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●　● Belgrano District, Buenos Aires, Argentina, SAU

After a nearly eight-hour trip, the two trucks sent by Rex had brought the team to their apparent destination as they pulled up next to a large church just across the street from an old railway warehouse complex. It was getting dark, yet to Sam it was just as humid as anywhere else she had been, and she was thankful her ride was well-air conditioned. She stretched, as did the others that piled out, not paying too much attention to the lone contact that had gotten out last before the trucks drove off.

“Why do I get the feeling our… group likes churches?” Sam pondered aloud, staring up at the belltower of the church. Her eyes revealed the once-more building lack of sleep, but it was the surroundings she saw beyond the church that awoke her to a degree. Down both ends of the street were seemingly endless rows of modern apartment buildings with spotless streets and storefronts at the base of each building. Bahia Blanca was clean as it was, but it was the sheer weight of the massive population she felt after entering the town that had her believe it’d give off similar vibes to the other larger towns she visited, not one this clean.

[Come on,] Sebastian tugged at her arm gently, catching her attention and motioning them to follow their contact inside. [We can ask questions later.]

Why is he speaking Spanish to me? She suddenly became self-conscious that next instant, feeling like the passing pedestrian traffic was looking right at her; it was as if she felt like a tourist but something hit differently than it did in other towns. She quickly followed and closed in to whisper to Sebastian: “Um, why do I feel like we’re all being stared at all of the sudden?”

Sebastian leaned in as she caught up next to him, speaking under his breath: [We are in a purely residential area, I think. I’d imagine we aren’t a good target to see speaking English.]

The two followed the group slowly up the long, steep set of stairs while Sam pondered Sebastian’s observation. But, no, me speaking like a total foreigner without the local accent would be worse, wouldn’t it? Maybe I just need to not speak… But once she got to the top, she took the moment to turn and take one more quick, subtle look over her shoulder.

There’s so much green out here. For how big and numerous these residential buildings are, there sure are a ton of trees in-between. She briefly remembered how much brighter her surroundings felt since arriving Earth-side the more she came across greenery, whether natural or urban. But of course, the second she turned back to follow the others inside, she realized she had also noticed how well dressed the passersby had been. Really a whole different world over here. And now, to think this is how I set foot in a church for the first time in my life…

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Minutes passed after a long, hard struggle to not stare around as they were slowly and quietly led through the atrium and the nave, eyes finding themselves inadvertently attracted to such ecclesiastic architecture she had only seen occasionally on TV. The silence was serene yet heavy and stifling. The same aura emanated from the few praying occupants in the pews. And at last, a turn out and away from the nave led them to a narrow doorway that took them to a small lift. What is with this country and their secret elevators?

And the door to the lift opened to reveal nothing more than a service and maintenance access area. It felt as if a collective sigh was released that very moment as the door behind them closed.

[Excuse me,] Kaylen broke the silence, asking as she tried to keep her voice down. [Mind explaining where we are going?]

[This upcoming tunnel leads us across the street,] the last remaining contact answered as he finished inputting a code into the lockbox on the metal framed door in front. [You’ll have someone on the other side get you situated.]

[I can’t go much further without Eryx,] she continued pressing in reference to her colleague that was on the team.

[He’ll be led here with a separate group shortly, don’t worry.]

The door opened, and Sam felt Sebastian pull her closer. She wasn’t sure why she felt even more nervous after being through worse before, but Sebastian’s reaction confirmed she wasn’t alone.

The door behind them with a bang and an electronic buzzing sound from the locking systems activating. [I’ll be taking you all to get debriefed on the situation with Reaper,] the contact continued as they made their way down the long connecting tunnel. [But once you are on the active operations side we don’t allow you to just come and go. You’ll be quartered there and we expect operations to begin sometime late morning tomorrow.]

Sam felt surprised to see Kaylen, Renzo, and Dani weren’t too fazed by it all, now wondering why only Sebastian seemed the opposite. His face remained stoic, tense and deep in thought, but she couldn’t tell if it was because of the upcoming unknown or if it was because he was suspicious of their contact.

The contact continued, never pausing or checking on those behind him. [But just to give you a fair heads up, we’ve located Reaper’s prior office of operation deep within a business tower in the Palermo district, and his movement had been tracked to the harbor side. If he has anything resembling a guerilla unit ready to launch, it’d be there. Whatever he has prepared, it’s coming and we expect it to be real soon.]

Stolen story; please report.

And then a thought crossed Sam’s mind, connecting the message from her mother to the words just spoken. There’s no way this has anything to do with her, does it?!

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The round table centered in the cramped but well-arranged meeting room resembled the manner of organization back in Bahia Blanca, giving Sam reason to believe this must be the norm for Underground operations. She sat as last time, seated between Sebastian and Renzo while Kaylen sat across the way near an empty seat.

The door opened as Kaylen got up quickly to greet and hug the man who walked through. Sam remembered him as the only other name mentioned within the Enrai ranks, “Eryx,” as the leader of the overwatch operations. His Towering demeanor somewhat frightened her earlier on, but over the course of a few days she grew accustomed to his soft-spoken, laid-back, but thoroughly confident nature.

