After the orders had been given out to each member of the team, I turn and grab a small bag for myself. Unzipping it quickly as to check that all the necessary items were still present inside, before looking to each of my team mates with a frown. "You guys ready to get going?" I ask, shouldering the bag onto my arms and standing up quickly.
Russell only nods, concentrating on something else as he tapped away on the iPad settled on his lap. Barely giving me a sideways glance, as he was probably figuring something or other out on the small device.
The mans long auburn coloured fringe covering his eyes slightly, but he didn't seem to notice as he glanced at the screen. The words of the men and women around him were lost to him. He had a task at hand, and wild horses wouldn't have been able to pull him away from that screen at this moment in time.
Lisa, grinned slightly brushing away her strawberry blonde hair behind her shoulders, in a gesture of forced elegance. She swirled around in her chair to face us, from where she had been facing a computer screen for the time being. "Frankly, Elliot. I don't think any of us have been more ready in our lives, this is after all what we've been training to do for years." She reasoned, smiling but it wasn't hard to tell how nervous she really was on the inside. I could smell the fear protruding from each of them, but I'm sure had they each been werewolves. They would have been able to smell it from me as well.
Edward, the only one of us who was over the age of forty five, and therefore when we were feeling less kindly, gained the nickname grandpa. Nodded in agreement, leaning against one of the desks in a sign of impatience for us to get going. "Its hard not to agree with Lisa, I mean with all done smaller projects. Working with the CIA, but this is arguably the biggest thing that any of us are going to do. And no offense Elliot, but I'm not talking about finding your rogue kidnapper. I intend to get back here. We'll never hear the end of it from James and Megan if we miss all of the action."
Despite the joke to his words, there was a tone of careful caution to his words. We would be kidding ourselves if we thought that this would be an easy task. We'd be lucky if we all made it out alive.
That went for me as well, it would be amazingly difficult to be able to get out of this battle unscathed. Those who I would be fighting against, would be better trained then I. Who hadn't received training in the form of my wolf for probably fourteen years. But I had one thing, that they did not. A reason to fight. A true reason anyway.
Now I find myself looking from one person's face to the other, none of them seem to notice as they busy themselves with something or other. But a sinking feeling hits me, when I realise that this might be the last time that I see any of them. The last time I would see Paula's smirk, or hear a sarcastic comment from James, or the terrifying optimism that always accompanied Megan's voice. It was strange to think that I would never be able to see this almost every day of my life.
In the darkest parts of my life, before Evelyn, these people had been the only ones to help me keep my sanity. The one small thread that held me from losing all control to my wolf side, and they meant nearly as much to me as my family. No, they were family. Or at least the closest thing I had to one since I was seventeen.
All of a sudden I felt a wave of fear almost overwhelm me, and I had to struggle with it for a moment or two before I could think logically once again. I realised that, they might not see me either for the rest of their lives. That it could have been me who died, and the thought alone sent a shiver along my spine. Now was not the time for pessimistic thinking, I had two young children who right now, were depending on me to find them. Trying to convince my other side of this logical thinking, that there was a need for me to be strong for them, I could not allow my own fear to consume me. They too would be terrified right now.
Brushing my fingers for a moment through my hair, as I sat up and looked from my left to my right, where the three chosen members of my team were looking at me. Probably wandering what had caught my attention for a few minutes.
Paula, Russell and Edward look as though they are about to stand up and get ready to leave and begin our search. I raise a hand and stop them from heading to the door, shaking my head for a second. The three people stop and turn to look at me. "If I may, I just wish to say something. Something that I feel it is necessary for me to say." I explain, my tone a little strained to the point where it actually hurt a fair amount.
Jack, crossing his arms in front of him, nods and says "If you must Elliot, but be quick. I don't know if you've noticed, but we have other things to worry about then you getting up on your soap box." He said, slightly sternly.
Twelve sets of eyes have now settled themselves on me, and the spotlight has been turned over to another speaker. I pause for a moment, purposefully making eye contact with each of my friends before I begin to speak.
"I just have to say this now. This is not your fight if you don't want it to be, this alpha 'friend'" I unintentionally put a slight growl on that last word, as though the word its self was made from poison which burned the tip of my tongue to say it. "Of mine. Has made it clear, that those who aren't of my kind, will not be harmed. Unless they are to get in his way, you need not put yourselves in danger. Unless you really need to. This is my fight, and one I am willing to fight alone if I absolutely need to. I don't want any of you to put yourselves in a position which would make you feel like you don't want to be there. Especially under the circumstances."
