Valora sat in her new cell with Kronin and Abbigail as her cell mates. Valora was muttering curses in Spanish under her breath as she did her best to treat the burns on her head where some of her hair had been burned away. On the bright side, Abbigail had won and, once she adjusted to the actions she had taken mentally, she would be able to continue her development. The win meant Valora had guards who owed her a few things but that would come later.. Valora had another goal right now. Abbigail looked up and broke the awkward silence. “Not that I’m complaining but… why are they putting us together? Why are they feeding us what seems like maybe actual food and not torturing us anymore.”
(To be Continued in Abbigail Dresden's portion)
Valora smirked. “Because chica.. None of the Emperor’s precious champions lived through the first round. So he needs new ones. Kronin is German and North Korea is desperate to be recognized by other countries, especially Europe as any agreements there weaken the U.S. led sanctions on North Korea. Warhammer won’t want them expanding of course.. A isolated, desperate North Korea is one more amenable to their interests. So they’re going to try and recruit us.”
Abbigail blinked in confusion and blew some hair out of her face. “But you and I are Americans.. Who they hate.” Valora’s smirk grew a bit as she nodded. “I’m also a Mexican citizen and the fascists in the U.S. have declared war on me. The Korean puta also knew I was an assassin and merc. Which means it’s safe to assume her superiors know. They’re going to try and buy my services.. They’ll use you as an added bonus.. I play along, fight for North Korea and they let you join and I imagine they’ll add in some sort of help to help you survive the next round. As for you.. Well you’ve seen the movie ‘The Manchurian Candidate, right?” Abbigail shook her head and Valora sighed and looked at Kronin. “Kids..” Kronin, despite his best efforts, laughed a bit and shook his head glancing at Abbigail. “There was a time in American history when their idea of tension and drama in movies was imagining nightmare scenarios.. The Manchurian Candidate was one of a series of those kind of movies.. Imagining a politician brainwashed by North Korea who either becomes a Senator or President.. Been awhile since I’ve seen the movie.” Valora nodded and continued from Kronin. “They hate America, yes.. But they’d love to convince an American to work for them.. Gives their propaganda operations a big win.”
Abbigail just stared at her mentor for a long second, trying to piece together how Valora could possibly know all that. As if reading her mind, Valora laughed a bit and smirked. “This ain’t my first rodeo, chica. I’m really good at what I do. I’ve had more than a few offers in my life.” Abbigail nods. “How do you.. Deal with it? Every time I close my eyes.. I see her… “ Valora glances at Kronin. “Ask him chica.. His way of dealing with it might be better suited to you than mine is…” It was obviously not the response Valora’s protege had hoped for as she rolled her eyes and tried another subject. “You said you bet on my fight… whatcha bet?” Valora sighed. “If you won, I get some decent alcohol and a few other chemicals. If Gabrielle won… well I’d owe him some sexual favors.. So I will say again I am fuckin’ ecstatic you won, chica..” Abbigail scoffed. “Alcohol?! You wanna get drunk now?!” She said, her anger rising. Valora said nothing but held out her hand.. Which was visibly trembling and shaking. “I am a functioning alcoholic, chica.. But make no mistake.. A functioning alcoholic is still an alcoholic. I don’t want alcohol. I need it. If I don’t get some soon, my body will continue to suffer through withdrawal and I will likely die in one of my fights.” Valora points to her burned and scarred scalp. “How the fuck do you think this shit happened? I was tortured and going through withdrawal.. I wasn’t 100% to begin with. I prefer to get out of here.”
Kronin chimed in here. “Valora. Can you make use of your reputation to get an audience with the Emperor? He is quite the party person and ladies man.” Valora narrowed her eyes. “Well.. I suppose I should be glad you want me to whore myself out and not Abbigail.” Kronin rolls his eyes. “She doesn’t have your skillset or experience. I am asking for a reason.” Valora nods. “Yeah.. I could get in the same room with him.. If I put my mind to it.. But why? You actually wanna kill the asshat? I don’t know why the fuck we should help McStrump out.. Shit I’m tempted to go on TV here for the North Koreans and tell them exactly what the U.S. did by sending us here.”
