“Hello?” 26 choked in to the receiver.
“Hey 26 how’s it been. Got the problem child under control yet?” Dan’s cheerful tone was enough to make anyone sick.
“I’m doing fine, why the hell have you called me?”
“Ah I was just getting to that” Dan paused and cleared his throat, as he did when trying to annoy 26. “While you were taming the shrew, some one was planting a bomb under ANZAC bridge.” He informed her sarcastically.
“So” 26 groaned not really giving a damn. She couldn’t even remember which bridge he was talking about.
“Well we have the guy here and we have a small problem trying to get him to spill his info. We want you and the shrew to come down and have a nice chat to him…”
“ Why 73?” 26 asked, now fully awake and struggling to make herself part with her warm bed.
“We’ve been told that she’s really good at getting people to confess.” He replied.
“Yeah okay give us 45 then.” She replied seeing no point in arguing with him. She hung up and tumbled towards 73’s room. She wasn’t there. Erin decided that she could have fallen asleep on the sofa. She really hated it when people fell asleep on the sofa. She walked down stairs….
The sight, which awaited her, would have been too much to bear for any one at 4.30am.
“Serves you right for drinking so much.” 26 snapped at her unsympathetically handing her a packet of panadoles and a bottle of water, Thank god for 24-hour pharmacies, 26 thought amused.
73 closed her eyes in pain accepting 26’s accusations with out objection. She swallowed down seven tablets and washed them down with half a bottle of water. 26 wondered what the limit was for an average person.
“I am never gonna go near alcohol again.” 73 vowed.
At least I’m getting some where. 26 thought bitterly. This girl didn’t seem to know her own limits.
“ I heard you’re good at pulling confessions out of people.” 26 said, as she slowly turned the corner. Legally she wasn’t allowed to drive, but been a UNSI agent she had many privileges.
“Yeah I am." The girl said softly. She played the innocent role brilliently." But most of them end up dead after-wards.” 73 added carelessly.
26 searched the girl’s face for any trace of sarcasm but her expression was dead honest. 26 decided that she didn’t want to know too much about 73’s personality. The report had told her quiet a lot about her life but not personality.
Born in Rome
Parents killed in error …1986
Trained in Rome till 6
Went on first mission at six and kills…
Then there was a list of all the countries she had served in. That would explain her accent! 26 finally solved the puzzle that had been bugging her, cursing her own stupidity.
AS they entered the UNSI building 73 couldn’t help but note the similarities between all the other UNSI headquarters she had also been to, they all had gray walls and red seats, and there was a very faint but still noticeable odor of dried blood.
Once again 73 stood in front of a table in an almost empty room , about to receive her orders.
Mr Edward Felin sat behind his desk. He would have once seemed like a superior being to 73, but now he was just a man. He welcomed her to Sydney and filled in all the usual papers: 73 did as she was told charming everyone with her innocent side.
She looked so innocent that the agents who had been calling her the shrew now wondered if she was even an agent…. Yet amidst all this everything else about the girl urged she was an agent…a killer. Felin observed this with a small smile, which did little to light up his gloomy face.
“C. Contanti is in room 2.6B ready for questioning." He informed them.
As they walked to the room 26 noticed a confidence boost in 73, as though she was…home…?
“Now 7— 73 don’t be too aggressive or you’ll scare him, and if he’s sure he’s gonna die then he’s not gonna wanna talk.” 26 said.
73 nodded and grabbed the cold metal doorknob in her own warm fists.
“Clover Contanti…how are we today?” 26 began, sitting across from him and putting an unusually thin folder on to the table.
73 sat down on the edge of the table; Contanti glanced at her unwillingly and then forced himself to look away.
Noticing 73’s effect on Contanti 26 decided that they must have met before, and gladly noted the fear burning in his eyes.
73 kept silent. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t do or say anything unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Mr Contanti, I’m not going to tell you that there are two ways to do this. Cause there is only one way Mr Contanti.” 26 moved her face down level with him. “And I will make you speak.”
