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"Game time" Thought Mari as she watched Train jump over the high stone wall. She followed suite as soon as he'd handled the outer guards and ran into the mansion. He continued through security traps like they didn't exist and knocked out anyone that crossed his path. He was fast. Much faster than the men Bernio called guards.
He followed the directions Chrystal had told them earlier. They had been shown layouts and blueprints of the mansion and each person had a specific job. Train and Mari would infiltrate the mansion while Sven handled the outer defenses which would activate as soon as the intruder alarm was triggered. Shawna and Chrystal would break into the lower levels and retrieve all the data they needed.
Train and Mari were nearing the place where Bernio would be. She slowed her pace, letting him go in first as a part of their ruse. He burst through the doors and a figure sat in the shadows his back to the brilliant moonlight streaming through a window. "Who are you!? Why are you in my house?" said his gruff voice.
Train narrowed his eyes "I'm just a stray Black Cat, and I've come to deliver some bad luck." He could see the man shift nervously.
"No! You're supposed to be dead"
"Reports of my death were grossly exaggerated" He aimed his pistol at the man's head and Mari burst through the door pushing him aside. He retaliated, acting out their parts as mortal enemies. She managed to get behind him and knock him aside into the wall. He fell to the ground not moving pretending to be knocked out.
A cold rough voice filtered over them and her heart froze in fear.
"Is that you Mari? Has my little kitten finally wandered home?" The man laughed harshly.
Mari turned to face the shadowed figure "Yes sir, I'm back. I have tracked the black cat halfway across this world and back. And now I can finally strike back at him."
The cruel voice laughed "And I suppose you've just given up your sweeper life and your sister to join me once again. To what do I honor your sudden favoritism towards me?"
She bowed "I have regained my memories. My programming has reawakened and I serve only you."
The voice laughed harshly once more. "That would be lovely if it were true, but oh it will be soon."
"Sir?" she voiced confused.
"It seems I've found two mice in my basement hacking your files."
She tried to show no emotion as she worried about Shawna and Chrystal being caught.
"When the cat's away the mice will play. Isn't that the saying? But in your case you are working with those mice and trying to buy them some time before you arrest me and call the officers to take me away. Or perhaps you came for answers… Oh and black cat I'm sure you can stand up now" Train rose from the floor looking questioningly at Mari. The man pushed a button on the side of his grandiose chair. A light shone from one corner of the room projecting video on the opposite wall.
"I knew something had gone wrong with your programming so I had you followed on the multiple occasions that I had sent you out after him" A finger was pointed at Train and the vile man continued. "I found that you two were not fighting to the death like I had hoped. Whenever you neared each other it seemed like pain would overtake you." The video showed Train and Mari both dressed as their former selves fighting at first, but falling away from each other in agony. "The nanomachines in your system were in tune with his DNA and transmitted signals to his brain causing you both to suffer. Quite by accident however you discovered that physical contact alleviated your suffering and what's more, physical pleasure over rode your instinct to kill." The two were now locked in kisses wild and fierce. Mari pushed Train to the wall as he claimed her mouth. They swiftly disappeared and the camera followed filming through a window as it spied Train and Mari locked together passionately.
Train furrowed his eyebrows wondering if this was some elaborate hoax, but sure enough there he was unmistakable on camera with Mari's bare body beneath his as he dominated her.
Mari shifted as she saw just how much of her skin had been exposed to the camera and felt a strange sense of surrealism as she watched herself make love to the man that was now standing beside her.
No. This could not be called love. Pure animal instinct was unleashed through both of them.
The video continued changing locations and times, but always showing them together, engaged in indecent activities.
"Stop it!" she called as the scenes changed.
The low gravelly laugh was cold and unfeeling. "I thought you wanted to know what your past sins were. Not only did you work as my personal assassin, but you used my only feared enemy as your sex toy."
"Stop it!" She screamed shooting out the projector and aiming her weapon at him.
"Mari." Warned Train. "I know he's sick, but remember what you said about arresting him."
She paused for a second "Bernio you are under arrest for…"
He continued laughing and pressed another button on his chair. Five guards entered the room escorting Shawna and Chrystal. Shawna was shoved to her knees and Chrystal tried to fight back against the guard holding her.
"Stop." commanded Bernio harshly. "Don't damage the goods."
"Let them go!" shouted Mari
"I don't think I'd be willing." Smirked the gangster. "Unless of course you gave me something in return."
Mari glared at him "And what would that be?"
"Simple my dear." He smirked "I want you" She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut short by him "I want you back to the way you were before. I want my star assassin back."
Chrystal spoke from across the room "You shouldn't have gotten rid of her in the first place! When you heard Black cat had died you took Mari out to the river claiming she wasn't needed any more. You shot her in the head Bernio! Her healing powers worked, but her memory was gapped. Why can't you just leave her alone?! She doesn't remember the way she was before!"
Bernio Laughed and pushed another button. A man in a lab coat entered the room with a syringe on a tray.
"That's why I took the liberty of researching what you'd done to her and finding a way to reverse it. In that syringe lies the solution. Thousands of nanomachines programmed to overtake the ones in her system and restore what she was meant to be." He laughed and turned to Mari. "You give me your life or I take theirs."
