What She Saw

"Grimes, do you have any idea what they do to these women?"

Claire leaned against the front facade of Mizutomo Tower, finally clothed again. She had finished her first day as a mailgirl and it had been every bit as degrading as she thought it would be. After their encounter with Mr. Mansfield, the rest of their afternoon had been spent running the various tasks they'd been assigned by their MMUs. Both she and Sixteen suffered their fair share of attention from the male employees in the form of catcalls, derisive language and outright ogling of their naked bodies. Some had even been daring enough to touch them, though nowhere near the level of assault that she had gone through early on. By the end of their shift, both she and Sixteen were sweaty and aching; Claire felt as if she'd run two marathons. Completely naked, of course.

"I have some idea, Holliday, but remember, that's not why you're there." Grimes' voice was as gruff and implacable as ever, even over the phone.

"I know, but this goes beyond fucked up," Claire continued to reason, even though she knew it was futile. She hadn't told him what had happened to her; that particular memory was still a little too fresh and raw. "We can't just let this go on."

Grimes' sigh was loud and frustrated. "Again, not why we're going through this," he chided her. "You have a week to learn this, unless you want to pull out early. Or altogether. But you know what happens if you do."

The veiled threat in his words was plain enough, and it gave Claire pause. Of course she knew what would happen if she pulled out of this assignment. Her future in the CIA might as well be over, given her failure to complete a task of such importance. "Yeah, I get it," she breathed, the words grinding in her mouth. "I'm not pulling out. I'll get this done."

There were a few moments of silence before Grimes spoke again. "It's not going to get any easier, Holliday. You think it's bad here, just wait 'til we get over to the UEWA. But if you think you're done there and can take it, then we can accelerate the op."

He was offering her an early out, and given the day's events, Claire was sorely tempted to accept. Just as she was about to tell him to give her a night to think about it, the door to the Tower opened and a familiar short figure emerged. Claire recognized the balding head of Morten Mansfield as he walked towards a waiting limousine idling at the curb.

"Holliday?" Grimes was still in her ear.

"Hang on," she said taking a few steps back until she was hidden around the corner of the building, her eyes still trained on Mansfield. The stocky man clambered into the vehicle with the door held open by the chauffeur, but it wasn't shut immediately. She heard Mansfield shout something from inside the car, then the door to the building opened again.

A quartet of tall, muscular looking men dressed in black suits exited the building and headed towards the limousine. They flanked a pair of shorter, slighter figures clad in identical beige trench coats with drawn hoods. Just as they all reached the car, the wind picked up and buffeted them, causing one of the trench coats' hoods to fly up and off.

Claire drew a deep breath as she recognized the braided hair of Mailgirl Sixteen before one of the suited men placed a hand on the younger girl's head and forced her into the car. The other figure was similarly handled into the vehicle before the men shut the door and the limousine pulled away from the curb.

It didn't take a genius to reason out what had just taken place and every rational fiber of Claire's being screamed for her to take action. Instead, she pressed herself up against the concrete wall and exhaled slowly to calm her racing heart. "Holliday, what's going on?"

Claire took a few more seconds to compose herself before answering her superior. "Nothing, Grimes, it's nothing," she said as coolly as she could manage. "And no, let's not accelerate the op. I don't think I'm ready to leave here just yet."

Not when unfinished business had just reared its head.