Chapter Text
Part 1
1959
Anna Kendrick as Nina Smith
Nina inspected herself in the mirror above her nightstand, her bright blue eyes shining as she shook out her dark, luxurious hair, admiring the way the pale, pink neon light from outside her apartment window fell upon it.
Johnny Mathis crooned from the record player as she turned, casting a critical eye on her dress, a black, form fitting number with gold accents, allowing just a hint of view of her generous cleavage.
A few years out of date, and somewhat well worn, but it wasn't like she could just order the latest dresses from Paris, she thought with a sigh.
She spun around, balancing on one repaired heeled shoe, half remembered ballet lessons from when she was a child floating to her mind.
Miss Kasimov had been quite hard on her, though it hadn't been a statement on her American heritage, she had been hard on all the girls. She had even told her once that she had a great destiny in store for her, that she would one day end up someplace utterly unique.
Well, that part had come true, at least, Nina thought sourly. The long and tangled road in trying to emigrate to a better place from the Soviet Union had led her young life to a place she never would have imagined in her wildest dreams.
Shaking herself out of her reverie, Nina reached for her hat. To her surprise, it was wet. She looked up and spotted the wet spot on the ceiling, an languid drip right above the hat stand.
"Dammit." Nina muttered.
Her last good hat, ruined. She could still remember the spiel about Olympus Heights that had convinced her to sink a sizable amount of her remaining money into securing an apartment lease. And the leaks had started in her very first month, an early warning sign of just how bad things would spin out of control.
But she wouldn't have to put up with it for long. Sighing, Nina picked up the revolver on the nightstand, flicking out the cylinder, verifying the rounds loaded inside. She spun the cylinder idly for a moment, before putting the revolver back down.
The pink glow from the window receded.
Nina walked to the window, looking outside at the bloom of jellyfish as they retreated out of view past the apartments.
For a moment, Nina just stood there, taking in the view of the city of Rapture, the towering skyscrapers straining towards the surface of the ocean miles and miles above them, tilted art deco statues leaning over trenches, faded and pitted electric lights for the Kashmir Restaurant, the Footlight Theater, Sinclair Solutions...
A memory came to her of the very first time she had seen the city, how she had just stood there in the bathysphere, frozen, her breath taken away from her, realizing that although she had been somehow, against all odds, been one of the lucky few chosen to join the city of Rapture.
Deep down, she hadn't really, truly, believed it, not when she had landed in Reykjavík, not when she and others had all been driven off to the coast under the cover of night, not even when she had walked onto the bathysphere, still clutching her letter of invitation, even when it had began it's plunge into the sea... being told of Rapture was one thing, seeing it in all its splendor was another.
An impossible dream come true, although none of them would have any idea how the dream would spiral into a nightmare...
Nina pursed her lips, trying to let the memories fade, and checked her pocket watch.
Quarter to seven. It was almost time. She looked back over at her nightstand. There were two items on it that would be indispensable for her finally managing to escape the city. One was the revolver. The other was a key, with a stylized cat figurine hanging off it's chain.
She placed both objects in her purse, took the needle off the record, stood up and opened the door to leave, taking a last look at her home for the past six years before she closed the door forever.
She hurried down the hallway to the elevator, looking around to make sure she wasn't being followed. The darkness unnerved her. More than half of the lights had burnt out or had been deliberately smashed.
Reaching the elevator, she hit the button. There was a low, grumbling creak, and she watched the numbers slowly light up as it made its slow journey to her floor.
A bosun's whistle cut shrilly through the air, and then a staticky screech from the apartment's PA system.
Nina grimaced as a cheerful man's voice echoed through the empty hall. One of the many propaganda playlets that were broadcast every day throughout Rapture. She had heard this one so many times she could say the lines by heart.
"Hey Mary, why so down in the mouth?" the cheerful man in the playlet said, obviously unable to comprehend anyone not being deliriously happy in such a wonderful place.
A worried woman answered him. "I don't know, Jim. I guess I just don't know how I feel about those Little Sisters."
