Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, the main base of the Army of Chaos ~

Jesse was seated onto a chair and she felt that she is being chained. When they removed the black bag from her head, she saw that she is tied up to a chair and her arms are chained to the metallic table in front of her.

She cursed internally because she can't move and due to the black bag which obstructed her view, she didn't see anything outside of her cell she was imprisoned in. Even if she manages to escape from here, she will be like a blind chicken, moving without any direction. But based on the sounds, she knew that she didn't step outside. It sounded more like walking through some hallways. They took many turns.

But there must be a reason she is here. She can see that there is a man in a dark gray uniform in each corner of the room. Those are definitely the same uniforms she saw on the people who came to rescue Michael and his lover (aka Oni), so she knows that she is facing people from the Army of Chaos.

The four people are standing in silence, and she guessed that they are waiting for something. Or someone. An interrogator probably.

Jesse glanced around the room and was disappointed that this room has no windows. She has no idea how long she is here because her cell does not have any windows either. She concluded based on her hunger and meals that she is here for about one day. 

Jesse is not sure how much time passed before the door opened and Sarah and Aiden entered. They are wearing casual clothes, jeans, and t-shirts, but Jesse can recognize them as Nyx and Erebus who came personally to save Michael and Oni. And also, the fact that four men straightened their posture when Sarah and Aiden entered, only confirmed Jesse's assumption about their identities.

The fact that Nyx and Erebus showed their faces in front of her again, confirmed another thing: Michael and Oni are important. Why else would bosses themselves handle this?

Jesse was not afraid. She realized that if they wanted her dead, they would kill her in Frankfurt and not bring her here (wherever this 'here' is). And the fact that she is alive, in this room, means that they want to use her in some way. She guessed that they want to find out more about Shadow Ravens. After all, Michael probably told them that she is not just a foot soldier, or a dispensable agent. Well, she is not close to the top, but she knows a thing or two which she can exchange for her safety. Or so she thought.

Sarah and Aiden looked at Jesse without a word and Jesse was confident that this is some kind of a mind game to make her nervous. Her confidence rose. Everything points out to the fact that they need something from her.

It didn't take long for the door to open, and another army member walked in and he carried a bolt cutter.

Jesse's eyes shifted as she watched Sarah take the bolt cutter and thank the man. Just as the door closed behind the man, Jesse's eyes widened in surprise when she saw that Sarah swung the bolt cutter, and a split second later, an agonizing pain assaulted Jesse's whole body as the iron tool landed violently on her face.

"What are you doing?", Jesse asked in disbelief while spraying blood on the table in front of her.

"You hurt my kids.", Sarah said flatly. "Do I need to explain what vengeance is?"

Jesse felt something hard in her mouth and she spitted out a tooth. Her mind exploded. A tooth! She already lost one while she was unconscious, and this is the second one!

"Your kids? How can they be your kids?", Jesse started thinking that Sarah is crazy. There is no way that Oni is her daughter, and Michael is obviously older than Sarah. And the skin color does not match either!

"That is something you won't understand. Here, we are a family. I will not allow anyone to bully my people and get away with it…", Sarah said, and she swung the bolt cutter again.

This time, the hard blow landed on the other side of Jesse's face, knocking out two more teeth in the process.

Sarah was ready to deliver one more blow when Aiden held her back. "She passed out."

"Oh…", Sarah let out a sound in disappointment before touching her ear stud and calling for a medic.

Jesse woke up when horrifying smell assaulted her senses. Her mind was hazy, but the heavy medicinal scent was forcing her to stay awake. This… just what is this? Why are they beating her up without asking any questions? Both of her cheeks and jaw hurt, and she was confident that they will just come off.

"Why are you not asking me anything?", Jesse asked weakly.

"You want to chat with me?", Sarah asked mockingly.

Jesse saw that she can't get through Sarah and her gaze moved to Aiden. She hoped that he might be more reasonable. He does not look friendly and she can't read through his cold expression, but he does not seem to be crazy like Sarah either.

In the next moment, a heavy blow landed on her left shoulder.

"Why are you looking at my husband?", Sarah hissed. "For your information, he advised me to leave you to Michael and Oni. However, how can I do that? We compromised: I will not kill you. He is here to make sure you are alive when we leave this room."

Jesse started panicking. Pain in the body is one thing, but the possibility of them torturing her and not letting her die, was creating cracks in her mind.

"Wait, wait! I have information! I am a high-level agent and part of the organization for more than fifteen years! Don't you want to know about Shadow Ravens!?", Jesse screamed desperately while blood sprayed on the table in front of her.

Sarah grinned. "Sure. Tell me what you feel like sharing."

"This…", Jesse was confused. Is it possible that she has nothing that these people want? Isn't that a death sentence? No, she can't let it end like this.

Jesse slammed her fist on the table (how much the chains allowed). "You don't think it's important? You invaded our base. There will be retaliation! They will come after…"

'SLAM!'

Bolt cutter heavily landed on Jesse's right hand which was balled into a fist on top of the table.

A moment later, Jesse's screams filled the room. She looked at her limp hand and she was confident that most of the bones are broken.

"I am not afraid of ghosts." Sarah said smugly when Jesse calmed down.

Sarah enjoyed the horror in Jesse's face. "You see… when you talk about Shadow Ravens, you need to use the past tense. Because that organization does not exist anymore."

Jesse shook her head vigorously. "No. Not possible."

"Did you hope they will come and rescue you?", Sarah asked icily. "You can assume that I'm deceiving you to break your will. But ask yourself, how many rescue missions did Shadow Ravens conduct? And maybe you will find a justification that you don't have such information, so then change the question into: how many rescue missions did you conduct?"

"I still have information that can be valuable…", Jesse was not willing to accept that there is nothing she can offer to Sarah in exchange for her safety. Or maybe less torture.

Sarah shrugged indicating that she does not care. "I am not here to chat. I am here to punish you and I have a flight to catch so I can't stay long. You broke Michael's right hand, and I did that to you. You cut off Oni's finger on her left hand so…" Sarah waved the bolt cutter.

Jesse balled her left hand into a fist and watched in horror as Sarah approached her.

Sarah lifted her gaze, and two men who were standing behind Jesse approached Jesse from the back and forced her hand open flat on the table.

Sarah positioned the bolt cutter to cut off Jesse's middle finger while explaining: "You took Oni's ring finger… I will leave that for her. But I am greedy, so just how destroying only your base in Frankfurt was not enough, I can't be satisfied with only one finger either…" Sarah's gaze moved on Jesse who was absolutely petrified.

Sarah smiled. "Don't worry, I will not electrocute you. We don't have time for that…"

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