Forgot to mention, there's some MAJOR spoilers for all three movies. So if you haven't seen the movies, them why the hell did you click on the Bourne Identity/Supremacy fan fiction link?
But, back to all seriousness, here's the second chapter. Enjoy!
Nicky felt half dead when she finally stumbled out of the Hong Kong airport and into the street. The five hour bus ride had been immediately followed by a sixteen hour flight that she had to congratulate herself on surviving through. Despite her resentment for flying, thanks to a mild case of claustrophobia, she had a sinking feeling that she was going to have to pull a stunt like that again in the near future.
She dragged herself to the street, and hailed a cab. "Where to?" The man's heavily accented voice reached her ears in the back.
"You know a good motel?"
"Yes – It'll cost fifteen dollars to get there."
"Sounds like a deal."
The cab drove her for about ten minutes to a little motel near the airport, but closer to a bus station. Perfect. She paid the fee of fifteen American dollars, then got out.
Nicky slowly walked across the street and through the front door, and was greeted by a receptionist, a friendly woman with flawless English. "Hello! You want a room?"
"Yeah. Just for the night."
"And your name is?"
"Casey Smith" Nicky answered. It was one of her false identities that she had created a few years back. Smith had to be the most common last name on earth, which was why she had chosen it. She watched closely as the woman quickly checked her in.
"Okay, you're in room 6. Have a good night!"
"Thank you." Managing a tiny smile at the woman, Nicky shouldered her bag and walked to her room. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the receptionist pick up her cell pone, dial a number, and started talking in Chinese. Nicky had tried her best to learn the language, but it had never been something that she could completely wrap her head around.
Upon closing and locking the door, she promptly collapsed across the small bed. The room itself wasn't very large, but she was in Hong Kong. She didn't really expect any space. She closed her eyes to shut out the growing claustrophobia. She couldn't afford to worry about that now.
Behind closed eyelids, she watched pictures flash through her mind. Bourne. The Professor. One of Riley's men, whose name she never learned. Riley. Conklin. Danny Owens. Bourne again. Her own face, reflected in a mirror.
Then came the video clips.
Nicky was too exhausted to fight back the horrors of her past tonight. For the first time in years, she allowed them to fall over her like a dark blanket.
Nicky was leaning against the window of a Paris bakery, waiting for Danny Owens to call and tell her where to go. She was enjoying the mid-summer heat, but still watched the street out of the corner of her eye. She was wearing more eyeliner and mascara than she'd had since adolescence, faded jeans with holes in the knees, skateboarder shoes, and a tight black tee-shirt. Her cell phone rested in her pocket, set on vibrate so that she could fake a call if she needed too. She looked over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of her reflection. She couldn't help but stare. Conklin may have been a mean, sexist pig, but he was never wrong. She looked to be seventeen at the most.
Suddenly, a shopkeeper waddled out the door, catching her off guard. Waving a broom at her, he screamed, "Obtenez loin de mon magasin, vous bon pour rien gosse!" Roughly translated, he was calling her a good-for-nothing brat, and telling her to go away.
"Faites-moi. Vous pourriez employer l'exercice. " She replied smartly.
The baker's face turned a peculiar shade of purple. Maybe I should have left his weight out of it…Nicky beat a quick retreat, ducking to avoid the broom that was swung at her head multiple times before his lack of fitness caught up to him.
Once she was safely away, Nicky sat down on a bench and sadly looked at a café that she usually liked to go to on the other side of the street. She would have given anything for a cup of coffee, but she had to stay put. She was still in trouble from the eye-roll, however useful it may have been. Her cell phone suddenly shook, making her jump. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket and flipped it open. "Bonjour?"
"Congratulations Nicky – You just outran a fat baker! Let's see if you can beat a rogue agent!" Nicky recognized Danny's voice and rolled her eyes again. He had always seemed to be fond of teasing her when Conklin wasn't listening. She just hoped that he wasn't trying to hit on her.
"Pierre, j'ai pensé que je vous ai dit de cesser de m'appeler."
"You're thinking of me as a boyfriend? How sweet. Conklin'll love this…"
"Fermé vers le haut."
"You're really no fun at all. Riley's entering the square from the south entrance. Get down there."
"Je vous verrai là." Nicky snapped the phone shut. She hoped that her improvised cover as a French teenager dealing with a clingy ex-boyfriend was convincing. No one seemed to be staring at her suspiciously, so she wove through the crowd, reaching a bench where Conklin had told her to sit if Riley came though the south entrance.
