she’d stared in the mirror a long time that morning. her fingers ran along the indentions of her scars, thinking of the day soon enough when Cillian Quinn would find @onyx . what were they going to do to him? what was she going to witness? her own words echoed in her head.

i want him to suffer.

it had been in the moment. impulsive. it had sat like a rock in her stomach since. when had she started caring about people? she supposed when things had gotten legitimately violent.

fast forward about twelve hours, and here she was, staring at a woman’s bound face whom she’d helped kidnap. she hated this. would she always hate it? would it be easier next time? would she learn to enjoy it one day, like some of the others seemed to?

she didn’t look over, only staring at the blindfold.

”ready.”

Felix Gallagher

Everyone within the organization was different. Some grew numb to the illegal activities that took place, while others relished in them. Those who fit in neither category are typically the first to go.

Felix sat comfortably in the former, feeling indifferent in most scenarios. It would take something far greater than extortion to rattle up his emotions.

"Good." The start of the operation was marked by his word, and with it, he slowly approached the gagged victim. Cold, mercliess hands grabbed at the gag and mufflers, pulling them off with such rough intensity that it left her teetering as he did so.

"Wh-where am I? Who are you? What did I do?" A series of questions fumbled out the woman's mouth. Despite still being blindfolded, she spun her head around, trying to make sense of this new environment. All until Felix's low voice shattered the silence.

"Jessica Wynter, age 25, Biochemical researcher." He announced, "list your duties and what you've been working on up until now."

The woman shook her head furiously, "No, why even? I won't tell you anything."

Felix's eyes shifted to Nina, questioning how she thought they should proceed.

nina larson

well. this woman had some resolve, didn’t she? nina had to hand it to her. blue eyes stared back. she could not be compassionate. not now.

it was time. it was just like in the movies. who could she channel? so much inspiration. she’d been preparing for this her whole life, really...

a glance met felix’s briefly before shifting back.

”jessica,” she started, smiling with sudden, strange charisma. ”hi. kate.”

”listen. i promise don’t want to see you get hurt, so i'm going to go ahead and let you in on something.” her eyes began to bear down, beaming with truth. ”we don’t really need you. whatever you’re protecting, we'll just get out of someone else, and if not them, then the next person. but you could make this easy for us. and better for them.”

”think about your work. who you work for. do you really think that they would bat an eye if anything bad happened to you, all because you were protecting their profitable secrets?”

Felix Gallagher

While Nina played her tactics, Felix fell back into the shadows, allowing for the full and total spotlight to befall over her alone. From there he simply watched, searching for the smallest hint or clue as to this woman's weak point.

Everyone had one.

They just had to find hers.

The woman continued to shake her head, eyes venomous and lips bent into a sharp frown.

"Yeah right," She spat, "You're just trying to scare me, but it won't work. I'm not telling you anything."

Felix, having enough with this power trip, steps towards the bound woman. With quick, rough movements, he reached out and snatched her tied wrist. Then, with his free hand, he goes for her index finger, wrapping the entirety of his hand around it's dainty exterior.

CRACK

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the woman. Red and disfigured, her index finger now bent the opposite way.

Leaning forward until his face hovered only mere inches away from hers, Felix whispered, "As Kate just said, we don't need you. At all. "

He straightened his back and returned to his previous position behind Nina, giving her another nod, as if to say: continue.

nina larson

felix—a murderer—was in the dark behind her like a shadow himself. it was unnerving, but she tried not to think about it and focus on the task at hand.

she really tried not to jump when he got close. her stomach turned at the sick crack. she looked away, briefly, before reminding herself that this was her life now. this was home. she might as well get used to it.

when he returned to the darkness behind her, she looked back at the woman, willing herself not to glance down at her mangled finger, and doing her best not to look rattled.

clearing her throat, she continued.

“whatever work you’re doing for the league would serve the world better as public information. why are you a scientist? is it for the sake of discovery and progress for humanity, or is it because you love your government? hoenn is going through a lot right now. our scientists could help, if only we had some sort of collaborative relationship. unfortunately, we’re well aware that’s not possible.”

did they have anything to offer? other than no more broken bones? she supposed not, if she hadn’t been briefed on it. maybe felix would pipe up with an offer.

“if it’s for money, i imagine as long as you don’t tell them about us, they’ll keep paying you.”

Felix Gallagher

The woman, through mangled breaths, let out a howl of pain.

Maybe he went a bit too far too fast.

