A COLD HAND GRIPS HIS WRIST BEFORE HE CAN ENTER THE ROOM.
"Wh-" Axel turns around with a glare, his other hand instantly twitching towards his gun, but he pauses when he sees Stella.
"Listen," she murmurs hastily before he can question it, "When we enter that room and they tell us what the new lead is, do not bring up what we're suspicious of."
"What?" the scowl returns to Axel's face, "Why not?"
"You said it yourself," Stella's narrowed-eyed gaze held his, "We do not know who to trust. The less the traitor knows of what we think, the better it is for everybody."
"But-"
"Listen, Axel," she says sternly again, dropping her voice to a lower whisper, "Do not let emotions cloud your judgment, and do not hurl accusations yet. It will only make them warier than they already are, and we cannot let that happen. Okay?"
Axel stares defiantly into her eyes, but the fierce warning in them doesn't die down.
"I still have her burner phone," she reminds him softly, throwing a cautious glance to the door, "If it's her, we can look into it by ourselves before bringing it up, alright?"
Finally, he looks down at his feet with a glare. "Fine."
He can't see her face, but as she lingers in front of him, he knows that she's hesitating to do something. Before he can think too much into it, however, she brushes past him into the room.
Stay calm, he tries to tell himself, despite the burning anger and betrayal that weighs down his mind and chest. Don't lash out.
With a deep breath and a few more seconds of still, contemplative silence, he follows after her.
"Sleeping?" is the first thing he hears Corban say, as he enters, plonking himself down into the chair next to Stella, "That's where you've been? You've been sleeping this whole time?"
Gale tugs at the sleeves of his oversized hoodie, a grumpy look on his face. "I did just say that, Boss."
"So, Elijah figured this out by himself then?" Corban raises an eyebrow, turning to Elijah, who swallows.
"Uh, yes sir," he mumbles, "It wasn't exactly his fault though, considering that there's a problem with all our systems."
"What?" Corban's eyes widen a millimeter, before he turns his glare to Elijah, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Elijah moves to click on a button, and the projector lights up.
"Something's messing with all the data," he elaborates nervously, "and it isn't allowing us to access some databases. The signal is coming from a source outside the unit, but I-we would need access to certain-um classified databases to be able to determine where the signal is coming from."
"He's right," Gale murmurs, as he adjusts his glasses over his nose, and leans forward to look at the red blinking dot on the screen. "The signal that's interfering with our computers isn't coming from the inside."
Axel's eyebrows furrow, as he glances at the screen. Outside the unit? The fuck?
Corban frowns. "So that means someone's working with an outside agent?"
"Possibly," Elijah says.
Corban's stoic expression turns more steely. "And you can't track it?"
"I- we can," Elijah says quickly, glancing at Gale for help, "we just- we need access to certain databases that are well, top clearance."
The temperature drops just a hint, as brief but taut silence rings in the room.
"You do know," this time it's Bea who speaks up with a tight expression, "that there are only two people in this unit who have top clearance, right?"
Only the boss and his right-hand man did.
Both those people were in the room.
Axel looks at Corban, to find him already looking back at him.
"We're aware," Gale says, his arms crossed across his chest, as he leans back into his chair, rubbing his chin, "We're all aware."
"So, you do know what you're asking for then?" she says, her dark eyes narrowing in challenge.
Elijah looks a little jittery as Bea stares him down. "Well, y-yes."
Her glare hardens, and she opens her mouth to retort, but another quiet voice has her pausing.
"I think you should give them clearance."
Stella had been quiet ever since she stepped into the room, but she finds five pairs of eyes looking at her in a way that suggested that they had almost forgotten she was there, as the words slip past her lips.
"I think you should give them clearance," she repeats, "Just temporarily, until they trace the signal, and then you can revoke it."
"Are you serious?" Bea says, her eyes wide and incredulous, "Give them clearance to sensitive files, especially in times like these?"
Stella's expression is carefully blank as she turns to Bea.
"This is the only lead you have," she answers, "the best thing to do to get on with the investigation, would be to pursue it."
Bea scoffs. "Only lead? C'mon, there has to be something that we can do without having to open top-secret intel."
Her dark eyes flit to Axel. "Axe? Seriously- didn't you just scope out the crime scene? Wasn't there anything there that's worth looking into?"
