Jane was running out of patience when Adam still hadnât answered the door, knowing that he was inside, most likely luring behind the door with a gun in his hand. If anyone wanted to shoot him they surely wouldnât knock even if the idea of finishing him off became more and more tempting with each moment that passed. She knocked again, harder this time as if to express her irritation, when he finally opened.
âIn your dreams.â she huffed before a slight smirk softened her features a bit. They were both equally capable of killing the other, but neither probably saw the appeal in such an act, considering that they kept each other on their toes. âAnd now step aside and stop giving me ideas, kiddo.â she finally added and pushed the door open further before entering the hotel room. Sparsely furnished, curtains closed, he had probably not opened a window in days too. She was too familiar with that Spartanic lifestyle. Alarmingly familiar, even.
As she pushed past him she pressed the file against his chest, urging him on to take it before taking off her black leather jacket. âGot a job for you. Fifty-fifty as usual. And I am not paying for your funeral in case something goes wrong. Youâre in?â the brunette asked, not even bothering to turn around as she asked the question, already knowing his answer. Instead she headed for the little refrigerator near the TV and took a bottle of beer before sitting down on the couch, occupying the spot he previously had set in and spotted the pizza box beside her. She took a slice of pizza and started eating. âI see you got my favorite.â
Adam suppressed a resigned sigh. Sometimes he really wished to shoot his incorrectable partner. Yet since she was the only connection he had left after Division's fall it wasn't likely that he would ever follow through on that thought.Â
âWe wouldn't want you to get any more of thoseâ, he mumbled in reply to her comment and closed the door. He didn't protest any further when Jane let herself into his room as if he was the guest and she the hostess. His fingers closed around the paper of the file that she'd pressed into his hands. Adam didn't need to open it to know the contents. Obviously the exact conditions and circumstances were beyond his knowledge but the file itself was enough of a messenger. If he had been a person prone to smiling his face would've turned bright with a smirk at the thought of what lay ahead. He didn't see it as an adventure or wanted another job for the thrill of killing someone â that was beyond him. Instead he enjoyed the opportunity to see his handiwork go by completely unnoticed by everyone. There was nothing that made him feel calmer and more content than being the invisible sword to strike those down that had outlived their usefulness.
The man completely ignored Jane's question and walked towards the couch. Pointedly he pushed the carton that contained his pizza just out of her reach. âEnjoy the pizza, make yourself at home. Can I get you anything else?â He dropped the file onto the couch table after stashing his Glock safely away.
Her arrival was announced with a roar, the deep brazen sound causing all bystanders to turn around and see who was to blame for such public disturbance. Not that they should have been bothered at all, given the usual noise level of this city. She paid them no mind either way as she got off the hot machinery, the scent of gasoline and leather lingering to her lithe frame as she made her way to the hotel complex. Apparently his taste in accommodations hadnât improved much, given the shabby exterior of the building.
She entered the hotel and walked up the stairs to the place where they always met no matter which hotel they chose; same level, same room number. They were both creatures of habit as it seemed. Her leather boots thumped across the carpeted ground as she walked towards his room and she pulled a file out of her jacket before finally arriving at her destination. She knocked on the door, doubting that he anticipated any other visitors but herself and even she didnât bother to announce herself beforehand. Why bother? They had nothing and no one left but each other. To the world, they were both dead.
The room was quiet with the only noise disturbing the young man's tranquillity was the traffic on the outside. The hotel room was sparse in terms of furniture and offered only small comfort but Adam didn't mind it. In fact he preferred these uncluttered surroundings over fancy decorations. Those were only distractions in his mind. His feet were propped up on the couch table in front of him. Next to them was an as of yet untouched pizza that he was going to have for dinner.
There was no one there to disturb him or cause the headaches to appear again. Not that it happened often these days. Ever since Division fell for good his life had improved. And before that he had met Jane, who was the same brand of evil that he was. He enjoyed that maybe a bit more than he should but Adam had never cared about a good reputation anyway.
The unexpected knock on the door caused the assassin to instinctively reach for the handgun next to him on the sofa. Paranoia spread through his system and he wondered who would knock at his door. Maybe someone had tracked him down? No, they wouldn't knock and anyway Adam had seen to it that they were rotting in the soil.
Still wary the man stood up from his comfortable position and slid towards the door. His movement was fluid and precise. He stood cautiously next to the door with his gun hidden out of side behind his back. Then he pulled the door open.
âDon't you own a cell, Jane? I could've shot you.â Which of course wasn't true because the brunette in front of him was at least as capable as he was. It never hurt though to remind her of her manners â which were lacking to say the least.
