Questionable
Ai fought to keep from smirking as she sat in the small room she had been 'escorted' to. She was cuffed, of course and she was sitting quietly in the chair on the wrong side of the table. No one had followed her into the room, so she had sat on the side away from the lamp that was angled to shine in her eyes if she had sat in the other chair. The team had not been rough. They had taken Valere away, despite the girls sobs and weak struggles. Ai was actually glad of that. The Nightstalker devoutly hoped that the girl was getting help. Drugging her had been a field expedient, no more. While it had been done with her consent, it had left the girl in a dazed state and bad things could happen in such cases. The good news was that the soldiers/cops or whoever the hell these Chimera people were, they knew that. The Muton, Axiom, had not left Valere's side and had apparently been seconded to guard the girl. A good thing. Ai was no psychologist, but she knew the girl's mind was battered after the near violation and then waking as she had. At least Ai had strangled that guy, so Valere hadn't been covered in blood when she woke. She apparently had not even noticed the two other corpses Ai had left in her wake and Ai had worked hard to keep Valere from looking that way. Ai knew about being battered psychologically, she had seen such happen to her allies far too many times in her war filled life. So, hopefully Valere was getting help. Now Ai had to deal with this.
The room was small, had two chairs and a fairly sturdy table as its sole furniture. What had to be a one way mirror dominated one wall, but Ai ignored that. A quick glance underneath the table had shown it was bolted to the floor. No way to use it as a weapon, which was probably the point. Good planning. The chairs were cheap, uncomfortable folding things. Not sturdy enough to use as a weapon. Again, probably planned. Illumination was provided by a ceiling light in a recessed cavity and a floodlight that was aimed at one side of the table. She had to smirk at that. Such was a classic interrogation tool to shine bright lights at people. Get them squinting, off balance, maybe with a headache and they were less prone to resistance. Ai had heard of such, but her people had never gone for such low tech methods. Ai knew her organization could be just as brutal as any, but torture was never a good way to interrogate someone. Most people would say anything to get the pain to stop. You would get information, but it would rarely be what you wanted or needed. Cobra's interrogation methods were much more refined that torture. They could and did hurt people, but it wasn't simple brutality when they did.
Ai's hands had been cuffed behind her, but a few moments of contortion and she had them in front. She had thought that would would help, but now, she was stuck. These were not simple metal hand cuffs. The blinking lights on them and the odd vibration what was felt from them told Ai that she had probably upset people with moving them to her front, but honestly? She was bored. She had gone through training both for and against interrogation and keeping a subject off balance was always part of the playbook no matter which side you were on. She wasn't exactly sure how long she had been in this room, there was no clock visible. Again, planned. That said? She had always possessed a good track of time, and she felt it had been slightly over an hour since she had been led here. Her back was cramping. A nasty little trick her instructors had taught her to keep from losing track of time or dozing off in the middle of things. It seemed a bit counter intuitive, but much of sneaking around was quite boring. Stealth was all about not being seen and while invisibility machines and powers did exist, it was better to not use power, to simply not be somewhere that people were looking, That was far harder than most would dream, but Nightstalkers were good at it. Patience, and careful movement were far less of a foot print (and far less expensive!) than high tech stealth machinery.
Ai shook her head and sat back in the chair. Then, she smirked at the mirror and put her feet up on the table, leaning back and stretching slowly. It wasn't erotic, she had been sitting too long and her muscles needed to move.
"You are gonna fall on your ass." Torque's voice heralded the door opening and the Viper appearing at in it, her face blank. She slithered in and set up in an erect coil at the end of the table.
"Eventually." Ai agreed, but kept stretching. Something went 'pop' and she felt as a muscle loosen in her back. She relaxed, sitting up and eyeing the Viper who was eyeing her right back. "Just needed a stretch."
"You freak people out without even trying." Torque seemed almost approving. "None of our interrogators want to share a room with you." Ai looked a question at the Viper and the Viper chuckled. "I had a body cam going when you introduced yourself to Valere."
Ai still wasn't sure if Torque was a cop or not, but the Viper was sort of acting like one. Body cameras were evidence collection tools worn by police officers and some others who did similar jobs. Ai had worn one on her missions as a Nightstalker. Not to collect evidence, per say, but to add to intelligence collection. It did so while keeping her hands free. Always useful for a special operations soldier. The problem was that such were always breaking around Ai and her sisters. So much so that some of the techs had called the Nightstalkers 'Camera Killers'. Ai personally had never broken one of the expensive things on purpose, but she suspected some of her sisters had.
"And you or your bosses did some research." Ai said flatly and Torque nodded. "So, I am bonkers? Loony toons? Crazy?" She drawled the last word out far longer than it should have been while making a face at the Viper who just shook her head.
"Yeah, you are crazy." Torque snorted. "But right now? I wonder if you are hungry." She produced a bag that steamed and set it on the table. "I got ramen."