Axel's jaw clenches, and underneath the table, he can feel his hands curling into fists.
He can feel a pair of green eyes boring into his skull, however, warning him not to say a word on their current suspicion, so he can only press his lips together and shake his head, not trusting his own voice.
"What happened to your face then?" Gale pipes up curiously from the side of the room.
"Marli scratched me," Axel lies smoothly, running a hand through his hair, "Silly puppy."
"Hmm." Bea leans back in her chair, evidently unsatisfied with the whole ordeal, but says nothing more.
"Alright," Corban says, when no one else speaks up, "You'll have access in a few hours. But in the mean time,"
His gaze flits to an unsuspecting Stella.
"We need to check on some things."
The Delta team stands in one straight line, their stances stiff and their gazes unwaveringly fixed on the wall in front of them. Occasionally, however, their stares flit to the woman next to Axel, and the curiosity in their minds makes their eyes linger.
Stella stands just as straight as the rest of them, her expression almost completely blank. However, the twitch in her cheek and the tightness in her jaw, give away the underlying irritation.
"For the fourth time," she snips, "This is a complete waste of time."
Corban's gaze is unyielding.
"For the fourth time," he says, "It is not. You're working with us for this case, which means you have to do what we do."
She scoffs softly in response but doesn't move to speak again.
It didn't make her any less annoyed, however, because if there was one thing she utterly despised, it was when people thought she wasn't capable of doing something.
They wanted to see if she knew how to defend herself.
Stella was instantly peeved by that. Just because she was small, they thought she couldn't fight? And they offered to train her?
Sometimes, humans were incredible.
Incredibly stupid, that is.
Yes, a part of it was a matter of pride and ego, but to be ordered around by a human was really starting to get under her skin.
"Bradshaw," Corban instructs when she stays quiet, "Step on to the mat, please."
The man whose gaze had lingered on her figure for an unnecessary amount of time, moves forward, with a crooked smirk.
Stella's eyes gleam. Wonderful.
"Miss Stella," Corban turns back to her, "If you could step on to the mat as well, please."
"Still believe this is unnecessary," she mutters, but she moves forward to stand across the man, with her fingers intertwined behind her back, as he extends a hand out for her to shake.
"Daxton Bradshaw," he says, charmingly, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady."
Stella only raises an eyebrow at the hand he's holding out for her, before looking back up at him with the same unimpressed face.
Nonetheless, he doesn't seem deterred as he lowers his hand, neither does the smile on his face waver, as he steps forward.
"Alright then," he says, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture, "Ladies first, miss."
She doesn't move.
Even as everyone in the room stares expectantly at her, all she does is lift another eyebrow.
"Miss Stella," Corban calls, and she can tell even without looking at him that he's irritated and exasperated with her lack of compliance, "This is where you make a move."
She turns to him, the blank expression on her face more stoic than ever.
"If I hit him hard enough, I'd probably kill him," she says truthfully as if she was talking about something as simple as the weather. "Tell him to make the first move."
Corban doesn't look like he believes that, neither do the other men and women in the room- judging by the fact that they look like they want to laugh.
It makes her eyes narrow with annoyance again.
Just as she considers retorting, in her peripheral vision, she can see the man swinging his fist back.
Ah. Perfect.
With her eyes still on Corban, her fingers curl around his fist, just before it makes contact with her jaw- and just as everyone in the room inhales sharply.
She turns back to the surprised man, with an unimpressed look.
"You've got terrible strength."
Seconds later, he lands on his back with a loud thud.
Multiple jaws in the room drop. Daxton lets out a shocked sputter.
"Well, don't just lay there," Stella nudges him in the ribs with her foot. "Get up, already."
He does, and even as he tries to swing once more, she dodges quicker than he could've anticipated, and once more, he's knocked off his feet.
It takes two more times until Corban asks someone new to step onto the mat with Stella.
And Axel couldn't count the number of times his own jaw dropped. Every single one of their people that stepped onto the mat with her was knocked off their feet. Some took a few seconds, while some took longer- some, a rare few, managed to hit her, but she didn't even flinch as she hit them harder.
None of them knocked her over.
They weren't going easy on her either. At a certain point, Corban specifically instructed them not to, because her winning streak almost seemed unreal, but nothing changed.
