Chapter 27: Outspoken

“Hurry up!” Dora ordered as the men of the base ran around. They were grabbing everything they could. Anything that could give those MCRC guys a hint about what they were. “That damn Josh is useless! I don't know why dragul meu insists on keeping him on the payroll.”

“Aren't you going to help?” one of the men, the muscle, asked. Everything they could fit was going onto the sub.

“Get to work!” she snapped. “Dragul meu is already on board the sub. But that damn Dragon is already here! If we don't move out of here fast, they'll catch us before we can get out.”

Muttering something about lazy women, the man returned to clearing out a desk.

“Hey, Dora.” Another man came up to her.

“Alin.” she greeted.

“What's taking so long?” he asked. Alin was tall and slim, he rarely showed emotion if he felt any at all. In the organization, he was just under Dora in rank and just as powerful. His black eyes were deep and mysterious, and his inky black hair was almost smoother than Dora's. And, unlike Dora who still had her accent, Alin had gotten rid of his long ago.

“It's not my fault.” she sighed. “It's theirs.”

“He doesn't like excuses.” Alin said. “What about the cargo? Is there any left?”

“We can't do anything about the used cargo.” Dora explained. “They're dead anyway, nothing they can do that will give a hint about us.”

“What about the live cargo?” Alin asked. “Is there any of that left?”

Dora thought for a second. “Damn. The siren is still alive.”

“Take care of it.” Alin ordered her. He was technically just under her in rank, but he still ordered her around like he was the boss. Dora only followed his orders because she knew that dragul meu would insist on it. “We're moving out in five minutes.”

“So soon?” Dora looked surprised.

“Josh told us that they're coming down immediately.” Alin explained. “I would rather not deal with that. Hurry up.”

Without another word, he turned and walked away. He passed through the special door that opened to a tunnel-like extension that came from the submarine, it was a lot like the tunnel that connected a plane to the terminal.

Dora sighed as she checked her belt. Her knife was still there which meant she didn't have to go back into the submarine to get one.

She turned towards the prisoner room, deciding she would slit the siren's throat. It had just a touch of irony to it, which pleased her.

XXXXXXXXX

Joe had been feeling a bit overwhelmed until the moment she stepped into the small room in comm. room 2.

Unlike the time she had spoke to Jack with Kai, this time the large screen was split into six smaller screens.

The one on the bottom left showed the inside of the sub that the Dragon had already released to go down to the base. As far as Joe understood it, it wasn't a mini-sub, nor was it a full sized submarine. Inside was a group of men, all wearing bullet proof armor and checking their weapons. Among them, to her dismay, was Kai. She had never seen him ready for a fight before. It was exhilarating and disturbing all at the same time.

Next to that screen, was Jack was sitting in his office, watching the same set of screens she was, except she was on one instead of him. On the bottom right, was Ilia and Josh who were down in the sub room of the Haltija. Through them, they were connected to the Griffin and Siren. The two unmanned mini-subs had been down on the bottom for four hours already and were making their way towards the cliff edge, towards the base.

Right above that screen, was the captain of the Dragon. He looked much more militaristic than Captain Hughes. His buzz cut hairstyle melded perfectly with the dark blue uniform he wore.

Right beside that screen was, as far as Joe understood it, the sub room of the Dragon. The man there was busy coordinating his people and hadn't as yet, addressed the people on the screens.

On the top left, to Joe's surprise was-

“Mr. Ozera?” she said when she saw him.

“Joanne.” he nodded his head in greeting. He looked like a politician, with that perfect mixture of gray and black hair, smooth and wrinkled skin, and the steel gray suit she could see above the desk he sat at. Despite the hatred between him and Jack, Joe liked the man. He had a very fatherly sort of feel about him.

But she was surprised to see him and she couldn't help but express her surprise aloud.

“It's not by choice, trust me.” Jack assured her as he glared at the camera, towards Mr. Ozera.

“You're lucky I haven't fired you for sending the Dragon out without my permission.” Mr. Ozera glared back.

“Children.” Joe smiled. “If you can't play nice, you can't play together.”

“Wait, I thought your name was Kyma. Why is he calling you Joanne?” the captain of the Dragon asked.

“Kai calls me Kyma.” Joe tried not to blush. “My name is Joanne.”

The captain's mouth opened knowingly in a silent 'o'.

“Can we focus, please?” Ilia smiled. “Boo-boo is starting to get indigestion down here.”

“Ilia!” Josh looked mortified.

“Sub ETA in ten minutes.” the Dragon's sub room operator said.

“Joanne, I understand that the base has five rooms?” the Dragon captain asked.

Joe nodded and began explaining the shape of the base based on all the information she had.

XXXXXXXX

Crispin was trying to work the collar off of his neck. Luckily for him, it worked only by sound, not by touch. He didn't like that everything outside his cell was so loud. Especially when, after a few minutes of it being loud, it got disturbingly quiet.

Every instinct of self preservation was tingling and Crispin wanted the collar off. He tried to not speak, he didn't like gaining complete control over people. But to save his own life, he would.

