Change of leadership (2)
Vera glared at Sara, then at the General, without being able to move. She felt tied to that damn chair; she couldn't get up and leave. Her limbs were heavy, and her head spun like crazy.
She had gone through that once again, already. But, the second time, she hadn't agreed to anything.
«With this amulet, I bind you to obedience,» Sara said. «You will follow the orders of whoever's holding it, or pain will make you follow their desires.»
Her words resounded in the room, and Vera's eyes filled with tears. She had prepared the amulet and ritual beforehand, leaving the last piece for that day. She had collected blood and now was ready to deliver the key to Vera's life to that man.
As weak as Sara could be, her enchantments were difficult to break like those of any other witch. Once bound, Vera could only surrender.
Unless she got her hands on that amulet. But it was a battle for another time, for when they lowered their guards against her.
«Vera Bodgan, welcome back to the agency,» General Blasi said.
His voice was even chillier, making her heart sink deeper into depression.
He wasn't going to be convinced by her desperate face, was he? She had no choice but to accept her fate.
Even though it was unfair: she had just started feeling free, and she was already back to step one. Just like when she was twelve and had no choice but to collaborate.
This time, however, she had no chance to say no to whatever they wanted her to do.
«You will go on your next mission tomorrow morning,» the General continued.
The boss got up from his place and left the chair to the new commander, and Sara stood next to him like a secretary - as if she had some say in it.
«Since your last one was a failure, you ought to make up for it,» he continued.
«A failure?» Vera scoffed. «It was not a failure.»
«Then, can you say you did everything in your power to stop the storm?»
«Since nothing in my power could help, yes! I did everything!»
«Oh,» Sara sighed, shaking her head.
«Hmm?» the General hummed, looking up at her.
«Sorry,» she said, blushing. «I was just considering whether getting loose during a mission means doing everything. You know the rules: no relationships while on duty.»
«I wasn't on duty.»
«But you were,» Sara said. «You had been ordered to stay in Paris, meaning you were still serving the agency. Yet, you forgot to finish your job before ending up in someone's bed. I can feel it from here: you had sex with someone. Don't tell me you were doing it for the power! It would be so gross!»
«What? I don't do that! I don't use sex to obtain power, and you know it!» she shouted, almost getting up. Weren't for that damn amulet binding her to stay seated, she would have pulled that woman's hair out.
How dare she?
«I was just expressing my concerns,» Sara continued. «I even considered that you might have met someone on the way back, but you confirmed you were alone. The only place you could loosen up was Paris. During a mission, how unprofessional. I'm worried about you...»
«Where is her partner?» the General inquired. «Does he know about this?»
«No, he doesn't,» Sara said. «Ethan is a professional, and he came back soon after the storm. It was not him, if you're wondering. Someone else must have attracted her attention... Given the news about the storm, it must have been someone special if you could notice him in such a situation.»
«You wish to know, ah?» Vera chuckled.
«I don't like unprofessional agents, Vera Bogdan. You better not repeat this, or I'll write a note of demerit in your personal file,» said the General.
She rolled her eyes. What did she care about demerit? She just wanted her freedom. If they wanted to fire her, better! He could fill her personal file of notes until they got tired and sent her out.
«While the mission is ongoing, you can't leave and do whatever you want. I thought the agency taught you better!» he said, turning to the captain, the former boss. «This place needs a complete hundred-eighty-degree turn. I'll see that things are done how they should. Thank you for your help, Sara.»
«It's for the agency, General Blasi. I'm a loyal agent, as you can see.»
«You will be in charge of supervising Agent Bogdan during the next mission. Since you can keep her under control, it shouldn't be too difficult.»
«Sure,» Sara said, but part of her being did waver.
Keeping Vera under control? Easier said than done. However, if she could put her hands on that amulet, for sure...
The agency had spent much to create it, buying the best materials and the older manufact they could find. It was one of a kind, able to keep Vera sitting in silence. It could suppress her power and win over her will.
Sara's enchantment worked thanks to all those conditions meeting at once: old magic, mysterious runes, and the blood of a witch.
In any other circumstances, Sara wouldn't have succeeded.
However, the prospect of instructing that little witch was intriguing. If only she could have that amulet, she could order her to bring her coffee, take notes, run errands... What a nice perspective.
«I will do my best, General,» she said.
As if reading her mind, Vera's face lost colour. A mission while taking orders from that wench? She would have rather worked in the fields!
What fields? Those were heaven in comparison. She would have cleaned the agency from floor one to twenty. She would prefer listening to the secretaries' gossip or even distributing fliers in the city under the sun with a temperature of forty degrees.