"I could go for some ramen." Ai set up straight as the Viper entered the room and laid the bag on the table. Then she stilled as the Viper laid a small, plastic wrapped package beside the bag and slithered back to the door. The package contained plastic cutlery. Ai looked at the Viper and then at the bag. She picked up the bag and ripped the top off, ignoring the cutlery. She reached in with a slow hand and picked out a set of noodles, pulling them up to her face where she sucked them in. Not the best ramen she had ever had, but decent.
"You are gonna burn your hand." Toque muttered, almost to herself.
"Fingers were made before forks." Ai replied, moving her fingers, which stung, but not badly. "Also, there is a knife in that package and I don't want whatever guards you have just outside the door to get upset."
"A plastic knife." Torque snarked and then paused as Ai gave her a sidelong look. "Um..."
"I am not touching it." Ai replied, taking another handful of noodles.
"From how you moved and acted, I wouldn't bet on you not being able to kill with a plastic knife." Torque said softly. Ai did not react. "My bad."
"No one is bleeding or dead." Ai took another handful and savored it as she swallowed. "So, what now? Am I to be dropped in a dark hole to languish for eternity?" She smiled as she said that and Torque scoffed.
"I am sure that if we did, you would vanish out of the hole somehow." The Viper shook her head. "As I say, our in team interrogators are bit unnerved by you. It is not every day we meet someone who thinks she is a special operations commando based off a set of children's toys from the twentieth century."
"Don't forget the movies." Ai muttered around another bite. "I wish 'I' could forget that dreck, but, hey. We work with what we have, no?"
"You really think you are a Cobra Nightstalker." Torque said slowly. "And from how you moved, how you acted, you were trained well. You fought well too." Ai just looked at her and the Viper shook her head. "I am no good with this."
"What, interrogations? Just like any skill, it takes practice." Ai asked as she finished the bag, crumpled it into a small ball and set it on the table next to the untouched package of cutlery. She used the ball of trash to push the cutlery to the edge of the table, then left the ball beside the untouched package as she sat back. "That was good. Thanks."
"I didn't want you to faint." Torque was clearly not used to giving or receiving courtesy, but Ai had dealt with all kinds in her life. She took no offense.
"Let me guess." Ai smiled, but it held little humor. "Your bosses told you that since you found me, you get to keep an eye on me until some kind of specialist mind bender type gets here." Torque jerked but Ai wasn't done. "That is what my bosses would do if I showed up with you in tow. I am still not sure if you are a cop or a soldier, but right now? I guess it doesn't matter much. You are not one of my enemies. I had enough of those." She shook her head and changed the subject. "How is Valere?"
"Sleeping. Finally." Torque seemed a bit affronted, but not by Ai. "She kept agitating to get back to you. She thinks you can protect her better than we can." That was pure sour. "A doc gave her something they promised will keep her from dreaming."
"If it was a dream." Ai said flatly and Torque eyed her. "I don't know who you are or who you work for, but you mentioned X-Com. They had psis. Some of who were precognitive." At that, Torque sat up straight in her coil. The Viper didn't seem to be breathing as Ai nodded. "I didn't know any, but I heard stories."
"I didn't know they had those." Torque was very quiet. "You know X-Com?"
"Not personally, no." Ai replied. "But I did hear stories."
"I bet you did." A new voice sounded and Ai was out of her seat and braced to attention even before her mind caught up with Torque's gasp. Being cuffed, she couldn't hold her hands properly, but she did angle them as best she could to signify the stance. Ai stared straight ahead, but watched as a woman stepped into the room, one she had never seen in the flesh. But she did know the voice! The woman looked tired, but her eyes were alight with both worry and curiosity as she eyed the Nightstalker who remained at attention. Torque stared from Ai to the newcomer and back, confused. The woman's attire was odd too. Not an X-Com uniform. A dark suit with an emblem on the arms. An emblem that looked very much like the badge that Torque wore on her chest armor, come to think of it. Her hair was disheveled, as if she had been in wind or something and the white streak in her hair was all over the place. Jane Kelly shook her head, just a little. "You know who I am, don't you, Nightstalker Ai?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Ai all but barked that and Torque actually slid back a bit before stiffening and glowering at both standing woman.
"You gonna clue me in, Director?" Torque all but spat that.
"I shouldn't." Jane did not take her eyes off Ai who did not dare move. "You have seen a lot of bad stuff, Torque. Both before I met you and afterwards, you saw lots of bad things, but this…" She frowned, just a little, but it was a grimace. "This is a whole different level of bad. I like to think you are my friend and I do not want you involved in this, Torque. It will hurt you."
"Not if I can help it." Ai said flatly and clamped her mouth shut as Jane speared her with eyes that was far to cold to be human. Jane did not respond, just looked at her an Ai shook her head. "My duty, Ma'am. No one else."
"Even as good as you are, Nightstalker, if your enemies sent what I fear, you cannot fight them alone." Jane was so maddeningly calm. "You know who they will target."
"Over my dead body, Ma'am!" Ai all but spat that and Torque all but goggled before resuming her blank look.
