Chapter Twenty-Six
"Come." Katya lifted her up and set her on her hip. And Lainey had to admit, it felt so good to be in her arms. "Let's get you somewhere safe. You're getting out of here. I promise."
Lainey whimpered at the movement, but stayed quiet.
Unfortunately, they didn't quite make it out of the room before someone began to turn the knob of the door.
Katya thought fast and set Lainey right back down onto the examination table, to make it seem as if she had only been treating the child's injuries.
The two held their breaths as the door opened, revealing Madame B.
Lainey had really hoped that she had seen the last of her back in the training room. It could've been a lot worse, though. It could've been Dreykov that opened up that door, but it wasn't.
She had to be grateful for that.
"Coddling her." The older woman held her chin up high as she stepped further into the room. "That is no surprise."
"Just treating her injuries, ma'am." Katya rewrapped Lainey's wrist now that she had time to do it.
It was badly sprained and if Lainey didn't get the opportunity for proper rest, it would break. That wouldn't be ideal for the Red Room.
Who knows how Madame B and Dreykov would react if that happened.
"What's the problem?"
"She has a sprained wrist and a twisted ankle."
"Minor injuries." Madame B brushed her off and took Lainey's arm, pulling her off of the table. "Come with me."
Katya had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from asking the woman where she was taking her daughter. She was a subordinate, she had to act like it.
She'd be no good to Lainey if she was forcefully cycled through the program a fourth time.
Instead, she followed the two right back to where Lainey had woken up earlier, and stood up against the wall to observe.
She felt so helpless. She couldn't say or do anything to make this better for Lainey. In fact, she felt as if she failed. This is exactly what she was trying to prevent, but she couldn't stop it.
Now Lainey was going to become what she was born to be.
Something she had been before, though her memory didn't serve her well.
A ruthless Widow.
"When I instructed you to spar earlier today, you held back." Madame B looked down at Lainey, who was doing her best not to shrink away. "You were sloppy. You haven't been raised to be sloppy. You were raised to be ferocious, smart, quick. You were made for more."
"Yes, ma'am." Lainey stared at her feet, hands clasped behind her back, muscle memory being one of the only things not failing her at the moment.
"That being said, I am giving you an opportunity to prove your worth to this academy. You are going to prove to me that I am not wasting my time."
"Yes, ma'am." Lainey wasn't sure what that meant, but she could be certain it didn't mean anything good.
Katya knew exactly what was going to happen. She had seen it done so many times.
She had been involved in it so many times.
It was the only way to survive in these four walls.
"Svetlana, step forward."
Svetlana, now sporting some very visible injuries (courtesy of Lainey), made her way over to the two and stood in the very same position as Lainey did, nearly mirroring her.
She was taller than Lainey, but that was because she was so obviously older. Her hair hadn't been redone into a brand new braid, Lainey could tell because of the flyaways that framed her face. The strands were so light, she could hardly see them.
She never once looked at Lainey, so the younger of the pair couldn't really tell what she might have been thinking or feeling at that moment. But if she had to guess, Lainey thought that she was just as nervous and uncomfortable as she was.
"Face each other." Madame B stepped back.
The two did as they were told, hands still behind their backs, waiting with anticipation for their next instruction.
"Begin."
Lainey wasn't naive enough to think that she wasn't going to be forced to fight again, but she didn't know how she was going to do it.
She was obviously a bit battered from their last encounter, but Madame B didn't seem to care.
Her heart hammered inside of her chest as the gravity of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks.
She was going to have to fight Svetlana and no one was going to be able to get her out of it. She was literally on her own with this.
This wasn't a game. This wasn't another situation like when she was in that warehouse. This was so much worse.
If she failed, it was over.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when a perfectly poised fist came flying at her face and she moved just in time to dodge it.
Svetlana was nimble, but Lainey wasn't going down without giving it her best shot. The eleven year old grabbed the teen's outstretched arm and used her own momentum against her, yanking Svetlana forward before letting go and sending a solid roundhouse kick to the middle of her back, right where her spine was.
The older girl grunted at the force and stumbled forward, turning around with an angry look on her face.
She rushed forward and sent a kick Lainey's way, but Lainey lifted her right arm, allowing the girl's leg to get trapped under it, before she sent a solid punch with her left, right to her femur bone.
And as hard as it was to completely break a femur, Lainey knew she heard something crack right before Svetlana let out a startling scream from the pain she was feeling.