"The Little Sisters? Gee! Don't you know they're the glue that holds Rapture together?" Jim said with conviction.
Nina rolled her eyes and pressed the button again. She thought she saw movement in the shadows at the end of the corridor. The pre-recorded message continued over the speakers.
"Really?" Mary asked, obviously hoping that the all-knowing Jim would set all her fears to rest.
"You betcha! Ryan Industries has seen to it that they're bred to be as happy as clams while they do the work that keeps us safe from the bandits and terrorists! We all need ADAM... and we all need the Little Sisters!"
The elevator door opened at the same time the message ended, and Nina quickly hurried in, almost running into a woman. The occupant of the elevator turned around, raising her head to inspect Nina.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Nina's voice trailed off.
She couldn't tear her gaze away from the woman's dark eyes, staring at her from a too-smooth face, an almost wax-like, eerily symmetrical vision of perfection ripped from a fashion magazine, framed by perfectly coifed blonde hair.
The overt precision of the woman's face, and her cold beauty had an extremely unsettling effect, like looking at a living, breathing mannequin.
The woman's dark green dress was torn and mended in parts, and Nina realized with horror that she was holding in her right hand a long length of steel pipe, the end of which was dripping a dark, crimson liquid onto the faded carpet of the elevator floor.
Nina tore her gaze away from it, and was nauseated to see bulging tumors on the woman's legs, one of the many physical marks of a Splicer. She hurriedly lifted her gaze.
"Coming aboard, dear?" The woman asked politely.
Nina nodded numbly, and carefully stepped into the elevator, trying not to give the other woman too wide a berth, afraid of offending her. She clutched her purse, wondering how fast she could open it if she needed to.
Splicers... the men and women who had turned to ADAM and Gene-Splicing too much in the fall of Rapture, any desperate attempt to gain an advantage, or to survive. Scarring their bodies, and their minds.
Nina had seen and heard of far too many people fall to Splicer madness, to overdosing, and to each other as Rapture fell... and now she was stuck in an elevator with a Splicer.
"First floor, please." Nina said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.
The woman hit the button and smiled brightly at Nina, revealing shining, perfect teeth before she began to speak again.
"So refreshing to see a young lady with manners nowadays. So many tramps and other undesirables infesting this fair city. Parasites... why, even the delivery boys have gone to the dogs, ordered a prime rib from the Kashmir, you should have seen it, obviously undercooked, and then the bastard had the nerve to ask for a tip, but I certainly straightened him out..."
The woman raised the pipe and casually flicked off a matted clump of hair.
Nina backed up in horror, hitting the wall. The other woman didn't seem to notice, and the doors opened.
"This is my stop, dear. Do take care of yourself." She said cheerily, lifting the pipe and exiting, whistling a jaunty tune.
Nina frantically hit the first floor button again, willing the doors to close before the woman changed her mind and came back for her, breathing a sigh of relief as they did.
Her heart pounding, Nina watched as the first floor number finally lit up, she rushed outside and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. She unzipped her purse, reaching inside to grab the revolver, not noticing the tall figure emerging from the shadows to her side until the outstretched hand was descending upon her shoulder.
"Arrrrghhh!" Nina shrieked, dropping the revolver as she flung herself sideways.
With a sigh, the other woman stepped out from the shadows and knelt down, picking up the revolver and handing it back to Nina.
"Jesus Christ, Shelby, you almost gave me a heart attack." Nina said, clutching her heaving chest.
Shelby tsked in amusement, helping the smaller woman to her feet.
"You really ought to be more careful, sweetheart. With keeping an eye out, with that kind of talk, with having such a big gun for such a midget..." Shelby said lightly.
Nina flushed. "Well, you should be more careful with... with... being so hot and stuff..."
She groaned inwardly.
"Oh my, I've never heard such a devastatingly witty insult. I'm not sure I'll ever recover from such a mortal wound to my psyche." Shelby said, chuckling.
Nina tried to think of a response, but found herself instead admiring the other woman's beauty.
Even with the city gone to hell, somehow Shelby still managed to look completely stunning.
