Veronica Versus The Nemesis
Over the past two months, Veronica Sawyer has done a lot of things. She's gotten good grades, flew a helicopter, and defused a bomb.
Only if this bomb was that easy.
The field team had been trying to disable one in a warehouse, but to no avail. Even Evan had to come down to stop it. He cut all of the right wires, typed in multiple codes, and still nothing stopped the blue coffin-like bomb from counting down.
With 10 seconds left, Evan did one last thing.
"Veronica?"
8
"What?!" She replied, knowing that death was imminent.
7
Evan instantly kissed her on the lips.
And she didn't resist.
2
"Wait!" Jeremy said via earpiece.
0
And nothing happened.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"We didn't die," Alex said with astonishment. "We didn't die!"
"I think those two just died a little on the inside, though" Lydia said, referring to Evan and Veronica, who still had their arms around each other.
"Well, this is awkward," Evan said.
"Definitely," Veronica agreed, before they let go of each other.
"Guys!" Jeremy yelled, running into the run, panting. "That's not a bomb."
"Ya think?" Lydia asked.
"It's a human transport container," Jeremy said. "The timer wasn't for a bomb, it was for how much oxygen was left."
"What?!" Veronica exclaimed.
Then, the container automatically opened, showing an oxygen mask and a heart monitor attached to a person.
But it wasn't just anybody.
"No, it can't be," Lydia whispered in shock.
The next day, Alex and Lydia still couldn't believe what they were seeing.
A CIA nurse was inspecting Phoebe Larkin.
Phoebe was unconscious, her brain waves being monitored. No visitors were allowed at the time, so Alex and Lydia stood in the hallway, watching everything unfold.
It was then that Phoebe's mouth moved.
"What did she say?" Lydia asked over the intercom.
"It sounded like 'Veronica,'" the nurse replied.
"Hey Veronica, we need to talk," Evan said when he called her later.
"It's about the kiss, right?" Veronica asked, caution evident in her voice. Just as Evan was about to respond, Veronica laughed. "Of course it's about the kiss. Look, Evan, I know that it seemed like a life-or-death situation, but I would normally run from things like that. You, on the other hand, kissed me-"
"Veronica," Evan interrupted. "It's about Phoebe."
Ah, of course, he wanted to talk about the other big thing that happened yesterday.
"I can't believe that she's alive," Veronica said. "I read her obituary. We went to her funeral. How's this even possible?"
"We don't know. She won't open up to anybody."
"Not even Lydia?" Veronica asked, knowing that Phoebe was Lydia's mentor.
"Nope," Evan replied.
"Why?"
"Because she asked for you."
"We need to know what happened to her. We think she'll talk to you," Alex said as he and his team made their way down to the Phoebe's room.
"Ok, wait a minute," Veronica said, stopping her whole team in front of the door. "You want me to go in there and ask her what exactly? I mean, I could go in there and be all like 'Hey stranger, why did you send me the Intersect? Why did you choose my life to ruin?' How exactly do I start that conversation?"
"Just talk to her, ok?" Lydia asked, with a bit of pleading in her eyes. "Her hands are tied around her back, so she probably won't do anything."
"Doesn't change the fact that she's still a rogue CIA-trained assassin," Alex said under his breath.
"But we'll be close by in case you need anything," Jeremy quickly added.
"Be careful," Evan said as he and the rest of the team started to walk away.
"Thanks," Veronica said quietly. She then turned around and faced the door. This is it, Veronica thought. Today, I finally get my answers.
"Who are you?" Phoebe asked, still a bit dazed after waking up.
"Hey, um, Phoebe, it's me, Veronica. Veronica Sawyer."
Phoebe looked confused, before giggling. "You are not Veronica Sawyer," she said. "What'd you do with the real Veronica?"
Now, it was Veronica's turn to be confused. "I am Veronica Sawyer."
"Wow, kid, you really need to up your interrogation game," Phoebe said. "So, unless, you're some sort of variant from the multiverse, I don't think you're really her."
Veronica was getting irritated by this point. "Look, you sent me the email with the Intersect. TheItchyAndScratchyShow file? veronicasawyer2 ? Any of that ring a bell?"
"Wait," Phoebe replied, suddenly serious. "Your email address is veronicasawyer2 ?"
"Yeah?"
"Oh, I see what the problem is. I made a typo, oopsie," Phoebe replied, trying to downplay the situation.
Veronica's mind began to spiral. All of these life changes, secrets, lies, you name it, was all because of a TYPO?!
