I stopped at the apartment to change before heading to the agency, tearing my eyes away from anything that reminded me of Derek; the pile of his clothes, the vinyl's, the fridge. As I left, I got a text from Scotty.

Where are you?

I typed a reply:

Training.

And then my phone went into my jacket, put on silent mode to block out any distractions.

Davis was training in the basement when I arrived, dressed in dark gym clothes and draped in sweat as he trained with a punching bag, every hit fuelled with intense anger. Two uppercuts and a violent kick later, the bag almost flew across the room.

His jaw was tensed, chest rising an falling violently until he saw me at the door, unzipping my jacket. The anger I once saw faded into nothing.

"I thought you'd be at the hospital."

"I was," I replied.

"How's Barnes is he--?"

"Alive. Just."

He let out a sigh and glanced at the ground, massaging his knuckles. "I suppose we should be grateful for that, then."

I nodded. "How many agents did we lose?"

Davis swallowed. "Seven."

No one else was so honest with me. Collins would have called him insensitive but I saw him as truthful -- even if was harsh. "How long have you been here?"

He checked the time on the clock: 5 in the morning. "About an hour. I couldn't sleep."

I looked to the punching bag that laid on the ground. The stitching from the top had split, spilling sand onto the mat and the hook it once hung from swung back and forth. "You're strong."

He picked up the bag and dragged it back to the hook. "Not strong enough. Maybe those agents would have stood a chance if I was."

"You're a good fighter, Davis. That's why I want to train with you."

He frowned. "You're one of the most highly commended agents. You don't need training, you're a jack of all trades."

"And a master of none," I retorted. "I want to improve."

He looked me up and down for a moment. "I don't know. Arthur said you'd be resting for a while. I don't think he'd like this."

I scrunched up my jacket and tossed it towards the back of the room. "Don't be easy on me."

He smiled into the leather of the bag and chewed on his lip. For a moment I thought he would refuse but he let go. "Alright."

I stepped to the side and he mimicked it. As he stepped, I watched his footwork: slightly muddled -- a potential weakness. We both raised our fists together, mirroring each other by shielding our faces. I had never thought with Davis before, so the result would be a surprise, but rumours around the office painted him to be the best fighter in the agency... or one of them, at least. 

He stepped and threw a punch. I ducked. He tried again and I stepped back, barely missing as his knuckles grazed my shirt. 

"Close one, Knight." Davis grinned. 

Not quite. I seized an opportunity and reached for him -- it didn't work. He snatched my wrist with one hand and jabbed my ribs with the other. I kneed him in the stomach as he leaned forward. Before I could knock him down, he wrapped his hands around my legs and lifted me up, tossing me over his shoulder like a rag doll. 

I hit the mat with a thud and took a breath. "Nice."

I rolled over as he tried to pin me down, jumping to my feet to throw a kick at his stomach that met with success. He stumbled back and I held out a foot, tripping him. Davis fell and hit the mat as I stood over him, fists raised at a threatening height. I won.

Davis laid, flat on his back, and chuckled. "Dirty move."

"It keeps me alive in the field."

He smiled. "Then use it."

He took my outstretched hand and I pulled him up. "Fighting isn't your problem, Agent Knight."

I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead. "Then what is?"

Davis stretched out his arms. "You're so used to switching off your emotions and detaching yourself from missions that you don't know what to do when you feel something. Marcus got to you, didn't he?"

I looked away. Was it that obvious to everyone? Had agents I didn't even know noticed? I nodded.

"Your problem is you disregard emotions so much that when you can't avoid them, you become blinded. Kind of like a machine. When its given instructions, it follows them perfectly, but when emotions are thrown in the mix, it can't process anything because thats just not how its made."

"What can I do about that then? If that's not how I'm made, what can I do?"

His smile faded. "You're not a machine, Agent Knight. You can't handle emotions because you think its best to reject what you are... human."

I sighed. In every mission detached from emotions, I had been successful. All but the day I first met Derek. If my success was reliant on pushing feelings to the back of my mind, how would I cope when I had to own up to them? "I don't know if I can do that."

