After stopping by the medical wing on the first sublevel, Oliver had already stopped the director's bleeding. Confident that he was in good hands, Jaxon continued down the stairwell to sublevel six. Unsure if Evans had been completely truthful about Celeste's location or if he was walking into a trap, Jaxon had his gun out just to be safe.

As he approached the stairwell door leading out into sublevel six, Jaxon leaned his ear against the door and listened intently for any sounds.

Silence.

Jaxon gripped the door handle and twisted. A slight tug and the door swung open. Cautiously, Jaxon popped his head through the doorway and quickly scanned the environment. It was a dimly lit corridor that plunged a dozen feet away from the stairwell before it veered to the left. There was nobody else in sight.

A crackle in Jaxon's ear startled him.

"Where'd you go, Jaxon?" Camille asked.

"Down five levels. Approach with caution. Radio silence."

"Got it," Camille said. "I'll cover your rear."

Jaxon proceeded down the dungeon-like passageway, slowing his pace as he approached a corner. He paused to listen.

Silence.

Instinctively, Jaxon pulled the hammer back on his gun and rounded the corner.

There were two security guards on either side of a single door at the end of the corridor. Neither of them noticed Jaxon approach. At first. As he neared, the closer guard caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye and reached for his gun. It was too late, though, as Jaxon fired, dropping the guard to the ground.

The sudden clamor caused the second guard to move much more quickly. He already had his hand on his pistol grip and was bringing it up when Jaxon's second bullet pierced the guard between the eyes. He dropped next to his partner.

"Jesus, Jaxon. Was that you? I could hear the gunfire in the stairwell," Camille said in Jaxon's ear.

Jaxon remained silent. He moved forward and rested his hand on the door handle. With a deep breath, he twisted the handle and walked through.

The room was similar to his temporary bunk several levels up. A toilet and sink hung from the wall to the side. There was a Bureau across from the door, sitting next to a single wide cot.

Sitting on the bed was Celeste. She sat there, staring back. She appeared to have been reading a book and had a startled look on her face from all the commotion.

Tears of joy almost overcame Jaxon as he finally saw her face. He checked himself and quickly extinguished the waterworks.

"Celeste? Are you okay?"

Celeste dropped the book and raised her legs up in front of her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "Who are you?" she asked, staring intently at the gun in Jaxon's hand.

Jaxon quickly holstered his pistol and raised his hands up in the air. "It's okay. I'm here to rescue you. I'm not going to harm you; I'm not going to let anyone harm you."

Celeste rocked back and forth as she stared at Jaxon. Her eyes welled up, and she began to cry.

Jaxon rushed to her bed and kneeled down beside her. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

"I'm ... fine. They hurt me a little, but I'm just scared. Is my mom, Lily, okay?" she asked, wiping her tears away.

"I'm sorry, Celeste, but Lily didn't make it. I'm sure that she fought to give you a chance to get away."

Celeste began to cry even harder.

Seeing the pain and anguish on her face tore deep into Jaxon's soul. It became increasingly more difficult to keep his own emotions in check.

"Hush, hush," Jaxon said, trying to soothe her pain. "It's going to be okay. I'm here now, and I won't let anything hurt you ever again."

Celeste stared at Jaxon quizzically. "Who are you?"

Jaxon heard footfalls echo in from the corridor, and he instinctively reached for his weapon. Seeing Camille approach, he dropped his hand away and focused on Celeste.

"I'm Jaxon. Did Lily ever tell you about me?"

Celeste sniffled and wiped more tears away. "N-no," she said, continuing to stare at Jaxon curiously.

"I'm ... I'm your father, Celeste," he said.

Shocked awareness came over Celeste's face, but she remained seated on the bed. Jaxon instantly regretted telling her the truth so quickly. He hoped that he hadn't just made a big mistake.

"Celeste? Are you-"

Before he could finish speaking, Celeste sprang from bed and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing. Jaxon felt her tears fall down his neck. He held her for a long time, unable to hold his own tears back.

Their silent reunion, precious for them both.

66.

Jaxon and Celeste walked out of the stairwell into sublevel one. Camille had already retreated to give the two of them some privacy to reconnect and was standing next to Oliver just outside the medical room.

As he approached, Jaxon spoke. "Hey everyone, I'd like you to meet someone special. This is Celeste, my daughter."

Camille reached out and took Celeste's hand warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sweetheart. I'm so happy that you're okay. You're all that Jaxon's talked about for the last three weeks."

Celeste smiled shyly. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"Hi. I'm Miles. Your dad here is one lucky guy to have found you once again," Oliver said, shaking her hand.

Celeste smiled and nodded.

"How's the director?" Jaxon asked.

"I patched him up as best I could. But thankfully, being the head of the GSA has its privileges; they had a chopper ten minutes out. The medics just got here and are in there with him now," Oliver said. "He said that he wants to talk to you right away."

Jaxon nodded and looked at Celeste, contemplating whether he should leave her just yet.

"Go ahead," Camille said. "I'll watch after her. We can have some girl talk while you're gone."

