team released their aetheric skills, the first two cultists were down in seconds. Pushing down the stairs to the basement, they moved in professional silence, hand signals repositioning the team as they made their way forward.

  Three more of the blood sworn entered line of sight, and the tank, Smith, stepped forward; the deep amber of his earth focused aether layering over his combat gear. The narrow stairwell made it easy to contain them.

  “Punch tank?” Pat asked.

  “Yeah, every hit he lands layers his protection. The bigger they are, the denser his armour. If he could work on his agility, he’d be a right menace,” Keith said.

  Smith pummelled the leading cultist, the aetheric energy surrounding him thickening as he did so. The healer glowed with a golden light, preparing heals should one of the others break through.

  His foresight was rewarded, as faster than Smith could intercept, one of the sidelined blood sworn launched over the bruiser. Utilising the confusion as they bowled into the team, aether formed claws slashed out and connected with the petite blond who had been watching their rear.

  “Ooh, suckers gunna regret that,” Keith laughed.

  As the healer released a pulse of radiant energy, the blond retaliated, a plasma blade decapitating the cultist in one hit. Focused rage could be seen on her face through her colleague’s vision. Her blade faded back into nothing, lightning rolling up her arms as she watched the claw marks fade with the healing wave. She nodded to the healer, returning to her vigil as rear guard.

  “Holy shit!” Pat said. “Is that little Anna?”

  “Yeah,” Keith grinned wickedly. “She’s all grown up. That dual resonance with Cerberus and Thunderbird has some serious attack power. Still learning control though. Smashes up the practice rooms something bad.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  They continued to watch as more blood sworn were alerted to the team’s presence, entering the stairwell from the lower ground floor.

  “It seems like there are only subs, no witches or higher sworn.” Pat mused.

  “Hmm, so far,” Keith said. “Ooh, watch this, their new melee deeps is making a move.” Keith’s excitement was infectious, and Pat leaned forward.

  On the screen, the small wiry man who had been holding the tanks off side had been slowly backing away from the frontline. Just as he was about to hit Anna’s rear defence, he pulsed with energy, flashing forward in a burst of speed. He slid under Smith’s punches, knocking out a cultist that had been idling around the tank. In a smooth continuation of the slide, he rolled and lashed out with a darkly glowing short sword, the blade slicing through the guts of two more of the sworn who had been pushing forward. Using bursts of dark energy to disguise his movements, the man flitted through the growing numbers of enemies, his blade flickering against the clouds of dark energy. In only moments, he had slid back into the safety of the group.

  Pat watched in astonishment as the small man turned back to face the blood sworn and slowly clench his fist. As he did so, the clouds of dark energy flowed into the cuts he had made, the area around the wounds slowly rotting as the dark energy spread.

  “Cool right!” Keith grinned. “He needs time to build up, but against a mass of enemies it’s bloody lethal. He’ll be out of major moves for a while, but the team should be able progress without any issues now.”

  Like all the best commentators, Keith’s words proved prophetic as the team took the opportunity to push forward in a rush. Clearing the last of the stairwell and pushing out into the lower ground they established a position against in the inner wall, the healer guarded in the centre.

  “No fifth?” Pat asked.

  “They lost two in a breach last year, only been back in the field for the last few months. They may look for a fifth once the dragon guy has integrated. You know what it’s like, too many changes all at once throws the whole balance out.”

  The action continued, with Mike and Anna now stealing the limelight, no longer confined by the stairwell. Pat frowned though as he continued to watch. He turned to Simson.

  “Sir, they’re all subs, not a single witch in the bunch.”

  “Hmm so it would seem.” Simson stood, a quick glance at the exit screen showing cultists now pushing out to the waiting teams there.

  “How are they staying ahead of us like this? They’ve never been this organised before,” Pat said.

  “I imagine we will find the answer to that soon enough. I have some theories, as does Command. We’ll just have to wait and see. Keith, they can probably use you to help coordinate clean up and tracking. I’ll send you details for Sydney in the morning, Pat.” He waved the Comm’s team back to work as he left the room.

  “Any theories big man?” Pat asked Keith.

