Chapter Text
The mission was going about as well as Beatrice had hoped.
They had infiltrated the First Born's base with little bloodshed, which was good, the more commotion, the more likely the hostage would be killed. Beatrice would never forgive herself if it came to that, not when that hostage was Mary.
“Beatrice?” Camila’s tinny voice spoke directly into her ear through her tactical comms.
Beatrice paused part way down the dimly lit hallway, holding her fist up to halt the dozen sister warriors behind her.
Keeping the wall pressed to her shoulder, she raised her hand to cover her mouth, muffling her reply, “What have you got for me?”
She could hear the tapping of a keyboard on Camila’s end. Much to the nun’s discontent, Beatrice had assigned her lead tech support for this mission, but, as she had told Camila at the time, Beatrice needed the best to be her eye in the sky with such a risky plan.
When the tip off had come in that Mary was being kept captive in the ancient Persian tunnels underneath Rome, the OCS had mobilized a task force in less than twelve hours to undertake a rescue operation. With such limited preparation time, Beatrice’s team were going in practically blind and relying heavily on Camila’s ability to pull blueprints and analyze security camera footage from around the city to guide them to their target. Beatrice trusted no one more than Camila to handle such an undertaking.
“Turn right at the end of this corridor. There appears to be some sort of large chamber behind the second door on the left. I’d put money on Mary being there.” Camila said briskly.
“Guards?”
“Most likely. Use the corner for cover but once you’re inside, you’ll have to fight your way out.”
Beatrice nodded, mind racing with strategies. Fighting in such a narrow corridor was going to be challenging. Barely three of them could stand shoulder to shoulder at its widest point, let alone swing a bo staff. Firearm use would be just as dangerous, the risk of ricochet was high, particularly with multiple shooters.
Waving at her squad to hold, she crept forward to peek around the edge of the corner. There were only four guards in the hallway, armed, but relaxed. Obviously not expecting any trouble. She looked back to see Sister Dora at the head of the line of warriors watching her closely. The nun must have seen something in her expression because she was already shaking her head.
Biting her lip, Beatrice glanced back around the corner… there really weren't that many, and they weren’t really that far down the hallway… it would be easy enough to rush them. When she was close enough they wouldn’t be able to shoot at her anyway, right? It was a plan, a very dangerous plan, but what did she have to lose? Looking back once more at Dora who was very clearly mouthing ‘don’t you dare’ at her, Beatrice took a deep breath and bolted from cover.
The first two guards didn’t know what hit them, collapsing under well aimed strikes of her staff. Beatrice wasn’t so lucky with the remaining men. With the element of surprise gone, the guards raised their weapons, forcing the sister warrior to dive forward to grab the wrist of the closest one before he could aim at her. Twisting her body, Beatrice wrenched his arm sideways as he squeezed the trigger, burying the muzzle of the gun into his partner's bulletproof vest to muffle the shot. At such close range, the impact of the bullet was enough to bring him down. Beatrice finished the job with a headbutt that knocked out the man she was still holding.
The quiet that followed the skirmish was only broken by the sister warrior’s panting. She surveyed the bodies at her feet while her blood sang with adrenaline. This was the part of missions she lived for.
“What the hell was that?” Dora demanded, marching up behind her with the rest of the squad at her heels.
Beatrice carefully schooled her features to neutral, “We don’t have time for this." She said dismissively, gesturing to the rest of their team, "Clear the bodies so we have easy access.”
She knelt to pick the lock of the door, ignoring Dora’s gaze burning into the side of her head.
The lock clicked and the sister warrior stood, moving to push open the door when a hand caught her shoulder, “Beatrice…” Dora stepped in close, dropping her voice so the rest of the squad couldn’t hear, “I know you’re hurting but being reckless isn’t going to bring her back and…” Her tone hardened, “I will not allow you to jeopardize the team's safety.”
