Invisible String

Realisations

Tw: violence, blood and torture

The night. Prowling like a stray fox scavenging in hidden corners. Tightening around the sun like a black out blind. Shrouding Jules and her team. Ominosity clouds the air in a thick fog. They move swiftly under an inky black canvas, like a band of cats scrounging for mice. 

The remnants of her previous encounter with Matt still warm Jules, she agreed to meet him later at his apartment (which she hadn't seen yet) to have a drink and just catch up.

However right now she was utterly hyper fixated on directing this mission with her three other agents. They where Phase A so it was their job to lead the mission as smoothly as possible. The other half of echo team Phase B, where to move in if there were any minor difficulties and to hack into Hoffman's captors CCTV and put it on a loop so the agents could slither past unnoticed, it bought them some time but not for long. They wanted to be as prepared as possible. Expect the unexpected.

Jules halts abruptly, lifting a hand up to signal the others to do the same. "Flashlight!" An agent next to her shines the light on the circular cover to the sewers. Jules removes a stark industries electrical knife, cutting persistently through the stubborn metal, finally it gives, and she nudges it to the side. Jules turns to the agent next to her. "We're going in Smith, pass it along." The agent nods and proceeds to relay the message to the person next to her. 

A rancid smells hums in the sewers much to Jules's dismay. They tread carefully through contaminated water making their way through the sewer system from memory. Jules pauses and shines her torch upwards to see words scrawled in faded red writing "Storeroom level." This was it. They would emerge into the storeroom and then be able to make their way through the vents and find Hoffman. She whispers into the sewer void "Give me a two!"

"2"

"2"

"2" Agent Smith taps her on the back twice. OK. Everyone's here let's get this shit done. Jules rifles through her bag and takes out a circular disk, she presses the button on the side and a timed countdown glows in the middle of the device, it latches itself onto the metal of the sewer opening. Five, four, three, two, one. The sounds of a cork bottle opening resonates from above. Jules moves it aside working her core muscles to hoist herself up through the hole. Once all agents are in the storeroom, they ready themselves to make their way through the vent above.

Play "you should see me in a crown " by Billie Eilish.

Without warning the door to the storeroom is nudged open. A Guard. Armed. He looks young, early twenties maybe. His eyes widen in alarm at the sight of Jules and the other agents. He reaches for his gun, but Jules is faster, she moves her hand forward shooting an electrical dart at him. Before the young man can even protest in pain the agents surge forward and wrestle him to the ground binding his hands and feet with cable ties. They prop him against the storeroom wall. He flails and writhes like a snake moving in the mud. Jules rapidly clamps a black gloved hand over his mouth and the other to his throat slightly squeezing. She holds his petrified gaze. "You scream, and I swear I'll fucking make you wish you were dead." She removes her hands from his neck, he gasps for air coughing violently.

"Now I don't have a very high bullshit tolerance so tell me, where are you keeping agent Hoffman?" the young guard clenches his jaw in defiance, Jules laughs mockingly "Hmmm...Ok...Ok...You wanna play that game huh?" Jules meticulously scans the room "Unlucky for you I'm a team player, I know how to play along." Her eyes land on a box of nails, she picks up the box and places it in the guards line of sight. Jules picks one up humming under her breath in concentration, she twirls the nail between he thumb and forefinger. "I guess I can just gag you and insert as many nails as possible into your skin until you talk." Silence. Jules smiles at him condescendingly she clicks her fingers, and an agent moves forward passing her a piece of cloth which she shoves into his mouth. Even though he's trying to contain himself Jules can see he's panicking by the brisk rising and falling of his chest. Jules takes the screw and slowly grinds it into his skin, in seconds he begins to shake tears start running down his face, two agents come forward and hold him down. Jules inserts the needle deeper. The skin breaks and comes away streams of blood gradually start spilling out of the wound, trailing down his arm onto the floor. Jules feels an aching feeling in her chest like subtle contractions. Shit. This is the job. It's just a part of the job. Focus. He's the enemy. He's the enemy. Don't falter. She scorches a deathly stare at him, keeping eye contact. He thrashes in desperation banging his head against the wall. She presses further. The guards eyes start to roll in the back of his head. Ok Jules that's enough, you can stop now.  She rips the gag out of his mouth and taps the side of his face several times. "Hey, wake up." His eyes flutter open. His skin pales. "Oh, you're back! Unlucky for you you're in hell." Trepidation swarms in his eyes. Jules leans in close and asks him in a low voice. "How about we just stop all this nonsense, and you tell me...Where. Is. Hoffman." She enunciates. The guard groans weakly, lips quivering: "He's he's tied up... In the room... W - with the... Boiler." She grabs his chin roughly forcing his flopping head to look at her. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"