"Alright...let me see here..."

A military cut man flips over a file on his desk. He fixes his glasses.

"Hmm?" he makes a twisted look on his face.

Across from him sits a blonde hair woman wearing the same uniform as him, with less rank on it. She's fidgeting with her fingers. A bead of sweat races down her forehead. Her foot stamps uncontrollably.

The man makes another flip of the file. His eyes widen. He looks up at her with a perplexed look on his face.

"Corporal Carpenter!?" He says astonished.

Harman Carpenter lets out a deep sigh I can get myself out of this

"Alright, I know, I know how this looks let me explain."

The military man puts down his glasses onto the desk, exasperated. He rubs his eyes.

"Explain? Carpenter! These files say that you participated in looting in every major theater of combat."

"Sir, come on now haha, those actions were justified, I was allowed to do that just ask the-"

"Who sanctioned these activities? You work logistics in the Army! How'd you even have access to do this?"

"Sir, I-I was allowed to, the thing is this the GSB had a few agents and I-"

"The GSB!?" He puts his glasses on and slams the file shut. "That's enough." he leans back in his chair.

"I'm trying to explain here to you that they ordered me too! Alright? I was working with them an-"

He slams his hand on the desk. She shuts up and is wide eyed. "Enough Corporal!" He takes a sigh. He opens the file again.

"Corporal Harman Carpenter, due to the unfavorable nature of your file and your behavior in front of me today I have no choice but to approve your reassignment orders."

She watches intently as he stamps the paper.

"You will continue on track to be transferred to Fort Gragg Ostariel. Here"

He hands her a copy of the paper. She grabs it meekly.

"Alright if you just give me two seconds I-"

"Get the fuck out of my office Corporal."

she walks out.

Outside the room, she takes a deep breath. She folds the paper up and walks past the military staff of the building towards the exit.

MEETING PETER

The red and blue lights shoot through the dark alleyway. The air was alive with the noises of engines shouting, the distant crack of rifles. Police sirens echo through the dimly lit port.

Harman in her trench coat, is grabbing at wads of cash on the floor. breathing heavy. She stuffs a bunch of it in her trench coat pockets.

Her head shoots left. She hears more commotion.

"Hey! Over here! They're jumping the fence!" Lights begin the illuminate where she's at.

"Fuckkkkk," she lets out in a low tone.

She goes for a window, Something grabs onto her leg.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing, let go!"

Its a bloodied dark elf on the floor. He looks like he was recently hit by a bus. He lets a cough out. With a dry throat, "There's a rat."

He lets go and stares at her on the window sill. She looks at his beaten body, her eyes switch from the doorway to him. leaning on the sill. Footsteps getting louder. Lights getting brighter.

"Sorry man." She jumps out of the window into a pile of trash. She gags. Covering her nose with her sleeve. She stands, looking up at the window as the officers catch the elf.

She begins to run across the port, across modern shipping containers and medieval barrels. A helicopter carved slow circles above the port, its searchlight cutting through the dark. Sirens still blaring. hiding behind a shipping container. covered in trash. She puts her hands in her pocket and just holds the money. She takes a deep breath.

She peeks her head around a corner, and sees a mechanized truck with people in chains being guarded by armed men. Radio chatter radiates from the area. She smacks her teeth. She takes a rock and throws it. Within the second the guards turn around she makes a break for it. The prisoners on the floor see her.

"Hey! She'-"

He's smacked by a guard, "shut up."

She sees the exit now, but it's blocked off by guards, she scans and sees an opening in a broken fence. Before she can go, more voices right next to her appear. She stumbles around before ducking into an open shipping container.

Harman peeks her head around the corner.

"What the hell are you doing?" The man takes a drag of a cigarette

Harman snaps back, a smile plastered on her face. Trash water dripping from her face. "Man! Am I happy to find you! There-There are a lot of them out there an-and I think I should go back out there."

"Stopppp," the man says begrudgingly.

Harman stops in her tracks, frozen, it's over.

He waves her over with his cigarette hand "Come 'ere."

"Alright I know what this might look like, but I assure you I'm a part of this operation, I just needed to check in with you- see tha-" Harman gets cut off.

