>BLACKBOX LIBRARY
>1120...///

Donnelley stood outside the door to the Library. He’d gotten used to the hallways by now, telling himself that he wasn’t in Iraq and things weren’t going to spiral spectacularly out of control. Even if they had for just those few seconds a few hours ago, snipped words. No texts to his phone from Laine, but he figured it was time to bury the hatchet. She did have a way of getting to him, and a part of him did hope that he got to her just as much. He flashed his ID to the guards and was waved through. The Library was empty again, except for Laine. Ava was still busy in the lab, Donnelley watching her for a few seconds as she worked.

He turned his attention back to Laine, sitting down next to her and thinking of poking her side or some other physical touch. How they left things though, that certainly dissuaded him. He spoke quietly, picking at his fingernails, “I was thinking we should get those case files for the Working Group in West Virginia.”

Laine rubbed her fingers over the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes briefly after reading another scanned document. Her focus was now locked in on the events of anything around the Arctic Circle to southern Canada involving missing persons, hikers in particular, problems with natives, and freak blizzards. She tried not to think of Renko and Foster, the tracker or the look on Donnelley’s face when she threw the suggestion out there. 

She had lost her cool, Donnelley had a way of doing that. That damn smirk. Laine huffed a breath, then copied over a report of the shooting death of two RCMP members allegedly but rebellious indigenous during the 1970s. Another missing pair of hikers, vanished in the Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska, 1980s. It was all little maybes. 

Laine stretched, arching her back until it popped, her arms out twisting her wrists and dropping them just as Donnelley entered the library. She was unaware of his presence until he sat down and spoke. 

Dragging her attention away from the screen, she looked at him for a long moment of silence, letting it stretch out. 

“You thought that did you?” she said, looking him up and down then back at the computer. “I already sent a packet with all the information we gathered. I left it with Foster, I’m assuming they will get it.”

She went back to typing, unable to keep herself from antagonizing him. Lashing out, she told herself, lashing out at the one that would take it. More angry at herself, she hit the keys harder than necessary and turned back to him. 

“I don’t even know what team took the case,” she said, still staring at her screen. “You know when I advise on the case with the FBI, I don’t stick around to see if it gets solved. It’s not my job to make an arrest.  I don’t know why I’m struggling so much to let this go, to let someone else with likely more experience finish it. But I am, I’m having a hard time with it.” 

Laine shook her head, then tugged at the black sweater sleeves until her hands almost disappeared in them. There were no snarky remarks from Donnelley, no smirk. He just nodded his head, “I know. I am too.” He said, a quiet voice in the quiet room. Server hums and the whirring of computer tower fans, “I’m sorry for earlier. You know I’m worried. About fuckin’ with the Russians and bein’ too trusting.”

“I know you’re tired of bein’ dicked around.” Donnelley shrugged.

Laine sighed, glancing at him, then back at her computer. She stayed still then turned in her chair to face Donnelley. 

“I am used to the bad guys lying and being manipulative, that’s what happens when I interview a subject, they dick us around. They hold out on information we want so they can have leverage,” she said, “I understand that but I don’t like feeling like I’m getting it from our side as well. I know you didn’t want to talk about Foster, I’m sorry I hit you with that in such a way.” 

Laine shifted, leaning her arm against the back of the chair, “It wasn’t right. It’s just been gnawing at me. A gut feeling is all it is.” 

“I just don’t even want to entertain the thought. There’s enemies everywhere right now, I don’t want to think one of them is that… close.” Donnelley leaned back in his chair, knitting his fingers together in his lap, “We’ll get ours.”

He sighed, “I don’t know what else to say. We’re chasin’ our tails on maybe’s and what if’s.” He said, “Any updates from SIREN? I haven’t heard anything.”

Laine studied him then shrugged, "Maybe I'm just completely wrong. It's not like that hasn't happened before."

She shook her head, "I haven't heard anything, but I don't think Greedy's going to send me any memos."

