A/N: Well, here we are guys! A new update! Thanks for reading. And if you're enjoying or have any suggestions or comments, please let us know by reviewing! (You have NO idea how much we enjoy those!)


Waking up with frantic eyes, her head pounding as heavily as her heart was racing, Charlotte forced herself to take deep breaths as she tried recalling the last thing she remembered.

"She lied Amanda! She lied about everything! Don't believe anything she said to you!"

That's right, she had found the proof that Dr. Galtz had misdiagnosed Amanda at the bribery of her mother.

Cursing out loud in outrage, feeling a suffocating frustration rising up inside of her, Charlotte let out a furious scream, as she tried struggling out of the wooden chair she'd been secured in after being knocked out.

"Not again…not now…" She was so tired of being the victim…of feeling fear. She was supposed to be stronger now, she'd pursued this case because she had thought she was different, that she'd finally grown stronger and smarter like her older sister.

"That's right...Amanda! What would Amanda do in this situation?" Charlotte tried thinking, knowing her instinct to scream or cry would get her nowhere. Amanda would be calm, calculating, she would look for anything to help her escape.

Scanning the room, Charlotte tried channeling the inner revenger she hoped every Clarke possessed, as she carefully looked around.

She was in a small room, which looked relatively empty except for a little shelf with old books, a few indistinct paintings on the wall, and a small desk with a vase of artificial flowers placed upon it. To her relief, the dark wooden paneling seemed to be the same as the flooring of the different rooms she'd explored, so she suspected she was still in Dr. Galtz's house. There were no windows in the room though, and it felt colder where she was, so she also suspected she was in a room in his basement, though the chill could certainly just be from the distressing predicament she found herself in.

Trying to free her hands from the tight bindings they had been secured in against the backing of the chair, Charlotte desperately kept struggling in vain as she heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, and even still as the door swung open and Dr. Galtz stepped in.

"That won't work dear" he sneered, observing her with a look of disdain as he paced the room in front of her, deeply irritated by the situation she had forced him to take control of.

But as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures.

"See I suspected you Charlotte Grayson…or I apologize, it's Clarke now isn't it? Sorry, I've just always favored the Grayson's more, but I'm sure you know that, since you've been snooping around my house. To be fair, I did leave you there alone, but that was on purpose. I wanted to test my suspicions and find out what you wanted. It was just too strange, bumping into you at my event. Admittedly it took me a while to recognize you at first, but you're the notorious daughter of both a Grayson and a Clarke, you can't hide that so easily. Next time Charlotte, you should really be more careful or at least get someone unknown to do your dirty work".

"You're the one with the dirty work," Charlotte spoke back sharply, her eyes darkening in outrage as she glared at him, anger overtaking her fear despite the goosebumps running up her arms, "I know what you did to my sister. You're a doctor, you were supposed to help her heal, not cause her more harm. You're despicable, faking her infertility, making her believe she couldn't conceive, and for what? More power, more money, those things aren't worth abandoning your morals for."

"Your mother disagreed dear...And so did I, the price was certainly worth it. Your mother managed to get me into a higher position at the Suffolk Memorial hospital, and with it came, more power, money, recognition, credibility, and authority. I wouldn't take that back even if I could…and it's not as though Amanda Clarke was someone innocent anyway…I may have purposely faked her infertility condition, but she purposely faked her whole identity, and yet I'm the bad one. I'd say your morals are rather skewed too Charlotte, if you can't understand that."

"That's different!" Charlotte naturally defended, shaking her head at his faulty rationale, "What Amanda did, she didn't do for such vain, selfish reasons, she did it for our father, for justice…to right the wrongs of those who framed an innocent man, and even still Amanda understood consequences, while you sickeningly think you don't deserve any. You say Amanda wasn't an innocent patient, and though that doesn't justify what you did to her, maybe she wasn't…but what about James? He was innocent in all sense, and you still screwed him over!"

"It was a medical mistake." Dr. Galtz replied tensely, his face darkening at the mention of one of his former patients. It could mean no good, those two being in contact, Charlotte might be more dangerous than he had initially thought, especially if she'd been recruiting the few patients he had wronged to advance and preserve his well-built medical career. "It was unfortunate, but it happened. Even you shouldn't be so naive to believe doctors are perfect."

"He didn't need a perfect doctor, he needed a doctor who could take responsibility for his actions and own up to his mistake!" Charlotte retorted, feeling her emotions rise up in the disgust she felt for the truly selfish man in front of her. "Because of you James lost his right leg when he didn't need to, and that cost him a lot more than just movement. You could have apologized and taken responsibility like a worthy doctor, instead though you covered it up to maintain your image, and bribed him into keeping quiet, knowing that without a leg he had lost his cycling profession and source of income, and would need money to pay for the medical bills, recuperation, and his new life without a leg."

"James was well compensated…"

"MONEY CAN'T PATCH UP THE HOLES CREATED IN A PERSON'S LIFE!", Charlotte spat back, knowing all too well having been brought up in the wealthy Grayson household, that money can't fix up much of anything, let alone pain or guilt.

"And what, ruining my credibility can?" Dr. Galtz replied with a nasty laugh. "I'm sorry Charlotte, but I'm not ready to lose the legacy I built, and I won't let you nor James or anyone else ruin that. Why do you think you're down here?"

"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME HERE!" Charlotte shouted angrily, her pent up anger, fear, and frustration spilling out in a furious burst, "People know where I am…Amanda knows where I am!" she began to bluff, praying the name of her powerful sister would advise him into caution, "She spent over 10 years fighting for a father she thought was dead, I can't imagine how hard she'd fight for a sister she knows is alive, o-or what she'd do to you if you ever harmed me...she'd be merciless".

