Chapter Text
Two days after Price got the phone call that Shepherd would be coming, all five of us are standing stiffly on the tarmac, waiting for the plane to land. Once it does, the General comes storming out, looking pissed.
“General Shepherd,” greets Price. Shepherd ignores him completely, storming past us to the administrative building. We look uneasily to each other before following. I jog a little to catch up to Price, who keeps a fast pace. “Did we do something wrong?” I ask. Price shakes his head, “not that I know of.” He turns to look at us over his shoulder, “keep quiet and let me do the talking.”
Shepherd slams the door to his usual office open and the rest of us follow. Price stands in front of the General’s desk, with the rest of us lined up behind him, standing at attention. Shepherd faces each of us one by one, making eye contact. “Why in God’s name were you and your little taskforce on that mission, Captain,” he demands from Price. “We were ordered to sir,” responds Price, sounding just as confused as I feel.
“And from whom did you receive those orders?” “One of the German Lieutenant Generals on the base we were staying at sir. His men were originally the ones who raided the lab, but they took many casualties, so they ordered us to provide backup.” Shepherd grunts and leans back in his chair, “I want a full report from each of you on what you found.”
Price nods, “we have all written a report on what happened, I’ll have them sent over to you.” Shepherd shakes his head, “no, I want all of you to tell me, right now.” I frown internally, confused as to what his current problem is. “Would it not be easier to read them in peace, sir?” asks Price, eager to get us out of here.
“I’ll decide what’s easier for me Captain, right now I want you all to tell me.” Price nods curtly, clenching his jaw. Suddenly the door opens. I resist the urge to look back to see who’s entering. A young woman steps up beside the General’s desk, “you asked for me, sir?” Shepherd nods, “ah, yes, sit down and take notes.” He turns back to us, “this is Yasmina, she’ll take over as my assistant once the old one retires.” I nod at Yasmina in greeting before turning back to the General.
Price starts with his report, telling Shepherd how he got the order to provide backup, how we found almost everyone dead or near dead when we got there and how he coordinated between him and Gaz holding the perimeter, Ghost hunting down the head doctor and me and Soap finding the prisoners.
When he’s done he gestures for Ghost to step forward and deliver his report on the doctor. He tells Shepherd in which state he found the doctor and in which state he handed him over to the authorities. After Ghost it’s my turn. I start talking about how we found the lab, how we found Nadia, strapped down onto the table and how we found the other prisoners. I tell him about how I comforted Nadia while waiting for the doctor, how she was alive when we handed her over for transport and how we were told she had died in the car back to base and how I had found a jar with her amputated fox tail in it.
Soap’s report is almost exactly the same as mine, except for a few details. Gaz doesn’t have much to report, since he mostly kept an eye on the lab from the sky. Shepherd grunts again and drums his fingers on his desk. “And that’s all, there’s nothing else that is important to mention?” He looks at Price who confirms that he has told everything of importance. Then he looks at Ghost, who does the same. Then he looks at me, then Soap and then Gaz. We all confirm that we have given him a complete report on the mission. The General looks very pleased, “good, good.”
He leans forward in his chair, talking solely to Price again, “your little taskforce has a new mission. You’ll be working together with Commander Farah Karim and her forces and Colonel Alejandro Vargas and his Vaqueros, they’ll be here later today.” I feel giddy at the mention of our friends, excited to see them again after many months.
“You’ll also work with a human force called Shadow Company, under command of Commander Philip Graves, they’ll arrive tomorrow.” Price nods in understanding. “You’ll get more information once all assets have arrived, you’re dismissed.”
We give the General a brief salute and exit the office. I almost let out a sigh of relief, but refrain from it. It wouldn’t surprise me if Shepherd was watching us through the many cameras in the building. While Price leads us out of the building, Soap seems to be bouncing, anxious to say something.
Once we’re outside he subtly gestures for us to follow him. The rest of us just look at him confused. We walk a good distance away from the building and Soap turns around. “Tha’ woman, Yasmine, she’s a shifter.” he announces. I tilt my head in confusion, “she can’t be, she wasn’t wearing a shifter band.”
All shifters, both inside and outside of the compounds, were required to wear a white shifter band around the bicep. It’s a way for humans to identify shifters when they aren’t partial shifted or have more subtle partial shifted traits. Soap nods frantically, “tha’s nae all, she’s a mythical shifter.” I furrow my eyebrows, a shifter not wearing their shifter band was uncommon, but a mythical shifter not wearing a shifter band was unheard of.
I look down at my own shifter band. White to signal that I’m a shifter, with a large bold ‘M’ to signal that I’m a mythical shifter. “Do you know what kind of shifter she was?” asks Price. Soap nods hesitantly. “She was a Sphinx shifter, aye’ve never seen or sensed one before, so aye am not a hundred percent sure, but aye am pretty certain she’s a Sphinx.”
“Why would Shepherd allow her not to wear a band?” asks Gaz. We look at Price, who’s usually the one with all the answers. “He doesn’t trust us about our report,” he theorises. “Sphinxes can tell when someone’s lying and Shepherd specifically asked each of us if there was something else important to mention.”
“So he’s hiding something?” I ask, feeling uneasy that the man who, as horrible as he is, is still the reason we’re allowed outside the compounds. “He must be,” muses Price, rubbing his beard before looking at us. “Don’t mention this to anyone and don’t let Shepherd know that we know.” He looks at each of us, the importance clear in his eyes.
He nods at our agreement before straightening, “we have training to do while we wait for the U.L.F and the Vaqueros to arrive.”
-
We spend the rest of the day training. Price runs us through all kinds of drills, hand-to-hand combat, breaching and searching buildings and shooting. It’s already dinner time when he tells us to quit for the day. The U.L.F and Vaqueros still haven’t arrived, so we decide to just eat dinner.
