2013.10.06 - It is Not Personal

The normally bustling Underwater HYDRA Base is significantly less bustling. Although the lighting is mostly artificial, the scientists and operatives tend to follow a fairly regular 'day' schedule, which means that the only ones actively walking about at this time of day are the security forces. All except for two men, who are walking in a deliberate fashion in front of one of the hangar bay doors. One, a middle-aged, bespectacled man who appears to be reading data off of a relatively fancy tablet. The other, a man with a Red Skull where his head should be.
"... so we'll be shutting down Pylon 4 for at least a week in order to get the upgrades online as quickly as possible. We'll need to send quite a few non-essential personnel to temporary housing at one of our adjacent bases in the meantime, which means the security detail will have to be reduced. It's my recommendation that you take up lodging aboard your ship while the..."
"Nein!" The Red Skull cuts off the man before he can finish his thought, but he does it in a way that doesn't really come across as rude. His voice is free of agitation, his tone business-like. "This will not be necessary. I have complete faith in my personal guards. The HYDRA troops can be reduced as much as you see fit. My concern is for the reduced traffic to our base necessitated by the pylon shutdown. Will we be able to ship the materials that our little building project will require in a timely fashion? Any significant deviation from the offered timeline will not be accepted."
The men converse in this manner for some time, as they have apparently been doing for at least an hour, if the wearied look on the bespectacled man's face is any indication. However, the look on his face shifts from wearied to worried quickly as he receives a message on his tablet.
"Sir, we have an unidentified ship docking in this very bay!" He frantically pushes buttons on his tablet. "I've alerted security, but we must get you out of here immediately!"
Sin pops some more Alieve. "Shit, is this seriously all you have?" She sounds grumpy. It has been three years, three long years where she wasn't even in control of her own mind. She's angry, pissed, rageful, and very, very sore. Still, she likes the outfit her 'savior' gave her. She approves of the red leather and tight black pants.
The red hair dye? Sin could have kissed them for that nice touch. It's as if they figured, she wouldn't want any reminders from her 'temporary life'. A life she thought was reality only thirteen hours prior.
Still, Sin has a cut on her left cheek held closed by two butterfly band-aids, and there is some swelling. She has a busted lip, and she moves a little stiffy. Her 'savior' wasn't very kind in his saving, not that Sin appears to be complaining except for the lack of heavier pain killers.
Her savior just stares at her for a bit, before reaching to send an automated security code to the base. It is a code that would be registered as part of HYDRA co-ops. They move with efficiency to dock when the underwater craft arrives at the base. However, they don't even have time to stand up after docking before Sin is already moving to open the hatch.
Sin is grinning. It reopens the split in her lip and causes some blood to well and more pain, but she doesn't care. She's honestly happy for the first time in a while; she is home. She moves with confidence through the docking bay, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach that makes her secretly want to run to a corner and throw up. Sin's hand moves to hit the button to open the sliding doors that Red Skull and his assistant were standing behind, at least a few short minutes ago.
On the other side of the door, quite a bit has happened in just a few short moments. The Skull has neglected his advisor's counsel, at least partially. Partially because, while he's still in front of the hangar door, he's standing behind twelve HYDRA guards in full body armor who have automatic rifles aimed directly at the door. More of them are pouring in from a doorway off to the left, sealing off exits and setting up intersecting lanes of fire.
The Skull himself has pulled out an old Astra Model 900 that looks like it would be better off in a museum than in the hands of a soldier. However, he hasn't trained it on the door like the rest of the troops. Instead, he stands with both of his hands behind his back, striking a pose that could be read as either intimidating or inviting, depending greatly upon one's point of view.
"Sir, they've submitted a confirmation code, but I recommend that we hold position to be safe, as the craft has already..."
It's at that moment that the doors 'whoosh' open in a manner befitting a high-tech underwater base. The safeties on some of the rifles are audibly clicked to the 'fire' position, and for a split second it looks as if a volley of bullets is about to rain down on whoever had the nerve to step through the door. But instead of a large attacking force, a small wetworks team, or even a single bad-ass operative, the group is faced with... a bruised and battered youngish girl.
"Hold your fire!" The Red Skull's look is, as usual, hard to read due to the severe lack of facial tissue. However, it's clear that this isn't what even he was expecting.
"Ah. You're still alive."
Sin's grin slips, "Wise of them," and she scowls at the soldiers. But she is soon quickly distracted, and grins again even as a bit of blood drips down her chin from her lower lip when she is acknowledged by her Father, but then it hits her...he didn't order her rescue, he didn't even know. Her smile slips a bit, but still remains mostly in place, "Well, least you still recognize your own Daughter, so must not have changed that much."
Sin then stands up straighter and salutes, while still half grinning, half smiling, "Ready to report back to duty." And that is when her savior comes in behind her, acknowledging Red Skull respectfully though they say nothing. Least Red Skull now knows who saved his daughter and brought her back...and likely who messed her up too, as it looks like their work. Still, Sin doesn't seem nervous around them or unhappy with them...which may seem a little 'odd' considering her temper.
"Yes. Quite."
The Skull looks around the room at the soldiers who are still following protocol to the letter. One of them approaches the newly-arrived pair with some sort of wand-like device attached to a monitor. He waves it up and down in front of both of them, and then stares at the results on his screen. With a voice slightly muffled by his HYDRA-issued mask, the soldier calls out to the Skull "They're both clean, sir."
In the meantime, Red Skull returns the salute quickly. "Excellent." In a much louder voice, he addresses everyone in the room. "I appreciate your quick response men, but this has apparently been a false alarm. You may all return to your posts and scheduled assignments." The various group leaders begin the relatively quick process of getting their men to move out in an orderly fashion, leaving only a couple of troops to guard the area and inspect the craft that showed up so recently.