Davis walked towards the exit and squeezed my shoulder as he passed by. "Balance yourself," he added, "or you'll topple over."

He slapped my arm and strutted towards the exit. As he reached for the handle he stopped, turning around on the spot.

"Still, it couldn't hurt to improve a little. You only won because you fought dirty."

My jaw dropped. "A target won't care if I fight dirty."

He smirked. "Do you want to go again?"

I tightened my ponytail and adjusted my stance. If he wanted a competition, he could have one. "Let's go."

Gabby Kingston

She tossed me to the ground with no remorse. I fell to the floor next to Jade; skin hitting the ground with a violent slap.

Her eyes widened as my jaw reddened at the impact. "Bitch!" Jade spat. 

Rose snorted. "A big word for someone so small."

Jade scowled and tried scrambling to her feet. Rose shoved her back, giving her no chance in balancing herself. She fell on her back, bound hands providing no support in the fall. Rose unlocked her gun and raised a brow.

"Try that again. Go on. I dare you."

I looked around to get a sense of where we were. We were all surrounded by stone walls and metal floors. Along the walls were shelves and boxes stacked high, containing medical equipment and enclosed shipments. We had bags over our heads in the helicopter but I knew the air was brisk and, from the thick scarf wrapped around Rose's neck, judged we were in a snowy environment. When the thought struck me, I could hear the sharp wind outside. 

"Why are we here?" I asked. "Why not just kill us?"

Rose chewed on her bottom lip, forcing her words out so begrudgingly I thought she would choke. "Because orders are orders."

"We need to keep Agent Knight on her toes."

We hadn't heard the Doctor enter. He slipped into the room, serpentine smile wide as he stared Rose down.

"Agent. What bullshit."

The two of us stared, wide-eyed and frightened at the gunman behind us, his mouth covered by a mask with nothing but steel blue eyes to identify him. For the whole trip he had kept silent, watching the two of us cowering at the back of the helicopter as it flew over the mountains.

"Someone's petty," tutted Rose. He scowled.

"Says the one that's only here to watch her die."

"And I'm being patient about it," she argued. "I'm not whining like you are."

"She's hardly deserving of everything she's got and is even less grateful for it."

"Amber Knight has worked hard for her position. Only a fool like you would reject it. You underestimate her because you're jealous."

He took a sharp step towards Rose and the two raised their firearms, leaving Jade and I unguarded.

The Doctor's lips twitched as though he was amused. "Now, now, children. Remember the things in your hands are not toys."

"I am not a child," snarled the boy. Doctor Arnold chuckled.

"But you act like one."

"For god's sake, can all of you quit nabbing and focus on the task at hand?"

Marcus Knight strode into the room, buttoning up his white lab coat as a cloud of mist puffed from his thin lips while he spoke. I crossed my arms and glanced at Jade. She was shivering in her thin t-shirt and would freeze within a matter of hours if not given anything warm.

"We were just having a discussion," said the boy, glaring at Rose. "Then your doctor called me a child."

"You are one," snapped Marcus.

"And Amber isn't, is that it?"

Marcus swallowed, blue eyes sharpening. "If Amber could see sense, then maybe our progress would be a lot faster."

He laughed. "What can she do that I can't?"

Marcus looked him up and down. "Keep you in check."

The gunman huffed and returned to his position behind Jade and I. Marcus raised his voice at Rose, turning his attention away from us.

"W-what do we do?" Jade asked. Her voice was shaking, lips turning blue. Gulping, I looked back at Marcus, too frightened to answer her.

"...And if you ever cross her path again, I want her alive. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Amber is everything. I won't let a single one of you jeopardise that."

My brows fell into a frown. Amber told me he cared for nothing other than his work.

"And what of these?" Asked Rose, gesturing to Jade and I. We shared an anxious glance as Marcus turned his nose up at us.

"Every subject is a useful one," he said with a dismissive shrug. "Don't take risks with them, however. They will keep Amber at bay if she gets too close."

Rose sighed as she looked at us in disgust. "Whatever you say."

She reached for Jade but Marcus gripped her arm. "Wait."

Her eyes widened, bottom lip dropping; she was afraid. And, as the grip on her arm tightened, her fear grew and grew until she looked to even the boy standing above me for some form of support.

