Keeper of His Heart
Chapter 5
He had seen it. The flashes of uncertainty and hesitation in her eyes. They intensified with every word and taunt he had thrown at her.
That manipulative bastard!
Clearly, Terence had fed this young woman with lies. The O.R.A.I.C agent had an inkling of the threads of dishonesties and half-truths that must have been told to her; most likely to win over her trust and gain her help.
He didn't know why, but a wave of protectiveness crashed over him like waves when he first realised the extent of lies the young woman before him had believed to be true.
Maybe it was because he saw something in her, something worth saving. When the doubt and uncertainty had surfaced, it had reduced the Red Woman from a confident criminal to a vulnerable woman.
Maybe it was because at that moment, he had seen how young she truly was. Couldn't be any older than Clover, Alex…or Sam. The Red Woman could easily have been any of the women he saw as a family.
What is her backstory? He pondered. What caused her turn evil? It sounds as if she doesn't know much of her past…What has happened to her?
He had made devasting mistakes when he was about that age. Shunned for a mistake he didn't make; Tim Scam had been lured by promises of power and wealth into the life of criminality. He was lucky that he had gotten a saving grace through Sam's unyielding belief in him. But would the woman before him be so lucky?
Or maybe, his protectiveness stemmed from the unexplained connection he felt towards her.
When their hands had met, the resultant sparks surprised him. He had never felt such a sizzling connection to anyone apart from Sam. Whatever it was, Tim was intrigued.
From what he could deduce thus far, the Red Woman had proven to be smart, loyal, and analytical.
She'll do great things if she's steered to the correct side.
All these thoughts fuelled his belief that the Red Woman was worth saving and could be saved.
Much like how Sam always believed that there was inherently goodness in him, despite his flaws.
Now, as he deftly blocked each of her attacks, he wondered how he could help her see reason. Her judgement (and hence her resultant actions) were likely tied to the false stories Terence had made up.
"You don't know anything!" Sam seethed. She was swift on her feet, her anger driving all her blows. "You don't know the pain I felt when I heard that YOUR BOSS killed my friends and colleagues! He is a monster!"
Although she didn't have her memories, the sense of loss she felt was real. In the seven months since she had first regained consciousness, she had always felt something was missing. There was a raw, consistent pain in her heart. She had only managed to give some sort of meaning to her feelings when Terence had told her what he knew about her past.
But did that really happen to me? Or was Terence stretching the truth...?
"Who says I don't?" He challenged, ducking one of her kicks. Tim had chosen to remain on the defence; never returning the blows with any of his own. Fighting her will not help in gaining her trust. And Tim had a good feeling that the Red Woman could be the saving grace they needed to help defeat Terence once and for all.
If I play my cards right.
"Terence blew up all of my ex-colleagues, my fellow criminal friends, AND the woman I love! Don't tell me I don't know what pain means." He answered. His patience was wearing thin as he narrowly missed one of her attacks.
The man's honest confession drove something home in Sam. He understands. Someone understands the pain I'm feeling!
Yet, his words did nothing to ease the fire currently racing through her soul. On the contrary…
"Fight back! Why aren't you fighting back?" She shouted the question that was at the forefront of her mind. He wasn't retaliating, only blocking her fights, which made her mind spin with further confusion. Isn't his goal to stop me? So, shouldn't he fight and try to overpower me? What game is he trying to play?
"This isn't the road you want to travel!" Tim said instead, completely sidestepping the topic at hand. "Things are not what it appears to be. Terence is the enemy, not O.R.A.I.C!" He tried to reason with her.
"Pff...Who are you to tell me what I should or should not believe in? It's my life! Not yours! Why do you even care?"
It was as if she had flicked a switch. The sea-foamed eyes suddenly burned with such intensity that a jolt of fear pulsed through Sam. She barely had any time to process the change in the man's demeanour before his elbow made contact to the side of her face in an elbow strike. Pain immediately made itself known to her.
Punches and kicks were thrown in her direction. Sam retaliated as best as she could and blocked most of his attacks. But she was quickly tiring out.
