The remote-controlled motorboat made a last circle around the Final Offer to allow Stephanie to descend down. She and Cassandra shared halfhearted smiles before she picked up the radio and informed Tim she had boarded.

"Good," Tim said. "I'm going to bring it back to the bunker now. There should be a scanner underneath one of the seat cushions, next to the floatation devices. Can you find it? Should be shaped like a blow dryer."

After some rummaging, Stephanie pulled out the device and showed it to Cassandra. "Yeah, I found it."

"Give a run over his body and suit," Tim said. "It'll scramble any radio or Wi-Fi signals he might be giving off. We don't want his boss to be able to track him."

Stephanie complied while exchanging uneasy looks with Cassandra as she got a better look at the Odmience's body. "This is just nasty," she said. "A lot of these are way too faded, he's had them for a long time."

"I thought so," Cassandra said.

Tim's scanner didn't pick up on anything initially, but softly beeped several times when Stephanie turned him over and ran the device over his neck. "Oh my God, apparently he's chipped like a dog." She laid a hand on a small mark at the nape of his neck. "Do you think Lipov did all this?"

"I don't know," Cassandra said.

"Seems inconsistent," Tim said over the radio. "I thought he was supposed to be Lipov's finest accomplishment. Maybe he's just been out on a lot of assignments, had a lot of chances to get hurt. I'm setting the boat on autopilot so I can get to a place to rendezvous. See you two in a bit."

Stephanie and Cassandra sat back and let the boat carry them, each wondering what all of the events of the night really meant. Cassandra's focus remained on the scar around his throat, wide enough she could see its end even when he was turned over.

After over an hour of silent travel by boat the vehicle finally stopped on an abandoned harbor twelve miles from downtown. A single armored truck waited near the pier and Tim revealed himself with a glow of a flashlight. The three loaded the unconscious Odmience into the back of the truck. A modified wheel stretcher sat in the center, where the assassin was laid and restrained. None of them said much, Cassandra and Stephanie looked down at the Odmience from time to time to ensure he hadn't stirred. He was motionless apart from his breaths.

After another thirty minutes of travel and fifteen loading the enemy into the bunker, Tim went to work running X-rays and analyses while Stephanie made coffee. Cassandra sat next to Tim as the date slowly rolled in, revealing fractures in the skeleton and images upon images of scarred skin. After initiating communications, Alfred's face sat on the lower-left side of the screen.

"I'm not a doctor, but I can still tell this is really bad," Tim said. "Can I get a professional second opinion, Al?"

"Broken bones are rarely a positive, Master Timothy," Alfred said. "But none of the damage looks permanent. One of his arms and his ribs got the worst of it."

"Tried to be careful," Cassandra said.

"Breaking the ribs in CPR isn't really a bad thing," Stephanie said. She passed mugs off to Tim and Cassandra. "You know, considering the alternative."

"You might be interested to know about that mark across his throat," Alfred said. "He's completely mute, someone severed his vocal chords."

Cassandra glared at the images on the screen. "Lipov."

Tim leaned against his desk and looked toward her. "You think so?"

"David wanted silence from me," Cassandra said. "He is supposed to be the same."

Tim sighed and sipped his coffee as he leaned closer to the console. "Great. Can't exactly interrogate someone who can't say anything."

"He might know how to write," Alfred said.

"I wouldn't think so," Stephanie said as she returned to the room. "Bruce said Cassie's dad just tried to raise her in violence or something. Being able to read and write doesn't fall in with that."

"There's a line of marks on the underside of his left arm. Let me enlarge them." Alfred tapped a few keys and his mouse before an image of the Odmience's scarred flesh appeared on the screen. Cassandra couldn't see what he was referring to and even Tim and Stephanie had to squint as Alfred moved over the marks with his cursor. "There are letters. Looks like 'R-A-F-A-L.'"

Tim scratched his head, as if he still didn't see anything. "Does that mean something?"

"It's a name, the Polish equivalent of Raphael," Alfred said.

"Unless they're self-inflicted, that doesn't really mean anything," Stephanie said. "I mean, are they self-inflicted? There's a way you can tell, but I don't know it."

