In Pursuit Of ✔

Betrayal

Content Warning: Light violence and minor sexual assault

A lot of things suddenly shifted into place in Henley's mind. Her legs locked, but the two men on either side of her took little noticed and shoved her forward. Henley stumbled, but caught herself. As her leg muscles worked to keep her upright, blood started leaking from the bandage and trickling down her leg.

"Your work, I take it?" Lela's gaze went from Henley's injury to Randall.

Henley felt Randall's shoulders move up and down.

"You're supposed to fix her up," Henshaw repeated Tayson's order.

Lela sighed impatiently. "Sit there," she said, pointing to a chair in the corner.

Henley limped over and relief washed over her as she took the pressure off of her leg and sank in the chair.

"Now, get out," Lela snapped at the two men.

They glanced at each other and hesitated.

"What? You think she's going to overpower me? Look at her."

Slowly, Henley's captors backed out of the room, shutting the door behind them and leaving the two women alone.

Henley didn't wait for Lela to speak. "You're how they got to me in the safe house." It wasn't a question. It was the answer that Tayson promised would come.

Lela didn't respond. She just pulled out a first aid kit.

"And you've been in on this since the beginning."

Lela held up a needle and thread. "We don't have an anesthetic." Her voice was cold. "So this will hurt a bit."

"So why?"

Lela crossed the room and bent down to inspect Henley's leg. She unwrapped the bandage and pursed her lips. "You're lucky," she said. "It's shallow and didn't hit anything important."

Given that the wound was still bleeding, Henley disagreed on Lela's assessment of her luck. "Everything you told me in San Francisco was a lie."

"On the contrary." Lela finally responded to something that Henley was saying. "I joined C.O.D.E. just as I said, on the recommendation of my father. I went through initiation with Nick and then into specialized training."

"And then what? You moved to San Francisco and became a double agent?"

"C.O.D.E. in D.C. is hell." Henley flinched slightly from the jarring sensation of the needle. "It's an old man's shell of an organization. No ambition, no vision for the future, no nothing. Harrison is different."

"Ooh, Harrison," Henley mocked. "First name basis with the boss, are we?" Henley tried to suppress a yelp of pain as Lela roughly poked her again. Henley determinately kept her gaze away from the open wound.

"He has a vision for what this organization could be. Not cowering in the shadows of the federal government or any other government. Taking a stand, leading."

Lela's words convinced Henley that Lela was as much as an extremist as Harrison. "Leading through fear," Henley said, disdain ringing through her voice.

Apparently, Henley wasn't in need of many stitches, because Lela was already done. Lela stood up straight, towering over the sitting woman in front of her. "There is no other way to lead. Not in today's world."