Chapter 2 – In the End
The warehouse wasn't large, only 3 stories, and there didn't seem to be anyone standing guard outside. Either they were confident that no one could find them, or they were extremely good at hiding their numbers. After the Shie Hassikai raid, Tsukauchi knew his officers and the heroes couldn't afford to let their guard down. All it took was one lookout to raise and alarm and it was like poking an anthill. The officers he brought along posted a perimeter around the building just in case.
The plan was for Edgeshot to enter the building with Kamui Woods as backup, find the woman and get her out before her captors noticed. After the woman was secured, the entire group would arrest any of the kidnappers they found inside. Mt. Lady was posted outside, like the officers, in case things went south and they needed to fight their way through. La Brava had managed to put an active tracer on the computer the woman had used to send her distress call out, once it was open and active it would show its location. The active location showed up as a green blip on a detailed blueprint of the building which broadcast to the heroes' phones as well as Tsukauchi. Looking at his phone, Tsukauchi saw that the computer was currently on and located in the basement.
He gave the signal and Edgeshot entered the building underneath the door.
Here goes.
Aine looked behind her back towards her cuffed hands, they were too tight to slip from now and the fuckers had put them behind her this time. Every movement she had made to attempt to adjust had simply resulted in the cuffs digging into her wrists causing blood to flow. Her head felt fuzzy as the adrenaline high of her attempted escape wore off. Her throat was scratchy and dry. When was the last time they gave me something to eat or drink?
She had already checked herself over for injuries when she had come to. Other than bumps and scrapes Aine didn't see anything deep or possibly infected other than the wounds she had now opened on her wrists. Which surprised her, she honestly thought she'd have more once they caught her.
Thankfully, she had been quick enough to close everything out on the computer and "hide" in a corner of the room before the door splintered and gave way. "You stupid bitch!" the man screeched in her face as he stormed over and pulled her from her hiding spot. He held her up to look eye to eye before tossing her towards the door. "You really thought you could get away from us that easy."
Another set of arms grabbed her from behind yanking her to her feet, as her feet touched the ground again, she swiftly moved her hands to grab one of the arms at the elbow and the bicep. Simultaneously, she stepped behind him to sweep his legs out from under him and push on his elbow. The snap of his elbow breaking combined with his scream of pain was like the shot of a starter pistol as she bolted out the shattered door. Her victory was short lived as a woozy feeling started fogging her brain. Looking down she saw the needle sticking out of her thigh.
"Fuck" she breathed out as the world went black.
When she had come to, she realized that she was not alone in her room.
No surprise. They aren't going to give me another opportunity like that.
Aine stole a glance at the man in the corner with his arm in a makeshift sling, the same one who had drugged her in the streets her first day back in Japan.
How long ago had that been? Weeks? Months?
From what she could tell, his quirk created a powerful sedative from his sweat. He used small needles to inject his victims or found ways to make them ingest it. It took effect extremely quickly which had helped them to keep her confined.
She could hear the chirping of the alarm from her monitor in her pocket, thankfully they let her keep it on her once they learned it wasn't a cell phone. Aine tried in vain to maneuver herself to get into her pocket. I can't reach it.
"Quit your squirming." the man had his head leaned back, sweat beaded across his forehead. No doubt from the pain of his broken elbow. His voice was sharp as he cut his eyes downwards towards her.
Aine glared back at him, "That's my monitor. I need to check it, or you can explain to your boss why you let me die in this cage."
The man didn't take the bait, "It's nothing that will kill you before we head out in a few hours so shut your fucking mouth and sit still."
Escape on her own was going to be next to impossible with him in the room. Aine had to hope and trust that her message had been received by the heroes of Japan and that they would find her soon.
"First floor and basement cleared; we found the computer but no sign of anyone captive." Kamui Woods voice came through Tsukauchi's earpiece.
"Any resistance?"
"A few low-level quirk users." Edgeshot's voice broke through. "They have been incapacitated and detained. I'm going to scout ahead through the other floors and see what they have while Kamui Woods brings them out."
With that, the front door opened to Kamui Woods dragging 4 unconscious people behind him – 3 men and a woman all wearing a similar band of red fabric around their ankles with a strange symbol drawn.
As the officers handcuffed the offenders with quirk-suppressing cuffs, Tsukauchi's earpiece came alive.
"Detective, that appears to be everyone here….wait…" Edgeshot's voice buzzed in the earpiece.
There was a slight rustling on the comm end.
"I believe I have found the access to the final floor."
"Give me a moment and we can send some backup in behind you."
"I will await your arrival."
