Sam was leaning against the jet's window quietly, and Clover and Alex turned to look at each other in concern. She hadn't said a word since their mission along the coast of Italy.

"Sammie is everything okay?" Alex asked, coming closer to sit by Sam. Both she and Clover heard about the… incident, which is all they could call it since Sam absolutely refused to talk about it. It was a week since then and they had to miss a day of school because the villain of the week was extremely hard to track, and both Alex and Clover wondered what kind of repercussions laid in store for Sam when they got back.

"Do we have to all wear some makeup and look sick? Fake a cough?" Clover asked Sam, sitting by the edge of her feet. She wasn't stupid, she knew that at school someone who had their eye on Sam would notice her absence.

Sam didn't say anything for a few moments, but Alex and Clover waited her out. She sighed and lifted her head to look at them. Moment of truth and all.

"Tim Scam wants me to be his successor."

Even though they both knew that based off the incident, Alex and Clover still gasped. (Dramatic effect, really, but that's what friends were for so.)

"Did… Did he say why? You stayed out of his way" Alex said, remembering how she also avoided him. Clover wasn't so lucky, having dated one of the guys in Tim's inner circle, but instead of hiding from it she embraced the regime, knowing she could have more power.

Sam shrugged and bit her lip. "None of that mattered. I told him I wanted nothing to do with him and his sick games, and instead I got so angry I decided to blurt it out to the whole school." Sam sighed and leaned back against the window. Clover rubbed Sam's knee in a comforting gesture before speaking.

"What can we do to help?"

Sam shrugged again. She's been thinking what she could do or what she shouldn't do and all of it was messing with her head. "To be honest, I don't know. He's… He's terrifying. And I don't know why he's so interested in messing with people's lives."

"It's cuz he's a sicko, Sam", Clover retorted, making Alex giggle and Sam smile despite the situation. "That's what sicko's do. They fuck with people."

"Besides, it's just high school", Alex said. "It'll be over soon."

Sam sat up and hugged her best friends. She loved them so much, and the idea that Tim was using them to get to her killed her on the inside.

"That's the thing though", Sam said as she leaned back out of the hug. "It's just high school. Why is he so interested in high school students unless…"?

As she trailed off, Alex and Clover looked at each other again in confusion. Fortunately, (or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it), Sam was the one who could probably figure out Scam the best.

"Oh my God", Sam whispered. "He's practicing."

Alex scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "For what? Becoming a dictator?"

Sam laughed sardonically. "Yeah. Anything. Can you imagine a guy like Tim Scam as President? Actually I have a better one, what if he found out about WOOHP?"

That wouldn't just be bad, that would be astronomically terrible.

Clover gulped, "Somehow I don't think he'd be as nice as Jerry."

Sam shot up out of her seat so she could pace along the aisle. "No, no he wouldn't be but he would pretend to be nice and charming but in reality he's just some sick puppet master. He's obsessed with power and what better way that to have eyes on every part of the globe?"

Alex stood up from her seat and crossed her arms, "So we have to keep him from knowing about WOOHP. We can do that."

Clover leaned against the chair and crossed her legs across the floor. "Somehow I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about it already." Alex glared at her.

"Clover! Go knock on wood, that would be horrible!"

"For the last time Alex, knocking on wood is a stupid superstition— "

"Since when do you not believe in superstitions? Last week you saw a black cat on the way home and thought it was a sign to go back shopping!"

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I take a cosmic sign from destiny to go back shopping?"

"Girls!" Sam exclaimed, and both of them shot up to look at her but paused in whatever they were going to say, because Sam was actually smiling.

"As amusing as this is, we have bigger problems. Scam?"

"Maybe if we ask Jerry really nicely, he'll spy on Scam for us", Alex suggested, sitting back down in the jet seat.

Clover rolled her eyes, "Yeah that'll go well. Hey Jer, could you do us a solid and get rid of this jerk who might be the next Hilter?"

Sam sighed and sat down too to start picking at her nails. "I mean, it's an option but I can predict Scam's actions pretty easily. When we get back, he's going to corner me and ask if I'm feeling better, but he'll do it sarcastically because he knows none of us are actually sick. I'm hoping he'll just chalk it off to three girls cutting class to go shopping, but with our luck, he'll have spies at the mall who will run to tell him that none of us were actually shopping. Then he'll use lab as another excuse to talk to me, but since I hate his guts I'll just do it myself and send it in. But knowing him, he'll predict that and just corner me somewhere else and say I'm running from his stupid regime again. Sound about right?"

