THE TABLE SITS IN TENSE SILENCE, AS STELLA SIPS HER TEA.

"This is nice," she comments conversationally- breaking the quietness, "I haven't had a cup of tea in a long while."

"A long while?" Axel says while trying not to make his gawking obvious, "How long is a long while?"

A hundred and seventeen years, Stella thinks, but she only smiles in response with a shrug as she places the tiny teacup down, looking back up at Corban.

"As I asked before," she says, with a curious gleam in her eyes, "How do you suggest we begin?"

There's still an irritated tick in Corban's jaw, but he seems a lot more accepting of the situation. "I can only give you more information once we return to the unit, and you sign a non-disclosure agreement."

"Understandable," Stella nods before lifting a finger to touch the petals of the potted plant's tiny flower. "Pretty flower, isn't it? Beautiful colors, if I say so myself."

Four pairs of puzzled human eyes glance at the potted plant in the center of the table.

"Am I tripping," Bea says finally, with a confused frown as Stella's finger toys with its' petals gently, "or was that flower drooping when we got here?"

They blink at it.

"I'm pretty certain it was," Corban murmurs slowly, looking at its bright, upright petals with a perplexed frown.

"Was it?" Stella's face takes on a concerned look, "Poor thing."

Axel looks at Stella at the corner of his eyes suspiciously.

While it was true that apart from the faint glow she seemed to be emitting there didn't seem to be anything else out of the ordinary- he couldn't help but think it was iffy.

There wasn't any crackling energy traveling down her fingertips, into the plant- neither was there a sudden change in the energy of the air. It didn't seem like there was any zipping life traveling down its spine either.

But he was sure that the plant looked a lot more alive than it did when they had gotten there. He didn't even know if that was possible- but it was bobbing its little head almost unnoticeably, and he could've sworn it was leaning towards her.

Could she be-?

A hand suddenly appearing in front of him, had his attention switching back to the present.

"Here ya go," the waitress winks at him, leaning closer to him in the slightest, "I've left a little extra something on the receipt, just for you."

Axel's blank expression doesn't waver even as he pulls out his wallet and slaps a fifty-dollar bill onto it. "Thank you."

"Oh uh-" the waitress falters, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, "No- No problem."

She pauses for a few seconds when Axel doesn't say anything, and adds, "It's my number, by the way- on the receipt."

Axel only glances at the receipt for a second. "Okay."

"I-" the waitress blinks. "Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

Axel nods casually at her, before turning his attention back to the table. The waitress stands there for a few seconds with wide eyes- almost looking at Axel with disbelief, before she walks away with a scoff.

Both Gale and Bea give Axel a look.

"What?" he says, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"She was totally into you!" Bea exclaims, "and she was hot too. Man, I'd let her do whatever she wanted to m-"

"Not my type," Axel shrugs, leaning back in his chair- not allowing Bea to finish what was most likely going to be a detailed description of some pretty graphic stuff.

"Oh, so you have a type now?" Bea raises an inquisitive eyebrow with a snort, "Do tell."

Axel pauses for a moment, as his eyebrows crease.

He didn't know what had prompted him to say that, and he didn't even know he had a type- until a certain description stood out in his head.

"Blonde-ish hair," he says without thinking, "And green eyes, maybe."

The three of them pause, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

Bea looks down at the table holding a fist over her mouth.

Only then, does Axel realize what he had just said.

"I mean-" he corrects hurriedly, sudden unexpected heat rising up his neck, "That it's- I don't know why I said that- I-"

He glances at Stella from the corner of his eyes, but much to his relief she didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation- peering intently at the plants outside the coffee shop and the butterflies fluttering around them.

"Damn Axel," Gale mutters running a hand through his blond hair, averting his green eyes, "Didn't think you had a crush on me."

Axel scowls at him in response, as his cheeks darken. "Fuck you."

"Apparently, you want to."

"Shut up," Axel flips him off, before pushing himself away from the table and rising from his chair, giving Corban a half-meaningful, half-embarrassed look. "I think it's time to head back."

"Alright," even Corban's expression I slightly bemused, but he rises from his seat, setting the newspaper down. "Miss- Stella, was it?"

"Yes?" Stella turns to him, dragging her gaze away from the trees outside before she glances at the rest of them who were also now out of their seats. "Oh, are you taking me with you now?"

"We are," Corban affirms with a stiff nod, as she stands, brushing imaginary dirt off her dress.

"Wonderful," she beams at him, pushing her chair back. "Shall we?"

She looks up at Axel, her smile considerably brightening as he blinks down at her. The action made her understand how tall he actually was, that he even towered over her as a human.

Well over six feet, she realized- but it didn't bother her, for as a young angel, she was considerably tinier than the rest.

"Uh yeah," Axel mutters, trying not to stare at her smile too much, as he involuntarily offers her an arm. "Come on."

The rest of them stare at Axel, completely perplexed.

But Stella takes it.

