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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞: 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐲

Siberia, Russia 1948 

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The first thing that she feels is cold.

The mind-numbing sensation overpowers all other thoughts and feelings. Her teeth chatter uncontrollably behind her blue lips which she is unable to hear over the incessantly loud ringing in her ears. Her eyes remain forced shut as she is unable to muster up the strength to open them.

She feels her body fall for a moment before something grabs her. The sudden shift in gravity causes her head to spin and thump in agonizing pain.

Despite the powerful migraine, she detects the much-desired heat of someone's touch that penetrates through her thin clothing. Foreign voices mix together to create an uncomprehensible harmony which is paired with the loud echos of footsteps that reverberate through the room.

Her shivering body is hauled out of the cold chamber and she is hit with a breeze of warmth which she is grateful for. Unfortunately, that heat doesn't last for long as she is quickly dragged out of the room.

Her legs dangle on the cold concrete floor, with the occasional whimper pushing past her lips as they carelessly let her body hit the corners of walls that they pass.

She forces her eyes to flicker open and she sees unfamiliar men swarmed around her with weird masks covering their faces. Her head lolls to the side and she watches the bleak grey walls blur together as questions and strange images pop up in her head.

Who am I? Where am I? Why can't I remember anything? Who are these people? Why am I so cold?

But she has no time to mull over those questions because she is suddenly thrown into a metal chair. She gasps as her head comes into contact with something hard behind her, sending a rush of pain up to her head.

The men, clad in black uniforms with an unusual red insignia on their chest bind her to the chair harshly, pulling the bonds until they break the skin on her gaunt limbs. She doesn't bother to resist or pull at her restraints as she knows that it will result in more pain that she can avoid by obeying.

One man pushes a teeth shield between her chapped lips while a different soldier clamps a terrifying metal contraption to her face. Her eyes nervously flicker around the dark room, looking for something that will make her remember anything at all.

But she isn't able to spot anything before a new blinding pain hits her.

Electricity surges throughout her body and it feels like she has been lit on fire. Her mind immediately concedes to the torture as she finds herself unable to bring a single thought to completion. The radiating pain pushes all other thoughts from her head, eliminating any refuge that comes in the form of a distraction.

Every muscle in her body throbs, causing her breath to catch in her throat as she can't focus on anything aside from the agony. It feels as if every single nerve in her body is being seared as the electric currents spread, inflicting unforgiving pain in every limb and body part possible.

The paroxysm of agony triggers a guttural cry from her lips. She feels hot tears drip down her cheeks as her pleas for help are neglected, forcing her to endure the white-hot pain. She prays for something to bring the pain to an end. Even a bullet would be a mercy right now.

But she is forced to bear the pain.

It feels like forever that she sits and lets the electricity pulsate through her body, sending her into fits of agony. But eventually, the pain stops and the torture machine releases her from its death hold.

She gasps in relief as the pain dulls to nothing more than sharp throb. Her sweat gleams on her forehead and her head drops onto her chest as she feels devoid of any energy. Her eyes flicker closed as she sucks in a harsh breath, trying to refill her lungs with air.

And while her eyes are shut, she doesn't see a man take a step towards her holding a red leather book.

"Желание... / Desire..." The man speaks in fluent Russian which makes her ears perk at the sound. She opens her eyes again and finds herself looking into the man's ocean blue ones.

"Восприятие / Perception..." He continues and she feels an unusual migraine begin to form at the back of her head. She furrows her brows at the man's odd choice of words and she slowly begins to feel her energy come back to her.

"Смертность  / Mortality..."

Her migraine grows as he continues speaking, almost as if she is having an allergic reaction to the words. She anxiously averts her eyes over to the numerous doctors that have filled the room, no longer wearing their weird headgear.

"Искупление / Redemption..."

Her body begins to strain against her restraints now. She shakes her head in an attempt to ease the pain but she finds it offers no relief. She looks down and sees that her hands have begun to shake as fear begins to take ahold of her heart and squeezes down tightly.

"Пять / Five..."

Her brain feels as if it is being stabbed repeatedly as unfamiliar memories and commands play in front of her eyes. She squeezes her eyes shut to try and keep the memories out. But even though she can't see the memories, she can still hear them.

"Проворных / Nimble..."

A groan pushes past her lips as her ears pop and her drums burst. Her body begins to fully convulse as it tries to reject whatever the hell that the man is trying to do to her. But the pain is so great that she soon finds herself with very little desire left to resist.

"Шесть / Six..."

Her eyes begin to water as the pain grows into something new altogether. It has festered into something so intense that her entire body is slowly shutting down. Her ears ring loudly but she is still able to hear the words clear as day.

"Исход / Exodus..."

