((It’s supposed to be qu.eer, but I guess the real definition of that word does not matter!))

She just stood there staring at him. She didn’t know what to say. There was no point anymore. She was just some crazy person to him—who apparently did drugs. She shook her head, putting her hand on her forehead when he opened the door. She turned around and went over to her bed picking up at pillow. When she heard the door shut she threw a pillow it, yelling. The pillow was caught by the censor, and the door opened once more. She was so frustrated; she didn’t notice. She thrust herself on the bed laying there. She grabbed another pillow and held it tightly. The door shut once more after a few minutes.

[would have never guessed. that one is new to me, usually pi.ssed turns into [CENSORED]. and don't think too much in terms of reason about it...]


It was one of those really rare occasions Cythera did not object and/or found some weird excuse. (I guess I have hit the nail on the head...) The door opened behind him and he stepped slowly out of her room. He waited for the door to close and sighed... Barely a second later to door opened again and he was hit by a pillow... "A...!?!"

He picked it up and turned, some people of the staff passed by and looked at him oddly for carrying a pillow, but he looked back inside at Cythera on the bed clinging to her other pillow. He stared at her - silently - holding the pillow with both hands. Maybe she had some severe psychological trauma. He remembered how she suddenly had burst into his room, telling him for the first time sth about her family... that got killed and raped... (No... raped and killed, was it?) Maybe it suddenly had come back to her. It would have been understandable, he felt solitude quite often actually as well, yet he couldn't very well mix with the other agents. They seemed so serious, or rather different than the old playful crowd he had up in the settlement.

He lowered his head and stepped silently into her room again. The door hissed shut. She didn't seem to notice him. He didn't really make his presence known either. He had have a high opinion about Cythera till the recent days. Sure, she always had been that quarrelsome and did weird stuff with the reports. But in the last two days she felt pretty... vulnerable, yes that seemed to be the right word. Now he felt a little bad about accusing her of taking drugs.

Maybe he could do sth for her in turn for a change? He moved to her bed and set dwon next to her. Putting the pillow at the head of the bed. With hesitation he ran a hand underneath her blonde curls and rested his warm hand a little on her neck. He had no idea, if it was the right thing for her, but they did cuddle and caress the children in times like this back in the settlement...

She lay on her side, facing away from the door. Her face was buried in the pillow. Her eyes were threatening to cry, but she fought it. She didn’t want to cry again. No over him. She would just go and make the request for new teams. Maybe she’d get someone new; someone she could train. That would be nice. And she’d probably finally be with a girl. She breathed deeply. Her thought was distracted. Had someone just sat on the bed? There wasn’t anyone in her room. She tensed up, slightly as the pillow was set above her head. Then she felt hands on her—her body relaxed at his touch. She looked over, letting one side of her face free from the pillow. She looked at him curiously. She honestly didn’t know how to react to this. Or if she’d even be comfortable with it.

She rolled over on her back and looked at him rather expressionless. Then she sat up, “Pantera…?” She didn’t know what she should say. She wanted to say several things, but she couldn’t quite get them out. She wanted to ask him what the hell he was doing. What his intentions were? Why he was suddenly going to do this and if it would really mean anything?

He retracted his hand as she turnd and spoke his name inquiringly. He smiled "You seem to be really tensed up... I wonder where to the elder team-leader go to if they have troubles... of the heart, or threatening memories that come back at them?" he knew there was professional psychological help at the base, but he meant sth else. You don't run to a psychologist all the time if just feel down... For the reason that you "feel down" might be because of the lack of real friends.

Pantera had changed his habits joining the organisation about a year ago ever since he noticed that agents basically were obsessed with their work, showing off. They weren't hostile, nor unfriendly as such, just too much focussed on competition in his opinion. Back in the settlement it was all about the community. It was a matter of "we", all of them, if they defended what they had built up again in those harsh times after that devastating war.

To him one of the few persons here, he felt he could truly rely on - as queer as she acted - had been Cythera... That was until she seemed to crack up herself recently. Yes, she was bothersome and he was sure, that she had her reasons why she did strange things like manipulating reports "to protect" him, which was - now thinking about it - kind of cute actually. Certainly her quarreling was not unlike the competition of the other agents. Some even had secretly their "scores" amongst them. He found that rediculous, if not irresponsible.

He looked down to her, her eyes looked like she had been close to crying "You don't really have any real friends here either, eh?" he felt suddenly a bit melancholic, wondering how his buddies were doing "up there". "Strict rules." he said with an air of cynism and brushed some hair out of her face, smiling in a way he rarely had done here at the base... kind of tender.

She looked at him as if she didn’t know him as she sat on the bed, holding the pillow in her lap. She did that a lot. Whenever she was sitting down or lying in bed, she was usually holding a pillow. For some reason it made her feel secure or something along those lines—just another weird thing about her. This was not the Pantera she knew. Why did he suddenly change? She said nothing in response to him. She didn’t know what to say or think about this really.

She looked down hearing him ask her about friends here. It was true. She didn’t really have any true friends here. Just people she knew, even though she knew a lot of people, she just wasn’t happy. She didn’t generally get along with a wide variety of people either, so that didn’t help. She looked back up to him when he brush her hair. She smiled back to him. She felt very weird at that moment. She didn’t know what it was…maybe embarrassment? No. She had not felt it before.

Cythera seemed to regard him with an empty and cold glance, hugging a pillow. He wondered if he should get help... For a moment he truly believed, that she had seriously cracked up. She kept silent, which was a rather odd thing for her to do as well. Yet, she regarded him with a smile in the end, he rubbed his hands over the fabric of his pants on his thighs and got up again.

"I still can't give you a clear answer, Cythera. Maybe we both should request a break of a few days and some training, or different work for a change. Stay away from each others a while and then see, if it would be a wise thing to split up our team... Somehow... the higher ranks always praised our success..." he tilted thoughtfully his head. She sure looked way more in need of a rest, than he felt he was. He wondered if he could suggest her to see a doctor for a proper check-up.

Cythera looked up at him when he got up, but she stayed where she was. She looked down when he spoke of staying away from each other. Yes, that would probably be much better then what was going on. It would be nice to be able to get away from the base for a week or two. She smiled at the thought of it. She had an idea of someone to go see as well.

She looked back at him when he stopped talking. “I think a break would be a good thing for me. I’m going to request one, and if I get it, I guess you can team up with someone else. That will give you a chance to know if you want to be paired with someone else.” She smiled to him. She thought that was a good idea. “What do you think?”

(Hm... She accepts that all too easily...) Pantera kept up his smile "Yes, let's see..." He shifted his weight from one side to the other... He was done with his patience. "So. Ja, ne!" He waved at the censor and went out quickly... "What was that now all about?!" he whispered, walking down the hallway, bumping into the people coming into his direction, but not caring much. He went on (After all, she at once tried to team me up with somebody else... Why can't she just say straight, that she doesn't want me anymore.) He frowned... (Garrrh! I don't get her... If she do likes me, why does she has to part from me?) He rubbed the back of his head.

He opened the door to his quarters with his hand scan and stood in the middle of his room "It's not that I like her that lot... as she said, she would me... So why do I care? Stupid old girl! She sure has cracked up..." he sat down...

He jumped up again! "Woah! She lied! That's it! She is in love with someone else and so she wants to get me off her back!) He thought about Joel... "No, they just play tennis..." He started pacing around in his room "Hmm..." A while passed by... "Giulio!" He wasn't sure, but this guy was suspicious. But then this guy seemed to stalk lots of girls. He stopped dead "Maybe she fell in love with Giulio and he betrayed her?!" he put his hand to his chin, pondering...

The light on his terminal blinked: message. He went over to sit down, checking it. He sighed "Vincent..." He asked Pantera out for some teamed-up training... again. "Ja, ja... fine!" He confirmed the appointment for the next morning at 10:00 "Why not."

Next message... He sighed: "Soleada... Girl you are sure persitant..." It happened to him that he hadn't asked Cythera how she relieved her sexual desires... He felt a bit anxious. Well somehow he had, but she had evaded his question... "Of course... You don't share things like that, if you have a lover... Ha!" sth else happened to him "Right! She manipulates all the reports to keep ~us~ out of trouble!" That was it! The less anybody asked inconvenient questions, the saveer she was hiding the relationship. He nodded to himself, he might have figured Cythera's secret... - tabun...

She looked after him oddly. “That was weird.” She muttered to herself. Then she looked over to her terminal clapping her hands together as she got up from the bed. She darted over to the chair once more, and looked a number up. Adam would be so happy to fear from her. He was always bugging her to come visit him. They had been incredibly close while growing up—though they had never had a romantic relationship.

And in fact, she was correct. He was over joyed to hear from her, and even happier to hear that she wanted to come visit him. The idea made her happy, just being able to get away from here for a little while.

She sent in a request for leave after talking to Adam. She would have to get that approved before any plans could be made.

It was nearing the evening and Soleada didn't believe her eyes as she came back to the office checking the requests and reports of the day. Her "beloved" competitor Cythera had requested a time of absence and she had gotten it confirmed....

Soleada blinked for a second time and checked if she had gotten it right. Cythera was going to be away from the base for lots of days [woah, that rhymes!], while Pantera stayed... here... alone. Soleada's face was suddenly taken over by a victorious smirk: "Heh!" Obviously she had been wrong in her assumption, that sth was going on between the two of them. The whole "we don't want to go out onto a mission together right now" and they both acted rather odd.

She had some hard times to keep the higher ranks off their back, because rumours spread all too quickly in the base. She hadn't too much sympathy for Cythera. Not that she disliked her in general, she saw her rather than an obstracle between herself and Pantera, who she wanted - strict rules or not. No, she felt Pantera was in some trouble and she wanted to give him, what he had requested: some more time to figure things out. She felt strongly that she had to grant that to him - if she could. After all she felt for him... somehow.

She wondered if he knew, that Cythera was going away...? She wondered if she should tell him? She called him "Um... Would you like to eat with me this evening? You dumped me last night." He took a deep breath "Not exactly, eh?" She soudned cheerful "Oi, what's about this gloomy attitude? Have you forgotten? You owe me one, heh." Oh, she was right. Well, you can't complain about having no friends if you don't do anything about it, so he agreed.

Cythera looked over to her terminal again as it made a sound, indicating that she had received a message. She went over to it once more, and checked her mail. “Confirmed!” She smiled happily.

She got a hold of Adam once more, and made arrangements. She would leave in the morning, and be gone for five days. She was so excited. She had not seen him since the funeral of her parents, and only talked to him about once a month now.

When they hung up, she got up and danced around the room joyfully. She started to pack while doing this.

Pantera entered the restaurant considerably neatly dressed. Not that he cared much about appearance, nor was it for Soleada - it was simply for the sake of doing sth differently than usual. The base's restaurant was a place, that was supposed to give the impression of more intimate style and quality in comparsion to the large bright and simple cafeteria. Though he wasn't much ahead in time, it seemed as if Soleada was late. He sat at a table and simply waited.

A waiter approached him. It were moments like these, that the oddest things happened to cross his mind. For it seemed to him as if not the waiter was waiting, but it was in fact him who did on this occasion. Even though the waiter now waited for an answer of Pantera to the question of what he might like to have to drink, handing him the menu at the same time. Considering the last night, that he woke up from with a girl in his bed, he wondered if to try that again...

"Water, please." he tried to smile, but he had the impression that it didn't come out very sincere. A breathless voice caught his and the waiter's attention: "My apologies, they came up with more work, just as I was about to call it a day!" Soleada shoved herself onto the the comfy bench-like seating. She smiled at the waiter "Red wine, a sweet one please." The waiter nodded friendly and left. Pantera raised a delicate eyebrow "A sweet red wine?" Soleada was fumbling with her handbag and regarded him with a brief glance "Yes!?"

Cythera spent most of her time in the evening packing for her trip the next morning. She had turned on music and was just liking the idea of being able to leave for a few days.

She was thoroughly looking forward to this opportunity. It would let her relax for about a week. It was something that she needed. She would enjoy her vacation very much. She could not keep a smile off her face.

[Over long-term intermissions I am losing track of my character's traits...]

Pantera stared at the candle on the table playing absent-mindedly with the napkin while Soleada finished her business with her handbag. She sat up neatly at the table and looked at him... Noticing that he wasn't at all looking at her. Her mood fell a little and she took a deep breath reaching for his hand "What is it...?" It was like he didn't even notice that she was there. She cocked her head and frowned "Pantera!?" She squeezed his hand, he looked at her "Say, does Cythera has a lover?" Soleada froze, her mouth slightly ajar, after a moment she stuttered "I... beg your pardon?!"

((Yeah, seriously…it shouldn’t take too long to get back into it though. Hopefully.))

Cythera finished her packing and getting ready for the night. She would finish tomorrow morning after she had taken a shower and would finish everything then.

She went to bed. It took a little while for her to get to sleep though, because her excitement was very high. It kept her awake. After laying there in bed for what seemed like an eternity, she finally fell to sleep.

((Sorry, there’s only so much I can do right now. It’s up to Pantera and Soleada to make it the next morning now.))

Pantera blushed slightly and put on a little smile shaking his head faintly "Nah, just wondering..." Soleada put softly her hand over his, he didn't resist, nor seemed to react. However she retracted her hand to receive her wine and he his water as the waiter approached their table again. Soleada looked over the rim of her glass as she was about to take a sip "Water!?" He took a gulp and nodded slightly insecure "Yes, why? Want to carry me to my room again?"

Soleada looked at her glas and kept silent, she wouldn't mind. She was tired of this "stop-and-go" situation. She put the glass down "Do you love Cythera...? I need to know that... now!" Pantera cough up on his water and reached for the napkin covering his mouth. "That's kind of a sudden question..." she didn't let him distract her "Not for me, seriously." Pantera smiled shyly "I figured that." "You did?" "I did. You know I think she has a severe issue. She doesn't seem to paticularely like men... Must be some trauma from her past."

Soleada was unnerved "If that's the case, then why did you ask me, if she might have a lover?" He smirked "In that case why didn't you ask me if I love you?" She looked away "...Touché." She was relieved, at least he didn't seem to reject her. "Well, we would have now enough time to get closer to... each..." He interrupted "How so?" "Well, ever since you two have this vacation..." Pantera interrupted again "Cythera told me, that the personal staff shouldn't get entwined with the agents as well, not only agents with agents."

She sat back resting on that bench "Did she? 'Entwined'... That's a way of putting it. If you need a new partner, why don't you take me as a trainee?" She had done it again, he had just taken a sip and then he almost spit it across the table "...woot?!" He needed the napkin again "You...!? You can't be an agent! You don't qualify at all! You'd have to kill people!" Soleada shifted uncomfortably in her seat "I could learn to..." "No! You can not!" "But didn't you learn as well?" He sighed "Don't be rediculous, that's entirely different!" He noticed that he had gotten upset and his voice considerably loud. "I guess it is, I apologize for saying stupid things." She got up and left - the restautrant.

Pantera - as usual - didn't understand a thing. He emptied his glass... And hers as well. He paid and left some minutes later. He went into the yard. It was almost dark and discarded. He sat down on a bench and tried to think of nothing for a change... Which didn't work very well with him.

[you may move time ahead now]

Cythera woke up, early as usual, without an alarm clock. This didn’t surprise her, but today, it didn’t disappoint her either. She laid there in her bed for several minutes, just trying to let some time pass. She looked back at her clock…only five minutes. She sighed heavily, and sat up rubbing her eyes. How irritating, she thought. She got out of the bed, and did her usual getting ready: shower, clothes, and hair.

When she had finished with that, she finished packing everything into her bag. She looked around the room approvingly. She then walked around making one last round about the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

When she had made sure of this, she left her room and went to the café area. She got herself a bottle of water and some pieces of toast, and made her way out to the little courtyard. It was a nice morning. The sun was just coming up. She smiled looking about. It would be nice to sit outside and eat as she had thought. She couldn’t stop smiling. It was a beautiful day, and she would be out of here within an hour. It was just lovely. She’d get to see her best friend, but that’s not the only person she looked forward to seeing…

Pantera had been lying in his bed playing some game on his terminal, for that he had moved the screen over to his bed... Eventually he had fallen asleep... early in the morning.

The terminal demanded some attention at about 9:45 <Scheduled appointment with agent Vincent Glaser at 10:00> it said with a constant annoying beep. Eventually he woke up and tiredly looked at the message. With a grunt he started dressing and shuffled out of his room, over to the training facility - he was about 10 minutes too late. Some young girl was standing there by the terminal looking rather nervous. He walked up to the door and gazed around if he could see Vincent. He turned at the girl, about to ask her if she knew if Vincent was already inside...

"You are agent Pantera, am I right?" She said with a choked voice. He wasn't fully awake, yet. "... Hai?" He frowned ('Agent Pantera'?). She looked to the ground "You are late, sir." "... Hai?!" He frowned some more ('Sir'?!). "Agent Vincent left already, I shall explain..." He lifted a finger "You are a new trainee!" Nobody else would say things like 'Agent <who-ever>', or "Yes, Sir." she nodded with a touch of pride. Pantera cleared his throat and looked around if anybody was hiding and playing a joke on him.

"My trainer, Agent Vincent, had to leave on short notice for about two weeks. As we learnt that you happen to be free, he thou..." He interrupted her "Oh, am I?" He was surprised to see her almost flinch "Yes, sir!" He took a step back "What's wrong with you? Is there sth scary about me, or what?!" he pointed at himself. She seemed to blush and looked to the ground again mumbling "With all due respect... Y-yes... sir." Pantera scanned again the area, but couldn't see anything suspicous going on. "What?!" She did the flinching thing again, this time more destinctively.

"Explain!" he demanded and she went pale looking like she wished she'd be somewhere far away. "They said that you split from your former partner..." Pantera was rather taken aback about that news "Did I?" Now he got nervous himself, did Cythera pull sth, without him knowing - perhaps of what happened yesterday evening? "They said, it was because of personal differences..." He became curious about those 'they' she seemed to refer to. "Like what?" She took a step back "Sir, that's just what they said..." He pushed it further "Do go ahead, I am curious myself about that!" She looked pityful and confused now, searching for the right words.

"... Uhm... They said it was due to your... your violent nature, sir." Pantera blinked "~My~... 'violent nature'?!" he was dumbfounded (Not perhaps... Cythera's?!) He just couldn't believe that - that smelled like a conspiracy against him.

When Cythera had finished her toast, she walked around for a little while, trying to waste time. When she had felt she had accomplished this, she went back to her room and grabbed her things. When she came back out, she locked the door, so her room could not be accessed.

She had the letter of leave, and her tickets ready when she got to the exit of the base. It was irritating that you had to be cleared to leave the base, as well as enter it. The guard let her through, and she went to a vehicle that was waiting for her. She was taken to an airport that was in the city. She was used to flying, even though must people didn’t fly anymore. It didn’t bother her. The teleportation would have been easier and faster though, but that was not an option.

