Chapter Twenty
In the Control Room, a screen flickered in the darkened room. A woman stared at the screen and watched intently to the scene as it played out in front of her. She saw him touch her and rub her back as she cried. It didn't matter what it was for, he touched her and comforted her. The action made the woman mad. 'He belongs to me, not her. She just takes, takes, and takes. No more, he's mine and she's not going to live to see another day.' She flicked off the screen then left the room hurriedly, never seeing the other man enter the gym or the reaction of Sara when she saw him.
Sara quickly fled the gym before she said something she'd regret. As she walked down the hallway, leading to the Arena, the silence and seclusion of the area elevated her senses. Her eyes darted back and forth taking in all the darker alcoves. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she sensed something lurking, watching every move she made. 'She's going to make her move.' Sara swiftly darted into an alcove and buried herself in the darkness. She drew in her breath and held it as her ears listened for any movement. Her skin tingled as she sensed a change in air pressure. 'She's close, very close.' Steadily, but silently, Sara dropped to a squat against the wall as the report of a silencer was detected. The granite above, where her head had once been, crumbled and landed on top of her. Sara, however, held her position.
She knew the woman was approaching even though no sound was heard. Suddenly, Sara lunged forward and hit solid mass. The mass gave way as they fell to the floor sending the gun in her opponent's hand clattering to the floor. Sara could make out the sound of it clattering on the floor. It was probably no more than ten feet away but too far for her to try to get to. The other woman was able to wedge her knee upward and forcefully sent it into Sara's stomach. Without flinching, Sara held her ground then swung her fist and made contact with the other woman's face. Sara rolled off of her along the floor and into the darkness. She had no weapon and would have to rely on her abilities at hand-to-hand combat. Her skills, when she was at the Centre, were exceptional in that area, however, that had been a long time ago and even with the time spent training here, she considered herself rusty.
The other woman stood and surveyed the area in search of her prey. Finding it, she launched herself forward, just as it stood. She hit solidly, taking the object down to the floor. Sara, underneath her opponent, knew that the only way she would gain any leverage in this fight would be to change her defense to an offensive stance. She quickly wedged her knee up against her chest and got her foot underneath the woman. Sara then lifted her up and over them, causing the other woman to go flying. Sara quickly got to her feet and met the other woman head on as she also stood instantly after hitting the floor. "Mary Jane, enough. Can't you see this isn't going anywhere?"
Margot froze as she heard her real name. "So, you know who I am? I should have known you'd figure it out quickly. However, I don't feel that this is nearly enough. It won't be done until you're dead and out of my way."
"Mary Jane, why do you think I'm in your way? Jarod doesn't love me like a girlfriend or lover. We've always only just been friends." Sara knew that she would never be able to convince Mary Jane but maybe she could distract her long enough to gain some leverage in this fight. "I'm in love with another man, Mary, not Jarod."
"Sara, do you really believe me to be that big of a fool? Who wouldn't be in love with Jarod?" Mary Jane spoke with a haughty laugh. "Quit trying to distract me, Sara. It's an old trick but the Triumvirate taught me better than that." She stepped into a round kick toward Sara's head. Sara ducked then swept one leg out and caught Mary Jane while she was still on one leg, effectively sweeping her off her feet and to the floor. Mary Jane rolled as she fell and pulled herself back up. Sara took the opportunity to move forward as Mary Jane stood and kicked her in the stomach then swung around and hit her on the side of her head, knocking her to the floor again. Again, she stepped forward and kicked her in the side to keep down.
Mary Jane, now lying flat on the floor, saw the gun that had skidded away from her previously. It was only a few feet away and she grabbed for it. Sara saw her action and also dove for it; but in doing so, she allowed Margot to move freely so that she reached it before Sara could.
She took aim at Sara and pulled the trigger. Sara, however, evaded the shots as she ran down the hallway in a zig zag motion. As she reached the edge of the Arena, the bell on the elevator rang, announcing its arrival. Sara skidded to a halt and looked back at it, wondering who was in it. They would end up being in a direct line of fire if they came out. The doors opened and Sara yelled for them to stay inside but it was too late as she watched Nick and Warrick step out to find Mary Jane running straight for them. Warrick saw her first and tried to pull Nick backward into the elevator but was shoved out of the way as Mary Jane reached them. She pushed Nick forward and held onto him with the gun pointed at his head. Sara then yelled out as if in pain, "No!"