She allows herself to succumb to the memories, in the hope that it will alleviate some of the agony that she is enduring. She doesn't stop the memories from playing and she tries to control the intake of her breath.

"Восемнадцать / Eighteen..."

Somehow, she has found herself at peace with the new memories. It only took a few moments for them to become ingrained in her mind and the pain dulls into a dull throb. Her body slowly winds down from the seizing and she immediately stops herself from crying.

"Воинствующих/ Militant."

She sits as stiff as a board in the chair. Her eyes are trained on the man who slowly closes the red book in his hand and he takes a step closer to Trickery. She does not flinch at his actions and instead finds herself staring at the other men in the room, trying to determine if they are a threat.

Trickery...

The word sounds familiar, very familiar. But she can't remember why.

As she listens to the conversations going on around her, she hears it again. The scientists mention it as if it is a person. Maybe it is someone's name.

Perhaps it is her name?

"Доброе утро, обман / Good morning, Soldier." The man says confidently and she turns her gaze back to him. The man does not at all seem afraid of her, unlike the other men in white coats that scurry around the room. In fact, it seems as if he knows her.

She doesn't even take the time to think of a reply before the words fall from her lips. "Я готов отвечать. / Ready to comply."

"У вас есть миссия. / You have a mission." The man tells her as he places the book down on a steel table. He nods sharply to a nearby scientist who timidly walks over holding another metal mechanism.

Trickery watches silently as he fastens the thing around her neck. She hears him gulp under her gaze and somehow, she can even hear the increase of beating in his heart. He avoids touching her as he attaches the machine in an effort to not anger her.

Fear, she recalls as she watches the man.

He is afraid of her.

But her thoughts on why he is so afraid is broken when the man continues talking. "Дэвид Картрайт является целью. Он должен быть допрошен и истреблен завтра к 04:00. /David Cartwright is the target. He must be interviewed and exterminated  by 0400 hours tomorrow." He says.

She remains silent as he talks, knowing that it is not her place to intervene. Instead, she mulls over his words. This mission should be easy as long as there are no unpredicted complications. And there is only a single target which reduces the chance for errors.

"Там не должно быть никаких свидетелей. /There must be no witnesses." He adds and once again she responds with silence.

The man lets out a sigh at her lack of response and pulls out an unusual remote. He presses down on one of the buttons and suddenly, Trickery is hit with another wave of blinding electricity.

Her body spasms and she lets out a groan at the all too familiar feeling. Just like before, she isn't ready for the onslaught of pain that resulted from the torture or the agony that caused her mind to go blank.

But thankfully, the shocks only lasts for a couple of seconds.

"Вы понимаете! / Do you understand?" He questions forcefully as she tries to regain her breath. She forces herself back up and looks at the man in shame.

"Да хозяин / Yes master." She answers, having learned her lesson.

The man walks up to Trickery and brushes a tendril of her dark hair behind her ear. She tries not to shiver at the unfamiliar feeling. She is pretty sure that this is not how a soldier is treated. But she remains unflinching in the hopes that he doesn't shock her again.

"Я не твой хозяин. / I am not your master." He whispers to her, frowning at the thought that she was inferior to him. She is his miracle. She is more valuable than a thousand-foot soldiers and that was before she even had her powers.

"Я Микаэль. / I am Mikael." He tells her because even though she can't remember, she is still his only friend.

His family.

"Да Микаэль. / Yes Mikael." She answers and Mikael's face lights up at the sound.

" Хорошая девушка / Good girl." He says before he nods to some of the other scientists who come over and release Trickery from the chair. She ignores the burning pain at the spots where she was chained up as she keeps her eyes trained on the opposite wall.

However, Mikael notices the crimson blood that escapes from the broken skin on Allie's wrists and ankles and his lips immediately pull into a scowl. Anger flares in his eyes as he glares at the two men who put her in this chair.

But right as Trickery notices the unusual jump in Mikael's heartbeat, he forces his lips into a tight smile as he addresses her again. "Теперь оденься. Вы уходите через 30 минут / Now suit up. You leave in 30 minutes."

She nods curtly at him before she achingly stands up and follows one of the guards outside to find some suitable clothes to wear and her weapons. But as she leaves the room, she hears Mikael rage-filled screams echo down the hallway. The sound only lasts for a moment before the unmistakable noise of a gun being fired goes off, not once, but twice.

And Trickery faintly hears two heartbeats go silent.

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Trickery glances at the watch on her wrist with a frown. Jack Cartwright was supposed to be here by now. It was just past 10:30 in London which left her with only a few hours to complete her mission and get on the plane back to Russia.

