Jesse stopped walking and stared at the woman. "That's it. I'm calling you in for kidnapping."
"Go right ahead, I won't stop you."
She stopped her hand midway to her radio. "You're just gonna let me call the police on you?"
"Certainly, if that is what you feel is right." Magnus answered. "I only ask that you tell them to arrest us outside the facility, as there are things here that cannot be shared with the public just yet."
Jesse narrowed her eyes. "You're keeping illegal stuff in here, too?"
"No, absolutely not. This is strictly a research facility on rare and wonderful creatures. I won't allow anything against the law within these walls."
She relaxed the hand on her radio. "Fine. But if we aren't at a medical facility, what am I supposed to do, 'cause I'm not feelin' so hot right now."
Magnus straightened up. "Yes, right. I am a doctor, so I'll be able to do anything necessary. Right this way."
. . .
"Magnus? You called for me?"
"Ah, yes, Will. Come here for a moment, will you? I need you to tie this off while I take a look at her vitals." said Magnus, handing off the roll of bandages as he approached.
Will smiled at the girl a little uncomfortably. Her shirt was off, but luckily she still had am undershirt on. It was pushed up to allow the wrappings. Though he tried not to look too closely, he couldn't help but notice how muscular she was, for being so small. She just gave him a weird look. "So who are you supposed to be? The unsure accomplice?"
He looked confused. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Well, your girlfriend over there just kidnapped me, so am I to understand that you're her partner in crime?"
Will laughed nervously. "She's kidding, right? You didn't really kidnap her, did you?" he asked Magnus.
"She got into the car willingly, so I would presume that doesn't fall under the legal definition."
Will shook his head mock-despairingly. "Sorry if she caused you any trouble. She gets like this when she's excited about a new finding."
"As long as you get me back to the station, I'll be fine." she answered shortly, picking up her shirt from the table.
"I'll take you myself, just in case." he assured her with a smile.
She looked him over, as though she were finally curious about him. "Hey, you wouldn't have worked for the police at some point, would you?"
"Actually, yeah, I did, as a forensic psychologist a couple months ago. Why?" he asked.
"You're Will Zimmerman." she said, realization coming over her face. "I know people who have been wondering where you've disappeared to."
Will gave her a calculating look. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"
"Officer Jesse Duxon. I work with Sargent Bryant."
"Ah, I knew him. I worked the Copper case with him."
"I know, I was there as a trainee." she responded. "You were ridiculous in the assumptions you were making. But I suppose you had more ideas than anyone else. Perhaps that's why the case was never solved."
"Will, I called you here for reasons other than tying a knot." Magnus interrupted.
"Right." he said. "What do you need?"
"Your psychiatric skills." the doctor answered, turning away from the monitor to look at him. "I need you to help me with something. Follow me." She lead the two of them out of the medical room and into her office, carefully avoiding any routes that would take them through or past the Shoe. "Please, be seated." she told them, leaning against her desk. "Jessica, I know you're not going to want to hear this, but please bear with me. Will, I need you to help her remember her past."
Jesse groaned. "I already told you my boring past. There's nothing exciting about it. Look, I think you've got the wrong person, so-"
"Jessica, please, sit back down until I've finished." said Magnus forcefully. Jesse sank irritably back down onto the couch. Will was surprised. He hadn't yet known Magnus to keep someone in the Sanctuary against their will. "Will, if you would please work with her, I need to go figure out why my own past has suddenly decided to turn up." Saying this, she left the room, leaving Will and Jesse alone on the couch.
Will turned to the officer, slightly embarrassed. "Well...I suppose we should start with you telling me the last thing you remember."
"Remember about what? I already told your crazy doctor that I grew up in Philly and go there every Christmas. But for some reason she seems to think I've forgotten my other life in England, which is impossible because I've never been there in my life." Jesse snapped.
Will was startled. "You mean you remember everything from when you were little."
"Yes!" she exclaimed.
He was now thoroughly confused. "Wait, so you do have a past that you remember clearly?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!"
