Secrets and Sins

Chapter 39

~Ava~

I’m coming Bea, just hold on.

Ava repeated the thought over and over in her head like a mantra. She felt jittery, she always did before a mission, what was making it exponentially worse was how much higher the stakes were for this particular assignment. Ava fiddled absentmindedly with the straps of her sword sheath, stretching her left side slightly, testing her tightly bandaged wounds. It was less than ideal going on a mission with an injury, but Ava refused to let it stop her from saving Bea.

Silence sat heavily among the occupants of the van; everyone was on edge. Opposite her was Lilith, the winged woman’s expression was carefully blank, Ava had to wonder what the other woman was thinking about, she hadn’t said more than a word since leaving headquarters. Camilla was driving and Sister Dora was in the front passenger seat.
They were just about to enter the evacuation zone the government of Madrid had set up to cordon off the massive sinkhole swallowing the center of the city, several other OCS vans were also tailing them to the location.

Ava replayed the plan in her head again, hoping it would help to ease some of the anxiety building in her chest. Step one, they would cross the boundary into the evacuation zone, the Church had secured them special passes to get past the military blockade.

God knows how.

Step two, they would make their way to the sinkhole. Lilith had completed some recon earlier this morning and had already warned them about evidence of tarask activity in the neighboring streets. It was likely to get messy, so they had a large tactical squad of OCS operatives providing back up, all of which were armed to the teeth.

Hopefully it will be enough.

Step three, Lilith would fly Ava into the sinkhole, they would kill Reya, save Bea, and stop the Holy war before it even began.

Simple. Piece of cake.

“Okay we’re here.” Camilla murmured, eyeing the military vehicles parked ahead of them and the dozens of gun-toting soldiers nervously.
“Everyone play it cool.”

The nun wound down the window as one of the military personnel approached and handed the soldier the piece of paper they had received from the church an hour ago. There was a long pause as he read it through, at least twice, glancing up at her now and then, curiously.

Finally, he nodded, “Okay you're free to enter.” The soldier gestured to his comrades and the barrier arm was lifted.

They drove forward, their convoy of vans following them through the entry point. Ava breathed a sigh of relief, that was easier than she had expected, step one was complete.

I’m coming, Bea.

~

The goal was to drive as close as possible to the sinkhole before exiting the van, but it was becoming fairly apparent that this was not going to be possible. Abandoned vehicles littered the roads, even with Yasmine navigating from their base back at the hotel, the team’s route options were rapidly dwindling. On the plus side, there was no sign of any demon activity, yet…

Camilla eased to a stop, as yet another road was blocked, this time by a public bus, “Right guys, we’re on foot from here. Nowhere else to go.”

Stepping out onto the curb, Ava had an overwhelming sense of dread, strong enough that she had to lean against the side of the van for a second. She shuddered, trying to shake it off. Camilla raised an eyebrow at her.

“Sorry, I just had a really weird feeling.”

Her friend frowned, glancing around anxiously, “I think we need to watch our backs.”

“How far from here?” Sister Dora asked, loading her assault rifle and checking the sights.

“About 4 blocks. If we go directly.” Lilith answered, scanning their surroundings constantly.

“Alright!” Ava called out to get the attention of all the nuns assembling from the various vans, there were 35 operatives altogether.
“Sinkhole is four blocks that way…” The Halo bearer pointed behind her, “...I want two units to stay here to guard the vans and act as reinforcements if anyone runs into trouble. The rest of us will head towards the sinkhole, as we move forward, squads will split off at side streets to ensure we don’t get flanked by the enemy. We know that there are tarasks in the area, only engage if you have no other choice, divinium is the only effective weapon against them. Stay frosty ladies.” Ava grinned.
“I’ve always wanted to say that. Let’s move out.”