Elizabeth Debicki as Shelby DeLisle
This evening she was in a black, backless dress, accented with diamond jewelry, gifts from Jane, her much loved and dearly departed lover.
The dress showed a great deal of her pale, perfect skin, but was somehow still classy. Noticing Nina's admiration, Shelby smiled warmly and playfully twirled like a fashion model, running a hand through her jet black hair in a bob cut. She was even wearing make up, Nina noticed with envy. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen that in a store.
Shelby was one of the rare people that always dressed to the nines and took advantage of their wealth without coming across as an asshole, and she had become best friends with Nina from the moment they had first met years ago, when Nina had bumped into her at the Kashmir Restaurant and spilled wine over Shelby's dress.
She had thought she was going to die of embarrassment, but Shelby had just laughed it off, insisted that Nina join her when she realized Nina was eating alone, talked her into going with to a party the same night, and had been with Nina through thick and thin ever since.
She always knew how to put a smile on Nina's face, and had a gift for bringing out the best in others with her own optimism, despite the many and varied incidents, tragedies, and odd occurrences in her own life.
Nina was about to ask just how Shelby was planning on walking around with all that wealth on her, when she noticed the crossbow leaning against the wall where she had been waiting, an extended clip jutting ominously from underneath it, and various bits of steam powered machinery on the sides of the weapon and around it - the crossbow was a gift from Lydia, Shelby's much loved and dearly departed mistress.
Shelby picked up the crossbow and swung into a resting position under her arm.
Nina whistled at the sight. She knew that normally Shelby wouldn't hurt a fly, and just how much it took to rouse her to anger, but even she was intimidated by how Shelby looked now. This job might not be so tough after all, she allowed herself to hope.
"Where to, sweetheart? Atlas finally found Beroit and McKittrick?" Shelby asked as they walked towards the Bathysphere Station, passing heavy, sealed compartmentalized doors.
Nina idly remembered the days when the doors were open at all hours, allowing access to other areas of the city.
Nina nodded. "Hiding in the Fat Cat Lounge with their stash of ADAM. We get it to Atlas, he gives us a hefty payday, and smuggles us out of Rapture."
"Oh, that simple? Last time I checked, the Lounge's entrance off-limits. We're not just going to stroll in." Shelby pointed out.
"But they go in and out through the bootlegger's door... and I have a spare key." Nina said with pride, hefting her purse.
Shelby raised an eyebrow.
Nina scowled. "No, I'm not telling you how I got it. You laughed at me enough when I scored the tickets to Sander's concert by taking over the ballet classes that one time. It's enough that we're getting in." She cut off her rambling, face flushed red from embarrassment again.
Shelby smiled, holding up one hand in supplication. "All right, Nina. You got the key, we go go in, snatch the ADAM and get out. Easy as pie, then." Winking at Nina again, she sung softly.
"Why oh why, can't I have a slice of that pie, if Ryan can have it, why can't I..."
"You get on my case for saying something religious and you're singing banned songs?" Nina complained.
Shelby threw out her hand abruptly, stopping Nina in her tracks, Nina turned, thinking Shelby was joking around until she saw her serious expression.
Shelby pointed down, Nina looked at the ground and saw that she had almost stepped in a trail of blood.
A discarded black heel laid on its side.
Shelby put her finger to her lips and raised her crossbow.
Nina pressed herself against the wall and walked forward. The trail of blood led around a corner, the two women followed it cautiously at they ended up in the atrium that served as the waiting room of the Bathysphere Station.
It was a large, open space, the high, synthetic glass widows allowing more light during the daytime and a view of the city. Nina dimly noticed a whale swimming by in the distance, a sight that had rendered her speechless when she had first arrived in Rapture, and had all too quickly become boring and routine.
From the ceiling, a huge, brass relief statue of Andrew Ryan, the founder and ruler of Rapture, glared down at everyone imposingly. Underneath the statue, there was a red banner.
