and yet you delayed!"
Alexandria staggered back as if she had been physically struck. "Victoria, no, I was only trying to—"
"Trying what? Save your career?" Victoria spat, convulsing in Ethan’s arms. "I begged you! They had locked up, they showed you the threats, they showed you that damn video, and still you took days to resign! Every ti you hesitated, they ca back and used ! Do you know what they did to while you were deciding if your Dean title was worth more?"
She dissolved into hysterical, soul-wrenching sobs.
"They used ! They humiliated ! And all because you were too cowardly to sign a piece of paper!" Victoria scread, her voice broken. "They did this to because you hesitated!"
Alexandria stumbled backward, covering her face with her hands. The guilt over the kidnapping of Emily and Samantha was now compounded by the horrific, direct knowledge of what her inaction had cost her best friend.
"I wish I had never t you, Alexandria!" Victoria cried out, burying her face in Ethan’s chest, unable to bear the sight of her friend’s betrayal.
Ethan observed the chaotic exchange, letting the toxic wave of trauma and guilt crash fully over Alexandria.
He knew this trauma required more than just platitudes, but he also knew they were in a dangerous, exposed location.
He gently shifted Victoria in his arms. "Victoria," Ethan said, his voice firm but compassionate. "You will have to endure just a little longer. We need to get out of here right now."
Victoria squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists, offering no words, only a defeated nod.
Ethan carefully placed her in the back seat of the rcedes, covering her completely with the tarp. He looked at Alexandria, whose shoulders were shaking with sobs of guilt.
"I’m going inside for the money," Ethan said to Alexandria. "Try to understand her. She’s been through unimaginable suffering."
"I know," Alexandria whispered, her voice thick with tears. "And it’s my fault."
Ethan gently embraced her, pulling her close for a brief, tight mont. "It’s not your fault, Alexandria. It is the fault of those damn bastards, and we will make them pay. Do not doubt that."
She nodded and slid into the driver’s seat. Ethan closed the door and turned back toward the warehouse.
Ethan walked back into the silent, grueso warehouse. He retrieved the briefcase containing the one million dollars. His eyes imdiately fell on the body of Agent Alpha.
Alpha was no longer lying where he had fallen. He was propped up against a shipping container, the bullet hole in his forehead visibly scabbed over.
Ethan shook his head slowly. "You are so stupid, Alpha, you couldn’t even wait for to fully leave to reveal your lie," Ethan said, his voice a low drawl. "Get up. Don’t make co over there."
Agent Alpha slowly slid down the container, sitting on the floor, his head bowed.
"I... I don’t know what I am either," Agent Alpha said, his voice quiet, devoid of the previous rage. "Those sons of bitches injected with sothing. I truly don’t know what they did to ."
He lifted his head, his eyes showing profound confusion. "I woke up in a laboratory. I don’t know who I am, where I was born, or anything before that mont. I have absolutely no mory. They simply told I was a mber of Celestial Garden and that I had died and they revived using advanced technology."
Agent Alpha’s expression darkened. "But every ti I was near the zone manager, Axhel Rhodes, I felt an infinite hatred and an overwhelming urge to murder him. I don’t understand what’s happening to , but I know I’m not truly one of Celestial Garden."
Ethan pocketed the money, watching him intently. "Why did you decide to talk now? Why the sudden confession?"
Agent Alpha pressed his hands against the sides of his head. "Sothing wouldn’t let talk before. It was like there was sothing controlling , a chanism in my head. But when you shot , sothing seed to break loose."
Ethan stared at the man, the curiosity warring with suspicion.
"Even though I might want to believe you, I can’t," Ethan said. "I don’t know what the hell you are, and you are far too dangerous."
Agent Alpha scoffed, a genuine sound of resentnt.
"You can say that about , but what about you?" Agent Alpha countered. "Maybe you don’t feel it because you’re far more powerful than I am, but my strength is well beyond a normal human’s. I can kill a silverback gorilla with my bare hands; they’ve forced to prove it several tis. Yet, you are far stronger than . You should think carefully about who the real monster is here."
Ethan laughed, a short, humorless burst.
[This asset is interesting, Master. You should keep him close for as long as you can without killing him. He could prove useful later, or...]
The System suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
O-r? Ethan ntally pressed. Tell what happens!
There was no response from the System.
Ethan contemplated Alpha’s words and the System’s sudden silence, realizing the prisoner had a point.
"Alright," Ethan said, conceding the argunt. "And what do you expect to do now? They are the ones who did this to you, according to your story. They can take it away, or worse, turn you back into their mindless zombie. Tell , what is it that you want?"
Agent Alpha looked him squarely in the eye, the hatred for Celestial Garden driving him. "You are their enemy, and you know that enemies converge on a narrow path. So, why don’t we join forces? I can be an infiltrated agent, or a suicide machine. At the end of the day, I can’t be easily killed."
"Both options cause conflicts," Ethan said, frowning. "Letting you go when you know my identity—"
[Master, here is an item that could greatly assist you please check it.]
User Comments
0 comments from readers