Pain... Everything was pain...
Veronica groaned as her mind felt like splitting apart. Her senses were mostly gone, and only a strong migraine remained.
She tried to move, but it seemed like her body wasn't under her control. She tried to concentrate, which in turn doubled the pain she felt.
"GAH... FUCK!" She shouted between gasps.
While she still tried to move, and as her brain was in agony she heard something. It took her a second to remember the sound of footsteps, there was also some talking between two people, but Veronica couldn't make out what they said.
Suddenly a cool hand touched her face. One of the voices, a female spoke to her in a whisper. She might've said 'I'm sorry', but Veronica wasn't sure.
The hand moved and it opened her mouth. She tried to close it and trash around, but her body stayed unresponsive.
Veronica heard the sound of a glass vial breaking and she felt some warm liquid pour down her throat. She instantly began coughing, but the woman closed her mouth, not letting the liquid escape.
After a few seconds her headache started to ease, and all over her skin a small prickling sensation appeared.
The cool hand left her face already and the footsteps started to move away.
"You watch over her." Said a deep emotionless voice.
"Can't you leave it to Gerald or Cory? Or we can just leave her here, she will be fine. The antidote is already working." Said a female voice.
The man grunted with annoyance. "You know that it's not their shift tonight. And since Michael is still taking care of that mess back at the Dancing Hall, you are the only one left." His voice was low, but somehow still hollow.
The woman sighed and moved back towards Veronica without saying another word. The man didn't move for a while longer, but eventually she heard him leave.
Her head was already much better, but a small amount of pain still persisted. The movement part was also coming along well. She only had feeling in her toes, but that was better than nothing.
Suddenly Veronica heard a sound coming from the place where her feet should be located. At this point her sense of balance already told her that she was lying on something, and she heard the creaking of a sofa, like someone sat down.
The next thing she heard was the movement of paper, like someone was readying a newspaper or a book.
Veronica had to suffer in silence for the next ten minutes. The feeling came back to her whole body, but movement was still mostly restricted.
Her eyes eventually fluttered open and she had to adjust to the sudden brightness. Her last memory was of the dark alley, so the the change in environment was quite the surprise.
She was currently lying on a long brown couch. The room was not too large. It held a small table with six empty seats, a small fireplace with two armchairs and a long corner couch, where she currently laid.
At the other end of the couch sat a familiar figure. She wore a well-made blue dress, which matched her eye color. Her hair was blonde and long, but it was placed in a neat bun, so it wouldn't get in the way.
She seemed a bit tired and kind of annoyed as she looked at Veronica. In her hand a newspaper rested, which she only placed down a few moments ago.
"Welcome back to the land of the conscious Miss Navarro!" She said with a bit of irk and silent amusement.
Veronica tried to open her mouth, which worked, but when she actually tried to speak, the sound only came out as something between a growl and a groan. The woman who's name Veronica had forgotten laughed at that.
"Oh darling, you ain't going to talk for a few more minutes. That poison was quite nasty." She said with a cruel smile.
Veronica tried to speak again, but it only made the same sound. Her tongue felt like a lazy slug that was sitting inside her mouth. As this thought appeared a nausea grabbed hold of her, and she had to focus really hard not to vomit.
"But where are my manners! You probably don't remember me. You were quite disturbed that day... My name is Billie Robbins, but just call me Miss Robbins!" As she introduced herself, Veronica made a pointed glance at her left hand, which held a small wedding ring on it.
Veronica remembered Michael talk about Miss Robbins and her married status, so calling her 'miss' was very strange..
Miss Robbins looked down at the ring as well, then looked at Veronica with confusion.
"What is it?" Asked Miss Robbins, but Veronica could only make the approximation of the word... "Miph?"
It took only a few seconds of thinking for Miss Robbins to figure out what she said.
