“We’re in position,” a Guardian’s hushed voice said over the comms.

Nausea rolled in my stomach.

The screen had broken into five groups now. One group, originally from Team One, were standing outside the main elevators. Whoever the camera was streaming from kept glancing anxiously behind them causing panic to build in my system. I wanted to scream at them to stop. There was someone who was facing the other direction keeping guard, they didn’t need to keep turning.

The rest of Team One were pressed into the walls outside the Information Centre on the seventeenth floor. Their job was to breach it as soon as the rest of our fighters were in position then they’d go in, get all of the information they needed and then create general havoc and chaos.

The team going down to the lift we’d told them about made me most anxious though. I could tell they felt rushed. They were jogging, only glancing around cursorily as they made their way towards their location. My foot bounced frantically as I watched, half expecting them to be gunned down at any second.

I knew why they were rushing. The longer they spent there, the higher the possibility of the Councillors calling in more Guardians. Or the Guardians who were already there might get bored of waiting for us to attack and start attacking our fighters.

I’d been on so many missions before, hundreds probably, but this felt different. I’d never been in a position where I had to sit back and wait or where one member of my crew was separated from us and in danger. I hated it. I hated feeling helpless. I still do. Any time there is a situation where I can’t help, it makes me want to tear my hair out. It’s different when I am in charge because then I’m completely in control of the situation but when it’s someone else, I can’t handle it.

I wiped my sweaty, unsteady hands on my suit surreptitiously and glanced around at my crew. They were all staring at the screens. Gem’s eyes were moving rapidly between the crews and her lips were moving in what I knew to be a silent prayer.

The crease between Cas’ eyebrows was deep and his hands were clenched into tight fists. Cory’s eyes were wide and focused on the team heading towards the medBay.

I forced myself to breathe steadily and looked at Fornax. Her eyes were fixed on the holoscreens but her hands kept twitching over the screen in her lap like she wanted to do something too.

“We’ve located the lift,” the team following Gem and Cory’s directions said.

I heard a gentle breath of relief slip out of Gem but I couldn’t allow myself to feel that same relief. It felt too easy. They hadn’t run into anyone.

“Yes! That should open up to behind the Guardians!” Fornax cheered, consulting her map.

On the screen, Elliot and Aquila conferred quietly before nodding and looking back at us.

“I want you to send up smoke grenades and taser grenades. That should take down a good chunk of them and leave enough of the rest blinded,” Aquila ordered.

“And what about us? Should we go up too?” one of the Guardians standing outside the main elevator asked.

Aquila spoke to some of the people in the Command Centre before coming to a decision.

“No, we wouldn’t be able to guarantee that you wouldn’t be hit by the taser darts too, it’s too risky. Once you’ve set everything up in the lifts, head back to the stairs and provide back up. We’ll send the elevator towards you now.”

I waited, trying to keep my twitching leg under control, whilst the lift moved towards the fighters from Team Two.

“Do we have access to the camera in the lift? Do we know it’s empty?” I asked Fornax, not wanting to take my eyes off the screen but realising they might need to be warned.

Only one of the fighters from that team had their weapons drawn, the others were pulling their grenades from their belt and clutching them.

My heart pounded in my chest and my eyes flicked back and forth whilst I waited for Fornax to finish typing on the screen. I expected the lift to be fun of Guardians. I was about to watch the team die.

“The lift is empty,” she muttered, turning the screen around for me to see.

I nodded, relief making my breathing slightly easier.

“Team Two A, listen up. It’s estimated that it will take the lift approximately thirty-two seconds to reach the target floor. That means you need to set the smoke grenades to start working after twenty-five seconds, so that the lift is full of smoke, and the tasers to go off after thirty-five seconds. That’ll draw them in before they go off. Make sure to leave a camera in there too so we can see what’s going on.” Fornax’s lips twisted up into a smirk.

“Got it.”

The lift dinged softly and I felt the entire crew hold their breath as the doors opened.

It was empty.

Relief washed through my body as I watched the three undercover Guardians fiddle with the bombs.

“Ready? As soon as we start hitting the timers, there’s no going back,” the Guardian said.

“Team One A, outside of the Information Centre, are you ready?” Aquila asked.

“Aye!” the response came.

“Team One B. Board the main lifts now. As soon as Two A have set the charges, the lift will start moving.”

The main lift doors opened and the Guardians stepped inside. Cold fingers began creeping along my spine. That was another area of the Council Headquarters I’d been in too often. I’d been beaten unconscious in that lift multiple time. A grim smile found its way to my face.

“Team Two B and Team Three. Are you in position and ready to begin?”

My eyes landed on the Guardians in the stairwell who were peaking through the frosted window on the doors.

“We are,” they said.

“Alright. Team Two A, set the charges and head back to the stairs.”

My heart dropped into my stomach at Aquila’s command.

Something felt off. It couldn’t be this easy. There couldn’t just be a handful of Guardians between the Council and us getting Peggy back. That felt wrong.

Does something feel off to you? I asked, hoping that they’d say no.

Cas glanced at me.

Yeah. Surely there should be more people there, right? Why have we not seen any Guardians?

Maybe they’re just guarding the Councillors? Gem thought but she sounded unsure.

My fingers long to fiddle with something. To pick at something to get some of the nervous energy out but my gloves blocked my movement.

They could be… I don’t know. It feels wrong, I thought as a Guardian from Team Two A bolted out of the lift and they started sprinting after the others towards the stairs.

“Alright fighters, prepare to throw out smoke grenade and ready yourselves for the fight,” Aquila said, her voice strong but serious.

I clutched the edge of my seat and stared at the screen showing the inside of the lift. Smoke had just started to hiss out of the cylindrical tubes.

“You don’t need to watch this,” Fornax said to me quietly, her eyes fixed on the screen. “I know you’re a soldier but you’re still just a kid.”

I shook my head, unable to look away from the screen and the upcoming bloodbath.

“I have to,” I whispered, my voice tight with fear and worry.

I knew it wouldn’t go well but it felt wrong to look away. I had to watch, no matter what happened. I needed to see what was happening. I needed to watch out for Peggy. The fighters would be too distracted and I couldn’t rely on Andy seeing her first. I had to try.

Hope flickered weakly in my heart. We didn’t have many fighters, maybe thirty but they were well trained and we most likely had better weapons. All the Council had was a seemingly never-ending supply of Guardians willing to die for them.

The now smoke-filled lift stopped with a gentle creak and my breath caught in my throat as the doors began to open.