Keeper of His Heart
Chapter 14
Sam kept her face impassive as she entered the meeting room. She carried nothing except for two bottles of water, and her cell phone.
A large, oval shaped, marble table took up most of the space in the meeting room. Sam counted at least ten swivel chairs positioned neatly around the table. Her mentor sat on one of those swivel chairs. His appearance was frazzled: shirt rumpled, and hair tousled. There was a dazed look on his face, as if he was lost in a trance.
At her entrance, Shane's gaze snapped up immediately, watching her with guarded eyes. Sam avoided his eyes, instead choosing to address the O.R.A.I.C agent that was standing guard. "I'll take it from here, thank you." She spoke slowly and clearly. The intent was clear.
The O.R.A.I.C agent nodded and left the room quietly. Only when the meeting room door closed behind him, did Sam cross the remaining distance between her and her mentor. She chose a seat directly opposite from him.
"Here. You must be thirsty." Without preamble, Sam pushed one of the bottles of water to her mentor.
Her mentor's dark eyes bore into hers for a long moment before he sighed and accepted the drink. "Thanks Sam." He popped open the cap and took a few big gulps.
"Jerry said you wanted to see me." Sam forced herself to keep her voice steady and calm. It was hard, knowing the likely fate Shane would get, but yet powerless to help him. She leaned back against the backrest and stared squarely at her mentor.
"Yes…I need to speak with you. I refuse to get thrown into prison without solving the misunderstandings between us."
"What, you mean like the fact that you knew that I was a former W.O.O.H.P agent but still corroborated with Terence to spin a lie about my past? Or the fact that you supplied a memory serum to get rid of my memories?" Arms folded across her chest; Sam glared daggers at her mentor. Despite herself, some of the hurt in her eyes showed through clearly.
Sam had always known that the respect her mentor had for Terence Lewis overshadowed a lot of things. Shane Morris practically worshipped the ground Terence walked on, for reasons unknown to her.
Yet, it still rankled to know that someone that she considered a mentor and friend had outrightly lied to her, and practically had a hand in turning her into Terence's puppet.
Shane sighed heavily, the heavy emotions on his face suddenly making him look older than he actually was. "Both actually. Sam…I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I struggle with my conscience every day wondering if I should tell you…"
Sam interrupted him before he could finish. She wasn't in the mood to listen to his string of apologies. "I did a quick search on the Internet earlier. You were a scientist at The Los Angeles Bureau of Chemical Genetics three years ago." She stated matter-of-factly.
Shane was silent as he processed her dismissal of her apology. "I was." He admitted. "And yes…I have access to a batch of memory serum. But I swear on my life Sam, we never used it on you. Never."
Sam could only watch her mentor with incredulous eyes. "You expect me to believe that? I have all the evidence- the files, the patent- against your word…"
"It's the truth." Shane remained insistent.
"Alright, assuming that I believe you." How did I lose my memories then? I suppose next you're going to say that me losing my memories was an accident?" She fired back.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it was."
Sam fought hard not to throw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Listen to yourself Shane! I hope you understand why I don't believe you! Ugh." She gave in to temptation and took off the façade she was trying hard to display.
"I don't know what to believe anymore…Tell me the truth Shane." She pleaded, the tiredness in her eyes evident. "Tell me what happened, please." And at that moment, she was no longer Sam, the Red Woman, or Sam, the former W.O.O.H.P agent. She was Sam, Shane's mentee, and a very vulnerable, very confused young woman.
"I'll tell you." Shane's voice was hoarse with emotion, resignation in his eyes. "It was bound to come out sooner or later anyway…"
Seven months ago, …
"How has your experimentations on the Memory Serum been going Shane?" Terence popped by his lab one day and asked casually.
The unexpected question (and the implications behind it) lead to Shane pausing his current experiment to give his boss his fullest attention. After making sure that nothing was going to explode in the next couple of minutes (you never know when it comes to chemicals), Shane answered Terence's question.
"Not very good I'm afraid Terence. I'm quite at a lost on how to make the memory loss…more permanent. The serum the Chemical Bureau came up with is already very volatile. I'm not sure how much more tweaking I can do without the detailed notes that my colleagues and I from the Bureau made." He reported.
The scientist watched his boss' reaction with some trepidation. True to his prediction, Terence's lips immediately curled downwards in a snarl.
