From his office Jerry watched, staring down at the small settlement that had just begun to form around WOOHP Headquarters. WOOHP Officers combed through it and the surrounding area, but they had yet to find any sign of Sam, Alex, and Clover after their escape that morning. He wasn't really surprised, he wasn't lying those times he said they were the best WOOHP had to offer. If they didn't want to be found, there was very little chance of anyone less than a rival WOOHP team tracking them down. That was why he'd already ordered Pam, Alice, and Crimson back to Headquarters, but it would still be a while before they could arrive.
"You wanted to see us sir." A girl's voice said from behind him. Jerry turned to look back at Yuki and Megan, both of whom looked tired and in pain, but they still put on their best salutes.
"Yes." Jerry replied. "I would like to question you about what happened when you confronted Samantha."
"We already filed a report, sir." Yuki said.
"Yes, I read it. I would just like your personal statements on the matter." Jerry replied.
"Yes sir." Yuki said.
"Did Samantha say anything while you had her cornered?" Jerry asked.
"She said you were responsible for everything that happened over the last week... that everything we were told about it was a lie." Yuki responded dutifully. Jerry studied her face, trying to get a feel on what she thought of that information. But her face was a carefully emotionless mask. So was Megan's, but hers was always that way, so that didn't tell him much.
"What do you think about that?" Jerry asked.
"Honestly sir?" Yuki asked. Jerry nodded. "I'm wondering whether or not it's true. Brittany always spoke highly of that WOOHP team... it boggles my mind that they would just turn on WOOHP for no reason."
"Is it worth absolute chaos if it was true?" Jerry asked. Yuki just stared at him, obviously struggling with the question, just as Sam had. He knew better than anyone how hard those kinds choices were to make. As WOOHP director, he'd been forced again and again to make choices that most people would never dream of making. And this one was the hardest of them all.
"No sir... I guess not." Yuki replied.
"Good." Jerry nodded slightly. "I would like you to join Pam, Alice and Crimson when they arrive. They're one of my best teams, but they're past their prime and Sam, Alex, and Clover are the best WOOHP has to offer. Assist them in any way you can once they arrive. And take the opportunity to learn something from them while you're at it. They've been agents longer than any other currently active team."
"Understood." Yuki and Megan replied in unison. Behind them a WOOHP officer walked in, with one hand on his earpiece.
"Sir, three women here to see you. They seem pretty distressed, they're demanding to speak to you now." He said. Jerry knew instantly who it was.
"Of course. Yuki, Megan, you have your orders. You can go." The girls nodded and turned to leave. Jerry waited until they were gone before speaking to the officer. "Show them in." Jerry stood with his hands in his pockets. He was caught off-guard when Sam's mother charged into the room like a rabid pit-bull, rushing him and grabbing his collar.
"Where did my Samantha go?" She demanded quickly. "I've heard such awful things... where is she?"
"Your daughter is fine, to our knowledge." Jerry put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her gently away from him. "Now please, calm down." Gabriella looked more ready to rip his head off and interrogate it, but somehow she managed to restrain herself and move away from him. Stella and Carmen walked up beside her, giving Jerry frightened, worried looks.
"Where are our daughters, Jerry?" Carmen asked. "This is all still so new, and then our girls just disappear."
"And they're saying they broke out of the building in a firefight." Stella added angrily. "Why would you open fire on our girls?"
"Please, calm down." Jerry told them.
"Calm down? Our daughters just ran out of your building in a hail of bullets!" Gabby shouted. "Don't you tell me to calm down! I demand to know what's going on this instant!" Her face turned red with barely contained rage. Honestly, Jerry couldn't think of a thing to tell them. He could have them locked up... but he wasn't a monster. He had to diffuse this situation without harming the women. They were just worried about their daughters after all. He couldn't possibly blame them for that.
"I assure you we're doing everything we can to find your daughters." Jerry told them. "I had no intention of harming them, the gunfire was a miscommunication that I assure you will not happen again."
"A miscommunication?" Gabby asked, dumbfounded. "What kind of shoddy place is this where a miscommunication gets you shot at?"
"Yeah!" Carmen and Stella agreed emphatically.
"Please ladies, calm down." Jerry insisted. "I promise you, I'm doing everything I can to rectify the situation. But we cannot find your daughters at the present time. As soon as we do I shall contact you." The three mothers continued to glare at him angrily. "I know how you feel... sometimes I think of the girls as my own daughters. But fighting each other won't help anybody."