Chrystal and Shawna were held tight guns at their heads. Mari wavered, but looking in her sister's eyes she said "Fine! Just let them Go!"
"No!" gasped Shawna "Don't do it Mari! You think he'll just let us go after you've been changed back?"
Mari shook her head "No. that's why we're doing it my way. Bernio, you let them all go free and I'll stay here. As soon as they are gone you can do what you want with me."
The man laughed "I trust you about as much as you trust me. I know it won't be that easy until you're under my control again."
…
"They've been in there too long" said Sven to himself. "Come to think of it, where are the rest of the guards? And why haven't I heard anything over their radios?" he sighed exclaiming "Crap! Stuff like this always happens!"
He snuck towards the house looking up to see figures in a window. "I have to help them out and hope that train gets the rest done."
He took a smoke bomb from his case and lit it. Aiming, he threw it through the window.
…
CRASH! The glass in the window behind Bernio shattered and Train took the initiative to shoot the guns out of the guard's hands.
Mari swooped down freeing her sister and Chrystal and running. They ran straight out the broken window landing in the bushes below. Jumping up she turned taking a head count 'one, two, three, where's Chrystal?' A laugh echoed from above as they looked up to see Chrystal being tilted out the window by Bernio. "You want your friend? TAKE HER!" The girl was shoved from the window falling out away from the bushes directly over the stone walk way.
It was Sven that intervened, catching her before she hit the ground. Running back out of the manor gates they fled into cars driving away from the disaster that had just happened. Train and Sven were in one car while the girls were in the other. They sped down the road towards the bridge taking them back to the mainland. Sven and train could hear the conversation in the next car over their now reactivated radios. It seemed that communications had been knocked out while they were in the house, but worked fine while they were outside. Probably some device Bernio had, Sven reasoned before focusing on the words being spoken between the girls.
"Again! He knew that we were coming! It's like he knew our plans and why did he have that video!?"
"What video?" inquired Shawna
"He had a video of me and Train…" she growled under her breath as the images flashed through her head.
"The video of you two sleeping together?" asked Crystal
A glare and a harsh question was directed at the scientist "You knew?"
The woman nodded. "I programmed you to act opposite to the emotions Bernio ordered you to feel. I didn't know it would go that far. He showed me the video when he confronted me about my work. I pretended I didn't know how it had happened and told him I'd research it, but instead I ran and took Shawna with me. It wasn't long after that when rumors of Train's death filtered through the underworld and he tried to dispose of you. Apparently when your memories were damaged so were Train's as a direct result to the signals being sent out to his brain by your nanomachines."
A sudden bright light hit their vision and Mari realized it was headlights forming a line from one end of the bridge to another. She pulled her car to a stop drifting it sideways. Sven did the same creating a barrier with their two cars that they could stand between. They all got out joining each other in close formation.
"Is everyone ok?" asked Sven surveying the line of SUVs that blocked their path.
More cars were pulling up from behind them creating a blockade and Mari realized what was happening. "NO!" she breathed "This is my vision! I should have thought of this before, but I thought we could change the outcome!"
Bernio stepped out of one of the vehicles and his guards had guns drawn waiting for a signal.
Crystal looked at her worried "What else did you see?"
Mari bit her lip. "Nothing beyond this point."
"Kitten! Are you ready to give up?" called Bernio from behind a car door. "How about we sweeten the deal sugar. You come out or I kill you all right now."
She hissed through her teeth before looking at her friends. She looked in Trains eyes "I guess everything between us is a fake. Fake emotion, fake physical attraction, even fake wishes."
"You can't go out there." He reasoned, knowing what she was trying to say "It'll mean he's the winner and I can't stand to see guys like that get what they want."
Sven nodded "Train is right. Don't let this guy win. We have to figure a way out of this."
Mari nodded a look of determination on her face. "Everyone try to find a weakness in their defense, we have to get…"
She inhaled sharply as a pain rocketed through her thigh. She looked down to see a hand empty a syringe into her flesh. Looking up in confusion she saw Crystal looking somber as she retracted her hand taking the needle along with her and dropping it to the pavement. In a second the girl was shoved against the car "What did you do?"
She pushed Mari away "I did what I had to. You don't know what he was planning to do."
"Get away from me." Snarled Mari glaring at the girl.
Crystal ran around the car straight for Bernio's blockade. "What is she doing!?" Shawna blurted out drawing her gun to cover Crystal.
"Let her go" said Mari darkly.
"Well, well, well, Mari it seems we're at a crossroads. In less than thirty seconds those nanomachines are going to activate and I'll have you right where I want you. Bernio's voice taunted her as her back hit the car and she slid down to the ground. She could feel heat like fire running through her veigns starting at the injection sight. "MARI!" screamed Shawna diving down to her level. Sven and Train followed and Train grabbed her face in his hands "Don't you dare let it take you! Fight it!"
She clenched her teeth, her whole body shaking as her breathing became labored. "I can't fight for long."
"Yes you can!" encouraged Sven.
She shook her head and looked into Train's eyes. He saw her eyes starting to change color as she said "You better get away quick… this time won't end in kisses."
…..
I hope you guys like this chapter. I know it's short, but I've been super busy lately. Thanks for reading!