Agent 38: A DID Spy Thriller (Various)

[BobaFettish1]

Chapter Twenty Three: “Breaking The Chains”
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The blonde haired girl stared at me with a concerned look as she knelt at my side to finish removing my gag. As she did I began to glance around at my surroundings. As suspected, I was still laying on my stomach in the middle of the large cargo container, the interior of which was severely darkened now that the large doors in front of me had been sealed shut. The only light present filtered in through a series of golf ball sized holes that had been drilled into the walls of the giant metal box. It finally dawned on me that this young woman hadn’t simply appeared out of thin air to rescue me from my predicament; she was one of the slaves I had been imprisoned with. But she wasn’t chained up anymore. Thin red marks on her wrists showed where she had recently worn the metal shackles, and a bruised ring around her neck was a grim reminder of her former slave collar. She finally finished untying my gag and removed the dirty rag from my mouth. Just as she did, I let out a violent cough.

“Are you alright?” The young woman asked, tenderly.

“I... I think so,” I said hoarsely in between coughs and deep breaths.

“Soooo, are you some kind of secret agent or something?” She asked quizzically.

I started to answer, but suddenly realized I couldn’t. For the first time that I could remember, I didn’t know how to answer that question. For so long the Agency had been a part of my identity. Hell, it was my identity. I had given up everything and devoted my life to serving an entity that now ceased to exist. I had told myself that Caitlin James was gone, fully replaced by Agent 38. But who was Agent 38 now? What did it mean to be an Agent when there was no Agency?

I pondered the question and hesitated long enough for the girl to raise and eyebrow in confusion. I finally shook away the jumble of thoughts and finally spoke up in a monotone voice.

“I used to be.”

“Oh,” She said sheepishly. “I heard part of the message earlier. I’m... I’m sorry.”

A wave of emotions came flooding back into my mind. The pain, the anger, and the heartbreak threatened to overtake me once again, but I pushed it away. “It’s okay,” I said as reassuringly as I could.

While diligently working to remove the ropes and chains from my body, the blonde haired girl spoke almost non-stop. It seemed being bound and gagged for such a long time had made her ready to vomit words to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately for me I was very much a captive audience and, despite having my gag removed, I still couldn’t get a word in edgewise. As she worked to free me from my bonds she introduced herself as Emily Beck and proceeded to go on and on about the harrowing ordeal that had led to her being imprisoned here. She explained her kidnapping in excruciating detail, how she had been snatched by men in a white panel van on the way home from work, how she spent numerous days bound and gagged, and then eventually shackled and blindfolded inside this very cargo container. She complained about how much her legs had been cramping while being forced to sit so long and how much her wrists and ankles hurt from the handcuffs. She expressed concern about her husband back in New York and how much he would be worried about her.

It was hard not to zone out during Emily’s seemingly endless story time, but I at least pretended to listen most of the time. I did perk up a bit when she started explaining exactly how she and the other captives had managed to escape their shackles. “It was Vanessa who got us out of the chains,” Emily said, gesturing towards a young Latina woman standing near the door of the container. She wore a red collared shirt with black tights and red knee high boots. Vanessa was kneeling beside another strikingly similar woman that she was helping to release from the chains. The prisoner wore a business suit; red camisole, a black mini skirt and brown pantyhose with red high heels. “She said that after they tied you up she was feeling around on the floor and found a handcuff key," Emily continued. "And it fit everyone’s cuffs perfectly! I mean, how crazy is that?”

It wasn’t crazy at all, actually. After only a moment of pondering I suddenly realized what had happened. The handcuff key Vanessa had found was the same key that I had stored in my utility belt, the one that a henchmen had stripped from my person when I was captured. Perhaps by pure chance the key must have fallen out of the belt’s pouch and somehow landed within reach of one of my fellow prisoners. Vanessa has escaped her own hand and leg cuffs and was now working her way around to each of the other captives to free them with the same handcuff key.

As Emily carefully removed the rope from my hair I was finally able to pivot my head normally and I glanced backwards to see that more of the women were now moving about the cargo container, free of their shackles. From what I could tell, about half of the girls were still seated against the walls of the container, still chained hand and foot. The other half of them were busily helping the remaining prisoners unlock their cuffs.

After all they had been through, after all the mobsters had done to keep them restrained, and after what little I had been able to do to help them, they had still managed to escape completely on their own. And not only that, but they were rescuing me! I was impressed.

Suddenly I felt the presence of another set of hands on my body, specifically around my legs. I then noticed a young African American woman was helping Emily release me. She had dark skin, deep brow eyes and frizzy black hair held back in a bun. Her clothing consisted of lime green hospital scrubs with white sneakers.

“That’s Jackie,” Emily chimed in, as if to answer my unspoken questions about her helper. “She says she’s a surgeon, which apparently makes her good at lock picking.” Jackie was indeed hard at work digging into the keyhole of one of the locks with a thin piece of metal. She had already undone the locks and chains binding my arms and was focused on unlocking the padlock at my feet.

“Almost...” Jackie said through gritted teeth. “There!” She finally exclaimed as the lock popped open. The chains encasing my legs instantly became loose and fell to the floor in a clatter. Both women quickly went to work unraveling the chains from my limbs and it felt so good to be rid of the painful metal restraints. As the chains fell away I tried to move my arms and legs but quickly realized I couldn’t. I had completely forgotten that the chains were but the second layer of my bondage, the first being a hefty web of rope that had also been applied to my limbs. I was growing impatient of just lying there helplessly tied up, especially knowing everything that was at stake, but Emily and Jackie were now working as fast as they could to untie me.

Once they freed my arms from the ropes I flopped over onto my back and pulled myself up into a sitting position. I rubbed my wrists profusely trying to ward off the numbness and get my blood flowing again. Just as I did, I noticed that the rest of the women inside the cargo container were getting to their feet after being freed from their chains. Jackie and Emily finished removing the last portions of rope from around my ankles, and at last, I too was free.

I paused for a long moment, just sitting there silently. I was so exhausted, both physically and emotionally. I wanted a long hot bath and an even longer nap in a cool bed. For the first time in a very long time I didn’t know what would come next. I had no Agency to go back to, and no fellow agents to rely on. I knew going into this that I would be on my own, but I had yet to realize how truly alone I would end up being.

All the women looked directly at me, perhaps waiting for some grandiose inspirational speech about how we were going to escape. But truthfully I had no idea what to say, or what to do. What did these women expect from me? Did they see me as their savior? Some kind of dashing heroine that was going to jump into action and save them all?

Or did they see me for who I truly was? Another hapless prisoner who had been kidnapped, held captive, and just barely managing to avoid a life of slavery.

Despite the fact that I am... well, I was a highly trained secret agent, and also despite all my efforts to thwart the Boss’ plan, I had still ended up here, shackled and gagged without any means of escape. And it was these women, the ones I had set out to rescue in the first place, who had ended up rescuing me!

Perhaps I wasn’t so alone after all.

“Okay! First things first,” I said as I stepped towards the large double doors of the cargo container. I used both my hands to shove them hard, as if I was (stupidly) expecting results. Nonetheless, the doors rattled intensely but didn’t budge. I had seen enough of the outside of the container to know why; four vertical locking bars each with clamping handles kept the doors firmly in place. By design the cargo container would be impossible to open from the inside, mainly because it wasn’t designed to transport human beings.

“How do we get out of this thing?” Jackie asked, a hint of panic in her voice. I wasn’t eager to admit I had absolutely no idea so I didn’t speak. Thankfully someone else broke the awkward silence.

“Hey,” another feminine voice called out from the back of the cargo container behind us. “Look at this!” I quickly worked my way through the crowd of women with Emily and Jackie right on my heels. Several of the girls were huddled in the right corner of the container looking up at the ceiling curiously. They parted as I approached and a young brown skinned woman turned to face me. She was dressed in a brown burqa, blue sweater, a black skirt and brown sandals. She was gesturing towards the ceiling and I followed her gaze to a small hole in the corrugated metal above. It was no more than half a meter wide and appeared to be the result of something solid and sharp puncturing the top of the metal skin of the cargo container. The thick metal had been pressed inward until it had broken, leaving the hole open with ragged twisted edges of metal pointing down at us.

“This is the only opening I’ve found.” The woman said in accented English. Trying to climb through the small hole as it was would leave someone shredded. I reached up and began manipulating the shards of metal the best I could, bending them away from the opening and also managing to widen the hole just so. When I was finished my hands hurt like hell, but the opening seemed at least somewhat passable.

“Give me a boost,” I said gesturing towards the hole. Several of the women immediately came to my aid, hoisting me up into the air and towards the hole. I grabbed the sides of the opening, being careful not cut myself, and pulled my head through the hole. I peered out through the roof of the cargo container, examining the surroundings quickly and carefully. Thankfully none of the Boss’ minions were in sight, so I wouldn’t have to expect a fight after escaping the metal box. (Well, at least not immediately.) I repositioned myself in an effort to pull myself through the hole, slipping one of my arms up and onto the roof of the container. I stretched to pull my other arm through... but couldn’t.

Now, look, I have always prided myself on keeping my body as fit and flexible as possible. Being physically able to slip into a tight air duct, or more often than not, slip out of some tight ropes, has always been key. But it appears I misjudged the size of this hole and my ability to squeeze through it.

After several excruciatingly long moments of intense wiggling I realized there was just no way I could get through. I climbed back down into the container and let out a labored sigh. “Anyone that goes through there is gonna have to be super tiny!” As soon as I said the words, a lightbulb went off in my head. I then glanced towards the one person who might be able to fit through the hole. And apparently I wasn’t the only one with this epiphany since several of the other women were already staring at the best candidate.

“W-w-what’s everyone looking at me for?” Emily said, her voice trembling. Clearly she was well aware that all eyes inside the container were now laser focused on her.

“C’mon, it’ll be easy!” I said, in as much of a reassuring and optimistic tone as I could manage. Sure, I didn’t much like the idea of sending the smallest, and seemingly most defenseless member of our party out on a lone mission. But unfortunately we were running out of options quickly, and Emily’s thin frame and short stature had the best chance of slipping through the opening unscathed. “All you have to do after you’re through is climb down, go around to the door and open it. It’s simple!”

“But... but... I might not do it right!” Emily stammered. “Or... there might be bad guys out there!”

“You’ll be fine! You won’t have any trouble.” I said with fake confidence. “Emily, I know you’ve probably never been in a situation like this before. But you can do this. I believe in you.” I paused and gestured to the women standing around us. “And we're all counting on you.” Just then another loud thud rocked the ship, rattling the cargo container and almost knocking us off our feet. Emily took a deep breath and nodded, a nonverbal acceptance of her assignment. I could only imagine the fear and nervousness she was feeling, but it was a simple task and she was more than capable.

Working quickly, I knelt down and motioned for Emily to climb onto me. She did so promptly, wrapping her legs around my neck and seating herself atop my shoulders. I lined her up with opening in the ceiling and stood up, pushing her through. As expected, the thin young woman slipped through with relative ease and was soon standing on top of the container. She peered down through the hole at me, a wide eyed nervous expression on her face.

“Get to the door! Hurry!” I yelled up through the hole. If I couldn’t quiet her fears, I could at least try to keep her focused on the task at hand. Quickly, Emily’s face took on a determined look, and then she disappeared. Her footsteps could be heard on the top of the cargo container pacing back and forth, perhaps looking for a safe way to climb down from the top of the tall structure. Finally, she stepped towards the rear of the container and I heard her fumbling her way down to the floor. Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard outside.

“I’m okay! I’m okay!” Emily yelled from an unknown location. Jackie and I looked at each other nervously. Myself and several of the women inside drew ourselves up to the walls of the container and peered out of the small holes that were sporadically placed. We watched anxiously for Emily to make her move, and just then she appeared. She was now a bit dirty, having presumably fallen into a pile of refuse on her way down from the roof of the container. She dusted herself off and stumbled her way towards the front of the container, seemingly unaware that she had an audience. Seconds later the door of the container shuddered slightly and the sounds of clanging metal could be heard. I approached the door with Jackie and the rest of the former slaves at my back. The energy inside the container was palpable. Despite all of us escaping our chains, we were getting just a little stir crazy after being trapped inside the metal box for so long.

“Oh no!” Emily said suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” I called out to her through the door.

“There’s padlocks and chains on the door! I can’t open it!”

If I could reach the lock I knew I could pick it in a matter of seconds. But Emily was now our only shot at escaping.

“Okay, listen!” I yelled through the door. “Do you have a couple of hair pins on you?”

Emily hesitated. “Um, yeah. Why?”

“Well, you’re about to get a crash course in lock picking, sweetie.”

“What?! I can’t-“

“Yes you can. Trust me.”

Emily said nothing more, but it was clear she was not a fan of this idea. Regardless, she followed my instructions as I blindly taught her how to pick the lock. I explained every detail of the process, which included jamming the two hairpins into the keyhole of the padlock simultaneously in an effort to unlock the complex mechanism inside. While Emily was obviously lacking in confidence and bravery, she made up for it with intelligence and ingenuity. It didn’t take the young woman long to pick up on the complicated instructions, and soon she seemed to be making headway.

“Hey, I think I got it!” She suddenly yelled. "I think I..”

Suddenly Emily went silent.

“Emily? Did you get it?” I called to her, but got no answer.

“Emily!” Jackie echoed with a worried yell.

Suddenly the entire cargo container shuddered. The sound of rattling chains and creaking metal signaled that someone was trying to open the door. It could be Emily, but something didn’t seem right. I suddenly realized that if it came to a fight I was now completely unarmed, and that wouldn’t do. I glanced around on the floor and caught sight of something shiny. While a gun or a knife would have been a good companion, it appeared I would have to settle for a small metallic screwdriver. I picked it up and gripped it tightly as the uneasiness in my stomach churned.

The rattling of the doors stopped suddenly and I gripped the screwdriver tightly. Suddenly, both of the huge metal doors swung open and the bright lights outside left me blind for a moment. Finally, I took stock of what was in front of us.

There stood Emily, her blonde hair messy, her brown boots scuffed, and her clothes disheveled. And worse still, her wrists were now bound together in front of her. There were tears in her eyes and she looked as if she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. But the large hairy hand now clasped over her mouth prevented Emily from uttering a sound. The hand belonged to a large muscular man that stood at least two heads taller than the tiny girl. He had dark skin, long black hair, and his arms were covered in a swirl of faded tattoos. While clutching Emily’s face with his left hand, he used his right hand to press the muzzle of his handgun into his captive’s temple. Upon seeing all of us inside the cargo container he flashed a toothy grin.

“Going somewhere, ladies?” He asked in a joyfully evil tone.

Several of the women inside the cargo container gasped. A few others screamed in horror. All of us gaped at the unexpected appearance of the hostage taker. The man’s finger twitched ever so slightly as it gripped the gun’s trigger. The muzzle of the weapon was pressed firmly into the side of Emily’s skull. The man’s eyes were sparked full of excitement while Emily’s were filled with horror.

I knew he would be fast.

But I knew I was faster.

Suddenly I raised my hand, and in one quick motion sent the screwdriver I had found flying through the air. In less than a blink of an eye the shiny metal tool left my grasp and met with the face of Emily's captor. Even more gasps of shock and horror went up around me as the results of my attack became clear. The sharp and pointy end of the screwdriver had plunged itself into the man’s right eye. The man’s cheerful expression faded and his body went limp. Emily screamed as her attacker’s hand fell away from her mouth and she saw up close and personal what had become of him. With a loud metal thud the man fell backwards to the floor, leaving Emily standing alone with her hands still bound in front of her.

“Did... Did that seriously just happen?” Jackie said, her voice quivering.

“Nice shot.” Vanessa said with a smirk, clearly impressed.

“Are you alright?” I said as I quickly rushed to Emily’s aide, untying her hands and clutching her by the shoulders. She nodded quickly but said nothing. The young woman slowly turned around to look where the man had fallen behind her. As soon as she caught a glimpse of him she jerked away from the gruesome display.

“Is... is he dead?” She asked. I casually glanced towards the lifeless body.

“He better be.” I said callously. Emily gave me a blank stare and awkwardly continued to look away from the body. I shook off the grim composure. “I’m sorry.” I said with care.

“It’s okay,” Emily replies. “You... saved me. Thank you.”

“Just returning the favor, kid.” I said with a wink. Just then the throng of formerly imprisoned women stepped forward, finally walking out of the cargo container they had been trapped in for God knows how long. The bright lights of the ship’s interior stood in stark contrast to the dark interior of the cargo container and some of them were forced to shield their eyes against the intense glare.

“Where are we?” Another girl said, dressed in an orange and white cheerleading outfit.

“Okay, so long story short," I began. "We’re on a ship, and it’s stalled out and sinking in the middle of the ocean because we planted explosives in the engine room that blew a hole in the stern.

“Wait, what?” Jackie exclaimed. Most of the other women had similar dismayed reactions to the news.

"Oh, and our captors are working for a secret evil organization that wants to destroy the world." I added nonchalantly.

"I think I need to lie down." Emily said, burying her head in her hands.

"That's... kinda wicked, I'm not gonna lie." Vanessa responded.

I ignored their worried comments and walked over to one of the large pallets of cargo that was nearby. I was desperate to find anything inside the cargo hold that might be useful. The absence of any proper weapons or gear, combined with the purple and black wetsuit I had been forced to wear, I felt naked and defenseless. Each of the pallets was covered in a heavy gray tarp, obscuring their contents. I lifted each tarp carefully and examined what was underneath. Meanwhile, it was now becoming clear to everyone that one side of the cargo hold was higher than the other, a sure sign the ship was listing due to it taking on a large sum of ocean water. And the ship's condition would undoubtedly only get worse, and my fellow escapees were at wits’ end.

“So, what do we do?” Emily said, her voice growing frantic.

“How are we gonna get outta here?” The Latina girl dressed in business attire asked.

A raven haired girl dressed in a black and white baseball uniform spoke up, adding to the hysteria. “If they find out we escaped they’ll kill us!”

“Or they’ll just chain us up even worse.” Vanessa said sardonically.

I kept working my way through the various cargo pallets, having yet to find anything useful. Just then I heard Jackie speak up amongst the crowd of worried females.

“But we can’t go out there! They’ve got guns!”

Suddenly I remembered something. I rushed to one of the nearest pallets of cargo and quickly ripped off the tarp covering its contents. There, revealed for everyone to see, were crates of large AK-47 rifles. I grabbed another tarp and pulled it away from another pallet, revealing at least a hundred carefully packed handguns.

“Let’s level the playing field.”

[Caesar73]

So glad you are back! Grandiose continuation. How the women help each other the throw of the screw driver? Brillant!

[BobaFettish1]

So glad you are back! Grandiose continuation. How the women help each other the throw of the screw driver? Brillant!

