Don't Follow Your Heart-- Anne

Now - Horror

"What is the matter with them?"

"Uh, we're not sure, sir."

The dark-haired girl hurls herself against the arms that restrain her, screaming like a rabid animal. A few feet away, a handful of agents try to drag the other girl-- a platinum blonde, small and muscular-- off in the opposite direction.

The two aren't having it.

Ivanov wipes the sweat on his forehead with a soft, embroidered handkerchief and looks over at his trembling assistant.

"What do you mean, you're not sure?"

The man looks terrified, which is entirely appropriate. He's proven less than adequate and if he doesn't shape up soon, he's going to have to be taken care of. There is no room for sniveling cowards in Hydra.

Ivanov smiles in anticipatory delight. With the incompetence the man is showing, maybe he'll hand him over to the Soldiers and let them do a piece of work on him. It would be a welcome distraction after all the--

Oh, of course. The Soldiers.

Ivanov growls under his breath and turns his attention back to the thick glass that separates the observers from the observed.

Thank God he isn't out there.

"They--I was going to inform you," the assistant blathers on, unaware that every world out of his mouth, at this point, is digging a deeper grave for his bones. "It's a fascinating anomaly--We can't explain it. Repeated attempts at wiping seem to have no effect on this reaction."

The blonde has now wrenched herself out of her captors arms, and a few men lie on the ground, groaning in pain. The brunette has a handler twice her size by the throat, and is choking him without a flicker of emotion in her green eyes.

As soon as they're free to move, both simultaneously move across the room so that they're both standing back to back. In the next instant, they both relax and seem to revert back to ordinary girls, quiet and submissive.

"This happens every time we try to separate them."

"And you haven't tried sedating them? Overpowering them?"

"When we managed to get them apart, they become unresponsive. They don't eat, don't sleep, and don't respond to commands."

"So dispose of them. They're a waste of resources. The Asset is perfectly docile."

"You don't understand, sir. They're the greatest find we've ever had. They work perfectly with each other and with the Asset. No words or signals are ever used in communicating with each other any of the test missions we've sent them on. They're perfectly obedient, with none of those nasty, tearful flashbacks the Assets has from time to time. We never have to wipe them except as a routine."

Ivanov sighed heavily and turned to face him. Behind the glass, the girls still stood, awaiting orders from the handlers that were still getting to their feet. "What are their tactical functions?"

"Frost--" the assistant nodded to the blonde-- "She's a brilliant strategist. We rarely see our Soldiers perform any tasks except strictly what's required of them, but this one seems to actually plan her moves out. You'd actually believe she was thinking for herself. She also has a talent for sniping, but we usually delegate that to the Asset."

Ivanov nodded. "And the other?"

There was a nervous chuckle. "The Ghost is rather violent, but she's an expert on hand-to-hand. Silent, fast as greased lightning, just as deadly. Nobody sees her coming. She seems to favor a form of kickboxing...no idea where she picked it up."

The handlers grab the shoulders of both girls, who docility walk as they're shoved out of the room, where the Asset will be joining them for a briefing.

Ivanov looks over at his assistant, who probably won't live to see tomorrow. "So...the best we have, huh?"

"That's right, sir. The best."