"How does that feel?" the technician asked as Eva felt her limbs lighten again. She had felt this sensation every time the technician had boosted the strength level of her synthetics. The added strength made her whole body feel lighter. She picked up the barbell weights at her feet and lifted them experimentally, a look of contemplation on her face.

 

"I'm not sure...." she said with a ponderous voice, "It's pretty close."

 

In fact she had recognised her familiar old strength quite a while ago, and had been deliberately underperforming when performing the strength tests to cause false results and cause the technician to believe they were under-calibrated. She could see, however, that she was beginning to push her luck. The technician eyed the console and gave her a skeptical look. She tested the weights again, putting on a face of exertion while she lifted the weight even though it really wasn't a strain on her.

 

"On second thought, yes. This feels right." she said smiling.

 

"You're sure?" the man asked. She nodded. "Very well. My orders are to set the system to twenty five percent higher than the calibration while you are still on active duty to give you an edge."

 

Eva's eyes went wide for a moment but she regained her composure before the man noticed. Twenty five percent stronger than her already inflated strength? This was going to be......... interesting.

 

"Alright Lieutenant Hawkins, we are finally done here. You are free to re-join your squadron." the technician said, motioning to the footlocker at the foot of the bed she had been using while she was confined to the infirmary. Eva opened the box and pulled out the uniform and sidearm that was stored inside. She paused for a moment in confusion as she was flattening out the uniform.

 

"There has been a mistake here," she said to the technician, "The rank is wrong. I'm a Lieutenant Junior Grade."

 

"Has nobody told you? You were posthumously promoted after your assumed death. When you were recovered it was decided that your sacrifice and courage staying behind to cover our escape was in no way diminished by your survival and so the promotion stands."

 

"Oh....." Eva said as she ran her fingers over the Lieutenant emblem. She had assumed that people were just being lazy by calling her Lieutenant Hawkins. It was common to shorten it for Junior Grade Lieutenants as the full rank is so much of a mouthful. With a smile she put on her new uniform and strapped her sidearm to her hip.

 

Medics had visited her twice a day since she had been in the infirmary to run a dermal lance over the lines of her surgery scars each time, reducing the visibility of the lines to the point they were practically unnoticeable. The scars on her back from the lashings she endured were a different story. Since they didn't restrict her ability to perform her duties and didn't hint at any classified technology they only received minimal treatment leaving behind thick jagged scars criss-crossing her back.

 

She left the infirmary and made her way back to the stateroom and was a little disappointed to find that Aiden wasn't there, nor were Dizzie or Snowy. When the remainder of her squadron saw her walk through the door a cheer went up, making her flush slightly. Some saluted her in a half-serious/half-mocking way to which she pulled faces at them. Others came over and slapped her on the back, hugged her, and she was sure that Rabbit grabbed her on the arse. She was so happy to be back with her colleagues she she didn't even give it a second thought.

 

"Hawkins!" a sharp and angry voice barked from behind her. Eva whirled around just in time to take a slap to the face courtesy of Dizzie. Eva cupped her cheek with her hand and glared at the smaller woman.

 

"Tia, what the hell....." but her words were cut off when Dizzie threw her arms around Eva and hugged her closely.

 

"You better not do that to me again." Dizzie said while squeezing Eva tighty. Eva smiled and gave her a small hug in return before she was let go.

 

"Where's Aiden?" Eva asked.

 

"The brig, I think. He's been trying to crack some guy for weeks."

 

Eva looked past Dizzie towards the door and bit her bottom lip subconsciously which brought a smirk from the other woman.

 

"Go on," Dizzie said in a teasing tone, "He's been out of his mind worried about you." Then, turning to the others, "Back it up, people. Valkyrie's got more important things to do than entertain you lumps."

 

Eva smiled to Dizzie and hurried out of the room, navigating the grid of hallways until she got to the brig. She stopped just outside the door, took a deep breath and stepped through it. She found Aiden in the observation room of one of the interrogation cells looking through the one way mirror at the occupant, frustration apparent on his face.

 

"Aiden...?" she breathed quietly at the sight of him.

 

"Eva! Shouldn't you be...." but his sentence was cut off when Eva ran to him and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him deeply without caring who might walk in and see him. He kissed her back for a moment but then seemed to freeze in place, a strangled sound coming out of him. She was hugging him tightly around his body, with arms much stronger than she was used to having.