Kyle and I prepare some pasta for the five of us, while Simon prepares his own meat to go with it. Johnny had plopped down on the couch, sketch pad in hands, leaning against John, who was reading a book. Once dinner is done and eaten, I sit down next to Johnny, lying my head on his shoulder and looking at his sketch. It looks beautiful like always. It’s a drawing of Kyle from yesterday. We had the day off after the mission and decided to spend it outside. There was this nice little clearing on the edge of base. Kyle immediately laid down in the sun, the light hitting his dark skin making him look ethereal. The drawing shows Kyle laying on his stomach, arms folded under his head and a peaceful smile on his lips.
“Looks beautiful,” I tell Johnny, who beams at my praise. I press a quick kiss on his lips before pulling him up. “Come on, I need to groom your tail, it’s a mess.” Johnny wines in response. “Come on, baby boy, I let you off the hook yesterday, but not today.” Johnny groans and complains all the way to our shared bedroom, when I tell him to lay down on his stomach and when I get the supplies.
I try not to laugh, It’s always like this with him. He complains loudly but when I’m grooming him he’s purring, eventually complaining again about not wanting me to stop. I sit down on the back of his thighs and grab his fluffy tail. I was right though, it’s a mess. I start at the bottom, working my way up with the comb. While I’m working, Kyle comes in and sits down next to us. He grabs a comb and starts grooming my tail just like I’m doing.
A satisfied purr leaves my lips as I love the feeling. Johnny strikes up a conversation with Kyle about some movie they watched and I listen quietly. When I’ve combed all the tangles out of Johnny’s tail I grab some leave-in conditioner and start massaging it in. It’s quite hilarious to see Johnny trying to speak through his purrs and moans and groans.
Not that I blame him, the feeling of Kyle working my tail feels amazing as well. Just as Kyle finishes the door opens. John pokes his head in and smiles at the sight. “U.L.F is here.” I jump up from the bed and make my way out the door, Johnny and Kyle behind me. Simon is already waiting patiently by the door as we quickly put on our shoes.
As we walk onto the tarmac, I quickly spot Alex and Farah. I set a brisk pace as I make my way over to them. They both look up as Gaz calls their names, smiling as we make our way closer. Farah walks up to Price first, greeting him with a firm handshake and a quick hug. Price has always felt rather protective of Farah, so he spends a while grilling her about how she’s doing.
The rest of us greet Alex in the meantime. The red-tailed hawk shifter seems glad to see us again. He does the weird bro hug thing with Gaz and Soap and nods in greeting to Ghost. I clasp my hand in his and he pulls me in for a hug. “It’s good to see you again, Crow,” he smiles. “You too, Alex, how are you doing?”
He starts telling us about the situation in Urzikstan, how happy everyone is to finally be at peace. “Farah even started reading fiction,” he says, “I’ve never seen her this relaxed, though she still has duties to attend to.” I grin, happy for my friend, already making a mental list of books to recommend. It's endearing to see Alex look at Farah.
The two became officially mated about a year ago and before that Farah was Alex’s human sponsor, having taken over that role from Laswell after Alex joined the U.L.F. The two obviously cared deeply for each other. Most humans and some shifters look down on shifter-human relationships, but luckily these two don’t care.
I’m snapped out of my thoughts when Farah comes to stand before me. “Sister,” she smiles, “it is good to see you again.” I smile back at her and pull her in for a hug. She had started calling me ‘sister’ after we helped her and Alex take down General Barkov. I found it weird at the beginning, but I loved it now, seeing her as one of my closest friends. We strike up a conversation about the past few months, when I suddenly hear a Mexican accented voice all out.
“Cuervo, do we not get a welcoming committee?” I turn around and spot Alejandro and Rudy making their way towards us, their human sponsor, Kate Laswell beside them and the other Vaqueros behind them. I grin widely as I run toward them. Alejandro catches me as I launch toward them. Rudy quickly plucks me out of his mates arms to greet me himself, smiling widely. “It’s good to see you again, hermana.” “It’s good to see you two as well, it’s been too long.”
I had grown up with the two of them until I was ten years old, when I was moved from the Las Almas compound to the Oxford compound. We hadn’t seen each other for many years after that, only meeting again after I joined 141. I take a step back to let the others greet the Vaqueros as well, smiling and catching up.
My heart clenches as I register Valeria’s absence. I had known her too in Las Almas. She had often watched me after school, helping me with my homework and taking care of me. When we reconnected a few years ago, I had found out that she, Alejandro and Rudy were mated. I was ecstatic for them. She was, just like Alejandro and Rudy, sponsored by Kate, but a few months ago she deserted the Mexican army, taking over as leader of the Las Almas cartel as well. Her presence was missed, but overshadowed by her betrayal.
I turn towards Kate, greeting her as well. She embraces me quickly, before striking up a conversation with Price about the mission from two days ago. Kate was, just like Farah, one of the good human sponsors. She let them live their lives the way they wanted, didn’t make them follow rules other than the law and didn’t threaten to send them back to the compound whenever she didn’t get what she wanted. She had tried several times to become mine and the guys’ sponsor, but General Shepherd had refused. And after the fiasco with Valeria, it became even harder for her. She had to fight to be able to keep sponsoring the shifter Vaqueros.
Price had told her to keep her focus on the Vaqueros, to take care of them first, that we’d manage. I agreed with him, but part of me wishes that Kate would be allowed to sponsor us too.
"Alright, let’s head to the barracks,” Price announces. “The guest barracks have been set up for all of you, tomorrow Commander Graves arrives with his Shadow Company. They’re expected to arrive at 10.00, briefing is at 10.30.”