"He will take them to the cells," said Marcus. "You will stay here."

She tried to retreat back in a casual manner, forcing a smile, but the doctor would not budge. "Why do I—?"

Doctor Arnold lunged forward and seized Rose's other arm.

"What are you doing?!" She cried. Doctor Arnold reached into his pocket and brandished a long, sharp needle that glinted in the light. Her arms tensed and the whites of her eyes shone in the light "What is that?" She asked, looking around. "Please, tell me what it is!"

"This?" Said the Doctor. "This is our evolution."

"A serum," Marcus clarified. "We have been working for over a decade to perfect and reform it."

Rose loosened her struggle and the doctors let go. Her eyes locked onto the clear liquid. "What does it do?"

Marcus smiled. "It makes you a better version of yourself. You will be stronger, sharper, more resistant to mundane threats. Disease, tiredness, and such. It will be a significant edge."

Rose glanced at her hands like she was reading them. "A better version of myself..."

"This is the most advanced version," said Doctor Arnold, glancing at the liquid longingly. "There are other subjects that survived but the serum did not work as well as we would have liked it to."

The young man snuffed that comment, glaring at the doctor.

"Other subjects?" Said Rose.

"Two," said Marcus. "Only two have survived."

Rose took a step back and shook her head. "I don't like those odds. I didn't sign up for this."

Marcus snatched her arm again and scowled. "You signed up to punish my daughter," he hissed. "You have long relied on secrets and now you have none. You have no weapon against her because she is stronger than you."

"Derek Barnes--"

"Is dead because of you."

"What of Scotty Williams? He's just as important, if not more."

Marcus laughed harshly. "Do you really think she will put him in harms way after what happened with Barnes? My daughter is no fool."

"He's... he's dead." Jade quivered beside me, arms shaking violently. She lifted her head and scowled at Rose. "You killed him?"

She glanced over her shoulder and, at the sight of Jade's tears, grinned. 

Jade shifted to moved but I held down her arm. If she lunged for any of them, the both of us would be taking our last breaths in a matter of seconds. Amber always told me to pick my moments. No matter how much it hurt to watch her smile at the death of a human being -- one Jade and I cared about -- I could not let her risk herself. 

Behind Rose, Marcus' eyes turned dark. "You made a mistake, Miss Greyson. There are no valid excuses for failures and you must face the consequences of them."

Her smile faded and fear returned. Doctor Arnold threw his arm at Rose's neck, jabbing the needle into the vein. She cried out in pain and leaped away but it was too late. Every drop from the serum had seeped into her bloodstream and was running through every cell, every vessel and every organ in her body.

With a gurgling groan, she collapsed to the ground. She twitched as her breaths became shallow and dry -- her windpipe was shrinking

"Do something!" Cried the boy. Marcus kept his eyes on Rose. She twitched again, clenching her jaw and balling her fists so tightly her nails cut the skin of her palms until she screamed.

Her voice rang so high I held onto Jade's arm, a shiver running down my spine. Rose's veins pulsed, muscles acting out as she cried. Marcus watched expectantly, sharpening his gaze, analysing her every move. Doctor Arnold was watching too, smiling, while the boy backed away until he hit the wall.

Then she stopped. She remained still, panting and gasping, as the serum settled. Marcus knelt down beside her.

"How do you feel?" He asked her.

Rose pushed herself up. As she stood, she stretched out her arms, eyes locked on her outstretched fingers until she... she... smiled.

"Better," she said, smile widening as she looked at Marcus. "Much better."

"Extraordinary," said Marcus. He circled Rose. "I never expected this. You have impressed me, Miss Greyson."

Rose smiled, eyes leaving Marcus as two women entered, one who I recognised as Sienna Li and the other a blonde -- she was with them when I tried to find Amber.

Sienna twiddled her thumbs as she entered the room. "Did... did you do it?"

Marcus and the Doctor smiled. "She survived," said Marcus. 

Sienna shared a glance with the blonde. "Was this necessary?" She asked. "Rose has been loyal."

"And she has been rewarded," said Marcus. "Haven't you?"