"I need that reworked serum Shane. That pesky spy is becoming too much of a handful to handle."
"I'm trying my best Terence. But there's really nothing much I can do." Shane protested. It was half the truth. The fact that he didn't have his notes from his time at the Chemical Bureau was truly setting him back. But there was another reason why he was delaying his experimentations as much as he could: Samantha Simpson's mind was one of the most brilliant ones he had ever had the pleasure to meet, and as much as he was batting for the evil team, he was reluctant to do anything that could cause damage to her mind.
Many conversations with her had proven that her analytical capabilities were beyond that of an average person. It would truly be a lost to rid the world of such a brilliantperson.
"Well, if it doesn't work, then I'll just inject her with the Memory Serum you have on hand now." There was no doubt that Terence was plain frustrated at the circumstance and would literally kill to get out of it.
"That's very risky Terence…" Shane voiced his worries despite himself. "The Memory Serum was never used on humans outside of laboratory conditions. It could cause permanent and irreversible damage!"
"If it's permanent, so be it. I'm tired of babysitting that pesky girl. It's been five months, and she's still showing no signs of breaking." Terence fired back. "And we've tried everything."
Shane said nothing, knowing fully well the extent which his boss had tried to break W.O.O.H.P 's best superspy. Physical punishment, emotional brainwashing, blackmail…They've tried it all.
Her willpower is admirable…
Terence wasn't at all done with his rant. "If I had known how strong-willed she would be, I would have just left her to die back then."
Pausing for just a beat, Terence's eyes swept through the room, and declared. "It's decided then, prepare the necessary tools Shane. We'll bring her in this afternoon. I'm washing my hands off this."
"As you wish." Shane sighed in resignation, wishing not for the first time that he had a stronger backbone to stand up against his boss.
"So, you were planning to use the Memory Serum on me!"
"Please understand Sam, I never wanted to. I recognized a fellow intellect when I see one, and I didn't want to cause any damage to you! The last scientist that volunteered to test the Memory Serum ended up in the mental institution for life. As much as we were enemies, I didn't want to see the same fate happening to you."
"Yet you still went through with it anyway." Sam pointed out deftly. This was all new information to her; no one had ever told her about what happened in the five months of the start of her captivity, up till the moment she lost her memories.
Listening to Shane describe the day she had lost her memories sent a chill down her spine.
"That's not what happened!" Shane replied, sending her a pointed look which she recognized as 'shut up and let me finish'. "That afternoon when you came..."
Seven months ago, …
"Move! We don't have all day!" Shane's ears pricked up at the sound of Wayne's commanding tone echoing down the hallway.
"I can walk on my own! Let me go!" Those loud familiar protests belonged to the female superspy. Shane admired her spunk and willpower. If it had been him, he would have been broken in months ago.
As the voices neared, Shane's eyes swept across the table to make sure he had everything he needed. To those in the dark, the bottle on the table appeared innocent and ordinary. However, Shane knew that the fluid in there was dangerous, potent and life changing.
A syringe needle rested next to the bottle.
Shane sighed, got out a pair of surgical gloves, and slipped them on.
Earlier, Terence had brought in a sturdy armchair into the room, which now stood in the empty space Shane had in the front of his lab.
In no time at all, Shane spotted the red-head spy being half-pulled, half-dragged into the room by Wayne. Her hands were cuffed behind her back. The physical injuries she had sustained the last…interrogation had healed nicely, leaving no visible wounds or traces.
Terence ambled in casually behind them, closing and locking the door.
From his vantage point, he could see the young woman's eyes widen as she spotted the chair, and the rope that was left on it. He could almost imagine the cogs of her brilliant mind working through the possibilities and jumping to conclusions.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" She screamed, squirming like a worm in Wayne's grip. In two long strides, Terence was by Wayne's side to help subdue the young woman.
It took the two men several minutes (and a lot of combined effort) to get Samantha Simpson onto the armchair and to secure her hands. In the meantime, Shane's steady hands prepared the syringe of Memory Serum.
Sam became increasingly frantic as Shane turned around and approached her with the syringe in his hand.
"Shane? What is that? What are you going to do to me? Let me go!" Panic was splashed on her face, as clear as day.
"Relax Samantha. Everything will be okay when you wake up." Standing guard next to her, Terence's eyes lit up with evil mirth, his mouth quirked in a full-blown smirk.
