Who do you think you are? A Superhero? ACT I The One About Trash

Chapter 20 - "The One About The Admirals"

As soon as Trash regained consciousness, she was moved from the hospital wing to another, more secure, part of the facility. The very area Massimo was walking through right now with the Admiral at his side.
"So, how long has Trash truly been awake?" Massimo said.
The Admiral wore a wiry smile. He knew Massimo would catch on fast. "Just a few days. If it was up to me, I wouldn't be heeding her request for you. But we've tried everything we've got with her. Every form of torture and even negotiation. We even brought in Sigrid, given that's his... speciality. She gave nothing," the Admiral explained. He looked over at Massimo, briefly observing the edges of bandages sticking out of his shirt. "She kept asking for you and you alone."
Massimo sighed. His movements were slow and deliberate to minimize the pain coming from his wounds. He hadn't been hoping to see Trash or anyone else so soon, but they needed whatever information that could get about the actual reason Trash was in the Stranded Zone. The other hyenas knew little to nothing and Massimo wasn't very surprised. Trash was smart enough not to share her plans with them.
They paused before a heavy metal door with two guards positioned at either sides of it. "And the soldiers from the video tape?" he asked, turning towards the Admiral.
"We still don't know who they are. Not yet, anyway. We will find them. Sooner rather than later," the Admiral answered. "We'll be watching you." He nodded to the soldiers and left.
The soldiers open the gates, to reveal a dungeon type room, much like a lair as the gates groaned open after a moment later. Massimo stepped through the door, his senses on high alert. His eyes quickly fell upon Trash, bound and chained to one side of the wall. The chain was connected to a cold collar around her neck. She lifted her gaze at him. Her form was battered and bloodied, and she had raw wounds on her skin. A chunk of her other ear was missing. Massimo could see Sigrid's work written all over her.
Trash chuckled lightly as she cocked her head to one side. "Massimo," she rasped. "I knew you would come for me. I've been waiting for you." In a snap, she jumped on her feet and ran towards Massimo. She had only gone a few feet when the chain connected to her neck reached its full length and held her back. Trash strained against it and cussed loudly.
Massimo hadn't taken a a step forward. He just watched, expressionless. "What do you want, Trash?" he said.
Her struggling halted and then she began to laugh, a chilling sound that bounced upon the walls of the prison. "Oh, they've tried to break me," she said, her voice dripping with deranged amusement. "But they don't understand, Massimo. They don't understand me like you do. They don't know what we have." Her voice shook as she spoke and looked up at Massimo's eyes.
Massimo winced from the pain of his injuries, his body still recovering from the intense battle. Across from him, Trash was chained, her hands and neck bound, yet her eyes burned with a fervent intensity.
"What do we have exactly?" Massimo asked, his voice strained.
Trash's lips curled into a twisted smile. "Remember how we were in our primals! When we danced! Do you remember that, Massimo? We were one. That could be us, dancing forever!"
Massimo's brow furrowed in confusion. "Dancing? Primal? What do you mean?"
Trash's smile faltered for a moment. "Yeah! You and—wait, you don't remember out mating dance, do you?"
"Not really," Massimo admitted, rubbing his temple. "My mind is a bit fuzzy about what happened..."
Trash's eyes lit up with a strange, eager light. "I can help you remember, my love!"
Massimo sighed deeply. "You didn't just call me here to behave like this, did you?"
"No, no, no!" Trash protested, her chains rattling as she leaned forward.
Massimo took a step closer and he looked deep in Trash's eyes. Despite his effort to conceal it, the strain of his injuries was evident in the way his muscles tensed with every movement. "What were you up to there in the Stranded Zone? What's the Lords of the Underground planning?" he said, ignoring all her words.
Her lips curled in a twisted smile. "Come closer, Massimo," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "I have secrets to tell you. Secrets that could change everything."
Massimo looked up at the camera at the corner of the room. He grunted and then began to take steps closer. Trash was powerless in this state so there was little to worry about. Her hands were bound behind her and there was no way she would be changing into her primal form. He drew so close, he could smell the blood and sweat coming off her. Trash was almost visibly shaking as he approached. She took in a deep breath when he was within range like a starving predator.
"Go on," Massimo said. "What do you have to say to me?"
Trash's face split into another smile. She lunged at him, gripping his arm hard. She looked Massimo in the eyes. "You can't stop what is going to happen. You can't stop him," she snarled, almost drooling at the lips. "Do you think they will leave me here alone? They'll come to save me. But we can be together if you join us. Me and you, forever, Massimo. We can continue our games together. You'd like that, right?"
Massimo gritted his teeth and yanked his arm from her grip. "You really are deranged," he said. "There is no we, Trash. There's just you, locked up in here, and insane if you think anyone can save you from here. I am not a part of you and your little team. So, unless you have anything important to share with me, don't call for me."
Silence grew between them, and Trash watched Massimo like a wounded animal. Then her crazy smile went back to her face and she laughed hard. "Oh, Massimo, that was very convincing. I almost believed you." She began to laugh again, throwing her head back as laughed loudly, the sound echoing around the cell.
Massimo clenched his jaw and turned away. He looked up at the camera and shook his head. Soon, the door out of the cell buzzed and opened up for Massimo, leaving a laughing Trash behind. Massimo only briefly acknowledged the guards behind the door before he marched out of the facility. This was all a waste of his time.
Oleksandr stood in the middle of the facility's surveillance room, watching all that occurred on the series of monitors in the wall before him. He observed the screen showing Massimo leaving only for a moment before turning back to the screen that displayed the interior of Trash's cell. Trash remained laughing wildly.
"Sir, do you really think they will try to assassinate Trash?" Oleksandr's paperwork assistant, a tall greyhound, said, standing a few steps behind him.
Oleksandr made a thoughtful sound and then turned away from the bright screens. "I'm just an old man, what do I know?" he muttered. He didn't know enough about the Lords of the Underground but he was sure they wouldn't just let her remain in their custody. Something was going to happen. Maybe Trash was right and they would come save her, or they would assassinate her like he felt. "Keep the security tight around her cell. What time is the admiral meeting again?"
"Err... They're supposed to have started now," the assistant muttered.
The admiral cussed "What a drag..." before marching off towards the door of the surveillance room.