Surprisingly, my words draw a sharp laugh from the man to my right. All of us turn to stare at James, the others are shocked, whereas I am slightly angered. Did he think that any of this was some sick and cruel joke?
When all eyes had turned to look at him. James holds his hands up either side of him in a sign of surrender, but a slightly playful gesture. "Jesus, sorry. But you have to be kidding, right?" He asks in a genuinely confused tone. Which takes me aback a little.
Upon seeing me shake my head, James turns to look at me, now his own gaze has turned to steel. It seemed as though he was staring straight through my skin, and at the soul beneath the surface. What would he have seen if he could, I couldn't help but think to myself as we made eye contact for the briefest of seconds before I had to look away.
He straightened up, from where he had taken to leaning upon a nearby desk to listen to the orders being given out from Jack. He held a single hand up now, as a child might have done when answering a question or asking to go to the bathroom. "Who here, hasn't had their arses saved by Elliot, had their lives changed by Elliot, even saved the poor bastard themselves?" James asked, and I fell silent. Self consciously I hear the clicking of my teeth clamping together as my jaw, which had fallen open, shut quickly.
One by one, until each of the twelve other people were now holding their hands up in the air and looking purposefully towards me.
Then James began to speak up once again. "Now, who has, at least at one point or another, come to think of Elliot as a member of their extended family, as a brother, a best friend, or someone they could turn to when the most needed help?"
Again, the hands which had then fallen, returned to their places in the air. This time in a slightly firmer gesture, and I looked to each of them in a mixture of surprise and warmth. I knew and admitted these feelings myself on several different occasions, but never did I honestly think that they might have been the same. It felt alien to me, to feel so accepted in such a large group. When for most of my life I had been running from the very idea.
Instead of James, now it is Jack who speaks, stepping towards me and slapping his hand against my shoulder in a slightly stereotypical manly man gesture. But I understood the meaning behind it. "You see, you idiot? None of us think it as endangering ourselves for no decent reason. You would have done the same for us at any given opportunity, and it is only right that we would be willing to do the same. Like it or not, you stuck up werewolf you. You're a member, of our admittedly god awful family, and you have earned that place as much as any of us. You cant stop us from helping you, it is the only right thing to do."
Even with the logic of his words, I still find it difficult to truly believe. But when each of the other eleven people let out their cries of agreement, now pounding their fists into the air. I was overcome with the feeling of warmth and love for the men and women around me. Not one of them breaks eye contact with me as I look at them all. I don't know what else to be able to say, and it comes out a little choked. "Thank-you, guys. You will probably never really know, how much your companionship has meant to me over the years."
Mere seconds had passed before, Megan, always the type to be a little more emotional of us. Steps forwards and hugs me slightly, when the rest of them did it. Taking me by surprise, but I relax and return the hug to each of them. We all knew what the costs of the rest of the day were probably going to be. I knew that they were all trying to be brave despite what they faced. I couldn't imagine having spent what could be my last few hours on earth, would be spent with this group of people. It was only fitting.
Fighting back the tears which were on the verge of falling to my cheeks, I bit down on my lip and look from them all. "I will be back soon, and I promise you this. I could never be prouder to have fought with a group of such amazing people, and I'm hope you understand how much our friendship has meant to be."
Now there had been nothing left to say, I looked at the other three members of my team, who were now looking a little worse for ware emotional wise. Nodded, and we were gone from the room without another word, though one last time. I turned back to look at them for a brief second, before I exited quickly through the exit. Jogging to catch up with the other three people, nodding to them silently. Knowing that if right now I speak, I will probably burst into tears from the emotion building up inside of me.
We walk for a moment, before Russell turns left and we quickly follow him without question. When he leads us to one of the IT rooms situated in headquarters. It is a dimly lit room, windowless for a good reason. A massive PC was situated on a desk which seemed to groan beneath the great weight of its burden, a number of cables and wires sticking out from just about every orifice of the device. Several USB sticks were littered across the desk, it seemed random. But never once had I seen Russell mistakenly pick one of them up by accident when searching for another, he knew this place like the back of his hand. I remember one time I had touched one of the cabinets, barely brushing it, and I would never forget the death glare I had received for doing so. Since, I have learned to touch as little as I can whenever in this room.
