AN: I would like to thank everyone for their support of this story so far. Each review, fave/follow, and kudos (on AO3) means a lot to me, so thank you so much for sticking with me and my ridiculously long chapters.
Chapter Seven
Marc was the first to drop out of the WOOHP tunnel, entering Jerry's office by landing heavily upon the seat of the red sofa with a muffled noise of discomfort. He rubbed at his shoulder painfully for a moment, his teeth clenched tightly as the pinpricks of pain shot through his arm. However, he shook off the pain and managed to collect his bearings and briefly glanced around the office to look for Jerry before a sound above him forced him to look up in time to see Lee make an appearance. Marc barely had time to react by throwing himself out of the way so that his brother didn't land on top of him, but in doing so he had landed upon the floor right onto his injured arm.
Lee was beside him in a heartbeat. The older boy had seen the way his younger brother was holding his arm and immediately became concerned, but Marc would not allow him to look at the injury. He grimaced in pain when his left arm had been touched and had yelped when his brother had finally managed to grab hold of him and used his Eye-Tech to examine the injuries underneath his spy suit.
"Marc, I'm sorry… I'm sorry," said Lee hurriedly when he touched an area on Marc's arm that caused his brother to flinch and cry out. "However, we need to make sure that it isn't broken or…"
Marc pulled his arm out of Lee's grasp with a hiss of pain before the older spy had a chance to check just how bad the injury was, and rubbed painfully at his wrist and forearm while glaring up at Lee. When he noticed that his brother had refused to step away, he turned his body slightly to prevent Lee from being able to reach out to touch him again. He saw that his brother's concerned expression had deepened, but that the look of concern mingled with confusion before it disappeared into understanding, but Lee did not step away and remained close by just in case Marc needed him.
Now that the fight was over and Marc could think more clearly and was no longer running on sheer adrenaline in a fight for survival, the pain had finally come… or maybe, it had just returned with a vengeance since this was the arm that he had injured just a few days earlier. While it didn't feel like he had broken anything, he certainly felt as though he had exacerbated the injury during the fight. He felt unhappiness over his situation rise up into his chest, but pushed it away when he realised that he was being selfish and that he was only thinking about how this might prevent him from returning to WOOHP as an agent.
He knew that the final decision in terms of his return was Jerry's to make, and while his current circumstances might prevent him from working alongside his siblings, he knew that he was more than capable of working behind the scenes and away from the front lines. After all, he did have all the information regarding the mission waiting for him to look at on his computer back at home.
He forced his mind away from WOOHP for the moment and instead focused on the attack against him and his family… and against the spy agency that he worked for. Marc knew that this attack had been directed at him and that the villain had managed to pull away all the available agents… including his siblings… away from the house in order to get to him. He shuddered when he realised just how close he had been this time around. He had narrowly avoided being captured or killed in the attack.
Marc closed his eyes when the image of the manticore looming over his brother came to mind. He didn't allow himself to think about what could have happened had he not gotten there in time. The guilt that this bad guy was now targeting his siblings threatened to overwhelm him entirely, but he forced the thoughts away so that he could focus on the present. Lee wasn't dead… he was right there beside him.
Still, the image of Lee being hurt in the process of coming to save him refused to leave his mind, and he felt that guilt twist like a knife in his heart. He fought to get rid of the images that flashed before his eyes as though they were photographs taken during certain moments of the battle. Marc forced himself to take one shaky breath and then another as he attempted to calm down.
"Marc?" Lee's voice managed to break through his thoughts and forced him into the present. He noticed that his brother had taken a seat on the floor beside him with his legs outstretched and his back against the red sofa, but Lee didn't touch him, just sat beside him in silence to watch him closely before he spoke up again. "Are you okay? You know you can speak to me about anything, right?"
Marc swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat and nodded but didn't say anything, his mind still upon the attack and what could have happened had he not gotten away from the bad guy to find Lee. He didn't trust himself to speak and just sat there trembling as the reality finally sunk in. The attack had happened at his home… and not just at the house but inside the house where he should have been the safest.
Suddenly, the message from earlier sprang to mind as though it was yet another snapshot that had been taken. Your luck has finally run out. You will pay for what you've done. Prepare for hell. The message had obviously been sent by the bad guy, but how had he known that he had hacked his way into the WOOHP mainframe to get the files on the mission? To his knowledge, Jerry hadn't even noticed that he was there and since Lee hadn't mentioned anything to him, he knew that his presence on the video call had also gone undetected.
Marc bit his lip and considered his options. He knew that he should tell his brother about the message, but he didn't want to risk getting Lee angry with him. Especially at a moment where he was still processing what had happened. He knew that Lee would blame him for the attack against him if he knew the truth about him infiltrating into WOOHP's database to get the file… and would scold him for being careless and stupid. However, his brother deserved to know the truth. It was exactly what Megan had said earlier when he had overheard their conversation, the four of them had promised each other that there would be no secrets.
He peered anxiously up at his older brother, noticing the ugly black and purple bruise that had formed under his eye. However, now that he had a chance to look closely at Lee's injuries, he noticed that there were more that he had not seen when he had spoken to him over the MPCom. He assumed that Lee received the cut above his nose and the small slash on his right arm during the battle with the manticore, but the way that his brother favoured his left side was an indication that there were more injuries that could not be seen. He felt guilt rush through him again when he caught the look of concern that Lee threw his way.
Marc was undeserving of all that worry, especially considering that he was the direct cause for why Lee had gotten hurt in the first place. His brother was nursing his own injuries but was deeply concerned about him and his well being instead of focusing on himself- something that made Marc feel worse… especially since Lee's injuries looked a lot more serious than the ones he had obtained during his fight with the villain.
"You're injured." Marc managed to choke out, feeling the guilt rise sharply into his chest when he saw Lee's grimace of pain when he had moved too quickly. "Maybe we should call for somebody from the WOOHP medical team to have a look. That manticore had you…" he looked sharply away from his brother and closed his eyes at the memory of the manticore on top of him, its deadly black stinger posed to strike and its sharp teeth getting closer towards his throat.
He felt his brother's hand upon his uninjured arm and glanced up to see that Lee was giving him a small reassuring smile.
"Hey, let's not think about what could have happened, okay? I'm still here and I'm clearly okay. You saved me from that manticore and we managed to defeat it. Don't you remember, Marc?" Lee's voice was gentle but firm, and when Marc looked into his brother's face, he could see nothing but fierce pride that Lee had for him. However, Marc felt completely undeserving of the honour and chose to look down at his knees. "Besides, I am not worried about myself, Marc. My injuries will fade away and heal given time even though they will hurt until then. I am worried about you."
Marc continued staring at his knees that he had pulled close to his chest. He wished that he was somewhere else and not having this conversation, but he took a deep breath and allowed himself to listen to Lee. He felt hot tears spring to his eyes when he broke down the sentences and got their meaning, and he found that he couldn't speak. However, he refused to cry in front of Lee again. The first time he had lost control had been a moment of weakness, but Marc refused to be weak again and he knew that his brother wouldn't appreciate his tears this time. After all, he was twelve years old and should be strong enough to control his emotions.
