Drip... Drip... Drip...

Her eyelids felt weighted. Though the shipping container was empty from what she could tell, she could feel a presence in the space with he. But even if she could see through her swollen and bruised eyes, she wasn't sure she wanted to know who was there.

Step, step, step.

A deep sigh withered her lungs. She wasn't ready for another round of beating, and her mouth curved down as she braced for a foot to jab into her ribs.

"You're laying down?"

Novaleen lifted her head off the metal floor at the sound of the familiar voice. "Howl?"

The Captain took a seat beside her, groaning with the effort. "You were always so determined, the first one back on your feet after a hit."

"That was when I was younger and stronger." She closed her eyes again, head falling back to the ground. "But now I'm worn and tired."

"Yeah," he chuckled sadly as his fingers traced over the weeping holes in his chest. "Me too..."

"... I'm going to die here in this container, aren't I?"

Anger burned in his blue eyes. "You are not gonna die here. You cannot die here."

"Then how am I supposed to get out?" she snapped. "I'm too weak to get out on my own, and anyone who could help me is either imprisoned as well or..." Novaleen looked at his chest and frowned.

"Dead..." he said softly, covering the weeping bullet holes in his coat with his fingers. "I know."

She covered her face with her hands, tears stinging her eyes. "This is all my fault..."

"No it's not."

"If I had just stayed put, if I had just waited for your orders..." She wiped away her tears only for more to roll down her cheeks and into the furrow of her scar. "You all died and I just got this fucking scar..."

Howl nodded solemnly, pushing his black hair out of his teal eyes. "I know it hurts... but it wasn't your fault. I would have come back for you whether or not you had stayed on that hill... hell you could have died of you had stayed. We were set up on that mission; there's no guarantee that any of us would have survived that mission, regardless of your actions."

She looked up at him, feeling a sense of comfort at his words; she had missed his patience and wisdom. Novaleen sighed, feeling a twinge in her ribs and she winced. "All right... you're right... but what do I do now? How do I get out?"

"Take a deep breath."

"What..?"

"Do it," he commanded, firmer this time. "And keep breathing."

Novaleen drew in as deep a breath as she could, a searing pain cutting up her side before she let it out. She took another, and another, and another until her muscles and nerves released. "Okay... But how does that get me out?"

"You see things better when your mind is clear." Howl rose to his feet. "Graves is using you draw out your friends. Don't give him the satisfaction. Don't scream. Don't cry for help. Hold your tongue. Keep your wits about you, stay alive, and when you see a chance, take it."

"A chance? Like an escape?"

"Don't just look for the first open door. Wait until you have a clear way out. If you can fight, fight, and if you have to evade, evade. But learn from your past; don't react, prepare. Have a plan, and get out alive."

"Hey..."

Novaleen's eyes strained and fluttered, dry and puffy from crying. A deep emptiness clutched her heart to see Howl was gone and her dream had dissolved like alum in water. She was alone again.

"Hey... saco de boxeo, levántate.- Hey, punching bag, get up."

She furrowed her brows uncertainly and rolled over, regretting the motion as she crushed every bruise and broken bone under her own weight. She flattened her zip-tied hands under her to support her aching back. "Oh, fuck... What do you want?"

Valeria's cold face was creased with worried lines and she set her brows. "Was starting to think he killed you..."

"And why should I think you give a damn?"

"Corpses stink after a few hours, I didn't want it to smell in here."

Novaleen took a deep breath, shaking at its height as the pain pierced her lungs. "Sure, sure... Why hasn't he beaten you yet?"

The drug lord sneered at her, the corner of her mouth snarling up to reveal her bone-white teeth. "You think he hasn't? That he doesn't want to? He keeps demanding I tell him where that cabrón Hassan is, but I haven't heard from him in days, and even if he has resurfaced, I'm in here with no communications." She spat venomously at the floor. "I told me he would let me go..."

"He's holding you here just to torture you..."

"No different than what he's doing to you, chica."

"No," Novaleen said, stronger this time. "Graves killed Hassan three days ago."

Valeria's calm demeanor slipped. "He what?"

"Hassan has been dead for three days, left somewhere in the dessert, Philip has no reason to hold you here."

"How do I know you're not lying to me?"

"What do I have to gain by lying to you?"

CLANG!

The door banged open and the light from outside poured into the dark container, illuminating their red and purple faces. Valeria was gnashing her teeth. "¡Maldito pedazo de mierda!- Fucking piece of shit!" she howled. "¡Has estado mintiendo todo este tiempo! ¡Cómo te atreves!- You've been lying to me this whole time! How dare you!"

Graves didn't slow his pace as he walked up to her and threw an open-handed slap from his shoulder. Valeria's chair fell over and she grunted as the wind was knocked out of her. "Shut the fuck up, bitch." He turned his soulless eyes on Novaleen and grasped a fist full of her strawberry blonde hair. She winced but didn't make a sound. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?"

"Ghost!" He shook her like a dog by its scruff. "And Soap, where did they go?"

"How should I know?"

"You know them the best of any of us. They found us on the com, but they haven't come here yet. What is going on?"

"I don't know, you did try to kill them at the gates..."

He threw her to the floor and her face collided with it. For a moment, she could have sworn she felt two of her molars come loose as blood filled her mouth. Graves stepped on her neck and she felt a chill run up her spine. "You think you're being smart. But don't forget who in this situation holds all the power."

The pain in her neck grew dizzying and she fought to breathe. Her mouth gaped in a futile attempt to inhale, but all she could do was noiselessly, fruitlessly bob her jaws open and closed, her vision turning red from the pressure. "Philip... Graves.... Please...."

"You fuck!" Valeria screeched from her place on the ground. "Why are you doing this?"

Philip looked over his shoulder, continuing to put his weight down on Novaleen's neck. "I've left too many loose ends. It's time to clean house."