Description: Captured after a run-in with Clark Steel, Crimson Viper at last has her meeting with the man who ordered that run-in: Heidern, who is understandably upset after the treatment Leona received at the hands of S.I.N. during the siege of Southtown. Yet interestingly enough, these two individuals aren't quite so different as they appear to be at first glance. Viper must sacrifice a bit of her position to win her freedom, and while it's far from the solid lead he might have wanted, Heidern at least gets something to go on.
Southtown Harbor
Friday, 23:00.
The harbor is practically dead, lacking any life among the rows and rows of dark warehouses lining the seaside. However, look hard enough in the dark, and you're bound to find something just beneath the surface.
In the E block of warehouses a door sits guarded by a pair of armed men, who by appearances look utterly out of place in their SWAT-like attire, armed with semi-automatics. Nearby, a black armored van idles, headlights cut as it waits--like the armed guard--just outside one particular warehouse.
Warehouse E7.
It doesn't take long for the darkness within E7 to be lit up. At the center of the empty warehouse is little more than a wooden table and a hand-held lamp for light, as well as a solitary wooden chair. And within the chair, bound at the wrists and feet? A feminine figure with a black sack over her head. Nearby, a tall, one-eyed man stares unsympathetically upon her.
He takes a few steps forward before the black sack is ripped from the woman's red head, thrown onto the nearby table. The expression he greets her with is neither spiteful nor welcoming; it's just flat out neutral at best.
"'Crimson Viper,'" the Ikari Warriors' leader offers flatly. "You will honestly answer every question I have for you, if you value your well-being and freedoms. Do you understand?"
The question that must be on the mind of the Ikari underlings is: how did he get all that under the bag?
Once the sack comes off her head, Viper's long red braid tumbles out behind her, and indeed, the double agent gives a Loreal, because-I'm-worth-it shake of the head that encourages that. Just her luck to be here... the redhead is fairly confident if her luck had been a little better, she could have fought off Clark Steel. As it is, NOW she has to suffer through all this. Yet the thought of being here, perceived by people who *should* in all rights be her allies... as the enemy.
If you want to fool your enemies, fool your friends. Well, Viper's got that part down pat. So much that it's coming around to bite her right in the ass. The S.I.N. 'superstar' finds it difficult to keep a sarcastic-looking smirk off her face at the thought.
Tilting her head up a bit, the tanned redhead surveys her captor. Tall, imposing... the sort of physique people refer to as 'lean' when describing verbally. Heidern didn't get where he is today by being soft, and Maya is relatively certain he can back up any threat that goes on here. Plus there's the eyepatch. The man's clearly not a pirate. "Well," she says amiably, trying to sound a little bored, as if this conversation is just a pleasant distraction from her quality time with a black sack. "I can see why Kusanagi has such a charming nickname for you."
What she'd like to do is cross one leg over the other, Sharon Stone-style. Sadly, with her legs bound, she has to settle for keeping that smirk on her face. "If you think 'Crimson Viper' is a little unwieldy, 'Maya-san' is fine," Viper says, with saccharine sweetness. "Those fighting tournament people are so... fanciful when it comes to nicknames."
Impressive though Viper's luxurious mane may be, Commander Heidern remains anything but less-than impressed by the woman's posture and the demeanor with which she holds herself. Calm in the face of seemingly impossible odds..? He's familiar with it. He's has over thirty years of practice in the art. Discreetly, the man's brow furrows.
"The Kusanagi boy is an ignorant whelp," Heidern coolly replies. "But his talents are, I admit, of note. It's just a shame he is a twit who can't put it to any real use." Slowly, the tall and imposing old Ikari half-turns away from the redhead, his solitary blue eye shifting toward the table. "But we're not here to discuss him. You're aware of that."
When she offers a 'name,' the man just exhales quietly through his nose, nostrils flaring. "Maya, Crimson Viper; it doesn't matter. You're here against your will for one particular reason, and I know you are more than aware of precisely what it is."
Turning to face the woman fully, Heidern stares down at her with a cold stare, his face as still as ancient rock, sharp and angular features unmoving--all save his mouth, as he states:
"Leona. What did you do to her?"
