Episode 15-2: Scrubs

McAllen, Texas: Ispio Training Resort

(Day 2/ 05:00 hours)

I let out a yawn as I glanced at the wall-mounted clock in the bathroom. I had gotten used to sleeping in until eight or nine in the morning, so waking up this early felt like dragging a corpse around. I didn't even feel like doing my makeup or hair, not that it would matter around here. Meh, maybe just the hair today. Although the mirror made a good argument that skipping makeup would be a bad idea.

"Whoa," I say to myself, "I look like trash. This camp is making me look stressed."

A knock on the door woke me up a bit more. "C'mon, Troy, our teacher is still standin' around waitin' for us! The other cadets already left!"

Thanks, Tommy, that makes me feel better. "Okay, I'll be right out." I'm still wearing my cute pajamas, they're not going to like this at all. I don't even like where I'm at; these types of tests make me sick to my stomach! No mission I've ever taken has made me feel so much dread as this camp has.

"Okay, we'll be waitin' for ya outside," he tells me. I look back in the mirror and practice smiling for a moment. It's actually pretty difficult right now.

*** *** ***

My feet fell heavy with each step, walking feels like a chore right now. I yawn and stretch all the way to the door that led outside. I stare blankly at the wooden door that kept me away from those dreaded tests, and I contemplated whether I should just turn this course down and leave already. Of course, I know that wasn't an option, but a fox can dream. I gave a small sigh and opened it with half-hearted confidence and joined my little group that oh-so patiently waited for my arrival.

"You all set finally?" Aiden asks.

I nod sheepishly. "Yes, although I didn't get to freshen up."

"That's fine, you're not on that kind of mission."

"So where's the next location?"

Aiden looks behind him at the open horizon. "About two miles that way. Ready?"

"Two miles!? Why do they have to be so far apart?" His only response was to shrug his shoulders. "Alright fine, let's walk through the desert once more."

We set off, treading on the dead grass and rough dirt. Time passes strangely when we walk; it feels like an eternity, but you can't help but feel hypnotized by the barren horizon, almost like it could halt time itself for you.

"Hey, Troy," Tommy says, snapping me out of my trance. "Your unit was the one that worked on the Willow Society, right? How did you guys manage to pull that one off with no mistakes?"

Aw, I have a fan!

"Well, it's simple. Bad guys will sometimes know your face, so all you gotta do is change your gender, and you'll be surprised at how quickly they dismiss you. It's almost like being invisible when you get good at it."

He scratches his head. "You change your gender? Does it hurt?"

"No silly, I just use a disguise."

I notice his eyes studying me, going up and down my body. "Yeah, I can see how you could do that. That's mighty impressive, Troy. I wonder what they'll have me doin' when I'm finally initialized. Think I could make the Special Units like you?"

I thought about seeing Tommy in a skirt, but it didn't exactly look effective in my mind. "Tommy, you can do anything you set your mind to. Just promise me that when you're at the top of the agency you'll let me keep my job."

He laughs hardily. "I'm not lookin' for a place in a dress, just a spot where I could use my full potential." That's the spirit, Tommy. Too many times do people settle in where they're most comfortable, we need more souls who will go the extra mile for fantastic things.

A sudden bump into Aiden's back throws me off guard. "Why'd you stop? We're still in the middle of nowhere."

He stares empty-minded in front of us, looking at the vast nothingness of the Texas desert. My stomach sinks as he makes no noise and stands completely still after walking for so long in the hot sun. "Troy Hearth. That's a bonus."

I'm confused. "W-what?"

He whips around to face us and his quick hand pulls out his holstered sidearm. He aims directly at my head, and my first reaction was to smack his hand upward while kicking him in the gut. The gun goes off into the air and he stumbles backward. I dash inward to try and wrestle the gun away, but it was no surprise to find out that he was more alert than me. His closed fist lands right on my cheek, and I was effectively put out.

He aims the gun at me again, but Tommy steps in and kicks the gun out of his hand. Aiden recovers quickly and begins wrestling with Tommy. I go in for a tackle, Aiden throws Tommy at me, I hurdle over him without a mistake and throw my body at Aiden. He was already off-balance, so I manage to take him down and mount myself on top. I throw punches at his face, only getting him with three before he shoves me off with his foot.

Tommy is up and had a kick ready for Aiden as soon as he stood up. A roundhouse to the face made a horrible cracking sound in Aiden's jaw. As his bottom jaw hung low and unhinged, he blocks the next kick and throws Tommy's leg upward, making Tommy fall flat on his back.

It was Aiden's turn to mount, and as he got on top of Tommy, he pulled out a large knife from his combat boot. I look around the dirt and dried grass to see if I could find Aiden's gun, but it was hiding really well. Aiden already had the knife pointed at Tommy's chest, so I abandoned the search and charged head-on.

Tommy let out a shriek, and I threw myself at Aiden once more. We both fall, but I was the only one squirming on the ground. I get up and see the knife had found its way into Aiden's stomach. He laid still, only jerking slightly to let out bloody coughs.

I grab his shirt and pull angrily. "Why!? Why betray Ispio!?"

