Keeper of His Heart
Chapter 2
The Red Woman made it back to the secret base without arousing any suspicions. The headquarters of Terence's operations were now underground in the middle of an untouched forest. It was secluded and had the added advantage of being very spacious. Each of Terence's associates had their own room, space for experiments, and there was even a special room just for exercise equipment.
Sam immediately went in search of Terence the moment she returned.
She found the older man in the room he called 'Control', where dozens of screen monitors had been procured and the public system hacked to show the streets of Los Angeles. Sam noted without much interest that the streets were starting to fill with people going about their day.
"Terence." She greeted the man formally. He was decked in a white suit with a blue vest underneath. The clothes were crisp but not new; a couple of old stains stood out if one squinted. Yet, standing with his arms folded across his chest, Terence Lewis looked and acted the part of the leader of their small association of criminals.
The older man turned to look at her when she addressed him. His eyes lightened with mirth. "Samantha." He returned her greeting and strode over to meet her. "I trust that everything went well?"
"As well as it could be Terence." Sam replied coolly. The redhead could never understand why her boss never called her Sam, despite everyone else she knew addressing her as so. To her, her full name sounded way too formal, creating a kind of invisible barrier between boss and subordinate. It's as if he wants to keep me at arm's length or something…
Sam unzipped her shoulder bag and took out the money she had obtained from her burglary expedition. A few boxes of headache tablets followed. She wordlessly handed the money to her boss and watched as he counted it greedily.
"Not bad. That should cover the cost of shipping the explosives…" Terence mused to himself. Sam cocked her head to the side with interest. She knew Terence was aware of her blatant curiosity, but he did not further elaborate what he had let slip.
That was another thing that irritated Sam, the fact that Terence Lewis was the most paranoid person she had ever met. Well, with my memory loss after the accident, it's not like I can say I've met a lot of people… She thought warily. But nonetheless…
Despite being a part of Terence's plans for revenge against W.O.O.H.P, it frustrated Sam to no end that her leader never once diverged his plans to her. She suspected that Shane and Wayne knew slightly more than she was told, and it angered her that she was always left out of the loop. Sure, he made her, and Wayne do the dirty work of stealing cash, computers and other electronic parts. And Shane had told her before how Terence had him experimenting with some volatile chemicals, but all three of them were otherwise only given pieces about their leader's master plans. If it wasn't for Terence occasionally speaking without thinking, Sam wouldn't know much at all.
It spoke volumes of Terence's lack of trust in his associates, which rankled the young woman. Shouldn't there be a two-way relationship going on here?
"Well?" The softly spoken but serious question broke the tense silence. "From your words, I'm assuming that you encountered some…resistance on your mission?"
Sam gritted her teeth as she remembered who she had sparred with. "The two female spies from O.R.A.I.C." She said. "They cornered me, and we fought a bit, but I managed to escape."
"Ahh…Clover and Alex." She had reported to her leader previously when she encountered the spies, so Terence knew who Sam was talking about. "Did they have any clue of your identity? And your connection to me?"
"Of course not." Her eyes sparkled with defiance. "I was careful, you know I always am." Indignance crept up her spine.
Terence raised a brow at Sam's obvious show of fieriness but chose not to comment. "That would be best, and you better keep it so." He said coldly.
Translation: You better make sure to leave no clues behind, otherwise it's on your head. Sam had to mentally restrain herself from resorting back at her leader.
"Those pesky spies and my dim-witted brother have no clue that you work for me. We have the upper hand here, the element of surprise." Terence said. "How is your search in locating O.R.A.I. C's base?"
"I'm working on it." She answered shortly. "Give me some time." It wasn't easy to scout out a semi-underground operation, especially since she had no one to fall back on. Shane and Wayne both had their own duties and were always busy.
Terence had provided her with a file with information on possible O.R.A.I.C operatives, and she had been tailing some of them, to no avail yet. However, it was getting more difficultly to get around unnoticed ever since her alternate identity has been splashed on the newspapers with the robberies Terence had ordered her to commit.
Not to mention, her leader had forbade her to go near O.R.A.I.C's operatives in her true self, for reasons unknown to her. Without a proper disguise, it was hard for her to obtain field information.
"Two weeks Samantha. I'll expect something substantive by then. Do whatever it takes." Terence Lewis ordered. Sam could feel the underlying disapproval and criticisms implied in her leader's voice.
"I'll do my best Terence." She stiffly bade her leader farewell before quickly taking her leave.
Sam stalked into her room in the secret base, seething under her breath.
"The nerve of that man! Assuming that I'm not careful, belittling me and my efforts for his evil plans! Well if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have the financial backing for your evil schemes, or the electronics you need!" She muttered, tossing her bag without a care on her single bed.