"You sound fearful, Charlotte." Dr. Galtz replied unwaveringly, a frown on his aging face as he stared coldly at Charlotte before walking towards the door, needing to make a couple calls. "For now though, sit tight little Clarke."


Meanwhile…

Nolan Ross unsuccessfully resisted the urge to flinch as he watched Becker's men crowd around the now moderately battered form of his best friend, delivering a series of blows with their fists one after another until Devin Becker gave a mere wave of his hand, signaling them to back away from Jack Porter.

Becker then sighed lightly. "You know…I like to consider myself a very patient man…Especially when I invite unknown guests to my humble abodes…But you are testing my generosity to its breaking point Mr. Porter. And I grow weary that I'm hitting a rather thin line." His mellow voice then dropped into a gruff tone. "Now, I will ask you once more, are you responsible for intercepting our resources and where. Are. The. Rest. Of. The. Assets?!"

Of course it didn't help the situation that both Jack and Nolan were constricted separately by being chained hand and foot to the wall, both helpless to escape or fight back against the abuse. But once Jack managed to catch his breath from the onslaught, it didn't stop him from painfully giving a deadly glare of defiance at Becker through his blackened eye. "My answer's gonna be the same as last time, Asshole. I didn't have anything to do with your deranged criminal organization-!"

His protest was cut short due to one of Becker's henchman kicking him in his injured and still bleeding arm, making Jack abruptly cry out in agony.

Becker raised his hand up once more, preventing his gang from attacking him and gave Jack a mocking, hurt expression. "Deranged? Aw…Now you're just hurting feelings." He began to circle around him like a shark. "Well. Contrary to your opinion Mr. P, a valuable source, who was rather dear to my little ol' heart, told us otherwise-that you were not only responsible for the disruption of our operations, but so much more...Her name is, well was, Lynn Wayburn…Ring any bells?"

After coughing a bit and catching his breath once more, Jack continued to glower at Becker, only for his face to scrunch up in confusion at the name mentioned; as if it sounded familiar to him, but yet he could not remember the significance thereof, nor did he care to.

"Well, maybe the remembrance of Lynn's lovely yet trampy little daughter Katherine Black will jog your memory? Surely you must remember her? Seeing as, according to her mommy, you're the one who killed her."

"How the hell?!" Jack's sore, bruised eyes widened in horror as a set of distressing flashbacks struck his mind like lightning in a dreadful ambush; resurrecting old memories and moments that he preferred to keep buried deep out of his mind, but were now resurfacing-cutting open old wounds. Jack then cursed inwardly at how he was caught off guard with Becker's statement which unfortunately, revealed the discomfort and vulnerability in his weary blue eyes, affirming the ugly truth in Becker's claim before hardening his scowl once more.

Nolan also clenched his eyes shut, cursing silently as well at his best friend's unfortunate state. His eyes then reflected the fear he felt- his heart pounding within his chest and a chill flooding throughout his body as Becker's thin lips grew into a haughty yet enlightened smirk.

"Not so ignorant now, are we JP? And if you are indeed guilty of that…who knows what else you could be capable of doing. Now at first, I must admit…I thought surely my Lynnie-Lynn must have obviously been mistaken…I mean, you seem like a rather decent, stand-up guy who is not capable of such an act in the slightest…But then again, looks can certainly be deceiving…"

Becker began to circle Jack once more.

"However, since I can be such a softie, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. All you have to do…is give me a name; since I highly doubt you were capable of pulling off such a hack into our organization alone, if not at all. But perhaps you know someone who could? Maybe even someone that Mr. Ross here has failed to provide us info on despite his talents. So, just tell me what ya know, and it'll all be over just like that." Becker snapped his fingers for emphasis.

Jack hesitated, risking a quick glance at Nolan but huffed as he looked down, muttering quietly. "Well, if that's the case…I guess I do have something to say after all..."

Becker's eyebrows rose with intrigue as he bent down to Jack's level. But before he could inquire what it was that he had to say as he raised Jack's head up, he reeled back suddenly as Jack spat a mouthful of blood into his face before continuing darkly, "You and your disgusting group of vipers can go to hell!".

Before Becker's men could launch out with the full intent to kill, Devin Becker raised his hands up once more, signaling them all to be still as he grabbed his handkerchief from his suit pocket and calmly wiped his face clean of the disgusting substance. He then frowned grimly as he suddenly pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Jack's head.

"Well…I'm sorry it had to be this way then." Before Becker could pull the trigger, a voice desperately rang out throughout the room.

"I DID IT!"

Becker turned his attention towards Nolan who somehow managed to free his mouth enough to yell out, "I'm the one responsible for the hacking incident from the very start!"

"Nolan!" Jack tried to admonish, but to no avail. Nolan continued his confession desperately, yet boldly.

"-Your messed up snake charmer organization made an illegal tradeoff with a less psychotic yet still corrupt organization that was inflicting some serious collateral damage on a dear friend of mine and I wasn't about to let it still go on. So, I intercepted it as soon as it all went down. Jack Porter had nothing to do with it. So go ahead and do what you want with me, but you better leave him the hell out of this!" Nolan glared dangerously.

Becker blinked at Nolan's abrupt audacity, but then huffed a chuckle, lowering the pistol from Jack's head as he began to slowly pace the floors.

"You know what was one of those moments in life that I found most annoying? Those times back in school when you'd have a multiple choice test and you're sure of your answer, but you fill in the bubble of another choice instead, thinking that it must make the most sense making you in turn, doubt your intuition, only to find out that you were right all along. That always bugged me back then…and it sure as hell bugs me now."

He narrowed his eyes in irritation but smirked as he walked in front of Nolan.

