Keeper of His Heart
Chapter 3
That evening, Tim returned to his apartment in a pensive state of mind.
Prior to the Terence saga a year ago, the man had been the proud owner of a two-storey home in a middle-class neighbourhood. He gave it all up however, for a much smaller apartment. Tim did not mind the smaller living space. His new home was closer in proximity to the new O.R.A.I.C headquarters. Additionally, O.R.A.I.C agent or criminal, he had never had much time (or reason) to remain at home for long periods of time.
Several other O.R.A.I.C agents were also living in other nearby apartment buildings; Clover and Alex included. With Sam gone, the villa they had shared held too many good memories of their friend. It had been taking its' tortuous toil on their psychological wellbeing, so it did not take much convincing for the pair to move.
Plus, Jerry had advocated for them to live close to one another as he was unsure if Terence would return to finish what he started. Safety in numbers, he had said. And Tim had to admit that it was reassuring to know that backup would be close by, should Terence really hunt him down.
He has plenty of reason to want me dead. I abandoned the LAMOS at their time of need, or the fact that I have insider knowledge about him and his operations…Tim reminded himself. It was one of the reasons why he was constantly on alert when outside his home. The apartment was the only place he let his guard fully down.
Tim's home was small and neat. The white furniture, matched with a light brown wooden floor, gave the home a rustic feel. Despite rarely spending much time there, the signs of life were clear. There was a stack of thriller novels stacked on the side table adjacent to a well-used armchair (books on his reading list which he somehow lacked the time for). The kitchen too, was well stocked up with the essentials. Some files sat on the coffee table- paperwork that Tim had to catch up on.
The man heaved a great sigh after entering his home. He closed the door behind him. It was as if a switch had been flicked, as Tim let the burden of the day go. The aloof and serious façade he always held up at work disappeared. His features noticeably relaxed, tension leaving his shoulders and eyebrows. Yet, the revelations from the day continued to trouble him.
It was only after a quick shower, when Tim was settled on the armchair with a bottle of beer, did he allow himself to think.
If the Red Woman is working for Terence… And if she's stealing cash and some electronic stuff…There must be some grand plan that Terence is working on…Which means we must step up our game.
The problem was that the team at O.R.A.I.C was having trouble pin-pointing Terence's current location.
One trait about Terence was that the man tended to be painfully predictable. Initially, it had not taken a genius to track Terence and his two sidekicks. Jerry's brother had predictably hidden in plain sight in the yellow submarine the LAMOS had used. However, rash actions by O.R.A.I.C had unfortunately tipped the man off, and they slipped under the radar once more.
Up till now that is. Tim recognized a chance when he saw it and was fully prepared to milk it to his advantage, assuming that the Red Woman really was working for Terence.
If she really IS working for Terence…She could lead us back to their headquarters. It could be the breakthrough we really need. When Nancy gets the CCTV footage, I'll have to talk to Jerry. Tim decided finally.
With a half-plan in mind, Tim sighed and willed himself not to think of work any longer.
Clover and Alex always call me a workaholic…I guess old habits die hard. Rolling his sea-foamed eyes at the thought of his two female colleagues, Tim took a long chug of his drink.
It did not take long before his thoughts took a darker and much more sombre turn.
Sam…How I wish you were still here…
As with every night, the alluring image of Samantha Simpson came into his mind. Even a man as strong willed as Tim Scam had his weakness. He had come a long way this past year and finally accepted the soft spot and fondness he had for the redhead spy.
Too little too late however…The pessimistic voice in his head reminded him.
Now, he welcomed the distraction she provided him every night in his thoughts and fantasies. For just a while, he could just forget.
Forget all his worries.
Forget the pressure they were all under to capture Terence and achieve justice.
Forget the horrific event of a year ago.
And most of all to forget that the only woman he had ever cared for (done so in a very roundabout manner), was dead.
A familiar jolt of pain gripped his heart.
Before all of these happened, Tim was what one would call a "love sceptic". He did not believe in love, saw it as a weakness to be exploited, and never imagined anyone would want to care, or love him willingly.
But now, Tim understood. Sam was the epitome of unconditional love. She looked out for him, worried about him and cared for him, even though they were arch enemies. She sacrificed her life for him, even though he was a dangerous criminal, and she was W.O.O.H.P 's best superspy.
She had loved him and embraced him, flaws, and all. It was something that Tim had never experienced from another woman apart from his own mother.
And Sam had paid the ultimate price for it.