Kronin smirked. “Yes, because you are a completely credible source with no reason to lie or invent something who couldn’t possibly be discredited by the U.S. intelligence community, law enforcement and international law enforcement agencies and intelligence outfits, right? The math here is really simple. The North Koreans have been humiliated.. Not a single champion of theirs survived round 1. I think your read is correct. They are going to try and recruit at least you, if not all three of us. I don’t want to help McStrump out anymore than you do, but to mount any type of escape is going to require a distraction. Can you think of a better distraction than killing the Emperor?”
Before Valora could answer the door to their cell opened and two soldiers wearing Warhammer uniforms came in, with an officer standing behind them. The officer pointed at Valora. “Her. We’re here to collect her. Mr. Anderson wants to speak with her and was given permission by your government to do so.. Her and her companions will remain unharmed.” One of the North Korean guards escorting them narrowed his eyes and without missing a beat, the Warhammer soldiers put their hands on their guns. The officer smirked. “My men are better trained than yours, I promise you.” The North Koreans backed down and the three Warhammer agents walked up, the officer about to speak when Valora stood up and punched the officer in the throat. “Tell Anderson to go fuck himself.. And tell him that if he ever puts himself in the same room with me I will end his life.” One of the soldiers grabbed his gun, drew it and pointed it at Abbigail. The officer coughed and shook his head. “Mr. Anderson said you’d say that.. He also said if you were sure about that, we kill your friend there… Mr. Anderson has noted your weakness.” Valora nods. “And if you kill her, what stops me from killing the three of you?” The officer smirked. “The warhammer programming still buried in your mind..”
Valora frowned and swore in Spanish under her breath and sighed. “Fine.. but I won’t promise that I won’t kill that crippled old fuck when I see him…” The Warhammer officer smirked and he and the soldiers escorted Valora from the cell, leading her to an well decorated office. As they knocked on the door and gained permission to enter, Valora searched the room. She noticed a desk. Allen Anderson sat at the desk. One bottle of bourbon on the desk.. The other bottle fine tequila. Valora’s eyes took in the entire office. It was well decorated. But there was nothing she could use as a weapon. Well.. maybe some options.. But they would require her to be very, very creative. Anderson smirked as he leaned back in the chair, looking at her. “I know you Valora. I knew the first thing you would do when you came here would be the first thing you do when you enter any room.. Look for a weapon. So I made sure you won’t find any.”
Valora smirked as she walked over to the desk and sat down. “Oh.. I don’t know. The bottles of alcohol are great weapons.. I found a few books that I wouldn’t mind beating you bloody with…”
Allen Anderson laughed, nodding in approval. “That’s why I like you. In your hands, anything is a weapon.” Valora smirked. “Nice to be appreciated.. What the fuck do you want?” Allen Anderson smirked and gestured to the bottle of tequila. “First.. To have a drink. I’m guessing by now the withdrawal is starting, yes? The nightmares… the shakes.. The pain.. We both know you need it.” Valora hesitated, but.. Unable to deny the truth of what he was saying, her hand quickly darted out, grabbed it and drank from the bottle, letting out a sigh as she set the empty bottle down, after draining it in one impressive long drink. Allen Anderson nodded. “Feel better?” Valora sighed. “Well that depends on how much that drink just cost me.” Allen Anderson smirked and took a few moments studying Valora. “You didn’t listen to my advice.. You and I used to share the same philosophy. Don’t get close to anyone. Don’t weaken yourself by attachment. Now you’ve.. What.. adopted the little bitch?”
Valora narrows her eyes. “Watch it, pendejo.. I will kill you.” Allen Anderson laughed. “That’s the second time today I’ve had someone threaten to kill me. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Mr. Vastrix.. I’m too old to give a shit about dying… ironically.. You were the reason I was threatened with death...you’re too attached to your protege.. I was accused of being too...soft on you.”
Valora scoffed. “Too soft.. You fucked with my mind. You tortured me.. And you were too soft? By what fuckin’ measure?!” Allen Anderson leaned forward looking her right in the eye. “By not killing you. You know a lot of our secrets and Warhammer doesn’t usually let their agents and assassins just walk out. I saved your life.. And my own by assuring Mr. Vastrix that you were reasonable and that you and I could come to an agreement.”
