(Callum Kursinski^^)

     Only a half an hour later, I stood with Dakota, Royce, Saratoga, and Teddy behind opaque glass. We looked up the three L.A.C.E. agents who were all mostly unconscious aside from Artur who was beginning to stir a little bit. Each of them were laid upon a large medical like gurney with their wrists and ankles sealed in metal restraints that were not unlike the ones I had been trapped in only an hour earlier. 

The four DCL agents still regarded me with cool reserve which I found suiting. They had no reason to trust me and I of course had no reason to trust them either. I was still a caught criminal and they were still my captors.

However, if we were going to work together to take down L.A.C.E. once and for all, perhaps that would change.

Director Chandler suddenly entered the room with long strides. "How are the L.A.C.E. agents fairing?" The Director asked inquisitively, referring to three unconscious adults behind the opaque glass.

Royce gave a complacent shrug "They should all live. Their heart rates are all consistent and there's been no adverse effect from the tranquilizers thus far,".

Artur's grey eyes slowly began to open groggily. After the way I pummeled him into the floor I doubt he could even see straight. I didn't feel any pity for him either, he's lucky I didn't break his neck.

"Did you find anything about them in the data system?" The Director asked turning to Saratoga.

She shook her head. "Not much. Their faces don't register anywhere. The only things I could find were cold missing children cases about each one of them," She replied with a small glance to where I stood that I took notice of.

"Something isn't right," Dakota announced suddenly in his deep flat tone. Several heads turned to him.

"What do you mean?" I asked turning to the taller man who was standing right next to me.

Dakota made a simple gesture with his right hand.

"These agents are very well trained and valuable. Why would L.A.C.E. waste such assets?" Dakota asked matter of factly.

I took a moment to think about it. The Masters of L.A.C.E. always had a reason for everything they did. No matter how sinister the motive or plot was.

"These agents are good but they aren't top agents," I replied honestly. I had been a top agent during my time. Artur had even been top agent at one time since he was one of the first agents to have powerful telekinesis. However, I ended up replacing him due to my stronger ability. The Master's favoritism of me over him just drove him farther over the edge.

Saratoga made a disbelieving expression "How? That kid over there can't be any older than 20 yet he was almost as good at hand to hand as Dakota," She argued.

Dakota arched a dark brow in what appeared to be indignation. He obviously didn't enjoy being compared to Callum.

"And that girl could make things explode by just touching them." Teddy added.

I nodded in agreement "They are powerful, yes. But Callum is very young, he may be fast and a good fighter, but his technique is raw and he is immature. Leah is powerful but L.A.C.E. wants elusive assassins who can leave a murder scene completely undetected. Being able to explode things doesn't really help that. And Artur, the other man, is kind of a nut case. Not to mention, he is pretty old for a L.A.C.E. agent at 47 years," I listed off evenly.

Director Chandler breathed in this information with ease. I'm sure he would have loved to have Specials like Callum and Leah within the midst of the DCL. To him they were probably hopeful assets gone to waste. Maybe they could have served a better life had they been in the DCL.

Or maybe he simply felt pity for them. I wasn't sure.

"Those are all logical reasons I suppose," Director Chandler noted, not sounding totally convince.

Teddy stepped forward with his hand at the base of his neck, covering the waxy scar underneath. "Sir, I don't mean to rush or anything but seeing as some of those agents are waking up. Maybe we should, you know, start getting information out of them," Teddy stated. I noticed his voice was uncommonly formal and serious as he spoke to the Director.

Director Chandler turned to me "Ms.Sterling, didn't you say something earlier about telepathic abilities?" He asked.

I nodded in confirmation before Saratoga stepped.

"Director, are you actually considering the possibility that we let Harper here go do her mind reading upon L.A.C.E. agents? They are still her former associates," She asked. I wanted to snap something at her but she was right to be suspicious.

"Right as always Sara, however L.A.C.E. will be aware of their failure very soon. It could take days to interrogate these agents ourselves. Our best option is Ms.Sterling I'm quite afraid," The Director replied without the slightest hesitation.

"But sir, can we trust her?" Saratoga asked lowering her voice as if she somehow hoped I wouldn't hear her from 5 feet away.

I gave a small huff "I know none of you trust me and I respect that, but the Director is right. If any of those agents know where L.A.C.E. is currently located or where the Masters are, then I will too. If I can have maybe 20 minutes in there." I stated confidently.

The rooms occupants exchanged wary glances at one another.

The Director on the other hand gave a pleased look "You heard her, 20 minutes." Chandler stated glancing behind him to the two armored guards at the door.

"But there is one thing." I said quickly.

"What's that?" Royce asked from behind me.

"There is a long term side effect of my telepathic invasions. You wouldn't mind if I leave one or two of these agents braindead would you?" I asked bluntly. The mind was a fragile thing and if I didn't tread carefully or went too far into another's subconsciousness they would lose inner brain function. Or simply die from sudden heart attack or brain aneurysm afterwords.