After an hour flight, changing planes and then another two hour flight, she had finally made it back to the place where she had grown up. She sat there waiting for the people to make their way off the plane. When she got off, she made her way to the baggage area where they would be awaiting for her.

She was able to pick them out easily. A male about her height and age and a younger girl, about ten years old, was standing next to him. She smiled seeing them there. Adam had two children of his own with his wife, who had died from the birth of the second child, but the girl that was with him was not his. The girl ran over to Cythera happily, and hugged her tightly. “Oh, Ada! I’ve missed you so much.” Cythera told the girl. "I’ve missed you too, mama.” The girl replied to her. Adam came over smiling. “You cannot imagine how happy she was hearing that you were coming to visit.” He said to Cythera, hugging her as well. Cythera smiled over to her friend, holding her daughter close to her. “I really wish I was able to come more frequently.” She said. “I hate not being able to see you guys very often.” She said looking down. It was times like these that she regretted what she had chosen to do.

When the baggage was collected they made their way to Adam’s house.



((Okay, so I have a background for her now: Cythera did watch her parents killed at a young age, but it wasn’t until she was older that she joined the organization. Her father had had dealings with the mafia. Cythera had a child when she was sixteen. And for the next five years, her life was amazing. When she was at the age of twenty-one, her daughter five, her husband was killed for no real reason. That is when she joined the organization. She had to cover up the fact that she had a child when she did so. She was able to do this with ease. She told them that her baby was killed along with her husband. Adam took Ada in as a child of his own, adopting her so that she would not come up as Cythera’s child. She tells people that she came into the organization for revenge on her parents, because she doesn’t want them knowing anything about her past other then that. She is now twenty-six years old, and has been in the organization for five years now. She only gets to see her daughter every once in a while...maybe holidays and at other intervals. She doesn’t dare talk to the girl over her terminal at work, because she could get into a lot of trouble. Ada really doesn’t understand everything that goes on, but she accepts it. Her life had changed completely when her father died, and that’s just the way it was.))

Pantera had decided to drop the subject of rumours about him and Cythera. It helped that the girl was still in her submissive-training-phase. Unexperienced trainees underwent a training that was to dicipline them at the beginning and then slowly releasing them into more and more independance. Pantera had literally come from warfare, which had made it harder to knock some obediance into his brains, to act more according to the rules of an secret-agent.

Cythera hadn't been the best example as a team-leader in that case. It seemed as if many had rather not teamed up with her, for she had an expressed sense of doing things her way - which was actually fine for Pantera, even though it left him in the position to rather clean up after her, than doing jobs ~with~ her. She was way more ambitious and cold-hearted on the job than him, who was used to a co-operative one-for-all all-for-one community. He had always expected that she did kill for reasons of anger and/or hate. Her telling him about her parents seemed to clear up her motivations. Even though he didn't understand, why she had to knock him down for this.

He had done some target training with young agent Olivia. She wasn't bad. Quick and had a decent aim. It was her submissive nature, that kept her behind. She didn't even complain, that he had totally forgotten the time again and had been speed-hunting virtual targets for over four hours already again. It was only the surveilance computer that locked the area for him again, that had thrown him back into reality.

Olivia was sweating heavily, but smiled in awe as they walked back to the quarters building "You really enjoy this, don't you, sir?" He raised a finger at her "Say one more 'sir' to me and we start sparing for life!" She swiftly snapped at his hand and grabbed it "If it's part of the training?!" He blinked at her speed and knocked her hand off the grip aiming quickly her shoulder with another punch "It is!"

She didn't fall back fast enough and his punch gave her more momentum that her hit missed her aim. He ducked and stretched his leg using her unfortunate situation to trip her... She hit the floor, but rolled away neatly to crouch in a stance again, lifting her little fists in some martial arts fashion. Pantera smirked...

"What the hell are you doing, Pantera?" Soleada yelled in alarm, he swung around and almost punched her over as well. Soleada screamed in shock. Pantera only barely missed her "You have no reflexes at all!" He ducked as he noticed Olivia approaching quickly, they exchanged some very quick blocks to their opponents punches, while Soleada gasped in terror "What are you guys doing!? This is the base, this young girl is a trainee! ...Pantera!" They never lost pace "Shut up, I promissed her to kill her, if she calls me 'sir' again!" Olivia kept up her concentration blocking and punching "But I did't say it, sir!"

Pantera hit her upper chest with his flat palm "Ha!" She fell over backwards. Soleada gasped and ran over to the girl on the floor. Olivia flinched in some pain, but her face was full of awe "He's real good, Miss Soleada!" she exclaimed. Soleada glared at Pantera "Do you pride yourself to knock out a little girl?!" she scolded him "This little girl is a killer, darling. Training is over for today." He walked away. Soleada helped olivia up and hurried after Pantera "Wait!"

After they had gotten to Adam’s home, the other two children, both boys, greeted her much like her daughter had—running over to her and hugging her. Adam dismissed the lady that looked over the children during the day.

They had something to eat. They talked about different things that had been going on with everyone. People that Adam and Cythera knew growing up, and also what had been going on in the children’s lives.

After they ate, the kids went outside and amused themselves. Adam and Cythera went into the room that Cythera was staying in. The apartment was pretty small compared to other houses and such, but it had four rooms: one which Adam stayed in, one that both of the boys stayed in, and Ada had her own room. The fourth was kept aside as a guest/office-type room.

“So, are you keeping well, Cythera?” Adam asked her.

Cythera looked back at him, opening up her bag. “I’ve been a little on the edge the past week or so.” She said. “With it being the anniversary of Zach dieing and my parents as well in about two weeks.” She shook her head some sighing. “This is the worst it has been.” She said, sitting on the bed, putting her face in her hands. Adam nodded and sat down next to her, holding her, and comforting her.

It had always hurt Adam. Seeing his best friend, the person that he had been deeply in love with since his teenage years, being so torn up over another guy. He had always had feelings for his dear Cythera, she was so wonderful and beautiful to him, but she never seemed to like him in the same light. She had been so happy with Zach, even though he was so incredibly jealous of them, he kept it to himself. After Zach had died and Cythera had gone on the fritz, so to speak, there was no chance. Ada was the only real link that Adam still had with Cythera. He had a part of Cythera with him every day, but also a part of the man that he had envied for so long and still did. Cythera on the other hand, had never seen Adam as anything more then a friend. She thought of him as more of a brother then anything else.

Cythera cried for a little while, before she was able to calm herself once more. Ada had found her way back into the house, and had heard her mother crying. The door to the room was ajar slightly. She peeked into the room and saw her mother and Adam there. Cythera wiped her face, and smiled to Adam. “I’m sorry.” She said.

He shook his head. “It’s fine, Cythera. I promise.” he told her reassuringly.

“I don’t ever want Ada to see me like this though.” she said looking down at the ground. Ada looked at the ground some, and slipped back down the hallway and outside.

“You’re too stubborn for your own good, Cythera.” Adam told her getting up. “You’re able to cry. God, please do! That’s why I’m here. I’m always here for you, Cythera.” He told her. “You know that.”

Cythera looked up at him and smiled. “And I love you for that, Adam.”

Adam smiled back at her and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll leave you alone so that you can actually get your stuff put away and everything." he said to her.

"Okay." she watched him leave the room and shut the door behind him. She sighed some looking around the room. She wondered what was going on back at the base. If Pantera had found someone to train with or if he was doing the training thing on his own and just taking a break waiting for her to get back. She shrugged her shoulders some. She didn't have to worry about that. Why was she thinking about it.

[Don't mind that our Chars now act at actually different times, we'll sync them again on Cythera's return *goes and exploits newly aquired informations ]

Pantera stopped and waited for Soleada to catch up with him, he sighed. He had a very small toleranz for patience - Cythera knew that. Actually it seemed to him as if that woman was taking pleasure in exploiting that weakness of him. "Do you just knock out your fosterling and then leave her, what kind of trainer are you?!" Pantera started drumming on his training-gun-box. He turned around gazing over at the sweaty and exhausted girl. "Firstly, she isn't knocked out. Secondly, want me rather to have a shower with her?"

Soleada gasped, she closed her eyes and made little fists "You! You..." then she actually punched im onto the chest. Pantera didn't say anything, he just waited... looking with pity at Soleada, who slowly started to notice the pain rising in her hand. Olivia just stared at the scene "Ma'm!" Pantera casted an artifical annoyed grin at Soleada. "I shall leave then!" Olivia said hurriedly and vanished stealthily.

Pantera turned and continued walking back to the residences-builing. "Now I understand, why you get on so well with Cythera!" She yelled after him angrily still holding her hand. He froze at the name. "You are both as stubborn and bitter! Pantera turned in surprise "Bitter?!" He didn't consider himself 'bitter' at all, so what did she refer to. Soleada came closer again. "You asked me if she has a lover, right?!" He just stared at her. "Do you know what happened to her h...?!" he interrupted Soleada.

"She told me they killed them." Soleada blinked "Them?" She grabbed him by the arm and steered him out of the yard, there was no reason that others overheard things that barely anybody knew. "It was only yesterday, that she told me about her parents." He said naively. Soleada sighed "She didn't tell you anything more than that, right?!" He shook his head and she lowered her voice taking a deep breath while walking "Cythera was married..."

He stopped dead. "What?!" He couldn't say what it was, but sth within him... had just shattered. Soleada grabbed him again and dragged him along "Don't make a fuzz about it." She silenced him "She also had a daughter." She pulled him stronger as she felt him slowing again. She shoved him into some conference room and closed the door. He just stared "Had?" Soleada nodded with a saddened expression over her face. "She doesn't talk about it very much and she even tried to keep further details secret. But we wouldn't deserve the title of secret intelligence, if we couldn't trace simple facts like that."

Pantera shook his head "What are you talking about?" He started pacing around in front of Soleada. She observed him closely... (He feels sth for her, else he wouldn't be so upset) . Why did she have to end up playing the arbitrator for them while ~she~ was in love with him?! She rubbed her face and took a seat. "After her parents her husband was killed as well." Pantera felt anxious "And her daughter?"

Soleada was in a pinch, actually she had already said too much, but it seemed as if things had gotten worse with Cythera and somehow Pantera was involved. "She joined the agency and clai... and put down, that her child had been killed in that incident as well..." She stood up and went to the window, not facing him. She shouldn't tell him, there was no need. No even Cythera knew, that the Agency knew, that she had been hiding the existance of her daughter. Even if it had been adopted by some aquaintance, it didn't mean, that the actual birth records would simply vanish just like that. While the autopsy-report of her husband had been recorded, there had not been such a thing for her daughter. I had not taken much time to discover her. The agency had not interfered for meanwhile she had done a good job. Things got even better as she had been teamed up with Pantera. If Cythera wanted others to know about her daughter, it would be Cythera's job to see about it and not hers. Anything else he could look up in the her records.

Pantera was silent, he had stopped pacing and just slowly traced lines on the table he was standing at "I am an idot, right?" He mumbled "Why so?" She replied staring out of the window. Basically she would agree, but she didn't know what he was refering to right now. "As... as she came in... well she didn't exactly came into my room - but that doesn't really matter...." He rubbed some the swelling on the back of his head, he had gained as Cythera had knocked him to the floor. Soleada looked over her shoulder at him and frowned (What the hell has happened between those two?) he gazed up at her and looked helpless like a child "I... I just replied: I don't care, if you saw them raping your mom, go and see a doctor, if it bothers you..."

That was a detail not even she knew "Oh my, even that?" she whispered. She considered hitting him again, but her hand still hurt from her first feeble attempt. "Baka."

((The name Sanura was changed to Ada.))


The next day Cythera and Ada were left alone. Adam had gone to do his work, and the children were at school besides Ada. Ada was always allowed to stay home from school when her mother was in town, but that was really the only time. It was understandable as well.

Cythera and Ada were walking around the neighbor hood after Cythera had made something for Ada to eat. Ada stayed very close to her mother as they walked along. It was always different somehow when Cythera came back. That little town that she had once lived in was now a larger, and very developed cities due to the corruption that had been going on since her childhood. It was a haven for the criminals that seemed to run the country now. Cythera held her daughter’s hand as they walked along the street. Ada was able to tell her all the things that had changed since Cythera had last been there. It was something that she seemed to keep track of, just to tell her mother when she came back. They were able to waste much of the day by doing this, and they were left alone for the most part.

When they came back to the little apartment, Adam and the boys were home once more. Cythera made something for all of them to eat. That was something she enjoyed—cooking. She hated that she was not able to do that where she was. Every time she came back she always had regrets and thoughts about coming back home. Even though it wasn’t extremely safe, she felt that it might be better. She could have that family life, and she would be there if anything happened. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if something happened to any one of them and she wasn’t there. She just prayed everyday that they be kept safe.

What she made to eat was not a whole lot, but they all enjoyed it. Adam wasn’t the best person when it came to cooking, nothing compared to Ada’s mother. When dinner was done, Adam and the boys cleaned up. Then Cythera and Ada made desert, which didn’t happen very much. It was hard to get a hold of sweets, but Cythera had been able to do this on their little outing during the day.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting in that little conference room - alone - as the door opened and a few people came in. "Oh, excuse me, we had scheduled a meeting this room...?!" Pantera stood up and apologized "Oh, sure. Sorry..." he left the room and the building to go over to the residential area. People usually left him alone. Strangely enough he didn't much mix with the crowd and nobody really bothered to get to know him - besides Soleada, or so it seemed. He had been a source of lots of strange rumours being the partner of Cythera... Even more strange that for a secret intelligence, those rumours highly lacked actual truth. But then there were more assassins, than information agents.

For some reasons he found himself standing in front of Cythera's room. After a moment of hesitation he rang... She didn't open. He tried again, but eventually left. In his mind he tried to find the right words to come up with an apology or anything else reasonable to say. He went back to his own room and undressed to take a shower. He didn't feel well, and it didn't seem to intend to ge tany better soon. He sat in the shower and let the hot water rain down on him... Eventually he left and dried himself. He sat at his terminal and checked the message that had come in. It was from Olivia.

Agent Pantera, I'd like to thank you again for an interesting,
even if very intensive, training. I guess, when I'll be out on real
missions, I will never know, how long a fight might really take.
Your training was considerably different from anything I have
done until now. It seems to be time to become more self-confident
and self-sufficent. You are certainly right, that I cannot always rely
on somebody else, stronger than myself. Olivia

He chuckled "That little girl..." He tried to call Cythera... She didn't answer. He dressed again in fresh clothes and decided it was time to eat sth. Though he was hungry, he didn't feel like eating at all. He entered the cafeteria and suddenly he realized, that he was... lonely.

That evening Cythera was telling Ada a story before Ada feel to sleep. When Ada had fallen asleep Cythera smiled down at her daughter, and kissed her on the forehead. She looked so much like her father. Fair sick with freckles, and green eyes. The only thing that she had truly seemed to have gotten from Cythera was the blonde hair and her mannerisms—and later her body figure. She looked over to the night stand beside her daughter’s bed. There were several pictures in frames there.

Cythera kneeled down on the ground looking at the pictures. Her figure traced his face. It was a picture of Cythera and Zach together. She had not looked at a picture of him in a while. Then her eyes shifted over to a picture of Cythera, Adam, and Zach. She smiled looking at it. Then she shook her head coming back to herself. She looked over to Ada making sure she was still asleep. She got up and left the room. Adam was standing outside of the room.

Cythera shut the door behind her. Ada opened her eyes and stared at the dark ceiling. She sighed some.

“You are a wonderful mother, Cythera.” Adam said as she came out.

Cythera smiled to him. “Yes, I do miss it when I’m away.”

“So does she.” Adam told Cythera as they walked out into the living room.

Cythera shook her head as she sat down. “Adam, you do this every time.” She said to him.

“It needs to be done.” He told her. “This is where you belong—with your daughter.” He said. “I’m not you and I’m definitely not her ideal father. I’m not Zach. No where near it.” He said rather irritated.

Cythera bit her lip. She got up, and went into her room. She didn’t want to deal with that right now or any other time really. She had tears in her eyes. She went into the closet and searched for something frantically. She reached up on the shelf. There it was. She pulled a chair over to the closet and got a box from the shelf.

She went over to the bed. On the box were the words Cythera du Escrivainne. She opened the box. There was the scrap book that she had made. She had started making it when she was a teenager. Her fingers traced along the cover. There were different designs and pictures that she had drawn there. Several tears dropped on the book. She wiped her face with her hands and the cover as well. She took the book from the bottom part of the box, and set it on the bed. She opened it and fished through the pages. She couldn’t help but to smile and cry at the same time as she did so.

Pantera poked listlessly at some food on the plate in front of him. He had noticed that people looked at him curiously as he had been scanning the cafeteria for Cythera... She wasn't there. It felt kind of odd. It was too peaceful. Somebody greeted him formaly while passing by his table. He sighed and poked some more. He wondered how his village buddies were. He started eating slowly... A bit lukewarm, but else not bad.

He noticed that Olivia had taken a seat up the aisle by herself, she didn't face him. Actually he had only taken a vacation. He wasn't free, yet, to team up with anybody else. And being a trainer wasn't satisfactory for him. He wanted to be out there and doing his job. Not playing in here with kids. He pulled his gun from his halfter and placed it on the table... That seemed to gain some more odd glances and attention from people around. One wasn't supposed to bring weapons of any kind into the cafeteria! You weren't even supposed to carry weapons - other than training weapons - in the entire base in the first place. Actually, you shouldn't have any weapon at all, unless you check out some for a job. Somehow it had gotten more silent in his vicinity.

This way of living as a killer had gotten a natural habit for him. He ate some more, he was getting better... "Sir!?" A security guard had come to his table. Pantera didn't look up and placed a badge onto the table. It looked like any ordenary agent's badge. The guard cleared his throat. And Pantera placed a hand onto the badge, pressing a little switch and a special high-level-assassin's insigna snapped out. The guard saluted "Have a nice evening, sir!" Pantera stored the badge away "Same to you officer." And the guard left. He noticed that Olivia - as many others - had turned their hads at him and the guard. Not many were aware of the special internal ranks. He regarded none of them and starting poking a salad.

After a while s.o. had walked up to him again silently "Yes?" "What was that? If I may ask, sir?" Again he didn't look up "A diligent security guard." Olivia felt a tingling sensation creeping up her body "I know that." "Then why did you ask?" She shifted uneasily her weight around. She pointed at the gun "Because of that?" He nodded. He perfectly well knew, what she wanted to know, he just wasn't going to tell her.

Cythera had occupied much of her evening time by looking at her old scrape book. She went over to her bag and pulled out a picture that she had brought with her. It was a picture that had been taken on Cythera and Pantera on their first time out. She smiled looking at it. She went back over and put it on a page that was still progress—people she knew in the organization. There were pictures in there of when she was a trainee, and other pictures such as that. After she had done that, she stored the book back into the box it was in. She stood in front of the closet deciding whether she wanted to put it back or not. No one here ever looked at it, but she didn’t know if she wanted to take it with her, and be reminded of such things in there. She had tons of pictures of her growing up, Zach and Adam, and her daughter. She sighed and walked over and set the box down by her bag. She would decide before she left…maybe.

