Stumbling into the Dark[M]{DamoniquexKicks}

[Damonique]

Rated M for strong language, drug and alcohol use, violence, sexual themes and situations, blood, gore, and psychological horror.

Chapter 1:Meet your Co-Workers

A white 2006 Toyota Camry, probably the single most generic car to have existed, with rental plates, rolled to a stop in a multi-level parking garage in a run-down commercial distict in downtown NYC. Nearly every building here that wasn't falling apart was up for sale, including the squat, three story red brick affair adjoining the garage.

Carrow, in the driver's seat, popped open the door and called back to the two people in the back seat who were as different as night and day.

Kasimir Barq was a tall, muscular man wearing a deep purple turban, who seemed to be asleep, head resting in the multicam army-issue duffel bag resting between his feet, but was awake and alert the moment he heard the engine cut off.

Elly, meanwhile, was a slim young woman, honestly just a teenager who was, of course, completely engrossed in her cell phone. She had a frayed strand of her sand-blonde hair from her vangs sticking out of the corner of her mouth. Chewing her hair was a habit of hers, much maligned but her mother, that she did whenever she was concentrating, which for Elly, was the vast majority of the time.

"Hey, clever girl. We're here, hop out. Gotta get you two settled and head right back out. I've got two more flying in within the hour." The middle aged agent rattled off quickly, not even trying to mask the irritation in his voice. It had been a long car ride, for everyone, and while Singh had the military discipline Carrow had been looking for, Elly had anything but. And spending time with her made Kasimir worse.

"Alright, dad, sheesh. Just doing what you told me to, covering our tracks. You'd have all the time in the world right now if you'd let us fly first class." The girl responded, not sharing the sarcasm, and Carrow caught Barq crack a smile from the corner of his eye, proving his earlier point.

Nonetheless, Elly finished what she was doing, shut off her phone and hopped out of the car, slinging her lime green Starfire backpack over the shoulder, setting a dozen keychains jingling. She tucked her sticker-reinforced laptop case under her arm and looked around with a puzzled expression, clearly looking for something.

"Oh, they'll be in coach." Carrow stated offhandedly, and led the pair towards a set of double doors attaching the garage to the adjoining building. He fling them open and stepped inside, beaconing the two inside.

"Wait, this is it? No underground garage, no retina scan, not even a frakkin' sliding door. Not a very impressive secret society." Elly started at once, eyebrow raised incredulously as she looked inside.

"I'm going to have to agree with the kid...I was expecting something a bit more... impressive." Kasimir added to her complaint as he studied the room behind the door. It was one huge room stretching nearly from wall to wall that had at one point been subdivided I to office spaces, but most of the walls and cubicles had been torn out, leaving deep ruts cut out of the carpet.

There were some signs of hasty re-occupation, extension cords criss-crossing the floor to supply power to hangar-style running lights on the ceiling, several OD-green storage crates piled against the walls, and seven army-style barracks tents set up around the perimeter.

"Its what I could get set up on short-notice. This is all temporary, trial period, remember? Pick a tent, make yourselves at home, rookies." Marcus answered bluntly, neglecting to mention that he was just as much being tested as the rest of them. The agent has led more operations than he could count, and knew it was always better to let the boots on the ground think you knew what was going on upstairs.

"Carson should be around here somewhere, say hello. You two should get along pretty well, Kasimir. He was locked up when I found him too. I'll be back in an hour or two, have fun." Carrow added quickly, and was already out the door by time they, Elly especially, could protest. There was a click as the doors locked them in behind him.

"You can't leave me in here alone with a couple of...of.." The girl had already started, but caught herself before she could finish the sentence, turning yo look at Kasimir, who was raising an eyebrow at her. "...strangers. No offense, Kas, but..y'know." She finished, blushing slightly.

"It's okay. He knows you'll be safe around me, and he's right, you are." The Sikh stated in an even tone, and Elly immediayely began yo form a question. She could tell just from paying attention that Carrow hadn't known Kasimir for much longer than she had known him, but he answered before she could ask it.

"Because he knows what I was going to prison for." He said with an icy smile, raising a hand to cut her off before she could ask the next obvious question, because he could tell there was someone watching them.

[Kicks]

When Carson had been found he was locked away in a psych ward. It was more luck than anything that he hadn't been thrown in jail. Of course he had done nothing wrong, but they wouldn't believe him. It was exactly why he was so persistent that it wasn't him who had done anything wrong but those fucking things, that landed him in the psych ward to begin with.

Because of the drugs he couldn't quite remember how he had gotten to the place he was at now. He had remembered walking in with a brutish man who he also remembered being vaguely intimated by. Carson was a lanky figure with long appendages. But that's where it stopped being impressive. He was skinny, just skin stretched tight over protruding bone. His gaunt face was covered in a wild untamed beard that gave him almost a homeless appearance.

