'What happened?' Kane asked her, later. 'I should tell you - Mark will need at least three months - I think more. But what happened - and why was this room locked?!'

Alexandra told him, and she trembled when the part about the murder she had committed arrived, hardly knowing that it was just the beginning. Kane's face underwent almost one percent change throughout the whole retelling - but Alexandra had learned to read him better. His eyes told the real story. And they underwent the rest ninety nine percent of it.

'So-' he began, but there was again a hammering on the door, and he got up to receive the other two Agents - who were still half wet from the morning rains.

And then the usual: they asked each other what had took place and shared notes.

Alexandra looked out of the window as Kane repeated her part of the story to them, when he had finished, Watson opened his mouth as if to say something, but Alexandra began before him.

'I'm going back there, tomorrow.' She declared.

The three other spies remained silent. Then, 'You don't need to, Mabel.' Said Daniel, 'It isn't our job to.'

'I understand that,' she replied, getting up. 'But the reason that man caught us, was because we stayed too long. And we stayed for too long because Mark wanted to help this family - whoever they are. I'm doing it. I'm - I don't mind doing it alone. But I will.'

'Look, Mabel - be practical, Mark's already bedridden. The rest of us need to continue taking up other locations,' Kane pointed out, for all his practicality, he didn't understand the emotions behind her decision. Perhaps he was wiser, perhaps being like that was easier, and a lot safer. 

'And that means: no groups. You will be ... really alone. And it won't be safe.' Watson added.

'What is safe?' Alexandra asked him, tossing Moira on the table. 'I haven't seen safe since I joined this council. I'm sure I won't see it ahead either. Somebody needs to do the unsafe work. And Mark gave his word to Dylan - that we would rescue the rest of these terrorist-slaves. They are not happy. All I have to do is appeal to their senses. And even if I fail - it will be better than sitting here and regretting. Saying: I could have changed so many liv-' Alexandra didn't complete, because Watson had grabbed her into an air-crushing hug.

'You're a true Captain,' he said, releasing her. 'I'm glad we're friends - I'm glad I know a hero like you.' But he finished abruptly, and Alexandra got the idea that he wanted to say something else too, something he thought he couldn't say in front of two seniors - or two anybodys for that matter. 

She hoped that if it was something along the lines of what she had unwillingly (and very helplessly) developed for Liam, the thing she was trying to cast away and hide, even from herself. If it was something like that, she hoped he would never confess it, because if that became the case, she would have to...

It was too early for such protracted speculation. Alexandra laughed besides herself and pushed him away, 'Come on, Elf!' She said, 'You say like it's my funeral tomorrow!'

'Stop inviting the Devil, you crazy lass!' Daniel told her, 'I sometimes wondered what was so special in you - why were you the ONLY girl in the Council - thanks for answering that question so well.'

'And do return from this crazy trial of yours,' Kane told her, though he still looked like it would just be better if they locked her into a room like Dylan's and prevent the "crazy trial". 'So that we can all take turns throttling you.'

'I'll go twice,' Watson supplied, he seemed to shook off any ideas that were taking shape in his mind a few minutes back. 'Once from her brother's side as well.'

Alexandra only laughed in reply. This could be her last laugh. And that thought - wiped the grin off her face.

* * *

It didn't take Alexandra long the next day to find the tower back. Jade hovered somewhere overhead, in case she whistled- she would swoop right back down, to receive her note. Alexandra also decided, that this time, she wouldn't stay behind the tower. She would hide at the side...

The afternoon was too bright for her liking. The merciless sun made her sweat right, left and centre. Alexandra hated Losianish weather. It was supposed to be almost winter- it was October! Still, it was so hot here- Idgardian peak summers didn't reach anywhere near to this.

The narrow street didn't stink as much- maybe the rains yesterday had worsened it. Or had she really lost her sense of smell?

Fat chance, she told herself.

Broad daylight - and Alexandra's broad mistake.

Or huge mistake.

Or enormous mistake...

In any case, she hadn't expected to so plainly run into the terrorist leader and get caught.

But perhaps people got caught this way only - she didn't have much experience anyhow, it was her first time.

Alexandra had decided to stay the sides of the tower? Hidden? In doing so, she had done her biggest mistake. Because they were anticipating her to return. And one big man was waiting at the side. All alone- but no less intimidating. She dashed into the big, bulky man right away.

'Ouch!' She said, massaging her face, Alexandra had first thought it was a tree. Then she looked up. Goodness, Alexandra had thought.

What a scary face it was! A dirty, haggard beard was arranged till his chest, curly and even dirtier, oily hair sat on his forehead, a big, bushy moustache covered the whole of his lips, making his expression unreadable. And his eyes were just slits on his cruel face. He stank.

Alexandra pulled out her dagger. Mistake number two. The man, pulled it out of her hand as easily as if he was swatting a fly.

