Mission Start : Retrieval
The hours in the sky waiting to arrive was probably the worst of it. When Operative had given him his orders his initial feelings were much more positive than they were now. The other two J’avo that were accompanying him were currently piloting the plane so he was left alone to his own thoughts. His footsteps were muted by the carpeted floor as he paced with his hands connected behind his back. His wardrobe had been updated once he had arrived in NYC, as well. It would be bad for someone associating with Harbinger to be revealed as an infected when she was progressing so quickly.
He still wore his black combat boots but they had been shined to an almost unrecognizable point. Black cargoes were tucked into them and a hooded, tight, three-quarter sleeve shirt was tucked into the waist. He wore a black multi-use belt that had a total of 5 pouches filled with different odds and ends. He had a new pair of black gloves that were a bit thicker than he usually preferred and a dual shoulder holster that held a .45 caliber Glock on his right side. On the left side was a sheathed, 8 inch Bowie knife and around his neck was a gas mask that was common for the Neo-Umbrella ‘employees’. The only difference between his and theirs was that it lacked the large breathing apparatus and it only encompassed the front of his face not his whole head.
He stopped his pacing and moved to look out of the window at the clouds. His hand moved to rest over his chest where his necklace was as he frowned. It had been a while since he had last seen Prikriti. He should be excited to see him. He was. ... But only to an extent. All he could think of was the day that Pri had asked him that question. And he had not been able to give him the answer he knew he wanted. Operative had said that there was no reason for there to be any problems with the pick up but he knew better. He was his best friend. And he was about to drag him back to the one person he hated most in the world. The one who took everything away from him. The one who broke him and leashed him. ...
His thoughts kept circling over it and his frown seemed almost permanent. He ran a gloved hand through his blond hair and turned away from the window. They would be arriving soon so he headed to the cockpit and waited with the other J’avo.
They landed in a deserted field close to a heavily wooded and rocky area. It was far from any civilization but he had grown used to pulling his mask on when he went outdoors. He settled it carefully over his face and reached back to tug the hood over his head, completely hiding his face. He grunted out a few orders to the pair as they filed out of the plane. Since his sensitivity was the strongest he led the way as he called out to Prikriti with the hive mind. They headed into the trees, “It is possible he is unstable. Do not attack unless I say so.” The other two Neo-Umbrellan J’avo just grumbled in understanding.
It shouldn’t come to that. Operative had said that there wouldn’t be any problems. ... He just hoped that he was right.