Will took a deep breath and put his head in his hands. "Okay, so what now? As long as I've known Magnus, she's never been wrong. There must be something we're missing." He thought for a moment, then sighed. "I guess I should ask you some questions, then. What's the very first memory you have?"
Jesse rolled her eyes, but gave in. "Asking my mom how to spell my name."
"Okay. What's your mom's name?"
"Aiada."
"Good, I guess. Is there anything unusual about your day-to-day life that you can think of?"
"No."
Will sighed. There was nothing intriguing about this girl. What did Magnus see?
"Actually...that's a lie." she said slowly.
He looked at her. "Go on."
"Every night, I get these weird headaches." she said, expression changing from irritation to slight fear. "I don't know where they come from, and any type of meds do nothing to help."
"How long has this been happening?"
"About a month now."
"Have you told anyone else?"
"No."
"Not even a doctor?"
"No. They're not normal headaches." she insisted. "They come back every night, and sometimes I can't seelp, not because of the pain, but because of something that I feel. I can't explain it."
Will gave her a long, hard look. "Is that all?"
"As much as I can tell."
"I'll let Magnus know about this when she gets back. In the mean time, I'll drive you home."
. . .
The basement area was dark, cold, and slightly damp. Magnus could smell the mold growing on the walls. It was precisely the place she hoped to find him.
"Looking for someone?" asked a condescending voice from behind her.
"Not anymore." she answered, turning around.
"Why have you come to find me?"
"Enough with the games, John. I want to know what you did to her."
"To who?" asked John Druitt, genuinely curious.
"Jessica. The girl who shot you."
"Oh, that little brat. It took a while to get those bullets out. No need to worry, I only fractured a few ribs, as you must know by now." he said, smiling down at her.
"That's not what I meant." she snapped. "What did you do to her mind?"
"Her mind?" he repeated, taken aback. "Nothing. What would I want with that? She is nothing to me."
"Don't give me that, John. How could she suddenly have an alternate past the moment I begin looking for her just after you rob the bank she gets sent to?"
"I must insist, I have no idea what you're talking about." he persisted.
"Then who wiped her memory?" Magnus shouted.
"I don't know, the Cabal, maybe? But here's an idea! Maybe it would be best if you stopped wasting your time hounding me about it when you know full well I have not the capability to do such a thing." John said angrily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have twenty-five thousand dollars in cash to hide."
Before Magnus could stop him, he vanished into thin air, leaving her behind to soak in her irritation.
. . .
"So, basically, you're saying you don't have any idea what happened, yet you were gone for four hours."
"Well, no, not exactly." said Jesse uncomfortably. She felt weird standing in the Sargent's office in jeans, a white shirt, and gray cardigan rather than her uniform. The tool belt and radio had hurt her fractured ribs. Will had driven her home first so she could change, and then thoughtfully had waited so he could drive her to the station. Now, she was being interrogated on her disappearance by her boss.
"Come on, Jess." said Sargent Bryant, leaning back in his chair. "You went MIA for a while after you were sent out on a robbery case, then you just show right back up without any more information on the case. Explain this to me."
"I was chasing after the guy-"
"What guy?"
"The guy I called you about on the radio." Jesse replied.
"Yeah, I mean, what made you go after him?"
"He was at the scene of the crime going down a dark alley and, well, quite frankly, something told me he was kinda shifty."
"So you had no hard evidence?"
"No. But if you want your original question answered, let me finish." she answered curtly. "I had him up against the fence at the end of the alley when he swung his fist out from nowhere and broke my ribs. I fired at him twice, but he still got away. So I radio'd over to you, then I went to the hospital. They wouldn't let me leave until they'd done a full check-up on me." She felt bad about lying to a policeman, but it was necessary to avoid any odd questions about where she had been.
"All right. I believe you." said Bryant. "We'll get some men out looking for this British baldy."
"Sir, there's something else." she continued. "I hit him both times."
He gave her a skeptical look. "So how is he still on the run?"
"No idea."
"Jesse, I think you need to take some time off."
