Carl Jung said, "The healthy man does not torture the others. Generally, it's the tortured that turned into torturers".

WASHINGTON, D.C

BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS UNIT, HQ

SUNDAY, 7:45 PM

"Jade! You have a minute", Wally approached jade with a thoughtful expression on his face who was trying to somehow get her contacts to influence homeland security but was having no luck with that. She turned towards him while shutting her phone off and gave him a tired nod. "Artemis profiled Russo…Right…", Jade nodded again at that, "What does the profile say about entitlement and preferences of trust in each other?"

"Well he clearly has trust issues and is a control freak. Not much of an intimidating or daunting figure in the cartel…had his dogs do the most of work…he is more like a master mind in the cartel…likes to beat people in the psychological games…never got his hands dirty as far as I know", Jade answered and then asked with quizzical expression, "why do you asked?"

"So, Russo and the unsubs interaction must be strictly business with no emotional strings attached…", Jade again nodded, "He wouldn't hold it over his life...right", Wally said with a creepy smile and asked, "Would you like to scare the living shit out of him…for investigatory purpose of course"

"Oh dear! Nothing would give me greater pleasure", Jade said with a sinister smile and then asked in a demanding tone, "So, red head….what do you have in mind?"

"You know the typical…you provide him the lunch in CIA way…I will gave him the piece of FBI Way as the dessert", Wally said with a smile, "and let's keep it off the books"

"Ok…. but care to elaborate on what kind of CIA way you want me to present him", jade asked with a smirk.

"The usual…Criminally Insane American way…"

"Boy…I like you already"

SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK

Jade passes Russo a menacing smile as two police officers brought him in the interrogation room. She was sitting on the seat with her legs placed on the table appearing to be deeply disinterested; with her headsets on while observing her nails and lip singing the song lyrics you are gonna die and I am gonna steal your bones ohh you are gonna die…. "Boys don't forget to hand cuff him with the chair… you know me…I like my guests trapped and… alone...allows me to deal with them quickly …", the police officers smiled and did as they were told while Russo visibly paled at the scene folding in front of him.

"Madam…do you want the cameras on…", one of them asked as he was leaving the room.

"No dear, we don't wanna give homeland security a sex tape now…. are we?", Jade said again with an alarming smile sending chills down Russo's spine.

"of course not madam…", the officer replied.

"Just make sure no one disturb us", jade dismissed him with a wave of her hands and got up on her feet. As the door closes, the smile on her face turned into frown and she placed several photos of the victims of copycat on the table. After that she walked behind Russo and gently placed the hands on his shoulder and gave him a shove, "I am just gonna ask you once Russo…Who has my sister…I need a name and a location….if you tell me right now you might save your ugly balls from mutilation… or might… just might get some deal for co-operating with the government…but if you don't…", she again pressed his shoulders this time a bit harshly, "well then...you have worse than hell coming your way"

"I don't know what you are talking about", Russo answered plainly though mentally was scared shit out of his mind. "You wouldn't touch me in here…I have rights…you can't do anything", he quickly added afterwards probably to ensure himself.

Jade only laughed, simply piled up all the photos in the corner and came to sit right in front of him on the table, "Okay then… do you want to hear a story…", Russo shook his head in no but jade continued, "it's very funny actually…you know I used to be a real do-godder, johnny on the spot kind of person …then this stupid thing happened", jade removed her coat and cracked her knuckles, "…I left my home for a while…when I come back my mom was dead, my sister was in asylum and my asshole dad like always was screwing with some other hooker in our home… apparently some psychopath was the cause of all of it…you see that was a real crossroads for me…I learned very important thing that day…which is very important for you to know…very important", jade glared and pressed his shoulder again with one hand while unbuckling her belt with the other, "there are monsters in this world; they destroys your life, devour your happiness and burn your soul and you never get to know Why is this happening to you…you want to live so you fight back but the only way to live is to beat them and for that… you had to become a monster yourself. You see in the path of becoming a monster, there are no rules…", she stretched the belt and rolled it in her hands making it a perfect tool for strangulation, "and sometimes you come to realize that it's okay to break all the rules…like when some nitwit has handed your sister to some freaking psychopath again", jade shouted at him and got up, put the belt around his neck and starts chocking him, "I want a name …I want a name…tell me the name… …you fuck face", she shouted while pushing him upward and backward literally strangulating him. Russo lashed around but couldn't get free. He struggled vigorously and thrashed around but jade didn't let go.