"What's up with the money? Hmm? The money you stuffed in your pocket like a junkie, right there." He gives a meek little point at her pockets.

"I can explain-"

The man smacks his teeth nagging her, "No, No, No partner. I think things are pretttty clear. Stay right there."

He sticks his head out the shipping container. He grabs the guard right outside, wrapping his arms around the guard, "Hey there, I'm going be busy in there for a while, gotta itch you know? Just tell Paul I went home already alright?"

He pats him on the back and slams the shipping container doors closed. The guard stands there,

"alright?" the guard says under his breath.

"Okayyy were we!?" He walks back in smoking the cigarette.

Harman's eyes race for an escape. Her breathing rapid. The smell of rancid meat is tormenting her.

"I-Im sorry sir, was it necessary to close that door? I still have things to do." She's talking with her hands, her palms sweaty. knees weak.

"What!? No I just wanna talk to my new friend!

The man begins to inch closer to her.

"My friend that's been you know lying to me since she met me. My friend who has crumbled bills stuffed in her pockets. My friend that smells like absolute shit! God you stink. What are you really doing here?

He leans into her face.

"And if you lie to me again IM GOING TO THROW YOU INTO THE OCEAN! So go ahead."

He blows a plume of smoke into her face and backs up.

She coughs. She stands there a moment her face in her elbow. Staring at the container floor, her eyebrows furrow. She takes a breath. She faces him then snaps to the position of attention.

"Corporal Carpenter Sir, I was assigned to take field observations, however the enemy captured me. In attempting to escape I acquired this jacket and hid in the trash pile, coming here to find help, I apologize for lying sir."

"Hmm, alright!" He puts the cigarette on the floor and stomps it out. He walks towards the door and begins to unlock it.

"At least you told me the truth Corporal."

Carpenter lets out a sigh of relief and a sly smile begins to form.

"Let's get you out of here, you gotta be tired after stealing your own trench coat."

Harman's face twist. Her eyes widen. She breaks out in a cold sweat. The man is no longer pretending to open the door. The container is quiet. the electric hum from the lights outside can be heard. She stands there, she couldn't move if she wanted to.

"Turn around." He says

She slowly turns around. A fist straight to her face. She flies against the container walls. She stumbles up, but the man is already next to her and knees her in the stomach. She grabs onto both his fist and he headbutts her, she falls down. He wipes his face.

"Wow! I didn't think this raid was gonna be any fun! Thank god you showed up!"

He kneels down close to her,

"Oh and the whole throwing you in the port thing, I wasn't actually going do that. you're probably too slippery for that anyway."

He pats her shoulder and sits down next to her, he wraps his arms around her. a jovial smile plastered on his face. Harman's nose is bleeding her vision blurry.

"Carpenter right? You're going love this,"

He takes out a picture from his coat jacket, and shows it to her.

"Do you know this Demi-human Cat? Huh? Should seem familiar!"

Harman takes a glance at the picture and lets out a sigh. She spits blood out her mouth.

"...yes"

"Really!? Enlighten me!"

"You already know who he is....You set up this whole operation! I should've known..."

"why'd you kill your own?"

"Me? I didn't do anything, didn't you just leave someone to die up there?"

Harman's beaten up face twist.

"How'd you.....No...."

"Yes! The elf was an agent too! Not a GSB agent, can't lose too many of those. It's a whole thing with paperwork and- gah! it just never works out you'll understand."

Harman puts the back of her head against the shipping container.

"Just...throw me away." she says depressingly

"Throw you away? No, No, No, do you understand what you are now?"

Harman stares at him.

"You're a GSB asset now, we could use you as props just how you used that elf upstairs. You're already used to the life, Fort Lacker? ring island?"

He goes and knocks on the shipping container door.

"You read my security file...."

"What the hell! Are you surprised? I gotta make sure I know who I'm hiring, like duhhh."

The shipping container opens and guards stand out front.

"This whole thing was sweet, we either killed you or they killed you, I didn't really expect you to walk right up to me, Gah! What a pleasure."

