Out of Time

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:


Chapter 19 (Chasing Shadows)

A few days later, Jade sat in the familiar observation room with Beck and Sam. Through the looking glass, they watched Tori speak with Gary and an FBI agent. Ian and Sinjin were in the room as well while Carly sat in observation with them for the first time, requesting to be near Sam.

Jade herself had now sat in the same chair as Tori, giving her testimony regarding the near death. It had been strangely unusual and more nerve wracking than she expected. Even still, great strides were being taken, and the FBI were already taking the steps needed to search all the suspects linked to La Sombra.

Sam was unusually quiet, which concerned Jade as well. Granted, the blonde already wasn't very talkative, but the somber expression on the girl's face and the almost mournful look in her eyes did cause Jade some amount of concern.

Even now, with her arms folded and her leaning against the window with her right shoulder, Sam was peering through the window with a sad smile. Jade walked up to her, and the girl's eyes remained fixated on the group. "I'm proud of Tori," Sam said before Jade could even ask. "The FBI should come back with the results soon, and we'll know for a fact if Tori is indeed Sasha's and Spencer's daughter. They've already got investigators combing the Vega house, and the LAPD has already been ordered to hold David in a cell."

"That's all good."

"It is." Sam unfolded her arms and pushed her hands into her jean pockets. "It's a win for Gary too. A definite win. He's been after this gang for a long, very long, time."

"I didn't think it was that long."

Sam chuckled and turned her head, her shoulders lifted and the left corner of her mouth dented her cheek. "You know what, I think Tori's been very brave, and if it turns out Spencer is her father, I can't wait to see him light up. Still, I've been thinking…" Sam looked back at Tori and slowly breathed in. "How inspiring she really is, even if she doesn't think so. She's got the strength to do what so many haven't; and reuniting her with her family…."

"It's going to be a big thing, especially since we know there's evidence the Vegas abducted her." Jade cocked her head to the right. "So, what's on your mind? You said Gary's been after the Sombra clan for a long time, longer than we thought."

"He hasn't mentioned it, probably never would." Sam pushed herself up from the window and walked to a nearby table where she picked up a glass of water sitting there. "I found out on my own combing through various files and stumbled upon a booklet with information…long ago, he had a wife who went into labor at the hospital where Holly worked. He was at work, his wife died there; but not before giving him a call."

Jade's heart dropped to her stomach and she looked towards the observation window. "Don't tell me…" Sam raised the cup to her lips and swallowed a large gulp of water.

The girl brought the cup down with an exhale. "It was her goodbye. She told Gary she wouldn't be home, that the doctors were taking their babies and giving them to some organization. She actually had enough to say their name, but when she said the name, the call ended."

"You found that written down?"

"Yeah, Gary wrote detailed notes over the years about La Sombra. Enough that he was letting me read through them; but I think he forgot about that particular inclusion, otherwise he probably would've mentioned it to me."

Jade wasn't sure how to react to this. She was incensed to hear that Gary had fallen victim as well to this group, saddened that he lost his wife and apparent children; but happy to learn he was finally putting this group behind bars even if it took as long as it did.

"Wow." It was all she could think to say, and she slapped herself mentally for it. Turning fully to the window, Jade studied Gary close and wondered just what the hardened man could be thinking right now. "He must be so thrilled to be saving one of the lost children, but thinking about his own children must be hard for him."

"Yeah. He was never able to prove Holly was behind what happened, and obviously the police at the time didn't believe him. Still, knowing the cause behind his fight to bring them down…"

Jade breathed in and watched as Gary rose to his feet and turned to the door as an FBI agent entered with a sheet of paper. The second agent rose ask well and the three began to talk.

It didn't take long for the surprise growing on Tori's face to tell all, the DNA test was a match. Not only did a familial link with Carly come through, but Spencer's own DNA had been in the police systems from when he gave a sample during the Grayson murders investigation; and that showed a paternal link to Tori.

They had the answer they sought for so long. Still, there was a look of sadness and even guilt in Sam's expression. There was more to the story, Jade thought, but Sam was only able to watch Gary as he looked to Tori with a triumphant smile.

"It'll be over soon enough," Gary said with a surprisingly tear-filled gaze. "We'll get you in touch with your father soon, if that's what you want." Tori paused for a moment, blinking twice.

"I…I think I would like to talk to him," Tori answered, "But I'm not sure. Should I? Now? Later? What do I even say?"