Soon, Sam found herself kneeling on the ground, with her hands firmly pressed behind her back. Oh, how she struggled, but to no avail. Any kind of movement on her part only resulted in a tighten grip on her hands by Tim. The man had successfully managed to overpower her and was currently glaring fiercely at her.
I'm dead now. I'm going to be thrown into jail. I am such a failure...She thought to herself, lowering her head. If she got captured now, that would certainly put a damper on Terence's plans. She thought about the rat poison that was still in her bag. The bag had been discarded at the base of a tree when she had fought.
O.R.A.I.C is sure to put everyone on alert after they find the rat poison…They'll have a difficult time obtaining it again I'm sure…Oh, I'm such a failure…
Unaware of the Red Woman's internal monologue, Tim crouched down, keeping her hands firmly pressed behind her back. He himself too, was having an internal debate on what he ought to do next.
On the one hand, what Jerry had basically asked him to do was to gain the Red Woman's trust and hopefully uncover something about Terence's whereabouts and plans. They had a rough idea on where the base was, but scouting potential sights was slow work given the small number of O.R.A.I.C field operatives they had. Any help they could get would be very beneficial to the cause.
It was already proven that the Red Woman had her own doubts about Terence's story. Tim was quite certain that if she could listen to reason, there was a possibility to get the Red Woman to deflect to their side.
However, on the other hand, banking on this possibility could also become O.R.A.I. C's downfall. Gaining her trust meant to let her go, and Tim was worried that she might go on to spill everything to Terence. That would result in disastrous consequences that his brain wasn't ready to think about.
O.R.A.I.C will not become a second W.O.O.H.P HQ. I won't allow it.
Mindful that he didn't have much time left before Clover sent an army out for him (he was willing to bet that she had called backup), Tim made a decision.
He'll just have to belief that inner voice in him that the Red Woman could be trusted. And to play his cards very, very carefully…
He lowered his head near to her ear and spoke.
Despite her internal turmoil and panic, Sam forced herself to display a cool and collected front.
The large hands pressed against her wrists, holding them firmly down. The grip hurt a little, and Sam was sure that there would be bruise marks the next day. But a bigger part of her was more worried about what would become of her. Gone was her confident exterior as she faced the possibility that she would be thrown into jail. That idea scared her right to her core.
"To answer your earlier question Red Woman…" Shivers ran down her spine as a hot breath landed next to her ear. Her heart rate sped up even quicker.
"I care because I was your age when I made the biggest mistake of my life. I care because I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. I care, because someone showed me that we ought to believe that there is some good in everyone. I care because I believe in you." Each word sent a new, foreign sensation swirling through Sam's stomach. Her heart warmed.
In her short memory span of seven months, no one has ever expressed that much trust in her, ever. Even Shane doesn't trust you completely, and you see him like your mentor…
"Now that I have your attention…" He couldn't help but smirk upon noticing how still her form had become.
"I'm telling you. Terence wasn't telling you the whole truth. Yes, a year ago an explosion happened. Yes, a year ago many many innocents were killed. But those were all Terence's doing. Not Jerry's. I know it's hard to believe, and I don't have time to tell you the full story now…But trust me when I say that Terence's has been lying to you. Go and look it up. Many news outlets covered the explosion back then when it happened. Jerry even gave an exclusive about it. Look it up, and you'll see. Terence is manipulating you!" He told her firmly. His tone was no-nonsense.
She turned her head back, brown eyes locking with sea-foamed ones. The raw emotion and honesty were evident.
No! It can't be…But Sam had to admit the man made a convincing argument. All she needed to do was to do some research. She was pretty good at that regard but had just never tried searching about the events that happened a year ago.
You know why…Another one of Terence's orders…He's got an iron grip on how you go about with your life girl! You need to break free! Her inner voice shouted.
Just do some research! And you'll be able to put this thought to rest once and for all!
He nodded in satisfaction as he watched the cogs of her mind worked. It would appear that Terence had…brainwashed her in some ways. Whether it was done intentionally or not was another story. But the young woman before him was smart, she would be able to differentiate right from wrong on her own once pointed in the right direction. Tim was quite sure she possessed the spy gene as well.
She would be a great help to the cause if she could be convinced to switch sides.
