Question on Finality, Chapter 5

"Quiet Violence"

"Step into my quiet violence."-Something Corporate, "Letters to Noel"

Author's Note: Beware- there's pretty strong language here. Sorry, but I felt it was necessary- they're pretty much angry. And hello to the understatement of the year...

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The sound of the door slamming resounded in the small concrete room. Michelle looked to the window where she had a feeling Chapelle and Tony were watching from the other side. Nina stared her down as she entered the room, her face emotionless. Michelle moved silently until she was behind her, placed the case file on the table and then put her hands on either side of Nina's chair, palms down. The closeness clearly made Nina uncomfortable, but she merely shifted, her expression never changed.

"Nina," Michelle said, this time softly.

Nina looked at her, resolved in her silence. The smirk on her face never faltered and her obvious cockiness ignited a rage that Michelle rarely ever felt deep in the pit of her stomach. She felt liquid fire start to race up in her veins, felt her pulse begin to quicken. The loathing that she already felt for the woman, this woman who had betrayed and wounded Tony, had betrayed the organization and country that she herself worked for and loved, doubled in mere seconds and nearly made her head spin with its intensity. She could feel the color start to rise in her cheeks as the temperature of her own body rose with it.

She slammed her hands down as hard as she could on the table, her hands moving right beside Nina's face. The velocity of her hands moving down caused Nina's hair to move, rustled her shirt. The sound of heavy force against metal echoed in the room, followed soon after by Michelle's voice, strong and booming.

"Cut the shit, Nina!" she yelled, the words coming from deep in her throat. They sounded raw, angry and violent. The woman in question looked at her this time, and Michelle saw something ignite in her eyes. For the first time, she spoke.

"Hm... quite a temper we have." she chastised, "I never figured you to have such an anger inside... Michelle is it?"

Michelle looked at her grimly, her mouth set in a firm line. She waited for Nina to continue. A few seconds of silence reigned until Nina opened her mouth again, her voice calm and collected.

"You know, Michelle" she said, accentuating her name, her eyebrows shooting up in amusement, " Just between us girls, you're very pretty. What are you doing down here in CTU, slaving away?" Nina looked to her ring finger, saw nothing, and looked back at Michelle.

"Oh, single are we, or at least not wedded? You're what, twenty-eight? Tsk, tsk... cutting it a little close , aren't we deary? Biological clock is just...ticking away." She made a clicking sound in the back of her throat, mimicking a clock.

Her words, however much she tried to ignore them, cut Michelle to the quick. The agent looked to the double sided glass where she knew Tony and Chappelle sat behind it. The glance was short, however, and she quickly recomposed herself, tried to take a soothing breath. Nina's word resounded in her head, however, and she as in her face before she knew it, words flowing out of her mouth that she never had the chance to review or even process.

"I'm not exactly one to fuck anything that walks just to advance myself or get money! I'm not a fucking whore, so don't chastise me for having morals or not being in a relationship because you have no concept of dignity! You're nothing but a two bit whore, Nina, spreading your legs for any willing male who has even a cent to offer you."

Her breath was heavy, her face mere inches from her captive's. Her pupils were dilated and she had the urge to hit her, to scream and kill her. She didn't know where the feelings were coming from, but they were stronger than any other emotion she had ever felt. She could feel the coldness practically oozing from the person in front of her and she hated it.

She realized that she hated this woman with everything that she possessed. The knowledge filled her mouth with a bitter taste. She didn't like the feeling, didn't like how it controlled every aspect, every fiber of her being at that moment.

Nina smirked at her, didn't seem at all fazed by her words. She sat back in her chair, tried to make herself more comfortable. She lifted her chin, an arrogant wave coming around her.

Behind the glass, Tony asked Chappelle to remove Michelle, his voice a mixture of order and underlying anxiety. He expected the negative answer that he received... and expected the question that Nina asked Michelle on the other side.

"How is Tony, by the way, Michelle?"

The words hit Michelle hard in the stomach and her head, that was hung a few seconds before processing the situation that she was in, snapped up immediately.

"Now talk about fucking someone just to get information. You know, that was actually one that I enjoyed. He was so... cute, so easily influenced. God, the things that man could do with his..."

Michelle's hand was hard against Nina's face before she even knew it. Her head flew back from the force of the blow, blood spraying out against the stark whiteness of the walls as her nose flattened against her face.

Behind the glass, Tony gasped, his eyes going wide. Chapelle, despite himself, felt his mouth turn slightly upwards in a smirk. He knew what he was getting Michelle into when he selected her to question Nina.

Michelle shook her hand out, her knuckles sore from the punch, but was immediately back in her face again practically hissing with contempt. She leaned down to whisper harshly in her ear.

"You're pathetic, Nina." she said, venom and contempt coloring every syllable. "You sneak and you take and you poison everything you touch. You sell out to the highest bidder, you love nothing. You're a black hole, Nina, and I would enjoy watching you die a slow, painful death by my hand."

She stepped back. Nina tried in vain to stop the blood flowing from her nose and diverted her eyes from Michelle's.

Michelle continued, her voice louder and once again neutral.

"Tell me where to find the virus, Nina. This is your last chance."

Nina said nothing and the arrogant look was back on her face once again. Michelle turned her back, wracked her brain as to what to say.

Michelle only had the chance to register her mistake for a few seconds before she saw Nina come out of her seat at her as fast as she could.

Nina took her by surprise, knocking her down against the wall. She felt her head hit, hard. It put stars in her vision and she felt a wave of nausea come over her. Nina's bound wrists hit hard against her stomach in and in her face and she tried in vain to block them She couldn't see, her vision blurred. She could feel liquid running down her face but she didn't its origin.

She vaguely heard the door open, heard Tony's voice and felt Nina's weight come off her. Felt herself lifted off the ground, heard Chappelle's voice ordering medical in the room. She shook her head, trying to clear her head of the haze around it. She felt someone's hand on her shoulder, felt her body being hauled up. Everything started to go into focus suddenly and she could see Nina roughly being carried off. She recognized the person who was carrying her off as Ton,y felt him coddling her. Her mind still swimming with Nina's words, visions of them together making her nauseous, she pushed him away and stumbled.

She heard him utter her name softly as she fell, trying to break her fall. Her shoulders shook as nausea overtook her and she emptied the contents of her stomach on the floor. His hands was on her back, moving in slow circles. Blood pounded rhythmically in her head, and she groaned as soon as she was finished. She rolled to her side, put her arm over her eyes in an attempt to block out the florescent lights that threatened to envelop her in their glare. With a putrid taste in her mouth,she was carried off to medical by the on site doctor, Doctor Letts.

They checked her into the infirmary immediately, treated her for a laceration to the head. She felt her face already beginning to swell, felt the needle enter into her flesh as it went in to numb for the stitches.

Thirteen stitches later, she had an ice pack on her face and peppermint gum noisily smacking around in her mouth as she tried to get the sour taste of vomit out of her mouth. The pain medicine they gave her worked well; the goofy smile on her face spread a mile when she saw him come in the room, got even more accentuated and strong whenever he put his hand on her cheek and checked her pupils. The apologies he was giving her made her heart ache, but she hoped that the medicine would take care of that as well.

Within the hour, she was back to work- pain medicine free. The words Nina had said still echoed in her head and she tried to keep herself busy. So, when Chapelle came to her with an offer for a field mission, she readily accepted- concussion and stitches be damned.

Michelle Dessler had no idea that it would be one of the most pivotal moments in her life.