The sound reverberated on the glass of the arena and echoed down the hallways. Those on the lower level of the Arena heard it and looked upward to try to figure out why someone had yelled. Grissom heard it faintly in the gym. Jarod and Sydney heard it from an office further down another hallway. Everyone headed toward it as they recognized the voice as Sara's.
Jarod and Sydney reached the scene first and saw Mary Jane with her gun placed at Nick's temple holding him in front of her as a shield. Warrick, Catherine along with Matt and Jackson, were on the other side of Mary Jane and Nick as they watched in horror. Matt and Jackson had their guns drawn and aimed at her but weren't able to get a clear shot. Grissom approached behind them and took in the scene. Sara stood against the glass of the arena, anger written all over her face.
"Mary Jane, what are you doing? It's me you want, not Nick. If you really want me, then let him go." Sara didn't plead with her but stated facts. Mary Jane instinctively shielded herself with Nick but had put herself in a position of defense instead of offense.
Mary Jane shoved the gun harder against Nick's head as she peeped out behind him and sneered. "Ahh, Sara, what's wrong? Not sure how to protect poor Nicky this time. You did such a wonderful job when you were a kid. What's wrong now?"
"Mary Jane, don't, don't do this." Sara now began to plead with her. She was the cause of so much pain for Nick and she didn't want him to know.
Flash of understanding lit Mary Jane's eyes. "Oh, my, my, my Sara! He doesn't know does he? All this time you've spent with him and he doesn't know."
"Stop it. Please don't." Sara stepped forward but Mary Jane pulled Nick backward and let the gun sink into his temple even more. Sara let her eyes meet Nick's and saw the confusion apparent in them. He didn't understand and was trying to put the pieces together as Mary Jane continued.
"So, Nicky, ever wonder why you needed that last minute babysitter when you were nine? From what I understand, it wasn't too hard for her to worm her way into that situation. The Centre paid her handsomely for her work although she would have done it for free, she enjoyed it immensely." Mary Jane felt him tense underneath her hold and smiled at Sara as she continued. "It was just an experiment, Nicky. The Centre didn't think you were up to the standards they were looking for but your twin sister was." Nick suddenly swung his head to face Mary Jane, forgetting about the gun as he asked, "Twin?" Mary Jane pushed his head forward with the gun again, so he could get the answer from Sara. He stared at Sara and saw the involuntary confirmation in her eyes.
Catherine gasped as she recalled what Nick had told her about the babysitter. She held onto Warrick's arm as she heard Nick's most private secret revealed. 'Damn her, why can't she just shut up?' And then she realized what Mary Jane was insinuating. Her eyes darted from Sara to Nick and all of a sudden she could see the resemblance.
Mary Jane again laughed. "Controlling Sara was like trying to pull teeth from a fully awake lion. So, as an experiment on the bond between twins and maybe, just maybe, being able to control her, they chose to hurt you to see the effect it would have on her. Sara felt what you had, the fear, the shame, and the pain but she hid it so well. The Triumvirate pulled the plug on it after that first attempt even after Mr. Raines tried to convince them that she did feel it but was hiding it. They thought that if she had felt it, she would have responded to it in kind. She hid it well, to protect you from further harm but in the end, the guilt of it still haunts her today because no matter what she did, she was still the reason you were raped." She squealed with laughter as she drove the point home. Sara was starting to lose control and Mary Jane saw her victory in sight.
Warrick and Grissom, now standing side by side, both stared at Nick and thought about the pain he had been holding in all these years and now to have it laid out so publicly was going to slowly kill him. Grissom saw Catherine put her arm on Warrick's hand as Mary Jane spoke. Of all the people that Nick would have told, it would've been her and her actions gave him the confirmation all too well.
"Now, all I want is for her to be dead. Don't you Nicky? All she ever does is take, take, take and she never gives back." Mary Jane's tone of voice showed her demented side. Just as she was about to remove the gun from off of Nick and point it toward Sara, she heard a voice from behind her. "Mary Jane? What are you doing?" She turned around suddenly and saw Jarod; except it was the Jarod from her youth. Her voice quivered as she asked, "Jarod?" The sight of him took her breath away. He was just as she remembered. He walked toward her a couple of feet then stopped. When she moved to help close the distance between them, her hold on Nick lessened enough for him to drop to his knees and finally, Sara was able to act on her adrenaline rush.