She takes the arm he had offered as if it's the most natural thing to do in the world, all while still smiling up at him, unaware of the rest of their stares.

He doesn't know why he finds it so surprising that her tiny dainty fingers gently wrap around the arm he offers, but Axel has to force his mind to believe that the same zing of life that runs down his spine, is a mere figment of his imagination.

Her fingers gently press against his skin through the jacket he was wearing, as her grip tightens imperceptibly for a second, almost as if she knows exactly what he's thinking- even as he gently tugs her along towards the door that led to the outside.

Just before he pulls the door open, however, Axel glances back at their table.

The flower was drooping again.

"That is all?"

"Yes," Axel clears his throat, "That's all I can remember."

"Hmm," there's a tiny furrow in Stella's eyebrows and a thoughtful look on her face, as her fingers drum on the tabletop.

The same look had been on her face ever since they had begun to brief her of all the details they knew of the case- after all the contracts and agreements had been signed- in the very same meeting room of the unit that they were currently seated in.

"What I think is odd," she says finally after a few seconds of thought, "is that you didn't notice anything."

Axel can't help the slight scowl that adorns his face. "What are you trying to imply?"

"You are The Falcon, are you not?" Stella lifts a pensive eyebrow, raising her gaze to meet his, "Aren't you trained to notice things that are suspicious and out of the ordinary? How come you didn't?"

Axel's scowl deepens, as Bea inhales sharply with wide eyes- biting her lip. Gale looks away, awkwardly focusing on a point on the wall, while Corban narrows his eyes at her.

"I'd appreciate it," Axel says with a tight jaw, sounding colder than he intended to, "If you didn't rub it in my face, especially when it isn't relevant to what we're currently investigating."

Stella blinks.

"Well, forgive me," she says with raised eyebrows, "but that isn't my intention- you're missing my point."

"Oh?" Axel raises an eyebrow, his voice still tight, "What is your point then?"

"What I am trying to suggest," she leans forward with a calculating gleam in her eyes, tilting her head to one side, "is that maybe something was stopping you from using your mind to its full capacity. You were at a party, were you not?"

"Yes?" Axel's scowl turns more confused than annoyed, not knowing where she was going with this.

"This is just a theory," Stella says, as she drums her fingers on the table, "but there are drinks at a party, that mainly serve to intoxicate- or make you drunk, as you put it. Someone could've easily slipped something into your drink to disorient you. If you're disoriented, you'd hardly pay attention to your surroundings, would you?"

"That's..." Axel frowns, thinking back to the party. There's a distinct memory that floats into his mind, of a red solo cup in his hand but most of the other memories of that night are hazy.

"I did have a drink," he murmurs, bringing a hand up to rub his chin, "but I don't- I don't remember much about it."

"You don't remember much," Stella repeats contemplatively, "Humans don't exactly remember much when they're drunk- or possibly drugged, do they?"

"Humans?" Gale repeats, giving her an odd look, "Why'd you say that?"

Stella's lips quirk up for a second before it falls to the same straight thoughtful line, and she only offers him a shrug in return.

The same word lingers in Axel's mind, but he doesn't allow it to remain for more than a few moments, because now- there were more pressing matters at hand.

He had possibly been drugged.

Axel knew that he, unquestionably wasn't drunk, because being a lightweight, he usually steered clear of alcohol.

But getting drugged?

It seemed like a huge prospect, thinking back to how disoriented he had been that night.

"That is actually a good theory," Corban says with a slow nod, staring at the table with a deep, brooding glower. "I think it's worth looking into. I don't think they checked for signs of intoxication, but I'll have someone look into Axel's medical records of that day."

Stella nods before she turns to Gale. "And what was it about the evidence?"

Gale responds with a defeated shrug. "It's been the same bad-gateway pop-up, or error message display every time I try to find a match for the DNA."

Her thoughtful look melts into a half-sheepish, half-confused expression.

"My apologies," she says, a tiny bit bashful, "but I'm not all that acquainted with those terms. Mind explaining them to me?"

"Yeah," Gale offers her a small smile before he jabs a couple of keys on his computer keyboard, before turning it to her.

"We found some DNA on the T-shirt scrap that was recovered at the site," he tells her, "And this is the forensic data of the DNA. Every time I run it through the system, an error pops up- for no apparent reason."

"I see," Stella hums, staring at the screen with barely concealed fascination, "And what are you going to be doing about it?"

"I'm going to have to break down the entire algorithm and trace its path," Gale informs her, "then I can see if there's any interference or if there's a certain reason this message keeps popping up."

"Fascinating," she says with wide eyes. "You seem to have your hands full, don't you?"

"Uh sure," he says in response, scratching his neck awkwardly.

"That's the second thing to look into," Corban says, cracking his knuckles, "if things don't start to look up, Reynolds, I'll assign a couple of others to help you as well."

Gale simply shrugs in response, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes.

"Erm Corban?" Stella says timidly, making all the eyes in the room snap towards her, "Would you mind if I went back to the spot to take a look around?"

