Pieces - Part Two II
All art work by faberrys2
Part Two II
The V Mothership was swarming with rumors - a woman proclaiming to be leader of the Fifth Column had just surrendered herself and now stood before Anna in the Great Hall.
“Erica Evans,” Anna’s lips grew into a huge, wide smile; she looked like a child on Christmas morning. “You’re claiming to be the leader of the Fifth Column.”
Erica gave one simple nod of her head. “I am.”
“I see,” Anna didn’t move nor did her smile falter. “You understand the risks of such a claim, especially if this claim turns out to be false?”
“Is this the V equivalent to reading me my rights?” If it hadn’t been for the seriousness of the situation, Erica would have laughed.
Anna tipped her chin to the side. “I just want you to be fully aware of your actions.”
“I am. I am the leader of the Fifth Column and I am surrendering myself to you.”
“I see,” Anna began to pace from side to side in front of Erica.
“Am I not good enough for you, Anna?”
Anna stopped pacing and turned to face Erica directly. “On the contrary, you’re an acceptable catch and I’m looking forward to showing you all of the finest hospitalities that the Vs have to offer. I was, however, hoping for another, but no matter. We can certainly use you to our advantage,” she took a few steps towards Erica. “Given the fact that you’ve come to us willingly, I must assume that you’ve made a deal with Nina Sharp to save your partner’s life.”
Erica didn’t answer, but she couldn’t help the look that over came her face. Anna picked up on it instantly and used it to her advantage.
“I’m quite please to inform you that Olivia Dunham has survived her surgery, thanks to the healing technology that the Vs provided Massive Dynamic and that she is alive.”
A wave of panic and relief washed over Erica - although she was happy and grateful that Olivia had survived, Anna knew who she was, knew that the two were working together, and must have concluded that Olivia was apart of Fifth Column too. “She’ll come for me,” Erica said, much too quickly. She had secretly hoped that Olivia would survive and realize what Erica had done for her, but with the difficulties that the two had faced, she was uncertain as to wether or not Olivia would even want to rescue her. At the moment, Anna held all the power, and even though she was alone and facing an uncertain and highly precarious situation, Erica was determined to survive, to hold out long enough, hoping that maybe her efforts weren’t in vein. She gave Anna a deadly look that refused to falter or waver, and was unmoved by Anna’s near laughter. “What ever you do to me, what ever you have planned for me, Olivia will come.”
“You sound so hopeful,” Anna said and there was trace amounts of excitement in her voice, that quickly hardened. “But you’ll find that this is a place where our prisoners lack the hope they need for survival.”
“As long as there’s a chance that Olivia will come, there’s always going to be hope, Anna.”
Anna walked up to Erica until the two were standing almost nose to nose. “That’s exactly what I’m hoping she’ll do,” she whispered harshly.
“Why? What do you want with her?” Suddenly panicked, Erica asked before she had the chance to think or to stop herself.
Anna laughed, delighted in the quick changes that she saw come over Erica. “She’s a very important part of my plan,” her eyes glinted at Erica. “And I can see that she will be very useful in the coming hours. In the meantime, I want all the information you have on the Fifth Column,” Anna said, her tone was threatening and deadly but Erica didn’t even blink.
“You really think that I’m going to give you any information about anything at all?”
Anna smiled. “No, I don’t. But I expect that eventually, you will break and give me everything that I want.”
Erica raised her head at Anna, jutting her chin out, standing hard and steadfast against the queen. Anna recognized the look and Erica saw a flash of rage come over Anna.
“It’s people like you,” Anna said, eyeing Erica from top to bottom, “who I’m fighting against. My people’s destiny is to inherit Earth. The Fifth Column are trying to deny us our birthright and I will destroy you all, one by one if I have to, until I am ruling this world and any others it might be connected to.”
“And what about all of the people you’ve killed, all of your people who will die for this... vision that you have?!” Erica starred at Anna, unwilling to believe that any leader, any mother, could possibly be so cold and callous.
“Their sacrifice will add to the glory of the V’s new reign.”
“Narcissistic and arrogant,” Erica said, shaking her head; she almost laughed at Anna’s statement. “Two qualities that have always signaled the downfall of the worst tyrants,” Erica stepped forward and her gaze bore through Anna’s eyes, directly through her human skin. “And you will be one of them.”
Anna’s expression didn’t change, she didn’t blink or give any other reaction. The only change in movement was the tip of her tongue poking out from between her pressed lips, tasting Erica’s scent on the air.
