From the Ashes

11

"The raid is still on schedule for Wednesday at four. Dustin, can you pull up the pictures?" Alec instructs a man in his late forties who has a blonde beard and a man-bun.

Daisy, Jensen, and Tony sit with their legs crossed in front of the other pack members in the basement. There are about 100 people crammed in the unfinished basement. The rest, all of the children and a couple of adults to supervise, stayed upstairs.

The basement is massive and spans almost the entire length and width of the first floor. Every wall is slate gray and the only contrast is the large white sheet nailed to the wall opposite of them.

Lights stream from a projector set on a stand in the middle of the crowd of people sitting on the cold, concrete floor. The lights flash different colors as a photo is shown on the hanging sheet.

The photograph is of the front of a crumbling, concrete, sand-colored building with the words, Purpose Int. painted in black on the front. The old-looking structure looks like it's been there for at least fifty years.

"At four they will change shifts." Alec paces in front of the screen, his eyes roaming around the room. "So, we will go into the back as they're not paying attention to the security cameras. And if they are, we'll just have to fight through 'em. There's no detailed plan, just get in, get intel, no casualties unless life or death situation, and get out. You know the drill, protect the geek squad so they can get to the computers. Any questions?"

"What exactly is the geek squad collecting from their computers?" Jensen blurts out next to Daisy.

Alec's eyes shift down to him. "Locations and names. The only way to shut this down is by cutting off the head of the snake." He crosses his arms and looks away, looking to see if anyone else has something to say.

"I have a question," Tony speaks up this time. Alec's eyes dullen as he looks over at his younger brother. "How did these guys even find us in the first place?" He references his friends who sat to the left of him and points his finger in their direction.

"We think that these guys are related to the government and since you guys were fooling around in an abandoned military airfield," he sighs, "it is very likely that they could have spotted you there." Alec turns his attention back to the rest of his pack.

"No casualties? They didn't exactly keep to that standard when they killed Ariana!" Estelle shouts in the back, standing up. "Come on Alec, don't tell me your morals have suddenly stepped in now?"

The room erupts in a low hiss of whispers. The once quiet room soon fills with many voices slurred into a haze of noise.

Alec's eyes begin to glow yellow in the low-lit room. "Estelle-" his voice has a dangerous edge to it. "I'm aware of what they did." His voice is grave. "But do we really want to stoop down to their level? We're supposed to be better than them. If this continuous game of cat and mouse is going to stop—we need to kill the other player, not his friends."

"Screw that! We're playing a different game now!" An unfamiliar man stands up next to her. His straight, stark white hair stands out next to her long, azure hair. He grabs her hand as they stand together, not backing down.

Most of the pack agrees with them and their voices get louder.

"Hey!" Alec yells, his voice comes out loud and powerful. The bickering pauses and everyone turns to him. His eyes are now a more vibrant hue of amber. Power radiates off of him. The pack collectively holds their breath, receiving the same vibe—don't cross the line.

"I'm not your dictator! You can do what you want to do. This pack is about sticking together. Being a family. Lately, that hasn't been our top priority. I think we collectively agree on that." He looks toward Estelle. "We stick together even though we may disagree, and even though we make different choices." His gaze shifts off of her and he looks around the room. "So if you want your eye for an eye, go for it. But I will not be participating."