Angrily, I made my way out to my car. On the way home, I decided that not only would I take tomorrow off- it would actually prove beneficial. I could get Weiss to do some more checking in the CIA records, while I did some research myself. I would go see my mother again on Monday.
I drove quickly, the radio turned down to near silence as I thought about the situation. Kendall and I hadn't exactly gotten along, but I never thought he would allow something like this to go on. I couldn't think of a way to fix things. I had to get them back, but I just didn't know how.
Little did I know, things were only going to get worse.
When I got home that night, Will was sitting on the couch, absently watching some stupid reality show. I dropped down next to him and let my crutches fall to the floor, glad I would be rid of them at the end of the week.
"Where's Francie?" I asked. Will shrugged.
"She just left about 20 minutes ago. If I didn't know better, I might start to think she's some kind of secret agent too," he said with a small smile. I laughed lightly, trying to hide how much that suggestion, no matter how outlandish, really did bother me. Will sighed, so lightly it was almost inaudible. But I caught it.
"Will, did you guys have a fight?" He frowned and turned off the TV before facing me.
"Yeah, we did. It was… really weird."
"How so?"
"I offered to help her make dinner, and she accepted. I handed her the wrong spice, and she got kind of annoyed. I apologized and told her that she'd been acting kind of different lately. She gave me this weird look, and said that she thought I was being weird. And then, she just left."
"That doesn't sound like Francie."
"You're telling me! And that was the watered down version." I grimaced.
"Ooh. Well… maybe something's going on, and she just needs some time to herself." He shrugged at the suggestion.
"Yeah, maybe. Hey, how was your day? You didn't seem too happy when you came in." I shrugged and gave him the watered down version of my own story. He looked absolutely shocked.
"Wow. I can't believe it. Vaughn, and your dad… and the thing with your mom… Syd, I'm so sorry." I waved him off.
"Thanks Will." Just then, the door opened, causing us both to jump. Francie walked in and smiled.
"Will, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. It's just been kind of a stressful day. I'm going to bed now, ok guys?" We both nodded, and she smiled again.
"Night Syd. Night Will." She disappeared quickly down the hall. Will looked reassured by her words; a few moments later, he went to bed as well.
The next day was a blur, until the very end. I spent the day at the library, at my dad's apartment, Dixon's house, anywhere else I could think of that might help me find them. I found nothing, but Weiss kept looking through CIA records. He found a few small things of interest, but nothing that was all too helpful.
As I left my father's place, I wondered if I should call home. It was only 4 PM; Francie and Will didn't know that I wasn't going to work that day, and they wouldn't expect me home so early. Basically, I just didn't want to 'interrupt' anything. Unfortunately, my cell wasn't getting good reception, and I couldn't get through.
That could have made all the difference, in the way that day ended, in the way my life has turned out… but who knows?
I opened the door to hear something strange: silence. I quietly set my things down and walked in. The TV wasn't on, the kitchen was empty. Something bad had to be going on. I was afraid that Sloane may have decided to take some more revenge by getting to Will and Francie. I was wrong; it was a hundred times worse.
At the sound of a gunshot, I ran to Francie's room. Throwing the door open, I was suddenly sick to my stomach. Will lay sprawled across the bed, a single bullet lodged in his forehead. His executioner stood not 2 feet away from his body, staring at me.
"Francie?" I gasped. She smiled at me, a cold, cruel, heartless smile. That's when I knew.
"Who the hell are you? Where's Francie?"
"You're not as smart as Sloane thought. It's been a month now, and you never realized that Francie was dead, replaced by someone else." That almost knocked me to the ground. I clutched the door frame, steadying myself.
"But how…" then I remembered. Project Helix. It had been used twice, but there were no records of who. I shut my eyes, but quickly opened them again as I recalled that the impostor had a gun. I briefly wondered why she hadn't shot me yet. She seemed to be enjoying tormenting me.
"But that's not the best part," she said with an icy smirk. She threw something at me, and I barely caught it. Pictures. Me and Vaughn, mostly. In our most private moments… she had seen everything. But near the end, there was one picture that was different. It was Vaughn and my father, chained to chairs. I could just make out Dixon in the background… on the floor. Somehow, I just knew he was dead. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some of Will's blood on the floor.
"Why did you show me these? Why not just kill me?" I whispered. The impostor sighed dramatically.
"You weren't supposed to be home so early- really, when you do such important work, you shouldn't play hookie. Sloane didn't want me to kill you, he wanted to torment you first, and do the job himself. I had intended to get rid of him, and leave those for you to find. You know, you haven't finished looking through them." I frowned and pulled out the last one. It was Francie- MY Francie- dead. Killed the same way as Will had been. That was the last straw. I gathered what little strength I had left and lunged. The impostor was obviously shocked as I tackled her to the ground and knocked the gun away.
We both scrambled up and reached for the gun at the same time. I elbowed her in the face, feeling almost satisfied as her nose cracked and started gushing, then pulled away with the gun. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger repeatedly, until every last bullet was lodged deep within the impostor's chest. She fell to the bed, next to Will, and I dropped the gun and collapsed to my knees. I knew it was an impostor, but I also knew I had been responsible for Francie's murder, and Will's as well. Looking at the bodies on the bed, and the blood spattered around the room, I burst into tears. Within the space of 3 days, Arvin Sloane had taken all the things I cared about most... except for my mother. I was going to hunt him down and make him pay.
