Shaun was so focused on repeatedly attempting entry to the server, he nearly jumped out of his seat when his communicator started going off. “Desmond, where the hell have you been? You gave me a fucking heart attack!” he hissed.
His breath of relief caught in his throat as the voice on the other end replied, “Hello my dear, miss me yet?”
Shaun forced himself to breathe deeply, to calm the faint trembling of his fingertips. “What do you want?”
“Well, now you know I’ve got two things of yours, and you’ve got something of mine. So naturally, it would make sense for me to propose a trade…”
Shaun swallowed, throat dry. His nails dug into sweaty palms in an attempt to remain civil. “What exactly are we trading here?”
“Simple. Your buddies made it out with a couple important pieces of equipment about four months ago. I want them back. You bring them over, I’ll release your accomplices.” Shaun eyed the filing cabinet at the corner of his desk, where he’d stashed the parts that had been taken. Not being able to figure out their purpose, he’d thrown the metal devices in a corner, labelling them as useless. Now that he knew their worth (two lives- possibly three, and how sad it was to measure price in lives lost) he regretted not taking a closer look at them sooner.
“Hello? I hope you’re still there. Let me assure you entirely, this is not a matter in which you should be contemplating the right thing to do…” The voice faded out, allowing Shaun to hear the faint sobbing noises in the background- the crushing feeling in his chest mirroring the balling of his fists as his nails broke skin. He tried to take comfort in knowing that whoever it was, they were still alive; but the hatred still boiled up inside him.
“You fucking bitch-“
“Now now, you really shouldn’t be talking to me that way.”
“…I…I’ll bring the parts. But if you hurt them in any way…”
“What’s wrong, don’t you trust me?... Oh right, it doesn’t seem like you have a choice.” The line went dead, Shaun swallowing down the urge to hurl something else across the room. Fuck. He was going in to this blind without a plan- and look how well that had served Desmond. But the Templar bitch had a point- there was no choice. He had made that mistake too many times before: when it came down to the lives of his brethren or the success of the mission, lives always came first- fuck what anybody else said. He wasn’t going to sit behind the safety of his computer monitors any more, he wasn’t going to let any of them down.
…
Jane smiled, disconnecting the call at what she felt was the best moment- for dramatic effect. The excitement of the near-meeting sent her heart a flutter. So many toys to play with tonight, how fortuitous.
“You’re really going to do the trade, no foul play?”
“Of course. Warren needs the new Animus prototype in working condition, and with a potential Subject 18 spotted, keeping this one around just isn’t worth it. Contrary to popular belief, I do know when work trumps play, and this so happens to be one of those situations.” She made her way back to the crowd of frenzied men, not bothering to mention that sometimes, she liked to mix both together. Playing fair was tough to do, but it would be worth it in the long run. After all, Jane knew that there is more than one way to destroy lives. She had learned that you can break someone just as easily without even touching them, without committing bodily harm. And sometimes, the inherent challenge was what made it that much more rewarding. Rape is about power- about stripping away the very core of a person- which was why it was her weapon of choice. She might have appeared to be letting her plaything go, but she relished in the thought that on the inside, he’d always remain in her grasp.
Fade [14a/?]
His breath of relief caught in his throat as the voice on the other end replied, “Hello my dear, miss me yet?”
Shaun forced himself to breathe deeply, to calm the faint trembling of his fingertips. “What do you want?”
“Well, now you know I’ve got two things of yours, and you’ve got something of mine. So naturally, it would make sense for me to propose a trade…”
Shaun swallowed, throat dry. His nails dug into sweaty palms in an attempt to remain civil. “What exactly are we trading here?”
“Simple. Your buddies made it out with a couple important pieces of equipment about four months ago. I want them back. You bring them over, I’ll release your accomplices.” Shaun eyed the filing cabinet at the corner of his desk, where he’d stashed the parts that had been taken. Not being able to figure out their purpose, he’d thrown the metal devices in a corner, labelling them as useless. Now that he knew their worth (two lives- possibly three, and how sad it was to measure price in lives lost) he regretted not taking a closer look at them sooner.
“Hello? I hope you’re still there. Let me assure you entirely, this is not a matter in which you should be contemplating the right thing to do…” The voice faded out, allowing Shaun to hear the faint sobbing noises in the background- the crushing feeling in his chest mirroring the balling of his fists as his nails broke skin. He tried to take comfort in knowing that whoever it was, they were still alive; but the hatred still boiled up inside him.
“You fucking bitch-“
“Now now, you really shouldn’t be talking to me that way.”
“…I…I’ll bring the parts. But if you hurt them in any way…”
“What’s wrong, don’t you trust me?... Oh right, it doesn’t seem like you have a choice.” The line went dead, Shaun swallowing down the urge to hurl something else across the room. Fuck. He was going in to this blind without a plan- and look how well that had served Desmond. But the Templar bitch had a point- there was no choice. He had made that mistake too many times before: when it came down to the lives of his brethren or the success of the mission, lives always came first- fuck what anybody else said. He wasn’t going to sit behind the safety of his computer monitors any more, he wasn’t going to let any of them down.
…
Jane smiled, disconnecting the call at what she felt was the best moment- for dramatic effect. The excitement of the near-meeting sent her heart a flutter. So many toys to play with tonight, how fortuitous.
“You’re really going to do the trade, no foul play?”
“Of course. Warren needs the new Animus prototype in working condition, and with a potential Subject 18 spotted, keeping this one around just isn’t worth it. Contrary to popular belief, I do know when work trumps play, and this so happens to be one of those situations.” She made her way back to the crowd of frenzied men, not bothering to mention that sometimes, she liked to mix both together. Playing fair was tough to do, but it would be worth it in the long run. After all, Jane knew that there is more than one way to destroy lives. She had learned that you can break someone just as easily without even touching them, without committing bodily harm. And sometimes, the inherent challenge was what made it that much more rewarding. Rape is about power- about stripping away the very core of a person- which was why it was her weapon of choice. She might have appeared to be letting her plaything go, but she relished in the thought that on the inside, he’d always remain in her grasp.