SURPRISE! Just because I wrote this chapter early and it's Scorpion Monday I decided to post this today instead of Saturday. It's kind of short, but, since this is a surpass chapter, there is a surprise ending! :D
Please Read&Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy!
And enjoy tonight's episode of Scorpion!
Fall. Fall was Rylie's favorite time of the year.
The leaves changing, the smell of dead leaves in the air, pumpkin spice lattes (yes, they're her favorite Starbucks drink, if she could get them year round she would), wearing boots, sweaters, and scarves, and feeling relaxed. Every year around this time her father would have her driven to Portland, Oregon, and they would go site seeing, camping, hunting, and going to the gun range. Rylie honestly liked her father more than her mother; there was no hiding that, only because Rylie has more in common with him.
And he was a federal agent.
And Rylie just thought his job was exciting…also the fact that he was located in Oregon, away from the mother. Her parents weren't divorced, though Rylie thought they should be, her mother's job requires her to stay in Los Angeles and father's requires him to stay in Oregon.
But, Rylie couldn't go to Oregon as planned this year…because of the bounty hunter after her brother. This put a rather large damper in her mood, more than it already was.
"Hey Dad," Rylie had finally managed to get a hold of her father that night after her many attempts to get her father's partner at the agency, Finn Thatcher, to stop talking to her. Finn occasionally likes to pick up her father's desk phone…coincidentally when she calls.
"Hey, kiddo," Dad said. "How are you?"
"Good, good. You?" Rylie asked.
"Just dandy." Dad laughed. "What's going on? Anything exciting going on? You and Ryder getting along?"
Rylie smiled slightly. She adjusted her seat at the windowsill, watching the city lights of LA sparkle in the night sky and held the warm cup of hot chocolate in her free hand. The lights in the warehouse were off, and the room she was in was make shifted into a temporary bedroom for her and Ryder. They were to stay there until the mission was over and the hunter was caught.
"You know what's going on, Dad." Rylie murmured. Her voice sounded tired, like she didn't know how much more of this excitement she could take. "I looked it up, Agent Gallo is a part of your division."
Dad chuckled over his line. Rylie took another sip of her hot chocolate, patiently waiting for him to continue.
"I can never hide anything from you," he sighed. "So, what's up? Is there something you need to know?"
"Have you found anything on the bounty hunter?" Rylie asked in a whisper. Ryder was asleep on his bed in the corner of the room. He was a sound sleeper, but Rylie kept quiet just in case.
"Not really, well, yes, but nothing interesting, really." Dad rambled. "Well, actually, there might be something. Gimme a second."
Rylie waited patiently again, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. It was nearly one in the morning, she decided she wouldn't be able to sleep until this shit was solved, might as well get ahead of the game.
"Rylie?"
"Yea?"
"We did find few things. LAPD sent us everything they gathered from the crime scene, we got a few bullet casings, glass from the windshield," he paused. Rylie could feel him grinning on the other line. "Nice work by the way."
Rylie giggled and shook her head.
"Uuh…no license plates, we've traced everything on any black sedans connected to this shooting, but nothing else. Huh, sorry, I thought I might've had something for you…hmm." Dad paused again.
"What?"
Rylie heard him sigh.
"The guys here are trying to keep me out of the loop on this case as much as possible…but, I've been hearing them talk…" he hesitated. "You and Ryder…you two got involved with a very bad crowd, didn't you?"
Silence.
"The Trackers."
"Yea."
"They're after you two again."
"Yea."
Silence.
Rylie stared down at her mug, rhythmically rubbing circles around the top. Is
He disappointed?
He's probably disappointed.
Is he mad at me?
I couldn't stand it if he was mad.
"Do you want me to visit you?" Dad finally asked.
Rylie was taken aback slightly.
"Uh, no, no, you're needed there."
Silence.
"I'm trying my hardest not to ask questions, Rylie." Her father sighed. "But it's like you and Ryder have a whole secret life I don't know about."
"Yea, we kind of did." Rylie said. "It's over now…it's just come back to haunt us."
"Can I just ask you one question?" Dad asked uncertainly. "Without, judgment, or anger?"
"Off record?"
"Off record."
"Ok."
"Did you and Ryder write that code when you two were a part of the Trackers?" Rylie could hear ever so slight distressed tone in her father's voice.
He wanted to know if we plotted against our own country. Against the world.
And at the ripe age of fifteen.
There was a long silence over the line. Rylie stared over at her sleeping brother. He was still so innocent, in a sense, and yet so smart. She kept all of his actions a secret; all of her actions were a secret. How could she tell her father about their secret lives? It would crush him… but could she really lie to someone she loved so much?
"Yes."
Silence.
Rylie could hear her father sigh again. He was good at sighing.
"Ok." Was all he said. What else could he say? Rylie just admitted to plotting against her own country with terrorist hackers and her brother. She didn't want to explain herself, she didn't think he'd believe her if she did.
