"How do I look?" I asked, pointing at the scarf around my neck, "Does this look too suspicious?"

"Well you're wearing a scarf inside," Orion noted, holding a hand out to motion at what I was wearing, perched on the arm of the seat Beckett was sitting in, elbows on his knees, both watching me, "That's a tiny bit suspicious."

I groaned and shuffled further into the bedroom from the bathroom, "What am I supposed to do then, huh?" I asked, tugging the scarf down enough to show my off neck and jabbing a finger towards the hickeys that were littering my throat and neck, "This is kind of hard to explain!"

Orion just grinned like he was way too proud of himself for making a mess of my neck, shrugging, "You weren't complaining last night," he argued, and I grumbled as I walked over to the bed and flopped onto my face.

"I hate you both. Demi is gonna give me a lecture, and he'll probably try to kill you," I rolled my head to the side and squinted at the two men on the armchair, "I might let him."

Orion laughed and Beckett shook his head a little with a small smile on his lips, leaning forward and reaching back to tug his sweatshirt over his head, holding it out towards me, "Here, wear this. It'll hide your neck."

I pushed myself to my knees and reached out to take the sweater, humming and staring down at the rather cliché NASA logo before tugging it over my head and pushing my arms through the dangling sleeves that covered my hands. Like Beckett had said, it was so big it bunched up to my neck and hid the bruises perfectly. Plus, it smelt like Beckett, which was a bonus, so I held up my hidden hands and smiled at him.

"Yea, this'll work," I decided, and Orion pouted a little, looking down at Beckett.

"Can I wear one of your sweaters too?"

Beckett shrugged with his hands, "Sure, I don't mind."

"Do you wanna wear one of mine?" Orion asked, and Beckett leaned back to smile up at him.

"I don't think your clothes are big enough for me," he said, and the tone of his voice held an edge of teasing to it that had Orion pouting while I laughed.

It was almost noon, which was exactly when Cass had revealed the briefing would take place. After letting the soldiers relax for a while, it was time for us to get back to work, and now that I was fully healed, I was all too happy to jump right in. Granted my hips were a bit sore, and my ass was aching because of the two idiots currently cuddling in the armchair in our room, but it wasn't a bad pain, and I could easily ignore it so I could focus on other things.

When I had my shoes securely on my feet I hopped up and stepped over to the armchair, pulling Orion to his feet before yanking on Beckett's arm, "Come on you two, we have to be present during the briefing," I said, "Cass, Malachi, and Kailas, have been working out what to do about Manuela and Blu with Lailani's help, and they're supposed to be giving us the short version of their plan today, so we need to be there."

"You're pretty enthusiastic," Orion noted, and I held my left arm up, rolling my shoulder and grinning.

"Hell yea I am, are you kidding? I finally have that stupid sling off, my shoulder is healed, so I can get back to field work," his lips twitched down into a frown, hands on his hips, and hummed, obviously displeased about something, so I just folded my arms in challenge, "You don't want me going out on patrol, do you?" I guessed, and Orion shrugged.

"It's not my decision," he said, and he seemed to be forcing a passive expression onto his face, acting like he didn't care one way or the other, but that just served to annoy me as he lifted a hand to the back of his neck, "You're a soldier of the rebellion, you're strong, you can take care of yourself."

"Don't do that," I said stiffly, and he froze.

"Do what?"

"You know what," I snapped, turning, "Fucking Christ, why does everyone do this?!"

Orion held his hands out, bewildered, "What did I do?!"

"Okay," Beckett set a hand on his shoulder before reaching out to me, acting as the peacekeeper and waiting until I'd stopped bristling like a cat before turning me, "Don't start fighting because of something like this. Dakota, you only just got the sling off, are you sure you're ready for field work where you're in the direct line of fire?"

"Yes," I sighed in annoyance, "Fuck, you both are shitty. Everyone does this! I'm not a kid, I'm strong, I'm a good shot and I can take care of myself in a firefight. I'm fine."

"I believe you," Orion insisted, but I could tell he didn't believe me.