He couldn't remember how long he had been there for. But he did remember choosing the tent the closest to the exit. Paranoia, the doctors would say. He would tell them to fuck off. He was wrapped tightly inside when he heard voices and shuffles of feet. At first, he tensed, preparing mentally for some kind of attack. But as the voices grew nearer he realized they were human. His ears perked in earnest anticipation and a sly smile crept across his face at one of the remarks made.

Relatively speaking, the space could be considered homey. Carson enjoyed the space because there was little there.

He moved over to the tent's entrance and peeked outside. Yes, two new people. He had been told there would be others. They weren't what he was expecting. Then again, he wasn't much of an awe-inspiring sight either.

Carson stepped out from the tent hesitantly. His tongue moved over his chapped lips nervously, stark blue eyes skittishly looking these people over.

Then he noticed something. The backpack.

"What the fuck is that?" He blurted out, finger raised and pointing.


The flight had been horrible, is what the fiery red head had told Amelida. A child had been crying nonstop, there was no alcohol to be seen, and she was certain someone had taken a shit without actually flushing.

When Amelida first saw her, it was out of curiosity as the redhead had been dressed in fuzzy black pajamas. It was an odd sight, even for an airport. Of course, she had been caught staring but the girl had taken it in another way than what she intended. The redhead had strolled over, stopping mere inches in front of Amelida. She was shorter than her, of course, as most girls were. But still there was something in her eyes that made her feel almost smaller.

Her brown eyes caught sight of the stupidly placed "HELLO MY NAME IS RIANNE" sticker on the girl's freckled face.

"Rianne?" She asked, pronouncing it 'ree-anne'.

"No," The girl laughed, "Rye-en." Her finger brushed against the sticker lightly before her hand went out in front of her to shake Amelida's, "And what's your name, gorgeous?"

Amelida pinched back a startled grin. So this girl hadn't come over to call her out on staring at her pajamas. "Amelida," She said finally, shaking her hand.

It was after they had started talking that they realized they were here for the same thing. Of course they had been described what the other would look like, and that's where the inkling started they were there for the same thing.

Now they were sitting outside, on a bench, at 'terminal pick-up'. Amelida sat with her back straight and hands clutching her bag. But Rianne sat with both feet up on the bench in a criss-cross.

"Think they'll have food?" Rianne practically purred, "Fucking airplane had no good nothing. Swear it was like starving meself."

"Uh...." Amelida trailed off, laughing a bit. It was hard to catch everything Rianne was exactly saying because of how much softer and faster she spoke than those around her.

"Guess we'll see." Rianne answered herself, "And if not, bet yer sweet ass that's the first thing I'mma see to."

[Damonique]

The third person in the makeshift 'camp' finally showed himself, creeping up in a somewhat unsettling manner. Kasimir had seen him though, five weeks in jail had renewed his instincts. His hand moved unconsciously to the ornate, hooked knife hanging from his belt, his Kirpan. It was comforting to have it back after so long without. By the old rules, a Khalsa should die before allowing himself to be disarmed, but he hadn't always been quite that devoted, and the cops had seemed singularly apathetic towards the customs of some 'raghead'.

It wasn't that this man, Carson, the Agent said his name was, seemed particularly threatening. Physically, at least. Tall, even taller than the soldier, but lean and wiry, evidence of either a bad diet or lack of exercise, likely both, if he'd been 'locked up' for long. Kasimir had no doubt he could take him if it proved necessary. Meanwhile, Elly was entirely oblivious, just giving a strange expression at Kasimir's silence and opening her mouth to say something further before the silence was broken, or moreso shattered, by the man revealing himself, quite loudly, causing Elly to jump, startled, letting out an adorable squeak.

"What the fuck is that?" He blurted out, pointing. Surprisingly, the object of his incredulity was not the myriad oddities about the Sikh's semi-traditional garb, the rich purple turban covering his hair and the loose red sash cinched about his waist, but Elly's lime-green backpack. It was not just childish, but for a child, even made of shiny plastic, adorned with the smiling, bushy-eyebrowed face of Starfire, neither the over-sexualized comic book version of the 'chibi' version from Go!, but the one Elly had grown up with from the 2006 series.

"This? It's Starfire. She's a character from a TV show I used to be obsessed with. She's a Tamaranean...uh, an alien." Elly began, barely stopping herself before she started rattling off the history of the character, her powers and interesting, butterfly-like lifecycle. Neither of these men were likely to want to hear it. She suddenly regretting bringing the backpack with her, and also what she was wearing, a technicolor ensemble that looked like it came straight out of Lisa Frank, making her look even younger than her nineteen years. And based on what she had seen so far, the 'others' Carrow was picking up were probably also older and tough-looking, like these two. She was just technical support.

