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Discovering The Waterfront
-Chapter 10-
Honesty and Apology
The C.I.A. safehouse looked sweet and innocent to anyone who gazed upon it while walking down the street but if you knew where to look inside the house you would find countless weaponry including guns and knives. Isabelle looked at the outside of the house before they entered and wondered 'How safe could it really be?'
"That doesn't look so safe to me." Isabelle said quietly to herself.
Once inside the house Isabelle wandered throughout the rooms, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Aside from the fact that her mother and her newfound father were now sitting at a table with several computers and a few guns lying about, everything was quite normal.
Mark's gunshot wound had been tended to and was wrapped with gauze to stop the bleeding. He was handcuffed to a chair and was sitting in both Sydney and Vaughn's line of eyesight. Rachel, Tom and Jack had gone back to APO once Sydney contacted them and informed them of her new plan. They had yet to learn that Vaughn was in fact alive and that Sydney had recieved assistance from both her mother and Sark, two former enemies.
Isabelle took a shower to clean off all the grime that had accumulated over the past three days. That was it, three days, what felt like a year was only the weekend with memorial day off.
Isabelle changed her clothes and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She walked down the stairs of the safehouse and peered over her mother's shoulder at the computer screen. Sydney was frustrated with a password that she couldn't figure out, she was trying to get into restricted files that were obviously Lauren's.
"Can I see something?" Isabelle asked not really waiting for an answer even though she heard her mother's reply.
"Sure, but I don't really think you can do..." Sydney stopped talking as she saw Isabelle take the seat she herselfhad occupied only moments before.
Isabelle looked at the screen and thought for a moment, she typed in a few things and then continued to type. She looked like she was repeating a pattern or at least trying to find something in the pattern.
She stopped typing for a second and Sydney thought she was giving up.
"It's a difficult system." Sydney sounded like she was trying to console a small child who lost their soccer game.
Isabelle shut her eyes for a second and thought. She opened them quickly and began to slowly press a system of buttons. After a few seconds Isabelle stood up from her chair and walked away. Sydney looked at the screen that she had stopped looking at for a few minutes to see several files waiting to be opened.
Isabelle opened the refrigerator and took out a water bottle. She opened it and took a sip, only to be greeted by footsteps walking into the kitchen.
"How did you do that?" Sydney asked as she walked into the kitchen behind Isabelle.
"I read." Isabelle spat out sounding sarcastic even though she hadn't meant to.
"I know you're mad at me and I don't blame you but please, where did you learn to do that?" Sydney pleaded.
"Six years ago, when I got the computer in my room I was writing a report and I had to do some internet research,and I guess I typed something wrong because I ended up at this website all about hacking. Rather than fix the mispelling and finish the report I left it, finished the report using a new windowand went back to the site after I was finished with the report." Isabelle told her mother.
"That explains where you got the idea not how you learned everything." Sydney said anticipating the rest of the story.
"Alright, I ordered the books the website mentioned and I memorized everything. The books only help for things like hacking into someone else's computer and using their web service. It wasn't really anything important so I did a little research on the subject and really got into the hackers world or whatever. You worked a lot, I needed something to occupy my time and when summer rolled around I figured out a way to get into security cameras quicker and safer than how you're supposed to do it." Isabelle took a large drink of water trying to cover up the silence that had covered the room.
"You spent your entire summer when you were ten trying to figure out how to bypass security cameras from your bedroom?" Sydney asked incredulously.
"You were gone at weird times and I guess I just needed something that would help me not notice the fact that I was by myself most of the time." Isabelle told her mother honestly, looking down at the tiled floor feeling a small amount of shame for not telling her mother sooner.
"I'm sorry, I probably should have told you but I thought you would think it was stupid or something." Isabelle tried to apologize for something that she didn't have to say sorry for.
"No, it was your own thing, I understand that. I'm sorry for not being around but it's this job, I tried to quit once but then I realized the bad guys would just keep on coming so I stayed." Sydney confessed.
"It's ok. It's your own thing." Isabelle returned the understanding that her mother had shown her.
Sydney looked at her daughter and finally saw herself in the teen. She had always noticed how much Isabelle was exactly like Vaughn and had never really seen herself in her daughter, but at this moment in time, she finally did.