Rose nodded. "I have."

"And what of us?" said Sienna. "You exposed us all to draw in Amber and now we're stuck in this frozen wasteland?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have been late with your payment," said Doctor Arnold. Sienna scowled but didn't retaliate.

"Then tell me this: why leave her behind?" said Sienna. She shrugged slightly. "You need her, right? You went to all this trouble to get her alone for a matter of minutes and you just left her."

Marcus stepped forward and sighed. "We needed to cut her ties with the agency, get her away from the law so she either works outside it or not at all. Barnes's stepfather had to be killed to draw them back to London. The attack on the agency was to retrieve Sienna and keep agents away from Amber. Kane was to keep Barnes away. Rose put an end to him.

The blonde looked to Rose. "Why?"

Marcus put a hand on Rose's shoulder. "Her sister sits in a psych ward on the outskirts of London. Amber put her there and it ruined her. You know her, Li. Anna Thorne"

 Sienna shook her head. "I don't--"

"You hired her when we had our... disagreement. Don't you remember?"

Sienna turned pale as the memory returned. "I... I do."

Marcus chuckled lowly. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to relive past mistakes. Rose has nothing against you, don't you worry. All she wants is vengeance against Amber, which she got."

Jade looked to the ground and a single tear broke free of her barrier.

"Boy," said Marcus. "Take the girls to the cells."

"Boy," he tutted. He cocked his gun and nodded and the door. "Move."

I nudged Jade's arm. She stared at open space, eyes glazed over with grief. "Come on."

She blinked and the tears rolled down. I held out a hand and lifted her to her feet. 

"Take your time, why don't you? It's not like I'm waiting around or anything," said the gunman from the doorway. 

I scowled and escorted Jade towards him, rubbing her arm to comfort her.

He sighed to himself as he led us through the facility. The walls were covered in solid ice while the floor had been laid with metal plates for stability while walking two and from the dozens of rooms. We passed one with an open door that showed counters and cupboards stacked with science and medical equipment, and a shining metal table in the centre of it all.

Someone screamed from a nearby room and I jumped. The gunman glanced over his shoulder at my reaction and snorted. "Come on. You can't hear much of it in the cells."

Jade mouthed, "you okay?" And I nodded, carrying on. We brushed by various workers, most of them dressed in dark jumpers, coats, hats and boots, with firearms strapped to their belts. I didn't dare ask how many men worked in that one facility alone -- maybe Marcus had more employees in other facilities. Not all of them had to be working for loyalty alone; some had to be paid or threatened. In no world could that many people choose to work for a man like Marcus... I hoped.

The gunman held open the cell door.  From the outside, it looked like any other room in the facility. Inside, it looked like a prison cell. A cold one, at that. "In you go."

We filed in and he gestured to the two blankets on the ground. Jade and I sat down and the man backed out the room. "Night night."

The only light in the room at the time was from a lamp standing outside the door. When it slammed shut and the lock twisted, we were left shrouded in darkness. I leaned back against the wall and sighed.

My eyes threatened to close as I looked at the window. It was no more than half a metre in length, even shorter in height, and was covered in vertical bars, holding us inside the dark, dark room. Outside I could hear the whistling of the wind, seeing nothing but vast stretches of blurred white.

There was a small whimper beside me and I turned. Through the shadows, I saw Jade's tear-stained face and remembered who she was. No matter what she had been through, she was still just a teenager that had been kidnapped not once, but twice, while mourning the brutal deaths of her father and stepbrother, one of which she had witnessed first-hand. 

Her voice broke in the wind. "What did I do wrong?" She asked. "Why did I have to lose them both?"

I didn't know her. Only once had I met Jade. Did she want words? A hug? A prayer? Anything could have made her better but anything could have made her feel worse. Instead, I raised my left hand and joined it with hers, interlocking her fingers with mine.

"We'll fight this," I assured, quietly. "Together."

Her grip tightened and she nodded, tears streaming down and falling from her jaw. The cold was biting us, tormenting us, but we had each other, the only warmth being our intertwined hands that never let go as we closed our eyes, willing our first day of incarceration to end and the morning of potential escape to begin.