“I’m going to enjoy breaking you, Erica Evans. Take her!” Anna commanded as two guards grabbed Erica from behind and led her away.
//
Astrid nearly burst into tears when she saw Olivia. She was covered in bruises, from head to toe, while cuts and scrapes marred her once pale complexion. She took a deep breath before she entered the hospital room, holding her arm out so Olivia could grip it and pull herself up off of the bed. Astrid helped her dress, careful of the busies and cuts that scattered on her back and arms; she leaned against Astrid’s shoulders as she stepped into her pants.
“When did you get here?” Olivia asked.
“A few hours ago. They wouldn’t let us in until I could prove who Walter was. It made him a little agitated,” Astrid said, grimacing at the memory.
“Is he alright?”
“Yeah,” Astrid pulled Olivia’s hair into a ponytail, securing it at the base of her skull. “I sent him down to the cafeteria.”
Walter’s hands brushed up against her cheek and his eyes watered as his fingers filled the air that surrounded her. He half smiled with joy and sadness as he curled his fingers back and put them on the top of his thighs.
“It’s nice to see you again, Agent Dunham.”
Olivia smiled a half smile and looked up at him with a familiar happiness that she had misplaced somewhere. It was nice to be in the presence of familiar company, of someone who was so happy that she was there too.
“It’s good to see you again too, Walter.”
They held each other’s smiles for a few seconds before Astrid came into the hospital room, followed by Jack Landry.
“Father,” Olivia greeted as Walter stepped back, lowering his head respectfully.
“Olivia, how are you feeling?” he asked her, genuinely concerned for her well-being.
“Better... It’ll be nice when I can get out of here.”
“Of course... Erica called your friends... we didn’t think you had much time left. But, thanks be to God, you’re alright.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“No, I thought she was still here, with you at the hospital.”
Olivia shook her head. “I haven’t seen her at all.”
“I’ll call her cell again... I’ll be right back.”
Olivia looked nodded and turned to Astrid and Walter.
“Thank you for coming. It’s nice to see you both again.”
Walter smiled and looked delighted with the prospect of having Olivia back into his life but Astrid stood quiet. She gave a weak half-smile and focused on Olivia’s chin, rather than her eyes. Olivia noticed immediately and tried to pick up Astrid’s gaze with her own, but she resisted and looked at her shoes and then at Walter.
“We should go,” she said softly.
Walter’s face fell and he looked at Astrid with a gaping mouth. “But... but we just got here and we’re just starting to get reacquainted...”
“I know Walter, but Olivia has a new job now and she probably wants to get back to it. Beside we can’t leave Gene for too long...”
“Oh, that’s alright dear,” Walter said, chiding Astrid gently with a touch of his hand on hers. “I asked Agent Broyles to check in on her! She should be just fine, so long as he can remember proper milking technique...” Walter trailed off, allowing Olivia to jump into the conversation.
“What about Peter?” Olivia’s sudden question made the other two go quiet and she immediately regretted the question.
“Uh, we haven’t seen Peter since you left...”
“It was my fault!” Walter cried.
“It wasn’t, Walter,” Astrid turned to him, narrowing her eyes. “Peter was just angry, that’s why he left.”
Walter continued on as if Astrid hadn’t said anything at all. “There was nothing I could say that would have kept him here. It was my fault that he left.”
Olivia stood quiet, watching the scene unfold before her. She was concerned for her friend but she couldn’t help in
Astrid opened her mouth to protest when Jack came back into the hospital room. His lips were tight and he looked worried.
“What’s wrong?” Olivia asked.
“It’s Erica. I just got a text message from her.”
“What does it say?”
“That everything is fine,” Jack looked grim, handing Olivia the cell phone.
“I don’t understand,” she said after reading it and passing it to Astrid’s open hand.
Jack shook his head. “It’s code for ‘I’m in trouble’ but it doesn't say what, explicitly. I have Ryan trying to find out what’s going on.”
“You think it has something to do with the Vs.”
“It must - that particular code was only to be used in emergencies and I can’t think of one right now that wouldn’t involve the Vs somehow. C’mon, we need to get back to the basement.”
Olivia nodded and followed Jack out of the hospital room but she stopped him with a hand on his elbow. She opened her mouth, but didn’t have to say anything.
“Bring them with you. I’ll take care of Hobbes... we won’t make them go through what you did.”
Olivia nodded. “Thank you, Jack.” She turned back to Astrid and Walter and ushered them along by cocking her head. “C’mon. I’ll show you my new job.”