"Director?" Torque had a hand on her belt and Ai didn't need to see to know that it was hovering over a weapon. "What is going on?"
"Alley is a target again." Jane said flatly and Torque recoiled. "Yeah."
"You?" Torque demanded of Ai.
"Hell no." Ai snapped, still not moving. "Anyone threatening the Matron, I will kill." A small smile crossed her face before she could banish it. "I am not bound by your rules of engagement, whatever they are."
"You will be by mine or you will not like what happens." Jane Kelly's tone was calm, cool and considered. Also a fairly blunt threat. Ai looked at the woman who was nothing like the teacher, confidante and general ass kicking trainer Ai had known from the moment she had been decanted from her clone pod and nodded.
"As you wish." Ai did not move, did not flinch even as Jane stepped fully into the room and the door shut behind her.
"Undo her cuffs, Torque." Jane said as she sat heavily in one of the chairs. The one with the light aimed at it. "Ai is damn dangerous, but she is not an enemy unless we make her one. So, we shouldn't."
"You are one to talk about being dangerous, Ma'am." Ai said flatly as Torque produced something and the cuffs fell off. Ai caught them and set them on the table, but she did not take the other chair. Instead, she reached up and angled the light away from Jane. Torque stared at her and then at Jane who smiled a bit forlornly. "Are we secure?"
"We are. I kicked everyone out of the other room and shut off all the recorders." Jane allowed as she sat back. "I contacted the Lady as soon as I heard what happened and she briefed me a little. I have locked down everything I could. Luckily, only Chimera has been involved, except for the doc who examined Valere and gave her something to help her sleep. I will talk to him after this. Alley has also been briefed, but she not leaving her sanctuary any time soon. She thinks she may have a handle on helping Maya and the other kids, so she is busy and locked down as soon as we got word of this."
"Any enemies trying to get to her there will get the swift death they deserve." Ai snorted and nodded to Torque who looked very confused. "You do not want to know."
"I was very aware that you and Alley knew each other, Director." Torque said slowly. "But… I am conflicted about her."
"Stands to reason." Jane agreed. "She is conflicted about herself. You worked for Advent. She and her nest had no choice but to serve Advent any more than you did, Torque. But you know what happened with them and why." Torque bowed her head and Jane smiled. "She doesn't hold honest misgivings against anyone, Torque. She can be just as scary as me or more so. Hell, I have misgivings about her occasionally myself and she is my bonded partner!"
"So does she." Ai clamped her mouth shut even as both of the others looked at her again.
"I…" Torque slowly shook her had. "I don't want to know, do I?"
"No, but you will have to." Jane said heavily. "Chimera will be told a bit, but lots will have to be held close to keep things from going totally nuts. As far as anyone outside this room is concerned, Ai is a special operations trooper who has been seconded to Chimera to help catch the human traffickers you went after." She made a face, but it was oddly humorous. "That is, actually, the truth, in so far as it goes. Ai actually volunteered for this mission."
"Ah, that makes sense. I don't remember volunteering because it might impact operational security." Ai nodded and both other females goggled at her. "I will obey your commands, Hono-" She broke off and blanched. "Um, Director."
"Watch the slips, Nightstalker." Jane said with a heartfelt groan. "The last thing we need is Jian showing up again. Once was enough." She actually shivered.
"No ripples, Director!" Ai all but barked that and Jane smiled again.
"Okay." Jane took a deep breath and then rose to her feet. "We need to find the scum who is trying to build cyborgs and stop them, preferably permanently. Ai, you will brief the others on the Joes and their capabilities. Neither of you will say anything about where Ai came from. Torque, you will help her maintain her security on such. She cannot answer questions about that and will not." Both the Viper and the Nightstalker nodded. "As of now, only myself, Alley and the Lady know the facts and that is how it must remain." That was an order. "Torque? The scum are somewhere in the city. Find them!"
"The op was blown, Director." Torque said weakly. "I had no other leads. I… I thought these were just traffickers."
"As of right now, this mission is a full Chimera op. Ultra level classification. No one outside your team but me is cleared for any information about it." Jane said as she started for the door, Torque and Ai followed, but almost rigid. "Reclamation has missions going all over the place and our resources are still stretched thin. I will see what kind of 'unofficial' backup I can get you, but even if I can? It won't be much. City 31 was pretty much handled. Until this, anyway. The team will help. They did before. I thought those scum were normal traffickers too, Torque. I was wrong."
"We will stop them, Director Kelly." Ai said firmly. Then she smiled and hissed. "Cobra!"
"Can that." Jane Kelly said with a snarl that was half laugh as she strode for an exit. Then she paused. "Unless… You want to use it? Play the crazy angle?" Torque hissed in dismay, but Ai just grinned and after a moment, Jane shared it. Not a nice smile.
"Works for me. If you have got it? Flaunt it!" Ai declared with a wide grin. "Cobra!"
"This is going to be interesting." Torque said with a wince. But then she smirked. "I can't wait to see Whisper's and Godmother's reactions to her."
"Get video." Jane asked and then she was gone.