"I'd have to examine them longer," Alfred said. "I looked over the information for Miss Cassandra's talk with Shiva, could you conclude if the man perusing you is Victor? Rafal may be his first name if not."

"David said Vic," Cassandra said. "Called him Ukrainian."

"Eastern Europe and western Asia have a lot of commonalities. I could be misreading it in the first place, it was just something to consider," Alfred said.

"So he can't talk, but he might be able to read and write." Stephanie rubbed her chin for a moment. "Cassie, the reports said Lipov gives him orders, right? Like, you know, verbally?"

"Yes."

"Well than he can understand some language. I guess Lipov wasn't as hardcore as your dad was. Maybe we can talk to him. Maybe he'll understand."

"We can try, at least." Tim pushed up from his chair. "Let's get him into the holding cell, we can try getting some info tomorrow. Night's still got a few hours in it and I want a chance to get out, I'm getting cabin fever in here. Steph, can you keep an eye on him for the night?"

"Bleh, just I've got a report on Tuesday. Thought I'd have a chance to catch up."

"I can do it," Cassandra said.

Tim frowned. "You've gotta be exhausted."

"I will be fine. I can rest all of tomorrow."

Tim motioned to the door. "Let's get him moved first, then we can figure all that out."

The Odmience was moved, stretcher and all, into the bunker's holding cell across from the surveillance room. After a short discussion, Tim and Stephanie stepped into the bunker's elevator, Stephanie with the assurance she'd return shortly with a textbook and her laptop. Cassandra wouldn't have to do anything, they assured, the cell was properly reinforced and delicately electrified for extreme circumstances. They were only watching him to observe his condition was still stable.

Despite the Odmience lying unconscious, Cassandra couldn't take her eyes from the screen. She had already made some assumptions from his movements and behaviors, but she felt she had confirmation. The Odmience was a victim. Like she had been.

Questions followed. Was he Lipov's son? How long had he been doing this, really? What had Lipov done to him?

How desperately must he want to be free?

Stephanie returned half an hour later and Cassandra allowed her to concentrate. In spite of that, it was clear studying was a losing effort.

"Cass?"

"Yes?"

"Wake me up if I start dozing off."

Cassandra was sure she should have been tired, but the events of the day had left her restless. Without realizing it she was anxiously tapping at the desk the keyboard sat on. She wanted to sleep, but felt completely unable, as if she had forgotten how. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen, she observed the Odmience's every breath. Eventually crinkle of pages and the tapping of keys stopped. Stephanie, as she feared, slipped into sleep. Cassandra remained wide awake.

She could have watched for half an hour or until dawn, she couldn't tell, but Cassandra's patience was eventually rewarded. It began was a small shake of the head and the slow opening of eyes, all that was needed to get Cassandra's full attention. The Odmience slowly took in his surroundings, rolling over as much as he could and squinting to better make out the room. He pushed against his bonds with his good arm, but was too powerfully restrained to make an impact. Then he tried to kick up from the stretcher, but to no avail. The realization that he was trapped slowly took over his face as he grit his teeth through the struggle. The Odmience beat his hand and feet into the stretcher and craned his neck before rolling his head to the side and bit the material. Cassandra observed this, at first in confusion, before she looked carefully at his eyes. They were puffing up and red, he was sobbing.

Something forced Cassandra out of her seat. Pity, empathy, bad memories, it didn't matter. She emulated the flip of a few switches Tim and Stephanie had used earlier, turning off the electric barrier and muting the camera. When Stephanie stirred, eyes still closed, enough to ask, "What're you doing?" Cassandra just said, "Bathroom." It was enough that Stephanie seemed to fall back asleep. Cassandra knew she and Tim wouldn't approve, but she couldn't help herself.

The bunker's holding cell wasn't intended for anything long term or for heavy struggle. It worked mostly on the assumption that so long as the prisoner was on the other side of the bars and didn't have any superpowers, there was nothing to fear. Cassandra scanned her palm and entered the holding room connected to the bunker's main chamber, the bars and another pad all that separated her and the Odmience. He only acknowledged her for a moment before he resumed kicking, biting and struggling with all his strength.

Cassandra stared at him without saying anything at first. She didn't have the words to articulate, and even then, would it have mattered? He must have known they had history, even if they'd never met. What did that moment matter?