“Delightful!” Walter said, trotting behind Olivia and Jack happily. “Come along, Astro! There’s a new adventure afoot!”
Astrid rolled her eyes and followed them out of the hospital, leaving behind an empty and unoccupied bed.
//
The car ride was silent, except for Walter pointing out every New York landmark that they passed. Jack regarded him quietly, smiling occasionally, but mostly focusing on getting them all to the basement hideaway.
“Astrid,” Olivia said softly when Walter discovered the van’s radio and dial tuner. “Peter’s gone?”
“Yeah,” she said quietly, looking out the window a the passing New York scene. “We haven’t heard from him since you left.”
“What happened.”
“Walter told me that they had a fight and when he woke up the next morning, Peter and most of his stuff, was gone.”
“And Walter blames -- ?”
“Walter blames himself,” Astrid turned and looked at Olivia directly in the eyes. “He thinks that it was something that he said or did or didn’t do that made him leave.”
Olivia took a deep breath and looked away from Astrid.
“Look,” she said, touching Olivia’s hand gently. “I don’t blame you for Peter leaving and I respect your decision to leave Boston, but Olivia, you didn’t even say good-bye. It broke everyone’s heart, even mine.” Astrid looked so sad, and for the first time, Olivia felt guilty about her decision, that she had taken the easy way out, that it would have been better if she had stayed.
“At some point,” Astrid continued. “You’re going to have to talk to Peter.”
“I can’t, Astrid.”
“Olivia,” Astrid said with a soft force that picked up Olivia’s attention and made her stop. “You’ve been through a lot, no one is denying that. But I think that at some point, you need to be okay with your trauma.” Astrid paused for a moment and took a step forward. She picked up Olivia’s fallen hand and squeezed it tightly, rubbing her thumb over the delicate bones and pale skin. “You need to be okay with yourself.”
Olivia opened her mouth to say something when the van stopped and Jack turned to them.
“We’re here. Let’s go.” He looked at Walter, who turned off the radio and followed him out of the van to the basement.
//
“We need to mount a rescue plan,” Jack said, pacing around the basement. He was looking at everything and everyone, agitated and restless.
“Maybe we should start with these people and who exactly they are!” Hobbes interjected, stopping Jack’s pacing for the moment. He gestured towards Walter and Astrid, never taking his eyes off of them, and even though he didn’t seem to notice, Astrid had to fight the urge to stand closer to Olivia for the added protection that she offered.
“They’re my friends from Boston,” Olivia said as Astrid helped her into a chair.
“Agent Dunham! Do you keep any food in this lovely basement of yours?”
Olivia smiled weakly. “There’s a small fridge at the back, Walter.”
“Hey, that’s not your fridge to offer there, blondie.”
Walter ignored Hobbes completely and trotted over to the fridge while Olivia’s eyes flashed up at Hobbes. “Walter,” she called to him without changing her gaze from Hobbes. “Take anything you like.”
Hobbes stepped forward, glaring at Olivia; the others stepped back, but Olivia held her ground. Instinctively, her right hand brushed up against her hip, in search of her gun, while keeping Astrid back at the same time. Hobbes saw the movement, but didn’t back down from his stance. “How do you expect us to trust them so quickly?” he demanded, narrowing his eyes.
Olivia held his gaze with a look of hardened fire. “Because I said you can and if you need more proof than that, you can walk out that door and fight this battle on your own.”
There was some clinking of glass, opening of packages and a thump as Walter hit his head on the upper shelf as he reluctantly pulled himself from the fridge, arms filled with food.
“What did you say, Agent Dunham?”
Olivia smiled and Astrid grinned, crossing her arms over her chest beside Olivia as Hobbes took that moment to back down, returning to his original spot by the wall, arms crossed over his chest in quiet protest.
“Nothing, Walter. It’s fine,” Olivia said lightly.
“Can we get back to the rescue plan, please?” Jack said, growing more and more exasperated by the internal political works of their group.
“Do you have an idea, priest?” Hobbes demanded, forgetting about Walter and turning his attention to Jack. “Exactly what that plan would look like? We’re talking about an army that of four - me, Ryan, a cripple and a guy who won’t kill anyone ---”
“I was thinking about a virus.”
Everyone turned their heads to Sydney who spoke, not to the group, but to his computer screen, staring at a DNA sequence model.
“A what?” Olivia’s interest was piqued: Jack dropped his arms to his chest, Astrid turned, cocking her head to the side and even Walter stopped chewing long enough to listen.
“A virus - one that would infect the Vs. One that could be spread from person to person with - preferably by physical contact.”