It's so good to be back, and I'm thrilled that you're enjoying the story! There's only a couple more chapters to go, which I look forward to posting soon.

[Caesar73]

So glad you are back! Grandiose continuation. How the women help each other the throw of the screw driver? Brillant!

It's so good to be back, and I'm thrilled that you're enjoying the story! There's only a couple more chapters to go, which I look forward to posting soon.

Sounds good to me! I liked the way, you described the inner turmoil of Agent 38, when asked if she is an Agent, and she could not answer the question at first.

[DesertFox]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this story. You're a great writer and the entire story arc is excellent. The action sequences are particularly entertaining!

[BobaFettish1]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this story. You're a great writer and the entire story arc is excellent. The action sequences are particularly entertaining!

Thank you so much! So glad you’re enjoying it! It means a lot.

[BobaFettish1]

Chapter Twenty Four: "Damsels Causing Distress"


Dark clouds filled the sky and the ocean had begun churning violently. The storm I had spied on the horizon earlier was now closing in on us. The ship moaned once again, as if it were a gigantic sea beast reeling from a mortal wound. There was still no land in sight, and given the state of the ship’s propulsion systems I doubted that would change anytime soon.

A pillar of black smoke billowed out from the port side of the ship near its rear. There was undoubtedly a sizable hole in the side of the enormous vessel, and it had most likely been taking on water since the explosion. A slight list towards port seemed to confirm this. The MS Leviathan was dying, and it was threatening to take all of its passengers down with her. To make matters worse, the ship was now being battered by the wind and waves of the rapidly intensifying storm. For once I was actually rooting for the Boss and his goons. They were now my only hope for getting off this ship alive. And, ironically, they were also the biggest obstacle standing in the way of my ultimate freedom.

Okay, yeah, maybe I did make things just a tad bit worse when I decided to plant explosives in the engine compartment and blow a hole in the side of the ship in an attempt to sink it with only a flimsy escape plan at my disposal.

But in my defense I wasn’t planning on getting myself recaptured and chained up indefinitely!

Yada, yada, yada! Mistakes were made! Let’s focus on the task at hand.

After exiting the cargo hold near the midsection of the ship I crossed the deck — still dressed in my purple and black wetsuit — and made my way towards the control tower located at the rear of the vessel. The tower was at least 10 stories tall, the top floor of which was the bridge section. The bridge was lined on all sides by large windows and a wraparound balcony. The ship appeared to be deserted once again as there were no signs of life anywhere, but I wasn’t about to let my guard down this time. Odds are most of the ship’s crew were busy trying to undo the damage I had caused and keep the ship afloat. If, by chance, they managed to stop the vessel from sinking they would be more on guard than ever. And if I happened to get myself captured once again the Boss would probably chain me up and throw me overboard before I even had a chance to escape.

But I’ve spent enough time on this trip bound and gagged already. It was time to start kicking some ass.

Upon making it to the tower I slipped into an open hatchway and carefully made my way down one of the ship’s long inner hallways in an effort to make my way towards the stern. I strolled down the dark hallway which was only lit by periodic red emergency lights. The interior of the ship was eerily quiet, aside from a distant distress siren that echoed down the hallway, and the sound of the ship creaking and groaning under the pressure of the storm. It didn’t take long before I rounded a corner and suddenly came face to face with my next adversary.

“Hands ups!” The man yelled, pointing his shotgun squarely at my chest. He was of average height and build with olive skin, messy black hair and wearing pale orange coveralls. I instantly recognized him as one of the goons who had tied, gagged and chained me up in the cargo hold just a short time ago. It seemed he also recognized me too.

“Wait, how the hell did you escape?” He exclaimed with genuine bewilderment.

“You really need to work on your rope work, buddy," I said lackadaisically. "I was able to get out of that in under five minutes, all on my own!”

I held a single semiautomatic pistol in my hand, but I had no reason to bring it to bear. I kept my tone and my body language relaxed and confident, which seemed to unnerve the man further.

“Well, we’ll just have to add even more chains this time!” He had his rifle and his vision trained on me solely, and I took great satisfaction in watching as he realized that I wasn’t alone.

“This time?” I asked, dipping my chin and raising an eyebrow quizzically.

The man’s eyes suddenly widened as he saw a large group of young women step around the corner behind me and make their presence known. He surely would have recognized them as the individuals who had been previously shackled and gagged in the cargo hold as would-be slaves. Now they were far from helpless. All of them carried a weapon of some kind; machine guns, pistols, rifles and an assortment of others. The army of girls all stood with their weapons raised towards the now outnumbered henchman. I had instructed them all to follow me loosely and keep their weapons at the ready. Jackie was now to my right, holding an AK-47, while Emily stood to my left, clutching a small black handgun in her hands. The rest of the badass damsels stood close behind, ready to fight if it came to it.

The man’s shotgun began to rattle as his whole body quaked in fear. He was slowly realizing just how outgunned and overwhelmed he truly was. Relishing his terror, I couldn’t help myself from stepping toward him slightly and leaning forward until my face was just a few inches from his. I suddenly yelled out “Bang!” causing the henchman to practically jump out of his skin, falling backwards and dropping his own gun in the process. The man scrambled backwards and ran as fast as he could down the hallway screaming in fear. Neither me nor my female bodyguards moved a muscle in response, although I did detect a few giggles amongst the crowd of women behind me.

“Oh, so you escaped all on your own, eh?” Jackie asked in a mocking tone.

“Hey,” I put up my hands in faux defense. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold. If the bad guys find out Agent 38 had to be rescued by a bunch of kids, I’m finished.”

“Very funny.” Jackie retorted, lowering her weapon and letting it hang from the shoulder strap slung across her chest.

In my haste to create an escape plan I had decided that the best defense was a strong and decisive offense. That meant making use of the smuggled weapons Leviathan had stashed in the cargo hold and arming every single one of my fellow former slaves. In doing so I had managed to turn a group of helpless damsels in distress into a badass all-female army. Thankfully several of my comrades had at least some previous experience with firearms which made the process easier. At least one of the girls claimed to have been a security guard, and Vanessa had bragged about being a crack shot with a pistol. Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for all of them. Other women, such as Emily, had never even touched a gun before, which forced us to improvise. One hastily-given gun safety lesson later and I had an entire squad of fully armed young women at my back. It wasn’t the most conventional approach, but I didn’t care. For once it felt good to actually have someone on this boat that wasn’t shooting at me.

“C’mon,” I said. “His friends will be along any minute to see what all that fuss was about.”

My impromptu team consisted of approximately 30 young women, all in their late teens and early twenties. Although all of them were eager to assist in my escape plan, there were two ladies in particular that stood out amongst the crowd; Emily and Jackie.

Emily was the smallest and most timid of the group. Petite and short with light skin and dirty blonde hair, the young woman was clearly out of her depth here, but she was also surprisingly brave. Dressed in a white blouse, navy blue blazer, green pants and brown leather riding boots, she would have looked more at home at an office in a big city. I had to assume she had been a sophisticated business woman prior to being sold into slavery.

Jackie was an African American woman with dark skin, frizzy brown hair, deep brown eyes and an athletic physique. She was remarkably unfazed by the entire situation and had quickly become my right hand woman on this mission. Her lime green hospital scrubs and white sneakers suggested she had most likely been a nurse prior to all of this. But there was something more to her I couldn’t quite place. Perhaps it was the fact that she was one of the only ones in the group who didn’t ask any questions when I handed her a gun, and she proceeded to handle the weapon with impressive precision.

We continued on through the bowels of the enormous ship, winding through the maze of hallways. At points I felt completely lost and unsure which way to turn next, although for the sake of the girls following me I still pretended as if I knew where I was going. I knew it was risky to use the inner corridors, but it was better than a route along the exterior of the ship which would leave us too exposed and without cover. My only concern right now was to get us off this ship before my ace in the hole was ready.

Finally we found ourselves in a large corridor which I recognized as one of the primary passageways through the center of the ship. It was wider than the rest of the hallways, and I had a feeling we were heading in the correct direction. Still, I walked at a slow and cautious pace while keeping my pistol raised in ready position. The rest of the women did their best to emulate my actions while following, and none of them said a word as we trudged forward. Finally Emily sidled up beside me, her brown leather boots awkwardly squeaking on the metallic floor as she walked.

“How much farther?” Emily asked nervously.

I didn’t answer right away, and instead glanced around the corridor looking for any indicator that would confirm we were on the right track. Finally I found what I was looking for; a small sign on the wall with an arrow pointing ahead that read To Lifeboats.

“There!” I suddenly exclaimed. “We’re almost…”

I wasn’t able to finish the sentence as I was caught off guard by the sound of footsteps and guns being cocked. Suddenly the bright white lights of the hallway blinked on, replacing the red emergency lights. Just then I caught sight of the source of the noise; an assortment of faces and gun muzzles came into view in front of us, popping out from inside the hatchways to the left and right, and stepping out of the darkness further down the corridor. Our way forward was now effectively blocked by a swarm of at least 20 armed henchmen. Each goon carried a gun of some kind; large high powered rifles, pistols, and one muscular fellow even brandished a minigun.

It was instantly clear that these henchmen had been expecting us, and we had fallen right into their trap. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the fact that, despite his ship literally falling apart around us, the Boss was still desperate to keep his “merchandise” from escaping. Or maybe these goons had taken it upon themselves to stop us, knowing we were headed for the last lifeboat, and thus their only way off this doomed ship. Either way, I could see a look of fear and desperation on each of their faces. They knew they were on the losing team now, and they were going to fight even harder and nastier than ever before.

But something similar could be said of the girls just behind me. They too were desperate; desperate to escape. Desperate to survive. And desperate to not become slaves again. The intense stress and fear of both the goons and the women was so palpable I could almost taste it. Despite all of this the girls were remarkably calm and decided not to fire their weapons, or even make any sudden moves that would prompt a response from the henchmen.

My instincts told me to brace myself and grip the trigger of my gun even tighter. But I knew the powder keg I was standing in the middle of could go off with only one wrong move. Considering my options, I simply allowed my gun hand to drop to my side nonchalantly.

“Are we really gonna do this... again?” I asked, exasperated.

Suddenly I heard the click of heels on metal and a female voice with a thick Italian accent called out from somewhere I couldn’t see.

“If by this you mean putting you all back in irons, then yes.” The woman stepped through one of the hatchways to the left. She wore a grey sweater with blue horizontal stripes with solid black tights. The brown high heeled boots she wore rose just above her knees. It was an outfit I knew all too well.

“I want my clothes back.” I said sternly.

I instantly recognized the woman’s face as well. What was here name... Costa? I couldn’t bother to remember. I only knew her as the henchwoman who had attempted to thwart my initial escape attempt on this ship when I’d first been bound to that chair, which seemed like years ago at this point. Nevertheless, that confrontation had ended with Costa and her buddy bound and gagged by yours truly, and me begrudgingly giving Costa my clothes in an effort to create a ruse. I had hoped she would stay that way and maybe learn a lesson in the process, but I guess not.

“Well, you can’t have them. I’m grown quite attached to this little outfit of yours. I must say, Agent James, you have quite the fashion sense.”

“It’s either ‘Agent 38’ or ‘Caity James’.” I countered with slight annoyance. “You can’t just jumble up my names like that...”

“Enough!” She yelled in frustration, interrupting me. “You and your Barbie army are going to surrender to me now and get back in your shackles like good little slaves!”

“I think I can speak for all my friends here when I say we’re kinda tired of being chained up all the time.” I glanced back at Jackie and Emily, who, despite their obvious fear, gave me a slight smile in return.

“No one cares what you think! You are all property of Leviathan!” Costa proclaimed.

“You do realize you’re outnumbered, right?” I said, gesturing to the crowd of armed women around me. All of them had their guns aimed and ready to fire — and I was so proud.

“We are all willing to die for the glory of Leviathan! Can you and your fellow slaves say the same?” Costa casually strolled forward towards me. As she did I subtly glanced to my right, noticing a storage closet just a few feet away with its door ajar. Within it I could see lots of different objects, including several coils of orange rope, a long length of chain, a few rolls of silver duct tape, and quite a few zip ties. It appeared Emily had also peaked inside the closet and glanced back at me in recognition.

“You know as well as I do that we’re all far too valuable to simply shoot on sight." I said confidently. "The Boss would kill you if anything happened to us,” I could tell by the suddenly less confident look on Costa’s face that my point had resonated. “Besides, everyone on this junk heap is gonna die very soon if we don’t abandon ship now.”

“Oh, were you planning on leaving without your little collared friend?” Costa said, mockingly as she closed in on me. “I heard the boys are already lining up to be the first to play with her. I can’t wait for my chance.”

The subtle jab about Sara may or may not have been true, but it’s only purpose was to get under my skin. And it worked.

“You’re gonna regret even thinking about that.” I said coldly in return.

Costa stopped not much much more than an arm’s length away from me, still gloating with a devilish grin on her face. I stood firm where I was, wanting to keep myself directly in between Costa and the women at my back. The tension in the hallway was reaching its breaking point. The henchmen in front of me nervously fidgeted with their weapons as many of them narrowed their eyes in my direction. And it had become so quiet that I felt I could almost hear the quickened breathing and fast thumping heartbeats of everyone around me. The ship moaned and shook violently once again, another reminder of the increasing danger outside. Everyone in the hallway was waiting for someone else to make the first move, and they were all afraid what might happen after. I decided I would have to be the one to break the tension.

I suddenly let the handgun I had been clutching slip from from the grip of my right hand and drop to the floor, clattering on the metal bulkhead at my feet. The sudden noise made a few of the goons behind Costa jump. Costa’s eyes widened in surprise as she stared at me. Emily and Jackie were to my left and right respectively and still had their guns trained on Costa who was standing directly in front of us. I gently raised my hands and placed them on the muzzles of their guns, forcing them downwards and away from their desired target. In response, perhaps sensing a surrender was forthcoming, Costa cocked an eyebrow and slyly smiled at the gesture.

“Hold your fire, ladies...” I said casually just before I took a step forward towards Costa… and swiftly punched the woman in the face. The action seemingly caught everyone off guard, especially Costa, who stumbled backwards while clutching her nose, which was now surely broken. Everyone around us continued to look on in stunned astonishment, and no one moved or said a word for a long moment. “...I’ve got this.” I finally said just before the hallway erupted into chaos.

I charged forward and tackled Costa, pinning her to the floor and landing two more swift punches to her to very punchable face. She was out cold almost instantly. It only took a couple of seconds, but it gave the rest of the goons a brief moment to brace themselves for the coming fight. But none of them chose to fire their weapons. I quickly hopped up onto my feet, leaving the unconscious Costa sprawled on the floor.

“What do we do?” I heard Jackie ask from behind me.

“I’ll take 'em down. You tie 'em up.” I said just as Emily rushed forward clutching a coil of rope and a length of chain. The girl had clearly understood my plan before I even said it.

This was going to be fun.

I turned my attention forward, raising my fists and bending my knees in an effort to adopt a fighting stance. Just then several of the goons bravely stepped out from their hiding places to confront me, while others seemed to withdraw a bit, clearly willing to allow some of their comrades to take the lead. Perhaps they were the smart ones and somehow knew I was about to unleash one hell of an ass whooping on them.

Nevertheless, I knew I was right about at least one thing; the lack of gunfire was a sure sign these goons actually didn’t want to hurt us. Perhaps they truly did have orders from the Boss to take us all alive? Or maybe they simply knew that firing on us would result in immediate retaliation from my female friends who were packing heat. Either way, a ceasefire was the preferred option. I always preferred a straight fight to all the shooting and ducking for cover anyway.

The first dumb henchman that had been standing in the left hatchway charged at me, holstering his sidearm and grabbing a large metallic wrench instead. He swiped it down towards me, first from the left, and then again from the right. I easily sidestepped each of his attacks and then proceeded to snatch his wrench wielding hand, twisting it backwards behind his back, then body slamming him into the floor. Through the process I managed to hold on to the wrench which I promptly threw at another goon a few feet away who was readying his own attack. With a metallic thud the wrench found its mark, beaning the unlucky attacker in the head, who promptly dropped to the ground.

Just then, two more goons stepped forward and I rushed them. I sprinted towards the goon nearest to me and sent my knee flying into their gut which had them instantly stumbling to my right, hunched over in pain. The second goon approached and I quickly launched into a handstand as I approached, flipping my body end over end until I was upside down with my back to the goon. I then bent my knees and hooked my legs over his shoulders, wrapping my legs around his neck before he even had a chance to react. Swiftly pulling myself right side up again I was now sitting on his shoulders, staring directly into the man’s bewildered looking eyes. I took the opportunity to land three rapid punches to his face before allowing myself to fall backwards, but keeping him in a leg lock in order to drag him down with me. I pivoted my body and dropped back into another brief handstand before pulling the goon down and both of us landed on our backs, but now I had him pinned with my ankles squeezing either side of his neck. The entire takedown had happened within only a handful of seconds.

While lying on the ground I glanced behind me briefly and saw that Jackie and the other women were not far behind. Jackie and Emily had quickly pounced on Costa and began using the rope they'd found to bind her hands and feet together. Two more women then stepped forward and grabbed one of the other fallen henchmen, dragging him backwards and using some of the excess rope to truss him up.

A faint prideful smile crossed my lips as I watched on in amazement, but I couldn’t enjoy the spectacle for more than a millisecond. Several more henchman, seemingly undeterred by my quick dispatching of their comrades seconds ago, began pouring out of the nearby hatchways in front of me. I quickly released the leg lock I had held on the goon below me and rolled over into a kneeling position, clenching my fists and gritting my teeth. All I had to do was hold the line and make sure none of them got to the women before they were made unconscious.

But first, I realized I was missing something.

Standing to face the oncoming mob of henchmen, I quickly noticed I could barely see due to my long red hair hanging partially in my face. My flowing locks were frayed and messy due to my intense acrobatics, and now it was getting in my way of doing my job.

“Wait, wait!” I said insistently, brushing the hair out of my face and holding up a finger to the incoming goons. They came to a halt just a few few in front of me, a collection of confused looks crossed each of their faces.

“Does anyone have a hair tie?” I glanced back at the girls behind me who were busy tying up yet another henchwoman.

“Um… I do!” Suddenly, a brown skinned woman in a yellow dress spoke up from down the hallway. She pulled a black elastic hair tie from around her wrist and tossed it to Emily, who next tossed it to me. I then proceeded to nonchalantly collect my wad of red hair and weave it into a messy bun on the back of my head. The henchmen looked at each other before turning their bewildered expressions back towards me.

“Okay, okay, I’m ready.” I said casually, once again raising my fist and adopting a fighting pose. The lead henchmen glanced around awkwardly, then took his que and lunged towards me. The rest of them charged forward and I responded with haste. A punch here. A headbutt there. A roundhouse kick or two. I carved a swath through the horde of goons, knocking out each as we met.