"Are you KIDDING ME?!" Veronica yelled. "I have all of these government secrets trapped inside my head! I consistently have to lie to my friends and family for their own safety! I have four handlers because my life is constantly in danger! All because of a TYPO?! You ruined my LIFE!"
"How 'bout you try typing up an email when you're getting shot at, huh?! Let's see how you like it!" Phoebe shot back, before calming down. "Look, if you untie me, I'll tell you how to get the Intersect out of your head."
Veronica considered her offer. "Why should I trust you?"
Phoebe scoffed at that. "Don't you think that the one who sent you the Intersect would know how to get rid of it?"
Veronica had mixed feelings. On the one hand, Phoebe sent all of the wrong signals. Not only was she a stranger, but also a rogue assassin who sent her the most dangerous file ever.
But on the other hand…
Veronica instantly untied Phoebe. The spy in question then held Veronica's chest with one hand and held a syringe to her throat with the other.
The door swung open as the four agents walked in and held Phoebe at gunpoint.
"Phoebe, no!" Lydia yelled.
"Oh hello, Lydia, care to try again?" Phoebe asked, referring to her gun.
"Stand down!" Alex shouted.
"And you're with Agent Hamilton, too? Wow, this day keeps getting more and more interesting."
"Why did you destroy the Intersect?" Alex asked, referring to the way her phone exploded on the night that she "died."
"How are you alive?!" Lydia demanded.
"It's complicated," Phoebe simply replied.
"Who saved you?"
"They did."
"Who's 'they'?"
"That's none of your concern."
"None of my concern?! You were the only person I trusted, Phoebe! And then, you turned your back on your government! Your country! Me! I had to kill you! I've been living with that guilt for two months now! But please, tell me how it's 'none of my concern!'"
"It's not what you think, Lydia."
"Could you be any more cryptic?!" Jeremy suddenly shouted. "Can we get a name, place, something?!"
"Ah, Jeremy, it's so nice to see you again. Here's a little something for you and your team: Let me go with the girl, or else she dies."
"You know we can't do that," Alex said.
"Are you sure?" Phoebe asked, before she started to lead Veronica out of the room. The agents still had their guns as the two of them walked into the lobby.
"Don't do this, Phoebe. We're all on the same side here," Evan said as calmly as possible.
"And what side is that?" Phoebe asked as she led Veronica towards the elevator.
"I've got a shot," Alex said quietly.
"No shooting, I'm susceptible to bullets!" Veronica yelled as she got to the elevator doors.
"Access restricted," the machine said when Phoebe tried to get the elevator to them.
"The access code," Phoebe said, before holding Veronica's throat tighter than before. "I'll kill her, Lydia!"
"Between the six of us, I think she means it," Veronica croaked out.
Lydia had to act fast. "51602!" She shouted.
Phoebe entered the code into the machine. "Access granted."
Phoebe and Veronica entered the elevator, leaving the rest of the team to wonder about what to do next.
Once the elevator doors closed, Phoebe let go of Veronica and started laughing.
"Oh, come on," Phoebe once she noticed Veronica's confused expression. "You didn't really think that I was gonna kill you, right?"
"No, Phoebe, I did not know that. How would I know that? We just met! What are trying to do?"
"What's Lydia doing here?" Phoebe asked, obviously trying to avoid the subject.
Veronica decided to play along. Maybe then I'll get some more answers. "She's protecting me, okay? Along with Alex, Jeremy, and Evan. We're the good guys. Look, I don't know what game you're playing but you need to stop this, right now, before someone, namely me, gets hurt."
"We're slowing down," Phoebe said, referring to the elevator's speed. She pulled out the syringe. "We don't have to do the whole thing."
"No, please don't-"
But it was too late. Phoebe had her in the same headlock position when the doors opened to reveal a man.
Veronica's brain flashed, showing that the man's name was Tommy and he worked for an organization called Fulcrum.
"Phoebe, it's nice to see you again. Who's your friend?" Tommy asked, before taking a step forward.
"Step back!" Phoebe yelled, tightening her grip on Veronica.
"Ok," Tommy said, caving in. "I wouldn't want you to kill some random person. I would feel terrible."
"Tell your people that I'm gone."
"This is your chance, Phoebe. This is me being reasonable. Come on, let's be friends again."
"We were never friends."
"Ouch, now my feelings are hurt," Tommy said, feigning sadness. "You're gonna run, aren't you?"
Phoebe remained silent.
"Good," Tommy said, before walking away.
Once the elevator doors closed, Phoebe released her grip on Veronica.
"How do you know that man?" Veronica asked.
"Work."
"What's Fulcrum?"
Veronica had Phoebe's attention now. "Where did you hear that?"
