Chapter Text
Adjusting her silk dressing robe, Manon stared down her boss’ immaculate face “Do tell me what is the emergency that you had to call a meeting at 3 in the morning?” She hissed. Her boss, David, didn't even blink. He just interlaced his fingers and rested them on the black, opaque table. The same black, opaque table that usually announced someone's death, or Manon’s new mission. She preferred the latter, much to her boss’ disappointment. Even though she should be used to the news of death by now, not even 10 years of being in this hell could dim the pain she feels when a new name is added to the death roll.
David’s face remained impassive. Okay, so this would be that sort of game, to see who would break first. She could- no, she will wait. She will wait the whole damn night if she needed to. Like hell would she back down. David leaned back on his chair, crossing an ankle over his knee, and arching an eyebrow. She had learnt from the many gruelling training sessions that David had forced her to partake in that this wasn't a good sign. No, this wasn't a good sign at all.
The chandelier high above reflected on the 3 metres of the black obsidian table separating the two. David broke the silence first. “Did you know,” he said in that frighteningly calm voice, “that in your most recent mission, the target escaped Ivy’s trap, and the back-up team,” Manon took a huge gulp. Oh, she was so, so cooked, “didn't even know that the target dodged Ivy. In fact, I got intel, along with some very infuriatingly smug messages, that the target knocked on your van, thinking it was her getaway drive, and you and your team didn't even notice?” A muscle ticked in his jaw. Seconds passed and Manon could practically see the lashing she was about to receive, both verbal and physical.
“I…uh…” Manon stammered. It was no use. Hell, not even she knew how that happened. One moment she and her team were watching the cameras, monitoring Ivy and the target, and the next, the target had literally…vanished! She had no idea how exactly someone just vanishes, but she wasn't going to tell David that. He would just take that as another weakness, another flaw on my behalf, and my team would get punished for it. There was no reason to drag them into it, when she could take the punishment herself. But Manon did want to discuss with her team how to take down a person who had been trained to get themselves free from traps.
“You?” David repeated, that insufferable smirk blooming on his face. Manon didn’t think he wanted an answer. “No answer? How predictable,” The scoff that followed echoed in the chamber, bouncing off the grey, concrete walls. The same walls that seemed to now be pressing into her. She took a shaky breath, settling herself.
“Ivy had followed the target for miles, David. And also, the target has a name you know? Its Sabrina. We had multiple cameras set up everywhere and were constantly tracking Ivy and Sabrina. Sabrina was moving through many camera ranges within seconds, at a speed that not even Ivy could compete with. One second Sabrina was within viewing range and the other, she was gone. Ivy was just as confused as my team and I were. Sabrina did knock on our van, yes, but she did not linger. Not even for a second. She found out pretty quickly that this was not her van and simply… vanished. If you want a full debrief, here is the copy, and this is everything that happened, before you ask, and yes, I did remember to thoroughly interrogate Ivy about this,” Manon growled, trying not to shake with nerves.
That was true that Ivy had followed her target to the edge of the camera view, even beyond. She had seen it through the cameras, but she still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Ivy could see Sabrina for one second, and the next, she couldn’t. It was all just fucking… wrong.
The only sign of David’s annoyance was the occasional drumming of his fingers. “I do not recall asking for a mission debrief, Manon.”
“Well guess what, you got one anyways,” Manon snapped. Oh she should be so, so dead for talking to David like this, but honestly, she was used to cutting protocol and rank when it came to him. He could fucking deal.
She hated how David’s expressions didn't shift. Especially when her expressions, along with her burning hot temper, were still a tad hard to control. Twirling a strand of ebony dark hair around her fingers, she lifted her head a little higher. Let David tie her up and whip her. She will not yield. NOt. One. Fucking. Bit.
“I would consider your actions if I were you, Manon. You are starting to get much of an inconvenience. Maybe the punishments of talking back to your boss aren’t memorable enough. Maybe I need to get creative,” Manon’s stomach dropped to the floor. David smirked. “How about this? I will assign you a mission. A mission you will be required to complete within one month,” One whole month? This must be a very hard mission. Maybe it could even be- “I will be assigning you one of the files from the forbidden section,” OH SHI- “I will be assigning you Case 101, and the mission will be called Mission Black Belt.”
Manon’s breath came in tight pants. “You can't do that. It is a forbidden case for a reason. And I am well aware that you are well aware that I’m the reason this case is forbidden.”
Tears slipped down Manon’s cheek, and she furiously wiped them away. David’s mouth tightened in disapproval. He always appreciated cut-throat behaviour, not this sappy excuse of a mess. But she couldn't help it. She was grateful for the 3 meters of black obsidian table separating the two, otherwise she would have hit him, or something even worse. “David. Assign me ANY other forbidden mission, and I will gladly do it. Just not this. This is where I draw my line.”
“And since when did you have the authority to say no to me?” He asked, a smug little smile playing on his lips, like he knew that he had already won. “Last I checked, I was your boss, and you were my employee. An employee that cannot be free, according to the contract that you signed. Forgot about that?”
How could Manon ever forget about that damned contract that bound her and Ivy to this horrible excuse of a man. “Just… you know what? Whatever. You are not worth my time, and never will be. I’m going. Bye.”
She snatched the untouched documents that had the whole mission debrief written down, and stalked to the exit, slamming the dark door on her way out.