Chapter 7

Luis was flown to Arlington, Virginia shortly after meeting with Shannon. There in the US Marshals Service headquarters, he was questioned by Steven Callahan and another IMF agent assigned to investigate Esteban. A different team of IMF agents were now working with the US Marshals Service in investigating Esteban.

Luis maintained that his night club had nothing to do with Esteban's drug dealings. But reluctantly after much consideration, he provided additional information that helped the US Marshals build a stronger case against his uncle.

Meanwhile at the IMF headquarters, Nicholas looked up from his desk as Shannon entered the bullpen. It was late afternoon. The small bullpen was deserted except for Nicholas who was busy working on his computer. Shannon's desk sat on the right-side corner of the room beside the entrance. A quick glance at the room revealed a minimal but sleek work area with white walls, four desks, a pair of shelves and a round table with four chairs set in the back. A large TV monitor was propped on the wall facing the desks.

"Hey, Shannon," he greeted. Shannon glanced at his direction but didn't respond. She sat at her desk and began sifting through the files strewn on her table. On the left side behind her, Nicholas swiveled in his chair observing her.

"I take it the meeting with Luis Magdalena didn't end well?" he asked, sensing her mood.

"There's nothing to talk about. I did my part and that's that," she said curtly.

He continued to observe her quietly.

"Look, I know you're still having a hard time adjusting after our mission in Bogota. And all of this might seem surreal to you – including finding out who you really were after losing your memory…" he started cautiously.

Shannon kept her back turned towards him. She fixed her gaze on an opened folder on her desk, clearly still upset about her meeting with Luis. Then without looking at him she said, "You know, for a short while there when I was in Bogota, I thought I was really a club singer."

She smirked bitterly and shook her head. "Two months with amnesia and I was beginning to believe I was a singer."

"That's understandable. You were there undercover as a club singer. You had nothing to go with except a fake passport and a forged resumé."

She was silent for a few minutes.

"But you were really good as a singer. I saw you perform at the club. I was there with Grant but you didn't recognize him when you saw him. You were with Luis and he―"

Shannon reacted at the mention of Luis' name. He noticed and stopped.

"Look Shannon, I'm not judging you if you liked him. To be honest, we weren't exactly there when you needed someone the most right after the accident. But Luis was and he was good to you, so…" he trailed off.

She skimmed a page from the opened folder then turned to look at him.

"Did you manage to get the coordinates that Grant promised last week?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Uh… not yet. I'll get it from him as soon as I'm finished here," answered Nicholas, slightly taken aback.

She closed the folder in front of her and stood up.

"I'll go look and get it from him then," she said quietly.

With that, Shannon went out of the room, leaving Nicholas to stare after her.

xoxoxo

It was twelve minutes past seven in the evening when Shannon sat facing Dr. Atwood in her office. It was her third session with the therapist and over a week after she was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Shannon was beginning to come to terms with her trauma and was ready to move past it. Her previous second session with Dr. Atwood made her feel at ease and she could now talk freely with her.

"You mentioned in our previous session that you had to face Luis Magdalena again. Do you want to talk about what happened in that meeting, Shannon?" asked Dr. Atwood.

"It was unbearable. Sitting there in front of him," she answered, wringing her hands.

"He looked so… different. We sat facing each other like strangers meeting for the first time. He was looking at me with hurt and contempt in his eyes. I've never seen him look at me like that. It was awful," Shannon added, beginning to tear up.

"Go on," prodded Dr. Atwood.

Shannon continued: "I hate that I was the one who caused his pain. I wanted to hold him right there and then and tell him I never wanted to hurt him. I wish I could explain everything to him but I couldn't."

Dr. Atwood nodded. "As a secret agent you're bound not to disclose any black operations by the IMF. And I don't need to remind you of that."

The therapist looked Shannon in the eye.

"Shannon, I want you to tell me how you really feel about Luis."

She cleared her throat.

"Do you love him?"

An awkward silence fell between them. Then Shannon threw her hands on her face and burst into tears.

"Yes," she nodded, her voice breaking.

Dr. Atwood let out a deep sigh. She knew she should remain impartial but she couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards Shannon's plight.

"It just happened," Shannon sniffed tearfully. "I was alone and didn't know anyone in Bogota. I hadn't heard from Jim or any of my team after the accident. But Luis was there for me since the day I was in the hospital. He cared for me while I was in recovery. He was really sweet and kind and I just… I fell for him."

"Does Jim know?" asked Dr. Atwood, passing her a box of tissue from a side table.

"I don't know. Maybe. He asked me before the debriefing but I wasn't able to answer."

Shannon pulled two tissues from the box handed to her.

"Besides, I was too hurt and angry with him to say anything afterwards."

"Why were you angry with Jim?"

"Because he insisted on me accepting Luis' proposal even though I think it was a bad idea! I was forced to go through with the wedding plans. I had to pretend to Luis I wanted it. And now I was forced again to deal with him."

"And how did Luis react to meeting you?"

Shannon proceeded to tell her about what transpired in the meeting.

"I had to put on an indifferent face the whole time. I had to pretend I didn't care even though I do and his words hurt me. But I wasn't pretending all the time when I was with him in Bogota."

"Shannon, you know as well as I do that it's against the rules to get romantically involved with enemies, including persons of interest."

"But Luis is not a real enemy!" Shannon protested, clutching the tissue in her right hand.

"When we were together, he told me all about Esteban. Luis was orphaned when he was eight years old. Esteban took him in and raised him as his own. So you can imagine how conflicted Luis was about his uncle. But Luis told me he didn't want the kind of life that his uncle was living. He told me his plans to break away from his uncle. I knew him. He and his uncle were not cut from the same cloth."

"Even so. The way IMF sees it, he's still with the enemy camp and sleeping with the enemy is a violation of rules."

A thought came in Dr. Atwood's head.

"Did you have sex with him?"

"What? Of course not!" Shannon was surprised with the question.

Dr. Atwood raised an eyebrow.

"You mean to tell me you were romantically involved with Luis but never had sex with him?"

Shannon dabbed the tears off her face.

"I had three broken ribs. My body was still healing from the accident. The doctor in Bogota advised me not to engage in any strenuous physical activity for the time being."

"I see."

Dr. Atwood was thoughtful for a few minutes.

"Have you told any of your team about Luis? You know, what really went on between the two of you when you were with him and the things he said about his uncle?"

Shannon sighed and leaned back in her seat.

"Tell them that I violated the rules and fell in love with the 'enemy'? No, no, I can't," she shook her head.

"Shannon, you need to tell Jim about your time with Luis. It will clear some things up in Jim's report."

A tinge of guilt swept through Shannon.

Looking out of the window from her seat, she wasn't sure if she could ever talk about Luis with her team without feeling that she just betrayed the love of her life and without her heart breaking.

TO BE CONTINUED