Dance Of Devils

Twelve - Nadia

Chapter Twelve 

Nadia

 Three days later, Nadia was no further along with her plan. It was beginning to get tedious. After her initiation the first night, the routine had been essentially the same, sit in the same dark room chained to a wall, crack her fingers back into place, try to ignore the stinging in her wrists where the cuffs had begun to rip away skin and think of as many different ways to prolong Ivans suffering without having to prolong her own.

No one was letting anything slip around her. A few times, the young assassin had gotten pulled out of her 'pit of sadness and despair' to be shown off. Trapped in a cage in the corner of a dimly lit room, hog-tied to the floor so Ivan could flaunt his latest triumph whilst knocking back vodka and smoking cigars, Nadia hadn't gotten a peep of anything significant. A few minor drops, a little bit of an insight to his trafficking business, but nothing solid. No major players in his game. Just officials he wanted to show off too. It was something, that was for sure, but not the grand unravelling she had hoped for.

Nadia would have to ride it out before she could get anything better.

A sudden scuffle woke Nadia, the door to her pit of sadness and despair opened and closed swiftly, the sound of a body thudding against the floor with a grunt following. Her line of sight landed directly on the curled-up form of Nico pressing himself heavily into the floor beneath him.

"Mother fucker!" Nico called out. He was lucid this time, awake and at least somewhat aware of his surroundings, but Nadia knew the signs of someone in the midst of withdrawing. Despite the room being neither hot nor cold, Nico shook violently with shivers, his body sweating. "Fucking mother fucker!" He yelled out again, clutching his stomach in agony.

"You look like shit," Nadia stated. Her tone was blunt but there was a relief in her bones at the sight of him even the tiniest bit lucid.

"And you're still a bitch," he snapped back, hissing through his teeth.

Nadia chuckled at him. "They got you good, hu?" She asked, adjusting herself to an upright position, resting her back against the wall behind her. Hands and feet still bound but no longer dangling, Nadia rolled back her shoulders and clicked her neck, attempting to relieve some of the numbness in her muscles.

"Just as good as they got you," he snarled back.

"I came here by choice," Nadia shrugged, "don't know if I can say the same for you." It wasn't framed as a question but when Nico looked up at her, straining against the pain in his very soul, she saw the truth, the rage at being stuck with the enemy.

"I wouldn't be in this position if you had just let Leo kill me."

"No you wouldn't," Nadia conceded. "you'd be dead.''

"Sounds a lot better than this right now," Nico ground out, his shivering turning more violent until it became a seizure. Nadia straightened, immediately on high alert, watching him with a hawk precision to ensure he didn't hurt himself. Not that there was much she could do in her state, but she was willing to try.

It was a few horrific minutes before Nico stilled at last, then another few before he began to come to.

"Steady," Nadia warned as he groaned and tried to sit up. "Take your time. I'd offer you some water but..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say as he spat on the floor.

"God," Nico coughed out, pressing his forehead into the ground to steady himself. "You're such an idiot." Nadia didn't respond, not entirely sure if Nico was talking to himself or her. "Leo would have lost his shit the moment he knew you were here."