Laine turned to the computer monitor, "Let's talk about something I can give you information about. I've been doing some cross searches about the names mentioned in the reports. Now, granted the sources of more than a few are suspect. I'm sure you've heard of PhenomenX?"

She almost looked embarrassed at the admission of using the source that dabbled in the supernatural and conspiracy. It was basically a tabloid. 

"Wind Walker, Ithaqua as it's called in the Inuit language," she said, "There's mention of it among the indigenous people during unseasonal blizzards to cults, reports of cannibals worshipping some sort of Wendigo type creature. According to PhenomenX, it's been responsible for missing hikers and possibly even mixed in with interdimensional Yeti."

She raised a brow at the last part, "A cult is a good place to start, it matches what Greedy showed us about Ipiktok Irniq."

“Interdimensional Yeti. That’s one thing I haven’t heard, but we’re in a Program base, so…” He shrugged, “So, this Irniq guy, he’s got a social media presence and lures people in with that? It doesn’t make sense, too high visibility.”

“Maybe this is extracurricular for him, or he just got into it.” Donnelley shrugged, “Assumin’ Irniq is our guy. Or SIREN’s, more like. I don’t know if SIREN’s got their own techie, but we could ask Ava if she can get into his social media, see what kinda stuff he’s arrangin’.”

"I don't think it's too unusual," Laine said, "Heaven's Gate used a website, it's still up in fact. The People's Temple used flyers. Cults not a cult without people. Some are more selective than others but considering the limited population pool Irniq has to draw from I'm not surprised he might advertise. Probably comes across as a cultural group, maybe competes in powwows and recruits there." 

Laine waved her hand, "I'm sure she can hack a Facebook blindfolded. I wonder if they ever tried infiltration or even just made a fake account and messaged about joining, just to see what Irniq's vetting process might be."

“If we could think of it, I’m sure SIREN could. I’m not used to waitin’ around. Ain’t to my likin’” Donnelley shook his head, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pocket, “You wanna bother Greedy? See if SIREN’s got anythin’ we can help on?”

“I don’t like waiting either, I’m used to just getting things done but I understand we have to play nice, like working with local PDs. I am sure that SIREN has as good a team working as hard as we do. Look, so basically all these cases ring a bell with the stuff going on in the mountains around Blackriver, just with different flavor. It’s missing people, outsiders in particular, it’s reports of strange phenomena, suspected cult/illegal group activities involving murder, and a mixing in of Indigenous or old local legends. That’s pretty basic, I know. I’ll get it sorted in a more detailed way but yes, let’s go bother Greedy. My eyes need a break.” 

Laine stood up, putting her notes and her laptop away, hooking the strap over her shoulder. “I don’t trust leaving it out, no offense to anyone watching the security footage.” 

“‘Less the cameras gonna come off the wall and beat their asses itself, I wouldn’t either.” Donnelley snorted.

She picked up her coat, her fingers touching the black and white moth pin and she smiled a little, “See what Ava gave me?”

It was the death’s head moth, similar to one she had on her upper left chest. It was a tattoo she got her first year of college and sometimes it seemed so silly and innocent, inspired by a movie. Laine flipped the coat over the other arm and gestured to Donnelley to lead the way. 

“I like it. It suits you.” Donnelley smiled at Laine, turning for the door with her in tow. Once they turned a corner outside the Library and the guards were out of sight, he looked at Laine. She hadn’t noticed yet, but the longer he stared, the bigger his smile grew until he looked away, grinning like an idiot. The halls were empty, their footsteps echoing on the cement floors in the labyrinthine corridors of the BLACKBOX.

It seemed too long to go without seeing another person, or just long enough. He stopped abruptly, gently grabbing Laine’s arm and planting an innocent kiss on her cheek before moving on as if it never happened, “By the way, about earlier. Shouldn’t be talkin’ like that to your Team Lead.” He smirked.

