Keeper of His Heart
Chapter 12
"Still nothing?" Tim directed his question at Jerry as he entered his boss's office. He plopped down on the chair across from Jerry's. Clover, Alex, and Sam trailed in behind Tim. Aware of the older man's appraisal of herself, Sam smoothened her brown hair down self-consciously (she had decided to wear her wig to prevent anyone else from recognizing her).
Clover led Sam to the couch where they all sat down.
"My agents have been keeping an eye on the base 24/7. There's been no activity yet." Jerry replied Tim's question, before turning to Sam.
"Hello Sam. How are you feeling today?"
"Great, thanks Jerry." Initially stunned at being directly addressed so casually, Sam answered sincerely. "You have a cosy office."
The older man smiled with pride. "It's smaller than the one I had in W.O.O.H.P, but it does its' job."
"Could there be a second entrance or exit?" Tim had been deep in thought, and his question directed at the ones who were making light conversation.
"I don't think so…" Sam trailed off uncertainly. She racked her brains for any possibility of that but came up short.
"Even if they do have a second entrance or exit, I've never seen it." She finally concluded reluctantly.
"What do you make of this Tim?" Jerry asked the man for his input.
Tim considered things for about thirty seconds. "Looking at things logically, Wayne would have gotten back to Terence by now. So, Terence should know about Sam's deflection. Knowing Terence, he wouldn't want to be a sitting duck, unless he's very confident. And since there has been no news from the other agents yet Jerry, I think another exit could be another possibility."
"Makes sense." Alex agreed. "But what if there isn't a second entrance, and Terence is waiting to strike when we enter?"
Clover stood up. "We'll just have to be ready for them then." The young woman squared her shoulders and stood up tall and determined.
"We need to strike while the iron is hot." She stated. Truth to be told, the blonde was itching for action. She had been ready ever since the events of last year. Terence Lewis was going to pay.
Everyone else rose from their seats as well. "I'm pretty sure the Weapons Department has some gadgets that will be of use." Tim added with a firm nod.
"Alright then, let's go." Jerry agreed.
And they were off.
Thirty-minutes later, Sam sat in the back seat of the W.O.O.H.P owned vehicle. The green catsuit she wore was familiar, yet foreign at the same time. As with seeing Clover and Alex in their respective coloured catsuits. It made her emotions were all jumbled up, and her nerves wound so tightly that she felt that she could burst anytime.
Clover was in the driver's seat while Alex was in the passenger. Tim was with Jerry in the other car, seeing as how the latter wanted to talk to him.
"So, how long is the drive the base?" Alex wondered. In response, Clover programmed their location on the car's GPS system.
"About twenty minutes." The blonde reported.
"Only twenty minutes?" Sam couldn't help but interject in shock. "It always seems so far away from the town centre every time I travel."
"Probably because you're on foot." Clover said.
"Probably…" Sam agreed.
"I'm surprised too actually…If only we had looked a little closer to home, we would have found Terence way before today." Alex sighed as she lamented.
The three young woman were silent for a while: the faint rumble of the engine the only sound filling the air.
"Could you tell me a little bit more about…well you know…me?" Sam suddenly broke the silence with her hesitant question. Things were all so new, she wished she had a manual or some sort of guide to tell her what to do. But since they were all going to be trapped in the car together for twenty minutes, she might as well use the time to satisfy her own curiosity.
"Of course, Sammy!" The delight in Alex's voice was hard to miss. From her seat at the back, Sam could see Clover smiling contentedly as well.
"What do you want to know?"
"Okay hmm…Let me think…So we were W.O.O.H.P agents together?"
"Psh…Not just W.O.O.H.P agents my dear Sammy," Clover remarked from the driver's seat. "We were W.O.O.H.P superspies. The best there were in L.A." She flicked her hair back and glanced back coyly.
"We were honestly." Alex giggled with pride.
"Wow! I hadn't realized…" Sam found herself beaming in awe. Me? A superspy?
"Yeah. But it wasn't easy, took us a couple of years to get to that promotion." Clover boasted.
"Did we ever go undercover? Like what they portray in those spy books or movies?" Sam was brimming with excitement and curiosity.
Alex turned around in her seat to catch her eye. "Of course, we did. Many times. But normally short ones, just to blend in and infiltrate the enemy." She paused for a bit. "But you did a deep cover mission once."
"I did?"
"Yep…I don't suppose you remember…Miss Spirit Fingers?" Alex asked tentatively.
Sam thought hard about the word, but nothing triggered in her mind.
Her mood deflated somewhat.
What did you expect? That you would magically remember everything with any keyword about your past? If only recovering lost memories were that easy. Sam shook her head with a little less gusto, indicating that the name rang no bells.
