[ Lena sags just a fraction when he asks her to begin. She toys with her hands, lacing and unlacing her fingers slowly in a nervous gesture. ]
She was chained to a chair in a dark room. A man came in, started talkin'. He said they were in Paris, somewhere secluded where no one could hear her scream. [ She pauses. ] Not a bunker from the Crisis. Somewhere else.
[ Lena tries to cling to as many details as she can. They might not mean much to her, but maybe Jack could use them. ]
Um... [ Lena frowns, trying to remember the exact wording. ] She said Overwatch and Gérard would find her. He said that was the plan. He said somethin' like "if he had just died like he was supposed to, you could've lived out your life as another Overwatch widow."
[ Lena pauses again, bracing herself for the rest. ]
Talon agents came in. The man said they were 'tilling the soil to plant a seed.' Called it 'neural reconditioning.'
[The pieces are all falling into place, and though it was easy enough to guess, it’s still uncomfortable to hear. Jack had spent his entire adult life trying to make sure people didn’t have to suffer like this.]
They wanted us to find her that first time.
[It’s not exactly a realization at this point, but with the new information, the scope of Talon’s plan has become obvious. It puts his personal failure in a whole new light—if they’d never recovered Amélie, then Gérard would still be alive.
Or not. He has a sneaking suspicion that they would’ve gotten to him anyway. Jack shakes his head, admonishing himself.]
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no subject
She was chained to a chair in a dark room. A man came in, started talkin'. He said they were in Paris, somewhere secluded where no one could hear her scream. [ She pauses. ] Not a bunker from the Crisis. Somewhere else.
[ Lena tries to cling to as many details as she can. They might not mean much to her, but maybe Jack could use them. ]
Um... [ Lena frowns, trying to remember the exact wording. ] She said Overwatch and Gérard would find her. He said that was the plan. He said somethin' like "if he had just died like he was supposed to, you could've lived out your life as another Overwatch widow."
[ Lena pauses again, bracing herself for the rest. ]
Talon agents came in. The man said they were 'tilling the soil to plant a seed.' Called it 'neural reconditioning.'
[ Her voice cracks quietly. ]
Waterboarding. Probably even worse later on.
no subject
They wanted us to find her that first time.
[It’s not exactly a realization at this point, but with the new information, the scope of Talon’s plan has become obvious. It puts his personal failure in a whole new light—if they’d never recovered Amélie, then Gérard would still be alive.
Or not. He has a sneaking suspicion that they would’ve gotten to him anyway. Jack shakes his head, admonishing himself.]
I was an idiot.