She sat down and quietly watched everyone walk by. She pulled out her cell phone and pretended to text message a friend, just to keep her cover. As she waited, old advice from a high school drama teacher came back to her, "Always know what you character wants in a scene. It could be the other guy's wallet or it could be your spouse's apology, but everyone has something that they want. If you don't know, then you aren't in character, and you'll wind up with dear air." The advice had been for improv acting, but she found herself applying it to her won situation, as she knew she would need it. She was a teenage girl, and she wanted to get rid of her ex-boyfriend. Simple enough…except if she hesitated, she would be punished with a slow, gruesome death rather than a low mark.
She looked up, and there he was – a tall, grey haired man that walked with purpose and radiated control and power. Three men followed him closely but no one else seemed too interested in him. Not one of them glanced at her.
Nicky pulled out her phone and punched in Danny' number, being careful to keep her eyes away from the target.
"Owens."
Nicky was careful to examine her nails as she chattered away in French, although to a best friend. "Hi Melissa, I'm sorry but I can't hang out tomorrow. My mom's inviting one of her friends over, and she has three sisters who are coming too. Apparently I have to be there."
"Good. You recognize any of them?"
"Yeah, they'll notice if I sneak out! They're not blind!"
"What about those other two that you talked about?"
"Maybe they're imaginary friends, did you ever consider that?"
"Okay, Conklin says to follow them, but make damn sure you keep your distance. Oh, and you should probably know…there's a tiny possibility that Delta might show up."
"Quoi?!" Bourne's codename caught Nicky off guard. Why the hell…
"Him and Conklin got into an argument – he didn't think you had enough protection or something like that. He stormed out, and we haven't seen him since. Not that we've really been looking." Danny added.
"…okay. Talk to you later." Nicky hung up, mind in a whirl. So Jason didn't' think she had enough protection. She felt warm inside as she pondered the fact that he was worried about her. She had never really admitted it to herself, but she was slightly attracted to him. He cared more about her than Conklin did, or any of the others, for that matter. At first, she had just appreciated the fact that he didn't want to strangle her…but lately, her attitudes had changed…she had wanted more…
No, no, no. She quickly brought herself back to earth. You've got enough problems as it is! Stop fantasizing about a frigging ASSASSIN!
Nicky shook her head, stood, and walked away, in the same direction she had seen Riley go. She quickly caught sight of them through the crowd, but was careful to keep her eyes slightly averted to avoid suspicion.
All of a sudden, they were gone. Bewildered, Nicky cast a quick glance around. Where-? Then she ran straight into someone's extremely solid back.
"Oi! Montre où vous allez!!" A rough voice snapped. Nicky looked up, and found herself looking into the terrifyingly cold eyes of none other than Connor Riley.
"Désolé." She squeaked, and quickly walked around him, and into the shelter of the crowd.
Her heart was racing. Had he seen through the disguise? Was there a concealed pistol pointed at the back of her head right now? Was this going to be her last thought before she died? Nicky wanted to run like hell was rising up, but she managed to walk to the outskirts of the crowd, then fall behind so she could catch sight of him again. But he had disappeared again. Damn it.
Her cell phone jumped to life in her pocket, and she quickly flipped it open. "Oui?"
"Parsons, get out of there."
Bourne's voice was the last thing she was expecting, and it knocked her off guard. But when she processed what he had said, her mind revved into high gear. "Huh?"
"Right now, get the hell out of there. There's two men at six and seven o'clock, they've been watching you the whole time. You have to move now!"
Nicky looked at her reflection in a window, or rather, over her reflection's shoulder. Instantly, her blood ran cold. There, behind her, were two solidly built men pushing though the crowd, eyes trained on her back so intently that she thought she could feel four holes being drilled. "Jesus Christ…"
"You've been compromised. Meet me at the corner of 11th and 3rd, I'll end it. Keep your phone on vibrate." There was a click, and the line went dead.
Nicky put the phone back in her pocket and wove through the crowd, desperately trying to evade them and keep whatever shred of cover she had left. She felt some comfort in the fact that she could run at full speed in these shoes, and she probably knew the city better than they did.
She turned off the busy square into a side street that led to the intersection Bourne had talked about. She was about halfway down it when a dark figure charged into the street in front of her. At the same time, she heard running footsteps behind her. Instantly, she was at a dead sprint, turning down another road to shake them off. She heard the three pursuers coming after her, keeping up with her relentless pace without much difficulty.
Panic welled up in her. She was royally screwed. These men could probably outrun her by at least a mile, and, when they caught up, she would be no match for them at all. All she had going for her was intelligence, and she hadn't seen an opportunity to use it yet. In short, she needed help, and she needed it now.