"It's alright. We'll tell you." Clover replied, keeping her tone positive and light. Although the Sam before her was a stranger, her mannerisms remained. Through the driving mirror, she had seen Sam's face literally drop in disappointment as she failed to remember anything. "So, it all started when we found that you were behaving suspiciously…"
Tim and Jerry reached their destination first. As per Jerry's orders the night before, O.R.A.I.C agents had set up surveillance on the place that Sam had revealed was Terence's headquarters. Currently, they were all on a slightly elevated clearing that overlooked the entrance of the forest. It provided them with a good bird's eye view, and the few trees in the clearing was enough to work as a camouflage.
"Hey boss." One of the O.R.A.I.C agents greeted upon spotting the two men approaching. A pair of long-range binoculars was in his hand, and in his ear, was a communicative device. There was a complex-looking listening device with a satellite disk mounted on it nearby as well.
"Any movement?" Jerry was quick to find out the latest updates. The man shook his head. "Negative. Been quiet all morning. Penny's team is parked along the road near the forest, but so far nothing either."
Jerry took the binoculars from the agent and did a preliminary scan of his own. Tim gazed out into the distance, squinting his eyes as he followed the other O.R.A.I.C agent's verbal directions. He could barely make out anything. Terence's new base was very well hidden.
At that moment, there was the tell-tale roar of a car engine. Tim turned around just in time to see the car being parked next to his, and the three young woman disembarking the car.
He had to smile when he noticed that Sam was wearing her original green catsuit. As she walked confidently next to Alex and Clover, it suddenly struck Tim how…right it looked. Tim hadn't realized how incomplete it had been to see red and yellow catsuits without the green one until today.
Willing his legs to move, he met the young women halfway. As he neared them, he noted with curiosity that all three girls had laugh lines, and broad smiles on their faces. They were all saturated with happiness, and there was a sort of connection that existed between them that hadn't been present half an hour prior.
Looks like a car ride was all they needed to reconnect somewhat.
On spotting Tim, Clover nudged Sam with a teasing glint in baby blues. Sam bit her lip to contain a smile as she appraised the approaching man. Alex only shook her head, but she was clearly struggling hard to keep a straight face.
Tim's instincts immediately flared as he analysed the trio's body language. Something was up.
His gaze channelled from woman to woman. "What's so funny you three?" His gaze lingered slightly longer on Sam as he glanced pointedly at them.
"Oh nothing." If the girls' body language hadn't gave it all away, Alex's voice was overflowing with mirth. And it sounded like it was directed at him.
"Doesn't sound like nothing. C'mon ladies, jokes are meant to be shared." Tim cajoled in half-seriousness.
"Sam can tell you." With that final comment and an elaborated wink in Sam's direction, Clover grabbed Alex's hand and hurried ahead.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Not wanting to be left out, Sam attempted to sidestep Tim. However, the determined man was not to be deterred. He swiftly grabbed onto her wrist, effectively stopping her. The grip was firm, but not strong enough to hurt.
"Oh no you don't. If you girls are having a joke at my expense, I would like to know what it is so I can retain some of my dignity." He spoke with a serious tone, but the twinkle in his eyes told another story.
Sam bit her lip again as the memory of the picture Alex had shown her earlier flashed through her mind. In it, Tim had been wearing a penguin onesie, and wore a beanie that spotted a penguin head and beak. Clover had explained that it was a Halloween dare that they had forced Tim into doing. Regardless of the premise, the outfit was so unlike him that it had cracked Sam up into bits when she first saw it!
"Nothing you need to know." She managed to splutter without laughing. Sam could barely meet Tim's eyes without feeling the urge to burst into giggles. She could not unsee the image of Tim in the penguin costume, no matter how hard she tried.
"Doesn't sound like nothing." He was persistent, his heart skipping a few beats at the raw, delighted emotion on her face.
Finally giving up, Sam let out a knowing half smile. "It's really nothing…Mr Penguin!" With those words, Sam let out a huge smile. Before Tim could react, she skipped away to join her friends.
Tim had gotten the inkling immediately. "Damn it! Those two just had to show her that picture." He muttered under his breath. But on the inside, he was smiling. Sam's happiness was that infectious. And it was wonderful to see her smiling again.
Oh, how much I've missed it.
"So, here's a rough layout of the place." Sam produced a sketch she had done on a piece of paper earlier that morning. "The base has two floors. The upper most floor has the kitchen, living area, the meeting room and Terence's bedroom…The lower floors have mine, Shane, and Wayne's rooms, along with the two men's lab rooms."
"Alright." Clover nodded. "Since Jerry will be playing look out, there are four of us. Two on each level?"
"Works for me." Alex answered.
"I need to get some things from my room, so I'll take the lower floor." Sam said.
