"I don’t want to hear it, Danny," Rowena said as she sheathed the .44 Desert Eagle.

Danny shrugged and double-checked his backpack. "As long as you know you’ve stepped firmly into cliche. I mean - the katana/DE thing? That’s so ‘90’s action flick."

"You just keep your focus."

"Yes ma’am. I live to serve," Danny replied.

"Wiseacre."

The helicopter banked sharply, coming into a decent. "If you two are done with the foreplay, we’ll be at the target in thirty," Sidewinder reported.

Rowena grabbed one of the overhead hooks and reached for the door, but Danny’s hand reached out and stopped her. "You realize that once you do this, there’s no going back?"

"... I have to, Danny. Are you with me?"

"Did you need to ask?"

Before she could answer, Sidewinder cut in. "Good news and bad news, boss. The good news: we’re here. The bad news, we’ve been spotted."

Danny tossed open the door. "Meet us at exfil site ‘C’." With that, he launched himself through the door. Rowena followed soon afterwards.

#

Dane McMurray considered his appointment to Project: Pitfall the greatest opportunity of his life. The idea that he would be able to defend his country - and the world - against those secret enemies who would subvert the freedom of the American people was the kind of stuff dreams were made of. It was the kind of thing that got people elected President one day.

It never occurred to him that it would mean being an over-trained babysitter.

If the reports were true (Dane had his doubts), the prisoner was more than capable of escaping. Some freakish experiment had granted...it...superhuman proportions and strength - supposedly a paragon, an avatar, of the entire human race. Then there was the mysterious box that nobody could move, but remained locked on the other side of the hallway. The first rule of the prison? You don’t talk about the box. The second rule of the prison? YOU DON’T TALK ABOUT THE BOX!

Whatever.

Dane reached the end of the hallway and turned with military precision walking the same path he’d walked every day for the past six months. By now, he’d stopped trying to talk to the other guard who shared this duty with him. Everything was routine. Normal. Predictable.

That was why he reacted with surprising speed when his partner’s eyes suddenly widened. He brought the rifle around, centering the barrel on the chest of the woman who’d suddenly appeared behind him. She carried a katana in one hand and a Desert Eagle in the other, like some sort of action-movie cliche. Dane’s first instinct was to shoot first and ask questions later, but he overrode them, instead wondering at her presence.

Mistake.

Dane's last, fleeting, thought was that he thought he sensed movement above him. It was days before Dane would regain consciousness. Wind casually moved the bodies to the side, clearly enjoying himself. Rowena shook her head, retrieved the guard’s keycard and swiped it through the lock.

"Who’s there?" The voice cracked and rasped, having not been used for months now.

"My enemies call me Legacy. My friends call me Rowena. Rowena Logan."

"Rowena..." A massive figure shifted in the darkness. A body folded into the lotus position slowly unfurled, accompanied by creaking limbs. "What the hell kind of name is Rowena? That name sounds like someone’s grandmother."

"It was my grandmother’s name," Rowena said.

"Oh." The figure stretched. "What do you want? Why are you bothering...did you say...Logan?"

"I did."

The figure stepped into view, and though she was prepared for it, Rowena still couldn’t help but be a bit shaken. The woman was gorgeous, but the intensity in her eyes was unmistakable. There was a haunted hunger in them, as well as a cold ruthlessness. This was a dangerous woman. "What’s he want?"

"He doesn’t want anything. I do. I need your help, Valentina."

"I’ve retired, kid. For the sake of my sanity and the world’s safety, I’m done."

"I want to know who I am, and the trail leads to you."

Valentina studied Rowena carefully. "I smell your father’s hand in this."

"Actually, he’s been trying to keep this information hidden the whole time."

‘Tina laughed out loud. "How long have you been in the Game?"

"Long enough," Rowena bristled. "Why?"

"Your dad isn’t infallible, but the one consistent thing about him is that if he wants something hidden, it stays hidden."

"Bah! If he’s that good, how have I gotten this far?"

"Did it ever occur to you that he might actually be helping you?"

"Why wouldn’t he just tell me?"

"That’s not his style. There are always layers to him. Secrets within secrets. Personally, I just figured he was a bit melodramatic."

Danny stepped into the room. "As much as I hate to interrupt this little therapy session, I need to warn you that more guards are coming. By the way, I’m Wind. Pleased to meet you."

"You too. So where’s the way out?"

"You’re in?"

"Why not? I’ve been bored. I just need to collect one thing." She glanced at the box across the hall, and Rowena thought she detected a flash of fear. Valentina sighed and crossed the hallway with fresh purpose. With only a moment’s hesitation, she ripped the lock off the top and reached in, pulling out a massive axe-hammer that looked as if it was made just for her. Her eyes, once hazel, were now fully golden and pupil-less, and electric tears leaked from the corners in random bursts. Danny and Rowena took a step backwards. "Let’s roll."