There was a short break of a day or two before missions started up again. The first few were recon and stakeouts, then kidnappings, then information retrieval. It was a while before we got back to missions where I was allowed to use guns again. Before I knew it, a month had passed and I hadn't heard anything about my possible freedom or the Willowwood thing.

I walked with Malcolm to the conference for a debrief as my three teammates were wheeled off for emergency medical attention. They'd been caught in a blast. Their injuries weren't very severe, but they had been hit by enough shrapnel to warrant worry. They were joking amongst each other despite the pain they must've been feeling as they got wheeled off. My hand subconsciously rose to run along the metal band around my neck as we approached the conference room.

Malcolm took his usual place by the front of the room as I took my usual seat. The room felt a bit empty with those three missing. But someone had to give the mission report.

I began easily, telling him all the events in order and going through them step-by-step till the unplanned car bomb at the end.

"We assumed it was placed by an unaffiliated, rival third-party. Or someone from their own organisation." I rubbed my face tiredly. It had been a long mission. "I was already waiting by the jet as it was hovering by my position but those three got caught in the blast. Keelan and Rush got off considerably lightly, but all three were knocked out as they slammed against the wall. The jet lowered harnesses I placed them into before we took off. They only regained consciousness in the middle of the flight."

Malcolm nodded slowly, starting to stand. "That car bomb couldn't have been foreseen the anyone, but it's too big of a coincidence to ignore. We'll see what our sources in that region are saying. Good job tonight. You're off duty till the other are cleared by the doctors to go on further missions."

I nodded. "Thank you, sir. But I wished to talk to you about something."

Malcolm cocked an eyebrow as I said that, sitting back down in his seat. "Well, Private? What is it?"

"Uh, I wanted to ask if there is a possible timeframe to my release."

"I see. Getting impatient?"

"Going a bit stircrazy, in fact." I gave him a sheepish smile. "I'm excited to see my parents after so long."

Malcolm barked out a short laugh. "You're truly still a child. I actually brought up the same issue with my higher-ups quite recently and apparently, your paperwork is being fast-tracked through the system. You should be out by roughly the end of the month."

I felt anticipation grow in me, sitting up eagerly. "This month?! Really?"

"Yes. Or so I've been told."

My hand rose to punch through the air as my wings flapped in excitement. I was going to be free. But I still had something else to ask. "Another thing, Commander." I piped up as I forced my happiness down. "What is happening with Willowwood information?"

"Your team is not involved in this. I cannot talk to you about this."

"I get it. But what's going on? You're surveying the place right, at least?"

He was silent for a few moments, searching my face carefully before giving a hesitant nod. "We've been watching the place through a live satellite feed. It's hard to put assets on the ground in a place like that. But so far, your intel seems to be correct. There are Rebel forces in that area. And the day when we storm in there isn't far off, I assure you. The news of our victory will be everywhere."

"Oh, so this isn't a Black Op?"

"No. It will be a big mission with a proper army. We need to show the Rebellion that we don't take kindly to being forced to negotiate with terrorists." He spat to the side in disgust. "We'll show those fuckers that the State can't just be taken for a ride."

I nodded. "About damn time. I want to get them back for what they did to me." I closed my eyes and looked away. "It was... humiliating." I paused for dramatic effect. "I... I thought they might give me some leeway considering I used to be one of them. The leader didn't even hear me out before siccing his bodyguards on me."

"If I was in his place, I would have done the same, Terra." I looked up, surprised at the pity in his voice. He took my surprise as confusion, and proceeded to elaborate. "Think of it this way, I haven't heard about you in months, there's been nothing on the news about your death, and suddenly you show up on the same night bodies start dropping dead. It's too big of a coincidence to chance listening to you."

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. I should drop this charade before I dig myself deeper. "You're right. I never thought of it that way." We both went silent, as I went over what Malcolm had told me so far. One word suddenly stuck out in all he'd said so far. "Why is my paperwork being fast-tracked?" Was it Lionel?

Malcolm looked up from his tablet tiredly. "You're still stuck on that?"

"I'm curious."

