Fathom struggled against her bonds and screamed into the darkness. Her world had become blank since Heero stuffed her into Quatre's basement and turned off all the lights. She didn't know the date, or even if it was morning. All she had was the hum of the air conditioner to keep her company…that and Heero's attempts to torture information out of her. Quatre actually brought her tea the other day, which soothed her throat a bit, until she found herself spouting out information that she didn't want to say. Damned truth serums. Maybe Heero would come down and see her so she could insult him some more. That always made her feel better. Faith came down to look upon her once or twice, which strangely fascinated Fathom. It made no sense why the girl would bother to spend time with the woman who was trying to kill her surrogate father, but Fathom was coming to appreciate the little girl's company. Sometimes Fathom brought water or something better than the disgusting gruel Duo kept cooking up. She cringed as she heard the creak of the basement door opening and prepared herself for the day's assaults.

            Heero ducked under the low ceiling leading down to the basement with Duo in tow. Wufei and Faith were upstairs reviewing some local reports on activity in the area. Fathom's employers were no doubt wondering why she had gone radio silent for more than a week. He motioned to Duo to turn on the lights, and turned to face the chair that Fathom was strapped to. The lights flashed on immediately, blinding them all for a few moments before they adjusted. Fathom looked terrible; a wealth of little bruises and half healing cuts littered her face. Her uniform was torn and flayed in a multitude of areas, and her wrists looked chafed where the ropes bound her. Heero shook his head at her injuries and at the woman who refused to be broken.

            She sneered up at them defiantly, "Come for more…fools?" She managed.

            Duo grinned savagely at her, "We've barely begun. Heero and I have devised a new plan. Since you won't give in, we'll pay you off, and send you on your way. He tells me you're a woman of honor, and maybe that'll satisfy you."

            She blinked at him sweetly, "Oh, what a nice venture. Unfortunately I can't accept that. Like he said, I'm a woman of honor, and I always finish a job."

            Heero stepped forward and glared at her, "Can we do nothing to satisfy your greed, woman?"

            She glanced at Heero and looked at him seductively, "Well…there was that thing you could do with your tongue…"

            She bit her cheek as his powerful slap knocked her head sideways. She ignored the buzzing in her ears, "Oh come now, Odin; you slapped harder when we were in bed."

            He wound up to slap her again, then grimaced when Duo doubled over laughing. She turned to gaze at him, "Something funny, Goth boy?"

            He sneered at her, "Only that Heero would bend so low as to sleep with a tramp like you."

            Heero, turned and proceeded to head back up the stairs, "Come on, Maxwell, we aren't getting anywhere with her."

            Duo turned to follow, but looked back over his shoulder at the woman strapped to the chair, "Try not to get lost. It can get lonely in the dark, with no one there to comfort you." With that, the two exited, and the lights were turned off again. Fathom slumped weakly in her chair.

            Heero stalked angrily up the stairs with Duo in tow, and the two propped themselves down next to Quatre, Wufei, and Faith. They looked from the beet red Heero to the strangely smug looking Duo.

            Quatre broke the silence, "So…how'd it go?"

            Heero glared at him, and Duo spoke up, "She's still unbroken. I'm amazed she's lasted this long. Any lesser person would have broken by now."

            Heero closed his eyes, and laid his head against the table in front of him, "She won't break, her training was as intense as mine with the Gundam Engineers. I promise you, we won't be able to break her through normal means."

            Trowa slowly stepped into the room, balancing a pair of long knives on his fingertips. "Then maybe we should try a different approach."

            Heero regarded him uneasily, "What do you mean, Barton?"

            Trowa twirled the knives absently before flinging them at Heero. Heero reacted immediately, catching both knives by the hilts and burying them into the tabletop. Trowa glanced at his knives and at the spectacular catch, "When you can't down a bear with brute force, you must attack it through its senses. Don't forget, Fathom hesitated when Faith was so willing to give her life to protect Wufei."

            Wufei grunted, "I was in no danger there."

            Duo slapped him good naturedly on the back, "Whatever you say, Wubu."

            Wufei glared at Duo out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention back to the acrobat. "So you're saying we should let Faith try to negotiate with her?"

            Trowa shrugged, "It's worth a shot. Maybe she can get Fathom to change her mind."

            The group looked expectantly at Faith, and she sighed, "I don't know what I can do to help, but I'll try."

            Wufei hugged her close, "Just do what you do best, Faith. Show her how much you care."

            She hugged him back just as hard, until Duo started to snicker. "Papa, come with me." The two of them went back to the basement, and entered the cold room.

            Fathom jerked at the sound of the noise, scratching her wrists. Two visits in a day seemed unusual. Maybe Heero was taking her up on the tongue offer… She sighed irritably when she saw Fathom and Wufei in the warm light.

            Fathom stepped closer to her, but she directed her venom at Wufei, "Go away. I have no desire to speak with you."

            Surprisingly, Fathom turned back with a pleading gaze at Wufei, and he actually nodded and turned. The door closed, but the lights remained on, and Fathom turned back to Faith.

            Faith moved so that their faces were only inches apart and stared deeply into Fathom's livid eyes. Strangely, Fathom found herself cringing back from the stare. "I suppose they sent you to get information out of me. Too bad, it isn't going to happen." Fathom managed.

            Faith shook her head, "I only want to talk, nothing more."

            Fathom gulped, "Talk then."

            Faith reached into a deeper pocket in her outfit, and withdrew a bottle of water. "For your troubles." She withdrew a straw as well, and put the water in Fathom's lap, and extended the straw to the assassin's cracked lips.

            Fathom drank the water greedily at first, then sparingly as the bottle's contents slowly vanished. She smiled at the girl, "Well, now we can talk."

            The girl played with her hair absently, "Why do you want to kill my father and I?"

            Fathom had been expecting this, "No offense intended kid, it's just a job. I get paid, and I wax people, it's that simple."

            Faith regarded her with cold eyes, "Taking someone's life is never a simple thing. I know. I saw them take my mother's."

            Fathom had no response for that. "What is it you really want?"

            "I want to know why."

            "I told you, it's a job."

            "That's not the real reason."

            "You're pretty stout for someone who's never killed anyone before."

            "I protected my father where I couldn't protect my mother."

            "Yeah, that's another thing that irks me. Why would you bother to protect someone who isn't even related to you? I mean, you aren't naive enough to think he's really your father, right?"

            "He is my father though. We are connected."

            Fathom laughed wickedly, "No he isn't."

            Faith glared accusingly at her, "Yes he is! He rescued me, and do you want to know the truth? I had no father before him! The day my mother died we were moving because she had no job. I had no Papa to tuck me in at night or read me a story! Even though we look different, Wufei is the closest thing to a father I could ever ask for!"

            Fathom was stunned. "Yet you love him all the same…"

            Tears stung the little girl's cheeks, "I love my papa more than anything."

            Fathom seemed to be in deep thought. "Tell your Papa to whip out his checkbook, we have business to do."