Kirsten's favorite part of the day was waking up next to Cameron. She wasn't a morning person, but having him next to her made it worth it.
He was having nightmares again. He didn't know she knew, but when she woke up in his arms when she usually rolled away from him during the night. She had been meaning to confront him about it, but everything was perfect and she was scared of ruining it.
It was a bright sunny day. Cameron had the radio turned up in his convertible, and he was absentmindedly rubbing circles on her hand as he drove.
Kirsten was directed straight into the changing room as soon as they walked into the lab. She slipped into the form fitting suit easily, then joined everyone in the main area.
"The sample's name is Troy Jacobsen." Maggie said.
When no other information was offered, Kirsten asked, "What happened to him?"
Maggie didn't answer.
Kirsten climbed in the tank and laid down. Cameron ran through protocols, and Kirsten took a deep breath.
"Ready, princess?" Cameron asked.
"Always." She replied.
Troy Jacobsen's memory was surprisingly neat. Every memory was tucked away in chronological order.
The first memory was in a café in downtown LA. Troy was sitting outside at a small table, obviously waiting on someone. He was drinking a small coffee and scanning the passing crowd.
Kirsten was surprised to see Maggie walk up to him and sit down. She placed a manila envelope on the wire table.
"You know what this is, don't you?" Maggie asked.
Kirsten moved closer and looked over Troy's shoulder. The envelope was closed and sealed.
"And this is supposed to have the answers I was promised?" Troy asked, leaning forward and taking the envelope.
"That's something you have to decide for yourself." Maggie said, then stood up and left.
"Troy was at a café downtown. Maggie was there, and she gave him an envelope." Kirsten said into the comm. Link.
"Maggie knew Troy?" Cameron asked to no one in particular.
The memory changed. Now Kirsten and Troy were in the Stitch lab. There was no fish tank in the middle of the floor, and the technology was older. Troy was standing behind Cameron's station, adjusting the controls.
"He's in the lab, adjusting the controls for a Stitch, except there's no fish tank." Kirsten said.
"Is anyone else in the room with him?" Cameron asked.
Kirsten looked around. "No, he's alone."
Troy was typing on the computer when the memory changed suddenly. She was still in the lab, but this time there were people running around, as if preparing for a Stitch.
"They're preparing for a Stitch." Kirsten said.
A man walked into the room wearing a suit similar to Kirsten's. It covered his entire body, from his ankles to his neck. This time there was a tank for him to get in, but it strongly resembled a bucket instead of a tank. The man climbed in the tank. Troy was still at the controls, setting the memory map up for the Stitcher.
"There's a man in a Stitch suit, but there's no sampl-" Kirsten was cut off because two security guards dragged a man in, his mouth gagged and his hands and feet tied.
"Kirsten, you're heart rate's spiking. What's wrong?" Cameron asked.
Kirsten watched as they pulled the man into an old corpse cassette. The man was struggling, and she could feel that Troy was uncomfortable.
"There's a sample." She said, taking a deep breath. "He's alive."
There was silence on the other side of the comm.
After a few heartbeats, Cameron said: "Kirsten, bounce."
"What?" she watched as the man was injected with a syringe and closed into the cassette.
"Bounce. Or I'll make you." Cameron's voice was hard and forced.
"Cameron? What's going on?"
Instead of waiting for an answer, Kirsten bounced out of Troy's head and turned around. Maggie was standing next to Cameron, her face a cold mask. Cameron looked angry, but his eyes were sad.
"What was that?" Kirsten demanded angrily. "I had time left!"
"You were not meant to see that." Maggie said coldly. "I had no choice but to get you out of there."
Kirsten glared at Cameron. "You were going to bounce me by force?"
"She threatened me!" He said defensively. "I had no choice!"
Kirsten got out of the tank and dried off. "So nobody had a choice here." She said sarcastically. "So you threatened my consciousness to give me a vague answer?"
Maggie was starting to get angry too. "It wasn't my idea. There are secrets at stake- secrets even I don't know the answer too."
Kirsten glared at her, thinking of what to say next. She was going to threaten Cameron and then tell her she had no choice? Kirsten had been angry before, but now she was livid. She was tired of vague answers and empty threats.