It just depended on the person.

The Director quirked a brow "I wouldn't," He replied indifferently.

I nodded in understanding "Good," I said lastly before walking past him to the two armored guard who hesitantly opened the door.

I flexed my fingers in anticipation as I walked into the white four walled room that resembled the interrogation room I had woken up in. I was just about to make my way to where Artur laid before I heard quiet footsteps behind me. I turned to see none other than the ever stoic and strongly featured Dakota Gray right behind me. "What are you doing?" I asked coming to a full stop.

He didn't miss a beat "Providing backup." He stated blandly as if it was perfectly obvious.

I gave a doubtful look "They're all strapped down to tables and mostly unconscious, I think back up is kind of unnecessary," I countered.

"Then consider me as moral support" He replied simply, not missing a beat. I almost smiled from his over usage of blunt language.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You're just in here incase I for some reason decide to help them escape or do something else equally foolish, aren't you?" I asked matter of factly.

I might have been imagining it but I think the very corner of his lip turned up in what might pass for a grin. "Those are your words Ms.Sterling, not mine," He claimed in a flat tone.

A small, fleeting grin unwillingly appeared on my face.

I held up my hands in mock surrender but didn't say anything in return. I turned back to look upon Artur who had completely regained consciousness now. His grey eyes were wide open and had a certain psychotic gleam to them. His vascular muscle veins were bulging from under the thick skin of his arm as he pulled against the restraints that didn't budge. His black shirt tightened over his broad chest when he arched his back. Artur's wrinkled forehead furrowed in dense determination.

He looked just as he always had with a mostly shaved head, thick set eyebrows, and the long scar that ran from the corner of his mouth and down his neck. The scar was his major identification mark that he told me came from a shrapnel shard during his earlier days with L.A.C.E..

He continued to strain against the metal confinements until he finally stopped to glare at me. "Filthy traitor!" Artur spat out with droplets of spittle escaping from his mouth with each word. At the corners of his thin lips there was an accumulation of white foam that reminded me of a rabid dog.

During my training, I used to be scared of Artur. He was always so relentless and tough on me. He never held back anything during our sparring or discipline hours.

He could never be as terrible as Dr. Ortega, but he sure tried to be.

Now, I actually felt pity for him. Artur was so warped and brainwashed by L.A.C.E. that he wouldn't ever get another chance at life.

Not like I hopefully would.

"I'm not going to be the traitor Artur, you are." I replied faultlessly. Artur looked confused for a second until he saw my hands that were slowly rising. I lifted my hands to his face delicately, as if handling a glass ornament.

Artur's crazed eyes flickered to both of my hands that were better closer to his face. He knew what was coming next and struggled even more to get out of his restraints.

"No! I won't! Stop! Get away from me!" He pleaded and yelled but it was all in vain. I placed my hands around his cheeks. When my hands came into contact with his sweaty, clammy skin it was game over for him. He could struggle as much as he wanted but it would make no difference.

I delved into his troubled mind as soon as my hands came into contact with his temples. My grasp on his feeble mind spanned out like the roots of a plant expanding to grasp firm ground. The familiar falling sensation that came from mind linking washed over me. Sorting through his memories, emotions, and thoughts was kind of like going through a massive filing cabinet. It was like flicking through endless folders until I came across what I needed. Occasionally, I could feel him struggle under my grasp feebly but he had no chance of escape. I analytically went through out the inner membranes of his subconscious and the varying machinations of his brain. While it was tedious work and seemed to take nearly an entire day to do, I did come away with some interesting results.

As it turns out, L.A.C.E. currently had a hidden base in the Kaskasapakte mountain range in Sweden. The range was only accessible by either snowmobile or helicopter. The base itself was built into the mountain. I quickly learned the layout of the new L.A.C.E. facility through Artur's memories including where the entry ways were. I wasn't surprised by this remote and desolate location as when I had been a part of L.A.C.E. we had had home bases in the glaciers of Siberia, the arid deserts of Mongolia, and even an underground base in the hills of Estonia.

The Masters would commonly move us around as to always be one step ahead. They never liked staying in the same place for too long.

I also found out that agent 4 was currently on an away mission in Venezuela. Apparently, he was looking to assassinate a major drug lord. This was majorly beneficial to us since that meant agent 10 and maybe 19 would be the main worries. They were both strong and very powerful Specials yet if we could take at least one of them down early on it may not be quite so difficult to over power the others.

Theoretically anyway.

The entire process only took around 10 minutes but for me it felt more like an hour. But thankfully, telepathic invasions didn't take much energy. It was almost second nature for me to invade another being's mind at this point.

I re emerged into full consciousness once I finally released Artur from my grasp. The bright lights blinded me for just a second before I blinked once to adjust. I took a deep breath before turning to look at Dakota who had been standing there watching me the entire time. He stood tall with his slender hands clasped casually in front of him. His face was still a mask devoid of emotion.

"Well that was at least successful," I noted as I looked back at Artur who now stared blankly up at the ceiling. His grey eyes were now dormant as clear drool seeped down his chin.

