To Sheva Alomar, the blood-red band of clouds between the purple sky and the dark land below resembled a killing slit across a throat. Were it not for the foul air wafting from the infested city trying to claw its way down her nose and throat the sight might have been beautiful, but instead it was a reminder of things she'd never had trouble remembering in the first place.

She tapped her radio to make sure it was still on. All of the comms channels had been dead for hours. Even the so-called majini had stopped playing on them. That was a good thing, for it meant they no longer believed there was anyone left to taunt, but it made the tiny warehouse office she'd been hiding in feel more like a trap than a safe house.

When the sun was down enough for her liking, she rose to peer through the office window that overlooked the pier. A hundred yards out was anchored a large freighter, black on the water save for the lights on the stern. She'd have to come up by the bow. It was far from how they'd planned to assault the ship, but plans had changed when everyone died.

She counted her bullets, mostly to kill a few more minutes and let the sun drop even lower. Without a team, two full magazines for her pistol may as well have been zero. And if somehow she pulled this off, only one bullet would be needed. Perhaps two...

With her gun loaded and chambered she put it in a plastic bag and sealed it with rubber bands. She secured it, and another small bundle, to the tactical gear harness she wore. Over her shoulders and head she threw a deep red riding cloak, something she'd found in one of the lockers below. The color would make her nearly invisible as she stole outside, into the shadows between stacks of crates and rusting shipping containers.

She was not looking forward to the swim awaiting her at the end of the pier, but the reek of burning rot from the city was strong enough to remind her that her comrades bodies were among the things that smoldered. When she reached the end of the docks, she stepped out of her boots, stripped down to her underwear and crawled over the edge of the pier. She hung by her fingertips for a few seconds before letting go, timing her fall with the crash of the waves in case there was anyone out patrolling.

The water was warm. She was glad for its inky darkness, for it meant she couldn't see what else she might be floating around with as she swam for the freighter. It was a harder swim than she'd expected, her body was nearly at its limit when she reached the ship but she found the anchor chain and after a short rest began to climb. When she reached the top, she scaled the gunwale using the nylon cord and hook she'd bundled and fixed to her harness.

The moment her feet hit the deck she felt something inside her shrivel and die. It had been the part of her soul hoping the cord would break or the hook would come off, sending her back into the water where she'd come to her senses and swim back to shore. She would live to fight another day, maybe.

Or maybe not.

With that part of her all gone, she took her pistol and spare magazine from the plastic bag. Dry as a bone, it would do its job, all she had to do was the rest.

Taking stock of the deck, she saw right away that the BSAA's satellite photos hadn't been misread. This was no normal freighter. It was some kind of facility with the shipping containers and barrels being used to both fortify the ship and provide fuel and power to hidden equipment. From where she stood at the foremast, she saw a maze of such structures between her and the bridge, with an open circular area beneath the ship's crane.

What didn't see was any people, infested or otherwise.

Could her target be this arrogant? Yes, but it wouldn't do Sheva any good to match that arrogance and so it was with extreme suspicion that she made her way towards the bridge, slipping between the containers and crates that didn't look like avenues for booby-traps or ambushes.

At the sound of dogs barking she didn't so much as whisper a curse, but she did throw the rest of her caution to the wind and sprinted for the bridge. The sound of claws scraping the steel deck drew nearer, moving to surround her. She drew her pistol. Even if the dogs weren't infested like the ones in the city had been, things were about to get loud.

Sheva only realized that she'd been expertly herded into the open area under the ship's crane when the floodlights surrounding it snapped on. She shielded her eyes, ready to empty half a magazine into the nearest monster-dog when a loudspeaker crackled to life above her head.

"My, my, isn't this a pleasant surprise," said a woman with an Italian accent; her smooth, poisonous tone given a coppery twang by the speaker. "The one BSAA agent that managed to survive is also the juiciest."

Sheva's eyes looked for the dark spots round her, waiting for the attack to come, hoping against hope that her target was stupid enough to come and taunt her from within pistol range. The barking had stopped. No monsters showed themselves. The wind picked up, whistling over the black freighter towards the land.

A minute went by. Nothing happened. Sheva looked up towards the speaker. "Um... can you..."

"Yes, I can hear you," said the voice over the speaker in a terse whisper. "Since you're the last BSAA member I have left to play with, we'll be taking you alive."

Sheva wasn't sure what she expected to walk into the light with her but it wasn't two pale women in skintight, tactical bodysuits. Their hair was bleached, their eyes focused yet glazed, as if some part of them wasn't present. In their chests, just below the base of their throats, were what at first looked like jewelry, chokers inlaid with a single red stone, but were instead some kind of medical implant.

"Put the gun down and come with us," said the woman in the blue suit. Her blanched hair was long, tied back into a ponytail. She had the build of a woman who'd served in special forces, while the woman beside her, in green, was more petite, her hair in a bleached pixie cut. Neither were armed, but the confidence with which they move to surround Sheva was as unnerving as if they had been.