Mary Jane felt the emptiness around her and turned to see Sara leaping toward her. She squared herself and fired. The bullet caught Sara in the shoulder but her momentum continued as she slammed into her target. Mary Jane hit the wall then they fell to the floor and the gun went clattering along the floor again to be caught up by Joshua. Mary Jane sat on top of Sara and pushed a thumb into her now profusely bleeding wound. Sara bucked her off then stood and swung with her good arm, meeting Mary Jane's face with a crunching sound. Mary Jane reeled backward straight into the waiting arms of Greg who had hidden in the adjacent alcove when Joshua had appeared on the scene. He nearly lost his grip on her as she tried to lunge forward again toward Sara, but Matt and Jackson rushed over and helped him with her. Sara stood up as she held her arm to her side.
Jarod and Joshua both walked over to Mary Jane and stood in front of her. She took in the sight of the two Jarod's and her eyes grew large as realization dawned on her. 'A clone.' Jarod looked her over then said in almost a whisper, "I still don't remember you." Mary Jane's face formed into an expression of pain then of defeat as Matt, Jackson and Greg hauled her off to another location.
Jarod turned around to face Sara and saw that she was now standing. He reached out and cupped her face with his hand and stared into her eyes. "Are you alright?"
Sara smiled and nodded. "I just need to have Dr. Linn look at this." Sara quickly looked around and spotted Nick leaning against the glass. She walked past Grissom, Catherine and Warrick to slowly make her way to where Nick stood. He brought his head up and looked into her eyes. He shook his head as if to say, 'I don't want to talk right now.' Sara nodded in understanding then backed up, turned and walked down into the Arena to have Dr. Linn look at her shoulder. Nick pushed himself off the glass and walked determinedly to the elevator. It opened immediately and he left without a word to anyone.
"Do you think it's true, what Mary Jane said about Nick and Sara?" Warrick said as he watched the elevator doors shut.
Catherine stared at the doors also, she nodded then said, "Yeah I do, at least the part about the babysitter. As far as the relationship between Nick and Sara? I don't know."
"It's true." Grissom stood behind them and recalled what Nick had tried to tell him when he watched Sara's DSA's. "They're twins. Nick remembered seeing her as a little girl but didn't know who she was. He does now."
In the Control Room, a screen flickered in the darkened room. A woman stared at the screen and watched intently to the scene as it played out in front of her. She saw him touch her and rub her back as she cried. It didn't matter what it was for, he touched her and comforted her. The action made the woman mad. 'He belongs to me, not her. She just takes, takes, and takes. No more, he's mine and she's not going to live to see another day.' She flicked off the screen then left the room hurriedly, never seeing the other man enter the gym or the reaction of Sara when she saw him.
Sara quickly fled the gym before she said something she'd regret. As she walked down the hallway, leading to the Arena, the silence and seclusion of the area elevated her senses. Her eyes darted back and forth taking in all the darker alcoves. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she sensed something lurking, watching every move she made. 'She's going to make her move.' Sara swiftly darted into an alcove and buried herself in the darkness. She drew in her breath and held it as her ears listened for any movement. Her skin tingled as she sensed a change in air pressure. 'She's close, very close.' Steadily, but silently, Sara dropped to a squat against the wall as the report of a silencer was detected. The granite above, where her head had once been, crumbled and landed on top of her. Sara, however, held her position.
She knew the woman was approaching even though no sound was heard. Suddenly, Sara lunged forward and hit solid mass. The mass gave way as they fell to the floor sending the gun in her opponent's hand clattering to the floor. Sara could make out the sound of it clattering on the floor. It was probably no more than ten feet away but too far for her to try to get to. The other woman was able to wedge her knee upward and forcefully sent it into Sara's stomach. Without flinching, Sara held her ground then swung her fist and made contact with the other woman's face. Sara rolled off of her along the floor and into the darkness. She had no weapon and would have to rely on her abilities at hand-to-hand combat. Her skills, when she was at the Centre, were exceptional in that area, however, that had been a long time ago and even with the time spent training here, she considered herself rusty.
The other woman stood and surveyed the area in search of her prey. Finding it, she launched herself forward, just as it stood. She hit solidly, taking the object down to the floor. Sara, underneath her opponent, knew that the only way she would gain any leverage in this fight would be to change her defense to an offensive stance. She quickly wedged her knee up against her chest and got her foot underneath the woman. Sara then lifted her up and over them, causing the other woman to go flying. Sara quickly got to her feet and met the other woman head on as she also stood instantly after hitting the floor. "Mary Jane, enough. Can't you see this isn't going anywhere?"
