Whispers to Screams (Lesbian) (GirlxGirl)

Chapter 18

The incident with Toni gave way to a higher spark of hope in Valeriya's heart, but she could tell that this would be a long process. Ontop of dealing with Barinova, and finding out more about the illegal human test subjects, this was going to be a long road. Toni had neglected to show her face around Valeriya for a couple of days since the slip up, sending Sentinal in to give her food and escort her around the house for various reasons.

"She's really embarrassed, I wish I could say something to her, but I can't." He sighed as he walked along side her, heading towards the bathroom.

"Well if she doesn't remember who I am, then I understand the embarrassment." Valeriya sighed. "She probably feels like some sort of creep."

"Yeah, actually." Sentinal confirmed.

She stopped walking then and let out a deeper sigh, looking up at him. "I still don't understand..."

"Understand what? Valeriya, I told yo-"

"Quiet." She huffed. "I remember what you told me, I just don't understand what benefit you both could gain from working with Barinova. I understand that Toni doesn't know better, but you do, Sentinal. Tell me why."

Sentinal put his hands on his hips, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he tried to think of how he could answer her. It was hard to put into words, everything that got them to this point. How they both ended up working for the enemy. "It's hard to explain, okay?"

"No!" Valeriya blurted, crossing her arms over her midsection. "It isn't hard to explain, you just don't want to."

He turned his gaze down on her, taking in a breath. "Follow me." And then he was off, heading towards the kitchen. What the hell was he doing?

She followed him silently until they reached the basement door. Sentinal opened it for her, assisting her down the stairs as she had to take the time to hop down each step. He ended up just picking her up and carrying her the rest of the way when he noticed that she was in pain. Valeriya took in a breath and looked around as they reached the bottom step, taking in the vastly different area than what she was used to. It looked quite similar to her surveillance room at the compound. There were two large leather office chairs that sat before several screens and scanning devices, all showing different rooms of the house.

"Wow... This is impressive." She noted in a light voice.

"Yeah, it was a needed commodity after we took over this place." He responded, walking over towards one of the office chairs and taking a seat, signaling for her to join him.

"Are you both really scared someone will ambush you here?" Valeriya asked as she sat down in the opposite chair.

"You never know. Barinova is powerful, but she isn't invincible. I mean, you remember when Toni broke in here before and... Well, you know." He gestured towards her with one hand.

"Yeah... I remember." She turned her head to look at all the feeds, noticing the one in her room specifically. "Hm."

"I apologize for that, by the way. It wasn't my choice."

"It's alright, it's not like anything goes on in there anyway." She shrugged, and then looked at him. Her eyes scanned his face for a long series of seconds before she felt cool enough in the head to bring the subject up again without becoming angry. "Tell me why you took the job."

Sentinal had to look away from her as he gathered his resolve, sighing to himself. It was a stupid mistake so long ago, but it became so much more. "At first it was for revenge." He started. "But then it became... Difficult. Ethel had wanted Toni for herself for a long time, she was always impressed by her skill. Me being the jealous asshole that I was, I knew that I could pull her away from you if I joined up. So I did, and then I shot her. I did it knowing that she would be revived, though. I didn't expect them to bring me back, too."

"But they did, and here you are." Valeriya noted.

"Yeah... Here I am." He shrugged a bit. "There's no cameras down here so I'm going to tell you something."

She sat up straighter and looked him in the eye. "Go on."

"She's weak, Ethel, I mean. There's a lot of snakes within her own jurisdiction that hates her as much as you do. They all have a personal price on her head, but they'd never dare to combat her." He folded his hands in his lap, picking at the cuticles of his fingers.

"Why not? See, that's what I don't understand. Why are they so scared if she's so weak?" Valeriya said, running a hand through her hair out of frustration.

"It all comes back to her contacts. She has every politician and law enforcement bureau within 100 mile radius in her back pocket. If someone goes against her, all she has to do is make that call..."

That sounded right, of course Barinova's link to power was within the local government. It all made sense, even though it was absolutely blood boiling. There had to be a way to make her crumble, but how? Valeriya's gaze dropped from Sentinal as she began to think. There were a lot of different approaches she could take in this situation, but she didn't know where exactly to start.

"Sentinal..." She breathed. "Did Ethel ever give you a briefing on the extent of reach of my own rackets in America?"

"Not really, she just said you were filthy rich and crooked." He shrugged.

Her eyebrow shot up. "Is that so? I mean, I suppose she isn't completely wrong... But I wasn't-- I'm not crooked like she is."

"Alright, get to the point." Sentinal waved his hand at her, wanting to hear the idea that was conjuring in her mind.

"Since finding out Barinova was involved in what happened with you and Toni so long ago, I had been keeping a record of the things she did and acheived. Sentinal, I matched every one of her successes in America. She even asked me to join her under the pretense that my information delagates were far more advanced than her own." Blue eyes caught his, and it seemed in that moment that the same idea clicked through them. "Sentinal... She knows I'm a threat."

For the first time in over a year, Sentinal felt like there was a chance. Like there was more than just appeasing Ethel Barinova and living under her wing. Valeriya brought that hope with her back into the house that was already hers to begin with. He sat in silence while he considered everything they discussed, feeling her eyes on him. She was determined, and now so was he.

"So, we take her down?" He asked, finally looking up to meet her stare.

A warm smile crossed her features. "We have the resources."

"Okay..." Sentinal took in a deep breath and shut his eyes. One of his hands lifted to rub at the back of his neck. "What about after we get rid of her? What does that mean for us? The three of us I mean."

"Well, you have two options. You can either join me and help my operation, or I can give you a stipend of cash and let you live freely on your own to do what you want. It's completely up to you." Valeriya said, sitting straight to give off a more regal vibe.

His eyes grew wide at her options. Working for her and living a stable life, or getting the chance to actually make something for himself. His demeanor gave away that he was always shackled to this work, freedom was never really a choice for him, but now it was, and the thought of that felt overwhelming and liberating.

"On one condition." She interrupted.

"Of course, anything." He looked up, hopeful.

"Help me get Toni back." Desperation seeped into her voice, practically sounding like she was begging. "You owe me that much."

The look on his face softened as he reached out to take both of her hands in his, squeezing them just slightly. A gentle smile crossed his face as he held her eyes with his own. "I can give you that, but I need to know that you can trust me, because it won't be easy in the least."

Valeriya didn't even have time to register what he said as tears began filling her eyes, blurring her vision. She leapt forward and slung her arms around him in a tight grip. "Thank you..."