Suddenly, an alleyway caught her attention. She knew that it forked off, leading into two separate directions. A plan took form in her mind. I can get rid of them if I play my cards right. Elated, she galloped into the back alley, and instantly whirled on the spot and vaulted herself behind a dumpster. At the same time, she took off one of her shoes and tossed it away, then crouched down behind the steel box. Working hard to make her panting silent, she listened as the men turned a corner and exclaimed in surprise. She knew exactly what they saw: an abandoned alley with two separate ways that their prey could have gone, and evidence that it had been there – the abandoned shoe, apparently ran right out of.
"Where'd she go?"
"Dunno…Bob, go that way. Chris, that way. I'll keep looking around here in case she tried to throw us. Don't stop looking until you find her or one of us calls. Go."
Heavy footfalls told her that two were gone, but she heard the third searching for her. Bob…Robert Duncan. Former military. One of the three men that she had found out. 'Chris' and this guy must be the ones I couldn't dig up. She mused, then shook her head – this was no time for names!
Grabbing a nearby shovel, she slowly peeked around the corner. His back was to her, and he was looking though a bunch of trash cans. Apparently, he hadn't thought to look behind the dumpster. Nicky set her teeth, stood, and slowly snuck up behind him, stepping back into her shoe along the way. Raising the shovel, she fervently hoped it would be enough to send him out long enough for her to get away.
All of a sudden, he turned and grabbed the shovel just as she was going to bring it down on his head. Panicked, Nicky struggled to get away, but he just pulled her closer. Then he looked into her eyes and said a few words that turned the world on it's head.
"Code in: Alpha37509. Ruby."
For a moment, Nicky's mind went absolutely blank. He knew her code in and distress code. Then the fact that he had used her distress code processed.
The shovel clanged to the ground.
His fist shot out at her face, but she recovered in time to deflect it and dodge another blow to the face. But she wouldn't be able to overpower him –she knew that for a fact. She attempted to flee again, but a strong arm grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. "BOB! CHRIS! I'VE GOT HER!"
"NICKY!" The roar surprised her attacker almost as much as it surprised her. Then a shadow fell over her, and the arm released her. Nicky stumbled away, then turned to see Bourne and the other man in the middle of a fist fight. It was over almost as quickly as it had begun – the other man was no match for him.
Giving his unconscious opponent a kick, Bourne turned to her. "Are you hurt?"
"…I-I don't think so."
"Good – he wouldn't be happy if you were." Nicky was angry at herself even as she heard the deep voice that wasn't Bourne's. There were five men, not three, which left two that could be coming. And the other two would have heard the other man yell, Bourne's voice, put together what was happening, and come running. Correct to her suspicions, two men dove into the alley. Bourne was quick to respond, but these men were better trained than the first. He wouldn't be able to hold these ones off for very long.
Her mind was suddenly brought back to her own plight as an arm wrapped around her abdomen and a hand clamped over her mouth. Instantly, she started screaming and thrashing, but to no avail. Her attacker was too strong. Before her terrified eyes, her orignal pursuer picked himself up off the ground, shook his head, and dove into the fight. Bourne couldn't help her. She was on her own.
There was a sudden sound of an engine behind her, and she heard a trunk pop open. A car. Their car. No! Oh God, please, no! She thrashed harder than ever, desperate to escape.
There was a pause, then something sharp hit her arm. A needle. No! nonononononoNO! The strength drained out of her legs even as total terror overcame her. She was tossed into a small, dark space, and saw Jason push one of the men away. He looked up and his deep blue eyes met hers. He took a step forward.
Nicky was almost unconscious, thanks to the drug. But something inside her came alive when she saw him. If they caught him, they would kill him. That was what Riley wanted. She couldn't let it happen…not to him.
With the last of her strength, she raised her head and screamed "NO! GO BACK! THEY'LL KILL YOU! LEAVE ME BEHIND, JUST GO!"
He stopped, and those eyes met hers again. And for a moment, he wasn't just an asset trying to protect his country.
He was something far more complex.
Then he was gone, and the trunk of the car closed. But she didn't mind the darkness – the last of her strength failed, and she was sliding into oblivion that the damn drug had created.
Her last though was strange – a random fact that came to her mind just as darkness overcame her.
That's the first time he's ever called me by my first name...
Nicky brought herself back to reality with some difficulty. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling as the memories slowly drained away. Some part of her had died in the three days that had followed – she had never acted or thought the same way again, and she had suddenly found herself haunted by paranoia and claustrophobia ever since. She hadn't been very old – just a few months over twenty-one. She had been working at Treadstone for a little over a year when Conklin had sent her out.
