Noah kept relaxed but ready to move away as Mr.Night walked him down the hall, the two of them flanked by two guards. The silence was making Noah's awareness even further acute. The sound of feet shuffling on the tile floors. The buzz of the bar shaped white lights in the ceiling. The flowing of air through the building. The shutting of a door. Noah strained his ears and eyes to hear any more or to spot a door, but he was met with nothing.

Suddenly Mr.Night stopped and turned to face Noah. Noah flinched, but quickly regained his composure and straightened his back, meeting boss's eyes and maintaining the gaze they shared. Attentive yet not exactly bending to the will of someone he rather not follow.

"On this mission." Mr.Night stated, "you will be under watch at all times. If you attempt to escape, resist those accompanying you, or break any of the mission rules, you will be put under a bounty."
Mr.Night turned to face the door.
"Or perhaps, one of the your friends would have to pay the price." He sneered.

Normally Noah would retort something, but he supposed it was best he stay on good behavior leading up to this trip. Mr.Night threw the doors open. Before them was an area similar to the lounge Noah and the others shared. Three men stood around the room. Any anger Noah had felt a moment earlier was replaced with curiosity as he took in the details of the three men.

The first man was lanky, sickly paled skin, shaggy white hair and grey eyes. He wore what looked to be a lab coat tailored to fit him well and allow easy movement, a pair of sunglasses on his head, and a smile ghosted his face.

The man next to him was was extremely muscled, to the point Noah had to blink to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. He wore simply a pair of shorts, leaving his bare top exposed. Noah felt it was too intimate to to be seeing his top so indiscreetly, but then again, if he had a body like that, he might show it off as well. The man's face was tight, glaring.

The third man seemed very young compared to the other two men, although he did have a scar over his right cheek. He held the calmest stance calmest. He was squarely built across the shoulders and hips, strong looking but still modesty built. He wore pants and a leather jacket. Underneath Noah could see a belt of dagger across his chest, and another round his waist. Noah's eyes met his nearly black ones. Something of an understanding came between them. On what, Noah could not place, but it was definitely something, and that fact brought Noah some peace.

"Bill, Sam, Shawn." Mr.Night addressed, gesturing to the largest man, the scientist, and then the man with the knives, as he said their names. "This is Noah." Mr.Night placed a hand on Noah's shoulder. Noah felt immediately a thousand times more uncomfortable, but Noah stood still. "He is the one that will be going with you on the trip. He will never be allowed to go anywhere unless accompanied by one of you three. He has great potential to be powerful but occasionally he has... outbursts of exceptionally strong spirit..." Mr.Night explained with an euphemism. Noah grit his teeth, trying to force down his anger. "You four will set out in half an hour. For now, I'll leave you four to aquatint yourself." Mr.Night gave a warning glare to Noah, who stared right back.

After Mr.Night left the three men sat down. Shawn, Noah recalled his name, offered for him to take a seat. Noah looked at him for a second, looking for any implication of mal-intent, but upon finding none, sat down slowly. The other three began to talk among themselves, but did not include him, which Noah did not protest, taking refuge in being left alone. Although he did notice Shawn cast a glance his direction at random intervals.

Half an hour later, true to the Mr.Night's word, the four of them, bags loaded, now had started the drive to California to retrieve Rachel. Noah had been handed a small case by Shawn on the first day of travel. The scientist, Sam, was driving, and the largest of the the three men say in the next room over. It was the last day of the four day travel time and so Shawn was talking Noah through the contents of the case. "Inside the case, if you open it up, you'll find an ear piece, which has a tracker, a cell phone, which will also be tracked, and a gun, for emergencies only, of course." He explained.

Noah knew what the ear piece and the gun were but had no idea how to use them. The ear piece he figured was simple enough. He'd seen the boss and his cronies use them at times- a small thing that fit in the ear, and when they which to say something they would reach up and push a button on it. Although, he had not the faintest clue how to use a phone. He supposed one of the others might, but having been admitted to the institute so long ago, Noah did not know how to use such recent technologies.

Noah considered telling Shawn, but found it was likely in his best interest not to tell untrustworthy people of his weaknesses and lack of knowledge. So instead, Noah nodded and put the case next to him on the cushioned couch.

"Noah, was it?" Shawn asked.

Noah nodded silently again, although let his eyes stray to the floor.

"Well, Noah, just remember-"
Noah heard the shing of a metal blade, but before he could react, there was a knife at his throat, gently pressed into his skin. Noah's eyes darted to the possessor of the knife.
"- think twice before you decide to cross me."

Noah nodded quickly, terrified of the blade. He made only a small movement to avoid slicing his throat, but a nod nonetheless.

Shawn removed the blade and slid it back into it's sheath quietly before silently getting to his feet and walking to the next room.