"I always had a feeling that you were behind our misfortune Mr. Ross. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't gratifying to receive a full, honest confession from you anyways. However, though your disclosure is admirable, and while I could simply just let your innocent friend go here and deal with you instead, Mr. Porter here has successfully managed to piss me off. And I do still owe my ex bae either way." Becker shrugged with a cocky grin. "But I must thank you for stopping me just now. Simply blowing Mr. Porter's head clean off of his shoulders would be too quick of a death after all-too merciful, and not as much fun as it would be to watch him beg for it all to be over."

Becker put a hand to his chin, pondering. "Now, let's see…What would be a fitting way to close the chapter of life for you two? I could have my little pow wow here beat you to death…but where's the fun in that? I could also shoot you up into Swiss cheese slices or dismember you piece by piece, but that'd be too messy and this place doesn't exactly clean itself…Not to mention I had my boys do that to another fellow who crossed me the other day so that's out…"

"What about bringin' in the big boys, bro? I'd love to see what these babies will do to them if we let em loose. Especially to this so called Jack-ASS here who practically poisoned me the other night!"

Jack turned his head around and nearly growled at the sight of Dylan Becker who, although still looked a little pale from before, joined his older brother's side with Darcy and his other lady crew wheeling a container of slithering Black mamba snakes in front of them.

"Oh please, I'm not going to say that you didn't have that coming to you my dear brother. After all, you and your choice of habits are certainly something left to be desired." Devin rolled his eyes.

Dylan nearly rounded on his older brother. "The hell is that supposed to mea-?!"

"-Besides, simply killing them and ending it no matter how slow or fast the process goes will not be enough to satisfy me nor the debt that is owed to us…No, I want them to suffer first. A little soul-sucking murder should suffice just fine for the time being." Becker smirked slightly, reveling in the idea of torture.

"What'd you have in mind then?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this party's a little dull here for my taste-it could definitely do better with more guests. Not to worry though, I'm sending the boys out to pick up someone that would make quite the little V.I.P. And judging by all the considerate calls made to a particular campsite in New York we just triangulated from Mr. Jackie's phone, I'm sure Papa Porter here will be just thrilled to see this little Carl person. Especially seeing as how apparently, he is his only son…"

Jack and Nolan's eyes both widened with pure horror at the mention of Carl.

"Imagine the fun we will all have when he arrives." Becker smirked dangerously at Jack as he simply stepped back, unflinching as Jack then growled and roared in an outrage while attempting to launch forward furiously to throttle Becker's neck-the fact that he was still chained to the wall be damned. "YOU SICK SORRY SON OF A BITCH! IF YOU EVEN THINK OF GETTING NEAR MY SON I SWEAR TO GO- "

"-HA HA! YES! There's the excitement! Where has that feisty side been all night hm?" Becker howled with laughter as he snapped his fingers, signaling for some of his men in the background to leave with the sole purpose of finding and fetching Jack's son.

"While I can definitely agree that bringin' the kid here will spice up this lovely party, how's about I do you one better in the meantime?"

While Nolan's eyes widened with dread, The Becker brothers' eyes brightened with joy at the sound of Roxanne Meyers' silky, smooth voice as it confirmed her return to the gang- the sound of her high heeled boots clacking against the concrete floors grew louder as she neared their current location.

"Roxy Baby! About time! Where the hell have you been?" Dylan called out flirtatiously making Darcy roll her eyes in response.

"Sorry I'm late. Like I told Dirk earlier, traffic got nasty. Besides, I had to pick up a little gift for Devie here- a source of entertainment to liven up the party if you will." Roxanne's voice replied smoothly.

"Well by all means, do share with the class." Devin smirked.

"Of course! But first, allow me to indulge in a little history lesson based off of my research. Once upon a time, turns out Mr. Jackie P here had a lovely little boat named after his pretty little wife. But after an unfortunate event, it was ultimately destroyed…Shame that history is going to repeat itself now. Especially since the Amanda is carrying some rather precious cargo…" Roxanne smirked as she entered the room, dragging a gagged Amanda Porter along who was struggling against her while she was holding her captive in her grasp.

This did not escape Jack and Nolan's attention as they whipped their heads towards the blonde woman who wiggled and writhed with her hands tied securely behind her back as Roxanne continued to push her forward from behind, most likely concealing a weapon that forced Amanda to comply with whatever direction she was steered in.

"Amanda!" Jack cried out in trepidation first before Nolan could.

"Ooh! How'd you manage to catch the missus?" Devin smiled with curiosity as he folded his arms, his brother glaring as he realized that the woman was the same one who set him up the other night and left him under the pretense that he got laid, in which he never did…

"You know me. I have my ways." Roxanne grinned deviously, fishing a dagger out of her belt pocket while keeping her grip on Amanda as she grunted and visibly paled at the sight of the weapon.

While trying to unsuccessfully push away the overwhelming dread he felt, Jack turned his eyes towards Nolan's who was also sharing the same thought he had: that maybe Amanda had an overall plan to get out of this situation and that her current predicament was simply a darker scenery for the ploy she had crafted. But once Jack's eyes locked onto Amanda's anxious, angry, and desperate ones, he discovered something in them that he hadn't seen in a while.

Fear and hopelessness.

This was confirmed as her eyes reflected vulnerability and gleamed with oncoming tears, making her ultimately clench her eyes shut to suppress them, turning her gaze away from his.

As if she was saying "I love you" and "I'm sorry I failed you" at the same time…For the last time…

Jack then knew his wife was genuinely terrified, which in turn, terrified him and caused him to react as he violently launched forward once more, a sense of rage and protectiveness consuming him entirely.

"L-Let her go! DAMNIT LET HER GO!"

The Becker brothers started to chortle as Roxanne raised an eyebrow at Jack in amusement and brought the dagger closer towards his wife's neck teasingly until she eventually dragged it ever so slightly and slowly against her delicate skin, causing Amanda to cry out as she flailed against Roxanne once more.

