Nemesis

III - Whoever You Want Me To Be...

Nemesis

Chapter III — Whoever You Want Me to Be...

[Manchester Orchestra Ft. Phoebe Bridgers — The Gold]

[22 October 2023]
[New York-Prebysterian Hospital]
[10:40]

Miranda was led through a pair of doors where the light that entered seemingly decreased. There was a spacious room that had been cut into two sections. Miranda stood in the one section and a group of doctors along with Ashton's corpse stood in the other. A large window allowed Miranda to see on the other side. They were actively working on the body, not directly dissecting it, but drawing blood and investigating on a more internal level with the various pieces of technology that surrounded them.

Unexpectedly, Miranda found herself trying to block the path of the tears attempting to escape. While she liked to believe that she had not known Ashton personally — given that she wanted to limit their relationship to work — she found herself recalling those few moments where Ashton acted like a father for her, the father she truly needed. The realization had now struck her; she had no one in this world, and that was the same for Orla. Miranda now felt obligated to spend more time with her, because she knew how it felt to truly be alone. That thought never left her mind, and now Miranda wanted to make sure that it never crossed Orla's.

This was not only a service to herself, but to Orla as well. After all, her instincts had never led her astray.

Miranda wiped the tears that cascaded down her face to get a clearer look at the body with its upper part left bare. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary until she caught sight of a mark on Ashton's neck. It was small, but not enough to escape her keen eyesight, but it seemed like a detail that eluded the rest of the doctors closer to the body than her. The mark held an almost purple color, and it held an object that barely shone in the light, but it was just enough to be noticeable.

There was no way she could get a closer look, so another wild idea popped into her mind. It was quite risky, but there was an equally enticing reward on the line. "This must be so hard for you, to see your father like this..." The escort started and Miranda dried her tears once more before reaching out to the man for a hug, which he gladly allowed.

It seemed that Ashton was due for another visit later tonight.

[New York]
[11:03]

Kane awoke to find himself in a darkened room, one he was confident he had never seen before. "Damn, where am I...?" He asked himself, looking around the darkness to see nothing that could give him an idea of his location. One thing that he did notice was how he still sat in his wheelchair, but he was now tied to it. It did not make much of a difference, there was only one thing that he needed on the tool. Kane did his best to move his hand around and a small beeping sound was heard. He had done what he needed to do.

"Hello? Is anyone out there? Just come out already!" Kane demanded, but he waited quite a while before anything interesting happened. The lights finally came to life, and Kane could see that he was locked in a white room, without signs of a single door or window, but that assumption was soon out of the door when the wall in front of him came apart, dividing into two halves. The man who stood behind these new doors was one who had Kane shocked. "Dain?" He asked and the man smiled as he always did before making his way towards his captive.

Kane was still stunned at this turn of events. He had expected Russian soldiers, or United States generals who had discovered his true identity. Dain was an option that he had not considered because this was simply far too drastic of an action to commit on his own. It was nothing like him. "Surprised to see me?" Dain joked, allowing the floor below to rise and morph into a makeshift chair, which he sat on. He studied Kane's expression, his smile growing with each little detail that he discovered. "Looks like you're awake." Dain said, obviously happy at the sight, but Kane did not feel as amused. "Cut the crap, Dain. Where the hell am I?" He asked, his tone demanding an answer, but that was still not enough to ruin Dain's joyful mood, or that was how it seemed at the surface.