After one minute and 30 seconds when Russo was about to pass out, Wally came in with the bang, "Let him go, Agent Nugyen…As the DA's Assistant, I am warning you Miss. dragon nails. If you don't, you will be facing serious charges of insubordination and abuse in court", Wally's said intimidatingly and jade let go while huffing angrily and leave the room. Wally was disguised as a trainee with a big round glasses and shabby bag…Gone was the tuxedo and Rolex watch and spikes… now the silicon strapped L.E.D watch, oily and sticky geeky haircut and a typical nerdy assistant outfit ( yellow pants with checkered shirt ) was in play…jade couldn't help but to burst out laughing on his appearance as she closes the door. Wally immediately took control of the room and tried to sympathize with him, "Are you okay sir… ", Wally asked as he took out the keys and un-cuffed him putting him in ease gaining his confidence, "Trust me Sir… to be alone with one of the fine-tuned ass bitches of the CIA…not a very bright idea …"

"It's not like I had any say in the matter", Russo complained.

"True…it's sucks to be you...", he admitted.

"CONGRATULATONS… you rhymed", Russo answered sarcastically.

"Can I get you something…"

"No"

"Coffee"

"No"

"Soda"

"No"

"Prostitute"

"….", perplexed face of Russo.

"They say meaning of silence is half consent…you Dog…", Wally smirked

"Are you serious?...", Russo asked still confused.

"Yup mate…I thought since you do have a high chance of meeting a horrible death within the next few hours... I might as well do something good to up my shot at getting into heaven… You know, I love humanity, taking care of dying people is considered a great virtue", Wally said with a smile and got up to leave; leaving Russo more confused as ever "Well if you need anything let me know I could precede your demands to attorney"

"What…Wow...who is gonna die…hey what you are talking about?", Russo asked worried as hell as he saw him leaving.

"Oh Come On dude…you know you rattled the wrong cage…. you are in deep shit from both ends. I meet dickheads like you every day but you…my friend won gold in this competition…I mean seriously who piss off both of the homeland security and the psychopaths at the same time…you sure had a death wish but don't worry you will get it soon", Wally pretended to open the door making sure that he conveys the impression that he is not dying to feed him any information.

"Hey…come back here …please tell me...Who is gonna kill me?...Hey", Russo cried out desperately.

"You really don't know...do you?", Wally gave him a baffled look and said with the gesture of hand, "I will be right back with the file…will be easy to explain"

SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK

"See...your boys made a mess and since you are the one calling the shots…the burden is on your shoulders too… if you ask me… the murder charge for 157 people along with two army personals…dude there is no way you are getting out alive and since you are their next target…I feel like if you somehow do get away with the trial...so wouldn't be able to out-smart them", Wally passed him a smile and opened the folder having tortured victim photos specifically the photos of Torrance.

"Hey are you out of your mind, I never called any shots I don't know what you are talking about?", Russo answered hesitatingly but eyed the victim's photos.

"The cameras are off mate…you can talk to me…whatever you say… nothing leaves the room", Wally said with the fake sincerity yet couldn't hide the bitterness in his voice, "this man is Torrance and he is a well-known hitman too…I am guessing you know him already…they killed him while he was in police custody…they kill for pleasure and when they decide to kill nothing could stop them…", Wally opened the page filled with mob victims and threw the file towards him, "Ain't easy fighting for respect isn't it…you are the boss still people laugh at you…even I am laughing at your stupidity…So when one of your boys step out of line you hit them hard and you make it count …Can't you see you need them they don't need you"

"So you are saying they are gonna kill me…", Russo asked confused yet believing Wally's opinion instantly.

"The FBI profilers profiled them as paranoid killers and I think it's true too…Aside from you nobody knows their identity in the gang…that speaks volume about them...what do you think your psychopaths will think about you getting friendly with the FBI…you want some deal…wasn't that the point of killing the FBI agent…you clear your name from murder charges, only left accountable for drug trafficking, gave Copycat killer to the FBI and get away… if an ordinary person like me could figure it all out how long you think will it take for them to figure it all out…", Wally got up from the seat and advised him again, "if they are not a problem for you now they will be soon.. And Trust me mate from what I have seen in the folder…they are not stupid to fall for it. If you give me a name….I might be able to help you…provide you extra protection…we could use it as your plea agreement in your defense …if not…well maybe your wish will come true after all", Wally ended the argument and start walking towards the door.