Once Jack and Nolan caught sight of the thin line of blood that was induced from the cut, it was safe to say, they officially lost it. Especially Jack as he practically hollered at the top of his lungs, his sore eyes blurring with tears along with his wrists being long bruised and bleeding from the long chains as he lurched forward desperately again.

"No…N-no-no-no-no-god-NO! NO! AMANDA! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY WIFE! I'LL KILL YOU I SWEAR TO GOD-IF YOU DON'T LET HER GO! LET HER GO! LET GO OF HER! DAMNIT!"

"STOP! NO! AMANDA! NO! OH GO- PLEASE! N-NO! AMS!"

The Becker brothers' chortles grew into all-out bellowing laughter as they reveled in the sounds of their enemies being tortured in their heart wrenching howls, threats, and cries mixing together fueling the brothers' hunger for more violence.

"Oh this is just too beautiful! Finish this Roxy please!" Devin grinned eagerly, leaning against his equally sadistic brother as the entire gang failed to contain their joy.

"With pleasure…" Roxy smirked reeling her hand back as if ready to aim the dagger straight into Amanda's stomach before crying out, "NOW AMANDA!"

Amanda then immediately ripped off the gag on her mouth and spun out of Roxanne's grasp with the pistol Roxanne covertly slipped into her hands earlier while she was inflicting the small cut on her neck as a distraction. Amanda then aimed the gun and shot at the Becker brothers' kneecaps, immediately sending them to the ground writhing and howling in pain. Before any of the gang members could recover from the shock of the abrupt attack on their leaders, another series of bullets rang out from Roxanne's rifle that she pulled out as she started to launch an all-out attack, putting anyone who tried anything permanently out of commission. In the meantime, Amanda steered clear of the attack and ran straight for her husband and Nolan.

"Amy catch!" Roxanne called out, throwing her the set of keys needed to free her loved ones.

Amanda immediately caught the set of keys and unlocked the chains from Nolan since she was closer to him first. Though he was still in shock and tried to wrap his head around what just happened, he seemed the most stable out of the two for the moment to make a move. "Nolan, help me get Jack!" She demanded in a haste, knowing that Jack was still in a state of shock to make any kind of move. Amanda quickly loosened the bonds off of her husband, tempted to take him into her arms and not let go for a long time until his safety and wellbeing would be confirmed as a surety after everything that transpired and vice-versa for him.

But there was obviously no time for that.

Time was of the essence.

However, as Jack continued to stare wide-eyed in a frozen state of shock, shaking almost violently, Amanda knew she had to reassure him somehow. She grasped his shoulders tenderly yet firmly before bringing him into her arms, desperate to provide solace as she reassured her safety in soft, hasty, yet loving whispers into his ear. "It's okay Jack...I'm here. I'm okay. I'm okay Honey…You're-you're okay…We-we're okay…"

If she had to be honest, she needed it just as badly as he did.

She felt his battered form finally stop shaking as his arms secured and tightened around her firmly, already letting her know that they weren't releasing anytime soon.

But there was obviously no time for that.

Time was of the essence.

She managed to break away from him, grasping his shoulders once more. "Jack I need you to get up and go with us. We've got to get out of here." She directed softly yet firmly.

"B-but h-how-?" Jack finally managed to stutter. Once he was reassured that his wife was okay, he was now trying to understand and catch up with what had just happened.

"-I'll explain everything later but we have to go now!" She hasted desperately, her eyes firm yet pleading as she urged both men to get up and follow her. Once they found their legs, the men ran after Amanda who was already ahead of them, making turns left and right throughout the warehouse until she reached the destination of an abandoned yet still stable and functional room and shut the door, locking them inside.

They were all safe for the moment.

Everything went according to plan.


Flashback to a few hours earlier…

"We'll be approaching the main headquarters at the warehouse soon. Like I said, everything's got to go according to the plan or it won't work." Roxanne reiterated her earlier statement as she continued to drive along the highway.

"I understand." Amanda nodded, determination set in her steel gaze as she looked out the window.

"You seem like you've got a pretty good handle on staying calm in the face of danger."

"I actively trained myself to be. You don't manage to control stressful situations by letting emotions get the better of you. I learned that many times the hard way." Amanda replied, not breaking her gaze.

"And…you still are. So it seems?" Roxanne inquired while raising an eyebrow.

Amanda remained silent.

"Well…fortunately for you, losing control of emotions might be preferable in this case. Like I also said earlier…I have no doubt that your hubby's not faring so well right now, neither is your techno-geeky friend."

Roxanne continued, ignoring Amanda's glare of irritation at the annoying nicknames she gave for her loved ones. "That being said, the good news is that they aren't dead yet. Not yet. That'd be too easy for the Becker brothers; Devin especially since he's quite the sadist. I'm sure you know what that means?"

"The type that enjoys inflicting pain on others and seeing them hurt. I'm aware of that. I'm not stupid!" Amanda snapped at her. Seeing Roxane's eyebrows go up as she blinked, she sighed. "Sorry…Yes, I know what a sadist is."

"Well, take the definition as nothing less than literal. 'Cause when I say that these guys get off on people's pain, fears, and torture, I mean they literally enjoy every moment! They're sick individuals that won't stop until their victims take their last dying breaths, usually not peaceful ones…"

"-What's your point?" Amanda raised an eyebrow, wanting to get to the matter at hand instead of thinking of how her beloved and best friend were at the mercy of such monsters.

"They're going to get at both of them…Mainly going for…No, especially going for Jack."

"…"

"They're going to keep pushing until they tear him apart from the inside-out, starting with the most valuable sources that matter the most to him…He's got a kid doesn't he? I mean…besides the one you're carrying now?"

