Dan

  Three months later...

  The clean air and the greyish white overcast skies above him was something Dan would never take for granted again. Whether it was him being confined in a cell with barely enough meals to sustain himself or being used as a conscript to hunt a cult master under a blood red sky with burning vehicles, dead bodies, and magic-wielding maniacs around him, Kodak-Cresh territory was awful. No more vacations back there I hope, he thought to himself.

  After his brief glance at the normal-looking sky, Dan shifted his attention down to the graves of his former comrades. He stared at Benjamin Colt and Hailey Monsoon’s gravestones as he sat kneeling in front of them. He eyed the engraved pieces he had left on each of their graves, dedicated notes he had left for each of them shortly after the entire mess back at Amethyst.

  Thanks for healing my ankle. You helped me survive that entire shitshow. Wish I could have done the same for you, he wrote to Ben.

  We didn’t get to hang out more and that fucking sucks. It would have been nice to learn some tips and tricks from a sniper. You seemed pretty chill, he wrote to Hailey.

  The walk all the way to this cemetery proved he still hadn’t recovered from his injuries since his escape from Kodak territory. He knew just from the injury diagnostics that he was in rough shape across the board. But the complete drain of his corrosia energy had also exasperated and complicated his injuries.

  Angie and Li had to help carry him all the way here. Officially, he wasn’t supposed to leave his hospital bed. Unofficially, his two teammates discretely brought him out of his room. Both friends stood behind him as he sat silently in front of the two gravestones.

  He looked up at Li, who had fully recovered from his injuries. “I heard they let you out a few weeks ago. How are you feeling?”

  “Back to normal,” the stealth specialist said. He still wore his silver armor and coat but had taken off his helmet. “Once again, it looks like you took the worst of the damage on my behalf.”

  Dan pushed himself to get back on his feet and Angie grabbed his arm and helped lift him up. He then turned and walked over to another set of gravestones a few meters away from Ben and Hailey’s. He stopped then lowered himself down to his knees in front of another pair of gravestones. Dan stared at the names and the messages he had written for the unlikely pair. The two who ignited his anger and had experienced his wrath. In the end, they both put their loyalties to Kodak aside and helped him and Li escape.

  Kate Razor

  When they lied to you, you chose to help me. I don’t know if I can forgive you for what you did to me. But you have my thanks.

  Adam Torrent

  You were just another vicious and intimidating Kodak agent to me. But you helped me escape and chose your girlfriend over the shard. I didn’t quite nail the final blow on Judith. But I know I’ll get my opportunity again soon. Thank you.

  Bringing their bodies back was impossible, as Kate Razor was completely vaporized by a direct shot from a strider’s energy cannon. And Dan was so preoccupied with his struggle against Judith and the incoming sandstorm that there was simply no time to grab Adam’s remains.

  This was the best he could do for both of them.

  Angie crouched down next to him. “I’ve been meaning to ask why. I thought you hated these two.”

  Dan squinted at both gravestones of Kate and Adam before answering.

  “I did. Both Li and I had an uphill battle as it was trying to bust out and escape. During that time, Kate finally opened her eyes and saw who the real villain was. Kodak promised to bring back her dead brother and they used her and tossed her aside when she didn’t meet their expectations. I knew that we needed every advantage we could get to make it out alive so I threw Kate a bone and asked her to come with us.”

  Dan spared a glance at Adam’s gravestone.

  “And Adam, well I never liked him at all. But he chose to stand by his girlfriend when he saw that his employer was willing to toss her aside. And just like that, he was also considered a traitor to be killed on sight. They both deserved to be remembered. There’s no way Kodak would spare that same privilege.”

  All three of them remained silent. Dan knew it was a lot to ask his two teammates to express any gratitude for two agents who were their enemies. But Dan saw their actions and their willingness to help him during their final moments.

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  Dan changed the subject. “So Angie, do you have any updates on what the Alpha Corp is planning with Ada?”

  Angie’s expression lit up. “Michael pulled some strings for us. You didn’t see it since you blacked out before our landing, but nobody shot us on sight. Everyone who took part in the off the books rescue mission was pardoned. Jane got a slap on the wrist but did get put under temporary house arrest by the shard.”

  “Putting an agent on house arrest? That’s a new one,” Dan said.

  “Jane’s not a happy camper, but I think she's more thankful that you two are back with us,” Angie said.

  While Dan would forever be grateful for Jane’s devotion to saving him and Li, he still frowned. “So it’s true. You guys weren’t allowed to come after us. The Alpha Corp just wrote us off just like that?”

