Yes, I know, I'm really late. This chapter unfortunately took a while to write, and even after revising it several times it's still clunkier than I'd like. I find it a bit difficult to peg Richard's personality and manner of speaking since we never hear him speak in canon. Not to mention, writing about missions and fight sequences is not my strong point. My apologies in advance; I'll try to do better next time.
SIDESTORY ALERT!
Due to the scope of Temporal Fates, there are times when certain backstories or subplots might add an additional layer to the story, but won't fit in the main fic due to pacing issues. So I'll be posting said subplots as sidestories as and when they become relevant. Strictly speaking, none of these sidestories HAVE to be read to understand Temporal Fates, but they might give you a bit of extra insight into how I view the characters.
The first sidestory concerns my headcanon for Richard's backstory, starting from the end of TC1 and leading up to his circumstances in Temporal Fates. I'm still writing it, but I should (hopefully) be done by this weekend.
2.30 pm
12 November 2013
VSSE Director's Office
"You called for me, sir?" Richard quietly slipped into the Director's office.
The Director gave him a tight–lipped smile. "Yes, I did. Thank you for coming so quickly, Agent Miller."
Taking a seat opposite the Director, Richard waited patiently for him to elaborate.
"I'm afraid we need you for another assignment," the Director explained apologetically.
Seeing Richard about to protest, he held up a hand to forestall the agent. "I know you just returned from a mission a few days ago, but due to… recent events… we're rather short–handed at the moment. Unfortunately, the other Crisis Agents are otherwise engaged, or I would have sent someone else."
Richard sighed internally but swallowed his protests, knowing the Director was right. After losing Evan and then Giorgio in quick succession, the atmosphere in Headquarters had become a lot more subdued. The agents often found themselves working overtime to pick up the slack, and there was a lot less good–natured bantering in the office with the twin spectres of Giorgio and Evan still haunting them.
"What's the situation?"
"There's been some suspicious activity near a small village in England. A logging company has recently obtained a permit to operate in the nearby forest. In the wake of their arrival, locals who enter the woods have been going missing." (1)
"What about the local police? Why aren't they handling it?" Richard asked.
"That's the other part of the problem. The local police already sent a few officers to investigate. But the officers abruptly went radio silent and vanished without a trace. After that, they requested assistance from the city police, but the squad sent to investigate also vanished. Rather than risk losing another squad, the authorities decided to ask us to investigate instead."
"Alright. When do I leave?"
"First thing tomorrow. That should give you enough time to settle whatever you might need to before the mission," the Director replied.
As Richard stood up and prepared to leave, the Director stopped him.
"Wait, Richard."
He turned back around to face the Director. "What is it?"
There was a hint of worry in the Director's expression. "This should hopefully be a simple assignment, but please be careful. I don't wish to lose any more of my agents."
Richard swallowed, giving the Director a respectful nod before exiting the room.
"May I have a word with you, Agent Miller?" An irritated voice spoke up from behind him, and Richard winced reflexively as he turned around.
Though she had grown from a young lady into a lovely woman, Rachel Miller nee MacPherson still appeared as petite and demure as she had been when Richard first met her. People often dismissed her as harmless, seeing only her kind and gentle exterior.
Richard knew better, of course. Behind her sweet demeanour, Rachel was keenly intelligent, which had prompted her recruitment by the VSSE's Science Department after graduation. She also had a surprisingly fierce spirit, and those who underestimated her usually came to regret doing so afterwards.
"Rach…"
"I heard you're leaving on another mission tomorrow. Is it true?" She asked, sounding dangerously polite.
Richard sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. The other agents aren't available, so I've been assigned to handle it."
"Richard, I've barely seen you for the last few weeks. Do you know what it's like to realise you've been spending more time with your colleagues than your own husband?" Rachel took a deep breath, looking as though she was trying her best to stay calm.
"I don't… I know your job's important, and I don't want to stand in the way of your duty. But I just wish we could spend a bit more time together."
"…I'm sorry, Rach." Richard swallowed, as a pang of guilt shot through him. "I know I haven't been able to spend much time with you recently. I can't blow off this assignment, but… I promise, once I get back we'll make time to go out together."
"Are you sure you won't just get sent out again?" Rachel asked dryly.