He looks at the guards, "get her cleaned up." He looks back at her "expect a visit from me soon, your buddy, agent peter. Later!"

He walks off. The guards walk in.

Wake up day 1

Harman Carpenter thoroughly beaten and thoroughly chained to a medical bed slowly wakes up. Her eyes flutter open. She holds her head and attempts to sit up. An elf in a nurse gown is writing something in a notepad.

"I wouldn't try moving too much." She says this while not even looking at Harman.

"Doctor, please, can you do me a favor and tell me where I am?"

The elf walks up to her and checks on a green glowing crystal floating in a tube next to her bed.

"You're in a hospital hun," see delivers without a smile and flatly.

"Yeah, I can see that.....well, can I get out of here?"

The elf looks at her then gives and obvious stare at the handcuffs from her wrist to her bed.

"Oh come on! They cuffed me? You got keys doctor come on, can't just leave me here."

"Listen hun, I just work here, but whatever you did or are, they don't want you leaving, you got guards outside."

Harman rest her head onto the pillow. She lifts her arm up giving a futile effort to take the cuffs off. She lets out a groan.

There's a knock at the door. Harman closes her eyes quickly. The guard opens the door and a man walks in with a white button up, black pants, and black tie.

He sees her pretending to sleep. He motions at a guard and he walks in and slaps her across the face.

She winces at the pain.

"What the fuck!? Can't I sleep anymore? You guys got rules against sleeping! I- "

"Good morning Harman, I'm Special Agent Baptista. I've been ordered to collect you."
He acknowledges the nurse.
"You may leave Ms, thank you."

The nurse walks out.

"I assume you won't be a problem if we release you from the cuffs?"

"No problems from me, sir. Just trying to get back home."

Baptista pauses for a moment, "I've heard what happened during your encounter with special agent Peter. You're lucky he likes you."

Harman's face twists
"What are yo-"

"The Peter I know would've had MPs collecting pieces of your skull off the shipping container you stumbled into. Unfortunately for you, I have no such liking for you, you are filth on par with the demons. If you don't cooperate with me I assure you there will be no fight. Am I clear?"

Harman lays back. "yes." Avoiding eye contact with Baptista.

"unlock her." He says to the guard.

"yes sir."

Harman's eyes don't acknowledge the guard unlocking her cuffs. Baptista continues to glare at her.

The Train

Baptista sits across from Harman who stares out the window sitting upright. Two guards sitting on either side of her. She sees vast swathes of arid plains and mountains, some small towns sprinkled along the way. The rest of the passengers on this train are dressed in full military gear. Baptista leaves, she puts her head down, the guards force her head back up. She shakes them off and continues staring out the window.

The facility

"This is the facility the headquarters of the Ostariel branch of the Global Security Bureau." Baptista says looking at the facility dead on. He shoots her a glare.

"This is where your orientation will begin."

He starts for the inside of the building which is built like a castle from the outside, but with a massive plot of barbed wire and modern watchtowers. On the side of the road leading to the castle Harman sees them.

The people she worked with the night before, chained and on the ground, as armed guards watch over them. One of the prisoners sees her, a demi-human cat.

"You! You gotta get me outta here tell them I didn't do-"

Baptista chops him in the neck quickly and punches him onto the ground. Baptista sighs. As they walk the demi-human's raspy voice attempts to reach out.

"don't forget me! Don't leave me he-"

You can hear a rifle butt smash against his head. Harman keeps walking in the middle of two guards still keeping her head straight, eyes trained on the back of Baptista's head. The gate slowly begins to open as they approach.

As they walk into the facility, there's modern pavement. Radar stations, glass, Anti-air emplacements armed with men. The inside is clinically clean and minimalist, with offices surrounding the facility.

They walk towards a room and a sliding door opens revealing a classroom. Harman looks at all them, sizing them up, all of them in clean suits but roughly the same age as her. Yet she's the only one in bandages.

Baptista Looks at her.

"take a seat, your instructor should be with you shortly."

"Got it." She says reluctantly. She begins to walk in.

"Oh and Carpenter, please refrain from talking to the agents in the room. As an asset there should be a barrier between the two." He cracks a little smile as the sliding door closes.