"Why...am I a scientist," She echoed back, slowly, cautiously, "to...to help people. "

The throbbing pain had apparently made it harder to focus, as the woman struggled to get much out, though, the look in her eyes made her stance as clear as it needed to be.

Something Nina had said stuck.

Rather than interfering again, Felix kept to the shadows, eyes attentively watching them over.

nina larson

the woman’s cries of pain would likely echo forever in nina’s mind, vivid as a turning point in her life. she wondered if the brutal man behind her could tell this was her first time, or somehow sense the way her palms were sweating.

she wondered how long they had until he came and bent back another finger.

”to help people,” she repeated, doing her best. ”okay. then help us get this information into the hands of more scientists. i know you’re probably the last person i need to tell this to, but progress is a good thing, jessica.”

fuck, she couldn’t wait to get out of here. gin. bubble bath. four to five movie marathon. anything to get the scream out of her head, and remove the sight of this woman’s mutilated hand from the back of her eyelids.

Felix Gallagher

Nina's experience was evident in the way she moved, spoke, and engaged with the woman. Inwardly, he remembered when he bore a similar tune, and how hard it was to breathe. Thankfully, he was able to swallow down those emotions with time, and he was sure the same would happen with her. That or she'll leave the organization.

Nodding, he continued to listen intently, eyes pointedly staring at the way the woman picked up the end of the trail and began to follow it forward.

"For you to do what," The woman gasped, still barely managing to withstand the pain, "What would your scientists do with the information...?"

nina larson

another moment, and he was staying in the shadows. they were moving forward. she seemed close to cooperating. nina began to feel the smallest sense of relief, although she did her best to temper it. it was wholly possible that felix would become impatient at any moment.

did nina know what the scientists would do? not really, no. science-y things, she assumed.

”well, they would do what the league’s scientists can’t. they put restrictions on your research, do they not? how far do you think your discoveries could go without those limitations? without the need to ask if it’s okay to keep going?”

she leaned the tiniest bit closer.

“we can make your work really matter – now, when hoenn needs it the most.”

Felix Gallagher

The woman scrunched up her nose. If Nina was observant, she'd notice the glint in interest hidden beneath her eyes, despite this exaggerated look of disgust that painted her features.

"No, you... I--" Her mouth became wired shut, and for a second, she just sat there, the gears in her head running on overdrive. It took a minute before she spoke again. "Fine."

Another pause.

Lifting her head upward, she peaked at Nina through the curtain of hair that brushed her cheeks. "...What do you want to know?"

nina larson

nina could see it. she was winning. felix remained behind her, not moving from the shadows. she was hopeful. she suppressed her smile of success, doing her best to remain genuine, appropriate. she still had it. even despite the scars, and the eye, she had not lost her gift for persuasion. why had she ever doubted herself in the first place?

’fine.’ the word was music to her ears.

what did they want to know? if she’d been any less experienced, she might’ve frozen, right there. she had no idea what they needed.

she’d just skirt the details. maybe felix would jump in.

”everything.”

Felix Gallagher

With a sigh, the woman hung her head low and allowed the words to slip out, one by one until the picture fully splattered across the walls.

"Okay," she began, her voice hoarse, "I work as a research assistant under illeana reyes."

The name immediately evoked something from Felix. Eyes widening, frown deepening, the shock of surprise rippled throughout his body.

This woman, wasn't she supposed to be under Eva Morales?? Unless...

"What are you currently working on with her?"

Ice cold, his voice cracked in the air like a whip, relentless in it's delivery. He took a step forward, allowing the single light that hung above them to reveal the green tint in his scowl, and the whiteness to his now rolled up fists.

"M-mew," the woman squeaked. She wouldn't be able withstand another finger being forced broken. "We're currently collecting DNA samples from dittos and comparing them to mew's..."

nina larson

still facing the woman, nina wasn’t privy to the look of shock on felix’s face, just like she wasn’t privy to his relationship to illeana reyes , and his unauthorized release of her as rocket’s prisoner.

in fact, nina had not been aware that mew was in hoenn, making itself known. her own eyes widened a bit, curiosity almost overcoming her enough to ask likely irrelevant questions to feed her own hungry brain.

it was only when felix stepped forward, and she glanced down at his tension, his rolled up fists, that she realized his sudden discomfort. she was confused, looking up at him. wasn’t this what they’d needed? the woman was complying… so why did he look like he was going to hurt her again?

she remained silent, having to will herself to look back at the woman without so much uncertainty in her eyes. she was the bad guy. she had no salvation to offer.

Felix Gallagher