Lee gave him space and didn't say anything, noticing the way that his brother appeared to be waging a war with himself, but continued to watch him closely. This time around, he refused to allow Marc to get trapped inside his own head again, and he made sure to let his brother know that he was not going anywhere. When the younger spy finally regained his composure and looked up again, Lee knew that he had at least won in that regard. He gave himself a mental note that he had to thank Megan for giving him tips to get Marc to open up to him and to prevent his mind from temporarily imprisoning him when he shut down.
"I… I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me, Lee… honestly."
Lee sighed at this and shook his head. "No, you're not fine, and that's okay. It's okay not to be fine, Marc. You've had to suffer through a lot just within the last few days. I am not just worried about you, I am absolutely scared for you."
Marc found that he did not know what to say to anything that Lee had said and chose to remain silent. There were no words that would make any of this better, and he knew that if he tried to argue that the worry and fear that his brother felt for him was misguided, that it would make things worse. He found that he could not look at Lee anymore, not now when he felt the concern that his brother was expressing for him… something that he still felt he did not deserve given the circumstances.
For a moment, the two boys sat together in silence, awkwardly looking at the other before they finally glanced around the room. Marc already knew that Jerry was not in the office. The chair that was usually occupied by their boss was empty and he was nowhere in sight. The room felt strangely empty without Jerry there, but Marc thought that was because his boss was always there waiting for them or was otherwise busy with working. As a matter of fact, if he didn't know any better, he would have said that Jerry actually lived at WOOHP.
He watched Lee get to his feet so that he could have a look around and allowed him to help him up. Marc frowned for a moment, his mind upon some thought before he turned to Lee who had approached Jerry's desk and was about to pull out his MPCom from his pocket. "You were there in the hot zone for a bit. Did you see Jerry there?"
Lee glanced briefly at him before he looked away, but not before Marc could see the perturbed expression on his face. He answered the question with a quick shake of his head. "No, but that doesn't mean he wasn't there. We both know how overprotective Jerry is of his agents. He's the type of person that would drop anything and would jump immediately into battle if it meant that he could save lives."
Marc stepped forward so that he was close to Lee, his eyes upon his older brother who had his back turned to him, his hands upon Jerry's desk and his head turned so that he appeared as though he was looking down at the floor. He noticed that Lee's shoulders were tense and knew that he was no longer there in Jerry's office… that he had gone back to the scene of battle and was lost to the sights and sounds that were there.
"Was it… was it really bad there, Lee?"
He heard Lee's sharp intake of breath and saw the way his brother had stiffened at the question. At first, he was worried that Lee was not going to answer him. Whether to hide the trauma he had endured or to protect Marc from it, he wasn't sure- but it took a few moments before Lee turned to face him with a haunted expression in his eyes that spoke more loudly than anything that could possibly be said.
Marc knew just by looking at his brother and observing his reactions that whatever Lee had witnessed on that battlefield that it had been bad and that it had changed him forever. While he didn't want to push Lee for answers out of fear that his brother would shut down in an attempt to protect his own mind from the reality of what happened, Marc needed to know.
"Lee, please tell me the truth."
It was the pleading note in his voice that was enough to make Lee crack. When he glanced at his younger brother, he could see the apprehension on his face… but there was something else, something that could not be defined. Was it pain or fear? It was difficult for Lee to discern the expression, but he also knew that deep down in Marc's core, that he felt a lot of guilt for what had happened and that he blamed himself for any agents that were killed or wounded in today's fight.
Lee turned slowly so that he was facing Marc and leaned against Jerry's desk and sighed. He massaged his temples while he thought carefully about what he should say. Lee knew that Marc's mental state was fragile right now and that it wouldn't take much for his brother to break, but he needed to tell the truth. Marc deserved to know this truth. However, he needed to make it clear to his brother that none of this was his fault. Suddenly, Lee wished that Megan was there with them. She always knew the correct words to say and how to say them. It was Megan who knew their brother better… After all, she was Marc's twin and as such was closer to him than Lee and Tony would ever be. She even had the uncanny ability to know what Marc was thinking and how to stop the bad thoughts that Marc had for himself.
When he next looked up, Marc was still watching him carefully. It was the sort of stare where Lee felt as though he was being scrutinised and studied. He knew that his younger brother was highly observant and could pick up on things that were being hidden from him. It was something that Lee found to be both remarkable and absolutely maddening at the same time.
"I am not going to lie to you, Marc." Lee met his brother's gaze and held onto it, trying to convey without words that Marc was entirely blameless for what happened, but the younger spy's face was expressionless and impossible to read, so Lee continued on. "It was really, really bad. By the time we got to the scene, multiple agents were down. The entire street looked like a war zone. We weren't sure who was alive and who wasn't. There was so much going on. So much screaming and crying and then there was the noises that the manticores were making, the sound of gadgets going off. A lot of bangs and pops that just added to the confusion."
Lee found that he could no longer look at him and glanced away to look at a spot above Marc's head instead. "I had no idea what to do. We had no gadgets and had to rely on our training and whatever gadgets we found near… Well, I couldn't tell you if they were alive or dead, but I grabbed the first gadget that I found on the ground near somebody. I was so focused on not being killed that I lost track of where Megan and Tony were."
Marc didn't say anything even when Lee stopped talking. He knew that his eldest brother was fighting a war internally with himself. The fight between protective older brother and his feelings of failure at having not protected them at all. He gave Lee time to collect himself and didn't push as he recognised that he had suffered through something traumatic.
Lee took in a few gulps of air and managed to control his breathing, but Marc noticed that the older spy's hands were shaking. "When I got your call, I had just managed to get away from one of the manticores. It seems that it got scared away by the alarm on my MPCom because when I looked around, it was gone. When I found out that you were under attack, I was terrified and I tried to get there as quickly as possible, but I… I was followed by… I couldn't get to you…"
Marc was beside his brother in a heartbeat and placed a hand upon his shoulder comfortingly. "Come on, Lee. You need to sit down. You've been through a lot."
He guided Lee back towards the red sofa and helped him to sit down making sure that it was okay to leave his side for a few moments so that he could rush off to the water dispenser to get a cold cup of water. When Marc returned to his brother, he saw that the haunted expression had returned to his eyes and knew that Lee had returned back to the battle. He gently pressed the cup into his brother's hand, but didn't release his hold of it until he felt Lee's fingers close upon the cup before he took a step back.
"Drink this. It should help," Marc ordered in a gentle voice, watching Lee closely as he took a long sip of the cool water. "Do you want me to call Megan and Tony? We spoke to Megan not too long ago, but we can ask for their whereabouts and see if Jerry is with them."
He stopped speaking when he realised that Lee was staring morosely into his cup. Marc took a seat beside him and considered his words carefully before he turned to face Lee with a serious expression on his face. "You didn't do anything wrong, Lee. You did what any rational person would do in those circumstances. You're not to blame for any of this…"
"You're not to blame for any of this, either."
Lee took great care to ensure that his voice was gentle, but he needed to make sure that Marc understood that none of this was his fault. He noticed that his younger brother had bowed his head, his face hidden by his hair so that he could not see what he was thinking, but he knew that Marc was overwhelmed and upset. He could tell by the way his brother's hands shook, the way he had fallen silent and was unable to speak, and the way he could not even bear to look at him.