Richard smirked. "The Director owes me a fair amount of time off by now. If you can wrangle a bit of leave, we can make plans to take some time away from work together."
"I'll hold you to that," Rachel warned him, a teasing lilt to her voice.
"If all goes well, I should be back in a few days," he replied. "I'm sure you can find some way to keep yourself occupied in the meantime."
"As it happens, an old friend of mine from university is in town. We were thinking of meeting up for lunch; perhaps I'll make plans with her while you're away. Better than eating in the cafeteria for the 9th day in a row, at any rate," Rachel remarked sarcastically.
Richard mentally rolled his eyes but refrained from commenting, not wanting to rise to Rachel's bait.
Early the next morning, Richard quietly slipped out of bed, taking care not to disturb his still sleeping wife. Rachel stirred slightly in her sleep but didn't awaken. Watching her peaceful countenance, Richard hesitated, then pressed a gentle kiss to Rachel's forehead before reluctantly leaving their room.
The journey to England and then to the village was uneventful. It was mid–afternoon when Richard arrived, and he wasted no time in getting to work. (2)
Questioning the locals yielded plenty of gossip and rumours, but not much in the way of facts. The forest bordering the village was vast and deep. Though there wasn't much wildlife within, people were warned to leave before sunset. Previously, the biggest issue was kids or teenagers who thought they were being clever and straying too deep into the woods, only to get lost trying to find their way out. This usually resulted in a few adults being sent in to search for them, followed by an epic chewing out once they were found.
In light of the recent disappearances, the locals had stopped entering the forest entirely. Even foolhardy teenagers wouldn't venture beyond the entrance, from which the village was still visible. As for the logging company and its workers, they had entered the forest shortly after their initial arrival a few weeks ago and had not been seen or heard from since. It was likely they had set up their base of operations deeper within the forest, but the locals were not particularly eager to go looking for it.
Upon learning that Richard intended to venture into the forest to investigate, most of the villagers responded by shaking their heads and wishing him good luck.
Richard said nothing in response to their discouraging reactions, but his senses were on high alert as he vanished into the thick foliage of the forest.
1.15 pm
13 November 2013
Cafe in New York, a few blocks away from VSSE Headquarters (3)
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Rachel glanced at her companion with a mischievous grin.
The woman sitting across from her laughed. "I'm just surprised I managed to pull you away from your work long enough to meet up for lunch. What's the occasion?"
"Hilarious, Soph." Rachel let out a good–natured huff. "It's no big deal really; my husband was called away for work, so our plans fell through. I figured eating with you would be marginally better than spending lunch hour alone."
Although she was Sercian by birth, Rachel had completed her higher education in an American university. Sophie Anderson had been her roommate at the time, and the two of them had shared a friendly rivalry throughout their studies. Over the years, they had unfortunately drifted apart as life got in the way. With her degree in Biochemistry, Rachel had joined the VSSE as a scientist, working on R&D projects which would help VSSE agents to operate more smoothly in the long–run. Conversely, Sophie was a Physics major and had been recruited by a research firm in the private sector after graduation.
"Another workaholic? Sounds like you two were made for each other," Sophie shot back teasingly. "I forgot, how'd you guys meet?"
"Workplace romance," Rachel replied smoothly. "He's a freelancer for the government, and we crossed paths at work."
Well, during his work, at any rate, but close enough.
The best lies were often rooted in truth, after all.
Fortunately, her friend accepted the half–truth with a nod. "Ah, yeah. You're still doing research for the government then? Trying to cure the common cold or something?"
"Something like that," Rachel sidestepped the question, deciding to change the subject. "And you? What have you been up to recently?"
The two women spent an enjoyable lunch swapping stories and reminiscing about their shenanigans back in university. Before she knew it, Rachel's lunch break was almost up.
"I should probably get going soon," she said apologetically. "Duty calls, and all that."
"Aw, so soon? At least stay and have dessert," Sophie wheedled. "Their strawberry shortcake looks fantastic."
Rachel sighed, but caved in the face of Sophie's puppy dog eyes. The other woman's eyes lit up and she disappeared to the front of the cafe, returning shortly after with the promised dessert.
She nudged it towards Rachel. "You should try it first, since you're in a hurry."