"Sorry, should probably introduce myself. I'm Ellen Brooks, my friends call my Elly, and you must be Carson." She started, suddenly changing the subject and holding out her hand with only a hint of apprehension. She didn't know anything about this guy, but he definitely gave off strange vibes. Though she's thought the same about Kas, at first. You could be as progressive as you liked, but a large middle-eastern man carrying a knife still flipped a switch the brain of anyone who'd been young in America on 9/11 and afterwards. After that introduction, Kasimir stepped forward and offered a nod and his own hand.

"I'm Kasimir Singh Barq, any of the three names work, or you can just cal me Kas." The soldier offered amicably.

-------------------------------------

Carrow finally navigated the Camry through ever-present chaos of the airport parking lot and into the slow-moving line of cars and taxis headed for the pick-up area, tinted window rolled down to look for his final two 'recruits'. While he'd never met Quinn or Colba in person, they'd been in contact by phone and e-mail, and he had a full dossier on both. They'd be hard to miss, both young and, he had to admit, quite attractive. That might be an issue later on...predictably, his likely candidates skewed young, and hormones were the bane of discipline.

Finally, he saw them, sitting together, looking like night and day but seemed to be hitting it off. Amelida, the boxer, was taller with dark skin and eyes. Rohanne was as Irish as one could be without being a complete stereotype, with her wavy red hair and dusting of freckles. The older man pulled the car up in front of the bench occupied by the pair and took off his dark sunglasses, waving for them.

"Quinn, Colba. I'm Agent Carrow, we spoke on the phone. Hop in." Marcus stated bluntly, still calling himself 'Agent' even though that wasn't precisely the truth any more. His people didn't have to know that, and besides, after wearing a badge for over twenty years, it was an integral part of his identity he couldn't part with. Honestly, he was probably still working for the government in some capacity, just an even more clandestine part than even the CIA.

[Kicks]

Carson gripped one of his forearms tightly with the other hand. The skin around where the half sleeve of his dulled to white with the pressure of his hand. His eyes flittered between the two of them, first from Elly as she explained rather adorably about her backpack and then to Kas as he introduced himself.

From his guess-timation, he was certain Elly couldn't be more than 15. She looked so small and seemed so young. Which made him suspicious as to the kind of guy Carrow was for bringing a child away from her parents.

He decided then he would be even more cautious around Carrow. He would also have to keep an eye when the man was around Elly, make sure nothing came her way.

He dropped his hand from his forearm and wiped them across his ratty faded jeans. Carson then raised a hand back up and shook both of their hands in succession.

"Elly... Kas..." He said slowly, looking between the two of them. "I'm Carson. Last name isn't important." Because the more they knew about him, the riskier it got. Although they would be working closely together. He should stop thinking in the negative light. But he already said his name, so fuck it.

"You're also not from here..." He murmured to Kasimir. It wasn't the way he looked but the way he spoke, he had a thick accent. "Hungary." He said before realizing it could be interpreted that he was 'hungry'. "I'm from a place in Hungary. The girl sounds like she's from here."

-------------------------------------

Amelida was already a cautious girl. So when an older man pulled in front of them and told them to hop in the car, even after stating his name, she was reluctant to move from the bench.

"No." She said firmly. Rianne was already getting up, but Amelida put her arm in a bar over the girl's torso so she didn't move further.

"What're you doing?" Rianne sputtered, "This is the guy from the phone. Let's go, Amy."

Amelida moved her dark eyes to the redhead who was obviously displeased to have been stopped. She wondered for a second if Rianne had ever not gotten her way.

"Just because he says that's his name, doesn't mean he is who he says he is." Amelida told the redhead carefully. She didn't like the way he was wearing dark sunglasses, almost like he was trying to hide something. Even though he had taken them off, and she could now clearly see the trusting glint in them, she still didn't want to be too gullible.

"I recognize his voice, dummy." Rianne moved the woman's arm away from her and stood to her feet. She grabbed onto her back and lifted it over a freckled shoulder.

Amelida was now certain that Rianne was capable of being really stupid. Such a pretty girl, how lovely it was that she was so easy to talk into things.

"If we work together," Amelida began to say, "I have a feeling you are going to get us in a lot of trouble."

[Damonique]

Kasimir shook Carson's hand, but still didn't know exactly what to make of the man. He seemed polite enough, and while the expression he made towards Elly was definitely odd, it wasn't predatory. That was a good sign, but he did seem guarded and suspicious, especially the way he refused giving his last name. His accent was hard to place until he offered the origin. Hungary.

And then he pointed out Kasimir's own accent, drawing a laugh. It was a good example of something he dealt with often, people seeing how he was dressed and making assumptions far off the mark, though it wasn't as if he was entirely unjustified, he definitely didn't speak regular american English anymore.

