Octagon Project 3: Zachary McHall

~-30-~

It took a good thirty minutes for the smoke to clear enough and Dean was getting angsty. Things were taking longer than necessary and he didn't have any connection to the CIA from this high in the air. However, what he saw when they landed was unexpected. CIA buses, cars, and agents covered the parking lot, talking with all of the Octagon Agents, each being individually handled by a different CIA agent. The only thing that set him off a little was the reporters that silently flew their cameras in every which way to catch what was going on. Zack's brother Chase ran over waving with a smile as Dean stepped off the jet but stopped once noticing the kid in his arms. That was when his boss came over.

"Agent Matthews," she began looking at the kid in his arms, then behind him at Vanessa, the boy she carried, and her brother that were standing in the jet doorway behind Dean. She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders, looking directly at Dean once again. "What is this about?" She asked.

"There was a child programming facility that no one knew about." Mel spoke loudly as she exited with an unconscious girl in her arms. She stopped next to Dean and gazed his boss down harshly with lethally cold green eyes. "We didn't tell you because you would've gotten involved before you should have. So you're welcome; we saved your lives." With that, she stalked past the shorter woman to where a group of paramedics were standing.

"Please excuse her." Roy groaned as he carried another sleeping child in his unwounded arm, with his daughter practically clinging to her side. "She's still a little on edge. She'll calm down once this is over."

"Mr. Anderson," Dean's boss acknowledged. "I saw you on the news. Never thought that you'd been here for so long."

"Well, here I am." He exhaled heavily which caused his daughter to look up at him in concern.

"And who's this?" Chase asked, leaning down to the girl that gripped Roy's pants tightly.

"This is my daughter, Alexis." He said, placing his wounded hand on her head protectively. Dean's boss's black eyes shot up and stared at the tall man before turning to look at Dean in surprise and fury, expecting an explanation.

"All the children here are either sons and daughters, or siblings of some of the people the Octagon took." Dean explained as the others emerged with the kids and brought them over to where the paramedics were. Rocker had taken the boy from Dean's arms as Mel walked back over to them and greeted Chase whose eyes flitted around expectantly. The distant sound of an explosion and glass shattering was heard from the direction of the headquarters only for everyone to watch it catch ablaze. Amidst those flames, Zack emerged, coated from head to toe in blood, black soot, and wounds. He was practically carrying a severely thin, wounded, and disheveled man while dragging another tied up body behind him with his other hand. He stopped nearby where Dean, Mel, Chase, and the woman in charge stood, keeping his head low until he noticed Chase standing there. His eyes were wide as he gazed at him for what felt like hours until Chase jogged over and stood in front of the two staring at him. Chase's eyes ran over Zack's body before over at the man leaning on the youngest of the three.

"Y-You've got to be kidding me." Chase placed his hands over his capped head in disbelief as he turned about for a moment.

"You're gonna get yourself in trouble." Zack said out of breath.

"The mission is over, you think I care?" Chase replied, facing the two for a long moment with identical blue eyes. "I honest to God never thought this day would exist." He breathed, wrapping his arms around Zack and Keith. Despite his weakness, Keith lifted his hand and ruffled Zack's hair which earned a scowl from the boy.

"You guys are killing me, I can't breathe." Zack groaned. The other two laughed.

"What? You don't like getting hugs from your brothers?" Chase asked.