Rachel took a bite of the dessert, savouring the taste as an explosion of flavour filled her mouth. "You're right, this is really good…"
A sudden wave of dizziness slammed into her, and her vision blurred.
What…?
As the darkness closed in, the last thing she saw was Sophie gazing calmly at her, the faintest hint of a satisfied smile tugging at her lips.
The first thing Rachel noticed as consciousness slowly returned was a persistent ache throbbing through her skull. Biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from making any noise, she remained very still and kept her eyes shut, feigning unconsciousness.
You've got to be kidding me. Not again…
A small, sardonic voice at the back of her mind noted that at least this kidnapping had been relatively painless thus far, unlike her first stint as a hostage.
Through the darkness, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, which grew louder until they stopped right in front of her.
"You can drop the act, Rach. I know you're awake."
The familiar yet mocking voice sent a chill down her spine, and she felt herself tense up slightly.
There was a sigh. "You know, I'm trying to be nice. If you insist on being difficult, you're not going to like what happens next."
Reluctantly, Rachel opened her eyes, glaring at the woman in front of her.
"Oh don't look at me like that, it wasn't personal." Sophie rolled her eyes, looking thoroughly unbothered by Rachel's hostility.
Rachel surreptitiously tested the restraints binding her but couldn't find a weak spot. She refocused her attention on her former friend. "What the hell happened to you? What are you playing at?"
Sophie gave her a contemplative look. "Don't take it personally. Sacrifices must be made in the name of scientific breakthroughs. Let's just say my employers have recently garnered some… unwanted attention. Our spies warned us the authorities decided to seek external assistance to deal with the situation. We thought it prudent to acquire… shall we say, a bargaining chip to negotiate."
…Surely not…
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rachel managed to reply in a would–be casual tone.
"Don't play dumb, Rach; it doesn't suit you," Sophie replied mockingly. "If it's any consolation, the only reason I figured it out is because I know you. That kidnapping incident back in university? Sure, you glossed over the whole thing afterwards, but it wasn't hard to make a few educated guesses. After that, it took some digging. The VSSE is good at covering its tracks, but there's no such thing as a perfect secret. Nothing direct, but enough traces of circumstantial evidence to make us quite certain we were on the right track."
"We've known for a while, of course. We simply haven't needed it until now, and so we quietly sat on the intel. With the recent trouble, we figured it was worth seeing whether we could use it to gain an edge. To my delight, you were so eager to meet up. I was afraid you might refuse, and we would lose our opportunity. We were trying to keep things quiet, after all; no sense in stirring up even more trouble while trying to acquire an advantage. Imagine our surprise when our spies reported that your husband was the VSSE agent assigned to investigate. Our gamble paid off far more richly than we could have dreamed of!"
And if Richard hadn't been assigned to investigate, I would have turned down Sophie's invitation and gone out for lunch with him instead. The circumstances which made me valuable as leverage are the same circumstances which made it possible for me to get kidnapped in the first place.
Rachel bitterly noted the irony of the situation, feeling a surge of hysterical laughter bubbling up in her throat. She forced herself to choke it down, trying to remain calm. "So, what are you planning to do to me?"
"Nothing, if the VSSE agrees to back off. I think we'd both prefer that, wouldn't we? I'd hate for things to get messy." Sophie sighed regretfully.
Rachel let out a harsh laugh. "Bullshit. How stupid do you think I am? If you were planning to let me go, I'd never have seen your face nor heard any of this."
Sophie's eyes hardened. "How about this then? If your beloved husband backs off, I promise you it'll be over quickly. If not… Well, perhaps I'll be a bit lenient on account of our friendship."
Rachel glared at Sophie for a moment, then spat at her.
Sophie reeled backwards in shock, then broke out into a laugh. "Looks like someone hasn't had her coffee."
Before Rachel could react, Sophie slapped her across the face, causing her head to snap to one side.
As she tried to shake off her dazed state, she heard Sophie's voice, as though from far away. "It's amusing to see you still have some fight in you. Enjoy it while you still can."
Her footsteps receded into the distance, and Rachel was left alone again.
In the absence of her captor, the panic she'd been suppressing finally spilled over, and a few tears escaped as she pressed her lips together, trying not to cry out loud.