"Actually, I'm from Chicago, born and bred, but it's an easy mistake. Spoke Pashto nearly every day for over two years in the Marines. Afghanistan, translator, though they never taught me any Hungarian." Kasimir answered without reservation, and took a step back from the man, his hand moving from where it had been, tucked into the folds of the sash just beside the protruding handle of his Kirpan. "And before you ask, I'm not a Muslim, but a Sikh. Not that it should matter." He added, the emphasis clear. Eastern Europe had been showing a pointed right-wing resurgence lately, and the Arabs were often an easy target.

"I'm from Seattle, Washington. Not that anyone asked, and I'm not a kid, I'm nineteen. Not that it should matter." Elly chimed in, seemingly just wanting to be part of the conversation, and unable to help herself from that bit of tongue-in-cheek humour at the end. Elly also knew what it was like for people to make assumptions off of her appearance, by men especially. Either they were patronizing or predatory, with very little middle ground. That was why she preferred to live her life on her computer, where noone could see her to judge her appearance, only the quality of her work.

----------------------------------

Carrow raised an eyebrow when they two women got to arguing about weather or not to trust him, but kept silent until they worked it out. Honestly, the fact that they had both come this far already, hopping on a plane to the U.S. with only a one-way ticket and their bags, told him they were already too intrigued by his vague offer to turn back now, reservations aside,

And, as expected, they eventually got in the car, Colba taking the back seat, likely so she could keep and eye on him and make a hasty escape when things went sideways, while Quinn hopped in the front beside him with seemingly no cares in the world. Once he navigated out of the congested pick-up/drop-off area of the Airport, and through the parking lot onto the freeway, he glanced in the rear-view to regard Amelida.

"Points for awareness, I could have been anyone. But I'm not, and we're all on the same side here, so you can relax. If you were so concerned about strangers, you never would have answered my first emails. You want answers, same as the rest of us." The man said, and if he sounded genuine, it was because he was. That was the only thing he and these kids really had in common, was a truth the world had been hiding from them that they desperately needed to hear for themselves. That they weren't crazy, and that it was everyone else who was living in the dark.

[Kicks]

A confused look crossed Carson's face as Kas explained he was in fact from America. He looked the man up and down, taking in his entire composure. The man was dressed not like any other American he had seen. He also spoke like no other American he had heard. The Americans he was used to were a lot like Elly.

Maybe he had misheard Kas. His English wasn't very good. Then the man mentioned Muslim and Skih. He brushed aside those words with a fleeting motion of his hand in the air.

"I do not know what those are." Carson stated plainly, "So no, they do not matter to me." He added without a second thought to what he was saying.

His eyes moved over to the little girl when she pointedly said her true age. A grin broke across his face.

"No," He told her, putting a flat hand down on top of her head gently. "Child. Small. Worry not, you are around people that will keep you safe." He then bent down a bit, not realizing how condescending it could be to get down to her eye level. "Where are your parents? Do they know you are here?"

Carson also did not realize his question could be so hurtful. He didn't know where these people were from or why they were here. For all he knew, the agent had simply picked them up because they too knew there were things out there but hadn't experienced it. Kind of like alien nuts, he thought humorously.

___________________________________________

He does have a point, Amelida thought to herself when the man mentioned they would never have traveled to America. Though, now that she thought over it, she had in fact come more for the reassurance that other people knew things were out there that couldn't be explained.

She bit down on her lower lip while looking out the window of the car. They were here now. She would get to hear what other people had experienced. Her dark eyes cast a glance from the window the redhead next to her. Like what this feisty thing next to her had experienced to be here.

She thought of asking now, but then decided it would be better to ask everyone at the same time. She wanted to burn it into her memory what everyone had seen or believed.

Rianne caught the woman's glance. She turned in her seat to face her.

"Told you I was right." Rianne said matter-of-factly, "Now, be less cold." She pushed the girl lightly on the shoulders, a spark of a mischievous glint in her eyes as she did so.

Rianne did mean that less statement. She didn't like the cold feeling she got from Amelida. It was almost like she was a frigid winter breeze to Rianne's summer flow. She sat stiff, like some kind of soldier. Rianne didn't like that, she would see to it that the woman loosened up.

Rianne turned her attention back to the driver. She was sitting in the back, straight behind him. She lifted up a foot covered in a black slipper. She kicked it lightly against the head rest of the driver.

"Let's hurry up!" She demanded, "I got to pee!"

[Damonique]

Kasimir seemed just as puzzled as the other man when he showed almost no recognition for what he had said, and remembered well what Carrow had said about the other man being locked up as well, and hoped he hadn't looped a genuine crazy in with the rest of the misfits. Kas still wasn't entirely sure weather or not the Agent himself was completely right in the head, but whoever up top had put all of this together seemed to think he knew what he was doing.