But the enthusiasm, tense nonetheless, exuded from each of her teammates equally. In her mind, the room contained more people she could at very least somewhat trust than any point in time since her first day involved with Hexa. Even though Kaylen remained a question mark after Sebastian’s comments, she knew exactly what Kaylen remained focused on and never gave off the hint of any future threat. And with that thought, she felt like whatever Rex’s organization might throw them into, this would be the best possible group to lean on.

[So, it was her that found the contact by a song?!] Eryx laughed as he took his seat, pointing to Sam.

[It clicked once she ran off,] Kaylen replied as she joined him. [But yeah. And here we are, finally.]

Sam could see how badly Kaylen wanted her freedom from her past, and seeing how close things had gotten, she almost felt she wanted to win this for her as well and not just for the Navarre’s nor just for herself.

[Ella,] the contact firmly spoke up, shaking her upright and snapping her to full attention. He then had the lights dimmed as the table’s center projector lit up, displaying a map of downtown Buenos Aires. [Got an incoming message for you before we start.]

“Me?!”

Sam wasn’t the only one who jumped at the announcement. She felt all eyes bearing down on her as she awkwardly nodded, already knowing what kind of ominous voice was to come up on the line.

“Connection secure,” the contact spoke once more as he leaned back.

“Ella,” Rex’s distinct, digitally altered voice rang throughout the room as everyone near her froze stiff in anticipation. “Before your team is debriefed, I have to share some urgent news that greatly impacts the trajectory of this operation.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond, but as her heartrate continued to rise, so did her desire to see what brought the occasion. “Yes, I’m listening.”

“We’ve confirmed Reaper has your mother held captive,” Rex asserted as a collective frown of shock shot across the room.

Sam’s heart, however, skipped a few beats as her jaw fell agape, staring into the blank distance ahead. That’s- no, that has to be a lie! Is this a setup?!

Sebastian’s reassuring hand was quickly placed on her shoulder as he spoke up in her stead: “How do you know her mother? Is there any… proof… of this claim?”

[He would,] Renzo spoke as he leaned over to speak past Sam with a sour expression. [Rex used to hunt her personally- I’m sure he had already done full background checks on every damn relative she has.] He then sat back straight with a different look of conviction. [Rex, where is your proof?]

“She was confirmed during a move to a separate city block in north Palermo District, all while moving alongside our tag we placed on Reaper’s personnel outfit. Our operatives in the field caught those details while they were briefly exposed.”

Sam barely knew of her mother’s history with her work in whatever field it was, but she did know she came back from supposed death once. It was impossible in her mind that moment that she would be caught by her brother of all people. She knew the extent her brother’s latent fear of her mother went and how much her control always found a way through to him. It took running away and disappearing from complete public view to escape that reality, hence leaving Sam with no way to further accept any reasoning on that matter.

“She was out looking to stop him so as to keep me from having to do it myself,” she weakly began with her quivering hands before finding strength to speak up louder. She hated the slipping of that detail which might bring about much confusion and doubt from her team, but she refused to let this be a topic to be toyed with. “Which means she didn’t do all that just to surrender! I need proof she’s been had!”

“Amelie Delacroix, formerly Angel of the Hawthorne Foundation- founded in 2150.” The name rung a bell with Kaylen and Eryx as well as their contact as their eyes suddenly widened, exchanging confounded glances. “These details emerged once we confirmed her tapped conversational audio with Bishop before she was detained. It was used later to confirm Bishop knows of Reaper’s successful capture attempt.”

“Angel what?! Her name is Amelie!” Sam confusedly shouted out as she halfway stood up.

“I never knew Amelie Delacroix was the Angel of Hawthorne Foundation. I myself have been searching for her long and hard since the end of the Second War- and that is because while many of us including myself have to deliver on promises of old, many others clearly want her dead.”

A chill ran down Sam’s spine, realizing just how much she never knew about her mother’s disappearances years back were possibly spilled over to her all at once. She… she was a spy for a… an underground kind of spy network?!

“And I tell you this, Ella, because I need for operations to adjust to this new threat. Execution threats have not been issued to our knowledge, but we can only assume so. Remus,” he called out as their contact straightened up, signifying that was his call sign. “I will need to speak with you further, alone, once you are finished with your end.”

“Yessir,” Remus, the contact, spoke in smoother than expected English.

“Reaper becomes more powerful by the minute, especially with your mother hostage, Ella. Make all adjustments quickly.”

“Wait! I have to ask-” Sam burst out before hearing the disconnecting of their line, leaving her hanging.

[I get it,] Renzo stiffly spoke up after fighting back his urge to question everything he just heard. [Cruella,] he then added as he looked her way. [I have to say, this is some deep shit we’re facing. Are you okay with this?]

Sam bit down, holding back her initial response as she slowly retired to her seat, letting out a long, difficult breath. “I think I get it as well.” He isn’t trying to take things out on mom. He’s… trying to use her against me as much as for himself. That fucking son of a bitch- I swear…

Sebastian, too, held his comments, knowing not to spill what he knew on her family’s situation still kept in the dark.

[It’s clear his main target is you, Ella,] Remus coldly added to the conversation. [And that’s why it appears we need you in front tomorrow morning.]

As quiet as he had been, that last comment rapidly and ironically set Sebastian off. [What?! In front?! Are you insane?!]