He set the empty plastic cup down upon the floor and turned slightly so that he could face his brother. Marc's head was still bowed, his back bent so that his arms rested on his knees. It was difficult to discern what his thoughts were as his face was still hidden from view, but from the tenseness of his shoulders and the stiff way he sat, Lee knew that his brother was listening to him.
"You're not to blame for any of this," Lee repeated firmly. "You're not to blame for this creep hurting you and you're most certainly not to blame for what happened today. You're a victim, Marc. You've done absolutely nothing wrong and you do not deserve what has been happening to you."
Marc finally broke his silence and glanced up at him, his face exhausted and pale and his hazel eyes dark with a pain that could never be expressed in words. Lee felt his heart shatter at the sight. He suddenly felt white sizzling hatred burn through him for the villain who was causing his brother so much hurt.
"I… Lee, obviously I did something to deserve this. Why else would this be happening to me? I just can't figure out what I did…"
"You didn't do anything!" Lee spat out angrily, slamming his hand upon the arm of the sofa with a loud thud that caused Marc to flinch away from him, his eyes wide and terrified. Mortified that he had lost his temper and scared his brother, Lee softened his tone and placed a comforting arm around Marc's shoulders and pulled him close. "None of this is your fault, Marc. I know that it's hard to believe given what has happened so far, but I am telling the truth. That brain of yours is lying to you if it's trying to convince you that you are even one percent to blame for any of this."
For a moment, the two brothers were silent with Marc processing what had been said to him and Lee holding onto him in an effort to show the younger boy that he was not alone in this. However, Marc was troubled by the chain of events that had happened within the last few days. He knew that his attacker was after him… knew that there was a lot of anger and hatred directed at him. He also knew that it would only be a matter of time before the villain got exactly what he wanted, and that was him.
Marc didn't dare say this last part out loud. He didn't even want to admit it to himself because it was a thought that absolutely terrified him, but the young agent knew from experience that unless the villain was caught, the attacks would not stop. No matter how many times this bad guy's attacks were thwarted… No matter how many times they managed to come out relatively unscathed, the outcome was going to be the same unless they figured out how to remain steps ahead of this baddie so that they could identify him and capture him before the unthinkable happened.
He shuddered at the thought of what would happen to him if this villain won and managed to capture him. Would he even be alive at the end of it all? He forced his mind away from this subject and focused instead on the present. Yet, he thought about the message that he had received earlier again. You will pay for what you have done. Marc closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fist, forcing himself to remain calm so that he could at least have some control over his situation.
Marc shifted his weight so that he broke free of Lee's grasp and turned to face him, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I must have done something, Lee. What else could be the reason? I've been going through everything that has happened in this mission… especially what has happened during the last few days. At first, when I discovered that I was the sole target, I thought that it was an act of sabotage against me. I've realised it's not… it's something more than that, Lee."
It was clear that Lee did not like where this conversation was going. His eyes had gone the colour of steel, a sure sign that he was upset, and his mouth worked furiously as his mind tried to make sense of where Marc was going with this. However, he allowed Marc to continue, noticing how the younger boy glanced away with a far away expression on his face and knew that he was deep in thought. Then suddenly, Marc turned his head and glanced at him fully, his hazel eyes full of a wisdom that made him seem far older than his twelve years.
"There's a lot of rage in these attacks despite the fact that they are planned out. When I was alone facing this attacker, I could feel a lot of his anger. There was so much of it that it almost felt like it was burning around me. I must have done something that caused this anger and hatred. These attacks have been out of revenge."
Lee mouthed the word revenge, his mind unable to comprehend anything that was just said to him. For a moment, he stared open-mouthed at Marc who gazed sombrely back at him. The thought that his little brother… somebody that he loved and cared for was being attacked because somebody was out for revenge was something that didn't sit well with Lee.
As agents, the Spiez had made their fair share of enemies… but that had come with the territory of being secret agents and was to be expected. Lee had done his best to protect his siblings from the worst of the villains- even jumping in to make himself the biggest threat so that his brothers and sister would not be at risk if the bad guy escaped from prison. However, since becoming a spy, Lee knew that he lost control the moment the mission started and despite his best efforts to protect his siblings from harm, he knew that some villains targeted Marc.
Yet, there was no way that Marc had done anything to deserve any of what was happening to him. Lee knew this but he allowed himself to think back on all their missions as he tried to piece together an elaborate puzzle because surely, the answer lay in the past, right? He thought of all the past villains that had some sort of axe to grind against Marc… which were surprisingly a few now that Lee had formed a small list of names. Once he made a mental note on who was who, he went through each name and considered them carefully. The Caveman, Davey Hacker, Sherry Alpha and Omega… Mel.
The Chaos Twins were in a place that was worse than any WOOHP prison cell and were incapable of leaving that place… at least, that's what Lee hoped since both Alpha and Omega were the most powerful villains the Spiez had to take on. If it wasn't for Marc doing whatever he did to save them all- well, Lee shuddered to think what would have happened to them if the evil twins hadn't been stopped.
The next villain that popped into Lee's mind was Sherry. According to Jerry who confided to him in secret about his evil sister, Sherry often claimed that she was going to escape to get her revenge against Marc. His younger brother adamantly refused to speak about what had been done to him when he was at Sherry's mercy, but Lee had an idea of the torture that Marc had to endure at her hands. However, he didn't think that Jerry's sister would have the brains to create this much of an elaborate scheme to get back at Marc… and besides, Sherry was safely locked away in a WOOHP prison somewhere. He had personally seen to it that he was regularly updated on the situation with that baddie, especially since she had voiced getting back at his little brother.
The more Lee thought about this, the more he knew that they weren't dealing with a past villain. Yet, if Marc was correct about his attacker being a WOOHP agent, then the Spiez found themselves at a blank drawing board with no clues as to who this bad guy was. However, Lee found himself asking who would be angry enough to go after a junior agent? It didn't make any sense to the redhead, but then again, he still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that somebody was after one of his siblings.
He considered Marc's suspicions carefully. There had been an incident not long after they had started at WOOHP, something that did involve another junior agent that had been working for another team, but he didn't think that anyone would have been angry in the aftermath of what happened in that. Besides, Marc had been cleared of any wrongdoing… No, Lee corrected himself, they all had been cleared following that investigation.
He threw a worried glance in Marc's direction and noticed that his younger brother's eyes were downcast and that he was biting his lip, his mind elsewhere for the time being. Lee put a reassuring hand upon his brother's shoulder and squeezed gently, keeping his hand there even when he felt Marc jump and saw him glance about him wildly. The younger boy only relaxed when he realised that it was his brother that had touched him and that it wasn't the villain that had attacked him earlier.
"There is absolutely nothing that you could have done, not now… not in the past… that makes any of this your fault," said Lee, his icy blue eyes fierce in their stare so that Marc could not look away. "You have done nothing wrong, Marc. I will keep repeating myself even long after we figure out who is responsible for this and it is revealed why this monster is after you."
