Chris V:
Chris was used to the after effects of a mission by now. twenty years of serving, and over ten of those years in the P.A.L conditioned him to do the same thing after a mission.
Beat the hell out of a punching bag. Smoke right after.
He couldn’t understand why this particular mission affected him so much.
He’s seen far worse. Terrible viruses were made before, and he’s dealt with their creations. He’s lost people to those creations. Good men, fighting for a good cause.
Now he finds out who was behind the creation of those monsters. Appearances were truly deceiving. A woman that seemed harmless, a bit weird but ultimately harmless. That was who was behind the many horrors he’s seen. Some of which still haunt him in the dead of night.
Imagining the corpses of his allies cause him to hit the punching bag especially hard, the chain snapping and the bag flew backward. Chris didn’t even care anymore, simply taking a mental note to write a report on it later.
The door opened, Ada walking inside. She eyed the punching bag, her eyes filled with humor. He saw the strain in it.
“Blowing off some steam?” She said as she sat on the bench behind him.
“You could say that.”
“Hope I’m not the cause of that.”
Chris paused, before continuing.
“You’re not.”
He hung the punching bag up again, to a new chain.
“Can’t be Emma right? It was a small mistake she..”
“That small mistake could’ve cost us our lives.” He cut through the excuse, despite not caring much about what Emma did. Ada closed her mouth, conceding the point.
“And besides, that’s not what’s bothering me.” He stated, giving the punching bag an experimental jab. It held.
“Then what? I don’t see what could be the problem we accomplished our mission…”
She trailed off, eyes lighting up in realization.
“The girl?”
Chris didn’t give an answer. She didn’t need to hear one.
“Why? You know her well?” Ada asked, standing now.
Chris shook his head.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know!” Chris raised his voice, turning to her. She froze momentarily, shocked to see him of all people lose his temper.
“I don’t know.” Chris repeated, this time much more calmly.
He sat down on the bench, and she joined him waiting patiently for him to continue.
“I just…a part of me feels responsible. Even though there was no way for me to know about her, we only met once briefly. But looking back, it all makes so much sense. I can’t even begin to understand her. She lingered on my mind after that meeting and at first I didn’t know why. It was a small conversation. But I wonder if it was my instincts telling me something was wrong. And I put on rose tinted glasses to ignore it.”
Ada listened intently. She seemed to be holding back her own feelings regarding the woman. Chris respected that, allowing himself to speak a bit more freely.
“You wanted to know more about my time in the service before our team was founded? Know I’ve seen things. Things one man can’t burden himself with alone. I lost a team beforehand. To a bio weapon. That’s what drove me. I decided that I’d never let anyone else fall to the A.L.F again.”
It felt oddly good letting some of it out. Ada listened intently placing a supporting hand on his shoulder. It looked hilarious, her hand barely covering the surface but it was comforting regardless.
“My family were immigrants. They worked so hard to get here to the U.S. I hated it at first. Stupid young girl shit. I was eleven, I didn’t try to understand. I didn’t like anything about America. Not your food, your culture, and especially the people.“ Ada spoke slowly, as if each word hurt to say. The last bit had a shred of humor, as if to ease her pain. Chris stayed quiet, allowing her to continue.
“But I endured. Soon enough I learned English so well it became my dominant language. Bit by bit I was more comfortable here. Then the Battle of Khaenridge happened. A.L.F soldiers showed up to our town, and rounded us up. My family..”
Chris had a feeling where this was going. He remembered that day like it was yesterday. Fourteen years ago, the A.L.F made their first move utilizing an experimental chemical weapon to create a monster that the P.A.L sent his old team to dispatch.
“They were executed in front of me. It wasn’t even instant, they injected the syringe in their necks. I watched them writhe and twitch on the floor. Skin paling. Muscles shrinking..it was awful. I would’ve been next but that’s when you and your old team arrived. That’s the day I saw you.”
Chris tried to recall her from that day but nothing came up. Only the horrors he faced.
“Soon as I turned 18, I enlisted, left home and never looked back.” She finished with a sigh, leaning her back against the wall.
Chris was never the best at comfort. Motivating yes, but comfort was never his strong suit. He took two cigarettes from his pocket, offering one to her. She took it with a small smirk.
“Good listener, shit talker.” She quipped, letting him light the cigarette.
Chris suppressed a laugh, lighting his own.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“Sorry bout that.”
Ada shook her head, exhaling a breath of smoke.
“Don’t worry about it. I decided to tell you because it felt good getting it out. That’s comfort in itself.“
The pair sat there for a few minutes, basking in the silence.
“I asked John to be commander.” Chris said suddenly.
Ada didn’t react. Only blowing more smoke.
“I piss you off that bad huh?”
“No it’s not like that. I just..I think you need more time.”
Ada hummed, putting out her cigarette.
“He accept?”
“No. Needs to think.” Chris mirrored her.
Ada said nothing more, her face didn’t even begin to hint at what she was thinking.