Tsukauchi waved to a few of the officers to follow him, they drew their weapons and entered the building.
She had been fighting dizzy spells, not entirely sure if it was side effects from the sedative wearing off or the fact that she couldn't remember the last time they gave her anything to eat or drink, or the slick yet sticky feeling of blood dripping down her fingers. The world was soft and fuzzy and starting to blur around the edges. Even the sound of her monitor chirping seemed far off and distant. The urge to sleep was just beginning to tug at Aine's mind when she heard it.
Sounds of fighting beneath the floor, somewhere close-by.
Her guard jumped to his feet and disappeared around the corner. It was painfully silent for several moments before she heard the rattle of a wooden door and shouts from voices she didn't recognize. Then, cursing from her injured captor before his voice went silent and footsteps approached.
She saw them coming around the corner, police officers. Aine let out a shaky breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Her captor was deposited on the floor, unconscious. Her eyes locked with soft grey eyes above a blue face mask as the cage door was opened.
"We are getting you out of here."
The man was dressed in reds and blues, to her he looked like one of those samurai from the movies.
"Can you stand?"
His voice was calm and even, she shook her head, "In….my pocket….monitor….I need to get it."
The man worked to unlock her bound hands, "This might hurt but I will get you free soon." Aine didn't respond as she fought the dark spots that began to invade her vision. She felt the release of the locking mechanism as her hands were freed.
Aine fished her monitor out of her pocket, it almost slipped from her fingers from the slickness of her blood trickling down them coupled with the sluggishness of the communication between her brain and her hand. She handed it to the man, the flashing screen showing warnings about potassium and sodium levels as well as a low blood pressure. As he took it from her, Aine gave up her fight against the darkness pulling at her eyelids.
The last thing she heard was the man calling for an emergency medical evac and the sounds of a concrete wall coming down.
Tsukauchi kept his gun trained on the unconscious kidnapper and watched as Edgeshot picked up the now unconscious woman and set her in Mt. Lady's hand that was stretched through the new hole in the roof. As she carefully maneuvered her hand out of the room and disappeared from sight, he assigned officers to process the room. He followed the officer taking the last of the gang to the trapdoor they had found leading to this floor. Pulling out his phone, he sent a text.
We found the woman from the video. She is alive but currently unconscious. She will be taken to Central Hospital. – Delivered
Beep…Beep….Beep
Aine slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the crisp white light that flooded into her eyes. The steady beeping a far cry from the sharp chirp she remembered from her monitor.
My monitor… the thought jolted her almost upright. A man in scrubs ran in as she looked around the room. A hospital….I'm in a hospital. She breathed an audible sigh of relief and reached up to rub her eyes, her head felt heavy. That's when she saw the bandages wound around both of her wrists.
The man stopped at her bedside, "Take it easy. Sounds like you had quite an ordeal. Now that you are awake, I'll get the doctor. Is there anyone you would like me to call for you?" He flashed her a smile. Aine relaxed back in the bed, raising her hands to look at the bandages and the IV in her arm before laying them across her stomach.
"No, thank you." She gave a soft smile back. The man nodded, "I'll be right back with the doctor." and left the room closing the door behind him with a soft click. Aine opened her mind activating her quirk, happy to feel the pulsating energy of someone's synapses in the next room. Another sigh of relief as she pulled her quirk back into herself. After having it missing for so long, she clung to the familiar feeling before letting it quietly hum back into her own brain paths.
As she started to drift back to sleep, a soft knock and creaking of the door caught her attention.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Satterfield. My name is Dr. Murakami. How are you feeling?"
The older woman walked over to Aine's bedside, looking at her wrists as Aine shrugged. "My head is a little groggy but otherwise I can't complain."
The doctor motioned for her bandaged wrists, "I'm going to take a look at your wounds. It might hurt a little bit, if you would like I can give you some pain medication first."
Aine shook her head, "That's not necessary, I'll be alright." She offered her hands to the woman.
The wounds were deeper on the back of her hands and had been sutured together, "Looks good! If you need any pain management, just ring the nurse's station. I'll have a standing order for whenever you need it." the doctor smiled gently at her as she replaced the bandage around Aine's wrists. "We would like to keep you for a few days. You came in severely dehydrated and with relatively significant blood loss. I would like to see your potassium and sodium levels quite a bit higher before we discharge you."
Aine nodded "Thank you."
The doctor gave a polite bow and left the room. Not long after, the male nurse from earlier knocked and entered her room. "Are you feeling up for visitors? There is a detective here who would like to speak to you."
I just want to sleep.
"It's fine. Send him in." Aine closed her eyes and sighed. Better to get this over with.
