Xarissa stood up and said, “I understand Adm. Taylor, but I have a question. Why is Laura in Montenegro?" The others muttered in agreement, curious, but still in aftershock from Rebecca's sudden resignation.
Mr. Taylor sighed and started telling them why Laura was at Montenegro.
****************
"Rebecca! We haven't seen you in a while!" a receptionist said.
"No, I've been pretty busy. Listen, I need a small transformer. Just big enough for 2-3 people."
"Ah, I understand. Follow me."
Rebecca followed her to the back where the receptionist showed Rebecca their new model. Rebecca's jaw dropped to the floor when she saw it.
****************
It was around 9:00 at night when the man woke up. He was very confused, but his wife was ecstatic. She ran up to Laura and hugged her so tightly that Laura thought that her organs would burst.
"Stay with us for the night!" she begged. "We must repay you for your kind services to us!"
"Yes, I will. I need to make sure that your husband will recover from his wound. There are so many things that could happen! We need to make sure that he's getting enough to drink. We also need some disinfectant. Do you have any alcohol to spare? I'm going to leave tomorrow. His wounds should be checked at least every hour." Laura continued giving instructions to the woman, who was writing down everything on a little notepad. Laura stayed with them overnight, and in the morning, she woke up to see the woman packing some food and money into a purse.
"What are you doing?" Laura asked her.
"You do need some supplies for wherever you're going. Let us provide for you."
"I'm very grateful, but I don't see what I've done to deserve this."
"You saved my husband."
"I led the people that shot him here. I didn't want them to hurt you. They were only after me. I simply made up for what my choices wrought."
"They shot my husband, not you. You were obviously seeking shelter from them, we took you in, and they pulled the trigger, not you. We are the ones who are in your debt."
Laura didn't argue, although she couldn’t help but feel the weight of gratitude and guilt that placed themselves upon her shoulders.
"Sit down, there's some food on the table.”
Laura ate silently, then asked,
"How did your husband fare last night?"
"He's a lot better, thanks to your help. He's very grateful to you too." The woman paused, then said, "If you or anyone else that you know and love are in trouble as you were last night, we will help with all of our heart. Consider it our repayment."
"What's your name?"
"My name is Pavka. My husband's name is Radan." She continued to place necessities into the purse. Laura thought and thought. She recognized the name Radan. She'd heard it before.
"Is Radan awake?"
"Yes, he is. He's in the living room. "
Laura sprinted to the room. Radan looked up at her and laughed, then started to cough in pain. Laura ignored this: she knew that he would be alright.
"Your name is Radan, right?"
"Yes. Why?" Radan smiled. He looked so happy.
"About three years ago, a strange man and a young girl stayed at your house for a while, right?"
"How did you know-" then the realization dawned on his face. "What are you doing here?"
Laura looked around, then asked,
"Does Pavka know about this?" Radan shook his head.
Laura whispered, "Remember how when you first saw me, I was dirty and frightened, and very silent?"
"Yes, my family and I agreed that you had been through a lot, but that it wasn't our business to pry."
"You're the informant!" Laura whispered. Radan's face didn't change at all.
"Right. It's been many years since we've seen each other, but where are the others?"
Radan smiled, then motioned for Laura to come closer.
"My friend is behind bars, and her friends are with her. Their location is constantly changing, and they are most vulnerable when changing locations. They will be moving them the day after tomorrow in a black van. The license plate is CG2021. They will be passing through Ada Street, which is on the other side of town. You know what to do."
"Yes, I do."
****************
"We can't find her. She's gone." Niko told Jace, who was beginning to freak out. The prisoners were going to be transferred in two days! How would they protect the prisoners and stop the agent at the same time?
"Get everyone to come and protect the prisoners. We'll find her after they've been transferred."
"Yes sir."
****************
“I didn’t know the Global Conservation Agency made things like this!” Rebecca said, examining the plane. She couldn’t even tell where the plates were, but when Karen pushed a button, it transformed into a giant, three-person robot body. “What else does it do?”
Karen smiled. “It was Conner who had the idea. He created a way to shift the plates and materials so that it could create other things. Watch this.” She pressed another button, and the robot turned into three models of full-body armor.
“Whoa! We can go in those?”
“Yup. Conner says he got the idea from the Avengers. You can change it so that there are two to five suits. This is the best part.”
She pushed the largest red button, and all three suits of armor migrated into the center and shrunk down into a disk. “Oh my gosh, I can carry it around in my pocket?!”
“Yes,” Karen answered, loving her enthusiasm. “Your eyes will pop out when you find out how many models of these we’ve made.”
“How many?”
“Two hundred and sixteen,” a new voice said. Rebecca looked behind her to see Conner walking towards them with a smile.
“Conner!” Rebecca said, running to him and giving him a hug. “I can’t believe you made these!”
“I didn’t,” Conner answered modestly. “Not on my own. Karen and the other techs helped me out. We figured out how to make them regenerate by using more Techni-shards.”
“That’s what you call them?” Karen said, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, these Replicators are made out of tiny parts of matter that can shift around. It’s almost like a giant sea of technological shards of matter. So yes, I call them Techni-shards.”
“That’s so cool,” Rebecca said admiringly.
“What are you planning on doing with this?” Karen wondered.
“I’m on a mission. One of the HIA agents got…off track, I should say,” Rebecca answered.
Karen winced as Rebecca said “the HIA”. “You know how confidential they are. They’re too strict. Would they let you do this?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Rebecca answered. “I quit.”
The other two were silent. They didn’t want to offend her. Finally Conner asked, “Where you headed?”
“Someplace in Montenegro.”
“Can I come?”
“Sure.”
****************