"I don't have a name …I have a contact", Russo said while shaking his head, "There is a number in my cell under the name of butler…I page them and leave the pictures of the mark along with payment at my ware house outside the state…the rest they do it themselves", Russo explained while rubbing his hands together in frustration.

Wally nodded and took off his glasses, nicely folded it and place them on the table, "is there any chance that the agent…they took is alive…", he asked trying to keep emotion in check and balling his hands in to fist.

Russo on the other hand didn't observe any change in him and said with the laugh, " Although I do told them to keep her alive for two days…they probably had disposed of the bitch after few hou…", he was cut off by Wally grabbing him from shirt and get thrown against the wall.

"Mr. Michael…I suggest you start hopping…in fact start praying that she is alive… because the only thing that is standing between me ripping you apart into tiny little pieces right now is the slightest possibility of her being alive and if something happens to her", Wally got up to his face and punched him hard in the stomach,"Even God wouldn't be able to Save you from me", he said as he walked out of the room but came back after a second, "And dude…you had just been played", Wally said with a smile and closed the door leaving a very confused and disoriented Russo behind.

SCENE BREAKS SCENE BREAKS

Wally passes her a smile as he entered into the room and carefully observed Jade as he came to stand beside her. "What?", jade asked irritatingly not bothering to turn towards him and seeing the police officers taking Russo back to his cell through transparent window pane.

"Look what you said back there…I am really sor…", Wally tried to console her but was cut off by the abrupt laugh from jade.

"Oh My God…please don't tell me you think that what I said out there was true", jade asked with the smile and explained herself, "it was the story I made up…you say what you have to when you are in that room…please don't take it on heart…besides I didn't know Torrance was killed in the police custody?", Jade asked with the smirk as Wally shook his head.

"Neither did I…but You got me there…..seriously what are you doing in the CIA...you should be doing serials…playing hitler ….making the men coming out of their skin…would be interesting wouldn't it… ", Wally smiled back and asked, "But what are we gonna do about the bruises around his neck"

"Don't worry…they could easily be overlooked as hickeys", Jade again said with a smile and took a quick picture of him while Wally happily posed with a kissing face, both of them failed to notice Roy just coming to the door way. Before he could call out wally, jade said, "You really look like a buff stuffed in a cocktail dress…I might say if I hadn't been engaged I might find it quite attractive…but pity I only find it funny now"

"Oh come on babe, you are choosing that cheesy ab guy over me, I am wounded...you see guys like Roy they are made…they had to grow balls…I, on the other hand, was born with it", Wally said with a smile happy to play along.

"Really who falls for that…. I didn't even tripped…thought you were more tacky than that"

"Babe..i could be as tacky as you want me to be"

"You sure find the insurance fast", Roy said from behind while glaring at jade, "and there I was hoping you might actually be trying to find your sister… but you couldn't stop being the slut.. can you"

Both Jade and Wally turned around surprised. "Roy it was a joke…come on…you actually didn't…" Wally tried to explain himself but was cut off by jade.

"There is no need to give him explanation, Wally", Jade glared at Roy and come to stand beside him, "We actually called you here because we had found a lead but… fuck you very much for judging me …again", jade gave him a shove with the shoulder and walked away.

"Dude...you are taking it wrong", Wally explained again with a puppy faced look as Jade left the room.

"Whatever…Kaldur called everyone in the conference room", Roy huffed angrily and said plainly, "and please change before you come there… dude you really look like a buff in Halloween costume".

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SOME PLACE UNKNOWN 3:00 AM

Artemis dropped her head back on the murky floor again; the sound of the small splashes because of the icy water surrounding her didn't even register a sound in her brain. The wet clothes and the water around have already leached out her most of her body heat and her body has lost the urge to warm itself by shivering. She could feel her blood thicken like crankcase oil in a cold engine and her mind shutting down her body functions. The small light coming from the crack again starts to fade away and Artemis again made the desperate attempt to remain conscious by lifting her head a bit and dropping it again. Chilly water trickles down Artemis's neck and spine, joined soon by a thin line of blood from a cut on her head and nose; and the faint pain in her head causes her to open her eyes again but her head again lolled down to the side exhausted by the small effort. She closes her eyes again but is awakened by someone gently placing a hand on her head and calling out her name.