When Sam didn't get a response, she looked up from her nails and saw that Clover and Alex's jaw had dropped. "What?"

"Sammie… no wonder he wants you as his successor or whatever. That was amazing."

Clover nodded her head, agreeing. "I thought it was because you were top of our class and beautiful and brilliant, but maybe he chose you because you were good at predicting people too. Just, you know, not to the level of psycho that he does it."

"Maybe it's time we do call Jerry. This is getting kinda freaky", Alex said apologetically. "What's Scam planning on doing? Do you know where he'll be going to college after he graduates?"

Sam gulped and bit her lip. "Ten bucks says Scam is going into criminal psychology and will one day join the FBI or CIA and run everything."

Clover whipped out her communicator. "Why don't we find out where he applied then?" Clover sat between Alex and Sam so that they could both see the screen.

"Hello girls. How was Italy?"

"Great Jer, but could you do something for us?" Clover asked. Sam took a deep breath to quell down the nausea.

"Of course. What's going on?"

"We have this classmate, Tim Scam, senior, a little crazy but a total hottie—" ("Clover!" Alex hissed.) "Sorry, but he's hell bent on 'running the school'", Clover said using quotations, "and now he wants Sam to be his successor after he graduates!"

"Oh… my", Jerry said, at a loss for words. "That name however, sounds familiar. How is he running the school?"

Familiar? Sam spoke up. "It's not obvious but most students know about it. He predicts people's behavior with a lot of accuracy, and he uses that information to control people. I'm sure he's ruined the lives of people he sees as an enemy."

"Tim Scam, you said?" Jerry asked, and after getting a confirmation from the girls he searched him up in the system. "Oh my."

"What is it?" Alex asked, clutching Clover's shoulder like a crutch.

"Tim Scam… has the X gene. Normally we would have recruited him but… he refused, when he was fifteen."

"He refused?" Clover shrieked. "We were betting on how bad it'd be if he found out about WOOHP."

Jerry shook his head, "No we did a memory wipe but… To this day I didn't understand why he refused. Especially if he's exhibiting these behaviors. It worked out for us since we can't have someone like that in WOOHP but it is concerning. You girls need to steer clear of him. The memory wipe isn't stable. It could have damaged something."

Yeah, steer clear when he was all but stalking her. That would be easy. Sam gulped. "We'll look into it Jerry. Thanks."

After disconnecting the call, the girls were quiet. "What now?" Alex asked.

When they got back at school the situation played out exactly like Sam said it would, which should have been concerning considering how obsessed Scam was with predicting people's actions. Sam disregarded it for now. She had more things to worry about, like making sure Scam's brain wasn't altered by the memory wipe and if so, how to fix it.

Oh, and uh, making sure his regime ended with him. She didn't actually have a plan for that one, (or any of it, really), but it was nice to hope.

Scam was leaning against the locker next to hers, fiddling with his phone and looking as if he wasn't paying attention to a thing, but she knew how alert he really was. He had to be, with the observation skills he seemed to possess.

She gulped but made sure not to show any fear as she walked up to her locker and ignored his presence. She dealt with worse criminals, thieves and killers and psychos, but Scam… Scam was a different story. Probably because of how well he knew her and her friends.

He stayed quiet while she opened her locker and started exchanging her books, but it only took a minute of that until she realized all the background noise of students chattering away had suddenly stopped.

Deep breaths Sam.

She glanced around and saw the hallway was empty, despite the bell not ringing yet. Sam didn't have to look at Scam to know how satisfied he was. Bastard. It was aggravating how quick everyone was to listen to him and his commands, but deep down she knew why.

The last time someone had even annoyed Scam, and Sam remembers it vividly, was two years ago. Josh Porters had said something akin to an insult and while people had chuckled in the cafeteria, Scam was deathly silent.

The next day the Porters had to leave town because Josh was found with cocaine in his locker and home. Police were called in by an anonymous tip, but everyone seemed to know that Scam was behind it. No one could ever prove it, not even Sam, who to this day still wracks her brain around it. Where Scam could find that much cocaine wasn't even the issue, Sam thought reluctantly, considering she had to admit that he was charming and could talk his way into anything. It was that the next day fear spread around the school but instead of isolating Scam and uniting against him, it worked in his favor and his regime at school started.

People probably thought she was crazy for even thinking of defying him, but he wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't. Not unless he wanted to wound his pride by picking the wrong successor, especially not after she practically announced herself as the next 'Queen'. But he did need to control her, otherwise his status was questioned, and that was probably why he was here.