Suddenly I felt something heavy and cold grab me around my torso. Someone had managed to sneak up behind me and wrap a thick chain around my midsection, pinning my arms to my sides. I tried to shrug it off but the attacker was strong and they only pulled the chain tighter in response. I could feel the jagged metal digging into my skin.

“Oh, come on! Enough with the chains.” I said in annoyance.

Just then, two more goons, a man and a woman, saw what was happening and attempted to take advantage of it. With my arms temporarily unusable, I had no other choice than to use my legs to defend myself. I reared up and landed a swift and solid kick to the incoming male henchman’s face which made him stumble backwards. The woman managed to get in closer and land a punch across my face, but I didn’t let it phase me. Instead, I leaned back, placing my foot on her chest, and with one quick motion, shoved her away, while simultaneously using her body to push against the goon behind me holding the chain around my torso. While the woman went flying into the hallway wall, I tumbled backwards into the opposite wall with my chain wielding friend. When we hit the wall I didn’t feel the impact. It seemed the henchman’s head had taken the brunt of fall. Just then the chain went slack and I was finally free. But the fight was far from over.

Several more henchmen — the ones who had decided to cower in the shadows up until this point — finally stepped forward, perhaps assuming that the first wave of their comrades had weakened me. But they were mistaken. Spotting them I reached for the chain that now fell loose around my waist. I ripped it away from the crumpled heap of the man I’d landed on top of and leapt to my feet.

“You guys like chains, eh?” I said with a smirk, gripping the chain tightly with both my hands and pulling it taught between them. “Come on!” I yelled with a roar as I charged towards the remaining henchman in front of me. The first goon had a baseball bat and swung it wildly towards me, but I managed to dodge his blows and wrap the chain around his bat-wielding hand. I pulled the chain tight, gripping his arm, and twisted it until I heard a sharp snap and yelp of pain from the man. As he fell I let one end of the chain go, releasing him from my grasp and winding up to have a go at the final two henchman in my path. I whipped the first henchman hard across the chest with the end of the chain and he fell to the floor roaring in pain.

The second henchman managed to flank me while I was focused on his accomplice and then sucker punched me hard in the face. The punch was so hard and quick that it threw me off balance and couldn’t stop myself from tumbling to the floor. A noticeable crunching sound and a sharp pain confirmed that my nose was broken. I quickly used my finger to swipe away a line of blood that immediately began trickling from my nostrils. The henchman looked down at me and smirked, clearly proud that he was the first lackey of the day to actually knock me on my ass. I tried not to show the intense pain I was in, unwilling to give him any satisfaction.

“Didn’t your daddy ever tell you not to hit a girl?” I said as I managed to prop myself partially on my hands and face him.

“You’re gonna die, bitch.” He said as he slowly stepped toward me.

“Easy with the language, buddy,” I said, quickly whipping the chain towards his legs. “I’m trying to keep this PG.”

The action easily ensnared both his ankles, and I pulled as hard as I could, successfully ripping his feet out from under him. He crumpled to the floor, the stupid smirk now gone from his face. He attempted to get back on his feet but I didn’t give him a chance. Now on his hands and knees, I quickly pounced on him, jumping behind him and wrapping the chance around his neck. Using both of my hands to grab the chain at each of its ends I twisted it just so, tightening the chain around his windpipe. I stopped just short of breaking his neck, choosing to wait until his body went limp as he lost consciousness. I released the chain and his body fell to the floor with a thud.

“Well, that wasn’t so hard.” I said in between gasping for breath. I was relieved to see that I had finally managed to dispatch all of the goons in sight. I took a moment to catch my breath, my adrenaline and heartbeat were at their peak. I glanced behind me and was in awe of what I saw. Every henchmen that I had managed to take down was now thoroughly tied up. It seemed that Jackie, Emily, and all the others had stayed right behind me the entire time, doing exactly what I told them to do. Mere seconds after the man I had choked into unconsciousness hit the floor, the girls were already hard at work trussing him up and ensuring he wouldn’t cause any more trouble when he came to. I looked over the many bound up bodies that were strewn across the floor and couldn’t help but be impressed.

The clever females had quickly used up all the rope, duct tape and zip ties on the first half of their prisoners. Since then it appeared that they had begun using anything they could get their hands on to use as bindings. One henchman had his hands and feet tied all together in front of him with some shoe laces. A henchwoman next to him had her hands bound behind her with her own belt. Another was bound up with strips of cloth ripped from a now-shredded garment.

But I couldn’t help but admire the predicament of one particular henchperson just a bit further back. It appeared that a large portion of the rope had been used specifically on my old friend Costa, who was still wearing my old sweater and boots. She was now lying on her stomach with her arms lashed together behind her with rope encircling her elbows and wrists. More of the rope had been used to tie her ankles together, and they had been pulled back and bound to her hands in order to create a tight hogtie. She seemed to have a lot to say based on the angry expression on her face, but she was remarkably quiet due to the apparent sock in her mouth and the several turns of rope that had been wound around her head and threaded tightly between her teeth.

As the women finished trussing up the last of their prisoners I just stood there and smiled. The fact that captives had quite literally become the captors was so deliciously ironic and poetic. Not to mention, just like anyone, I do enjoy watching karma get dished out to those deserving of it.

Finally, Emily and Jackie stepped towards me after they had just finished tying up the legs of one of the goons. But before I could congratulate them on their handiwork, Emily’s eyes went wide in horror.

“Look out!” She yelled just as I spun around to see the cause of her panic.

Just then a large muscular henchmen wielding a minigun stepped out of one of the hatchways about 30 feet down the hallway. I immediately recognized the man as one that had made his presence know earlier to threaten us, but had been noticeably absent during the fight. While his comrades had resisted using bullets against us, this guy — perhaps as a last desperate effort to thwart our advance — seemed unconcerned with such restraint. Just as he stepped out from his shadowy cover the massive barrel of his minigun began to rotate. I knew within a blink of an eye the powerful weapon would begin spitting out 50 rounds per second, and would surely shred everyone in the hallway.

“Everybody hit the deck!” I yelled frantically.

Thinking fast, I reached for an ajar hatchway door that was thankfully within an arms length away. I pulled the heavy door open as quickly as I could, managing to place the thick piece of metal between myself and the minigun wielding maniac. Just then the deafening sound of gunfire ripped through the hallway, combined with the sound of thousands of bullets pinging off the door. The bullets proceeded to ricochet in a thousand different directions all around the hallway. The door itself was barely wide enough to provide ample cover and I was forced to crouch into a tight ball behind it to avoid the bullets.

Emily jumped behind me to take cover and we both cowered behind the door desperately. Several of the other girls down the hallway dropped to the floor and covered their heads, barely managing to avoid the many stray bullets coming their direction. Others managed to take cover within another hatchway and behind some barrels nearby.

“I think we’ve reached the final boss.” I remarked to no one in particular.

With no weapons of my own, I quickly turned my attention towards Emily who was crouching beside me. I noticed that the young woman was still clutching her own handgun.

“Lemme borrow that.” I said casually as I plucked the weapon from her fingers and brought it up in firing position.

“But… but…” Emily started to say, but I paid her no mind. I was carefully listening and waiting for the right moment to strike. I knew even a minigun would eventually overheat or need reloading, which would give me just enough time to jump from cover and take him out. Just then the bullets stopped flying and I heard the weapon’s rotor begin to wind down. Now was my chance.

Gripping the pistol in both hands I swung out from behind the cover of the hatch door and pointed the muzzle squarely at the chest of the assailant. I swiftly pulled the trigger and…

Click. Click.

The trigger pulls produced no results. A frantic check of the bullet cartridge confirmed that it was… empty. Of course, I thought, rolling my eyes, suddenly remembering that I had specifically given Emily an unloaded weapon, per her request. While she wasn’t fully comfortable carrying a loaded pistol, I had insisted on everyone in the group being armed. We had compromised by giving Emily an unloaded firearm that she would carry as if it were loaded. I had given her a quick crash course of gun handling so the tiny blonde would at least appear threatening. Of course, that did no one good now.

Now I was face-to-face with the henchman, who was busy fiddling with his minigun. He suddenly glanced upward and noticed me standing there, causing him to work even faster to get his weapon functional again. A half-second later he brought the minigun to bear once again, pointing it towards us a second time. We had barely avoided the spray of bullets the first time, and I severely doubted our chances now. As the minigun began to rev up and its muzzle started rotating I saw no point in taking cover.

I winced and closed my eyes, believing that I was surely a goner. The sound of the minigun belching out bullets once again filled the room, and this time it sounded like twice as many were being fired. But I quickly noticed that the sound was not coming from in front of me, but behind. That, coupled with the fact that I hadn’t yet been cut to pieces by gunfire, encouraged me to open my eyes.

To my shock, I watched as the minigun powered down and dropped from the henchmen’s grip, clattering to the floor. The man’s face went white and he himself collapsed face first onto the floor. At first I was stunned and puzzled, but then I glanced over my shoulder and saw almost all of the women behind who had been carrying guns had brought them to bear and were pointing them directly towards where the henchmen had been standing. Many of the gun’s muzzles were smoking, having been freshly fired. Jackie, who was standing just behind me, was holding her AK-47 in a perfect firing stance, but her hands were visibly quivering.

I turned to face the group of ladies and I found myself overwhelmed, and uncharacteristically speechless. Luckily, Emily, who had slowly emerged from her hiding spot, spoke for me.

“Whoa!” She said in astonishment. “That was wicked.” She quickly turned her attention toward the downed minigun henchmen. “Is he dead?” Emily asked bluntly.

“Pretty sure,” I said, matching her tone with a sardonic shrug. I glanced back at the ladies who were proudly standing over all of the bound and gagged henchmen now lying on the floor. The henchmen were beginning to wake up after lying unconscious for a while, and many of them were now struggling furiously against the rope and chains that bound them. Fortunately my team’s binding skills were more than effective, and it appeared none of them would be escaping any time soon.

I looked in the opposite direction down the hallway and once again noticed the To Lifeboats sign hanging nearby.

“C’mon!” I said as I took off running down the hallway and the rest of the women followed, leaving behind their trussed up captives.

I led the way up two flights of stairs and down another long hallway which I hoped would lead to the outer deck. Before long we finally reached the end of the hallway which had led us outside on the port side of ship near the stern section. I suddenly came to a stop at the edge of the hatchway and raised my clenched fist into the air, using the militaristic gesture for “freeze”. Of course, I neglected to remember that my allies — being completely untrained civilians — would have no idea what that meant. Emily, who had been following close behind for several minutes, proceeded to slam into my back hard. I quickly had to grab a hold of the door frame to keep from falling forward through the hatch. Once I regained my balance I glanced back at Emily who now wore a sheepish expression on her face. I gave her a quick smirk of assurance, as if to say It’s okay before turning to the others. Jackie and the rest of the group were just behind her, creeping slowly and silently down the hallway.

From within the hatchway I cautiously observed the surroundings. It seemed the storm was now right on top of us. The wind was picking up, the waves were becoming larger and more violent, and the clouds were so thick it was as dark as nighttime, despite it still being early in the morning hours. Glancing around I finally caught sight of what we were looking for. There, just across the deck, was our one way off this ship; the last remaining lifeboat.

The lifeboat was approximately 30 feet long and looked more like a tiny submarine than a boat. It was solid orange in color and completely enclosed, save for a medium sized hatchway near the bow. At the rear of the craft was a raised section with a window pointing towards the front of the lifeboat. I guessed that this was the cockpit area, where the lifeboat would be controlled from. The lifeboat was held in place by a duo of mechanical crane arms placed at its bow and stern where it hung by heavy ropes. It was placed safely in a perfectly sized alcove on the side of the ship three floors above the main deck. The intensifying wind and rain made the lifeboat rock back and forth within its hold. A platform next to the lifeboat allowed for easy access to the lifeboat’s hatch.

I was relieved to see the lifeboat still onboard the ship, right where I had left it earlier. I wanted to believe the Boss and his goons were oblivious to my plan, but apparently I had no such luck.

“What is it?” Jackie whispered.

“We’ve got company.” I replied.

It appeared the Boss had sent at least one of his goons to secure the lifeboat for himself. Now a young raven haired woman, dressed in a black henley shirt, khaki pants, and brown knee high lace up boots, was standing near the lifeboat with a large black rifle cradled in her arms.

“So, what are you waiting for?” Emily asked. “Just shoot her and let’s go.”

I glared at Emily. “Not every problem can be solved with bullets.” I looked left and right, then slowly stood up into a crouch. “Wait here.” I ordered.

The henchwoman had briefly turned around, deciding to look out and admire the churning sea rather than the walls of the ship. I crept as quickly and quietly as I could to the left, ducking behind a large barrel just a few feet behind her. The woman made no sudden movements, and no acknowledgements of my presence, so I took that as an invitation to proceed. I took a brief second to collect myself, tensing my muscles and preparing my body for the upcoming fight. I then stood up and faced the woman, and quickly found myself staring directly down the barrel of her firearm.

“Where do you think you’re going, Agent 38?” She said tauntingly.

“I’m sure there’s an extra seat on that lifeboat if you want to join us.” I said, keeping it cool.

The henchwoman scoffed. “Who’s we?”

Just then the audible sound of at least 20 guns being cocked could be heard. Without moving I glanced to the side just in time to see that all of the girls had exited the hatchway and we’re standing defiantly just a few feet away, all of their gun muzzles pointed directly at the woman. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I think this is the part where you get tied up.” I said confidently.

And within just a few minutes she was. It took almost no time for a handful of my comrades to tackle the henchwoman and relieve her of her weapon. Fortunately one of the girls had saved an extra coil of thick white rope and brought it along, perhaps in preparation for a situation like this. They proceeded to tightly bind the henchwoman’s wrists, ankles and knees with the rope, much to her chagrin, and wrapped a white cloth over her mouth and nose. Her wrists were tied to her ankles behind her back, and some excess rope from her knees was wrapped around the back of her neck, leaving her in an uncomfortably tight ball tie.

As soon as they were done I jogged over to the lifeboat and opened the rectangular hatchway that led inside. “C’mon! Everybody in,” I said, waving my hand towards the group of girls. “Now!”

The entire group of women quickly ran over and carefully began climbing into the large orange lifeboat one by one. The interior of the craft was lined with several rows of seats, and thankfully there appeared to be just enough room for everyone. I watched as they filed inside and took their seats, Emily and Jackie being the last in line to board. Just before Jackie stepped inside I stopped her, placing my hand on her shoulder and drawing her in close.

“I need you to take things from here,” I said, lowering my voice while also making sure she heard me loud and clear. So far Jackie seemed to be the girl I trusted the most out of the group. She had willingly taken charge on several occasions, wasn’t afraid to fight if it came to it, and was clearly good with a gun. “Keep the door closed and make sure everyone stays quiet until I get back. If any other goons give you trouble, shoot ‘em or tie ‘em down.”

“Got it,” Jackie nodded in recognition and I turned to walk away. But before I could, Jackie stopped me. “Wait,” she said, digging into her pocket and pulling out a small metallic object. “I found something you should see. Is this… yours?”

Jackie produced a small metallic object that I instantly recognized. It was a chrome pocketknife approximately three inches long. It featured a single shiny blade encased in a handle with black-ish brown wood inlaid. Jackie thumbed the knife and offered it to me in her open palm. I grabbed it and flipped it over, noticing two small numbers engraved into the back of the handle: 38.

“Where did you find this?” I asked with astonishment.

“I took it off that talkative chick in the boots,” Jackie said, clearly describing my old friend Costa. “I figured she might try to escape with it. Then I saw the numbers and got to wondering.”

“She must have stolen it from me when I was first captured.” I said in realization. It was clear the henchwoman had wanted a trophy from me after I had been taken prisoner back in Rome. And it was a particularly effective confiscation considering I could have used the knife to rescue myself several times since then.

The pocketknife had been a gift from Agent 66, once upon a time. The Agency didn’t exactly encourage friendships, much less gift-giving, but it had become a keepsake and a life saver to me ever since. I had lost so much recently that it felt good to get something small back. It was a tiny, yet not insignificant confidence boost for me. I finally had everything I needed.

“Thank you.” I told Jackie graciously as I took the knife and inserted it into one of the pouches on my utility belt. “If I’m not back within 20 minutes, launch without me.”

“Wait,” Jackie said, suddenly sounding confused. “Where are you going?”

“I’ve gotta get my friend.”

[TightsBound]

Great to see Agent 38’s adventures continue again! Looking forward to more.

[BobaFettish1]

Chapter Twenty Five: "Bound And Determined"


It felt like I had been climbing forever. My hands ached. My red hair was sopping wet. My black and purple wetsuit, true to its name, was soaked thoroughly. And the worst part was… it was a long way down.

Having confirmed that the final lifeboat was where I left it, I now knew that Sara was still onboard the ship somewhere. With time slipping away, and my ace in the hole fast approaching, I knew I had to find her fast. There were only a handful of places where the Boss might be keeping the poor girl, but I knew he wouldn’t simply hide her away. There was only one place onboard that was both obvious and theatrical enough to match the Boss’ style; the bridge.

The man was an arrogant, repugnant sleazebag, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew I would I come for her given the chance. Which meant he would be expecting me. But I wasn’t about to make it easy for him.

Instead of using the main stairway on the port side of the ship to ascend the additional 8 stories to the bridge compartment, I opted to climb up a ladder on the opposite side of the vessel. I was now approximately halfway up the side of the structure clinging to the metal rungs of the ladder which were attached to the sheer metal wall of the control tower. As I had begun to climb rain had started to fall, lightly at first, but soon after it began to pour, followed swiftly by intensified winds, thunder and lightning.

The rain was driven sideways by the wind, and the drops felt like tiny rocks hitting me. Several howling gusts of wind nearly knocked me off the ladder and I was forced to hold on for dear life. The ladder itself was clearly designed for use only in emergencies, having no safety cage or anything to protect me if I happen to take a bad step. Any simple mistake would have me instantly falling to my untimely death.

“I’m pretty sure this is an OSHA violation.” I said to myself as I tried not to look down. After more than a few stressful moments I finally made it to the top, pulling myself up onto the walkway near the bridge. The storm seemed to be growing more and more violent by the second and the wind and rain buffeted the mighty vessel. The ocean was roiling with waves the size of buildings that fiercely tossed the ship up and down like a toy in a bathtub. I cautiously stood up, but it was immediately a challenge to keep my balance and remain upright as the ship moved up & down and side to side.

I grabbed a hold of the nearby railings to try and keep a stable footing in the intense wind and rain. I rounded a corner to an area that was shielded from the howling wind where I could take a breather.

