Chapter 69 – Now Everyone Knows

The sun was bright when Ajay left Elliot's apartment building. They had all spent a few days there and it was the day of game night but Ajay needed a break from Elliot's place. She hated leaving Octavio by himself but she knew that he would be safe there. She pulled the straps of her backpack tightly against her shoulders and sighed a bit as she left. She still felt a little uneasy from her last match. She didn't really understand why she felt the way she did. "Maybe it has something to do with dipping into shadow form." She shuddered at the thought as her stomach did summersaults.

She flashed her badge to security after she entered HQ. She followed the familiar hallway to only office she had ever been pulled into besides the debriefing room. She stood outside the office door for a moment and tried to gather her nerves. The door was closed in front of her but she could hear a voice just beyond it. She looked over to the right of the door and read a silver name plate with the words Kuben Blisk on it. Minor details that she didn't have a chance to take in when she had been to his office in the past.

The door was a thick, dark wood. She brushed her right hand against the cold wood as her left hand reached into the front of her hoodie pocket. She opened the door and quietly entered his office, putting her back to the door behind her after closing it. She hoped that she was quiet enough so that he did not notice her. She even held her breath until she was sure she made it in under his radar. She kept her left hand in her pocket and used her right hand to lock the door as she watched him.

Blisk was on the phone and gave little notice to Ajay as he paced and spoke at the same time. "Well how much money does she want to fund the Sheila prototype?" He paused, "Then just give it to her. We need the guns. I don't know why you are calling me about this. Make it happen." Blisk set his cell phone down on his desk after ending the phone call. He finally gave his attention over to Ajay after finishing up with the phone call. His face didn't give off any particular expression when he saw her. "What do you want? We don't have an appointment and as you can see I am busy at the moment." His voice was stern as her stared at her.

Ajay gave Blisk a blank look as she stood with her back against the door. "I thought it was time to talk." Blisk rifled through some paperwork on his desk as if he was looking for something in particular or maybe he was just looking for something to focus on. "We don't have anything talk about Ajay." She continued to stare at him with her left hand in her pocket and her back against the door; she would not budge. "Nah, we do. Ya people hurt my husband. We have a lot to talk about."

Blisk looked up from his paperwork and smirked, "My people? You are mistaken Miss Che. Or is it Mrs. Silva now?" He looked at her as she stared a hole into eyes. "Yah, ya people. Or do ya not rememba that ya people beat up my husband so bad that he could have died." Blisk laughed but she didn't know what was so funny to him. Blisk pushed the paperwork to the side as he stared back at her. Blisk's face was a bit more playful now but it didn't last long as he was no longer behind his desk.

Blisk closed the gap between them as he walked over to Ajay. He placed his hand on door, just near the right side of her face. "Your husband went looking for trouble and he got what he deserved. He's lucky to be alive." Ajay pulled her left hand out of her pocket and pressed the cold barrel of the Wingman into Blisk's chin. "I should end ya here." Ajay's face was no longer blank as anger washed over her.

Blisk smiled and pressed his face closer to hers, "Have you ever killed anyone outside of the arena?" Ajay swallowed hard. She had killed a few people during the war but it took a heavy toll on her emotionally. She remained silent as she watched him, "Dis ain't about me." His breath was warm against her lips as Blisk spoke to her, "I didn't think so." He didn't wavier from the gun but instead just stood there and called her bluff.

Ajay was getting uncomfortable with his face against hers as he spoke to her, "If The Syndicate wanted your husband dead then he would be dead. Did he mention to you that he killed one our people?" Ajay blinked as disbelief settled into her face. Blisk smirked again at her, "That's what I thought. He didn't tell you everything. The only reason why he is still alive is because he can make us money. That is the same reason that everyone else is still alive. So that they can compete in the games and make us money."

Blisk paused for a moment and gave Ajay an unsettling look, "Except for you." Blisk took his free hand and ran his fingertips along the gun and then along her fingers. "I can't figure out why you're still alive. They wanted you dead so badly but here you are. Two separate attacks and you're still standing. You're like a goddamn immortal." He rested his hand on hers. She dug the gun into his chin as she worked her facial expression into a blank stare once more. "Eventually you're going to run out of extra lives and you're going to die Ajay." She didn't blink as she spoke, "Don we all die someday."

He chuckled a bit, "Personally I don't mind you but for some reason you have rubbed The Syndicate the wrong way and if they want you dead then they will find a way." Ajay wanted to push him off of her but she stood there almost frozen, "Where are the others Blisk?" For once during their conversation Blisk looked a little confused, "Others?" Ajay nodded, "I know The Syndicate took them. Where are Elliot's brothers? Where are Anita's brother?"

Blisk closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, "I have no idea what you're talking about. The Syndicate doesn't capture people. They just kill them." Ajay shook her head. She wasn't going to give up information about Mila and put Hyeon Kim at risk but she wasn't going to play this game with Blisk either, "I know for a fact that they take people and use them. They even kill them and bring them back. They fuckin ghost them." She paused and forced the gun as hard as she could into his chin, "Where are they?"