"No hard feelings Artie," I said softly, giving Artur's shoulder a pat, as if I hadn't just rendered him braindead.

"I trust you found what we need?" Dakota inquired curiously. He eyed Artur briefly as the incapacitated man sputtered something unintelligible that sounded mostly like mindless babbling. Dakota was probably coming to the realization that I could have somehow done the same thing to him back in the alley way when I had temporarily connected to his mind. Of course I could never cause so much damage in a just a few seconds, witch was beneficial for him. It took at least five to ten minutes for me to leave permanent damage on another's mind.

"Yea, I got it all," I replied as I began walking to the door but stopped halfway when I walked past Callum who laid entirely unconscious on the table. The only sign that he was still alive was the consistent and slow rise and fall of his chest. His youthful face was pale and mared slightly by two shallow gashs on the underside of his chin that had been closed with butterfly stitches. They must have been from Saratoga and her talon nails. It was just a scratch and probably wouldn't need real stitches but it would leave a nice scar.

Callum's ability had always intrigued me. He was a hybrid Special of an electric eel. Granted he wasn't all slimy like one but he could breathe underwater and swim at well over olympic speeds.

It's too bad callum never got the chanxe to be in the Speical Olympics. Callum would have easily destroyed so many records.

Most useful however, was his electrical abilities that had been especially enhanced during the experimentation period. He could electrocute someone to death if he wanted too. I had even felt his electrical abilities on occasion myself during training.

I gently reached out a hand and brushed his curly blonde hair off of his forehead. It was rather strange that the Masters would send him of all people to detain me. "I wonder if they sent him as a message to me?" I asked out loud. I had actually gotten to know him quite a bit when I had been his trainor. He had always been sort of shy and quiet person but oddly humane.

Of course we could never share our history or past with one another since neither of us could remember any of it. So I never really got to know the real Callum who supposedly was kidnapped from Poland. However, we would sometimes talk about other agents and old missions. He had always been enraptured by my telepathic abilities.

Sometimes, I even ate the bland lunch provided to us by L.A.C.E. with the Polish boy on occasion.

"What kind of message?" Dakota asked with partial interest in his voice. He stood on the other side of the gurney with his lean, muscular arms crossed over his chest.

"I had been one of his trainers when I was apart of L.A.C.E.." I began. Fresh memories of our long afternoons on the sparring mats and in the shooting range came to mind.

"I was what most L.A.C.E. agents would call a 'lenient' trainor. I gave him less reps and didn't try to break him like I was ordered to do. I was merciful. Humane." I continued as my eyes stayed trained on Callum's closed eyes. "The serum could force me to do many things, being cruel to a child was not one of them."

"But one day, one of the Masters took notice of my kindness," I continued.

"What happened?" Dakota asked blankly with just the tiniest sliver of curiosity.

I took a slow inhale before answering. "Master Zurich was not pleased. So he punished us. He forced Callum to endure an unusually long session of electric shock therapy with higher amps than usual. And they made me watch," I explained. My chest seemed to grow tight as I vividly recalled just how much pain Callum went through that day. Callum was already capable of withstanding more electricity than normal due to his ability but even he had his limitations. I hadn't been able to hear his screams through the glass but they weren't hard to imagine. That day seemed so long ago now yet I could still remember the fine details perfectly.

He wasn't able to return back to training for half a week and by then, Agent 10 had been transfered to be his trainer.

Dakota was silent for a few seconds as he registered this sinister information. "At least now I finally have the chance to kill them," I spat aggressively. I so badly wanted to rip L.A.C.E. apart. To tear it from its foundations and watch it burn.

"That you will." Dakota said supportively as his dark eyes met my pale brown ones. I gave a sly smirk before we finally left the interrogation room.

I quickly relayed all of the information to the Director and the rest of the Specials including Dakota. Director Chandler seemed to think an up front attack would be the most effective since at least we would have an element of surprise. At least, sort of. L.A.C.E. would be on its heels once it came to the realisation that their agents failed. If we could catch them before they managed to escape that would be ideal

Seeing as we would most likely be attacking them upfront, I made sure to talk briefly about the agents we might be facing. Including what I knew of the different agent's mutations which ranged from reptilian qualities to super strength. Thankfully, we wouldn't have to worry about agent 4, since according to Artur's memories, he was on an away mission halfway across the world.

Director Chandler decided to send in a small army of agents to take apart L.A.C.E. in high hopes of some sort of mega ambush. We would be having top agents from several agencies coming to help us. The CIA and even the D.O.D. had agreed to assisting the DCL in the ambush. I was to be apart of the small task force that would be on the front lines of the ambush.

Dakota, Teddy, Saratoga, and Royce would all be fighting along side of me.

This plan almost gave me hope that maybe we could actually rid the world of L.A.C.E.'s presence once and for all. But even with all of the reinforcements, I knew deep down that L.A.C.E. was at least one step ahead.

They always were.