10. Surprise

The light blinds Elisa. She suspects there's also a lot of heat, but she doesn't feel a thing. At least something handy about her abilities.

The woman doesn't get hurt-and that surprises Elisa. The last time she used her powers both her mother and father exploded. Now it's only the windows that shattered and the walls that have fallen down because of explosions.

"Stop this!" the woman hisses aggressively. "It won't matter if your the handler's personal assassin if you do this! You will get locked up! If not killed!"

The color drains from Elisa's face when the woman starts to talk about the handler. She can't come. She can't face her.

This is the factor that finally makes sure that Elisa can slow her breathing again. She can feel her body relax, and she can feel the monster leave her once again.

The woman watches her carefully. Her eyes can every detail of Elisa's panicked face. That's why Elisa has to pretend that this wasn't an accident.

"Next time..." Elisa thinks back of what she told Hazel just a few minutes ago. "Next time you won't be spared. I'll promise you that." A gasp fills Elisa's ears, telling her that it worked. "And oh- don't tell anyone about this. You know by now that you don't want to see me angry again." In reality, Elisa just doesn't want the handler to know about this incident because she knows Elisa would never use her powers. That'll only make this situation even worse.

The woman nods quietly, and then she retreats, keeping her eyes carefully on Elisa. When her back presses against the door leading to the crowded hallway, she turns around hastily, and exits.

Elisa is alone now.

There are no sounds next to the howling wind. It's dark, even though there are lights. It's a horrifying place to be, especially when someone is being questioned. Some assassins are that blood-thirsty that they can be cruel. No one wants to be in this hallway because the screams that sound here are traumatising.

Another shiver goes through Elisa's whole body, but not because she's cold. No, it's the fact that Elisa has been here before. She has heard te screams. And now she's imagining Morgana's screams.

Her eyes narrow immediately. She concentrates on her goal, and quickens her pace once again. No one is here to spot her. She's alone, and she's ready.

When she's in front of the door, she doesn't hesitate. It's locked; Elisa has already tried to open it. So Elisa prepares herself to knock in the door.

She knows what she has to do; she's got to aim for the locking mechanism, but she can't kick the knob. That'll only twist her ankle. She needs to get her foot as close to the knob as she can, though.

Before starting the action, Elisa breathes in and out. She can do this. She knows she can.

Then she launches her feet at the door, at the space next to the knob, using all the power left in her after the incident. It works; the door flies open with a bang. Right now it's a good thing that people are used to the disturbing and weird sounds here.

A relieved smile comes upon her lips when she walks through the frame. But she has used most of her energy now. Using her horrible abilities drained her, and so did all the tiny actions such as climbing the tree and kicking this door in. So if a fight would happen, then Elisa won't win. That's a fact.

Elisa looks inside the chamber. It's mostly empty, that is next to the cage and single chair that's standing in the middle of it. The cage is dark. When you're standing a step away from the door, then you can't see who's in it, or if someone is in it. The handler wanted that, so people entering this room for other reasons aren't too shocked when they see the condition the prisoner is in. Oh, there are some weapons hanging on the walls, too: some knives, an axe, a cutlass, and a single gun. Assassins that use weapons in here don't like to use guns to force answers out. They want the person to suffer. A gun would be too quick. Knives work better for that part.

Morgana could be in there, but Elisa doesn't dare to speak up. Her voice would break anyway, but she's afraid that her girlfriend will not be in there. What if she's somewhere else in this enormous building. Elisa wouldn't know where to look.

She forces herself to move. It's all a blur, really. The fright that Mor isn't in here is too overwhelming. Once far enough from the door, the walls become more transparant. Elisa doesn't know how the handler made sure that no one could see a thing through the glass when standing next to the door. Maybe it's some trick with light-she'll probably never know.

"Is someone in here?" Her voice really does fail her.

There doesn't come an answer.

"Mor?"

Nothing.

Elisa continues moving towards the cage, and it the glass becomes more transparent with every single step she takes. By now she can see a figure in there, but she can't see a face.

"Who is in there?" she demands again.

No answer.

"Listen here-" Elisa starts angrily, but she stops when the figure moves.