Looking squarely at the operative who brought his daughter home, the Red Skull does little more than nod. "I look forward to hearing your full report in the morning. In the meantime, you are not to speak of this to anyone, understood? And you..." He shifts his gaze to his erstwhile daughter and shifts his comments to the more natural-sounding German << Come with me. We have much to discuss. >>
And the pair are found to be armed and dangerous, but no spy devices or chemical agents. How nice.
There is a salute from the operative in respect and a firm nod in obedience. They then turn and take their leave. Sin waves after them, "Bye! See you later sweetie!"
Sin then winces slightly at the slight scolding, << Yes Father. >> She starts to move to his side to walk with him, though he will be the first through any of the narrower doorways that only permit one at a time. She is silent for right now, worrying her lower lip and sucking on the blood there as she raises the back of her hand to wipe the dripped blood from her chin. She has black gauntlets on which hide the blood stain well, though they are fingerless.
Stealthily, Johann returns the pistol to it's hidden holster, managing to do so right as he turns to walk in step with his daughter in order to cover up the action. << I will expect a full report from you as well, obviously. You will be thoroughly debriefed by one of our experts and your story will be thoroughly fact checked. >> His tone is strident, and he looks straight ahead as he walks. << However, that can wait until tomorrow morning, I suppose. Until then, you will speak to no one. >>
<< Great, like I am not pissed off enough I was a retard for the last three years, >> Sin mostly grumbles beneath her breath. She doesn't want to talk about it, but she will give her Father the report, and do as he orders. She blinks at the scars comment, a shy smile touches her lips then, << I'll make sure they are further checked out tomorrow for proper healing. >> When she has permission to speak to people...which the first one will be an actual trained medic.
Sin keeps up with her Father's longer strides, but she isn't moving as smoothly as she should. She got the crap beat out of her and worse. Now that her Father is closer, he can notice burn marks on her arms. Luckily not deep ones, but ones that would have hurt like hell. She doesn't seem ashamed of her injuries however, Red Skull will find out why when he reads the report.
Sin is quiet for a few moments, she even opens her mouth a few times as if to speak, but then things better of it. There is so much she wants to ask, primarily amoung them being: How have you been Father? Still, it isn't exactly a proper question she should be asking, is it? Or saying: I would have missed you, if I wasn't being a retard. Yep, that would be bad too. So what does one say to their estranged Father in this difficult situation? "So, you still smoke those cigars?" Not what she meant to say, but it is what finally comes out of Sin's mouth.
"I have given up many things that are unhealthy for a man of my age. Though this has done nothing to improve my mood. I have also had to enforce a strict non-smoking policy at all of our undersea locations and aboard the fleet. This has done nothing to improve the mood of everyone else..."
He continues to take measured, deliberate steps with his hands folded behind his back. As they pass through one of the corridors, a school of luminescent fish swim by one of the overly large (for an underwater base) windows. The fish are quickly scattered by a particularly vicious-looking shark.
"Perhaps, if all goes according to my plan, the coming months will see me in better health and the two of us will have celebratory cigars on dry land? I believe you are old enough now to smoke, are you not?"
"Seriously?" That draws a frown from Sin about the no smoking rule, but she gets distracted by the colorful fish and, "Ooooohs," at the appearance of the shark. "Pretty." But her head then whips forward again, and she starts paying close attention once more. A snort, at the old enough, "Does it even matter? But I guess. With the aging and deaging crap, who knows for sure."
Still, the girl worries and sucks on her lower lip again. She really should stop it with her lip busted like that. But she looks up at her Father side-long, "You really going to be alright, right?" It isn't asked of the girl from the mentality that she will inherit, it's asked with a need for reassurance that her Father is going to be okay. The loyalty is still there, so that should lighten the weight on Johann's shoulders a little bit that Sin isn't appearing just to stab him in the back while he is at his weakest physically.
"These are things that are best saved for a conversation tomorrow after your debriefing. Ah... here we are." At the end of this particular corridor, the sign on the wall says 'Secure Medbay.' The door looks incredibly sturdy, and is locked in place with an actual hatch.
From an adjoining corridor, several personnel in lab coats are approaching the same door. One of them opens the hatch, and turns the lights on inside. Inside, an examination table that toes the line between science fiction and medieval forms the centerpiece of the room.
"You will stay here tonight. My experts will give you a thorough examination and see to your injuries. Remember that you are not to speak to anyone, but do as the doctors tell you."
The medical personnel begin setting things up, while Johann curtly takes his leave of his daughter. Taking one of the doctors aside as he is on his way to the door, he says in a low voice. "I need a full blood workup, and I need you to be absolutely certain that our agent has brought back the right female. Keep her under close observation for the night." He looks over at the girl he essentially led to a cell. "And see that she's properly cleaned and fed when you've finished your examination. I want her well-rested and well-nourished for tomorrow."
And it hits Sin what her Father means by isolation. She tries not to take it personal, cause it really isn't. But...it still hurts. She doesn't look at her Father; she just nods, not saying anything at all. She won't speak again, until given permission. Hopefully, the medics are wise enough to tread carefully around her, because her hurt and anger can easily be directed toward them instead. Yep, he totally got the same Sin back, the one that can grin manically while beating a boy to death since she was little.
The first thing she does though is start to disarm herself, moving over to a table to carefully and methodically place her weaponry out over it. Less chance she would kill them if she lost her temper, and thus displease her Father.
Category:Log