“Vs don’t do a whole lot of physical contact thought,” Ryan said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Something airborne then... something that we can put in their ventilation system. Vs do have a ventilation system, don’t they?” Sydney glanced over his shoulder to Ryan, raising an eyebrow and Ryan nodded yes. “Good,” he nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ve been studying the Vs DNA and I think that there’s something going on.”
Sydney waited for someone to say something and when no one did, Olivia raised her hand for him to continue.
“We don’t have to develop an anti-virus - all we have to do is wait for the drug to break down the V’s DNA on its own.”
“But Walter, we don’t have enough time, plus we don’t know how many Vs have been administered cortexiphan - we don’t know how many have been crossing over.”
“No, that’s true...”
“But maybe we could speed up the process,” Sydney interjected. “Maybe we can give them something that would hasten denature.”
“Den...?” Hobbes looked at Sydney as if he were speaking a foreign language. “We don’t all speak Science, their Science Boy.”
“First of all, it’s Science Man and second, denature means DNA breakdown.”
“Oh, well, we don’t all watch the discovery after work.”
“Well, maybe you should so I don’t have to explain every second word to you?”
“Alright you, two. Enough,” Olivia gave Hobbes and Sydney a look.
“Wait,” Jack said suddenly. “What about the Vs who are Fifth Column? Wouldn’t that kill them too?”
Walter and Sydney exchanged a glance. “Yes. Probably,” Walter said at last.
“We can’t let that happen - we can’t let innocent life die. We have to find a way to protect them. Isn’t there something you can do?”
“Priest! We don’t have time for this!” Hobbes bashed his fist on a table and Olivia’s hand brushed over her gun. “This is our opening and we have to take it!”
“Hobbes is right, Father,” Astrid said softly.
Jack opened his mouth to protest but Astrid shook her head and he stepped back, defeated. He nodded, closing his eyes tightly, as if he were already praying for forgiveness.
“I’ll start working on it,” Sydney spun around in his chair and started pulling out various petrie dishes. “I’m going to need your expertise on cortexiphan, Walter,” he said over his shoulder.
“I’d be delighted!” Walter said wide eyed. “He’s not Belly,” he whispered loudly to Astrid. “But I suppose that he’ll do for now.”
“I was thinking about Olivia’s reaction to the Blue Energy bomb and why it would cause her to react to it the way she did.”
Olivia looked up at Sydney sharply, folding her arms over her chest. “Who told you about that?”
Sydney looked confused. “Uh...” he stuttered, looking at Jack.
“I did,” Jack said and Olivia pressed her lips together, but didn’t say anything. She nodded at Sydney and he continued.
“The way that Jack described your reaction to it and how no one else but the Vs who have been given cortexiphan makes me think that Blue Energy reacts with cortexiphan somehow --”
“Perception!” Walter shirked from across the room and turned around suddenly, beaming at everyone, despite the confusion and quiet that he was met with.
“Walter?” Astrid prompted gently.
“Agent Dunham is witnessing the tearing of the universe,” Walter said as if that explained everything.
“Tearing of the universe?” Olivia asked raising her eyebrow, mirroring the looks on the other’s faces.
“I surmise that Blue Energy weakens the structural bounds of this universe, which explains why the Vs are able to crossover so easily and why you reacted to it the way you did, Agent Dunham.”
“Reacted how?”
“By throwing everyone across the room, of course,” Walter was beginning to sound slightly exasperated. “Obviously something scared you enough that your abilities kicked in and you tried to protect yourself. The cortexiphan allows you to do that!” Walter exclaimed proudly.
Astrid shrugged. “Well, that would explain the fire.”
“Exactly!”
“Okay, fine,” Olivia said, beginning to sound exasperated herself. “So then, how can Blue Energy tear apart the universe?”
“Because it’s alien technology and our universe isn’t accustom to it,” Walter said simply.
“How was Olivia able to see this happen, Walter?” Sydney asked.
“Because she was administered the drug over time as a child. William Bell and I administered the drug to children because cortexiphan prevents limitation.”
Olivia shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, not wishing to relive any of the fragmented memories that she had from her childhood.
“Limitation is the natural shrinking of the brain that occurs as one ages. Cortexiphan prevented that limitation from happening so that you could open up the brain’s infinite capabilities.”
“That’s got to be what they’re doing then - dousing the Vs with cortexiphan --”
“No, it’s got to be simpler than that,” Sydney said, standing up from his computer. “The V’s genetic structure can’t handle cortexiphan.”
