[i]”They build’em different up here.”[/i]

L’Monte chuckled, but his memories spooled up. He knew who’d said it. He could see her face clear as anything within his reminiscence. He kept the name captive, though. Kept it locked up in a deep, dark corner of his brain. Outer Element once again rose to the forefront of his mental sanctum. It was a lesson he understood well and had been [i]made[/i] to understand well. It should have been the mission statement of the OE, L’Monte thought. That the recruits of Outer Element were built different was simultaneously a known and unknown fact. Known to those within the walls of the training facility, but unknown to even some of the Grand Syndicates. L’Monte had heard plenty of stories. That OE members were monsters or boogeyman or inhuman. None of it bothered him, but Markus’ statement brought to mind his past. His training. His dedication to becoming an Adjudicator. And as he sized up his new partner, he could understand the depth of his statement. 

[i]They certainly do build’em different up here.[/i]

“I got ya covered,” L’Monte replied as Markus pulled a pair of bolt cutters from his pack. He turned and dropped to a knee, raising his M4 at the same time, ensuring his cheek was pressed against the top edge of the buttstock he’d unfolded. L’Monte adjusted the ACOG scope on top for clarity and began a slow, controlled sweep from left to middle to right and then in reverse order. Never was a bad thing to be cautious. He thought more highly of his new partner for even pointing it out. Not that he’d had any bad thoughts about the guy. In fact, L’Monte had found himself impressed with Markus. The man had experience. Even if he held a rifle, even if he held his own in a fist fight, there was nothing like a partner with experience. Experience was the difference between life and death in L’Monte’s personal opinion.

After a few minutes, Markus had cut a nice sized door in the fence. He pushed open the fence for L’Monte to go through first. L’Monte outright laughed at Markus’ comment. A classic. Couldn’t beat a classic. As L’Monte dropped the aim of his rifle to the ground, he stepped carefully through the fence. 

“More like beauty before age,” L’Monte retorted as he crept through. He said it with a sly grin he made sure Markus would see. He appreciated the man’s sense of humor. Another point in his favor. In all honesty, it was hard working with people. L’Monte had had his share of awful training partners in the past before he’d graduated to a fully field operative Adjudicator. Some lacked experience. Others were too stiff. Others still seemed like none of the training had taken. It was a breath of fresh air to be patterned with someone who had their head on straight and could laugh at the little things in life. Even amidst the situation they both found themselves in. 

After they both stepped through and the fence was pushed closed, L’Monte turned to Markus. “You know what they say. It’s either patrols or cameras. Smart money does both and clearly we’re not dealing with smart money. I’ll take ten to two,” he said. He bent his knees, arched his back downwards, and raised his rifle once more. He ensured a tight hold in his shoulder pocket as he crept forward, controlled steps quietly crunching leaves and grass underfoot. His M4 was outfitted with a silencer which, unlike in the movies, wasn’t that much quieter, but it did stifle muzzle flash. With the dawn still waking up behind them, the duo had the cover of darkness to their advantage.