Something Betrayed

Ed felt kind of like an idiot, having not thought about the cameras in his room before he deciphered the Oracle's message, though that had been put in the back end of his mind as they made their way up to the facility in the mind dump. What had been on his mind however, was what Ian had told him during they went for drinks. Had he really been developing feelings for Elizabeth, and if so, how could he while all the while wanting to do everything in his power to free Aaliyah. Had he, though? Something in his head told him that he had already forgotten the real reason for what they were doing. But something else told him that it was all just normal friendliness and professionalism. One thing was certain though, and that was that they had an assignment to do and he had a meeting to get to.

            Once in position, Ian debriefed the three of them, and Ed was given strict order that he should get to the meeting and get the hell out of there ASAP. Ed knew that Ian must have thought about it long and hard, and he also knew that he was fully to blame since he could possibly have jeopardised the entire assignment, regardless of which day that they had picked to do it. They had an entire week to do it, though, and Ian had picked to do it the very next day of their briefing.

           

Ed continued thinking about it as he made his way down a steep slope, through to a small little office building some ways from the actual facility, through it and up another steep slope where he climbed onto the roof and entered the small building from the roof entrance. He figured that Ian and Dev was well on their way sneaking into the facility by the time he had only reached the general area the coordinates had pointed at. He also figured that it was strange, exactly how quiet everything was, compared to the facility, who's schematics and patrol routes Ian's contact had manage to dig up. There was only a single sniper patrolling the inside of the building that he had entered. Ed disposed of him easily enough without any bloodshed, then made his way down one floor at a time.

            What had looked like a small office building from the outside was actually a converted warehouse with a lot of metal racks that had been used to store a number of unmarked containers that seemed vaguely familiar and random cardboard boxes filled to the brim with what looked like scrap metal. The lights was few and far in between which only made Ed's job easier, though he also remembered that the Oracle had told him not to trust the shadows, which made him tense up a bit every time he had to cross darkness as he made his way down.

            Once on ground level, Ed made his way to the centre of the room where his silver watch beeped once in order to indicate that he reached the exact location. He had his bow slung around his back, but had his hand ready, hovering over a couple of combat throwing knives he had armed himself with at the huge armoury in the mansion they had appropriately dubbed the Cage before leaving for assignment.

            Ed heard shuffling and tensed up so he could be ready, but soon relaxed again as Oracle came around one of the huge racks, making his way to Ed slowly but surely. Ed thought that the augmentations he had built into his legs would undoubtedly make him faster, but perhaps it was age that had finally caught up to the old man.

            "Good, you came," Oracle said in one long breath. He then started to pace up and down in front of Ed, slowly shuffling his weight in order to get the augmentations to work properly. Ed hadn't thought that the old man's body would reject the augs. But again, it may just have been old age for all Ed knew. "I need to, tell you something," he continued and turned his eyes toward Ed's.

            "Everything alright?" Ed asked and shot a few glances to the darkness surrounding them. A massive spotlight made it hard for him to look up, but he felt uneasy, even with the spotlight shining down at the two of them.

            The old man started his slow pacing again and looked at Ed thoughtfully. "I can only but show you," he said after much deliberating.

            "Show me what?" Ed asked, and then as if to answer his question, he heard something from behind. He spun around and got his right arm ready to let the knives rip through the air. A soft mechanical noise accompanied by an eerie shadowy sound could be heard as a tall dark figure landed on the ground in front of Ed. It couldn't be explained, how the thing before him looked. It was like an embodiment of shadow and darkness. It's two arms were bulky and muscular, though at the same time slender and long. Shadows emitted from its body as if it was the lord of darkness himself who had decided to pay Ed a visit. Ed immediately knew that this was the very same Shadow thing that Ian had mentioned encountering numerous times before.

            "What's the meaning of this?" Ed asked hoping for a simple, yet unexpected answer. He did not know how to react to the thing that now stood in the spotlight. It seemed unaffected by the light, soft shadows playing from its body. Ed then turned his head cautiously to the Oracle, who had stood in silence as Ed took the Shadow thing in.