And Kas was trying hard not to stereotype based on the language barrier alone. It seemed that wherever Carson came from in Hungary, it must have been rural and his education may not have been stellar. He had known herdsmen in Afghanistan that could neither read nor write, but could tell when it was about to rain from the smell of the air and what was ailing a goat just by the way it walked. And some of the marines he had served with could hardly basic math but could somehow zero in a mortar shell to land precisely where they wanted it to go. Simple didn't mean stupid, after all.....but after what the man said to Elly next, he had to rethink that theory as well.

Small, maybe, but Kas could tell from just the long road trip that Elly was no child. When she wasn't talking about television or comic books, Kasimir could rarely follow half of what she had to say, and at times, he suspected the Agent didn't understand any of it nearly as well as he pretended to. The girl was a genius, no doubt about that, the kind that thinks on a level you have trouble relating to. And she reacted about as well as one would expect, meaning...not very.

First was when the man patted her head, not realizing in the slightest that he meant to be emphasizing her stature compared to the rest of them rather than an intentional slight annoyed her, and what he said next infuriated her. Elly reached up and forcefully slapped the mans hand away(so weakly he probably just moved it out of surprise), and stood up to her full, unimposing height, that being 5'5" plus two more inches from her cherry-red pumps, trying to get up in his face, and looked him right in the eyes, seething.

"True, my parents don't know exactly what I'm doing right now, but only because they'd think I was crazy if I told them. But they do think I'm working for the government, doing work to foil terrorists and put criminals in jail. And they believe that because I'm just...that...good." She emphasized each of the last three words with she thought was her best 'badass' impersonation, although it came out more like petulant whining than the brash self-confidence she was going for. And then suddenly what little confidence had been there melted away, as Carson continued to stand there looking down at her, entirely unfazed, definitely not intimidated, probably having only understood one word in three of her whole speech. With a nervous laugh, she beat a hasty retreat to put Kasimir's solid frame between herself and the larger man.

"And if you touch me again without permission, I'll....I'll tell the Agent! And...and...make Kas here kick your ass!" She added from safety, quite uninvitedly wrapping both her slender arms around the marine's muscular right and appreciating his intricately inscribed Kara Bracelet, batting her eyelashes in the best show of demure helplessness. Where will and words failed her, a sweet smile and easy affection had always worked like a charm, and the sikh very much seemed like the white-knight type.

"You'll do it, right, my quite fashionable protector! Your whole uh...Khalasha thing, defending the defenseless through necessary violence. You're like...Nightrunner, from Batman Incorporated!" She added sweetly, being entirely unable to keeping herself from referencing the little-mentioned(except by angry racists) Batman of Paris, Bilal Asselah, a French Muslim. For his part, Kasimir was not amused.

-----------

This was the scene that Marcus, Amelida, and Rianne walked in on. Carson standing there looking more confused that anything else, Elly trying to insist that it wasn't racist to compare one badass Arab with cool outfit and a strict moral code to another, and Kasimir trying to simultaneously shake the girl off of his arm while explaining that to be a Khalsa, which was the proper pronunciation, did not mean to protect people from minor annoyances. And also that he wasn't one...at least not technically.

The two women beside him could see the particular crease of exasperation already making itself prominent on Agent Carrow's many lined face, pressing two fingers to his lips and let out a long, loud whistle to get everyone's attention. The room went silent immediately, Elly hopping back from Kasimir and trying her best to look innocent as could be, Kasimir snapping to a military parade rest as if on instinct.

"Well, at least you didn't kill each other. That would give a bad first impression to our last two associates. Szabó, Singh, Brooks, these two are Colba and Quinn. And starting today, your all on a team. You don't have to like each other, but you do need to trust each other. If there are problems, try to settle them yourselves, if you can't, come to me. But it better not be about some millennial drama bullshit. Pretend you know how to be professionals." He explained gravely in the perfect impression of a drill sergeant...or maybe a high-school principal, it was hard to tell the difference.

"Alright, take fifteen, introduce yourselves, get to know each other, and then we'll have our first briefing.....as soon as I find out where they put all the goddamn chairs!" He added in a less serious tone, trudging over to one of the several stacks of identical, entirely unmarked storage containers and going through them. Again, everyone would have the distinct impression that this 'top secret' outfit may not be nearly as professional as they had been led to believe.

[Kicks]

The sight upon arrival was not exactly something Amelida had been expecting. She had been thinking they would have arrived and found some professional-kind of people. She should have known better after having met Rianne. Furthermore, it was not like she herself was any sort of professional. What made her any better with this stuff? She had only experienced a true horror which caused the deaths of her parents. Witnessing that only made her merely a witness. No expert. No professional.

She slinked over to a tent while Carrow made his introductions. She dropped off her single duffel bag while listening in the background to the chatter. Something he said made her think. They did have to trust each other. But as she glanced over again at everyone, she wondered exactly who she could trust. Agent Carrow, she believed so far was the only one she could trust. The rest? Well she didn't like the look of the big man and wondered briefly if he would happily slit everyone's throats while they were sleeping. There was a tiny girl as well, young and small. Not two things she considered adequate. There was Carson, a man she already believed to be homeless and therefore irresponsible. Then there was Rianne - a fucking psycho.

