Deus Ex series developed by Ion Storm, Eidos Montreal, N-Fusion Interactive, Square Enix Montreal. Published by Eidos Interactive, Square Enix.
Juan Ivanovich Lebedev laid on his side on the floor, hands cuffed to his back. It had been a while since the nameless suit serving Majestic12 had stopped demanding intel from him before delivering a new beating. His body had also long gone numb from the pain.
The Man in Black kicked his stomach.
But beyond the failure of the operation at LaGuardia Airport, Lebedev felt an odd kind of satisfaction with himself, in the knowledge that he had been such a torn on Bob Page's side that his mere death wasn't enough for Majestic12. They needed him to suffer. So he flashed the Man in Black a mocking grin and was rewarded with another kick.
Then, the man went still for a few seconds, head tilted as he listened over InfoLink for orders. When he became animated again, he reached for Lebedev's hair and pulled him to a kneeling position.
So that was it. Lebedev though, as his captor positioned himself to his back and pulled out a pistol.
Clenching teeth, he forced himself to stand and turned to face his executioner.
The Man in Black hit Lebedev's face with the butt of the pistol, knocking him back to his knees. Then trained the gun on his head.
But before he pulled the trigger, hurried but firm steps were at the cell's door. Opening, a Woman in Black stood in.
It took Lebedev a few seconds to comprehend the scene. After all, what could possibly there be to communicate to the Man in Black that required sending someone in person to do it.
Then his eyes finally managed to focus on her figure. The way her dark hair was pulled back, the way her sunglasses sat on her face and how the suit she was wearing didn't quite manage to hang correctly from her figure.
It was as if an ice dagger had stabbed him on the heart. A chill run through Lebedev's body and he began to shake, whimpering.
The sick son of a bitch.
It had probably not been hard for whoever had come up with the idea to convince the rest it was worth the investment. After all, many times the best of the Illuminati and then M12 had been sent after Anna Kelso. And, every time, she had survived, sending the attackers back in pieces. Having a operative of such capability on their side was something more than one of the conspirators probably dreamed of.
Of course Anna had tried to get back to him the moment she had learnt of the failure at LaGuardia. And, of course, she had survived whatever horrors Majestic12 put the people they conditioned into their servitude. Until, bit by bit, they had erased everything she had ever been. Turned her into another empty suit to do their bidding.
And what they wanted now was for the last thing Lebedev ever saw, to be Anna at their service. Her pulling the trigger that would end his life.
The Man in Black and the newly arrived woman exchanged glances, before the man took a step back, handing his weapon over.
Lebedev closed his eyes, head down.
Seeing her empty like that. A shell of everything she had ever been. It was too much. He couldn't take it. He would rather die on his knees than have this be his last memory of her.
That's not her. She is gone. That's not her. Anna is gone.
Then came the sound of a gun's trigger being pulled. But it wasn't quite the right sound. Neither it was followed by the expected pain and overtaking darkness.
Instead, he heard a whimper at his back. Two more shots and the sound of a convulsing body hitting the floor.
Still trembling with a mixture of rage and fear, Lebedev opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder. Through glassy eyes he managed to distinguish the Man in Black. Now fallen against a wall, he convulsed with three pairs of stun darts on his chest. The Woman in Black was holding the Man in Black's pistol in one hand, while her other hand still aimed an old Zenith at his chest.
Before Lebedev could react, his vision was obscured as the woman felt to her knees next to him. Discarding the pistol, she used her now free hand to undo her hair, which fell obscuring her face.
The sound of his cuffs opening reverberated across the cell, and Lebedev fell on all fours. From the corner of his eye, he distinguished the woman crawling to the Man in Black and handcuffing him before rolling him to the opposite end of the room.
"Anna." Lebedev's voice cracked weakly. "Is it you? Anna..."
Almost instantly, she was by his side, pulling him up from under his arms and helping him against the nearest wall. "Of fucking course it's me. You fucking idiot. I told you Denton wasn't worth shit. But you never fucking listen, do you?"
"You are a terrifyingly good actress." He laughed weakly, the effort causing him to cry in pain. "You look like shit."
"I look like shit?" She retorted with a mixture of offense and incredulity. "I needed one of this shit suits and I couldn't kill the bitch wearing it because then she would fucking blow up." Her hands held to him, trying to still his breath.
Once it did, his hands reached for her face, pushing her glasses off to look at her eyes. He let out a sight of relief when he was met by the mechanical gold of her irises. "So how does this follow? I don't think I can put on his clothes and pose as one of them. I don't think I can even walk straight."
"No sneaking out of here." Anna replied. "We are blowing this place up." Her hand went behind her ear, to the manual cue for her InfoLink. "Listen up, Denton didn't fuck up that bad after all. I have Lebedev secure. You have green light. Miguel leads. And I need medical assistance here."
"This place is their fortress. You will be outnumbered." Lebedev protested. "You should have let me die."
Anna shook her head. "Those things," her head tilted towards the unconscious Man in Black "are almost all that's left in here." At his confusion, she went on. "Anyone who has ever done anything else than serve UNATCO was kicked out. And the few proper troops they kept are out haunting Denton's brother." Anna paused. "After that, it wasn't hard to talk the dismissed staff into seeing what was really going on... Though some rebranding was necessary."
"Rebranding?"
"The ex-UNATCO didn't like the idea of being NSF... And the NSF didn't want to be UNATCO... So, we needed a new name. It's nothing set in stone." Anna looked away before muttering. "But Liberty Coalition is the most popular proposal."
Again, Lebedev couldn't contain a laugh, and his body punished him with breathtaking pain. "I hope you brought a priest."
Anna shrugged off her coat, folding it before resting Lebedev's head on it as a pillow. "Don't be over dramatic." Her voice was dismissing, but her hands moved with hurry to undo his shirt, revealing his battered body.
"I meant... today... we were supposed to renew our vows." At her confused look, he reached out to bring her face closer. Their lips met for a brief moment. When they parted, he whispered. "Happy Anniversary."
Author Notes:
No popular or canon ships. We sink in our canoes like men.
The basic idea behind this one shot is to pretend Lebedev didn't die after he was captured at LaGuardia airport during the original Deus Ex, but was instead rescued by Anna with the help of the NSF and the ex-UNATCO.
For reference, I ship Anna Kelso with Juan Lebedev. Yes, it's crack. No, I don't care. Yes, you are invited to jump on board this angst fuelled canoe.
Also, yes, that is a Project Snowblind reference.
Please let me know how many of you I actually had believing Anna was going to shoot Lebedev.