Salvage

Sixteen - Part 2

"What?" Adam's voice shook, and his jaw clenched. "Daniel? They couldn't have gotten all of them out. We were only gone... How long before you found us?"

Aurora stroked his hand softly, feeling numb. She'd left them behind. She had no choice. What if she'd had a choice? Could she have saved more? Where were they now? What were they going through? If any of them died... It would be on her, wouldn't it?

"They haven't finished searching the facility yet, but our belief is they had ample time. They must have already been prepared, and didn't want to take the risk. Assuming your tracker began working as soon as you escaped the area, you were in that desert for a good eight hours, at least, possibly longer. Plenty of time for them to evacuate." Jane's voice was calm, matter-of-fact, but her eyes were hard and cold. "We should have assumed they would have some kind of jammer that would block your trackers or phones."

"Why do you think they didn't just attack you when you came to get us? Try to stop us from telling you anything, or you from finding their base? They must have been close." Aurora felt nonsensical asking but it was the only thing clear filtering through her mind.

"It's possible they know once they're caught they will already be facing serious charges. Perhaps they don't want to add killing federal agents to the list. It could get much worse for them." Jane's delicate nose lifted in a sneer. "If we ever manage to get ahead of these assholes."

"You will." Aurora uttered the reassurance on instinct. "There's no choice, right? If you don't get ahead of them we won't find them. And we're going to."

Adam looked at her with a tremulous smile, though his eyes were still haunted and face pale. "Will we?"

"Yes. We will." Jane answered, and leaned forward, flipping to a fresh page in her notebook. Her eyes glinted with determination as she focused first on Adam, then Aurora. "And you can help."

Aurora rubbed her eyes. She felt the weight of this sinking into her bones, becoming a part of her, now. "Anything I can do, I will."

"Then tell me exactly what happened."

***

It was hot and stuffy on the plane. Though Aurora could gaze out the window and see the cool droplets of rain smattering down from a darkened, stormy sky. She was back home. She longed to rush out and feel the cool breeze and drops on her skin, washing away the hot sticky feeling of a six hour flight.

She was in the back of the plane, though, and wouldn't be escaping for another half hour, most likely. With a sigh, she squirmed on the seat, trying to relieve her numbing tailbone, and fished the cheap cell phone the agents had given her out of her pocket. She'd only given the number to Adam and Ros, as she'd have her old phone back soon enough.

A wave of melancholy settled in, even as her mouth turned up in a smile when she saw Adam had been texting her the whole flight. She opened her phone to read.

Watching your plane leave makes me wish I could fly.

We miss you already. Chinook woke up and wanted to see you.

They've finished combing through the facility. Turns out they left the youngest children behind, all locked in a big cage in the lowest level. Cece was with them. But no Daniel.

Aurora sighed and clutched the phone to her chest. She wished for a moment she hadn't asked Adam to keep her updated on the situation. She needed to get home, she knew that. She'd been gone too long already, she couldn't let her life fall apart. Adam had stayed, pacing like a caged lion, waiting for any word from the agents.

Still no Daniel. She supposed she wasn't surprised, but it still made her heart ache, made her mind flash back again and again to the moment they left him behind. She quickly texted a reply.