"Arty…God you are freezing", Jade said worryingly and gently stroked her hair. Artemis opens her eyes and a sudden happiness fills her whole existence.

"J…jade...how did ….how did you …find me?", She released a breath and licked her lips before speaking just to lessen the frosty feeling numbing her lips.

"It doesn't matter…I am here now", jade said while smiling lightly.

Artemis smiles too and tried to move closer to her, "jade…I saw mom…I saw her...She looks so beautiful…so kind…nothing like how I margined…and she was…not mad at me…jade…she said she loves me…jade"

Jade smiles and placed the hand around her neck, "But you let her die, you are the cause all of it", jade's lips moved but the sound was of her father, Artemis tries to get away but the looming figure of jade turned into Lawrence, her surrounding also changed and she found herself lying on the wooden floor with lots of swamp deer skeleton with stags hanging on the walls "…you worthless child", his hand grabbed her neck and start chocking her, "I warned you. Why don't you ever listen", he let go of her after a while and passed a hand through his hair while taking a few step back. He released a meticulous sigh and grabbed the knife with some kind of insignia carved in its handle. Lawrence leaned in closer and back handed her across the face, "you pathetic piece of shit…you are never coming to this cottage again…never…again...and if you tell anyone about it I will put this knife in you…cut you open … and then eat you up…do you hear me".

"What?", Artemis asked confused but glared him anyway while Lawrence only smiled while waving a knife.

"Lower your eyes, baby girl", the smile vanishes in an instant and a menacing frown took its place, "I said… lower …your… eyes", he ordered again with venom lacing his voice but Artemis found herself transfixed unable to look away, "Your mother didn't teach you respect does she?...Well maybe this will cause you to listen", Lawrence rushed and pledge the knife, Artemis gasped as the knife enters in her stomach; she felt the slash instantly; a stinging pain wrecked through her body overwhelming the coldness that was about to engulf her causing her to close her eyes again and sending her body in the state of shock but she was again awaken by the high pitched sound of a gunshot nearby depriving her from the freedom from consciousness she was so desperately carving right now.

Artemis finds herself lying on the muddy ground with dark and gloomy trees overshadowing her, the long and pointy grass nearly camouflaging her from the environment providing her an odd sense of comfort; the sounds of cars passing by could be heard quite easily along with the creepy voices of insects and other small animals, Artemis could sense a dull throbbing in her stomach yet she chooses to ignore it, she erected her head and stared into the night sky, a cocktail of deep indigo's. The shiny full moon beamed down gleaming everything around her into glitters; she felt dejected yet again since milky light couldn't find its way through towering trees.

"There you are…", A man wearing the hood and ski mask came into her line of sight sending a wave of panic in her instantly. Her breath caught in her throat as he approached her and sat down beside her. Artemis tried to get away but couldn't feel her arms; tries to speak but he placed a finger over her lips."SSsh…Sshh it's okay...don't try to speak you will need your oxygen" he said in robotic voice and pledge the knife out, a piercing pain seeps through her causing her to gasp for breath again, the blood starts oozing down from the wound almost immediately, Reaper slowly knifed her again just below the ribcage, making another slash with a cold metal,"You know what the hard part is...it is not passing out from the pain", Artemis yelped while he just took the knife out more slowly this time sending the waves of pain in her body, making her feel every inch of a stinging cold metal against her skin,"Try to relax Arty…your body will go numb", he again stabbed her in the shoulder and continued speaking,"and this will go in so much easier if you relax" he pushed the blade little more and twist it around; Blood was no longer just oozing and seeping, but was now fairly cascading out from her wounds and was pooling on the ground beside her. He pledges the knife out again while Artemis just shut her eyes unable to look into him anymore.

SCENE BREAK SCENE BREAK

"Give her the adrenaline shot before doing anything drastic…her heart rate was way too low the last time I checked ", Jimmy said as he wore the jacket to head towards the warehouse, "I wonder what does Russo has to say now"

"Can't we just let her die…she is loyal…I give her that…or may be stupid…we are not getting anything out of her", Ronald said while coming from behind, "Besides don't you wanna sharpen your knives on her…"

"Do that for me…will you?...and no we can't let her die...not before tomorrow at least", Jimmy answered while loading a gun and placing it behind his back.

"Why?...she is dying anyway…apparently she had a thing for drowning…passed out way more quickly than electrocution…i am actually starting to feel bad about it now", He said with sympathy lacing his voice.