I guess I should have expected this kind of argument. After seeing me have so many nightmares, getting captured by those snakes, and finding out about everything that had happened to me, I figured they would be a bit protective, but I didn't want them to be overprotective and flat refuse me when I say I want to go out on patrol to fight and help the rebellion. That isn't what I wanted at all.

What I wanted was someone who stood by me no matter what and fought beside me, not held me back. I guess Orion technically wasn't trying to hold me back, he seemed reluctantly willing to let me go do what I wanted, but the fact he was obviously hiding things from me, not talking to me about what was really bothering him, that's what was pissing me off.

Orion walked ahead of Beckett and I as we all made our way towards the council room, but I kept limping so I made Beckett stop and give me a piggy-back-ride, my arms wrapped around him and my chin on his shoulder as I watched Orion distance himself. I wanted to talk to him, I didn't like it when he was like this, and I exhaled through my nose before muttering to Beckett.

"Why's he acting like that?" I asked him, and he sighed, leaning his head back against mine.

"He's just worried about you," he answered, and I grumbled, arms hanging over his chest.

"That doesn't answer me."

"Why not ask him yourself?" Beckett suggested, "I don't want you two fighting because of something like this."

"I might end up yelling at him," I warned, and Beckett tapped his head against mine.

"Please try not to. You're an adult now, you have to be mature and think through what you want to say before actually speaking."

I buried my face against his shoulder and grumbled, "Fine."

I couldn't do it immediately though, the briefing was too important, so I settled on just thinking of what to say to Orion, figuring out the best way to reassure him, as I sat down in my usual seat, leaning back with my head tilted against the back of the chair, arms folded and a frown on my lips. There were plenty of other people in the room already, and there was a low hum of voices as they talked together, waiting for the rest of the top tier to show up.

Orion and Beckett were sitting on the other side of the table with Logan, Carina, and Maggie, Gale was on my right, and I was shaken out of my thoughts when someone set their hand over my eyes. If I wasn't so calm, I probably would have freaked out, but being near Orion and Beckett had helped me relax, so something like being touched unexpectedly no longer triggered me into a freak out. I wasn't scared of being hurt anymore, so I just twisted my lips into a smirk.

"Really? How old are you?"

Cormac Pershing lifted his hand from my eyes with a short scoff, "I didn't even get to ask guess who. You're no fun," I grinned and sat forward as the pilot took his place on my left like he usually did, elbows on the table and leaning forward so he could offer Gale a smile and turn his attention back to me, "How's your arm?" he asked, and I rolled my shoulder, holding it with one hand.

"Got a wicked scar, aches a little, but I can move it and I don't need a sling anymore. According to Arthur, I'm completely healed, the little pain is just from the scar tissue. He cleared me for active duty and I am fully prepared to get shot again."

"Maybe refrain from that," Cormac suggested with a low chuckle, shaking his head, "Kids need to be careful when they're out on the field."

"I'm not a kid, dude, I'm almost twenty."

"Since when?"

"I'm not answering that."

Cormac laughed, and I leaned back more against my seat, arms still folded. He was a cool guy, and Gale liked him enough. From what I understood, Cormac had been part of Jayden's squad or whatever, they'd been friends in the Air-Force and went down together with a few others. He'd been there when Jayden found Gale and they'd joined the rebellion together. It hit Cormac as hard as it hit Kailas when Jayden died, but unlike Kailas, Cormac didn't mourn. Something told me he was waiting, but for what, I wasn't sure.

He was like the older brother's best friend who you only saw occasionally but got along with because he was essentially another brother. I didn't talk with him much because we both worked at different sections of the rebellion, we mainly only met in the halls or the armory, or meetings like this, but he was fun to talk to in order to distract myself while waiting for Kailas.

His ability to deal in social situations was about as crappy as mine, he was nearly incapable of making new friends because he was just so awkward, it took him ages to communicate with me without stuttering or screwing up by using the wrong greeting or farewell. It was pretty amusing actually, but I didn't tease him too badly about it since he couldn't control himself. He was Jayden's friend, so we treasured him, no matter how ridiculous he was.