"Yes I'm married and yes you should call me Miss! Mrs. sounds too old, and my husband is fine with it, so who cares." In reality Veronica didn't really care, but she had to start a conversation somewhere.
"Whe... Am... Ai?" The talking was still quite hard, but it was gradually improving.
After another second of deciphering, Miss Robbins stood up and spread her arms, encompassing the whole room.
"This is the Unbroken Headquarters recreational room. You were brought here after Michael managed to heal you. Your welcome by the way. You would be dead without his help!" Her voice held a bit of accusation and anger, which wasn't surprising to Veronica.
By their understanding this whole attack nearly cost Michael's life –and her own, but they didn't care about that– and since he had no idea who Floyd was and why he attacked, that meant they thought this was her fault.
"Is... He... Aight?" Her speak improved so much, that there was no need for translating.
"Yeah, he's just probably dead tired, but that's not the real question!" Suddenly she stood up and walked towards something behind Veronica. She had no way of looking back there, but when she came back her heart skipped a beat.
Veronica's eyes widened as she stared at the object in Miss Robbins's hand. It was the exact same rainbow-bladed dagger that was previously stabbed into her right side.
"The real question, who was that person you killed and why did he attack you?" She asked while playing with the dagger. She handled it with learnt precision.
Veronica looked into her bored face and smirked.
"I will... Only tell... Michael..." Her tongue finally woken up and her words were started to make actual sense.
Miss Robbins looked at her with annoyance, then suddenly began chuckling.
"Fine by me! The dagger is yours by the way, same with all of the guys belongings... Oh, don't look that surprised! We in the Unbroken believe in freedom and justice, even though its a stupid decision on Michael's behalf to give you his share of the spoils, but it makes sense since you technically saved his life... After placing it in danger..."
She said the last part very quietly, but she made sure that Veronica heard it. Ignoring that remark Veronica was quite interested what Floyd had on him, but before she could've asked anything the door to the recreational room burst open and Michael waltzed inside.
His previously neat and elegant suite had crusted dirt, dust and blood all over it. His face seemed dead tired, but at the same time relived and happy. He scanned the room ferociously and smiled when his eyes landed on Veronica.
She smiled back at him, but when he looked her body up and down once, he quickly turned away with a blush.
"Billie! Why isn't she wearing anything?" Said Michael with anger and embarrassment.
Veronica looked down at herself in confusion. She had wrongfully assumed that she wore some strange dress, but as it turned out she only had a blanket on and nothing else. Her face turned bright red as Billie giggled.
"I don't know what you mean. I just put her in a nice package for you!" With that she began to move towards the exit, and before Michael could've caught her, she was already out.
"Goddess help me, that little vixen will be the death of me once. I should ask Rob to spank her, but she would probably enjoy that..." He spoke to himself while still not daring to turn around.
"Uhm... Just out of curiosity. What happened to my clothes, and why do I feel clean?" She said while still not being able to move anything other than her facial muscles.
At this point she could wiggle her toes too, but that's as much as she could manage.
Slowly Michael turned around, and tried his hardest to not look at any place inappropriate. He made it for a whole five seconds before taking a single glance at Veronica's breasts. The room was a bit chilly and the blanket did nothing to hide what laid under.
When his eyes returned to Veronica's face, her eyes were narrowed to thin lines and her face looked quite angry.
"It is quite rude to stare at paralyzed naked woman, when they can't help themselves!" She tried to sound angry, but seeing the mortified expression on Michael's face made her giggle.
He breathed a sigh of relief, and with a newfound bravado he said... "Even if they are as beautiful as yourself?"
Veronica purred with amusement, as she spoke. "At least ask for permission beforehand."
"Certainly my Lady!" He said while making a mock bow. They both laughed after that for quite a while, and Michael didn't fail to note how Veronica's chest moved up and down. It required all his willpower not to take another glance, but he knew not to push his luck.
Veronica might took his first mistake with grace and laughter, but if he had done so again, she might've actually got angry!