"Well, in the beginning of November each year the State holds a Gratitude Night where they invite some very wealthy people who fund the State, behind the scenes of course. So, on Gratitude Night, they usually show off a bunch of new kids like you who are now working for the State."

"Basically, a showcase of where their money goes to." I sighed, pushing away from the table and turning to leave. "Great."

So, it wasn't Lionel doing this? Or maybe he did have a hand in it under the guise of the Gratitude Night. I ran a hand through my hair as I headed downstairs to my cell. The guards escorting me chatted easily behind me as they followed me. I was starting to grow on them. The tense silence between the three of us was gone. It was always the same two guys anyway, I knew their smell by now.

They continued chatting as the door to my cell locked shut behind me. Kicking my shoes off, I walked over to the mirror. There was soot on my right cheek, trails of sweat separated it into cracked looking patches. I splashed my face with water, rubbing it vigorously before I tugged my hair open. The braid opened up into wavy black locks. It was almost back to the length it had been before I cut it off on my first mission with the Rebellion. It had grown pretty fast, probably has something to do with the changes in my body.

After so long spent in here, two weeks seemed like nothing, yet too much at that same time. After two weeks I'd be out, I'd get a room assigned to me in that building and I'd be officially working for the State. On the books now anyway. I'm not sure if I should immediately go to meet my parents once I'm out. The money to help them move would take time to collect. And once I'm seen back in Section D, the news that I'm alive would make the circles and people would make the connection that I now work for the State.

That would not go down well with Maker. We were still technically under his protection as long as we lived there. He wouldn't be happy to find that out. One of the deals I'd made in exchange for working for him was that we wouldn't have to pay him protection money for the time we would be staying in Section D, and he'd lived up to that.

I laughed softly to myself. I wasn't even outside yet I was worrying about everything that would happen once I was out. Tristan always said that I worried too much. And for good reason too right now. It would be best not to delay my parent's move, if possible. Even being the parent of a kid in the State would be dangerous for them, not to mention the scores of people who would probably start gathering to ask me about what had happened to their kids. Then there would be the ones who'd want to hurt me for being the only one to return.

There was no way I could make this up. I'd seen it happen. It was a form of mob mentality that had shaken both Tristan and me to the core when it happened.

But before that, I would have to deal with the damn Gratitude Night. Lionel was bound to be there. Explains his cryptic 'see you soon'. This was stupid. I'd really been hoping I wouldn't have to meet him again once I left, but then again, anything I seem to wish for always backfires. I'd tried to shove him out of my mind, but that had been proving harder than I thought.

Two days went by without any news about my freedom or the other three. On the third day, I was interrupted by my door opening during my workout. I looked up, letting a knee down to relax my body from my push-up position.

"Dr. Gonzalez?" I frowned, pushing back to sit upon my feet as I stared up at him looming in the doorway with a guard. "What is it?"

"Dr. Blue wishes to see you."

I tensed up, pushing off from the ground. "Why?"

"He needs to run some tests."

"What kind of tests?"

"Non-invasive physical tests." He replied exasperatedly. "It's compulsory before you get released and he's been assigned to be your personal doctor for the rest of time you work for the State."

Surprise passed through me. Isn't that a demotion from his position as a mad scientist?

Dr. Gonzalez continued after a short pause. "Come on, you get to meet your teammates after that."

That got me moving. The psychiatrist crinkled his nose in disgust upon getting a whiff of my sweat-soaked body. I was wearing the clothes the guys had bought me, but I didn't have the heart to create rips in the backs of the new clothes. My wings were currently tucked under the harness. I normally did that during workouts, so it wouldn't become cumbersome to handle them while twisting my body. Made it easier to lie on my back. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand as we got in the elevator. They'd stopped me in the middle of my workout, there's no way I'm getting back fast enough to continue it.

My foot tapped nervously till the lift door opened and we stepped out. The skin under my metal collar itched furiously. I ran a finger over it as we stepped into a room for medical check-ups. Stopping by the entrance, I surveyed the room for any Peacekeepers, sharp instruments, flat metal tables or huge tubes connected to the ceiling. Thankfully, there were none of those. It was a plain old medical room with cabinets, a hard, white bed, and a movable set of drawers.

