"We found Wren," Ajax announced, his face unreadable.

Hawk looked up and Zephyr sat up straighter, actually paying attention now. "Where?" they asked at the same time.

"You were right. The Interrogator has her."

"But we don't know where he's based!" Zephyr resisted the impulse to give in to defeat.

"You said you found her, Ajax," Hawk agreed. "Knowing who she's with and where she is are vastly different."

"No, River figured out where he is. She tracked the car somehow and found the facility. It's in the middle of a forest in Maine."

Zephyr stood, placing her hands on the table. "How soon can we go?"

"Shadow and Panther are getting everything ready now," Ajax told them.

"She's our sister. I'm coming too," Hawk announced.

"No. You need to stay here and keep everything in order... in case we something goes wrong," Zephyr said. "If you want to be involved, then you can direct us over the microphone from here and make sure the cameras are down."

Hawk started to protest, but after a moment, she nodded. "Fine. I'll make sure nothing goes wrong on this end. Just bring her back alive, okay?"

"I will," Zephyr promised, and followed Ajax out of the room.

***

Zephyr stalked through forest, bowing under branches and pushing through the underbrush.

As she waved away a branch, it whipped behind her and she heard an audible "ouch!"

She swung around to glare at Shadow.

"Don't hit me in the face," he chuckled.

Zephyr narrowed her eyes at him, utterly unamused, "Don't follow me so closely."

Ajax glared at Shadow as he passed, obviously as focused on getting there as Zephyr.

She turned and started again, ignoring Shadow's awkwardness. This was no time for joking.

Their best friend and leader was in serious danger and there was nothing else that mattered except getting her out.

But Zephyr knew the situation was even worse. Wren was capable and trained to deal with torture. Amanda was fourteen.

Her thought just made her press harder into the brush, making Shadow struggle to keep up.

Zephyr knew Maine forests. She had lived in the thick of it for the first thirteen years of her life. Underbrush was difficult to navigate if you weren't experienced, and the fact it was mud season didn't help, either.

Shadow was probably doing very well compared to other agents, but it was wearing down on him quickly. Ajax knew his way around forests, able to keep pace with Zephyr. He was also as determined as she was on this mission.