It wasn't the first time Sam got frustrated at the man she called her leader. Terence Lewis had not and would never fit Sam's view of what a leader should be. He was too secretive, too formal and cordial with her; never expressing much emotions apart from anger and hatred. Furthermore, he was too focused on the goal and hence did not express enough concern (and trust) in his subordinates.
Deep in the recesses of her mind however, Sam knew somehow that there WAS someone that she looked up to greatly in her life. But the images were fuzzy, like threads from spider webs that disappeared when she tried to grab onto them.
All in all, Sam found that Terence's cold, dictatorial attitude difficult to bear. If she were being honest, Sam wouldn't have chosen to work for Terence Lewis at all, if not for the fact that he had supposedly saved her life. And that they were both after the same goal- to take revenge on O.R.A.I. C's members.
But you know you're even having doubts about Terence saving your life…The traitorous voice in her mind mocked.
Sam sat down on her bed with a heavy sigh. Ever since her first encounter with the superspies from O.R.A.I.C, everything she thought she knew had been thrown into question. It was then when the flashes started. Pieces of something which Sam was sure were her missing memories.
She thought back to the flash of déjà vu and the flicker of memories that had occurred hours earlier when she was fighting the two women.
Flashback:
"Give it up Red Woman." The one in the red catsuit snarled as she threw a punch in her direction.
"Fat chance." Sam had growled, hostility in her eyes. She was careful to lower the tone of her voice. That was another one of Terence's 'weird' orders: not to reveal anything of her true identity to any O.R.A.I.C operatives, including her voice. Something about voice recognition technologies that O.R.A.I.C had which could easily be traced back to her…
Sam dodged the punch easily and returned an attack of her own. It was more of a match of wits, since they were all quite evenly matched in skill. The only unfair advantage the O.R.A.I.C agents had was that it was a two against one fight.
Speaking of which…
Sam's sensitive ears picked up movement to her far left, and she pivoted quickly enough to send a flying counterattack at the spy in the yellow catsuit.
The short haired woman didn't have time to dodge it, and flew a short distance away, crashing into some cardboard boxes and trash bags.
"ALEX!" The spy in the red catsuit yelled in panic, abandoning the fight momentarily to check on her friend.
It was as if the scream had triggered something. Sam paused in her tracks when her head suddenly started pounding heavily. One hand moved to grip her head as a flash of images attacked her mind.
The scene was similar to the one she was currently in: a deserted street in the wee hours of the morning. Sam saw herself, dressed in a green catsuit similar in style to those of the two O.R.A.I.C agents, fighting at an unknown enemy. The two O.R.A.I.C operatives were there as well. The stark difference being that the three of them were fighting on the same side, rather than opposing ones.
At that moment, the enemy sent a flying kick to the spy in the yellow catsuit which Sam now knew was named Alex. The athletic woman collided with a trash can with a loud crash.
"ALEX!" There was a voice screaming. It took a second for Sam to realize that the voice was her own's.
The memory abruptly ended there, sending Sam spiralling back into reality. More confused than ever, but recognizing an opportunity when it presented itself, Sam used the distraction to make her get away.
End of flashback.
Sam felt a headache coming on as she relieved the images that had flashed through her mind. It was so real…That Sam was a hundred percent certain that those were her memories.
And ever since their first meeting, Sam had been having consistent dreams…or even nightmares every night. It would always revolve around the three women, an older man that looked very much like Terence, and a younger man with beautiful eyes…
She would wake up every night drenched with sweat, with tears streaming down her face and a vague recollection of the contents of her dreams.
It was so frustrating that Sam had toyed with the idea of outrightly confronting the two spies about it. That's an absurd idea, and you know it. Terence will have your head if he ever finds out you did that. That is if you avoid getting thrown into jail in the first place…You ARE a wanted woman after all.
"But what do my flashbacks mean? Does this mean I was a former O.R.A.I.C operative? Why can't I remember?!" Sam wondered out loud, her voice growing in volume with every word.
How could we have been…partners? They murdered my colleagues and friends!
But those memories…does it mean Terence has been lying to me?
Who am I exactly?
Why was I wearing a catsuit like Alex and Clover?
Do they know who I am? Can they help me remember more?
Thought after thought flew into her thoughts, sending her mind into a frenzy and her headache worsening.
Sam sighed again once more, flopping down on the bed. Fatigue crept up her bones, the events of the day catching up to her. Unknowingly, the young woman drifted off to a light nap.
Sometime later, Sam was jolted awake out of her doze by a knock on her door. She had always been a light sleeper, awakening at any sound of disturbance. A force of habit she supposed.
Blurrily, she blinked out the sleepiness out of her eyes and paddled over to the door. She recognized the knock. Living in close proximity to three men in the past seven months had taught something about each man's unique knocking style.
"Hey Shane." She greeted the grey-haired man by the door.