A sigh escaped her lips. Amelida was doubtful that getting to know anyone else would change her mind of her first impressions. She really hoped she turned out wrong, because if what Agent Carrow had said on the phone then the shit they were about to get into required all of them to look out for each other.

Amelida crossed back to the group. She folded her arms across her chest, her leather jacket making rubbing noises as she did so. She stood there in her Timberland boots, ripped jeans, dark shirt and jacket- taking in everyone.

"Alright," Amelida said at last, waving her hand briefly in the air dismissively. "Tell me why any of you are to be trusted. From what I see, none of you fit the profile of having my back. I'll have yours, certainly, but you-" Her eyes met with Kasimir then Carson, "Both of you, look like fucking freaks." She then pointed briefly at the small girl, "And you, what do you bring to the table?"

[Damonique]

The arrival of Carrow and their remaining two 'teammates' at the very least gave everyone a chance to calm down, and Kas took the opportunity to look over at Carson and give the man a respectful nod, as if to say that whatever Elly's reaction to him was, he was okay in his book. A fish out of water who'd fallen on hard times, sure, but the sort of honest instinctive concern the man showed towards those weaker than himself spoke well of him.

And then Amelida opened her mouth. Kas had to admit that the caramel woman carried herself like a warrior, brash and no-nonsense, with a toned musculature and a light stance that seemed ready and waiting for a fight. Kas smiled, maybe he'd have a sparring partner here...and someone to watch his back when things went sideways. He'd have to take what he could get, there, as it was obvious now that he was the only one here besides Carrow with any sort of military training or discipline, and as capable as the spook seemed, he was definitely over the hill and out of practice.

Kas was about to say something to here, but, as always, it was Elly who spoke up before he ever got the opportunity. First it had been Carson, and now this mystery woman was coming in and questioning her value as well. The blonde had really had drawn the short straw with this lot, a kid(no matter how much she protested that fact) in a room full of adults, and the only one of them who couldn't say she'd experienced first-hand what the rest of them had. But.....the little genius did have an ace up her sleeve, as she pulled out her phone and did some rapid tapping.

"Amelida Colba. 24. Born in Tarija Province, Bolivia. You father was a boxer, and I guess you were a daddies' girl, because you took the women's middleweight belt twice, but your career ended when you got your face absolutely wrecked by an up-and-comer. Then you went fucking insane, ranting about El Cadejo, a local legend of some repute....in and out of therapy, kinda became a joke....oh, and your basically broke, eat a lot of take out and your browser history is just....." The girl trailed off with an extended whistle and a blush, and then cocked her head to the side as if to say she could go on like this for a while. Bolivia's' government still had a bit of a fascist streak, keeping tabs on everyone, but their cybersecurity was shit. Elly had started digging the second the Agent mentioned her name in passing.

"You might have the brawn but I've got the brains. Elly Brooks, hacker extraordinaire, and as far as I know, I'm the only who actually earned their spot here instead of just being unlucky. So that's what I bring to table, and really do hope we can get along. I hope we can all get along. So chill yourself and stop ragging on people you don't know, it's mean." The blonde finished, stepping up and offering the older woman her hand as something of an olive branch, smiling sweetly, and then cocked her head back towards Kas, who was standing quiet and still, watching this all go down, strong arms crossed far away from his Kirpan to show he meant neither of them any harm.

"And Kas here might have an interesting style and not say much, and, true, he could probably kill us in a dozen ways right now even without the knife, but won't because he's such a sweetheart. Isn't that right, Mr. Lion." She continued and stepping back so he could take his own turn at introductions, eliciting a groan from the soldier, but also the barest hint of a smile. Elly was a handful, but a sweet one...the only issue was that he couldn't be sure how long a sort of carefree innocence like that could last in what they were getting into.

"Guilty as charged, I guess. Kasimir Singh Barq, formerly U.S. Marine Corps. Discharged at E-5, Sergeant. I've been civvie for long enough for that not to matter too much, though....and no offense taken, you don't see that many people like me in Bolivia, I'm sure." The man stated calmly, offering her his hand, and then turned his attention towards the redhead beside her, Quinn, the Agent had called her, who had stayed silent so far.

[Kicks]

Amelida pulled her eyebrows together when the girl brought out her phone. She opened her mouth to ask what she was doing but she quickly learned what it was when the girl began to rant off rather sensitive information about her. The last time she had felt her face get this hot was when her father would call her his fighting princess in front of her friends on the school playground.

Red-hot embarrassment coursed through her veins the more the girl spoke. She was off-put by the facts the girl was able to gather, and so quickly too. She had no idea how the girl could pull up that kind of information, and how fast too. But then the girl went to explain just who she was.

