The Turn: Chapter Twenty-Five

The Turn

Chapter Twenty-Five

~Call the Wolves~

Two Years before The Turn

Zara jerked awake. Lazily she looked around the subway. Across from her, Hina lay asleep on her brother’s shoulder. Naru was the most aware and awake of the rest of them. Deontay sat a little ways away. His head tilted forward in slumber. Vicky stood holding on to one of the overhead bars. She had an inner strength that had yet to come out.

“Good morning,” Chaud sounded as chipper as ever.

Zara glared at him. He sat just to her left. Even after all the traveling they had just gone through, he was still in a very good mood. They were all about at the end of their ropes. After touching down in the middle of the desert, they promptly stole a van and drove toward their last location: California. Now they were on their last leg where they needed to get to a safe house.

The train finally stopped and the six weary travelers got off the train. They walked to the surface. Zara shifted the weight of her back on her shoulders before walking on. They continued down the streets until they reached a secluded alley. Deontay lifted a manhole and the rest of them crawled in.

“Oh, yuck,” Hina muttered as she covered her nose.

Naru turned on a flashlight.

“Come on,” Zara sighed, “the sooner we get to where we’re going the sooner we can all sleep.”

Quickly they walked through the sewers until they reached a dead end. A small electrical box sat to one side. Naru opened it revealing a complex security system. He pulled a few wires and typed a little on the key pad. Suddenly the wall pushed back and slid open.

As they walked in, it was immediately noticeable that the air quality was much better. There was a hum as equipment in the room started to activate. A low blue glow signaled things were turning on. The metal grated floor under their feet rattled as they walked.

“Alright, we have a week at most, more likely less, to get the information we need. Chaud, Hina, and Deontay get to sleep first. Vicky will help me get the system up while Naru hooks up his laptop,” Zara instructed.

Groggily, Hina and Deontay walked off. Chaud stood there with his hands in his back pockets.

“You know,” he started to say; “You look pretty tired yourself.”

“Yeah, so,” Zara turned and walked over to one of the computers.

“Well, you should get some rest,” Chaud shrugged.

“I will,” Zara looked up at him, “later.”

“Fine!” Chaud walked away, “Just thought you might want some rest. I was just giving you a chance.”

“Just go!” Zara shook her head. She turned to look at Naru, he looked to be self-reliant. Vicky stood awkwardly waiting for instruction, “You can start over there. Let’s see if we could get some of these computers online. Getting connected to the Tower database won’t be easy without being noticed.”

“I could do it!” Chaud called.

Zara sighed, “Really?”

Chaud turned and walked back. He was typing away at his cell phone. “Shouldn’t take long,” he said when he was done.

Sure enough, more lights turned on and the large screen against the opposite wall turned on. All the computers turned on and the sliding wall closed in place. A small animated character jumped onto all the screens. It twirled and jumped. When it stopped it pulled a box out of its pocket and opened it. The screens all went black for a moment but slowly started to regain their image. A world map appeared on the large screen and different applications on the smaller ones.

“This is the Tower’s database?” Zara asked.

“No,” Chaud shook his head, “It IS the Tower. Well, at least we see what they see. And can use what they use. Miwa really outdid himself.” The latter he muttered to himself.

“Miwa?” Zara asked.

“A friend,” Chaud shrugged and started walking toward the sleeping quarters.

“You know, I was wondering why you were taking forever! I was talking to Bridget for like ten minutes!”

“I have no idea what you are talking about!” Chaud called over his shoulder.

“Chaud, I swear! Arg!” Zara turned her back on Chaud and walked to one of the computers. “Start looking for anything to do with the New Order!” she shouted at Vicky.

“Yes, ma’am,” Vicky darted to another computer and started typing feverishly.

IOIOIOIOI

“Really?” Sirius nodded as he listened to Bridget’s complaint the next day.

“Yeah!” Bridget crossed her arms, “I just thought you might want to know. She was in here wanting to get something from upstairs. I sent her on her way.”

Sirius thought a moment, “That doesn’t sound like her to forget something. Even if she did, it doesn’t sound like her at all to give up that easily.”

“That’s what happened,” Bridget shrugged.

“Thank you,” Sirius continued on his way up to his office.

Kaiba and Kiri were already there. He greeted the both of them a good morning. He sat in his desk and took a quick glance at the piles of paper work on his desk. He took a sip of his coffee. His eyes narrowed in thought. It wasn’t like Zara at all. She would have barged up the stairs with Bridget clinging to her legs. Sirius took out his cell phone. There was a messaged that he received from his son the day before saying something about him staying at a friend’s house. He called Chaud. The call went directly to voicemail that wasn’t set up yet. He then called Deontay’s apartment number. No luck there either. Sirius pressed a button on his desk phone.

“Do you need something?” Kaiba sighed.

“You don’t happen to know where your brother is, do you?” Sirius asked.

There was a slight pause, “Which one?”

“Chaud,” Sirius responded.

“Wasn’t he at Deontay’s house?”

“He switched phones again,” he said as if it has some weight.

Kaiba sighed, “That’s never good. I’ll see if I can track him by his Agent tracking number.”

“Report what you find,” Sirius remembered something, “Call the others too would you?”

“Sure.”

