Anya was bedridden for a week.
She had hoped to never feel it again.
The excruciating pain wracking her body for days, the next few leaving her muscles and head sore, her bones somehow aching.
For a week, unable to move without something spasming, rebelling, as it absorbed and adjusted to the harsh chemicals that the doctor claimed to preserve her.
They said it was so her brain literally wouldn't work itself to death resulting from the telepathy they gave her.
Anya wondered how much they lied to her.
She was unsteady and wobbly when she could finally get up.
The doctors used IV's to feed and keep her hydrated, the action of eating and swallowing too difficult, never mind walking.
She had pain meds, but they only did so much.
Another week later and she was feeling much better, able to join the children in the cafeteria.
And ready for work.
The director, Kai, wasted no time.
So she stood in a bathroom. A lady wearing gloved hands, spreading a dark substance over her hair.
It was too pink. Too noticeable. To easy to find when police were looking for her.
Kai wasn't going to risk one of his greatest assets like that.
He stood in the doorway watching. Talking. A brief on the job she was about to go on.
It made her laugh at all the times he had told her this was for world peace.
He didn't care. It was purely selfish.
He used them for his own gain. Keeping them locked away where no one would find them, until he needed them.
Very few people knew of their existence. Kai was extremely selective who he made his organization known to.
Some high-ranking politicians.
Underworld leaders with money.
It was expensive to hire an esper, there was no point if they didn't have money.
He worked his way through the most wealthy, the malleable, the depraved and unethical.
Only the corrupt could know if he was to go unnoticed. To Keep working in the shadows.
Corrupt like him.
He ran the most disturbing, awful, decidedly evil business Anya had ever seen.
And it worked.
Anya nodded when Kai asked if she understood what do as she watched her locks turn from pink to dark brown in the mirror. The lady's hands working quickly, unaware of Anya's shaky hands or her jitters.
It was another hour before her hair was dried and combed, ready for the excursion.
In her room, she changed into a black simple dress they provided. Reminding her of her t-shirt she always wore.
She sat on her bed waiting for Fisher.
There was no way she would be going without the agent. She was as much a part of this as Anya. The job a ridiculous notion without her.
With a loud clank, the bar was lifted on the other side.
A lady Anya didn't recognize opened the door.
Her face was the same. Her hair was the same.
Her clothes were not.
Agent Fisher wore a silky, deep green dress that hung flatteringly over her figure. It was supported by thin straps, showing off a shoulder. A length of white fur, tinted light brown at the tips, hanging over the other, nearly obscuring the skin from view.
Her eyes were lined with mascara, making her eyes pop, the only make-up Anya could see.
"Let's go." She said brusquely.
In the end she was still the same person. Anya wouldn't be surprised if she was wearing her black cargo pants underneath, except that the dress laid too smoothly on her waist.
Anya followed her out of the room, down hallways, around corners when they reached a heavy door.
The agent fished out a ring of keys from her shoulder bag. Undid the the three locks. Prepared to open when a voice rang out.
"Anya." Kai called from down the hall, his steps quick and thudding, apparently deciding he hadn't given enough instruction.
It was worse that he was farther away. Each stride announcing his incoming presence. Every footfall building Anya's dread.
It never mattered his intentions. Each time he appeared, anxiety, fear, and apprehension flooded her. The urge to flee was always her first thought, but her good sense rooted her to the floor.
He eyed her as he approached making Anya's toes curl. He came to stand before her and in a motion seldom seen from Kai, crouched down in front of her.
He liked to tower. Knowing it made the child feel small and powerless. Easier to control.
But he looked Anya in the eye, as intimidating as ever as he spoke.
"You're going to do a good job." He stated, not a question.
A nod from Anya
"I would expect nothing less. You wouldn't want to disappoint me." He added.
A shake of her head.
He gestured to her forearm with a nod of his head.
"Do you know what's in your arm?" He referred to the bandage she'd had, when she first woke up here.
Anya had looked a while ago. A small incision sewn up again. But she didn't know what they did to it. She shook her head again.
"There's a location device. If you try to run, or get lost, it doesn't matter. Regardless of where you go, who you find, or what you do, we'll track you down. It would be easy." Kai said, like this was the most comforting thing for a child to know. He quickly turned to a tone, low and soft, he liked to use when he was being serious: "But you wouldn't try to run again, would you?"
This was not good news for Anya but she shook her head.
"That's good. Because If you did anything to jeopardize the job or organization, we'd have to take extreme measures. For instance, that boy. Subject 025. We may need to retrieve some. . .assets he's been holding for us. You never know."
Anya paled as he stood. She had hoped to run. Or at least alert someone about the organization.
"Do a good a job. And everything will be fine." He stated. And just like that, left his daughter stricken behind him.
Agent Fisher opened the door as if to mark his departure and held it open for Anya.
In a daze, she stepped into a small hanger she had never been before, containing a couple cars and a suspicious looking van.
Fisher led the way to a black car near the end and unlocked it. She buckled Anya tightly in the back seat before taking the wheel.
Somewhere, someone did something, as the hangar's massive door opened, and Fisher drove the vehicle out of the lab.
—-
Anya knew what to expect.
…kinda.
Okay, not at all.
When the director said she was going to a club where several crime families were meeting up, she didn't really know that meant.
She imagined a club house in a tree, thinking it'd have to be pretty big to fit that many people.