She sits quietly in Mr. Cartwright's kitchen waiting for him to return home from his job at the British Secret Intelligence Service. She had read his file on the plane ride over and learned that he was in contact with someone at HYDRA who had leaked him confidential secrets.

She had been told that another team was taking care of the information while she was sent with another team to find out the leak. However, her team only consisted of a few men. There is the man next to her and two outside who have set up a perimeter that will not be needed.

Mikael had told her that he was too busy to come on the mission with her. She did not care that he didn't come but since he isn't present, the man with her is going to inform him of her performance.

She doesn't like this man. She is supposed to address him as Commander, unlike Mikael who lets her address him by his first name.

He is very rude to her and he keeps putting his hands on her body. But she knows that she has to let him do what he wants or she will get in trouble. He has the remote to the collar on her neck and she doesn't want to risk being shocked again for a few moments of uncomfortableness.

But while she has been standing in the kitchen, some of her memories have been coming back. The only things that she had done recently which was mainly intense training and practicing her powers. She remembers Mikael and he seems to care for her. In the memories, he didn't yell at her as much as all the other trainers did. He also didn't shock her as much as they did.

He was nice. He even smiled at her too.

And nobody has ever smiled at her.

With a sigh, Trickery pulls her throwing knife out of her utility belt and begins to gracefully spin it between her fingers in boredom.

Something is keeping Mr. Cartwright from returning home and HYDRA doesn't like to be kept waiting.

But Trickery just wants to complete the mission and return back home, hopefully without getting shocked or beat up.

So she spends the next few minutes standing silently with her knife in her hands, trying not to garner any attention at all from the Commander who is talking into his comms, completely seething.

He was almost ready to pull the plug on the mission when Mr. Cartwright still hadn't returned by 10:45 when they heard the front door slam. Trickery could smell the stench of alcohol on the person all the way from the kitchen which nearly made her screw up her nose in disgust.

However, she refrains from doing so and instead, prepares herself for the events that are about to take place.

Mr. Cartwright continues down his hallway and throws his belongings onto the couch in the living room before he stalks into the kitchen, oblivious to Trickery and the Commander who both blend themselves in with the shadows.

Right as Mr. Cartwright goes to throw open the refrigerator door, the Commander pounces.

He throws himself at Mr. Cartwright who screams in fright and is helplessly thrown against the kitchen bench, landing with a loud 'thud' on the wooden floor. He scrambles back up to his feet and tries to reach for the phone but the Commander immediately has his arm held against Mr. Cartwright's throat, pressing down heavily on the area so would stop shouting.

When Mr. Cartwright stops, the Commander begins to speak. "Jack Cartwright. We have some questions for you to answer." He smirks, lifting his arm slightly so that he can get a response.

Mr. Cartwright's face flushes crimson due to the lack of air that is reaching lungs and he claws at the Commander's hold in a desperate attempt to be freed. "W-who are you?" He stammers.

"I think you know very well who were are." The Commander smirks cruelly.

"Y-you're HYDRA."

"Now Mr. Cartwright, we believe that you have contact with someone at HYDRA. We want to know who that is." The Commander threatens before shoving him back harshly against the wooden kitchen cupboards.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about! I'm a nobody! I don't know anything." Mr. Cartwright begs but Trickery strains her ears to listen closely to the suspect, and his own body betrays him as she hears the little skip of his heart. Confirming that he is indeed lying.

The Commander looks over to Trickery and she shakes her head at him. He then turns back to Mr. Cartwright who watches the exchange helplessly.

"My friend over here tells me you are lying."

As the words fall past the Commander's lips, Mr. Cartwright's breath shortens and his heart begins to beat faster, revealing his internal panic. "I-I'm not lying!" He stutters.

"I don't like liars, Mr. Cartwright." The Commander growls and he looks over to Trickery, giving her a nod.

Just as she was trained, she steps closer to the man and stares at him intently. She feels the power spread through her body and unknowingly, her eyes flash a magnificent silver.

She focuses on the rhythmic beating of Mr. Cartwright's heart. She listens to it's cadenced 'thumps' and she imagines that she is holding it in her hand, slowly clamping down on it like a vice.

Mr. Cartwright's eyes shoot open at the rush of pain that circulates through his chest. He immediately clutches at the area and gasps at the sheer intensity of it.

"Please! I'm telling the truth!" He begs, resisting the urge to groan as the pain in his chest grows.

But the Commander watches on, scowling as he doesn't receive the answer that he wants. "Do you have contact with someone at HYDRA?" He growls again, and Trickery takes that as her cue to be a bit more 'persuasive'.

She imagines that a knife is stabbed into Mr. Cartwright's gut, who gasps and falls to the ground at the new-found agony. She pushes it deeper and deeper until she hears the screams of her victim echoing through the room.

