April 18

Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

4:03 PM

"What's this?" Rick asked, eyeing the file that had been slapped on the table in front of him.

"A package I need you to go pick up," Waller answered bluntly.

The soldier gave a suspicious once over of the folder. It looked neither new nor old. Papers stuck out of the sides, stuffed in haphazardly, and the tab had been ripped off as if someone didn't want it to be found. A stamp, whose imprint held the highest of government authority, was pressed across the top. This wasn't just some file that could be looked up at your local library, this was top secret; shove in the back, lock the file cabinet, and throw the file cabinet down a hole top secret, which made Rick wonder just how deep Waller had to dig to get it. The whole thing just seemed...off.

Rick's features falter into deeper confusion upon opening the folder. It was a girl; a beautiful girl with icy blue eyes, short black hair, and a face locked like a vault. She seemed normal enough though. He continued to flip through, page after page, gathering what information he could, but there wasn't really much he couldn't learn. ID documents, health records, fingerprints, mission files, was there anything on this girl that wasn't in this file? It wasn't until he neared the last of the papers that something ceased his flipping. The big red words stamped across the page made Rick's fingers tense, and sent a very uncomfortable sense of warning, as uneasiness began to settle in the pit of his stomach and surge over his entire body. He'd seen enough and made that fact clear by slapping the folder shut and tossing it back on the table.

"What is this really?" His tone more demanding this time, but it only seemed to amuse his boss as a grin made its way onto her face. She'd easily noticed his discomfort, and seeing her top soldier and right-hand man be rattled by simply the sight of some papers quite honestly gave her some enjoyment.

"It's the newest member of your team," she answered in a very mock tone.

"You serious?"

"As a heart attack."

If there is one thing Rick had learned in all his years under Amanda's order, it's that she never joked. She was precise, calculated, and never did anything without reason, and with a ruthless attitude and stone cold personality, it was no wonder she had as much power and status as she did. It's not that Rick had a problem with adding to the task force of unruly crooks and convicts, who had so rightly earned the title Worst of the Worst , but this was different. This wasn't just another criminal they could force into submission with a bomb in the neck, although that option was most likely on the table.

"And what makes you think she'll listen to you. From what I read she's got no criminal records, no relatives. What kind of leverage could you possibly have over her?"

Despite the opposition, Waller wasn't deterred in the slightest. Hell, his contradiction seemed to encourage her even more. She sat back in her chair; beaming at him with a smile that said she had played the game and won it before it even began.

"I've got something that I know she'll want. Something that nobody else is willing to give her."

Rick raised a brow, obviously wanting clarification, unfortunately for him, he wasn't going to get it.

"Just do your job and get her to me," she sternly stated before dismissing herself from the small conference room.

Rick found himself alone, sitting in silence, slowly processing the task that was now at his hand. In all his years of military service, he'd seen some things; messed up things; fucked up things; things that rattled and poked around in the deepest confines of his mind and refused to let him sleep at night, but never had any of those things left him with such a feeling of confusion and uncertainty as this folder.

Those stamped words still burned in the back of his mind and stuck to his memory as if they'd been engraved on the inside of his eyelids. A sharp twinge was starting to settle in too. He was surely going to have a headache later. How is it that these words could leave him so genuinely disturbed? Why couldn't he shake them? They were just words, just two words, two thoroughly intimidating words...

Extremely Dangerous.

April 19

Chicago, Illinois

8:45 PM

"Thank God for the weekend!" Casey practically howled as she burst out the doors of her workplace. She'd been working double shifts all week to ensure that she could have the whole weekend off, and this weekend was the perfect opportunity to catch up on her favorite pastime: doing nothing. She threw a quick farewell over her shoulder to her boss and co-workers before heading to her street bike, hastily taking her helmet from her backpack and throwing it on before speeding off.