It had taken a tragedy for Tim Scam to come to terms with the extent of his feelings, and he was doomed to carry that knowledge for the rest of his life.
Tim heaved a heavy sigh, getting out of his seat so that he could pick up the black leather wallet he had left on mantle next to his car keys. He opened it and fished out a colourful polaroid photograph from one of the side pockets.
The edges of the photograph were creased and matted with dirt, proving the frequency which Tim would admire the polaroid. In it, Sam wore a blue V-neck T-shirt and dark blue jeans. Her hair was pulled half up, styled in a manner which emphasized her face shape. Leaning against the trunk of a tree, she had been seated on a red and white checked mat. A thick tomb was propped up on her thigh, against her knee. The redhead was so deeply engrossed in the book that she never once noticed that someone had taken the photograph.
It had been Alex who had approached him not long after the tragedy and offered him a copy of the polaroid. Despite the fact that animosity had still been brimming at that time (to be fair it had mostly been between Clover and Tim, both being highly stubborn individuals that would not back down easily), the young woman had nonetheless came up to him one day and gave him the photograph.
"I know you're hurting, just like the rest of us…" When Tim had said nothing after staring at the photograph for a minute, the olive-skinned spy began tentatively.
The sense of loss had still been very raw then. He had raised his head immediately with the aim of snarling an insult at the young woman, but she pressed on quickly.
"Deny it all you want Scam. But I know you are hurting. We are too…We all miss her." The sadness was reflected in her eyes too. Tim stiffened but never said a word.
"I found this photograph among Sam's things…while we were packing up the villa. We were having a picnic that day and Clover took a picture…I made copies for myself and Clover, and I thought you might want to have one too."
Still obtaining no response from Tim, Alex sighed and turned around to leave.
"Wait." He stopped the young woman in her tracks with one word. She spun around, brown eyes meeting seafoam.
"Thank you." The respect and regard he held for the spy grew ten-fold. "It was very thoughtful of you."
"You're welcome. See you around Scam."
That had been the turning point where Tim's perceptions of the two superspies began to change.
Now, Tim Scam brushed his thumb across the worn surface of the picture with gentle strokes. His eyes never left the contented form of Samantha Simpson engrossed in her novel.
We'll get him Sam. He'll pay for all that he has done to you.
Two days later…
The liaison department had managed to acquire the CCTV footage from the most recent encounter between Clover, Alex, and the Red Woman. Jerry, Tim as well as the two superspies scrutinized the footage carefully.
After much deliberation, both Jerry and Tim had to admit with at least 95% certainty that the Red Woman had been trained by Terence Lewis. The style and moves, even the methods used by the Red Woman to block attacks, were identical to the tactics that Terence would use.
The four agents were currently in Jerry's office, deciding on how to best proceed with the new information.
"Well that solves one mystery then." Clover concluded reluctantly.
"Indeed." Jerry was thoughtful.
"But this only proves that Terence taught her how to fight. We can't conclude with certainty that she's working for him now." Tim said logically.
"That crossed my mind too. So, I asked Nancy to obtain the security footage of the stores that the Red Woman has targeted." The head of O.R.A.I.C produced two small hard drives from his desk drawer. Each was labelled with the name of the shops.
"Here is the security footage for two of the shops, dating back to two weeks before the robberies." He handed them to Tim. "I haven't had the time to look through them yet, but I'm hoping that there might be some clues." The older man said.
"I'll look at it this straight away." Although not all pleased at the daunting task ahead, Tim accepted the hard drives with grace.
"We can help too." Clover piped up quickly. "We've encountered the Red Woman twice…It's likely we'll be able to spot her too on a CCTV footage.'
"Yeah. Three pairs of eyes are better than one." Alex added.
"Sure, I'm glad you're volunteering. Thanks ladies." Tim was grateful for the assistance and the company. Security footage could be useful, but most of the time they were awfully dry and time consuming to sieve through.
"Excellent. Feel free to use the large projection monitor in the meeting hall."
"You got it Jer." Alex made a move to stand.
"Let me know if you find anything." The head of O.R.A.I.C straightened up. "But before you go…Tim? A word if you don't mind."
Tim stood up as well, nodding his head in his boss's direction. He handed the hard drives to Clover. "I'll catch up with yall at the meeting room. Start without me."
The two superspies left soon after, leaving Tim alone with Jerry in the latter's office.
"Have you had a chance to take a look at the information I sent you Tim?"