The nurse stepped back out the door and she could hear hushed voices on the other side of it. Only a moment later, a man with short black hair and a face full of scruff stepped in her room giving a short bow of respect. He straightened his suit jacket and green tie before approaching her bed.
"Miss Satterfield, my name is Detective Tsukauchi. I apologize for interrupting your recovery." his smile was genuine and kind, "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about what happened? If it is too much, I can come back another time."
Aine shook her head, "It's fine, Detective. I'm not sure how much information I can really provide but I'll tell whatever I can."
The detective pulled a chair to her bedside and pulled out a recorder, "Do you mind if I record this?" She nodded and watched as he hit record holding the device between them, "First, could you state your name?"
"Aine Satterfield."
"Thank you, Miss Satterfield. Can you tell me in your own words what you remember?"
Aine began recounting the events that had happened since she landed in Japan. She told him how she remembered leaving the airport and walking to a nearby taxi stand where a couple had offered her a water bottle while she waited. That was the last thing she remembered before waking up in the cell, hands tied in front of her.
She inwardly cursed at herself for being stupid enough to accept the beverage. Literally the first thing you learn out in the real world, don't accept anything from strangers and like a true naïve idiot she had broken that crucial rule.
"It was drugged?"
"Yes, the man that was in the room when the heroes found me… I think they call him Stingray … and another woman … I'm sorry I never got her name. I'm sure it was his quirk that they used to spike the bottle." Aine fought back a gag at the thought of what that implied.
"Did they keep you captive in the same place the entire time?"
Aine shook her head, "We were moving locations every couple of weeks. They were extremely skittish, especially if they thought someone had found their hiding spot. I overheard them saying a few times that they were just trying to get in touch with their leader to hand me off."
"Why did they target you?"
She sat quiet for a moment before stating softly, "There's a lot of reasons I can think of. I haven't always had the most….savory….of acquaintances in my life plus there are those who want access to my quirk."
"Your quirk, it's mental manipulation, right?" he looked up at her as Aine blinked a couple times, "My apologies, I did a little bit of research about you before I came. Your quirk is registered as mental manipulation in the quirk database."
Aine tapped her temple, "It's more than that. I can manipulate the synapses and chemicals in a person's brain. Causing hallucinations, illusions, and even put people to sleep among other things."
"That's an interesting quirk. Just a few more questions if that's alright?" When she nodded, he continued, "Do you know how long they held you?"
Aine's face scrunched as she thought back, "My flight landed the week after All Might fought…I..um... mean, after All Might retired."
The detective's eyebrow twitched upward slightly, but he didn't change the tone in his voice. "So, they have had you held almost 3 months?"
"Wait, 3 months?" I knew it had been several weeks but 3 months?!
He nodded, "Did they give any indication of who they were going to be taking you to?"
No but I have a pretty good idea.
"No, they just said their boss." it wasn't really a lie just a bit of an omission.
The detective made a soft humming sound as he set the recorder on the bed and pulled out a small stack of photographs. "We found a total of 5 individuals in the warehouse. You previously mentioned the man in the room with you and a woman as the ones who possibly drugged you, do you think you could identify the others?"
Aine shrugged, "I can try. The only one's I had direct contact with was Stingray, the woman and a larger man."
"Okay. We will start with the ones you said you had direct contact with." He laid out 3 pictures side by side of the 3 captors she had seen on an almost daily basis.
"They were the ones assigned to watch me and like I said earlier, those 2" she pointed to the picture of Stingray and the woman, "were the ones who I think drugged me at the taxi stand."
As he set the other 2 pictures down, she froze. One man was unfamiliar but the other….
"I-I'm sorry. Like I said, I only had contact with those other three while I was held captive." Aine tried to keep her voice steady will the blood back into her face. Any deity who might be listening, take pity on me and do NOT let this man have a lie detecting quirk!
He sighed as he switched off the recorder, "Miss Satterfield, you aren't telling me something."
Aine's eyes shot up, Gods Damn It!
"If you could be a target for this group in the future, we need to know as much as possible so we can protect you." the detective sighed and rubbed the bottom of his face with his hand. "If it would make you more comfortable talking to me, we can end the recording here. Everything you tell me will be held in confidence."
Yeah, until they need it to lock you up right alongside me. Aine shook her head to clear out HIS voice, dripping with sickly sweet venom, from her head.
This man has been patient and kind with me. They saved me; they wouldn't save someone from one cage just to put them in another, right?"
The detective watched her carefully as she took a deep steadying breath as she stared at her hands in her lap. "Well, then I hope you have time for a story."