I carefully approached one of the port side hatches that led onto the bridge and pressed my back against the wall. I unholstered my pistol and held it in ready position while silently sidling myself alongside the open door, being careful not to give away my position to anyone that might be inside. I then reached into a pouch on my utility belt and pulled out a small black disc. It was roughly the size and thickness of my palm and featured several lights and buttons on its front. I placed the device on the wall next to the hatchway and it instantly attached itself to the wall with a magnetic snap. I tapped one of the buttons and a light began to blink slowly.

I then carefully peaked around the corner to examine the interior of the room. The bridge compartment was a large rectangular room approximately 30 feet wide and 100 feet long with large hatchways on each end. On the left, near the stern of the ship, was a solid wall lined with various consoles and instruments used for keeping the ship running. On the right were massive floor-to-ceiling windows that stretched all the way across the bridge, providing a bird’s eye view of the entire forward section of the ship and the limitless ocean surrounding it. The wind and rain violently buffeted the glass and seemingly threatened to shatter the large windows with every forceful gale. Just beyond the windows was a narrow balcony that wrapped around the entire outside of the bridge and was accessible from either hatchway at the opposite ends of the compartment. Inside the bridge, in front of the windows, stood several more consoles and controls, one such control was the ship's helm; a steering wheel in the center of the room. It was a large metallic wheel at least three feet in diameter that featured evenly spaced spokes welded to a circle of steel.

A length of chain was looped through the outer edge of the steering wheel and attached using a padlock. At the other end of that chain was another padlock which was fastened to a shiny metal collar. The collar was secured around the neck of a young girl not far away. Sara Winters was still dressed in the black & white striped dress, black tights and brown knee high boots she was wearing when I had first met her. But something had clearly changed about Sara. Her reddish brown hair was messy and frayed. Her dress was wrinkled and dirty. Her boots were scuffed. And her expression looked to be a mixture of fear, anticipation and hopelessness. Her cheeks were stained with the tracks of recent tears and her eyes darted around the room as she sat motionless on the floor.

Although the slave collar and chain was enough to hold anyone prisoner indefinitely, her Leviathan captors were nothing if not cruelly thorough. Rope encircled and criss crossed her upper torso and arms, and her wrists were tightly tied behind her back in a boxtie. Her ankles had also been chained together using a set of leg irons. She was being kept quiet by a knotted red bandanna which she had been gagged with.

“Sara!” I called out in a whispered yell. I holstered my weapon and ducked out of my hiding place, half-sprinting to where Sara was sitting. Upon seeing me Sara’s eyes went wide and she began to shake her head furiously and plead something inaudibly through her gag. “Shhh!” I responded, placing a finger to my lips.

“MPH! MHHHHPPPPHH!” Sara continued protesting as I arrived at her side. I grabbed the bandanna and pulled it down from her mouth.

“Don’t you know a bloody trap when you see one?” Sara said, sounding almost angry.

“You know, the girl’s smarter than she looks.” A booming voice suddenly said. “You, on the other hand, just don't know when to quit.”

“No, it’s just that some of us happen to have people we care about.” I said as I stood up to face the source of the voice.

“Of course I care about you, Miss James.” The Boss said nonchalantly. “Otherwise I would have killed you long ago.”

The Boss was standing only a few feet away, having just stepped through the port side hatchway opposite of where I had entered. He was flanked by two henchmen which hovered around the hulking man dressed in a crisp white business suit. He casually leaned on a dark wooden cane as his expression exuded casual curiosity.

“Aw. How sweet.” I said in a mocking tone. “I was beginning to think you’d lost what little heart you had left.”

“Come now, Miss James. Time to take your place within the new world order.” From behind his back the Boss pulled out another shiny metal collar, the same type that Sara was currently wearing. “I promise Agent X will be a gracious master for you.” He gently fingered the collar with his enormous hands and the device hinged open with a tiny squeak.

Just then, four more goons stepped through the hatchway on the starboard side of the bridge from which I had come, effectively cutting off my only escape route. I paid them no mind.

“No thanks. I gave you an opportunity to take me in exchange for the lives of these women.” I said, defiantly staring at the man. “That offer has officially expired.”

Just then, I placed my hand inside Sara’s behind her back. I allowed the objects I’d been holding to fall into her palm. Sara’s eyes widened and a glance of recognition confirmed she understood what I’d just given her; my pocketknife and the handcuff key. She closed her fist tightly and smiled at me. I then grabbed her by the shoulders and forcefully shoved her to the ground a millisecond before an ear piercing explosion rocked the entire bridge. I pounced on top of Sara, doing my best to shield her from the fire and debris with my own body. Shattered glass, smoke and bits of shrapnel instantly filled the bridge, knocking all of the goons behind me off their feet.

The explosive device I had planted just outside the starboard hatchway had gone off right when I needed it to, catching all four henchmen in the blast and blowing a sizable hole in the wall, effectively making the hatchway much larger than before. The explosion had also shattered several of the nearby forward-facing windows of the bridge in the process, further opening the bridge compartment to the exterior and the intensifying storm beyond. Rain poured in from the exterior and the sound of crashing waves and howling wind could now be heard much clearer.

As the smoke cleared I lifted myself off of Sara and glanced around to see how our enemies had fared. The explosion had done pretty much exactly what it was supposed to do; most of the Boss’ henchmen were either unconscious or dead, and the ones who were left were too stunned to do anything meaningful. The only goons left standing were on the port side, still doing their best to protect their leader. The Boss, to his credit, was still on his feet, but barely. He was leaning on his wooden cane and was using his hand to shield his eyes while coughing intensely.

“Oh, bollocks,” Sara said as she sat up and shook bits of debris from her hair. “Was that you?”

“Yup.” I said, matter-of-factly.

“Next time just tell me duck.” Sara said, sounding slightly annoyed. She wobbled slightly and nearly fell over, being unable to catch herself thanks to her arms still being securely tied behind her back. I used the harness of rope on Sara’s chest to grab ahold and steady her.

“Get to the lifeboat,” I said softly, leaning in so only Sara would hear. “It’s eight levels down. Don’t wait for me.”

“What are you going to do?” Sara asked.

“Buy you as much time as I can.”

I then reached for my holster and grabbed the handgun, quickly cocking it. I rushed forward towards the Boss and the final two henchmen standing in front of him. They saw me coming and attempted to rush forward to intercept me, but I wasn’t messing around anymore. I raised my weapon and swiftly fired it. Two trigger pulls later and both henchmen were on the ground. I then took aim at the Boss and pulled the trigger a third time, only to have the pistol suddenly jam. I fiddled with the weapon, hoping to make it functional again, but before I knew it the Boss charged towards me. The large man had taken note of my offensive measures and had managed to close the gap between us faster than I expected.

I aimed the gun once more, attempting to fire it again, but before I could even squeeze the trigger the Boss barreled into me, snatching my right wrist which held the gun and shoved me backwards. I was then slammed against a row of consoles near one of the windows that lined the front of the bridge. I suddenly felt several sharp jabs of pain in my back as the many buttons and knobs from the control panel suddenly dug into my skin. The Boss was now on top of me, pinning me against the slanted surface of the console. He gripped my wrist with what felt like superhuman strength, and my hand started to feel numb. He then quickly pulled my hand back and slammed it against the console, causing me to lose my grip on the pistol I had been carrying. It fell behind the console and clattered to the floor, well beyond my reach.

I attempted to retaliate with my still-free left hand, suddenly thrusting it forward to punch the monster of a man in his giant nose. But the Boss exhibited impressive reflexes that defied his size and stature, and he easily grabbed my fist mid-punch before it could find its target. With both my hands now immobilized, and the Boss’ large body pinning me against the console, I didn’t like the helpless feeling that was creeping into my subconscious.

“You should have gotten away when you had a chance, Agent,” The Boss said with a snarl. “Now I’m finally going to kill you, like I should have done from the start.”

“Blah blah blah!” I blurted out, mockingly. “You know what you’re problem is? You’re all talk, no action! I’m over these baseless thr…”

Before I could finish, the Boss quickly released his grip on my hands and grabbed my neck, wrapping all ten of his large meaty fingers around my windpipe. My feet were now lifted from the floor and dangled in midair as he shoved me further up onto the console. It felt like it took all my strength to keep him from crushing my entire body with his massive weight. In response I latched onto the hands holding me down, desperately trying to keep him from simply breaking my neck then and there. Now, with both of his giant hands around my throat, he began to squeeze.

“Now…” I said faintly while gasping for breath. “That’s more like it.”

For a brief second I glanced to my left and could see across the bridge towards where I’d last seen Sara. The girl had successfully managed to cut away a portion of her ropes with the pocketknife I’d loaned her and had just slipped one of her hands free from the tangle of ropes at her back. Her right hand was completely free and she was busy sawing away at the ropes to free her left. It wouldn’t be long before Sara could free herself, but it also wouldn’t take long for the Boss to kill me and discover what Sara was doing either. I just had to stay alive long enough to give Sara the time to get the hell out of here. But that wasn’t going to be simple, or easy.

Nothing about today had been, so I would expect nothing less.

Suddenly my vision became blurry and I realized I hadn’t breathed normally in an alarmingly long time. The Boss’ squeezing of my windpipe had only increased, and I would surely lose consciousness in a matter of moments. I used my fingertips to claw at his grip and attempted to pry open even the smallest space between the Boss’ fingers and my throat, but it was useless. I could feel the life literally being squeezed out of me.

Time to fight back, Caity.

I quickly reared back with both my hands and thrust my cupped palms forward, slapping both of the Boss’ ears simultaneously. The Boss was one tough cookie, but he wasn’t invincible. He roared in pain and stumbled backwards, finally releasing his death grip on my throat. It was satisfying, not just because I could breathe again, but also knowing that the Boss was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

I slid off the console and landed on all fours, coughing loudly and drawing ragged breaths as I rubbed my pained neck. The Boss was a few feet away, clutching his ears and moaning. It appeared we would both need a moment to regain our composure before our fight inevitably continued.

While I took a breather I was delighted by what I saw next; Sara Winters standing at her full height. The rope that had been tight around her hands and upper torso was now in pieces on the floor. She ha also made use of the handcuff key I’d given her and unlocked the leg irons from her ankles, leaving them lying on the floor as well. Unfortunately she was still attached to the ship’s steering wheel thanks to the collar and chain which prevented her from moving no more than a few feet away from the helm she was shackled was to. But nevertheless, Sara was as defiant as ever. She clearly wanted to be at my side, and had pulled the chain taught trying to inch closer to me.

“A little help?” Sara said, jingling the chain attached to her collar.

I mentally chastised myself for not providing Sara with a way to untether herself. The girl was crafty, no doubt, but lockpicking a padlock was a particularly tricky escape tactic I hadn’t had a chance to teach her yet. And we didn’t have time for a lesson at the moment. I glanced around the room looking for anything that might be useful. Unfortunately when I turned my attention back to Sara my heart skipped a beat.

Sara suddenly winced as her leashed collar briefly choked her, as if someone had tugged on her metal leash. She glanced back towards the steering wheel that she was chained to and gasped. There, standing at the wheel, was a large muscular woman with light skin, black hair, and a downright evil smile on her face. She wore a tight fitting black camisole with worn out blue jeans and black combat boots. She appeared to be another one of the Boss’ henchwomen, one that had apparently survived my earlier explosive attack. She tightly gripped the steering wheel, keeping it still so as not to allow Sara to have any more slack in her chain.

“Come over here, little girl,” She said in a thick Italian accent as she slowly curled her pointer finger like a hook over and over again, beckoning Sara towards her. “I promise I won’t bite. I just want… to talk.” As she said the words she delicately pulled from behind her a pair of shiny metal handcuffs.

“Enough with the bloody handcuffs!” Sara yelped as she grabbed ahold of the chain and pulled against it as hard as she could. This began an intense game of tug of war as Sara did her best to dig in her heels and fight against the henchwoman. Unfortunately for Sara the goon was not only much stronger than her, but also literally had her by the throat. Worse still, the henchwoman began to turn the steering wheel in an effort to effectively reel in Sara. The chain naturally wound through the spokes of the steering wheel, and as it turned Sara suddenly began to loose ground and be pulled closer towards her next would-be captor.

I desperately wanted to help her escape the henchwoman’s grasp, but unfortunately I had a big problem of my own that I couldn’t quite shake.

Sensing movement in the opposite direction I turned back to where I’d last seen the Boss. The man had fully recovered from my earlier attack and was now standing upright again holding his walking cane, but he wasn’t leaning on it this time. The cane was made of shiny dark wood and featured a glimmering chrome handle at the top. He carefully gripped his cane with both of his large hands, while using one of them to twist the bottom portion of the cane. He then separated a small metal handle of the cane from the rest of the stick, suddenly unsheathing something sharp and shiny hidden within it. It instantly became clear that his walking stick was actually a scabbard for a glimmering rapier sword. He tossed the larger piece of the cane aside and brought the sword to bear with its pointed end in my direction.

I froze in response, unsure of what my next move would be. Without a weapon of my own an attack move would be a useless gesture. And simply running away was not an option until Sara was safe. I had to stay alive just a bit longer, and I needed something to defend myself. The pistol I had brought with me was several feet away behind the console, and any weapons the fallen henchmen had possessed were even farther from my reach. I glanced to my left and caught sight of something hanging on the wall just a few feet away. It was a speargun, I recognized, that was roughly the size and shape of a standard rifle. Only instead of bullets the weapon was designed to fire a long shiny spear that was jammed into its muzzle and tethered with a long reel of fishing line. It was an excellent tool for spearfishing, but not so much for self defense. But what choice did I have?

Just then, the Boss charged towards me, raising his sword and swiping it downward hard. I sidestepped his attack, moving to my left, and he countered by following through with another horizontal swipe in my direction. I ducked the swing to avoid being cleaved in half, and then, before he could wind back up for another swing, I popped back up and slugged him in the face. The punch forced him to lose his balance slightly and he stumbled backwards. Before he could regain his bearings I lunged towards the wall and snatched the speargun, frantically attempting to prime it to fire before the Boss realized what I was doing. Unfortunately it only took a few seconds for the man to come back with a vengeance, rearing back and swiping at me with the sword again in a crisscrossing motion.

This time, instead of ducking for cover, I brought the speargun to bear with both hands, using the weapon to successfully block the sword attack. Lucky for me the speargun was strong enough to withstand such an attack and didn’t immediately break in half upon impact. The Boss reared back and attempted to bring the sword down hard again onto my head, but I kicked him hard in the stomach in an effort to push him away.

As he stumbled backwards I gripped the speargun tightly and pointed it towards the Boss. It was now or never. I squeezed the trigger, and… nothing happened. I quickly examined the speargun’s handle, only to realize far too late that I had accidentally left the safety on.

“Damn” I muttered as I switched the safety off and tried to fire again. But before I could I felt a searing pain in my left arm that caused me to drop the speargun. The Boss had recovered faster than I expected and had launched his counterattack, which included swiping his sword across my upper arm. The sword cut deep, and left a large gash in my purple and black wetsuit which now gushed blood. The speargun clattered to the floor and slid halfway across the bridge, just a few feet away from where Sara was also fighting for her life. I recoiled and cried out in pain, stumbling back and clutching my wounded arm which dripped red blood onto the floor.

I glanced back over to Sara and could see that her tug of war with the henchwoman was going about as expected. Sara was still struggling to tear herself away as the henchwoman proceeded to reel her in using the steering wheel she was chained to. For a brief moment I feared what the villain might do to Sara, but suddenly something happened I didn’t expect.

Sara, perhaps realizing she was in a fight she couldn’t possibly win, decided to improvise, much to the surprise of her opponent. Instead of continuing to pull away from the henchwoman, she instead decided to release the tension in the chain and give in to the pull. But she didn’t simply allow herself to be reeled in, she intentionally lunged towards the henchwoman with great speed and power. The henchwoman never saw it coming, having been focusing all her strength on turning the wheel towards her to try and capture the girl. Unfortunately for her, Sara’s sudden switch from defense to offense instantly set her off balance. As she was sent stumbling backwards Sara leaped into action, pouncing onto the henchwoman and slamming her to the ground. Sara, lying on top of the henchwoman, hastily attempted to grab the pair of handcuffs which were now just a few feet away lying on the floor. The henchwoman was briefly dazed but quickly became cognizant enough to start fighting back. As Sara reached for the handcuffs the henchwoman sprang into action, grabbing Sara and rolling them both over to the left, towards the handcuffs. Now their roles were reversed with Sara now pinned to the ground underneath the henchwoman’s weight. The henchwoman snatched up the handcuffs and dangled them over Sara’s face. She then used her other hand to grab ahold of the chain attached to Sara’s collar and pulled it tight.

“I’ve always wanted my own personal slave.” She said with an evil grin.

Unfortunately I was in an equally perilous situation myself. The Boss was now rushing towards me, brandishing his sword with more skill than I expected. Once again finding myself weaponless, my only option at the moment was to evade. It took all of my prowess to duck, roll, pivot and leap out of the way of each of his powerful strikes. When he swung high I ducked low and rolled away. When he swung to the left, I dove right. But I knew I couldn’t keep this up for much longer. So I put a plan into play.

For a moment, instead of looking for cover, I stood my ground, hoping to goad him into a more full on attack by giving him an easy target. Luckily he quickly took the bait, charging towards me and rearing back with all his might, swinging the sword hard from his right in a horizontal move. If the swing had connected with its intended target it would have easily separated my head from my body. But the Boss had put too much power into the attack and had overextended himself, just like I hoped he would. At the last second I ducked out of the way, sidestepping his attack fully. While doing so, I sent him an attack of my own, spinning my body around fully and giving him a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of the head. He stumbled briefly before falling to the floor a few feet away.

I glanced to my left just in time to see Sara slug the henchwoman in the face with her fist.

“Atta girl.” I said, just before I felt something fast and hard hit me in the chest. I realized far too late that the Boss had managed to get back to his feet and send a powerful kick in my direction. The unexpected attack drove the breath from my lungs and I suddenly realized I was now flying through the air towards one of the forward windows of the bridge. A sharp pain in my back and a loud shattering sound confirmed I had been fully launched through one of the large panes of glass. I suddenly landed in a heap on a small metal walkway in a pile of broken glass. The balcony’s railing — which consisted of one continuous horizontal metal bar that was an inch in diameter, sat at approximately waist height, and was connected every few feet by a vertical bar that was imbedded in the deck plating — had kept me from falling over the edge and plummeting nearly a hundred feet down to the main deck below. The balcony itself was made of a metal grate that was approximately four feet wide.

I was once again pummeled by the pouring rain and howling wind of the storm. I raised myself up into a sitting position and tried to mentally take stock of any potential injuries. Unfortunately the only thing that flashed through my mind was; everything hurt. There was tiny shards of glass in my hair, my back and chest were inflamed with pain, and the presence of blood on the ground confirmed I had sustained cuts and lacerations from my tumble through the window.