Characters Involved â Ryan Holden Adam Fletcher
Location â Inside DIvision - Secret Level
Time Frame â Shortly after the killing of Sarah & Ashley
Word Count â 674
Tap, tap, tap. There was a pipe leaking water somewhere close to him. Hearing was always the first sense that seemed to come back to you after you had been knocked out. He hadnât expected to wake up at all. When the guard had leveled his gun with his chest, he hadnât flinched away from the shot or tried to escape it. He knew what he was doing and why he was doing it. Did he feel bad that he had to kill the dark-haired girl as well? Yes but it had been necessary for his mission. His uncle would commend him on what a brave little soldier he was again, but Adam had never really thought of him as brave. Truly he was a coward, too frightened to stand up for his own beliefs â was there anything left that he believed in?
He found himself thinking how he had ended up on this chair with his arms cuffed to the steel-bars of the backrest. His legs had been restrained as well as if he was a dangerous person. Well they were most likely just being cautious and they were right to not go too light on him. He tried to fiddle around with the cuffs but found that it was a lost cause to try and open them. Giving up on this idle task he squinted with his eyes trying to get a clear look of the room he was in. It seemed like a very wet and desolated cellar. No windows were visible anywhere and the light was sparse. He had no idea where he was and that thought unsettled him.
When his head started to spin and his vision got blurry again, Adam closed his eyes to keep from throwing up. It wasnât his first time getting drugged and waking up with this disturbing taste in his mouth. He used the time it took for his body to fight the unease and occupied his mind with the last things that he remembered happening before. There had been blood dripping out of two bodies. He knew that he had killed the two females but it didnât touch him. Surely the person who had ordered him to do it had their reasons for wanting them dead.
The dark-blonde man had a lot of blood on his hands but he wasnât a sociopath who enjoyed the duty he had. In his darker hours he took solitude in this thought. For every person whose life he took, someone else would gain something. No life that he took was without any reason. Or was it? He furrowed his brows when there was a sharp pain shooting through his head. He felt the need to rise his hands to wrap his head in them and shut the annoying dropping of water out, yet his restraints made this impossible.
Anger flared up inside him because he failed to remember how he had ended up here. He should be dead by all means, the bullet of that guard should have torn through his chest and his lungs should have collapsed. His brain was having troubles dealing with the fact that he was still alive. He bit his teeth together when he continued to sort through the puzzle of memories. He had been arrested. Then he had woken up inside a room dressed only in white and gray. It hadnât been prison but a place where his past sins were meaningless and his particular skill set was valued greatly. He owed Division his life and his loyalty and whatever would happen next, he wouldnât betray the people who gave him a better purpose.
His head spun around when suddenly a new noise was added to the constant dripping of water. High heels slamming down on the asphalt floor. It seemed that he was about to meet the person who would shed some light on his current situation. He could only hope that he would find a way to escape his imprisonment. He couldnât remember why he had that need.
Noticing his hesitation, his denial of giving in, Maya looked down, slightly irritated since she couldnât remember the last time she allowed anyone to get closer to her ever since Dimitri had showed her that letting people into your life, caring about them, was probably the most dangerous and reckless thing to do. The brunette had no issues when it came to trusting people and offering them to rely on her, but when it came to act on her trust ⌠that was a complete other matter, because after all the thoughts in oneâs mind were safe, not harmful, while actions ⌠they tore people apart, shredding them into pieces once one made a wrong move.
âI never asked you to get up in the first place, silly.â Maya said with a softness in her voice that she usually carried whenever she felt as if her counterpart needed to be soothed. She climbed onto the middle of the bed again, her back resting against the wall behind her before she gave him an encouraging smile, waiting for him to join her as his previous words had requested.
Smiling up at him she nodded as if to signal him that nothing could ever come between them, not even him, giving him the assurance and support she knew she needed after Dimitriâs leave. No matter how insistent people were on wanting to be alone, cut off from the rest of the world, Maya knew all to well that none of it was true and once you found that other person you didnât want to let them go ever again. And somehow it felt as if Ryan was said person to her even though the idea of not being the same to him felt like a stab.
If Ryan would have been someone who was easily flustered he might have blushed at her words but instead he kept the embarrassment locked inside his person, the only betrayal in an involuntary flinching with his right hand. âOh, yes. I know that.â, he replied letting his eyes linger on the floor for a moment before settling himself back next to her with care. He looked back at her just in time to see her smile at him with such a warmth that he felt once again like he shouldnât be at the receiving end of such an emotion.
