many, many, many thanks to my beautiful reviewers (i'm pretty proud of the plural). you have no idea how happy reviews make me. i actually squealed this morning when i checked my inbox... (awkward silence)
anyway, to willwrite4fics - i see what you mean, i re-read it and the fact that she could affect him so strongly and so suddenly does seem faintly ridiculous, and the apprentice does get a bit irritating. so in this chapter, i've tried to include less of the apprentice, and with Storm Shadow i've tried to focus on the physco part, instead of his obsession. hopefully its worked. let me know if this seems more believable than the last chapter. i've also found that i prefer writing physco storm shadow :D
Disclaimer - I don't own GI Joe, I wouldn't be here if I did. I'd be out somewhere commanding ninjas.
He is clinging to the shadows on the ceiling, waiting for his target to be alone.
Finally, the girl his target was speaking to nods, salutes and leaves the room. He takes the opportunity to drop down onto the floor behind his target, silent as a ghost. He draws his katana and is about to skewer the target when he hears a sharp intake of breath to his left. He turns and mentally curses himself when he sees the girl standing there, frozen in shock. She has come back for whatever reason, and now his target is turning around and has realised he has a ninja stood right behind him, ready to kill him.
Storm Shadow knows he must act fast, for shock can only freeze them for so long, and soon one of them will come to their senses and either try to kill him or raise the alarm.
He can't be bothered to kill practically all the soldiers in the base, and he really isn't in the mood to be dodging bullets, so he pinches one of the man's sleeping points. Before he crumples to the floor, Storm Shadow is already by the girl, pinching her sleeping points, before she can even fully register what is even going on. He catches her as she falls towards the floor.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Her master should have been back by now. She is pacing up and down, outside his room, waiting for him. He should be back. Has something gone wrong? Has something happened to him? She pushes these questions away. No. Nothing could go wrong when her master is involved, and nothing could ever happen to him. Still, she cannot help but feel worried.
She hears the noise of a jet pack landing, and the sound of voices. She hears her master's unmistakable voice much clearer than anyone else's. Relief sweeps through her. Her master is completely fine.
She rushes to where the noises were coming from, and spots her master striding away from her.
"Master!" she calls out. He turns to face her, and waits for her to catch up. He begins walking again, and she follows at his side.
"What kept you, master? Did something go wrong?"
"You could say that" he responds.
"But you are okay?" she persists.
"Why do you ask?" this causes her to go bright red, stare and her feet and say nothing. He smirks smugly.
After a while, she speaks up again "Where are we going, master?" they have been striding along at quite a pace, and her master seems to be very purposeful, so she knows they do have an end destination.
"I am going to introduce you to the reason why I was late" she is confused. Introduce her to? That must mean the reason is a person then, and that he had been forced to capture the person. Does this mean that he ran into someone from another ninja clan? Or even his own clan? She is withdrawn from her speculations by her master.
"Do not try to figure it out. You will only get it wrong" that comment hurts her more than he knows, but she is not going to show any sort of weakness in front of her master, so she just nods.
They walk through several sets of heavy, metal, guarded doors before her master stops in front of one of the interrogation rooms which have two way mirrors. She finds herself looking at a unconscious girl of slight build, most likely no older than herself, tied to a chair. There are a couple of soldiers in the room with them.
"Master?" she looks up at him, asking for an explanation.
"I was waiting until the target was alone. When I thought he was, I revealed myself and got ready to kill him. She walked in, so I had to bring them both here"
"Your target is here also, master?"
"Yes" he snaps irritably. She knows when he has had enough of her, so she steps away slightly.
"How have they been?" he asks one of the soldiers in the room.
"We moved the male as soon as he woke up, which was about 5 minutes ago. As for her" he says, gesturing towards the girl "her pulse rate is good and steady, her breathing is regular, but she hasn't woken up yet"
Her master nods, and seems to think about something for a moment.
"Where is the male?" he asks.
"He is in one of the other holding cells. Do you wish to arrange a visit?"
"Yes." This is his only answer, and the soldier is disappointed; he was expecting some sort of explanation or reason.
"Very well. Straight away?"
Storm Shadow nods, and the soldier hurries himself to organize the interview.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
The general looks up as his would-be assassinator walks into the room, dressed entirely in white. The man sits himself down in front of the general, and bores into what feels like his very soul with cold, hard eyes.
"Where is she?" he asks, his voice even colder than his gaze.
"What?" the general splutters.
"Where is she?" the man repeats.
"I don't understand what you mean" the man looks at him for a moment, chilling him to the bone with his stare, before he speaks again.
"The Baroness. Where is she?"
"Who?"
"Ana Lewis. Where is she?"
"I have no idea who you mean" says the general.
The man leans forward, into the general's face.
"Lets not play games, general" his voice is silky and soft "I know you know where she is, and you are going to tell me" a deadly smile appears slowly on his face "because I can play very, very well."
The general is paralyzed in pure, undiluted terror. If anyone else other than this man had said that to him, he would have laughed in their face and told them to go shove their threats at someone different. But not this man. There is something in the way he acts, and a weird, maniacal glint in his eyes, that convinces him this is no idle threat. This man really does know how to play. He gulps audibly.
However, the general is a brave and loyal man, and he won't surrender any information to the enemy as a rule. He makes an effort to control the shaking of his hands, and he sets his jaw. The man in white sighs.
"So its going to be like that, is it, general?" he makes a show of looking disappointed, but his eyes are alight with excitement "Very well. But remember, you brought what follows on yourself" with a wicked smile, he leaves the room, and leaves the general feeling even more terrified than before.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
The man in white re-enters the room, carrying only a knife. The general is confused. He expected him to bring in several different types of torture devices...
"What's the matter, general?" he says "wondering why I don't have some form of equipment?"
The general doesn't reply, and the man in white smirks and continues.
"Do not worry yourself. I have quite enough here" he moves the knife from side to side in front of the general.
He begins to move the knife closer to the generals fore-arm, so slowly it looks like its moving backwards. As the knife travels, he doesn't take his eyes from the generals face, as if he is enjoying the tension and fear he can see there. The general watches the knifes progress with terrified eyes, and he can't seem to tear away his gaze. He knows what is about to happen, and he struggles against the tight ropes that bind him to the chair with all his strength, but its no use: his arm stays in exactly the same place.
After what seems like an age, the knife reaches the generals fore-arm. The man in white presses the tip down gently, just enough to pierce the skin. A drop of blood starts to form. He presses the knife in deeper, and the blood wells. He uses the tip to trace a circle of crimson on the generals tensed arm. After each circle, he pushes the knife down harder. As the man in white feels the knife slice through some muscle tendons, the general lets out a low hiss. His eyes are closed and his face is distorted by a pained grimace. Deeper and deeper the knife goes, and eventually he feels it scrape against bone. He carves one more circle, then withdraws the knife and sits back to observe the general.
He is breathing heavily, his head is drenched in sweat from the effort he put into not crying out, and his fists are clenched so tightly the skin stretched over his knuckles has gone white. This is not helping to prevent the blood flowing from his arm.
"Well, I have to admit it, general. You're tougher than you look."
The general looks up at him, confused.
"Unfortunately for you, I am as persistent as you are tough. So this could go on for a while. Unless you give me the information I need."
The general smiles up at him, and the smile is drained and sickly.
"Do your worst"
The man in white shrugs, and something vicious gleams in his eyes.
"As you wish, general"
The man in white leans towards the general once more, and moments later his screaming begins.
once again, thanks for reading!
what do you think? is it believable? just press the green button and make my day :D