"Are you here to fight?" A voice sounds, and Elisa's eyes widen. "If not, do you want a margarita yourself? I'd share this one, but I'm not sure that's what y-"

"Five." Elisa growls.

The figure is in Elisa's sight now. She knows him. She hates him.

"You did expect me to be here, right?" He tilts his head a little, finding Elisa's surprised expression funny.

"Of course I did," she replies, but a little too fast. She did not. This conversation will turn into a fight. And it'll be a fight she cannot win due to the energy that she doesn't have.

Five stands up, and Elisa notices that he really has a margarita in his hand. How badly she wished that she could accept a margarita now instead of fighting. She's going to lose and she knows it.

He pushes the door open, and leaves the cage where so many have been tortured in. He looks too relaxed for having sat in there.

"What in the world happened out there?" he asks once he's completely out. "It sounded like there were-"

"Explosions." Elisa finishes for him. She needs to scare him as much as possible. Maybe she can avoid a fight after all. But she doubts it. Five is one of the best assassins here, and a great killer too or else the handler wouldn't have recruited him herself.

"Interesting," he whispers in awe. "How were you able to enter with the materials? How did you have time enough?"

Elisa wouldn't answer any of his questions, but now she needs the time he is giving her. Every second counts as she lets her body rest.

"To answer your first question, I didn't need any ingredients," she points out. "And it didn't take much time to make sure everything exploded in there."

"How?" He frowns, approaching Elisa.

This question she's not sure she wants to answer. He already knows too much about her.

"Abilities," she says finally. "I've got powers, just like you."

"Just like me?" he repeats her words, but he puts them in a question.

"You've got the blue light," Elisa remarks, remembering him at the scenes very well. "You disappear through it."

The corners of Five's lips curl up. Even a chuckle fills Elisa's ears.

"You are very attentive, Elisa Brookle."

Elisa stiffens. He said her name. Her real name. Not Sam or Samantha, but Elisa Brookle.

His eyes shine with amusement when he notices her now stiff figure. Elisa almost asked him "how?". But she stops herself in time. Plus, her question gets answered already.

"It's been a long time," another voice speaks up. Again, Elisa knows the voice. She has heard it and listened to it for many, many years.

Elisa wishes she could disappears in thin air. She can't, and she hates that. Still, she keeps herself strong, and turns around to face the handler.

"Indeed," she says while turning. When her eyes fall on the handler, she doesn't like the fact that she has her back pointed to Five. That's a mistake, and she knows it. But she can't do much about it. "But now we meet again."

The handler nods, taking Elisa in. Her posture seems very relaxed.

"You really scared the shit out of Cha Cha, Elisa," she speaks up again. A chuckle of hers follows.

Cha Cha. That was the woman, then.

"I didn't knows you've started to use your abilities," she shrugs, but Elisa knows that she'd have preferred to study Elisa's abilities better. It's a good thing she didn't. It's handy now. But Elisa doubts that her powers will start up again. They're a complete mystery to her.

"You don't know a lot of things." Elisa growls at the handler.

"It appears so. It appears so," the handler says. "You know, I would've liked to meet your girlfriend in other circumstances, Elisa."

The worry sickens Elisa. Her fist clenches, but she forces herself to appear calm. She must.

Still she must say it. . . It's why she came here after all. "Where is she?"

"Morgana Davis?" the handler asks, but she never needed confirmation. She just wanted to see Elisa flinch when she heard the name. Every person in the room knows that. "Oh. She's fine."

"Fine?" Elisa repeats the handler's word. "Define fine."

"Five as in: she's happily breathing."

"She's happy?"

"Very."

"What did you do to her? My Morgana would never-"

"Persons change." A fourth person comes into the room. Elisa would recognize the voice in every state. It's Morgana. But this isn't Mor normal voice. It doesn't sound broken nor scared. Morgana's voice sounds stiff, practiced.

Elisa takes a step to her right in order to be able to see Morgana. The handler happily takes a step away, too.

Morgana stands there, in the door frame. Her brown hair is put in a handy ponytail. Elisa had that hairstyle her whole childhood because her hair wasn't allow to ruin one single move. There's a sly smile on Mor's lips. She stands there, her arms folded over her chest.

She doesn't look afraid.

She doesn't look fragile.

Morgana Davis looks every bit the assassin.