Chapter Text
October 25th, 9:09 AM, New York
Caerus was punctual as always, arriving the morning after a ridiculous stunt, irritated and holding a large coffee with two shots of espresso from a small, well-to-do coffee shop a few streets away from the Continental. She had insisted on coffee before the meeting, much to Winston's dismay. He wasn't one to conduct business in public, or get coffee elsewhere when the Continental already had some of the best, but coffee and catch up sounded great when Caerus suggested it. Everything usually sounded great when it came from her, he still wasn't exactly sure why. Must be the voice, he decided one night after a particularly successful business agreement she had attended.
"How was your vacation, Cecilia?" Caerus, or as her real name was: Cecilia, smiling blithely, allowed a slight coy side to her show through as she sipped her coffee.
"It was wonderfully eventful, Winston. I picked up a few strays on the way: a kitten and a pair of pit bulls. They're a little worse for wear, but Dr. Anand is taking good care of them while I'm away," Winston started at that, then nodded, masking his surprise with putting more sugar in his coffee.
"I didn't know Dharma was a veterinarian," this wasn't a part of the plan, Caerus, his eyes crinkled, but the edges were pinched. He's nervous, Caerus almost laughed at that. She couldn't even count the amount of times he had made her nervous, "Just make sure he comes to work anyways, can't miss too many days." he needs an alibi, you know this.
"Well, he is a man of many talents. He can handle more than one animal," she spoke highly of him, resting her elbows against the table. Plans change, Dharma can handle this.
"You can't expect to keep strays for very long, Cecilia. Our profession isn't exactly pet-friendly," He gave her a warning look, taking a sip of his coffee to ease the tension, "Oh, too sweet."
"Here," She poured some of her- definitely more bitter- coffee into his, then nodded with an exaggerated sigh, "I know. It's a shame, but I'll request an old friend of mine to look after them, he's got the heart for it."
"An old friend? This wouldn't be Robert, by any chance?" for once, Winston wasn't entirely on his A-game. Cecilia had thrown not one, but two massive wrenches into his plans, "Thank you," He sipped his coffee again, relaxing at the flavor.
"You're welcome," Cecilia paused for a moment, tasting her own before setting it aside. The two were pointedly aware of being watched, but by the exasperated micro-expressions, everyone thought they were simply being chatty, senile colleagues, "To answer that, it is Robert. He's got his life together, finally. I think he would appreciate the company after his wife died."
"That he would," Winston nodded, finishing off his coffee while he watched his colleague, "You're going silver. You stopped dying it?"
"It was a bit of a hassle to dye, I'm already so busy. Shall we head back to work, then?"
"We shall," the two got up from their seats, Caerus taking her to-go cup with her while she did a double-check, watching the new faces fumble while pretending they weren't just trying to follow them out. She sighed, they just didn't have class anymore. Turning away, she headed for the door,"We have a meeting with a few members of the High Table after next week... isn't that going to be fun."
"Don't be so grim, Cecilia, I'm sure a few insults will be thrown around during a meeting," he paused, giving her a mischievous look, "Oh, but isn't your trademark a neutral goodness? The killer smile?" He grinned when she huffed loudly, releasing her irritation into the air as they exited the small building. Together they walked towards a sleek, black car waiting for them.
"Why did you suggest I become one of them? I was much better off just working for you. Numbers and silence, less... talking. I can only play the Joker for so long before it gets... messy," she stepped inside the car, nodding politely to their chauffeur while Winston slid in next to her.
"A blood bath will come, don't worry about that," Winston nodded to their chauffeur once the door closed and the engine started, then spoke once more, "For now, we need to make sure that bath doesn't overflow."
Caerus regarded him for a moment, then downed half her coffee, "Let's get on with it, then. I need to book a flight to Boston by the end of this week."
"Just take the private plane."
"Winston, sometimes people like to have a certain amount of anonymity than shiny planes and a thousand dollar outfits, sometimes we like to sit in economy class and watch a stewardess forcefully put a puppy in an overhead compartment."
"Oh, don't remind me of that." she laughed to herself, most of the irritation gone for a brief moment of dark humor.