Brawn vs brains... Amelida liked that, surprisingly. It made more sense now as to why she was here. While the rest may have experienced something or were more capable physically speaking, they had a genius in their midst. There could be a thousand warriors, but without a thinker in their ranks they would stumble on hard times.

Her dark eyes dropped to the girl's hand. She reached out and took it before listening to Kas and then taking his hand too. Her eyes moved to Carson, who she was thinking would explain his position here.

Instead, Carson merely met her eyes... raised his middle finger, then seductively placed it into his mouth. He winked. Amelida turned her attention away with a frustrated look on her face.

"Well, no need to introduce myself then." Amelida sighed almost tiredly, "Beside me is-"

"Rianne!" The redhead finally popped open her mouth. She had been distracted by watching everyone, trying to get a good take on each person. But now she felt her voice was warranted.

"I'm just here for the ride." Rianne added playfully, "I don't really offer much. I talk fast, loud, fucking curse too. But sometimes I do okay things."

[Damonique]

Things seemed to be going about as well could be expected, with Elly and Amelida finally making peace between them, only to be thrown right back off-kilter by Carson's vulgar introduction towards the new woman. That man was a mystery, and Kasimir found himself again wondering if the Hungarian was just a legit nutcase the Agent rounded up with the rest of them. Not that he could say the man didn't have a point, Colba was definitely the most attractive thing in the room if you liked your women hardcore, but saying much about it within earshot seemed like a good way to get punched.

And then there was Rianne...if Elly had had taken on the role of little-miss-sunshine, the redhead would be a close runner-up, crimson ringlets flowing and emerald eyes a-flutter, completely carefree...at least until she opened her mouth, and the soldier could help but stifle a snicker at her apt self-description, spoken in a thick Irish accent that just accentuated her charm. Looking from one woman to the next, Kasimir couldn't help but let his hand drift to the Kara bracelet about his wrist, turning the cold iron over and over nervously as he took a deep breath. He'd just been re-confirmed, but the world seemed intent on challenging his dedication to the path. Luckily, Elly was there to save him from making a fool of himself.

"Rye-en, eh? Now YOU seem fun, or at least more fun than these old people. I lo-o-ove your pajamas, are those fleece? What do you think of my ensemble? When I asked the guys, the Agent just looked like he wanted to yell at me to get off his lawn, and Kas just kinda shrugged and said 'colorful'...and Carson here about had a heart attack when he saw my backpack." The younger woman rattled off, shaking Rianne's hand several times to many, and then doing a little twirl to show off her pleated rainbow skirt and the aforementioned neon green backpack, smiling brightly. Ever since she'd gotten here, she'd been worried that there would be way too many boys...no, men for her comfort....and Colba didn't look like the type to do makeup or swap fashion tips that didn't involve combat boots and dog collars. She was....intense.

[Kicks]

In the background, Carson was slowly beginning to circle the group. Amelida's eyes watched him, wondering what the fuck he was up to. She wondered what was going through that no-doubt insane mind of his. Was he wondering too if the littlest of them could bite as hard as she barked? Amelida had gotten the impression quickly that Elly could likely hold her own, in a dirty kind of fighting way.

The image in her head almost put a smile on her face. It twitched at the corner of her mouth. Hair pulling, kicking, scratching and biting - Amelida decided Elly could probably pack a punch after all.

And then the girl pointed out her attire and the smile fell from Amelida's face. She raised a hand to her forehead and sighed. Colorful and MAYBE able to defend herself.

But Rianne thought it was charming. She was, in fact, in love with the colorful skirt. She wanted to wear it herself and twirl around a little bit.

"Fleece, yeh." Rianne confirmed with a huge sparkling grin on her freckled porcelain face. "I facking love yer skirt. Gunna have a go at it meself, when ye aren't looking of course." She added the last part with a sly sense of humor.

Rianna had already taken an immediately liking to everyone in the room. Carson, she had decided was insane and she loved insane people (insane people tended to make her feel comfortable). Elly was fucking adorable and had a brain on her - an attractive quality. Speaking of attractive, there was something about Kasimir that sort of peaked her interest. Maybe it was because she had never quite seen someone like him around. Or maybe it was because of his imposing figure.

Then there was Amelida. Oh yea. The girl was gonna be good fun to fuck with. Since having met her hours ago at the airport, she wondered what went through the woman's mind. She has a hard to read face, but an easy to read body. Rianne snickered internally at the thought.

"What in the-" Rianne's attention was suddenly brought to Carson who had stopped his circling and was now grabbing her. At first she thought she was being attacked, and began to push and shove. But then she realized it was just.... a hug?

"Guess this means we're all family now!" Carson hooted before releasing Rianne and moving to Amelida. She stuck out a hand abruptly, and with a death glare on her face immediately put a stop to his attempt. So he moved onto the other two.

