Chapter Text
When Elizabeth turned around the corner, she could already see him. Even though, the lighting in the hallway was dim and most of the light came from the city of rapture behind the giant glass, it was enough to make out Atlas’s silhouette. How could she ever forget it after everything she went through.
Next to him Elizabeth could make out four more men, each of them definitely spliced and one of them had Sally in a tight grip. Sally!
She had to save her. The thought of losing her, for her to be at the mercy of Rapture all by herself was unbearable. Her own life didn’t matter in the slightest. What could she do now anyway, now that she had lost all of her powers and was stranded down here?
Elizabeth took a deep breath. There would be a time when she could lament over all her problems and how unfair life had been, but it was definitely not now. With firm and steady steps she determinedly approached the group of men. She felt the sweat on her fingers, but she was holding on tightly to the folded piece of paper in her hand nonetheless. This little piece of information she had gathered was the key to Sally’s freedom.
After walking half down the way of the hallway, she heard the familiar voice of Atlas.
“Hey sister, over here.”
Broken parts of Rapture rained down closely next to her, but Elizabeth kept on walking, trying to ignore Sally who was desperately trying to get away from the man who held her. Elizabeth had to focus. She couldn’t risk that the situation somehow escalated.
Sally. I’m almost here. Just wait a few more minutes and we’re out of here. She thought and hoped that her calmness would somehow find its way to the little girl.
“Do you have it?” The impatient sound of Atlas's voice led her thoughts back to him.
“I have it.” She said calmly.
“Get it over then.” Atlas replied almost instantly.
Elizabeth hesitated. Then still holding the paper close to her she started talking. “You know what? Andrew Ryan said I was a rube, but he was wrong.” She reached out with her arm to deliver the information. “You are. Whatever you plan to do. In the end you will fail.”
Atlas didn’t respond to her little speech, instead he took the folded sheet and opened it. For a few seconds, his eyes wandered over the paper. With a confused look he stared back at her again.
“What does this say?!” It seemed like Atlas had lost his temper at a moment’s notice. Elizabeth wondered how anyone could fall for him. Like how did he conceive so many people to follow him? Maybe this was a mystery she would never solve. Not that she desperately wished to know the answer to that.
“It’s a code.” Elizabeth simply stated and waited for his response. She would leave him hanging in the air for as long as she could. That was all the power she had left at the moment and she was willing to use it. It wasn’t much but seeing how he was so close to get the information he so desperately wanted but might not receive fast enough, was amusing her to say the least.
“I know it’s a code! D’ya think I’m stupid?!” He almost bellowed.
“Well, do you really want an answer to that?” Elizabeth dared to say, however, her comment only made Atlas smile and his anger was changing into something else. His smile wasn’t friendly and nice rather cocky and invasive. It made her feel uncomfortable.
“Haven’t lost your sassy tongue, luv. You really are a woman to me liking.” He let the statement sink in for a second.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, handsome,” she said mockingly, “But I’m afraid I cannot say the same about you. So how about we get back to business?” She didn’t like how this conversation suddenly had changed. Only thinking about Atlas in such a way gave her the chills – and not the good ones. Although, Atlas was still smiling. Not good.
“You’re right. Business first. Let’s come back to that later.” There was one last flash of his cocky smile then it was finally gone. Elizabeth bit her tongue and suppressed the urge to scream “no” right into his face. If she had any saying in it, this subject – she couldn’t even give it a name – would never be spoken about. Never! Disgusted by the idea itself she totally forgot to answer and was taken off guard by Atlas's next words.
“Don’t think too hard about it, luv. Instead tell me what’s written here.” Atlas continued their conversation, still having things firmly under control, despite her rejection. He showed her the sheet and pointed at the formula written on it.
Elizabeth’s eyes wandered to Sally to her right and tried to give her some sort of comfort by sharing a reassuring smile with her. Then she focused on the man in front of her again.
“First, let her go! Then you can have your activation phrase for your beloved Ace in the Hole.” Even before he answered her, she knew that this attempt of her was in vain.
“Forget it! This is not how I make me deals. You tell me what’s written here. Now!”
Elizabeth looked at the code again even though she had already deciphered it before she had come here. In these few seconds of time she had left one question was dominating her thoughts. Was she really doing the right thing?