She glanced over and looked at the computer terminal sitting there in the room. She tilted her head some. Adam said she could use it if she ever wanted to. She sat down in the chair that she had used earlier to get into the closet. She accessed her database on the terminal and checked her messages. Not a whole lot as usually. She looked at her address book and saw Pantera’s name there. She clicked on it, and it opened a draft message.

Hey Pantera,

I’m sure you’re enjoying this break without me. I just thought I would say I’m doing okay. I’m very relaxed…for the most part.

She laughed some. It wasn’t extremely relaxing looking back at all these pictures and having Adam trying to get her to stayed, but it was nice to be home for a few days.

Don’t get into too much trouble without me. That’s no fun. That’s all I really have. How are things going for you? Well, I hope. Okay, I’m going to go now.
--Cythera.

Pantera probably wouldn’t even read anything from her, but it was worth a chance. She was somewhat missing her contact with the home she had made for herself there at the organization. She sighed some logging out and going back over to her bed. She laid down. It seemed that she was incredibly calm for the moment. It was nice.

Pantera had been playing - rather listlessly though - again in his bed and had eventually fallen asleep over the keyboard, which had left traces in his face... He sat up, rubbing his face feeling the marks in his face "Oh my..." he sighed and felt an immediate anxiety! Somehow he wasn't used to days off. He grabbed his gun from the desk and swung it around by it's trigger... He wasn't hyper, he was just bored and aimless - apropos... He targeted objects in his room and made "Bamm!" sounds.

A moment later he let his shoulders hang and sighed again, he punched his thigh "Damn!" he got up and checked the time, he moaned in agony "Since when do I feel like waking up at seven in the morning... Sth must be totally wrong with me." He exclaimed throwing the gun onto his bed, to dress in dark shabby jeans and a fitting shabby black t-shirt saying "Hellraiser" in some fancy red-white symbol. he sniffed... and pursed his lips "Maybe those clothes could do with some washing..." Yet, he couldn't be bothered and grabbed some stuff and left his quarters.

Wandering about he suddenly thought, that it was the perfect time for Cythera to roam either the tennis court, or the cafeteria... He didn't spot her on either. It felt odd. He stood by the fence and stared over the empty and silent courts. Some early birds passed by and addressed him "What the hell are you doing here at this time!?" They looked puzzled but chuckled at the same time walking on. "Maybe he is really sick, or sth?" "Love sick?" They all laughed and vanished around some corner. Pantera sighed again, then sth happened to him.

He went into the office to check for assignments of secondary priority. He found some and went to the clerk. "Hey, Pantera, going out with Cythera again?" He nodded "Yeah." The clerk checked him in "Funny you are both set on vacations!?" Pantera got nervous (Damn infosystems here...) "Yeah, you know we just canceld it again, we need sth to do." the clerk frowned, but handed him a card "Hm, very well then... Here, take care, but whom do I tell this?" He winked. "Will." He smiled, waved and left.

(Puhie, that was close...) He whistled and hurried to the check-out area, before the clerk got a bit more suspicious about that the vacation assignment wasn't going away. He got his gear and equipment and the guard at the exit had seen Cythera checking out last morning, but didn't know that she had been on vacation. "You guys need to go seperately again?" He was caught by surprise "What? Ah, yeah, sure... as usual." He cursed (Hell, why do all those people have to act all this interested when I don't need them to?) "Hmm, you are set on vacatins here?" (Oh not again!) He waved his check-out assignment "See that? We just changed that, I guess office takes their time again." The guard laughed "Oh, they sure do, can get you mad at times, ok, here we go agent Pantera. Take good care of yourself."

"Thank you..." he hurried on (Almost!) He literally threw his gear into the teleporter and then stopped "Oh no..." He had forgotten about the teleportation included. He sighed and stepped into. "Ready?!" Pantera nodded "Ready." He closed his eyes and reality tore away from him, only to pounce at him again a second later...

He moaned and arched, feeling sick as usual. He was now in an external sub-base in the south-american jungle. He quickly got some hover-cycle and left. He had done it! Yet, he wasn't truly happy. He looked on his scanner and it was off. He didn't need it. He was alone. So no sign of his team-leader. No insults, no teases, no stupid jokes to pull... He set course into the next town and went for it. The air was warm and humid, the smells flowerly.

Why did he ran away? Why did he not speak with her first? In the last two assignments Cythera had done all the work, leaving him with nothing to do. It's not like he needed fame, or acknowledgement... He just needed sth to do for himself.

She stared at the ceiling for a long time. Her mind was blank though, which was very odd for her. She just couldn’t seem to get to sleep. It seemed as though her body was enjoying the fact that her mind was not racing. She finally got to sleep, later then she had wanted to though.

She was awaken by Ada coming into her room and climbing on her bed. She opened her eyes and saw her daughter there, with the scrap book in her hands. The girl was already dressed and groomed for the day. She stared at her mother with the book in her lap. The box had been opened and left on the floor near Cythera’s bag.

“Mama…can you tell me these stories?” she said holding up the book.

Cythera looked at her daughter for a long time after she sat up. She then smiled and took the book into her hands. “Yes, come over here.” she finally replied patting the place on the bed next to her. Ada smiled and made herself comfortable next to her mother, leaning on her. Cythera went through each page pointing at the pictures, and telling the story of the certain snapshots that had been taken. She was able to keep herself from crying, seeing that all her daughter could do was smile or laugh as Cythera told her of so many things that had happened.

Then Cythera decided that she need to take a shower and get ready even though they had not finished with the storytelling. Ada sat in the bathroom pointing at a picture every now and then between Cythera talking. “How about this one?” Ada inquired. Cythera would poke her head out from the shower curtain and tell Ada what event had taken place around the time that picture was taken. As Cythera got dressed, Ada sat on the bed holding the scrapbook against her small body. Even as Cythera made food for them both to eat, Ada still wanted to finish the book. Now she was hearing things about herself from her own childhood.

After they ate they went into the living room together. Ada turned to the last page that was being worked on. She looked over the pictures. She saw the picture of Cythera and Pantera first and asked her mother who it was. “That is my ‘partner’ at my job.” She said.

“Is he like daddy?” She asked her mother.

Cythera looked at her questionably. “What do you mean, Ada?”

“Is he going to take dad’s or uncle’s place?” she questioned her mother.

Cythera didn’t know what to say or why Ada even thought of that. Cythera shook her head sighing some. “No one can replace your uncle [Adam], and no one can replace your father, not even Adam.” She said rubbing her daughter’s cheek gently. “And we don’t get along very well anyway.” She smiled some.

“Then why are you partner’s?” Ada asked.

“I’m not sure.” Cythera laughed some. “Somehow we get the job done well enough that the ‘higher-ups’ keep pairing us up together.” She told Ada.

Ada nodded some, and looked back down at the picture.

[creepy story o_o ]

Pantera had found a place to stay over night planing his mission. That day a message came in on his terminal - in his quarters. He wasn't there to receive it. He started at the photos and the maps for a long time. Checked the satellite photos for changes, or hints and tried to memories the faces. He had checked his gun and equipment twice and now laid on this room's bed holding the ion-knife above him in the dark. He thumbed it on and a blue glow ionized the special blade... It sizzled lowly and it was tempting to touch it... He turned and he caught sight of flowes next to him on a stand. Dim light came through the window as came faint traffic noises.

He held out the ionized knife, close to the plant and it started smoking, increasing the sizzle accompanied by a stingy smell. He made a little move and the flower fell off the vase to the floor. He switched off the blade. "Fascinating toy..." he whispered. It was peaceful, yet, somehow annyoingly dissatisfactory. He fell asleep.

Meanwhile the organisation tried to locate and reach him, but he had switched off any scanners or receivers, that would make him easily traceable. Even the hover cycle was hidden neatly in a garage belonging to the small motel.

((creepy story?))

The next day, Cythera was up with the rest of the house hold. She had Ada get up and go to school with the boys so that she could go see some of her friends. She walked to Adam’s work with him. Nothing was really said. Adam had been somewhat afraid to talk to Cythera since the other night when he had confronted her. He would just wait until she was ready to talk to him once more.

After wasting some time at the place Adam had worked, Cythera made her way to meet some of her friends for lunch. Taylor and Pierce had been her other really close friends throughout her older teenage years. It would be nice to see them again. She was rather surprised that they were still in this town as well.

Oh her way back to Adam’s work she caught sight of someone on the other side of the sidewalk. It was that man that she had been hoping to get an assignment on ever since she had joined the organization. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She was wearing a skirt, she could feel the gun that she generally had strapped to her leg on the inside of her thigh. She watched him disappear down an alleyway. It didn’t take her long before she was tailing him.

He went into a building. She found a place to hideout and waited for him there. It was about two hours later when he reemerged from the place. She slipped a pair of gloves on and then she came out of her hiding place smiling to him.

“Well, hello there.” the man said to her looking her up and down.

She just smiled to him as he came closer to her. When he reached his hand out to her she grabbed his wrist, and had him on the ground in a second. He yelled sharply, but it was cut off by a gun shot to his head. She left the body there, and disappeared quickly from the scene as she was so used to doing. She put the gun back into her skirt and removed the gloves, storing them back into the purse she was carrying, before she went back out onto the street. She was able to get to Adam’s work within several minutes, which was lucky for her. There were sirens all ready heard. Someone must have heard the shot and call the police.

Adam was looking out of the window of his office when she came in. “Did you see what all that commotion is about?” he asked.

Cythera walked over to him, and grabbed him by the arm pulling him into his chair. She held her finger up to her mouth incase there was any protesting from her friend. She pulled a chair up next to him and looked at him for a moment.

“What happened, Cythera?!” he said in a low voice.

“I saw him…the guy who killed Zach.” she said.

Adam stared at her. “You didn’t.” he said with wide eyes.

She nodded her head swallowing. Adam shook his head sighing. “You can’t keep your job and your family separate can you?” he said rubbing his forehead.

“The chance was perfect, Adam. Ada wasn’t with me. No one saw.” She said quickly. “Adam, it’s what I do for a living!” She exclaimed quietly. “The organization has not been able to locate him, or I would have been the first to know. I had priority on that assignment.” She whispered.

Adam didn’t know what to think. He had never truly thought of his best friend killing someone. It just wasn’t something he could picture. “Well, I only have a little longer here, and then we’ll go home.” he said to her.

“Okay.” Cythera said. She sat there quietly for a little while, but something was bothering her. She didn’t feel the satisfactory that she had imagined that she would have had or that she had had in previous assignments. She messed with her hands for a few minutes, before she started to talk to Adam about what she and her daughter had done the day before.

[hai o_o creepy girl, makes creepy story...]

Pantera woke up around noon... and was confused about this, until he remembered the different time-zones. He prepared himself roughly and went down for breakfast... Which had been only available till eleven. But they were kind and prepared him sth anyway. He paid in cash in the local currency, he had gotten from the sub-base and was off on his hover cycle.

He was driving deeper into the forests along steep mountains overlooking valleys and more even higher mountains in the distance. He stopped by the roadside and stared down in awe. The southern hemisphere - as had always been predicted - had suffered less from the great devastating war, than the northern, which had been almost completely annihilated and still wasn't even close to recovery. So this view, was like a "bad dream". The air - for a change - didn't smell like burnt flesh or electronic devices. The radiation was almost down to normal here and crops had turned rather into vegetables and fruits... food so to speak, than drugs. For people all over the world needed decent food more than anything in those years.

He felt a long missed thrill coming back. He was completely on his own. Nobody to back him up, noone, to pull him out, if he'd fail, or get cornered. He would have to do it right, or get it himself. His breathing quivered a little, but he liked the rush of excitement. He had that stubborn air of a youngster about him. As in "Who cares if I die here? I'll do it proudly and will take'em with me..."

"Baka." he scolded himself. This kind of arrogance was what they had been warned about the most in their trainings and he could see how tempting it was. Especially as he now knew that Cythera had been a wife and mother, which had kind of shattered his picture of a wild unruly woman, that he had of her... It was as if her untouchable sexappeal had vanished into thin air. He was young and naive, literally a "relationship rookie". He lived on dreams and ideals. He didn't take anything seriously - he barely knew what it meant to be "serious". He just had a faint glimpse into that, the last day as he learnt about Cythera's past and that his words might have been inappropiate...

"What the fuck? As if that is my fault!? It's true... if she can't deal with it, she needs some doctor she can cry her eyes out at." He scoffed and pulled back onto the make-shift road, speeding alongside the valley. The evening neared and he wanted to reach another small village by that time. Right in the middle down that valley was an private airport - that was where his target was supposed to be. Actually the whole installation was a target, but the organsation had decided to step by step demotivate and discourage the drug-dealers, but taking out one at a time - stealthily and unpredictably - "fear" should keep successors from taking over... So they hoped.

The whole assignment had estimated a need of two weeks maximum and then to pull out on failure. Maybe, if he speeded up, he could even reach the airport by night. He did accelerate and the zig-zagging and slaloming along the mountains had become another game to kill the time it took. There was only few traffic these days - always had been... Even underneath the helmet he could smell the rich foliage. Suddenly his mind spaced out and he wished he weren't alone to see and experience all this... He slowed down and felt a sting of melancholy (She'd deserve to see that... It surely would do her some good...)

He frowned and shook it off, accelerating again, only to almost run into some old stylish truck, that took up the whole road in front of him. By reflex he pulled the hover cycle up into the air to go over the truck, instead of into it and exhaled heavily after the adrenalin injecting manoeuvre. "Huh, that would have been a really lame mission..." he whispered looking back as the truck vanished behind the next corner. He looked down into the valley he drove along... a 500 meters free drop for sure. He grinned.

They had made it back to Adam’s apartment without any troubles. The kids were all ready there, the lady was there looking after them. They all were going to get up from the table when Adam and Cythera came in, but the lady stopped them. “Finish your homework first.” She said. They groaned and looked back down at the table where their work was. Cythera laughed at this. How she missed those days. Adam dismissed the girl to go home. Cythera started to make something to eat for everyone.

When the children had finish their homework, they put everything up in their rooms, and came back out. They all sat in the living room amusing themselves with a game. Adam and Cythera were in the small kitchen whispering to each other.

“So does this mean that you’re going to leave earlier?” he asked her.

“Yes, probably tomorrow.” She said. Adam looked down not saying anything. “I’m sorry! I have to get back anyway. One day isn’t going to make that much of a differences, Adam.”

“What about Ada?” he asked her.

“It makes a difference to her.” Adam replied quickly.

Cythera shook he head sighing. “Not really. It’s just one more drawn out day, before she starts crying before I have to leave.” Cythera said to him.

Adam went out of the kitchen. There were times when he got so mad at her about this situation. Cythera watched him leave the kitchen, feeling bad, but there was nothing she could do.

She finished cooking, and brought everything out. After eating, Cythera went onto the terminal and made arrangements to leave tomorrow morning. She started packing her things. Ada came into her room. “Are you leaving?” she asked her mother standing at the door.

Cythera turned around and looked at her. “As I usually do, Ada.” She said. She went over and picked Ada up, holding her tightly. She then took Ada into her room and put her to sleep. Cythera went the room she was in and went to sleep herself.

Despite speed, the road and landscape conditions had kept him behind. It was insane anway to believe to reach the small airport before midnight. It was about 22:00 as he entered the practically sound asleep little village. His spanish was enough to get another motel room. There was even sth like a nightbar, or local disco, which he couldn't resist to pay a visit on this occasion.

~~~~~~~

Soleada was in another pinch "That stupid, blockheaded, stubborn, arrogant, deranged, retarded..." she was running out of descriptive adjectives "...Son of a bitch!" she cursed pacing around her desk in the office. "Ma'm...?!"

Olivia had shrunken with each word deeper and deeper into the chair she had taken. Olivia had tried to find Pantera to continue her training as Vincent was away. Eventually she inquired Soleada "Because you seem to get along so well with Agent Pantera..." the girl had explained. Soleada at first had felt adulated... Till she had found his solo-assignment. The clerk had almost panicked after she had explained, that there had ~never~ been any change in his vacation assignments.

"Listen sweatheart, there is sth you should know." Soleada addressed Olivia sourly, her elven-like face had gotten an alarming sharp expression. "Our dear 'agent Pantera' doesn't get along well with anybody in this base..." Olivia decided to keep on blinking, she didn't have any clue. "Presumeably, it is safe to claim, that this can be extended to the global population!" She hit with her small fist on the table... and regretted it at once... (In one aspect he however was dead right...) she rubbed her hand poutingly (I'd be a damn bad killer. But who cares if I kill him badly?!) Olivia straightened up "Should I go looking for him, Ma'm?"

Soleada's face fell "YOU?!" She hurried around her desk and aimed with a finger the trainee-girl "You won't move! Do you copy?!" Olivia nodded. "Don't even think about taking on those... those... inacceptable mannerisms of this... this..." Olivia jumped in for help "Son of a bitch?"

Soleada placed firmly her hands on the armrests of the chair right and left to Olivia and leaned closely to Olivia's face "You - are - under arrest!" Olivia went pale "W... What...?! You you can't arrest me like that..." "Oh, yes, I so can... You would be amazed what ~I~ can do! This Pantera-disease seems to spread fast! You are undergoing some more disciplination training!" Olivia looked like she was going to cry "Ohh, nooo! Please!" Olivia looked really in painful anticipation "You are dismissed!" Olivia left the office with her head hanging "Crap..."

Soleada dropped into her chair and sighed heavily, what was she going to do about this all. Pantera had checked out, been recorded at the sub-base and now? He could be anywhere. They couldn't affort sending out choppers to find him, or adjusting spying satellites just because of him. If he was on the tail of the target it would just rouse suspicions. If he wasn't... who cares? It was after all is own decision... "Stupid fool..." she whispered on the brink of tears. "It's all Cythera's fault. She always interferes. She should have never been accepted into the organisation under those circumstances, she never really trained him decently...!" She was enraged and would find sth to get rid of Cythera... hoping Pantera would return save.

~~~~~~~

Recognized as a considerably handsome stranger, the girls had advanced Pantera on several occasions as he was sitting at the bar sipping drinks. Eventually he had decided to... escape. he had walked up some road which ended in some ledge, from where he overlooked with his night-vision-binoculars the valley. One could guess the location of the airport, for helicopters seemed to be considerably busy at night around a certain area down there.

The next day, after having to go through the things with Ada and Ada went off to school, Adam took Cythera back to the airport.

Adam hugged Cythera tightly before she turned to leave. “Just know that we would all like to have you back.” He said.

Cythera sighed hugging him back. “Adam, I don’t know.” She said. “We’ll see what happens.” She pulled away from him and smiled. “Everything will work out the way it needs to.” She said.

Cythera waved to him just before she got onto the place outside. She had the box with the scrap book in it laying in her lap during the flight. It was a one way flight this time, to her surprise. She wouldn’t have to change flights.