Valora leans forward as well, directly challenging Anderson by meeting his gaze. “In what fuckin’ world do you think I would ever willingly aid you or Warhammer?” Anderson laughed a bit. “Completely fearless.. I really respect that about you Valora.. But I think I have something you do fear… wrap your mind around this.. If you refuse my offer.. I’ll activate your conditioning.. I’d prefer not to.. Because it’s been so long since you’ve had your regular conditioning there might..unpleasant side effects. But if you piss me off, I will take that risk.. Activate your programming and I will tell you to kill your precious protege.. But not quickly.. Torture first.. Get creative.. I will push you to use every ounce of that wonderfully deviant and murderous mind you have to invent a personal level of hell for your protege… and just before she dies… I’ll bring you out of the brainwashed state to let you fully enjoy your work.. Now.. will you listen to my offer or are we going to do this the hard way?”
For one of the few times in her life, Valora’s eyes showed the fear as she contemplated that possibility and she clenched her fist. Before slamming it into the desk in frustration, causing the soldiers to point their guns at her. Allen Anderson calmly raised his hand. “No need for alarm Gentlemen.. Ms. Salinas has just realized that I win this round. She’s a competitive person and detests losing.. It’s why I love her so..” Valora sighed and waved her hand. “Fine.. tell me this fuckin’ deal…”
Allen Anderson nodded and poured himself some bourbon.. Taking his time as he savored his win. “You’ve seen the brackets.. Yes? You know who your protege is up against..” Valora nods. “Yes…” Anderson nods. “You know what he will do to her before he kills her, yes?” Valora nodded again. “Is there a fuckin’ point to this?!” Anderson nods. “I want you on the payroll again. The misfits you surround yourself with? Your team.. You and your team will get Warhammer funding, tech, support.. Whatever you need. This time.. I’ll even pay you.. Pay you what your skills and your abilities are actually worth. As an added bonus.. I and Warhammer will do what we can to give you and your protege an edge in their fights..”
Valora sat and thought for a moment. On one hand, she abhorred Warhammer. What they stood for.. What they had done to her in the past,.. On the other hand.. She was in a bad situation and saw a ticket for her and her allies to get out. Valora nodded as she thought about the offer and finally added in her part. “You have me here.. I can’t exactly say no.” Anderson laughed. “Well you could.. But I wouldn’t put any money on you living much longer..” Valora nodded. “Get me and the other wrestlers out of North Korea… and you have a deal.” Anderson frowned. “You’re asking a lot...especially since about half the roster is set to die in this show.” Valora nods. “The ones who live.” Anderson shakes his head. “No.”
Valora slams her fist on the desk. “God fuckin’ dammit! This isn’t a fuckin’ game you arrogant shit! These are fighters! Not soldiers! Not Assassins!” Anderson shrugged. “I didn’t send them here. Now.. maybe we can ensure they get rescued..” Valora finally sighed. “Fine.. but you will get me, Abbigail and Kronin out.” Anderson narrowed his eyes. “Kronin?! The German government can get their own agents out.” Valora nods. “So can you. And you will. What about Jeremiah?” Anderson smirked. “Well his father would prefer he be left for dead… fine.. Kronin can help provide security for Jeremiah Vastrix and we can sneak him out that way. Don’t push me any further Valora.. I’m already being very generous given the leverage I have on you at the moment.”
Valora sighs and nods. “Fine.. now what’s my first job?” Allen Anderson smirked. “Your match is a firing squad match… I’ve already ensured the soldiers will be Warhammer Soldiers.. First thing I need you to do is survive the match and kill that little Scottish runt O’Brien.. I wonder if Kronin will want your help after you kill his tag team partner, but we’ll see.. After you dispatch your opponent.. We can talk about the next steps.” Valora nods. “So I’m what.. Team North Korea, now?” Anderson shrugged. “Possibly. We have bigger plans than just North Korea. An opportunity has presented itself to us and we intend to take it.. And you.. You are going to be a key figure in helping us…”
Valora frowned as she thought about this information and Allen Anderson stood up and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I watched you.. Watched you walk out there… play the heroine.. The freedom fighter.. But that isn’t you.. Valora.. Heroines don’t enjoy killing… they don’t derive sexual pleasure from torturing and murdering others.. You’re not happy because you continually deny who and what you are to pretend to be something you’re not. So.. my gift to you.. just … be honest with yourself.. The three men who brought you here today… all loyal to Jeremiah’s father. They’re waiting for the right time to kill us.. They also don’t believe me when I told them how dangerous you were.” He removed his hand from Valora’s shoulder and nodded. “Prove them wrong.”