Marc's eyes appeared pained but he did not look away. "Even if it is revealed that I did something bad? Would you still support me and… and want to be my brother if you were to learn that something I did put everyone at risk?"
Lee pulled his brother into a tight embrace and held him. "You'll always be my brother no matter what. There's nothing that will change this."
"Would you hate me, though?"
The question surprised Lee enough that he released his brother and stared at him in silence for a few seconds, trying without success to make sense of what Marc had asked him. The younger agent watched him carefully, taking in the way that Lee responded before he felt bad that he had even asked such a question in the first place. Finally, Lee shook his head as though to clear it and shifted his weight so that he got into a more comfortable position.
"No… No, Marc, I'd never hate you," answered Lee after what felt like an eternity. He wasn't sure what Marc was thinking, his face was expressionless, but the hurt and sadness in his brother's eyes spoke more volumes than anything that could be said. "I could never hate you. You're both my brother and one of my best friends, and I am very proud to have you as both. Even if the worst is revealed and we know why this creep is after you, nothing will change any of that. I'll stand by your side and fight for you no matter what."
Marc closed his eyes at the last part but quickly opened them to look at Lee once more. "But if I did something that put you, Megan, and Tony in harm's way…"
Lee shook his head and silenced him by holding up a hand. "There are no buts about this, Marc. Nothing will make me hate you." He hesitated, his eyes still upon his brother suddenly suspicious. "What's all this about anyway, Marc? Is there something that you need to tell me?"
Marc glanced away quickly, something that the older boy noticed immediately, but he didn't say anything. Lee wondered if he should press the issue because it was clear that something was bothering his brother, and it wasn't just the attack that he survived that afternoon. He noticed that Marc was suddenly closed off and knew that if he pushed, that he'd only make things worse. He made a mental note to get Megan involved later when they were safe at home but Lee had a suspicion as to why Marc was suddenly not speaking, and though he was disappointed, he couldn't exactly fault his brother for what he had done.
He was just about to say something when he was interrupted by the ringtone of his MPCom and hurriedly pulled it out of his pocket just as Marc answered his own. They could clearly see Jerry upon the screen- though he appeared harassed and distinctly ruffled. In the background, they could see their house and one of the WOOHP robots that was obviously repairing any damage that had been done during the fight.
"Hey Jer, what's up?" Lee asked as he took note of where their boss was. "Is everything okay? We can go to you…"
Jerry smiled at them through the screen, but the two boys noticed just how exhausted he was. "No, no, everything's fine here. I just wanted to call in to tell you that we removed the manticore from your front garden. Megan and Tony are going to join you at WOOHP and I'll be there soon. Also, Lee…"
Lee felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach when he recognised the reprimand in Jerry's voice before he exchanged a worried look with Marc who appeared perplexed before a horrified expression came over his face. Lee glanced back down at the screen and swallowed nervously. "Yeah, Jer?"
"Next time you are in a fight and need to be WOOHP-ed afterwards, make sure you take the villain's weapon that you've confiscated with you instead of leaving it in your front garden where anyone passing by can see it and pick it up."
As they waited for Jerry to return to WOOHP headquarters, Marc and Lee took the time to explore their boss' office in an attempt to ward off the boredom of waiting and to satisfy their curiosity. Despite having known Jerry for over a year, the Spiez found that he was a complete mystery and that they did not know much about their boss' life outside of what he had shared with them. It was rare that the young agents found themselves alone in Jerry's office and they jumped at the opportunity to go on a great adventure to snoop around and use their spy abilities to quench their thirst for knowledge.
During the next thirty minutes, the two boys spent their time going through closets and cupboards, but nothing they found allowed them to get to the bottom of solving the mystery of who Jerry was as a person. One cupboard revealed that the head of WOOHP had a love for tea as it was stockpiled with a wide variety of teas from around the world. Each canister and decorative tin was meticulously labelled and organised on the shelves. On the top shelf, they could see a few mugs and a beautiful teapot peeking out from behind a large bag of biscuits that came from Britain.
They could not find many personal effects in Jerry's office. In a drawer, shoved out of sight, Marc discovered a photograph of two boys who both looked a few years older than he was. The two boys had an arm around each other's shoulders and were smiling proudly at the camera as they each held an award for academic achievements. He frowned as he peered closely at one of the boys and realised with a start that it was Jerry. The other boy was nearly identical to Jerry but whereas their boss had hazel eyes, the boy in the photograph with him had brown eyes. Marc knew that he was looking at Jerry's twin brother Terrence.
Marc felt a sad fluttering in his heart when he saw how happy the two boys were. It was clear from the photograph that the brothers had been close. He understood that Jerry did not have a good relationship with his two surviving siblings. So far, the Spiez had only dealt with one of these siblings… a woman that Marc refused to name because she had hurt him. It was a trauma that he refused to speak of what had happened to him while he was at this woman's mercy, not even to Lee who knew that something had happened but didn't know all the details. However, the fact that Jerry had a twin brother that hated him enough that he had attempted to murder him was something that horrified him.
He thought of the relationship he had with his three siblings. Sure, they all had their days where they fought each other and argued with one another. They even had times where they would say terrible things to each other, but he could not imagine a life without his brothers and sister. He couldn't even imagine hating his siblings the way that Jerry's brother and sister seemed to hate him. Marc felt that Jerry led a lonely life and he wondered if there were days where his boss would sit alone in his office and wonder about the life he would have had if his siblings were there with him.
Marc carefully set the photograph back into the drawer and shut it before he threw a glance towards Lee. He noticed that his brother had found a drawer that contained plans and schematics for WOOHP gadgets that were in the process of being built. Lee took an interest in one specific gadget and was studying the schematic closely with a frown on his face.
"Do you think that you should be touching those?" Marc asked in a whisper as he peered over Lee's shoulder at the elaborate drawing in his brother's hands.
Lee didn't say anything for a few seconds and continued to look down at the schematic before he looked up at him with a troubled expression on his face. He handed the drawing to Marc and motioned for him to take a closer look at it. "Doesn't this look familiar to you, Marc?"
Curious at Lee's reaction, he glanced at the schematic in his hand before he looked up in surprise. "This is almost the exact gadget that the bad guy used in his attack today." His gaze went back to read the plans on the gadget's function and noticed the numbers and calculations in the margins. "This is just a bigger version of the weapon and it looks slightly different, but it's practically the same thing."
"The weapon used today was a handheld version, right?" Lee asked, his eyes on the paper. "Is there anything in there about a second gadget that is smaller and easier to carry?"
Marc quickly read through the notes and calculations and shook his head. "No, this gadget was meant to be used for a more specific purpose. It was meant to be used for anti-aircraft defence. There was nothing about a smaller weapon."
"You said that this gadget was meant to be used for a specific purpose," Lee said, his arms folded across his chest as he regarded his younger brother with a confused expression on his face. "I take it that this means that the plans have been put on hold?"
"No, the gadget wasn't even created. Jerry notes here that there were too many problems that couldn't be fixed, including issues with the design that made him scrap the idea." He found that he was troubled by a thought that flitted briefly in his mind. Something didn't make sense to Marc who thought that it was strange that his attacker used a smaller version of a weapon that had enough firepower to take down aircraft. "Did you find plans for a gadget that was inspired by this one?"