Scam still didn't look up from his phone while she finished exchanging her books. Right before she was going to close her locker he grabbed her wrist with his left hand, and finally looked up from his phone and put it away in his pocket.

She looked at his hand gripping her wrist, and controlled her expression to look bored. "Really? I have class."

"Mhmm, no you don't". Scam said with a flick of his head. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Sc—Tim I can't skip class because you get anxious when I'm not in school and need to dominate your authority over me again", Sam said, treading on dangerous waters but it was a gamble she had to take.

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes, "Oh no, is poor Sammie going to fail if she misses one class? Please, we both know you'll get an A regardless."

Sam pulled her hand back forcefully so that he would let go. How could someone sound so condescending while complimenting her, she'll never know but it was aggravating.

"Besides", he said, turning to face her and leaning too much into her personal space. "Missing class yesterday didn't seem to be too much of a problem. What happened?" he said with a fake sugary tone. "Cold?"

She gave the fakest soft cough she could as a big fuck you. "Yes. Not that it's any of your business, but you seemed to forget that the only life you should be concerned about is yours."

The bell rung just then but neither of them moved. A slow grin grew on Scam's face as he put his hands in his pockets and leaned closer to you. "My, my, Sam", he said in a whisper. "Was that a threat?"

God, she wished she could kick his ass and tell him how dangerous she actually was. "Just stay away from me Tim. Or are basic commands too much for you?"

The movement was sudden but so fast, but Scam grabbed her around the waist with her arms trapped and pushed her back against the lockers and held onto her so tight. Sam almost instinctively wrapped her legs around him so that she could use the momentum to kick him back but she stopped herself before she could. What was she thinking? As far as Scam knew she was helpless, physically, and she had to make sure it stayed that way least Scam realize she was a spy.

Sam grit her teeth. "Let. Go. Of. Me." She was never this close to Scam and she wasn't about to start now.

Scam tsked. "Normally my quota for insults I'll listen to are zero, but I understand that you're think you're a special exception. That's fine. Just know that for every insult, I get something in return." Sam tried to kick his knees but he just tightened his grip using his legs and she was trapped. Scam was pretty strong and now she was starting to see proof of him having the X gene.

She should have flipped him over and kicked him to the floor when she had a chance.

"What do you want?" she asked. "And don't say that you want me as your successor."

Scam smirked. "Of course not Sam, I have to keep you on your toes don't I?" Sam just glared at him and waited him out. Hopefully no one would walk into the hallway and see her practically in Scam's arms.

He watched her squirm for another minute before speaking. "After school today, you're going to be in a situation where you'll need a ride. You will take it, and I'll drop you home."

Sam's jaw dropped. "Why?"

"Tsk, tsk, good girls aren't supposed to ask why."

Sam gasped, the nerve. She tried using her knee to kick him as hard as she could but he just held her down tighter. "Say that again and you'll have more to worry about missing body parts than what juniors are doing after school."

Scam threw his head back in laughter. "Oh Sam, you never cease to surprise me."

"I'm being serious."

"Oh I know", he said with a glint in his eye and a smirk. His voice dropped to a whisper and he brought his mouth closer to her ear. "This wouldn't have to do with any of the fun trips you've been taking with Clover and Alex, would it?"

Sam stilled. No. WOOHP's memory wipe was flawless, there was no way he knew anything about her 'other' life. She gulped the fear down and looked at him from the corner of her eye. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He chuckled, and she could feel it reverberating down her body. He pressed his cheek against hers and Sam struggled again, trying to get out of his hold when he made her freeze.

"Oh? How was Italy this time of year?"

No. No, no, no way. He was… Sam's throat dried up so quickly she had to gulp a few times to try and become rehydrated again. He was bluffing. He had to be. There was no way she gave away anything about WOOHP and he couldn't know about it. He couldn't.

"I've always wanted to go", he said wistfully, still pressing his cheek against hers and acting as if she wasn't shaking or wasn't three seconds away from a panic attack. "It's a beautiful place, and the coasts? Very romantic, wouldn't you say?" He chuckled and lightly brushed his lips against her cheek. Sam tightly closed her eyes but didn't say anything for a few seconds. She knew she couldn't say anything to confirm the truth.

"Sca—Tim." She took a shaky breath and tried to calm down but it was so hard to do it when he was wrapped around her, whispering words he had no business saying. "I don't… I've never been to Italy."

"Right, right", he said, rolling his eyes and leaning back to face her. "You don't 'know what I'm talking about', blah, blah, blah. How stupid do you think I am, hmm?"

Not stupid at all, she realized with a frightening thought. Scam was much more intelligent than she could have ever hoped to imagine.