As I struggled to stand up the pain intensified but I ignored it. As quickly as I could I grabbed ahold of the railing at my back and hauled myself to my feet. Unfortunately the railing was rusted and rickety, and the particular railing I was holding on to felt as if it might break under my weight. As I got to my feet I felt something cold and sharp underneath my chin.

“Are you ready to die, Ms. James?” The Boss was standing in the now-empty window frame, his white jacket billowing in the wind as he towered over me. He had pressed the pointy end of his sword to my neck and was using the razor sharp blade’s tip to pick up my chin, forcing me to look in his direction.

“I’m ready for…” I paused briefly, as if to think. “A tall bottle of whiskey and a long bubble bath. Can you hook a girl up?”

“I don’t want to kill you…” He began.

“Oh really? Coulda fooled me!” I interjected drly.

“…But you’ve left me no choice.”

The Boss removed the sword tip from under my chin but remained standing over me. I kept my hand on the railing and could feel just how loose the long pipe was within the housing. It felt as if, with only a bit of wiggling and tugging, the railing itself just might…

Just then, a thought occurred to me, and I suddenly had a game plan. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time to implement it. The Boss was now back in attack mode, stepping forward and raising the sword over his head. Using both hands I grappled with the railing, struggling to pull it free. At first it didn’t want to budge, but after a couple of solid yanks it finally broke free. Just as the Boss swung the sword down for the final killing blow, I quickly brought the now liberated railing to bare in front of me and successfully blocked the blade. The two pieces of metal made a loud metallic clang when they connected, and the Boss was clearly shocked to see I had managed to properly defend myself for once.

I wasted no time with my counterattack, swiping the sword away and twirling the former-railing-turned-pipe-weapon in an elegant fashion. The Boss pressed his offensive and swiftly joined me on the balcony's metal grating. Standing opposite of me he held the sword firmly with both hands and pointed the razor sharp tip of the weapon towards my face. For the first time he didn't seem so confident, and he did not immediately launch another attack. I took that as a sign that, finally, we were now on equal footing, and I just might have a chance of surviving this. I held the pipe near its middle, using both ends to attack. I swung one end towards the Boss’ midsection and he parried the blow, but he didn’t have enough time to defend against the other end of the pipe, which I quickly swung around and upwards towards his face. He huffed in pain when the metal pipe connected with his temple and stumbled backwards, but he remained on his feet clutching his sword. Noticing a burning fire in his eyes I knew this fight was only going to get harder.

My thoughts quickly flashed to Sara. I couldn’t see her presently, which made me even more concerned about her well-being. I had been so busy trying to shield her from the Boss’ wrath that I hadn’t been able to protect from that awful henchwoman. I found myself even more motivated to fight — and win — to get back to her.

I spun the pipe with increased speed and the Boss matched my pace. The sound of countless metal pings could be heard over the wind and waves as our weapons connected over and over. Sparks flew as the metal clashed. Then, suddenly, the two weapons locked together as my pipe caught on the sword’s handle. We held the lock for a long moment as we stared into each other’s eyes.

“Such a disappointment,” the Boss said, shaking his head and furrowing his brow. “I wanted you to be by my side for what comes next.”

“And I want the guillotine to be brought back for people who wear socks with sandals. But we don’t all get what we want, do we?”

He broke the lock and quickly twirled his sword violently, causing my pipe to spin from my grip. It tumbled over the railing and fell towards the deck far below. He swung the sword again in a horizontal swipe and I ducked to avoid it. The Sword followed through and struck the window, instantly shattering yet another pane of glass. Not wanting to give the Boss any more opportunities to slice me into bits, I reared back and kicked the man as hard as I could. He fell backwards several feet, still managing to hold onto his shiny sword.

The Boss quickly managed to get back on his feet again, holding his sword at the ready. Now, with truly no way to defend myself, and nowhere to run, it seemed he finally had me where he wanted me. He looked towards me and smiled, then stepped forward with purpose.

“The story of Agent 38 ends here.” The Boss said, raising his sword high as if in preparation to bring it down on my head.

“You know what? You’re right,” I said standing at my full height. “It’s just Caity now.”

“Over here, you big wanker!” A voice suddenly yelled from nearby. The Boss and I glanced towards the ship’s interior to see a young woman standing defiantly inside the broken window frame. I was flabbergasted to see Sara Winters standing just a few feet away. She was on her feet once more, but was now noticeably more disheveled and frazzled than she seemed previously. But she was alive, and seemingly unharmed, which was the most important thing.

While she was still unfortunately still chained to the steering wheel, she was by no means helpless. In her hand she held the speargun that I had dropped just minutes before. She held it at the ready, pointing the barrel directly towards the Boss.

I saw a look of dread cross the Boss’ face as soon as he saw the weapon in her hand. He knew, as well as I did, that it was over. He roared in anger and raised his sword as if to charge towards Sara, but it was a useless gesture.

Just then Sara pulled the trigger, sending the large metal spear sailing through the air at incredible speed. A split-second after it left the muzzle of the gun, the spear was lodged in the chest of the giant man with. Stopped in his tracks, the Boss dropped his sword and glanced down at the spear now jutting out of his chest. Blood began to stream from the wound and he clutched the spear with both his hands. He opened his mouth to cough and red blood oozed from behind his clenched teeth. He suddenly stumbled backwards towards the railing, leaning against it for a brief moment before it buckled under his immense weight. The Boss’ body instantly fell and disappeared into the storm. The fishing line attached to the spear instantly tightened and the gun was ripped from Sara’s hands and flung into the abyss as well.

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” I said, casually glancing over the railing. Sara and I both proceeded to stand in silence for a long moment trying to catch our breaths. Finally, I turned towards Sara and instantly noticed her awkwardly fiddling with the collar around her neck. I hopped back through the shattered window and came to her aid.

As I approached the steering wheel where Sara was tethered, I immediately noticed that the henchwoman Sara had tussled with earlier was still nearby. Although now the vile woman was getting a heavy dose of her own medicine. She was now lying face down on the floor hogtied with the restraints that she previously had used to bind Sara. The leg irons were now locked around her wrists and pulled tightly back and secured to the rope that was now tied around her ankles and knees. Sara had even gone to extra measure of using the henchwoman’s own pair of handcuffs on her, tightly snapping them onto her arms just above her elbows. The knotted red bandanna was now in the henchwoman’s mouth gagging her. From the look on her face it was clear she was most displeased to be in this position, but she was completely helpless to say or do anything to change it.

“Let’s get you outta this.” I said with urgency and confidence. I turned my attention to the padlock at Sara’s neck that kept the young woman affixed to the ship’s steering wheel. After examining the chrome lock for only a handful of seconds I knew exactly what to do. I looked at Sara’s reddish-brown head of hair and saw the tools that I needed.

“Lemme borrow these.” I said suddenly as I plucked a pair of dark colored wire bobby pins from behind Sara’s ear. Bending one of the pins into an L shape and shaping the other into a straight strip of metal, I jammed both pieces into the keyhole of the padlock that attached the chain to Sara’s collar. It took only a few seconds of wiggling the bobby pins before I heard a distinct click and the padlock snapped open. I quickly unhooked it from the collar and let the lock and chain fall to the floor.

“Seriously? It’s that easy?”

I shrugged.

“Remind me to teach you that one later.”

I then quickly began examining the collar that was still snugly locked around Sara’s neck. The shiny metal loop didn’t appear to have a visible keyhole or locking mechanism. I honestly wasn’t sure where to start in trying to crack it, and I simply didn’t have time to figure it out.

“We’ll work on getting this off later,” I said reassuringly. I imagined the collar was cumbersome and uncomfortable for her to wear, but at least she was finally free to leave. I absentmindedly looked towards the hatchway.

“Cmon, we can still…” I trailed off upon feeling a pair of arms wrap around my body. To my surprise, Sara had stepped forward and pulled me into a tight embrace. I was caught off guard by the sudden hug and could only stand there.

“Thank you.” Sara said, in a quivering voice that sounded as if she were on the verge of tears. At first I was confused, but the tighter she hugged me the more I understood. It had been a long day for all of us, but Sara had spent quite a long time bound, gagged, shackled, and left by herself waiting and wondering if anyone might come for her. Not to mention being threatened with the potential of becoming the personal slave of someone as loathsome as the Boss. I knew all too well what it felt like to be pushed to the brink of hopelessness. But I was grateful to have the opportunity to give her the hope she so desperately needed.

“Don’t mention it, kid.” I finally replied.

I finally returned the hug, cradling Sara in my arms. She had been shivering, perhaps both in fear and due to being soaking wet, but my returned embrace immediately calmed her. I felt as if I could continue the hug forever, and it certainly seemed Sara would agree. But suddenly she broke the hug, pulling back and looking at me directly in my eyes.

“Caity?” She asked quizzically. “That’s your name?”

“I guess the secret’s out.” I smirked in response.

“I love it. It suits you.” She smiled warmly and then pulled me in once again to continue the hug. I allowed it to continue for a long moment, then I finally decided to break the silence.

“It’s time to go home.”

[BobaFettish1]

Chapter Twenty Six: "Damsels Overboard"


“But the weatherman said partly cloudy!” I quipped as I was once again blasted in the face with intense wind and rain. Sara rolled her eyes, unamused by my attempt at humor.

Upon exiting the hatchway leading out of the bridge we were immediately met with the raging storm which somehow seemed even more intense now. The bright flashing of lighting was immediately followed by deafening claps of thunder. The ship continued to creak and moan as it was violently thrown about by waves as tall as mountains. I struggled to hold on to the nearby railing, while also refusing to let go of Sara’s hand out of fear that we both might somehow get blown off the ship by the gusting winds.

Sara had helped me quickly apply a tourniquet to my bloody arm using a strip of cloth we had found. The sword wound still hurt like hell, but at least I wouldn't bleed out now. I was growing tired of all the injuries I'd accumulated on this mission, and I wondered how much more of a beating I could take. I was beyond ready to get off this cursed boat. But we still had a ways to go.

We carefully, but very quickly, headed for the stairway and made our way down the slippery metal steps. We finally managed to make it down to the third level where the lifeboat was (hopefully) still waiting for us. We rounded a metal bulkhead and came upon a long metal catwalk. It ran the length of the control tower’s rear wall, connecting the starboard and port sides. It was now our quickest way to make it to the other side of the ship, and thus closer to freedom. Still exposed to the elements, it was difficult to see or hear through the howling winds and the pelting rain. But just as we started across the catwalk a voice suddenly reached my ears.

“Going somewhere?”

Just then I noticed a lone figure a few feet away down the catwalk who was obscured by the mist of the churning waters. As the person stepped towards us I immediately recognized him as someone I had hoped I would never see again. He had wet, messy dark hair and was wearing a white shirt and black slacks. His shirt was still stained blood red, but it was now significantly faded due to the man being soaking wet.

“Oh, hi, Rizzo,” I said nonchalantly. “Come to see us off? Or did you want to apologize for being such a dick?”

“Did you really think you would get away so easily, Ms. James?”

“Easy?” I scoffed. “You call what we’ve been through ‘easy’?”

“Are you going to kick his arse, or do I have to?” Sara asked angrily, giving me a side eye. At first I thought she was joking, but she suddenly began to step forward and I felt the need to hold her back. At that moment I realized the young woman had changed so much since I had first met her such a short time ago. The intensity of our current situation had hardened her even more than I realized.

“Trust me, I already tried that.” I said as I placed my hand on Sara’s shoulder, stopping her from continuing forward.

“You know you can’t defeat me.” Rizzo said with a smirk. Just as he said the words the fog of the storm cleared just enough for me to catch sight of a massive wave behind him. It looked to be almost as tall as the ship’s control tower, and was approaching with immense speed. I glanced at Sara who’s eyes went wide upon noticing the wave herself. She began to step backwards in response, and I felt the need to follow her.

“Finally we’ve found something we can agree on, buddy!” I said to Rizzo just as Sara and I spun around and ran the opposite direction down the catwalk. Rizzo had a confused expression on his face for only a brief moment before turning around to see the wave for himself. Unfortunately for him it was far too late to properly react.

Sara and I made it back to the corner of the bulkhead and ducked behind it just in the nick of time. I managed to grab ahold of a large pipe imbedded in the wall and Sara wrapped her arms around my waist. We held on for dear life as the wave roared down upon the doomed ship. Thankfully the bulkhead shielded us from most of the wave’s fury, but our old friend Rizzo wasn’t so fortunate.

Seconds later we heard screaming and saw Rizzo’s body tumbling down the catwalk and finally over the starboard railing towards the water below. Rizzo disappeared into the storm, and we both breathed a sigh of relief.

Moments later Sara and I were running full bore across the catwalk, eager not run into any more unexpected old friends. Luckily the mist cleared and we could clearly see the lifeboat still hanging within its berth on the port side of the ship. Sara and I were drenched from the continued rain, but we didn’t care. An end to the nightmare was finally in sight.

“Hey!” I yelled towards the lifeboat, and in response a handful of shots rang out. Sara and I both dropped to the deck trying to avoid the bullets. Just then I noticed a gun muzzle sticking out of a crack in the lifeboat's door, and I could soon see Jackie holding said gun. Fortunately the shots went wide and were of no danger to us.

“Hold your fire!” I yelled with my arms held high.

“Oops! Sorry,” She replied, sheepishly as she opened the door. “I… thought you were someone else.” Jacked stepped aside as I climbed inside, and Sara was right behind me.

“Where have you been?” Emily asked anxiously.

“Oh, nothing, we just stopped for afternoon tea!” Sara snapped back sarcastically as Jackie helped her climb down into the lifeboat. I proceeded to the rear of the craft and quickly climbing a short ladder up to the cockpit. The cockpit was located in a raised area inside the stern section of the lifeboat. A small cupola poking out of the top of the small orange boat was just large enough for one person to sit comfortably while having an extensive view of the starboard side, port side, and bow of the craft. I clambered up into the pilot’s seat and examined the controls which consisted of a steering wheel, a radio, and various other levers and knobs. After several seconds of frantic searching I found what I was looking for; a lever labeled Launch. But before I could pull it I heard voices coming from outside the lifeboat.

“Look! It’s them!”

“Don’t let them get away!”

I peered through the cockpit’s small windows and saw group of three goons had rounded the corner of a bulkhead a few feet away and were looking directly towards the lifeboat, and me.

“Jackie!,” I yelled down into the lifeboat’s main hold. “I found someone for you to shoot at!” They instantly raised their weapons and pointed them towards the lifeboat and I quickly ducked down in my seat.

Jackie, who had just finished helping Sara to her seat, seemed to instantly understand what she had to do as she ran back towards the hatchway with her AK-47 in hand. Meanwhile, Emily‘s mouth went slack as she herself peaked out of the lifeboat’s hatchway.

“Everybody get down!” Emily screamed as she dove onto the floor. A split second later all three guns opened fire, sending a thick spray of bullets towards the lifeboat. Bullets could be heard pinging off nearby metal, and a few made holes in the thick hull of the lifeboat. Many of the girls inside the lifeboat screamed and ducked down in an effort to avoid any stray bullets. Jackie braced herself next to the hatchway, putting her back against the outer wall of the lifeboat. She skillfully readied her weapon, slapping the gun’s banana-shaped bullet magazine into place and cocking the weapon, as if she had done it a thousand times before. When the firing from the goons briefly ceased Jackie spun around from her hiding place and squeezed the trigger, sending dozens of rounds back in the direction of where the goons were standing. The goons, who were perhaps not expecting to be met with return fire, were suddenly left scrambling for cover, giving me the opening I needed.

“Everybody strap in! This could get bumpy.” I grabbed a hold of the launch handle and yanked it backwards, instantaneously causing the lifeboat to rock violently from side to side. Thankfully each seat inside the lifeboat was equipped with orange harnesses, and all of the women inside hurriedly slipped the straps over their bodies and snapped the buckles together. The large hydraulic arms that held the lifeboat had begun to move, lurching it outward from the ship with a jolt and only halting when the craft had successfully cleared the deck. We were now dangling directly over the churning ocean below, and the storm outside forced the lifeboat to sway and wobble violently. The winch mechanism whined and briefly stuttered for a moment, leaving us hanging in midair for what felt like forever. Jackie was busy reloading her gun, and I could see a few more henchman running across the deck with weapons in their hands. I held my breath until the wench roared to life, allowing the lifeboat to slowly descend down the side of the ship. And thus began our slow drop towards the Atlantic Ocean below us. Within a moment we had passed below the upper deck where the goons with guns had been shooting at us, finally giving us cover. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if this long and dreadful ordeal might finally be over.

I glanced down into the lifeboat and was pleased to see everyone strapped into their seats and seemingly unhurt. The jostling of our departure and the unexpected gunshots had clearly rattled everyone within the craft. While many were seemingly relieved to have the worst of the danger behind us, some still looked terrified. One girl sitting near the front of the lifeboat had pulled her knees up to her chest and was sobbing, appearing to be having a panic attack. Sara had taken it upon herself to comfort the girl by sitting next to her and hugging her. Meanwhile Jackie had not backed down from her post, choosing to stay and defend the hatchway with her rifle at the ready. Nearby, Emily had opened a nearby supply chest and was handing out blankets she found inside to other women who were still wet and shivering.

I was surprised by how much of an effective team we had become, especially considering that being a team player was kind of a new thing for me. The Agency had taught me to be completely self sufficient. Not expecting a partner or backup to get you out of a tight spot made you fight even harder. Not having personal attachments made things… simpler. The Agency discouraged friendships anyway. And for a while I enjoyed being on my own. Being a loner had its advantages, but it also had a lot of disadvantages. So many missions had felt like it was me against the world. This was the first time in a very long time that I felt like I could count on someone else.

Sure, I had set a lot of this in motion, but these women had managed to free themselves all on their own. And not only that, they had rescued me from a life a slavery as well — more than once. Without any training or preparation, they had gone from being slaves to survivors. And together we had actually done the impossible. We had made it out. We escaped.

Or had we?

Just then, with a violent jolt, the lifeboat came to a stop mid-descent. The pent up downward inertia caused it to rock back and forth and slam into the side of the ship. Several of the girls below me shrieked and screamed in fear due to the unexpected lurch. I glanced at the control panel and my heart sank. One of the warning lights on the console was flashing. It read; Winch Error. I looked out the window and up towards the platform where the lifeboat had just been and I felt a lump form in my throat.

One of the henchmen that had previously been shooting at us was now standing on the platform and hand cranking a spinning handle connected to the winch. I presumed it to be the manual override to the automatic winch I had been remotely operating from inside the lifeboat. As soon I realized what was happening, I could feel that the lifeboat hadn’t just halted its descent, it was now slowly ascending back to the deck from which we came. The remaining henchmen had not given up on recapturing us, and they were now using the manual winch to reel us back in. I looked towards the platform again and saw that a growing group of goons were ready and waiting with guns at the ready. Distant yells and footsteps told me that more henchmen were on the way.

