The windows let in the cold breeze of Ashland, rain still pouring from the dark sky. Missio sat on a hospital bed, covered by a blanket. His jacket and vest lay on the ground as he gazed out towards the city that hadn't seen the sun in decades.
The bereft turned his head and looked at the group. He flinched, raising his arms slightly. Krishna turned to the group.
"I'll talk to him first, okay. Don't make loud noises or bring up anything about that day, you hear me."
"We hear you…" Henry replied in a low voice.
The girls nodded, signaling their understanding. Krishna nodded as well, spinning around. He approached Missio's bed alongside the others, the Lieutenant's General's eyes following them warily.
Krishna sat beside Missio's bed on a stool left behind by the doctor. Henry stood near the opposite side with Eira. Mary sat on the bed, keeping distance from Missio's body.
"Hey, Missio. Feeling any better?" Krishna asked in a gentle tone.
Missio nodded with a dark face.
"Are you hungry? Mary can get some food for you."
Missio shook his head. Krishna nodded.
"So, what did the doctor say?"
Missio lowered his head, staring at the blanket. He didn't respond to Krishna – not even to the others. They sat quietly for a while, not one dared to cut through the silence.
Krishna peered at his best friend, his heart throbbing. He had gone through his entire life with Missio – Elementary school, middle school, high school, Stratos University and even the two short years they had spent in the Black Ops.
Yet, he could only be helpless in front of the state his friend was in.
He wanted to bite his lip, clench his fist, tighten his jaw or even grit his teeth, something that would help his express his emotions.
However, he stopped himself, not daring to show anything other than sadness.
'I'm gonna have to talk to those bastards after I get back… Dick, Sun, and Kedith, all of this can't be a coincidence… they did this… behind my back…'
His fury raged underneath the calm appearance he was putting up.
After a few seconds, Mary spoke up, finally cutting through this silence.
"So…Do you want to see Victor?"
Missio didn't reply for a few moments. Then, his face fell apart as he replied in a whimpering tone.
"No…I want my brother."
***
A few minutes later…
In the doctor's office, the team huddled around the doctor's desk, sitting on cold metal chair. The doctor sat opposite of them. Intertwining his finger, he looked at the group and gave a long sigh. The group tensed waiting for the doctor's assessment.
"For now, your friend is fine."
The group heaved a sigh of relief and continued to listen to the doctor's assessment.
"I can't give a proper assessment of how much his mental state has degraded, but I can say he is traumatized. Don't worry, his recovery should be fast, though I'm not entirely sure since I'm not a psychology major."
The doctor gave a dry laugh. However, no one laughed. As the room drowned in silence, he coughed and composed himself.
"Only those allowed by the Patriarch can handle matters involving his family. I'm afraid you'll need to meet his old therapist—and take him back to Rome. Aside from your group, that man has spent the most time with him."
Then, the doctor signaled at them to leave the room. They stood up and exited with gloomy expressions.
"How are we supposed to get him to Rome? Airports are loud and the noise might trigger his trauma" Henry questioned.
"Noise-canceling headphones, idiot. Use your brain for something other than love."
Krishna turned around, giving a cold shoulder to his mates. The others followed him to Missio's room without another word.
As they walked through the eerily quiet corridors of the hospital, they crossed paths with a familiar individual – Arthur.
Krishna halted in his tracks, locking eyes with his former classmate. They stood gazed at each other, not speaking for a few seconds. Then, Arthur opened his mouth and spoke in a tired voice.
"I want to have a chat with you, Krishna."
Krishna furrowed his brows, waving at his team to go. Henry, Eira and Mary understood the signal and left, heading back to Missio's room.
Once they were out of sight, Krishna turned back to Arthur.
"What do you want?"
Arthur chuckled hoarsely, rubbing his tired eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
Krishna paused, smacking his lips.
"We were here on a mission to capture a drug lord affiliated with a convicted Assemblyman."
Arthur's smile disappeared.
"Is that so? You enter our Nation without clearance, not even informing the AEOC Black Ops, not even asking if we could help?"
Krishna frowned.
"You haven't been successful in capturing him for five years."
Arthur scoffed.
"Did you capture him then?"
Krishna froze, curling his lips. Arthur clicked his tongue and shook his head in disappointment.
"You berate Ashland for not being able to capture him and yet… you failed to do that as well."
Krishna's emotions swirled yet he took them under his control. Locking eyes with Arthur, he inquired about something that had been bothering him whilst also, trying to move the topic away from Sun.
"I thought the second unit was responsible for night patrol. Why is the first unit responding to a night call?"
Arthur paused for moment for a moment. Then, frowned and locked eyes with Krishna.
"Why do you think so? We've been preparing to depart for the Forbidden continent for the last few months and so, I've been busy with work ever since that announcement. We were supposed to meet the PEOC's Special Ops First unit tonight for a brief meeting. That's why we changed shifts stayed up with the second unit but now… half of my unit is dead."
Krishna froze, hearing the number of casualties.
"W-What?" He blurted.
Arthur passed Krishna. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he spoke in a grim voice.
"Ten enforcers are dead because you were ignorant to inform us. Now, live with that… Also, my brother wishes to meet you tomorrow by 8."
Krishna's eyes widened. "The Supreme Commander?"