Black Hawks

Lille woke to the deafening drone of the helicopter engines and radio chatter of her headset. Everything ached but she was grateful to be alive. Her hand brushed against the hard plastic of her goggles reminding her that she was still in kit. She blinked as her eyes focused on the red light of the passenger compartment. Gray metal covered in black webbing with canvas backed seats that folded down on both sides, just beyond was the cockpit.

Lille counted bodies in seats, pleased that they had everyone including their new acquisition bringing their number to seven not including the pilot and co-pilot. The company wasn't going to be thrilled with her stray, even less so if she couldn't convince them Aaron had valuable intel for them. It was a risk that Lille was willing to take. The trick was just finding the right angle for leverage, perhaps Aaron had access to the cadaver's memories.

Green nudged her left shoulder once he noticed Lille was awake. "Hey, Schulz, what's the deal with stray?" She followed his gaze towards the sleeping form clad in green fatigues with a slung AK-74 with a basic laminate wood stock that screamed Cold War surplus. Aaron's sunglasses had been tucked into the a loop of his green flak vest.

If she hadn't witnessed the flesh knitting back together, Lille wouldn't have known from looking at his face had been blown apart just a few hours ago. Aaron's face was covered in a thick layer of dried blood and grime with a couple days growth of thick black beard.

"Defector," Lille decided. It seemed like a plausible enough answer. "He helped me take down a couple of guys back there when I thought I was pinned. They were doing something creepy when I found them. It reminded me of some of the stuff we found in Tecoman."

"More death cultists?" Green leaned back with soft creak of canvas webbing. He rubbed his chin. "We suspected there might be international reach but to think they had a cell out here too."

"Yeah." Lille nodded. "They were trying to summon something. Aaron might have more leads for us if we want to keep them on the run."

"The boss won't be happy, but if you're volunteering for babysitting duty, I'll support you." Green watched her, uncertain of what Lille was hiding from him but wanting to trust why she'd deviated from their operating procedures for the first time in years.

"What's our ETA?" Lille sighed as she checked her bandaged leg. She knew she'd get an earful once they entered the briefing room.

"Couple more hours." Green glanced around the cabin and noted that the others were asleep. "Best to follow their example and sleep while you can. Who knows how long before the next chance will come."

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As soon as the helicopter touched down, they switched to a chartered unmarked airplane. Lille's squad watched Aaron wearily from beneath their gear but made no further attempts at conversation with the stranger. Aaron preferred it that way, it gave him the opportunity to adjust to feeling gravity and breathing. His body ached in a dozen places and the straps of his thigh holster chaffed but he was whole and alive. The last time he'd felt this way was when he was humiliated before the host and cast into the abyss.

Aaron wanted a mirror to get a better look at his new body but he was happy to wait. Patience was a virtue that even a demon such as he possessed, all he had was time. Lille kept him in her line of sight but did not approach him further. She kept to napping until they landed at their ultimate destination.

When they stepped onto the tarmac of a lonely hangar, all the helmets came off. The squad moved towards lockers deeper within the building. Covered in grime, their faces were finally revealed as balaclava and goggles were removed for inventory. Lille's appearance surprised Aaron the most, when he had last seen her, she was not even 9 and here she was possibly in her late twenties or early thirties.

The little girl he'd been so desperate to return to was a woman, her dark brown hair was pulled back in a tight braid as she turned in her gear. No one else mattered to the demon other than Lille, with beards and various stages of stubble, the men of their small group looked older. The two other women of the squad were likely about the same age as Lille.

Lille stripped down to a black short sleeve undershirt and black fatigues walked over to Aaron with an appraising glance. "We need you to check your weapons and armor."

"Even me?" Aaron mused. "Sure, if it makes you feel safer."

Lille rolled her eyes. "Don't be difficult, have to follow procedures." She lowered her voice. "Besides, you don't need this archaic junk to be dangerous so just play along, alright?"

It took Aaron a few moments and a few hints to locate all the buckles to remove his gear but once he had, Lille escorted him deeper into the compound.

"So what are you doing here?" Aaron whispered.

Lille gave him a sidelong glance, keeping her voice soft so it didn't carry to the others. "It's complicated but I'm a contractor."

"A mercenary?" Aaron smiled. "Good, I can work with that." He wasn't sure what he would have done if Lille had grown up like her last incarnation where she was a scholar.

"Don't say that too loud. It's a dirty word among this group," Lille added. "Semantics but best not too push it."

"Why are you fighting with such a small group? Who are your enemies?" Aaron asked to satisfy his curiosity.

"...It's a transnational crime syndicate that dabbles in terrorism called the Apagos." Lille answered with a shrug. "It's more than that but that's the general idea. Can you pull that mook's memories? If you can, it'd provide us valuable intel we can use to plan our next mission." Her expression hopeful.

Aaron concentrated as they walked, trying to recall the person he occupied. Images of people, and places flashed through his memory that didn't belong to the demon from the void. "I can. It might take some time since he suffered brain damage before I jumped into the body."

"I'll take it into advisement the next time I want to summon something into a body to not blow off their head."

"Yes, that'd be incredibly helpful." Aaron beamed with pride. "You always were a thoughtful child."

The tips of Lille's ears blushed red. "Let's not talk about that right now. We'll catch up after the debriefing."