Sheri groaned, shifting on the gurney, her arms and legs restrained. Alarmed, she gave a quick mental jerk to her restrains, only the find that they did not budge in the slightest.
“Take it easy. You’re fine. It’s only temporary, a necessary precaution. You’ll understand soon enough.” Sheri narrowed her eyes at the unfamiliar voice. A man stepped forward, motioning towards her restraints. “You don’t have anything to worry about, I assure you.”
“Nothing to worry about? You have me strapped to a fucking table, and what the hell is this all about?” Sheri jerked her head in the direction of the IV currently inserted into her left arms.
“I told you, a necessary precaution. We were not quite sure how you’d respond, and I felt it was better to assure there would be no misunderstanding between us. We’re glad to have you back, after so long.”
“We? You're with the Company?” Sheri asked, attempting another unsuccessful mental pull at her restraints. "What the fuck is this stuff?"
“How rude of me. The name is Scrivens, Derek Scrivens. And yes, I am with The Company. As for 'that stuff' as you put it, it’s an experimental drug and I must say I am quite pleased to note that it’s as effective as the initial tests indicated it would be. The effects are temporary, and I do apologize. We’ve been trying to recover you for quite some time, and no one was sure what to expect once we managed to do so.” Scrivens pulled a chair up to the side of her gurney, taking a seat. “Do you feel fine otherwise? He didn’t do anything to hurt you, did he?”
“That freaky robot thing The Company sent after us? PZ-Something? He’s nothing but a pile of fucking scrap now, so what does it matter?” She retorted.
“I assume you are referring to CP-ZERO. That was unfortunate, but we’ve learned from the mistakes made on our end with that particular prototype. I’m pleased to see CR-0006 has proven to be more subtle in accomplishing it’s objectives. No, I was talking about Deadblood, of course.”
“Deadblood?” Scrivens smiled slightly at the confusion beginning to spread over her face. “What the hell are you talking about, Scrivens? Deadblood would never hurt me.”
“I’m glad to hear that. We were very concerned that might not be the case. He really put you through a lot, at any rate. I’m sorry we were not able to effect a successful recovery effort sooner.” She scowled in return, straining against her restraints.
“Oh, so that’s what you’re calling all this bullshit with your Terminator wannabes? Recovery effort my ass.” Sheri accused as Scrivens feigned a look of surprise.
“My little project was never targeting you, Ms. Stull. Just the opposite, in fact. Of course we were concerned about one of our operatives going missing, especially one with such singular talent. CP-ZERO’s only target was Deadblood.”
“That’s bullshit. I fought that freaky robot thing, it was after both of us.” She retorted. Scrivens sighed, shaking his head.
“No, I'm afraid not Ms. Stull. He really did a number on you, didn’t he? Really very clever on his part. He just used you as a diversion, a distraction. That’s all you were. We never intended you to be the target. Had all gone as planned, after eliminating the threat, CP-ZERO’s directive was to bring you back, safe and sound. It was Deadblood that prodded you out into that warzone, not us,” He repeated slowly, as if trying to explain a complicated concept to a child. “I assure you, our intentions were to eliminate a dangerous rogue agent, and recover a valuable Company asset. If you were ever in any danger at all, it was danger that Deadblood himself put you in.”
Sheri frowned, pondering the implications. CP-ZERO hadn’t hesitated to open fire on her, but where was she at the time? With Deadblood, it’s target. Of course she’d be caught in the crossfire. Sensing her doubt, Scrivens continued.
“And those wrestling matches? Ridiculous. Again, he just wanted you for a distraction, a cheap shot. And you were good, I’ll give you that. But what did you get out of the arrangement, other than a miniscule sliver of recognition in a sport that you have no interest in?”
Again, his words stung. Although she’d come to enjoy being his valet, it was true. Sheri had really gained nothing of importance from the arrangement, other than the sense of security from The Company that he’d promised her. The stipend she received as a valet was laughable, a mere fraction of what the company paid her for even an easy job.
“I helped him in the ring so he could win that shiny belt to protect us both...” Sheri faltered, as Scrivens shook his head in return.
“I told you, you were never in danger from us. Deadblood just made you believe you were. He was just using you. Face it, you have been nothing more than a useful distraction for him, both in and out of the ring. You don’t think we know about the rest of it, too? Really, he is quite clever. Not only does he get a valet who will help him cheat in an undetectable manner, he also gets to take her home with him and let her further distract him in the bedroom. Don’t you think you’re better than that, Ms. Stull?”
“I wasn’t just a distraction. It was more than that...” She began, but stopped. His words were getting to her, festering in her brain. Was that really all she’d meant to him? Just a tool that he could toss to the side without a second thought?
Scrivens smiled. This was too easy. He’d expected more resistance than this. He decided to play his final card now, even though he doubted he’d need it to win this hand. It was really just a matter of raking the chips in now.
“You’ve been here quite some time, you know. Or maybe you don’t realize it. I apologize for that. We were prepared to deal with some degree of Stockholms, after all you’ve been through. But you seem to be coming along well on your own.”
Sheri frowned. She didn’t remember being here for any length of time, although it was impossible to know for certain.
“A valet can’t be that difficult to come across, I figure. Maybe not one with your talents, but it can’t be that hard to find some girl willing to slink around ringside, and maybe even grab a chair if she needed to. It would be ridiculous to expect him to come after something so easy to replace.”
“What are you talking about? Of course he’ll come after me. I’m not just some stupid valet, I’m-”
“Disposable. And that’s a shame. You can’t really expect any better out of him though. You went to his apartment and warned him from the beginning that we don’t tolerate failure, and that he had a contract to fulfil. He was perfectly willing to throw you under the bus then. Why would you think anything has changed?” Sheri’s eyes clouded over at the mention of how Deadblood had initially made her the offer to join him. With a blade at her throat.
What choice had she really had?
Scrivens waited for a moment to let that sink in before twisting the knife a little farther.
“He’s done with you, and he’s already on to the next thing. All you were to him was something he could use in more ways than one. To the company, and to me, you are a very talented, valued agent who we went to the utmost extremes to recover. Tell me, who cares about whom here?” He paused there, waiting to see how she’d digest that bit of information.