Margot froze as she heard her real name. "So, you know who I am? I should have known you'd figure it out quickly. However, I don't feel that this is nearly enough. It won't be done until you're dead and out of my way."
"Mary Jane, why do you think I'm in your way? Jarod doesn't love me like a girlfriend or lover. We've always only just been friends." Sara knew that she would never be able to convince Mary Jane but maybe she could distract her long enough to gain some leverage in this fight. "I'm in love with another man, Mary, not Jarod."
"Sara, do you really believe me to be that big of a fool? Who wouldn't be in love with Jarod?" Mary Jane spoke with a haughty laugh. "Quit trying to distract me, Sara. It's an old trick but the Triumvirate taught me better than that." She stepped into a round kick toward Sara's head. Sara ducked then swept one leg out and caught Mary Jane while she was still on one leg, effectively sweeping her off her feet and to the floor. Mary Jane rolled as she fell and pulled herself back up. Sara took the opportunity to move forward as Mary Jane stood and kicked her in the stomach then swung around and hit her on the side of her head, knocking her to the floor again. Again, she stepped forward and kicked her in the side to keep down.
Mary Jane, now lying flat on the floor, saw the gun that had skidded away from her previously. It was only a few feet away and she grabbed for it. Sara saw her action and also dove for it; but in doing so, she allowed Margot to move freely so that she reached it before Sara could.
She took aim at Sara and pulled the trigger. Sara, however, evaded the shots as she ran down the hallway in a zig zag motion. As she reached the edge of the Arena, the bell on the elevator rang, announcing its arrival. Sara skidded to a halt and looked back at it, wondering who was in it. They would end up being in a direct line of fire if they came out. The doors opened and Sara yelled for them to stay inside but it was too late as she watched Nick and Warrick step out to find Mary Jane running straight for them. Warrick saw her first and tried to pull Nick backward into the elevator but was shoved out of the way as Mary Jane reached them. She pushed Nick forward and held onto him with the gun pointed at his head. Sara then yelled out as if in pain, "No!"
The sound reverberated on the glass of the arena and echoed down the hallways. Those on the lower level of the Arena heard it and looked upward to try to figure out why someone had yelled. Grissom heard it faintly in the gym. Jarod and Sydney heard it from an office further down another hallway. Everyone headed toward it as they recognized the voice as Sara's.
Jarod and Sydney reached the scene first and saw Mary Jane with her gun placed at Nick's temple holding him in front of her as a shield. Warrick, Catherine along with Matt and Jackson, were on the other side of Mary Jane and Nick as they watched in horror. Matt and Jackson had their guns drawn and aimed at her but weren't able to get a clear shot. Grissom approached behind them and took in the scene. Sara stood against the glass of the arena, anger written all over her face.
"Mary Jane, what are you doing? It's me you want, not Nick. If you really want me, then let him go." Sara didn't plead with her but stated facts. Mary Jane instinctively shielded herself with Nick but had put herself in a position of defense instead of offense.
Mary Jane shoved the gun harder against Nick's head as she peeped out behind him and sneered. "Ahh, Sara, what's wrong? Not sure how to protect poor Nicky this time. You did such a wonderful job when you were a kid. What's wrong now?"
"Mary Jane, don't, don't do this." Sara now began to plead with her. She was the cause of so much pain for Nick and she didn't want him to know.
Flash of understanding lit Mary Jane's eyes. "Oh, my, my, my Sara! He doesn't know does he? All this time you've spent with him and he doesn't know."
"Stop it. Please don't." Sara stepped forward but Mary Jane pulled Nick backward and let the gun sink into his temple even more. Sara let her eyes meet Nick's and saw the confusion apparent in them. He didn't understand and was trying to put the pieces together as Mary Jane continued.
"So, Nicky, ever wonder why you needed that last minute babysitter when you were nine? From what I understand, it wasn't too hard for her to worm her way into that situation. The Centre paid her handsomely for her work although she would have done it for free, she enjoyed it immensely." Mary Jane felt him tense underneath her hold and smiled at Sara as she continued. "It was just an experiment, Nicky. The Centre didn't think you were up to the standards they were looking for but your twin sister was." Nick suddenly swung his head to face Mary Jane, forgetting about the gun as he asked, "Twin?" Mary Jane pushed his head forward with the gun again, so he could get the answer from Sara. He stared at Sara and saw the involuntary confirmation in her eyes.