She got to the base about two or three hours after lunch time. Cythera showed her papers to the guard at the entrance. He looked at her strangely. No one had been informed of the Pantera’s little excursion. Soleada and Olivia were the only ones that knew. The guard didn’t say anything to her, but checked her in, while still giving her odd looks.

She glanced back at him as she walked down the hall. “That was odd…” she muttered to herself. She made her way to her room quickly. She unlocked the door, and placed the box on her bed, and her bags were placed near the closet.

She turned her terminal on and signed in. She checked the messages. She looked at the logs…it showed that her and Pantera were on a mission. She stared at the screen for a long time. That was odd too. She was highly confused about this. She looked under the name of the man whom she had taken out…that was reported…good, it said unknown by the assassination.

She went to Pantera’s room and knocked on the door. She waited several minutes before she tried once more. Again she waited, but there was no answer. “hmmm…” she went back down the hallway, and went into the café. She got a little something for herself to eat.

She then went down to the office and the clerk in there was the same that had checked Pantera out. He looked at her in alarm. “You’re supposed to be out on a mission.” He told her.

“I wasn’t aware.” She replied. “I just got back from my vacation.” She told him. “I still have another day of leave.” The clerk had no idea what to think of this. Cythera on the other hand had an idea of what was going on. She shook her head some. She would have to go down there. She felt incredibly stupid that he would have done this, without her—the team leader.

Soleada had been pondering all that time, how to deal with this whole situation. She did not have the competencies for any kind of decision, but she had influence and persuasiveness, if she would gather the necessary facts. At first she would have to block Cythera by suspending her...

The door flew open and some secretary came in "Cythera is back!" Soleada gasped in exasperation "What the hell is wrong with those guys, she is scheduled for vacational leave till ~tomorrow~!" She just couldn't stand it anymore, was Cythera interfering ~again~? The phone rang and the clerk told her who he just had met, even though he should have not. "I know, I know! Don't let her check-out anymore she will be suspended. Bye!" She pulled over her terminal and set Cythera's status to a "preliminary action of suspension due to gross negligence". She also cancled Pantera's vacation status, to back him up. In the end she might get into trouble, but she had enough. Pantera shouldn't waste his feelings and especially not his life for some older woman, that didn't respect him, neither returned those feelings in any way - she would, if he'd stop acting like a fool over Cythera.

~~~~~~~

Pantera had slept wonderfully (Must be the climate?!) he thought and this time he didn't miss the breakfast either. He was off in the jungle and dove deeper into the valley. He had no idea, yet, what and how to do, but he would improvise, when there. He drove hellish fast and played with trees slalom. He just felt great... somewhat lonely, but free at the same time. It was refreshing...

Three hours later he stopped and tried to orientate in all that lush greenish green. He knew where he was - roughly - but he also needed to know where the others where and ~that~ was the tricky bit. He climbed a tree and used his binocular-scanner, to search past the trees and bushes for verhicles and sources of different temperatures. Another helicopter in the distance helped him again and even a considerably large plane had departed. He was there! Now first were the outside guards. He slid down the tree again...

Cythera went back into the office after making up her mind that she would go after Pantera.

“Cythera, you’ve been suspended.” Was all the clerk was able to say after she asked to her checked out.

“What?!” she asked him alarmed.

“You’re suspended.”

“What the h.ell to you mean, I’m suspended! I can’t be suspended. Who in their right mind suspended me?!” she questioned, but she answered the question in her own head before the words had gotten out of her mouth. “No, don’t tell me.” she said raising her finger up as the clerk went to tell her that he could not release such information. Cythera stormed out of the office.

She went to her room, printed out the suspension paper, and then went back to Soleada’s office. She went past the lady yelling after her that she couldn’t go in there. Cythera opened the door to Soleada’s office and threw the papers on her desk. “What the he.ll is your problem you—you…” she was going to say something, but she figured it would be better if she kept foul words to herself. “You have absolutely no right to do such a thing! You have no terms.” She said. “Oh…wait. I came back early. I’m sorry did that ruin plans or something?! Seriously, you act like a junior high school girl in heat.” She said. She was extremely upset, mad even. She didn’t believe that Pantera had ever made her this mad. How could this be happening? She went from being in a good mood to being tremendously angry. She was not a happy person right now.

She shook her head. “I don’t even know why I came here.” she grabbed the papers again. She was going to go higher with this, and get Soleada in trouble. Yes…that’s what she would do. “I hope you have a nice day, Soleada.” She told the elf, and turned to leave.

[You are aware, that Soleda only looks - what one might refer to as - elfish?!]

Soleada heard yelling before the door slid open, she blinked and looked up, flinching some as papers slapped onto her desk. She looked at them and recognised the suspension. She managed to stay calm and letting Cythera doing her show. If Cythera would blow a fuse now, she had all the "rights" she needed.

Soleada leaned back and frowned pretending not to know what Cythera was talking about. The papers are signed generally by the office and not any special secretary - which is an internal information. So Cythera could only have guessed. Which was interesting enough. So Cythera did in fact seem to know sth about her feelings for Pantera. (What a give away!) She celebrated that silently within her mind.

"What rights and terms are you talking about, Agent Cythera? And did it happen to you, that there is such etiquette as asking for appointments, or at least knocking before entering like a thunderstorm. So one may wonder who is the one in 'heat' here right now." She looked down as if she was finished and shoved the papers aside to go about some work of her own. "Look, I am busy. You may get a short audition with some other secretary, if you happen to have a matter of ~real~ urgency." She tried only to smile, but she felt it was rather a grin. She looked up again, past Cythera. Someone had appeared in the doorframe, while Cythera was yelling around. That made it even more difficult to not grin...

As Cythera grabbed her papers again Soleada commented dryly to the statement, that she wouldn't now why she came here "Or so it seems." without paying her any more heed. And to underline this she also added friendly "Oh, don't worry I do have a very nice day."

Before Cythera, in the door, stood Major Thynnwood. He had gotten word of Cythera's increasing psychological instability, but until now, he wasn't too ready to easily believing this. He stood there erect in all splendor and shiny brass. Calmly he addressed her "Agent Cythera, it concerns me, that reports of your erratic behavour in the recent days were seemingly not exaggerated. Including this alarming incident of your subordinate, which you are still responsible for. What seems to be the problem now, agent Cythera, that you seem to see it fit to yell around here in a superordinate office in this considerably inappropiate manner?"

There was another thing he certainly had to talk with her about, because they had gotten a small package recently, which content's were still in the labs.

Cythera almost ran into the major. She looked up at him with wide eyes. She was incredibly embarrassed now. Her cheeks flushed a bright scarlet as he started talking to her. She calmed herself as he spoke. “Major Thynnwood, I’m sorry.” She smiled meekly to him.

“Sir, I haven’t been here in ‘the recent days’ for one. I’ve been gone for about five days, and I’m still on leave.” She told him. “The reason I’m upset now, is because she put me on suspension for absolutely no reason…and might I add that Pantera is god knows where on some assignment that he shouldn’t be on.” She was actually extremely scared about the situation Pantera was in. “I can’t even go after him, even though that’s my right and duty.” She sighed some. “If I may say so, I believe I am not stepping out of lines here.” she held out the papers to the Major. One of the papers was for her suspension, another was to show that her and Pantera were on a mission.

Pantera had stopped using his hover bike, that made considerably loud noises at higher speeds and the jungle was thick and lush enough here, to prevent him from driving it anyway. So he shoved it along, scanning the area, trying not to crack branches with his boots. The air was humid and sweat covered his body. There were several approaches:

#1 killing guards and sentries
-pro: they would be off his back and could no longer corner, or basically spot him accidently.
-contra: each guard going missing would be - should be detected within 5 minutes flat. Another 5 to 10 minutes to find the bodies. The whole institution would now be alarmed, for his path would be painted in bright red, by the corpses discovered.

#2 stealthily moving in, finding target - eliminate - geting out the in same stealthy way
-pro: he couldn't think exactly of any, but being stealthy about things
-contra: time-consuming, dangerous, bound to fail

For a moment he considered, if he'd kill ~all~ guards, there wouldn't be any left to report...
-contra: time-consuming, dangerous, bound to fail! The whole institution would still be alarmed by all the corpses discovered. Plus he wasn't the only one having scanners and... stuff.

He hid his bike and put on some climbing-gear and climbed up some of the impressive trees. Using the cam of his sniper-rifle, he had a look at the vacility. It looked rather wild and make-shift. He was able to see people moving about, which were not his target. There were also guards, but somehow, the whole thing didn't give a very serious impression.

~~~~~~

The Major frowned "Agent Cythera, are you trying to tell me, that I am having an illusion and that you are not actually here, because you are in fact still on your leave?" Soleada made a sign of victory behind her desk. (Score!) "So the voice I have been hearing might have been a trick of the wind, or air-conditioning?!" The Major motioned her to follow him. "The reason I'm concerned now, is because you act in ways, that you should not. And what's more, that you are not willing to see, that this supsension is certainly ~not~ for absolutely no reasons." He walked down the hallway to some elevator, that would bring them down to some of the forensic labs.

"And might I add..." he kept on rethorically refering to her style of talking. "...that we are very well not only aware, that your subordinate Agent Pantera has checked out - breaching the rules - on his own, but also where he roughly is. So rest assured, this isn't only a matter of god, to know where he is." He entered the lift and pressed a button as Cythera had joined him. He listened to her arguments and then glanced over the papers she held up to him. He recognised the forms.

"No, it is neither your right, nor your duty, to follow your subordinate onto some mission, that he should have never been scheduled for. This is one thing we have to take care of, to never ever having this happen again." He looked down at her sternly, he was that stereotypical huge guy of a high-ranker "The other thing is, that you team-member should have never attempted such a thing in the first place." The lift started its fast downwards motion.

"And this is in fact where you step out of several lines at once, Agent Cythera." The doors opened and he strode out at a swift pace, down the greyish brightly lit hallways, till he entered some laboratory. Where more even higher-ranked brass was gathering around some scientist and his microscope: Colonel Simms and three stars Lieutnant General Byrant. The Major saluted and stepped back, while The Lieutnant General took over "Chief Warrant Officer, Cythera." He greeted her with a slightly concerned look in his face "Our First Sergeant Pantera, your subordinate, seems to have run off onto some mission of his own?" He asked her rethorically and his voice cut like an iced scythe through the air.

He didn't wait for Cythera to comment on this, for he had sth else to talk with her about. He turned at the Scientist, who handed him sth small from under the microscope. On some display on the desk there were several highly magnified images of bullet surfaces. Some message indicated a recognition and gave a serial number of a gun and Cythera's name. Byrant held up a slightly deformed projectile. It was of the special re-enforced kind, that could go smoothly through avarage protective vests. It was the kind of ammo the Organisation's assassins used.

"I am not going to ask you, if you know, what this is, because that goes without saying at the rank and position you hold in this organisation." He said in a self-confident low piercing voice. "What I do want to know is, do you happen to having your allotted pistol with you? Did you accidently happen to also having it with you all the time on your leave? Is it another co-incidence, that the location, this bullet was retrieved, accidently is about the same as of the town you took your vacation these days?"

Cythera looked at him oddly when he said ‘are you trying to tell me, that I am having an illusion and that you are not actually here, because you are in fact still on your leave?’…she hadn’t meant that at all, but she could only shake her head as he continued. She sighed some and followed after him. She could only imagine what was happening.

She glanced around as they walked through the halls. This area was not so familiar to her. Where were they going? She looked up at him as he spoke after she handed him the papers. No her duty or right? As she had been trained, she was responsible for what her team member did, and it was her job to get them out of the trouble.

As they entered the new room she saw the Colonel and the Lieutenant General. She stared for a moment, before she quickly saluted them. She was going to answer the Lieutenant, but she didn’t get the chance, because he turned away from her. She swallowed gently. These men were very intimidating to her. She had never been put in a position like this.

When he started talking to her once more, she knew exactly what was going on. She blushed once more. “I do not have my gun with me, sir…but it is no accident.” She replied to him. She wasn’t going to deny what she had done.

[I took the liberty to give her and Pantera http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/insignias/index.html]

Byrant continued "So would it be safe to say, that it was indeed you who took out this... Man?" He looked at her closely and held out the bullet. "This bullet has been shot by a gun, that is registered on our organisation and has been given out on your name. The Man is dead for over a day, however the kill hasn't been yet reported by you. You know, that we work with the authorities of some areas and they co-operate by checking-in if kills have been on our assignments. Which this person indeed has been. But we just didn't have any assassin for him." He sighed and dropped his shoulders and pushed her out of the lab into the hallway, which was discarded, only Colonel Simms followed them.

"Agent Cythera, we do serious business here and it seems as if you have some serious issues, that you carry around with you." Colonel Simm continued "This man, has been held responsible for the death of your husband, we know this. How do you feel about this now?" He made a little pause, but the Lieutnant General added "Understand, we cannot let all this disobedience and personal quarrels with your subordinate Pantera letting pass like this. It also does deprive you of your long due promotion as Second Lieutnant" Simms jumped in again "It is becoming a threat to the organisation. There are staff in this place, who tried to cover up for you, but it has taken on amounts, that are considerably irresponsible. Do you have any justifications, Chief Warrant Officer, Cythera?"

She nodded her head to say yes to his question. She was redirected out into the hallway after his general summary. Serious issues? What the heck was being filed against her.

The threat to her promotion struck her hard. It was something she had been working toward for several years now. She had made the best scores on the test, and had met all other criteria. She didn’t understand what was going on. When he let her talk she thought to herself for a moment before speaking to calm herself and not say anything too stupid—though it would be rather hard in the position she was in. The personal quarrels should not have been anyone else’s problem. That was between her and Pantera. “Sir, if you’d excuse me, I don’t know what has been filed against me, but it’s obviously serious. I don’t know the ‘serious issues’ and the staff that try to cover up for me.” She looked down at the ground. This definitely was not fair, especially since she didn’t know what they thought about her. She felt like she was being personally attacked here. There was no one else around as she had confirmed by glancing down the hallways.

The Colonel and the Lieutnant General exchanged astounished glances and Byrant nodded. Simms motioned her back to the elevator. "You'll stay suspended. You'll schedule medical and psychological examinations. You take a rest theses days on the base. We'll talk about details later."

~~~~~~~

Pantera had been sitting in that tree for 3 hours by now and observed the vacility. There wasn't any point in sneaking into that place when he didn't know if the target was there at all. He was not only getting uncomfortable, but also bored. Then a chopper touched down and the scanner identified three faces, from the target database, but not the one his assignment was for. "Hm, that must do!" He was tired of waiting he hurriedly opened the large case with the sniper-rifle and snapped it together. Plugging in the scope he took aim... too late, he just saw them entering one of the buildings. He cursed.

Cythera watched them exchange glances with each other, and went into the elevator when she was told. She looked at Simms when he spoke to her. She nodded to the man "Yes, sir", but showed no emotion or reaction. That would be for a later time. Not now. She shouldn’t have come back. How could this all be happening to her? She wanted Pantera to be here, but he wasn’t.

The Lieutnant General had been returning to the lab, but someone intercepted him in the hallway before he reached the door "Sir, Agent Pantera's Scanner has accessed the facial-database and located three targets... Though non of them are according to the... erm, assignm..." The Colonel had moved past Cythera and pressed the button to the ground-level, the door closed and took both up again.

~~~~~~~

Pantera had climbed off the tree quickly. The shot-distance was about 1,5km, but he didn't know about the wind-conditions down on the air-field. Usually a sniper had a companion, that took care about the environment. He would move in closer...

Which in the thick jungle took him almost two hours "Ha! I can't believe that!" he cursed angrily swinging at defensless poor bystanding plants with his ionized knife. He wished to have a machete. His shirt was wet with sweat and his pants weren't much better either. He noticed that he needed more water than expected "Oh ohh..." The pushed his bike further into the forest and then stopped. He had heard voices.

((haha, okay, i was just wondering.))

Cythera stayed quiet. She just looked at the wall. She didn't know if she should say something, and if she did, she didn't know what to say. She was in a very hard position. He might think she was crazy if she did say anything.

She just believed it better to keep her mouth shut then say anythign at all.