Haha, now there's a question. The amusement that passes over Viper's face at that question is genuine. Why? Because she'd like to know the same thing. Oh, she knows what was in the syringe that got plunged into Leona's arm. The blood-red liquid was Seth's pet project, the prototype for BLECE. A little bioweapon that's a side product of bigger work... and one that three other people felt the fiery bite of in their bloodstream during the siege of Southtown. The Oe boy, Hotaru Futaba, and that other one, the guy at the core of the Artemis. All of them had a little... gifting. Just like Leona. All of them found their abilities boosted. Just like Leona.
Well, not JUST like, which is the source of both Viper's concern and her amusement. Something went really, really wrong with Leona Heidern once the BLECE was in her system. The question is: does Heidern know that? Leona herself is probably fine; Viper wouldn't have left the scene if she weren't reasonably confident that Kusanagi would do *something*. Well... interrogation can occasionally be a two way street.
"Oh, some light kidnapping, a clinical drug trial," Maya says airily, as if she were reciting a shopping list, closing both eyes for a moment. Normally that would be a little suicidal; inviting a physical response. Something about Heidern suggests that he isn't into torture, however. He's too practical; torture itself is actually basically useless as an interrogation technique, as the S.I.N. double agent herself knows. Counterproductive.
Opening her green eyes, Viper fixes them on Heidern intently, though she keeps up the expression of sweet helpfulness which nevertheless has that... sarcastic edge to it, something Viper finds difficult to disguise. "Now, as for what the drug did to her, your guess is as good as mine. Response was off any sort of predicted charts, as I'm sure Kyo or the boxer with the hero complex could have told you. So I guess what *I* would ask is," she finishes, leaning forward as she finishes her statement, "what did *you* do to her, perhaps?"
Beneath the calm, unflinching and otherwise impossibly patient exterior of the Ikari Warrior is anger and disgust, kept very much in check against the likes of the S.I.N. agent. As much as he would like to throw her through the proverbial wringer with a myriad of torture techniques he has likely learned in his fifty-plus years of experience, that isn't the way. He knows it, and Crimson Viper certainly knows it.
Her words only earn her a discreet scoff from the old soldier. "Drug, I'm aware of that," he explains coolly, his one-eyed gaze sliding to rest on the agent's face. "I'm sure it has a name, though. If you'd be so kind, miss 'Maya,' to give me its name..."
But she just has to go and say /that/.
Without any real warning, Heidern's leather gloved hand lashes out and backhands Viper rather swiftly across her soft cheek. Despite the rash and sudden gesture of anger, his demeanor and face suggest he remains completely unfazed. He's a walking, talking contradiction at that very moment. All, save for the slightest flare of fury that haunts the back of Heidern's one, visible eye.
"Let's try this again, 'Maya,'" the man states, lifting the offending hand to gently tug at the glove with his opposite hand. "This drug, what is its name?"
She doesn't flinch, at least, not any more than the autonomous physical reaction demands, and the simple fact that applying kinetic force to an object causes it to move. When her head gets back into position, Viper stares unafraid back at Heidern, giving him a sigh of... well, of all things, it sounds rather a lot like disappointment. It's an interesting piece of information she just learned, regardless... worth the price of the physical pain, which she bears with for the time being. He knows. Heidern HAS to know, or if he doesn't know, he has an inkling for certain.
"It doesn't *have* a name," she says coolly. That much is actually halfway true. BLECE, as far as Viper knows, isn't a drug at all. What Seth had her inject into Leona was really just a byproduct. Of what? Well, that's a damned good question, and finding out what exactly went wrong with Leona would in fact be a really good start in figuring that out. The battlesuit project is Viper's 'real' reason for being with S.I.N.... if she gets too much into asking about other projects, she might just blow her cover.
But she has to give Heidern something.
"No amount of hitting me is going to change that fact, either," Viper adds casually, tilting her head a little. "So if you're going to kill me, go ahead and get on with it. I have a really full schedule, overall. Our friends at the NESTS syndicate made all sorts of fascinatingly stupid decisions over this whole debacle and the paperwork is really piling up."
The expression meeting Heidern's gaze is precisely what he anticipates. This woman isn't afraid, because that's what she has been trained not to be in this sort of situation. He knows, to an extent, this isn't a winning battle for him. But part of it is completely personal. What they did to his 'daughter' left her shaken and frightened; horrified of herself. And as her father, this is the right and just course of action.