In bright gold print, it proclaimed "NO GODS OR KINGS ONLY MAN"
Turning her attention back to the trail of blood, Nina spotted the body. A woman in a blue dress was lying upright, her back propped against a vending machine, one arm, bloated from ADAM abuse, resting in her lap, the other outstretched and empty. Her brown eyes were open and staring sightlessly in shock. Her dress and body was torn by bullet holes, and a sign was hung around her neck.
"DEATH TO ATLAS'S SPIES" the skewed, hand painted letters said in red ink. At least, Nina hoped it was ink.
Nina shuddered in horror at the sight, but Shelby hurried forward.
"What are you doing?" Nina asked.
"She could have something on her-"
This time Nina was the one who grabbed Shelby.
Next to the vending machine, there was a bronze vent in the wall. In the darkness, two glowing yellow eyes stared out.
"Get back, get back," Nina said, as Shelby gaped and the two women hurried to hide behind a bench.
From the vent, a little girl's face, unnaturally pale and pallid, slowly emerged, blinking her glowing eyes. She squirmed out, a slight figure in a formerly bright pink dress, now faded and smudged with dirt, and she landed on the ground in her bare feet, dusting her dress off, holding up a device, with a huge syringe attached to a container of red, glowing liquid. ADAM.
Nina's eyes were drawn to the other end of the of the harvesting tool, where a baby bottle nipple resided. The sight of it clenched Nina's stomach.
"Look Mr. Bubbles, an angel!" The Little Sister said happily as she skipped toward the woman's dead body.
Somewhere behind them, Nina heard one of the doors opening, and a low, heavy groan, followed by thundering footsteps...
Shelby placed a reassuring hand on Nina's shoulder as the two turned, and the Big Daddy lumbered into view.
As always, Nina was awestruck by the sight of the giant figure, this one eight feet tall, the armored, heavily modified diving suit covering every inch of skin- she had heard tales of people who had been unlucky enough to see what was underneath the suit, she sincerely hoped they weren't true...
One arm ended in a massive mining drill. No matter how many of the Big Daddies Nina had seen over the years, she had never been able to tell whether it was simply the Big Daddy's hand vanishing into a gloved tool, or if the drill, horrible as it sounded to her, replaced the arm. 
The Big Daddy's massive, helmeted head swayed from side to side, the eight eye ports all opaque, a glowing, sickly yellow light blocking all view of what ever was underneath the helmet.
The Big Daddy groaned again, a low, heavy sigh that echoed and bounced around the station, as it spotted the Little Sister and lumbered slowly over to her, watching over her protectively as she raised her syringe into the air, Nina's horrified eyes following it, a gleam of light reflecting off the needle before the Little Sister plunged it into the woman's corpse repeatedly, extracting the raw ADAM from her.
Nina turned away, sickened, as the Little Sister began drinking the ADAM greedily, the syringe end pointing up the ceiling as she glugged the liquid down.
"... shit, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing that." Shelby muttered shakily under her breath.
"Let's get out of here." Nina said, spotting a Bathysphere, walking towards it as fast as she could without breaking into a run, Shelby close behind her, casting nervous looks backwards as the Big Daddy stood near the Little Sister, keeping his silent vigil.
The Big Daddy turned its head, watching the two leave, making Nina's heart race a little faster, but they were too far away for the Big Daddy to care about them anymore.
As Nina and Shelby entered the Bathysphere and closed the door, they could faintly hear the Little Sister singing.
"Mr. Bubbles, Mr. Bubbles, are you there, are you there... come and give me lollies, come and give me toffees, teddy bear... teddy bear..."
Nina shuddered, she'd never be able to hear Frere Jacques again without thinking of the Little Sisters.
Shelby leaned back against the wall, exhaling with relief as the Bathysphere began its automated course through the city, bringing them into the shopping and entertainment district.
Nina stared dully out the window, watching the buildings pass them by. She looked up towards the surface of the ocean with resentment.
It seemed ludicrous that the transportation around Rapture was the very same method they needed to escape the city, but she had heard enough horror stories about people trying to hack the vehicles into rising to the surface and being rewarded with the things exploding on the dock, summoning hordes of security bots that had shredded the unfortunate would-be passengers with volleys of machine gun fire, or, perhaps worst of all, only partially succeeding, and being brought to the surface too fast, their bodies rupturing from the deadly Bends, unable to handle the changing atmospheric pressure...
