what're you in for, love? (closed, o/o with @Dances_with_Shadows)

Tessa sucked in a breath, offering Alex an anamused half-smile. "That's going to take quite some time. What's my limit?" She spoke so casually—as if she was asking for her time limit on some sort of school presentation and not dishing the dark details of Cian's illegal experimentation.

Tessa reached over and patted Nik's shoulder with a chuckle. "Don't yell at him; I've got a condensed version, don't worry." She raised a brow at Connor, asking a silent question. He shrugged, tilted his head, then gave her a slight nod. Whatever his answer was, it seemed to satisfy Tess as she crossed her legs and sat up straight, locking eyes with Cian. "Let's hope no one has a weak stomach."

Tessa took a breath, then dived right in. "I've always been in the foster care system, even from birth. A lot of my families weren't ideal, so I found myself in the streets more often than not. There's one particular spot in town where all the street kids hang out, and that's where Cian set up shop.

"I was 10 at the time. I remember seeing a very fancy man moving into one of the rundown houses. He had a bunch of bags with him, and he was going in and out of the house multiple times to carry all the bags in. A few days passed, and there was a lot of construction going on, but I didn't know where. I couldn't see anything on the outside of the house being redone, but construction noises were coming from there.

"I don't remember exactly how long it took, but once it was done, that's when people started disappearing. The kids I used to play with were not showing up, even when they made promises to. I never saw them again." She paused, swallowing, then turned a burning gaze onto Cian as she said, "September 15, I was grabbed by three men in lab coats and dragged into that run-down house, then tossed down the stairs like a ragdoll.

"I blacked out, then woke up in a cage. The floor was already stained with blood. There were little girls and little boys even younger than me in other cages, screaming and clawing at themselves like bugs were crawling beneath their skin. They were screaming for 'more' and I didn't know what was going on. I was scared, but not for myself. I was scared for them because I just–I just knew that they wouldn't last long." She shook her head, dropping her gaze from Cian.

"I don't know how long I was down there, but I was soon enough grabbed and taken out of my cage. Five of the other children had died by then. I fought the men as they were taking me to the lab, but I couldn't get them off of me. They chained me to a metal table, then put a metal gag in my mouth when I wouldn't shut up." Now her voice was devoid of emotion, shutting it all off. "They stuck needles into me, injected unknown drugs into me, then left me there to do the same to some other poor child. I was there forever. I could feel the drugs in my veins. I wanted to claw it out, but my hands were chained to the table. I wanted to scream, but I was gagged. It hurt beyond belief, but I couldn't do anything about it.

"They then took the liberty of my unlikely survival to cut me open and see what the drugs did to my system. I don't remember what they said it did—I was too busy cursing them out and screaming in pain from them digging and cutting. No anesthesia was used, at all."

She took a breath, then looked to Alex. "There were four other test subjects along with me for that round of testing. Three died, one other survived. I was used again and again. Different drugs, same process. Sometimes I was locked in my cage while they waited for the effects to settle, sometimes I remained chained. We were all given minimal food and water so as to not mess with the results. We were all malnourished, skin and bone, and dehydrated. But we were also addicted. One dose made us crave for more. Sometimes the withdrawal was so intense it killed them.

"I tried escaping multiple times, but not all succeeded. He and the other men used trouble makers as an example, torturing them and punishing them in front of them all. I was used more often than not, but that didn't stop me from trying to fight, trying to escape. I eventually did, but I went back to help the others. Even if I knew they likely wouldn't survive, it was better to die in the streets—our home—than that hellhole."

Connor didn't visibly react to Tess's story, only the fluttering of a muscle in his cheek from clenching his jaw. "I was with her for most of her time in the system. We often found ourselves placed in the same homes, or in the same places in the streets, so it's no surprise that we ended up under Cian's care." He glared at the doctor as he drawled the word.