"Hey Sam. You missed breakfast. Thought I'll bring you a little something." The man by the name of Shane held up the tray in his hands. Sam couldn't help but smile at the sweet gesture (not to mention the mouth-watering smell of breakfast burritos and coffee that was on the tray).
"Thanks Shane. I appreciate it. Come on in." She opened the door wider to allow her fellow comrade to enter. Closing the door behind her, she appraised the grey-haired man who was currently placing the tray on the lone table in the room.
Shane was a scientist working for Terence as well. Together with Wayne (a field operative like Sam with a background in electronics), they completed the group of operatives working under Terence. Shane was a thin, wiry man in his early sixties, always dressed impeccably in a long white lab coat. He grey hair was styled in an army crew cut, with piercing black orbs to complete the look.
Behind his back, Wayne and Terence would always address Shane as 'the mad scientist'. However, Sam knew the truth. Shane was just a very introverted man with unconventional ideas, but with a heart of gold. In the seven months she knew Shane, they had formed a close bond. He looked out for her wellbeing. Shane was more of a mentor to her than Terence had ever been, and she was thankful for that.
"Come. Have something to eat Sam. You look exhausted." The man beckoned her over and patted the chair next to his.
With a much lighter mood than before thanks to Shane's kind gesture and offer for company, Sam plopped down on the chair and picked up the burrito.
The young woman hadn't realized how hungry she had been until she started polishing off the delicious burrito. Shane noticed of course and sent a half-smirk in her direction.
"Hungry, are we?"
"Oh, shut it. You know Wayne has a bigger appetite than I do." Sam resorted back, rolling her eyes.
Taking a sip of her coffee, Sam glanced around her room. While her wooden table and small wardrobe complimented the white-washed walls, it struck Sam that her room was…plain. There were no pictures or personal treasures that highlighted her ownership of the room. Even her clothes had all been newly bought and ordered online by Terence when she had first regained consciousness seven months ago. Nothing in this room connected Sam to the past which she had no memory of.
It may sound like an oxymoron, but there were times that Sam felt out of place in her room. The room was a bittersweet reminder to be thankful that she was alive ("the lucky few" as Terence called it). However, Sam yearned to remember, to learn more about herself. She felt like a stranger living in her own body.
It suddenly occurred to the redhead that Shane might have some leads on her past. The older man certainly had been working for Terence before she had, so he perhaps knew her from before.
"Shane?" She glanced at him tentatively, assessing his mood before deciding to press forward with her question.
"Hmm?"
"Do you happen to know me…from before?" She kept her gaze on him the whole time, so it wasn't hard to pick up the abrupt stiffening of the older man's shoulders.
"What do you mean before?" He attempted to diverge the topic.
"You know…before my…accident? Before I lost my memory? Do you happen to know anything about my life from before?"
"What brought this on Sammy? Is something bothering you?" The man shifted so that he was facing her head on.
Sam shook her head quickly, wondering how much she ought to divulge. Although she and Shane had a close friendship and camaraderie, the man had an even bigger loyalty to Terence. And she certainly did not want word of her prying to get back to her elusive leader.
"Nothing much." She finally said. "I was just thinking you know? It's been seven months since the accident and my memory doesn't seem to be returning…But I keep feeling like there is a gaping hole in my life, so I guess I just wanted to know more about my past. To fill in the blanks as much as I can."
Shane was thoughtful for a moment. "I never met you prior to the incident." He spoke softly but seriously. "But I've heard of your legacy. It was only during the day where… W.O.O.H.P blew up our organization…along with many of our operatives in it did I meet you. But from what I have heard about you, they are all positive traits." He assured her.
"And you still possess some of those positive traits they say you used to have you know? A logical mind, strong loyalty, bravery, and an unwavering desire for justice." His smile was almost fatherly-like.
"Thanks Shane." Her smile barely reached her cheeks. Ever the perceptive one, Sam could tell that Shane was holding something back despite the honest front he displayed. While she was touched by his words, her six sense was telling her there was something more to it.
An emotion akin to disappointment crept up her spine.
If even Shane is keeping something from me, on what grounds can I believe the story they told me about my past? Those flashbacks are my memories, I'm sure of it. And those former W.O.O.H.P agents are a big part of it.
She stole another glance at her mentor.
I will find out about my past…Even if it kills me.
So, here is some background about Sam's current life, and insights on Terence's and Shane's personality.
This is my take on how Terence would treat Sam. Even though Sam doesn't have her memories (something which will be addressed in later chapters), I thought that the constant reminder of Sam's past was would have impacted how much Terence divulges plans to her. And I would think he's more paranoid (that Jerry and the others would find out she's alive) so he's more insistent on her wearing disguises and keeping her identity under wraps.
Would love to know what you guys think! Thank you so much for all the support, it means a lot and keeps me writing. ^.^
Take care and stay safe everyone!
Best,
TrixieNancy124