No, in order to leave, she and Shelby would have to use one of the few Bathyspheres left over from when people were still allowed to join the city, and those few were all in the hands of Atlas...
"So, what are your plans when you get back to the surface?" Shelby asked suddenly.
Nina looked at her in surprise.
"Honestly... I haven't thought that far." She admitted.
"All I want is to live in a place without leaks, without someone asking me where I grew up as a kid, and where robbers can't set you on fire or shoot lightning at you." Nina said ruefully.
"Well, they can still set you on fire, but they'd have to do it the old fashioned way." Shelby pointed out.
"Gee, way to look on the bright side, Shelby." Nina complained.
"Just saying. Still, at least you can make your own way if you want. Soon as I show up back in the US, I'll probably have half a dozen cousins all after me trying to get a slice of my inheritance." Shelby said, grimacing in distaste.
"And half a dozen men upset about my breaking their fragile little hearts... and a dozen women upset about the same..." Shelby continued, a fond little smile on her face as she remembered some of her previous dalliances and conquests.
"Geez, Shelby." Nina said, unsure whether to be annoyed, jealous, or impressed by her friend's love life.
"Maybe I'll let you pick a town for us, darling. After all, you did save us from going to the Kashmir's New Year's Party because you insisted I just had to try that little diner you found." Shelby said brightly.
Nina found herself torn between amusement and horror, thinking of how her impulsive decision, so spur of the moment, had saved them both from such a horrible fate.
She could still remember hearing the news on the radio about the New Year's Eve attack by Atlas's bandits that had sparked the civil war between him and Andrew Ryan, Shelby's face turning pale (or paler then usual, she amended) as the grim details were broadcast...
"Well, someone has to keep you out of trouble." Nina said, smiling back at Shelby. The two of them had gone through so much together, Nina couldn't imagine being apart once they made it to the surface.
Their thoughts were interrupted as the Bathysphere docked at the station, the door cycling through, and finally opening with a protesting groan of metal.
Nervously, Nina retrieved her revolver from the purse, as Shelby raised her crossbow.
The pair stepped outside, the gaudy lights from Rapture's entertainment district making Nina wince after the darkness of Olympus Heights. She immediately spotted the sign of the Fat Cat Lounge, in the distance, a few blocks across from the Metro Station they were standing in. The station itself seemed deserted, but looks could be deceiving, and Nina and Shelby hurried into the street.
They stopped short, across from them, there was a small group of men and women, their backs to the pair. Nina noticed with dismay that one of the men was carrying a Tommy gun.
But even as they watched the group in trepidation, the group's attention was caught by someone else, stepping into the street a distance away.
The figure carrying the Tommy Gun screamed in outrage.
"Sinner! You know what we do to Judases!"
He opened fire, as the person in the distance beat a hasty retreat. The rest of the group followed in in a sprint, calling out threats and insults to their unfortunate prey.
Nina exhaled in relief, then felt a measure of guilt, hoping their unaware and unfortunate helper would make his or her escape. Nina hefted her revolver nervously as she and Shelby crept towards the Fat Cat Lounge...
***
There was a smoldering corpse lying in the street in front of the Lounge, smoke still rising off it, towards the glass ceiling high above.
Nina couldn't help but stare at the body, wondering who the corpse had been in life, and what exactly had led to it being in such a state, as she and Shelby cautiously walked towards the side entrance of the Lounge, a three story art deco building, a mix of polished chrome and brick.
The back of it was built directly against the glass, allowing the visitors to the Lounge numerous views of the ocean.
The amount of windows at the front of the Lounge would have made Nina even more nervous, but the majority of them were bricked up, boarded over, or heavily curtained. There was no sense worrying about someone watching them approach, Nina decided.
They would probably assume that either the intruders would try to break in through the front, or would decide to clear off after seeing the body.