26 continued pressing the young man for information, but he was very hard to break. Even after two hours of restless work, she still wasn’t getting anywhere.
“Can I speak with you for a moment?” 73 asked breaking her silence. Contanti’s eyes flamed up with fear again. 26 frowned frustrated, but moved towards the door.
“This has better be good?” She warned 73, once they were outside. “It is. I have an idea.” 73 offered. 26 didn’t object so she continued. “I’ve worked on this guy before, he’s not gonna break that easily.”
“Well sorry miss hot shot, but I didn’t see you contribute anything in there” 26 shot frustrated.
“ I thought you’d prefer me to shut up and stay out of your way.” 73 explained defensively.
“What made you think that?” 26 snapped at her, holding her head to stop herself from screaming. “Any way what’s your idea?”
“Give him coffee- lots of it. And then when he needs to go…Well you get the idea.” 73 offered.
26 hid a smile. The reports she had read were right. This could easily be a blood thirsty agent.
“Okay. I’ll go get the coffee…and by the way, cover your emotion 73.” 26 snapped wondering if 73’s excitement was going to cause any problem.
73 nodded her head and slipped back into the room.. Contanti stiffened with fear. At first he was trying not to look at the agent in black, but soon he gave up and followed her every move.
“So. Contanti. We meet again. I told you we would didn’t I?” 73 began. She pulled on a cold smile that sent shivers down Contanti’s back. Circling around Contanti she noticed a video camera. She quickly walked up to it and disconnected the wires.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Contanti demanded, forgetting his position. “Well I don’t want them to come rushing to save you. What’s wrong? Having a little flash back are we?” She mocked him.
Suddenly Contanti ran to the door, grabbing the doorknob in both hands and begging it to open. Of course it didn’t. 73 didn’t move very quickly, but moments later she grabbed him by the hair and pushed him forcefully into the seat. She held his head in her hand pressing her fingers into his skull as hard as she could, she looked in his eyes. “No-one will hear you scream and no-one will see you die.” She said in a cold bitter and in human tone. “And the only way out is to tell me what I need to know.” She added dryly. “ Never” He choked out. He was in pain from 73’s fingers pressed against his skull.
“You will tell me what I need to know.” She warned him trough-gritted teeth. He made no reply. Anger over taking her, 73 pushed him back , pressing her palm onto his face to add to the force of the clash.
There was a sickening sound as Contanti’s skull collided with the hard concrete floor.
“You want me to kill you like I killed your brother?” 73 screamed at him. Blood had began to sip trough the wound on his head, the smell making 73 all the more determined to get the interview over with.
He didn’t reply. For a moment the only sound was of their heavy breathing. Once again 73 pulled him out of his seat, this time ramming him into the wall brutally. She heard the crack of his skull.
A fresh stream of blood began falling down the side of his face, covering his ear. 73 knew she had blood on her hand, She could feel the warm sticky liquid between her fingers as she once again pushed Contanti into his seat. She pushed him in front of the tape recorder.
“You’re gonna die Contanti. You’re gonna die slowly and painfully.” She said mildly. She was so close that some of the blood on his ear had rubbed onto her lips, she didn’t bother with wiping it off.
“Okay. Please stop….” He groaned in pain. “Just promise to make it clean.”
A self-satisfactory smile threatened to show it self but 73 hid it well enough.
She was welcomed by the unmistakable foulness of blood. Then the sound of a gun was heard, and she saw the limp body of Contanti falling down in the center of the room. Then her eyes caught 73, putting her gun away calmly.
“Oh good, coffee.” 73’s eyes lightened to their natural colour as she saw the white cups in 24’s hands. The young man was staring at her dumb bound.
“Why the fuck did you kill him you stupid—” 26 began yelling, shocked. “Calm down, I got the info out of him. It’s all on the tape” She reassured her.
26 relaxed taking a sip of her coffee. 73 took a big gulp of coffee feeling more awake as the refreshing liquid poured down her throat.
“I don’t know what you put into those meat pies , but they had a pretty good effect.”