Noah sighed as his heart rate slowed, both of relief and boredom. He decided he might as well look at the other items in the case, not really sure on what else there was to do.

Noah lifted up the case and set it in his lap. He threw the latches and opened the lid. Inside was two small pieces of plastic- the ear pieces he proposed. Next was what he could assume to be a gun. He picked it up gently, the cold metal feeling heavy and evil, not at all inviting. He set it down immediately. The last thing he picked up was a phone, as Shawn had called it. It was two vertical pieces of metal held together by a hinge. Noah opened up the top piece of metal and now held a screen which glowed even in the daylight, and a small keypad with simple letters and numbers and symbols. Startled by the glowing object, Noah fumbled, but managed to catch it before it hit the floor.

'So thats what that does.' He thought to himself. Noah carefully inspected the phone for a moment, turning it over in his hand before closing it and setting it back in the case.

Noah closed the latches and set it back down by his feet, resorting to looking out the windows as his entertainment. As they passed a grass field, he daydreamed about what it might be like to be free. When was the last time he had felt real grass, or the breeze, or the sun on his face?

Noah sighed and laid a hand on the window, watching in awe as the sun warmed his hand, still lost in his thoughts. He watched as the clouds moved and allowed the sun to shine stronger. As the light hit his hand, it began to glow golden. Noah was dazzled for a moment, watching in awe as the daylight created the golden cast, and then went away, once again hidden behind the clouds.

Noah still held his hand to the window.

"Haven't you seen the sun before?"
A voice asked.

Noah jumped and pulled his hand away. His head snapped in the direction of the speaker, which to no surprise was Shawn, who leaned against the doorframe, with his arms casually crossed across his chest.

Noah didn't respond to his question, instead moving his focus to his hands in his lap, beginning to fiddle with his fingers.

Shawn huffed.
"Okay then." He said before walking into the room and sitting on the other end of the couch.
"Im taking a nap, wake me when we get there, okay? Thanks buddy."
Shawn spread his legs loosely and let his head drop back.

Noah didn't respond to Shawn's request, but made a mental note of it before continuing to look outside for the rest of the trip to Oakland.

Eventually the truck and trailer pulled into a gravelly parking lot. Outside the windows loomed a huge building, an outpost of the S.I.N. organization.

Noah stood slowly as the trailer stopped moving. Carefully, he began to move towards Shawn to wake him. He stood for a moment, unsure how to wake up a stranger in a way that was considered polite. He did not want to be on Shawn's bad side, that's for sure.

He eventually reached out a hand, making to shake Shawn's shoulder when suddenly the man opened one eye and met his gaze with Noah's.

"Don't touch me, boy, or you'll regret being born." He chuckled.

He sighed loudly and threw his head back dramatically before standing up and stretching his arms above his head. He then relaxed and looked at Noah, who stood rigidly, silently frozen. Standing next to him, Noah realized just how talk Shawn was.

"Oh come on kid, I was joking." He laughed as he patted Noah on his head, ruffling his hair some. "But trust me, you don't want to see me on the wrong side of the bed."

Noah huffed as an annoyed teen might and fixed his hair. Wrenched out of his mindspace, Noah found his cheeks heat with a feeling close to angry embarrassment at the fact he was being treated like a child. Sure, he may have not left the institute for a couple years, but he was far from a kid. He was 19 for crying out loud. Noah sighed.

"Hurry up, kid, grab your things."

Noah glared as Shawn turned his back but after a second turned to pick up the case he was granted before walking to the next room over to grab his duffle bag. In the second room already stood the tall man in the scientist's lab coat.

"Ahh, young Noah! Tell me, have you ever been on a mission before?"

Noah was caught off guard by his upbeat speech pattern. Noah nodded slowly, recalling a previous occasion where he had left the false security walls of the institute. Thinking of the place made him wonder about the others, and how they were faring on their first day without him.

"Splendid! Then you should remember how things work around here! Come, lets go!" The lanky man urged as he hoisted his bag onto his back. Noah opened his mouth to tell him he had never been to an area similar to Oakland, but the man had already vacated the room. Noah sighed, checked the zippers on his duffel bags, and threw it over one shoulder as he was made his way out.

10 minuets later Noah and the three men stood outside the outpost. The shadow, casting over all of them, was daunting. The slate grey colored walls helped the building blend in with the places around it, and also avoided any attention. Noah suddenly became aware of his tight jaw and sweaty palms.

Why was he so anxious? It's just a damn mission. All he had to do was locate Rachel, convince her to come back with them, and that was that. Simple, right? Deep down Noah knew to tell himself it was a simple mission was only lying to himself, but he ignored his instinct, swallowed, and entered the shadowed building.