The Viper

Chapter 19

Flashback: 3 Years Ago (2011)

Serena's Age: 22 Years Old

Location: Washington, D.C.

"How are you feeling after the mission? What are your general thoughts?" Dr. Andrew Garner asked, as he sat across from Serena.

Since Serena returned from Turkmenistan, the only survivor of raiding the terrorist's compound, she was sent to undergo a mental evaluation from one of the CIA's approved psychiatrists. She wasn't in the mood, and all she wanted to do was collapse in her bed and sleep her tibia fracture away.

Serena simply shrugged.

Andrew sighed. He knew speaking to her was tough, after everything she's witnessed at such a young age, especially after losing her entire team, and her being the only survivor. From looking at her, he could tell she was tired. Her eyes had deep dark circles, and she did her best to cover up some of the bruising on her face, but nothing could cover the lacerations she had on her face. Her lower right leg had a boot on it, and she was using crutches to get around due to a shattered tibia, and she had a brace around her left wrist, as she dislocated it.

"Serena, I know you lost your partner. I know it's difficult to speak about." Andrew began.

"He was a moron." Serena replied. "He let himself fall open. He died for it. He's a fucking idiot."

Andrew sighed. The girl had no emotion. She was cold, calculating, and inscrutable with regards to those who died on missions. He knew this based upon things he heard from the other psychiatrists who have done her mental evaluation.

"Agent Pierce, I understand where you are coming from, and I know you are angry." Andrew began calmly.

"Angry?" Serena asked, eyes darkening with fury. "I'm fucking furious."
"Why?" Andrew asked calmly.

"HE DISOBEYED MY ORDERS!" She shouted from her chair, leaning forward, resting her arms on her knees. "Mark was the biggest fucking idiot! He always disobeyed my orders, and he never followed my lead! And look where it ended up! He's fucking dead, and I'm not."

Andrew sighed. She was difficult. She was emotionless. But he didn't know if that was because she was just playing a part or was it because she was trained to be emotionless. He took into consideration the fact that she was taken as a hostage when she was 5, but at the same time, took into every major event that has plagued her life. All her CIA missions, her ballet career ending before she joined the CIA, and every family health issue she delt with as well.
That's when he realized it.

The girl wasn't emotionless.

That was the way she hid her inner troubles.

She had issues.

Anxiety, depression, potentially PTSD...she hid it by being emotionless.

"Alright." Andrew began, folding his binder of notes. "I think we're done for today."

"Can I go home now?" Serena asked.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Thank fucking god." Serena groaned as she grabbed her crutches, stood up from her chair, and hobbled out of the room.

Once she left, Andrew sat back in his chair and realized that she didn't know that he knows, that she knows that she's hiding her inner troubles by not showing emotions. He knew, if he wrote the truth, she'd be placed on a leave of absence, making her potentially go insane. That's when he decided to write the truth of what he saw.

'Agent Pierce shows signs of slight withdrawal. However based upon her expressions, it has come to show that she is emotionless, cold, inscrutable, and hard-hearted.' Andrew typed into the computer before sending it to Serena's mother, who was her superior.