Catherine gasped as she recalled what Nick had told her about the babysitter. She held onto Warrick's arm as she heard Nick's most private secret revealed. 'Damn her, why can't she just shut up?' And then she realized what Mary Jane was insinuating. Her eyes darted from Sara to Nick and all of a sudden she could see the resemblance.
Mary Jane again laughed. "Controlling Sara was like trying to pull teeth from a fully awake lion. So, as an experiment on the bond between twins and maybe, just maybe, being able to control her, they chose to hurt you to see the effect it would have on her. Sara felt what you had, the fear, the shame, and the pain but she hid it so well. The Triumvirate pulled the plug on it after that first attempt even after Mr. Raines tried to convince them that she did feel it but was hiding it. They thought that if she had felt it, she would have responded to it in kind. She hid it well, to protect you from further harm but in the end, the guilt of it still haunts her today because no matter what she did, she was still the reason you were raped." She squealed with laughter as she drove the point home. Sara was starting to lose control and Mary Jane saw her victory in sight.
Warrick and Grissom, now standing side by side, both stared at Nick and thought about the pain he had been holding in all these years and now to have it laid out so publicly was going to slowly kill him. Grissom saw Catherine put her arm on Warrick's hand as Mary Jane spoke. Of all the people that Nick would have told, it would've been her and her actions gave him the confirmation all too well.
"Now, all I want is for her to be dead. Don't you Nicky? All she ever does is take, take, take and she never gives back." Mary Jane's tone of voice showed her demented side. Just as she was about to remove the gun from off of Nick and point it toward Sara, she heard a voice from behind her. "Mary Jane? What are you doing?" She turned around suddenly and saw Jarod; except it was the Jarod from her youth. Her voice quivered as she asked, "Jarod?" The sight of him took her breath away. He was just as she remembered. He walked toward her a couple of feet then stopped. When she moved to help close the distance between them, her hold on Nick lessened enough for him to drop to his knees and finally, Sara was able to act on her adrenaline rush.
Mary Jane felt the emptiness around her and turned to see Sara leaping toward her. She squared herself and fired. The bullet caught Sara in the shoulder but her momentum continued as she slammed into her target. Mary Jane hit the wall then they fell to the floor and the gun went clattering along the floor again to be caught up by Joshua. Mary Jane sat on top of Sara and pushed a thumb into her now profusely bleeding wound. Sara bucked her off then stood and swung with her good arm, meeting Mary Jane's face with a crunching sound. Mary Jane reeled backward straight into the waiting arms of Greg who had hidden in the adjacent alcove when Joshua had appeared on the scene. He nearly lost his grip on her as she tried to lunge forward again toward Sara, but Matt and Jackson rushed over and helped him with her. Sara stood up as she held her arm to her side.
Jarod and Joshua both walked over to Mary Jane and stood in front of her. She took in the sight of the two Jarod's and her eyes grew large as realization dawned on her. 'A clone.' Jarod looked her over then said in almost a whisper, "I still don't remember you." Mary Jane's face formed into an expression of pain then of defeat as Matt, Jackson and Greg hauled her off to another location.
Jarod turned around to face Sara and saw that she was now standing. He reached out and cupped her face with his hand and stared into her eyes. "Are you alright?"
Sara smiled and nodded. "I just need to have Dr. Linn look at this." Sara quickly looked around and spotted Nick leaning against the glass. She walked past Grissom, Catherine and Warrick to slowly make her way to where Nick stood. He brought his head up and looked into her eyes. He shook his head as if to say, 'I don't want to talk right now.' Sara nodded in understanding then backed up, turned and walked down into the Arena to have Dr. Linn look at her shoulder. Nick pushed himself off the glass and walked determinedly to the elevator. It opened immediately and he left without a word to anyone.
"Do you think it's true, what Mary Jane said about Nick and Sara?" Warrick said as he watched the elevator doors shut.
Catherine stared at the doors also, she nodded then said, "Yeah I do, at least the part about the babysitter. As far as the relationship between Nick and Sara? I don't know."
"It's true." Grissom stood behind them and recalled what Nick had tried to tell him when he watched Sara's DSA's. "They're twins. Nick remembered seeing her as a little girl but didn't know who she was. He does now."
