Banished Pt. 01

"Well, unlike Cameron, I'm not afraid of you," Francesca announced, and I smiled.

Maybe she was naïve, but that wasn't exactly a quality that I disliked.

"Pretty interesting first day we've had," Francesca noted, as we settled into position next to the console at the center of the room.

"Yeah. Looks like we've made it though."

"How long do you think we'll survive?"

"Hell of a question to answer," I replied, chuckling a little. "We might have made it through day one, but we need info, and fast. If she doesn't talk," I said, indicating towards our unhappy guest, "then we'll need to find another place to set up. If that's the case, then tomorrow's gonna be crucial."

"It'll be fine. I'm sure you already have some ideas," Francesca replied, and I tilted my head at her in response.

"Really, now? Where'd the scared, worried little girl from this morning go?" I asked teasingly, and she shoved me in response.

"Maybe she's not as much of a kid as you thought?"

It was such a curious thing, but she truly had changed a lot from the scared, timid, little thing that I met when I first woke up, hadn't she?

As I pondered on the day's events, and where things would go from here, I couldn't help but wonder what her transformation would be like after surviving for several weeks in this high-pressure environment.

***

"What's the status?"

"All three teams were successfully deployed."

"Good, good. Our 'person of interest' was in this batch, wasn't he?"

"Yes, sir."

"Any reports on how he's doing?"

"He's handling things remarkably well."

"Indeed, they usually do. Too bad for the rest of their teams, though."

"Sir?"

"Oh, I keep forgetting you're new here, Joanna. Our 'special assets' might be some of our best investments, but they usually tear through their own teams on their way up the ranks."

"I see... but, don't most of them die anyway?" Joanna asked.

"Yes, but the carnage they leave behind just isn't quite the same."

"So... none of their teams ever survive?" Joanna asked, and the man chuckled a little.

"Well, there have been some instances. I mean, surely you've heard of Lilith by now, haven't you?"

"Lilith? The Lilith? Wasn't she an asset herself?"

"Oh gosh no. Lilith was a quiet little girl from Queens, but she was sent in with a particularly... nasty asset. God only knows what he did to her, but... boy, did she blossom."

"So, Lilith survived an asset," Joanna noted, and the man laughed in response.

"Survived? That's a mild way of putting it. But yes, she lived. Then went on to become worse than any of them could ever be."

"I see. Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes, oh- Joanna. I want regular updates for the first week."

"Of course."

Joanna bowed, and as she left the room, her mind momentarily went back to the reports she'd read about Lilith, and she suppressed a shudder.

If Nathan was anything like Lilith, then God help those poor people, she thought, as she headed out of the boardroom and down the hall.