Dark Signs

Programmed

Valerie's POV
Song inspo - unholy by Miley Cyrus

Hours passed by that I was left in that cell alone. There was no one else locked up, no guard to keep an eye on me. It didn't matter. I'd tried to escape for the first hour or two but even at my small stature and build I couldn't fit between the bars.

The window was barred too and the only thing I could see outside was fire and smoke, and I'd had to pull myself up to look out so I gave up on that early as well.

I wasn't scared, or panicked. With what happened I wasn't expecting anything but torture. Whatever they wanted to get out of me, they wouldn't. It was instilled in my very being to keep my mouth shut, not that I knew anything of much use.

I was a pawn, disposable. Graves' had only become my boss because he paid what my previous employer, or owner, had set for me. It'd been like that for most of my life.

Even now my childhood was foggy, I had bits and pieces but even when I could remember them I felt nothing. I'd been poor, living on the streets when I'd been picked up and sold to the highest bidder.

I was lucky to be where I was now. I didn't cry for them, didn't plead to them to not touch me and they didn't enjoy that. So instead I was sold to someone else who had better use of me.

I was trained, beaten until I got everything right. Until every reaction was something learned and not instinct. Fight, protect, then nothing. I was like a robot or brainwashed to my very core.

I knew all of this, but it didn't bother me, that had been programmed into my brain too.

However, now that my boss was dead, the job done, I wasn't sure what would happen next. If I had not been caught, would I have run? I didn't know what it felt like to be free, I didn't know how to make decisions on my own.

It hurt my head to think about, and eventually as the night went on I fell asleep where I was sitting against the wall.

However long I had slept wasn't enough, but the sound the of door opening brought me to my senses and my eyes snapped open.

If I did want to escape, theoretically for now, it would have to be once he opened the door. If I had a chance to run I'd have to take it. They didn't have the manpower to come after me now.

I just had to get past him first, the man in the hood.

"Just you? How boring." I stated, my Australian accent coming through tired as I pushed myself up to stand.

He towered over me, even from far away. I was like a normal person and he was a giant redwood tree. It would have been intimidating if I knew what fear felt like. I hadn't felt fear in years. I wouldn't be useful to my employers if I could feel fear.

He didn't say anything, and didn't get too close either as he watched me. Those pale green eyes looking down at me.

I stayed against the wall, trying to show that I'd stay put with my entire self. I doubt he believed it.

"Cat got your tongue, mysterio?" I asked then with my brow raised, the silence a little irritating.

"Mysterio?" He asked, finally stepping a bit closer as he crossed his arms.

I stepped closer as well, close enough that I could reach through the bars and tug at what I was referencing but I mirrored his pose instead, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Your hood, dumbass."

He let out a sigh, like he was tired of a game that hadn't even started. He was probably just tired. With their base in shambles I doubted he had slept at all. Good. It would make it easier to get past him.

"You'll be interviewed later today." The man stated then and I let out a laugh.

"You mean tortured?" I said between giggles. Good thing I barely felt pain either.

"Not if you tell them what they want to hear. Which you will do." His voice was stern, accent thick.

"Says who?"

"Me. If you want to get out of here, you have to." Yea, like I was getting out of here if I listened like a good little girl.

"To move to a different prison? I don't think so, and I'm not a snitch."

"Then become one." He ordered, frustration growing.

"You don't get it big boy, I literally can't say anything. I don't know what information you're hoping to get out of me but I'm just a soldier. And even if I did know something I couldn't tell you, even if I wanted to."

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, unknowingly moving a bit closer to the bars as he waited for my response.

I moved too, just an inch or so, so that it wasn't noticeable.

"This doesn't belong to me." I answered as I tapped the side of my head.

"Graves is dead, he can't control you anymore." He sounded like he was trying to reassure me, trying to be soft even though he looked anything but and it made you laugh again.

"That's not how it works."

"Then how does it work?" He was leaning against the bars then and I could see the hilt of a knife tucked away at his side.

"I..don't know." I answered honestly. Even with Graves dead I still felt like I was under his control, that I belonged to him.

"We can help you with that. You just need to cooperate."

More laughter, it bubbled up in giggles now as I struggled to clutch at my stomach. He truly was an airhead if he thought I'd believe that.

"They'll kill me as soon as they get the answers they want. Why would you help me?" I didn't need help, I wanted to say that. I wasn't afraid of death or dying even if it was a shit way to go.

But my mind was curious, I'd never been in this situation before. Would they just take control, would whoever was pulling the strings become my new owner? The Lieutenant maybe?

"You're not the first to be under Graves' mind control. The Lieutenant too." He started and that did surprise me. I hadn't known what Graves had against the SAS, just that it was my job to help him destroy them. But now it sounded like it might have been more personal than anything else. "And your scar. I know you weren't doing this by choice."

My hand instinctively moved to cover the scar on my wrist, my brand, the top bit above it having been an addition that I'd earned once I'd been fully trained and approved for sale. My thumb brushed over it for a moment. I tried to think about it but it only hurt, the ringing coming back.

"We can… reset you, you can be free." He continued, trying to put it into words that I understood but they only made the brain fog thicker. Anytime I thought of what to do next, or make my own decisions about my future it hurt.

Maybe I was better sitting in this cage. If they took control over me, maybe I could accept that. It would give me a job, a new boss, someone to answer to.

I studied him for a moment before taking a step back, deciding against trying to run for now. My eyes found his name velcroed to his vest.

"König." I tested.

His eyes turned curious then, maybe even hopeful but I shot him a scowl.

"Get out."