Pantera's path was blocked, he heard spanish, but he barely could make out anything in that accent they used. They were heavily armed and very likely belonged to the small airport forces. He couldn't just shoot down random people, so he got out his scope again and tried to get a closer look at them. There was a beacon-pole and someone up on it mending it obvouisly. There was also a small jeep. Pantera scanned their faces, but all were unknown. It seemed that the work was just about to be done, so he waited, hiding beneath some bushes, reading the data on the display about the identified targets. One of them kind of rang a bell to him... He just could not recall why.

~~~~~~~
[oopsy, i just ran into a contradiction. Let's say the Major joined them into the elevator, sorry]

The Major stayed quiet next to the Colonel "You didn't answer my initial question. I asked you how do you feel about having eliminated... To put it frank, the murder of your husband?" the Colonel spoke in a stern, yet, caring tone in his voice. Cythera had always given the impression, she would not work for reasons of revenge - which - if she had stated otherwise - would have been never accepted by the organisation. However not everybody took that as her telling them the truth. So she had been observed closely. He wondered if her attitudes now had changed.

It had always been a thin line of her actions versus her success-rates. The Colonel was most alarmed by the fact, that Cythera still claimed, that she failed to see, what they considered "serious issues". Which was an unmistakenly bad sign of her psychological state. If she was close to losing sight of her duties and acting according to the rules of the organisation, she would have to be retired. The unauthorized independant actions of her subordinate Pantera just made things worse for her situation, for she would not only be held responsible for him running off on his own, but also for having failed to prevent things like this to happen in the first place in her trainings in the year prior.

So small things had started summing up - Synergisms they called it. Small effects that ended up being more then the mere sum of the single parts, creating domino-like side effects, chain reactions which might run quickly and exponentially out of hand. This was obviously sth Chief Warrant Officer Cythera refused to see.

So Major added "Why do you believe, that it is your duty to follow your subordinate onto an unautherized mission?" He questioned Cythera as the door opened and they left into the entrance area of the building. Colonel Simms put on a puzzled glance and also was keen to get an answer to that subject, looking straight into her eyes "You do understand, that if it is unautherized for Agent Pantera, it also means, that it is unauthorized for you?!" They walked towards the exit.

It was like an cross-interrogation as Thynnwood went on "What did you have in mind as you said, it would be even your 'right' to follow him?" He was truly wondering, what Cythera - as an aspiring officer and team-leader - was thinking? ~If~ she was thinking and not acting out of sheer emotional impulse. Which was one of the reasons, teamed up assassins weren't suppose to entangle themselves into romantic relationships.

The Colonel dismissed Cythera after that in front of the administrative building. He was about to also dismiss the Major as his cell-phone rang. Thynnwood looked after Cythera and waited till the Colonel was done. The Colonel's face just didn't seem to want to lose its concerned expression "One of the persons, Agent Pantera has identified, is very likely directly linked to the 'du Escrivainne-incident', from 5 years ago."

((Last name: Shipp))

Cythera looked to the Colonel when her spoke to her, and then she looked down at her hands. “I don’t really feel any different, sir.” She said slowly. “It wasn’t any different.” She said, and she wasn’t lying either. It had not been quiet as triumphant as she had expected it to be.

“Because, sir, it is my responsibility what he does. If he gets hurt, then it will be put on me. That’s how I was trained as a team leader.” She said looking over to the Major now. “It’s my responsibility to get him out of there, isn’t it?” She looked over to Colonel Simms, “Well, it technically isn’t unauthorized if he was authorized to leave the base, sir.” She said. She didn’t really see this a completely her fault. It was Pantera’s fault mostly, but it was also the idiots in the office who checked him out. They knew she was on leave, but that obviously didn’t matter to these two people. She walked out of the elevator with them. She looked over to Thynnwood when he spoke to her again. “I am his team leader. I’m responsible for his actions, and I should be with him on a mission. Yes?”

She bowed to the colonel “Thank you, sir.” She smiled to each of them and then she turned and left. She sighed some going down the hallway. She made her way back to her room, and made sure the door shut. She went over to her bed and laid down. She then let the emotions come out. Tears came to her eyes immediately.

The Major smiled faintly at Simms after Cythera was gone "A lesson that we all learn... Revenge isn't nearly as satisfactory as we believe it to be in times of anger and rage." Thynnwood looked at where Cythera Shipps had vanished "Still for some it is sufficent motivation, I wonder how she will take it." They walked slowly over to the yard "For sure she hasn't lost her sense of arguing on her account. That clerk sure was careless just believing Agent Pantera's lie like this." the Major commented "Somehow we can't blame him for trusting an enlisted of the organisation. As well as her wanting to pull out her subordinate... On her own! Though that is a very inconsiderate intention in her position of an officer... very emotional" his tone had become worried.

The Major crossed his arms before his chest "That's why we agreed to suspend her, till she calms down a little..." He sighed "I just hope she won't run away on her own like her subordinate. She is wrong, she would not be held responsible if he dies, or gets injured. That statement sure gave her away." The Colonel turned to look at the Major "You mean, that she is already responsible for him pulling that show, but that she would take personal responsibilty if sth happens to him?" Thynnwood made a kind of helpless face "Colonel, about everybody knows that there is sth going on between the two of them." Simms smirked "You mean, like everybody, but themselves?" Major Thynnwood answered with a wry grin, making a vague guesture with his hand "Sth in about that direction."

Cythera stayed in her room for a long time. When she finally had enough of her pitying herself, she got up and went into the bathroom. She cleaned her face, refreshing herself. She didn’t want it to be too noticeable that she had been crying. She then went to her terminal and sent Joel a message requesting a match. He replied to her quickly and told her he would meet her there. She smiled happily upon receiving the message.

She got dressed, and got her rackets making her way to the tennis courts immediately. He was there when she got there, and she smiled to him.

“How was your time off, Cythera?’ Joel asked her.

“Fine. It was fine.” she replied to him.

He nodded, “That’s good.” He said taking one of the rackets from his bag.

She smiled over to him. “Yeah. Hey, Joel…I was wondering if you knew anything that was going on with me.” she said. “It seems that someone has spread some nasty stuff about me while I was gone.”

Joel looked down. “Umm…yes…so it seems.” He told her. “I’m not exactly sure who, but I’m sure we can all guess who.” He took some balls from his bag. “Anyway, let’s play.” He didn’t want to get into it.

Cythera sighed some, and took her place on the court across from Joel. The reaction that she figured she’d get. So she had found out that Soleada was the center of the problem. What a surprise.

Soleada sat silently in the office of Lieutnant General Byrant, pulling her skirt over her knees, brushing it over and over nervously. "So you knew already for quite a while, that sth was going on?" Soleada nodded, but then added hastily "Well, not unless recently Agent Pantera addressed me, due to having some serious problems, sir." Byrant looked at her "And you decided to keep that to yourself?" She averted her eyes "My apologies, sir. At this point of time it seemed as if he had it under control."

Byrant shook his head "It seems as if he still has! But the question is, just for how much longer, before they make him biting the dust?" Soleada gasped and could not surpress an emotional answer "No, sir, please! I thought I can help him and..." "You?!" Yes, sir! I..." She brushed over her skirt again. Byrant put his hands over his face "No don't tell me, you, too?!" "Excuse me, sir?"

~~~~~~

He pondered a little where he had heard the name "du Escrivainne" before, which was mentioned in the file of one guy. But was interrupted, as the small group drove away in their jeep. He went to his bike and - giving in to that permanently blinking indicator - checked finally his messages. There were a lot and most not very nicely telling him, to get his butt back to the base IMMEDIATELY! He pretended to not understand and erased them. One - to his utter surprise - was... from Cythera about 3 days ago:

Hey Pantera,
I’m sure you’re enjoying this break without me.
I just thought I would say I’m doing okay.
I’m very relaxed…for the most part.
Don’t get into too much trouble without me.
That’s no fun. That’s all I really have.
How are things going for you?
Well, I hope. Okay, I’m going to go now.
--Cythera.

He sat down onto the muddy soil and felt kind of... weird. For he wasn't sure, if he enjoyed it. He was kind of relieved that she obviously was doing better. He was afraid she would crack up eventually. "I am sorry, but I guess I will get into trouble without you... Just for this single time I am going to do it my way." He mumbled. There was another message - well, several - of Soleada. He read only the first one:

What the hell are you doing you stupid dumbass?!
Yes, I ~am~ upset! Are you crazy? You got that clerk into trouble!
You got yourself into trouble! You will get Cythera into trouble!
And - damn you - you'll getting me into trouble for trying to cover up for you
BLOCKHEAD! Don't die, please!
--Soleada.

He had to chuckl, "Damn!" It was like the wind in his sails had suddenly dropped. Those words, those girls kind of made him stumble and hesitate. "Heh, dangerous..." he understood how emotions could be your instant death. "I am sorry, guys." He pushed it away. "I have an assignment to clear." He wandered on and found a nice large tree again, only some 700m from the air-field. He climbed up and found... that the chopper had gone! He punched the tree, but then kept on scanning the area. There were people in some room of a building, but he could not identify them behind the windows. He just decided that patience might help... Problem was he didn't have any and there weren't any pills for it either.

The game had done what it always did, what she was hoping it would do. It was warm outside, and she was pushing herself. She had forgotten about all the stupid things going on with her. Joel was having a hard time keeping up with Cythera today. Cythera’s servers were hard, her forehands were swift, and her backhands were smooth. Her racket and feet never seemed to fail her in the game.

During the third set on the second point, Joel had served a nice serve, and they had kept the ball going back and forth for almost a minute. Then Cythera had gone up to the net, and volleyed the ball cleanly. The ball hit in one of the corners of the court, and Joel was barely able to get to it. He hit the ball with his racket, and fell on the ground, though the attempt was useless, the ball did not going over. “Joel!” Cythera yelled, and ran over to help him up, Joel took her hand. “I’m sorry!” she said as she helped him off the ground.

Joel just laughed. “It’s fine Cythera, it was a really good point, as many of them have been today.” He looked at her with a gentle smile. There was no way any of the stupid rumors going around were true. She was so considerate and nice.

Cythera nodded. “Okay.” She said then looked down at their hands, which were still together as Joel squeezed it him. She looked back up at him, and took her hand back for herself…weird.

Joel looked around, “Right, back to the game then?”

“Yes.” Cythera said going back over to her side of the court.

Pantera had been painfully sitting and taking pre-emptively aim on every person moving about the air-field for what must have been - at least to him - the entire day... His actual target still hadn't shown up, but two of the others had, however too brief as if to safely pulling the trigger on them. Then he finally got his chance again as a truck was loaded.

Their sniper-bullets were prepared with a nerve-toxin that would even on non-lethal hits shut-down the heart-beat and the ability of the victim to breathe, so surely killing irreversibly the target within a minute, or two. He took aim and... shot! A silenced bullet eeped out of the sniper-rifle... The head of the man exploded in a gush of blood, skull-splinters and brains barely 300ms later. He was just about to take aim on the other as Pantera noticed how fast and efficently everybody... had gone!

Air-Raid sirens resounded "Oh oh!" He hesitated as if what to do next. Scanning the air-field nervously, his heart skipped a beat "crap! Scan-drones!" He quickly aimed one, trying to take it out: Shot! It swayed slightly on the impact and sth fell off it, but it kept altitude "Crap, this is expenisive equipment." he cursed as five drones neared his general direction. He quickly unsnapped the rifle and stored it in the sturdy case. Jumping off the tree with a rope, for there was no time left to climb down cosily.

Down between the trees he had no idea where the drones now could be and the siren echoed through the valley making it impossible to overhearing the usual hum a hover-device emitted. He hurried into the underbrushes, where his bike was. Trouble was he'd have to shove it through the jungle till he would reach solid ground enough to ride it again.

Suddenly he heard explosions close to him. "What the fuck...!" His mouth popped ajar. What did those guys believe how many he was? He could see thick clouds of dark smoke raising. "Firebombs...?" he gasped. Now he had to be real fast, or getting cornered. Those guys where seemingly mad enough to burn down half of the jungle for him. Those chemical bombs would burn at considerably low temperatures however causing incredible amounts of toxic smoke and fumes for about 15 minutes. Another one exploded to the other side of him. There was barely any wind and the breeze pressed the smoke down into the jungle. Perfect conditions, so to speak. He moved closer to the first explosion, for it made it unlikely that they dropped another bomb one there.

He tried to ride the bike, but it just stumbled about the underbrushes, whining. He was happy that Cythera was ~not~ with him this time! he had counted 5 explosions so far and hoped that each drone didn't carry more than one... If it were the drones which had dropped them. Neither the toxics, nor the smoke would disturb their scanners too much. The noise must have raised lots of attention in a radius of at least 15km and the thick black smoke must have been visible for over 80km if the view was clear that day. If any satellites had traced his running away, a few guys now would have considerable entertainment on their screens, even if only from 90° top-view.

He got out his heavy hand gun - which was not silenced, but he needed the fire power if any of those drones would find him. The sweat was running down his face now and the air started to sting in his lungs, he searched for a mask in the boxes. He was too happy to have the bike with him after all, even if he had to push it around and it would slow him down.

((Make Pantera come back! Haha. I don’t like having to think of things to do with myself….hehe…not taken in a dirty term, mind you.))

Cythera and Joel played for several more hours playing more then one game, not having anything to go to for the rest of the evening. They played while it was dark, using the lights that were over the courts. When they had finally stopped playing it was almost nine o’clock in the evening. They were both sweaty and out of breath. They shook hands with each other, and walked back to the residential buildings with one another.

“You know, Cythera, if you and Pantera…umm…split from being team members, I’d like to try out the team thing.” Joel said to her. Joel usually went solo on his missons.

Cythera felt really uncomfortable then. It was good that they were near to her room. She didn’t want this to last long. “I may not even get a chance to go back out on missions, Joel. I’m suspended…and I don’t even know why. Soleada put me on suspension for no real reason.” She told him.

Joel shook his head some and sighed. “I really wish I could do something about this situation of ours.” He said.

“Nothing you can do about it.” Cythera shrugged opening to door to her room. “Anyway, thanks a lot. It meant a lot to me for you to go out and play with me tonight.” She told Joel. “It was a good stress reliever.” She laughed some, “I feel good until tomorrow comes and I have to deal with this crap again.” She waved to him and disappeared into her room.

Joel stood outside of the door for a little while before he left and went to his room.

[how can a mind like mine, ~not~ take that in a quite coloured "dirty" way?!
Plus, I didn't expect, that Cythera would be that kind of a brave obediant girl, just crying a little, playing tennis for the rest of the time and staying oblivious of the things that happen outside]

It had been perhaps about 7 to 10 minutes, since the sirens had stopped, he still could only move slowly, but the mask helped him reducing the amounts of toxic gas he took in. He noticed how much animals are actually in such a jungle, for they passed him by, fleeing from the smoke. If he would panic now, he would get lost, so he stared frantically on the scanner with the compass and the route-planer, which directed him back to the road, he had come from... As he suddenly felt a cold chill running through his bones quickly followed by a bluish light from behind. He felt a static tingling all over his body and it was suddenly very quiet in the jungle around him.

Pantera panted and at first poked the dead screen and then punched it repeatedly - That had been an EMP-Flare. Pantera stopped, he felt like in a war, he turned around, the lush green of the quiet jungle was deceiving... There was still the smoke covering most of the area between him and the air-field, he surely wasn't any further than perhaps a kilometer away from it now. Not all of his equipment was absolutely EMP save... "Quod erat demonstrandum..." He scoffed and started to feel slightly sick, but he tried to get on. Those guys in there must have no inhibitions to destroy their surroundings and even themselves, just to transfer the message, that they won't go to accept any assassinations anymore without striking-back in absolutely inappropiate - if not rediculous - ways. "What happened to little easy-going secondary assignments?!" he moaned...

Then he heard a faint hum and let himself drop into the underbrushes, barely breathing, nor moving. He cursed the heart-beat in his mind, for he never knew that one's own blood circulation could be that devastatingly noisy. His bike was in clear view, which was as good as it might be bad at the same time. If they'd blew it up, he'd be too close. If a drone would come down due to it, he would take it out. But then... he cursed again, it would mean he'd have all the remaining drones right after him. He could hear faint sounds of helicopters. The direction was unclear, but he expected them to be from the air-field, following the drones...

~~~~~~~

There had been installed an operative bureau in the base, to observe what agent Pantera would be doing on his own and if he would do alright. It was getting dark here, while it was still bright day over there. Messages and photos from the agents of the sub-base now came in, like a flood: "Communications to the south-eastern region of the air-field have been disrupted! Also the sw had been 'black-burnt' before. Inhabitants claim, they have heard sirens. As we moved out it was silent again, but we still can see some of the smoke. Some of the farmers claim, that the entire sky had been black... We assume, they heavily exaggerate, but considering the remaining smoke, they must have black-bombed a huge area, where they expected our agent, that is absolutely unprecedented, sir!"

Byrant listened silently and let his instincts run freely, Simms whispered "I wonder, what Pantera did, to rise such amounts of defensive powers?" The two young sergeants at the screens and radios, stared, while they kept actualizing the records and datas. "Hm, Maybe he shot the wrong person..." He turned at the screen that showed, who Pantera's face-scanner had recognised. "He very likely had shot this man..." The Lieutnant General pointed at a leading figure of the drug-dealers. It had been the last Pantera had scanned again.

"He was also close to get the suspected Escrivainne killer..." Bryant waved it off "I doubt, that he got him, too." He sighed. "The reason a spit-fire like him needs a team-leader, is, to keep him from going out of the order of strategically chosen targets. Why does Pantera think, the assignment was not on that man?" A voice from the radio cut in "Sir! We spotted scan-drones down there over the jungle, we counted at least three, or four!"

~~~~~~~

"What do you mean she runs around telling people ~I~ have suspended ~her~...?!" Soleada suddenly yelled at some collegue in the cafeteria and it turned quiet. "You perfectly know that I am in no position to suspend anyone! I am not even an officer!" She yelled on angrily (Not yet, darling, but Sergeant Major is close enough.) In truth only a high-ranking officer can suspend. What she didn't tell was that she can recommend suspensions - that's what she had done. And Major Thynnwood had done it after Cythera had come running into their office, yelling. Well, that the order wasn't exactly the correct way round... Well, she cocked her head - she was lucky...

"She is responsible for her subordinate running off onto some unauthorized mission and then has the nerve to complain about being suspended temporarely for it?!" Soleada now stood and pouted. "The clerk got suspended, I am in trouble, Pantera is in a..." she stopped herself in mid-sentence, for she wasn't supposed to tell anyone "...all because of her and she goes around and... complains?!" Soleada was good... Her show, that is. Well, she believed to be right, partly she was. She almost had gotten suspended herself... Actually, she partly was deprived of competencies... She suddenly remembered and turned quiet, her face red - who could tell if it was from being angry, or now, being embarrassed... If she'd push it any further, she might get a full suspension as well.

((She doesn’t need to get into even more trouble though!))

Cythera took her time cleaning herself up. It was very relaxing to be so calm at the moment, especially with the position she was now held. But she didn’t think about that for the time being. She just forgot about everything…as much as she could. Her mind could not help from thinking of different ways to get rid of Soleada or even get out of the base.

How could she possibly get herself out of the base without being detected though? It was impossible. Truly impossible. There were cameras everywhere, someone would see. She sighed laying back in the tub. She just wished there was something she could do…and the nerve of that women putting her on suspension. It drove her crazy. Well, if Pantera did get hurt, it would definitely be Soleada’s fault because she put Cythera on suspension. Soleada was truly not a smart person. She didn’t seem to think about things…just kind of act on impulse.

Why had Pantera done this to her though? Did he not think she wouldn’t get into trouble too? She got out of the tub after an hour. She went into her room and looked at her clock..almost ten at night. This was rather late for her to be staying up, but it didn’t really matter—she didn’t have anywhere to go.

She went over to her terminal, checking the messages. She looked at her address book…Pantera’s name was there. He would surely have a way of checking his messages, it showed that the message he had sent to her was read from his vehicle.

Pantera, I’m not sending you an angry message, even though that is definitely what you deserve right now. I just want you to know that your wonderful friend, Soleada, has made sure that I was put on suspension, so you’re completely on your own.

I have no idea what you were thinking, but I hope that you’re feeling the consequences now...if you don’t get killed.
--Cythera

[*giggle* sissy!]

"Sir, the local authorities intervene... But the air-field controler claim, that a plane has crashed." Byrant had left, he had more to do, than watching this non-sense. Simms was in charge in case things turned nasty. He laughed "Ha? How likely is that?" "Very unlikely, sir. Still no sign of Agent Pantera."

~~~~~~~

Indeed a drone came down through the trees and seemed to observe the bike from some distance. (Ok, now I am found... and I am... angry!) He lifted his gun, strings of toxic fumes meandered around the plants. For sure the drone would quickly find his different temperature radiation. So he aimed and started shooting, slowly and re-aiming with each shot. Sparks sprung from the hull of the drone and it swayed heavily on each impact and slowly disintegrated... If he was right it soon would... It self-destructed in a low damped explosion, glowing brightly as it melted itself away. Pantera covered his face. He hurried over to the bike and moved on. Helicopters seemed to close in... However not from the air-field... Unless they had not already surrounded him. His computer was rebooting and analysing the EMP damage. "Show the damned map, I don't care what is fried, right now!" he growled. He wiped the sweat from his face and his arms started to hurt.

He pressed the cancel button on the sturdy touch-screen and a window popped up "New Message. From Cythera: <How are you?>" "I just don't believe this!" He hit cancel, while he stumbled through the jungle. Finally the map popped back up again and showed... That he had drifted off the intended route... towards the west. There was even some small road. Going around the air-field to its actual norther-entrance. He moved over to that.

His aching body was like on drugs, as he finally reached, what seemed to be a make-shift clay-track through the trees. He swung onto the bike and headed... up north. He could not return anymore... He had screwed up... majorly... The organisation would fry him!