A look of realisation dawned on Lee's face and he seemed to have come to the same conclusion that Marc did because he quickly rifled through the papers in the drawer and shook his head. "There's nothing here about any kind of gadget like that." He looked up, his face suddenly troubled. "You don't think that this is a weapon that was created by our bad guy? Do you think that Jerry had another plan for a similar weapon and the villain somehow stole it to make his own?"
"I… I don't know, Lee. I've never seen a weapon like this before. This is a gadget that was supposed to have a lot of firepower," said Marc as he returned his attention back to the paper in his hands. "I know that WOOHP has military contacts. I suspect that this weapon was commissioned by some government body before it was finally scrapped because there were too many issues with it."
Lee took the paper from him and shook his head, his mouth set in a grim line as his eyes quickly read through the notes. "If this was a military grade weapon, maybe they took charge of the project and it can be found in some military lab. Which means that there would probably be multiple plans for the same gadget out there." He glanced at his brother, suddenly terrified. "Maybe a WOOHP agent isn't involved in this at all… maybe it's some agent that works for some army."
"That doesn't make any sense." Marc's head was threatening to explode as his mind started piecing together puzzle pieces, remembering everything that had happened during the course of the mission, and thinking back to all the evidence that they had collected. "If a military official was responsible for this, why would they target me instead of targeting Jerry or WOOHP as a whole? Besides, I am not a lone agent here but am part of a team. If somebody from an outside organisation was out to silence the agents working on this mission, they wouldn't just be targeting one person- they'd want to take out all of them."
"You're right about that. Besides, eliminating all of us would be an easy thing to accomplish if this was the case seeing as how we are siblings and live together." Lee looked frustrated but Marc could see the fear in his eyes as he processed the information Marc had provided. "Maybe this is just a coincidence but…"
"We've been WOOHP agents for so long that you no longer believe in those?" Marc finished after Lee's voice had trailed off and he fell silent, his brows knitted together in worry. "I don't believe in coincidences, either. We should show this to Jerry."
Lee nodded his head to show that he was in agreement before he frowned in thought. For a moment, he stared down at the piece of paper in his hand before he raised his head and carefully folded the paper to put into his pocket for safekeeping.
"What I want to know is why this bad guy created his own weapon in the first place." Lee was careful with his words because he didn't want to terrify his brother any more than he had been already. "Do we know who would have access to these plans, Marc?"
Marc sighed as he bent over Jerry's desk and placed both his hands upon the top of the table. His shoulders were slightly hunched and his head bent so that he was looking down at the desktop. His face was hidden from view by his hair so that Lee could not see what he was thinking. Marc remained in that position for a few seconds as he silently mulled over Lee's question and considered his answer.
"There would be a large team of people that we'd have to consider," he said finally, his back still turned to Lee, but the redhead noticed that Marc's shoulders were tense. "Obviously the WOOHP Weapons Lab would be involved in this, then specialised agents from other departments like physicists and chemists. Not to mention that somebody would have been in charge of this project and the design of the weapon. There would be a lot of people involved, Lee…"
"That's where we will start then," said Lee in a decisive tone. "Somebody from this team would have had access to these plans and would know how to create a smaller version of it to use for their own purpose."
"It's a good idea," said Marc slowly but then he sighed and turned to face Lee who recognised the troubled expression on his younger brother's face. "But what if it's somebody that wasn't part of the project and just stole the plans? Their name wouldn't be documented and we'd be right back where we started."
"We will not stop until we get this bad guy." Lee told him, his eyes burning furiously. "I know that things seem hopeless right now, especially in light of what happened today, but I promise you that we will not stop until this one is caught. He will not cause you any more harm. I will personally see to it that this creep will be in a fight for his life if he ever comes near you again."
"That's a lot to promise, Lee." Marc's voice was so quiet that it seemed as though Lee hadn't heard him, but when he started to open his mouth to speak, Marc shook his head and gazed at him fully, his hazel eyes intent in their stare. "We might not be able to catch this one. He's going to get what he wants in the end…"
Lee looked startled at this and took an involuntary step forward before he stopped. "No… no, that's not going to happen. We will…"
"It doesn't matter, Lee. Unless he's stopped, this villain is going to win in the end." He held up his hand as Lee opened his mouth to interrupt him. "I have come to terms with this. It's only going to be a matter of time before he gets what he wants. If it takes days, months… years… he's simply too angry to give up and his attacks against me have now become desperate and violent."
"Then until he's captured, we need to send you somewhere far away where he can't get you!" Lee yelled, his eyes had gone the colour of steel once more, and he found that he was shaking. However, whether out of fear or in anger, he didn't know. "We need to protect you. WOOHP has safe houses all over the world. If we talk to Jerry, he can send you to one and…"
Marc shook his head at this as he looked at his brother sadly. "If I were to go into hiding then we might lose our chance to catch this villain. Chances are, he'd go underground himself and would come out of it once he knew where I was and we'd be right back at the beginning." He stopped speaking and appeared upset. "Besides, what about mom and dad? What about you, Megan, and Tony?"
"Jerry would obviously have to do something about our parents. Maybe he can get them to…"
"... Forget me?" Marc finished for Lee, his voice a whisper. His eyes still looked sad which made the older boy angrily look away, rubbing furiously at his eyes. "And what about you and our other siblings? Would you forget about me, too? What if by altering our parents' memories causes them to forget about all of us?"
Lee met his brother's gaze and held it, his face taut with anger. "Then all four of us will stick together and will go into hiding. If the worst happens and we lose our parents, then that is a sacrifice I am willing to take to keep you safe."
"Would Megan and Tony feel the same way as you, though?"
At the mention of their other siblings' names, Lee's face softened and he lost all the anger he had felt over the current situation, but he found that he could not answer Marc's question. He understood that what he had in mind was not the best option given the circumstances, but he was so worried about his brother that he could not think rationally. However, the faces of Megan and Tony came to mind and he found that he was divided between protecting his brother and doing the right thing for all of them.
"What would you suggest we do then, Marc?" asked Lee desperately. He still looked upset and confused, but there was something else… something that Marc could not recognise. "I don't know what to do anymore…"
For several long moments, Marc was completely silent as he carefully considered the question and thought through all the possible situations and their outcomes before he came to a single conclusion. He knew that his brother wouldn't like the idea, but Marc knew that underneath his brother's overprotective nature that there was a WOOHP agent. In order to get this job done, he needed Lee to be a spy and not his brother, and he knew that this was going to be difficult.
"Running away from this won't solve anything, Lee. I'd be doing just that if I were to go to a safe house." Marc straightened to his full height and kept his eyes on his brother. "We need to face this head on. I am not running away. I simply won't do it."
For a moment, Lee appeared conflicted and opened his mouth to argue but when he caught sight of Marc's serious expression and thought about his words carefully, he realised that his brother was correct. Running away and hiding from this situation wouldn't actually fix the problem and could cause the bad guy to also disappear since his target was no longer there. Lee understood the implication of Marc's words… knew what his brother was planning to do and couldn't reconcile the fact that Marc was willing to put himself into the line of fire so that the Spiez could get the bad guy.