He gently rubbed her hand, "If you want to shoot me then shoot me. Either way you won't get the information you're looking for. Why don't you put on your mask and storm The Syndicate yourself little girl." Ajay's stomach felt sick and her body grew tense. She hated when he called her little girl. She was young but she didn't feel young. The thought of them knowing that she was Judge Jury Executioner didn't sit well with her. She knew that they knew about her and what she had done but it felt like everything was just now hitting her. "You had to have known that we knew about your little stunt. You can't hide anything from the Syndicate." She knew all of this but she wasn't going to have a pissing contest with him right now, "Tell the Syndicate to leave my husband alone. They can deal with me."

Once again Blisk was laughing at her and she was not amused by him, "As long as your husband stays away then he has nothing to worry about. They don't want to kill people that are making them money. But you should back off or your end will come sooner than you expect it." She pulled the gun from his chin and tucked it back into her pocket. Blisk's hand fell to his side as he stood there, toe-to-toe with her, "Well that was uneventful. Empty threats from the little combat medic. Go run and hide behind your mask. That is the only way you will be able to kill anyone."

Ajay balled up her left hand into a fist and raised it up sinking it into his nose. Blisk backed off a bit as blood dripped from his nares, into his open hands, and onto the floor creating a small red pool below him. He looked down at the blood in his hands and then at her, "It's been a long time since anyone has hit me that hard." He laughed and proceeded to go back to his desk. Ajay left his office, slamming the door behind her.

She stood out in the hallway for a moment. She was sick to her stomach and angry about the whole situation. She made her way down the hallway but was quickly yanked into a nearby office. The door slammed behind her and she forced against a wall. The room was dark and a hand pressed her left shoulder into the wall. "Well at least it's my good shoulder." She felt a hand in her hoodie pocket, removing the Wingman from her. Ajay was now on the other end of the gun that she had just used to threaten Blisk with.

It took Ajay a moment to realize what had happened. It also took a little bit longer for her to adjust her eyes to the dark room. Her eyes began to make out the figure on the other side of the gun. She could feel the warmth pouring from the person holding the gun to her cheek. The body was slender and pressed firmly against her. The figure pushed their cheek against Ajay's cheek, opposite of the gun. Ajay whispered, "Renee?"

Renee forced the gun against Ajay's face, "Ajay." She said in a low even tone. Just the touch of Renee's cheek to hers put her body's tense state at ease. Ajay was always amazed at how Renee could do that and often wondered if Renee could produce those feelings in other people. Ajay stood there, relaxed, against the wall that Renee had her pinned again, "Why Renee?" She continued to whisper.

Renee almost sounded a bit upset as she spoke, "It was you? You were the one in the game that night. You messed up everything?" Ajay felt the pain in Renee's voice as she raised her right hand up to gently touch Renee's arm and began caressing it. "Yah." Renee's eyes twitched as she closed them to get herself under control. She looked back at Ajay, "You have been lying all this time." Ajay shrugged, "I just didn't tell ya."

The gun waivered a bit before it was pressed firmly into Ajay's skin, "You still lied Ajay. Why did you do it?" Ajay swallowed hard and knew she couldn't tell Renee everything. She had to protect herself and Hyeon Kim and Mila, "I can't tell ya." Renee's eyes widened, "What? What do you mean you can't tell me?" Ajay still felt at ease with Renee. Ajay raised her other hand and placed it on Renee's hip. "Nah. I can't. But Renee I know about Singh Labs and Amer."

Renee's hand shook a bit against Ajay's shoulder, "What are you talking about?" Ajay pulled Renee against her, trying to calm her, "One of the reasons I broke the game was because they wanted to broadcast your past to the world." Ajay stared into her sky blue eyes, "I couldn't let them do that." Ajay felt her body in a state of elation as it was against Renee's body. They were both silent for a moment.

Renee lowered her gaze for a moment as she thought about Ajay's words. She didn't know how to feel about what Ajay had told her. For most of her life she could only remember feeling emptiness and pain. It wasn't until recently she began to experience happiness and exhilaration. She clicked the safety on and lowered the gun to her side as she stood there. Ajay brought her hand up to Renee's chin and forced her gaze to hers, "Renee, what's wrong?" Ajay's voice was soft.

Renee looked into Ajay's chestnut eyes, "I didn't know anyone had videos of my past or that Apex would broadcast them to the world." She paused and released Ajay's shoulder, trailing her hand down to her breast as she slid the gun back into Ajay's pocket, "No one has ever done anything like for me before." Ajay smiled and touched her cheek. Renee leaned her body into hers, "Why would you do that for me? You hardly know me." Ajay shrugged and closed her eyes, "It's not fair. That's ya business…." Before Ajay could finish Renee's lips were pressed into hers.