As a soldier, however, he needs what he can get from this woman.
"It isn't my intent to waste your time or mine beating you senseless for information," the Ikari notes, idly curling his gloved fingers before simply dropping his arm loose at his side. "I want simply to know what the hell you stuck into Leona Heidern, and what sort of intent your organization sought to achieve by doing so. I know that she wasn't the only one affected during the 'war.'"
Pausing, the Ikari slides his gaze toward the doors of the warehouse, silence draping over him. "I have heard rumors, and I am merely sifting through fact and fiction, cross-checking information and simply looking for answers." Frowning lightly, Heidern's blue eye falls back onto Viper.
"Now, if you would please...if you do not have a name for the drug, I want to know why your boss decided to go around testing that shit on people during this war. Surely you know what it does, 'Maya?' You don't seem like the sort of woman they send around to do a flunky's job. Especially not with your capabilities."
"Spare me the innocent denial," Viper says to Heidern flatly, though she quirks her lips into a smile as she does so. It's a bit unfortunate that she's here like this; in another time and place, Maya thinks she'd rather like Heidern. He's a professional, and she respects that. Her intel isn't quite good enough to know that Leona's name isn't assumed, either; and if she did, Viper would yet again have reason to respect the Ikari commander. If someone had done something terrible to her own daughter -- her well-protected, anonymous daughter -- like this, Viper would be killing mad herself.
Bemused, however, she raises her chin and regards Heidern with, at least, a degree of respect. Playing to his efficiency didn't work; playing to his practicality might. "You just described it yourself... you're applying deductive reasoning to all this. The scientific method. Well, so were we. That much should be obvious. We wanted to see what the drug would do in a particular set of controls. Leona just happened to be one of them."
Now, however, she leans forward, and Heidern can tell that if she were not bound to the chair, Maya's hands would obviously be on her knees, a gesture of conspiratorial collusion. As if these two individuals are just people looking to find the answer to a particularly annoying puzzle. "As for why during the 'war'?" The fingerquotes are audible, just as much as the ones around Heidern's use of 'Maya'. "Really, you must know as well as anyone that nobody has names or faces on the battlefield. Someone dies, they're a casualty... someone goes missing? Well, that's just how war goes."
With that, she sits up and even leans back a little, watching the Ikari commander's face for his reaction carefully. "All in the name of science. If you're looking for some sort of personal vendetta we have against Leona or you or your organization... I'm afraid you're out of luck."
The response to Viper's comment earns her a flat expression as well, the man's thin, dry lips pulling into a tight line across his face. Spare her the denial? He's very nearly insulted by this accusation; swiftly, however, the Ikari catches himself and simply hoods his one, good eye down at the redheaded agent. As expected of a man like himself, Heidern says nothing; he just watches the woman.
"So let me get this straight," the man states, folding his long, lanky arms over his chest. "You essentially claim to know nothing of the drug you were instructed to dispense into Leona Heidern in the middle of a battlefield? That is all? And yes, I am more than aware why your organization, and possibly NESTS as well and who the hell knows who else during that time, chose to do so."
Frowning faintly, the Ikari's gaze slides to the ceiling, a gloved hand absently running against the back of his neck. "You see, the problem in this situation is that, while your organization may not have intended it to be some sort of personal vendetta against Leona or the Ikari Warriors, it has essentially become rather personal."
Looking back, the man's expression remains empty and void of tell-tale emotion.
"The reaction within her as a result to the injection you gave her was not normal, as I am sure you are well-aware of. I want to know what it is about that drug you gave her that set her off into an uncontrollable, violent rage--particularly, how someone has the technology to allow this sort of thing to occur in the first place."
The man leans forward, leveling his one eye on the woman's two eyes.
"Now, as I am sure you are aware, I have done what research I can, as S.I.N. has some pretty interesting ties into Shadaloo. As far as I can tell, it's less in the business of arms dealing and scare tactics and putting the fear of god into people and more the brains of the operation." Pausing briefly, the man's eye half-lids.
"I'm also aware of the suit you've been blessed with by your superiors, and that of S.I.N.'s people, you seem to be the only one capable of handling it. Impressive--this also implies that you're of some worth along with this suit to your boss." A gloved hand lifts, idly tugging at the woman's collar before he stands upright.