Currently he was talking to me about basic updates, sharing information with me like he usually did about the state of the settlement and the perimeter, since I'd been laid up while he was happy and healthy and roaming around looking for danger. Lucky prick. From what he explained, there'd been no more sightings of the Fer-de-Lance, the perimeter patrols had been doubled, and a mandatory curfew set out for the settlement just to be safe. Kailas had even decided on posting a few midnight guards to do rounds through the settlement all through the night.

It was serious talk, but necessary for me to be updated on so I knew what was happening. I was in the top tier of the military after all, I was literally Cormac's superior, he was basically just briefing me on his missions and waiting for me to pat him on the head and give him a gold star for doing a good job. A lot of people worked under me, the only people above me were Kailas, Malachi, Ian, and Cass; and Demi, but that was different.

While Cormac was briefing me on the state of the settlement and the continuing issue we were having with weapons (we were low on guns and ammo ever since Rhett smuggled our supplies to the Fer-de-Lance), I felt something tingle up the back of my neck, the hair lifting there, and I had the feeling I was being watched, so I shifted my eyes away from Cormac and barely caught Orion watching me before he tore his gaze away to stare at the door.

The hell was his problem now?

I sat straighter when the door opened and Kailas stepped in with Demi, taking a moment to look over both of them just to make sure they looked somewhat healthy before settling with my elbows on the table edge and my chin in my hands, waiting for Kailas to sit with Demi leaning against the back of his chair and the briefing started.

"We want to try and lure Manuela out of hiding," Cass was the one to say, standing just to Kailas' right, one hand propped against the table where several papers were spread out, the other on his hip, "Sources tell us that men wearing suspicious masks have been seen floating around the market, and we have a direct informant in the middle of it all, so if we can set up a base of operations with her, we'll have a secure place to watch for more snake activity."

"Do we have any immediate information on them?" Josie asked, and Cass shook his head.

"None at the moment. None involving Manuela at least. Some of his men have been spotted at the market, but it's like Manuela has gone into hiding."

"Not surprised. We infiltrated his base, unburied crucial information on him and what his group is trying to do," Isagani hummed, "Do you think we'd be able to flush him out if he's hiding?"

"We've gotta try," Cass said, "We need him down, especially now. I don't want to mention it but I have to; supplies are running low, because of Rhett screwing us, we don't have enough guns, and we're running out of ammo. We'll be fighting with sword like medieval gladiators in a matter of weeks if we don't get the upper hand on these bastards."

"What about are handy weapons dealer, Tobias Florian?" I asked, arms folding over the table, "He's always come through for us before, can't we just call him up and ask for some help?"

"I tried," Kailas sighed grimly, arms folded, "He hasn't answered any of my calls, and he hasn't called back. I'm worried something might have happened to him. Maybe he's just busy and out of the country, but I can't help wondering."

"That's crap luck," I muttered under my breath, lifting a hand to run through my hair and push it out of my face.

"So, we're lacking in resources and contacts," Josie noted, head tilting back, "What's the plan?"

"We're going to send a small group of people to scout the market," Cass answered, standing straighter, "They'll stop for a little to talk with our contact before spreading out to search for any sign of the Fer-de-Lance, specifically Manuela, and return within the day."

"No overnighters?" I asked, and Cass gave me a knowing smile.

"Not this time. We just need information for now, any good break we can get."

"Are we working off volunteers?" Cormac asked, "Or have you decided on the group you're sending to the market?"

"We've already got that settled," Cass answered, rocking back on his heels and picking up a piece of paper to list off names, "Pershing, you've been stepping up your game, so we want you to try your hand at some fieldwork," he started, and Cormac pointed at himself dumbly as Cass continued, "Dakota, you're going too, just to keep an eye on him."

"Ha!" I turned and pointed at Cormac, who rolled his eyes, and Cass continued again.

"Everyone else was picked from each group that have joined us in the past few months. Maggie, Isagani, and Josie," he held a hand up, "One of you, I'm not naming names, convinced me into letting you tag along, and for that, I wanna punch you in the face, but as long as you don't get in the way, whatever."

"Was it Josie?" I asked, and he gave me a disgruntled pout.

"Don't accuse me of playing dirty like that," he scolded, and Isa waved a hand.