There was a silence building between them, caused by his earlier attempt to escape the intensity of their previous turn in conversation. He had made peace with the fact that he had done things which were despicable and would make him a monster in the eyes of many but he didnât want Maya to see him in the same way. At the same time he was aware that sooner or later she would discover him for who he truly was and what he was capable of. He wanted her to see it now to spare her the pain of finding out when she had already started to trust him and another part of him wanted her to tell him that she didnât care about it, that it was all in the past and that they could look at a future together.
The recruit cleared his throat. âYouâre sure you are ok? Because we will both be in trouble if they catch us here.â He let those words linger in the air; half hoping that she would say something to make him stay. But the words were also a harsh reminder to himself that he should stay clear of the young brunette while he still could.
Timeframe: During the flood, after one wing was sealed off
Word Count: 1,965
It would have been a lie to say that Adam wasnât cursing aloud when he heard the voice announce that the East Wing had been completely sealed off to protect what remained of the bunkerâs integrity. In fact there were quite a few ugly words tumbling out of his mouth. There hadnât been any other choice though than going with the flood once he realised what mess he had gotten himself into. Instead of dwelling on his rotten luck today, he kept his eyes trained forward until he finally arrived at his destination: The cell block. The cleaner had been trained for impossible scenarios like this and he felt no fear for his own life rise inside him when he dove deeper into the water. He held his breath, acutely aware that the ice-cold water that his wetsuit â which he was smart enough to grab early on in the whole event â wasnât able to repel completely, could kill him with its wild and deadly current. It had been a risky plan from the start but that made the man even more attracted to being successful. Adam pulled open the door to the first room that he saw, knowing that he would be safe inside the high security area until the storm had passed. He let the heavy door fall close behind him and leaned against one of the walls, catching his barely elevated breath. Now it meant waiting until the water had been pumped out. It didnât matter much too him that it might take hours until then but he still kept an eye out of the small window that allowed him to see the hallway. He waited without moving too many muscles, determined to not let his mind wander to the questions that were always in the back of his head. It never ended well for the man because he didnât have answers to them. After a while his eyes where growing heavy and he felt himself drift off to sleep where he was standing. It was then that a thud close to him made him wide awake all of a sudden. His senses were alert as he tried to determine the source of the noise. He found it when he sneaked a look back out into the hallway. Maybe it had been too long for him to be alone in the darkness but he made his decision in a split second. Speed was the secret now and even though it wouldâve been easy to get disoriented in the almost complete darkness and the rising water, he had an excellent sense for orientation. With effort he pushed the door open, feeling spray of water rain down on him heavily. He used the sole chair in the room to keep it open long enough for him to grab the body floating by. It took all his body strength to get the door closed again but he managed it. He took out the flashlight from his belt and placed it on the single table. To give him some sense of the state the unconscious woman that he had fished out was in as he heaved her onto the bed. He checked for a pulse and found none. Another curse left his lips but he didnât let that stop him from start trying to pump the water out of her lungs. He made sure her airway was open before taking up chest compressions.
Her body stilled. The gurgles ceased. There was no pain. No despair. Only a peaceful feeling blossoming from the freezing cold within her, changing and warming her from the inside. She couldnât breathe, but her lips were moving anyways, whispering a name, the last word she would say and that yet would remain unheard. The blonde head of hair that appeared in front of her mindâs eye just soothed her further more, telling her that it was time. And that everything would be alright. And for the first time in her life she did not fight. Instead she felt her body go limp as her arms floated above her head and her lungs filled with more water. Yet any pain she might have had felt before was gone. Vanished into pure bliss. Her eyes fluttered close as the mane of blonde hair in front of her got closer. Katherine ⌠Katherine ⌠Katherine ⌠The name echoed through her mind repeatedly, like a mantra. Her younger sister used to be her lifeline once, her reason to strive for more, to be better than anyone else in order to assure her safety. It was only logical that she would now be the one to guide her, the last person on her mind before would drift off into an eternal slumber. âEverything is alright, Jane. Just let go.â Her sisterâs voice whispered gently. And the brunette obliged, allowing the darkness to embrace her. Jane Colt was dead.