"The Intersect," Veronica said, bravely. "I have these flashes full of information."
Phoebe slightly chuckled at that. "I was right. You can remember it's intel. Is it always that fast?"
Veronica decided that she was sick and tired of Phoebe's games.
"What is Fulcrum, Phoebe? Who are they, and how do they know you?"
The elevator made a bell sound. "This is my stop," Phoebe said.
"No, wait! I have questions. Millions of them."
"This is gonna sting a little," Phoebe said, before putting a dose of the syringe's contents into Veronica's neck. "Tell Lydia it's always hard to say goodbye."
Then , she dropped Veronica to the floor and sneaked away through the elevator shaft.
Veronica was already feeling dazed when Evan hurriedly approached her.
And that's when everything went black.
"Lucky for you, Phoebe didn't give you a full dosage. It'll be out of your system within the next couple of hours," Evan said, after examining Veronica's blood at Castle.
"Thanks," Veronica replied.
All of the other team members had left already, leaving just the two of them there.
"So," Veronica started, "about that kiss-"
"Don't worry about it," Evan interjected. "It was just a life-or-death thing. I wanted to go out in an epic way, you know? And you're prettier than Lydia. Oh! Please don't tell her I said that!" He said very quickly.
Veronica smiled at that. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. And I get it, it seemed like a life-or-death situation. I thought your kiss would be my last. That's why I caved in. Obviously, I would've preferred JD, not t-"
"No, no, it's fine. I would prefer you kiss him instead of me."
They were both internally grateful when Evan's phone buzzed.
"We gotta go," Evan said urgently before running.
"We?"
"Yeah," Evan said, stopping his run. "Somebody just broke into my house. I think it's spy-related."
Evan and Veronica quickly arrived at Evan's house, investigating every room until they found Phoebe in Evan's bedroom, trying to hack his computer.
"Hands up!" Evan yelled, holding Phoebe at gunpoint.
Phoebe put her hands up and slowly turned around. "Don't shoot me. You both need to listen to me. The Intersect was a mission. I was recruited by an outfit called Fulcrum. A special-access group inside the CIA."
"You're lying! We would've known about that!" Evan yelled.
"I'm not lying," Phoebe said before looking directly at Veronica. "That guy you met at the elevator? He's a Fulcrum agent." Then, she looked back at Evan. "They knew who I was. My activation codes, my records. They ordered me to shed my agency contacts and go deep. Only then did I realize it was an internal strike. I had to download and destroy the Intersect, because Fulcrum had nefarious plans for its intel."
"How can we trust you, Phoebe?" Said a feminine voice entering the room.
"I didn't mean to hurt you, Lydia. I just didn't know who to trust. I needed a friend who wasn't a spy. Someone who wouldn't know anything about Fulcrum or the Intersect or Sand Wall, but it ended up going to this girl instead," she said, referring to Veronica, who was just getting over a flash.
"Sand Wall, that was the name of the mission. Guys, I think she's telling the truth," Veronica said to her teammates.
"Did you flash?" Lydia asked.
"Yeah."
Team Sawyer was taken aback by that revelation.
"I told you I'm not rogue," Phoebe said.
Suddenly, Alex burst into the room, gun in position.
"Alex, no!" His team yelled as his gun went off, forcing Phoebe to the ground.
Lydia immediately rushed over to her. "Phoebe! Phoebe!"
"Time to finish the job," Alex said, his gun pointed at her heart.
"Alex, no! Veronica flashed, Phoebe isn't rogue," Lydia said.
Phoebe opened her eyes, before tugging down part of her shirt, revealing a Kevlar vest. "You guys really need to learn how to aim your guns better," she said before getting off the ground.
"I don't get it, Phoebe. How are you still alive?" Lydia asked.
"I don't know how they did it, if that's what you're asking. My guess is that they probably used of those European clinics. I don't remember it though."
"But do you know why they did it?" Evan asked.
"They brought me back to life, but they weren't trying to save me."
"Fulcrum?" Veronica asked.
"They wanted the Intersect. They were going to kill me again unless I gave them its location. I lied and said that they're in me. That's when they decided to save me by any means necessary. Fulcrum brought me back to take it out of me. That's why I need your help."
"Us?" Evan asked.
"I need to turn myself in to the CIA, but Fulcrum has operatives in every agency. I need to know that I'm being handed over to the real CIA."
"I can do that," Veronica said. "I can be there at the transfer. If I flash, they're Fulcrum. If not, you're on your way."
"That's a smart idea. We still need a place for the transfer to happen. A public place, with lots of people."
Veronica thought of a plan. "I know a place."