"…Carl…" Amanda's eyes widened in horror for her stepson. "We can't let them!" She glared at Roxanne in warning.

"We won't. But they will try. We'll intercept them before that happens though." Roxanne reassured her.

"How?" Amanda asked.

"We'll offer Becker a more immediate offer to satisfy his cravings in the meantime. You." Roxanne smirked as Amanda blinked with suspicion as a response.

"As I've said before, I don't know much about your husband, but from what I've read up on him, he's got it real bad for you…Seems like it's always been that way for quite a while. Imagine how it would feel if the love of his life was in imminent and life-threatening danger with him helpless to do anything about it. Not that I'm sure he'd be unfamiliar with such a feeling due to what happened to his first wife, but I can't imagine how much it would really, seriously devastate him now officially if he lost you. But that in turn, would please the Becker sickos. And in those moments of their pleasures in reveling, they won't be paying attention to what goes on around them, which will give us the right moment to strike accordingly." Roxanne explained.

Amanda nodded. "Alright, then how do you propose we go about this?"

"Well, like I said, yet again, I have a plan. But since apparently you're not going to cut me any slack in executing it the way it needs to be, I might as well tell you. Only thing is once I do, it's gonna ruin the natural essence of how it's supposed to go down which in turn, could cause suspicion and ruin everything…"

"-Just tell me." Amanda stated dryly, cutting her off.

"…In order to make it look like you're the victim in this situation, you have to actually…be the victim."

" And…?"

"And exactly that! Keyword, you have to be the victim…not act like the victim. Your fear and reaction has to be genuine. And since you're most likely the type to barely even bat an eyelash when in distress, that's going to affect the overall mood of what needs to be conveyed. It won't look right."

Amanda looked down for a moment before shrugging. "Well…then I'll just have to let myself feel everything that I've been suppressing for the past few weeks in that moment when it happens…"

"Yeah…but you can't overdo it either. It won't be good for your kid…You got to think about all the variables here, you know?" Roxanne stated wisely.

Amanda nodded.

"Which…speaking of, though it goes against my good judgement and plans…I might as well tell you what you're going to be in for. You can't afford to be surprised or caught off guard. Not in your condition."

"What is it? You can tell me." Amanda shifted in her seat to bring herself closer to Roxanne's.

"In order to pull this off to make it look like you're in immediate danger…I have to put you in immediate danger…so, yeah. Apologies in advance since it might hurt a little…" Roxanne tried to explain awkwardly.

"Wait, what might hurt a little?" Amanda raised an eyebrow.

Roxanne hesitated. "…I'm uh…I'm gonna kind of have to make it look like I'm slitting your throat."

"…"

"It won't be anything major! Just, a nick at most, barely even that! Just something that'll bleed slightly and cause an uproar. For reactions sake you know?" Roxanne continued to explain.

"…Whatever we have to do." Amanda sighed but finally replied.

"You're not freaked out?"

"I've been through worse...Besides it's better beforehand to know that it's coming at least." Amanda replied cryptically, turning her gaze to the window once more.

Once they hit a red light, Roxanne took the opportunity to turn her eyes towards Amanda, touching her shoulder lightly.

"Look, I know you still don't trust me…You have every right not to. This wasn't my initial plan. And as much as it goes against everything I've wanted for years…just let me do this for you okay? I know this will work. You can get your husband and friend to safety once it's all over. I know a spot in the warehouse you can go to beyond the basement corridors that is confined, soundproof, and has a safety lock. You might even find that room useful after everything. I mean, like it or not and believe it or not, you really have nothing to lose from what I'm offering you. Because I already solemnly swore that I would take those bastards down no matter what…But at the same time, I swear to you now Amanda, if you let me do this my way, I will do everything possible in my power to not let any harm come to you or your family. You have my word. I swear on my family and my beloved's blood…On my baby's blood. Just let me do this for you and your kids…Please…"

Amanda looked into Roxanne's dreary hazel green eyes that shined with sincerity, her own eyes softening in response before looking down, contemplating for a moment. She then took a deep breath and brought her gaze back to hers, nodding firmly.

"Let's do this then."

End Flashback.


Once Amanda found and flipped on the light switch in the confined space, her weary eyes lightened as she saw the various medical supplies and pain killers that littered the cabinets and the large examination table in the middle of the area.

It was an infirmary room.

Amanda then remembered Roxanne's earlier statement.

"You can get your husband and friend to safety once it's all over. I know a spot in the warehouse you can go to beyond the basement corridors that is confined, soundproof, and has a safety lock. You might even find that room useful after everything."

And found it useful she did. Amanda sighed with relief as she couldn't help but smile lightly, silently thanking Roxanne in her mind before she headed for the cabinets, instructing both men to sit on the table.

But while Amanda's mind was back to being set and focused, her husband and Nolan were not so quick to adapt.

"Okay…Ams…Remember that freak-o-meter we talked about all those years back? Well, I got a new set of numbers to register on it. Instead of being at 9, I'm more like over 9,000! And Jack? Well it's safe to say that now he's the one who reached infinity times infinity this time! So, to make a long statement short…WHAT THE-?!"

"-AMANDA…WHAT THE ACTUAL FU-?! AUGH!" Jack cut Nolan off before he could continue once all the recent events finally registered in his mind. But his rather loud protesting was cut short due to his abrupt howl of pain as he felt a burning sensation sear throughout his shoulder. His wife looked at him apologetically while removing the cloth that was lightly drenched in hydrogen peroxide from off of his arm.