Back in New Jersey, that night
John had gone from groaning in pain every few minutes to silence, exhaustion taking him over while Dharma had finally set everything aside, shuffling his feet in exhaustion when he got to the kitchen. The teen now in his care was sitting on the bar stool at the island, her hands clenched in her lap as she stared holes into the file on the counter. Dharma raised a brow as he approached, tossing his medical gloves in the trash. "Did you and the dog eat?" he asked, feet scuffling against the plastic floor as he went to open the fridge.
"I hope you don't mind, I gave him the steak you didn't cook," she tried to relax her hands onto the counter, but the minute she grazed the file, she pulled them back.
"It's fine, I only had it for a friend that was visiting, I'm vegetarian anyways," he pulled a container of leftovers out, popping the lid off while he searched for a fork. Dharma glanced over, taking pity on her predicament, "You look into that file yet?"
"I don't-" she shook her head sharply, "-I haven't looked yet, no."
Dharma hip-checked the utensil drawer shut, "You're afraid of what you'll find?" There was a moment of deliberation before she nodded, "Hey, it's okay," Dharma set his food aside, taking up the chair beside her, "I can't imagine what it is, but knowing where you come from is better than only knowing what someone told you to be, right? Besides, it's not how your story starts, it's how you choose to finish it that counts."
As he spoke, the tension left her with a deep, trembling sigh, "Okay. Okay... Thank you, Dharma."
"You're welcome, now I'll get out of your hair-- I'm gonna take a quick shower, then it's your turn," Dharma squeezed her shoulder reassuringly as he got up, taking his meal with him to his room. Then it was just her and the file.
She breathed in again, shaky but sure, "Better to know than not to."
"Better to know," she murmured, lifting the cover to glance over the two sheets of paper. She started with the first, her file from the facility:
"Terminus Project, SSS Unit
Updated: October 18th, Year 20XX
Subject 000.1029.284"
She unconsciously rubbed the serial number tattooed on the inside of her wrist, ignoring the phantom pains as best as she could. Pursing her lips, she kept reading:
"Bioligical donor(s): Imelda Cosme, deceased March 29th 20XX, Father Unknown, Presumed dead
Serum Used: Batch 87.9, Enhanced Formula
Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Weight: 160 lb, Height: 5-9 Gender: Female, Race: Latina, African American, Caucasian
Languages: English, Russian, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Swahili, Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese), Korean, Japanese
Mission Achievements: Romania (1), Italy (2), Syria (2), Russia (3), United States (4), Korea (1), Japan (1)
Mission Strengths: Proficient Martial Artist, Master Marksman, Expert in acrobatics, shows peak athleticism and gymnastic abilities, proficient weapons handler, efficient tactician, exceptional skills in engineering and communications, exceptional leadership skills, expert in stealth tactics
Offenses: 1
Status: Capture, Kill on Sight"
She was expecting that last part, to be honest. It was the second sheet she wasn't prepared for. Caerus had compiled a list on her family's information, just the basics, something you could search in 24 hours. It was all handwritten in neat scrawl, only a few jumps here and there, where they would have hit a bump in the road:
" Excerpts from Missing Persons section, Arizona Daily Newspaper, Date 20XX
Family of 3 Missing for 1 Month, Found Dead, Child Still Missing A young couple recently moved to Arizona was missing for a month, the mother, Imelda Cosme, was found dead in Long Island, NY from an alleged suicide [...] The father, Nikolai Brankovic, died not long after in a car accident [...] Their child, only has the surname Cosme, she has no known birth certificate, and her whereabouts are unknown [...] The child is being presumed dead by authorities."
The paper creased underneath her grasp, her free hand scrubbing at her face almost violently. It took everything she had to read the rest of the page:
" - Your mother had to leave you behind, she was one of the five agents who found about the Terminus facility, and hid the evidence they all found. Her records were in old CIA files, but the most I found was newspaper ads and discarded emails. Your father found out he was also in danger, and sent you up for adoption when he realized he and your mother were both going to die. His car accident was staged, and she was poisoned a month after fleeing. I'm sorry Adrian, they both loved you very much. Your being taken by the Facility was not on purpose for your family name.
P.S., It's not much, but I got this."
With trembling hands and blurry vision, Adrian tried to remove the photo attached to the file, the paper clip clattering against the granite counter while she held the photo of herself, her mother, and father up to her chest. On the bottom it read:
"Adrian Cosme, her first steps." - August 20th, 20XX