The Lost Ones

The Lost Ones - Chpt 7

           

------ 2 weeks later ------

Herefordshire, Great Britain

*(Y/N's POV)*

The car drove to a stop in front of a seemingly outdated military installation. I exited the car and adjusted my Schirmmütze, kept from my time in the Grenztruppen. I kept it in pristine condition. I felt this was one of the ways I could honour my father. At the drop-off, I was met with a red-headed woman, her long red hair braided and hung freely on the left side of her body. She came up to me with a salute.

"Captain? Welcome to Hereford base. This is the base of operations of the Rainbow organisation. I am Eliza, codenamed Ash. I will be showing you around the base. How shall I address you?" The "Eliza" person mentioned, standing at parade rest.

"I am name is (Y/N) Wolffe. You can address me as Captain or Sir when on duty. Let's get on with the tour, shall we?" I insisted.

Eliza smiled and led the way for me. Hundreds of questions were racing through my mind but as she droned on about the base, I couldn't help but notice the furtive glances and hushed whispering I was getting from the staff on base. Annoyed, I addressed them.

"I am your new commanding officer, Captain Wolffe. Will there be a problem?" I bellowed, my lips curling into a snarl.

The whole room went dead silent. I slowly, deliberately looked around the room, doing my best to look at each of them in the eye. I saw fear. Pure fear. Satisfied with my observation, I turned my gaze back to Eliza. She froze, shocked by the intensity of my glare. She gulped slowly. I softened my facial expression slightly, but I saw no visible changes in her stance. My normal face was scary enough as it is. Through fear, breeds obedience and loyalty. I cannot afford to show weakness. Coughing, I tried to get her attention.

"Shall we continue?" I pointed to the general direction and walked off, leaving her stunned behind.

------ A few hours later ------

" – and to end off, your appointments will be with Dr. Gustave Kateb in the medical bay. Do you have other questions?" Eliza mentioned, ending the tour.

"I want to meet the operators." I replied.

"Yes sir. They will be waiting for you in the Mess Hall in 10 minutes." She replied.

"Understood. I'll head there first. I haven't eaten at all today."

I walked toward the mess, passing a few of the staff along the way. They were almost to the point of running away from me. I smiled to myself inside.

I had my tray filled by the chef and I grunted my thanks to him. As I sat alone on one of the benches, I thought on the things I wanted to say to Monika and Mike when I saw them. I really messed up with Monika. Why did you do that? Verdammt.

Upon finishing my meal, I was greeted by the operators, each displaying their CTU's (Counter Terrorist Unit) logos. Among the crowd of operators, I recognised a few of them. Maxim Basuda and Alexsandr Senaviev. Ah those were the days. Its refreshing to see familiar friendly faces, even if they were my horrible teachers. But most prominently, Mike and Monika. Mike was openly glaring at me, probably more confused than angry on why I was recruited to lead the task force. Monika, on the other hand, fidgeted and kept glancing at the ground, seemingly finding it more interesting than me. Regardless, I addressed the group.

"I am Captain (Y/N) Wolffe. Director Six placed me in charge in handling deployment, logistics and welfare of this task force. I expect a certain level of professionalism that can be expected in a military outfit. Is that clear?"

A series of acknowledgements were thrown my way. I gazed into the eyes of every operator, silently, before continuing.

"I don't care what you do in your free time, as long as it does not cause any problems, I'm fine with it. Be contactable at all times. That is all. Dismissed. Mike and Monika, can I have a word?" I ended, my arms tucked behind my back in parade rest.

I motioned for them to exit the room, reminding myself to catch up with the other 2 Spetznaz operators later. As they stood in front of me, Monika avoiding my gaze and Mike glaring openly at me, I started my "speech".

"I would like to ... apologize, for what I said in the hospital. I have no excuses for saying what I did. I know you are competent and capable operators and I sincerely apologize for what I said." I forced the words out.

Both of them looked at me, stunned. Monika was silent, though now taking short glances at my face. Mike, on the other hand, was baffled. A few awkward and painful seconds passed, before Mike replied.

"That's all?"

Confused, I nodded my head. Mike then grabbed the front of my uniform and pulling me close, so that we were face to face.

"Are you fucking serious? Are you even a fucking human being? You said all that, to me and HER? Do you know how torn up she was after the incident? And you rubbing it in? And you think a simple 'I would like to apologize' would be enough?" He seethed, pushing me roughly away after he was done, while Monika stood silent and still next to him.

"As you said, this is a military outfit. I will listen to you in deployments and commands, but that's it. Our business will be purely professional from now on. I don't ever want to see you outside of work. Leave us the fuck alone." Mike ended, gently pulling Monika along with him.

I stood there dumbfounded. I was disappointed I could not have done more. I was disappointed that I could not apologize properly to them. I was disappointed I could not apologize to her. Her. I failed her. I slumped back to the wall behind me and slid down it. Cradling my head in hands, I clenched my fists to stop it from shaking and sobbed silently, tears flowing freely down my face. Unbeknownst to any of us, Eliza was listening in intently to the conversation, hiding in another adjacent hallway.