BREATH . OF . LIFE . ~ { ReGenisis Chronicles Book I }

Chapter Thirteen [Part 3/3]: Despite the Sting

                      -Jake Aylesbury -

My door crashed down into the room, hinges taken off by the force along with part of the frame it had sat in. Unit Four in their entirety, with protective face shields stood with guns pointed in to the gloom, red lights dancing about my skin as they poured in, in confusion. Swearing under their breaths as they surveyed the place and busted through into my bathroom.

I was laid in a puddle of red on the floor, quickly healing, the actions of those around me hazy as I tried to sit myself up. "She... she got away..." I held my stomach where she'd left three long slashes, more area to heal and more blood for a better show. "She... ambushed me."

My hands were shaking, feeling the heavy thrum of adrenalin warping through my veins. One of them yanked me up. "You're under arrest for suspicion of conspiring with and aiding a traitor," she barked through her protective face mask.

"As you wish, but you see, she tried to kill me. But she failed." I tried to hold a little smirk off my face, now was not the time to reflect Griffin's old smug attributes.

"He looks like shit, and by the looks of his room..." Another looked about at the apparent struggle that must have gone down, my bedside table on its side, the draws half hanging out of it.

"Orders are orders, we're to take him to a secure location until a proper investigation can be performed." The woman who was holding me up by the collar of my shirt hissed back at him. I let all my muscles stay lax, making her arm shake after a moment of supporting most of my weight up. "On your feet!" She snapped, young Mina Harrison, a human agent hoping to be a Unit Captain one day. But already barking orders like one.

I nodded, groaning as I set my feet to the floor properly and supported myself up as if I'd pulled most of the muscles in my body. I could feel the ache, but it was quickly fading, they didn't need to be aware of that though. "Who gave the order? Why would they suspect me?" I mumbled, holding my voice at a weak pitch Mina had to dip her head and strain to hear, eyes narrowing as if it were her vision that was off.

"Doctor Daniels, and I don't know, Sir." Her voice calmed, responding to my apparent vulnerability. She'd only seen me on good days so far, seeing a Captain reduced to a mess in almost any context can be a shock to the system. She was expecting a heavy fight and a traitor.

"I'll come without a fight. Most of you should really be looking for Takeichi, she was heading for the main entrance I believe." I suggested, eyes low and sullen, a knot in my stomach tightening as if my pride was wounded.

"It could be a trick," one of them muttered, but Mina turned round and shook her head.

"No, he's right. Our main objective is to subdue Takeichi at any cost. You two are with me, the rest of you can go after the threat." She pointed to the two directly beside her and watched as the rest piled out of the room. Marching down the hall in unison, as loud as knights of old with clunking metal suits to my ears.

"Alright, Captain Aylesbury, let's go. But you should know I have no qualms with blowing your brains out if you so much as flinch in a way that makes me suspect you're about to do something I won't like." She held her rifle up, aimed straight at my head. I imagined the mess that would make.

I smiled weakly, "of course, I expect nothing less."

We moved out into the hallway before a little walky-talky sounded at her chest, "Harrison, we've just raided Jennings room."

"What did you find?" She answered from behind me,  confident of some kind of answer.

"Other than Jennings being beaten to a pulp and hung up by the ankle to his ceiling fan? Nothing at all. His room and files are trashed. Kind of like him right now."  The voice was stretched, somewhere between disbelief and fear.

"Crap, so he's not working with her either..." Mina Harrison muttered, poking my back with her gun again.

"What should we do?"

"Take him to the cellblocks, he can share a room with Aylesbury since it seems they're in the clear." She answered, before they gave signoffs.

Another line opened on it a second later. "Hey Second,"

"Captain Tanner," I could hear that Mina had half stood to attention as she heard her superiors voice on the line.

"Jude and I went to check up on Hudson, out cold in the old lab. Tryst beat the crap out of him to get out of containment early." Tanner sounded amused more than concerned.

"So we should be looking for her?" Harrison hummed.

"No need, she's had someone speak up for her. Seeing as she's one of the ones casting doubt on the traitors. We're bringing Hudson in though. Skinner was apparently already rounded up into a cell." There was a dubious note to the way Tanner  mentioned Skinner being rounded, but I could already tell with Unit Four being split up that there was confusion amongst some as to what was going on. It also told me that it was a Unit firmly under Daniels thumb, like Unit Two.

I was a little perturbed by the news of Tryst's realisation and the fact she hadn't even asked first. Then again, there was a reason I'd kept her out of the loop as much as possible. I couldn't tell if she were on my Unit, or in a Unit. The difference was very important when it came to trust.

I didn't feel betrayed despite the sting. She did what she thought was right.