I can't believe this is almost done already! It's got to be the quickst, most enthusiastic I've been with a fanfiction, and I'm proud of it :-D only a chapter or two left, then I can start on teh next one *dances*


After a moment's hesitation, they started to tell Richard – and Tremayne – everything that had happened.. About the police car and the fake police station, and about Richard's sudden, violent reaction to Craig's presence.

"What on Earth did they do to make me so violent towards you?" Richard wondered aloud, frowning.

"We're not entirely-" Sharron started.

"I know," interrupted Susan. She rummaged in her pouch, which she had received as a gift from Craig, and retrieved a small pile of folded up papers.

"I went back to the 'police station'," she started, putting air quotes around the words "and I scribbled down everything I found. I'm used to sleepless nights, and I really wanted to do something to help, so while it was dark I went back and looked for anything to indicate exactly what had happened to you, Richard." She sighed, "They were thorough in hiding most of it, so I have no idea what they did to you, Tremayne, or do I know about George, but I think it's all pretty similar stuff. Now, let's see…" she mumbled, consulting the papers, although she'd already memorised the contents. "The drug, as we know, jolts the brain. It clouds the person's memory, completely erasing their past and…" she gulped, "then they replace it. Insert a completely new childhood, a new life. Oh, it's horrible really. It starts basically true… Richard Barrett, born in Wiltshire, father was a banker, blah, blah… But then…" she turned the page, "You supposedly had a brother," she glanced at Craig, shaking slightly, "C-Craig betrayed you, killed both him and your father… actually, in this… this twisted mess of a life, he butchered most of your friends and family…" She was shaking properly now, turning pale at what she was reading, "I never want to see something like that ever again…"

Richard stood, guiing her to a chair as her legs began to buckle.

"I'm sorry you had to see it at all," he said.

"No, it's not your fault… I'd started to blame Craig, but, then I realised none of us were to blame. Only the enemy. I should've realised it sooner, really. I used to blame daddy for the crash, used to think that if he'd spent more time with me than on his job, I wouldn't have stowed away, and he'd still be alive…" She smiled wryly, "But now I know it's hard to focus on family when there's world peace at stake, or…" she glanced at Richard, "fellow agents in trouble."

Tremayne walked over, handing her a small glass of icy cold water. She took it gratefully, sipping it and staring into nothing.

"Where are you staying now, then?" he wondered, earning a small giggle from Susan.

"About half a mile away," she told him, "Quite a roomy alleyway; cosy. Can't miss it."

"Alleyway?" Tremayne repeated, hurrying back to his desk, "Well, we need to get you somewhere to stay! I'll arrange something, just…"

He trailed off as he saw they were all laughing at him.

"Don't think we haven't tried, sir," Richard laughed.

"Stubborn as a mule, she is. If you don't back down after the first no, she'll start biting," Craig agreed.

"I do not bite!" Susan protested, "Sorry, Tremayne," she continued, "It's just that I'm happy where I am! I get by, and I've settled into the routine now. Don't think after three plus years of fending for myself that I can just slip back into a normal life and not miss the old one!" She strolled over to the window, "Besides, I couldn't leave the group now. They rely on me to help them, even if I'm not the oldest," she finished.

"The group?"

"The other orphans," Sharron informed, "She looks after them."

After a few months of fending for herself in the streets of Geneva, she had been discovered by a group of seven or eight other orphans, and taken into the group as if she'd lived there all her life.

It certainly felt that way, now that she looked back at it. She'd gone from newcomer to group leader in a matter of months, all because she'd seemed more educated that the others, more experienced. There were two orphans older than her, but even they let her look after them as if she were an adult. She wondered how she would've survived on her own without them, and realised she couldn't imagine not knowing any of them. It was strange to think that orphans from so many different places: England, Scotland, America, and many other countries, could come together in one place and work as if they were a family.

"They're waiting for me…" Susan noted, looking outside. Tremayne did the same. Below, a small group of scruffy looking children were waiting, looking incredibly bored and occasionally glancing at the doors as people exited the building.

"I'd better go. The longer they wait, the bigger an earful I get," she decided, but paused on the way out, "They must've followed me here… Which means they saw me come in, which means they'll be asking about Richard. Drat." With that, she walked out without saying another word.

"She does that," Craig expained to Tremayne, using his superhuman powers to listen to the conversation outside.