However, as he debated with doing what was right and what was easy, Lee found that his mind had switched into spy mode. He understood that in the end, protecting his little brother in the short term would only cause Marc to be hurt in the long run… and the only way to do that was by catching this villain and putting him into WOOHP prison.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of anger wash over him when he realised that he was now in a position where he had to make a choice between doing what was right as a spy and what was right by his siblings as the older brother. If Marc wasn't his brother… If he had just been an agent that had come into his life when he entered WOOHP, Lee wouldn't have thought twice to do what he had to do as a spy to bring this bad guy down. However, Marc was his brother and it was difficult for Lee to think of this in an objective way instead of thinking of this subjectively.
Finally, he pinched the bridge of his nose, wincing when he had touched the cut that he had sustained during the fight with the manticore. He took in a deep breath and looked at Marc who was staring at him apprehensively and nodded his head once more to show that he understood and was in agreement with what his brother had said.
"I am with you on this, Marc. However, we need to form a strategy. We can't just…"
Before Lee could finish his sentence, the sound of yelling came from somewhere in the WOOHP tunnel and he stopped speaking, his eyes upon the ceiling where he knew the tunnel ended and listened closely. Beside him, Marc visibly tensed but soon relaxed when they heard Megan's voice yelling out that it was uncool of Jerry to have them WOOHP-ed via mail slot.
The two boys winced before they exchanged dark looks with each other. As spies, they were used to being brought to WOOHP headquarters by travelling through a series of underground tunnels that would usually be connected to Jerry's office. Some of those WOOHP-ings had been uncomfortable. Marc still begrudged Jerry after he had been sucked through a book depository at the public library and Lee flinched at the memory of being pulled into his gym locker. They couldn't imagine how it would have felt for their two siblings to be sucked through the narrow opening of a mail slot, but it must have been an uncomfortable experience.
"... Just consider yourself lucky that Marc and Lee weren't WOOHP-ed with us, Megan!" They heard Tony yell out in response to something that Megan had said. "It was a tight squeeze for just the two of us. Imagine if all four of us were sucked through that mail slot?"
"Speaking of our bros, I hope that they're okay and that they are at WOOHP," Megan shouted. "Jerry wasn't exactly forthcoming with answering our questions."
"If they weren't okay, I am sure that Jerry would have told us about it!" Tony responded quickly. "If they are not, the boss man has a lot to answer… Whoa!"
Before Lee and Marc had a chance to move or to even exchange looks, Tony fell out of the vent above the red sofa and landed heavily on his stomach upon the cushion with a muffled grunt of pain. A moment later, Megan appeared but instead of landing upon the sofa, she managed to perform a front flip before she landed upon the floor on her feet.
"I knew that those cheerleading and gymnastics lessons would come in handy as a spy kid," said Megan as she straightened and glanced around, grinning widely when she caught sight of Lee and Marc who still hadn't moved from behind Jerry's desk. "You have no idea how happy and relieved I am to see the two of you! Jerry wasn't very forthcoming with answering questions before he had us WOOHP-ed."
Marc closed the gap between them and pulled her into a tight hug, something that his twin sister quickly reciprocated before she moved so that she could hold her brother at arm's length in an attempt to look him over to check for injuries. She was unhappy to see that he was once again favouring his right arm over his left and was worried that he had exacerbated his injuries. She was upset to see that Marc had a few scrapes and bruises, but understood that not all injuries were visible to the eye, and that her twin brother was most likely traumatised by the latest attack that had occurred.
"Are you okay, Marc?" Megan asked, her voice barely able to conceal the concern that she felt for him. "Tony and I went to our house to see if we could help out in any way, but by the time we got there… I mean… I can only guess what happened while we weren't there!"
"I… I don't know how to feel, Meg. This is the second time that I was attacked at home and I just don't feel safe anymore."
"Oh, Marc! I feel terrible that I wasn't there to protect you!" Megan looked as though she was biting back tears, but she needed to be strong for her twin and wouldn't allow herself to cry. Instead, she hugged him again and told him that he was safe and that for now, the bad guy was gone and couldn't get him. "You were very brave. He attacked you inside our own house! I saw where he managed to get inside and the state of our kitchen and yard shows that you put up quite the fight."
"I didn't feel very brave," said Marc into his sister's shoulder. He was vaguely aware of the fact that Lee and Tony gave the two of them space and heard them speaking to one another somewhere near Jerry's desk where Lee fussed over their little brother. "I have never been so scared in my life. It wasn't… I wasn't being brave or anything, I just did what I could to survive."
Megan stepped back as she released Marc and shook her head before she gave him a sad look. "Even if you feel that you weren't brave, you still are. You were able to fend off this attack on your own until Lee got there. If that's not bravery, I don't know what is."
"And that's not all the Brainiac did. He didn't just fend off the attacker on his own, he also saved my life." Lee had overheard a bit of their conversation when Tony had gotten tired of having his eldest brother worry over him. Lee approached the twins with Tony walking behind him and smiled proudly at Marc who still felt uncomfortable over being considered a hero. "If it weren't for Marc's quick thinking, I don't think I would have survived for long with that manticore on top of me."
"We saw the manticore in our front yard," said Tony, his voice trembling slightly as he looked up at both his brothers, but they could see the look of admiration he gave them. "How did the two of you manage to do it? Nothing we did seemed to even cause injury to these… monsters."
"Is that how you got all your injuries, Lee?" Megan asked in a low voice. She peered anxiously up at her eldest brother, her eyes catching sight of his injuries and grimaced when she saw the cut above his nose and the nasty bruise under his eye.
Lee looked slightly abashed and rubbed the back of his head. "I am not sure. I mean, I was focused on not getting killed by that thing that I didn't notice how many times it was hitting me or…" His voice trailed off for a moment before he took in a deep breath and continued. "Besides, I was more concerned about Marc and his safety that I just didn't notice my own injuries."
Before the conversation could continue further, the door to Jerry's office opened, revealing their boss who looked exhausted on his feet. The siblings looked at one another, their concern deepening when they took in Jerry's appearance and noticed how bedraggled and drained he looked. Marc had never seen Jerry look so devastated and heartbroken as he did in that moment, and looked over at Lee, who as the eldest sibling and the leader of the Spiez team would know what to do in any situation.
The silence that had fallen over them was deafening but as Jerry walked past them, he managed a small smile but didn't say a word to them even when Lee asked what had happened. They watched as the older man collapsed into the chair behind his desk. Lee and Megan exchanged concerned looks with one another and approached their boss, asking him a barrage of questions that he didn't seem to hear. Marc quickly ran to the cupboard that held the tea and set about making their boss a cup. He could sense that Jerry had been alerted to something terrible and had a sinking suspicion of what it was that made the head of WOOHP look as though his very world had ended.
As he waited for the tea to steep, Marc heard a noise behind him and turned his head to see that Lee had pulled out four folding chairs and was setting them around the desk. He noticed that Megan stood close to Jerry with a grim expression on her face, but when he met her gaze she shook her head and looked away.