[Damonique]

Elly smiled brightly when Rianne complimented her outfit, letting out a giggle when she mentioned giving her skirt a 'go' and wondering if the redhead knew how suggestive that comment could be taken out of context, or if it was just her accent that made it sound that way. And then she blushed, thinking that maybe that was exactly the way she meant it...before Carson distracted everyone with his outburst.

"Aww, don't be like that, Lida, we already know how cool you are. He's just trying to be nice, we're probably all the poor guys got in the world..." The blonde said sweetly, accepting the tall mans hug gingerly. "...we're all most of us have got in the world." She added with a pointed look at the other two women, pulling out her phone and waving it in front of them. She already knew their stories, or enough of them to know that she probably had the least tragic life in the whole room.

"Kid's got a point...she usually does." Kasimir answered with a smirk towards Amelida, and when it was his turn, he met Carson's embrace for a moment before clasping his arm with the wrist that carried his Kara bracelet. If the taller man had been a Khalsa as well, wearing one of his own, the two bands of metal would have clinked together, naming him brother and comrade-in-arms. Kas wouldn't go quite that far, yet, but they were all on the same team.

Their little love-fest was broken up by a shout from the other end of the cavernous room. Carrow had finally found the fold-up chairs, piled up behind a stack of containers, and needed a hand to help him assemble them into a loose circle near the center of the room, an arrangement man of them would be familiar with if they'd ever attended group therapy.

[Kicks]

The arrangement did in fact remind Carson of group therapy. As he moved over to help with the chairs alongside Amelida and Rianne, he eyed the selection of chairs suspiciously. The way they were crookedly set in a circle in a dingy, wide open room reminded him of his time spent in an asylum. He had the hardest time during those group sessions, unable to explain why he was there without sounding insane.

As he took an uncomfortable seat, he habitually brought his elbows down to his knees and leaned over with his head in his hands. It was a pose he had taken to in order to make it seem like he was listening. This time would be different, this time he would actually be listening.

There were important things to be discussed. He figured this was a sign they were about to get started. The girls took a seat as well, Rianne right next to him and Amelida across.

Rianne sat with her legs up, in a criss-cross position. She flipped her hair behind her back, attempting to tame the wild red curls so she could properly see without the red wisps in her face. She had taken a seat strategically next to Carson - in order to force them to be close. She knew that if she forced herself to be close to all of them that it would bring them all together faster. Hopefully. She hated tensions and would rather everything warm up fast.

"My name is Rianne and I'm a drug addict!" She declared, proudly throwing her arms into the air. Of course she wasn't. But hey. Might as well shout something.

[Damonique]

Eventually, everyone was seated in a broken semicircle under one of the lights. Carrow had also set up a small table in front of his own chair, on which sat a closed briefcase, and they'd get to the contents of it before long, until then, it was story time. He'd read the reports, done his own digging, but he wanted to hear what these people had seen first-hand and hopefully glean a little about their mental states at the same time.

He looked from face to face, studying each member of his little 'team' in turn. Szabó was withdrawn, as always...out of the five of them, he'd probably gone through the most difficulty the most recently. Still, he was getting better day by day compared to the near-comatose wreck he had been at the asylum. Then there was Singh, the soldier had probably come out of prison better than he had gone in, having funneled despair into a religious revival. How long-lived that might be was still up in the air, it was pretty easy to abstain from 'impure habits' when there weren't any to indulge in.

Brooks was her usual self, unable to sit down for even a minute without doing something on her phone...that habit irked the Agent, made it seem like she wasn't paying attention, but she seemed to always hear everything. He supposed her brain had more than enough room to multitask. Then there was Colba, who seemed as intense and a bit angry as ever as she took her seat...but also intrigued. After all, this was what the boxer had actually signed on for, the company of people with their own stories to tell, who wouldn't look at her like she was crazy. Carrow could relate.

Lastly, there was Quinn, who also happened to be the first to speak, unable to help herself from making a joke to cut through the sudden tension. The redhead was definitely a wild-card, when they had spoke on the phone it had been hard to tell how serious she was actually taking the whole thing, but she'd also been the quickest to agree to join them. Maybe it was just a game to her...or maybe her ditzy personality was just a mask she'd built up to protect herself from what she'd had to live. He'd find out soon enough.

"Well, since you seem the most eager to get started, Quinn, you've got the floor. Tell us what happened to you..what happened to your parents. No need to spare details here, no matter how crazy it sounds. Nobody will laugh, or interrupt, or ask questions...just lay it all out. We'll believe you. I believe you." The older man stated calmly, letting her joke go without comment, suddenly serious. He'd planned that introduction for a while, saying all the things that he'd wished he'd heard at his own therapy, that his truth mattered, that people cared. He knew how hard it was waiting for that sort of recognition.