There was no reaction to his attempt of CPR on the woman but for some reason Adam didnât stop in his efforts. Maybe it was because he would always finish something that he started. Loose ends were something he hated since they would always come back to haunt you sooner or later. For him it was just as well that he didnât remember what he had left behind after joining Division. No distractions. Again he put his lips to the womanâs breathing air into her mouth. Then he started again with the compressions using both his hands. In his head he counted the times. One. Two. Three. Four. When he reached twenty he would breathe into her parted lips again two times before changing again. At one point he thought he heard one of her ribs crack under the pressure of his arms but he didnât flinch, just kept going. In his minds the numbers were running wild and he hoped that his efforts wouldnât end up being futile. In some part of his mind he was already calculating at which point he would declare her officially dead and stop trying to make her heart beat again. It was a good thing that the woman was basically frozen from the water since hypothermia was causing her metabolism to slow down, therefore allowing her more time to breathe again before there was permanent brain damage. If he would revive her but she turned out to be just a vegetable, he would need to dispose of her and it would cause him even more trouble. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty.
Or so she believed. The first thing she recognized was the sound of heavy breaths, strained gasps escaping a tensed up body. The sound was unsettling, pulling her out of her sleep and to a certain extent even irritated her. And if it wouldnât have been for the water that suddenly bubbled from her lungs she probably would have obsessed about the idea of being disturbed. The cold water burnt though, reminding nothing of the comforting warmth she had felt just seconds ago. Or ⌠How much time had even passed? Where was she? She believed to be dead but this wasnât what she had expected. And suddenly her eyes shot open and she coughed, the salty water like acid in her lungs as she spat it out, disgorging the cold wet that had volunteered to be her death sentence. She couldnât breathe, could barely see nor focus on her surroundings in any way as she rolled over, onto her knees and elbows while ridding her lungs off the lethal water.
There was movement in the womanâs body. Then the sound of a cough made a grim smile appear on the manâs face. He stopped his rescue efforts immediately, knowing that he had succeeded in reviving her. Instead of staying by her side, he took a few steps backwards to give her the space she needed to cough up the water that had been collected in her lungs. Adam wouldnât have her accidentally hit him or spit the water in his face. He was sweating from the exercise and he used the time to get his chest to rise and fall like he hadnât just wasted minutes of CPR. It was an easy affair to get his pulse down. His mind was already working on the next stage of what would happen. He had successfully revived the woman but she needed to stay warm and that was impossible in the clam room and in her wet clothes. He might not have thought that far ahead and another curse left him, when he pushed the wet hair back that had fallen into his face carelessly.
Jane didnât know for how much longer she kept coughing out the water that still remained persistently in her lungs, feeling as if she had drank an entire bottle of vinegar and had taken it down the wrong pipe. âFuck âŚâ she gasped after some time, replacing the endless coughing with curses while desperately trying to fill her lungs with the air her body required so badly. And it was then she noticed the pain in her thorax that caused her to gasp once again. The coughing just worsened the pain and Jane grit her teeth, wondering where the adrenaline was when she wished for it the most. Jane fell back on the mattress, panting heavily in the process once she came resting in a steady position, her back leaned against the wall behind her and her gaze ⌠focusing on a stranger opposite of her. Another curse escaped her lips and she glared at him, almost angry about what she assumed he had done because he had dragged her away from the warmth and back into the cold. The blonde hair that still consumed her mind ⌠not Katherineâs, but his ⌠âWhat did you do?!â
The accusation came as a surprise to Adam. He had not expected her to react like that but he quickly scolded himself for assuming that sheâd been grateful about getting saved by him. For all he knew, the woman had deliberately thrown herself into the water to escape her live down in the bunker. It was a ridiculous notion to the devoted cleaner but he wasnât blind to the reactions that other people had towards the notion of killing people. They were abhorred, scared and thinking themselves incapable of committing such a horrible deed. To him it was nothing more than business that needed to be done. It was neither better nor worse than other jobs, even though this particular one came with certain prospects that others didnât. âI saved your fucking life that is.â, he told her and a slight tone crept into his words that showed that he was offended by her lack of gratitude. He didnât want to have risked his life for nothing. âYouâre welcome.â
âNext time keep your nose out of things that don't concern you.â she spat angrily, not appreciating his smug attitude towards the matter. It wasnât that she wasnât glad about this turning point but she also didnât like being in someoneâs debt. Especially since she didnât know this man and didnât have the slightest idea of what he would ask of her in return. For all she knew, she had to be prepared to kill him. Jane huffed, coughing out more water even if only few remnants yet it made her throat feel sore. Another cough, another curse. She knew she had to slow down her breathing, keep herself from getting angrier and in result upset which would only worsen her current condition. âWho are you anyways?â she coughed. âI donât think I have ever seen you around here, pretty boy.â she growled under her breath as she was still bent over her mattress, her knuckles white as she grasped the sheets tightly.