"Is… is Jerry okay?" Tony asked him in a small voice. The youngest Clark had sensed that something was wrong and had approached Marc when he noticed that their eldest siblings were busy with talking to Jerry, but didn't know what could have caused their boss… usually so strong and stoic, to look so fragile and heartbroken. "He didn't look like this when Megan and I last saw him. Something must have happened."
Marc felt the guilt rise up in his chest until it threatened to suffocate him, but he gave his little brother a reassuring smile and ruffled his hair in an attempt to calm him. However, he didn't answer the last question because he did not want to give his brother false information. Instead, he got Tony to help him by finding a plate so that they could put some warmed teacakes on it for Jerry… though Marc wasn't sure if their boss was in the mood to eat them. He knew that when he was upset, that he could barely stomach food, but his siblings always insisted on him eating because he'd be sick otherwise.
"Is Jerry sick, Marc?" Tony asked him, his green eyes upset and wide with something akin to fear. "Did he get hurt? Is that why he's like this?"
Marc threw a look over his shoulder and saw that their eldest siblings had stepped away from Jerry's desk and were huddled together to give their boss space since he was on the phone with somebody. He felt his heart plummet when he saw that Megan seemed to be crying and was holding onto Lee for support.
"I'm not sure, Tone. However, from the way Megan and Lee are looking right now, it doesn't look very good," he said, feeling the familiar sense of cold dread wash over him. "Here, you take the teacakes and set them in front of Jerry and I will take the tea. Then we'll see if we can get answers out of the sibs…"
Tony immediately did what he was told and picked up the plate of teacakes and followed Marc who carefully set the mug of tea in front of Jerry who gave him a grateful smile before he returned to his phone call. Marc watched Tony set the plate down and grabbed his hand before he led him over to Megan and Lee who stepped away from one another when they noticed their younger siblings approaching.
"Did you find out what happened?" Tony asked them in a whisper, throwing a furtive look in Jerry's direction to ensure that their boss didn't overhear their conversation. He turned his attention back to Lee and Megan, noticing the red and puffy eyes of his sister and the solemn expression that had taken over Lee's face. "What happened…?"
Lee was the one who responded, his voice shook as he spoke, but he tried his best to keep it even. However, the emotions that the redhead felt at the devastating news finally took over, and he found that he couldn't keep how upset he was hidden any longer.
"We've lost some agents in today's attack. Jerry is currently speaking to the WOOHP medical team who just provided him with the numbers." Lee looked unusually grim before he took in a deep breath and continued speaking. "One agent is currently in grave condition at the WOOHP hospital. The… the doctors don't think he's going to survive the night."
Marc's heart beat wildly in his chest as the colour drained from his face. He suddenly felt as though he was about to be sick when the news finally sunk in. "Lost…? I… I don't understand… How could this have happened? How many…?"
Lee didn't answer right away. Instead, he peered anxiously into Marc's face when he noticed that his brother didn't look right. The younger boy was pale and drawn… but more than that, he seemed to be on the point of collapse. Marc's face had gone the colour of porridge and was so grey and sickly looking that it immediately caused the redhead concern. Lee rushed forward the moment he saw that his brother's knees started to buckle from underneath him, grabbing him firmly around the middle to prevent Marc from falling to the floor.
Suddenly, Megan was at her twin's side, ducking under one of Marc's arms so that she could help Lee half carry, half drag their brother to one of the folding chairs and help him sit down. Tony had found an empty garbage bin and deposited it in front of his brother who immediately got sick and threw up. Marc was vaguely aware of the fact that Megan and Lee were speaking to him, but he couldn't make out their words because he just kept getting sick.
Marc suddenly started to shiver despite the warmth of Jerry's office… but the young agent felt cold and couldn't stop the chill from running through his body. Now that he knew that people had died to protect him, he felt as though he was being smothered by the guilt of their deaths because he felt responsible for their deaths. He wanted to know specific details like how many agents had died to try to save him, but he found that he couldn't breathe and struggled to gain back his breath.
"It's okay… Everything is okay," Megan murmured into his hair as she held him. "Just breathe for me, okay? That's it, Marc. Everything is okay. You need to breathe."
For a moment, he struggled to gain control, but he finally was able to take in a few calm breaths that allowed him to breathe normally again. Megan still held him, but he still felt cold and couldn't stop shivering, even when Jerry had wrapped a thick woollen blanket over his shoulders, and Lee made sure that the blanket covered him entirely. He felt his eldest brother rub his back but he didn't say anything while Megan continued to urge Marc to breathe and that everything was going to be okay.
Jerry had gone to the water dispenser and retrieved a cup of cold water before he went back to his young agent and gently pressed the cup into his hands. Marc could barely manage to keep hold of the plastic cup and so Lee held onto it and raised it to his brother's lips so that he could take a long drink of water. When Marc pushed away the cup, Lee leaned forward and set it upon the desk where it was within reach in case his brother still needed it.
Finally, Marc was able to raise his head and look at Jerry, who was close at hand in case he needed to step in and help his young spy. He still felt cold but at least he wasn't shivering as much as he did before.
"How many agents, Jerry?" He finally managed to croak out. His throat felt like sandpaper and he found that it was difficult to speak. Lee handed him the cup of water and watched as he took another sip.
"We don't need to worry about that right now, Marc." Jerry's voice was kind but firm. "You suffered through a lot of trauma today and I will not have you burdened with anything further."
Marc stared miserably at Jerry but nodded his head to show that he understood what his boss had said. He knew that when Jerry felt like he could handle the news, that he would inform him of the truth, but made a mental note to ask Lee about this later because he knew that his eldest brother would tell him the truth.
"How are things at our house, Jer?" Tony asked in a low voice. Marc glanced around the office and saw that his little brother had taken a seat beside Megan who still had one of her arms wrapped around Marc's shoulders.
"You'll be pleased to know that we've repaired the damage inside your house," said Jerry after a short pause. "There was a bit of an incident when one of the robots picked up something strange in your sitting room, but that was easily dealt with since it seems that this was where Marc's attacker not only gained entry but also spent some time there."
Marc's head shot up at this just as a horrifying realisation had dawned on him. The attacker had been inside the house the entire time he had been there alone- that was why he had felt so uneasy when he had walked past the door and why the villain was able to know that it was him and not his siblings that had come down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Marc, I need to know everything that has happened in today's attack."
They had finally come to the subject that Marc was keen on avoiding as it meant that he had to relive his trauma, but he found that he could no longer bear the thought of keeping everything to himself and nodded his head. He decided that he needed to tell the full truth, and that he should no longer hold anything back from Jerry and his siblings who had already done so much for him throughout this mission.
He took in a deep breath and released it slowly before he spoke about everything that had happened before, during and after the attack. Marc spoke about his argument with his siblings, overhearing their discussion afterwards, how he had felt when he had stepped outside that afternoon to seek the refuge of the tree house and how he had made the decision to take action into his own hands in order to figure out what was happening so that he could help his siblings.