I looked around inside the lifeboat and saw several worried looks on the faces of the women who had obviously realized something was amiss. Sara looked up at me from where she was seated a few feet away. Wordlessly she conveyed a what’s wrong? look towards me. I stared at her blankly, not ready to share the truth I was painfully aware of.

In a matter of moments we would be right back where we started. What was left of the Boss’ goons would inevitably overwhelm us. We would be recaptured, locked in chains once more, and most likely delivered to Agent X in cages.

But not if I had anything to say about it.

It hit me like a lightning bolt. I suddenly knew exactly what I had to do. I knew it would work. My only concern was… I knew it would break Sara’s heart.

I quickly scrambled down from the cockpit into the main hold where many of the girl’s worried looks had turned to confusion and panic. Clearly many of them had noticed our sudden reverse in direction.

“What’s happening?” Emily asked, looking wide eyed as I walked past.

“Aren’t we supposed to be going down?” The brown skinned girl in the yellow dress, who was strapped in just a few seats down, shared a similar sentiment. I gave them a reassuring smile and waved off the questions.

“Everything’s going to be fine. Just sit tight!” I quickly snatched a nearby AK-47 that had been left in a seat and checked its magazine to ensure it was still full of bullets. I slung the rifle’s strap over my shoulder and continued forward towards the hatchway.

Jackie, who had not had a chance to get properly seated after our hasty escape, approached me as I neared the lifeboat’s outer hatchway. Sara unbuckled her seat restraints and rushed over to me. From the looks on their faces I could tell they could see through my reassuring words and facial expressions. I didn’t give them time to ask the questions they seemed desperate to ask.

“Jackie,” I said, turning to the young dark skinned woman. “I need you up in the cockpit. As soon as you touch water you need to disengage the clamps and get moving. Get wide of the ship as quickly as you can and head west.”

Jackie seemed confused, but didn’t question her orders. “On it.” She said right before darting off towards the cockpit.

“But what about you?” Sara asked the question I had hoped she wouldn’t.

“I have to go back out there. I need to cover your escape, or none of you are getting out of here.”

Sara’s face fell and her speech sputtered. “But… But… surely there’s another way!”

“There isn’t.” I said, sadly and definitively.

“Okay, well, I’ll come with you. You’ll need my help!”

I shook my head.

“I need you here. Trust me. Everything’s going to be okay.”

I turned away from her, readying myself to leap across the gap between the ship and the lifeboat.

“But…” Sara said, her voice sounding shaky. “What if I need you?”

I turned back to her to see her brown eyes were shinier than before. Tears were beginning to well up in them and she looked wounded. Somehow I could tell that the tears were not just tears of sadness, but of fear. This young woman, who had saved my life more than once, and had more than proven to be able to handle herself, was afraid. Perhaps afraid of what lie ahead. Afraid of what might happen to me. But also, surely, afraid to be alone. Afraid of the responsibility. Afraid that she wasn’t ready. But I knew, with absolute certainty, that she was.

“Sara,” I began, trying desperately not to cry myself. “You don’t need me anymore... but they need you.” I glanced back towards all the girls inside the lifeboat, who were also curiously staring in our direction. Sara briefly followed my gaze, and then looked back to me. “You’ve got this,” I said, trying my best to smile. This time I was the one to initiate a very tight hug. I wanted to hold the embrace more than anything, but I knew we were running out time. The lowest deck on the ship was coming up fast, which meant the bloodthirsty goons were only moments away from recapturing us.

Releasing Sara from the hug I looked her squarely in the eyes and spoke more. “Now, I need you to promise me that you’ll get them home. All of them.”

“I will,” Sara said confidently in between sniffles and with a visible lump in her throat. After a brief pause she mustered a smile. “We’ll see each other again.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement, and the way she said it made me think she didn’t know either. At first I didn’t know how to respond. Do I say something jokey or cynical to lighten the mood? No, no. Sara deserved more than that. She deserved the truth. So without hesitation, I reached deep down inside myself, searching for the answer that felt right, that felt true.

“Of course we will.” I agreed with a rye smile.

In response Sara’s face softened a bit and, despite the tears that stained her cheeks, she smiled back. I then quickly turned and jumped towards the ship’s railing. The lifeboat had continued moving upward but it was still hanging two decks below where we had originally boarded it, and where the winch handle was located. I hopped over the railing and ran to a nearby stairway, staying out of sight of the henchman that were standing at the berth waiting for the lifeboat to return. After climbing the stairs I made it to the platform myself, quietly approaching the trio of goons as they remained focused on the slowly rising lifeboat.

“Get ready,” One of the male henchmen said as he busily cranked the wench handle. “I heard they have guns now.”

“That’s not all they have.” I said nonchalantly from behind the group. They had no time to react. I quickly dispatched the one using the wench, giving him a swift running kick to the chest. The action sent him flying off the platform and he tumbled onto the top of the lifeboat just as it came to an abrupt stop below the platform. Still dazed by the blow, he attempted to grab on to any handhold that might keep him from sliding off the curved orange surface of the lifeboat, but none existed. He promptly slid off the craft and screamed as he plummeted to the water below. A few punches and a headbutt later and the other two henchpeople were lying unconscious on the deck.

I immediately grabbed a hold of the winch handle and began cranking it as hard and as fast as I could. I looked down towards the lifeboat and saw Sara still standing inside the hatchway, straining to see me. I gave her a nod and a smile, and she nodded back, but her face clearly showed how worried she still was. I took one last glance at the shiny metal collar around her neck; a grim reminder of just how close she had come to a life of slavery. But now, she wasn’t just a survivor, she was a hero. And with any luck, she wouldn’t have to wear that cumbersome slave collar for much longer. Within a moment her face, along with the rest of the lifeboat, disappeared below the deck.

Now it was time to get down to business.

“There they are!” I heard a frantic voice call out from below. I could see down the nearby stairway that a group of henchmen had just arrived on the deck below me, and I almost realized too late that they were targeting the slowly lowering lifeboat. As I continued to crank the wench down I frantically reached for the machine gun that was slung over my shoulder.

“Stop them!” Another goon yelled.

“Up here, you morons!” I said just as I aimed the weapon down the stairwell towards the group of goons. They barely had an opportunity to look in my direction before I squeezed the trigger. A spray of bullets rained down on them, pinging off metal bulkheads and ricocheting in numerous directions. Most of the shots didn’t find their targets due to me being unable to properly aim, but they served their purpose. It was difficult to shoot and crank at the same time, but nevertheless I managed. The goons scattered and took cover, unable to muster their own counterattack. A few yelps of pain confirmed my marksmanship had been at least somewhat successful. My cover fire had given the lifeboat just enough time to dip below the main deck and out of sight of the attacking henchmen. But my fight was far from over.

Suddenly, seemingly from all directions, I heard footsteps and voices. They were coming, and I had to hold them off until the lifeboat was clear.

First came a single henchman popping out of a hatchway to my left, wielding a handgun. He managed to fire off several shots — one of which grazed my scalp — before I dropped him with a shot of my own. Two of the goons from downstairs, perhaps seeing an opportunity, attempted to charge up the stairs towards me. I squeezed my trigger once more and neither of them made it to the top step. Suddenly gunfire erupted from my right and I was forced to duck behind a bulkhead to avoid more bullets. I still managed to continue cranking the winch handle, and I could see that the lifeboat was now about a quarter of the way down to the water. I peaked around the bulkhead and saw two more goons running towards me, both armed with machine guns. I poked my own weapon’s muzzle around the corner and fired indiscriminately, not expecting to hit anything but to slow their approach. It did exactly as intended as the two ducked behind a storage box a few feet away to avoid the hail of bullets.

I kept on spinning the winch handle and continued firing the machine gun wildly until the gun went empty. Realizing that reloading the weapon would require me to use both my hands and take precious seconds away from continuing to lower the lifeboat into the ocean, I decided against it. Instead, I unbuckled the shoulder strap of the machine gun and let it clatter to the ground at my feet. I then reached into a holster on my belt and pulled out my final weapon; a small semi automatic handgun. I had only a few shots left and I’d have to make them count. I quickly cocked the weapon and pointed it towards the incoming enemies.

As I continued cranking I saw the henchmen beginning to make their way up the stairway towards me, taking advantage of the break in gunfire. I raised the handgun and fired again, this time with much greater confidence in my aim. A yelp of pain from a henchwoman leading the charge up the stairs confirmed I’d hit my mark. She clutched her knee and began to fall backwards, knocking into two other henchmen that were immediately behind her. The three of them tumbled back down the stairs and landed in a heap at the bottom. But before I could celebrate the win I suddenly heard voices coming from behind me.

“Hey! You!” A man said stepping out of a hatchway just a few feet away from me in the opposite direction. I was now being attacked on two sides, and unfortunately only had one hand to shoot with.

Suddenly, another shot rang out from a direction I couldn’t immediately pinpoint. A millisecond later I felt an intense pain in my right shoulder which caused me to cry out in agony. I had been shot, I quickly realized. A bullet had embedded itself deep into the flesh of my upper arm and it instantly weakened my entire limb. The intense pain made me want to vomit and I instinctively used my opposite hand to clutch the bloody hole in my shoulder.

I struggled to look over the edge and saw that the lifeboat had almost made it to the water. Only a few more cranks would allow it to reach the water and disconnect from the ship. I couldn’t give up now, even if I wanted to. I attempted to grab my handgun and bring it to bear, but it was no use. The gunshot wound had ensured that any attempts to use my right hand would result in unfathomable pain. I would be unable to defend myself against even more henchmen and bullets that would inevitably be coming my way within seconds. I would have to continue cranking, and I’d have to do it fast. I let out a pained groan, gritted my teeth and gripped the winch handle tightly once more and continued cranking.

I watched as the lifeboat continued downward, but I couldn’t stay focused on it for long. Suddenly more gunshots rang out which forced me to duck for cover. One of the henchwomen to my left was hastily firing her machine in my direction.

But I continued cranking.

Then, from out of nowhere, another henchman lunged towards me, a knife clutched in his hand. I frantically made use of my still functioning legs, using my right foot to kick him in the face, briefly stunning him and making him drop his weapon. Then, guarding myself against the agonizing ache in my shoulder, I used my right hand to grab him by the collar and throw him towards a nearby railing. The man tumbled over the side and into the watery abyss below.

And I continued cranking.

Suddenly I was swarmed by the incoming henchmen, and was helpless to hold them off any longer. They came from all directions and fought ferociously, and I returned the favor.

One punched me in the face and I head butted her in response. Another lunged for my throat but I kneed them in the groin. Two more arrived carrying guns. One pointed his pistol at my head point blank and I batted it away with my bloodied arm, sending his shot rocketing away and his gun sliding across the deck. Another aimed their shotgun directly at my chest and pulled the trigger, but I kicked the gun muzzle upwards sending a spray of bullets into the ceiling and ricocheting in a thousand directions.

But I did not stop cranking until I heard a loud splash below me. I was able to peek over the side and confirm that the lifeboat had indeed made it all the way down. It was now floating in the water next to the ship, bobbing up and down violently in the intense waves below. It was up to Sara, Jackie and the others now to see to it that the lifeboat was detached from the ship.

As much as I wanted to continue fighting and inflict as much pain on them as I could, I knew I had exhausted every bit of energy I could expel. My fight was over, and now at least six henchmen were surrounding me, all of which had grabbed hold of me, attempting to rip me away from the winch handle that I had latched onto with a death grip.

One of the henchmen kicked the back of my legs, forcing me downwards. I landed in a kneeling position as several powerful hands kept tight grips on my arms and torso. My hands were whisked behind my back and criss-crossed at the wrists. Before long I could sense the familiar feel of coarse braided rope encircling my arms. Soon — perhaps for the fifth time today — I found myself securely bound and at the mercy of my enemies. But for the first time in a long time, I didn’t care. In fact, despite the intense pain I felt from the gunshot wound in my shoulder, I actually felt… satisfied.

I had actually completed my mission. Sara, Emily, Jackie, and all the other girls were safe, and on their way home. And there wasn’t a damn thing these Leviathan thugs could do about it. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the lifeboat sail off into the distance. I didn’t care what happened to me next. The only thing that mattered was that… I won.

[BobaFettish1]

Chapter Twenty Seven: "The Last Mission"


The crew of the MS Leviathan were well and truly screwed. Their ship was crippled, and partially sunk. Their leaders were dead. Their “cargo” had escaped. And a large portion of their crew were either dead or incapacitated.

It had actually been quite entertaining to watch the remaining henchmen attempt to figure out what to do when there was no one around to give them orders. The Boss was the top dog, and Rizzo was clearly his second in command. Any semblance of a chain of command beyond those two seemed nonexistent. Like all authoritarian narcissists, they had not planned on their untimely deaths. And that had left their underlings with a great deal of confusion, and a power vacuum. For a while I half expected the goons to turn on each other trying to establish who was really in charge and what to do next.

It seemed the only thing any of them could agree on was their undying hatred of the one who was responsible for all of their aforementioned troubles; me.

Some time had passed since my capture, although exactly how long I couldn’t be sure. My perception of time had been fuzzy-at-best due to the injuries I had sustained. In the moments following my capture I had drifted in and out of consciousness thanks to the intense pain, blood loss and extreme exhaustion I was experiencing. I had honestly lost count of how many injuries I’d managed to collect. A gunshot wound to the shoulder, a sword strike to the arm, a broken nose, at least a few cracked ribs, and numerous bruises and cuts. Altogether it had left me bloodied, broken, and barely alive.

When I eventually regained full consciousness I realized I was on the main deck of the ship lying on my side. I was unable to move, and at first I thought I might have been even more injured than I realized. But upon feeling the tight grip of braided rope around my wrists and ankles I suddenly remembered what had happened. The henchmen who had captured me had thought it more important to tie me up again than provide me with some much needed medical treatment. Several of them continued to hover over me, talking amongst themselves about what their next course of action would be. And worse still, it seemed they were all eager to finish me off once and for all. They discussed a variety of methods, everything from a simple bullet to the head to putting my feet in cement and tossing me over the side. All the while, I noticed a slowly growing puddle of blood next to me, confirming that I was surely in the midst of bleeding out.

But thankfully my life was saved just in the nick of time — at least momentarily — by an unlikely ally. Suddenly, from one of the nearby hatchways emerged a hulking man with dark brown skin, intense brown eyes, a smooth bald head, and a stature that towered over everyone around him. The sleeves of his tight fitting gray shirt were torn off, revealing muscular arms that were coated with various tattoos. His face seemed ablaze with fury and also completely emotionless at the same time. I wasn’t sure if he’d ever cracked a smile in his entire life.

I soon learned that his name was Django, an African man of few words and lots of muscles. Between his fierce attitude and his impressive physique, no one was foolish enough to challenge him when he came on deck and began giving orders. The first of which was to tend to my wounds and make sure I didn’t get away again. Not only was I in immense pain and eager to get any medical attention offered, I also had no intention of making another escape attempt.

Nevertheless, with my hands and feet still tightly bound, I was carried into one of the interior rooms where a makeshift triage had been setup. I was only untied once two giant men with large rifles came into the room to keep an eye on me. My black and purple wetsuit, which had been sliced by blades, punctured by bullets, and covered in blood, was promptly removed. Although I was tired of being forcefully undressed by my captors, I was willing to let it slide just this once. One of the henchmen, an older bearded man who at least acted like he knew what he was doing, assisted in my treatment. Unfortunately for me I wasn’t allowed the luxury of any anesthesia during the quick and hasty surgery to remove the bullet from my arm. Several bandages and more than a few stitches later, I was essentially as good as new. Exhausted, bruised, hurting, but alive.

Upon finishing my medical treatment I immediately went back to being treated like a prisoner. I was thankfully allowed to put my damaged wetsuit back on — mostly because it was the only piece of clothing I had left — right before I was dragged back to the main deck at gunpoint.

I now had an excellent view of the activity on deck and the ocean beyond. Naturally I couldn’t move, thanks to me being tied up for the sixth time today. It was perhaps their best attempt yet at subduing me. I had been backed against one of the metal support posts underneath a stairwell near the starboard side of the ship’s control tower. I was forced into a kneeling position with my ankles criss crossed on top of each other behind the pole at my back and tightly tied together with thick black braided rope. The entirety of my forearms — from my elbows to my wrists — were wrapped with countless turns of the same black rope, and tightly bound together with several hefty knots, keeping my back pinned against the pole. Another length of rope has been used to tie my arms to my ankles, and a heavy amount of rope was devoted to encircling my chest, midsection and waist to ensure I was securely lashed to the pole. The ropework was actually impressive, so much so that my hands and feet were almost numb due to how tightly they were bound together, and I knew it would take a while for me to escape. Although I couldn’t tell if my intensified restraints were more due to their anger at what I’d done so far, or fear of the further damage I might cause if I were given the chance to be free once again.

Normally I would find it embarrassing to get tied up without at least putting up a fight, but this time I didn’t even bother struggling. Luckily for my captors I had no interest in escaping. I was having far too much fun relishing my victory and enjoying the view. Besides, I knew my ace in the hole was imminent anyway. I might as well stick around and enjoy the show.

The cargo ship itself was clearly in bad shape, but was somehow still afloat. I had hoped the explosion we had triggered in the engine room would be enough to take the MS Leviathan down, but alas, no such luck. The only signs of the damage currently were a noticeable list to the starboard side. It was also painfully obvious that the engines had been crippled by the blast, thus evidenced by the ship’s lack of forward momentum these past few hours.

My red hair was whipped by the gusty ocean breeze as I stared across the deck towards the seemingly never ending ocean. The storm had finally cleared, leaving behind a cloudless morning sky and a crystal blue ocean that was now as still as glass. The calm water reflected the radiant white sunlight and glittered brilliantly. The only imperfection along the ocean’s surface was a tiny orange dot in the distance. I had enjoyed watching the lifeboat drift away until it was nearly over the horizon and out of sight. And most importantly; out of danger.

The small craft carrying Sara, Jackie, Emily and the other former slaves was heading due west away from the ship — exactly as I had instructed them to. With the ship in disrepair, and no other lifeboats left aboard, the remaining henchmen had no way to pursue them. The girls should be able to make it to the shores of Brazil with little trouble.

As I continued to watch the lifeboat drift off into the distance I was filled with a flurry of emotions. Pride; for being able to teach those girls how to save themselves in haste. Hope; that no matter what happens to me, they would undoubtedly make it home safe and be able to live normal lives. And, of course, satisfaction; that I had thrown a giant wet blanket on Leviathan’s world domination plans.

