Page 23 of Mistress A-0002

“Main Master, please, use a weapon.Yourweapon. Electrocute him. Use a knife and chop him to pieces if you want. Let me at least tape your hands.” The yell barely made it through the drums and screaming music.

“Bullshit. Let them get cut up and bleed. Hit him harder, Elec!”

I ignored Nineteen and Shane, rearing to slam my fist into the crow’s cheek and what was left of his nose. Colors went in and out. Flashes appeared that I couldn’t quite make out.Whack. Whack.Colors. Images. Each hit almost seemed to unlock a memory.The memory?

“Your appearance must be upheld,” Nineteen argued. “I was trained to make sure you comply with protocol. Everyone will see the damage.”

“And maybe they’ll back the hell off when they realize he’ll kick their ass. Damn,that hit. I’m going to have to start training with you. Fucking amazing.”

Whack!

More flashes, but they didn’t last. Shane walked wider into my peripheral. He knew better than to get too close. After all, this wasn’t abnormal for us. We hunted people together. We fought…sometimes each other. But with gear,of course. Nineteen was right. Appearance for my role was a must. My reflection on the outside would reveal what was going on ‘inside’. But for the life of me, I couldn’t stop hitting. What Melissa had done was too much. The thought was…the act was…

“Fuck!”

The word exploded from me as my fist sunk deep into the mush that was breaking down even more with each hit. Painsliced into my skin only making me draw back and hit the gurgling crow again.

The music cut off, and I spun my fury to Nineteen as he waved the remote at me. One of his eyebrows were raised, and my fist drew back, punching into the crow’s stomach.

“Main Master, wear the tape. If you want to continue afterward, fine.”

“I’m fucking done.”

Sweat dripped to my bare chest, and Nineteen’s brow drew in through the pause in his steps. His hand lifted to the earpiece he wore. My pulse jumped at the expression.

“What happened? You have that look.”

The emotions changed as he placed down the tape and grabbed a towel instead, throwing it at me.

“Mistress Two has made it into the halls. I told you she wasn’t going to drop this Braddock-thing. She’s called me three times wanting to know why he hasn’t come to his appointment. She knows you’re behind it.”

My top lip peeled back through the bloodlust still pumping through.

“Of course she knows. I fucking told you she’d make her way here. You said she wouldn’t make it past the lab.”

“Willingly, she wouldn’t have. You were right, and that’s far more concerning. The only reason we know she’s so close is because my guy at the last door didn’t try to stop her. He knew if she made it to him, it wasn’t worth the confrontation. She would have wiped his memory too. We’d have no clue she was here until she opened this damn door. She isn’t allowed to use her powers on the guard. She knows this.”

“And she doesn’t care.” Shane’s face grew hard, but I saw the fear through his words. And he didn’t fearanything, but he knew this power. I’d shown him how deep it went with his own wife.

“What do you want us to do, Elec?”

I’m in control. No one controls me but me.

I looked toward my best friend and High Leader.

“You’re both not to leave under any circumstance. We’ve all been listening to the recordings. We’ve been watching the tapes. We’ve undergone the tests and exercises. I’ve done what I can to block her out. We’re about to find out if it worked.”

“I don’t fucking like this. You said it was going to take time. She?—”

Shane stopped talking as Melissa passed the large glass window. I wiped the blood off my face, moving to clean my hands as the knob twisted and the door pushed open. For as happy as Melissa usually pretended to be, the stiff posture and tight features spoke volumes.

“I’ve waited all day. I called this morning. I’ve given you time to reach out to me. You’ve refused since leaving my office days ago. We need to talk.”

“I don’t think we do.”

“Braddock. Did you tell him to stay away from me? To refuse my calls? I knock on his door, and he doesn’t answer.”

“I’m going to try something new with Braddock. You have other patients to focus on.”

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