"Tess and I would make it as difficult for them as possible to get anything from us. We got punished a lot, but we figured it was worth it. The more they focused on the troublesome duo, the less they could do to the younger kids. We were the oldest, with Tess turning 11 while there and me being a few years older. We'd be the ones to comfort the scared and traumatized kids, then comforting each other afterwards. Being alone down there was the worst thing to imagine.

"A lot of the doctors and scientists' favorite torture method was whipping, but they also resorted to old fashioned beating and kicking. With our lack of food and water, we bruised and broke easily. Some died after losing so much blood because they were so worn down."

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair, then tapped his neck in time with his pulse. "I do that a lot, follow my pulse, because I got into the habit of making sure I was still alive—that my heart was still beating. Because sometimes after the experimentations, I couldn't feel anything, it was so faint, or it stopped all together for a short time. I checked the pulses of little girls and boys. I stayed up every night to make sure everyone was breathing. I have trouble sleeping because of that, but it was worth it. I was told numerous times how grateful some were that I did that, because a lot of the times, they were almost dead. Some did die, and their faces will continue to haunt my memories for the rest of my mind."

He narrowed his eyes at Cain, who was starting to shift uneasily in his seat. "They should haunt his, too, but he didn't even recognize us, the two main trouble makers, so I doubt they do."

Cian narrowed his eyes that two challenging pairs, silently furious. Oh, he remembered them now. They were the ones who made his life as difficult as possible, and their survival made him all the more pissed. "Yes, I remember them," he growled, leaning forward threateningly without breaking eye contact from the two young adults. "They're the two brats who ruined everything they could. They could've made it all easy by just sitting still and being good. But no, they had to fight me and my men at every second, then encourage the other subjects to do the same!" His voice grew louder and more furious as he spoke.

Cian seemed to snap out of his anger when Alex spoke, then sputtered in disbelief. "I've done nothing of the sort!" was his only lame attempt at redeeming himself.

Connor cackled and gladly reached over to turn off the camera. Tessa crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at a gaping-mouth Cian.

Tessa returned Nik's smile, then watched him go. She had a rocky relationship with the watch, but since she never left any evidence, they couldn't arrest her even if they knew she did something. Without evidence, they couldn't make a case.

Connor watched Cian like a hawk, dark eyes never leaving the fuming older man.

Connor leaned over and hooked an arm around Tess's neck, bringing her head against his shoulder. "Incredibly satisfying," he said. Tess nodded and added, "Even better when he ratted himself out."

It was tough, telling who knows how many people their story, but getting it off their chest and getting the justice they—and the others—deserved made it all worth it in the end. They both felt lighter with relief.

Tessa lifted her head from Connor's shoulder to look up at the reappearing Nik. "He better be, or I'm going to go over there and treat him wonderfully myself." Connor snorted, letting her go.

Tess shrugged but grinned. "I'm down. Sounds fun, and I need some fun right about now." She looked to Connor, who just shrugged. "As long as I have some coffee, I'm good," he said.

"I know of a coffee shop that's pretty cool," Connor offered, lifting his head. "We can get a discount too, 'cause I'm a regular."

Tess looked slightly disappointed there was no alcohol involved, but being able to relax with others was good enough.

(Sure)

Tessa and Connor talked to each other for the most part as well, though they joined in on conversations between Nik and Alex as well. They were surprisingly lighthearted and chatty after that whole ordeal, though a small part of them was doing it to keep from processing what they just did.

"15 gallons of coffee because I am just so awake right now," Connor said with sarcastic enthusiasm. Tessa rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head. He ducked his head and whined in protest.

"It was a love tap."

"Love tap my ass."

She reached down without hesitation, and Connor booked it while saying, "Not what I meant!"

She snickered, then looked up at the menu. "Uh, I'm kinda craving something sweet."

"Huh?" Propped his head up from behind a table, then stood up and acted like thinking happened. "Oh, uh, no because I get the blackest and strongest coffee there is because what is sleep. I don't bother with flavor."

"You're a bunch of help," Tess drawled. He flashed a quick grin.