Risa Rourke stood in front of her defeated men, in a dimly lit corridor and the exit was near, a sense of unease rippling through her normally steely composure.
The news that her son, Ray, had been at the hotel and had played a part in helping Hera and Valkyrie escape her grasp filled her with complex mixture of yearning and worry. It had been many years since she had last seen him and felt his warm touch and gentle embrace, and the revelation that he had been so close yet slipped through was a bitter pill to swallow.
She felt this because there was a couple of times where Risa deeply missed her son. She fled to Japan a couple of times, only to secretly see him from afar. But everytime she was so close to him, there was an invisible wall between them, as if fate was stopping her to meet her son and reunite with him, or was it really fate?
With many reflecting sessions, she concluded that she was the one that kept herself from reuniting with Ray, not because she doesn't love him anymore, but the fear of rejecting by her own son and the possibility of showing indifference towards her.
To this day she kept asking herself it she was ready to face Ray, if her heart was ready to feel Ray's indifference, abhorrence, and hatred for her?
One things for sure in Risa's mind and heart was, she deeply missed and yearned of Ray's love and embrace. She will do everything in her power to make Ray love and accept her again as his mother, even if it cost the world's tranquility and its order, and cause harm to those stand between her and her son. She'd offer the world to Ray without hesitation, that's how she loved his son.
As the Matriach of the world's most secretive, dark, powerful and clandestine crime organization, Risa quickly mastered her emotions, her expression hardening into one of cold determination.
Rakshesha, sat beside the awoken special forces man, sensed the shift in Risa's demeanor and broke the tense silence.
"Matriach, I'm waiting for a plan and an order." She humbly asked, her voice edged with impatience and anticipation.
Risa did not immediately respond, her icy and firm gaze fixed on the four unconscious and another woke special forces man sprawled across the ground. Her mind was already calculating the next steps, weighing the costs and benefits of various strategies.
Finally she turned to Rakshesha..
"Wake them up and finish them off." She ordered, her voice devoid of any warmth or hesitation.
Rakshesha's lips curled into a cruel smile, her eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure.
"With pleasure, Matriach." She replied, her voice a purr of satisfaction.
As Rakshesha moved to carry out the order, the awake special forces man began to plead.
"Please, we can do better next time. Give us another chance, Matriach!" He shouted, his voice trembling with desperation.
Risa did not spare him a glance. Her heels clicked againts the marble floor as she strode towards the exit, her mind already focused on the next phase of her plan.
The pleas of the man were abruptly silenced as Rakshesha's mercilessly efficiency left no survivors. In Risa's mind, these men were expendable, mere pawns in her vast game of power. She had lost men before and would lose more in the future, it mattered little to her.
What mattered to her was Ray, her son, the only person who truly held a place in heart, even in the time of her abandonment to him.
Outside, the black, polished limousine awaited. Daffodil, Risa's sister and Ray's first aunt, sat inside, her boredom evident as she drummed her fingers againts the leather seat. The moment Risa stepped into the vehicle, Daffodil's expression brightened slightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Finally." Daffodil expressed, her boredom quickly faded.
"Took you long enough." She remarked, her voice laced with impatience.
She then leaned forward.
"Did you get lost in there, or were you having fun with this bomb maker you spoke of earlier and stopped being a celibate?" She let out a dirty joke, unbothered by the firm and seriousness of her older sister.
Risa shot her a withering look, but Daffodil's grin only widened.
"You know, sis, you really need to lighten up." Daffodil said, her wide grin was unwavering.
"Maybe take a vacation. Oh wait, you just did....." She giggled like a child.
"In a hotel full of dead bodies and chaos." She added.
Ignoring the teasing, Risa settled into her seat with an air of unspeakable authority.
"We had an unexpected complication. Ray was here." Risa said curtly, her tone leaving no room for further joke.
Daffodil's playful demeanor softened for a moment.
"Ray, huh? He's a slippery one, just like his mother." Daffodil commented, a hint of genuine concern flashing in her eyes.
For a brief moment, Risa's icy and firm exterior thawed as thoughts of Ray flooded her mind. She loved her son deeply, a love that had not diminished despite the years and the roles they now played. The matriach inside her took over quickly, but not before she allowed herself a sliver of hope that she would see him soon, safe and sound.
She had build a behemoth empire of power and fear, but beneath it all, she was still a mother who yearned for her child and his love.
After a minute silence, Daffodil's playful manner remained wavering.
"You should've brought me along, sis, I would have loved to see what you did inside. You know how much I enjoy a good spectacle." She pouted, her tone half-teasing, half-disappointed but her eyes sparkled with a manic energy, excited as she heard chaos erupted.
Risa's expression remained impassive.
"It wasn't a matter of enjoyment, it was business, a personal one." She said firmly.
Daffodil sighed dramatically, her playful disappointment evident.
"Always business with you. You need a spontaneous man in your life and a session of good fu.."
As Daffodil was about to complete her sentence, Risa interrupted with a sharp, violent, and deadly glare.
Daffodil chuckled like a satisfied child.
Moments later, Rakshesha joined them. As she settled into her seat, Daffodil, with her playful and assertive nature, spoke something to her.
"So, Rakshesha..." She began, her tone dripping with feigned innocence.
"Did you leave any mess for housekeeping, or were you as neat as always? I suppose that's the Indian in you, always meticulous." She said.
Rakshesha's eyes narrowed slightly, her composed demeanor masking the irritation brewing within.
"Of course, Madame Rourke." She replied evenly, her voice betraying no hint of offense she took.
"And I suppose you English people enjoy sitting back and letting others do the hardwork?" Rakshesha fired back.
"Oh, I enjoy the hard, Ms. Solanki. Especially when it involves a good show of chaos and destruction. It's just that some of us prefer not to get our hands fucking dirty unless it's important, at least for me." Daffodil didn't hold back.
Risa, catching the underlying tension, gave both women a hard look.
"Enough!" She yelled, her voice sharp and authoritative.
The limousine glided away from the hotel.