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be patrol routes they use. One of our Ranger teams who were tracking the patrol acted unilaterally and attempted to ambush it. They were wiped out to a man. Undoubtedly the resistance has caught wind of our intentions and will most likely flip tactics and tighten security,” Rodrigo reported calmly.
    “Are you fucking kidding me? Why did they
engage?” Kate shouted.
    “Not to worry, Ms. Schrubb. I have taken
corrective actions to make sure it does not happen again. There is a silver
lining here. This incident confirms that the Apostate’s base of operations is
somewhere in the region of the California Great Lake. It is only a matter of
time,” Rodrigo said forebodingly.
    “Inquisitor, I know you have not failed me
yet. You are one of my most trusted confidants. But, I cannot stress the time
sensitive nature for bringing these Apostates down. It has to be L.O.V.E. to do
it,” Kate emphasized.
    “Ms. Schrubb, I am also fully aware of the
rivalry between you and your brother. I know there is a competition brewing
between your two wings and the prize is the Apostates,” Rodrigo said, almost
cracking an asymmetrical smile.
    “Rodrigo. I—“ Kate was cut off
mid-sentence.
    “Fortunately I share your need for
immediacy in this matter, and even better…I work for you,” Rodrigo added, this
time smiling.
    “Fair enough. As long as we are on the
same page,” Kate snapped.
    “There is another matter. I was listening
to the conversation with your brother about the mole that you dreamed up to try
to scare him,” Rodrigo announced.
    Kate stared at him with a perplexed look
on her face then barked, “You have the White House bugged? I didn’t order that.”
    “I know, but I felt it was necessary. Apologies for not running it by you,” Rodrigo turned his head to look out the window of the armored vehicle as it whisked by nameless slums, then he continued, “About your imaginary mole, I’m afraid it’s real, and in the inner circle.” This time, Rodrigo was genuinely smiling.
    ⍟ ⍟ ⍟

BORN AGAIN
     
    The darkness began to give way to faint, blurry light. The chaos of the universe was subsiding, Formless apparitions passed by with soft whispers. She felt their presence, but they were out of reach, some unintelligible barrier blocked the forms. How long had she drifted through these ethereal planes? Was she still herself? Had she become something else? Merged with Creation and the universe? She had no memory of how she wound up here or even who she was, or more appropriately, what she was. Lifetimes and eons seemed to pass and yet no time passed at all. The entirety of human history had come and gone and never existed while she had pierced the abyss. She was at the beginning and end of time all at once. Was this death or birth, or non-existence?
    The one thing she did remember was that face, the last face she looked at, in a different plane, and a different time. Light and sound began to coalesce around her, she could hear sounds that resembled words being spoken, but everything was scrambled. She could make out a light like that at the entrance of a tunnel, or that of the birth canal.
    She was drawn to the light—it was
magnetic and she could not resist it. If it was her Creator calling her to the
realm that spawned her, she was glad because the limbo in which she currently
inhabited felt like an eternal prison. She willed herself to move through the
abyssal space to the anomaly. She could feel tangible logic emanating from the
light. It felt right—the only thing that made sense in this realm.
    “Greta!” a voice reached out to her from
within the light. She
was numb here, and yet she felt the sensations of all creation coursing through
her at once. She missed pain and the certainty of existence. This abstraction
was too cold and senseless. She yearned for something more ordered and less
chaotic.
    “Administer the adrenaline, and if that doesn’t work hard reset her neural implant. It just may jolt her