The Crusaders

Chapter 14: Heart of Darkness

Dover, England, June 1st, 2029

Eliza's computer beeped, breaking her out of her stupor of boredom and thought. She had been browsing on the web, looking for as much information as she could bring up about the strange monolith and whoever ToG was. Daniel hadn't brought up much either, even with his skills. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was almost dinnertime, and she was suddenly very hungry. She would check what this notification was then grab some food.

Looking through her computer, she saw the notification had come from the chatroom where she had sent the data to Naomi. As she clicked on the page, she noticed that she had responded back. It was simply three letters: SOS. Her eyes widened, then typed on the computer. What's going on? U ok? As she sent the message, a message from the system popped up automatically. The person you are trying to message is either experiencing connection issues or is offline. Please try again later.

Not believing that for a second, Eliza sat back in her chair. Naomi was always glued to her computer, and would never leave the chatroom unless it was an emergency, and judging by the distress call, it looked like it was. Biting her lower lip, she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Being on suspension meant she couldn't use any of the bases' technology to make her way towards Naomi's location, and even if she could, bringing this up in front of Carlyle would make her a target.

She quickly dialled Daniel's number on her phone, hoping he'd pick up quickly. After one ring, he did. "What's up? Find something?" He asked. "No. Remember that girl I told you about, Naomi? The one who works with the Gargoyle?" Daniel paused. "Wait, the American? I thought you two didn't talk anymore." Eliza sighed. "Well, I relayed her some of the data we collected on the monolith, and then shortly after, she went offline. I think she might be in trouble."

Daniel breathed out on the other end. "Well, what are we supposed to do about it? You're suspended, and I'm an analyst. If they connect me to you and all of this, I'll get prosecuted and sent to a hole in the ground for a very long time." Eliza grit her teeth. "Daniel, it doesn't bloody matter! If this is as bad as we think, the whole world could be in danger! And if she's in trouble, the Americans might be as well. So you can either help me or stay out of my way!"

He didn't say anything for a while on the other end, then realized she had called him Daniel for the first time in a while. He closed his eyes, then responded. "Alright. Alright, I'm in. But please tell me you at least have a plan for this." Eliza paced around her room, admittedly not having thought that far ahead. Then, her eyes landed on a picture of her team. A small smile crept across her face. "I think I might."

Waiting outside the infirmary, Daniel checked his watch. He was tapping his foot, a bit impatient. Someone then tapped him on the shoulder, making him jump and turn around. He saw that Eliza was there in her coat, with her knives in her pockets. "Why are you wearing your outfit?" He asked, puzzled. She shrugged. "Gotta be prepared." Daniel sighed, then opened the door. "This better work." He muttered.

Moving into the room, Daniel shut and locked the door. Eliza walked over to the person in the bed. "How you holding up, Holly?" She asked as she sat down next to the bed. Holly Pfieffer, aka Alakazam, was lying in the bed, nursing a slightly concussed head. She smiled weakly, her short, brown hair spread out beneath her as her fedora laid next to her on the table. "You know, have my good and bad moments."

Eliza smiled, then reached over and held Holly's hand. She genuinely hoped she made it through. She was only a few years younger than her when she joined The Watch with her, and was assigned to her team. She had taken a bit of a liking to the girl, and had acted as a bit of a peer to her. Looking at her, Eliza sighed a little. "Holly...I'm going to ask you something. You can choose whether to say yes or not. But before you do, listen to what I have to say." Holly looked at her a bit confused, then saw her serious face, and nodded.