“It says, “she paused, almost feeling the the burning gaze of Atlas on her, “it says: would you kindly.” She ended. A wide grin appeared on Atlas’s face and he quickly turned around to his minions.
“We’ve got the activation phrase. Now, all we’ve got to do is get that genetic freak of nature on an airplane and Rapture’s ours.”
For a few moments Elizabeth waited for Atlas to say something to her or letting Sally go - something. But as nothing happened after his quick announcement to his men, she approached him again.
“I kept my end of the bargain, so now it’s your turn. Let Sally go!”
Atlas glanced at the girl beside him and then back to Elizabeth. He had a thoughtful expression and finally came to a conclusion.
“No. I think I’ll keep her a lil’ longer. Everything's going so smoothly lately. I think …” But she harshly interrupted him.
“No! You promised me to let her go if I bring you the phrase.” Angrily, she took a few steps forward trying to be as intimidating as she could be. Two of Atlas’s thugs did the same, ready to shield their boss from any danger. However, Atlas raised his hand to signal his men to stop. He was obviously not scared of her.
“Alas, I don’ know this code. So as long as I don’ have any proof that ya’ telling the truth, you and the girl are staying with me.”
“No way. I’m not doing any more of your dirty work, Atlas. This is your war not mine. Keep me out of it. I swear to you it’s the truth. I’m not lying!”
Atlas bypassed the distance between them. Now, his face was way too close to hers and she could feel his breath on her skin. She shuddered.
“Listen, darlin’. Your word isn’t enough. And even if it was, you know too much. I cannot risk letting you go. So, either I’ve to kill ya’ or I’ll keep ya’ with me. And you know what?”
He came even one step closer. His body was now almost touching hers. Then he whispered into her ear. “I’d really like to keep ya’”
As his face appeared back in front of her, Elizabeth had also found her voice again.
“And I’m telling you that I’d rather die than being one of your pawns.” She wouldn’t let him intimidate her. He had already seen her begging and helpless. But she would never grant him this favor again.
“Ya’ know. There are two tiny issues here. Let me tell ya’,” he grinned. “First, who will guarantee for the safety of your precious lil’ girl when you’re dead, but most importantly second: You’re not makin’ this decision!”
She gulped. There was nothing she could do right now. Sally was so close and yet so far. No chance of getting her out of here all by herself. She was low on eve as well so no way to use one of her plasmids. Also, she wasn’t too keen on injecting any more of this poison into her body. She had seen what it did to people, and she had no desire to become one of them. Elizabeth was trapped in the situation. She hated to admit it but for now she had to play the game by Atlas’s rules.
“Your silence betrays you, darlin’. I know you wanna think your way out of this, but I bet you came to the same conclusion.” He was way too content with himself, but luckily he took a step back from her. While Elizabeth was still staring at him, he gestured to his fellow men and said: “Lads, take her with us.” Before she could do something about it one of the thugs came from behind and pressed a cloth on her mouth and nose. Like a few weeks before she quickly lost consciousness and just prayed that when she woke up again that she would not be tied to a chair.
*---------------*
Her whole body felt like she had been bounced by a Big Daddy. Maybe it was the first time in weeks she was able to get some time to relax, at least that’s what she believed as she was definitely lying on some kind of mattress, but now the burdens of everything that happened to her here were finally catching up. Right now, she was neither awake nor asleep. It was this weird state in between right before she would wake up and Elizabeth just hoped that it would last a little longer.
She really wished that she would get some time to forget. Well, she had forgotten a lot as she was not able to see through all the doors anymore, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t remember things. It was hard for her to think about anything in her lives (as she was counting in all her versions) that wasn’t bad.
Maybe she was a bit overdramatic but when did she ever get the time to enjoy herself and just be a girl? Coming to Rapture to get revenge on that last Comstock might have been one of her worst ideas ever.
Elizabeth knew that she had only been driven by revenge then and now she had to live with the consequences. The more she thought about him the more she wanted him back, no matter if he was Comstock or Booker. In retrospect he had changed, hadn’t he? Yes, he had killed another version of her, but didn’t he come to Rapture because he highly regretted it and didn’t follow his path as Zachery Hale Comstock? Yes, he had lost Sally just like Booker did. But it wasn’t fair to only judge him because he was Comstock. She had forgiven Booker a long time ago for his sins, why couldn’t she have done the same for him? Well, now she would definitely not get any answer to this as she was responsible for his death.