She closed her eyes and stifled a tiny sob as she remembered the look in Jason's eyes. He had worried about her then, as she had later learned – and his argument with Conklin had been mostly about her being too young to be in such danger – she had looked like a teenager because she was just barely an adult. If he wasn't nine years her senior, she might have been offended. But she had been too surprised by his compassion to care.
But that Jason was long gone – killed by amnesia and hate.
Her back itched, bringing her mind back to the present again. The memories had brought back physical pain too. Sighing, Nicky got up and dragged herself to the bathroom. Pulling off her shirt, she tuned her back to the mirror and surveyed it over her shoulder. The long scar that ran from the bottom of her left shoulder blade to her right hip seemed redder than usual, as if the memories had aggravated it somehow. She winced as another image attacked her brain, this one of a flash of silver, a scream, and a roar of fury.
She pushed it back. She wasn't going the right direction if she wanted to get some sleep tonight as it was.
Something moved. Nicky only saw it out of the corner of her eye, but it instantly put her on high alert. She swiftly pulled the old shirt over her head, and darted to the corner behind the doorframe. She listened intently, but there was only silence. Then she heard it – breathing, then the sound of someone popping the clip. Her heart stopped. Shit. How did they find me so fast? The desk clerk. She had picked up her cell phone when Nicky had left. That little rat. But her stalker was an agent, not an asset. She could tell just by the fact that she was still alive. It was a grab team. In a way, that was worse than an asset.
Nicky was in major trouble, and she knew it. She didn't have a gun with her; if she had, she wouldn't have made it onto the plane. If she could overpower the agent, then she might be able to steal his and get away…assuming that there was only one. If there were more than two, then she might as well come out with her hands up and hope for the best.
But she had no intention of going down without a fight.
Footsteps. A shadow moved on the other side of the open door. Nicky pressed herself into the corner between the wall and the door's hinges as a dark figure slowly moved into the room. Her size, dark short hair, a dark jacket, a semi-automatic pistol in one hand and a syringe in the other. Definitely male. Nicky formulated a quick plan, drew herself up, and made her move.
She threw a quick blow to the back of his head to slow him down, grabbed the syringe, and stuck it into the back of his neck just as his gun swung around. She grabbed his wrist and slammed it against the wall to disarm him, but he was already unconscious. The drug was far faster than she had expected.
She grabbed the gun and pointed it out the door. Instantly, another one came at her. But Nicky was ready for it, and she knew how to defend herself. A right hook to the face and a knee to the groin sent him down. She used the handle of the gun to send him out, and then looked over them both. They looked local, but a tag beneath her second opponent's jacket told her that they were CIA. How the hell did the get in here so fast? It should have taken them at least…Nicolette Parsons, you MORON! Of course! There was a CIA substation in Hong Kong! That's how they found her and got in so fast!
"How could you have been so blind?" She cursed aloud as she grabbed her bag and checked it for a tracking device. None, she was clear. She tossed on her jacket and threw the bag over her shoulder.
She climbed out the window and lightly dropped to the ground, being sure to avoid any other windows. The last thing she needed was to be seen. Nicky checked her watch. 1:30 am, local time. She wasn't going to go to the Hong Kong airport again. That was too risky. She was headed for the bus station. She would find a city with an airport, and use a different passport. Maybe her Russian one.
Nicky had already made up her mind on where she was going to go from there before she hit the street. Like it or not, she was dead sick of the East in general. It had been three years since she had been in that country, and it was risky, but not half as risky as Hong Kong had become.
Nicky Parsons was headed home.
If you were surprised by Nicky's age, don't worry – I was too. That's what it said in the movie, if you don't believe me, read her file – they briefly show it in the Supremacy when she talks to Landy and Tom for the first time, and again in the Ultimatum when one of the technicians brings it up when she picks up the phone. She was born on March 28, 1979, and Bourne was inducted into Treadstone on June 1st, 1999. Not too old, huh?
Oh and the french traslations during Nicky's flashback are "Get away from my shop, you good-for-nothing brat!", "Make me - You could use the exerscise.", "Pierre, I thought I told you to stop calling me.", "Shut up.", "See you there.", "Oi! Watch where you're going!", and "Sorry." I used Word's translator, but we all know that it isn't that accurate, so don't shoot me if none of it makes gramatical sense.
Thanks for all your reviews, I really do appreciate it! Please let me know what you think of this chapter, but try to be kind.