No doubt McKittrick and Beroit had left it there as a warning towards anyone attempting to enter the lounge. To Nina's amazement, as she and Shelby hugged the walls of the building, they could see that the front door was propped open with a crate, almost daring people to come in.
But the whirring noise emanating from the entrance, and the flashing green lights constantly in view told another story. It was a modified security turret, guarding the entrance. Anyone who crossed its path would meet a quick end as it opened fire.
Nina turned her attention back to the side of the Lounge, and she spotted the bootlegger's door, so smoothly built into the wall that one would a great deal of trouble finding it unless they knew exactly what to look for.
Smiling grimly, Nina ran her hand over the door, nodding when her fingers found the keyhole.
She reached in her purse, bringing the key up to the door-
She jumped, dropping her key, startled as the Public Address Announcement System rang out the shrill bosun's whistle.
Shelby rolled her eyes, bending over and handing the key back to Nina's shaking hands.
"Approaching a Little Sister is a criminal offense. Do not approach the Little Sisters." A woman's stern voice echoed throughout the city streets.
Nina pursed her lips in annoyance. As if anyone needed a stupid PA to know that. Crossing the path of a Big Daddy guarding a Little Sister was punishment enough, assuming that anyone unlucky, stupid or desperate enough to try that managed to somehow survived the experience.
She opened the door, her heart still racing as she slipped inside, Shelby right behind her, carefully closing the door, trying not to make a sound. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the darkness inside the lounge, she stepped forward and ran immediately into Shelby's outstretched arm.
Shelby pointed down, at the tripwire, barely visible in the gloom. Nina swallowed hard. The pair living in the Lounge were clearly not just counting on the bootlegger's entrance not being common knowledge. Nina's eyes traveled along the tripwire, at the other end, she saw a jury-rigged bomb on the wall, various clockwork mechanisms and nails bound together.
"Damn... thanks, Shelby." Nina whispered.
Shelby nodded, raising a finger to her own lips as she carefully stepped over the wire, then turned and lifted Nina over it.
The two continued into the building, following the corridor into the main bar and lounge. Most of the lights were off, but there were enough still on to bathe the area in a soft, amber glow, the dark wooden chairs and bronze tables showing a glimpse of what the place had been like in its glory days.
The floor was in good condition, bearing none of the water stains from leaks that a great deal of the higher class buildings of Rapture dealt with, and was relatively free of debris, aside from a few stray empty bottles of wine and abandoned crates.
The bar was against the wall, a dizzying collection of various bottles in view. There was even a working jukebox, its own bright neon lights vying for attention.
Nina hesitated, wondering where to begin their search for the ADAM cache, when there was a heavy thump from the ceiling, followed by a faint, muffled scream.
Shelby raised her crossbow, pointing at a staircase leading up the second floor.
Nina bit her lip, feeling her heart pounding again as she followed Shelby, cautiously walking up the stairs, her crossbow at the ready.
The second floor was darker still, an open dance floor dominated most of the visible space, with private booths along the glass wall, which would allow light during the day. Right now, the ocean view was mostly an inky pool of blackness.
There was a large door with double handles in the middle of one faux-leather wall, and Nina saw a light from underneath it, blocked occasionally as a figure moved back and forth in the other room. Muffled voices could be heard behind the door.
As cautiously as she could, Nina made her way towards it, hunched over as Shelby covered her with her weapon. Nina reached out, gingerly grasping the handle, and opened the door, willing it not to creak as she edged it open slowly.
She peeked inside the room, and bit back a gasp.
Across from her, Beroit and McKittrick had their backs to her, their attention on a woman tied to a chair, in front of a smaller bar.
The blue and red mood lights in the room, combined with the masquerade masks the women were wearing, made for quite an unnerving sight. Nina beckoned Shelby over, then turned her attention back inside the room.
Kari Beroit, the younger of the partners, paced back and forth of the tied up figure, glaring at her from underneath her mask, divided in equal halves of black and white, her dark brown eyes blazing with fury, her silky, dark hair disheveled and hanging off her bare shoulder.