His kiss caught her by surprise, the boldness even if it was a small discreet gesture made her look at him with wide eyes. Laine smiled a bit, then pressed her lips together as her face heated. 

“Are you going to reprimand me for insubordination, sir?” she asked, glancing at him with a gleam in her dark green eyes. 

Donnelley smirked at Laine, sharing the glance, “Figure I gotta do somethin’ about it.”

Whether or not he wanted it to, that fun would have to come later. They stood in front of the familiar door to the meeting room, Greedy’s name still there with a refreshed countdown timer for the next few hours. Donnelley pressed the call button and Greedy’s voice was heard on the other end, “What’s this about?”

“Here to offer help. Or anythin’.” Donnelley shrugged.

It was a few seconds of waiting before the doors hissed open. Once again, Donnelley and Laine handed over their weapons and electronics. “We might need those.” The guard glared at Donnelley suspiciously through his sunglasses. Why anyone needed sunglasses a mile underground was beyond Donnelley, “The phones and stuff.”

The guard fixed Donnelley with the same stare for a few long moments before nodding once, and that was all. The door into the meeting room proper hissed open and inside was a veritable situation room. There was a live feed from a drone camera lazily drifting overhead displayed on a large screen, a zoomed out picture of the Alaska landscape slowly moving. Another monitor was set up with the same uptight military officer that picked them up at the airstrip sitting in the chair in front of it. It had a list of incoming files, a collection of image and text files from SIREN’s findings so far. Donnelley didn’t see much as of yet. Greedy himself was sitting in a corner and puffing on a cigar, reading a book on Inuit culture before he slapped it shut and threw it on a table next to him, “Fuckin’ gobbledygook.” He grunted in that gravelly voice of his, fixing Donnelley and Laine with his same gaze a mixture of boredom and impersonal annoyance, “You bring me coffee or something? Said you were here to help.”

Laine picked up the book, glancing at Greedy, “We’re here to help with the information being gathered, I’m afraid you’ll have to fetch your own coffee.” 

She leaned against the table, flipping open the book to the index, scanning down the list of subjects. As much as Donnelley wanted to carry on with Laine’s snippy dialogue and show Greedy he wasn’t the biggest asshole in the room, he only looked at him as he glared at Laine. After a bit of glaring and seeing that Laine wasn’t bothered in the slightest, he turned on Donnelley. He wasn’t too bothered either. Donnelley shrugged, “Coffee’s above our pay-grade.” He sucked his teeth, deciding to light up a cigarette since Greedy was doing it anyways. When the lighter flicked on, he heard the military officer groan, which really didn’t stop him, “Sure, we’re QRF. Sure, SIREN and ARTEMIS are star players and probably don’t need any of our help. But, I’m sure they’d [i]like[/i] some help. Take the pressure off.”

“I’m not sendin’ you in. Foster’s team or not, you and that other asshole aren’t steppin’ on my case.” Donnelley smirked, his and Foster’s reputation in the small Operations Office personnel pool preceding them.

“I’m not goin’ to. I’m about as ready to set foot out there in Noatak as I am ready to walk barefoot outside a heroin house.” Donnelley smiled good-naturedly, “This is y’all’s time to shine. Glory for the takin’.”

“Don’t fuckin’ patronize me.” Greedy narrowed his eyes, “So, do you have anything for me or did you come over to play your cute games?”

“Tell him what you got so far.” Donnelley nodded at Laine.

Laine tucked a finger in the book to hold her place, and stood up straighter, her free hand smoothing down the front of the turtleneck sweater. “I have found many instances of references to freak blizzard conditions to accompany reports of hikers disappearing and possible violence but the real thing that caught my eye was some indigenous [i]gobbledygook[/i] as you call it. There are several journal entries and some RCMP reports over the last century that mention native people referring to an entity called ‘Wind Walker’ or ‘Ithaqua’. It was noted by the authors that these were often expressed with fear and even reverence. It was written off as superstition.”