"Isabelle, I could really use your help now. I mean if you want to?" Sydney didn't want her daughter to be upset, God knows she had been through enough upsets to last her a few years.
"Sure." Isabelle hesitated before answering. She wanted to help but she also didn't want to be involved in the spy stuff, at least not any more than she was already involved.
"Great." Sydney looked genuinely proud and happy.
Isabelle sat down in the same seat she had sat in only moments before and began to open the files and sift through them as her mother directed. Isabelle opened another folder when she looked over at Mark who in turn stared at her with a pleading look. He looked away as Isabelle stared at him with piercing eyes and she too turned away to look at the computer.
Vaughn was the only one to notice the slight interaction between the two as he was in the room with Mark. He only saw Mark's look and hadn't turned to see Isabelle's but he knew who Mark was staring at.
After about an hour, Vaughn had switched with Sydney and he was now sitting next to Isabelle watching the computer screen while Sydney paid attention to the prisoner, Mark.
"Wait a minute..." Isabelle trailed off as she looked at the computer screen, her brow creased in thought.
"What is it?" Vaughn finally spoke for the first time since Rome.
"That's not right." Isabelle didn't answer Vaughn's question and was talking to herself slowly becoming less aware that there was someone else in the same room.
"Isabelle what is it?" Vaughn asked noticing how Isabelle's reaction went from confusion to fright in less time than it took to ask the question.
"Oh my God." Isabelle said quietly as she stood from her chair quickly.
"What happened?" Vaughn asked as he watched Isabelle turn off the computer losing everything she was looking at. She unplugged the computer and removed the cable to the hard drive.
"There was an anomoly in the program." Isabelle stated flatly not really sure how to explain what she found.
"That's it, an anomoly." Vaughn stated in the same tone of voice.
"There was a bug in the program, it wasn't anything I've seen before. This bug it didn't just copy everything I decoded but it..." Isabelle couldn't bring herself to give the devastating news.
"What?" Vaughn asked wondering what could be so horrible.
"It gave the location of the user...my location...this place." Isabelle whispered her frightened statement.
Vaughn rushed into the room where Sydney sat with Mark who looked discouraged and somewhat disappointed.
"We need to go." Vaughn stated urgently.
"Why? Vaughn talk to me, what's wrong?" Sydney asked wondering what was happening.
Isabelle ran into the room a few seconds later.
"Too late." Isabelle said quietly sitting on the floor her back to the wall.
A few seconds after her previous statement, cars could be heard pulling around the house, the next moment a bullet crashed through the window.
"We need to run." Isabelle sounded calm but her heart woud tell a different story, her heart was pounding in her throat and if her hands weren't on her knees they would have been shaking.
"There's a tunnel out through the basement door, it leads into another safehouse that's about four miles from here." Vaughn said as he pulled guns from compartments in the house that Isabelle had no clue existed.
"What about Mark?" Isabelle asked as she was ushered towards the basement door by her mother.
"Yeah what about me!" Mark shouted fearing the loss of his own life.
"Isabelle, I can't let him go." Sydney told Isabelle feeling a sense of worry about the growing threat.
"I'll watch him." Isabelle said determined not to leave Mark behind.
"He could have killed you before." Sydney protested.
"But he didn't.Don't persecute himjust because he'sLauren's son and he had to do what he was told." Isabelle pleaded striking a chord within Sydney.
"Fine, but the cuffs stay on and you keep this with you." Sydney handed Isabelle a 9mm.
"Deal." Isabelle took the gun and the keys to the handcuffs, which she put in her pant's pocket after releasing Mark and allowing him to put his hands in front of him before handcuffing him once again.
Isabelle and Mark ran down the stairs of the basement and down the extended tunnel that was hidden behind a door that looked like a closet.
You should have ran for days
You embrace, you betray
I am sad to say, you're a sad cliche
But when you ran you tripped and fell
On a path that led you straight to hell
This is the salt in your wounds
This is why I told you so
Mark ran quickly beside Isabelle, she was used to the running now. Having been doing so for the past three days. Mark was used to running but not like this, not out of fear, he was used to doing the chasing, even running out of fun sometimes, but he wasn't used to running out of fear. He felt like the mouse being chased by the cunning and torturous cat, it was a feeling he wasn't looking forward to ever feeling again.