The younger version of Liam - pulling her pocket knife out of her grip, swam in front of Alexandra's eyes. Then, she had been no less surprised, or intimidated. But now - she'd gladly have her dagger pulled out five, six more times by Liam rather than this one time by this dirty, huge man.

However, it was done.

He looked at Moira, amused, 'This is the knife, interestingly, which has killed one of our members. Good, good.' He said, smiling, Alexandra thought he was smiling, but she couldn't see if he really was, anyhow.

And then - he, as if expecting it all along, uncorked a vial similar to the ones in which draughts were stored. Before she move a finger, he had splashed it on her face. It brought back another memory, of Aunt Sabel waking her up with an ewer of water. The vial was not a similar one, in any case, it had a remarkably strong draught in it. As soon as Alexandra inhaled, her head swam. The bearded man's face became blurred - she wobbled on her feet.

And collapsed.

When Alexandra came around, she sat in a confusing room. Things were all upturned around her hastily. There were some insects scuttling around and perhaps there was some rotting parchment here too, for the place stank of it. The walls were sprayed with a dark substance. Alexandra had a wild guess on what it was, because she could smell iron. She thought ... she thought it was - blood. Then she realized it was only the rusting iron around her, and the dark substance, as her eyes became more accustomed to the darkness, was nothing other than a hoax to scare, an illusion.

But the situation was too bad already. Her arms were tied to the chair, pulled behind her so tight that they ached. Her feet were tied together. She was in some sort of a torture chamber. That thought made her hands go cold. What would they do with her here? Was... was this payback for what she had done with Dylan?

That was my duty. Alexandra reminded herself.

Torturing you will be their duty, as well. And then again, who said Duty doesn't count as independent action? That it doesn't have reactions?

'Shut up!' She told herself, and in doing so informed the men that she was conscious. But her mind was too rebellious. It kept shooting her with unanswerable, unobjectionable lines. And all at the precisely wrong time - like it only existed to make her feel worse.

However, couldn't sit and argue with her brain. She had to think fast. Some excuse. Any excuse. But these men were criminals, not the street criminals, high profile ones who made delicate plans and used a ton of brain themselves.

They had women with them - even worse. Because for one thing, Alexandra knew how women could be much, much more dangerous than men. It really depended from person to person, still, on an average - Alexandra had full conviction that Women were dangerous creatures too- even if sometimes they appeared small and petite and powerless.

Alexandra pushed that topic away. She had to focus ... if they got to know that she was from Idgard ... now that was like buying an apple seed and getting the whole apple free on it.

Whilst she was racking her brain for an excuse, someone entered. 

It was the same man ... the Boss, she decided to think of him as - he had had that same gruff, snarling voice Alexandra had heard yesterday - and he had that aura of authority around himself that seemed to say, don't mess with me, I am very dangerous. It ached her to register, one by one, how much similar he was to Liam. A lot uglier and a utterly deplorable, but there were similarities she couldn't gloss over. That day, she realized how the same, rare qualities, when used in two different ways, made or destroyed the lives of people.

But for then, she noted that if this Boss himself was interrogating her, it was at once both good and bad. Good, because he would be alone. Bad, because he was much smarter and crueler.

'So!' He said, in his gruff, harsh voice. He had Moira in his hand - Alexandra wanted to grab her dagger back. It only belonged to her! But she was helpless.

The man came close to Alexandra, pointed it just below her chin, she raised her head to avoid it, 'Hah, scared of your own knife...' He began. 'What is your name, girl?'

Should she tell "Alexandra"?

No ... that didn't sound helpful. She had thought for two seconds only, that the Boss shifted Moira to his left hand and slapped her, he was not ambidextrous. But, as Alexandra's face flew to one side, the image of Fannel slapping Dylan flew in front of her eyes.

This IS payback, her mind shuddered..

Don't accept defeat, Kane's voice replied, Nobody can defeat you until you don't accept it, yourself.

'I asked,' He said, taking her jaw and pressing it between his fingers, 'What. Is. Your. Name? AND YOU BETTER ANSWER FAST!'

'Em-ma. Emma!' She said, hurriedly, and he released her jaw. What sort of a name was Emma? Alexandra was rather sure it didn't exist - much like Mabel. But the Boss seemed to buy it, and she was grateful.

'Em-ma.' He said, trailing Moira's tip on her hands - only a little more force and it would draw blood, 'Em-ma,' he said again and laughed, 'Full name?!' He asked, before each question, he slapped her once, as if opening up her ears.

'Just-just Emma!'

'Just Emma? I asked, full name!'

'JUST EMMA!' She yelled back, 'I was abandoned! I don't know!' The Boss looked pleased for some reason. When she had yelled out, Alexandra felt sick, seeing him look at her triumphantly. Besides, she didn't know what she was playing at.