"I'm getting bored of this game Sam, so let's cut to the chase. Tonight, you're going to get into my car, and tomorrow morning you're going to shadow me just as my successor should. And if you don't", he said, all traces of amusement from his face gone, "Then everyone at this school, everyone you've ever known, will know what dangerous and illegal activities you and your friends get up to. And sure, you have WOOHP", he said with a roll of his eyes. Sam's face drained of all color. "They'll protect you from any real harm, but trust me when I say that you'll never be able to go back to your normal life ever again. You can say goodbye to school, to your college hopes and dreams, to any real chance at a family, and you'll die alone, as a spy on the coast of some small country, forgotten to anyone who actually matters. I'll make sure of it."

With her throat closed up, she could barely breath and could barely stop the burning sensation of tears in her eyes. How could this happen? How did he know?

Never in her life had she met someone so intimate with her personal life and her spy life, who could easily use it against her.

She had to tell WOOHP. She had to tell Jerry.

"Or", he said, his eyes turning soft, "You can just agree to being my successor now. No fuss, no fights. And I'll forget all about it. As easy as that. What do you say?"

Sam couldn't say no. She couldn't say no.

But that didn't mean she had to say yes and be sealed in a deal with the devil. She could fix this.

She just had to speak to Jerry.

Taking a deep breath so that her voice wouldn't shake, Sam looked Scam in the eye. "Fine."

He raised an eyebrow silently, and she grumbled. She knew what he wanted to hear.

"Yes, I will be your successor."

Scam grinned, and if it wasn't for the fact that he was evil incarnated she'd think he had a nice smile. It was always the charming ones, wasn't it?

"Can you let me go now?" Sam asked. The faster she got out of this death grip of his, the better.

Scam nodded his head, but just as he let her go, he turned her around and slammed her back into the lockers, face forward this time. "Scam!" she yelled, all pretenses of politeness and naivety lost, but he just pressed himself against her and she blushed as she felt him. Fucking bastard.

"Please don't insult me by thinking I'm an idiot. I know you're going to call WOOHP, call your precious Jerry, and I'm not going to let you ruin everything I've worked for by blabbing away."

The amount of information he knew was dangerous, Sam thought, and she continued to struggle. He held her head down and came close to her ear.

"Do you think planting cocaine was really the worst thing I've ever done?"

Sam froze. Scam continued as if nothing happened, even though he was well aware of the effects his words had on her.

"Maybe next time WOOHP wants to erase my memory, they should use a machine that I didn't invent. Just a thought."

Sam stopped struggling. This was her prime chance to get information out of him. Something he said didn't make sense though. Invent?

"I thought… They said you refused to become an agent."

Scam chuckled behind her. "I knew hacking the database was a good idea. Maybe if you stop being so stubborn, I could teach you some of my tricks."

He ran his hand behind her head and gently cupped her hair, brushing his thumb against her cheek. "But no Sam, they recruited me at the tender age of ten. Something about my brilliance and potential and how staying in the safety of the lab with a chaperone would render the minimum age to join moot. But hey, guess they weren't completely incompetent. They did figure out that maybe my sociopathic side wouldn't make me the best agent and they tried kicking me out but…" She felt him shrug.

"How does Jerry not remember you?" she asked, completely confused. This doesn't make any sense. "What happened to the agents?"

Scam chuckled again, a dark sound that crept up her spine. "Oh, Agents Fuller and Max. Nice guys actually, a little insane considering they brought a ten-year-old into a spy agency and kept me away from Jerry's eyes for years. They met their unfortunate demise with a helicopter a week after I was gone… Heh. What a coincidence." Scam said happily.

Sam felt something lodge in her throat. "You killed them."

Scam smiled, and it chilled her to the core. "Are you saying that a little boy is capable of murder? That's just silly."

The newfound knowledge of a killer's hands being on her body shook her to the core. She felt like ice except everything he touched burned.

"If I were you Sam… I'd think twice about running my mouth to WOOHP or your little friends. In fact, the second I even suspect you told someone about this little encounter between us, I won't hesitate to slit Clover and Alex's throats in their own beds. You'll wake up to a bloodbath. Do you understand me?"

Sam didn't answer and he threateningly placed his hand around her neck and squeezed until she could feel bruises form.

"I asked you a question. I won't ask again."

A tear fell from her eye onto Scam's hand and Sam hated that she showed so much weakness in front of him. She swallowed with great difficulty. There was only one way to approach this now.

"I understand", she said as calmly as she could. "You have a deal."

Retribution.