“Who da hell is Booker?”
Despite all the pain she was feeling, startled by the voice next to her Elizabeth almost jumped out of bed. She turned her head to the side and saw Atlas sitting on a chair next to her. Great.
“You gotta be kidding me?!” She said louder than she anticipated. Instinctively, she crawled to the edge of her bed, which really was just a mattress, and pressed her back against the wall. The farther away she was from him the better.
Atlas totally ignored her reaction and continued his own part of the conversation. “You’re talkin’ in your sleep, luv. Interesting. This Booker must have been someone very dear to you. Tell me more, who is this man who was able to make such an impression on you?” He rose an eyebrow and looked at her.
“First of all. Stop calling me that. I got a name. And second. I don’t think that I have to tell you anything about him. It’s none of your business, Atlas.” She shot back.
For a few seconds they looked at each other glaringly. Then Atlas shrugged. “Fine, so what’s your name, darlin’?”
Elizabeth tried not to roll her eyes. It definitely wasn’t worth it. He would never stop giving her names anyway. “My name’s Elizabeth…. Elizabeth,” she hesitated, “DeWitt.” She finally settled with. It hurt when she said the name out loud, but she didn’t let it show.
Atlas looked at her musingly. “DeWitt…DeWitt… the name rings a bell. It’s quite peculiar, innit?”
She sighed. “Booker DeWitt. He was a private investigator.” Elizabeth finally said as she had the weird feeling that otherwise he would not let the topic drop, for whatever stupid reason.
“There we go. Interesting. Didn’t know he had a wife or something. However, I must admit he’s got taste.” The smirk on his face was disgusting.
“I’ll stop you right there. He is…. He was my father. Don’t get the wrong idea.” She explained, not even wanting to think of it in any other way. Atlas laughed.
“You sure about that? Aren’t you a bit too old to be his daughter? I mean except for his white hair he wasn’t that old, was he?”
“It’s complicated.” Elizabeth stated with a finality that didn’t allow any follow up questions and luckily Atlas finally let it go.
“Anyway. I brought you some new clothes. You should really change and wash this blood off, don’t ya’ think?” He said almost casually. Then he pointed at some fresh clothes next to her. “There’s no shower in here but a working sink. The water’s cold but better than nothin’.”
For the first time, Elizabeth had a look around. She had no idea where the hell in Rapture she was. The room was small and there was no window or something. The sink was nowhere to be seen but there was a smaller room connected to this one, probably the bathroom then.
“Where’s Sally?” She suddenly asked thinking of the girl.
“Not here, obviously, and before you won’t stop asking. She’s nowhere near you. I can’t risk you going on a rescue mission while you’re here. Understand?” Atlas said, not a tiny bit of sympathy in his voice.
Of course, she understood. And she wouldn’t waste her time on this right now. She had to wait for her opportunity to come. Thus, she nodded and rose from the mattress. She took the fresh clothes which were similar to the ones she already wore and disappeared into the bathroom without saying a word. There was no door. She put the clothes next to her and looked at her in the mirror. She looked like a total mess. After splashing some cold water in her face, Elizabeth actually felt a bit better. Then she washed away all the blood from her hands and face which was not an easy task. She looked down at her body and yes changing clothes was something she was desperate to do, however, not with Atlas waiting outside who had been strangely quiet until now.
Elizabeth turned her head and inspected the empty doorway. Just as she was opening the first button of her blouse, she heard him moving from his chair.
“I swear, if you trying to get in here, you’ll regret it.” She burst out. This man couldn’t be serious. Why of all things had he to be interested in her? She’d had so much bad luck in her life, she just couldn’t believe she deserved the sexual advances of this man.
Elizabeth didn’t get an answer from Atlas, but she also couldn’t hear him moving anymore so she took off her clothes as quickly as possible and put on the new ones. It was impressive how fast she managed to do it. Elizabeth was actually proud of herself. She took a deep breath. Then she inspected her appearance in the mirror again and left the little bathroom.