"Ok." Was her reply.
"Where's Ryder?" her father asked.
"He's sleeping."
"You should be too."
"I'm to awake to be asleep." Rylie joked lightly.
"We have a long week a head of us." Her father stated. "You need the rest…you need to look out for your brother."
Rylie sighed. "Yea."
"I'm going to hang up now." Her father warned. "Tell Agent Gallo I say hi, and if anything happens to you two while he's on duty, I'll have his head on a platter."
Rylie giggled. "Ok. Love you."
"Love you too, kiddo."
Rylie put her phone down. Her hot chocolate and gone cold by the time she was done talking to her father. Another reason why she liked her father more than her mother was the fact that he trusted Rylie, he trusted her to get things done and to protect herself and her brother.
She jumped off the windowsill and tip toed out of the room. The kitchen was just outside the room, she placed the mug in the sink and took a seat on the counter, eating out of a bag of almonds she requested. It was a comfort snack for her.
Crick.
Rylie slid off the counter silently and crouched behind the counter.
Someone was in the room with her.
She grabbed the closest object to her and readied herself for attack mode.
One…
Two…
Three!
Rylie leapt up from the ground and onto the table, in the direction of the intruder.
"Whoa, whoa! Rylie, calm down, it's just me."
Rylie narrowed her eyes. "Walter?"
The lights turned on causing Rylie to flinch and squint down at the man. Walter raised his hands to his chest, showing her he meant no harm. Like he could harm her in the first place.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. "I thought all of you went home."
"I came back, I had work to finish." Walter explained. He frowned as he stared at my hand. "Is…that a mug?"
Rylie looked at her hand as well, it was the first object she grabbed to defend herself. Well, it wasn't that bad. She had grabbed worse.
"Yes." Rylie said and jumped down from the table to put the cup back. "Is there something you wanted?"
Please say no.
Say no and leave.
"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.
Dammit. I hate you.
"What?" Rylie took her spot back on the counter and began to eat her almonds again.
"About your abilities?" Walter clarified and held up a file. A profile on Rylie. "You're practically a lethal weapon."
Rylie snorted.
He decides now to do research on me?
I can't tell if I'm flattered or creeped out.
"Because it doesn't matter?" she nearly laughed. He was trying to be interested in her now, now that he know she has abilities just as good as Ryder's.
"Of course it matters!" Walter objected. "Rylie, for all we know, the bounty hunter could be after you too."
"Oh, that's flattering and all, but no, they're not after me. I'm not important enough." Rylie said sarcastically.
"Why do you think you're not important?" Walter demanded. "You're just as important as Ryder is!"
"Why?" Rylie snapped. "Because you just figured out I'm just as smart as Ryder but in another realm of the brain? Now I'm important? Gee, thanks, I feel special now."
She glared and grumpily chomped on her almonds. He's lucky talking with her father calmed her down a bit, or she would have thrown him across the room.
"You should be." Walter said. "You are special."
I'm sorry, sir. I thought you hated the word 'special'.
Jackass.
"I'm not special," Rylie murmured. "Not Ryder special, that is."
"You could do anything just as well as he can." Walter argued. "You're twins-"
"So that makes us exactly alike?" Rylie scoffed. She was about to go into hysterics. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're fraternal twins."
"That's not what I meant-
"No, that's not what anyone means," Rylie muttered under her breath. "Ryder can do math, so you should be able to do math. Ryder's smart, so you're just as smart as him!" Tears started to fog her vision. "Why can't you do things just like Ryder?!"
Just as Walter was about to start talking again Rylie throttled the bag of almonds in his direction, nearly taking out his head, and buried her face into her hands. So much for being calm. It was like her talk with her father just flew out the window.
No.
No tears.
No crying.
Stop it.
Rylie sniffed and wiped away the tears on her cheeks. She could feel Walter's eyes burning into the back of her head.
Don't look.
Don't look at him.
Rylie breathed in a shaky breath before going on.
"I'm not Ryder." she said and slid off the counter. "I'm not smart, I'm not a genius… I have anxiety, I have a hearing problem, I have an anger problem, I have mild PTSD, and I feel. Which fucking sucks because I feel everything and I wish I couldn't."
There was moment of silence, and during that silence, Rylie ran out of the building, tears brimming her eyes once again, and she ran to the only place where she could let her feelings out.
The gym.
"Subject just left the premises, sir. Do I proceed?" a man hiding in a car across the street watched as Rylie ran out of the building and down the sidewalk.
"Follow her. Watch her, but do not contain. We need to break her before we can collect her." The deep gravely voice whispered in the man's earpiece.
"Copy that."
"Does she have any idea she's being followed?" the gravely voice asked.
"As far as she knows, she thinks I'm after her brother."
"Good. Let's keep it that way."
The man in the car exited the vehicle and tailed Rylie from a distance.
She was too caught up in her emotional turmoil that she didn't notice.
