Looks like i don't have time to pm everyone, again... Could you do it for me?
Chapter 12
The coffee was cold and disgusting. This morning Irina woke up with a terrible feeling that she no longer was herself. She no longer was the woman she used to be these past days, and…
Vanilla. The best thing ever to save ugly coffee is vanilla…
There was a noise outside the room; she raised her head to look at who would enter her room. No one did. The nightmare was still vivid in her mind, causing her nerves to burn and her hands to shake. She was Irina Derevko, a wanted terrorist and assassin, but somehow, she didn't feel like it.
This night, she recalled, she had a …vision? She had a little baby in her arms and it was raining. The rain was so hard that no one was outside in the street. Irina was making her way through a parking zone of some kind, when a wave of water washed her away, separating her from the child. Her child, she reminded herself, putting two more doses of vanilla sugar into the cold coffee.
Then she awakened on the dirty floor, shaking from the cold. She was still wet, but there were no cars, and no water around, just four walls of stone and gates instead of the ceiling . The rain would be a bad thing, she thought.
And then, there was that woman whom she earlier believed to be her torturer, Elena. No scorpions this time, just a blanket, the umbrella, and a cup of coffee...black coffee.
"A black coffee," Irina murmured and was immediately stunned as those words made sense. A picture of countless monitors was pictured in her mind, covering the pain of a second baby whom they took from her, too. Nadia.
Nadia? A hope born in the hopeless place in a hopeless time. In the middle of nowhere. That was such a relief to have her to hug, even though that was like 20 years later.Irina never had a chance to bring the girl up by herself. Now Nadia was dead also, killed by Sloan.
Irina sighed. There was nothing she could do now, except for what she remembered this night. She had two daughters, and right now, knew of the death of one, and disappearance of the other.
"Hello, Irina.” She heard the male voice moments before the man himself entered. She turned to face him and was caught off guard for a brief moment. It was Arvin Sloan standing in front of her, seeing her alive and looking as if at a child. "How are you?"
"Fine," She smiled, covering her face with an unemotional mask. "You are…?"
"Oh, I'm bad with introductions. My name is Arvin Sloan. We've met once before, in Cathy's apartment. You remember?" He looked concerned, but Irina was sure he didn't suspect her.
"Hardly. What are you doing here? Cathy's been away for some time."
"I know. Actually, I phoned her some time ago, and she told me to take you to her." He smiled again, even wider than the previously.
"What for? I'm not to leave the house." Irina crossed her arms over her chest, wondering if Sloan had something on his mind.
Suddenly, he was aiming a big gun directly at Irina's head, standing a few meters away. She wouldn't say if it was an automatic reaction of her own, or if she was just out of her mind, but the next moment she kicked him hard, throwing the weapon onto the floor and slamming the man's head to the table.
Sloan fought back, blocking her hands with his, and hitting her with a taser that struck her body with electricity. Irina fell to the floor, the lack of being able to work out causing her suffer even more than Arvin expected.
That was bad, she thought, before Arvin hit her with electricity again, making sure she'd not get up soon. She screamed.
"Seems like you fooled us all, Irina," he snarled. "Or maybe it's just a miracle I prayed for for so long. Now, get up, and don't do anything stupid. You're not in good shape, my dear. We have a journey to take." He helped her to her feet.
They left the room, Irina stumbling in front with the gun pointed at her spine. When they reached the car and she sat in the passenger sear and Irina asked, "What is it you want from me, Arvin?"
"Ohhh…" he smiled, feeling satisfied. "What I want is much more than what I'm about to get. Still, there is something you have and it’s what I want."
She studied him for quite a long time before speaking again. "I was out of the business for several years. I don't own anything."
"Your people do. Your army of pets caused us so many troubles these years, they used to consider themselves on duty even when you were out of your mind." He shook his head in disbelief.
"My… pets?"
"Oh, sure, don't pretend they're still invisible. I'm not the CIA to be as blind as not to notice when the ITC's moves through the area." He started the engine, speeding out of the yard. "Originally, I had a different plan, but since a miracle happened and you became yourself again, we're going to plan B. You'll contact them, and tell to them to transfer the artifact they found in Africa to the location I name."
"What makes you think I will?" Irina asked in a low voice, considering the possibility to hit his head or to break his neck right now. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure she was strong enough. She tensed her hands wishing to try , but without any sort of workout during the past years, she thought, she had became weak…
"In that case, I'll cut one finger after another off your granddaughter's hands in front of you."
…But not as weak as he thinks. With that, Irina jerked her elbow into the car’s window, smashing it into pieces. She grabbed one piece of sharp glass and struck it into Sloan's chest. He screamed with surprise as all the moves took about a second. The car went off the road, but Sloan remained seated putting on the brake. He looked directly at Irina.
She stared back, opening the door and getting out of the car, when Arvin fired the gun.
"Can you imagine I am still alive even after so disappointing attack? In fact," he waved his gun, motioning her to get back into the car. "In fact, while you were fighting over the Horizon for power, I gained it all."
After a short pause, he added:
"I'm immortal, Irina. Play on my side, and you'll become one too."
End of chapter 12