Doubt ate away at James. Part of him knew what he was doing was rash and stupid. He should've told the team; he should've stopped to think. However, when Pj seemed like herself for the first time in days, all that doubt flew away. His actions may have been stupid, yet it was the right thing to do. By following along with whatever the hell was going on with her, maybe he could get her to understand that something was wrong. It seemed like they had tried every other option besides that. Nothing sane was working. She wouldn't listen and she wouldn't think. But she was definitely feeling. He was certain that was something he could work with.
Once off the roof, Pj advised that they should avoid street cams as much as possible. James had the sinking suspicion her thought process was linked to the fear that the team would catch up to them. But really, it was because she knew Amanda was on high alert for them. They didn't have their anonymity anymore. The Shop placed as large of a target on the younger agents as their parents. The two had to be extra careful if they were going back to a deserted Shop facility. Honestly, the fact that she could be so rational while her emotions and rage were unchecked startled him. But not in a bad way. It gave him hope that she wasn't too far gone.
The plans she was telling him remained on her tongue as they approached the abandoned building, however. Pj had many ideas she wanted to share with James, but she was suddenly stunned into silence. She had seen the drone footage- nothing should've been a surprise to her. Yet, for some reason, she thought the Shop facility would appear more derelict. Instead, it was completely unassuming. Horrors happened there and no one even knew about it. Slowly, and nearly in a trance, she moved towards the entrance. James ensured there were no more cameras in use that could stop them before he followed. The idea to look for clues could bite them in the ass if they weren't vigilant. Though, he suspected some good was already coming to fruition, "Do you remember anything?"
Intense focus crossed her features. It wasn't the confusion that seemed to shake her to her core whenever she had to think past the overwhelming thoughts in her head, however. Pj was simply trying to piece the jagged puzzle together. James had to stop thinking of her either being under some kind of conditioning or not. He just had to focus on her in the moment, and what they could do as a team to stop the Shop. Chasing after her while she stepped through the busted doors of the building, he shook all those thoughts aside. It was all about moving forward, right. The fact that she possibly remembered something helped, "Missy at my rescue."
"She wasn't there," Okay, maybe she didn't remember anything. But James wasn't going to let that pull them under. He flashed her a soft smile, and she rolled her eyes. Neither was certain why Pj was leading the way through the debris left over from the hectic rescue mission; any memory she thought she had was possibly a hallucination from the drugs. However, she seemed to have more of a sense of where to go then he did. At least, that was what he told himself. In reality, looking at all of the destruction around him brought him back to those terrifying hours where he thought he had lost her. Hell, in the ensuing firefight, he thought he was going to lose his parents as well. The place was full of crippling fear and pain even while completely deserted.
"Then I was under the influence the entire time," Being free from her memory allowed Pj to be free from the pain, however. Although she knew her surroundings should have a deep effect on her, she didn't experience any of it. She scanned through the wreckage for anything viable, unfazed by her actions. James, on the other hand, trudged behind her slowly. He seriously had to shake himself out of it. If he let his hurt and doubt eat away at him, he wouldn't be able to do anything. He couldn't sulk when he should've been helping her. They had to have each other's backs no matter what. She was able to do that no problem. The second she noticed his lack of reply, she turned around concerned, "No witty comeback?"
"Not going to lie, I'm still in shock from that kiss," James settled for a half-truth. He didn't know how Pj would take his thoughts on her being conditioned, or his worry that following her might've been a terrible idea. If he knew anything about her, though, it was sure to be terrible. He wanted to move forward so badly. That being said, he needed positives to look at. The fact that they had kissed was certainly one of them. Just remembering it made him burst out in a wide grin. She echoed the look, and brought herself as close to him as possible.
"That's cause this girl's got the right stuff," Her lips barely ghosted over his, but it was enough to make his heart soar. Smirking proudly, Pj turned back around to continue her search. No thought, good or bad, could filter through James' head then. Their friends and siblings always talked about the influence he had over her- how he could get her to calm down and focus. Yet she had just as much of an effect on him. She made him daring, and bold, and brave. Anxiety couldn't claw away at him whenever she was near. There was a lightness she had, that caused him to follow. It just seemed like together they were unstoppable.
Debris falling aside and crumbling as they climbed over it brought James to reality. Pj had begun to duck in and out of rooms while she searched. Most of them were empty. The few that weren't held empty boxes. Either they had always been like that, or the Shop cleaned it all out before evacuating. He hoped it was the latter. If they had left in a hurry, then maybe they forgot something. That something could give them a clue as to what was going on. They hadn't run into such luck yet. But he wasn't going to let himself get dragged down by that, not anymore- not when he could make a light and teasing joke from her comment, "Uhm. It takes two to make a thing go right."
"It takes two to make it outta sight…" Her response was automatic and full of laughter. Until she threw open the door to the next room. That one wasn't empty. What appeared to be a dentist's chair sat in the middle of the floor. Next to it, was an imposing and long needle. Pj and James froze at the sight. They might not have known exactly what it was, or exactly what Amanda did with it. However, they knew of the threat it posed. An agent could be strong as hell, yet still fall prey to the bitch's mind games. It was sick and twisted, and unfair. Had the two seriously thought someone as vile as her would play fair, though. That was one of the reasons the war had lasted so long, after all.