Without missing a beat, Valora grabbed the empty tequila bottle and turned and threw it, aiming it in such a way that hit the officer in the head, bounced off, hit the first guard in the head, and shattered, glass flying into the faces of both men, distracting them. Valora charged the second guard sliding on her knees and shins as hit the man at the knee, striking the sciatic nerve, coming to her feet, and using the man as a human shield, grabbing a knife from the guard’s belt and Stabbing him in the small of the back, the mid back and slitting his throat, the blood from the man’s neck spraying into the face of the Officer. Valora shover the dying guard into the other two men and surged forward again. The officer died of a broken neck, Valora leapt into the air her feet landing on the wall as she ran along, jumped off and brought the first guard down with a flying head scissors takedown and quickly ended his life as well. Valora got up to her feet and heard the sound of Anderson clicking stop on a stopwatch and nodded. “Even less than 100% you’re still better than most of Warhammer’s assassins. This is what Michael doesn’t understand.. You have a natural gift for this..” Valora nods. “You just killed three of your bosses men.. Won’t you get in trouble?” Anderson laughed. “I didn’t kill anyone. you did. And yes, Michael will be displeased.. But he’ll also see my point that you’re worth the exceptional amount of trouble you cause.” Valora nods. “So how do you plan to help Abbigail?” Anderson shrugged. “She’s in a shark match.. It will be difficult, but not impossible to help her. You can start by giving her this..” Anderson said, producing a injector with a bluish green liquid in it. Anderson nodded. “It’s a new drug we’ve developed.. It’s like adrenaline but on steroids.. It pushes speed, strength, endurance to peak human levels.. It might not completely level the field between her and that giant but it will at least give her a fighting chance. I will try to come up with other ways too.. But we obviously can’t be too overt in our aid.” Valora nods. “I want to see the chemical formulas and research for this..” Anderson laughs. “What makes you think you’d understand them?” Valora raised an eyebrow. “The fact that I went to med school.. I have..” Valora paused as she counted in her head.. ‘At least 4 or 5 separate degrees.. One of them an M.D… all of them having to do with science in some way, shape or form.” Anderson nods. “Yes.. and our scientists are some of the smartest people in the world.. People who make the likes of Einstein and Hawking seem mundane. I will try to get the notes.. In the meantime.. You’ll have to trust me that this won’t hurt Abbigail Long term usage… might have side effects.. But the plan is to use this for one fight.. She should be safe.” Valora nods. “Good… because if it does hurt her.. I will kill you.” Valora turned and started to leave, pausing as a thought came to her. “Wait… why is Warhammer providing the soldiers for my match?” Anderson smirked. “Because the North Koreans planned on shooting both of you.”
Valora sighs. “And here I thought they’d offer me a job.” Anderson nods. “They planned on it.. But they’re worried you might say no. They have been torturing you and Abbigail after all.. Kind of hard to wave some money at you and expect you to help them.. Even if they do consider you to be little better than a common whore..” Valora nods. “Yes.. I’m well aware of how they view Americans…” Valora turned to face Anderson. “So what’s the plan? I would have thought that you wouldn’t want the Emperor killed.. But it seems like you don’t care.” Anderson smirked. “We have information… information that has led us to put a plan in action that will hopefully encourage a very mentally unstable leader to commit a huge mistake.. A mistake we plan to capitalize on… that’s all you get for now.. Show me you’re really on the team and maybe I’ll tell you more.”
Valora scoffed and rolled her eyes... “One more thing.. I want Kronin, Abbigail and I in that fancy fuckin’ hotel.. I wanna see what broke ass North Koreans consider to be ‘luxury.’ Anderson nodded. “Fine. You’ll be transferred within the hour or so now that you’re working for Warhammer..” Valora had turned and was starting to walk to the door as Anderson spoke again. “I have to say.. I’m surprised you gave in so easily.” Valora paused as she opened the door and smirked as she glanced over her shoulder. “We need each other once again Anderson. Understand I’m using you just as you’re using me.. And just because I work for you today doesn’t mean I won’t kill you tomorrow.” Valora said as she slipped out the door and headed back towards her cell. In the room, Allan Anderson just smiled as he watched Valora leave and nodded. “There’s the Valora I was hoping to see.”