            "It can not be easily explained," the old man said thoughtfully and took a step towards Ed. "You see, a number of years ago, some time after The Fall, I met a number of people - beings, rather - that gave me all the answers to the questions I always wanted to ask.

            "You remember I told you about my wife, my son and daughter. I told you that they had died, when I took you in...I lied to an extent, shall we say. It is true that my loving wife had gone to heaven, but it is also true that my son and daughter kept on living."

            Ed kept his stance. He had no intention to let his guard down, even with the Oracle there. "What's that have to do with anything?" he asked slightly frustrated at he fact that he may have walked into a trap set by the one person he may have trusted more than Ian and Dev.

            "You see, I had these augmentations added to my body not because I wanted to, but because I had to," Oracle began again and gestured down to his legs. "I had lost my legs in the same accident that had taken my beloved's life. The counsel then came to me and offered me assistance, so long as I would be ready to serve them at any time in return.

            "I faked my death and became the Red Arrow, as you have known me throughout your youth. My loving daughter would not except the fact that I was no longer, however, and began searching for me."

            Then it hit Ed so hard that he almost fell down in shock. "Elizabeth is your daughter?" he asked, shocked slightly.

            The old man began his slow pacing again, and nodded twice to answer Ed's question. "My son, however, had plans of his own... He had known about my faked death, and had known that these augmentations could possibly result in my real death. Thus, he set out in the cover of darkness and shadow..."

            "What?" Ed said, slightly dumbfounded as he turned his attention to the Shadow thing who was still just standing there, watching them. "What about all of those innocent people who had lost their lives... Their memories..."

            "I only tracked them," Oracle answered, "the counsel would never let me kill anyone, for reasons I do not understand up to this day. Then suddenly they had you and the other two in their sights. Suddenly I was sent away, in order to track down all of the others who had been aided by the counsel. I had help disposing of them, of course," he said and gestured slightly toward the thing behind Ed.

            "What is Elizabeth's role in all of this?" Ed asked suddenly in a defensive tone, his thoughts betraying him. "Why are you even telling me all of this?" he then added as his mind cleared up and he could think rationally.

            "Liz never knew that the man she had come to know as the Oracle, was actually her father too," the man answered and stopped his pacing. "And to answer your question, Edward -- I have been instructed to end your life."

            "Why?" Ed asked, and tensed up completely, hands at the ready.

            "Your potential to replace me. The training and technology I had bestowed on you only managed to make you stronger, faster and wiser. Something I never should have done," the old man said thoughtfully and looked at him. "Don't you see, young Edward, that this has all been a set up from the very beginning? The footage that Ian had managed to uncover at the mansion was systematically made available to him, discreetly of course, just to see what he would do with it. We fed him surveillance feeds of the mansion, and later of more...surreal things. His hacking has improved greatly," Oracle added in thought, "The assignments you had done while underneath Liz's roof were all so the counsel could ready themselves."

            "For what?"

            "Simply, because." The old man took a few steps back and looked at Ed again with his thoughtful eyes. Eyes that Ed thought he could trust. "Great things are underway, Edward, and as a result, it is time for you to die. I truly am sorry about this," he then said as he hunched over in order to tackle Ed.

Ed spun around and threw a knife at the Shadow thing, who dodged it flawlessly. He then jumped out of the way, dodging the Oracle's tackle by a few millimetres. The shadow thing jumped into the air and vanished into the darkness as Ed got up from the ground and three another knife, this time at the Oracle, who also dodged it. The old man then pushed on one of the metal racks that surrounded the two of them, causing many of the containers to fall, rendering Ed useless for a second.

            Ed grabbed his bow and an arrow, but just as he aimed, the Shadow thing appeared out of thin air and knocked Ed to the ground from behind. For a moment Ed thought he had felt a burning sensation on his back, but paid it no mind as he attempted to get up.