She held off mentioning anything about their old case, instead she continued, “Looking into reports of this being associated with other native beliefs such as the wendigo of the northeast, there’s similarities in the stories.”

Laine raised the book to indicate what her finger was marking, pinched between the thick pages, “As for the human face of this incident, there are three missing persons cases that had visited Ipiktok’s tribal retreat in common. Tourists that went missing in 2006, 2012, and 2018. Six year intervals it seems. The woman who was recovered in 2018 was determined by the ME to be an accidental death though she had been out in the wilderness for sometime. The other two are cold cases.” 


She tucked the book against her chest, finishing her thoughts, “I checked weather records for the Noatak area around the times of the victims were reported missing and their temperatures and reported snowfalls in those years were deviating from the average versus the other years where no reports were filed. Similar to the conditions reported now for Noatak.” 

Laine fell silent, looking directly at Greedy. “How much cult behavior has been recorded, has anyone infiltrated or developed a source in the community?” 

“Like I said, we’ve left him alone until now. There’s no previous case files I could dig up on Ipiktok, so this is all fresh.” Greedy shook his head, “We’re goin’ in blind on this, we’re the ones makin’ the Intel for the rest of the Program. I’ll take your idea into consideration, thanks.”

“Consideration?” Donnelley scoffed, “This shit is SOP, we’re a fuckin’ intelligence agency, what did [i]you[/i] have in mind?”
 
“Walk up there like we own the place. It’s Alaska, who’s gonna stop us?” Donnelley grit his teeth and shut up, taking a deep drag off his cigarette.

Laine inclined her head, “I get that, but what have you got from the locals? Alaska State Troopers or tribal police, did you talk to any of them?” 

“Who do you think kicked the case up to us, were you paying attention or was I just shitting out my mouth at the briefing? We have a canary in the State PD, when he found Deputy Gray he called us up. Circumstances matched with what we told him to look out for.” Greedy shrugged and looked at the both of them, his face screwed up with incredulity, “So what the fuck? You have an actual question or are you just here to tell me how to run my Op?”

Laine rolled her jaw, pressing her lips in a tight smile, “You’re right, of course. I just like to be thorough. We just wanted to know if anything had come across from SIREN, if you needed any extra hands with analysis from the field. We’re here to help.” 

“I appreciate it, really.” He didn’t sound that sincere, Donnelley withheld from snorting ruefully, “Just stick to the QRF, if I need anything, I’ll call you.”

When they left the meeting room, Laine turned to Donnelley, “Can I get that fifteen minutes of my life back? Sitting here twiddling our thumbs again.” 

She met his eyes with a hint of a smile, “I just hate playing second fiddle.” 

He pinched out the cherry of his cigarette and put it in the slowly swelling ziploc, the look of a bad taste on his face, “I’d like five minutes alone with that fat fuck.”

He sighed, stuffing his ziploc back in his hoodie pocket, grabbing his phone and gun off the table and replacing both on his person, “I wonder how many times they’ve had to replace someone on SIREN with an asshole like that at the helm.” He took a few breaths, and came back to Laine with his smirk, “I guess we’d better find somethin’ to occupy us. Any ideas?”

Laine gave him a look, her eyebrow arched slightly at the irony of his statement. She chuckled, bumping his arm with hers, “I have a few, most of them highly inappropriate, sir.” 

She glanced over her shoulder and back at him, “I should get back to work, I suppose.” 

Donnelley pursed his lips, looking about the empty hallways, “Sure it can’t wait?”

Laine reached into her pocket retrieving a pack of her Djarums and her zippo, lighting her cigarette. She took a drag, the scent of cloves rising between them as it crackled. “Do you know the blind spots?”

He took another drag from a fresh cigarette, nodding, “From the armory to the Library.”

She gave him an impressed raise of her eyebrows, then blew the smoke out slowly towards him, “You already did recon, didn’t you.” 

Laine looked him over, her eyes meeting his, “Let’s go to the library.”