  Li weighed in. “Well, shards always have to weigh the benefits over the risks over every action, especially with money, assets or territory to be gained or lost. But I'd be lying if I said it didn’t sting.”

  Angie’s smile and enthusiasm faded a bit but she still tried to salvage the conversation.

  “As for Ada, she’s under heavy supervision. Michael told us that once you recover completely, you have the option of having her moved to your place.”

  “That’s nice,” Dan said quietly. He smiled, remembering the kiss they shared back in the desert when they were close to death by the radioactive sandstorm.

  While Dan was thankful for Michael saving him at the last possible moment in his fight against Judith and all that he did to prevent his teammates from getting into too much trouble, something still gnawed at him. His gaze fell when the thoughts of suspicion and doubt crept into his mind. Ada’s retelling of rumors about Michael, Judith’s explosive reaction to seeing the senior agent, and even the cult master alluding to some shady connection to the man who saved Dan’s life. Too much added up and made him wary of Michael Cynosa. The suspicion mixed in with guilt. Michael was the reason he became an agent and gave him this life, for better or worse. Without his connection to the man, he would have never met Jane, Allen, Angie, Li, and all the agents he paid his respects to.

  A question formed in his mind that he wanted to ask each of his teammates. But since only Angie and Li were here with him, he might as well ask before they had to drag him back to the hospital.

  “If there’s one thing you gained from this mess, you got yourself a hot goth girlfriend,” Angie said, cutting through his thoughts.

  Dan grimaced. “The hell Angie?”

  “I mean, dark hair, scary-looking eyes and pale skin. Give her some tattoos and piercings and she would fit that stereotype to a tee. Aside from that, she seems really happy with you. You telling us your love story and how you both came together was a ten out of ten. So romantic!” Angie had gushed about that story even during the walk to the cemetery.

  “It’s an old story. Two people on different sides are still coming together through love,” Li said. “I don’t know if I would have given the same understanding to an enemy, but you both proved it could still happen in this world. I only wish I was awake to hear it the first time on the dropship ride back. Seeing everyone’s reaction would have been entertaining.”

  Dan flashed a brief smile at the stealth specialist. But he knew that before they went back to the hospital, he needed to ask his teammates something that had occupied his mind since coming back from enemy territory.

  He turned and looked at the strawberry blond in her eyes. “Angie, was there ever a point where you asked yourself what you signed up for when you took this job as an agent?” he asked. “When Michael recruited me, I was thankful to be alive and given a chance to get away from the shithole that was New York. After everything I’ve witnessed. Everything I’ve suffered and all the broken bones and punctured organs I’ve healed from. I think I’m only just now asking myself that question.”

  Angie didn’t immediately answer. She looked down while putting her hands together, contemplating on his question.

  “Well, I got sucked into the marketing. I saw Jane’s beautiful face on a poster that said she needed young people like me to sign up and be a part of something greater. I mean, being an agent looked badass and you would get to go on adventures and stuff.” She took the deathdealer grenade launcher off her back and inspected the weapon Dan had helped win from the Combat Games. “You know I’ve gone through some fucked up shit, but I guess that’s just part of what I signed up for.”

  Li crouched down beside him and offered his own answer. “After my parents were killed, I spent every day of my life training and pushing myself until I signed up to be a candidate for the Hellhounds at sixteen. I was put through the wringer again through training and my first mission was to help repel another small skirmish at our border when the smart guns malfunctioned.”

  Dan turned to look at the stealth specialist. He remembered the details from the conversation they had while Li visited his cell.

  “I was no stranger to killing by that point. The harsh training and the private lessons from my uncle had desensitized me by the time they gave me a suit of armor and a gun. But even as I mowed down numerous Kodak agents, the HUD notifications of gaining experience and checking my kill count by the end of the battle was… something. Me killing on behalf of the shard was treated as some game. But doing my part to crush the opposition so that my parents could rest knowing that their son was doing everything in his power to fight against their killers kept me focused. This life is where I belong.”

  Dan exchanged a glance with Angie then back at Li. Neither of them gave him an answer that was filled with optimism. But they were both honest with him and about the hardships they had endured in this line of work.

  He nodded softly. “Thanks guys. I think it’s time for us to go.”

  Angie picked him up and lifted his arm to wrap around her shoulder. The strawberry blond helped walk him through the cemetery while Li followed closely behind them.

  After everything he had suffered, he reflected on the phantom impacts and the injuries he suffered from all of his battles until now. All of the allies and enemies he had encountered. Even after all the crazy shit he had witnessed with his own eyes, he knew that as long as his teammates, his friends, were by his side, he could continue walking.

  No matter what horrors awaited him ahead as an agent.

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