"I'm sorry. If I didn't clean the wound area immediately, it would have gotten infected even worse. Luckily it was just a bullet graze…" She explained softly after blowing on her husband's shoulder and exhaling a long breath, silently reassuring herself once more that the wound wasn't anything fatal. Before she could run over to the cabinet to retrieve some bandages and much needed pain killers, she saw her husband mutter incoherently while suddenly jumping up in a panic and grabbing her by the shoulders. "My son…C-CARL! W-we have to go now! They're-they're going to go after him! THEY'RE GOING TO GO AFTER OUR SON!"

Amanda was quick to reassure him. "Jack! JACK! Shh…No-no-no-no they're not! Calm down! Look at me! Nothing is going to happen to Carl. He's safe. We took out the men Becker sent after him before they could even leave out the door, so our boy is safe okay? He's okay."

Once comforted by the fact that their son was safe and finally able to catch his breath, his wife's statement then hit him as he turned to her. "Wait…What do you mean took out?"

"And what do you mean by we? Who's we?" Nolan added while raising his eyebrow.

Amanda hesitated before walking back to the supplies to retrieve the items needed for treating the men's various wounds. Feeling their inquisitive yet demanding glares on her from behind, she sighed and started to explain while bandaging her husband's arm. "We made it back to the warehouse in time just when Devin was making his threat to go after Carl…Once the men started to come towards our way I was ready to ambush them, but…she had other ideas and killed them on the spot."

"Again. Who's. We?" Nolan stressed once more with clear exasperation at his best friend's attempt to evade his question as she gave him and her husband small plastic cups of water to down the painkiller pills they each took.

"…Roxanne Meyers." Amanda muttered.

Both men then spat took at the same time, nearly choking as they looked at Amanda with shock and disarray.

"The Becker boys' right hand, robotic, chic top flunky?!" Nolan nearly shouted.

"THE SAME BITCH WHO WAS SLICING YOUR THROAT OPEN?!" Jack shouted.

"-The same woman who was a valued student of Takeda and advertently saved our lives when she didn't have to!" Amanda retorted, raising her voice in a stern tone.

Her sudden defensive exclamation silenced the men for a second, before Nolan put both of his hands up, grasping his head as if he had a severe headache; which in a way, he did, but that didn't stop him from freaking out. "Ok, back up, rewind, and replay in slow motion here. You cannot seriously be telling us that this deadly Laura Croft character is actually a revenger in disguise?!"

"That's what I said. Turns out, she's after the Black mambas as well…even more than we are! Her position with them was merely a cover to take them all down for what they did to her and her family…"

Amanda then proceeded to tell them about the truth and origin of Roxanne Meyers in a paraphrased, yet detailed explanation: who she really was, all that she had lost, and what she became as a result.


Meanwhile back with Charlotte…

Trying to loosen the ropes around her wrist, Charlotte bit her lip in frustration when all it resulted in was a more painful streak of rope burn against her now reddened wrists. As luck would have it, unfortunately in her self-defense lessons, Amanda had never gotten so far as to teach her how to escape being bound to a chair. Probably figuring that her little sister being held hostage twice in a lifetime, though one was admittedly orchestrated by herself, was more than enough hostage time for the youngest Clarke.

So, what had Amanda taught her?

Scanning the room carefully, realizing she was only wasting her time trying to get her wrists free from sheer will and futile force, Charlotte scanned the basement room for inspiration on Plan B, spotting it, a couple anxious moments later in the form of a blue ceramic vase holding artificial flowers. The object she needed, sitting on the small wooden desk, to the rear left of her.

If she could just somehow knock that vase over, then in theory, she could use its shards to cut the ropes binding her wrists and escape.

There was only one problem…

To knock the vase over, she'd have to somehow propel herself backwards on the chair so that it knocked against the desk and made the vase wobble over. Consequently, she too would fall and crash to the ground while still tied to the chair; a prospect she was not looking forward to, already fearing the pain she knew it would cause. What was her alternative though? Because being at the mercy of Dr. Galtz when he returned, was an encounter she refused to have.

So, taking a deep breath, on the silent count of three, Charlotte dug her feet against the dark floor paneling, using the momentum to catapult herself backwards, as she pushed her back against the chair in full force. Feeling her stomach begin to clench in instinctive dread as the chair slowly fell backwards, Charlotte closed her eyes as she felt the chair knock against the desk before hitting the ground with a painful thud. The force, though knocking the wind out of her, successfully caused the vase to wobble over and crash to the ground, almost at the same time she did.

Ignoring the painful sting she felt from her head, the impact of the fall on top of the force with which Dr. Galtz had knocked her out with catching up to her aching but resilient body, Charlotte shifted herself so that her tied wrists were right beside the largest vase shard in her proximity and began to quickly, in a sawing motion, cut the ropes that bound her.

Successfully freeing her hands moments later, a state of urgency to fully escape the house was prominently on her mind as Charlotte then stood up on shaky legs, her now unbound hand flying up to her throbbing head, confirming the small trickle of blood from the cut against her forehead. Charlotte gave herself a small moment to catch her breath, the sight of the uncut rope, and empty chair despite her worn body, invoking a powerful surge of accomplishment in herself, and eliciting an even fiercer, angrier determination to see the doctor pay.

She then picked up a large shard from the ground and held it in her hand, not wanting to ascend the stairs unarmed. As Charlotte quietly opened the door and stepped out of the room, she made sure to listen out for any sounds coming from the main floor while creeping up the stairs in silence.

Upon getting to the top of the stairs, Charlotte paused for precaution, once again keeping her ears out for any noises as she peeked around the corner, sensing nothing but the reassuring evidence of Dr. Galtz's empty presence. Stepping out into the hallway accordingly, Charlotte sighed in relief at the empty house, her exhaled breath turning into a sharp little laugh, in both accomplishment and disbelief at her escape.

Dr. Galtz had underestimated her, and for that, she'd make him regret it.