"What is this suit worth to you, in exchange for information?" What is he implying?
"If it isn't clear," he obviously begins to clarify, "I have no reservations in taking that suit from you in exchange for the lack of information. While I personally do not believe that this is any form of equivalent exchange, as you used one of my men as little more than some kind of lab rat, I think that it may have some effect on your superiors." Pause.
"Or at least draw your boss out of the woodworks, so that I can ask him personally why he thought it would be a good idea to hurt my soldier."
"Why, Mr. Heidern," Viper says playfully, heedless of the hand at her collar, "if I didn't know better I'd say you're hitting on me. Trying to get my suit off?" And considering she's in the clothes she always wears... well, who could blame him? It's not quite a suit, is it... the slacks and jacket are normal enough, but the not-quite-shirt and tie only emphasize that this is a mature, sexy woman. Viper has no complaints; the people who would be cowed or made drooling by her looks, are. There's more than one way to use one's body as a weapon.
With a shrug, however, she sits back again. If Heidern wants to let his collar-grabbing hand go with it, so be it. "You want the suit? Go ahead and take it. Even among the friendly folks at S.I.N. I'm the only one who can use it at more than a fraction of capability and, frankly, you don't have the brains to reverse engineer it. Plus I don't think you have the chest to fill out this top, frankly." That much is the truth. Perhaps the reverse engineering bit is a bluff, but Viper's confident it'd take them more time than is worth it. Even the CIA hasn't cracked what little data she's sent their way when she could.
Now, however, is her turn to go on the offensive. She locks her green eyes on Heidern's own dark visage and, when she speaks, her voice has a terribly cold quality to it, much different than the blithe sarcasm she's shown so far. "If you know she's a soldier, then I'm a little confused as to why you're so angry something happened to her on a battlefield. The same way Mr. Steel dragged me in here for this nice chat, hmm? S.I.N. won't even acknowledge I exist, so that won't fly either. You've been at this too long to think otherwise." The redhead's eyes go half-lidded for a moment as she finishes her little diatribe. "People who go to war accept a certain possibility for the worst to happen. Considering she's not dead, I think the worst has been avoided, don't you?"
A moment of silence follows before she leans back once again, returning to her nonchalant amusement of before. "But because I'm a nice person, I'll confirm some of what you know. S.I.N. is the... new Shadaloo. Not Vega's group of four whackjobs with severe personality defects looking to punch their way out of every problem. And if you can somehow draw my 'boss' out of hiding..." she finishes, smirking. Seth... where is that bald-headed yutz now, she wonders? "...please do. I've a few words to have with him myself."
"I'm a married man," the soldier is quick to reply, releasing her collar before he recoils slightly. Whether it's 'to his work' or 'a real-life woman' or 'both' remains uncertain, but the expression on his face--rather, the lack of anything and the otherwise unimpressed look he provides Viper--suggests one of these is true. "My priorities lie elsewhere, 'Maya,' I'm afraid."
Taking a step away from the bound woman, Heidern's lips offer a faint twitch, his solitary blue eye hooding gently in response. He doesn't have the brains? "You sorely underestimate the reach and influence that my men and I are capable of, miss," Heidern explains quietly. "While I admit I wouldn't quite fit as nicely as your physique allows you too, I also confess that my interests are less in making use of it personally and more divulging information elsewhere into more 'admirable' directions, rather than what you and your organization are likely attempting to accomplish with it.
"That is, presuming I relieve you of said suit." His one eye closes.
"I never said that when war happens I do not expect the worst to happen. However, that woman is a most capable soldier. I have personally trained her, and I know that she is no simple pushover. While I do accept that considering the circumstances the potentially worst of it all has been avoided, I'm afraid that not all of it has."
Slowly the man's lanky form turns, his gaze once again lowering, level with Viper's green eyes. And slowly his eye reopens, his blue gaze belying his demeanor. Within, a certain intensity lingers.
"You hurt her on a far worse level than I can even begin to explain. So I cannot sit here and say that the worst has been avoided entirely. Do you know why her name is 'Leona Heidern,' miss 'Maya?'" Pausing a beat, he does not bother to wait for her response.