“How do you know that?” Hobbes asked.
“I got to look at the body of the V that was about to kill Olivia before she got hit by the bomb didn’t die from Erica’s gunshot wound - he died because his DNA was breaking down.”
“So Erica’s shot was just a coincidence.”
“I think so,” Sydney said nodding. “I think that this V,” he motioned to the body on the table behind him. “Would have died no matter what. I did DNA analysis: he had been injected with cortexiphan over a period of time and his body was rejecting it by rejecting its own structure. His body was starting to kill itself.”
“Alright, so we have a plan of action. How do you propose we get on board the V’s mothership?”
Olivia didn’t answer Hobbes’ question right away. Instead, she looked at Ryan, hoping that he had an idea when Astrid cleared her throat.
“Actually, I have a suggestion,” she paused as everyone turned to her. “I was doing some background checks on some of the people who were approved for the V’s live aboard program and I found a...” Astrid cleared her throat, glancing nervously at Olivia. “... I found a couple who were approved but were killed in a car accident a week before they were scheduled to leave.”
“Okay,” Olivia said nodding. “So we need to make some fake IDs. Who do we need, Astrid?”
“That’s just it,” Astrid took a step forward and addressed Olivia directly, as if there was no one else in the basement with them. “The couple were lesbians. Apparently the Vs don’t discriminate against sex orientation.”
“Oh. Okay,” Olivia said slowly, nodding her head and sticking her lips out. “So...”
“So we’re going to have to be that couple, Olivia. Do you see any other women in the room?” Astrid said despite the look on Olivia’s face.
“Astrid, wait. I don’t know if sending you and Walter up there is a good idea. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“Who said anything about Walter going anywhere? I think he would be more useful to you in the lab,” Astrid paused for a moment, giving Olivia the opportunity to offer her counter argument, but when she didn’t say anything, Astrid continued. “And from what it sounds like, you’re going to need all the help you can get. For once in your life Olivia, let someone help you.”
Olivia looked at Astrid carefully: she was pleading with Olivia and finally, she understood and relented by nodding her head, realizing that Astrid was right, after all.
“Splendid!” Walter cried out from across the room. “Our young scientist here has just made an important break through. I’ll get the glass phials. You’ll need to use a phial of the purest glass, blown and sealed at the top so it can’t escape or leach out. Then, just pull the stopper and release it into the atmosphere,” Walter rushed over to a cabinet pulling out phials by the handful. “It’s not harmful to humans... Young Science Man? It’s not harmful to humans, is it?” Walter asked and scurried back to Sydney’s side.
Ignoring Walter and Sydney’s discovery, Olivia turned her attention back to Astrid. “Fine, Astrid. Hobbes? You’ll make the ID badges. Ryan, I’ll need a schematic of the mothership. I need to know what to expect when Astrid and I are in there.”
“What do you want me to do, Agent Dunham?”
“I’d like you to act as our back up, Father. Astrid and I will need to go up there alone, to minimize suspicion.”
Jack nodded. “I’ve been in contact with Anna’s daughter, Lisa. I’ll see if we can get any on board Fifth Column on our side.”
“I don’t want to jeopardize this with too many people knowing about our plan.”
“I’ll make sure she knows to be discrete. And I’ll also warn her about the virus so she can prepare her people.”
“Alright. Everyone know what to do? Let’s get started.”
“You okay?” Astrid came up behind Olivia as the circle disbanded and they all went about their various tasks.
Olivia took a deep breath. “Yeah, Astrid, I’m fine. Why?”
“You look like you’re a little... put upon.”
“Well, we’re going to storm an alien ship that’s intent on destroying us and who can crossover and who are holding my... partner,” the word partner left a bitter taste in Olivia’s mouth and Astrid could see it resonating all over her face.
“Olivia, she gave her life up for you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“How do you think she got up there, Olivia?” Astrid took a step towards the other woman and gently touched her hand with her own. “She didn’t just turn herself over, she didn’t just break and decide that giving up and giving in was easier. There was a reason behind it, I’m sure.”
“You didn’t even know her.”
“From the sounds of it, neither did you.”
//
Erica was strapped to a metal chair in an awkward position that had her bent over he knees - it was breaking her back and the only place that she could rest her head was her chin against knees. It was excruciating and she couldn’t breath. She couldn’t see, but for a few feet in front of her. She could only see shoes. There was someone at her side, someone big; he may have had a gun or some other instrument that would make her conform to Anna’s wishes.
