“Behave, Lyosha,” Sean Delaney said calmly as he shoved Alexei toward one of the last remaining empty seats.
Alexei shot him a wounded look. “Not say anything!”
“He was thinking it,” Katie said.
“How about we celebrate nothing until after this mission is over?” Trevor asked the room at large.
“Good plan,” MDF Deputy Director Ranisha Stirling said as she entered the room. “Let’s get this briefing started.”
Everyone took their seats and paid attention. It’d been months since all of them were last in the same room together, much less for a mission. Even if Trevor hadn’t been the target, with two attacks from the Sons of Adam in his vicinity, Jamie had spoken with Director Amir Nazari about recalling the team for a single mission to deal with the problem.
Technically, they were still in the MDF Reserves, with the expectation that retirement was on the horizon at some point. Only something personal could draw them back into the fight, and apparently Trevor’s nascent love life counted as personal.
“With what information we’ve pulled out of the prisoners’ minds, we know this particular Sons of Adam cell is embedded in a small mountain town in western Maryland at the moment,” Stirling said.
Holoscreens popped up in front of every active terminal, as well as in the center of the table. Trevor studied the information layered in front of him, flicking through mugshots.
“From what we’ve gathered, they have no direct link to anyone in contact with ex-CIA Deputy Director Carter Bennett. This whole mess stems from a domestic violence incident that spiraled into an act of revenge. The goal is to demolish this cell and take everyone into custody.”
“Alive?” Alexei asked.
Sean discreetly elbowed him in the side. Stirling pretended not to notice.
“In custody usually means alive, Dvorkin. It doesn’t matter if Sanchez was or was not a target in the first place. We’d like to make an example of them so no one else gets the brilliant idea to come after any of you.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jamie agreed calmly.
“I expect you to make short work of this mission. They’re men and women playing at being military. It shouldn’t be hard.”
“Just like old times,” Kyle agreed.
Stirling nodded. “In a way. You aren’t Alpha Team anymore, but we can’t let you into the field without a designation. The director has agreed to assign you to Phoenix Rising for the duration of this mission.”
Trevor had a brief, wistful moment of wishing they got to keep their old team name. He knew it belonged to another group of metahumans now, that they had no hard claim to it, but they’d carried that name for years before giving it up. He knew they would always miss it, but continuing the fight, even for one skirmish, under one of the team names reservists used wasn’t a bad thing.
In a way, it felt like coming home.
Sharing glances with the rest of his team around the conference table, Trevor knew they felt the same.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jamie said for all of them.
* * *
“I kind of miss this,”Madison said over their secured and encrypted comms.
The explosion that ripped through the air sent dirt and metal flying away from where Madison’s energy blast had laid waste to the compound’s heavy front door. Trevor raised a telekinetic shield around the position he and Katie had taken to the left of the small compound’s entrance.
“What? You don’t get enough fun training Navy SEALS, Nova?” he replied.
“I never said that, Bones.”
“Not hard mission,” Alexei said as fire engulfed one entire wall at the rear of the property. “Would prefer challenge.”
“I challenge you not to kill anyone, Inferno,” Annabelle replied as she flew down on a steep dive, using her anti-gravity power to haul two snipers off the roof. “The director wants us to bring them back alive for questioning.”
“They shoot us first, Icarus. Only fair we shoot back.”
“Don’t worry. I got your six,” Kyle promised.