            The Shadow thing appeared in front of him as he got up, staring right into Ed's eyes. For a moment Ed thought that he saw death, then suddenly the thing tackled him head on, causing Ed to fly against another metal rack close by. More containers fell. Ed looked down at his stomach and noticed this it was wet with blood, though he knew that his wound wasn't too deep, so he got up as fast as he could and turned a sharp right into another aisle.

            Fortunately Ed could hear the old man's heavy footsteps, and could easily evade him, but he knew that his real problem was more than just his mentor. Ed ran as fast as he could, reaching the end of the aisle, so he turned a right and ran again. As he passed another aisle, the Shadow thing appeared and rammed him into the brick wall from his side.

            Ed stood up slowly and looked to his right, where the shadow thing had disappeared again and had been replaced by the Oracle a few ways down the aisle instead. The old man had his bow as well.

            Before he could think, the red crystallite arrow pierced his shoulder and pinned him up against the wall. Ed let out a howl as the pain shot through his body. He then tried to remove the arrow but decided against it as the pain was unbearable.

            "I taught you well," Oracle said as he made his toward Ed. "But it was all in vain." He grabbed Ed by the neck. The shadow appeared next to the old man, and if it Ed didn't know better, it looked like it was motivating the old man to get it over with.

            Ed breathed heavily as the blood trickled down his left arm. "You have taught me well, old man," Ed then said, and grabbed the Oracle by the neck as well with his right arm. "But I got better without you," he continued as he kicked the old man in the crotch, then screamed as he pulled forward, letting the arrow slide through the wound in his shoulder as he let himself loose. He then slammed the old man's head against the wall, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. Ed then grabbed the back of the arrow and broke it off. With blinding speed, he through it in the shadow thing's direction, who, of course, dodged it.

            As it turned its attention back to Ed, the young agent was gone.

Ed ran with blinding speed. He had no time to worry about his injuries, and even less time to contemplate whether the Oracle and the Shadow was on his trail or not. All he cared about was getting the hell away from there.

            Once outside, Ed made his way back to the position Ian had briefed them at, but didn't stop in order to see if they were done or not. Instead, he ran past the car they had come with, and down the road. Fortunately home was not too far away.

Connor was sitting in the living room when JR made his way downstairs. He had been channel surfing, not stopping for more than a few seconds on any channel. He had gone on like that for a good while. "I'm going out," JR said as he passed Connor.

            "Not while I'm here," Connor said in his American accent, something that bugged JR senselessly. "You're going back up to your room, and listening to that god awful music of yours, alright? Strict orders from Edward."

            JR thought about protesting, but decided against it and did as he was told. Once in his room, though, he blasted his music, opened his window, and climbed through.

            Connor was just starting to channel surf again when Ed barged through the door and headed up to his room. He got up cautiously and followed Ed.

            Ed sat had already removed his clothes by the time Connor stalked up to his room and mustered up the courage to go in. He had a number of lacerations on his stomach as well as his back, and there was a clear hole in his shoulder. Ed was applying pressure to the wound with his blooded shirt.

            "The fuck's happened to you?" Connor asked and hurried toward Ed. Ed merely looked at him and gestured for him to keep applying pressure. Ed then got a needle and a blue role of tape that doctors used to stitch up their patients, and started stitching himself up.

            "We should find you a doctor, man," Connor said as Ed finished with the wound at the front of his shoulder.

            "No," Ed said and handed Connor the needle, "stitch me up," he then ordered while he took the blooded shirt from Connor and pressed it against the cuts in his stomach.

            "Fucking hell, man," Connor said as he started stitching the wound in the back of Ed's shoulder up.

            "From now on you report directly to Ian," Ed began after Connor was done with his shoulder. He got up from his bed and threw the crimson shirt to the ground. "Tell him that I was here, and that I'll be gone for a while. Nothing more."