Hastily walking through the main floor, with the intent to exit out of the back door for extra precaution, Charlotte halted when she saw her iPhone sitting against the kitchen counter, grabbing it quickly, while cursing at the disappearance of the papers she had found as proof of Dr. Galtz's corruption.

They had been in her hands with her phone, the moment before she'd been knocked out, but now they were nowhere to be found.

Freezing in hesitation, the opportunity of the empty house not escaping her anger-fueled mind, Charlotte's pounding head, and aching body served to remind her that presently her safety was the top priority now. And so, despite the fury bubbling inside of her, desiring to one up Dr. Galtz and take back that proof, Charlotte knew that it was not worth it to let her emotions overrule her rationale and endanger herself all over again.

With an ever determined look on her face, the fear of her being held hostage not wavering her goal, but only serving to strengthen her initial resolve, Charlotte Clarke rapidly fled the premises with the full intention of regrouping with James before somehow forcing retribution on the dirty doctor.


Back at the warehouse infirmary room…

After hearing the full disclosure about Becker's right hand woman, both Jack and Nolan went quiet, silently empathizing for the so called lost Shadow legend student, Roxanne Meyers who was once known as Grace Adams.

"Omg...Just when you think nothing could be more painful than the sad tale of thornes…This rises from out of the shadowsLiterally." Nolan mumbled, running a hand over his messy, sandy hair.

"'Can't imagine what that must have been like for her…" Jack muttered, shaking his head as he turned his attention to his wife; watching her look down with an absorbed expression. She eventually flinched at the slight burning sensation on her neck as her husband began to cleanse and bandage her flesh wound.

"And you? How are you feeling?" Jack asked attentively as he drew closer to her.

Amanda shook her head slightly, bringing a finger to her lips, a habit she displayed whenever she would be worried or concerned but would not vocalize such feelings. "…I don't know what to feel right now…I was the same way she was you know? So lost…so far gone…I just wish there was something I could do…"

Jack absentmindedly licked his lips, trying to tread carefully in his next statement. "I don't know if there is anything you can do at this point Am…She's…she's crossed a lot of lines…"

"So have I." Amanda stated quietly yet bluntly with a hint of darkness in her tone.

Jack shook his head, hesitating once more, not wanting to point out the blatant obvious differences in her revenge tactics compared to Roxanne's: mainly at the fact that Amanda had never once committed murder. So instead, he changed the subject.

"Well, for what it's worth…I'm just glad you're okay. Whatever escape diversion you two planned, it worked…Scared the living hell out of me, but…it worked nonetheless…" He muttered in an attempt to reassure her, but the comment came out more bitter than he intended.

Amanda caught on to the suppressed bitterness and distress in her husband's tone almost automatically. "I'm sorry…I know I scared you both, but it was the only way. We couldn't afford to make the danger look real, it had to be real…otherwise, it wouldn't have worked…" She explained softly putting a hand on her husband's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

Nolan sighed. "While I'm tickled pink at the fact that you actually displayed true emotion while withholding your inner ninja in the face of danger yet again, I'm with Jackie boy on this one…You had us terrorized Amanda…We- "

"-I thought I was going to lose you…" Jack whispered brokenly, finally bringing her into his arms. She immediately returned the embrace.

"I thought likewise when they shot you I-I was…I'm just glad you're alright…" She whispered in the same tone, not wanting to delve into the details of how horrified she truly was.

Nolan smiled at the sight of his two best friends, relieved that they were all safe, but feeling a little awkward since he knew how they could be when they were like that, lost in their own world of solace and love in each other's arms.

Before he could tease and tell them to get a room, he felt himself suddenly captured in a huge embrace by his two best friends.

Amanda nearly giggled as she hugged Nolan joyfully. "We're so happy to know you're okay too Nols," She started, before frowning and punching his shoulder." but you better not ever scare us like that again!" She warned seriously.

"Yeah, Idiot! You really had us all worried, man!" Jack jokingly slapped Nolan upside the head with a smirk before bringing him in for a "manly" hug.

Nolan winced playfully and rolled his eyes. "As much as I'd love for this enjoyable session of abuse to continue, let's get back to the matter at hand…By any chance, did you and Ms. Assassin's Creed ever come up with how exactly we're going to get out of this hellhole?"

Amanda gave Nolan a look before answering his question. "We did. There's an escape route we can take upstairs along with an elevator to get there, but it's most likely guarded. The whole idea was that once Roxanne's betrayal to the gang would become evident, Becker's group would then all assemble for backup, heading towards his direction and leaving their posts unguarded so that we can evacuate."

"Wait, are you saying that she's going to try to take on all of Becker's men by herself?" Jack asked with disbelief.

"She's planning to take on the whole organization by herself. That was her goal, and the whole part of executing the plan was to make sure that we're out of the way when that happened…" Amanda replied in a grim tone.

"…How noble and badass-ish of her." Nolan mused before he clapped his hands together, heading for the door." Welp, far be it from us to get in the way of a suicidal vendetta! I say we blow this serpent crazed battlefield and- "

"-Nolan, we can't just leave her!" Amanda snapped with a glare.

"Babe…" Jack started.

Amanda kept going. "-She could die out there! No, she will die out there if we don't- "

Nolan tried to speak. "-Listen, I know you feel like you owe her for her valor, but- "

"-You DON'T understand! It's so much more than that! You don't know the risks she took in doing this for us! After they took Jack away, she could have ended us right then and there or when she took us hostage, but she chose to keep us both alive! We were safe! She kept us safe!"

"Wait who's us? There was someone else with you?" Jack asked with an eyebrow raised.

Amanda then froze, wanting to slap a hand over her mouth, but shut her eyes and looked away instead, cursing silently for her choice of plural words, knowing that the cat was out of the bag.