"Excellent." Madam B complimented as she observed along with the rest of the class.
Katya trained Lainey for years, she knew what she was capable of. She knew just how far she could go.
But that didn't mean she enjoyed watching her daughter in action.
This was horrifying for her.
While Svetlana was distracted with the pain, Lainey steeled herself and held onto the blonde's leg, throwing her own body weight back, so that she'd fall, making Svetlana fall on top of her.
But before Svetlana could land, Lainey kicked her feet out above her and threw the girl right over her head, sending her crashing down onto the mats while she got back up onto her feet.
This gave Lainey a moment to catch her breath and try to calm herself down. She was hoping that Madame B called it soon, because Svetlana didn't look like she could handle much more of this.
She was in the process of pushing herself back up, but was sort of struggling to do so.
"Get up." Madame B slapped that horrible bamboo stick down on the mat, startling the teen.
Svetlana coughed and slumped over, her body remaining completely still.
Lainey furrowed her eyebrows at the sight and stepped forward, stopping when Madame B ordered her not to.
"Stop." The woman checked on the blonde before she turned her attention back to Lainey. "Congratulations."
Lainey paled at the sight before her.
She had done that?
Svetlana was...and she was responsible?
"Irina, I believe you have a score to settle." Madame B called another girl onto the mats. "Svetlana was our weakest link. She was too soft, not fit for the academy. Irina, is one of our best, like you."
Svetlana wasn't weak.
Lainey was weak. She had just taken a life because she was too afraid of the consequences of saying 'no' to a superior.
She was afraid.
Her fear drove her to do something she never would have otherwise thought about doing before.
And someone else had to pay the price.
"Begin." Madame B told the two.
Unlike Svetlana, Irina came in like a force to be reckoned with. Lainey didn't have any time to think before the older brunette attacked her like a feral cat.
Madame B was right, she was good.
But Lainey was good, too. She had this skill of being able to size people up after fighting with them for a few minutes.
Irina either fought like this all the time, or she was letting her anger cloud her judgement. She might have been a strong fighter, but she wasn't a smart one.
Every punch she threw, Lainey noticed that she left other parts of her body wide open for attack.
"Fight back!" Madame B scolded Lainey, tired of watching her block the blows.
Irina growled and continued her attempt at assault. This time, Lainey sent a good kick at her open ribs, forcing her to stumble back.
"There is no need for you to stand there and watch. Move!"
The preteen didn't like this ruthless method of training, but she knew she had to comply to survive. Irina was still in her weakened state, so she took advantage of that and sent her left fist flying towards the girl's face.
It seemed like the hit helped Irina recover and made her anger flare up once again, because she reached out and grabbed Lainey's hair once again, and tugged, pulling her head back.
Lainey gasped at the sudden action, but remained calm, using her free hands to find a knife that was on Irina's person to lightly slash the girl's wrist, shocking her into letting go.
The line of blood only seemed to fuel the girl's rage.
But when she ran to Lainey, the younger of the two held the blade the knife out towards her, forcing her to stop at the very last minute.
"Hesitation, Irina?" Madame B mocked. "My best pupil hesitates and she allows the younger girls to get the better of her."
Lainey was sincerely hoping that the knife would be enough to stop the girl from advancing again, but it seemed like their superior's words were getting the best of her.
"How old are you? Sixteen?" The woman continued. "Almost time for your graduation ceremony and you are failing."
Graduation ceremony?
Lainey remembered hearing Natasha talk about it once. It wasn't good.
"Sloppy."
Irina let out a battle cry and grabbed the wrist of the arm that was holding the knife, flipping Lainey over her shoulder.
Lainey lost her grip on the weapon, but she managed to land right onto her feet, surprising everyone who didn't think she had that up her sleeve.
And while Irina's back was still turned, she ran up to her, used one leg to step up onto her thigh, and threw her other one up over her shoulder, landing up there in a sitting position.
But she couldn't stay there for long, she had to move before Irina got used to holding her weight.
So she locked her ankles together and leaned to the right, throwing her whole body downwards to give her an opportunity to grab onto Irina's torso, and unlocked her ankles, causing Irina to flip onto the mat with a loud crash.
Lainey felt herself falling, but she curled her body and landed in a somersault, hopping right back up onto her feet.
Irina looked like she had broken something during the fall and was now kneeling, trying to figure out a way to get back up.
"Finish it." Madame B ordered Lainey.