“Let’s.” Donnelley turned on his heel and walked on, leading Laine with his hand on the small of her back for a moment, his hand sliding down her rear before he returned it to his side.

She checked over her shoulder when he touched her, then focused on the way he led her. She stole a few glances at him as she smoked and walked. Laine saw the camera and cupped her hand over her cigarette still glowing embers as she finished it. It was angled facing towards the turn of the hallway and Laine checked Donnelley, watching what he was looking for. 

Donnelley passed the camera, eyeing it as they passed under it and watched it sink behind the corner, out of view. There was a small indent in the wall where a tagged out and decommissioned electrical panel was set into the concrete wall. Out of view of the next camera, and the last camera conveniently behind the corner, it was a rare lapse in the security of the BLACKBOX. And a perfect opportunity. Donnelley grabbed Laine by the arm and put her back against the wall, stepping forward until they were less than an inch apart. He could feel an electricity between them, an animal aggression he felt as he looked into Laine’s eyes staring into his. His hand went from gently putting pressure around her neck to her jaw, and he leaned forward to kiss her.

Laine pressed back against the wall, looking up at him as she bit her lower lip slightly. Her deep green eyes sparked when he touched her throat, tilting her head up to meet his kiss. Closing her eyes, she felt his lips meet hers, moving against her mouth until she opened to him. She touched his chest, feeling the hard muscle under his shirt and ran her hand down to his belt, giving it a playful tug. 

He let go a small chuckle then, moving down to kiss at her neck and nibble at her earlobe. With his other hand, he worked at his buckle and the button of his pants, “I’ve needed this.” Came his hoarse, growling whisper in her ear.

She gasped softly at the sensation on her neck and ear, hearing the clink of the buckle. Her smile grew into something impish as she reached down, moving her hand inside his pants to fondle him as she whispered against his ear, her warm breath washing against him, “I’ve needed this, too.” 

Laine rubbed her hand up and down against him through his boxer briefs then drew her hand back out, pulling away. “But I really should finish that compiling of reports.”

“Fuck that guy,” He softly nipped at her earlobe and kissed just under her jaw, feeling her quickened pulse with his lips, “And fuck his reports.”

He pressed a bit of his weight against her, reaching down to feel the softness of her thigh through her leggings, moving up to cup her bottom and give it a firm squeeze. His other hand moved to her waist, thumb hooking into her leggings and making ready to gently shimmy them down.

“I’d rather not fuck him,” she murmured, then laughed softly. Laine arched her back slightly when he grabbed a handful of her ass but when he started to pull down her leggings she stopped him. 

“Wait,” she breathed out, looking him in the eyes. “What if someone comes by?” 

Even as she spoke she caressed his forearm, feeling the taut muscles that flexed under her hand. “This place is crawling with people that might tattle.” 

Laine let her hand slide down, again making a teasing pass at his open pants. “We’re not supposed to be...you know.” 

“Fucking.” 

Laine felt him again, this time lightly squeezing before letting go. He groaned. Out of pleasure, but also the annoyance of always having to be cautious. “It’ll be quick?” He tried.

She inhaled deeply, then shook her head but kissed him, long and deep. How she wanted to throw caution to the wind but the small space in the empty hall seemed to echo sound, each footstep magnified. Any noises they made might be heard and the risk of losing her team and Donnelley was too much. When she broke away, Laine cupped his jaw and met his eyes, “We’ll save it for when we can be sure it’ll be private.”

“Danger’s half the fun of these things.” He grumbled quietly as he buckled himself back up.

Laine chuckled, grazing his jaw with her fingernails, “So is teasing you.” 

She gave him a half smile with a twinkle in her eyes and a promise in the sway of her hips as she left the alcove to head back down the hall towards the library. It was difficult not to turn around to look back, her body humming with anticipation only to be denied. 

Laine passed through security without the guards blinking and went back to the same table and computer terminal, setting out her laptop and got back to work. The frustration with Greedy pushed aside, she thought back on Blackriver and the lost threads of that case. 

