House Bound

Dust to Dust

A Report

       Axel Toma ran a trembling hand through his tangled hair, wiping away the cold slick of perspiration from his forehead as he let out a shaky sigh.

       He felt utterly sick, staring down at the photographs contained within the thin, unobtrusive manila folder. It was hard to understand how such an atrocity could be contained and conveyed through just those few slips of paper confined within.

       The report was troubling, but it didn't do the job of beating the nightmare into his mind quite like the photos had. It was painful, no matter how many times he went over them, but he couldn't stop looking, either. He didn't ever want to share those awful images with his team, the burden might be too much. It felt like too much. 

       It wasn't that his team didn't deal with the ugly side of humanity. Throughout their lives, even before the Academy, they'd all been exposed to crime, and the worst kind of scum on this planet. But it had never struck so personally before.

       The Blackbourne team were family, in more than just the extended Academy sense of family. They were comrades who had trained together, fought together and had each other's backs in countless scenarios. It didn't matter the age difference, or that they weren't a team, those nine were brothers in every sense. They rose to every challenge without fail, and had never let them down. 

       No, they weren't a team, but the two had melded on enough occasions to form strong bonds. For Axel, at least, they were true family. He knew in his heart that his team would always jump for theirs, damn the cost of favours, and damn their own safety. If their positions were swapped, without a doubt, the Blackbourne team would react in kind. 

       To see seven of the young men he considered little brothers reduced to a 4x6 photograph of charred chips of bones... it was like nothing else he'd ever felt. It was wrenching, as though some asshole greater power was sitting with a pair of tweezers somewhere above, meticulously plucking out his heart by each individual fibre of muscle. It was all he could do to just sit there while it happened and not fall apart at the seams.

       "They're on the move again." Corey said.

       Axel closed the folder incredibly softly, unwilling to scramble for the pages within should they flutter away under the violent force he longed to inflict. He ran his shaking palm over his sweaty brow again, slicking his long hair back. 

       Every inch of his skin crawled with self-loathing, and he restrained himself from ripping at the strands of his hair, knowing he had to keep up the illusion of control in front of his team, especially now. He couldn't risk being pulled from this mission. Showing too much emotion might make him appear incompetent, illogical, and he wouldn't - couldn't - allow that.

       "Have you alerted Raven?"

       Corey didn't flinch at the barking tone, either too lost in his screens, or too used to Axel's frayed nerves. He replied calmly, "Raven is tailing them now. It looks like they're on their way to the funeral. Brandon and Marc are already there and standing by, as planned."

       Axel took a deep breath, nodding. He hadn't thought Sean or Owen would miss this, no matter what their state of mind was at the moment. He was on edge though, waiting for the inevitable moment when they cracked and did something irreparably stupid. He wished they would just come to him for help, but for now, it was better knowing that they were at least lying low. 

       "Have the families arrived?"

       Corey hesitated, making a rare glance up from his screens towards his team lead, seeming suddenly nervous.