as soon as the blonde chemist got into her lab and closed the door behind her, she fell on her knees and tears streamed out of her eyes, the guilt was tearing her apart, she ruined their lives, the one circle of friends she had, but she had to, she had no choice, he forced her to do it, he had her sister, her life had turned into hell ever since the day of the ball game.
-The day of the ball game-
She was elated. Jocks had builled her since her school days and they just won a baseball game against a group of trained F.B.I ones. The nerds beat the jocks! It was like a dream come true. Sure they had a misunderstanding but they resolved it after she clarified what happened. They got to go to ernesto's tacos and pick from the golden trophies that every nerd watched but could never lay hands on. She could've sworn that was one of the best if not the best day of her life
if not for what happened after.
When she arrived at her lab's door she found it open, she was certain she closed it before she left, and no one had the keys but her, she was a bit surprised but it was overshadowed by the elation.
She then got into her lab and walked to the living room, she found a white envolope on her desk saying OPEN ME. Now she was a bit nervous, but she complied and opened it anyways. Inside she found a folded paper, a cell phone, and bunch of photographs, she first looked at the photographs, there were photographs of her and walter working together late after mission from different angles. She didn't know the garage had cameras, now she was getting more nervous. She then saw photogaphs of her in different places and times of the day, Was that a stalker?!? How did she not notice them?!? Now she was scared. She then saw 2 photographs of her asleep in her bed, this person watched her every move, snuck into her home while she was asleep without her knowing, they could've robbed her or kidnapped her in her sleep, or worse, kill her, but they didn't, they just took photos, Why did they take photos?! She didn't understand why, she couldn't grasp their motives at all. Now she was terrified.
and then she saw a photograph of her sister unconcious, tied up, gagged with a gun pointing at her head.
her heart dropped at the sight.
Who did this ?! Who kidnapped her sister ?! She was studying at caltech, Why did they kidnap her sister?! What do they want with her?! Ransom maybe? They were watching her every move, even when she was asleep?! Why didn't they kidnap her too?!
How does she even know her sister is still alive? They might have just taken these photos and then killed her! She needed to make sure she's alive, she needed to make sure she's safe and unharmed, she needed to save her,
so she picked up the phone, it was a small white cell phone, she tried to open it but it was password protected so she couldn't, she picked up the paper, it was a letter, she opened it and started reading:
As you've probably guessed by looking at these photos, i have your sister and i've been monitoring you, if you opened this letter before looking at them,
well,
i have your sister and i've been monitoring you.
you may now look at the photos.
at this point i assume you've looked at the photos and have decided to take my words as gospel so i'll continue,
my demands are simple, i don't want ransom or anything material, i simply want you to follow my orders, on the phone i sent you, you will recieve a set of instructions every now and then and i want you to follow them to the letter, nothing too extreme, they're really simple tasks, and in return for each task successfully completed, i'll let you talk to your sister for a bit, you complete all the tasks, you have your sister back.
easy right ?
and of course telling you what would happen to you and your sister if you fail to follow my instructions or tell the police or anyone else would be inefficient since you probably know that already.
and as a treat i'll let you talk to her before you begin following my instructions.
when you're ready to talk to your sister pick up the phone, it's password is 0822, and call the number in the contacts, it's the only number so you won't have to worry about calling the wrong one,
until we talk to each other.
yours truly
Mark Collins
she was breathing fast and her heart was about to jump out of her chest, what simple instructions could he possibly want from her enough to kidnap her sister, and why would he reveal his name ?!, was it even his real name ?!, she had so many questions going on in her head right now but he had no choice but to call him and find out.
she picked up the phone and put in the password 0822,
it unlocked, she pulled up the contacts and there was only one number under the name of "mark collins", she hit call...it picked up!
"hello ms.tipton, may i assume your call is one of approval" said collins
he didn't use any voice changers at all, this was his real voice, why would someone use his real name and real voice in this situation, she didn't understand at all, she was scared but she remained calm and rational, she knew panicking would do her no good.
"let me talk to her first" said florence calmly
"so hasty" said collins sounding amused
"now" said florence trying to sound firm
"aawww come on, there's no need to sound intimidating" said collins sounding even more amused,
"don't worry, i'll let you talk to to your little sister" added collins
then she heard the sound of his steps and a gagged girl's sound getting louder, that must be her sister. then she heard him ungag her and she took a deep breath
"what do you want from me creep" said the girl firecely to collins
"sister and sister alike" said collins sounding amused again.
was this all a joke to him ?! a game ?! does he have fun doing this ?!