"I'll come with you." Tim was quick to add on. Sam looked up at him with an undiscernible look on her face, but nonetheless nodded.
Tim scrutinized the sketch carefully. The lower floor was divided into two sections: the first consisting of Wayne's room, his lab space, and a sparring room; the other containing Sam and Shane's rooms plus the latter's lab space. The stairway separated the two spaces.
"I'll work my way from the other end of hallway- Wayne's room and his lab. Hopefully, it won't take long. I'll come help you with Shane's once I'm done." Tim traced his finger along the map as he spoke.
"Alright. Alex and I will clear the meeting room, Terence's room, and the general area upstairs. Is there anything that we ought to take note off Sammy?"
The redhead (still in her brown wig) thought for a bit and finally gave brief descriptors of the likely places where Terence might have hidden things of importance.
Things of importance such as confidential papers, plans etc. That is, if her boss hadn't removed them yet.
Despite herself, Sam had a sinking feeling about this mission: that something was bound to go wrong.
It's just a feeling. Sam worked hard to stay positive. She had to have faith that justice would always prevail in the end. They would apprehend Terence and his associates, no matter what it took.
Once everyone was briefed on their roles and Jerry distributed some gadgets, the group readied themselves to go.
"Hey." Tim stopped Sam in her tracks with a tentative hand on her elbow.
"Hmm?" She spun around and looked at him fully, emerald eyes alert and overflowing with determination.
"If it makes you feel any less nervous…I'll just be a few doors down. Holler if you need anything later okay?" He told her seriously. They were partners now, and partners had to look out for each other.
"I can handle myself Tim." She reminded him gently. Nonetheless, it warmed her heart to hear the edge of concern in his voice. "but I'll definitely call for backup if I have to."
"I'm just worried Sam. You're still recovering from an injury after all." He reminded her, concern in his eyes. Before they had headed out that morning, Tim had done a check on her wound- thankfully, no signs of infection. She had hesitantly told him about some residual pain and ache, and Tim had gotten her to consume some painkillers. However, it was vital that she remained careful, for another injury might worsen things.
When Tim brought up her injury, Sam subconsciously shifted her shoulder away from him. She could understand where the man's concern was coming from. It was touching, but honestly unnecessary. After a night of rest, she was feeling much better. The painkillers were doing their job.
And honestly, her injury was the least of her troubles right now.
"I'll be careful." She finally promised. "You too okay. Be careful. No more playing hero like what you did last night."
His lips curled into a half-smirk as he acknowledged her pointed look with a nod. "Touché."
Thirty tensed minutes later, the group of three O.R.A.I.C agents and Sam busted their way into Terence's secret underground base. All of them had defensive gadgets out and ready: Sam and Alex both held Net Throwing Mascaras, Tim had a gun, while Clover had a newly modified version of the Ice Queen Perfume- placed in a Hair dryer.
All was still. The underground base was quiet.
Too quiet.
Quickly splitting up into their assigned pairs, the foursome hurriedly did a preliminary sweep of the underground base.
They reconvened at the base of the stairwell minutes later.
"No one?" When Alex and Clover both shook their heads regretfully, Sam could hardly hide her disappointment and her self-beratement. Terence and Wayne had given O.R.A.I.C the slip.
It's all my fault…I should have been more careful when I left the base last night! Or I should have told O.R.A.I.C the location of the base sooner! There was too much time lag in between! All my fault…why didn't I think of things sooner! Her perfectionist personality came into full force as she started to blame herself.
"It's not your fault Sammy. We've all tried our best." On seeing her friend's face fall, Alex reassured her.
"Yeah. Not all hope is lost. The meeting room and Terence's room is completely trashed. They must have left in a hurry; could have left some clues." Clover reported.
"Chin up everyone." Tim commanded. "There will be time for self-blaming later." He glanced pointedly at Sam. "Clover's right. They might have left us clues that could lead us to them. Keep an eye out everyone, for anything suspicious."
Knowing that Tim was right, Sam schooled her dejected facial expression into a neutral one. "Let's get cracking." She responded calmly.
"We'll meet back in the living room in thirty." Tim decided.
"Roger." Alex and Clover nodded and turned to leave.
"Oh, while you girls are at it, see if you can find any secret passages or some sorts. I don't like how they managed to disappear into thin air with that time window." The fact that Terence his associates managed to pull a disappearing act like that was concerning. Although ideally Tim knew that it was possible, but his sixth sense was telling him that there was more to it than what meets the eye.
At Tim's words, all three women exchanged looks, but did not question Tim's judgement. With a final reassurance from one another (and from Jerry) that backup was always nearby, the foursome disbanded.
It took Sam only a few minutes to pack what she wanted into her black backpack. A couple items of clothing, her toiletries, and her personal journal, that was it. She surveyed her bedroom. There really wasn't much in here that Sam was particularly attached to.
