Maladies of the Flesh, A Rainbow Six Story

Part 3: Distractions & Truths

Vince's POV

I walk through the halls, Ash at my side, searching for Jesse. I can't even begin to imagine the state he must be in, seeing Lera again after so many years. Just the sight of her face must have torn at him. No wonder he bolted. Ash hasn't asked me about that yet, but it's clear that she intends to at some point. For now though, she seems content to simply walk the halls with me, making sure I don't get lost. Or shot. Finally, I stop, leaning heavily against the wall as I let out an explosive sigh:

Vince: "We're not going to find him."

Ash looks at me curiously:

Ash: "How do you know?"

I shake my head:

Vince: "Because he doesn't want to be found."

Ash tilts her head slightly, and opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off before she gets the chance:

Vince: "We're two of the best stealth operatives in the world. You could have everyone in this base looking for him, and still never find him. Trust me. He'll come back once he's ready. Until then, let's just give him some space. He needs it more than you know."

I mutter the last part under my breath, but I can tell that Ash heard me. She doesn't question it, instead turning and walking down the hall, before stopping and looking over her shoulder:

Ash: "Coming?"

I decide not to question where we're going, and fall into step beside her. Thankfully, after a moment she speaks up:

Ash: "Since we're waiting for your brother, why don't we hit the gym?"

I nod:

Vince: "That would be nice. Work out the stress."

Ash: "Exactly."

Ash leads me to a large set of double doors, and she pushes them open, standing aside to let me through. I step into the gym, and look around, giving a low whistle:

Vince: "Damn."

The gym is massive, with multiple floors of workout equipment, a boxing ring in the center of the bottom floor, and even an agility course that runs up the walls, requiring intense parkour skills to complete. Ash walks in behind me, a brilliant smile on her face:

Ash: "So? What do you think?"

I shake my head slowly:

Vince: "I must admit, I am impressed."

Her smile widens, and she grabs my hand, leading me up to the agility course:

Ash: "It's something of a tradition that everyone who joins has to run the agility course, and post their best times here."

Ash points to a digital scoreboard on the wall next to her, where a list of names are posted, their best run times posted next to them. My eyes dart to the top of the list, finding the top 3 names:

Ela: 1:38.34

Bandit: 1:45.21

IQ: 1:48.56

I chuckle softly:

Vince: "Damn. Pretty fast."

???: "Thank you."

I turn around to find a blonde woman in GSG9 gear standing behind me, an easy smile on her face. She holds her hand out to me, and I shake it:

???: "Monika Weiss, GSG9."

Vince: "Vincent Blackwolf, T.E.R.O.R.S.."

Monika: "Ah, so you are the new guy."