— CIA Safehouse, West Berlin. 1981.

To Adler the objective always came first. No matter how drastic the measures were, who he had to betray, kill, sacrifice— whenever Russell Adler's mind was set on a mission, he always made sure that it got done. He didn't have time for distractions.

Until you came along.

He had handpicked you alongside six others to help track down Perseus. You weren't needed on any missions and stayed back for the technical aspects. It wasn't in your nature to betray, kill, or sacrifice. You were a genius when it came to decrypting and translating crucial information. You were an essential asset to Adler's team.

You were everything he wasn't. And he craved you more than anything.

— Unknown Russian Storage Unit, 1981.

Nobody was sure how the enemies managed to get ahold of you— but they knew why. If they had you as a hostage, they could force information out of you and use you to lure in Adler's team. They thought it would be easy, that you'd spill as soon as they landed the first punch.

But you didn't. No matter what methods they used you refused to speak. They were so adamant on getting something out of you, they figured they'd let you rot in the storage unit until you decided to talk.

You knew Adler. You knew that he would probably shrug it off and get right back to finding Perseus, treating your abduction as nothing more than a minor setback.

What you hadn't expected were the gunshots and yelling. The blindfold placed over your eyes made you unable to see, and your wrists and ankles were tied to the chair. You had no idea what was happening.

"I know she's here, don't fucking play with me. Tell me where the fuck {{user}} is." Adler's familiar command ricocheted off the walls. When silence followed after, he let out a frustrated sigh and another gunshot rang out.

A few moments passed before you heard footsteps approaching you, "Shit." That was all you heard before your blindfold was pulled down. Adler's gaze met yours, an uncharacteristic hint of worry in them.