She wore a black and white feathered dress, it had once gone down to her ankles, but she had cut it savagely down to almost her hips, allowing her greater movement.
One of her long, shapely legs was bare, the other was still clad in a black stocking, worn and ripped.
Christa B. Allen as Kari Beroit
Adria McKittrick watched patiently from the bar, holding an extravagant, feathered and diamond bedazzled white mask to her face, her golden locks of hair tied up behind her head.
She was wearing a form fitting white dress with a plunging neckline, showing off a great deal of her mesmerizing décolletage.
Her legs, not as long as Kari's, but just as ravishing, were clad in sparkling dark stockings. She was shoeless, Nina absent mindedly noticed a pair of white high heels discarded on the floor, as if Adria had kicked them off.
Emily VanCamp as Adria McKittrick
Looking over Nina's shoulder, Shelby couldn't help but admire Adria's beauty. She must have had quite the restraint to keep from over-Splicing, Shelby mused, noting that Adria's body bore none of the marks or mutations that marked the majority of the Splicers running wild in Rapture.
Her skin was perfect, her face, from what Shelby could see behind the mask, could have been on an advertisement for Dr. Steinman's Aesthetic Ideals, and her lush, perfect, magnificent breasts were objects of wonder.
Why is it always the hottest ones that are crazy or evil? Shelby thought with a mental sigh.
Neither of the women were carrying a weapon that Nina could see, although if both were Splicers, they wouldn't need any, Nina thought ruefully.
She tilted her neck, trying to see if there was something within reach of Adria at the bar, and was distracted when Kari stalked back to the woman tied to the chair with rope, her arms behind her back.
Turning her full attention to her for the first time, Nina winced, the woman, a young, slender redhead in an aqua dress and hat, was panting heavily and slumped over.
Her skin was shining from sweat, and the top half of her dress was drenched with water, clinging tightly to her skin, her hardened nipples poking through the fabric.
Despite the woman's state, Nina could practically feel the anger and defiance rising off her. She had little doubt if the woman had not been tied up, her captors would be the ones in trouble.
Kari reached out with a snarl, yanking the woman's head up by the neck roughly with one hand. She raised her other hand, as if to slap her... her hand glowed a bright, vivid, blue from within, coursing along her veins, sparks of electricity dancing between her fingers.
"For the last damn time... where did you hide the cache, Judy?" Kari snarled.
The redhead stared back, her face lit up by the display, but she simply gave Kari a defiant sneer, her light green eyes blazing with anger.
Guest star Adelaide Clemens as Judy
"Go to hell." She spat.
Kari screamed in rage, and flung her hand out. A long arc of electricity jolted from her, playing over Judy's body, she screamed, convulsing in pain, arching her back, her breasts heaving frantically under her dress as she writhed in agony.
Nina clamped one hand over her mouth, the blood draining from her face. She raised her revolver in anger, but Shelby grabbed her arm, shaking her head, and mouthed something to her.
Wait.
Well intentioned as it may have been, interrupting a homicidally angry Splicer was an extraordinarily bad idea if one didn't have a plan better then charging into the room guns blazing, and Shelby knew that Nina had never been in a true fight for her life.
Biting back a curse at the situation, Nina nodded in agreement, turning her attention back to the room.
Judy was panting, moaning softly, her bare legs and feet trembling.
"I'd do what my friend says, if I was you... she doesn't really have my patience, you know." Adria said idly, lowering her mask as she sipped from a glass of red wine.
"Where is it?!" Kari screamed suddenly, sending another burst of electricity through Judy. Judy screamed, her body shaking.
"Where-" Kari zapped Judy again. Judy's body was seizing in shock, her back arching wildly, her hat falling off her head, her hips and legs thrusting into the air, her toes twitching, her eyes rolled back in their sockets.
"Um, Kari, dear-" Adria said, trying to catch her attention.
"IS-" Kari screamed, using both hands this time, sending twin surges of electricity through Judy.
"Kari, sweetheart-" Adria said, raising her voice.
"IT?!" Kari screamed in rage, her hair floating in the air from the static charge, both arms glowing brightly as the lightning flowed from her, before the glow faded, her wild hair coming to rest on her shoulders.
