Rapture Noir: Faith

"Ah, we're finally awake. Good, let us begin."

Elizabeth struggled futilely against her bonds as Suchong paced around her prone body. She knew it was no use, though. She had seen how this would resolve a dozen times over by now. It had to be this way.

"You are curious what I'm doing, correct?" Suchong asked, lower himself to her eye level. "Suchong believes that he can control these...phenomena of yours. Replicate them, even. Many people would pay good money for-"

From some indeterminate distance away the dulled sound of gunshots could be heard. Elizabeth smiled to herself. Booker, always the hero.

Suchong waved his hand dismissively. "Bah, more interruptions."

Wordlessly Suchong rummaged through a set of small vials. Finding what he wanted he produced a large syringe and filled it with the vial's dark contents.

Elizabeth's heart raced as she saw the needle. What if she was wrong? What if this was a punishment? Her just deserts for all the people she had hurt. Booker, Abigail, countless others hurt and killed just because she wanted to be happy. She had blinded herself to the consequences, closed all those doors.

Maybe this was all some plot cooked up by that part of her that wanted to see herself punished for what she had done? She struggled against the bonds in earnest this time.

Her resistance was met with a harsh backhand. "Hold still you bitch." Suchong spat.

Pain lanced up her arm as he forced the needle into a vein. She tried desperately to concentrate on the sounds of Booker's approach as her mind slipped away and the numbness overtook her body. She needed to find a foothold, something to keep herself focused.

Elizabeth felt a burning sensation in her spine. Maybe Comstock had won after all. The Luteces had warned her about interfering when she had confronted them with her plan. But she had ignored it. Was she was bound by blood to exploit others to further her own ends?

Without meaning to she began to remember watching Booker play his guitar. She had insisted that he take it out of it's hiding spot and start practicing again. She remembered the way he smiled as he strummed the cords for the first time. The way he wrapped his arms around hers as he taught her to play. How content she had felt resting her head against his shoulder. She wasn't scared anymore.

------

The burning in my side worsened as I rummaged through the pockets of the dead Ryan Security thugs. Suchong had been prepared for company.

Taking a moment I produced the small brooch from my pocket and turned it over. 'Suchong' had been etched into the back. How long had she known this would happen? Why didn't she say anything?

As made my way further into Suchong's clinic I came across an apparent dead end. That was until I noticed the large button on the wall. Suchong was the secret entrance type, alright. But that seemed awful convenient.

Hell, I've never been one to turn down a stroke of good luck. As I pushed the button the solid walls gave way to a large transparent wall of reinforced glass.

On the other side I could see Suchong's lab. Suchong was pacing around, seemingly oblivious to my presence.

Elizabeth was strapped to some kind of device that was equal parts chair and crucifix. A mess of wires and tubes draped down from the underside and seemed to extend to every corner of Suchong's lab. For some reason the device felt familiar to me. Another memory that wasn't really my own.

Suchong flipped a switch and Elizabeth writhed and screamed. Suchong observed with a clinical coldness that made me want to wring his neck.

I slammed my fists against the glass. "Suchong you son of a bitch! When I get in there I'll kill you!"

Suchong turned to face me, startled at first but quick to composure. "Ah, Mr. DeWitt." He said, shaking his head. "Suchong think not."

I placed both hands on the glass and stared at Suchong. The skin up to my elbows began to blacken. Bright red veins ran up and down my arms as I poured more and more EVE into my effort.

As the glass began to crack give way Suchong panicked. He looked around the room for something to save himself, finally producing a small firearm from a side cabinet.

The glass gave way and I stepped inside, gun drawn and hands still smouldering. "The girl, Suchong." I growled.

"Suchong believes we are at an impasse." Suchong replied. "You shoot me, and the girl..."

The second he took the gun off me I fired off a round. The bullet found it's mark and he was dead before he hit the ground. It was better than he deserved.

I dropped the gun and rushed over to Elizabeth. She was pale. Too pale. Clumsily I unfastened the straps and swept aside the contents of the nearby table to make room for her.

"Elizabeth? Come on, say something." I pleaded as I checked her vitals. "Elizabeth, please!"

The color seemed to drain from the room as the realization crept over me. No pulse.