Heisenberg strutted into the old fort. All four of the Lords had been summoned that morning by Mother Miranda. He'd just crawled into his bed when the phone rang and Miranda had informed him of the meeting. He took his time getting dressed, donning his duster jacket, torn around the hem, and his wide-brimmed hat. He walked with his massive hammer on his shoulder and a cigar in his mouth, rarely was he seen without one.

He was the last one there, as usual. Miranda regarded him with cold eyes, and he bowed by sticking his leg out, bending at the waist, and grabbing the rim of his hat.

"Mother Miranda, such a pleasure to be in your presence." Fucking cunt, Heisenberg smiled. At her nod, he plopped down into an old wooden Pew and propped his hammer up next to him.

Miranda waited for him to settle before speaking, "Villagers say they saw an outsider being chased by the Lycans, through the village last night." She glanced at the Lords one at a time. Heisenberg hid his discomfort by taking a long drag on his cigar. "I want her found."

"Mother Miranda," Alcina Demitrescu cut in, "if I may ask, is there something special about this girl?"

"She may have something of value to my research," Miranda said patiently. "She is to be brought to me immediately and untainted." she shot a look at Heisenberg, "She was lost after she crossed the bridge towards your factory."

He shifted a fraction, "I'll search the place, but I can't guarantee that I'll find her, or that she is alive. My workers don't typically let intruders very far. Especially outsiders."

Miranda regarded him cooly then gave a brief nod. "Take every precaution to keep her alive, if she is dead, I want her body as soon as possible." Heisenberg smiled in acquiescence.

As the other Lords began discussing if they had seen her or not he only pretended to be attentive, things had gotten more interesting. He had seen her powers, and she had an uncanny healing ability to boot. Her head injury he'd given her had healed by the time he'd strung her up. Her face hardly had a bruise on it from his rough treatment.

Miranda eventually left in a flourish of feathers and they all started to depart. The walk back to the factory gave him time to think. The villagers were just beginning to start their day, bowing to him and then scurrying away as fast as they could. He ignored them. He was too busy in his mind. Turning Yelena over to Mother Miranda would be simpler than trying to keep her locked up, perhaps Miranda would just make her another Lord. Yelena had managed to escape once, she had to have, the healing, and her abilities screamed Cadou implantation. If she had somehow escaped Miranda, then why did she come back, maybe she could do it again. Maybe he could go with her.

No, he thought, escaping this place isn't enough, Miranda needs to pay for making me a freak. She'd never let me just leave, I'd never have peace. The longer he walked, the angrier he got, the more he spiraled into his thoughts. What if Miranda planted Yelena as a test? Or a spy? He needed answers. He needed to know who this woman was, why she was here, and what she wanted.

"Fucking cunt," he growled around his cigar. Even he didn't know if he meant Yelena or Miranda.

Yelena's cell was more of an empty storage closet. It took four steps to cross one way and three to cross the other. She had paced in circles for hours. The walls were concrete, and the door was wooden, it's been locked with a heavy beam. She could hear two "Soldatin" outside her door. Faint raspy breath and the occasional buzz of their drills, like they were reminding her they were there. There was nothing she could pull to help her, even the metal plates affixed to the bottom of her boots had been removed.

Eventually, she heard heavy footfalls and the beam slid out of place. The door shattered inward in an explosion of splinters. Heisenberg stood on the threshold with a giant hammer in his hands. She couldn't react before she flew towards him as he pulled on her magnetic field. He caught her by the throat and slammed her into the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Her eyes bulged and his hand made it difficult to regain her breath.

"We need to talk," he told her. "Why does Miranda want you?"

Yelena tried to answer, but only a whispering hiss came out of her mouth. He was pressing too hard on her chest. He blinked as though just now realizing what he was doing, and let go.

"Fucking hell," she said after a small coughing fit. "That was a bit extreme." He stared at her. "I don't know who that is," she said simply.

He sighed and grabbed the bridge of his nose. "Why did you come to this village, and why did you come here?" he pointed to the floor.

"Liked the view," she glanced at his hat then his boots, "didn't realize it was filled with trash."

His face grew dark and his hand shifted in his hammer. After a deep breath, he said, "Look, you're right, this place is filled with trash, but if you think I am the worst thing here, you're mistaken." Heisenberg crouched down and poked her chest, "And right now, they are looking for you."

"Why me?" she asked standing up.

"That's what I want to know," he said and crossed his arms. "I can toss you to the wolves, or I can make sure they don't find you, but you need to answer some of my questions."

Yelena thought for a moment, "What if I go to them? Will they string me up like a smoked ham?"

Heisenberg sighed, "They'll turn you over to Mother Miranda, and I don't think you want to know what she'll do to you."

The Lycans and Soldats ran through her mind, "Turn Me into a freak?"

He slammed the hammer on the floor, cracking the tile. "It's what she did to me," he said under his breath, "I would bet every lei in the village that she already did to you, too." His eyes gleamed over his glasses.

"No," she continued with a wave of her hand. "I can thank Stalin, or was it Khrushchev? I don't remember. In any case, I've had these abilities before I ever came here."

"I can prove that you didn't." He said. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off, "I mean I think you were here before you found yourself in a gulag or whatever."

Heisenberg put his hands up, "Look that's not the point. The point is that you'll beg for death before she's done with you,"

Yelena doubted it. "You're not going to let me leave anyway, are you?"

"No," he said and left her among the shattered wood.