"The pain will stop if you just tell us the truth." The Commander tells Mr. Cartwright who writhes on the floor in pain.

Trickery is just about to unleash more pain on the man when he sits up. "Alright!" He pants and she turns to the Commander. He nods his head at her and she drops the illusion.

"Who is it?" The Commander questions as Mr. Cartwright gathers his breath, still reeling from the pain.

"Heinz Müller." He gasps, "Now please, don't kill me."

A sardonic grin makes its way onto the Commander's face at his words. He shakes his head and he can't help but let the smile grow on his face as he watches Mr. Cartwright beg for his life.

"Oh no, I didn't say that I wouldn't kill you. I just said that the pain would stop." He laughs and before Mr. Cartwright can get a word out, he turns to Trickery.

"Убей его. / Kill him."

Without a second of hesitation, she turns her gaze back to Mr. Cartwright who shouts out plea after plea in a vain attempt to save his life. Her eyes vibrantly flicker silver once again as she zones in on his head. She focuses on the brain, and with a quick furrow of her brows, she severs the connection between his brain and body.

She watches the light suddenly leave his dark eyes. And then as if it was in slow motion, she watches the shell of what was Mr. Cartwright, fall to the floor with a 'thud'. Just to be sure, she strains her ears and listens to his body, but she hears no heartbeat.

Then Trickery turns back to the Commander who gives her an impressed nod.

"Хорошая работа. / Good job." He says to her.

Trickery responds by keeping her mouth shut and returning his nod with one of her own.

But then she hears something from outside. She focuses on the sound and hears footsteps making their way up the path outside. From the heaviness of the footsteps, she guesses that the person is either relatively young or very slight in stature.

"Есть кто-то снаружи. / There's someone outside." She informs the Commander who lets out an exasperated sigh.

But before he has the chance to reply, the front door is thrown open carelessly. The loudness of the sound makes Trickery slightly wince in pain while the Commander scowls at the new complication in their mission.

"Hey dad! Cassidy got sick so I'm home early!" The person shouts.

Trickery keeps her face impassive as she knows that she now has to kill this teenage girl who unfortunately stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time. If only she was 5 minutes late, she would have been spared.

But fate works in mysterious and cruel ways.

Just as expected, the Commander turns to Trickery with a scowl."Быстро, убей ее сейчас. / Quick, kill her now."

Trickery nods and walks out into the living room, awaiting her target.

"Dad?" The voice shouts again, this time telling Trickery how far away she is from her death.

She listens to the girl's footsteps, and when she is only a few steps away from the living room door, Trickery begins to weave her illusions.

"I'm in here!" The illusion calls out to the girl, and just as expected, she follows the voice into the living room. She steps into the room and she doesn't see the Commander standing by the kitchen doorway or Trickery who stands in the corner of the room.

Instead, she sees her father standing in the middle of the room with a happy smile on his face.

"Hey, doll." Her father says and the girl smiles back at him.

"Hey dad." She responds warmly and hugs him. The girl smiles as she smells the familiar scent of aftershave on her father who still towers over her and has to bend down to envelop her in the hug.

He then steps back from the girl and takes ahold of her shoulders softly. "I have a surprise for you! You just need to stand there and close your eyes for me." He informs her.

"Dad! I hate surprises!" She whines but Mr. Cartwright gives her a cheeky smile.

"I know that, but do it for you good ol' pops please." He says.

"Alright." She groans and does as he says. She closes her eyes as her father's hands disappear from her shoulders.

Trickery strides behind the girl who remains tricked by the illusion. She listens to the beat of her heart as it awaits the surprise that will never come and she sees the young girl's smile reflected in the window.

And just like she did to her father, she focuses on the girl's brain and almost immediately, she collapses to the floor with her heart stilled in her chest.

Trickery watches the girl for a second, wondering what she was like when she was that young. And she lets out a sigh when nothing comes to mind. Not even a single memory.

However, Trickery's focus is broken when she hears the Commander speak to the other soldiers through his comms.

"Миссия окончена. Цель уничтожена, и у нас есть имя. / Mission's over. Target is exterminated and we have the name." He tells the men as she turns her gaze back to him.

"Time to go home."

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Hey everyone,

WELCOME TO TRICKERY!!!!

I know this chapter is quite intense but this sets the tone for the next few chapters that are coming so prepare yourselves! I have big things planned for 'Trickery' and I hope you guys enjoy this story as much as you liked 'Tricks'!

And now, now onto the questions!

1. What did you think of the chapter?

2. What do you guys think of Allie/Trickery?

3. What would you guys like to see in the next couple of chapters?

4. Do you like the new look that I have made for the book?

Lots of Love,

Grace xx