The last time she had been kidnapped, she knew where she was being held. Richard had been sent to rescue her, and aside from getting shot in the arm it had been over fairly quickly and painlessly.
This time, she was in a warehouse in some unknown location. Richard was miles away, and the VSSE wouldn't have any idea where to start looking for her. Try as she might, she couldn't see a way out of this situation.
I don't want to die…
Richard hadn't been in the forest long before he found the logging company's workers. Or, more accurately, they had found him.
The remote possibility that they were not involved in the disappearances was ruled out as soon as they pulled guns on him.
After dispatching his attackers, he followed their trail back to their base camp. It looked recently abandoned, and he guessed that they had made a tactical retreat after hearing the commotion from the fight with his attackers. There were still some scattered papers lying around.
They must have been in a huge hurry.
Frowning, Richard took a look around the camp. There were a few token pieces of equipment lying abandoned, but it didn't look as though the loggers had been very busy with their jobs.
He turned his attention to the papers instead. Most of them were crumpled and smudged, making them difficult to read, but he managed to make out a few words.
'Test subjects'… 'Site B'… 'Phase 2'…
So the logging company is just a front… Why do they always turn out to be mad scientists? What happened to good old–fashioned corrupt corporations making illegal profits?
Amongst the papers was what appeared to be a map. Though some parts of it were faded, it seemed to indicate there was a facility hidden deeper within the forest.
Picking up the map, Richard considered his options. It was already getting late, and while he had a flashlight, he didn't like the idea of navigating through a deep forest in the dark. Especially since it was being occupied by hostiles who were a lot more familiar with the place than he was.
Backtracking out of the forest in the dark was probably not a good idea either, and it would be a waste of time to have to find his way back the next morning.
Guess I'm roughing it here till dawn. Not the worst place I've spent the night.
Pulling out his phone, he prepared to contact Headquarters, hoping that the base camp had reception.
Fortunately for him, the call connected almost immediately.
"Agent Miller, thank goodness. We've been trying to contact you." The Director's usually calm voice sounded worried, and alarms began going off in Richard's head.
"My apologies, I had no reception. What's the matter?"
"I'm afraid there's some bad news. Rachel has been kidnapped."
He could feel the blood draining from his face. "What?! What happened?"
"She was reported missing after her lunch break. A few hours later, we received a transmission from an unknown source. They had a video showing Rachel being held captive, and we were told to call off the investigation or else."
Son of a bitch…!
Richard clenched his fists tightly, clamping down on the surge of panic the Director's words provoked. "I need to find her."
"Richard…" The Director hesitated. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."
"My wife is in danger!" Richard retorted angrily. "Do you expect me to just sit here and do nothing?"
"Richard, think. If we give in to their demands, they won't have any use for a hostage anymore. We're doing our best to locate her, but you need to focus on taking down the masterminds."
Rationally, he knew the Director was right. They couldn't let the culprits get away unpunished, and on a practical level backing down would do nothing to save Rachel either. But the thought of leaving his wife's fate in the hands of others…
Angrily, he slammed a fist into the ground. "Fine. But when I find those scumbags, I'm going to rip them to shreds. What leads do you have?"
"Unfortunately, the transmission was encrypted, so we couldn't trace it. Based on the timeframe of Rachel's disappearance and the video being sent to us, we've narrowed it down to a general area where she could be. We're analysing the video for further clues about where she's being held, and teams of agents are being sent out to search for her. I know it seems bleak, but we're doing everything we can to find her."
Richard swallowed painfully, feeling a slight wetness to his eyes. "Please… promise me you'll bring her home."
"I promise, we'll do our best. I'm sorry this happened, Richard," The Director said softly.
"So am I," Richard replied bitterly before hanging up.
His first instinct was to press on towards the hidden facility, darkness be damned. Then the rational part of his mind reminded him that getting himself killed trying to assault the facility in the dark would help nobody.
The chaotic mess of emotions plaguing him made the idea of sleeping seem laughable. Nonetheless, he reluctantly closed his eyes, knowing that he would at least need to get some rest to have any hope of confronting the ringleaders when morning came.
It was a long time before he finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
As the first light of dawn broke, Richard awakened, feeling both ill–rested and full of nervous energy. He wasted no time in starting out towards the facility, grimly determined to complete his mission at all costs.