"You'll have all the time you need, it doesn't have to be right away. You can take as long as you want to process this. We still need to file arrest warrants, build up a case that will hold…"

Sam rolled her head to the right. "Only one problem," the blonde mumbled, "Where's the evidence to point Holly to the kidnapping and not David? Any good defense attorney will want to look at that." She crossed her arms. "He's been searching for so long, and Tori has finally provided the key to bringing La Sombra down. Maybe. If nothing else, she definitely pins the Vegas to child abduction and murder."

"You don't think it's strong enough to guide them to La Sombra?"

"I'm not sure it's a solid enough link. It might be, especially because of Andre's testimony and what happened to you; but honestly…no…" Sam turned away and started for the door. Jade scrunched her nose and took a single step forward, contemplating whether she should go out.

"Sam? What are you going to do?"

Sam paused, looking back with a small smile. "Something I should've done a long time ago." As Sam left the room, Jade watched Gary guide Tori out of the interrogation room. She looked to Carly, who appeared frozen in her chair.

"This is too much to process," Carly remarked under her breath, "Just too much. Tori is my niece? Sam figured all that out on a hunch that paid off? Really, just a photo?" Jade looked to Beck who shrugged back at her.

Now that Jade thought about it, it was a little strange that Sam might uproot her entire life to pursue a potential child of Spencer's because she saw a photo of Sasha. It never quite occurred to her to ask her mentor and friend about that.

As Gary made his way into the room, he looked around and waved his hands out. "What's everyone looking so confused about? We've just scored a major break." He glanced about again and raised an eyebrow. "Where is Samantha?"

Carly shot up from her chair and pointed at the window. Gary turned and his lips parted when he saw Sam walking in with the FBI officers.

At that, everyone gathered to the window and Sam gently swept a strand of hair behind her ear. "I need to start out by saying how brave Tori is, doing something I never had the courage to do." Sam bit her lip and glanced sideways, looking vulnerable for the first time since Jade had met her. "I know Detective Malone has been trailing this organization for a long time, and maybe if I hadn't been afraid and nervous for so long, we could have stopped them sooner."

"What is happening?" Gary put his hands on the windowsill, his body tensed and he looked at the others for an explanation. They each shook their heads, just as startled as he was.

Sam closed her eyes and laced her hands together, rolling her thumb over her fingers. "I am also one of those children, auctioned off at birth to current Packing Incorporated CEO Chad Puckett and his ex-wife Pam. I have a twin sister that currently lives with him, while I was raised by Pam. I only learned about this through one of my mother's drunk ramblings. At the time, she told me the names of my birth family, a type of security net for the buyers to know who to avoid-of course the children aren't supposed to know this information."

Jade couldn't believe what was happening, and judging by the silence in the room, everyone else was just as shocked.

The FBI agent questioned Sam on the matter. "You believe you know the names of your birth family?"

"My birth mother is Yvonne." Gary staggered back, his hands trembling as Sam looked past the FBI agents and at the window. "I developed a habit of recording my 'mother' during her abusive rages. I think this time she was drunk, but I don't know. We've always fought, she always had made it perfectly clear that she never wanted me."

Sam pulled her phone out and set it on the table, her finger scrolled quickly through the audio files until stopping at one and tapping it. "This was the recording of our fight over a year ago. Just before I made my trip down here."

A woman's shrill, angry voice echoed off the walls of the room, amidst the sound of objects being thrown around. "I said I don't care, you little winch. If you want to go, you can go."

"Mom, settle down." Sam's voice over the audio was panicked and rushed. "Come on, have you taken your meds?" There was another crash and Sam cried out pain.

"Fucking idiot. Just go, I'm not even your mother. I never wanted you, you or your sister either."

"What?"

Jade looked at Sam, who was quietly staring at the phone, her expression was hard but there was a small amount of moisture in her eyes.

"Mom, what did you say?"

"You fucking heard me. Your father bought you both from them." The woman groaned out the next few words, seeming as though to mock them. "La Sombra, Sombre, or whatever. 2 grand a piece. All he wanted was to cheat his way to a career promotion and he brought two damn babies home."

Sam's voice was growing more frenzied, confused, and angry; but Jade could detect a sense of fear as well. "I don't believe you." There were more noises, followed by the slamming of a door into a wall.

"Don't believe me, I got a copy of the damn transaction right here. Both of us do." Sam cried out at the sound of paper crinkling in a hand. "There's your mother's name right there, Yvonne Malone. Looks like she died, sweetie. Sorry, I guess you have no real family. Worthless bitch. Nothing but a goddamn stain of what that worthless man went and did with our money, buying two sniveling infants fresh out of the womb."

Sam had her eyes closed and was slowly moving her head from side to side. All eyes in the observation room were on Gary, who looked as though he'd just been struck by a moving train.