The moment Tim had expressed his interest on the Red Woman's case two days ago, Jerry had emailed some encrypted files regarding the case to Tim for his perusal so as to bring in up to speed.
"Yes, I have." Tim fished out his tablet reserved for work, which he kept in his trench coat pocket. "I've examined the information. Like you said, there does not seem to be much of a pattern to the Red Woman's activities. Temporal wise at least." With his finger, the man manoeuvred some information on his tablet before showing it to his boss.
"She's committed only about four robberies so far. I drew a spatial map of her targets. They are all within two kilometres apart from one another, and all fall under these ten kilometres," he paused for a moment and pinched the screen so that the map zoomed out, "radius of downtown L.A. I suspect their headquarters must be around this area, since you did mentioned that she doesn't use a car."
Jerry scrutinized the map for a bit. "That's still a rather big area." He noted.
"Yes." Tim admitted. "But I think we can remove the big banks along the Central Business District area. The Red Woman is mostly targeting small establishments and electronic shops. I'll say that's her pattern, and I'm not surprised. These places generally have more lax security measures… I might be able to narrow the scope down further, but I'll need more information. Are there any other law enforcement officer besides Clover and Alex that had encountered her before?"
At that question, Jerry nodded, yet his features displayed a lack of emotion. "A security officer on night duty mentioned once he saw her lurking around after committing her robbery, but she sprinted away when he called out to her. She went undetected the first two times. Disabled the alarm and everything. In fact, Clover and Alex stumbled upon her only by chance, leaving another crime scene. The security officer can't add on anything more than Clover and Alex are willing to give. I'm still working with the police on a possible connection with an earlier robbery of a Walmart store. But other than that, nothing."
"Looks like another stakeout might be in order then." Tim leaned his head on his arm, feeling a growing headache coming along.
"Yes. In fact, I was counting on you to take over this case from the girls."
"Me?" Sea-foamed eyes widened in surprise.
Jerry nodded. "The Red Woman will be on the lookout for two women but not a man, so you might have an advantage there. And besides, I was thinking we ought to try a different…perhaps a more…softer approach to things. She needs to be stopped fast Tim, but she could also help us stop Terence too."
Tim caught the hint. In the few field missions, he had been on, his charm had been advantageous in lowering the criminal's guard. What Jerry was asking him to do was to obtain information about Terence from the Red Woman. "I'll do my best Jerry."
"Never once doubted you wouldn't." His boss replied. "Go. I think I have taken up enough of your time."
Tim swung by the break room to obtain a few drinks before meeting his colleagues in the meeting room. By the time he got there, the large monitor screen was up and running. Alex and Clover were seated stoically in their chairs, their eyes glued to the screen before them as the video tape ran. The CCTV footage gave a birds' eye view of the main door of the shop, the back view of the cashier, as well as some parts of the store.
"Brought you ladies drinks." He placed the two cups of hot chocolate in front of each woman, before taking a seat next to Clover. "Any luck?"
Clover paused the tape. "Not yet. This is the footage of the electronic store, the first store that the Red Woman robbed. We've just finished examining the first three days of footage."
"Nothing suspicious yet. No sight of the Red Woman or anyone familiar. But we've still got a long way to go." Alex sipped the beverage gratefully. "Thanks Tim."
"Let the tape run." Tim told Clover. She pressed the 'pause' button once more, and movement resumed on the screen.
"Refresh my memory. What did she take from this store again?" Tim took out his tablet again and reviewed his notes, while keeping an eye on the moving images on the monitor.
"Two of the latest laptop computers, and an iPad." Alex recited from memory. "Also, three smart watches…and a set of walkie talkies."
"I always felt that the walkie talkies don't match up to the rest of the stuff she took though." Clover mused.
"My guess is that if this DOES have anything to do with Terence, he'll be working on fiddling with the wiring technologies and all that." Tim answered dryly. "Doesn't he have someone like a lab technician working for him?"
"Yeah I think so. Wayne and Shane. Wayne's the one with the electronics background. Shane deals with chemicals." Alex said. They had some background information on Terence's last known accomplices, but information had been few and far between. A warrant of arrest had since been put out for them, however.
No one said anything for almost an hour, as the trio of agents focused on the tape before them. Suddenly, Clover sat up straighter in her seat. "Pause the tape." Tim hurriedly did so. "Unwind it a few seconds back." She said.
Alex leaned forward and cocked her head towards the screen. "Did you see something Clover?" She asked.
Once Tim had rewound the tape to the appropriate location, Clover stood up to take a closer look.