"Says the man who dumped almost four barrels of frosty water on her …after the whole drowning thing for three hours …then forced a tube down her throat so she could drink four gallons more…of course you felt bad", jimmy retorted sarcastically.

"She bit you remember...if she haven't I also wouldn't have to do that…beside she must have vomited three gallon anyway so nothing to worry about right…", he said casually.

"But don't kill her…if we fail to get the job done, it will be bad for our reputation… and we would starting to get the easy victims…you know we don't want that…do we?...and that is the only thing that is keeping those stinking cops away from us…we don't kill people who we select…we kill people who are idiot enough to mess with mobs…So nothing could be traced back to us…you do the rest of math yourself…bro…she die….our repo gets raped…mob get doubtful…no more marks…then we get fucked…So why take the chance…you will get to kill her anyway", he explained with exasperated expression and huffed while Ronald nodded his head.

"Not me…we will get to kill her…", Ronald said after a while when Jimmy was about to get out of the door, "Stay safe" Ronald said and left before he could reply. Jimmy released a cold sigh and left while mouthing of course...we

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RUSSO'S WARE HOUSE 5:00 AM

Kaldur looked through the binoculars from the safe house and noticed the position of the car from the distance. He nodded to Zatanna who turned on the CCTV cameras located around the whole block covering the warehouse "Why can't they have the direct phone line which we can trace….they had to use the pager….who uses pager these days", Zatanna asked frustratingly while slumping down the chair.

"We are going to find them…though I would say I am impressed…the contact number lead to a pager which in turn leaves us at nothing but at least now they are walking into a trap one way or the other", Kaldur tries to ease her tension.

"I thought we only had the one way…when did we have the plan B...and the bigger question is why I don't know about it", Zatanna asked dejectedly while making a pouting face.

"Jade decides it at the last moment…She placed her picture in the file they are coming to get…I hope we find them before things comes to that", Kaldur said while looking away.

"You don't believe we are gonna find her alive do you?…you are only talking about finding them…not Artemis..", Zatanna asked suddenly but regretted as the sentence leave her mouth,"I am sorry…I didn't mean to..", She apologized quickly as she saw Kaldur turned stiff as ice in a moment.

"You are right…I don't…but it's my personal opinion. I believe in facts and so far I have nothing to say otherwise…so it is okay if you hope that she is alive", Kaldur answered plainly and dropped the matter by turning on the com, "Teams …report your status"

"Team Beta, waiting at mark point one, two miles South East …ready for back up whenever you call", Roy explained and Wally keeps on looking towards the road while sitting in the car easily hidden by the trees around it.

Their com cracked again and Richard said, "Alpha from team Alpha ready too….nothing to report yet", Richard said while adjusting his sniper rifle across the window of the building located West; a mile from the warehouse.

"Bravo from team Alpha…ready at the dispatch site…no activity across the North perimeter", Jade also explained while watching the warehouse through the magnifying scope of her riffle while lying across the rooftop of building a quarter of mile from the North of the ware house.

"Let's go through plan again…no one will try to approach him...if the mark is on foot, only team beta will engage and SWAT team will be providing the backup….but if the mark uses some kind of vehicle…which is most likely to happen, team Alpha your job is to make sure that it end up with the tracking device… Wait for the unsub to leave and enter into the ware house and then made the shot, prefer the rear end of vehicle, it is less likely to be get noticed…if not make the shot anyway…Avoid the confrontation at every cost if we want to get to their hideout, it is the only way…Stay alert", Kaldur advised everyone while pacing back and forth in the room.

"Roger that", Wally replied back and look towards Roy who was avoiding eye contact with him the moment he sat beside him, "So are you mad at me because I called you cheesy ab guy or because I disrespected your balls?", he asked innocently while turning off his com but when Roy gave him a death glare he quickly added, "Or I flirted with your girlfriend…of course you could be mad at that too…like very very mad"

Roy released a sigh and said after a while, "I am not mad at you, I am mad at her…I mean I …..i never understood her…she told me to reconsider our engagement because of something I said….. and I came there hoping to apologize ….. And there she… was acting like a hooker…flirting with my friend…like she already has moved on"

Wally's com beeped which he turned on immediately while Roy's com come alive instantly, "Roy harper you should better turn off your com the next time you are planning to call me hooker or I swear the next thing you will hear will be the sound of your brain splashed across the car's window" jade threatened over com making Roy face palming himself while Wally simply rolled down the window of Roy's side.