Sirius waited; his elbows on the desk, hands folded anxiously under his chin. Chaud, he knew, had and uncanny ability to disappear. He also knew that his son had at least a dozen different cellphones and switched them around on a regular basis. If one was older than three months, he would toss it and by a new one keeping the memory chip. And then there was his ability to plan and execute. Honestly, Chaud was probably better at that than even Kaiba. It just seemed to come naturally for him.

His cell phone rang. The caller ID read Chaud but he didn’t recognize the number. He answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Dad,” came his son’s voice, “You called?”

“Yes, I did,” Sirius sat back in his chair, “Just wondering where you are.”

“You know, around,” Chaud said in a dismissive manor.

“Around?”

“Yeah, just hanging around with some friends. We’re going for ice cream later. Got to go, okay, dad. We’ll see ya around, alright!” Chaud hung up.

Sirius put down his phone, “Around.”

It’s a hard thing to lie to family. They know you so well. They know that you look up or down when you’re lying or you do that weird thing with your nose. Or that you can’t stop fidgeting or you can’t look them in the eyes. In Chaud’s case, he used the word ‘around’ when he didn’t want to be found. It couldn’t be helped. It was his family tell. Sirius tried to call the number again.

“I’m sorry; this is not a valid number. Goodbye!”

Kaiba walked in, “Their Agent numbers aren’t in the system. It’s as if they were wiped from the system. And all their phone numbers aren’t valid anymore.”

Kiri walked in just then, “Kaiba had me check the security cameras. They were disabled yesterday and any existing footage was erased.”

Kaiba looked at his father’s blank expression, “You don’t look surprised.”

“He called,” Sirius stood up, “He’s says they’ll see us ‘around’.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes, “Great.”

Kiri looked around, confused, “What? What does that mean?”

Sirius smiled, “It means we won’t be seeing them for a while.

Kiri looked at Sirius, “You mean they left the Island?”

“Zara was never really the type to give up,” Sirius walked out of the office.

Kaiba followed him, “What are we going to do? We have agents on AWAL. We need to get them back but we don’t even have a place to start.”

Sirius entered the elevator, “We’ll get them back.”

“You’re fairly confident,” Kiri noted.

“More like terrified, really,” Sirius looked to Kaiba, “Your mother would have my head if she found out.” He sighed, “This will be an interesting conversation at dinner tonight.”

Kiri saluted, “Good luck, sir.”

“You did set up your will so I will inherit your seat right?” Kaiba’s expression was all serious.

“Thank you,” he said to Kiri. He turned to Kaiba, “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

The elevator door closed.

IOIOIOIOI

There was a knock at the door. A dissatisfied groan was heard from the sleeping figure in bed. Gold eyes looked at a nearby clock. A sliver of light made its way through the drawn curtains.

“Go away,” the man growled.

“I would, but I can’t,” a figure walked into the room, “We have a visitor!”

Fang sat up in bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His hair was now mostly white than black. There were still a few black strands to be seen but not many. The night before had been a long one. Alister had though that it would be a brilliant idea to dabble in the arts and take on painting. All well and good but there was one thing Alister failed to mention: he was intending to ‘paint’ with a flamethrower. Thought it would be ironic or something stupid like that. Because of that, Fang had been up late that night.

He looked up at Shadow as he rummaged through his drawers, “Who’s here?”

“You’d never guess,” Shadow smiled.

Fang waited a moment for more information. There was none, “That’s why I’m asking. Who is visiting?”

Shadow tossed some clothed at Fang, “Here. You’ll just have to see when you get down there.”

“I swear, Shadow, tell me or I will strangle you! I do not have the patience today,” Fang stood up, his eyes narrowing on Shadow.

Shadow didn’t feel threatened, “Tsk, tsk, are we impatient today. You should curb that attitude before to meet out guest.”

Fang stepped closer to Shadow. Seeing that Fang just might make good on his threat, Shadow made his way briskly to the door.

“Shall I tell out guest that you should be down in the dining room shortly?” Shadow said with a smile.

Fang got dressed and freshened up. He walked down the steps and entered the living room. Arisa, now a blossoming young lady, sat on the couch texting away on one of those gizmos. Naturally, Lumin, formally known as Blue, was sitting next to her reading a book.

“Good morning, Fang,” Lumin acknowledged without looking up from his book.

Arisa looked up from her text, “Hello!”

Fang nodded a greeting to both of them. He passed the large staircase as Penelope ran down the stairs. Inevitably, she tripped and broke her glasses all before she even changed out of her pajamas. Fang paused a moment, considering whether he should turn and help. He glanced over his shoulder.

“Ow,” she muttered.

Penelope pulled a spare from her pocket. She turned to see Fang and smiled sheepishly. Fang determined that she would be fine and carried on.

Alister walked out of the kitchen. His flaming red hair was a complete mess. He had an automatic weapon slung over his shoulder. Fang eyed him closely, wondering what he had done to the kitchen this time.

Raven sailed past both of them, a canvas in her arms as she headed out to the backyard. After Fang had forbidden Alister to even think about painting, Raven had taken up the notion. They had plenty of spare canvases now and Fang saw it as something to help her express herself.

Finally, Fang walked into the dining room. He paused only slightly when he saw who it was.

Sirius tuned at Fang’s entrance. He had been looking at a painting on the wall. Fang walked cautiously forward.

“Hello Fang,” Sirius greeted.

Fang said nothing.

“Well, I’m sure you want to get straight to the point,” Sirius said.

Fang looked around, “More or less.”

Sirius sighed, “I have some Agents I need you to find.”