"Oh, great," Jaxon said as he hugged Celeste before walking into the medical room.

Two medics were attending to the director lying on the operating table. One of them looked at Jaxon as he approached. "You shouldn't be in here," he said.

"No, it's okay," Howe said. "I need to talk to him. Come closer, Jaxon."

Jaxon did and stood near the head of the table.

"So, quite a mess, wouldn't you say?" Howe said through gritted teeth. "But I would've appreciated a little more heads up before you made your move."

"I couldn't have been sure, director. Not until that instant. We were fairly certain it was Evans, but it could have been you all along throwing everyone off your scent as the mole. I had to do this on my terms."

The director moaned slightly as one of the technicians sutured the bullet hole. "Regardless, that's not exactly how we do things at the GSA. You, above everyone else, should've known that."

"I understand, sir," Jaxon said, opting to take the reprimands from the director without question.

"I understand that you found Celeste?" Howe said.

"Yes, sir. She's been here the entire time. Evans had her in sublevel six from the start."

"And she's okay?" He asked.

"She's scared, but no physical injuries," Jaxon said, thankful. "With any luck, she won't suffer any lasting effects from the traumatic situation."

Howe nodded, half focusing on the conversation and on the stitching being performed on his abdomen.

"Director, are you on any kind of pain blockers right now? You look like you're in agony."

"Nope. I'm ... forgoing any form of narcotics. These gentlemen know that it's imperative that I remain cognizant throughout this whole procedure. They've assured me that they will not cause me any undue pain," Howe said. "Isn't that right, gentlemen?"

The two medical technicians nodded but maintained focus on Howe's injuries.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," he said, looking back up at Jaxon. "Guzman's operation has been neutralized?"

"Yes, sir. Guzman will not be a problem for anyone ever again."

"And what about Francisco's directive? Was he able to secure any documentation or procedures of the drug's production?" Howe asked.

Jaxon didn't blink. "Unfortunately, no. By the time my team penetrated the labs, they had already sabotaged all of their computers and records. All that was left was a useless pile of burning circuitry."

Director Howe frowned. "That's quite unfortunate. Having physical proof of his operation would have smoothed things over with the oversight committee ... in addition to serving as defense for your future."

Jaxon's eyes narrowed and met the director's. "Future? What are you saying?"

"You have to understand, Jaxon. The GSA functions on a mandated set of rules and regulations. Without them, there would be corruption. I can't say for certain right now, but after each of you have been debriefed, the company will analyze your individual situations as to what sort of repercussions will come out."

Jaxon began to feel anger build deep inside. "Repercussions? We were sent on this mission to stop Guzman's operation. We followed those orders to a T, in addition to saving the lives of dozens of innocent women before they were thrust into the life of prostitution. Jesus Christ, director. You should be pinning medals on each and every one of us."

"Relax, Jaxon. It won't be as dire as it sounds. But without the evidence that Francisco was to obtain, I have no control over the outcome. There's a very good chance that none of you will ever see each other again. And for some of you, you might not even recall what happened over the last month," Howe said as he stared into Jaxon's eyes.

Jaxon felt his face flush with anger. He stood there, silently, as he drove his fingers into the palms of his hands.

"On the other hand," Howe said, glancing at his now bandaged abdomen, "if some kind of an arrangement can be reached, with each of you individually, I'm certain we'll all have a bright future."

Great, Jaxon thought. First, he threatens me with the possibility of having my memories scrubbed, then he finishes up with some kind of bribe, most likely to come back to the company. What a character.

Jaxon placated a smile before walking out of the medical room, without another word.

67.

The comforting aroma of freshly brewed tea lingered in the air as the soothing sounds of flamenco guitar echoed throughout the Celestial Teahouse. The hour was early, and very few people were out circulating through the Pavilions of Taloo Station. Celeste was at the front of the store, pulling chairs off of tables and sliding them underneath as she prepared to open for the day. Despite being right next to the front windows, she failed to notice the first customer walk up to the store.

Ding dong.

The door chime melody drew Celeste's attention.

"Hi there. Is it too early to order a cup of tea?" Camille asked as she approached the counter.

Celeste smiled. "Of course not, ma'am. What would you like today?"

"Oh, I hear that Angorion Spiced tea is really something special. Mind if I try a cup of that?" Camille asked.

"So, your usual then?" Celeste said with a grin.

Camille shrugged. "Creature of habit. How are you today, Celeste?"

"I'm good. I'm done with classes this semester and my professor tells me that my grades are good enough to get me into college this fall. Now, I just have to figure out how we're going to pay for it too."

"That's fantastic, Celeste. Why didn't say anything sooner?"

Celeste shrugged, still fighting the demons of shyness. "I guess I get so wrapped up in my own personal space that I forget you guys are around."

"That's understandable. You're a teenage girl. Cherish this time, Celeste. It's a wonderful time."

Celeste bobbed the tea infuser into a cup of steaming hot water and slid it across the counter to Camille. "Here you go. Don't tell Jaxon, but this one's on the house."