The wind whipped at her hair, tossing it around every which way, but she couldn't have cared less at the moment. She kept up the speed, tightly gripping the throttle, occasionally jolting forward into a quick wheelie before continuing her steady ride. She bobbed and weaved through traffic, cutting past other vehicles, and just couldn't help the smile that formed underneath her helmet. She wasn't sure if was the adrenaline of the ride or the excitement of going home, but either way, she was absolutely elated. The drive home was usually about 15 minutes, but she made it in less than 10. That'll happen when you have one of those every-yellow-light-is-a-challenge mindsets. She parked her bike on the usual side street and removed her helmet, letting her hair fall into a not-so-elegant heap down her back. A breeze tussled it around a bit and some stray locks tickled at her face. She absolutely loved this time of year in the inner city. The weather was perfect. Just the right amount of sun peaking through the clouds with a hint of cool breezes that sent shivers crawling across your skin, but in a good way. Sure Chicago wasn't necessarily the most scenic or safe place to live, but it was her home and she loved it all the same. She honestly couldn't even remember why she chose to live here, but in all her years of being here, the hustle and bustle of the city had grown on her.

She stepped through the front doors and into the familiar run-down lobby, greeted by the faint smell of cigarette smoke and buzz of flickering fluorescent lights that threatened to give out any day now. She didn't bother checking her mail slot, as she rarely got mail other than the regular notice of due rent. The hum of a tune and bounce in her step made the five flight ascent go relatively quickly and reaching her floor she began to fish her key from her pocket, but about halfway down the hall something odd caught her eye. Her door was already open, not completely, just slightly ajar, but still open, and Casey knew for a fact that she hadn't left it that way. Her excitement turned to caution, as she was now on full alert. She nudged the door to her still-dark apartment, narrowing her eyes as her hand instinctively went to the bat she kept behind the front door. She brought it to a swinging position in a tight grip; ready to bash any potential threat that was daring to trespass in her home.

"Zozo," she anxiously called out to her pet cat, expecting her to come as she always did, but there was nothing.

She warily began making her way through her apartment. The place was pretty small, so there weren't really many places one could hide. She checked every crease and corner, making sure to not miss a single spot, calling out for her furry companion a few more times as she searched. It wasn't until about her fifth attempt of calling out that a soft mewl sounded from the one place she hadn't checked yet: her bedroom. She darted to the door as a tight ball of edginess settled in her stomach and caused her to hesitate. A few breaths left her as her hand nervously drifted over the doorknob. She didn't know what was on the other side of this door, but whatever it was surely wasn't going to like the greeting she had in store. Her grip tightened on the bat and with a swift turn of the knob she charged in; hellbent on clobbering the first thing she saw, which really wasn't what she was expecting.

"Surprise."

For a moment, everything was still, and Casey just stood there wide-eyed, frozen by the sight before her. Her best friend sat on her bed covered in streamer and confetti, with the biggest smirk planted on her face. She didn't seem at all fazed by the bat hovering beside her head. Casey had just managed to stop herself mid-swing before she realized who the "intruder" was and when she was finally able to register the fact she became utterly exasperated.

"L-Lori? What the hell is wrong with you!?" she yelled, stomping her foot in frustration.

"What? I wanted to wish my best friend a happy birthday," she mused, her black-painted lips feigning a smile of innocence.

"By breaking into my apartment!?"

"Oh don't act like this is the first time I've done this. Besides, it's not breaking in if I have a key," she explained holding up said key.

"I gave that to you for emergencies. "

"And this is an emergency. I'm trying to save you from a night of complete and utter dullness."

Her friend's cocked brow indicated that further explanation was needed.

"C'mon Case. It's your 26th birthday. Not exactly a focal point of life, but still a legitimate reason to celebrate."

Casey let out a very heavy groan, wanting her friend to see just how much she was pestering her. "I've been working all week. I just-"

"Another reason to celebrate," she said holding her finger up as she made her point, "I guarantee partying will take all that stress off."

"Ya know what else could take the stress off? A nap. A long, long nap."

"Yeah, but a nap can't give you ice cream and alcohol," Lori said with a little shimmy of her shoulders and a lopsided smirk. The sight was so arousingly comedic Casey couldn't help her small snort of laughter, and before she knew it she was being squished into a hug.

"I want you to know I was really looking forward to relaxing when I got here."