"somebody wants to check up on you" said collins to the girl
"sophie" said florence calmly to her sister
"flo, is that you ?" said sophie
"yes, are you alright ?, did he hurt you ?" said florence trying desperately to remain calm
"yeah, i'm alright, this creep kidnapped me and brought me to his house" said sophie
"i prefer to think of it as borrowing you, besides there's so much noise and people in a college that you could kidnap someone in broad daylight without the others noticing, so incompetent, part of the reason why i didn't go to college" said collins
"you'll be alright, just stay calm and don't do anything rash" said florence to her sister
"yees sophie, be a good girl and listen to your big sister" said collins
then she heard him gag her again and her making noises, then she heard his steps and her sister's sound getting lower and then the sound of his steps stopped and she heard him sit down
"now that you've talked to your little sister, and made sure of her saftey, i presume you're ready to begin your task" said collins
"what do you want ?" said florence calmly
"for you first task, hmm, let's see, oh i got it!, your little neighbours, the ones you just played softball with ?, yes those guys, don't interact or go on missions with them until i say otherwise, easy right ?" said collins sounding amused at the end
"understood, now how many tasks do i have to complete before i get my sister back ?" asked florence
"well if i told you it wouldn't be any fun right ?" said collins sounding amused again
fun ?!?!, he IS having fun,
"well that's all for now, until we meet again ms.tipton" said collins
beep beep beep
he hung up.
she was terrified.
How did he know about the ball game ?!?!, that just happened!
she had no choice but to comply, not interacting with her neighbours, sounds easy right ?
she felt a chill down her spine as she just paraphrased him, these 2 words were stuck in her head.
"easy right ?"
she carried the phone with her since that day so she wouldn't miss his calls, she dreaded to think what would happen to her sister if she did
-the day of the break up-
she was doing her work normally like anyday.
oh who was anyone fooling.
she was worried sick about her sister, she was only doing it in an attempt to not raise collins' suspicion as she knew he was watching her every move, when she was working, when she was eating, when she was asleep, even in the bathroom.
her skin shivered at that last thought.
in the middle of that work she heard that phone ring, her chest constricted again and her heart rate increased, he called again, she took a deep breath, and picked up.
"hello ms.tipton, i see you've completed the first task successfully, so as i promised i'll give you your reward" said collins
then she heard him ungag her sister
"your sister flo wants to talk you" collins while sounding amused
"it's florence" said florence in an involuntary reaction
"ooohhhh so feisty" said collins amused again
she was appaled by how much fun he was having
"flo" said sophie
"sophie are you okay ?, are you eating ?, is he starving you?" said florence
"yeah he brings me food and water, the food tastes like trash tho" said sophie
"i got it from that little resturant your neighbours like to eat from, what was it called again ?, oh yeah kovelski's" said collins
"flo he has a gun" said sophie terrified but trying to sound calm
"i know sophie, you're gonna be fine" said florence trying to reassure her sister
"as much as i am moved by this demonstration of sisterly affection i'll have to end this conversation for now" said collins then gagged her again
"quite the affectionate sister florence, should i call you flo?" said collins
"i'd prefer not" replied florence
collins laughed like he'd been told a funny joke.
"come on, don't be stiff, you know what i think i'll call you flo" said collins
"ok ok seriously thought ,now for your second task, uuuuhhh let's see, do you remember that little lecture that you went on with that walter guy, well he and his little team are now in africa, when they return, i'll send you a text and you'll go into their garage, there will be a fight between him and his girlfriend about that lecture, when you're asked about your it , you're going to say that you developed feelings for him over the past few months, easy right? , and don't worry you can say that there was nothing physical between you, i won't push it that far."
she was reluctant to do it, she knew if she said that she'd ruin their relationship, but she had no choice.
"fine" said florence
"well, until we talk again flo" said collins
beep beep beep
he hung up.
-the moment of the break up-
"i have no feelings for florence and she has no feelings for me, isn't that right florence ?" said walter
that was it, that was the moment, she had to do it.
"it seems i have developed feelings for walter over the course of the past few months" said florence
"i'm sorry paige, it just happened on it's own" she added
*and then the rest happened*
she was surprised that they all walked out on him, and even more so by sylvester's declaration. He was in love with her?!?!? He always seemed so nervous around her,
When she offered to help him with the water filter his face looked so scared, and then he ran and bumped into the stairs. That's why she tried so hard to bond with him over the past few weeks, she thought he hated her.
he was actually in love with her, and she broke his heart.
and her own in the process.
later collins called her, let her talk to her sister, congratulated her on a successful task, and gave her the next task after some one sided chit chat, walter was going to offer her a position in his company and she was to accept it and stay until she was given further instructions.
and two words stood out in her head
"easy right ?"
she was foolish to think that it would remain so, but she had to do it.
and indeed just like he said, walter offered her a position in scorpion, or scorpion 2.0 and she accepted, she was forced, she had no choice and yet she felt so horrible for her role in destroying his world.
-present day-
she was on her knees with tears streaming down her cheeks, she knew collins was watching her but she didn't care
"i'm sorry walter, i'm so sorry" she kept saying in a low voice with her face in her hands