When the Zero soldier appeared, Ira almost killed the man.

The violence was driven by instinct rather than reason. There was an intruder in her territory, at a time when someone in her care was most vulnerable. Ira would have sunk her teeth in the Zero's throat and ripped it out clean, had Valeri not struck first.

The brief interruption cleared Ira's mind. She saw what bloodlust had veiled: the Zero's startled, youthful face. The man cradled protectively in the soldier's arms.

Ira's objective shifted rapidly.

She slowed Valeri's downward descent as the man lost consciousness, her hand still tight over his neck. It took little effort to lift Valeri's unconscious body and deposit him back onto the naked bed. Ira stood in front of him, shielding the man from Zero's view.

"Name and rank," she commanded.

The Zero youth blinked dumbly. He had dropped his burden in his fright, and now darted hesitant glances between Ira's face and Dimitri's prone body.

By the gods, Dimitri.

Ira kept her eyes on the Zero soldier, refusing to give in to the anxious anger burning up her throat.

"Name and rank, soldier," she repeated, voice harsh.

"Zero seven-o-three," the boy answered. He then surprised Ira again by adding, "Rin - Rin called me Ian."

Ira did not know who Rin was. She had also never heard a Zero soldier sound this way before - scared and uncertain and young.

"What are you doing here, Ian?" she asked. Her tone did not gentle, but she no longer considered running the boy through a viable option.

"Captain Starr requested that I transport the prisoner to a location outside of the Capital. This was meant to be a halfway stop," the Zero explained.

Captain Starr - Kayla Starr. Ira did not know the woman personally, but had heard of her from Dimitri. The two were trained together. It was possible that Starr would aid the man if she had the chance.

It was also possible that this entire encounter was orchestrated, a trap waiting to spring.

Ira stepped forward. The Zero soldier made to grab Dimitri, but she was faster, and had the man secure and a blade at the Zero's throat before he could as much as brush Dimitri's skin.

"I have to take him away," the Zero said. He strained forward, unconcerned by the dagger digging into his skin. His eyes were unfocused.

"I am Ira Hale, Captain of Team three-seven," Ira said firmly. "Lighting is my responsibility now."

The Zero titled his head. He nodded at length, and made no fuss when Ira took Dimitri away and laid the man beside Valeri. The two made for a strange picture, lying side by side. Both looked nearly dead. Ira had the terrible image of lying corpses down on a pyre.

"What is Captain Starr's plan?" Ira asked, shaking the morbid thought away.

"I do not know," the Zero answered.

"Your part, then. What were you to do with him?"

"I was to leave the prisoner at a safehouse Captain Starr specified, and return to the Capital," the Zero said.

"Who was to receive him?" Ira asked.

"I do not know," the Zero repeated.

Ira expected that would be the case. Starr would not share critical details of a mission with agents of uncertain loyalty. The fact that she had placed such trust in this particular man was highly unusual, and greatly worrying. Ira did not for a moment think the boy some kind of double-agent.

Perhaps it was not the Zero's loyalty that was in question, but Starr's own.

"When are you expected to return?" Ira asked.

"I am due for debriefing at zero hour," the boy responded.

Ira raised a brow. This was an unprecedented glimpse into Zero's workings, and she was tempted to press the boy for more information. Unfortunately, they did not have the time.

"Will you be missed if you were to remain here past the timeframe of your initial task?" Ira asked instead.

"No," the Zero confirmed. "However, the parameters of my mission-"

"Are you questioning my orders, soldier?" Ira interrupted.

"No, Sir," the Zero replied promptly.

Ira nodded once, eyes amused. She had likely long been stripped of her rank within the Amith Capil. The boy did not need to know that, however. Obedience worked in both of their favor.

The hours to sunset passed in silence. The Zero soldier remained at attention where he stood. His eyes slipped in and out of focus. Ira observed him with growing concern.

Valeri awoke earlier than he was wont to do, likely due to the interruption to his slumber and the lingering threat of the Zero's presence. He rose as soon as he opened his eyes, gaze swinging frantically around the room until it landed on Ira. The wildness bled from his face.

"He is working with us," Ira said before Valeri could ask after the Zero's awkward lurking in a corner. "Please, do keep Dimitri from rolling onto the floor. He is in a poor enough shape as it is."

Valeri looked at Dimitri's still body, seeming to notice his presence only just then. "He has a sword in his chest," he noted.

"I am aware," Ira said flatly.

"And a bullet," Valeri added, tilting his head to get a better look. "Who stabs a man, then shoots him? Or was it the other way around?"

"The blade is not ordinary. It may currently be the only thing keeping Dimitri alive," Ira said.

Valeri appeared disturbed by the notion. He rose from the bed - carefully, Ira noted with a measure of warmth - and turned a considering gaze to the Zero soldier.

"The soldier brought him here?" he asked.

"Yes," Ira agreed.

Valeri frowned. "Are we certain that it is not a ruse?"

"It seems to be a coincidence. Dimitri has always had the devil's luck."

"I know a man of similar talent to both invite and escape trouble," Valeri said. "It would be best to dispose of the soldier nonetheless. Dead men do not talk."

