One Year Later
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, Lance/Diablos, and Bast.
Chapter 31: Captured!
Farrah was upset,
"What do you mean, we're not going to look for him?"
The white-haired feline held her stomach. It had been a week since the Howling Commandos returned from Kasnia with the nerve gas, and the Red Skull had gone underground. Fury said flatly,
"We're not going to find him. Crisis is perfectly capable of taking care of himself."
Persiana snarled,
"You're lucky I'm pregnant and my children are coming soon."
For the last several months, Farrah's stomach had swelled. She had no idea of what to expect for her children, but she did know she was having quadruplets. There was the matter of whether they were Leon's or Lance's, but that matter seemed trivial compared to the whereabouts of her love.
Fury said coolly,
"We don't know where he is, and we don't know if he is still alive. All we can do now is secure this nerve gas and wait for an opportunity to use it."
Bast folded her arms, glaring,
"I agree about whether Crisis is alive or not, but I find it distasteful to have such a dangerous weapon with the intent of using it so readily."
The one-eyed commando shook his head,
"We'd only use it when we have to. Right now, it's safe with us."
Farrah clenched her fist down, but Troia came near her,
"Sister, please. Think of your unborn children."
The white-haired lioness reared her fangs in disgust, barely maintaining her composure,
"When I deliver my kids, Fury, your ass is mine."
She stormed off, Troia following closely behind. Bea shook her head,
"Poor girl."
Meanwhile…
"Talk, you son of a bitch!"
It would be hard to imagine a powerhouse like Crisis in pain, much less bleeding. However, given that a power nullifier was attached to his forehead, and he was tied to a chair as several soldiers were working him over, the image was not that hard to fathom.
Leon looked up, his red eyes bloodshot. He had no idea how long he had been captured, but the swordsman knew he had been drugged. Leon spat out some blood and still looked defiant as he glared at General Lane,
"Go to hell."
Lane said,
"Inject him again."
One of the soldiers took a syringe and filled it with a clear liquid designed to induce pain. Then, that needle was injected into Crisis' vein on his wrist. In a few moments, Crisis' eyes widened and he felt intense pain, like someone was clutching his heart tightly. Leon wanted to fall on the floor in pain, but he was restrained in the chair. Lane bent down and shook his head,
"You disgust me. I've seen tougher guys like you cry!"
He stormed out of the room,
"Give him ten minutes, and start again."
Lane left and, as he turned around, noticed Amanda Waller staring through the glass. She said,
"He's tough, even without his powers. He's obviously been trained by someone very good."
Lane glared,
"I'll break him."
The heavy-set director of Checkmate did not even meet his gaze,
"You've had him for over a week, general. He hasn't broken."
Lane insisted,
"He will. I need more time! He knows something."
Waller continued to study Crisis through the glass and said,
"I want to speak with him alone."
The four-star general looked at her,
"And why should I let you?"
Amanda looked at him, rather smugly,
"Should you tell the panel that the Metal Men project was compromised, or should I?"
Lane looked like he wanted to hit Amanda, but he grumbled,
"Fine."
He stormed off, hoping to vent his frustrations.
Amanda walked in, carrying a briefcase. She pulled up a seat across from Crisis and said,
"Hello, Crisis."
Leon looked up, shaking his head,
"Sorry about my appearance. These guys wouldn't let me clean up."
He chuckled a little, but Amanda kept a stony face. She opened her briefcase and pulled out some files with a red 'Classified' label stamped on the exterior of the folder.
In the security room, Lane tried to hear what they were saying,
"Put them on speaker."
As one of the soldiers did so, however, they were not able to hear anything. Lane ordered,
"What's happening? What are they saying?"
Back in the room, Waller said,
"We can talk freely, Leon. The cameras are on a loop."
Crisis looked up, a bit surprised. Amanda shook her head,
"Don't act surprised. There was a lot of information we collected from the computers in Russia that Hydra had. Some of it was on you. And Farrah."
She pulled out photos of buildings that were destroyed in various places around the world, continuing,
"I have to admit; you have done a great job leading the Howling Commandos. Three terrorist organizations destroyed; an entire drug family eliminated; and you even toppled several governments in hostile countries. That is impressive, and in all under a year."
She looked up,
"But, I don't think you're the leader of the group."
Leon asked,
"And what makes you say that?"
Amanda said casually,
"You may be the one that is able to gather intelligence rather successfully for a powerhouse, Leon. However, you are not the one that coordinates the assaults and comes up with the plans. Someone on your team has decades of experience in dealing with that."
She put the files away,
"We're still processing what happened in Kasnia. We know about the Red Skull, and he executed Colonel Rajak. But, I think you knew that already. While the others were handling that, you were busy here, tracking a lead on Daken."
Leon shook his head,
"If you know all this, why are we talking?"
The African-American woman said,
"Just getting to know you and telling you what we know."
She stood up,
"Thank you for everything, Leon."
Amanda opened the door and walked out of the room. She did not get far as several troops were stationed outside and Lane demanded,
"What was going on in there?"
Waller said,
"Just carrying out a conversation. You really should sit down and talk with him. Crisis is a very interesting young man."
Lane was furious,
"Lieutenant Delgado!"
Miriam stood at attention. The general ordered,
"Escort Miss Waller off the base."
Delgado saluted and showed Amanda out.
When they were outside, Waller turned to Miriam,
"Thank you for looping the tapes, Miss Delgado."
Miriam glared,
"I said I'd help you if I got my daughter back."
Amanda nodded,
"And you shall. I give you my word. Now, onto the second phase of the operation…"
Next Chapter:
What is the second phase of what operation? Stay tuned, fellow readers!