Jesse was taken aback. "Wait, I'm sorry, what?"
"Only for a little while until you recover from your injury."
"No, sir, I'm fine, really-"
"No arguments, Duxon. I'll have Officer Duncan watch you to make sure you don't try and work this case while on leave."
"Sir, this isn't just a normal bank robbery and I have no issue with telling you that I think you're wrong this time." Jesse insisted.
"Duncan!" Bryant called. "Please take Duxon home and watch her."
"Please, sir, if you'd just-"
"Come on, Jess, we need to get you home." said Scott, pulling her out of the office. "We can take my car."
They exited the station, Jesse irritably not talking to anyone. She got into Scott's car, waiting for him to get in on his side. "You wanna tell me what this is all about?" he asked as they pulled out.
"I hit the guy twice." she stated.
"As in, punched him?" he asked.
"No, as in, shot him. Twice."
"But then we would have-"
"Got him? Yeah. No idea why we didn't so just keep...hang on, stop the car."
She had seen him again, but the moment Scott slammed on the brakes in the (luckily) deserted street, he was gone. As though he'd never been there at all.
"What, what do you see?" Scott asked nervously.
"Nothing." Jesse answered distractedly. "It's gone."
He looked at her, concern plain on his face. "We seriously need to get you home, Jess. You don't look so good."
Jesse nodded, and when they finally reached her apartment, she went into her room to sleep. Scott told her he'd be in the living room on the couch if she needed anything. She knew, as he did, that she wouldn't, but the gesture was kind enough anyway.
Sleep. Maybe that would make this whole, crazy, nightmare of a day seem less intimidating. Sanctuary. Ha. There was no such thing. It was all just some plan to get her to second-guess herself. But why? No. She didn't need a reason. They were crazy. There wouldn't be any good reason.
. . .
Jesse awoke later that night absolutely starving. She entered the kitchen, intending to grab some leftover salad, when she noticed Scott was no longer on the couch. "Scott?" she called. Hearing no answer, she went into the kitchen and spotted the brightly-colored note on the fridge.
Jesse,
Don't worry. They called me back to the station 'cause they got the guy from the bank. I'll probably be back before you wake up, but if I'm not, DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE!
~Scott
Jesse snorted. She didn't feel like leaving the apartment anyway, even if it were a house. She crumpled up the note and tossed it into the trash, somehow feeling slightly lonely.
Suddenly, she heard a huge crashing noise, so she ran to the window to investigate. There, she found three people completely covered in black coming in on wires. They spotted her, and dashed forward to grab her, but she danced out of reach. She grabbed a chair and fought one of the figures off with it, but another grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream, but he covered her mouth with a cloth, and then she knew no more.
. . .
"Duncan? Why are you here?" asked Sargent Bryant.
"You called me, sir." Scott responded. "You said you'd nabbed the robber from the bank this morning."
Bryant stared at the young man. "I made no such call."
"What?"
"Sir, we just received a call about a break-in at apartment 26B at the complex near the library." said an officer from her desk.
Bryant and Scott shared a look. "That's Jesse's place." Scott said, fear plain in his eyes.
"All right, everybody, move out! Get on it! We've got an officer's life on the line!" the Sargent called, grabbing his own gun.
. . .
"Magnus, we've got trouble." said Henry, entering the woman's office.
"What is it, Henry?" she asked, removing her reading glasses.
"Remember that Cabal theory you had? About them having something to do with your girl's mental issues?"
"I don't recall putting it that bluntly, but yes." she answered. "Why?"
"I've been monitoring them like you told me, and it looks like they've broken into her apartment." he answered, showing her the touch-screen pad.
"Wait, so they kidnapped her?" asked Ashley, also looking at the pad.
"When?" Magnus snapped, ignoring the question.
"Twenty minutes ago. Just got the security feed from her home camera. I suppose cops like all that security stuff, but I wouldn't want a camera all up in my business as I do what I do." he said calmly.
"All right, Ashley, go get Will. We're going to find her. Henry, follow us in the van. You may be able to track their progress. We need to move now."