The halls of Westerberg High were abuzz the next day because students would be starting Thanksgiving break within a few hours.
In other words, it was a good time for CIA agents to blend in.
Veronica got a text from Phoebe: The CIA pickup is here. Do your pass.
Veronica quickly walked by where the agents entered, but no flashes happened. She texted Phoebe back: No flashes. The CIA guys are legit.
Veronica started to walk to her next class when she felt a hand touch her arm.
"Excuse me?" The man asked.
It was a voice Veronica already knew too well.
"Yes?" She asked, turning around to face Tommy.
"You're Phoebe Larkin's friend, aren't you? We met the other day."
Keep it covered. Veronica thought. "I'm sorry, sir, but I have no idea who you're talking about."
"Oh, that's ok," Tommy said. "As long as you tell me where 'Intersect 101' is taught." He then leaned down to whisper into her ear. "You don't seem to understand the situation. Think these witnesses are a guarantee that nothing's gonna happen to you?" Tommy then let out a slight chuckle. "You couldn't be more wrong," he said before pulling away.
Veronica was scared now. "Um, I'm really busy, so I sh-"
Tommy grabbed her arm again and whispered into her ear. "My team reacquired Phoebe Larkin and your sidekicks five minutes ago. Nothing stops me from fulfilling my orders. Innocents, civilians, I'll kill every last person in this place if you make me."
Phoebe and the gang arrived at the school in time to hear the fire alarm go off. Students were fleeing the building, but there was no sign of Veronica.
They walked into the school, only to see Veronica trapped in Tommy's headlock, a gun to her neck.
"One step forward and the girl is dead," Tommy said.
Phoebe pulled out her gun and shot Veronica in the chest.
Team Sawyer was horrified by this.
Alex then shot Tommy, dead in the head.
The team then rushed over to Veronica, who was laying on her stomach. They turned her around, only to see that she was alive.
Veronica pulled down part of her shirt to reveal a Kevlar vest.
"You know, for a bulletproof vest, it still really hurts to get shot," Veronica said.
Everybody let out a slight chuckle at that.
"But why did you wear one today?" Jeremy asked.
"So that we could use it as a last resort in case Tommy didn't cave."
"But why didn't you tell us?" Evan asked.
"Because we needed the reactions to be genuine," Phoebe said. "Veronica and I agreed on it last night after we went over the plan with all of you."
"A plan that of course went haywire once you were abducted," Veronica added.
"Don't remind me," Phoebe said. "By the way, great job improvising with that whole fire alarm thing."
"Thanks," Veronica said, thankful for the compliment.
"I'll send a team to secure the perimeter. They'll probably tell the school that there was a gas leak," Alex said before walking away.
"Hey Alex," Phoebe said, stopping him. "Nice job on that shot."
"Thank you. I can improvise pretty well when one of my team members get hurt," he replied before walking outside.
"What's gonna happen with you, Phoebe?" Lydia asked.
"Now, I have to give my report to Beckman."
The team was waiting for Phoebe outside of Castle later that day.
"Well?" Lydia asked.
"The CIA wants me to go after Fulcrum. On my own, off the radar. It means that Phoebe Larkin has to stay dead," she told the team.
"Where are you gonna go? Who are you going to be?" Lydia asked, worried.
"I'm sorry, Lydia, but you're not allowed to know," Phoebe said, before facing everybody else. "Goodbye, everyone," she said before walking away.
"You ok, Lyds?" Veronica asked.
"I'll be fine," she replied, sadly.
Veronica decided to somewhat change the subject for everyone. "Hey, um, my relatives from Chicago were supposed to arrive tomorrow for Thanksgiving, but now there's some huge snow storm over there, so they can't make it. JD's already agreed to come for Thanksgiving dinner, but I think my mom has too much food for four people."
They all knew what she was implying.
Two days later, Team Sawyer was having a wonderful time at Veronica's house. They were eating great food, swapping stories (granted, some of them were false), and pretending like their spy lives didn't happen.
Until Alex received a call from General Beckham.
"Excuse me, I've got to take this," he said, going outside.
"Hello?" Alex asked, once he answered the call.
"Agent Hamilton, I'm calling to inform you that the beta version of the Intersect computer was successful," General Beckham said. "This means the new Intersect should be up and running sooner than we thought. Once it's finished, it will be time for you to take care of Sawyer."
"Yes, sir."
"I hope that you have not grown too fond of the subject. I would hate for you to be compromised."
Alex looked inside to see his teammates playing a fun game of Truth or Dare. "I know what I have to do."
A/N: Thoughts? Any constructive criticism is welcome!