>BLACKBOX LIBRARY
>1155...///

Ava shut off half the lights to the computer lab, her coat over her arm with her headphones around her neck and her laptop bag containing her notebook and a USB filled with raw data slung over her shoulder. She glanced around the library as she went to reception, spotting Laine still working alone; though she distinctly remembered seeing Donnelley with her at some point.

She made her way over to reception, signed herself out and filed the necessary paperwork to claim the tracker as a piece of evidence in an active case so she could keep it. She had put it back together the best she could, but put it in a small sample jar from the lab to keep it safe.

After that was completed, she made her way over to Laine, setting down her bag into an empty chair and draping her coat over the top. “Hey there study buddy.” She said with a smile. “How’s your research going?”

Laine glanced up, shaking her head as she stretched, “It’s going. Where I don’t know but it’s going. I found some interesting similarities to our old case, but as for the one we’re working on. I’m basically going over the same ground SIREN has, still waiting for them to return.” 

She sat up, turning her body in the chair to face Ava. Laine looked at the young woman for a moment then glanced away, “Look, I’m sorry about earlier, losing my cool in front of you and Dave. I know that sort of thing might make you anxious so I wanted to apologize.” 

Ava blinked in surprise, taken aback by the apology. “It’s alright, it didn’t make me anxious it just caught me off guard. I get it, it’s a very,” She let out a heavy sigh. “Frustrating situation.” 

She perked up and smiled again. “But I saw Donnelley in here a while ago, did you guys make up?”

Laine glanced up at that, surprised then guarded at the insinuation as she replied, “Donnelley and I are professionals, we might disagree and frustrate each other sometimes, but yes, we’re fine. It’s nothing to worry about.” 

She smiled briefly then leaned down, her short dark hair falling past her face as she picked up her briefcase. “You’ll be wanting your phone I suspect.” 

Laine took out the pink case covered in blooming roses handing the Iphone to Ava. “I think I’ll go to our bunk and take a nap, I’m done for now until SIREN comes back with something.” 

Ava blinked again, this time in confusion at the response to her question. “Uh, yeah I need my phone back, I’m done in the lab.” Ava took the phone and slipped it into her bag. “I’ve gotten all I can out of the hardware aspect with the tracker.” She patted her bag. “Now comes the fun part where I look at all the raw data and code that was on the tracker. Thankfully I can do that anywhere since I copied it over to a USB.” She frowned. “It’s going to take me awhile and I want to be able to get food and coffee and go to the bathroom.”

Ava’s frown deepened as she kept her hands braced on the back of the chair. “Laine...the level of technology that went into this thing...it’s pretty scary.” She said quietly.

Laine slung the briefcase over her shoulder, “It sounds very weird from what you’re saying, nothing the US is doing that we know, that is scary. Walk with me, can you work on it in the bunk room? Or you have somewhere else in mind?”

“Yeah the bunk room is good, I’ll get some provisions from the cafeteria before I get to work but I want to drop off my stuff at least..and know where it is.” She picked up her bag and her coat, and nodded to the door before walking. “You know that math equation I was having trouble with?” She grimaced. “I checked my work 20 times and I finally had to admit that my math was right.”

“Snacks sound good, I’ll come with you,” Laine said, her jacket over her arm, “Well, that’s good? Your math is right. That’s the nice thing with math, there’s nothing to guess at. It’s right or wrong.”

As they passed the guards and exited into the hallway, Laine prodded at her, “Why does that bother you, that you’re correct?” 

“...Because it means that the device can be pinged from up to 20 kilometers away and that the power capacity of the battery, which is half the size of the tracker, has the same power as a 5590 battery. Which is something used on things like military grade radios to boost their range and performance.” She looked up at Laine. “What’s really scary is that it works so well that it shouldn’t even need that much power. The only reason I can think it would be that powerful was if it needed to power the tracker for long term surveillance.”