"Go to hell!" Sam spat as Shane neared her. "I trusted you!" She was wriggling wildly, making it difficult for Shane to get a good grip on her.
Wayne moved to help him.
The situation however, appeared to have triggered Sam's survival instincts. With a burst of adrenaline, she fought against the restraints and stood up, taking the heavy armchair with her.
"Get away!" She rasped, her eyes burning with determination to survive. Shane stood the closest to her and recoiled instantly at the sudden movement. But in her state of hyper awareness, Sam appeared to mistake his recoil for something else. She spun around so quickly that the back of the armchair hit him straight in the face.
"Get her!" He howled, feeling pain spreading up his cheeks and chin.
Wayne and Terence wasted no time. Both men attempted to get her attention through lunging and barrelling at her. Sam did well in fending off the attacks, using the bulky nature of the chair to her advantage. Short, feral growls burst through her lips. Despite her apparent upper hand, Shane could tell it was only a matter of time before she'd tire and then things would be back to square one.
He scrambled to his feet, frantically scanned the room for any kind of weapon. His eyes locked on the marble titration stand on his work desk.
Seizing the chance to deliver the lesser of two evils, Shane grabbed the solid item. In one swift move, he smashed it against Sam's skull.
She went down on the floor with a loud crash, taking the chair with her.
For a moment, apart from the heavy breathing by all three men in the room, all was silent.
With the titration stand still held tightly like a weapon, Shane took a cautious step forward to check on her. He nearly dropped it when he spotted a dark patch red liquid on the side of her head.
Blood.
"You hit me on the head. With a titration stand." Sam repeated dumbly.
"I did. I'm sorry… Now you know." Shane said simply, lowering his head.
"You…I…" She should be feeling angry. She should be fuming with hatred and resentment beyond description. And certainly, a wave of fury washed over her, but left just as quickly as it came. Rationally was left in its wake.
"I…thank you." Her mentor's head snapped up in shock at her words. "For choosing the lesser of two evils." She clarified quickly.
Her mind was all jumbled up, not knowing what to think. But what was clear was that Shane had taken a gamble on her life. She owed it to him, in quite a roundabout way.
"You're…You're not mad?" Shane asked, his voice lowered to a disbelieved whisper.
"Oh I am. It hasn't hit me fully yet." Sam responded, observing her mentor with a critical eye. "You gave me a rather bad concussion Shane…But you also spared me from any effects of the serum…" Her initial words were filled with reproached, but they soon softened.
Sam paused for a moment, reminding herself of the need to be professional, and to focus on what was truly important right now. She chanced a glance at her mentor. Shane Morris stared back at her with equal parts of guilt, detachment, and acceptance. If her assessment was right, Shane could be the one providing them with valuable information about Terence…
"So…Now that we've gotten this out of the way, mind sharing with me some facts about Terence? Such as where he is now?"
Sam emerged from the meeting room thirty minutes later. She appeared (and was feeling) very weary. Tim, who had been leaning against the wall patiently, straightened up. There was another different O.R.A.I.C agent present which Sam didn't recognize. The latter sent her a polite nod, before hurrying into the meeting room which she had just evacuated.
Likely an agent sent by Jerry to guard over Shane…The thought of her mentor in prison made her sigh.
Speaking of Jerry, the head of O.R.A.I.C was nowhere to be seen.
"Well?" Tim asked. He broke into a moderate paced walk and gestured for Sam to keep up.
Sam shook her head dejectedly. "Terence did not divulge his current location to Shane. He only gave him instructions to come back, pack his things and then let him know once that was done…Clever really."
"I suspected as much. Terence is one paranoid man, but that is also what keeps him one step ahead of the game." The man next to her commented.
Indeed, it appeared that Terence Lewis had thought of everything. Having a second entrance to transport any chemicals (that was conveniently located next to a warehouse) and now keeping his current location hush hush. Seems like they would need to step up their game in order to catch him.
"Mmmhmm." Sam agreed. "But Shane told me the passcode to his cell…and the safe word he had arranged with Terence too…I was thinking we could set a trap." She suggested, turning to judge Tim's reaction.
"He told you those? Wow." Tim could hardly believe what he was hearing, but then something else came to his mind. "Not to burst your bubble Sam but are you sure he's not lying? He could be trying to play double-agent." Tim didn't know Shane Morris very well so he couldn't be a judge of the man's character.