When the nun stepped back, they shared a brief moment of intense eye contact. How she had spoken to Beatrice bordered on insubordination and she could easily have her suspended for it, but she also knew Dora was right.
With a single, terse nod Beatrice diffused the tension and refocused on the mission, pushing open the door into the chamber.
~
Camila was right on the money.
Mary was slumped in a chair opposite the door, hands zip tied behind her while each ankle was secured to a chair leg. Despite wanting nothing more than to rush over to her, Beatrice hung back, scanning the room for other entrances; they didn’t need any surprise interruptions.
Only once she deemed the room secure did Beatrice go to her friend, watching her half of her squad set up strategic positions, the others keeping watch in the hallway.
“Mary?”
There was no response.
Beatrice knelt down in front of the battered woman, tilting her head to see Mary’s face and stifled a sharp intake of breath. Her friend had been badly beaten, there wasn’t one inch of unbruised skin on her face. Mary had two large splits, one above an eye swollen shut, the other at the edge of her upper lip. She appeared to be entirely unconscious.
“Mary…hey.” Beatrice reached up to gently place a hand on her less marred cheek but as soon as she touched her skin Mary bolted upright with a scream.
“Get off! Get the fuck off me!”
“Mary! It’s us…it’s just us!” Beatrice said quickly, trying to calm her old friend before she hurt herself.
Mary stilled, eyes widening as they suddenly focused on her, “Beatrice?”
She almost cried with relief, “Yes.”
The captive woman took a couple of hard blinks, wincing at the pulling across her bruised face, “You’re really here? This isn’t a dream?”
“I promise…” Beatrice breathed a relieved sigh, “We’re going to get you out of here.”
Beatrice nodded to Dora to cut the ties on Mary’s bloody wrists. When the sister warrior straightened up again, Beatrice moved to help Mary to her feet but immediately froze when she noticed Dora’s gaze sail past them to the corner of the room. Turning slowly, Beatrice’s stomach dropped when she saw the small camera staring right back at them. She quickly flung a knife at the spy, disabling it, and called the rest of her team into the room.
“Alright they know we’re here, but they don’t know how many.” She pointed at two of her sisters. “You two help Mary. You six are the rear guard. Dora, you’re in front with me.”
The sisters quickly and efficiently got themselves in order, the two holding Mary had to hand off their weapons to keep the injured woman on her feet. As quick as they were, though, they still heard the footsteps of the First Born guards before they could emerge from the room.
“Camila,” Beatrice asked, “what’s our best way out?”
“The way you came, unfortunately. I’ll keep you updated on potential ambush locations.”
“Do you think you can cut the power?”
“Probably,” Camila’s voice crackled in her ear. “But it will only buy you a minute or two before the generators kick on.”
“I’ll tell you when.”
The guards were close now. The sisters had taken up positions along the wall with the door with Beatrice and Dora on either side. When the first guard arrived, Beatrice grabbed his rifle, pulled him into the room and punched him in the throat. Dora grabbed the guard that had come up behind him and slammed his own rifle up into his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold.
Beatrice smiled at Dora. “Let’s move.”
~
The sounds of gunfire echoed off the stone walls, making her ears ring. They had fought their way back through the narrow hallway to the courtyard that the sisters had used to infiltrate the building. The yard was lined with neatly manicured hedgerows and low stone walls. Ornate marble statues were scattered throughout, perfect cover for the First Born Children to keep the sister warriors pinned in the hallway.
“Camila,” Bea shouted. “Cut the power!”
Despite Camila’s voice being directly in her ear, she could hardly hear the confirmation. A moment later, all of the lights in the courtyard went out. The yard went dark and silent as everyone stopped shooting due to their sudden blindness. Bathed in barely there shades of grey, the courtyard began slowly lightening as Beatrice’s eyes adjusted.
“Move!” Beatrice whispered.
Dark shadows of death emerged silently from the doorway and spread into the night. Beatrice came upon a guard hiding behind a copy of the statue of David and quickly stabbed him in the throat.