Isabelle could feel the fear, it was what made her run as fast as she did. The present fear was what made her strong in situations like these, sure she was running out of fear to save her life but she could just as easily turn around and fire the weapon in her right hand at the chaser. She wouldn't though, because as strong as she was, she was also weak and didn't want to put herself in a life or death situation that would be worse than the one she was in now. She chose life and by making that choice she had to run, it was her consequence to the choice she made.
If you knew, what I know
Would you move, like you do
With malicious discontent you went about
Hellbent to destroy but did you have a reason why?
Sydney and Vaughn watched from the upper windows at the cars that surrounded the house. Only one shot had been fired throughout the entire situation and Sydney and Vaughn were prepared for more bullets to come crashing through the windows.
They watched as the man himself, Sloane exited one car and in one motion made all his croanies lower their weapons. Sydney looked shocked at the Rambaldi fanatic's sudden appearance. Vaughn looked at the man with pure hate in his eyes and felt nothing short of the same.
Here's to lowering caskets of old friends,
Choice and consequence, we'll birth a new day
With the death of an old and start over, start over
Here's to burying hatchets in those who,
You never call your friends, we'll birth a new day
With the death of an old and start over, start over
The runners stopped in the middle of the tunnel both out of breath from the extortion of energy. Isabelle sank to the floor looking at her sneakers and breathing deeply. Mark sat on the opposite wall and looked at his own shoes.
"How's your arm?" Isabelle asked through pained breaths.
"It's alright. Hurts like hell but I'll live." Mark breathed out.
"We've got to keep moving." Mark said standing once again and awkwardly helping Isabelle to her feet with his handcuffed hands.
"Let's go." Isabelle whispered her voice cracking from the labored breaths she was taking as she ran.
Can you breathe in, reach in and let it out
The evil inside, that's eating you out, tonight
With every venomous move, I will suck you up and spit you
Get out of my life, get out of my sight
Sydney's eyes narrowed as Sloane walked casually to the door and knocked like a neighbor coming to visit. Vaughn opened the window and looked down at the old man.
"Mr. Vaughn I didn't know you were alive. Care to let me in, I have to talk with you and Sydney." Sloane said already knowing Sydney would be in the house as well.
Here's to lowering caskets of old friends,
Choice and consequence, we'll birth a new day
With the death of an old and start over, start over
Here's to burying hatchets in those who,
You never call your friends, we'll birth a new day
With the death of an old and start over, start over
Vaughn took a hand gun from underneath the bed and hid it in the back of his pants, covering the handle with his shirt.
Sydney followed Vaughn down the stairs as he let the enemy inside the house.
You let yourself get carried away
Don't act like your ashamed
You let yourself get carried away
Bow your head now accept the blame
You let yourself get carried away
Bury this with you a waste
Isabelle and Mark continued to run, four miles may not sound like a lot but it was a lot and running the four miles wasn't helping the already tired teenagers.
Isabelle could barely feel her legs anymore as she kept on running. She thought that in a moment her heart would stop and she would die in the lonely tunnel right then and there. Mark felt the same only he knew that even if he made it outof the tunnel alive, he was still a prisoner and the cold steel on his wrists was there to prove the fact.
And now it's time to see, what you don't mean to me
Now it's time to see what you don't mean to me
Now it's time to see what you don't mean to me
Sloane sat comfortable on the same couch Sydney had been sitting on minutes before when she was watching Mark and making sure he wouldn't get away.
"You have Marcus Reed prisoner?" Sloane asked already knowing the answer. He was the one in league with Lauren, using her to get Isabelle for something.
Here's to lowering caskets of old friends,
Choice and consequence, we'll birth a new day
With the death of an old and start over, start over
Here's to burying hatchets in those who,
You never call your friends, we'll birth a new day
With the death of an old and...
"What do you want?" Vaughn asked sounding official.
"I want to talk about your daughter and Lauren and Sark's son." Sloane said smiling, knowing something that neither families knew or could even dream of.
There's that chapter, hope you liked it. Remember to leave a review. I love adding twists!
Shameful - Atreyu - A Death-Grip On Yesterday