This was starkly different.
She thought, as they descended a staircase leading below ground level. A man standing guard at a door.
He raised an eyebrow at the kid, standing beside Fisher, receiving an icy stare from the agent in response.
He asked for a password.
She gave it.
They entered a world new to Anya, who curiously absorbed it all.
Jazz played in the background, yellow lights strung on the walls. Low tables set up in front of cushy benches to lounge on. People were dressed in fancy clothes, drinking and laughing.
So many people.
It hit Anya like a brick.
She hadn't read anyone's minds in a little over two weeks. Static and garbled nonsense every time she tried. But now they were crowding for attention. Loud and obnoxious. Ever present and swarming.
Their faces were calm, and smiling so perfectly. Talking peaceably and stoically, their thoughts suspicious and sneaky. Speaking friendly to people they did not trust.
Agent Fisher moved among them with ease. Smiled pleasantly to people she passed as if she knew them.
A smile Anya hadn't ever seen in her life. Anya didn't know the agent could smile.
Fisher had never looked so refined. Walking confidently. Slowly. Appraisingly. As if this was her life.
She demanded respect with every step she took.
"Ferrah!" A woman's voice called happily in their direction. Her red dress swishing about her legs. Wavy blonde hair pinned in braids about her head. Her hands held out as she approached.
The client.
"Kiara." Agent Fisher cooed back, accepting her hug, like two best friends who hadn't met in a while.
"It's good to see you, dear." Kiara feigned.
"It's been a while." 'Ferrah' agreed.
They chatted for a couple of minutes to keep up pretences, before Kiara claimed she had other guests to tend to.
Fisher nodded at Anya to start gleaning information.
For the next two hours, Anya paid close attention to who Kiara spoke to. Listened to their thoughts. Who would betray her. Who were her friends. Schemes against her family or syndicate.
She was one of the most influential people in the underworld, and as such, had many enemies.
Enter Anya.
Mere child's play for an esper who could easily weed out her foes.
Literally.
So Anya did her job and found them.
Kai was pleased.
He left Noah alone.
The dye rinsed out after a wash.
A week later, there was another job.
An event for political families to meet other political families.
Her job was very similar to the last. But on a larger scale.
This was not just within Ostania. Politicians from other countries came together to speak to one another. Preserve peace. Keep alliances.
Essentially, Anya was here to destroy them. Or more specifically, seek out the secret plots already in motion that would betray their alliances.
It may not be the underworld, but people were still people.
Agent Fisher's fake identity was a diplomat representative from a foreign country. Anya, her daughter. Hair dyed once more.
Anya did as she was asked.
And again when a couple days later, the director brought in a dead body.
—
Nothing.
No records. No name. No clues whatsoever.
Loid had checked in with every single hospital and mental institution he could find over the past three weeks.
None of them had heard of a girl named Anya with pink hair, green eyes, and horns.
Loid was at a loss. If her clothes weren't hospital clothes, or pyjamas than what were they? The boy said they were a little different, but he didn't know what that was supposed to mean.
He considered trying to talk to him again, but he knew Sam had given him everything he had on the subject. He'd be running in circles.
It frustrated him to no end that this was all he had to go on.
He let out a growl of a sigh, plopping down on the couch. A list of crossed out hospital names tossed on the table. He went over what he knew, listing things off in his head:
She was found hiding from bad guys. Who though?
Wearing hospital-like clothes that weren't hospital clothes. He'd double checked
She didn't appear hurt or sick.
She was dirty and scared.
She was specifically targeted at her school and kidnapped with no trace left behind.
And he suspected Anya knew what was going on leading up to the kidnapping.
Loid ruminated, rubbing at his temples, turning it all over and over again. His thoughts starting to beat to the ticking of the clock.
Scared. Hiding. Her clothes. Not sick. Aware. Kidnapped.
Again. . .
And again. . .
And again. . .
And again. . .
Until it finally hit him.
The clothes. Scared. Hiding.
Horrified, his head snapped up, eyes wide.
"No….." He breathed. A long shot he hoped couldn't possibly be true.
Loid shot away from the couch, snatching up the phone.
—-
Yuri had had trouble pinning someone down before, but not like this. Not since the last time he went looking for 'Susan Hopkins'.
He interviewed anyone he found who came in contact with her past identity 'Lucy Fig'. The fancy woman, who wore fancy clothes. Her glasses more a fashion choice than a necessity.
Everyone he interviewed seemed to know something about her. "Grew up just North of here", "Inherited her families wealth", and "Moved back from abroad."
Yuri already knew these things. Had followed this case until she disappeared to the wind, never to be seen again. Until the kidnapping.
He interviewed anyone related to Sarah Hopkins the nurse. Similar assurance in the people who thought they knew her. She seemed like an open book.
This lady's ability to fully immerse herself in a role so convincingly, enabled her to evade any suspicion that might be thrown her way.
Resulting in futile interrogations.
But after three weeks. Three weeks! He found traces of a fake identity left behind. Followed them dutifully, until he found a thread he could pull on.
He relentlessly followed any crumb, any speck he could get his hands on.
She was nearly impossible to track down, but he'd done it.
He stood proudly outside a large building where he'd tagged her to be. A few towns over from home.
He tugged at his sleeves. Straightened his tie. A self-satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Signalled to his team.
'For you, sis. Here goes nothing.'