I had completed my mission, perhaps the last one I would ever have. I had made a simple mistake back in Rome which had led to me winding up bound, gagged and at the mercy of the Boss and his goons.

Which, in hindsight, is pretty typical for me.

But what was different this time is that I had I happened to stumble upon what was perhaps the most important mission of my life. Within a matter of hours I’d managed to take a ton of illegal weapons and drugs off the market, take down one of the biggest crime bosses in the world, and save almost 30 women from a life of slavery. Not to mention saving the world from god-knows-what Leviathan had planned.

And, sure, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The Agency — the only family I had left — had been obliterated. I had been shot, stabbed and punched… multiple times. And I was tied up, again, and surely about to face certain doom. Somehow I felt both absolutely victorious and utterly defeated all at once.

Suddenly, one of the goons, a young dark skinned female, came running up to Django where he stood nearby.

“Report!” Django asked sternly.

“Sir,” She said, snapping to attention. “We’ve managed to stabilize the ship.”

“What about the damage below decks?”

“I’m… I’m sorry, sir,” The woman said, suddenly seeming afraid to say the words. “Several compartments were completely flooded, including the engine room. It took everything we had to contain the damage. And with half the crew tied up, it was made even more difficult...”

“Is there any possibility of repairing the hull breach?” Django asked flatly, cutting her off before she could finish.

“Not without a dry dock, sir. Unfortunately we are dead in the water.”

Django considered her words for a moment, then spoke again.

“Send word below deck,” He suddenly ordered. “I want everyone topside immediately. We’re abandoning ship.”

“Um, sir…” The henchwoman said sheepishly. “We can’t…”

“What do you mean we can’t?” Django’s voice rose in anger.

“Umm…” She was almost shaking now. “Because there’s no lifeboats.”

“What?!”

“It appears someone jettisoned all but one of the lifeboats at some point during the night. The slave’s used the last one to escape…” The woman trailed off and sent an accusing glare in my direction.

“Umm… whoops?” I said, shrugging my shoulders the best I could within the ropes that encircled them. Django somehow managed to grimace even harder, although he tried to hide it from me. I was grinning from ear-to-ear while listening intently to their conversation which seemed to add insult to injury.

“Nevertheless,” he finally said through gritted teeth. “We have choppers inbound. We’ll evacuate everyone when they arrive.”

I raised an eyebrow as the henchwoman raced off to relay the new captain’s orders.

“Abandoning ship, eh?” I asked quizzically “Does that include abandoning little ol’ me here too? I’m really starting to feel like a permanent fixture on this luxurious vessel.”

“Not to worry, Miss James.” Django said in a coddling tone. “You are far too valuable to be simply abandoned to the sea. Agent X is eager to collect his prize.”

“Ah, Agent X! I’ve heard so much about him! I can’t wait to meet my new master!” My words dripped with sarcasm.

“That is good to hear. Because he will be arriving any moment now.”

I will admit that I wasn’t overly thrilled to meet the infamous Agent X. An instinctive spike of fear threatened to fracture the air of confidence I’d manage to build up. I knew it was largely an irrational fear, especially considering I had pretty much nothing left to lose at this point. What was he going to do? Torture me? For what? Intel and Agency secrets he probably already had access to thanks to Leviathan’s apparent capture and sacking of our headquarters? That didn’t make any sense. Or was Agent X truly that petty that he was going to put me in chains perpetually just so he could have the bragging rights of “defeating” me? I’ve met a lot of evil narcissists in my day, but most of them weren’t that pathetic.

I’ve heard many stories about Agent X over the years, and none of them were good. Being that official records on the man had been sealed, he had become more of a folktale among Agency veterans. Any and all questions about who he really was and what he did were always swept under the rug. Despite this, over the years I’d managed to piece together some of the cliff notes; that Agent X had been one of the Agency’s best and brightest for a time prior to my joining. That he had unexpectedly turned traitor and vanished without a trace. And that after years of ghost stories and rumors he had recently resurfaced as a key figure within Leviathan, perhaps even becoming their head honcho as of late.

Agent 66 always speculated that the Agency was trying to cover up what happened with Agent X out of shame. His defection to Leviathan had clearly been humiliating, and it was obvious the Agency wanted to conceal the exact details of the incident. But I always felt there was something more happening just below the surface.

Our intelligence had indicated that Leviathan was planning something big, and Agent X was the one spearheading it. Of course none of us could have expected that something to be the total annihilation of the Agency. And now I had the pleasure of finally meeting this upstanding fellow, who apparently wanted to turn me into his personal slave.

What could possibly go wrong?

I could feel the cold metal pole digging into my back as I — unsuccessfully — attempted to shift my weight into a slightly less uncomfortable position. I couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of Déjà vu dance on the edge of my mind’s eye. I had a hard time putting my finger on it, until…

Ah, yes. How could I forget?

The feeling had taken me back to a memory I had once suppressed. The memory of the first time I was ever tied up. While traumatic at the time, yes, it was also oddly prophetic for my life. Back then I would have never imagined ending up bound in a situation like this, much less the countless other times I’ve been tied and gagged in countless other perilous situations. And arguably none of it would have happened if not for that one moment in my parent’s basement. The one time I decided to play “cops and robbers” with my older brother.

My brother.

Gosh. How many years had it been since I’d seen him? Sure, leaving me tied up and vulnerable in the basement was a pretty sucky thing to do. And for an emotionally stunted teenager like me, it was a particularly difficult thing to get over. It strained our relationship. For a while it even felt like we were starting to move past it, until what happened… happened. The Agency was strict about getting rid of personal attachments. And lucky for me I really didn’t have many left by the time I joined the organization. But after everything, I refused to forget him.

Suddenly I spotted three black specks on the horizon and heard a distant noise. The distinct sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air at high speeds was instantly recognizable. The specks slowly grew into shapes that resembled just what I expected; three medium-sized helicopters were buzzing their way towards the ship. One of the helicopters was clearly larger and leading the pack, with the other two flanking it on either side. The personal craft of the one and only Agent X, I had to assume.

The helicopters continued to approach until they came to stop directly overhead, hovering above one of the cargo holds nearest to the control tower. They each slowly descended down until they landed side by side on the deck just a few yards away from me. The entire surrounding area was blasted with wind from the spinning blades, and the sound had grown to be almost deafening. I watched as the rotors of each chopper slowed to a stop and an entourage of strange soldiers began filing out of the craft.

The torsos of the soldiers were covered in matte black body armor that was clearly thick, heavy, and most likely bullet proof. Matching armor pieces on their shoulders, forearms, legs and neck was worn over dark gray military fatigues. They wore gauntlets on their wrists that featured an array of buttons and instruments that probably concealed plenty of hidden gadgets and weapons. The also had large utility belts secured around their waists which featured lots of pouches and a holstered sidearm, along with a matching bandolier that was slung across their chest. The bandolier was lined with several more pouches and a variety of weapons cartridges. But there was no denying that their most distinctive feature was their helmets. Over their heads they wore oblong helmets, the back and sides of which appeared to be made of the same armor that adorned the rest of the ensemble. The front of the helmet was a single piece of curved black glass that stretched from the top of their head to below their chin. The dark glass fully concealed the face of the individual wearing it. And, of course, to complete the ensemble, a pair of shiny heavy manacles hung from each of their belts.

I had heard stories about them and seen a handful of blurry images and security footage, but I’d never seen any in person. Still, I instantly knew that these were Leviathan’s infamous shock troopers. They were the foot soldiers that would lead the charge for Leviathan’s global conquest. The glass of their helmets was featureless and opaque, unable to show what was inside, and also remarkably unreflective. Looking into it felt like staring into a black hole. There was no sense of emotion or humanity to them at all. I assumed that was the point; at face value no one could know if there was a human under the mask, or some strange robot. Regardless, it was clear that these… things were merely mindless automatons who would follow orders without question.

For years, or perhaps even generations, Leviathan had operated in the shadows, and they would never be so bold as to march their troopers out in the open like this. Mostly because they knew the Agency would likely snuff them out if they dared do their dirty work out in broad daylight. But now the Agency was gone, and they had no reason to be afraid anymore. To see Leviathan assembling their troops like this was a sign of worse things to come. A lump formed in my throat as I took in the sight of them, understanding the gravity of the situation. I had won my battle valiantly, but a larger war was now brewing.

As the entourage approached I noticed a small crowd of the ship’s crew gathering near the control tower adjacent to where I was bound. The two groups stared at each other, clearly sizing each other up. While I had assumed they were all allies I could sense a noticeable air of distrust between them. It was then that I realized the stark contrast between the two groups. The henchmen were thuggish ruffians who had looked haggard even before their battle with my slave friends and I. In many ways they were the exact opposite of the militaristic Leviathan soldiers with their spotless black armor and rigid behavior.

Besides, the goons I had been fighting for the past few days were just hired hands. Sure, perhaps some of their leaders — such as the Boss, Rizzo and Costa — had drank the Leviathan kool aid and were clearly true believers in the cause. But the rest of the henchmen probably didn’t even know what they were fighting for. They were hired hands who were only in it for the money. But these shock troopers knew exactly what was at stake, and they were ready to execute their master’s commands.

The soldiers stopped just a few feet away from me. The gathered group of henchmen stood to my left, with Django standing closest to me, as if to present his apparently very valuable prisoner. As soon as the soldiers stopped marching they parted in the middle, making way for the one person who wasn’t dressed in full armor. Agent X strode forward with confidence. All of the Leviathan soldiers were focused solely on him, as if no one else mattered. He strolled across the ship’s deck, seeming to understand his perceived importance and making a show of it. He was clearly full of himself, and it made me wanna puke.

The man appeared to be taller than average as he towered over the soldiers surrounding him. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt under a long gray trench coat that flapped vigorously in the wind. He also wore matching black slacks and dark combat boots. His hood was pulled over his head and he wore a black balaclava over the lower half of his face. This left only a pair of blue eyes, a patch of light colored skin, and a tuft of dark brown hair visible amidst a shroud of black. The eyes took in the group of people before him, darting around as if in search of something — or someone — familiar.

For an infamous supervillain I was remarkably unimpressed with his rather mundane attire. Although I don’t know what I was expecting anyway. I just figured someone who was self important enough to call themselves “Agent X” would have a more flamboyant fashion sense. I tried to avert my gaze, just to further emphasize how truly unimpressed I was with his grand entrance. But I was surprised at how much I too was caught staring at the man. There was just something about him that left me… intrigued.

Suddenly, when his gaze drifted towards me, his eyes widened in a look that could only be described as astonishment, and excitement. Agent X paid no mind to his shock trooper escorts, nor did he even acknowledge the group of henchmen gathered nearby. Django stood proudly at my side and attempted to make conversation with the man, but Agent X ignored him as well.

Agent X towered over me, looking down towards where I had been left bound to the pole. It wasn’t lost on me that my captors had forced me to kneel, the stereotypical position of someone who was subservient. And just like a slave, I had no choice but to comply. I stared up at him, fully expecting some evil villain speech about how I was about to bear witness to him taking over the world. Or maybe he had one of those shiny metal slave collars for me? I had to admit, I always thought chokers were stylish.

But, to my surprise, he simply removed his hood, revealing a matte of shaggy, yet perfectly combed blackish-brown hair. He then pulled the balaclava down from over his mouth and nose, revealing a hardly-blemished smooth face adorned with a manicured black goatee.

At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, because I could swear his face looked vaguely familiar. I was caught off guard by just how well I felt I knew him. Suddenly, my heartbeat quickened as recognition hit me.

It simply couldn’t be.

It was impossible.

But it was indeed true.

There, standing in front of me, was…

My brother?!

“Hi, Caity.” The man said, sounding almost kind.

“Alex?” I asked, my voice quivering in stunned confusion. I blinked hard as he lowered himself down onto one knee in front of me. As I looked into his eyes once more I realized I couldn’t deny it. It really was him. Alex James. My own brother. “But.. how…?” I finally stammered out the question, any semblance of melodrama or derision I could possibly concoct was completely gone. My composure had been completely broken.

“It’s… a long story,” He said softly. “Please, cut her loose,” Alex ordered, finally properly acknowledging that Django existed. “There’s no need to keep her bound.” Django was clearly hesitant, perhaps thinking back to all the trouble I had caused his crew just a short time ago. But nevertheless he took out a large knife and began cutting my ropes. As they fell away from my arms, legs and torso I was filled with a sense of relief. It felt like I was finally, truly free. I tried to stand up but I only managed to half trip and fall forward. Before landing on all fours on the metallic floor, a hand shot out and grabbed me by the arm; it was Alex’s hand. I reluctantly grabbed ahold of both of his hands and he helped haul me to my feet. Given I was still recovering from my many wounds, on top my extremities feeling numb due to all the rope that had been tightly tied around them, I was a bit unsteady at first. But with Alex's support I was finally able to stand on my own two feet for the first time in what felt like forever.

Standing eye to eye with Alex I found I could only stare at him, my mouth agape. I had so many things I wanted to say but I couldn’t force my lips to form the words. As I looked him up and down I couldn’t help but be amazed with how much he looked the same from the last time I had seen him. He was very much the person I had know as a child and teenager. A lanky, fair complected, brown haired and blue eyed boy, but he was also very different as well.

His facial features were that, not of a naive boy, but a man who had been through a great many trails since I’d last seen him. I was surprised, and, at first, grateful to see him alive and well. But as I stared at him my emotions slowly shifted from the happiness of being reunited with my older sibling, to the confusion and frustration of realizing what he had become.

“Are you alright?” Alex asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “I wish I could have gotten here sooner so you didn’t have to go through all of that. I was briefed on what happened on the flight over and I’m so sorry…”

Alex continued on talking apologetically to me. His tone exuded a sense of glee and relief, tinged with a hint of awkwardness and embarrassment. It was clear that our meeting was something he had been looking forward to, something that made him almost overcome with joy and pride. But at that very moment I was feeling a completely different set of emotions that I couldn’t yet put into words.

“…When I found your file in the Agency databanks I could hardly believe it,” Alex continued, excitedly. “I mean, after all these years, who would have thought the legendary ‘Agent 38’ was my little sister all along!” He sounded almost giddy with excitement. In contrast, I stared back at him blankly, all my emotions mixing together into a concoction that made me feel numb. It seemed Alex took no notice of my stunned expression, choosing to continue gushing about our reunion.

“And when they told me you were here I just had to come as quickly as I could,” Finally he stopped talking long enough to get a hint of what I was feeling. Drawing closer to me he reached for my right hand and gripped it tightly and lovingly with both of his hands. “Look, I know you have a lot of questions. And I want to answer every one of them. You’ve been through a lot, and, quite frankly, so have I. But we’ll have plenty of time to catch up later,” He spoke the words with sincerity as he turned towards the helicopter, attempting to pull me along with my hand still in his grip. “Right now let’s get you on the chopper so we can get back to base and properly treat those wounds. And I bet you haven’t had a proper meal in…”

“No.” I suddenly said, interrupting his excited monologue and yanking my hand free from his grip.

“What?” Alex asked, blinking in confusion. The surrounding shock troopers watched the exchange intently, their expressions unreadable under the glass helmets.

“You’re… Agent X,” I finally said in response. “You’re the leader of Leviathan. You… destroyed the Agency.”

“Caity…” Alex held up his hands and softened his voice, as if to coddle a child. But I wasn’t having any of it.

“You enslaved those girls!” My voice was growing in volume as my anger boiled over. “You‘re smuggling weapons and drugs on this ship! You almost got me killed… dozens of times…”

“Caity, listen!” Alex attempted to interject once again, but I wasn’t finished.

“…And yet you show up here like it’s nothing? Like you want a pat on the back and a hug?”

“Caity…”

“You…”, I stammered in disbelief and rage. “You’re… a monster.” I spat the words in horror.

“Caity, I know this is a lot to take in. But you have to trust me.”

“Trust you?” I asked, as if to emphasize how ridiculous he sounded.

“Caity, you have no idea what I’ve been through and what I’ve seen. And you don’t know what’s truly at stake here.”

“Oh really? Well, I certainly know what you’ve been doing with your time since I last saw you. Tell me, how many girls do have you chained up in your basement right now?”

“It’s not like that, okay!” Alex suddenly yelled, seeming to reveal the frustration he had been trying to suppress. “I…” He paused, as if to calm himself. When he continued his voice was lowered in volume, almost to a whisper.

“Caity, please… I… I’ve done things I’m not proud of,” His voice trembled for a moment, and I almost bought the idea of him being remorseful. “And I know you have too. Caity, we’re not all that different, you know? We both know that sometimes the ends do justify the means, and sometimes it’s not pretty. Leviathan is not without fault, but it’s all we’ve got. And now we have a chance to make those mistakes worthwhile.”

“Really? That’s what you’re calling all this? A mistake?” I was still beside myself with indignation.

“Collateral damage is to be expected when pursuing safety and security.”

“Safety and security? Do you hear yourself?”

“C’mon, Caity! Have you watched the news lately?”

“Well, no, I’ve been busy.” I said sardonically, but Alex ignored my interjection and kept monologuing.

“The world is falling apart,” He said as his voice rose slightly in volume. “And we have to do what is necessary to make things right.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing all these years. Trying to save the world… from people like you!”

“Save the world?” Alex asked, a hint of mockery in his tone. “Do you really think that’s what the Agency wanted?”

“Um… Yes.” I shrugged.

“Surely you can’t be that naive. I mean, The Agency? What a boring name for a global, independent intelligence organization.”

Alex was becoming more animated as his rant intensified. I stared at him blankly, unsure what to make of the surprising display.

“Y’know, I heard Agency was an acronym. Did they ever tell you what it meant?” Before I could even respond, Alex yelled out, “Of course they didn’t!”

Alex was now pacing back and forth in front of me. Even his shock troopers seemed unnerved by his bombastic behavior.

“The Agency wasn’t saving the world it was upholding the status quo,” He rambled on. “It refused to allow the world to evolve. Leviathan doesn’t just accept the world as it is, we seek to make lasting change.”

“Ah, yes, because weapons and drugs and slaves really scream make the world a better place.” I said the words with as much sarcasm as I could muster at the moment. “Am I really supposed to believe that Leviathan has its own plan to save the world?”

“That’s just it, Caity. This world… it’s beyond saving. Leviathan seeks to wipe the slate clean so we can begin anew.”

“Oh, wonderful!” I suddenly said, throwing up my hands. “Here comes the grand villain speech! I can’t wait to hear this.” I folded my arms and stepped back, as if goading him to continue. And he, unfortunately, obliged me.

“What is onboard this ship will be the lifeblood of Leviathan’s conquest. It will bring about the dawn of a new age. And while yes, there will be collateral damage, it will be in service of a new world order. I take no pleasure in the suffering that is to come. But a price must be paid, and we all must be willing to make a sacrifice… for the greater good.”