~~~~~~~

Soleada had gotten word of the situation over there in Bolivia and almost panicked... For now it happened to her, that she was completely at fault. She decided to taking the offer for a vacation herself, till this situation would have been resolved. She quickly had packed a few things checked-out and then transfered to... Cobija Sub-Base at the triangle of Brasil, Peru and Bolivia. Even though everybody looked strangely at her as she left - and this time the clerks checked back with Major Thynnwood - there was no way to prohibiting her to go to that place, as long as she would not do anything, she wasn't supposed to do while being off duty.

"How is the situation?" She almost yelled as she left the teleporter. The person in charge looked at her puzzled "Uh, we are not supposed to tell you. You are off duty, Ma'm." She pouted angrily "Fine! I have the right to borrow a vehicle for private civil use." The clerk sighed and nodded, calling some workers to getting sth ready for her. Before she left she was scanned for any kind of weapons, or gadgets she wasn't suppose to take out of the sub-base. Security surely had severely increased due to Pantera's actions. The Clerk at Cobija sub-base was at no fault. "She is clean, Sir." Captain Aguilar nodded and handed her an electronic card-pass to being able to operate her given car.

As she left the base and had reached some viewpoint, overlooking thevalley, she checked the map of the navigation system in the sturdy 4-Wheel-Car. She plugged in her own Data-Information-System, that hold all she knew about Pantera's mission. She looked up over to the north-west. Using binoculars, she felt like she still could see some smoke in the distance, but perhaps it was just her imagination, due to her anxiety. According to the road-map she would never reach that place within the next six hours. She sighed and sunk against the car "What the hell am I doing here...? I must have gone out of my mind as well..." she was close to crying. She saw helicopters around in the distance and hoped, the organisation was out to pick Pantera up - if he was still alive that was. Rain drops fel down onto her face.

~~~~~~~

It had started raining... in increasing amounts. The sight went down to a mere few meters. He pulled over and tried to find some cover under some larger tree - to no avail. Now he was truly dripping wet. He used the tarp for some minor cover and checked the messages. Soleada's first, for it was labeled BIG RED: READ ASAP! IDIOT!, it just confirmed what he already knew. He had made a huge mistake and now had lost it all.

Cythera has been suspended. The Clerk, too.
I should have never covered up for you two. Thx idiot!
I take a vacation as well, before I get suspended, too! You IDIOT!
I am after you to hurt you... you... FOOL!
--Soleada

He blinked, what kind of message was that? And what did she mean, she was after him? The screen showed a map of the area with green and red dots. The green: the friendly objects, the red: the enemy. Zooming out, there were even some blue dots indicating... "Verhicles of the organisation not invovled...!" He gasped. Did this girl try to play her luck as well, just because of him? He could get more info about the objects by clicking on them... Indeed, Soleada was registered to a car now close by the sub-base. "Baka... go home, don't screw up like I did as well." He whispered, running a finger over the screen where raindrops were blurring the view. He wrote a reply "Stay away while you can it's too late for me -- Pantera".

Then Cythera's. He lifted his head. The rain was like a rush of featureless music, it was quiet apart from that. Perhaps the situation had calmed down? He smiled at her message. He sighed in relief, he knew she'd have gone after him. He started writing a message... Lots of things that came to his mind, even that he felt sth for her... Love? After a while, he stopped to wipe some more rain of the screen and deleted it again getting too embarrassed, writing: "I am sorry. For your husband and daughter, too. Sayonara -- Pantera!" He had no place in her life.

He just had sent the message and covered himself away from the system as sth happened to him "Husband?" He checked the info on him... His name was Shipp. Cythera's actual lastname was... "Du Escrivainne!?" He checked the files on the guys he had identified on the air-field some hours ago...

((indeed. haha.))

Cythera went back and lay down on her bed. It wasn’t long before she had fallen asleep. She was laying on her covers and only in a towel while her hair was still somewhat wet. She was awakened by the terminal. She sat up glancing around her. She didn’t recognize where she was or why she didn’t really have any cloths on. Then she shook her head rubbing her eyes some. She looked over to the terminal that had a little red light flashing on it. She got up, fixing the towel on her body, and went over to the terminal. She read Pantera’s message… “That’s all you can say to me?” She looked back at the message again, “Wait….how did you find out about that?” She couldn’t have imagined where he got that information—not even from Soleada. She opened up a replied message and wrote:

That’s all you can say to me? Seriously.
I really hope you’re okay though.
And I really wish I could help too.
<3 Cythera.


She sighed, turning off the sound to her terminal. Then she went back over to her bed, and took up the position that she had been in before. She was incredibly tired. It took no time for her to fall back to sleep, and she had forgotten to put any clothes on as well.

"I found the murder of her family..." Pantera muttered "One last thing I could do for her..." He checked his gun and reloaded it fully. He checked his knife and the rest of his equipment. Some wasn't working due to the EMP-Flare earlier. The rain was cleaning the air and putting out the remaining smoke-fires. The helicopters seemingly had retreated from that heavy rain. The water was almost rushing along the primitive clay road, making the ground slippery. He was grateful that his bike floated, else he'd be dead trapped here now.

~~~~~~~

Soleada was growling faintly. She had retreated back into the sub-base as well and was sulking silently, sitting in her "borrowed" car. Hugging her legs, though feeling uncomfortably cramped on her seat at the wheel. A guard offered her hot coffee from outside by the window, but she just shook her head, so he left her alone...

The phone rang and she flinched, for she had dozed off. "Yes? Lieutnant Gen...! Ouch!" Instinctively she had be trying to take a proper position, but wasn't able slumped that way behind the wheel. "I hope you have no inconsiderate intentions, where you are now... Your vacation application was a bit... sudden." Soleada made some embarrassed sounds...

"But that's not why I contact you now. You are one of the few who know details about Agent Cythera's past. Does Agent Pantera happen to know about certain details as well?" Soleada sat up, frowning "Sir, I don't quite understand..." Bryant interrupted her "To be dead straight and absolutely precise, does Agent Pantera know who killed Agent Cythera's family?" Soleada stuttered "...I - I don't... I mean..." She remembered why Pantera was so upset and had consulted her. "Yes! He came to me, he was very confused, for she seemingly had suddenly told him about her parents and he seemingly had said sth stupid in return to her, so he felt guilty that they raped..." Byrant cut her off "We surveilance his conversations and messages. Also to you." she gulped "He had recently read and replied to messages of both of you and Agent Cythera." She looked over to her portable. There was a message! She accessed it. "Agent Pantera is pretty much aware, that he had made a great mistake. What worries us is more, his choice of words... Plus he suddenly accessed the database about the Du Escrivainne-Killer again after his last message to Agent Cythera."

Soleada understood, though not knowing his message to Cythera, reading Pantera's message to her at the same time, feeling her throat tighten up. "You mean he... might try to..." "Yes, he is still near-by the air-field. He might try to get in and eliminate said killer... Likely... for Agent Cythera's sake."

[que drama! ]

Soleada had been staring out of the garage into the milky clouds, where it still poured down from in unearthly amounts. She hated herself, there was nothing she could do, but that what Pantera had told her... Why did she got worked up about this fool anyway? It was not as if she knew him all that well, yet... He just seemed to be kind of... cute and sexy, but this here had made her mind change. She got out of the car and requested to be teleported back. The clerk blinked some, but shrugged it off.

Back in the Main-Base she felt exhausted and stupid. It was warm here and the time was differnt, too. She felt like in some bad dream. Her casual clothes were still damp and looked crumpled as she rang at Cythera's room door, looing like she hadn't slept a night... and if, she would look as if she'd slept with those clothes on. Her hair wasn't really messy, but it just wasn't that perfectly well and straightly combed as it usually was.

Cythera sat up shocked as the bell to her room rang. She looked around frantically trying to figure out what the source of the noise was. She looked down at herself, she was naked. She shook her head, looking around for her towel. When she found it, and she wrapped it around herself. She went over the door tying the towel over her breasts.

She opened the door and looked at Soleada. She herself was rather rough looking, even though she had taken a shower the night before, and hadn’t done anything. Her hair was in thick curls, and wild, because it had dried naturally. She looked at Soleada shocked. “Excuse me.” Cythera said rather embarrassed. She was rather scatter brained at the moment. She hadn’t thought all the way through answering the door with a towel on.

Soleada, looked down at Cythera. She wondered for a brief moment if Cythera always answered the door like this. Then she felt her own uncomfortable damp clothes and started muttering "Erm, sorry. I... I just forgot, why I came here..." She rolled her eyes up trying to remember. She blushed a little "Ah, yes. I don't want him anymore... Actually I can't even remember why I ever considered him." Soleada shifted her weight "You should have not told him about your family... That fool has accidently run into..." She stopped herself, she wasn't supposed to walk around and tell people things like this, but then "What does it matter anymore!?" She sighed, things were so screwed up already anyway and perhaps Pantera would die down there, than why should Cythera not know what the reason had been?

"Pantera has identified the suspected murder of your family during his assignment, that was for somebody completely different. He must have stirred up a huge wasp-nest. Operation Control suspects that he has added up one and one and figured who he had found there and now tries to eliminate that suspect on his own... Probably..." She turned away "...for you." Why the hell did it bother her so much that obviously Pantera cared for Cythera, but not for her? "He must love you that much... that... fool..." She hurried away as she could not keep her tears anymore at bay.

Cythera stood there letting Soleada talk. This was a very weird situation. Soleada at her door, handing everything over to her. Not that it really mattered at the moment—she would probably never see Pantera again.

Cythera watched Soleada as she walked away. She was incredibly confused right now. The door shut in front of her. She jumped some, and came back to herself. She turned around and looked at her room. Everything was where it should be, but she felt like she was in a dream almost. Pantera had found one of the murders of her family, and was going after them. Risking himself. No, he couldn’t. She rushed over to her terminal and opened up a new message to him.


Pantera don’t!
Just come back while you can, please!

"Sir, there has been sth worrying me ever since I saw the scans Agent First Sergeant Pantera had sent in, to identify targets." Spoke an officer formally over the intercom and Byrant made a face "I am not sure if Agent Pantera still holds this rank... Anyway, what is it?" "Please use the screen to let me show you." On the display were arranged some of the scans Pantera had made while targeting subjects on the air-field. Especially those as he had shot one guy by a truck that had been loaded at that time. The scientific officer had marked shapes on the truck, that seemed to be small cylindric tanks.

"We would need confirmation, sir, but I have seen such containers before. It's the colour that caught my attention." The Lieutnant General started tipping with his fingertips on his desk "Come to the point, please." The officer was irretated for a moment "Sir, this seems to be the special Cronterma alloy to hold a special biotoxin..." Now Byrant almost jumped "Cronterma?! That has exclusively been invented to carry..." "Correct, Thux-14."

There was a sudden silence. If this organisation had gotten access to one of the most lethal biotoxins ever invented, then it now made perfectly sense, that Pantera had caused such strong defense reactions. "If this is true... we need immediate confirmation of that! If that's the case, we will set Alert 3 and move in ASAP! We might also need to evacuate the area... Damn..." He leaned forward to examine the crude pixel on the scan. "I need confirmation! Now!"

~~~~~~~

Bases had been set to Alert Level 1, which meant that all agents not on duty had to be prepared to be called every moment. Soleada's vacation had been - very much to her dismay - canceled on the fly and she found herself in the operation center. They had been overriding Pantera's capsulation-system, but... he had already left his bike behind and was on the way to find some way into that air-base.

"We have no time to lose, that kid, has certainly no clue, what he has been running into. We need back-up real quick. Make three agent-teams ready to confirm, that the bolivian mafia has aquired Thux-14 Biotoxin. It's now time for Agent Cythera, to pull out her stray cat." The laughter in the OPC was restrained, but it kind of eased the tension.

Byrant frowned briefly "Apropos Agent Cythera, what had actually been the motivation to murder Du Escrivainne?" He waved it off and ordered to having Cythera and the other four Agents out ASAP. "Make sure they have basic bio-chemical protection!"

Cythera had been in her room getting dressed when an urgent message popped onto the screen of her terminal. She went over to it and read. “A mission…” Cythera muttered as she read. The details were not on the message, but it did say to report immediately. She turned and took the clothes off that she had on. She put on a pair of black cargo pants, a black t-shirt, and her famous black boots. She pulled her curly hair up into a bun, and went into her closet getting her small weapons. She strapped her gun over her pants on her left leg, got the box of bullets, and put her dagger into her boots.

She was down at the check-in station within ten minutes ready to go.

In the teleporter-room the Lieutnant General was standing awaiting the five Agents. As the group was complete he addressed them. "One of our agents unknowingly seems to have come across illegal transfers of biotoxins. This issue is serious to say the least and you are expected to proceed with extreme caution to verify the suspicion, we have. He walked slowly up to Cythera, while he was addressing his trusted elite. "You will get further instructions and equipment at the north bolivian sub-base. I shall not hide the fact from you, that we expect the mafia to transfer one of the most toxic bio-weapon ever invented, going by the codename: Thux-14."

He let that sink for a second. Some might have heard about this bio-chemical toxin. It could be "programmed" in production to attack genetically selective: certain animals, plants, females, asians... You name it, you'll get it. This weapon was considered illegal according to many treaties after the great war. It shouldn't even exist... But that's just how some people are.

He looked at the two team pairs. "Your mission shall be ~only~ to confirm that the containers discovered are truly Cronterma cylinders that serve only one purpose: holding safely Thux-14!" Then he turned at Cythera. "Your mission will be the same... plus..." And now he sighed and took a deep breath "...plus collecting your subordinate, before he can do sth really devastating to south-america. Time is running out!" He stepped back "You'll be equipped and brought in with a special helicopter, from which you jump off. Good luck, and be really careful! " Bryant didn't know that Soleada had told Cythera about the murder of her parents.

~~~~~~~

Pantera cursed. Lying on his belly in the dripping wet grass by the fence securing the mafia's air-field. It was still raining - not as strong as before, though. That fence seemed state of the art self-diagnosing. Just cutting some hole into it would cause an alarm, telling exactly where he just had cut. He would have to find another way, or a weak spot in the fence system. He didn't have the equipment to trick the system and bridging the circuitry over the hole he needed... He turned back at where he had come from and suddenly grinned. He had an idea...

Cythera stared wide-eyed at the Lieutenant General as he explained what was going on. How could they even have access to the Thux-14? She wondered. When the attention of the General was directed at her, she looked at him more alertly. She refrained from smiling and nodded to him, as the others had, “Yes, sir.” She said saluting him. She felt kind of odd, noting having a partner and going on a mission with other pairs, but she was going to get Pantera.

Cythera was the last to go into the teleporter, after the two pairs had gone before her. When she appeared at the new base, the others were there waiting for her. They were talking silently to one another, because there was no one in the room yet, besides the clerk. Cythera didn’t know what to do with herself, she didn’t really know these agents too well. She wasn’t even sure if she knew their names correctly.

Some aids brought in special ABC-Suits, in case sth went wrong with the Cronterma cylinders and they'd truly carry the lethal chemical. So at least there was a certain chance to survive, even if it restricted the freedom of body movement. It were only three suits for five agents. But the teleporter was activated and they got the remaining two. "We didn't have them all in your sizes, but now we got them."

Meanwhile others brought equipment and weapons for the agents. Captain Aguilar came in and started the briefing screen "the weather conditions suck!" He said with a strong spanish accent and his men chuckled, for it was an understatement. "We have heavy rain and winds in the valley by the air-field. So we cannot let you jump of the choppers, heaven knows where the wind would blow you. We hope we can safely let you down from above the tree-tops. Don't screw up our choppers! We don't have much left here!" He joked, for things didn't look that brand new and shiny as it did in the main base.

"While the two complete teams will each on their own check out the air-field, for that cursed stuff..." and now he turned at Cythera "...You will make sure that you quickly find your mate and knock him senseless." The bolivian soldiers chuckled again. Obviously they weren't too much into formal speech. "What you do afterwards to him, is up to you, and we won't tell anybody, as long as you keep him away from the air-field, causing more minor civil wars in our mountains."

On the large screen was a recording, shot from a long way away with a tele into the valley, which looked like complete on fire due to the spread smoke-bombs, they had dropped some hour ago. It showed the time, then It switched and showed a greyish foggy valley full of gushes of rain with only few smoke left. It also showed a green spot where they suspected the hover-bike of Pantera, to the north-east of the air-field.


[you may take over the other agents, just sending them off, using them, whatever you want]

They all nodded, and took their things as they were being briefed. Once finished, they four left the briefing room. Cythera lingered another minute or two and studied the screen. She glanced around, now noticing that she had been left. She hurried over to the door, but did not leave until she had saluted to the Captain. They were all headed to the hanger. Cythera stayed away from them. The two pilots were waiting inside the choppers for them. Cythera felt awkward when she climbed into the chopper several minutes after everyone else had. They were all putting on their new suits. Cythera just took a seat. She knew she’d be let out separately from them.

It seemed like it took forever for them to get to the first location where the two teams were dropped off. Once they were off, Cythera put on her suit, and went up closer to the pilots. “We’re putting you near to his vehicle reading.” They told her. That would be good. Hopefully he hadn’t left it somewhere—that would not be good.

It was difficult for Cythera to get out. She was more uneasy then anything else. She hit the ground pretty hard with a “hmp.” She unhooked the harness she had on when she felt it being pulled.

Pantera's vehicle reading was only polled briefly every 20 minutes. To not displaying the agent too easily for enemy scanners. Even though his bike had been in the same spot for several readings. It now changed position. Pantera, jammed the anti-gravity booster to simply jump over the fence. The engines whined for a moment and then he sunk back to the ground even scratching it...

He giggled. He was now in the air-field. As he overheard helicopters in the distance he hurried over to a bunch of bushes and covering his bike with a tarpaulin. He now noticed the flashing lights, that indicated that they tried to contact him, but covered the lights as well ignoring them and sneaked away from the bike through the veils of the rain. It felt like walking through water in that warmth and breathing felt heavy. He just hoped his guns would deal with that wetness. Through his binoculars - that helped gazing through the rain - he spotted cars near-by a vacility and moved towards those.

Cythera looked up at the harness was being dragged back through the trees. She sighed some, and looked around. There was nothing about. That was nice. She took out a little scanner, and watched it. It was another five minutes before she saw his signal once more. She tapped the spot on the screen, and marked it as the signal went away once more. She got up and glanced around for tracks or something on the ground. She found them, and they were in the direction that his signal showed. That was a good sign. She ran along the tracks.