"… Rafal?"

The Odmience froze, mouth half-full of stretcher. He turned toward Cassandra, a tiny shake down his chin before he again dug his face away from where she could see. Cassandra was sure he was sobbing again.

Cassandra moved closer and again said, "Rafal."

Another shake ran through his body. He was more like a wounded animal than a young man. His leg was caught in a trap and all he could do was mewl to himself.

The sight made Cassandra sick to her stomach. She couldn't watch him any longer, Cassandra thrust her hand onto the panel and slid the door of the cell open. The Odmience was still turned away so Cassandra put a hand on his shoulder and back. She steadied her voice as best she could and, with nothing but a rub at his back, repeated, "Rafal." For minutes the two remained in silence as the pain pulsated through their beings.

Then there was fire in the side of her stomach.

Cassandra remained over the Odmience, motionless despite the pain save for a widening in her eyes. She wasn't sure what had just happened or what the horrible pain was. Slowly she looked down. The Odmience had a free arm and one of her own batarangs was stabbed into her side. Cassandra slowly looked at him, more in shock than anything else. The Odmience pulled the batarang from Cassandra's body and backhanded her as she keeled in pain. The strike was enough to force her to the ground as the Odmience used the weapon to pull the restraint on his broken arm loose.

Cassandra gripped her wound and when she spoke her voice was heavy with breath and desperation. "Please. Please don't."

The Odmience paid her no mind. With a few pulls he freed his broken arm from its restraint and slipped it free. Cassandra pushed back to her feet, kicked his good hand and knocked the batarang to the floor. With tears of despair and anger in her own eyes, Cassandra grabbed ahold of the Odmience, fingers on the side of his neck, thumbs pressed into his throat.

"I want to save you!"

The Odmience twisted his face, Cassandra couldn't make out what emotion he could have been showing. Then he thrust his good hand, open-fisted, into her chest, knocking the breath from her lungs. Than another strike and another, across her center and her arms. By the time Cassandra realized her was striking her pressure points, it was too late to stop him. With her other options limited, Cassandra threw a kick at his face. The Odmience avoided the strike, but Cassandra hit the stretcher at a bad angle and knocked it over, putting the Odmience on the ground and smashed part of the wooden frame into her foot. With her arms still rendered useless Cassandra could only jump on her other foot and shout as she fought off the pain. With a last punch to the knee, the Odmience forced Cassandra to the ground next to him and trapped her in a headlock.

Cassandra shouted and beat her feet against the floor, but nothing would loosen his grip. Even as she gasped, she couldn't inhale. Options limited, she shut her eyes, ceased her movements and played dead.

After over a minute without oxygen the Odmience released his grip and resumed working on the restraints around his legs. Cassandra silently considered what she could still do as she let a little saliva out of her mouth to improve her performance. She had lost her armor back on the boat, her communicator had fallen from her ear at some point in the struggle and her arms remained useless. All she could do was wait until they regained feeling and take the Odmience by surprise.

For a few minutes all she could make out was the struggle. The restraints rubbed and clicked as the Odmience worked at them, with her tiny peeks Cassandra could see he was inching closer. The feeling was returning to her arms, but she feared it might not come fast enough.

The last restraint near his feet took the longest, but as the Odmience worked at it Cassandra was sure she had regained most of the feeling in her arms. It wasn't ideal, it wasn't even desirable, but as the Odmience stood up, she knew it was her last chance.

Cassandra forced herself from the ground and aimed a last punch at the Odmience's face. In the moment she saw the look in his eyes, it was clear. He knew she was waking it. He was preparing from the moment she had started playing dead.

The Odmience sidestepped her strike and threw her to the ground. Before Cassandra could regain her ground, the Odmience stomped on her left foot hard enough to elicit a sickening crack and a scream of pain.

Cassandra forgot all else and grabbed toward her broken foot and gasped for breath. For one moment the Odmience stood over her. Whatever anger was in his eyes when she stepped in, whatever sorrow the name, "Rafal" had brought him, everything was gone. There was nothing in his eyes.

As she tried to push off the ground a last time, the Odmience punched her in the face. The longest day of Cassandra's life finally ended.

[[Happy three year anniversary.]]