Don't fear the reaper - Captain John Price

XLVIII

The dark clouds were peacefully floating high in the early morning sky. The first golden rays of the sunrise touched the cold ground as they brought more light to the darkness of the day. The endless horizon was painted in bright orange. With each passing minute, the sun was ready to take its spot in the sky and let everyone know about the beginning of the new day. The sun rays kissed the bottom of the cotton soft clouds, painting them in the brightest red that could be found in the painter's palette.

The strong headache took over Amelia's mind, as she slowly opened her eyes feeling the brightness of the artificial light. The walls of the room seemed to be too close to the chair her body was sitting at, almost putting pressure on her mind as a brunette tried to put the messy puzzle of thoughts she had in her mind together.

"Let's get straight to the point, doll," Phillip's voice echoed in the container, as he looked over a woman finally seeing her coming back into the room after being unconscious. He had enough patience to wait longer if it was needed, but not enough time in a day. It always seemed as if time was the only thing running away from Graves through his rough fingers. "Your friend was a shitty financial advisor. Someone has to pay for her decisions."

The heavy combat boots of the commander echoed in the silence of the tight space. The light coming from the light bulb over his head was playing with the folds on the dark uniform. Man's hands were missing the feeling of carrying the weapon, while anger was building up inside of his mind. Years of service taught Philip to never show his emotions in front of the enemies, but in reality, to no one even to his own self.

"The money I lost was meant for the company, for my men. Not for her secret bank account," It felt for a moment as if Graves was talking to himself, explaining the whole situation. He took a step back, letting his gloved hand meet with the cold metal wall, before turning around and meeting with the cold gaze of brown eyes on the other side of the container.

The last night wasn't the night of success for the Shadow Company. Graves lost way too many of his men in the attack on his base. The man's voice was calm as if he was holding a usual conversation in the middle of the day with one of his men. For a split moment, Knight caught herself in surprise. Her childhood friendship with Priya was the real reason why she was sitting tied to a chair in front of the enemy of her team. Her own past came back to haunt her, just as it always does at the most unexpected moments.

"Don't be shy. Talk to me, Amelia," Phillip took a few steps towards her. There was nowhere to run for a brunette from the commander, as his fingers fell on her chin making the woman lock her eyes on him.

"You can try cutting my tongue off to be more successful, Phillip," A woman was almost whispering, feeling the sudden wave of thirst rushing through her body and mind. Suddenly, the headache wasn't the only thing on her mind.

A cocky smirk sat on the corner of Graves's lips as he stood up. His large palm sat on her shoulder, as Phillip walked around the chair that was placed in the middle of the container. Deep inside he knew Price wouldn't take a woman in his team if she would be that easy to crack under minor pressure, but the commander wasn't the one to give up fast.

"Thank you for the suggestion, officer" The silence surrounded them for way too long when it was broken by Graves. He leaned forward, letting the words out of his mouth reach her ear.

Phillip was anything in this life, but not a bluffer. If he was one, maybe the man would never have ended up where he is now. There was a side of him that wanted nothing but to get the revenge. With Amelia held captive at his base, Graves had an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Everyone had to pay their dues especially the people who decided to do him wrongly. 

"I am not going to repeat myself twice," His voice was sharp, while the gaze of the blue eyes kept the cover over the devil hiding inside of the man. The anger started to take him over, as none of the muscles on the man's face moved even for a split moment. The echo of the slap over the soft skin of the woman's face echoed in the silence of the tight space. Graves had no time to play in the games he was leading in.

"You're wasting your time, Graves," The red mark was burning on her cheek, as Amelia raised her eyes up at the man with nothing but hate in her eyes. It felt as if the pain was ringing inside of her head from every part of her body.

"I want the information you know, doll," Phillip's jaw clenched, as he listened to every quiet word escaping out of the woman's lips. "And you better not waste my time, or I will show you the difference between the military and me."

"I don't know anything. If your intel was good enough, you would know we were not that close in the last years," Amelia looked at the darkness in front of her, avoiding the look of the man on her face. The words were escaping into the air, as Graves leaned against the cold wall, trying to find the thin line between the truth and the lie.

The loud knock on the door interrupted their conversation and left the two in silence of the morning. Knight wondered for the moment if that was it, as every next minute held nothing but surprise for her. There was no point in holding a brunette captive for long when she was useless to them in terms of information. The uncertainty was planted inside of her mind, alongside the concern for her own life.

"You have plenty of time to remember and think better, Amelia," Phillip let himself look at her for the last time, as the expression of his tense face was speaking for the man himself.

The heavy metal door opened letting the daylight run into the container and bath the silhouette of the commander in the sunrays. The voices from far away were mixed with all the other noise and created a mess in Amelia's head. She took a peak outside, seeing how unfamiliar the place was. The outside reminded her of an aircraft hangar, and a brunette couldn't remember at least one at the base they went to. And suddenly, the situation in her mind became even worse than Knight expected it to be. 

"Fucking hell," The darkness took a woman in its arms, as the bulb over her head died. There was nothing in the container except for Amelia in a cage of her own thoughts.

The strong rope kept her arms together as it left a mark on her wrists. Some strings were painted red in frequent connection with the skin. Amelia's body was fighting, trying to find a way to escape out of the cage with no way out. A woman was old enough to know that life wasn't a fairy tale and there was no price charming on the way to save her from the dragon. With each useless attempt, hopelessness appeared in her mind out of the darkness. A scream of despair escaped out of her lips and reached every corner of the container. There was no other way but to find the way out.