Some of my tension at the seemingly mundane surroundings had faded when Dr. Blue finally arrived. But even a whiff of the old milk stench he carried around with him made me stiffen. I glared at him as he smiled at me while tugging on rubber gloves.

"Terra!" He began cheerily as usual. "It's been a while since I've seen you. Awake, that is." I scowled as he picked up a stethoscope. "Don't worry. Today we're doing just normal stuff. Pulse, ECG, blood and urine samples. That's it. Then you can go see your teammates down the hall."

My eyes were glued to him the entire time I was in the room. Disgust crawled through my skin everytime he touched me. He kept it all perfectly professional, but I couldn't help the shudders of disgust that ran through me.

"Are your wings strapped to your back?" He asked casually as he started looking for a vein to tap.

I looked away from my arm, stifling a shudder in case I shifted the needle. "Yes."

"Why is that?" I grimaced as I felt a short prick. "Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"Very."

"Then why?"

"Exercising."

"Aah, I see." There was another prick as the needle was pulled out of my vein.

My head twisted back around to stare at him again, as I folded up my arm, pressing the cotton swab he gave me tightly against the bleeding spot. "Can I go now?" I asked tightly. "I don't want to be in your presence any longer than I have to."

"Now, now, Terra." Dr. Blue turned to carefully place my blood sample down. "Don't be rude. You still have to give me a urine sample."

I snatched the cup he held out to me and hopped off the table as quickly as I could. I hated him. I hated him so much.

I handed him the cup back after a few minutes in the bathroom and immediately moved away to the door. The guard stomped after me, but Dr. Gonzalez didn't follow this time.

I knew which room the three would normally be in. I'd been there a few times myself. Pausing outside the door, I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart. Even a few minutes with him had me like this. I was almost happy that he kept me sedated for days on end now.

"Hey, guys!" I forced a wide smile on my face as I walked in. Their surprised, yet boisterous response on seeing me made it into a genuine smile. "It's good to see you guys."

All three were sitting on the bed in the centre where Mikhail was grinning up at me through a patchwork of bandages on his chest, neck and half his face. Rush had his right half and back bandaged up, and Keelan seemed to have taken most of the damage on his back, so his entire torso was wrapped.

"I want to hug you but I'd probably break a stitch." Rush sighed sadly as I walked over to them.

"Are you fine?" Keelan looked my form over. "Did you get hurt?"

Mikhail reached over to whack the back of Keelan's head. "She was already in the jet when the bomb exploded, you idiot."

"Hey, hey, let him ask." I took my own seat by the foot of the bed, patting Mikhail's knee. "We need a dad friend in our group."

The others laughed as Keelan turned a bit red. "Hey... I just... worry, okay?"

"Aww," I reached over to pat his unbandaged arm. "It's okay. We're just joking around. Anyway, how do you guys feel?"

"Better with you around." Rush winked at me, making me roll my eyes. "But to be honest, it feels like someone grated my entire side."

"It looks like that too." Mikhail ran a hand over his bandaged chest, grimacing slightly. "I'm lucky nothing went in my eye."

"Mikhail the Pirate would make for a good nickname." I nodded.

He gave me a tired look. "Original. Very funny." I smirked to myself as he kicked out with his leg. "How did they let you out to see us anyway?"

"You guys were incentive to get me to peacefully agree to a physical checkup done by Dr. Blue." I gave another disgusted shudder. "Just coming over from giving blood and urine samples."

"I did see that." Rush's eyes were on the cotton swab stuck to my arm. "What's the checkup for?"

"Compulsory before they release me in about a week and a half."

"Ooh," Keelan nodded, understanding in his eyes "for the Gratitude Night."

"Right." I sighed, mind flickering to a sharp pair of blue eyes and a hand on top of mine. The smell of strong alcohol lingered in my nostrils. My stomach twisted in a mix of excitement and worry that didn't leak into my voice. "Can't wait for that.