"Because she is my daughter. As a soldier I can accept things; however, as her /father,/ I feel nothing but anger and intense disgust that you and your people would reignite her worst fears. Her response and reaction to your little test drug was not normal, and I know you are more than aware of it."
With a faint exhale, Heidern slowly raises back up.
"New Shadaloo, you say? Lure your boss out, you say?" Raising a gloved hand to his head, the man absently adjusts the beret upon his hair. "So what is your issue with your 'boss' in all of this, anyway?"
That statement, that little bit of sharing, actually wins Heidern something he may enjoy: the first genuine look of surprise -- or something like it -- on Viper's face. She'd assumed, since they don't really LOOK anything alike other than their height -- that Leona's last name was some sort of homage, or similar; a way of showing her respect or appreciation for the man who raised her. The idea that she's his daughter is a new one, and it sends two shocks through the red-haired agent. One is sympathy; if it were her daughter, she'd be furious. The other is horror-tinged anger... because, being his child, Heidern still sent her onto the battlefield. In its own way, that goes against every parenting instinct she possesses. The logic is absolutely inexplicable.
The flexing of her fingers in those black gloves of hers can probably go unnoticed as a physical sign of her sudden emotional response... perhaps. But she is curling and uncurling her fingers slightly, staring off to the side rather than at Heidern, before she speaks. "I don't know anything about her worst fears. I know I'm a professional, and I had a job to do. I did it. I don't pretend it was pretty, or that I did it for some righteous reason." Here, another smirk. "That sort of religious fanaticism is for Vega's cadre of sycophantic whackjobs. Not how I operate. I do the job in front of me; no more, no less."
And that's when it happens. The heels of her boots are suddenly alive with a burst of fire and steam, the sudden force snapping the ropes keeping her bound to the legs of the chair. There's a crackle of blue-white along her gloves as Maya rather casually snaps the cuffs keeping her to the chair. She stands up like someone finishing a meal, brushing off her jacket. Understandably, Heidern's guards view this as unacceptable and move in to restrain her. This is, sadly, a mistake; one gets a sudden spinning kick that sends him sprawling across the warehouse floor, while another gets those electric-capable gloves wrapped around his arm. A few thousand volts punch his clock as well.
But rather than make a run for her life, Viper turns to look at Heidern, putting a hand on her hip and leaning to one side slightly. "My issue? He doesn't tell me the information I need to know to do my job. That's why I don't have anything to tell you, commander," she says idly. A fist shoots out, Viper not even turning to look; a third Ikari mook goes down, clotheslined by the sudden attack. "You want to hear me apologize? Alright then. For what it's worth, I'm sorry Leona drew the short straw. But you sent her onto the battlefield, 'Daddy.' I'm not sure I could do that, in your shoes."
A moment or two goes by; Viper listens with her ear cocked, checking for more Ikari soldiers wanting to try their luck. Apparently, none do... of course, a single Heidern is worth about 100 of them, so in the end the result is pretty much the same. This is, in fact, a sentiment that Viper herself expresses. "Now... I probably can't take you in a straight fight," she says evenly. It's the truth. She probably would have been on equal footing with Clark. His boss? Well... you never know, but Viper doesn't gamble. "And frankly I find guns blazing action movie escapes to be really goddamned boring. On the other hand, I really need to get back to work and I can't just hang around here all day."
A black-gloved hand comes up, cradling the S.I.N. superstar's chin in a gesture implying thoughtful consideration... yet like most of Viper's mannerisms, it's tinted with just enough wry tones to make it seem sarcastic, even mocking. "But I'm a businesswoman at heart. If you really want to find out what the hell's going down, go ahead and bother Vega's 'four lords,'" she says at last. "Perhaps you and Sagat can trade eyepatch beauty tips for all I care. I don't think Vega likes what S.I.N. is doing. He sent the meathead boxer to share that sentiment during the siege. Yet the checks still get cashed. One wonders why *that* is."
The surprise is noted--and mentally noted.
It was a gamble, to reveal something like that to the likes of Crimson Viper, a S.I.N. operative. But she is a woman, and possibly a kindred spirit, whether he knows it or not; she has a daughter, and so too does the Ikari. On some level, perhaps they can connect. On others, perhaps she loathes him for seemingly endangering his daughter as he has. But he, like 'Maya,' has his reasons for everything. And like 'Maya,' they remain a secret between those closest to him.