He coughs more and tries to talk with a broken jaw. "Not betrayed. Attacked." His head swivels slowly, and I saw the color of his eyes fade. A whole lifetime ended so swiftly and by chance at the most. Watching eyes lose life sure does sink in heavily.

"Tommy? Tommy!?" I get off Aiden and slide next to the brave bird. His face was twisted up in pain as he clutched a nasty-looking gash on his chest. "Oh wow, that's going to make one hell of a scar."

"He almost had me, Troy. I pushed at the last second, the knife didn't go straight in."

I pat his head in a tender touch. "Good job, Tommy. Good job. Can you walk?"

He looks around. "Reckon I better, don't wanna be stranded out here in the hot sun."

I help him up, and we look around at where we are. There were no landmarks, nothing to tell us anything about where we could've been. It only makes more sense that they took away all the equipment we usually carry around with us to help us in the field. I go back to Aiden's lifeless body and hesitantly search his pockets for supplies. I found ammo for his gun, and a small, folded-up paper. Tommy strolls away from me as I read it.

Take your unit west and dispatch them. Leave your communicator at base camp, you'll receive your next orders when you arrive at the lounge.

~R

"R? Who could that be? " I whisper to myself. "Oh god, Tommy we're in real deep here," I look over and see him walking back towards me.

He holds up his hand and shows off Aiden's gun. "Now we're not sittin' ducks out here. Lemme see that ammo you found." I give him the ammo. "What's that letter say, anywho?"

"Nothing good. We got to find a way to contact the other cadets. I think the other medics are wolves in sheep's clothing."

"I knew Mama was right, never trust no wolves," he says while loading up the magazine.

Well, that sounds a little racist. "No, I mean that they're bad guys pretending to be part of Ispio. It says here that Aiden left his radio back at the base camp, we need that radio if we want to call in for backup. There's nobody I'd rather have here than Clyde."

"You sayin' there's a chance to meet Clyde Barker too?"

"Perhaps, but only if we can make it back to camp. He took us west from camp. Problem is that we don't have a compass on us."

Tommy looks up at the sky. "No problem. West you say? Sunrises in the east, and we left camp early in the mornin'." He turns towards the sun. "That way oughta be our camp."

"Wow. That's really impressive, Tommy."

He rubs the back of his head. "Aw shucks, that's just common sense around here."

Great, now I lack common sense.

*** *** ***

McAllen, Texas: Ispio Training Resort

(Day 2/ 06:30 hours)

Sure I was sweaty, but I was alive. We finally made it back to camp, and Tommy only passed out once from loss of blood. The first thing we did was visit the medical center to patch up his wound and stop the bleeding.

I take out the note and read it over again. "The note says the radio will be in the lounge."

Tommy looks at the directory hanging on the medical center's wall. "First we take a left out of here, then head straight down. That's a big room, Troy. You sure we can find it?"

I shrug. "It's a radio. I don't think he went the extra mile to hide something so inconspicuous. It's probably just sitting on a bench in there."

*** *** ***

"Wow, there is a lot of furniture in this room," Tommy comments. There are chairs, tables, countertops, paintings and pictures, pool tables, everything including the kitchen sink in this one room!

I rub my face in frustration. "Okay. You start over there, I'll walk the grid over here."

"Got it."

I go along the wall, checking behind the paintings to see if there was a hidden safe or hole behind it. Nothing. I tear up each couch in my vicinity to see if it's under the cushions or behind the padding. I even tip them over to check if someone cut a hole in the bottom. The small coffee tables were littered with knick-knacks and dirty dishes, and I had to concentrate on each item to make sure it wasn't hiding in plain sight.

"How ya doin' over there?" Tommy asks.

"Just fine," I say and continue looking. Minutes pass as I continue turning the room upside down and inside out. I finally notice that Tommy wasn't looking as hard as he was in the beginning. "Are you feeling alright? Is that wound making you feel sick?"

He laughs softly. "No, I'm just watching a legendary agent look like a savage fox tearing up couches and tables.

"Well excuse me for losing my manners while a bunch of medics might be killing our teammates. Now keep looking."

"No need, I found the radio a couple of minutes ago. It was in a cabinet, not that good of a hidin' place."

I face him again and see the radio dangling in his hand. "You what!? Why did you wait so long to tell me!? Those other medics could be on their way right now!"

"I'm sorry, Troy. I just wanted a laugh..."

I run at him and snatch the radio from his hand. "You have bad timing for jokes." The radio powers on, and I mess around with the frequency to see if I can hijack Clyde's communicator. It came out as static. "Crap, I forgot about the jammer. No signal can transfer in or out."

Tommy scratches his chin. "Then how was Aiden supposed to get his orders?"

I think about it. "Maybe because his contact might be right here in camp with us. The jammer only blocks a proximity field, but if you're in that field, you can communicate with other signals in the field."

"What? I ain't exactly tech-savvy, Troy."

I huff. "It means that this has been a setup from the start, Tommy! We're so stupid!" My ears perk up at the sound of a door opening and closing. "I think the other medics are here!"