When he reached the part where he spoke about hacking into the WOOHP database, he found that he could no longer bear looking at Jerry who he knew would be disappointed in him but he felt Megan tighten her hold of him and Lee's hand upon his arm, urging him to continue. He nearly broke down when he spoke about the message that he had received on the computer because he knew that it had been sent by his attacker. Then he spoke about the attack itself and how helpless and terrified he had felt when he realised that he was face to face with a villain that seemed to have no regard for human life.
By the time he was finished speaking about the manticore attack and how he had finally managed to defeat the bad guy for the second time, he began to grow tired and his voice cracked from use. Tony had hurriedly gone off to fill another cup of water before he handed it to Marc who looked grateful before he took the time to take a sip when he was finished, he glanced up at Jerry who wore an unreadable expression on his face.
"I… I know that I did the wrong thing by going behind everyone's back to try to get information," Marc said in a small voice. "I hope you're not angry with me, Jerry. Though, I would understand why you would be."
For a moment, Jerry didn't speak. He rubbed at his temples for a few seconds before he sighed and looked at Marc who shrank back in his seat. "No, I am not angry with you, Marc. I am just a little disappointed that you did something without thinking about the consequences first. You put yourself in further danger and this could have resulted badly for you."
"I am sorry…"
Jerry held up his hand and interrupted Marc before he could continue. "At the same time, if you hadn't managed to hack into my database, you would never have been able to know about the danger that was coming your way. You took action only because you found out that something was wrong and that's what saved your life."
Marc was stunned into silence by this and didn't know what to say. The confusion must have shown on his face because Jerry chuckled and confirmed that while he was disappointed in Marc's behaviour that he was also proud of him for doing what any other spy would do given the circumstances.
"So… you're not that disappointed in me?" Marc asked in complete bewilderment.
"Next time I'd have preferred if you communicated to me how you felt instead of taking matters into your own hands." Jerry gave him a stern look before he looked at Lee. "Now, I know that the two of you were exploring my office earlier and that you found a gadget of interest."
Lee and Marc glanced at one another before they looked at Jerry with wide eyes.
"How did you…?" Lee began.
Jerry just gave him a mysterious smile and didn't respond but Marc caught on quickly and told Lee that the office would have cameras that would be linked to their boss' wallet communicator. When he looked at Jerry again to confirm if this was the truth, he noticed that their boss looked amused but didn't deny his theory.
"From the mess on my desk, I take it that you found the Lightning Rod project?"
Lee removed the schematic from his pocket and handed it to Jerry who took it and glanced at it briefly before he turned his attention back to the Spiez. Jerry wrapped his hands around the mug of tea that Marc had set down earlier and took a long sip before he finally decided on what to say.
"I am familiar with this project but it was cancelled because the weapon was just too powerful. If it got into the wrong hands, we would have been in big trouble."
"You can't deny that there's similarities between the Lightning Rod project and the gadget that I confiscated from the bad guy," Marc said as he studied Jerry and his reaction. He noticed that his boss looked perturbed by this information but was trying his best to not have any reaction whatsoever. That was when he realised with a jolt that Jerry seemed terrified at the revelation that this might be the same weapon but in a smaller form. "Is there something that you need to tell us, Jerry?"
Jerry sighed before he gave his answer, carefully choosing his words before he decided on what to say. "The Lightning Rod project had begun two years ago and was meant to be used as an anti-aircraft weapon for our agency, but as I said, the project was called off because the weapon was just too strong and unpredictable. Four months ago, the weapons laboratory had been broken into and the plans for the project had been stolen."
"What did you find during your investigation?" Marc asked him.
"The intruder was careful. We didn't find much. There was no CCTV footage of the break in because whoever managed to get in had disabled our cameras. There were no fingerprints, no footprints… nothing that we could find that would help us identify who had been here."
"Four months ago we were overwhelmed with missions," said Lee as he thought back to that time and tried to remember each of their cases. He glanced at Marc who, thanks to his excellent memory, started listing all of the cases they had worked on, including the ones that had been resolved and which ones had been stalled due to lack of progress. "We didn't work on this case. Even I would have remembered if we had to do something about a break in at WOOHP."
"As much as I hate saying this, it needs to be said. This is our first major clue, spies. We'll see where this lead takes us, but until we get those answers, I want to talk about safety." Jerry looked at Marc pointedly. "I know that Lee brought up the safe houses. That is still an option if you want to take it, Marc. We can send you and your family to one of our nearest safe houses in the countryside. I'll have an agent drive you to and from school."
Marc considered for a moment before he shook his head. "Like I told Lee, we need to face this situation head on. I don't want to go into hiding, Jer. It could cause our bad guy to disappear and we'd lose our chance at ever finding him."
Jerry didn't look happy at this but he kept his thoughts to himself. "At the end of the day, this is your decision and since you have made your choice, I will support it. For now, I will have you return home but I want to be kept updated about everything that happens going forward. If you notice something out of place or if you feel like you're in danger, call me straight away."
Marc didn't even have a chance to open his mouth to speak before Jerry told them that he would keep in touch with them before he pressed a button on his desk that had them back at home before the siblings even had a chance to know what had happened. Marc found that he was too preoccupied to notice that darkness had fallen by the time they had returned back to their house and that the tunnel had let them out in their tree house until he heard Lee groan and looked round to see that his eldest brother was peering out of the tree fort at their house.
"Does anyone have any excuse for why we were outside this late?" Lee asked them in a whisper as they changed into their normal clothes and quickly descended the stairs of the tree house. "I am fresh out of ideas. You usually come up with good lies that are believable, Megan."
It was too dark to see any of their faces, but they heard Megan's nervous laughter as they snuck through their backyard and opened the back door. "I don't know, how about… an evil maniac is after our brother and we were all nearly wiped out by his pet manticores?"
Lee groaned at this. "No, that's the worst idea ever and you know it! Fine, how about this… uh… we all went to the coffeehouse down by the lake and lost track of time?"
"Now, that's a great one!" Megan said in an undertone before she walked through the door. "Tony, you tell mom where we were!"
"Why me?" Tony asked in an indignant voice. "Why not make Marc do it? He's got one of those amazing minds that remember everything!"
"Because you're the smallest and cutest and mom forgets her anger every time you give her those cute puppy eyes."
Marc listened to them banter for a moment but found that he hesitated to go inside the house. He hated to admit it, but he found that he was terrified to be here because he did not feel safe. It had only been a few hours since the attack and he felt as though the reality of it hadn't fully sunk in until he had returned home.
Lee had noticed that he hadn't come inside the house and told Megan and Tony to go on ahead. He stood in the doorway and watched Marc for a moment, his eyes unreadable since the light from inside the house didn't reach them.
"Are you okay?"
The question was simple but Marc found that he couldn't answer it. He didn't think he would ever be okay after what had happened but he found that he had to say something otherwise it would cause Lee to worry.
"I'll be fine, Lee. It's just… I'm supposed to feel safe in my own home, but that has been taken away from me."
Lee shivered slightly when he stepped outside and realised how cold it had gotten. "Here, let's go inside and get out of this cold. Why don't we go make ourselves a cup of hot chocolate and talk about everything?"
Marc nodded his head and drew in a deep, shuddering breath. He thought that the idea of having a nice steaming cup of hot chocolate was a wonderful thing and without any hesitation, he followed his brother inside the house.