            "This was not part of the job description!" Connor protested.

            "Do as I say, Connor," Ed said cooly while stuffing a few clean clothes into his backpack, then turning around and got dressed. Ed then realised that JR's music was blasting from the room next door. "Also check up on JR. I expect he must have climbed out through his window."

            Connor shook his head as he handed Ed his bow and quiver. He knew that he wouldn't be able to win an argument, and he also knew that he would have to do what Ed had told him. Somehow Ed was one of the few people in his new life that he could trust more than Abigail. He had figured that Ed would need his trusted weapon wherever he would go.

            Ed nodded and shook Connor's hand before he darted out the door, to his Lexus, got into the car and drove off.

Ed waited at the pub until dawn. His phone had rang numerous times as Ian, Dev, and even Melisa had attempted to call him. He said nothing to anyone, and he drank nothing. He had to have his head clear for the time being. It was only when his phone's battery died that Elizabeth walked into the bar and joined him in the back corner.

            She had worry and confusion written all over her face. "Why haven't you told the others where you are?" she asked as she sat down next to him. "Ian came by shortly after the assignment to tell us that you may be missing."

            "A necessary precaution," Ed answered cooly, then winced slightly as he shifted weight. "Listen, I know where your father is. I can't tell you much more other than that he is connected to the whole Aaliyah incident. If you come with me, we might get to the bottom of this." Ed winced again.

            "Are you hurt?" Elizabeth asked, as if she hadn't heard what Ex had said, "you should get to a doctor!"

            "No. I am leaving for North Africa at nine. The only way I can get to the bottom of this, is to start with the trail of missing augs. Come with me and we might also get to the bottom of your father's supposed death."

            Elizabeth thought about it, then stood up and walked out the pub. Ed had followed shortly after and went to his car, where he saw that Elizabeth was speaking to her bodyguard.

            "...tell them that I have gone away. Tell them that they may return to their houses if they would rather not live in that house. Do not tell them of my meeting with Edward, or of where I have really gone, understood?"

            "Understood," the bodyguard said in a faint voice, "but I should go with--"

            "You need to be here," she said and held his hands, "thank you for all the help." Elizabeth then turned to Ed, who had got into his car. She then smiled, walked around the car and got into the passenger side. "You better be right about my father," she told Ed as he reversed out and drove off.

Ian had just gotten back home. He had no intention of returning to the Cage after Elizabeth's guard had told them that they needn't stay at the mansion any longer. Connor was waiting for him in the kitchen, but before the American agent could say anything, Ian's phone rang.

            "Yeah?" Ian answered. He was still worried about Ed, and had thought that Ed might be at home.

            "Edward is in danger," The Oracle said on the other end of the line. "Find him and inform me as soon as you do." The phone then went dead.

            Ian put the phone down on the kitchen island counter and stared at it for a long while. He then looked up at Connor. "JR is missing, I know. He is an imposter, though, and you should track him down." Ian then walked out the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement.

            Ed, you better know what you are doing, Ian thought as he walked up to the back wall and pressed a few combinations. The call he had just received from the Oracle seemed fishy in some way. Something was wrong, and he knew that the Oracle had something to do with it.

            "Commander," Victor said as his featureless face projected in the basement.

            "Victor, track all known safe houses of the Red Arrow, and attempt triangulation of his last known whereabouts."

            "Yes, sir," Victor said and vanished.

           

Ian merely stood in silence, millions of thoughts rushing through his head. He knew that Ed would never vanish without leaving some sort of a message, though he found none. The last time this had happened was right before they were forced to work for the mysterious people that called themselves the counsel. He also knew that Elizabeth must have had something to do with it, and he felt like he knew that her brother was one of the core factors.

            "You better know what you are doing, Ed..." Ian said, echoing his earlier thoughts. He figured that it would be weeks before he would get even the slightest of leads on the Oracle, and all he could do now was to get to the bottom of the whole JR thing, and abide by the orders of the counsel.