Velika: The story of a lover

Daniel Heinrich looked over to Velika O'Sullivan. This was the first time he saw the mixture of terror, panic, and desperation in her dark eyes. But she quickly blinked several times in an attempt to hide her emotions. Daniel Heinrich frowned and hoped she wouldn't let it cloud her judgment. He reached to his pocket while locking eyes with her and she nodded. He took a deep breath and pushed the button on the remote.

All of a sudden the lights in the lab went out. The dim emergency lights didn't come on until a few seconds later. While people were rushing out in chaos, Daniel Heinrich and Velika O'Sullivan seized Jonathan Griff and Dean O'Sullivan and dragged them to the door.

"Who are you?" Griff struggled, "Listen, I can make some arrangements…"

"Lead us to the path and if you pull any tricks, you'll die." Said Velika O'Sullivan ruthlessly. Griff tried to negotiate but Velika O'Sullivan ran out of patience. She pulled Griff toward her from Daniel Heinrich like he was a stuffed toy, and swapped him with Dean O'Sullivan, who was now in the hands of her partner. She twisted Griff's arm to his back and acting like she about broke it, "If you didn't want to lose an arm, you better do what we say."

"Lady, you are going to hell." Griff gritted his teeth and cursed while they were heading to the secret path deeper below the ground.

"Oh really? I thought I'm already in it." Velika O'Sullivan sneered.

Daniel Heinrich was amazed by her reactions. Just moments ago, she acted like someone who had a broken heart to fix. And now she put on her mask where she played a role as a tough, independent, cold-blooded assassin who had no sentiment or empathy. Daniel Heinrich and Velika O'Sullivan were quite alike this way. When someone was betrayed by those who they trusted so many times, they became numb and insensitive to the pain they felt.

They hurried to the path where was guarded by two armed guards. Velika O'Sullivan told Griff to tell them that they were in the middle of an emergency and needed to evacuate. With a gun pointing at his waist, he had no choice but to agree.

"Sir, where are you heading?" Asked one of the guards, looked at them dubiously.

"We are..." Griff said slowly and Velika O'Sullivan pushed the gun against his waist even harder.

Griff looked at Velika O'Sullivan and glanced at Daniel Heinrich, who was holding onto Dean O'Sullivan, "They are trying to kidnap me."

"Oh hell." Said Velika O'Sullivan right before one of the guards punched her in the abdomen.

She fell onto the ground and the guard wanted to shoot her but missed as she swept the guard's shank. The guard lost his balance and nearly fell. Velika O'Sullivan took the chance to stand up and pulled out her gun. The guard swiftly turned back to her and hit her on her forearm. She almost dropped her gun but managed to hold it still. The guard tried to punch her in the face, but she didn't give him the chance. She pulled the trigger but couldn't aim precisely and she shot him in his right leg to which made him crumble. For a second the thought of killing him went through her head, however, she ended up knocked him out instead.

For Daniel Heinrich, things weren't easy either. The guard he was handling was twice his size. He kept defending himself instead of attacking, and he couldn't focus because Griff was trying to escape. As Velika O'Sullivan was fighting the other guard, he had to keep both Griff and Dean O'Sullivan in check in the meantime. The guard fired the gun but fortunately, he dodged the bullet. Finally, he found his chance to fight back. He punched the guard on his cheekbones so hard that the guard had to stop for a second to regain balance. Before the guard could, he stroked again. This time he hit the guard's temple successfully took him out.

After Daniel Heinrich cleared himself, he grabbed Griff and was about to knock Griff out as well but was stopped by Velika O'Sullivan. She took Dean O'Sullivan's arm and pinned it behind his back so that he couldn't escape. Now they finally took off their masks, and Dean O'Sullivan saw their faces.

"Velika." Dean O'Sullivan said in a shaky voice, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Long story." Although Velika O'Sullivan said coldly, she wasn't mad. She guided him carefully to step over the guard. Daniel Heinrich was ahead of them, grabbing on Griff's arm. He knew Dean O'Sullivan was part of the secret Velika O'Sullivan held only to herself and Daniel Heinrich became more and more interested in the story.

He was lost in his thoughts and forgot to check on Griff. His wild imaginations had driven him away from reality briefly. He didn't notice when they were fighting guards, Griff broke the fire cabinet on the wall and smuggled a tiny wrench. He hid the wrench in his pocket and waited for his turn to strike.

When he found Daniel Heinrich drifting in his thoughts, he knew his time had come. He secretly took out the wrench and used full force to hit Daniel Heinrich's arm. Daniel Heinrich let go of Griff out of shock. Griff hit him again before he could react and took his gun, then aimed it at Velika O'Sullivan who was walking behind them.

Griff's action shocked Velika O'Sullivan as well. She reached out to her pistol but was told to drop it, so she did. She looked at Daniel Heinrich and it seemed he needed more time before he could take any action.

"You know this isn't good for anybody." Said Velika O'Sullivan after she dropped her gun.

"I have the gun now," Said Griff as he was trembling, "So I'll be one who makes the rule."

"What's your rule then?" Velika O'Sullivan kept talking and kept Griff's attention on her. From the corners of her eyes, she saw Daniel Heinrich slowly standing up. Though he was in pain, he knew what he should do.

"I want you to..." Before Griff could finish his sentence, Daniel Heinrich choked him. Griff struggled and Daniel Heinrich then grasped his arm, tried to force him to let go of the gun. But Griff was quite strong and Daniel Heinrich's arm was still bleeding so he couldn't use much force and it was a struggle.

Velika O'Sullivan picked up her gun, held onto Dean O'Sullivan's arm, and was ready to help Daniel Heinrich out. But she couldn't have a clean shot as Daniel Heinrich and Griff were twisted together. Daniel Heinrich almost got Griff, but Griff was so terrified and irritated, he fired the gun and shot Velika O'Sullivan in her left arm.

When they saw she was shot, Griff's eyes were widened, and he froze. Daniel Heinrich, though in shock, quickly got Griff under control.

"Damn." Daniel Heinrich went up to Velika O'Sullivan, he frowned and checked her wound, "This is not pretty."

"I know." Velika O'Sullivan bit her lips, "Come on people, let's move. Heinrich, call Romeo, see if any choppers around, I can't get the bullet out myself."

Daniel Heinrich nodded and took out his phone and called Romeo Leontes on a secure line. When Romeo Leontes heard Velika O'Sullivan was shot, he wasn't as worried as Daniel Heinrich thought he would be. He sounded calmer than Daniel Heinrich expected, perhaps it was because she had been injured so many times that even herself didn't care that much anymore. Or Romeo Leontes just simply never cared about whether she lived. Or perhaps both. He got in touch with one helicopter within seconds, they agreed to pick them up and sent them back as well as taking care of Velika O'Sullivan's wound on the way.

"Velika, I didn't expect to meet you like this." Said Dean O'Sullivan, he was looking at Velika O'Sullivan's wound and his voice was full of sorrow.

"Me neither." Said Velika O'Sullivan indifferently but Daniel Heinrich could tell her tone was softened, "And I don't think now it's a good time to talk about it."