"You can be lazy some other time."

She let out another groan. Despite the inevitable defeat, a small part of her still goaded her to argue. Nevertheless, she knew she wasn't going to win this, especially not against Lori. Her headstrong personality was enough to go up against, but she was also a lawyer-in-training, her entire future career was based on arguing.

"I swear you spend so much time in your bed your ass is gonna merge into the mattress."

"I can still hit you with this bat."

"But you won't," she purred as she nuzzled her cheek into Casey's head, some white strands of her hair falling into her friend's face. Casey sighed, trying to sound disgusted, but in actuality she loved it. She gave in and clumsily threw her arms around her friend. Hugs between them were always kind of awkward because of their different builds. Casey was rather short and shapely, while Lori had a more tall and slender physique. They stayed like that for a bit, each enjoying the presence of the other.

"Hey, Lori?"

"Yeah?"

"What kinda ice cream did you get?"

"Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl ."

"HELLS YEAH!" Casey bursted, accidentally flinging the bat across the room and into the window. Whoops. It wasn't a second later that she found her leg in a death grip. Zozo had completely wrapped herself around her leg, something she usually did when frightened.

"Sorry Zozo," she apologized, scooping the black fuzzball up and nestling her in her arms,"Didn't mean to scare you."

"C'mon slackass. I bought one of those fancy bottles of Absolut and I do plan to empty it," Lori nudged as she made her way from the room.

Casey simply rolled her eyes and smiled. This night was going to be much longer than she anticipated.

"Party rock ssn the haaaaase tonight!"

"Erybody jus have a good tiiiiiime!"

Casey and Lori had indeed emptied that bottle of Absolut along with a few more bottles and a pint of ice cream, and were now in the middle of a rather loud and graceless karaoke duet, which was really more slurring than singing.

"An we go make ya looooose ya mind!"

"We jus wanna see ya…"

"SHAKE THAT!"

The duo began clumsily shaking around. Swaying their hips and moving their feet to the music; missing every beat, but being too buzzed to care. They eventually found themselves bouncing around on the living room couch like a pair of giddy teenagers, and finally collapsed in a heap of laughter when the song ended. After simmering down from their fit of giggles the two sat in comfortable silence, reminiscing in the moment. The night had been fun: couch forts, silly string, cheesy late night TV, truths and dares. It had all turned out great, and Casey, though she'd never admit it out loud, thought it was way better than any nap she could've taken.

"Lori?"

"Yeah Case?"

"Thanks for this. It was fun."

"Even better than a nap?"

"Shut up," she smiled, giving Lori's leg, which was currently sprawled across her lap, a weak slap. Her friend laughed at the harmless action. A glance at the clock on the wall withdrew a tired sigh from her and caused her to shift.

"Welp," she said standing from the couch, "I should get going. Going to a court hearing tomorrow."

"You got work stuff to do tomorrow and you're drinking the night before," Casey gaped in mild disbelief.

"It's not the first time, probably won't be the last."

A smile involuntarily made its way onto Casey's face, leave it to Lori to show up in the court of law all liquored up.

"I'll walk you home," she offered. Lori helped her up from the couch and slung her arm over Casey's shoulders for some support. They stumbled through the door tangled around one another. Casey didn't bother shutting it. They were only going across the hall. After unlocking her own door, Lori shifted her weight from her friend to the doorframe as Casey staggered back across to her own door.

"Thanks again, Lori. For all of it. I needed that more than I realized."

"That's what I'm here for, and that's why I'm your best friend."

"You're my only friend."

"Exactly," she tossed a content smile over to her, and the gesture was warmly returned. They said their goodnights before finally parting ways.

As soon as the door was shut an exhausted moan left Casey. The night had been fun, but the week had been long, and the reality of how drained she really was was beginning to dawn on her. She didn't even have the energy to make it to her bedroom, simply flopping face-first onto her couch. Her body relaxed into the soft cushions as her exhaustion swallowed her, and just as she was the edge of sleep a knock sounded from her door.

Seriously!?

Reluctantly pulling herself from the couch, she trudged back to her door.