"You were really strapped to that thing?" James wasn't sure why he asked. Yes, he didn't see Pj tied to the chair; she had already escaped her bondage by the time her family came to rescue her. But he knew what she had suffered through. She did too, despite the lack of memory. The others had told her, and she had seen what the drone had captured. She could also feel a sort of phantom pain in her nose. Her scratches, bruises, and bullet wounds didn't bother her anymore. Yet sometimes she would get terrible headaches that, for some reason, started with a sting in her nose. It had to have been tied to her torture. It was the only explanation she could come up with.
"Yeah. But. This wasn't the room I was in," Although she was basing that on the third person account of BUTR, Pj felt certain that her statement was true. She was held further away from the entrance of the facility. She was somewhere more remote, a place where Amanda could have her all to herself without interruption. There was nothing to support any of that, except for a strange feeling. However, James didn't fight her on it. He rolled with what she had to say, and examined the area with her. She was so glad that he did. For once, she didn't fear that she was going insane.
"We think there are others. Kinda like Sam, but more mind controlled," The fact James shared with her seemed to solidify that. Pj wasn't alone in whatever was occurring. She was still a bit confused about how he knew that, though. So, he explained the discoveries the team had stumbled upon while she was recovering. Surprisingly, she handled the news better than anybody else. The situation with Owen/Sam never sat right with her. Of course there was some level of mind control involved there. Amanda just had to dig her claws in and never let go. A slow horror started to build within her at the thought. If the bitch had messed with one person on their team, who was to say she hadn't screwed with another- who was to say she didn't fuck with her.
"Is that why the interrogation?" Pj always thought the interrogation was to make her share intel on her family that Amanda didn't have. But what if it was more than that. James grew concerned and puzzled by her quick shift from confidence to fear. Whereas he moved to comfort her, she brushed him off. She needed answers. Real answers, not some half-truths she had been fed. The bitch's torture had to be for something. She wasn't the type of person to torture for fun. No, she had a goal in mind. But what did she want from Pj, "Did something happen to me? Besides the drugs and torture?"
James could only stare at her. He knew he had to tell her the truth- that went without question. Yet, how was he supposed to phrase it. Her family believed she was mind controlled, so they were treating her like some enemy they didn't know how to deal with. That made his blood boil, no doubt Pj's rage would overwhelm her once more once she heard that. A simple truth would be better. They didn't have all of the facts. It was still a guessing game of what exactly happened while she was gone. He wished he could tell her everything. Except everyone was so completely lost, "I don't know."
"No. No. That's not possible. She said there wasn't enough time. You came too soon and ruined everything," Those thoughts seemed to have appeared in her mind before. It had to have been something true Pj could've held onto. Amanda was unhappy when the team crashed the building. Not just because they raided a Shop facility, but because they arrived too soon; the bitch wasn't ready for them yet. Something so much worse was going on than simply her being kidnapped and her family fighting. It had to revolve around those doubles and those demonic chairs with the terrifying needles. Maybe when it came down to it she was only the distraction.
"Piper, what are you talking about? Did Amanda tell you what's going on?" James got Pj to snap out of her musings. His hazel eyes were studying her intently, trying to understand what she was thinking. She had to share it with him; she had to get all her thoughts out into the open. However the second she tried, the second it died on her tongue. It all seemed too jumbled to really say. Besides, more thoughts and feelings were flooding her the longer she stayed in that room. She could blame the fact that since she was actually processing her abduction and torture, there wasn't any mental blockage. But after learning about all the brainwashing Amanda was capable of, things were starting to make sense.
That might have been true for her, but James continued to be lost. Pj didn't seem to be in distress, however. He didn't have to be anxious or worried about that. He simply wanted to help her sort out whatever was running through her mind. It had to have been a lot if her brow was furrowing that deeply, and if her green eyes clouded over. Caressing her bronze cheek with his thumb at least got her to look at him. She managed to blurt out the names that had begun to swim around her head with no solid connections. Although she was aware enough to know that Amanda had said them, she didn't know the significance, "Who are Gary and Caroline?"
"What… I… I don't know. Did Amanda tell you that? Are they names of doubles?" Struggling to keep up with the rapidness of that outburst, James tried to find some logic in it. If Pj was remembering some things because of the doubles, then those two people have to be linked to them. Or, it could've been a complete deadend and they were wasting their time. Whatever avenue it took them down was worth pursuing, however. It was far better than exploring the abandoned building.
"We should go find out," Pj took off immediately. Mostly to follow the new line of investigation, but also to stay clear of that horrible chair. It was too haunting to be around; it didn't feel right. James didn't stop her. He chased after her, ideas on how they could track down Gary and Caroline beginning to form. There was at least some hope to cling to after all of that. They were getting more and more answers.