"What for?" Corban gives her a puzzled frown.

"I'd just like to get a better look at the place," she interlaces her fingers, putting them on the table, "Understand other possibilities, yes?"

"They've already done a forensic sweep of the place," Corban raises an eyebrow at her, "So I doubt you'll find much that will be of use, but sure. Knock yourself out."

She blinks at him.

"Why would I knock myself out?" she muses, "Being unconscious won't be of much help, will it?"

"I-" Corban opens and closes his mouth, jerking his head back, "It's an expression."

Stella tilts her head to the side. "An expression that can make you unconscious?"

"No, I- y'know what, never mind," Corban heaves out a sigh, running a hand through his hair, as Axel hides his smile.

Bea pops her gum with an amused smile as well, finally speaking up.

"Do you have a phone?" she says, her icy blue contacts peering into Stella's.

"A communication device?" Stella's expression falls a little, "I'm afraid I don't, sorry. I- err- I'm from a bit of an old-fashioned family, so I've never had one."

"Damn girl," Bea raises a pierced eyebrow with a smirk, "We can't let you go alone then. I'm sure Axe would be very happy to take you."

Axel glares at Bea for the very evident undertone but doesn't make a move to disagree.

"Oh," Stella turns to him with a grateful smile that has him instantly dropping his glare, "Thank you, Axel."

"It's nothing," Axel murmurs, shooting Bea's suggestive expression a dirty look when she wasn't looking. 

"So that's that," Corban rises from his seat, stretching so his bones pop, "We'll call it a night. Axe, show Stella to the room she'll be staying in."

"So, you all stay together?"

"We do," Axel confirms lightly, "That's what the residential quarters are for."

"That's nice," Stella smiles, her fingers unconsciously winding around Axel's arm when she trips over a step with a squeak.

"Sorry, I'm not all that used to walking-"

"That's alright," he murmurs as he steadies her, placing a warm hand over her own, with a calculative glint in his eyes, "And why'd you say that?"

"Say what?" she says looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

Axel blinks, before he shakes his head, with a sigh. She seemed to be avoiding the subject at all costs, and he thought it best not to bring it up. 

"Never mind," he says, "Here's where you'll be staying-"

He pushes open the door, and a figure already in the room jumps, startled.

Axel frowns at the boy. "Winston?"

"Mr. Falcon!" he straightens immediately, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Sir-"

"I've told you not to call me that," Axel says, his frown deepening, "And what are you doing here?"

The boy's eyes flit from Axel to Stella before they return to Axel.

"I was told to get this room ready, Sir," he says, his fingers fiddling with each other.

"You were?" Axel tilts his head, surveying Winston with doubt.

"Yes Sir," Winston nods almost frantically, "I was told that a guest was going to be staying here."

"I see," some of the tension in Axel's body loosens, as he glances at Stella, who was studying the boy. "This is Stella. She'll be staying here, and you'll help her out when she needs it."

"Miss," the boy bows deeply, making Stella's eyebrows raise in surprise-before he straightens again and his eyes dart to Axel.

"Sir," Winston's eyes skim his abdomen, before they raise to meet his eyes again- barely maintaining eye contact before he looks away, "I hope- I hope you are healed, sir."

"What?" Axel's frown returns, as he stiffens.

For the reason that there was a traitor, though the investigation was being carried out-it was kept between only their team and a couple of other people.

It wasn't out in the open, and Winston was only a part of the staff for the residential quarters.

So how did he know?

"You were injured," Winston mumbles quickly, "And I- I just wanted to know if you were doing better."

"How did you know?" Axel glowers at the boy, his voice stern- making the boy in front of him cower backward slightly.

Stella tilted her head, examining the jittery boy in front of her.

"I-I helped clean your wounds, sir," Winston says hurriedly, taking a step back.

Axel narrows his eyes at Winston. "Hmm."

"I-" Winston gulps under the weight of his scrutinizing glare, "May I be dismissed, sir?"

He stares at him for a few, long tense moments, before he steps away from the door. "You may."

The boy nods, quickly muttering a good night to both of them before he practically bolted out the door.

Axel stares after his hurrying figure, before he lets out a tired sigh, running a hand down his face. He turns back to Stella, who was staring at the spot where he had been standing with the same intent look.

"Sorry about that," he said, making her look at him, "I'm just a little on guard."

"Reasonably so," she says, giving him an understanding smile, "In times like these, we do not know who to trust."

I can trust you, he wants to tell her- but that's an oddly intimate and random thing to say- especially when it was just the two of them.

There's a part of him that wants to ask her the same seemingly stupid question about what she truly is.

Are you an angel, Stella? Did I imagine it all?

There's another part of his mind, however, telling him that it was a stupid thing to do.

So he simply presses his lips together, and nods, lifting his eyes to meet hers.

"Good night Stella," he settles on instead, giving her a small smile as he pushes himself off the door frame.

She smiles back at him, her eyes softening. 

"Good night Axel."