"If my Samantha gets hurt because your little soldiers scared her away, I won't rest until I see you brought to justice!" Gabby exclaimed.
"I won't let that happen, believe me." Jerry said. "Now if you ladies will excuse me, I still have many matters to attend to. The world is not going to heal itself." The mothers exchanged a glance and turned to leave.
"We'll be watching you." Carmen waggled one finger at him before turning to join her friends on their way out the door. Jerry sighed and walked to the desk, plopping down in his chair and putting one hand to his hairless head. He heard the camera behind his desk whir as it turned to focus on him. GLADIS always was curious about the things he did when he was alone.
"Do you feel ill Jerry?" GLADIS asked.
"In a manner of speaking." Jerry replied.
"Should I summon a physician?"
"It's not that kind of illness, GLADIS." Jerry replied softly.
"I do not understand."
"That's not surprising." Jerry shrugged. "It's a feeling... a feeling of guilt. I drove the girls to leave... I could have simply lied to Sam, told her she was wrong about me, and let it stand at that. Why couldn't I?" He sighed. "I just couldn't lie to her... not to her. She's like the daughter I never had... and can never have."
"There are medications and procedures to allow you to procreate if you so desire, even at your advanced age." GLADIS said helpfully.
Jerry chuckled. "That's not why I won't have a child... it's because of my life. But never mind, it's unimportant really." Jerry pushed himself up from his chair. "Has there been any sign of our spies reported yet?"
"Negative." GLADIS told him. "Communications have been..." GLADIS paused for a moment before continuing down another train of thought. Jerry knew she was a machine and could do that, but it still unnerved him sometimes. "Arnold Jackson is approaching your office Jerry. Shall I lock the door?"
"No, I might as well get through all of these meetings all at once." Jerry sighed and turned his chair toward the door. In a few moments it slid open and Arnold ran in, looking flushed and worried. Jerry sat calm and silent while the boy charged up to his desk and slapped his palms down on it in a vain attempt to seem tough. The hard steel hurt his palms though, so he jerked them up again and shook them out as he spoke.
"Jerry, I heard something happened with Sam! Where is she?" He demanded breathlessly. The boy was incredibly smart, one of the brightest of his age Jerry had ever seen. But he knew next to nothing about the real world, and even less about how to handle physical exertions. But it was obvious that he fancied Samantha, she was all he talked about.
That made this even harder for Jerry. "She felt she had to leave... we don't know why." Jerry lied gently. "She's fine, you don't need to worry. And we're looking for her as we speak."
"They said she was shot at..." Arnold complained.
"A mistake, I assure you." Jerry told him. "Now please, go calm yourself down. I'll contact you when we find her."
"But... but..." Arnold sputtered, but Jerry's expression must have warned him away from pressing the issue any further. He turned to leave with his shoulders slumped. Jerry might have worried, but suddenly he fell back into his chair, exhausted by the burden of the world coupled with a severe lack of sleep and nourishment overt he last few days.
"Rest, Jerry. I shall watch over you." GLADIS told him. Her voice was its usual monotone, but for some reason Jerry could've sworn he heard softness in it.
"I can't rest GLADIS..." Jerry complained, though he couldn't have moved if he tried. It seemed strange... in fact, he could swear the air was beginning to grow thinner in the airtight office. His eyes grew heavy, closing of their own accord as he slid down into the chair. He opened his mouth to speak, but the lack of oxygen and his own exhaustion quickly did him in.
"Sweet dreams, Jerry." GLADIS told him as the aged WOOHP agent fell into a deep slumber. He had no idea how long he was out, he didn't even dream. It felt like a mere blink before he was startled back to consciousness by one of his officers rushing into the room. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, trying to focus on the job at hand.
"Sir, our undercover agents are reporting strange rumors spreading through the settlements." He said.
"Which ones? What kind of rumors?" Jerry asked.
"All of them sir. And they're saying that there's a rebellion against WOOHP being formed as we speak." He said. A quick glance at his watch told Jerry only five hours had passed. He had to commend his spies, they were extremely effective when they set their mind to something. He wasn't sure even he could have started this in such a short period of time. "There have been three attacks against uniformed WOOHP personnel already."
Jerry pursed his lips, then turned and walked to the wall, where GLADIS dutifully opened the window to let him look down at the settlement. It was after midnight here, but he could still see lights on in a few of the tents. People plotting this rebellion... one of those lights might be shining on Sam, Clover and Alex for all he knew. He might be able to keep control, he had agents in every settlement... but was he willing to really become a dictator?
"Your orders sir?" the officer asked from the door.