She followed the tracks until she came to the fence, where they ended. She looked up at the top of the fence. “Pantera…where are you?!” She whined. How was she going to get over this fence? She took out the scanner once more. She went through a list of close missions and found the one that Patnera was assigned to. She tapped on it, and hoping he had some listening device, she spoke frantically. “Pantera! I’m near the air-base. Come back to the fence where you went over it. Please, Pantera! I’m here to get you.”

Pantera had just about reached the cars and took some cover behind them as a certain hum came through the veils of rain "Not the probes again..." he sighed and took out his heavy hand gun. Even though he would quickly run out of ammo if he tried to take out more than two in that rain. He could barely see.

There had been no point in using the ear-piece. He was alone and as he had screwed up already, he didn't need to know what the commando had to tell him. He could very well imagine. Strangely enough the helicopters seemed to be gone again. Maybe it was just one taking off from the air-field. But then he wondered if it might have been a friendly one? And if that was the reason the probes were out again? He wanted just the sneak over to the next car as a vibration at ihs wrist made him checking his communicator...

(How in hell, can I get a message from... Cythera here?) He suddenly got confused. He was alone. Soleada had written, that she had been suspended. He was so utterly confused, that he hardly noticed how a sphere swung around one of the trucks in front of him in that pouring rain. That thing could "see" easily his different body temperature over a 150m distance, now it was barely 10 meters away, so throwing himself to the ground was of no use. He moved quickly back behind another car, but there came another probe. He was cornered.

He didn't hear Cythera's message, so he just spoke "I thought I could do you a little favour, but it seems as if this is not my lucky day." There was an electric arc coming from the closest probe. It seemingly tried to shock him, but the water all around them kind of deflected the voltage. So he raised his gun quickly, leaping a step forward pulling the trigger at point blank. The probe was jerked backwards almost two meters and he followed it shooting again, then he remebered the likely self-destruction and jumped and rolled over the car, just in time, to see how everything around was brightly lit in the glowing magnesium, that melted the probe, rendering it into some indistinguishable piece of metal.

He was thinking. Going on further in, taking his chances? Or better heading back and most likely getting out alive? He hated the idea of failure and he would have loved to be the one eliminating the murder of Cythera's parents - even if it was sth stupid to do under those conditions. But then why was ~she~ here?

“Ah!” she cursed under her breath when it was obvious that her message had not gone through. She pushed on his contact area incessantly, annoyingly. “Pantera, what the hell are you doing?! Come back, gosh darn it.” She wanted to scream. How could she do what she was supposed to when she could not even get to him. She was still breathing somewhat heavily from running.

“Pantera!” she yelled, but quickly regretted it when there was noise behind her in the bushes. She turned quickly, grabbing her gun, and looked in the direction where the noise had come from. She pointed her gun at a person who was doing the same to her. Her eyes widen and she swallowed hastily.

As the bright light had faded away, he wondered if to fight the other drone as well. He suddenly felt guilty and very small and very powerless. He hurried back to his bike. He grabbed the tarpaulin and stared into the rain if the drones were following him. But instead it looked as if floodlights were switched on, which was looking pretty surreal in that rain. He could hear voices shouting and shots rang. He wondered, if they just tried to scare ihm away, or if sth else was happening.

"Cythera!" he rembered, briefly her picture flickered through his mind, that lithe, yet quite well proportioned blonde with her dreamy blue eyes. She had been smiling in his vision. "Sth is seriously wrong with me..." he muttered. He checked the scanner. He had lots of company... green spots seemingly were around the area. The screen was overridden and a bio-hazzard sign dominated blinking the display. He gasped "What the..." Noises got closer. He gazed up nervously into the rain again, the flood lights partly pointed into his direction. He would better run and check what the news were, obviously he had overseen sth vital in his naive rush to do his crush...

What? He hesitated for a second. What did he just think? Was he in... like... her? His bike jerked and a metallic bang resounded as a bullet missed him by mere centimeters. He hit the starter and swung around. More gunfire crackled. For some unlogic, yet, instinctive reasons he went back the very same way he came.

The rain was hitting his face and he cursed loudly "I hate this world!" He could feel in fact bullets shooting by! It was... scary. As if his sense of time had gotten messed up. He started screaming out of rage, as if it would make the bike faster and then jumped... Suddenly in the veil of water he saw how he passed sth by, that wasn't a tree or anything that was supposed to be there. He hurried on a little into the underbrush and then stopped, panting for no appearand reasons, he switched to the scanner. Someone was near by! He grabbed his gun...

The display was slightly disturbed and changed colour, between friendly and enemy. He stared at it bewildered "Crap! Make up your fucking mind!" For a brief moment he believed that he had read Cythera's ID by the dot. He readied his gun and hurried behind a tree.

The person she was looking at was not a friendly face. They stayed where they were, staring at each other; guns pointed at one another. It had been someone she had seen before, on another mission, but the man had tried interfering with that certain mission. She couldn’t remember his name though.

The silence was broken as the bike flew over the fence. Cythera had to move and she made a yell—“Pantera!”—noise trying to duck and she heard the man cursing loudly. After the commotion in the area ceased, Cythera looked around and spotted the man as he was getting off the ground. Cythera moved over to him swiftly, and pointed her gun at him, but by the time she got there, he had readied his gun in her direction. This was going nowhere. They once again stood there, threatening each other’s lives.

The rain was pouring down his face and his clothes were heavy with water and clinged to his skin... He could barely move properly. He took off his shirt, what was the point? And so he at least might be able to shoot more accurately, trying to sneak through all those lush grass and bushes. Water was even running down the tree trunks. Put simply, he not only hated it, he loathed it beyond words. He had taken his silenced gun again and pushed himself back to the fence. Through the falling rain were no other noises audible... Besides shots and distant yells from the air-field. The flood lights were barely visible from here... as...

A flash lit up the world all around him and an immediate thunderclap made him almost jump and fall. For a moment he thought he had turned deaf, but then the rush of the water returned and he started shaking from the shock "What the fuck." he cursed, the rain had turned into a thunderstorm. "Great!" he hissed. Moving further forward "Operating under an optimum of conditions." He felt the soil getting muddy under his boots. Then he stopped...

A few meters in front of him was a figure pointing...? (A gun...?) at - and now he almost flinched and ducked behind the tree again he had just emerged from - another figure also pointing a gun at the other figure. His best guess was, one of them was on his, the other on the side of the enemy. (But who is who?) he moaned in his mind. The he remembered again "Cythera?!" He hissed under his breath. (Why does she always run into trouble, if I am not there!) he scolded her in his mind! Ignoring the fact, that it had been him being in trouble, but... let's forget about that for a moment.

He peeked around the tree trunk, ducking from the other side. With that rain he could barely see 5 meters. Flashes and thunderclaps started to getting more frequent, even if - luckily further away. In one of the lightnings he was puzzled to find that one figure was wearing some kind of protective-suit. Which was really odd, but a nice advantage in the rain. Then he remembered the bio-hazzard sign on his bike's screen. He lifted his gun. Closed his eyes, took a deep breath, prayed to no god in particular to please shooting the right figure...

He ppened his eyes and took aim... Then he lowered his gun at the figure's leg. What if he was wrong after all...? He ducked and sneaked over to another tree, closer to the pair... He raised his gun again. Waiting... In the next lightning there was no way to tell who was that suited figure. The other was certainly a man, who showed him his back. He picked up a branch and tossed it over, next to them, where it hit some tree. The figures moved. He quickly had a closer look at that suited person. His eyes went down from respirator to... He Pulled the trigger. *eep*

If there was one thing he would recognise either from the distance or in the masses, it would be Cythera's... hips. The man had for a moment swung at the noise. And so Pantera could make sure that the man would not shoot Cythera the moment he hit him with a bullet in the back of his head. He was so damned sure about it being her, that he just came from the underbrushes and started yelling at her. "What the hell are ~you~ doing here?! I thought you were suspended!?" he tried to raise his voice over the rain. "And what's this all about?!" He pointed at the certainly dead man. "You just come here and get caught immediately?!" He scolded her on.

"What would you have done, if I had not accidently decided to come back... In this... this..." he waved and pointed his gun at nothing in particular. "Fucking... rain..." A thunderclap, made him pause and reconsider. "Yeah, whatever! Fucking ~thunderstorm~!" he yelled in response at the sky. He walked closer and made a wide gesture "In this fucking jungle... or whatever you call this fucking place!"

Then there was a slight moment of doubt running icily down his spine as he stood in front of that figure in some ABC-suit, rain-water running all over his face and bared torso "Cythera...!?"

Even though the lighting and thunder had started, the two stayed there looking at each other. Neither wanted to make a move to get away or to shoot the other. It could end badly either way.

Then there was movement behind the man that Cythera was looking at. He turned, and she took the chance. She shot him in the chest, but she also heard another shot. That was strange. She glanced around the area as the man fell, and then came to lay eyes on Pantera. She couldn’t help but to smile. And his words—he made her laugh. She slowly took off the things that were concealing her face and her thick blond hair as he finally questioned whether it was her or not. She didn’t give him time to react, she ran over to him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck tightly. “Pantera, shut up!” She said playfully. “I’m the one that should be yelling at you.” She hugged him tightly as her hair started to get wet in the rain. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She said ecstatically still clinging to him.

Pantera twichted a little as the figure moved, but stayed calm till he saw Cythera's smile. Why was she grinning at him? And then he flinched again as she pounced him "Shut...?!" It took him a moment till he realised, that she was hugging him. She even tightened her embrace. He was confused and embarrassed. It was a strange sensation. She had never done that before and though he kind of was infatuated by her, he suddenly didn't know anymore if he wanted that. He felt that she was in control of the situation, even though she shouldn't.

He didn't answer. Instead he tried half-heartedly to move away from her "Your hair gets wet!" he mumbled. His arms helplessly hung limp and he wondered what to do with the gun in his hand. "I... need to go." He added. He couldn't return. Nor did he feel like he wanted to anymore. "I am sorry, I thought I could do that for you, after I found him, but I failed."

Seeing Pantera just made her happy. He was okay, and that’s all that mattered right now. She wasn’t even mad at him. She couldn’t be. He was still alive. He was still her partner. Everything was okay in that moment.

She felt him trying to get away from her. She let go of him, and stepped back still smiling. She looked up at the sky as the rain fell, and touched her hair, then looked back at him, “Yes, that’s what happens when it rains.” She said laughing some. She didn’t mind the rain so much. It was so fresh here. She noticed that he was not wearing a shirt, and as much as that shouldn't matter at the moment, she couldn't help but to smile from it.

She looked back to his face when he spoke again. “What do you mean you need to go? I just found you. I’m happy I did.” She muttered quickly. “I was really afraid.” Then she shook her head when he spoke again. “Shush!” She said. “That doesn’t matter. I don’t care!” She really wasn’t thinking that he didn’t want to have his job anymore. Though she didn’t know what she’d do without him if he did leave.

Pantera felt tempted to touch her face, but refrained... If he would give in to her now, he was sure it would break his heart. She looked happy, or perhaps she really had cracked up. Why that suit and why should she be happy? He ignored her question "You should care and you should leave, it's dangerous here. They have drones and pretty good equipment." He turned "They almost fried me on the other side by the air-field." He walked back to where his bike must have been. He picked up his shirt on the way.

(Strange, she doesn't care about the murder of her parents?) He turned "I am sorry, would I have kown, that you don't care about that anymore I would not have tried to kill him for you. I guess it would have spared you all lots of trouble!" He had to yell, but he didn't care. He pulled the bike out and mounted it. Somehow it burnt in his chest... It wasn't his lungs from the smoke, it was sth else. It was like his heart was choking... He also was nervous as hell. His hands almost shook. He had not want Cythera to see him here - didn't matter what she was saying, he was embarrassed for what he had done, how he had failed, how he had destroyed his carrier with the organisation. He tried to look up where she must have stood in the rain, he tried to smile and started the machine.

She looked at him oddly. “Pantera, I’m on a mission!” she said. “I’m here to get you. To take you back safely. There are others here that are confirming if there is Thux-14 in this air field.” She walked after him as he started to walk off. She didn’t understand what was going on. She was being nice to him, caring about him, and he was getting mad at her.

She stopped when he turned around to her. She looked down as he started to yell at her. She sighed as he went to pull his bike out. “It’s not that I don’t care, Pantera. I do; it was sweet…it’s just—I care more that you’re okay.” She told him. “I was so worried about you.” She smiled to him. She wasn’t going to retaliate against his yelling. She didn’t want to do that.

“You can leave me! I don’t want to be by myself.” She said as he started his bike. “Could you…ahhh…give me a ride?! And then I can beat your butt.” She smiled to him again cutely. She didn’t understand what was going on. Why he was acting like this. It bothered her.

[remember? there is a thunderstorm. that's why he "yells".
did you mean: “You can't leave me! I don’t want to be by myself.”]

"Great!" Pantera answered, "So your suspension has been revoked quickly, good for you." Then he had to laugh "Oh, well, I took care that you'll return safely." He shrugged, it was kind of cute and as always... for a last time, at least. Her next sentence got covered by a thunderclap. He knew there were more agents, but he totally missed the part about the toxin.

Pantera blinked "Sweet? Did you just say, it was 'sweet'?" He shook his head. Remembering how she had run him over in his own room - his head still ached from that - almost screaming at him, what happened to her parents, she had almost been crying and now she found it 'sweet'? "You have cracked up, babe..." He pulled the bike into position, holding the breaks, it started to rear.

"Well, now you don't need to worry about me anymore. I won't cause anymore trouble for you and the organisation. Maybe you should retire, too. It seems to me, that your past haunts you, despite you trying to telling me differntly."

Just for a moment, a brief moment he had been happy about seeing Cythera one last time. The way she had embraced him... had been... But then she'd started talking and the way she was talking with him, simply made him want to shoot her head off, so that she would stop! It wasn't that he disliked her voice. At times she spoke in a way, that made his pants getting tight, right away. It was the kind of unrest, anxiety, if not panic, her talking radiated and that draw him into her vortex of nervousness.

"Oh, yes, I ~can~ leave you here. You got here by yourself so you also can leave by yourself. No ride, I am sorry, I can't go back. Did that register with you? I screwed up. I threspassed my competencies. I broke the rules, ergo I am out!" He released the breaks and the bike moveed slowly a meter or two "I will return the bike to the organisation. No fear, I wont abuse it. That's a promise!"

Then as it was about to say farewell, he felt sudenly overcome by sadness, he shook his head and averted his eyes "No beating me either anymore. You have had your chance - a while ago..." his voice dropped almost been covered by the rain and thunder "We are not supposed to anyway..."

He looked briefly up at her a last time. She looked cute, even though she was dripping wet. He didn't like her hair wet. He liked it when it was all wild and curly (I... I love you...) It suddenly went through his head, but it would never reach his mouth, to slip over his tongue, he would not make a fool out of himself even more! He turned and got ready "Sayonara... Teamleader."

((Yes, it’s supposed to be can’t*) Thanks.)

She rolled her eyes at his little comment. What a smarta.ss, She thought to herself, but she smiled at him. He was so co.cky in his ways of speaking, but it didn’t bother her know. She wasn’t going to let it bother her.

She nodded some in reply to his ‘sweet’ question. “I do have those things in my vocabulary.” She said at his obvious dismay of the word, but was then a bit thrown off when he told her that she had lost it. That wasn’t very nice. She looked at the ground. Why does everything think that? But he had something odd at the end of the sentence. She didn’t say anything though, she looked back up at him again when he started to speak again.

“What? No!” she said hastily. “Pantera, you can’t—you can’t leave me—leave the organization.” She caught herself. She wanted to yell at him, tell him how stupid he was being. Yes, he’d get in trouble, but that would pass after some time. Everything would go back the way it was. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. “It’ll be okay, Pantera. They’ll just knock you down a few ranks—you can’t.”

She looked at him awed when he spoke of leaving her here in the middle of the jungle that they were in, when he was planning to take that vehicle back to the building anyway. She wanted to smack him. He seemed to have lost his mind as well.

She smiled some when he stopped, but the smile disappeared with his words. She looked down at the ground. She didn’t hear what he said next, and probably wouldn’t have understood it anyway.

She watched him as he looked at her again. She smiled to him, looking at his face. Making eye contact with him. He wanted to say something, but she wouldn’t. That irritated her. She didn’t know what to do or what to say to him at this point. Then when he said bye and turned around, she ran over to him before he could go. “Pantera, if you leave, I’m going to leave as well. I don’t want you to go, and I don’t want this to be the last time we see each other.” She told him taking off the gloves she had on. “You can come back home with me, and meet my daughter, and her ‘uncle’.” She touched his arm with her fingers and looked down at him.

[he said he would 'return' the bike... eventually. I never said he'd go to the base!]


The bike reared some and then he froze. He listened to her staring ahead into the distance. He wished she just would shut up and letting him go, it wasn't really comfortable being drenched to the bones here. If he would be demoted, he could not go out and leave the base anymore. She should know that. And for sure nobody would alow her to take him as her trainiee again. She had failed once.

"I can!" He now yelled at her trying to cut her off. As the bike started moving he noticed that she came after him. (What is wrong with you Cythera?! Why don't you just let me go?!) His eyes watered, but noone could tell in the rain. "Don't be stupid, why should you want to leave?" he scolded her "You have no reason, you are at no fault, it's all mine. I don't fit in here anyway. You know tha..."

He went pale and stared at her "Y... your? Meet...?" he was dumbfounded... "What do you mean...? Meet - your - daughter? She is.. is" he tried again "Should be...!? I mean..." He was confused, Soleada didn't tell him that her daughter was alive. And what 'uncle'? He had noticed a slight change in pace of her voice as she mouthed it. he looked at her hand touching him...

He didn't look at her "Why do you do that to me? Do you think this is funny?"

((She assumed. Duh! haha.))

She had been at fault. She didn’t train him well enough. He was rebellious and that was not under the category of ‘good training’. She was probably going to be demoted for killing a person while she was not on duty anyway. That wouldn’t be good for her. If she would just retire now, it would be for the best. But she didn’t worry about telling this to him now. She didn’t want him to know what she had done—but maybe he should.

She nodded to his questions. “She’s still alive…and beautiful.” She told Pantera, smiling to him. The uncle was of course her best friend, the person who had adopted her daughter, and had been taking care of her over the course of the last few years.

She gave him a questionable look when he seemed to get his head on straight again. She shook her head no. “No, Pantera. I’m being serious.” She told him. “Do you really have any place to go? Anywhere where you belong if you were to leave?” she asked him. She was not being funny either. She was very serious. “I think you would fit in pretty well among my unique friends and situation.” She said. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek—actually, right on the corner of his mouth.

“I want you to.” She said softly near his ear. “I don’t want you to leave, but if you think I’m just a complete nut and you want to leave me out of your life forever…then okay. I’ll respect that, and let you go. Never talk to you again.” But she didn’t really believe that he wanted to do that, even if he did say so. “I know we don’t get along sometimes, but I wasn’t kidding the other day when I told you I liked you. It’s a love-hate kind of thing.” She smiled to him. “More love though.”

