Entry Point

Chapter 8 - Ashes

Date: 21st June, 2014
Time: 13:00

Location: Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA

I arrived at one of San Diego's Nicest beach, Pacific Beach. Rose had asked me to come here to meet with her, She says This place is special to her. She would give me a tour. I called Rose up after waiting for a while.

I dialed Rose's Number, Which I had saved as "Rose (Mission Coord)" with a heart emoji beside. It was my Little secret. No one would know.

Rose Picked up the call.

"Hey, I'm here. You on the way?" I asked.

"No, Sorry, I can't make it. They called me back to T.O." She replied.

'Damned T.O. Department.' I thought.

"Aw. You were suppose to give me the tour though." I said imitating a child like voice.

"I'm sure you'll have trouble finding another tour guide in San Diego."

"That's not my point." I said.

"Yea, I know. Listen, We'll do it next time. You know we'll be back in California Eventually." She told me.

"Fair Enough. I should get going."

"Okay, Just... Stay safe, alright?" Rose said, With a caring tone.

"No promises. I'll see you later" I replied chuckling.

"Goodbye." And with that, She ended the call.

I had time to kill before my evening flight back to headquarters. Falcon was going to pick me up at the Ontario Airport once I landed back in Canada. I thought I might find some food, Buy some Souvenirs for HQ, Take some pictures around in San Diego.

As I was running a Plan on what to do in San Diego, A gun clicked Behind me. Normally, People would start panicking, But where I was at, It was dead secluded. Not too many people around.

"Twitch and you're dead." A voice said.
"Don't think we've met. I'm Jackdaw."

I wanted to fight back. Wren had told me stories About Jackdaw. He was the rouge Mecenary that caused the Dawn Valley Demise. He had killed two of Halcyon's Operatives. But I knew, without any weapons, I can't fight back. Best I could do was to buy time for myself.

"Look, I'm busy today. If you're here to kill me, Can we reschedule?" I said sarcastically.

"Not here to kill you today." He said
"Just need you to get a message to the director for me. Tell Him I haven't forgotten. Tell him Phoenix is coming."

Jackdaw had mentioned Phoenix. Meaning Jackdaw was behind the Phoenix Operation. Few months back, Certain Halcyon Operatives had gone missing, And word around was that they had defected to phoenix. My intuition was right. Halcyon was planning something big, and it was meant for Phoenix. For Jackdaw.

"Is that all? Why not tell him yourself. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you." I replied.

"You know, I used to be like you." He said Lowering his gun. I turned around to look at the man responsible For The missing Halcyon Operatives. I was looking at the man who sabotaged the Dawn Valley operation.

"Followed every order. Did the director's dirty work." He said.

"What's your point?" I asked.

"They gave me a bullet for my service." He said. What was he talking about? Rose or Wren never mentioned anything about trying to kill Jackdaw.

"So take some friendly advice, kid. Get out while you're still breathing." He urged.

I looked him dead in the eye. That was how he urged the missing Operatives to join him. He walked away from me after that. I started to have second thoughts. What if Jackdaw was right? What if Halcyon was going to put a Bullet in me for my service. But I had no proof of it.

I decided to spend my remaining time in San Diego, Taking pictures, Eating street food, Dining at certain Restaurants, Getting some beer to drink, Buying souveiners. Typical tourist stuff. It got late pretty fast, And I made my way to the airport. I got on the flight back to Canada and landed safely. As I exited, I saw Rose waiting for me.

"Thought T.O. called you back?" I asked.

"I had free time after. Thought I pick you up instead."

"Heh. That's Nice of you." I said.

I got in the car with Rose. She drived back to headquarters and I made my way back to my bunk. I started Unpacking The things I had in my bag and took out my laptop. I was going to make a journal entry for myself.

I pressed enter, And it started recording.

"Halcyon is Planning something big. Jackdaw, Supposed Rouge member Of Halcyon, Now Phoenix Operative, approached me and urged me to get out of Halcyon. I'm starting to have second thoughts. This confirms it. Halcyon is planning something. But what? This, I have yet to find out. I refuse to believe what Jackdaw said about having a bullet put in me once Halcyon was done with me. They would never do that, Would they? For now, This is as far as I have. I don't have proof of anything. None of this makes sense to me, but I know something is going on. And it's not just a battle of two Organizations. It's about war. End Entry."

I ended my journal entry. I decided to get some rest. But I couldn't sleep the whole night. I knew the cafeteria was open Twenty four hours. I headed down to grab a bite. There I saw Rose, And decided to sit With her after grabbing a Sandwich and a cup of Hot chocolate.

Rose didn't talk much to me. It was just a conversation of "How are you feeling?" And "What do you think if Halcyon so far?". Basic Work stuff. I didn't know if I could trust Rose enough to tell her.

She changed my mind. She saw I had a look of fear in my eyes. She saw me tense up, The amount of stress I had built up in just one day. It was Unreal.

"Hey, I'm here for you." She said, and again, In a caring tone.

"What's wrong? I've never seen you tense up this much before, Especially not on a free day. You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Rose, I don't know. Nothing makes sense. And Maybe I did see a ghost. I gotta know what's going on... I know Halcyon is Planning something. But what?"

Rose looked at me. She knew. And It all pieced together. I looked at her dead in the eye.

"You knew? This entire time you knew?" I asked

Rose nodded. I was angry. I stormed back to my bunk. Rose followed behind. As we both entered she locked the door and Commanded the system to soundproof the walls.

"Listen, I know it looks bad. I'll explain, Alright? Just Listen to me. Please." She said.

And she did. She began from the very beginning. How it all started, Why This is all happening. It cooled me down.

"I'm sorry. For being mad at you." I told Rose.

"It's alright." She said.

Tears started to flow down my face. I was crying. Not out of sadness, But if hate. A new hatred for Halcyon grew inside me after everything Rose told me.

Rose hugged me. She hugged me tight and whispered.

"Just a little longer. You won't be with Halcyon anymore. Just a little longer. We'll get our freedom soon."