"Amanda, was there another person with you?" Jack stressed once more.

"There was…" She whispered reluctantly, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Who? Was it-is it anyone we know?" Nolan asked fearfully.

"Not yet…" Amanda muttered, feeling the pressure build.

"Ams you're not making any sense here! What do you mean not yet?" Jack asked with exasperation.

"Yeah if you're gonna be all cryptic and mysterious can you please at least tell us where this person is?" Nolan rolled his eyes.

"INSIDE OF ME!" She shouted, finally reacting from the pressure before sighing and reiterating her confession. "…The person is…growing inside of me…"

Both men were rendered completely silent, frozen in place as their eyes widened at her in absolute shock.

Amanda then turned to face her husband, vulnerability clear in her eyes as he gave her a similar look to the time when she revealed her true identity to him all those years ago, only she could tell that his reaction this time was even more stunned. "I'm pregnant."

After a moment of utter and complete silence, Jack broke it by puffing out a slight yet sheer disbelieving chuckle. "W-what?"

"We're pregnant, Jack." She grasped his hand in hers, seriously yet softly rephrasing her statement.

This wasn't exactly the most glamorous way for how she wanted to tell him the big news, but there was no turning back now.

Jack shook his head, still in astonishment as he continued to chuckle and stutter in disbelief while pacing. "W-wait-w-wait n-no-no Honey, that's impossible you-you can't…but I thought you couldn't…y-you can't get pregnant- "

"-That's…what I thought too." Amanda closed her eyes, a grim and bitter look clear across her face as she thought about the lies she once believed. "She lied Jack…Victoria lied about my infertility."

Before the men could say anything, she continued to explain. "As you both know, after Daniel shot me on the boat and the Graysons were holding me captive in their house, Victoria delivered a letter with the report of my unfortunate infertile state. While it was supposed to be that way since I was sterilized, my medical records showed that the procedure wasn't that, but was a hysterectomy in which all of my vital reproductive organs were removed. But that wasn't the case. After Jack took me to the hospital recently and after the doctor examined me…it was revealed that I didn't have a hysterectomy. I couldn't have, and that over time my organs healed enough to conceive in which according to the results…I did."

"O…M…G…Ams…" Nolan mumbled, staring wide eyed at his best friend who was closer to him than a sister.

"…That's what you were trying to tell me back at the hotel…A-and w-why you've been so sick all this time and-a-and wanted all those bizarre foods…you're-you- "

Jack continued to trip over his words, realization and answers hitting him left and right, full of mixed emotions until he thought about all the dangers she had been in and was still in…

" Y-you shouldn't be here right now…It's not safe! W-WHY WOULD YOU PUT YOURSELF IN DANGER LIKE THAT?! Jack exclaimed aloud, alarming her. Nolan finally broke out of his state of stupor, coming to Amanda's rescue.

"JACK! CHILL OUT! She doesn't need that right now!" Nolan stated firmly, making Jack snap out of it.

"Sorry! I'm-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-I'm just- "Jack turned back towards his wife, reaching to grasp her shoulders gently as he looked at her, eyes tearing up as he nearly whispered, "We're really going to have a baby?"

Amanda's eyes softened at the hopefulness in her husband's glistening eyes and she felt her own start to water as she nodded at him. "According to the doctor she says I'm nearing the end of my first trimester…at 10 weeks along…"

"10 WEEKS?!" Jack and Nolan shouted in unison.

"That's…what I said too." Amanda raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly in amusement, before reluctantly looking at her husband once more, "I hope you're not too mad at me…"

"Mad? Sweetie of course not! I'm-I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life! You're actually pregnant…We're-we're going to have a baby! Carl's going to be a big brother! You- "Jack couldn't finish his statement as he suddenly reached forward, grasping his wife's cheeks in both of his hands before crushing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss, both of them not caring that they tasted the saltiness of their tears. Once they finally managed to pull away, Jack raised his hand to gently stroke her stomach with his thumb while touching his forehead to hers, whispering, "You have no idea how happy you've made me…I love you so much…".

Amanda nodded and giggled slightly as a response, letting everything hit her. "I love you too."

"I'd make a remark of how much you guys are making want to barf right now, but I'm too ecstatic to do so! I mean Ams! You're…you're actually, officially going to be a mommy!" Nolan grinned widely in excitement and emotion, hugging her from behind.

Amanda playfully rolled her eyes at her best friend but smiled nonetheless. Her expression then turned serious. "But like I said earlier about Roxanne, she's the one who kept us safe and promised that no harm would come to me or the baby. It was because of her plan and diversion that I was even able to rescue you two! And she didn't have to do that…The burden of the vendetta she's carrying does not allow for any distractions or setbacks in which helping me certainly was, I didn't expect it, but she chose to do so. I owe her. We all do."

Jack and Nolan looked away contemplating.

While Nolan was swayed, but still had that little shred of doubt of whether or not they should trust this new revenger, Jack had a whole new perspective about the woman who he thought caused harm to his wife but was actually keeping her and their unborn child out of true harm's way.

Jack then looked up and nodded at his wife before hardening his expression sternly. "We've got to have a full proof, thought out plan though. Things aren't like they were before Amanda. You can't afford to endanger yourself in your condition. I won't allow it. I'd be damned to hell if anything happens to you now. So we better think this through on how to go about this. Because if anything hits the fan, you are going to step back and get the hell out of harm's way. Got it?"

Amanda almost blinked at the serious strictness of her husband's tone, but nodded firmly in agreement. She and Jack then turned to Nolan, a questioning look on their faces as if asking if he was on board, waiting for his response.

Finally, after a long moment, Nolan let out a deep sigh, relenting. "Fine…But when all's said and done, don't expect me to share my red sharpie with her!"

To be continued…