 

"Sorry!" she said a little sheepishly as she let him go letting him take in the breath that had just been squeezed out of him. He eyed her curiously. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse through the one way mirror and the figure that sat at the metal table in the centre of the room, his hands cuffed to loops on the table. She let out a quick shriek and stumbled backwards away from the mirror until her back struck the far wall heavily, her eyes wide.

 

The prisoner in the cell was Saito.

 

Aiden looked at her with a look of shock and concern. He took a step towards her but she put up a hand to stop him. Panic rose in her and she felt like she was going to throw up while she looked at her tormentor who sat there straight backed and proud in the chair, as if he had done nothing wrong. Panic gave way to anger and she straightened her back and regained her composure, her wide eyes narrowing into a glare. Anger gave way to rage and she ground her teeth.

 

And then something broke inside her in some way, as if a light switch was turned off and torrent of emotions were smothered by a blanket of....... nothing. She was better than this. She was better than him. He was beneath her and now she had all the power. She remembered Dizzie say how Aiden had been trying to crack someone for weeks, this must be that person.

 

"I can make him talk." she finally said, her voice flat.

 

"Eva, I have tried every trick I know with this guy. He ignores every threat we make and resists every drug we give him. I don't see how...." Eva smiled slightly causing Aiden to stop mid-sentence.

 

"I understand him. I can make him talk but you have to promise me not to try to stop me." Eva turned her head and looked directly into Aiden's eyes, "Turn off the recordings, and promise not to stop me, no matter what."

 

Aiden started to ask a question but Eva just spoke over him, "No...matter....what..... Trust me." she said, her smile widening though it did not reach her eyes which remained cold.

 

Against his better judgement, Aiden nodded and pressed some buttons on the console nearby to turn off the cameras and microphones. Something was obviously off with Eva and deep down he knew that making this promise could end very badly for both of them but if she was right, she could very well get the intel that they desperately needed to end this mission.

 

"I promise." he said to her.

 

Eva walked past Aiden without another word and stepped into the interrogation cell. The room was arranged to that the table sat side-on to the one way mirror, the prisoner chair facing away from the doorway that led into the room.

 

"Unless you have my legal representative with you I am not answering any of your questions, regardless of how many times you inject me." Saito said without turning his head in her direction.

 

"Don't worry Saito, I believe that more classical methods yield the best results." Eva said, noticing Saito's entire body stiffen for a moment at the sound of her voice parroting his own interrogation philosophy. She walked calmly into sight and stood beside him.

 

"Where is our missing carrier?" she asked calmly.

 

"You should not be ali......" She punched him across the cheek, the impact making his head snap heavily to one side and sending a massive jolt of pain through Eva's hand and wrist. His head lulled down wavered as he fought the dizziness brought on by the punch and Eva took the chance to shake her hand and silently mouth 'owwww' at the unexpected pain. She really was going to have to be more careful with this new strength of her's.

 

She composed herself well before he came back to his senses. He spat blood onto the table in front of him and glared up at her with contempt.

 

"I'll have your career for that, you stupid bitch!" he snarled at her.

 

She she looked at him coldly for a moment, and then smiled. She reached down, drew her sidearm from the holster and, without changing her expression or taking her eyes off his, shot him in the leg.

 

She savoured every facial expression that came next. The momentary widening of the eyes in surprise, the tiny crease of the brow as he realised what just happened, and then the scream of pain that came next. She stood there, that same cold smile on her face as she waited for him to compose himself.

 

"You little fucking....."

 

She fired again, another bolt of energy zipping from the pistol and digging a deep, instantly cauterised hole in his leg next to the first one. He screamed again, but did not respond with another attempted insult. Eva's smile widened a little. He was learning that insults equal pain.

 

"Where is our missing carrier?" she asked again.

 

He glared at her, his teeth grinding against the pain, but did not answer. Eva shrugged and grabbed his left forearm, pinning the hand hard against the table. He tried to struggle out of her grip but thanks to the new body that Saito had made a necessity for her survival her grip was too strong. She pressed the barrel of the pistol against his left pinky finger and looked back into his eyes.

 

"Where's our missing carrier?" she repeated.

 

"You wouldn't dare....." he growled at her. She pulled the trigger.

 

--==--==--

 

Eva stepped back through the door some time later, holstering her sidearm.

 

"You get all of that?" she asked Aiden. He nodded at her with a look of stunned horror on his face.

 

"It would be in everyone's best interest if that man never saw the inside of a courtroom." she said.

 

"No shit......"

 

NEXT ENTRY: Lock and Load