  “Misdirection? They’ve been dropping mighty obvious breadcrumbs to these places,” Keith said. “Dunno, we got close with our one, but that was before they had time to really work out a plan of escape.”

  “I wonder if we’ve got a boss coordinating. Why here though? We don’t have the same resources as the States, China, or Europe. Much harder for them to hide tracks as well.”

  “Beats me, mate. You’re the thinker on our team. You figure something out, you let me know. Till then, I’m going to head over that way for clean-up duties. You coming?”

  Patrick’s response was cut off by an incoming message.

  “Next time, but let me know if something comes from the clean-up.”

  * * *

  Theo played with his phone lost in thought, unconsciously flipping between its different forms. It had been almost three weeks since the night out with the boys that had turned his world upside down, and he had yet to hear from Patrick if there was any news about Jimmy.

  He had given up on trying not to dwell on it. He was a maelstrom of emotions that just wouldn’t settle; hope and fear battling for dominance. He knew that Patrick would have told him if there was any news, and yet, the silence did nothing to help the turbulence in his gut. Schrodinger’s cat was playing hooky with the ball of anxiety he kept trying to untangle. He stared at the screen for another minute before sending a text.

  He jumped when the phone buzzed with a response.

  “Meet you at the level 5 lounge in 30.”

  He panicked. Should he go now and wait, or should he wait and then get there on time? He paced his room staring at the message as though an answer would materialise.

  Grabbing his jacket, Theo put on his shoes and bolted out the door, walking quickly towards the northern elevator. He sent Beth a quick message letting her know that he would be late for their after-dinner plans as he rushed past several other students in the hall, ignoring the mixed looks he caused.

  It felt weird stepping back on to level five. It was an instant reminder of the disorientation he had experienced when thrust into this world. It surprised him how much he had acclimated to his new life, though having a new group of mates really did go a long way to easing his loneliness and helped to cover the loss at leaving his old life behind. Not that the feelings had magically disappeared, despite all the crazy new things he was learning.

  He palmed open the door to the lounge area, scanning the room and noting the emptiness. Checking his watch, only ten minutes had passed. He headed to the kitchenette and made a cup of tea, sitting down on one of the couches while he waited. Before long, his leg was twitching, and he put the cup of tea down.

  He started pacing. Thankfully, the nervous energy helped to pass the time, and before he had counted his thirty-second lap, the door opened.

  Patrick walked in, beige slacks, black V-neck and brown paper bag.

  “I brought you a toasty,” he said, throwing Theo the bag.

  “Ha!” Theo responded as he caught the bag. “Jo told me about your tricks, so no need to pretend about the drugs.”

  Patrick laughed.

  “Only honey mustard mayo, I promise.” He said, motioning him towards the couches.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch earlier; it has been a busy few weeks. Not that that is an excuse of course.” Patrick smiled in a self-deprecating way that was impossible to get angry with.

  “So…?” Theo said.

  “An update.” The charm level seemed to drop down a notch as Patrick considered his words. “To start, as you may have guessed, I have no immediate news about Jimmy. At this point, we are still unsure if he is alive or dead.” Theo slumped in his seat, his breath sticking in his chest. Patrick’s look was full of sympathy.

  “There is still hope though, Theo, I want you to hold on to that. We know this was a recruitment drive, so they’ll be planning to keep as many people alive as possible.”

  Theo lifted a little from his slouch. It was not a lot, but he would take it.

  “There are several leads that we are consolidating from that night. There have been some follow-up clashes with the Tagma, some of which I have been personally involved with. We have a team out tonight following up on a van that was sighted, though this will likely be a stepping stone rather than a resolution. I will let you know as soon as I have anything concrete. I know this is a horrible situation to be stuck in, but these things take time.”

  “Thanks, Pat. I know you are doing everything you can,” Theo sighed, looking down at his hands which were shaking slightly. “In my past life, I helped other people deal with these sorts of things. It still comes as a complete shock when you have to go through it yourself.”

  Theo took a big breath, giving himself a shake, pushing down on the emotions that were rushing through him. His eyes were a little glassy when he looked back at Patrick, but he was in control, for now.

  “As soon as you know anything, please?” he said quietly.

  “Of course, Theo.”