The facility was hidden deep within the forest. From the looks of it, the masterminds had taken over an abandoned building, which had long since been forgotten, and used it as their stronghold.
Fighting hordes of enemies was almost second nature to him, and Richard was thankful that his instincts were able to carry him through the shootout, distracted as he was by his worry over Rachel.
The interior of the facility seemed to be a rudimentary laboratory of sorts. Wicked–looking equipment decorated the rooms, and he came across a few rooms that looked disturbingly like operating theatres. He had yet to come across any of the missing villagers, or anybody else who wasn't attempting to kill him.
What the hell is going on in here?
Rounding the corner, he burst through the door in front of him, finding himself in a room lined with a wall of computer screens. Standing inside was a black–haired man wearing glasses and a lab coat, gazing at him in amusement.
"I must admit, I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to make it here so quickly."
"Where are the villagers?" Richard demanded, aiming his gun at the man.
"Hm? Oh, I'm afraid you're too late," the man smirked. "Our surviving test subjects are already en route to their destiny. They should be honoured we chose them to play a part in shattering the boundaries of scientific knowledge."
Damn it…!
"What are you really up to? Why this village?"
The scientist shrugged, his nonchalant expression never wavering. "You wouldn't understand if I tried to explain, not even if you had all the time in the world. As for the why, we simply needed test subjects. The villagers just happened to be in the right place at the right time for us to… borrow their assistance."
He paused for a moment, then a cruel grin slowly stretched across his face. "I'm surprised you're so calm, all things considered. Does your wife truly mean so little to you?"
Richard tightened his grip on his gun, squashing the urge to put a bullet through the scientist's skull. "I trust my fellow agents."
"…So be it." In the blink of an eye, the scientist twisted away, narrowly dodging as Richard fired at him, while pulling out his own gun to fire back. Despite his unassuming appearance, the man was a surprisingly competent fighter, and a pitched battle ensued.
At length, Richard managed to get the upper hand, firing off a shot that struck the scientist squarely in the shoulder. The man collapsed with a strangled scream and went limp.
Cautiously, Richard approached him. He remained motionless as Richard roughly grabbed hold of him, relieving him of his pistol and checking his pulse.
Not dead, just unconscious. There'll be time to question him later.
Richard took a cursory look around the room and noticed that one of the screens was lit up. With a final glance at the unconscious scientist, he turned his attention to the monitor.
Looks like lab testing data. Maybe R&D can make sense of this.
He quickly downloaded a copy of the data to his phone, then prepared to contact Headquarters and request an extraction.
There was a loud click, and an alarm began blaring overhead.
Self–destruct initiated. All personnel, please evacuate immediately.
Too late, he whipped around to see the no longer unconscious scientist tossing aside a switch with a sadistic smirk.
"Nice try, Mr Agent. But I believe you're out of time."
As Richard lunged towards him, he snatched a knife out of his pocket and slit his throat in one swift move.
Self–destruct commencing in 5 minutes.
Shit…!
Cursing both the dead scientist and his own slip–up, Richard cast one last glance behind him before making his escape.
He barely managed to make it beyond the blast zone before the facility was consumed by the explosion.
Coughing, he slowly got to his feet, ears still ringing.
That could have gone a lot better.
Pulling out his phone, he was relieved to see that both the device and the data within were intact.
Hopefully these files might tell us what they were up to.
Punching a series of numbers into his phone, he waited impatiently for the call to connect.
"Agent Miller." The Director's voice sounded calmer this time, but Richard could still hear the underlying stress in his tone.
"The captured villagers weren't there," Richard said bluntly. "Unfortunately, the scientist heading the facility managed to blow himself up along with the building before I could interrogate him further. I managed to retrieve some files before the place exploded though. Have you found Rachel yet?"
"The team of agents sent to locate Rachel are closing in on where we believe she's being held," the Director replied.
"Where you believe she's being held?" Richard repeated incredulously. "And where would that be?"
"Richard, I know you're worried, but by the time you get there the agents will be done," the Director said firmly. "I know this must be difficult but please, just come back to Headquarters."