"Ma'am?" Lainey sputtered in shock, staring directly at Irina.
She was ordering her to kill Irina. That's what this whole thing was. Another test.
She wanted to see if she really had what it took to be here.
"In the field, you will not have the option to spare a life. That is weakness. You must complete your mission, leave no trace."
Lainey felt her breath quicken at the very thought of this. She didn't get along with Irina, but she didn't want to hurt her.
Why did she have to end it like this?
"Finish it, Alyona." The older woman raised a brow. "Dreykov does not appreciate it when his pupils cannot follow through."
That was a veiled threat. She was well aware.
And it worked.
Lainey squeezed her eyes shut to inhale deeply before she opened them again. This was really happening.
It felt like a nightmare, but it was really happening.
What was she supposed to do? She had no choice!
Irina looked up at her, clutching her side, and nodded.
She nodded.
Irina was accustomed to this way of life. She knew what this line of work entailed. She had failed and this was the result.
That was the way of the Red Room.
Lainey bit back tears and stepped sideways before sending a harsh kick the girl's way.
Irina never made a sound. Not a whimper, or a groan.
The only sound Lainey heard, was a sickening crack before that fateful thump, signaling Irina had hit the ground.
"Finish it, Alyona." Madame B instructed the four year old in the very same room all those years ago, handing her a firearm.
Alyona looked at her opponent, a five year old girl with black hair and brown eyes; Ksenia.
She and Ksenia were friends. Though Alyona was quite isolated in her upbringing, Melina had convinced General Dreykov that she needed to be able to socialize on her missions in the future.
Alyona met Ksenia after the latter was brought to the Red Room a few months prior. Ksenia had known a life outside of the Red Room, so she wasn't as hardened and jaded as the rest of the girls were.
That's what Alyona liked about her. She made the Red Room bearable, she gave her something to look forward to.
Sometimes, Alyona would pick the lock of her handcuffs and sneak into Ksenia's living quarters with half a roll of bread she'd saved from dinner.
Since Ksenia was new and inexperienced, she was often not allowed food as a result of her perceived incompetence. The little girl was most often hungry and Alyona felt sorry for her.
She would offer the bread to the five year old, watching her scarf it down with one hand. Ksenia would never allow her to unlock her cuffs for fear of getting into trouble, but she was grateful for the food.
They never said anything during those frigid nights, but they had a mutual understanding. Alyona would do her best to help her and Ksenia would offer her the gift of friendship in return.
It seemed as if General Dreykov got word that the two were friends and ordered for them to spar with one another.
Alyona knew that Ksenia had never sparred this way before. She didn't know what this entailed and she didn't know how to properly defend herself.
She wouldn't be able to handle this.
But she was too afraid of the trouble she'd be in if she decided to take it easy on her. General Dreykov was a powerful man and Alyona had seen pupils that didn't follow instructions disappear.
There were no special bonds in the Red Room. Everyone had to look out for themselves.
So when Alyona and Ksenia ended up on the mats, the former was forced to make a tough decision, a decision that wasn't made for a four year old child.
"You have talent. Do not waste it on useless sentiment." Madame B coached. "Weakness."
Alyona's blue eyes met Kseniya's brown ones and she sent her a look of apology.
But this was the way it had to be.
BANG!
Lainey didn't know how she could have possibly forgotten that day. The horrible feeling of dread, the intense fight where at first, she tried to hold back, and most importantly, the fear in the eyes of a child she had considered to be her friend.
Someone who had made the mistake of trusting her.
"Excellent, Alyona. General Dreykov will be very pleased."
Tony was right.
Everything he said was true.
Lainey was a monster, and it was only a matter of time before she got worse.
Bonus Scene:
"Where is she?" Natasha wiped her sweaty palms, pacing back and forth.
The fight she just had with the subjugated widows really was nothing compared to the feeling of terror she had, not knowing where she daughter was.
There was no greater fear than this.
When they made it out of this, she was keeping an extra close eye on that kid for a long time to come.
She should've known that this would happen. Of course they'd be separated. Lainey was still young enough to be molded and manipulated. She was still young enough to be forced into doing things she didn't want to do.
Combine that with the fact that she had been born and raised in the Red Room, so they already knew how to control her? It was a recipe for disaster.
"She's okay. She's gonna be fine." Yelena assured her, though she wasn't very confident about that herself.
Little girls didn't leave this place, just fine.
They left tortured, battered, bruised.
If they left at all.