"There." She pointed at a man. At first glance, the man looked ordinary enough. Like Tim, he had a strong physique, and wore a tight black shirt and grey work pants. From beneath a blue baseball cap, ebony tresses could be spotted that reached just after the man's ears.
The shot that Clover had chosen was when the man had just entered the store. Most of his face was in view of the camera. A moustache and a hint of a beard made him appear in his early thirties.
"He looks…familiar." Alex mused, wrecking her brains.
"I don't recognise him." Tim shook his head as he added his two cents.
"Does he remind you of…Wayne Franklin Alex?"
The olive-skinned woman snapped her fingers. "That's it! That's why he looked familiar!"
"Wayne? As in Terence's accomplice Wayne?" Tim clarified quickly. He sifted through his own memories of the fateful day a year ago but could not recall any encounter with Terence's new associates. That would explain why he did not recognise the man.
"I'll pull up his criminal record." He said instead. Clover and Alex ignored him, each speaking over the other as they compared notes and debated the identity of the man on the CCTV.
After he had gotten access to the record, as well as sharpen the image on the CCTV screen, Tim studied the two images before him carefully. "There's certainly some resemblance." He said. "The moustache, beard and length of his hair throws one off at first glance… But otherwise yes." He leaned back on his chair. "Looks like Wayne Franklin."
"We'll have to put the footage through facial recognition technologies to be sure." Tim added as an afterthought.
The trio continued pouring over the footage, switching between the three security camera videos from the shop. The Wayne Franklin look alike had loitered in the electronics shop for almost thirty minutes. He circulated around the shop several times, paying close attention specially to the laptops and the smart watches. He never spoke to the attendants or any other customers. Tim, Alex, and Clover also observed the other customers, but nothing else jumped out at them. The Red Woman never once made an appearance.
It took three hours, but the trio managed to skim through the rest of the tape. Although they had caught sight of a few potential sightings of the Red Woman, nothing was conclusive. The lead on Wayne Franklin was the best one they had thus far.
"Good work nonetheless Clover. This might be the evidence we need to prove that the Red Woman is working for Terence." Tim's mind was spinning. This revelation meant that he might have to rethink his approach to apprehending the Red Woman. She could lead us to Terence if I play my cards right…
"To be honest, I would never have identified him if not for the fact we were just talking about him earlier. It's been a year, and my mental image of him is quite fuzzy." Clover answered.
"Let's look at the second footage first. If the same thing comes up, then we can report to Jerry." Alex suggested.
A week later, Agent Elias Meyer joined the Weaponry Department at O.R.A.I.C. He was a nice enough man from Germany in his late twenties, with a cheerful dispossession yet took his work seriously. Elizabeth and Lonnie got on well with him.
Tim was glad that things were working well in the Weaponry Department. Because that meant he could gradually hand over his current projects to the latest recruit and have the time to focus on more important things.
Namely, the Red Woman case.
Thanks to some facial recognition technologies ran by associates in the FBI, it had soon been confirmed that the man in the CCTV footages was indeed Wayne Franklin.
Jerry's connections at FBI were working to see if anyone else of interest popped up in the four stores that the Red Woman had raided thus far, but it was slow work.
The team at O.R.A.I.C had also finally established some sort of pattern in the modus operandi: Wayne Franklin would visit the shop between three to five days before the actual robbery took place. The robberies were each between three weeks to almost month apart.
With input from Jerry, the spies and a criminologist expert that owed Tim a favour, Tim had narrowed down possible next targets to seven different shops, all within downtown Los Angeles.
Then, it had been a tedious 24-hour operation of watching security footage from those seven shops, waiting for Wayne Franklin to show up. Days passed without any positive results. Tim hoped fervently that his guesses were correct. If his deductions were wrong, they would have to wait yet another month. And Tim was sure Terence had some massive plans going on; O.R.A.I.C could not afford to wait another month.
Finally, five days after the team began their 24-hour CCTV operation, they had a breakthrough.
Wayne Franklin was spotted at a hardware store.
Time to get moving. Tim thought with determination. Next stop, night-time stakeouts.
This was a filler chapter of sorts before the drama comes, hope you guys liked it! Sam and Tim will be meeting soon!
Thank you all for the reviews, follows, favourites etc. They make my day and keep me going! Reviews are always welcomed; love hearing what you guys think! ^^
Stay safe everyone and keep your spirits up!
Until the next chapter,
TrixieNancy