"Yo, that was me."

"Why'd you wanna tag along?" I asked, and Isagani just smiled and shrugged.

"I wanna help any way I can."

"Alright, whatever," I shrugged, turning to Cass and sitting straighter, "So does that mean I'm in charge, since I'm the only one officially in the rebellion who holds a tier position?"

"Absolutely not," Cass said without looking at me, then pointed, "Josie's in charge."

"What?" I whined, "That's not fair."

"Can it, short stack, I have seniority," Josie chided, and I grumbled at him as Maggie snorted against her hand.

"You'll be heading out tomorrow," Cass said through a chuckle, "Since that's dealt with we continue on with the next point of business, that being the Con Rồng," the room grew quiet, and Cass looked around at the soldiers at the table expectantly, humming after a moment and looking down at his papers, "Basically the reaction I was expecting."

"Do we have a plan of attack at all?" someone towards the end of the table asked, "It's been months since we tried to attack them head on."

"We have their location now, thanks to Inou," Cormac added, and Demi hunched over the back of Kailas' seat, bowing his head, "Couldn't we do something to infiltrate or get the upper hand over them?"

I caught Isagani glaring at Cormac, and beside him, Lailani looked utterly bewildered at the very idea her son could know where our main enemy was located, so I quickly offered an excuse to her, "Demi and I were captured by them four months ago," I said, and she winced, nodding to me.

"Not... what I meant," Cormac said, and I threw my heel so hard into his shin his head flew forward and slammed against the top of the table, leaving him cradling his forehead and groaning as I smiled innocently and Demi sighed.

"To answer you," Cass started, leaning to the side and eyeing Cormac with a wince, "It's not wise to do that right now. We don't have nearly enough information about them yet outside a few names and the basic structure of the underground bunker where they perform most of their experiments outside the eyes of their ignorant supporters."

"How do you have names?" Josie asked, "Until we came here, we didn't even know the name of their leader. You couldn't have possibly collected all this information just from two of your people getting captured for a few days."

"It's a long story," Cass said slowly, dropping his file and folding his arms, "We have good information, just not enough of it, and until we have a better grasp on the current structure of the new government, it would be reckless of us to just rush into something."

Josie nodded and Lailani folded her hands on the table, "What names do you have then? Are they important?"

"We have names of the top four members of the Con Rồng, the people who control and oversee everything," Cass explained, "As you already know, their leader is a man named Bay Donovan Blu. Personally, I've never met him, but personally, I want him dead," he pointed at Lailani with a finger-gun and a wink, and Carina rolled his eyes as Demi took charge.

"Blu's top three confidants include a political informant, a weapons expert, and a scientist slash self-proclaimed surgeon," he stated, "Until recently their political informant was a man named Rupert de Vois, a citizen of France and looked the part. A few months ago, he was... dispatched," one corner of his lips twitched at the memory, and I winced, turning my head down as he continued, "He was replaced with another political informant, but I don't know his name."

"Grady Cooper," I broke in, and Demi turned his eyes to me, so I shrugged, "We've met. Not a fun guy."

"Can't imagine," Demi muttered, closing his eyes and tilting his head, "Their weapons expert and underground informant is a man named Carter Abbott. He's the lynch pin," he opened his eyes and leaned his hands against the back of Kailas' seat, "I don't know how long, but he's been siphoning information from the Con Rồng and feeding it to the Syndicate in Austria lead by Tobias Florian. We don't know why, we just know he turned on Blu."

"Friend?" Isagani asked, and Demi nodded.

"Yes."

"Who's the third?" Josie asked and Demi answered.

"Their scientist and surgeon, an ex-military medic from Russia named Vinet Ivanov. She's the lead on all their research that has to do with chemicals or genetics."

"I'm not a fan," Ian grumbled under his breath, and Demi nodded.

"Me neither."

"Ivanov," Lailani repeated, "I know that name. Why do I know that name?" she turned to Dmitri, who was sitting beside her, and shot something at him in Russian.

The man had an intensely grim look on his face as he kept eye contact with her, giving a short nod after a moment and responding. Lailani lifted a hand and covered her mouth, eyes