"I'm here for Excella Gionne," said Sheva. "Where is she?"

"They'll be taking you to me shortly, don't worry," said the voice over the speaker. "Any day now..."

Sheva suddenly lost sight of both women, and in that instant realized she'd been beaten the moment she'd stepped under the floodlights, maybe even the moment she'd set foot aboard the ship. One of them hit her hard in the upper thigh, the other on the opposite side but from the other direction. On her back, she had time to register the blank looks on each of their faces before one's boot came crashing down on her face, and with it darkness.

XXX

Sheva woke up with her chin in someone's hand, a medical flashlight boring straight into her eye.

"There you are," said the voice from the loudspeaker, free of any tinny distortions. "No brain damage, your nose isn't swelling. Umbrella truly did make some fine first aid medicines."

Blinking, Sheva saw she was in a brightly lit room with painfully white walls, her naked body held upright by pressure manacles fixed to robotic attachments on the floor and ceiling. Standing before her was curvaceous Italian woman, olive skin barely hidden in a loose ivory-colored dress, her black hair done up in an elegant beehive. She was made-up as if she were about to walk some red carpet in Hollywood, making the gray doctor's bag slung over her shoulder look out of place.

"Excella Gionne," said Sheva through dry lips. "You'll pay for what you've done."

Excella chuckled and let Sheva's chin go with a vindictive jerk. "The only one who's going to pay is you, I'm afraid," she said, opening her bag. "Your BSAA has caused me nothing but trouble for entirely too long and it's time you were all taught a lesson. I was hoping more of you would survive Kijuju so that I could make my point more clearly to your commanders, but with careful planning I think you'll be more than enough."

Sheva couldn't keep her eyes from widening as Excella drew a long syringe from her bag, nor could she stop the blood draining from her face. She had no idea what the syringe held, but knew it couldn't be anything good. "And what point would that be, exactly?" Sheva asked, figuring she could at least go through the motions of being hard and defiant even though her insides were melting from terror.

"Not to fuck with me," said Excella, sticking the needle into Sheva's neck. She felt a pinch, then an oily heat spreading through her body. The needle slid out. Excella capped it and set it aide. "How are you feeling? I'm planning to collect a great deal of data from you, as well."

Sheva's mouth was too dry to effectively spit in the woman's face. Her skin felt tingly and hot, her insides had gone from loose to tight. "What did you inject me with?" she said, her voice raspy.

"Just a little something to make you more amusing. Let's see if it's working."

She gently brushed her fingers down the side of Sheva's neck, causing her to gasp as something like a jolt of electricity shot through her body. Her entire frame shook as Excella's fingers slowly moved over her collarbone, down her chest. She let out a whimper as her swollen, stiff nipple was gently caressed, then a shriek when it was pinched.

"It's working," said Excella, putting both her hands into the mix, gently cupping and stroking Sheva's tits, teasing her nipples with bliss before squeezing them hard, the shocks of pain serving only to heighten the pleasure. "Do you like it when I touch you?"

The space-age manacles holding Sheva upright shifted with her body's writhing, but held her in place while Excella's hands worked on her completely unimpeded. Clenching her jaw, she fought to hold her composure, but all she could do was melt. Whatever she'd been injected with had not only heightened her senses but had hijacked her body, leaving her dripping with sweat and, to her horror and humiliation, other juices. Her captor could see this and was delighted, her gentle but cunning hands producing such sensations in Sheva's body as she'd never felt before.

Covered in sweat, her brown skin flushing with hot blood she shivered as if she were freezing. When she realized what was about to happened, her dry lips finally said, "Stop. Please. Don't..."

Excella laughed. "What's wrong? Are you about to cum? I think you are. I've barely done anything to you."

Sheva had resolved to hold out for as long as she could, to make Excella work for her entertainment, but it was no use. She let the orgasm wash over her, tried to cum with dignity as her captor's taunts were lost in the loud buzzing between her ears as her mind became unmoored from her brain.

Cruel laughter was ringing in Sheva's ears when she returned to herself, finding her body wetter and looser than she'd left it. She thought she might slip from the suction manacles holding her hands and feet, but they held firm.

"That was quite a performance," said Excella, fiddling with a device on her wrist that controlled the robotic manacles. They spread Sheva's limbs, lifted her higher off the ground. From Excella's bag, which she'd set on the floor, she took out a single long, latex glove, sliding it over her right hand, letting it snap around her wrist. "All that just from a little fondling. Let's see how you handle something a little more serious."

Sheva had thought herself spent, but the poison she'd been injected with had all of her internal pistons and rods churning at full power. She rose to Excella's touch just as she had before, her back arching as fingers trailed down her spine towards her buttocks. She grit her teeth as Excella teased around her slick, sensitive flesh, shuddered uncontrollably as her bliss was riled up all over again. She fought to maintain control for as long as she could, but that wasn't very long at all. She knew begging wouldn't do her any good, but did it anyway, the sound of Excella's laughter following her mind into oblivion.