As she stood in front of Atlas again Elizabeth could almost feel his eyes wandering over her body. She endured his stare and instantly hoped that there was more behind not killing her than his desire to have her all for himself. Elizabeth crossed her arms, ignored him and instead tried to talk about something else.
“How is your little war with Ryan going?”
Atlas sighed. “This son of a bitch still thinks he has the upper hand, but not for long believe me…”
“You’re talking about your Ace in the Hole?” She asked and tried to keep the conversation going. Besides she really wished to learn more about it.
As Elizabeth mentioned the Ace, she could see Atlas’s eyes shine with triumph, but only for a second. “Yes, me Ace in the Hole. He is the perfect weapon.” Elizabeth interrupted him.
“He? So, the Ace is a man? Who is he and what’s so special about him?”
Atlas chuckled. “Curious, aren’t we?” He rose from his chair. “But I’m afraid that I can’t share all me secrets with you yet. What you need to know is that he will do what I tell him and that he’s far more capable of handling things like any other.” He finished conspiratorially. In a bold move Elizabeth came one step closer and mimicked his whispering voice.
“And tell me Atlas, how does a simple man like you get your fingers on such a valuable weapon from Suchong?” She made a dramatic pause and looked him directly into his eyes. And what she saw in them only confirmed what she already knew. This man was not Atlas. There was no Atlas in the first place. “Shouldn’t I rather call you Frank? At least there’s no need to keep up the act with me here. Or did you already forget who you really are?”
The man in front of her didn’t seem surprised rather amused. He smiled. “I must say, I’m impressed. How did you find out?” He said, not sounding Irish anymore.
“I cracked your code and found your secret dressing room in the Manta Ray Lounge.”
“I see. Well, you know what happened to the last pretty lady discovering my secret?” His face was now very close to hers.
“I’ve got a slight idea. And now you will do the same to me?” She asked almost hoping he would say yes.
“No.” He almost whispered. Then he grabbed her by her hair aggressively and pulled her face even closer. “But be assured. If you try to spoil my little secret to anyone, you’ll see that the lobotomy was only a walk in the park. Don’t try to fuck with me.”
They remained in this position for a few seconds before he let her go again. Elizabeth felt a cold shiver all over her body, but she would not let herself be openly intimidated in front of this man.
“I don’t care if you’re Atlas or Frank Fontaine, so don’t worry.” Elizabeth stepped backwards to distance herself a bit further from him. “I just want you to tell me, what you need me for when you already have your precious Ace?”
Atlas was finally back. She could somehow see it in his behavior. It was interesting to watch. “I want ya’ to be me second Ace. I know you’re skilled and I’d like us to work closely together in this war.”
Elizabeth grunted. “And I’d like to be in Paris. Guess we’re both wishing for the impossible.”
“You realize that by trying to push me away from you with your sassy attitude you achieve quite the opposite, luv. I haven’t met a woman like you in a very long time…”
It’s not like Elizabeth hadn’t seen it coming. But when Atlas once again approached her, she automatically took a step backwards. The second time he tried, her attempt was in vain. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her closer.
“Let me go…now!” She said determinedly after she had tried to free herself from his grip. But unfortunately, he was stronger than her.
“Ya’ know, I don’t care if you’re not into this.” With his other hand he embraced her body and pressed hers against his own. “Eventually, you’ll give in.” Atlas slowly leaned forward.
Elizabeth was just about to do something very stupid to get out of this situation, as it would not help Sally in the slightest, but luckily she was saved by the buzzing of Atlas’s radio.
He grinned devilishly and let her go. She took a few extra steps back to get away from him as far as possible. In the meantime Atlas answered the radio.
Elizabeth did not pay attention as her mind was still elsewhere. Then she heard Atlas speaking.
“Perfect. I’ll be with you as quickly as possible. If everything goes according to plan, Rapture will be properly shaken up shortly.” The conversation was finished, and Atlas put the radio back.
His eyes fell on Elizabeth again. His flirtatious look from before was gone and replaced by a more business like stare. “Let’s go. I was serious about you being my second Ace. I want you to be a part of this.”
For a few seconds she hesitated, but eventually she couldn’t deny that she wasn’t curious. What was Atlas up to and who was his Ace in the Hole? Besides the fact that she had no saying in this anyway, Elizabeth decided that she would grin and bear it. She nodded and followed him.