"Yup Roy…don't piss off the lady… with the gun in her hand dude….stay whelmed…and BTW we all can hear you", Richard also added his input.

"And In case you are thinking of exposing your brain to the environment, try natural environment windows are no fun besides pure oxygen sure do wonders for brain, ", Wally explained and rolled down his side window too while Roy only grunted in response, "now the glass is out of the way and I am officially saved from any kind of collateral damage, I am guessing you have the clear shot…Miss. Dragon nails", he said happily over the com.

"Well thank you...Mr. Fancy pants…I will make sure your balls are safe and sound before I make the shot…no need to worry… dear", jade said while Roy glared at Wally and said in a high pitched tone, "See you are doing it again"

"What?", they both shouted at the same time. Roy simply turned off his com while Wally simply laughed at him and turned off his com too. "You are over thinking it….dude", he said with a smile but become serious afterwards, "Come on…Roy… she didn't act like she has moved on…she adequately mentioned that she is engaged before making an inadequate comment about my handsome self…which I totally disagree on several accounts...but the point is… dude… after an endless and hopeless drill of finding your arrogant adopted sister, that was the first breakthrough we got…the first ray of hope that we could find her and you are blaming her for having a smile on that….and that right now is the payback for calling her a h-o-o-k-e- and I am not even gonna spell it completely because I like my brain very much…and it is essentially not oxygen deprived"

Roy didn't say anything for a while but nodded to him that he got his point, "Artemis…do you think she is alive", Roy said after good five minutes.

"Dude of course she is…. Look evidence indicate that they are gonna keep her alive for two days…we have time …she will be ok …", Wally answered enthusiastically but it died along his sentence, "she has to be…okay…..how come you never mentioned you had a sister…I mean we do went to high school together", Wally asked hoping to change the subject.

Roy smiled bitterly, "Well…we were not that close…she is kind of a loner person from the start…likes to stay in her own world…Since I was in boarding school most of the time and then in high school… So we didn't interact that much and when we did it was mostly ended up in fighting…with either me or her or …Oliver visiting the hospital occasionally…I used to avoid her so I actually never told anyone about her…..I bet she felt the same way….", Roy explained mostly while looking outside the window and smiled, "We become good friends when jade come into the picture...our mutual target was used to seek out her attention…but then she started profiling…challenging my profiles time to time…we had a bit of falling out on the case…I actually didn't talk to her afterwards…the next thing I knew..i am here searching for her, hoping that sheis alive"

Wally nodded but commented afterwards, "I admit it dude…She is a bit difficult to get along…no wonder you never mentioned her…I mean she is good to look at…got good legs.. Have good figure to swoon the guys", Wally tried to explain with gestures while Roy tilted his head and provided him with an intense glare, "But the moment she opens her mouth…I bet everyone wants to kill her…"

Roy cleared his throat and said, "did I tell you that in high school I break the jaw of the guy who hit on her in front of me...took him three weeks to even utter a single word after that…", Roy explained while cracking his knuckles, "oh did I also mention that there was this idiot guy who decides to date her and then dump her after three months…the next day…he got his legs broken somehow…they never really catch the guy…Pity but you were not checking her out were you?"

Wally gets serious instantly and shook his head, "dude …that…was my inadequate… way of saying …that she is a bitch"

"Wally if you value your life a little bit…please just shut up or else…" Roy was in the middle of his threat when both of their com beeped.

"We have an unregistered van approaching from the West road…Richard…it is approaching from your turf", Zatanna's voice cracked through the com, "Copy that…mark is on site", Richard answered, "I had a clear shot too…the van just embarked right in front of the warehouse…", jade piped in too.

"Both of you ….be on standby", Kaldur announced while looking through the camera.

"We have conformation…the person has a hand in the sling too much for a coincidence…Wouldn't you say…", Jade said again while Kaldur waited as Jimmy entered into the warehouse, "Richard …it's your show", Richard smiled and take the shot, embedding the tracker below the bumper with an absolute precision, "Zee..?", He asked over the com.

"We have got the signal...", Zatanna explained excitedly while Kaldur ordered instantly, "Fall back…Team Alpha...Your work is done…", Both Richard and jade moved inside the building removing any sign that they were there an instant ago. "Now all we have to do is to wait…Good work…everyone", Kaldur appreciated them with a smile as he saw jimmy getting into his car again and droving off.