The blonde moved a shaky hand to her back pocket, removing her wallet. Slowly, she removed a folded piece of paper and set it down in front of the agents. "It's a bill of sale. I've been so afraid that I couldn't bring myself to come forward until now."

"Why were you afraid?"

"Mom knows where I'm at, Dad knows where I'm at. Obviously La Sombra would be notified if they thought I was about to go to the police. Name a single one and you'll name a single person that could kill me, or, my real dad…which, I've also." Sam choked back a sob and quickly cleared her throat. "How exactly do you bring that up? How? Does anyone know?"

Jade looked back at Gary, furrowing her brow as he was now gazing at something in his wallet. She approached slowly and just before he noticed her, she saw an old photograph of a woman. She had curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and a smile that seemed to match whenever Sam herself might muster a smile.

Spying her, Gary quickly returned his wallet to his back pocket.

"And my sister's still under the presumption that our parents are, well, these guys." The agent unfolded the paper and Sam played another recording for them. "This is a more recent one, a voicemail I received not long after I came down here."

Once more Pam's voice filled the room. "Hey, I know what you're doing going down to California. I know you took that receipt, and I'm telling your father as well. If you even think about going to the police, we'll deny everything and we'll have hunt you down…Chad's already planning on cutting Melanie's throat and burying her body if you so much as dare show that document to anyone. Mark my words. Your sister will die, your friends will die, and La Sombra will throw you and your actual father into a fucking shredder. Do I make myself clear, bitch? Do I make myself clear?"

Sam started to shake as the agents proceeded to go over the document. "You will note that I have not intentionally been withholding information; but afraid. Saving Tori's life now, seeing her open up despite everything against her though…I decided it was time to come forward too."

Gary fell into the chair that Carly had been sitting in before, his trembling hand covered his forehead and eyes while his left undid his shirt collar and tie. "Christ above." The man dropped his hand, revealing fresh tears. "It can't be."

He dropped his hands to the arms of the chair and his nails began to dig into the red fabric. "Chad Puckett? Packing Incorporated? I investigated an assault that happened at one of his warehouses. He looked me square in the eyes and thanked me for all the work I did. That man…I recognized Sam's name when she came to me, I didn't put two and two together that he was the same man. I…I…"

Gary turned his head to the side, groaning as his hand covered his mouth. "That was years ago, but still. Goddamn…" Gary reached for a nearby phone and Beck turned to him.

"What are you doing, sir?"

"About to call a fucking SWAT team to that man's house."

"Are you sure that would be wise?" Gary narrowed his eyes at Beck, growling softly. "Far be it from me but I know you've always been the mentor to us, trying to make sure we stayed calm and rational and didn't do things that might actually go against the proper stuff."

"And how often has that worked?"

"Plenty of times." Beck flashed a hopeful smile. "We've made smart choices because of your guidance. Enough to learn how to realize when we're acting on impulse and stuff. You seem very heated right now, so it might be a good idea to take a minute…"

"Fine." Gary rolled his eyes and pointed at Beck. "But mark my words, when I do calm down, I may still personally tear each individual tooth out of this man's mouth."

"Permission to hold you back if it comes to that?"

Gary pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. "Granted. God I'm going to be sick."

Meanwhile, Jade could hear Carly on the phone. "You need to get on a plane." Carly was pacing the floor, hand in her hair and frantically talking into the phone. "I don't care, Spencer. You need to get Freddie, get Mrs. Benson, get on a fucking plane to LA and get into FBI protection immediately. Shit is about to hit the fan and I need to know all of you are safe. I don't care what you do, how you do it, just be discreet. For all we know Sam's mother has eyes on all of you and you need to get the hell out now!"

Gary let out an angered shout. "This is why we don't let witnesses into the observation rooms!" To be fair, Jade understood Carly was reacting to the voicemail they'd just heard on Sam's phone. The woman had every ounce of time to act if she so much as suspected Sam was going to talk.

Not to mention, Sam had stated that she was still in contact with her mother. This meant the woman was still harassing her, making sure she didn't do anything; and holding Melanie as an unsuspecting hostage even. All the while, knowing that Sam had probably found her actual father and may have been believing Sam if she was told that Gary didn't know.

As far as Gary was concerned, he'd been chasing shadows all his life ever since he lost his wife and his children. How could he have known that Sam was staring him in the face this entire time.


Another bombshell, but it seems Sam was holding something back as well, Tori inspired her to be brave and now we have not only a connection to an old murder but something that may be able to start purging La Sombra in entirety.