“And then what?” I asked, growing tired of the monologuing. “Once you’re king of the hill, and Leviathan is in charge of things… What happens to all the women in your new world order?”

“Everyone will have their place in the new society," Alex said proudly. "The woman’s role will be to serve and obey.”

I stared at him blankly, taken aback by such a brazen statement.

“And what if they refuse?” I asked.

“Well…” He paused, as if deep in thought. “There’s plenty of collars to go around.” As he said the words his voice took on a dark tone. It was as if he knew exactly how villainous he sounded now.

I stepped back, as if wounded by his words, and he took notice.

“But, Caity…” Alex stepped toward, snapping back into that caring big brother act that he had first come to me with earlier. “I don’t want that fate for you. I want you at my side. We can reshape the world together. Make everything exactly how we want it, and more.”

“Wow, that’s the best Darth Vader impression I’ve heard in a while.” I said contemptuously.

I watched as his face turned from sadness, to anguish, and then… to rage. At first he said nothing, choosing to stare at me in disgust. Then, finally, he snapped his fingers. Immediately one of the sharply dressed guards behind him stepped forward and snapped to attention.

“Bring me XP-124.” Alex said coldly, and in response one of the shock troopers jogged back to one of the helicopters.

“I’m sorry, Caity,” Alex finally, sounding disappointed. “I thought you had changed. But you’re still just as stubborn as ever. I was a fool for thinking you would understand so easily. But I’m not going to give up on you just yet. I know, in time, you’ll see things my way.”

“You wanna bet, big brother?”

Just then the trooper returned from the chopper, now carrying a silver briefcase. He brought the case up and cradled it in his arms, presenting it to Alex. Alex punched in a code on a keypad near the briefcase's handle and it popped open, revealing what was inside. I couldn’t see what Alex was admiring, but I had a couple of guesses.

“Yes, yes, those will do,” Alex said casually. “Put them on her.” He said pointedly as two more of the soldiers stepped towards me. Not eager to find out what was inside the case, I recoiled and stepped back. Enough time had passed that I felt I had managed to regain at least a bit of my strength. I briefly considered fighting back, or making a break for it, but I knew that there was nowhere to run, and another fight would just leave me injured and tired yet again. Two of the troopers moved to flank me and roughly grabbed me by each arm. They held me in place as the soldier carrying the briefcase slowly walked toward me, accompanied by another identical shock trooper.

It was then that I caught my first glimpse at the contents of the case: A set of what appeared to be eight metallic bronze rings and a small black device with buttons on it. Each of the rings appeared to be approximately four inches in diameter and were made of a polished bronze-colored metal approximately two-inches wide and a half of an inch thick with smooth, rounded edges. The bronze rings were held snugly within the case thanks to some black foam padding which displayed them neatly side-by-side each other. The trooper with the suitcase stopped directly in front of me and his accomplice stepped up beside him and reached into the briefcase, casually plucking one of the rings out of the black foam and thumbing it with his index finger and thumb. The cuff was completely smooth and didn’t appear to feature any noticeable seams, hinges or blemishes of any kind. The trooper then grabbed the small black device, which I assumed was some type of remote, and then manipulated the buttons on its surface. Then, he began his work.

He grabbed ahold of each of my hands and slipped two of the rings over each of them. As soon as the first ring passed over my hand it tightened around my wrist with a whirring sound. The second ring was pulled up above my elbow, and it swiftly tightened itself and stayed in place. The same was done for my legs; a ring was passed over each of my feet and secured around my ankles, and a second set of rings was secured just above my knees. As soon as the rings were on me the guards stepped back, as if eager to see what would happen next. I examined the rings myself and flexed my wrists and ankles and felt how uncomfortably tight each of them was on me.

“These are called mag-cuffs,” Alex explained unceremoniously. “They’re a new experimental restraint that our scientists recently came up with. They have no hinges, no keyholes, and they’re self-tightening.”

I could feel these rings… er, cuffs, adjust themselves as they automatically tightened around my elbows, wrists, knees and ankles. A mechanical purr emanated from each of them as they worked independently to morph into a shape that perfectly fit me. Within seconds the rings felt as if they had been especially made to perfectly contour to my arms and legs, making removing them seem virtually impossible. I was grateful to still be wearing the skin-tight wetsuit which added a layer of cushioning between the rings and my skin. I imagined the shape shifting metal might be painful against bare skin.

“In theory,” Alex continued. “Once you put them on, they never have to come off. It’s ideal for more… dangerous prisoners. And you have the honor of being the first one to test them properly.”

“Lucky me.” I said mockingly.

“This remote provides complete control over the cuffs,” Alex said just as one of his shock troopers placed the small black device in the palm of his hand. “The cuffs use electromagnetic syncing to bind to one another…”

Alex then pressed a button on the remote and in response the cuffs suddenly made a thrumming sound just before my hands were thrust together behind my back. My wrist cuffs were pulled together by an invisible force, and with a hard clinking sound they snapped together, instantly binding my hands together. I tugged at the cuffs, attempting to pull apart my hands using all my strength, but it was no good. Despite the absence of rope, chains, or any other physical connection, the magnetized cuffs were locked together just as tight, if not tighter than any handcuffs I’d worn before.

“…And you can pair them in a variety of different ways.”

He pressed another button and the cuffs on my elbows were magnetically drawn together, forcing my arms to be pinned together behind my back. I winced and gritted my teeth as my elbows were now almost touching.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this.” I said with contempt.

“I take no pleasure in this, Caity. But you had to learn the hard way.” Alex said grimly, tapping another button. Suddenly my ankles and knees quickly snapped together. The unexpected binding caused me to lose my balance and I collapsed to my knees. I helplessly tugged and struggled against the cuffs trying to find any weakness in their magnetic bindings, but there was none. I glared up at Alex who only smiled a sinister grin back at me.

“Impressed?” Alex asked, kneeling down in front of me to meet my gaze.

“If you’re gonna kill me, just get it over with.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Caity. But I have to make you understand that there is no resisting Leviathan. There’s a storm coming, and I’m the only one who can protect you.”

“I don’t want your protection," I declared defiantly. "I already kicked Leviathan’s ass… and I’ll do it again.”

Alex once again snapped his fingers and motioned to his guards. Several of them, including Django, quickly ducked into a nearby hatchway. When they returned Django was carrying a large iron ball, slightly larger than a bowling ball, and clearly much heavier. The very muscular dark skinned man, who was clearly the strongest among his crew, struggled to heft the weight forward. Suddenly, the man dropped the ball violently onto the deck and it landed with a deafening thud. I half expected to see a large dent in the metal plating due to the immense weight.

“Prepare her.” Alex said, and three of his troopers stepped forward and wrestled me to the floor. I was pushed face down onto the metal deck plating as the soldiers held me in place. With my elbows and wrists magnetically fastened together behind my back, and my legs locked side-by-side, there was little I could do to resist what came next.

Just then, another soldier brought forth a long length of chain that appeared to be made of the same shiny bronze alloy that my cuffs were. He only had to bring the end of the chain within a few inches of the cuffs behind me for them to instantly magnetize together. Two jangling snaps confirmed that both sets of magnetic cuffs on my arms were securely attached to the length of chain. He then took hold of a section of the chain towards its middle and attached it to my knee and ankle cuffs. Then, for the finishing touch, the opposite end of the chain was attached to the large metal ball via a metal loop on its surface. Via the long length of chain my hands were now shackled to my feet, and my feet were tethered to the ball that sat just a few feet away.

“So, is this supposed to intimidate me, or something?” I asked casually as I managed to awkwardly roll myself over and sit up. “I mean, come on, anybody who's seen Aladdin knows where this is going.”

I refused to give Alex whatever terrified begging he clearly expected from me. I’d been at the mercy of enough people like him to know that they relished the fear of others. I also knew that it always unnerved my captors when I was cracking jokes instead of cowering in fear. But unfortunately my brother had one final card left to play.

“Sir,” Django stepped forward and spoke with conviction. “We have a lock on the lifeboat’s beacon. There’s a chopper standing by ready to pursue.” The man stood at attention, as if waiting on Alex to give the order. Alex hesitated, turning away from Django and kneeling down to address me directly.

“This is your last chance, Caity. You can save yourself and your little friends. And all you have to do is submit.”

So this was it. I’ve been on countless missions and faced a wide variety of bad guys. But after all these years, it was my own brother who was the one to finally make me feel the most helpless. He knew his little Sophie’s Choice would be an easy way to get under my skin, and into my head. Of course, this was hardly a choice at all. Given the option between dooming Sara, Jackie and the others in the lifeboat — with the bonus of a watery death for myself — and simply submitting myself to Leviathan, he knew which one I’d choose.

That was one thing that always sucked about being the hero; they could always count on you to do the selfless act. And today I was feeling especially heroic. I didn’t care what happened to me. Whether I was destined for a quick death, or to spend the rest of my life in chains, it made no difference. I was more than prepared to face my ultimate fate. I guess my real problem now was my own pride and stubbornness.

Allowing Alex the satisfaction of giving into his ultimatum was unnerving to say the least. Submitting to Leviathan meant I would be betraying every fiber of my being as well as the memory of all my fellow agents, not to mention damning myself into the subservience of my greatest enemies. But I supposed that was the point, after all. Even after spending so much time apart, it seemed Alex knew exactly how to manipulate me into submission. And that, I thought, was the truly terrifying part.

I looked up at Alex who was still hovering over me. The hint of a smile on his lips confirmed my suspicions and instantly made me sick to my stomach. If my arms hadn’t been chained behind my back I surely would have punched him in the face. Alex certainly thought he had won, and perhaps he had. But the day was still young.

Suddenly I felt a shudder within the ship. The deck plating beneath me began to shake, and a muffled roar could be heard. It was then that I realized my ace in the hole had finally come to fruition. I knew exactly what was about to happen, and while everyone around me on the ship’s deck glanced around in puzzlement and worry, I couldn’t help but smile.

The noise grew louder and louder until there was a bright flash followed by a loud bang. Everyone on the deck was suddenly knocked off their feet as a massive explosion erupted from one of the cargo bays near the midsection of the ship. The fireball tore through the center of the massive vessel, sending one of the humongous cargo bay doors flying up into the air. The door quickly came crashing down, right on top of one of the helicopters which instantly exploded into ball of flames and shrapnel.

“What the hell is that?” Alex exclaimed as he struggled to stand up after tumbling to the deck beside me. Just then the ship was rocked by several more explosions, and many of the goons and soldiers around us began fleeing in fear. As I watched the panicked looks on all of their faces I found I couldn’t contain myself. I did the one thing that no one expected from me; I laughed, loudly and genuinely. I couldn’t help but find the situation amusing, and Alex was beside himself. Hearing my laughs, Alex turned to me quickly with a scowl.

“What did you do?” He demanded angrily.

“Oh, you know, I did what any helpless damsel might do when they happen upon at least a dozen time bombs; I armed them all.”

“You what?” Django said from just a few feet as he rose to his full height.

“And they went off right on time too,” I added nonchalantly. “I was beginning to wonder if they might be duds.”

“But there’s at least 10 megatons of explosives down there!” One nearby crew member said in terror.

“And plutonium,” Django added grimly.

Alex looked to them, and then back to me. His face had turned pale and his eyes were wide with horror.

“You’ll kill us all!”

“Exactly.” I simply said, with a note of satisfaction in my voice.

Earlier in the day, after being released from my chains by Jackie and Emily, I happened upon something interesting inside the cargo hold of the ship. Aside from thousands of pounds of drugs, and countless guns — which all of my fellow slaves had put to good use — there was also a variety of explosives on hand. Everything from grenades and mines to rockets and large bombs were stockpiled by the hundreds. It was enough firepower to level a city, and I suspected Leviathan had planned to do just that with this shipment. While I had remained committed to rescuing the slave girls and getting them off the ship, I had not forgotten my original objective: to destroy this ship and everything it carried within it. I had utilized several time bombs I found in the stash, adding as much time as I could to their countdown clocks. Thus giving me a foolproof way of blowing the ship to hell, but not before I got the women to safety.

Hence, my “ace in the hole”.

The bombs had ended up going off at the best, or perhaps the worst time possible, depending on how you look at it. Despite being helplessly shackled, at the mercy of my evil older brother, and stuck onboard a doomed ship, I was still choosing to look at things on the bright side. Even when I’m most vulnerable, I could still ruin Leviathan’s world domination plans.

Just then, an even bigger explosion shook the ship and it sent the entire crew into a frenzy. Those who weren’t immediately injured by flying debris or knocked overboard were left scrambling for cover. Several of the shock troopers, who had been caught off guard by the explosions like everyone else, suddenly rushed towards Alex. Still reeling from all the commotion around him, Alex finally turned towards me with a look of genuine concern.

“Caity!” He yelled towards me, a note of fear in his voice I’d never heard before. Just as he did, two of the shock troopers grabbed ahold of him and began half-dragging him to one of the remaining helicopters. I didn’t know how to respond to my brother, and frankly, I didn’t have time to worry about it. Alex and his guards would be forced to get closer to the billowing firestorm in order to board their escape craft, and I wouldn’t bet on their odds of making it safely. As pandemonium broke out amongst the crew, and smoke and flames engulfed the middle section of the ship, I could only sit there helpless and watch. Fortunately, or unfortunately, no one seemed concerned about me for the first time in a while. And with my arms and legs chained together, and tethered to a giant metal ball, I was pretty much powerless to help myself.

Just then I noticed something that might be useful; the remote to my cuffs. It appeared Alex had dropped it amidst the commotion, and it was now laying on the metal deck just a few few away from where I was laying.

It was now or never.

I flopped back down onto the deck and rolled back onto my stomach, attempting to slither my way towards the remote. But without the use of my arms and legs, moving even an inch forward felt almost impossible. But after several intense seconds of struggling I was finally close enough that I might be able to grab it with my teeth. One more jerk forward would get me nearly within reach of it. I tried to lurch forward, but I couldn’t. The chain holding me at bay had been pulled tight and the ball I was attached to would not budge, making any further headway impossible.

But the situation was about to change drastically as the largest explosion yet rang out above me. The ship shook underneath me and I could hear the distinct sound of metal being bent and broken. A blinding bright light followed by a sound that could only be described as sounding like a thousand claps of thunder happening all at once rocked the ship. I felt the ship buckle as the middle section of the ship lifted into the air, while the bow and stern sections fell downward violently. It was painfully clear that whatever explosive had just detonated, it had successfully cracked the massive cargo ship completely in half. This was confirmed when I saw the smoke clear and could plainly see that the hole in the middle of the deck had spread across the entire width of the ship. The two massive halves of the ship were floating independently, and they too were beginning to break apart themselves.
The MS Leviathan was starting to look less like a ship and more like a floating pile of wreckage. Flaming chunks of debris littered the deck surrounding me, and a large plume of smoke billowed out from a large chasm between the two halves of the ship. It wouldn’t take long for what was left of the vessel to sink, although I doubted I would be onboard it long enough to witness it go under.

The metal deck plating was being ripped to shreds like paper around me. Suddenly, just in front of me, a large crevasse in the deck plating was torn open, revealing an opening in the ship hundreds of feet deep. I glanced at the remote one last time as it slid towards the enormous hole and plummeted into the interior of the ship, disappearing into the fiery void.

More explosions rang out as I struggled some more against the chains. Then, suddenly, the rear portion of the ship began to list at a much more intense angle. It moaned and creaked as the deck I was laying on crept closer to being at a 60 degree angle. So much so that various objects laying on the deck began to slide towards the edge.

It wasn’t long before I, too, was sliding towards certain doom. The metal ball I was tethered to began slowly rolling towards the edge of the deck. Helpless to resist its pulled I was dragged along with it, watching in horror as it wobbled closer and closer to the edge. The ball teetered on the edge for a moment that felt like an eternity. Then, suddenly, the ball slipped over the edge, instantly catapulting me towards and over the edge with it. Everything became a blur as I was dragged downwards, suddenly feeling weightless as I began a long freefall towards the ocean below. I took a long deep breath in, closed my eyes, and prepared myself for what inevitably came next.

A sudden loud splash was followed by the feeling of icy cold water engulfing my body. Although I was still wearing my wetsuit, the sudden plunge into the Atlantic was a shock to my system. The ocean’s cold embrace took my breath away and sent shivers down my spine. I opened my eyes and saw nothing but blue all around me in all directions. The ocean was a world all its own, and it seemed to go on for infinity. I looked up towards the ship and could clearly see that the two large pieces of the vessel were still burning and breaking apart. The bow section was quickly on its way to becoming completely submerged in the water, while the stern was taking a bit longer to sink. Beams of sunlight flitted down through the waves and into the blueish-black water. I would have appreciated the true majesty I was witnessing if I wasn’t chained to a ball that was quickly dragging me downward. Although my descent had significantly slowed since falling into the water, the weight of the metal ball still continued pulling me toward the ocean floor. I jerked and pulled against my cuffs trying to free myself, but it was no use. I glanced down towards my inevitable destination. It appeared to be a never-ending black void and I wondered if I would ever reach the bottom.

For a moment the constant falling feeling was replaced with a sense of weightlessness. It was as if I was suspended motionless in the boundless space. A peaceful feeling came over me and I didn’t feel the need to struggle anymore. I had perhaps never been in a more perilous situation, but yet I had never felt more calm.

For a brief moment a collection of images flashed in my mind’s eye. Memories, both ones recent and some I had locked away for a very long time, were suddenly crystal clear in front of me. Familiar places, forgotten feelings, and a collection of faces. Faces of people that had made the most impact on me. Faces that I loved. Faces that I missed more than anything.

Laura, Sam, Agent 66, Emily, Jackie… Sara.

For a second I couldn’t help but wonder if this was my life flashing before my eyes. I had been in numerous life threatening situations. Situations that I always found a way out of. I was constantly confident that I would defy the odds and come away stronger. I was always cocky like that. But now that cockiness and casual confidence was gone. I knew this was different. There was no way out this time. But I wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t angry. I didn’t have any regrets. I was… at peace.

Perhaps for the first time in my life I was truly satisfied. I had done what I needed to do. From saving the lives of those I cared about, to defeating Leviathan and avenging my fellow agents, I was proud of what I had accomplished. And I was ready to let go. Somehow I knew everything was going to be alright. No matter what came next, I would be ready for it.

As I descended into the deep, my view of the surface became distant and blurred. The darkness of the ocean depths were swallowing me up, and I welcomed its embrace. My chains held tight, and the metal ball persisted in dragging me further towards the ocean floor. Shackled, helpless, and quickly running out of air, I continued plummeting downward to my inevitable doom.

But who am I kidding? I always find a way to escape. So I’m sure I’ll be fine….

….Right?


The End