The Zero soldier watched them with blank blue eyes. He did not appear troubled by Valeri's comment. The lack of reaction was not an act of bravado, but sincere disinterest. Ira found it highly concerning.

"Can you take out the bullet?" she asked, changing the subject.

"You must be joking," Valeri said.

Ira looked at the man without a shift in her expression. Valeri let out an exasperated breath.

"I cannot perform miracles, Miss Hale! That bullet may have well ended up in your friend's heart. And what am I to dig it out with? My teeth? And in this filth? If he survives my digging through his chest with whatever's at hand, he will certainly not outlast the infection he is certain to pick up in this place!" the man exclaimed, truly agitated.

Ira contained a smile. Valeri made for a poor vampire and a poorer nobleman, but he was genuinely dedicated to his calling as a doctor. She was even more certain that her decision was the right one.

"Naturally, you will not treat him here," she said. "You will take him to a city you find suitable, and do the best you can to save him. Do not attempt to remove the sword - it is beyond your power. If he wakens, tell him that he is to find Victor and await further orders."

"You still plan to go to the capital," Valeri said, taken aback.

"Yes," Ira confirmed.

Valeri watched her quietly, body coiled tight. "No," he said at last.

"I did not ask for your opinion," Ira told him.

"You will hear it regardless! Are you seeking your death? We have our man. We are done. What can possibly be worth the risk?" Valeri demanded.

He was angry, Ira realized. Angry and frightened, although why, Ira could not understand. "I joined the Amith Capil to find the truth about my mother's death. Now I know where to look."

"I am not going there to die, Valeri," she added, the words softer. "This is something I need to do."

Valeri did not need to breathe. Yet he did so now, chest heaving. He kept his head bowed to avoid Ira's eyes.

"Would you not do the same for your Sire?" Ira asked.

Valeri's shoulders drooped. Ira knew she had him; the victor felt bitter.

"I will do what you request, in exchange for a promise that you will not throw your life away for a dead woman. You said you had laid your ghosts to rest, Ira - did you lie to me then?"

Valeri spoke quietly. Ira wished he was shouting still. The raw pain in his voice was more difficult to ignore, or placate with empty words.

"I promise," she said.

Ira had forgotten what it meant, to have someone waiting for her return. It was a sweet feeling. Frightening, too, in a way she had rarely experienced.

Valeri nodded tightly. He took a deep breath, then straightened and finally looked Ira in her eyes.

"You have a plan?" he asked.

"Ian will take me in," Ira said, motioning toward the silent Zero youth.

Valeri eyed the man with great uncertainty. The youth looked at neither of them, eyes trained straight ahead.

"He is a Spark," Ira said. That in itself was a surprise; she had not known Zero to possess Sparks, and had always assumed that their ranks were filled with Numbs. "His gift is for teleportation."

"What do you plan to do, once you are there?" Valeri asked.

Ira smiled thinly. "I will be going undercover," she said.

"Well," Valeri said after a moment, a note of reluctant amusement in his voice, "You are certainly good at that."

Valeri was to take Zenith, and depart as soon as possible. Ira did not ask the man where he planned to go. It was better that she did not know, to minimize the chance of the information becoming compromised.

Zenith was waiting for them when they climbed above ground. The horse kneeled once Valeri drew near with Dimitri in his arms, surprising both Ira and his master into stillness.

"He has never done this before," Ira noted.

"He has not," Valeri agreed.

Zenith huffed in impatience. Valeri mounted, keeping Dimitri's body tucked against his chest. Ira helped him cover the man's body beneath a worn traveling cloak, hiding as much of Dimitri from view as possible.

Ira caught Valeri's arm as the man was about to tug on the reins. "Valeri, you have my gratitude. However, know that I will not ask you to die for someone else. If it comes down to your life or Dimitri's, you must choose to save yourself."

Valeri held her eyes. At last, he nodded, and bid, "Be safe," in return.

They parted without another word. Ira watched Valeri disappear among the shadows of the forest. When she turned to the waiting Zero, the softness and worry in her eyes had already been carved away. All that remained was the cold focus of a soldier on a mission.

"I will provide you with the coordinates of our drop-off. You will leave me there, and return to your duties," Ira said.

The Zero nodded readily. Ira studied the boy's vacant expression as she shared a relatively secluded spot some distance from the barracks, in Amith Capil's heart; Valeri's words rose in her mind, undoubtable in their logic. The safest course of action would be to kill this boy once his purpose was through.

Ira was no longer interested in safety that came at the expense of innocent men.

"If you value your life and that of your friends, you will not speak of this to anyone," Ira told the boy. It was not a threat, but a warning; the Amith Capil would not reward the youth were he to disclose his part in assisting Ira, even if he did so in a bid to expose her plans out of loyalty to the army. A traitor was a traitor, and could not be trusted no matter whose side they were on.

"Yes, Captain Hale," the youth agreed.

Ira smiled grimly. She had not anticipated returning to her role as a Captain in quite this manner.

As far as undercover work went, it promised to be singularly exciting.