She shook her head. “That device shouldn’t work as well as it does and the fact that it does...That takes money, state funded kind of money.”

Laine tilted her head slightly, “Maybe Dave was right. It might be a [i]gift[/i].”

They approached the cafeteria, a large open room with kitchens in the back and the buffet line still open for lunch. Laine picked up a granola bar and a bottle of water, leaving the array of sodas and energy drinks alone so she could fall asleep. She found a pack of elk jerky and picked up a couple, no doubt the boys would like it. Laine rolled her eyes to herself, thinking of grown men that way but a smile flickered across her face. 

“Let’s continue this in the room,” Laine advised as they passed a couple of guards on their lunch breaks, loading up their plates.  

“Share some gummy bears with me?” she asked Ava, picking up a peg bag full of colorful candy. 

“You don’t even have to ask.” Ava smiled as she looked over her options. She grabbed a prepackaged ham and cheese sandwich, a few chocolate and peanut butter protein bars and a 15oz can of cold vanilla flavored coffee. 

She juggled the items in her arms, looking at Laine and her sensible picks and then back down at her arms full of what was essentially gamer food. “...Don’t judge me.” She smiled sheepishly. “I know how I get when I have a coding problem in front of me.”

"You actually got a sandwich, I'm not judging," Laine replied, then went back to the cooler where Ava found hers. "Well, shit I should just buy lunch but I don't want to hang around here."

Chicken salad. She checked the expiration date then picked up potato chips, her arms full as they went to the cashier. Laine looked at him, wondering how someone made it to be a cashier at a black site. 

Ava deposited her items on the counter, perking up as something off in the corner caught her eye. She excused herself and stepped away before returning a few moments later with a large coffee cup. She set it down with a grin. “One hot chocolate too, please.” she said, opening up her laptop bag and shifting things around so she could carry her snacks easier.

Once they paid and gathered up their spoils, Ava looked back up at Laine. “Have you been by the bunk rooms yet?”

Laine glanced at her, “Just to drop off my bag, did Dave take yours I guess?” 

She stepped into the room, it was large and perfectly square, the beds lined up in a double row with a walkway down the center. Each one was neatly made with white sheets and dark green blankets, each one exactly the same. Nothing adorned the walls except an exit sign, the bathroom sign, and another map of the facilities. 

Laine found the bed near the back wall next to the bathroom with her bag set on top of the locker, it had been moved from where she had tossed it on a bed near the door. Things ran differently at BLACKBOX. Ava’s bag was sitting on the footlocker beside Laine’s, both had been moved and the bed nearest to the door was claimed. A dark gray backpack, some military issued thing Laine did not recognize, was on the locker and a pair of rather large women’s boots next to the bed. There was a patch velcroed onto the backpack and Laine stepped over to take a closer look. It appeared to be a unit patch but no unit known outside the Program. A three pronged fork rising from the waves and the word TRIDENT behind it. 

“I wonder [i]who[/i] that belongs to,” she said dryly and walked back to Ava. “You know, I kind of miss the shitty motels.” 

Ava looked around the room, sipping her hot chocolate and eyeing the military kitbag placed by the door. “If she wants to be the first one up and out if there’s trouble, more power to her.” She shrugged and wandered over to her bag, picking it up and moving it closer to the bathroom. “If she’s like the rest of her team, I’ll keep far away from her.”

“Good idea,” Laine said, setting the items from the cafeteria down. “I just hate it when someone touches my stuff.”

She unwrapped the sandwich and sat on the edge of her bed, facing the door. “This reminds me of camp. Maybe we do the old warm water trick to her.”

After a few bites of her chicken salad, she glanced at Ava, “I’m joking of course. I don’t want to get powerbombed. Let her keep her space.” 

Ava grimaced at the idea, even if it was a joke. “Yeah, that’s the plan.” She set down her laptop bag, sat on the bed and started pulling out everything she’d need to decipher the data she gathered.