Life's Pursuit {Book 2}

Chapter 23: Mission Terminated

Having returned to the S.W.O.R.D. Headquarters, Ellie sat in her car and breathed in the warm air. It was harder than anticipated to enter the building as the realization struck; she was all alone. Having her father with her the past few months had been a gift, one that she had given away. It was time for her to make the hard choices and speak to Rambeau about what was happening.

The grip she had on the steering wheel remained. Her heart raced and she was frustrated with the fact that her body was responding to the exhaustion she had endured from her mission thus far. There was no way she could back down from this, though. She would push herself, she would work with Rambeau to get the facts straight, get access to the classified files. They would win.

At last finding the courage to leave her car, she entered the HQ and allowed nothing to stand in her way. She wouldn't even bother requesting an entrance with the director. She would march right in. The elevators took her up to the office floor and she found the red door marked with Maria Rambeau's name, in bold letters. The unlocked door gave her access and she marched right in, entering to find...

...not Rambeau. Standing behind the director's desk was a man she did not recognize and when their eyes met, she froze with apprehension.

"Who the devil are you?" She snapped, wondering who could have gotten into Maria's office without her there. A pit dropped in her stomach. "Where is Director Rambeau?"

Appearing offended by Ellie's unannounced visit, he sat in the desk chair and crossed his arms. "Haven't you heard?"

"Not a word. I am owed an explanation, immediately."

Her insistence was off putting, but seeing that she wore the uniform of a higher ranking agent, he entertained the conversation. "I think I would like to know who you are before we talk about where Director Rambeau is."

Ellie huffed, barely loud enough for the man to hear. "My name is Agent Sorensen and I am the lead investigator on a murder case involving the Avengers, S.W.O.R.D. and an unknown magic at its root. I have returned to speak to Rambeau about my recent findings and I must know where she is."

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Rambeau is out of commission for awhile." His sorry expression kept Ellie from responding. "I'm the acting director now in her absence: Tyler Hayward."

Now she recognized him. They were barely acquaintances and almost never interacted but his rank put him as second in command under Rambeau at all times. She wondered why they never spoke sooner. "If you're here, then what happened to Maria?"

"She's been hospitalized."

Those words clenched Ellie's heart. This news was definitely something she had not been notified of prior to returning to HQ.

"What?" She could barely get the word out.

"A couple months back, Rambeau was found unconscious in the vault. She's been in a coma since. No one can figure out what happened and S.W.O.R.D. is going into lockdown."

She hadn't heard about that either. So much was changing. On top of that, she knew Rambeau must have interacted with the fractal. Its power enticed her to see what she herself had seen. This knowledge angered Ellie.

"Rambeau is in grave danger. Is there any way we can help?"

Hayward shook his head. "Nothing beyond protecting S.W.O.R.D. Her daughter, Monica will be her primary caregiver and I will see that the lockdown happens smoothly. We believe her sudden unconsciousness has to do with something in the vault."

"It most definitely does!" Now they were getting somewhere. "Something dangerous is being kept in this facility and I experienced it! I only survived because I am not of human blood."

"Right..." Hayward tried to bypass her comment. "The lockdown is imminent to keep everyone safe until the source can be kept under control. All current missions will either be put on hold or terminated."

That couldn't happen. "Please, let me share with you more on what my mission entails. If Rambeau is out, then please help me instead! I have almost broken through, and—"

"No, Sorensen, your mission has already been terminated."

Ellie froze. "You... no, we can't terminate it."

"It's been done and should have been months ago. You were reaching dead ends, S.W.O.R.D. was wasting precious time and energy on something that would never be realized."

"You know the time these things take! Why would we stop now?"

"You were going further than what we needed. S.W.O.R.D. stepped in to save face for the Avengers and that was successful, right? We don't need to understand the rest. There isn't the imminent danger that you think is there. Your job is done."

At first, Ellie didn't know how to respond to that. She was obviously not in a high enough ranking to change his mind or defy the orders but his reasoning did not match the culture of S.W.O.R.D. The lack of worry he had regarding the magic that was involved in the murders, plus whatever extraterrestrials may also be hiding on earth behind all of this, was a frustrating thing to acknowledge.

"What good will this do?" She finally managed to ask.

Hayward smiled. "That is for me to decide on behalf of S.W.O.R.D. and beyond you. Please, G'iah, enjoy a break from your work. S.W.O.R.D. won't need you for awhile."

Her breath caught. He knew her real name. How?

Clearly, Hayward was not going to be argued with and S.W.O.R.D. was entering a complete lockdown which would prevent all external activity. She was completely stuck. The only thing she had left to do in that moment was comply and leave the office. Her job now was to find Rambeau, see if she could help Monica, do something.

Keeping eye contact until she turned towards the door, she could have sworn she saw a glimpse of yellow in the man's eyes. Remembering her vision from the fractal, her blood ran cold.