The Deadly Nightshade | { BOOK 1 of The Flower series }

[21] In The Dark

That comment made Tony livid. He glared at the reporter. He wanted to yell at the guy, but since this was being filmed and live, he had to watch what he did in front of the cameras. He was so focused on sending daggers at the reporter that he hadn't realised that they had moved onto the next question.

"You killed Senator Stern," a woman stated, shaking her head. "What was the purpose of that?"

"He got caught for being part of HYDRA's leaked secrets," Jade simply replied. "Ivanov wanted him gone."

"What was it exactly like in HYDRA?"

Flashback

Jade stared down at the black-haired fifteen-year-old girl that a HYDRA soldier had brought outside to the training grounds. Ivanov had a group of innocent teenagers, young adults, and children locked away to train to become his secret project that was a lot like Nightshade's, but they would do inside missions rather than travelling the world.

She had just permanently become Nightshade, where the A.I. conscience was in control. Her orders were explanatory. She had to train these people, or she'd have to face the consequences with Ivanov, and she wanted to avoid that at all costs.

Ivanov frightened Nightshade a lot, but she forced herself to keep a steady and blank composure. That was what she had learned the past couple of years. One slip-up could mean Hell was arriving.

The cold icy glare that Ivanov held in his gray eyes was enough to make sure Nightshade listened and obeyed every order the man gave her. She had a feeling what the punishments would be afterward.

"Soldier."

Nightshade straightened her posture, keeping her gaze forward and her hands held behind her back, just like how she was taught. Ivanov walked closer to her, watching every little breath she made. When he got to the front of her to where they were having a staring contest, Ivanov smirked just a tad.

He gestured for the fifteen-year-old girl to move next to her. "Soldier. This is her last assignment. This round will prove if she seems worthy enough to move on to implantation."

So many questions ran through Nightshade's mind. She didn't understand anything that her superior could mean, but she didn't dare to say these questions aloud. Her cold eyes shifted onto the girl that was one year younger than her. She could see the fear in the girl's blue eyes, but she didn't feel any empathy for her.

"Subject BB3, get in position," Ivanov instructed as he moved onto the sidelines.

Subject BB3 looked dead-on in the computerised purple eyes of Nightshade. She was nervous. Subject BB3 could see blankness in the bionic assassin's stare. She knew that silently begging or pleading was definitely out of the question.

Subject BB3 was shocked to see that Ivanov's top possession was a young girl that wasn't that much older than herself. She wanted Nightshade to win. She'd purposely fail all her tests as long as she didn't get to go to the implantation step. She really knew what it was; it wasn't an escape from this dreadful place. It was a lot worse.

Subject BB3 bowed her head at her opponent, earning one in return. Nightshade and Subject BB3 immediately got into their fighting stances before lunging at each other. Punches flew, but both girls easily blocked or dodged each other's blows. Nightshade had one order: to make these people become better fighters and move onto being implanted with bionic chips just like herself, to become better beings. A better life form. She wasn't going to lose to the black-haired girl.