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FRANK PEROTTA'S RESIDENCE 5:00 AM

Ronald passed a penitent glance to the trembling girl who was babbling something incoherently and picked up an Adrenaline injection from the table in one hand and water bottle on the other. He unbuttoned her shirt to inject the adrenaline to her heart but was surprised to see the laceration scars scattered across her midriff and chest. The most prominent one was on her sternum, indicating that somebody has clearly cut her open in half, he released a sigh and grunted, "Be glad that you are not seeing this part", He said casually as he cut open her zip cuffs around her arms with a razor sharp knife and dragged her away from the water pooled around her stiff form. He sat down on his knees, embedded his knife on the floor and make her sit up across him with her using his shoulder as a back head support while lying over his chest. Her cold body sending chills down his spine and her blue lips clearly indicating a severe hypothermia; if it wasn't for her shaky breath and occasional muttering, Ronald might assumed her dead. He took out the knife and slashed her shoulder blades and then made the long gash on her thighs and lower leg and placed the knife beside him again now having the adrenaline injection in his hand while Artemis remained still during the whole time oblivious to everything reliving her own nightmares in her mind. He held her strongly through midriff with the use of his left arm and gave her a shot straight through the heart with his right hand by forcefully puncturing through breast plate. Artemis become conscious with a gasp and instantly struggled against his hold as a reflex; unconsciously relishing the strange warmth that is now slowly spreading through her body while Ronald pinned her down with a smile on his face; whispering in her ear, "Relax love…let the adrenaline circulate…you are suffering from rewarming shock, you had hypothermia sweety and your constricted blood vessels all are opening at once...So try to limit your movement...or your heart muscle can easily undergo fibrillation". Hearing this Artemis stopped struggling and deliberately focused on her breathing and let the biting warmth spread across her limbs but with this come the price of relief. An intensified piercing pain originating from several parts of her body hit her like a ton of bricks and she gritted her teeth to subdue her cries but failed miserably while Ronald simply let her fall to the side and dusted himself up while getting up. "Good…now you are officially back in the world of living…cherish it sweet heart…I was actually having doubts about it".

Artemis doubled over on the floor as she felt the ache as strong as one hundred daggers sinking into her body, groaning and screaming with anguish; her eyes were watery with the sheer pain and her breathing now again coming out in sharp, shallow rasps. Ronald observed her for a while giving her some time for getting used to it and when become sure that adrenaline is doing its work, he removed the cap from the bottle and offered her warm water, "Drink it", he ordered and casually explained, "The pain you feel is the blood rushing into your muscles…it will better your circulation…keep you alive for a while" Unknown to him Artemis had reached out to her shoes and took out a small third knife she first salvaged during her first escape attempt; concealing it under the cuff of her shirt's arm.

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"So what are we going to do?", Wally asked as he observed Jimmy through binoculars entering in the house far away in the woods. Everyone from the team and the leader of SWAT team gathered around the opened map placed on the SUV's hood. They were a quarter a mile away from the house all dressed up for the mission itching to go in there.

"OK….Artemis is the only friendly in the house, rescuing her is our primary priority. Our best advantage here is stealth. Once they know we are on the site, there is nothing to stop them from killing her. So, we keep it quiet till we get to her", Kaldur explained, "I am sorry to say but we have to consider two possibilities here too…that guy may not be our unsub chances are quite low...and without any physical evidence to stick him in the murder charge we had to be careful…Secondly, they may not be keeping her here and if we go on bluntly shooting them we might never find her…SO, we had to keep them alive…Divide yourself in two teams, two will subdue the target manually while third will be on the lookout…one team take the front other take the back… Keep the guns loaded but use it only if gravely necessary…SWAT team you are coming after four minutes of our entry….Are we clear"

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Jimmy went straight to his room after coming from the ware house, not wanting to know what Ronald had planned for her next, he simply decided to not to disturb them and turned on the computer to search for the next kill.