Anna paced in front of her - her high heels a bright colour, like red or blue that was a direct contrast to the of the colour dress that she wore. Today they were red and Erica imagined that her dress was blue... like night... like the colour of Tyler’s eyes...
“I will break you, Erica Evans,” Anna’s voice swirled around her from somewhere out of sight and brought her back to the reality of her situation. “I will break you and you will give me the names of your co-conspirators.”
Erica shook uncontrollably in the chair; the pressure was constant and the pain made her see stars. Every breath she took was laboured and she could taste blood in the back of her throat. Another hit sent her reeling and she started wondering if maybe Anna was right, that they could break her and that it was just a matter of time before the other Fifth Column members would join her in death. The only solace she could find was in the black that consumed her.
//
Anna wasn’t surprised by Erica, not in her feeble attempts at survival or how quickly she passed out. She was human after all, typically, predictably human. Anna had dealt with humans in this capacity before, some were weaker than others, but all of them eventually fell before her.
The sight of Erica bent over, broken, begging for the sweet release that death would bring filled her with a strange sense... the humans would call it joy. But Anna, the queen of the universe’s apex race, never gave in to that emotion, instead she bottled the feeling, repressing her human skin’s desires and settled for a quiet contentment to wash over her.
When the moment had passed, she took a few steps towards her bound prisoner and ran a single, slender finger down Erica’s cheek, clearing away a line of blood, sweat and tears. Although she hated it, her human skin allowed for extraordinary insight into her enemy and she knew exactly how to defeat her.
Anna’s skin allowed her to become her enemy, allowed her to feel their emotions, and use them against the humans. No one in Earth’s history ever had that kind of insight into their opponent; she was the first and she would use that to destroy them from the inside out. They would all fall, eventually, simple because she understood who they were and what they were made of. Her rudimentary torture methods were based on causing the most pain one could bare before they died. Anna almost felt lucky that many of Earth’s histories kept detailed records; she could pick method she liked and she liked the basic torture chair the best.
She bent over Erica’s broken body and parted her perfectly painted lips. “I will destroy you,” she whispered into Erica’s ear. “With every weapon, every method that you’re people invented, I will break you down until there’s nothing but dust and bone,” Anna smiled, cold, calculating and callous. She waved a hand at one of her guards, who injected Erica that woke her up for another round.
//
They beat her over and over again, but maybe she didn’t have it as bad as some other prisoners - the one’s who were tortured by having to watch the death of their loved ones over and over again; Anna didn’t have access to the memories of her loved ones. She might have been controlling her son, but Anna couldn’t control the memories Erica had of her family, of a life that was once happy and filled with joy.
Every time they hit her, every time her skin cracked and her blood trickled down her face, she remembered her son - the sound of his laugh, his eyes and how they were filled with joy, not so long ago. The onslaught combined with Anna’s words were strong enough to break her, but no one could take the memories of her son away from her. Erica gripped her restraints and suddenly realized that it was joy, her son’s joy, that would save her.
It was the thing that gave her the strength to go on. It was like a light switch that flipped on in her brain: as long as she held on to his joy, no one, nothing, would ever break her. She hardened her self against all opposing forces, letting it reflect on her face. She pursed her lips into a straight line and focused her eyes on a single spot on the floor.
Despite the restraints and the injuries that screamed out in protest, Erica raised her head and squared her gaze upon Anna, who stood almost frightened at such resolve, and with the power of nothing more than strength and determination thought pain, Erica spat the blood in her mouth out at Anna, watching as it fell on her bright red heels.
“I will never give in to you.”
Anna’s eyes flashed and her face twitched; someone moved at Erica’s right and a surging pain blackened out her world once again.
//
Clutching the phials in her hands, Astrid inserted each of them into a small hole in the hem of her jacket. She clutched at the IDs, putting them down directly in front of her, as if she would misplace them easily. Carefully, Astrid stuffed her hair into a cap and looked over at Olivia.
“Okay, we’re in.”
“We’re not going to be able to communicate once you get past secondary security so look out for Fifth Column Vs and Vs who say they’re Fifth Column.”
“Got it,” Olivia nodded at Astrid, who unconsciously brushed a hand over her jacket hem. “Alright, we’re heading in.”
“Okay. Good luck you two.”
Olivia nodded again, but didn’t say anything. There was nothing but dead air as she took the ear piece out from behind her hair and dropped it into a nearby garbage can. She took her ID from Astrid, ready to present to the security guard at the launch pad.
“Alright,” she said to no one in particular. “Let’s end this.”