"Withdraw all WOOHP personnel before the conflicts escalate too far, and-" Jerry was cut off when another man ran in.
"Sir, we've received reports of war breaking out in Japan. There are mass riots, and many WOOHP agents and officers are unaccounted for." He said quickly. "They're being swamped."
"Withdraw all WOOHP personnel immediately." Jerry ordered. "We have to minimize casualties to both sides. Enough people have died lately, we don't need war to add even more to their numbers."
"Yes sir." Both officers gave him a swift salute and turned to leave the office, leaving Jerry to look out the window again. He could see the settlement beginning to bustle with activity. This was well organized, in such a short time. It didn't seem possible... but he couldn't deny what his gut was telling him.
"I hope you're happy Samantha." Jerry said under his breath. "The truth is known... and peace is crumbling." He sighed deeply and shook his head. All of those lives, all lost for naught if the world once again turns to war. WOOHP against the rest of the world... they could hold their own, but he didn't want to fight, especially on a global scale...
But then, that might be the only way to make sure the world stayed united. Pull back now and stay huddled in WOOHP headquarters, and the citizens might grow suspicious of one another... suspicions that would inevitably turn to accusations, and from there to conflicts and wars. This fragile peace would crumble if Jerry did nothing...
"Jerry. Pam, Alice, and Crimson have arrived. They are standing by on the landing pad." GLADIS informed him.
"I'm on my way. Inform Yuki and Megan to meet me up there." Jerry turned to walk toward the door.
"Affirmative." GLADIS said as Jerry left the relative sanctuary of his office and made his way up through WOOHP headquarters toward the roof. Pam, Alice and Crimson were some of his best spies from years ago, but they'd been out of action for a long time after being captured by a maniacal villain named Edison. They only escaped with Sam, Alex and Clover's help, and hadn't wanted to rejoin WOOHP until they realized how serious the current situation was.
After a short elevator ride, he emerged on the roof and walked toward the landing pad, where he could see the three older spies standing around chatting with one another while they waited. They fell silent and turned toward him as he approached.
"We're here Jerry, what have you got for us?" Pam asked.
"A vital mission." Jerry told them. "You remember Sam, Alex, and Clover I presume."
"Kinda hard to forget them. We owe them our freedom." Pam replied.
"They've turned rogue." Jerry said. This drew a small gasp from the three women, but Jerry pressed onward before they could question him. "I need you girls to find them and bring them back to WOOHP headquarters by any means necessary." It was far too late to keep them from spreading the truth... but he knew them. They would go farther if they could and lead the rebellion themselves. Without that leadership though, peace would be much easier to maintain.
"Can you give us a reason for this?" Pam asked.
"I'm afraid we don't know. But this mission is top priority, I want it accomplished as quickly as possible."
"Understood." Pam nodded. Jerry looked over his shoulder when he heard a pair of footsteps walking up behind him. Yuki and Megan approached, standing on either side of him.
"Oh yes. These are Yuki and Megan, two of our newer WOOHP agents. I would like you to take them with you to assist you in any way you need." Jerry said. "They're still quite new, but they're also very capable agents. I have every confidence in their abilities to help you capture Sam Alex and Clover."
"Thanks Jerry, we won't let you down." Pam said. Alice and Crimson nodded as well from behind her.
"I know you won't." Jerry nodded back. "Good luck, spies." Pam turned toward Yuki and Megan.
"Come on you two, we're moving out. The sooner we start, the better." Pam said. Yuki and Megan moved past Jerry to join the three older spies as they turned to board their Helijet again. Jerry watched the jet's door close as the engines slowly turned downward for vertical takeoff. They were his second best WOOHP team, he wasn't too worried about them.
Jerry turned back to one of his ever-present WOOHP officers. "Forget my previous withdraw order... tell our agents to maintain the peace through any means necessary."
"Sir?" The officer asked in surprise.
"If we pull out, it will only give them time to become more organized into sects. We'll be completely helpless to stop the inevitable power struggles and conflicts. But if we keep control now, we can keep those conflicts from ever happening." Jerry said. "At the very least, we would give them a common enemy. We may be able to salvage peace yet if we move carefully, even if we have to turn ourselves into the bad guy for now."
"Understood sir." The officer turned to rush into the building to deliver his order. Jerry didn't like this, not one bit. But if he had to turn himself into the enemy of the world to make them maintain the fragile peace between themselves, he would do it. He would do anything to see his dream of a peaceful world come to pass.
TO BE CONTINUED