She stood there for a moment, panting.
Judy was slumped over in the chair, her eyes staring blankly into space. Her body twitched softly from errant nerve pulses. A faint wisp of smoke rose softly from her.
Kari stared at her for a moment.
Shelby shook her head in regret, feeling a wave of guilt come over herself.
Nina had her free hand clamped over her mouth, trying not to get sick. She felt dizzy, she had been unfortunate enough to see people killed before as Rapture descended into chaos, but she had never seen death so up close before.
She couldn't believe it, how the young woman had been alive just moments before, how Kari had killed her just like that, what kind of insane, heartless monsters Splicers like her could be-
Kari burst into tears.
"Oh, Kari..." Adria said with a sigh, walking over to her and hugging her tightly.
"I did it again... shit, Adria, I didn't mean to... I screwed up... you told me not to get carried away..." Kari said between sobs.
"There, there, there. You just have to learn to restrain yourself... maybe you shouldn't have started with the Electro Bolt Plasmid..." Adria said, patting Kari's back.
"I'll tell you what, dear... you go pour yourself a drink, and I'll see if she had anything on her." Adria said brightly.
"You're not mad at me for ruining everything?" Kari asked, her voice shaky.
"Sweetheart, I could never be mad at my best friend in the world." Adria said affectionately, ruffling Kari's hair.
Kari hugged Adria back, sniffling, and walked over towards the bar, she climbed onto a stool and grabbed a bottle of wine, pulling the top off, she drank a large swig directly from the bottle.
Adria turned her attention back towards Judy's body. She shook her head in regret. She really should have taken charge of the interrogation, but Kari had just been so eager to help, and she found it so hard to say no to her.
Adria reached out, lifting Judy's limp, soft, wet neck, and then letting go, watching her head loll to one side, and peered into Judy's eyes, staring into nothingess, the pain and defiance gone. She was dead, all right.
And their chances of finding her cache of hidden supplies was likely just as dead. With it, they could have maybe bargained the cache and their own supply of ADAM to Atlas, and gotten smuggled out of Rapture, start a new life together on the surface...
Adria caressed Judy's soft face, tsking softly, then reached out and grasped her warm, soft breasts firmly, giving each a squeeze before running her hands down the sides of her dress.
Across the room, Nina watched with a mixture of fascination and revulsion.
"God, she's sick..." Nina muttered under her breath.
Adria was running her hands up Judy's legs now, reaching up her dress.
Shelby grabbed Nina's arm abruptly, squeezing her. Nina slowly turned towards her.
"Shelby, if this is a turn on for you, I'm really going to have to wonder-" Nina whispered.
Shelby scowled and pointed over towards Kari at the bar. Nina followed her gaze, and realized what had caught Shelby's attention.
Kari had brought something up from behind the bar. Not a weapon. A large, locked briefcase. Kari was running her fingers over the leather skin of it absent mindedly as she drank morosely from her bottle of wine.
Nina stared at the briefcase.
It had to be their supply of ADAM.
"That's it! I'm telling you, it's in there." Shelby whispered excitedly.
"You circle around and make a diversion, and I'll hide here, make a break for it soon as they leave the room..." Shelby said.
Nina nodded, feeling her excitement growing. They could slip out with the ADAM before the other two women even noticed anything wrong...
Nina straightened up, reaching out to close the door, when she heard a gasp, and then a loud thump behind her.
Her heart leapt into her throat. She turned around, Shelby had tripped over a stray bottle and went sprawling onto the floor. Her horrified eyes met Nina's.
Inside the room, Adria turned around, tearing her attention away from Judy's body.
"What was that?" Kari asked nervously, leaping off the stool, clutching the briefcase to herself protectively.
Adria opened her mouth, about to say she didn't know, when something caught her eye.
"Kari, dear... did you leave the door ajar like that?" Adria asked.
Kari shook her head. "I... don't think so..."
They both approached the door warily, taking a moment before Adria pushed it fully open...
TO BE CONCLUDED...