Pantera noticed that he couldn't really deal with those emotions, he wanted to get away, because he was embarrassed, but he also wanted to stay with Cythera to find out what it was all about. He had almost completely forgotten where he was and why he had come here. "I..." he still could not look at her - especially not at her eyes, even though it felt like getting night in that thunderstorm... Worse he started shaking from cold "I have a place to go... I will go back. Back to where I came from..."

He gave it some thought "I do not fit well anywhere else..." Right now he didn't want new friends - especially nobody that knew Cythera, but not him. What did she think?! It was highly embarrassing... And then she did this kind of sexy thing again whispering into his ear (Woah...) He didn't listen to what she was talking, it was her voice close to him that entranced him...

Then his body jerked heavily forward... A brief moment later, after the bullet, the sound of the shot reached them, too. He stared a moment in disbelief and then slumped over the bike, which pulled forward suddenly for a moment before it died down again.

She didn’t realize what had happened until a shot was fired at her and hit a nearby tree. “S.hit!” she said ducking behind the bike. “Pantera. Pantera are you okay?” she asked hastily retrieving her gun from it’s place on her leg, and pulling him down behind the bike with her. She glanced around for her display device, but it was far from her. She hit a distress button on Pantera’s bike instead.

She needed to get them more into the brush and trees. She thought quickly, as she squinted through an open space on the bike. It had to be from the building within the base. She cursed. Another shot hit the bike, and the force knocked it into Cythera. She cursed once more as she fell over Pantera. She got up and moved quickly. That was something she was able to do well. Move like cat, almost. She left the vehicle on, to give a heat source closer then where they were going to be.

She grabbed Pantera by the leg and pulled him quickly behind a large tree. She lifted him up, with some trouble, but once she got him on her shoulder, she was okay for several minutes. Just long enough to get deeper into the trees.

When she couldn’t get any further with Pantera over her shoulder, she set him down against a tree. She went back, and threw down a smoke bomb, so that it made it hard for the screens to see for a few seconds, since it was in the rain. It gave her even time to get her display device. There were several shots. One caught her one the arm as she was leaving. She yelled from it; tears coming to her eyes.

She threw down two more smoke bombs, with her good arm when she darted back out. She sent out another distress signal to the base with her own device as she ran back to where she left Patnera. She dropped down on the ground dropping her device next to her, and holding her wound. She couldn’t do anything now. “Oh God…what in the world is happening?” she didn’t know what to do now. They just had to wait until the help came.

Pantera had been torn into some blackness and reemerged leaning at some tree, feeling like his body was exploding. The bullet had pierced his right chest, right above his heart, luckily passing by his lung as well. He partly felt the rain, but it seemed to be far away. He heard noises and shadows seemed to move, but he felt numb. His breathing was flat and blood ran from both sides of his body... Though he felt getting cold, it also felt getting more peaceful.

After a while of weird bangs... explosions, or shots - he couldn't really tell anymore - sth moved again in front of him (Cythera...) He could not make his voice work. He gazed around for his bike. He couldn't see it anymore. (What happened?) But - he then realised, it was the same question Cythera had just asked. Suddenly his movements brought back the pain... He gasped and moaned... his eyesigh faded in a glimmer of colourful lights and random nervous flashes.

(I was hit...) He realised. (Is that what death is...?) He noticed that Cythera held her arm. He reached out with his left arm. Shakingly he touched her hand. Under the tree the rain was less intense and what was running over his fingers was her blood... "You are so clumsy..." he breathed, smiling faintly "Did you make me wait on purpose?"

Cythera sat there looking down at her arm, trying to get the bullet out. She was crying and yelling at the same time. It hurt so bad. She couldn’t actually do it; and she knew that, even though she tried. She gave up after a minute or to when her attention was drawn by Pantera moaning. She looked over to him, just hold her arm now. She watched him struggling. She felt so bad. She watched his hand reach out to her, and touch her hand that was covered in blood. She smiled to him when he called her clumsy. “I wouldn’t talk, there Pantera.” She said, looking down at his own wound. She didn’t have anything here to help him. She looked over to him questionably when he asked her that question. “What do you mean Pantera? Wait when?”

She looked down at her outfit. She got up and took off the suit that she had on. It left the cargo pants and black t-shirt she had on under the suit. She took the suit, cut it up, and wrapped it around Pantera’s chest tightly, closing the wound as best she could, and tied it. “Hang in there with me Pantera.” She spoke to him softly. She wanted him to stay awake with her. Keep him talking, so hopefully his question would keep a conversation going.

He was happy noticing that she stopped her foolish attempt to mess with her wound, there was special medical staff to do that. His face fell at her question "Heh, I wanted to leave... for minutes by now... and you made me stay by talking me up with all that rubbish of yours. Thank you, now I ...ve." He felt exhausted. He didn't resist her wrapping sth around him.

After a while he wondered. "Can I leave now? Are you happy? You mangaged to keep me somewhat..." He tried to push himself up against the tree, which - magically - he managed after a moment. He panted "I have a fucking bike there, what am I doing here under some fucking tree?" He looked at Cythera and almost started crying "What's wrong with you? We could be far away by now..." He sighed and stumbled over to his bike, there was also a first aid box, with stimulators and other stuff. It was still running and drifting slightly in the breeze, he just couldn't believe it. And the rain was still washing over him like there was no end to it...

Then the colours and bright lights reappeard in his sight and he stopped briefly, trying to find out what this balance was, till he clung to the bike, rearing in pain for he pressed on the wound. He crwled on it and pressed weakly the accelerator, the bike moved a few meters forward in about Cythera's direction. "Would you care to giving me a lift? I don't think I..." he passed out.

She stared at him. Now this just made her feel horrible. As she wrapped the suit around him. Her clothes became soaking wet within a few minutes. She went over and sat down several meters away from him. She didn’t want to cause him anymore harm then she had all ready. She sighed some. It was her fault that he got shot, it was her fault that her arm was in a raging pain. She had never been shot before, so it was a new feeling to her. She didn’t like it either. She occupied herself in the silence by looking around the area they were now in.

She looked over to him after a while when he started speaking. She shook her head as she saw him trying to get up. “Pantera! Don’t. You’ll exhaust yourself.” She said. She got herself up just as he was getting up. “Stop it!” she yelled at him, but she didn’t want to touch him, to push him back down.

She followed after him, “Pantera, please, come back. Sit down!” she pleaded with him. She watched him get on the bike. They were not shot at, so apparently the people had gone to another station. She was relieved from this. She looked back to Pantera as the bike moved and he spoke to her. She yelled when he slumped over. “Pantera!”

Just then she heard a helicopter overhead. She darted back into the trees, and retrieved her display device. “There are two people here. One shot in the chest and passed out, and another shot in the arm. You’re going to have to send down assistants.” She replied to the pilot on the status.

Within two minutes there was a man coming down. He took Pantera first, holding him as they were hoisted back into the chopper. There was a doctor waiting in the chopper, and he started doing what he could for Pantera right away.

Then man was the co-pilot and he came back down for Cythera. When they were being pulled back up, the rope snapped, and there was the sound of a gun that reached them. Cythera and the man fell down through the trees, and the chopper was heard flying off.

As Pantera woke up he found himself nicely tugged in, in what seemed to be a hospital bed. He was still in the bolivian sub-base, for they would not transport him wounded and unconciously. Some devices next to his bed controled his body status and some nurses moved about, doing their duties. One noticed that he was awake and smiled at him, coming over reading the displays. "How are you?" He pondered that question briefly "Is that not on your display?" She smiled "Oh, I fear it isn't." He nodded some.

"How long have I been out?" She looked over at the clock "Oh, I do not know for sure, but ever since you were brought in, at least 4 hours have passed by." He gazed around. There were three more beds. All of them unoccupied. "Where is Cythera?" he remembered that she had been shot, too. The nurse blinked "Who?" He sat up immediately "What do you mean... argh!" He fell back and the nurse looked at him alarmed "...Who? My Team-Leader, Agent Cythera, the one who got me out of there." He had figured that he was in a base hospital.

"I haven't her on my list here, I am afraid, either she didn't come in with you, or she is on another station... If the was injured that is..." Pantera sat up, this time slower... "She was! Shot in the arm... where is she?!" The nurse flinched a little as he raised his voice. He obviously was in shock, or sth. "Do not worry I'll go and find her for you!" She smiled at him reassuringly "You better!" He muttered as the nurse left.

He laid back and sighed "I am alive..." He felt the bandages on his chest. The pain was gone. What remained was like a nigthmare. He felt warm and comfortable... As he suddenly flinched at a flashback: his body getting torn by a sniper-bullet. He panted... But calmed down again a moment later. "I love you, too..." he muttered in exasperation. "Curse you..."

When the fall to the ground, Cythera clung to the man who had been holding her before the line was shot. The man broke some of her fall, but when the hit the ground, they were thrown apart from each other. Cythera whined in pain from hitting trees and branches, and finally the ground. She was not feeling good at that point. Her entire body hurt, some places a lot worse then others.

The man had gotten to his feet after groaning for a few minute. Surprisingly he was not extremely hurt. His body had probably taken more then one of these falls. He walked over to Cythera. “Agent Cythera…are you okay?” he asked her crouching over her.

She opened her eyes, but all she saw was dark blurry figures. She groaned some, shaking her head, but that hurt, so she stopped. She was not one to really admit if she were sick or not. But she could barely move. She had never been shot or fallen like that before.

She heard the man walking off. He came back with the vehicle. He propped it up on the ground, and picked Cythera up. That hurt her. She moaned from it. The man nodded and said, “I know…you’ll be okay.” He said to her.

He seated himself on the bike and then set her body in front of his holding Cythera with one hand and the handles with another. He went slowly through the trees. When they came to a trail he put in new information, and requested a team to get them as soon as possible. Then he set off down the trail. Cythera had fainted by this time.


It was almost four hours later before they were picked up. The man had used the first aid kit to do what he could for both himself and Cythera, but he didn’t know if she would last. He didn’t know what had happened to her, but he was worried.

When they were picked up, they got out safely. They reached the base in ten minutes, and she was rushed to the hospital. It was the second person within the last five hours that had made a commotion in the base. She had woken up again from all the moving that she was going through. She was crying and moaning and groaning in pain as she was rushed in a room on a bed.

She was taken into an examination room next to the patient area room in which Pantera was in. She was being rather loud, but she was given a slight anesthesia, which quieted her down some. The doctor examined her as nurses where taking her clothes off and cleaning off all the blood that covered her body. Once they were sure that knocking her out would be okay, they did just that, and she ceased to make any noise.

For a while nothing happened. The nurse he had been talking with didn't return, which was slightly disturbing for Pantera. He felt sleepy as some commotion was audible outside, but that ceased quickly. He wasn't sure, if he had made out screams. Maybe he was getting traumatised. He sighed and tried to relax.

A while later Captain Anguila entered "I see the run-away stray-cat has been brought back." Pantera shifted his eyes slowly at the Captain "With all due respect, Sir, can you spare me from any witty comments. I got my lesson..." He placed a hand on his chest. "...engraved on a bullet." The Captain put on a solemn face and sat down next to the bed on a chair. "One would think that the first bullet is the worst... This might not be always the case." He tried to smile. Pantera took a deep breath "Thank you sir, I have no intentions to take any more. The Captain chuckled and spoke with his destinctive spanish accent "Believe me boy, nobody does."

"How did this happen? Your distress signal was the first, followed quickly by Agent Cythera's. She had found you, hadn't she? We don't have the bullet that hit you, but telling by the wound, it could have not been caused by any weapon Agent Cythera was carrying. Pantera gasped and sat up "Argh... I didn't fire any distress-beacons. What are you trying to tell me...?! Sir!" he addressed the Captain with anger flickering in his eyes. The door opened and some officer gazed in, meeting the eyes of the Captain and shaking his head. Anguila nodded. "What is going on?!" Pantera almost yelled.

"No need to get too excited. Agent Cythera was not hit by any of your weapons either." The Captain got up "I beg your..." he moaned the wound wasn't helpful in that situation. "...pardon?! You try to insinuate, that we shot each others?!" The Captain gave Pantera a cold glance "After all the reports I got recently about your and Agent Cythera's behaviour in the main base it is not entirely impossible, right?" he laid back "You do the talking, sir. Where is Cythera anyway. The nurse promised to tell me, where she is, she never returned, what has happened to Cythera! Did she not return with me to the base?"

"No she did not. She and another agent where held off as they got out you first. But she was just brought in. We cannot tell, yet, if she'll make it. She dropped some 20 meters through the trees. She was lucky enough not to breaking her neck immediately... We hope she won't end up being permanently paralysed." Pantera forgot his pains "What?! Where is she now?!" the Captain sighed in exasperation "The reports did not exaggerate your spitfire-like demeanor..." Pantera let not himself be distracted "Where - is - she - now?!" Anguila put on a stern voice "Cool it soldier, right now she undergoes surgery and treatment. All you can do is pray... If you do things like that." The Captain stood up and left.

Pantera stared out of the window and felt unrest. He got slowly out off the bed and made his way to the door. In front of it stood two guards. "I should have guessed that..." Pantera sighed. "Where do you want to go, we are not supposed to let you out." Pantera put on a grin. "Any of you would borrow me their gun?" The guards gazed at each others in alarm "Don't worry, I will just walk over to the surgery room and make sure Cythera won't wake up anymore!" he let himself slide down at the doorframe and sat onto the floor. The two guards looked nervously around for some help to handle that situation.

((Woah…Pantera thinking of killing her there? I’m assuming the guards made him stay in his room though.))

Nurses kept coming in and out of the operation room where there were two doctors now working on Cythera, making sure that she would be okay. Several x-rays were done on her. They had to set several bones after all the dirt and rain water had been washed off of her. She was in a bad condition. One of her legs had been broken; the bullet that had shot her had actually cracked the bone. Her back was not in the greatest condition.

Altogether, it took the doctors and nurses over two hours to finish cleaning her, examining her, and surgeries on some part of her body. They would have to wait and see about other parts of her.

When they were finished, she was wheeled into the room where Pantera was at. They carefully moved her from the rolling bed to a more stable bed in the room. She was across the room from where Pantera’s bed was. She had a neck brace on to keep her from moving her neck; making sure that she put as little strain on her back as possible. There was a brace on her back that wrapped around her stomach as well. She had a cast on one of her arms and one of her legs. She had a few cuts on her face which she had received when she actually hit the ground, because her face had been buried in the pilot’s neck. She was still unconscious.

[no, he was being cynical, for the officials were considering that P&C had shot themselves until the bullet retrieved from Cythera's arm ruled that possibility out]


Pantera could be persuaded by a nurse to return to his bed, for his own and Cythera's sake who had been still under serious surgery. Soleada in the main-base had gotten the informations about Pantera return - wounded and Cythera missing. She didn't know what to make out of it, until about 4 hours later learning about Cythera's return - severely wounded. That was really absurd and certainly not the way it should have been. Everybody wondered about what had happened.

As Cythera was brought into the room Pantera didn't move. Guards stood by the door and he looked at them angrily, grinding his teeth. It took quite a while to set Cythera up in her bed. She ddin't look good at all. He remembered the words of the Captain. Would she have let him go, this all might have never happened.

After the nurses had left, the guards still stood inside the room. "If you are standing there I can't kill her!" he scoffed. "That's why we are here." replied one of the soldiers "Don't be rediculous and go away, leave us alone!" One of the guards left the room and a moment later peekd in again, nodding at the other soldier and the both left the room.

Pantera exhealed deeply and looked over at Cythera "Baka..." he mumbled, not moving.

((ah...okay. I couldn't really see the sarcastic tone.))

She laid there knocked out for about another hour, maybe a little longer. When she opened her eyes her vision was horrible—big giant white splotches all over the place. She thought for a moment that she was not alive anymore, until her vision focused some and she saw a figure. A nurse came over to her. The nurse had come in once in a while to check on them both. “Cythera how are you feeling?” the nurse asked her. Besides not really being able to move, she really couldn’t feel a thing. She had been injected with some pretty strong pain killers. She tried talking, but it came a little hard for her at first. She groaned some, and the nurse nodded. “Well, that’s okay. We’ll get you fixed up, my dear.” She checked Cythera over, making sure everything was the way it should be.

She turned around to Pantera. “If you guys will call if you need anything.” she said. “I’ll be in and out, as I have been, of course.” The nurse went out of the room then.

Cythera didn’t really know who the nurse had been talking to and she really didn’t care a whole lot, she couldn’t move her head to see anyway. She went to move her arms, but she found that one of them was in a cast. She sighed at the weight of it, and let her other arm come up. She touched the neck brace she had on—explanation for not being able to more her head. She rubbed her eyes with her free hand, trying to get her eyes to focus better. She didn’t remember anything that had happened to her, she didn’t even really remember Pantera getting shot. It was probably for the better though.

Pantera had been lying in his bed all of the time, staring at the ceiling as it hurt to lay on the side. He had no idea how much time had passed and he had started counting how often the nurses had passed him by...

As one nurse suddenly started addressing Cythera, Pantera's pulse increased, however he started immediately feeling sick as he heard Cythera's inabilty to respond. He felt it hard to cope with and didn't look over. He kept quiet and actually would have been be rather somewhere else... He didn't need to be aware of all that.

After a few minutes of hesitation he got up quietly and attempted to sneak out of the room...

Cythera started mumbling to herself, trying to get her speech to be more then a moan. She probably seemed like some crazy nut to anyone who might have been in the room. After about ten minutes, she was finally able to make out audible words. This was a nice relief to her.

Cythera heard someone moving in the room, but no one had entered the room. She glanced over, but she couldn’t really see anything besides empty beds, Pantera’s bed wasn’t really in her field of vision either.

Suddenly she was struck that she didn’t know where Pantera was, or if he was okay or not. She yelled out his name, “Pantera!” She said as she reached over to the little tablet that was next to her. There was a little red button for her to push if she needed something.

Cythera's moans and attempts to speak again were worse than a baby's babble. A baby would have been cute - perhaps. But to listen to the sick noises the adult woman anxiously tried to produce almost drove tears into Pantera's eyes. He could not bear anymore...

He'd barely noticed while attemtping to sneak out, like a child, that her sounds had more and more become destinctive words. He was about to reach for the door-opener, as Cythera yelled his name... He jumped and slumped against the door looking at her panting. She was awkwardly trying to reach for sth. He was alarmed and there was no point in running away anymore - he would have to face her: "Cythera?" He tried to speak calmly, but his voice quivered. He hurried over and reached for her hand, before she could press the red button.

"I am here, what is it?" Her hand felt frail and weak. As if no energy was in her body anymore. That was scary. He suddenly saw her swinging her racket, wiping her opponents off the tennis court, or the strength she had run him over in his room... Where had it gone to? He stroked with a shaking hand over her face. He was afraid, she would stay that way, or even turn worse soon. Basically Pantera was like an oversized child, very naive, even if he could handle a gun.