Honestly? Sam was just glad to finally be out of here. Living under Terence's rule was tiring, and this caged bird was anxious for freedom, even though she knew next to nothing about the world out there, and the world of O.R.A.I.C and W.O.O.H.P she was going to be in.
"Good riddance though." With a final sweep of the room, Sam closed the door behind her and made her way to the next room on her list: Shane's office.
She bypassed her mentor's personal bedroom to his laboratory, knowing that clues were more likely to be found in there. It was the last room along this corridor.
Sam's eyes remained wary and watchful as she entered Shane's laboratory, leaving the door ajar. She had only been in this room a couple of times, and each only for very brief periods of time. She and Shane might have some sort of…mentorship/friendship going on, but he was still a private man by nature (not to mentioned extremely loyal to Terence).
Now, Sam took a moment to appraise the well-stocked room before her. It was akin to entering a fully functional chemistry lab. The sharp smell of chemicals lingered in the air. Beakers of liquids, all meticulously labelled, lined one of the tables. Sam recognised names of several acids, and semi-volatile compounds. Laboratory equipment of all kinds, ranging from small to complex, were scattered around various stations in the room. A glass cabinet at the back stored what appeared to be more chemical substances, and there was another large oak cupboard tucked away at the back corner of the room.
Unlike the rest of the underground base, this room had remained untouched by Terence and Wayne's haste to escape. It was as if the room had been frozen in time.
In a way it is. Sam suddenly recalled that Shane had left the city to visit his mother the night before. What a difference a night could make.
Does he know about my deflection? Sam wasn't sure. Terence should have gotten in touch with him by now.
Unexpectedly, Sam was struck by a pang of uncertainty and regret. What would her mentor say if he saw her now? What would he feel about her betrayal and her decision to turn against Terence?
"I'm sorry Shane." Sam allowed herself a moment to let the remorse and shame wash upon her. But for the sake of justice, she was going to have to invade her mentor's privacy.
She started work from the chest of drawers closest to the door. Her mentor had stored many files and folders in there- thankfully all neatly catalogued-as per his personality. It made skimming through the files a breeze.
From what she could gather from the chemistry symbols and calculations, Shane was working on creating a volatile liquid that would not leave behind any evidence traces. It appeared that he had been progressing well with experimentation but was missing out some parts (which she could not comprehend).
Nonetheless, Sam plucked out the relevant files from the stack and stuffed them into her backpack.
As she reached the bottom of the drawer however, one manila brown folder caught her eye. The title label made her blood run cold.
Memory Serum? Her eyes stared unblinkingly at the words in the familiar, spiky handwriting. The sinking feeling she was suppressing earlier returned in full force as Sam shakily opened the folder.
There was a printed handout attached to the first page of the folder. With an increasingly frantic heartrate, Sam skimmed through it. It was a patent by a company that she had not heard of before, which authorized the individual (most likely Shane) to a batch of Memory Serum. The authorization letter was dated three years ago.
Sam suddenly felt lightheaded but forced herself to read on.
The Memory Serum is a drug designed, created, and patented by The Los Angeles Bureau of Chemical Genetics, used for modification of memories of particular species… If successfully administered, symptoms experienced include a loss of memories, confusion and headaches, while maintaining basic functional capacities…The Memory Serum has been trialled and tested to be successful under laboratory conditions…The Los Angeles Bureau of Chemical Genetics will not be liable for any side effects experienced under non-laboratory circumstances….
She stopped reading, her mind spinning with the information.
Is that it? Was I injected with a Memory Serum? She could only stare with mouth agape at the file in her hand. It made perfect sense, and all the symptoms fit what she had experienced. A wave of betrayal, disgust and horror washed over her like waves. How could they do such a thing?
How much did they give me? Will I ever get my memories back again?
Against her will, her frantic emotions overwhelmed her rationality. As if a switch had been flicked, she dropped the file on the table and began rummaging through the rest of the drawers for any remaining samples of the serum. Surely there must be an antidote to such a serum? It would be inhumane and unethical if there wasn't any!
It was at the moment when Sam fully comprehended how badly she wanted her memories back. The yearning was so bad that it hurt.
"Where is it? Where is it?" She muttered under her breath.
"Sam." At that moment, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat.
Sam suddenly paused in her tracks, realizing for the first time that she was no longer alone. She spun around.
Her eyes suddenly burned with fury as she spotted Shane stepping out from his (hiding?) place in the oak cupboard.
And the drama starts again haha.
What do you guys think of how the story is progressing so far? Any thoughts about this...Memory Serum?
Thank you Musin and Cresenta for your reviews, and everyone else for clicking on this story and reading it! Really appreciate the support.
Until next chapter,
TrixieNancy