Satisfied that he had done all he could, Tim surprised the Red Woman by releasing his grip on her and helping her to stand.
Sam waited for him to handcuff her or to take her away, but he didn't. He only continued to appraise her intently, his beautiful eyes bearing into her soul.
Once again, Sam was struck by a sense of comfort and familiarity she felt with the man. Traitorous thoughts roamed into her mind, before she blinked and looked away uncomfortably.
A half-smirk adorned his face. He took a step back and did a 'go away' motion with his hand.
That's it? He's just going to let me go? She thought incredulously, cocking her head to the side. She had never encountered such strange behaviour by an O.R.A.I.C agent before…
Tim sensed her disbelief and curiosity. "Think about what I've said." Tim told her. "If you choose to believe me, I'll be here at one-AM on Friday night to answer any further questions you've got. We can have a rational discussion then."
Sam gulped, biting her lower lip. But she nodded curtly. "Why do you want to help me?"
"I told you already-"
"No…Why do you really want to help me?" Although she was convinced of his altruistic motives, she was also sure there was a side agenda.
It took a moment for him to understand what she was asking. "A little quid pro quo." He simply said.
The words triggered yet another foreign memory.
'A little quid pro quo. But its' not what you think. I just want your friendship.'
In her mind's eye, she saw herself scrawling those words on a piece of paper, before folding said paper into an aeroplane.
But like before, when she tried to grasp the tendrils of the memory, they vanished.
Did I write those words before? Was it to this man before me?
Pushing the memory aside, Sam allowed herself to contemplate the man's response. She nodded once more, understanding.
"Now go." He heard a car rounding up the corner. Backup was coming and fast. "Quickly!" He grabbed her bag and hurriedly pressed it into her hands.
She glanced at him and made a spur of a moment's decision. Unzipping the bag, she tossed the bottle of rat poison at him with a gloved hand. His quick reflexes gave him barely enough time to catch it.
"What-"
"I'll expect to have it back the next time we meet." She couldn't help but throw him a wink, that earned a full blow chuckle from him.
"Thanks. I'll take care good care of it." He answered, meaning every word.
Sam returned with a smirk of her own.
"TIM!" A female voice called out. Hearing hurried footsteps coming closer and closer, Sam took to her heels.
But not before sending a strong kick to the O.R.A.I.C agent's side, sending him sprawling on the ground.
Clover and Alex rounded the bend just in time to see a blur of black darting away into the night, and their friend on the ground, clutching his side in pain.
"TIM!" His two colleagues hurried over. Alex crotched down to check on him, while Clover sprinted head in pursuit of the Red Woman.
"She got away." He rasped, wincing as he sat up. "But I got some information from her." Alex helped him to stand. "She's definitely working for Terence."
"Damn." Alex groaned. It was an outcome that they had been hoping wasn't true. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…Bruised but fine. I managed to nick this from her." He gestured to the bottle on the ground.
"Rat poison? What does Terence want with rat poison?" The spy was horrified, and she visibly recoiled. The cogs in both their minds were turning rapidly. Several horrifying ideas immediately jumped out at Tim, but he elected not to voice them out.
"That's what we have to find out." He said grimly instead.
As Tim left the scene awhile later with Clover and Alex in tow, thoughts about the Red Woman whizzed through his mind. She was certainly full of surprises.
He hadn't expected her to just give up the rat poison in her bag just like that. Although, upon reflection, the man realized that that could have been her take on what he had said.
Quid pro quo.
Some information and clues on what Terence was up to, in exchange for her freedom.
Tim smirked to himself. This Red Woman was an interesting one indeed…
Although…there was something about her posture and her demeanour that was irritatingly familiar…
Whatever it is…I'll find out on Friday night. I have a pretty good feeling that she'll be there…
Had some extra spare time on my hands this week, so managed to finish writing this a few days early.
Special thanks to Cresenta and Guest for reviewing! ^^ Review or not, I hope that everyone is enjoying this thus far!
What do you guys think about Tim and Sam's encounter? And Tim's decision to let Sam go? Would love to hear your suggestions, thoughts and theories!
More to come in the next chapter!
Stay safe,
TrixieNancy