After some time, Artemis stopped writhing across the floor and settled on glaring Ronald while lying on her back on the floor, channeling all her pain now turning into anger, knowing way too well that Adrenaline will wear off soon and she would be shivering like a maniac again, she knew if she had to do something now is the time. Ronald smiled at her futile attempts to control her quivering lips and said arrogantly, "you want it or not…"

Jade and Wally entered through the back door courtesy to jade who easily picked the lock through her hair pin and stealthily moved around. Zatanna entered behind them, the only person with a gun drawn looking out for both of them. At the same time, Roy and Richard entered through the front door while making a soft entrance, courtesy to Richard this time while Kaldur entered behind him with his gun drawn too. Wally gestured some basic military cues and conveyed that they are taking left; while Kaldur nodded as both Roy and Richard moves towards the right.

"See my wrist… is little…sore and..i am having hard …time moving…would you be...so kind to present ..it to me", Artemis said with the trembling voice yet maintaining a straight face.

"Now...that's what I like…be a good bitch and you might live longer", Ronald said with a smile and bent down; he held her head up; tilt the bottle across her lips so she could easily drink it, Artemis gave him a small smile and took a large sip of water. She spit the water out in his face and swings the knife at his neck hoping to hit the jugular vein but Ronald caught the knife just before it could strike his neck. Anger flashed across his features and he snatched the knife out of her hand with one quick motion and threw it away rendering her defenseless yet again, "God…can't you just die already", Artemis said in irritated tone.

Roy peeked through the door and nodded to Richard; Kaldur straightened up a bit and nodded. Jimmy was yawning as he saw them entering in the room, his first reflex was to reach for the gun, in an instant Roy and Richard was on to him, Richard delivered a knife hand strike at his throat while Roy placed a hand over his mouth making sure that he couldn't make a noise, Richard use the heel of your palm to strike up under his nose; cracking it while Roy put him in a strangle choke. Kaldur just enjoyed the whole show while keeping his gun aimed at Jimmy.

Ronald dried his face with his left hand and presents her with the sickening laugh, "you just couldn't stop amusing me… I am gonna make you beg for your death", he said as he punched her on the face and start dragging her towards the electric chair which was on the front of the basement right across the stairs, while Artemis laughed at him, "like you beg to your father…", this was enough to stop him in his tracks .

"Ohh What's the matter…he hurt the pure little psychopath…", Artemis was cut off by a punch to her face again. The basement door opened with the loud creak but Ronald paid no attention to it with his back towards the stairs as he kicked her again in the chest causing her to vomit blood, the sight of Wally and jade entering into the basement through stairs brought a smile on her face again and she told him in a sing sang voice, "Cheety Cheety ….Bang Bang", Ronald passes her a confused look while at the same time Wally grabbed his hand and forcefully shove him away from her. Zatanna also entered from behind and went straight to Artemis.

Jade took over from there and threw three punches, two making contact with his temple and hit him hard on the groin…but Ronald only smiled and avoided her next punch with the slight tilt in his posture; allowing her to come closer to him and grabbed her outstretched hand with one hand and pulled her towards him, delivered two punches in her ribcage then kneed her on the face and threw her towards Wally.

"He doesn't feel physical pain, Congenital Anhydrosis", Artemis piped in from behind as Ronald passes her an impressed look while Wally only cracked his knuckles and charged at him in an offensive position, This time Ronald threw punches which Wally deflected with his elbows, he quickly moved out of his line of aim and made a throat slash with his arm effecting his breathing rate, Ronald counteracts by throwing all his body weight into him and slamming him into nearest wall and tried to choke him by putting his right arm horizontally over his neck then by vertically applying pressure on his arm with his left arm. His choke was broken by jade who jumped elbow him behind his back breaking his hold. Ronald turned around and tried to punch her but Wally grabbed his hand midair while jade knee him in the stomach. Ronald bent down because of blow while Wally pinned his hands behind, with one quick motion Jade broke his neck and Wally popped his arms out of sockets. Both let go of him at the same time letting him hit the floor as Richard and Roy entered into the room… the exchanged glances was enough to convey the message that everything is under control.

CHAPTER END

One of the great thing about Wally's character is that he is so optimistic…in the episode failsafe he become very angry when Artemis died but become bouncy again as he got the hope that she might be alive … need your views

A knife hand strike or throat slash : all fingers held straight and tightly together, with thumb tucked and slightly bent at the knuckle

COMING UP NEXT : FLUFF…slight effects of Artemis's hallucinations

This chapter was all action and next will be all fluff

KEEP RIEWING PLEASE…I NEED FIVE REVIEWS FOR NEXT CHAPTER…Till next time…:)