He had just managed to convince himself that he had loosened the collar a tiny bit, when the door of his cell opened.

He looked up as the blonde woman named Dora came in. To his horror, he saw the gleam of a blade in her hand.

“Hey.” she smiled. “Be good and stay still. I like this outfit, I don't want to get your blood on it.”

She advanced on him and Crispin automatically backed up against the far wall.

For one horrific moment, he was sure that he was about to die. He could do nothing to stop her from sticking that knife in him. This was it, he was a goner.

Then he noticed, as if it was a miracle from above, the only thing in her hands was the knife. She didn't have the controller that could activate his collar.

She had no way to keep him still.

He thought about running around her, locking her inside his cell. But there would be no point. The facility was underwater, there was no where he could go, and, after a while, they were sure to notice she was missing.

So, knowing what he was getting himself into and wishing there was another way, Crispin braced himself, reached up and pulled as much of the collar off of his skin as possible.

He took a deep breath and said, as strong and as forcefully as he could, “Stop!”

The shock went through his body, through his hands, making his muscles twitch and forcing a strangled, pain filled grunt from his throat.

However, at the sound of his voice, the woman hesitated.

She looked confused as her will and his battled for supremacy. He knew, had the collar not been around his neck, he could have her with a simple sentence. But it was, and the power of his voice was dulled with pain, a bit of fear of the shock that accompanied it, and lack of use.

“Stop!” Crispin ordered again when it looked as if she was about to come forward. He gritted his teeth against the shock that nearly buckled his knees and the burn of his skin on the collar. It felt like there was a white hot wire around his neck. He wanted so bad to just collapse, to stop talking, to let the pain fade.

But he wanted to live more, the need to survive had his adrenaline pumping, which took the edge off the agony.

“You killed me.” he told her. “Now go.” Pain.

She hesitated again as her eyes went in and out of focus. Reality and the false truth he was trying to implant in her mind were both trying to tell her what was right.

He repeated himself as tears of searing pain filled his eyes as his knees buckled under the strain.

Crispin couldn't say it, not again. Even as he tried to open his mouth, his body refused to let a single sound slip out.

“Well, that's that.” he heard her say.

Crispin looked up as Dora wiped her clean blade on his shoulder. Without another word, she turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Crispin felt the strength leave his abused muscles and he collapsed onto the floor.

He was alive.

For now.

XXXXXXXXXX

“Bad news, guys.” Ilia frowned. “The submarine is leaving.”

“How long until Kai's team reaches the base?” Jack asked.

“Three minutes.” the Dragon sub room operator answered.

“Ilia.” Joe spoke up. “Have the mini-subs move in. Look for anything the dive team can use to enter the base.”

“Done and done, sweetie.” Ilia nodded as Josh parroted her orders to their crew.

“Is your team ready, Kai?” the captain asked him.

“Ready, sir.” Kai nodded. “What about the submarine?”

There was a moment of silence as they contemplated the situation.

“We'll have to let them leave.” The Dragon captain said looking as if he had just eaten something sour.

“Is there no way to catch up to it?” Mr. Ozera asked.

“No.” the Dragon sub room operator said. “Neither the mini-subs nor our sub is capable of catching a full sized submarine. We have to let it go.”

“They probably knew we were coming.” Joe told them. She still hadn't admitted to anyone but Jack and Kai about her spy theory. And, for now, she was going to keep in under wraps. Such things were best dealt with in secrecy. “If I were them, I would have cleaned out the base.”

“How could they know we were coming?” Josh asked, the same uncomfortable look the captain had coming over his face.

“It doesn't matter now.” Jack growled. “Either way, I want that base taken out.”

“If they knew we were coming, there's probably nothing on board.” Joe said as someone on Kai's screen came up to him and handed him something.

“That's a camera.” the Dragon captain answered her unspoken question. “With that, we'll be able to see everything Kai sees.”

Joe watched as Kai slipped it over his head and pressed a button on the side.

Automatically, the six screens she was looking at moved towards the top and bottom of the large screen they were on and a seventh screen appeared in the center. After a second, it flashed and Joe was looking at a screen split into six with her face on one of the panels.

“Is Kai leading?” Joe asked as he adjusted the camera.

“Yes.” Kai answered for himself. “I'll be going in first. Your men are set to follow. That alright with you, captain?”

“I leave it to your best judgment.” the captain said.

“Sweetie.” Ilia spoke up. “I sent one of the mini-subs to the place where the submarine usually stops, it found a door.”

“Patch in a video feed.” Kai told her.

Ilia typed a few keystrokes then another screen appeared. Joe looked out of the familiar camera of the submerged mini-sub. It was illuminating an airtight door, sealed and locked.

A moment later, a ninth screen appeared completing the box. This was from the camera of the second mini-sub. It showed the inside of the base which was, Joe noticed, empty. The only things left inside had been tossed around, hastily moved or destroyed.

“They're gone.” she said unhappily.