C. Adams - Version 2.0

“Acceptable,” Kale replied after a moment of consideration. “So you’re good at training?” she glanced to Birdie.

“I’m good at training what I know how to do,” she replied, straightening her uniform top. “But I’ve not even completed training here . Why do you ask?”

Kale sighed as they approached the hatch to R.R. “We may have to start recruiting,” she told her. The three of them filed in through the hatch door, and Kale closed and secured it before walking across the small hallway to another one. This door had a console beside it, and Kale pulled her I.D card that hung on a retractable cord on her belt, and swiped it over the device. The red light above the door turned green, and there was a loud clicking sound behind the door. Kale then opened the hatch and made her way inside with the siblings.

“Agent Kale,” Dr. Foster approached from the hall they were walking through.

“Aaron,” she greeted. “Working a double shift?”

“Just got in an hour ago,” he told her. “I was informed you’d be coming in.” He glanced over at Birdie and Brian. “Nice to see you again,” he told them, trying to be friendly, though it was clear by his demeanor that he had urgent news. “Do they have clearance?” he asked Kale.

She arched an eyebrow. “Would they be with me, if they didn’t?”

“Right,” he nodded. “We’ve discovered something,” he told her. “And we have a big problem.”

“Other than the obvious?”

“On top of it,” he replied. “Same problem; bigger consequences.”

“Has something else happened?” she asked as they approached a set of sliding steel doors.

“Eh… not exactly. It’s just that we’re only now realizing the extent of it,” he explained. The doors opened and Birdie realized that it was an elevator. She hesitantly followed them as they filed into it. “Everyone is in the conference room,” he told them. “We’ve just been waiting on you, to start.”

“Everyone?”

“Maverick’s team, the R.R staff and myself. Well, I’m obviously not in there right now.”

“Obviously,” Kale rose a brow again. Aaron pushed a button and the shaft began moving downward.

Birdie looked at the button pad where Dr. Foster had punched level C1. She noted that there was a button for every letter in the alphabet, and decided that there must be other elevators if these were all followed by the number one. She recalled a building she’d visited during a case when she was with the DEA, that had a similar system.

“I came over here this morning when I was asked to come confirm their findings,” Aaron told them. “I wish I could tell you all I know, but I think it’d be best to hear it all in one place.” The elevator stopped, and mere moments later the doors swished open. “After you,” the doctor moved away from the exit and allowed the others to leave the shaft. He then headed out, himself, and led them toward the conference room.

This hallway was unlike anything else Birdie had seen on the island, and from the way Brian looked around, it was likely he’d never been here before, either. The entire walkway was black. The floor was an endless rubberized grate leading all the way to its end, and the walls on either side of them looked like marble. It was so smooth, Birdie could see her reflection as if it were a mirror. Overhead, were hundreds of small lights, no bigger than a dime around, each. Their placement made Birdie think of the night sky in Dagsboro. And though they were tiny, the hallway was lit very well.

When they reached the end of the walkway, the sliding door at the end swished open, and they entered a large room, similar to the walkway as far as the walls and lighting went. There was nothing lining the walls, as far as pictures or decor. A large, oblong table sat in the middle of the room, and several people were seated around it. One of them, Birdie recognized. Emmett smiled at her once their eyes met. She returned the smile, shortly, before her nerves reminded her that they were here for an important reason that was still unknown to her.

“Amber Farran,” a child’s voice came from the far end of the table. Birdie and Brian both looked over to see the young boy as he stood from his chair and walked toward her. He appeared no older than twelve, but the way he was dressed in a navy blue uniform similar to the black ones the Observers wore, the way his hair was styled, and the way he carried himself, it was more likely that he was much older.

“Do you know me?” Birdie asked.

“I do,” he replied as he approached. “We’ve never met in person, but I know who you are.” Instinctively, she dropped to one knee so that she wasn’t towering over him, and extended her hand to greet him. He took it. “My name is Simon.”

“I’m glad to meet you, Sir,” she told him.

There was a small moment where his brow twitched, not having expected the immediate level of respect the woman gave him without knowing exactly who he was. “We’ve been waiting for you,” he told her. She looked into Simon’s eyes, somehow able to sense that there was a wisdom within him that surpassed anyone she’d ever known.

Simon drew his hand away and turned toward the table. “Maverick,” he called, “Your report.”

“Sir,” he nodded as he stood. Maverick looked a bit older than anyone else in the room. Definitely more gruff, as well. He was a head shorter than Dr. Foster, who was still standing a bit to the side of him. He had a beard and mustache that wasn’t altogether inappropriate, however not exactly professional enough to be working in that room. His hair was brown and peppered with gray hairs, and he was wearing civilian clothing, topped of with a baseball cap.

“Agent Kale asked me to form a team to investigate into the Defectors’ confiscated weapons,” Maverick began. “What we found, was that there was a chemical compound in each round of ammunition,” he hit a button on the console in front of his chair on the table top, illuminating a large holographic screen in the center of the table for all to see. The image showed a picture of one of the unspent rounds dissected during the investigation. “Our resident chemists and medical experts haven’t been able to determine the compound,” he continued, “But did a series of trials that indicate its purpose.” He pressed another button on the console, and the screen showed a magnified simulation of Proprietor cells repairing themselves, then another simulation of the same cells exposed to the compound, which stopped the cells from repairing from their damaged state.

“To inhibit regeneration,” Kale surmised.

“Exactly,” Maverick told her. He pushed another button, showing the plane wreckage. “The compound was also found in the wreckage. Everything within the crash radius was effected.”

“Wouldn’t that mean that the people killed yesterday are…” Birdie’s questions drifted off before she could finish.

“Still dead, yes,” Dr. Foster told her.

“Permanently?” Kale asked, seeming slightly disturbed at the thought.

“We don’t know that yet,” Foster replied. “And we’re not sure when we’ll know. Not unless we can find whoever created the compound.”

“Which means you’re down to a handful of agents, Kale,” Maverick said. “Also means you’re the new boss.”

“Enough agents to take scouting,” Kale said, trying to remain as calm as possible.”And I’m capable of taking whatever position is appointed to me.” She looked over at Birdie for a moment, then back to Maverick, then to Simon. “In fact, as my first action I’d like to appoint Agent Farran as my second in command, until further notice.”

“She’s got no experience,” Maverick argued, raising a skeptical brow.