"What is it, Lor-" Casey was a bit more than taken aback by the presence of a man rather than her friend. He was obviously military and if his orderly attire didn't affirm that, his firmly trimmed head and face sure did. She had never seen him before in her life though, so why the hell was he at her door? And at such a late hour?

"Casey Andrews?"

"Who wants to know?" She slurred out in attempts to sound combative.

Rick examined her in such an inebriated state. There were those same blue eyes. Her hair, albeit much longer, still had the same starless hue. There was no doubt that the woman standing before him was the one he'd seen in the picture.

"Ma'am, I work for a highly confidential section of government designated in the research and recruitment of special agents and field operatives."

Casey's face scrunched up in confusion. Even if she wasn't buzzed she wasn't sure she would've understood that, and between the use of big words and restraint from sleep she found herself becoming annoyed.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Due to necessity of recruits your assistance is needed, and I'm gonna have to ask you to come with me."

"Listen soldier boy, I dunno what kinda nonsense under the cover bullcrap you're spewing, but I know I don't like it. I ain't going nowhere with no one."

"Ma'am if you don't comply with orders, we'll be obligated to use force."

Her brow rose before she could even realize it. We? She peered to the side to see three other men in the same getup as the one in front of her. She made an averse face at them and turned it to the man, who seemed to be the boss. Taking a firm stance on wobbly feet, she narrowed her eyes and spoke without constraint.

"I dare you."

And before she could even comprehend the weight of her words, two soldiers were already crowding into her apartment. She stumbled back and was caught in one of their holds. She strangled out a scream as her legs kicked up and her hands clawed at the arms around her neck and waist. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other two soldiers coming towards her… with needles. She let out another frustrated scream and thrashed around even more frantically, her adrenaline beginning to pulse and take over. She pulled her feet to her chest and kicked the soldier closest to her, sending him flying into the other. Her hands blindly flailed around, searching for the nearest blunt object, before finding an empty liquor bottle and shattering it against the soldier's temple. She stumbled out of his grasp, greedily taking in gulps of air.

What the hell? Who are these guys?

Her head darted all around the room, the adrenaline being her only source of coordination, but everything just seemed to blur together, providing no help to her already muddled mind. Her breathing quickened as a very deep-seated ache began to throb from her brain, to her skull, to her scalp and left her with a pain that gnawed at every inch of her mind. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt, but at the same time felt so familiar.

What is this?

She turned on her heel a few times, before finally spotting something she recognized: her metal bat, which she'd mindlessly tossed aside hours ago. Its familiar sheen acted as a beacon and gave her something to go for, and she promptly did so. It was just out of reach when her foot was yanked from beneath her. She immediately kicked her feet around, just managing to land a kick to the man's face and flail away from his grip. Reaching for the bat again she was grounded by the weight of another person that nearly knocked the wind from her. She began jolting around in his grasp, wildly thrashing her legs as he held her arms to her sides.

Let go! Let go of me!

Just managing a glance up at her assailant's face, she recognized him as the one who'd been talking to her. His eyes met hers and for the briefest of moments, and if she didn't know any better she would've sworn she saw fear in them, but the sight of the needle in his hand quickly grabbed her attention and made her jolt around even more.

Let go! Let go! Let go!

Another scream stumbled out of her as needle pierced skin and the clear liquid was emptied inside of her. It stung, and made her veins go cold along with the rest of her body. She hadn't even realized the soldier let her go until her feet met the floor and the weight of her limbs dragged her down. Everything felt so heavy now. Her hand went to her arm and yanked out the needle, leaving a prominent sting behind. She stared and felt her eyes go wide at its empty state.

What… What the hell is this?

She attempted to crawl away, but the weight of her body was too much now. It was consuming, suffocating, and it was dragging her down bit by bit. Things were starting to get blurry and she wasn't sure if it was the drug taking effect or the tears that were now burning the brims of her eyes. Maybe both.

Fuck. I'm passing out

Casey finally buckled under the weight of it all, as her head hit the floor and she blinked away some stray tears. This was it.

Dammit.