Stepping back a few paces, the man keeps his one eye level on the redhead. "I assure you, what you witnessed was not the worst of it all," he states calmly, despite the anger that still lingers in his eye. But she assures him that she is a professional, and she had a job to do. As a soldier, he understands she meant nothing personal. And on some level, it's likely he is not focusing the all of his anger on her, but rather, the man who handed her the order.
What happens next surprises the men elsewhere in the warehouse; Heidern, on the other hand, looks on with an otherwise impassive gaze, simply watching with arms folded behind his back as Viper makes short work of his Ikari. It was a losing battle to begin with, he privately decides, as one man gets punched the hell out with electricity. When she regards him, he offers her nothing more than that same, blank expression; she speaks, he listens.
And, slightly, the man's lips twitch into what could very well be a smile as she offers her apologies; it fades, however, as she adds to it. He cannot explain himself, especially to a perceived enemy, but even he finds himself disgusted at times for what Leona has become.
Even as another Ikari falls, Heidern simply and quietly holds his ground, his posture stiff but by no means bearing the slightest hint of intent to make a brutal advance upon the now-freed agent. His passive nature pays off, to an extent. She reveals a little bit of insight; another vague smile crosses the old Ikari's weathered face.
His response is simple when all is said and done. Slowly the man turns aside, his one and only eye fixed on the woman, regarding her idly. "I was wondering," the man states, calmly, "how long it would be until you made your escape. The suit is impressive technology, Viper." He turns a bit further, lifting a gloved hand and gesturing idly away.
"You're free to go, 'Maya.' But I cannot promise that the next time we meet outside of the circuits I will be as considerate of your freedoms or that suit you have in your possession." Folding his arms again behind his back, the Ikari boldly turns his back to the agent, chin tipping upwards as he regards the ceiling.
"Just one request," he briefly adds.
"Please do not /kill/ my men guarding the front?"
They're enemies. Anyone looking in on this scenario from its beginnings to the perhaps expected conclusion can see that much. If things were even a little bit different, Viper would likely be feeling the pain of having to defend herself against this consummate soldier. There's a very good chance she wouldn't even make it out alive. Yet against all those odds, somehow they've at least reached some sort of a neutral stage. And now Viper has plenty to worry about. Did she reveal too much? Being outed as a 'good guy' is about the worst possible thing that could happen to Maya. It puts Lauren in danger, risks destroying everything she's worked to do so far.
Perhaps most nastily, it makes all of her ambiguous moral choices and sacrifices have been for nothing.
He's going to let her go. Well, that's about as good an outcome as she could have hoped for. Perhaps he's simply more interested in pursuing the S.I.N. higher-ups after his talk with Viper. After all, it's true that Seth is playing his cards close to the vest. In fact, if it weren't for her own burning desire to find out more about BLECE, Viper wouldn't have gotten involved in the distribution of the prototype drug in the first place. What she learned wasn't pretty; what she saw in Leona was flat-out terrifying and gave more questions than answers. And in Heidern's calm expression, Maya can see one very important thing: someday Leona's going to make someone want to pay for her pain.
Well then, the redhead thinks to herself, let it be me. I'll be the villain for a while if it serves the greater good. You have to think about the big picture... this is the thought that keeps Viper going, lets her continue to wear the expression of cool sangfroid and detachment that she currently has on her face.
"I don't blame you," she says with a shrug. "You're a professional. I'm a professional. If it makes you feel better I won't take it personally. You're just doing your job." With that, she waves a hand in goodbye. "Nice to meet you... Commander Heidern." Turning on one heel, she walks away, back to her captor. A sign of trust, perhaps? Or a sign of arrogance.
Near the door, she turns. "I don't kill if I can avoid it," she adds, almost as an afterthought, answering Heidern's request. The Ikaris she dropped are now getting up; she delivered crippling but not lethal force. The ones near the door hopefully will know to give her a wide berth. "Trust me, I know the value of human life."
After a pause, she adds, "To the penny, in some cases."
With that, she's gone.
Log created on 22:50:04 08/14/2009 by C.Viper, and last modified on 03:30:08 08/15/2009.