Patterns - An Academy Story

The Aftermath - Part 2

Part 36 – The Aftermath, Pt. 2

Owen's POV

I removed my glasses and rubbed at the bridge of my nose in an attempt to stave off the headache that was threatening. Axel had given me a lot of information to process: a sealed file, people in prison, the threat to Miss Sorenson. The fact that she was connected to two teams, but not a member of any also puzzled me. The Academy structure was based on teams of at least two, yet she appeared to work alone. I wondered if the reason she worked alone was because of the fact that her file was sealed, or if the reverse was true and it was sealed so that she could work alone?

The sound of the others approaching the conference room pulled me from my thoughts. I put my glasses back on, and turned to see Kota, Nathan, and Gabriel enter.  They all had somber looks on their faces.

"Victor's on his way with the diagrams you requested," Kota said. "I was able to reschedule an assignment for Luke, so he'll be here. I'm assuming that since Silas brought Sang to work that he's around somewhere?" he asked, looking around the conference room.

"Yes," I answered him. "He and Axel are down the hall speaking with the building manager to see if we can get a temporary office in the building."

"An office?" Gabriel asked. "Are we moving in?"

"For the time being, but we'll discuss that in the meeting." I looked at my watch. "Dr. Green has assured me he will be here by 11:00. Has Mr. Taylor, Sr. sent word?"

"Yes, he said that based on traffic he's less than ten minutes out.  Can you tell us what happened last night?  Is Sang okay?" Kota asked.

"I'd prefer to wait until we're all here together to discuss what happened, but Miss Sorenson is safe for the time being."

"For the time being? What...".

"What the ever-loving fucking shit is this?" Gabriel exclaimed loudly, interrupting what Kota had been about to say. "These are pictures of us with Sang last week, after you guys went to the movies and later after we ate." He turned to face me.  "What the hell is going on? Who the fuck took these?" he demanded.

Kota crossed to where Gabriel was looking at the pictures spread out on end the table. He studied the pictures for several minutes then looked up at me questioningly. "Is this what happened? Someone took these and sent them to Sang?"

"This is part of what happened," I told him. Before I could say more, Victor entered the conference room, closely followed by North. Victor handed me a folder.

"Here's the schematic diagram of the installation that you asked for," he said.

"The list of what we installed is in there, too," North added.

"Thank you, gentlemen.  Mr. Taylor, you've put in requisition forms to replace what we used in the installation?" I asked.

"Yeah, I did that after I finished the inventory. I cc'd you on the request, so that should be in your in-box now. I included a detailed list of what we currently have on hand there, too," he said, nodding at the folder in my hand.

"Excellent, thank you." I went back to the notes I made last evening and added my thoughts from my meeting with Axel. I would need to go over current assignments with Kota. We needed to finish up anything outstanding so that we could focus on Miss Sorenson's situation. While I was going over my notes and prioritizing assignments both Luke and Sean entered the conference room. I looked at my watch. Right on time, I thought as I closed my portfolio.

I looked at Silas, who was leaning against the wall near the door. "We're going to be set up with an office just down the hall from here," Silas said. "It isn't big, but it will put us in close proximity to Aggele if she needs us. Axel said he'd drop off the keys after his debriefing meeting."