'What were you doing there?' He asked, tracing Moira on her cheek, she felt some pain- thin, sharp pain. But was too preoccupied in thinking of an answer.

'What were you doing there?! And you were there before - this knife was there before!' He said, slapping again, then he moved away from her face, Alexandra breathed, because the stink was gone. But she had got only a second of respite when he kicked her chair hard, it fell, Alexandra saved her head from banging down by an inch.

'I was - listening!' She said.

'Listening.' The man, repeated, somebody came from behind, lifted her up, and went back. Were they watching?

The boss went back, put her knife on a plate and picked up something. Her eyes fell on it. Alexandra felt her heart had crawled into her throat. It was a handful of screws, primitive, blunt tipped screws - and a hammering tool. There was a mad gleam in the Boss' eyes. As though he would hammer the screws right into her. But presently, he moved them away, and she realized that he was only making space to confiscate Moira, because it was rather valuable dagger. The cheap act angered her further, because in a manner, she had begun loving Moira too - if anybody treated it like an object, there was objection to it. Severe objection.

'A girl...' he now said, tracing his finger on her jawline, taking it to her chest and below... Alexandra shut her eyes- thinking hard, what to do! She wanted to run away.. she hated the sight of those screws- this mad man was capable of anything. 'Another girl.'

The first: Celyn. Alexandra did not want to end up like that. She would rather die.

'Why were you listening, Emma? How much did you listen?' The man asked. But Alexandra had had enough.

She wouldn't co-operate any longer.

'STOP THAT!' she yelled, even as she did, Alexandra felt power course through her veins, Women, girls, are by no means weak. You are not weak, Fannel seemed to be whispering into her brain.

Mabel, I hate women who think they can't stand on their own, Kane added.

You're a true Captain. I'm glad we're friends, I'm glad I know a hero like you. Watson said.

That joiner was - a girl. Though now I am proud to say how wrong I had been. Master George's proud voice resounded.

You have potential for something much, much, greater, Alexandra. Being someone much greater. Liam finished, 'And I deserve much better than you!' Alexandra spat at the Boss, who seemed taken aback, for all her was worth.

And at the same time, those five forces in her - those five men who she WOULD see again, gave her a much needed support in perhaps the darkest corner of the world. 

Alexandra felt exhilarated - she rocked backwards, raising the chair on its hind legs, she pushed it further backwards. In the split second that the chair had just began collapsing behind - and the boss had been taken aback even further by her seeming folly, she gave out one final grunt of rage and physical strain- pushed herself with the chair forward, landing right on the man, pushing him down.

All the three - Alexandra, the chair, as well as the Boss collided with the ground. But she was not done.

'You want entertainment?' She snarled, they were head to head, Alexandra could see herself mirrored in his eyes. 'You noticed I'm a girl? You think I'm weak?! I'll show you WHAT a girl is worth!' And she did the only thing she could do to cause him pain. She lifted her head and banged it against the man's. Again. Again. Again. Again...

'Intervene!' The man shouted out, sounding even more interested than before, though there was a trace of panic in his voice - even as blood flew out from both his as well as Alexandra's foreheads.

'Calling help, are you?!' She yelled, still banging her head against his, pushing her knee into his gut. 'FIGHT ME ALONE, YOU COWARD!' the pain in her own forehead meant nothing. She had seen worse - without having the pleasure of teaching a mad man, a lesson.

But men had gathered behind her, they pulled her off their Boss. Alexandra's rage hadn't been assuaged. It was still burning within her. Only this man's death- only his death would get Alexandra satisfaction.

'She has caliber - she can be valuable.' He said, now hiding his trace of fear and sounding completely confident and in-charge. 'The same test. We'll see,'

Test? No - not another entertainment. She WAS NOT going to be this man's entertainment. NO WAY.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Alexandra was in an array of furniture - inside the tower. The Boss had left after announcing her test, two other men had unbounded her - returned Moira to her and taken her up about ten flights of stairs - to this HUGE hall. The furniture made up a sort of maze. Surrounding her, but outside the maze, were perhaps three hundred men. The Boss sat on a throne on the dais, he had a wine glass in his hand.

Seeing him made Alexandra's insides squirm with anger. She wanted to throw Moira at him and end his game then and there- but she was doubtful she would make the shot, it was annoyingly far.

Then Alexandra's eyes travelled to the Lady next to him.

Next to him, on a similar throne, sat a breathtakingly beautiful lady. She had dark brown hair, a shining Olive complexion, green eyes, full lips - and...

Alexandra felt something huge and heavy had slammed into her chest - though nobody had touched her. Even the extreme rage that was burning in her, was pushed aside. Alexandra felt ready to collapse. She had expected a lot of things - but- but- but ... not this.

Full lips - and a star shaped birthmark on the chin.