The room in which we found ourselves, was specially designated to Russell as his own. Technically he was a field agent, and not a member of the IT crew. However he was a better hacker and technical man at times then he was at working in the field, though I knew that he preferred the latter by a great deal. It was incredible to watch him work, but frankly a little frightening when he got into his zone. Had he not been given this room out of kindness, it was likely he would have taken it regardless.
It had a large map of England glowing behind it, which had small red lights littering it all over. Approximately 700 hundred red lights were currently glowing, someone had once told me that these were the people currently out in England, Wales and Scotland, as well as some parts of Ireland, working for MI6.
Never had I dared to watch them for long, for the last time I had attempted to do so, one of them had ominously turned off. I hadn't picked up the courage at my young age working here for the first time what that meant. However I did doubt that it merely meant that one of the LED's had run out of power.
Russell didn't say a word as he sat in the chair instantly and touched his thumb to the mousepad of the large computer. Within a heartbeat, it had whirred into life and the screen lit up in a blinding amount of great white light. Until our eyes had adjusted once again to the knew amount of light in the previously dim room, to see that Russell was already typing away at a great speed on the keyboard. Not seeming to be affected by the computer turning on.
Glancing up at me, not moving his hands for the briefest second from the keyboard. Russell asks in a low tone, "What did you say that the hotel your wife was held at was called?" He asks, lifting a blonde eyebrow.
I hesitate, thinking quickly before answering "The Westmont Hotel, in Oxford. Why?"
The man rolled his eyes, as though the answer was an obvious one. Which in my opinion it had not been. "Obviously Elliot, have you not met me? I will try to find the closest CCTV cameras to the hotel, and be able to get a number plate from the car that picked her up." He said, now looking at the computer screen and not looking away as he typed into the keyboard. Typing the name into the google search engine, then copying the address into one of his programmes. I don't say a word when he is doing this. Watching his every movement with a great deal of caution.
"That wont work, Kai will have thought about every detail such as that, he would have made sure that there was no working one in the area if he was worth his salt." I argued, not wishing to be rude but wanting to get things moving as quickly as I could.
Russell shook his head calmly, as though the lives of pretty much the entire world were not currently at stake. "Not necessarily, the way you told us. You made it seem as though he didn't know about MI6, until recently. And he wouldn't have been holding your family for long, otherwise we would have known about it earlier. I argue that you were a person whose fate was determined by circumstance, rather then purpose. He may well not have been as cautious as the average villain we deal with." He reasoned.
I nodded, it made sense but I didn't speak again. Silently praying for a good outcome, I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the search to finish. When I felt Lisa elbow me from my left, "Look." She said quickly. When I opened my eyes, though the picture quality was awful. A blurred image of a woman with a twin pram walking out of the hotel. The camera situated on the road across from the hotel thankfully. It had to be Evelyn, who else could it have been.
On the side of the road, sat a land rover in a dark blood red colour. With a man in a suit leaning against the car door waiting for her. As she approached, the man, a stranger, ran to her and helped her with the children. Silently I was screaming at the screen, begging her to turn and run, to get away from this man. But she would never answer my request, the time to save her from this had long past. Now it was my job to minimise the damage it would cause.
"Can you get the number plate?" I demand, not attempting to stop myself from snapping, now sitting at the edge of my seat, hoping filling my chest. But I tried to push it away, knowing that it might not have turned out the way that I wanted it to.
Looking at the screen, I recognise the hotel a little too comfortingly. Then something terrifying struck me. Had Robert, the one man who had been my closest link to the supernatural for many years. Had something to do with it? The thought alone sent a shot of fear through my veins, and a growl tore from my throat. But I shook my head determinedly, clenching my fist until the whites of my knuckles showed through the skin. I couldn't allow myself to think in such a way.
An agonising moment passed, before anyone spoke again and Russell looked up from when he had been typing frantically at the keyboard. Enhancing the image as quickly as he was able to do. He looked up, at me specifically before saying in a low tone.
"FQ12 39F."
I stopped, looking at the image one last time. Checking every detail that I could, but the man's face was covered, but I would find him. I know I would. He would pay for taking my family away from him, even if he was merely a pawn in the game that Kai was playing. My eyes told me that what Russell had said was the number plate was correct. Then I grew aware that the eyes of my team mates were solidly fixed on myself. Turning back to them, I narrow my eyes and cross my arms in front of me. A gesture which would have made Jack proud.
"So, what are we waiting for?"