It wasn't like they were weak- because each member of the Delta team was a highly trained and skilled fighter. But Stella dodged nearly every hit, and moved with such speed and lethal grace, without batting a single eyelash or without breaking into a sweat- almost like this was boring for her.
As another woman is knocked off her feet, Stella steps back with an expression of utter boredom and annoyance, after helping her back up.
"No more," she says firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.
No one makes a move to disagree with her either. There were a range of expressions on all their faces- annoyance, awe, determination to try and win against her, and maybe a little envy. But no one moved.
They look at Corban awaiting instructions.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Bea's eyes are wide as she peers at Stella.
Stella shrugs absent-mindedly. "I have two older brothers."
"And they taught you?" Bea's eyes widen further with inquisitiveness, as she leans forward, resting her chin on her palms, but Stella only shakes her head in response.
"No," she says with a frown, "Rain was hurt terribly on a quest, up to the point he was completely disabled physically, and Aspen was born with intellectual disabilities." Her fingers curl into a fist as some unpleasant memories flicker in her mind.
"I wasn't going to allow anyone to bother them for it."
And it was true. Stella had taught herself to fight because it was what was expected of her to be acclaimed strong.
Angels were protectors, and they were symbolic of strength so they looked down on anything that seemed like a weakness amongst themselves- be it emotional, mental or physical. So much, that often they bullied some over it.
For creatures so powerful, some of them sure behaved like immature mortals sometimes.
"Now," Stella turns to Corban, with a raised eyebrow, "do you understand why I said this was a waste of time?"
Corban's glare hardened, but Stella could tell that he was stunned, even if it was just a little bit. He doesn't respond to her only turning to the rest in the room who were staring at her wide-eyed.
"I'll ping Elijah and Gale to see their progress. Delta team, thank you for training with us. You are dismissed."
"Now that we have access to the database," Elijah explains, pointing to the projector in the meeting room, "we've found where the signal is coming from."
An aerial photograph pops up on the screen, zooming into a specific red blinking dot.
"That's a warehouse," Axel points out, focusing on the screen.
"Not any warehouse," Gale says, "that's one of the warehouses of the Noxia."
Corban, Bea, and Axel inhale sharply, making Stella look at them in confusion.
"Gangs?" Bea splutters after a moment, "Are you serious? What the fuck?"
What on earth was the traitor doing? Working with a gang? Giving a gang access to all their data by messing with their systems?
Axel's jaw ticks in fury. Fucking bastard.
When they found out who the traitor was, he vowed to himself, he would be the one to end their life.
Elijah hesitates, before clicking another button.
A picture of a man pops up. Dark hair, and dark, dark eyes looking straight into the camera with a wicked smirk.
Stella would have thought he was attractive if it weren't for the fact that she could practically sense the darkness radiating from the photo.
"Kyrell Blackwood," Gale mutters, cutting the strained silence, "Leader of the Noxia."
Axel's eyes narrow at the screen. Fortunately, he had never met, or personally seen the man- but there was a kill order on his head. Three, in fact.
But the man whose dark eyes were peering back at him, was like a shadow. Looking for him was always a wild goose chase, that never lasted less than a few months.
Any whisper of feds nearby, or any hint of an arrest warrant on its way, he would disappear. It was hard enough to find the man, and when they did, it would only be for him to disappear again. Months of different teams, different strategies, different agencies- but it bore no fruit.
It was then that the FBI and the CIA decided that they'd send a spy from an investigative unit, and for the longest time, they believed that Beatrix Lou Chen would succeed in finally bringing the Noxia down.
And she nearly did, because Kyrell Blackwood fell in love with her.
Only a few weeks later, her cover was blown and she had to flee before he killed her in heartbroken rage. While she had always assured everyone that the feelings were never reciprocated, the letters K.D floated into Axel's head once more, as he looked at Bea from the corner of his eyes.
Her expression betrayed nothing.
"I think," Corban says after a few moments, with a thoughtful expression on his face, "I know what we can do."
Every single person in the room looks expectantly at him, but Corban only looks straight at Axel and Stella, with that same look of contemplation. Seconds pass, until one corner of his lips curls up almost inconspicuously, and then he speaks.
"So, here's the plan."
Thank you for reading! Do vote and comment :)
Hey, so FYI, I changed Felix's name to Elijah (he's the guy who was assigned to help Gale)
Question: Pick a cool city that you've always wanted to visit. It's for the next chapter ;)