"You realise that as soon as her captors learn what's just happened, they'll have no reason to keep her alive any longer?" Richard tried to keep his tone level as a small voice reminded him that yelling at the Director would be a terrible idea.
"The agents are on their way right now, and the news is unlikely to have spread yet. Either way, you won't get there in time to do anything. Come back to Headquarters and let us take care of it," the Director responded softly.
Gritting his teeth, Richard's fingers tightened their grip on his phone. "Fine," he bit out. "She'd better be safe by the time I get back."
With a vicious stab of a finger, he disconnected the call, shoving the phone back into his pocket with shaking hands.
The journey back to VSSE Headquarters seemed to take a lifetime. As soon as he arrived, Richard made a beeline for the Director's office, his steely glare sending anyone in his way scurrying for safety.
Upon entering the room, his heart sank as he saw the grave expression on the Director's face.
"Richard…"
"Where is she?" He asked, desperation colouring his tone.
Slowly, the Director shook his head. "I'm sorry."
No…
"Where is she?" Richard repeated, shoving his shaking hands in his pockets. "I need to see her."
"Richard, I don't…"
"For God's sake, let me see her!" Richard shouted, feeling something twist sharply inside him.
The Director hesitated for a moment before leading Richard out of the office.
Maybe it's a mistake. Maybe it's not actually her. Maybe she's just…
His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as soon as he saw his wife.
Rachel's waterlogged corpse was lying painfully still on an autopsy table. Though it was difficult to tell with the bloated state of her body, her face seemed to be frozen in a rictus of terror.
NO!
Richard staggered backwards, a surge of nausea and horror rising up within him. Dimly, he registered someone behind him, catching hold of him as he stumbled.
A harsh sobbing sound filled the room, and it took him far longer than it should have to realise it was coming from him.
"What… happened?" He gasped, wiping away his tears with a shaking hand even as they continued to flow.
"We pulled her out of the river, near the hideout her captors were using. Time of death was early this morning," the Director answered softly, loosening his grip on Richard as the agent shakily pulled away.
This morning… So, she was already long–dead by the time I…
Slowly, Richard approached Rachel's body, looking at her through his watery vision.
"I promise, once I get back we'll make time to go out together."
"Promise me you'll bring her home."
"I trust my fellow agents."
"Richard… I'm so sorry." He felt a hand on his shoulder.
Richard whirled around and slammed his fist straight into the Director's face. The Director stumbled back a step but did nothing to stop him.
Richard glared at the Director, furious betrayal burning in his eyes.
"You promised you'd bring her home," he hissed, voice cold as ice. "I trusted you."
The Director bowed his head but remained silent.
"This is your fault. If you hadn't… If I had…" Richard choked on the bitter words he was unable to fully articulate. He turned away, angrily removing his pistol and slamming it onto the table.
"I quit. I'm taking Rachel. I don't want the VSSE handling her burial. It's your fault she's dead."
As he slammed the door behind him, hot tears continued to flow without stopping.
The news soon made its way around Headquarters, and everyone was in shock. Richard left HQ with his wife's body shortly after blowing up at the Director, vanishing without a trace.
Those who caught a glimpse of him as he left said he had a terrifying look in his eyes, as though he were prepared to declare war against the heavens for Rachel's death.
Somehow, Richard's departure felt more ominous than Evan and Giorgio's downfall just a few months before. Though none of them dared to voice it out loud, many VSSE personnel quietly hoped they wouldn't end up crossing paths with Richard again someday.
Notes:
1. I know this seems rather minor compared to the incidents handled in canon, but I'm pretty sure the VSSE handles other stuff besides major, world–ending crises. Otherwise, the VSSE would spend most of its time waiting around for something to happen. Either that, or the world would be on the verge of ending every single day. In this case, though it seems minor, the local authorities did request their assistance, and the VSSE isn't going to dismiss them just because it's not something big.
2. Yes, there's probably a time difference. Given that the Time Crisis universe also boasts fictional locations like Sercia, Caruba, Lukano and Astigos, I'm just going to gloss over it.
3. Same goes for the VSSE's Headquarters. I spent way too long trying to figure out where HQ might be based on the timeline in TC4 before I realised that the aforementioned fictional locations made this a rather futile endeavour. For the sake of convenience, I decided to just place VSSE HQ in New York.