A guard cried out to her right but was suddenly and brutally silenced.
There was a grunt on her left.
Three shots were fired at random ahead of her. Ducking quickly, she sent a throwing knife into the dark shadow at the center of the blasts. He crumpled to the ground.
They were only halfway across the courtyard when the guards started blindly firing in their general direction.
Moments later, the lights came back on, and the firefight began anew.
~
Pinned down between two of the statues and hampered by a semiconscious Mary, Beatrice was racking her brain for a solution to their predicament. They now had guards at both ends of the courtyard, a near constant spray of bullets keeping them from advancing in either direction. Dora and the other half of her team were doing their best to return the gunfire from the row of statues opposite her to hold the First Born's back.
“No chance of a second power cut?” Beatrice asked with a hand over her mic to muffle the background noise.
“Sorry Beatrice, the generator is all manual controls. Can’t do anything from here.”
Camila sounded frustrated and Beatrice couldn’t blame her, she knew from experience that sitting on the sidelines wasn’t pleasant, especially when missions were going wrong.
“We’re running low on ammo. If we’re going to move, it needs to be now.” Dora’s strained voice spoke through Beatrice’s earpiece.
“Fuck!” Beatrice growled, hating how this had spiraled so quickly out of her control, “Okay, we’re going to have to make a run for it. On my signal give the ones at our back everything you’ve got… We’ll take the ones by the exit.”
“Beatrice…” She could hear the implication in Dora’s tone, they both knew not all of them would be getting out of here alive.
“That’s an order.”
“Heard.”
Beatrice took a couple of calming breaths adjusting her staff in her grip.
3… 2…
“NOW!”
Just as she had shot to her feet to make the sprint from cover a cloud of crackling purple energy formed in the center of the courtyard. Beatrice froze halfway out of cover, the dark leather suit and black leathery wings raised to shield their owner from the gunshots were unmistakable.
Lilith.
A wave of fury and adrenaline surged through Beatrice’s body. Lilith had betrayed them. She was the reason their plan to defeat Adriel had failed… twice. She was the reason Ava was gone. Mission all but forgotten, Beatrice rushed forward, ready to end Lilith’s life, but then she turned around and the sister warrior stumbled.
What the fuck?
Limp in the winged woman’s arms, her deep brown eyes peering back at her in a mixture of relief, fear and confusion, was Ava.
“Beatrice?” Lilith said, adjusting her grip on the Halo bearer, “I…Look out!”
An unnaturally powerful body tackled her to the ground, sending them both tumbling a few feet. Beatrice felt a burning sting of pain in her shoulder but regained enough composure to grab a fistful of the hair of her attacker, pulling their head back. The full black eyes of a possessed First Born Child stared back at her, his long sharp teeth bared at her in rage. Beatrice was sickened to see her own blood smeared all over his mouth.
The man roared right in her face before someone pulled him off her. Beatrice shot to her feet, ignoring her aching arm and watched as Dora dispatched of the possessed man with a glowing blue dagger. The divinium reacting to the presence of the Halo bearer who had been gone for so long.
Now they were all out in the open, the rest of her team provided a blanket of gunfire to cover them, but their rifles wouldn’t last for much longer. Beatrice glanced around, the First Born children were everywhere, and they would be on them as soon as the suppressing fire stopped. She looked back over at Ava to see her struggling in Lilith’s arms while the former sister warrior shook her head. They appeared to be arguing about something.
Suddenly, Ava broke free, pushing Lilith back.
“Everybody get down!” She shouted, making direct eye contact with Beatrice before closing her eyes.
Beatrice heard the low hum of the Halo and dove to the ground just in time for a huge concussive blast of golden light to blast away the enemies surrounding them.
The courtyard finally fell silent.
Squinting as her eyes adjusted, the sister warrior could see Ava beginning to collapse and pushed herself off the floor to catch her before she hit the ground.