The Breach

10. Intruder

The room was small, furnished only with the absolute necessities - a bed, some tables, two chairs and a small wardrobe. Unlike most of Haven's private rooms however, this one had a window - an actual window overlooking the entrance, some trees and green vines climbing the building on the other side. Paul Rhodes often found himself distracted by the vines whenever he would sit on the bed. There was a lot of green in the city in general now; he actually liked the fact that nature was trying to fight back, yet at the same time it definitely made the surroundings more likable, more pleasant to look at. He never enjoyed the concrete of the city too much. This specific vine however would always make him wonder as it seemed to expand almost daily. Was the ground below really rich enough for it to thrive that much? Or was it the surroundings, the peace and quiet that let it grow with no boundaries? He was never a sentimental man, neither did he believe in stupid symbolism or coincidences. Nevertheless, he suddenly realized that his work with Anna could easily be compared to this vine. Maybe it was the reason why he couldn't help but look at it and follow the curve of its leaves up to the very top of the building.

He sighed. He didn't know how many times he came into this room hoping that it would all turn out to be a horrible dream. That Anna wasn't really gone, that he would find her here, sitting in front of a computer, making stupid jokes and calling him an old man filled with regrets. Just like she always did. But she wasn't here, she wasn't around anymore. And it was very unlikely that she would be coming back.

He has grown accustomed to loss, to despair, to the feeling of emptiness in his chest every single time he lost an associate, every single time he lost a friend. But this was different and there was no use pretending otherwise anymore. Anna was not just his friend and not just his colleague. He thought of her as of a daughter he never had. As of his legacy. Maybe if he told her how important she really was to him she would have never left. Maybe if he supported her more they could be walking down a different path together. Hell, he was the one who was so reluctant about SHD and yet it was him who kept telling her that she has to abide by the rules, to let it all go. If he knew then what he knew now it would have definitely been different. But it was too late now. Anna was gone and most likely working against SHD, trying to actually protect people from the evil of this world. Something he was never strong enough to do on his own. Something he should have been doing and yet never was brave enough to start. Maybe it was true, maybe he was too old for this now. Maybe he should just let go. But there was something there, this tiny speck of hope, this underlying notion that maybe not all was lost. That maybe there was still a way to do good.

Shame he had no idea what good was anymore.

He sighed again and stood up, angry at himself. He shouldn't be coming here. The entire equipment that used to be Anna's was redistributed by now, most of it put into storage, some given to other agents. They were trying to find out what she was up to and when they of course didn't manage to find anything on her hard drives, they just decided to reuse them. They assumed that if she hasn't been back for over a month, she was not coming back anymore. Maybe they were right. But the way and ease with which SHD just gave up on her made his blood boil. She was one of their best and brightest and they simply brushed her existence off as if she was just somebody stopping by from time to time. No official information, no records, no database entry. Her status was still unknown. And yet it felt like it was more akin to unimportant.

Of course they will hunt her if she turned rogue. Of course they will bring her to justice. But what was justice really? Who decided what was just and unjust? Was going against SHD unjust by itself? Or was it actually just, considering how much harm they have done along the way?

Well, there was no use thinking about it now. Be as it may, Paul still had a job to do. They were still hunting Keener and they were one step closer with every single bit of intel they managed to gather. The watches they took from Keener's lieutenants have indeed proven to be great assets in the hunt. But they were still not there yet, there was still something they needed to do.