When she finally spoke, it wasn’t what he expected.
“Now, let’s get to interrogating your girlfriend shall we?” She smirked standing from the bench.
Chris rolled his eyes. She avoided the situation entirely. Seeing it cant be helped, he found himself standing as well. Chris opened the door for her.
“Let’s do that.”
Jaene VI:
Jaene didn’t know how long she had been in this glass room. She didn’t speak to anyone that came in, didn’t even look up from her hands. They were shaking, cause the cuffs to rattle against the table.
What would her father think? Failing and getting not only herself captured, but both of their virus samples as well. She failed. As always.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, revealing yet another source of her agony. Chris walked inside, less geared but he still had the vest on. His expression was still stoic even as he met her gaze and sat across from them.
A woman she never saw before stood beside him. She had olive skin, her hair was medium length and wavy. She didn’t have any sleeves, revealing a tattoo on her shoulder that had a word Jaene couldn’t translate.
Like she did for her previous interrogators, her gaze went back down to her hands.
“Let’s start simple. Your name. Your real one.”
Chris spoke.
Not seeing the harm in answering this particular question, Jaene raised her head.
“Jaene.”
The woman beside him wrote that down presumably.
“I didn’t lie about that.” Jaene defended weakly.
“How surprising.” Chris remarked before continuing onward.
“Are you the creator of the viruses?”
Silence. She wouldn’t answer that.
Chris nodded to the woman beside him, and she wrote something else down.
“The viruses you brought. What is their purpose?”
Silence again.
Jaene saw he was testing her. These questions were far too obvious.
The process repeated, the woman beside him continuing to write down whenever he signaled to her.
“Who do you work for?”
She definitely wasn’t answering that.
Chris huffed, closing the file. He nodded to the woman, who returned it and strode off. Jaene eyed her departure, confused on why she was leaving.
“I don’t understand you.” Chris began.
Jaene met his gaze, bewildered by his change of tone. It was more sincere, more vulnerable.
“I’ve faced these monsters for times than I care to count. I’ve lost more people than I want to count. And all of that, all of it sources to you.”
Jaene’s brow furrowed hearing this.
Monsters? What was he talking about?
“And now you sit there, not even bothering to cooperate. You don’t even look guilty. All the lives lost, all the families separated. This is what you have to show for it.”
Jaene raised her head high and stood, her hands still chained to the table.
“It was your people that separated families! Your people that started this war! You talk about monsters? Look in the mirror, we protect the world from monsters like you!”
Chris looked at her as if she grew a second head. His eyes widened in shock, it quickly turned to anger as he stood as well. He dwarfed her immediately, his rage filled eyes causing her falter.
“Protect?! You call this protecting?!”
He opened the file on the table again, photos of inhuman beasts and death tolls filled her eyes. A dog with its skin rotting, and its teeth overgrown. A person with shriveled skin, and bone protruding from underneath. A woman with grey skin and blank eyes, blood around her mouth and sharp teeth.
Jaene stared at the collection of photos. What was he showing her this for?
What was this? Where did he get this?
She looked back to Chris.
“What is this?”
“Your work and its consequences.” Chris sneered. She slowly sat down, her chest clenching once again. This couldn't be. Her breaths grew erratic. It was weighing on her, the truth etching closer by the second.
Chris sat down as well, his anger easing just slightly seeing her current state. He looked confused as well as if her reaction was the opposite of what he expected. There was no satisfaction, only more questions.
“This is not my work. The P.A.L protects the public from you people. My work is meant to increase our chances of victory.” She said through rough breaths.
Chris frowned, his anger returning.
“What the hell are you talking about?!”
“What part of that was confusing!? The P.A.L hired me to combat you all. You’re planning on overthrowing the country. Using your close connections to the government. We’re trying to stop you!” Jaene raised her voice, slamming her chained hands against the table.
Chris grit his teeth, slamming his fist on the table. The sound of the metal echoed through the room, shaking Jaene in her seat. When he retracted his fist from the table, a sizable dent was left behind.
“This place is the base of the P.A.L. These people including me, work for the P.A.L. You work for the A.L.F.” Chris looked her in the eye, extremely angered and confused by her words.
Jaene’s eyes turned into saucers hearing that, her world growing unfocused.
Chris continued.
“I would know. I helped found the Protect All Life foundation, to combat your people’s bioterrorism. I’ve been fighting your creations most of my life.” He was calm now, though his fist was still clenched shut.
It was too much, her ears began ringing, her vision becoming unfocused. The voices, the faces came back. Each member of her family sat in each corner of the room.
‘Liar.’
‘Coward.’
‘Murderer.’
Chris now greatly angered, sat up. The chair screeched as it slid against the floor, breaking jaene out of her thoughts.
Chris gave her one last look, one she couldn’t interpret, before leaving the room. The door shut leaving her in complete solitude. Jaene stared the tinted glass, doubt swarming her mind.
He was lying.
He had to be.
Right?