Sam pondered over that comment for a bit. "I'm sure." She replied confidently. "I know' he's sorry for what he has done." Her mind replayed the sorrowful eyes and look of self-reproached that had been evident on her mentor's face.
At her somewhat vague remark, Tim turned and observed the young woman before him with curiosity. There was a light spring to her step that wasn't there earlier, and her facial features appeared less tense. Her conversation with Shane Morris had caused something to change, but Tim could not put his finger on it.
"What did he say? About the…serum?" He broached the topic with caution as he didn't know how Sam would react.
Her facial expressions did not change, and she barely flinched at those words (which was a good sign). Sam proceeded to fill him in as they made the journey to Jerry's office.
"So…back to square one then?" Tim said as Sam concluded her tale. Looks like they weren't any closer to recovering her lost memories.
Despite his relief that the mysterious Memory Serum wasn't used on her, Tim's urge to throttle Shane Morris, Wayne Franklin and Terence Lewis had never been stronger. Sam had skimmed through the details of her captivity, but he had heard enough to decern some disturbing facts.
Such as the ill-treatment she received in the first five months in a bid to 'break' her. Thank god she didn't have memories of those days. They'll pay for what they have done to her…
"Sorta…I'm just glad it wasn't the Memory Serum. A shudder went up her spine at the thought. "To be injected with an unknown substance is just plain creepy." Not to mention the potential side-effects and the feeling like you are merely a science experiment…
"I feel you." Tim deadpanned, climbing the final flight of stairs to reach Jerry's office.
Sam and Tim found Jerry, along with Clover and Alex, in his office. They had been discussing on what to do next while waiting for Sam to finish her meeting with Shane.
"I think Sam has our next move." After greetings were exchanged, Tim gestured for Sam to bring everyone up to speed.
Swiftly, Sam delivered the Cliff Notes version of what Shane had shared with her. "Since you confiscated his cell phone Jerry, I was thinking we could set a trap."
"An excellent idea." Despite Alex and Clover's similar concerns that it might be a trap, Jerry was filled with more optimism than ever. Again, Sam had been firm that she was sure Shane Morris had finally given in.
"Let's go with that idea." Jerry said finally after some deliberation. "It's time to end this once and for all."
With the information that Shane had given, a text message was carefully crafted and sent to Terence.
The trap set, all that was left to do was to wait. The team waited the rest of the afternoon with apprehension, but there was no reply from Terence.
That itself had left Clover and Tim even more sceptical of their risky plan. Yet, with no other viable option, the team pressed on.
As evening came upon them, Jerry finally decided to call it a day. Keeping in mind the fact that it had been a late night the previous day, Jerry wanted his agents to be well rested before the final confrontation with Terence. "I'll keep an eye on Shane's mobile and update you all if there is any news." He told them.
There wasn't much protest from the team. They were well-familiar with the term "a watched pot never boils."
"Alright, thanks Jer. Call us if you need anything." Alex said. Fatigue was slowly creeping up her bones.
Clover didn't bother hiding her relief of being freed from the horrendous task of waiting for something to happen. The blonde stretched, her stiff limbs cracking as she let out a grateful sigh.
"Thanks Jer. See you tomorrow." Tim got up from his chair as well. Sam followed suit, echoing Tim's words. Although she wanted Terence to be apprehended as much as the next everyone else, she was secretly glad that they didn't have to stay at O.R.A.I.C HQ for the rest of the evening. The lack of sleep from the night before was starting to get to her, as with the claustrophobic nature of having five adults squeezed in Jerry's rather small office.
Jerry waved their comments away with his hand. "No need to thank me. Just get some rest everyone. We're all going to need it." Everyone present understood the implications behind his words.
Final comments and pleasantries were exchanged before the group of four left Jerry's office. Their destination: the parking lot.
"Where is everyone headed?" Tim casually asked.
Alex groaned, stretching her neck to one side in a bid to remove a particularly bad kink in it. "Home probably. I'm all in for some take-out dinner and then an early night."
"I feel you." Clover agreed instantly. "What would you like to eat?"
Those words made Sam suddenly pause in her tracks. The redhead suddenly realized (a bit awkwardly) that she had no where to go for the night. That problem had never crossed her mind until now.
I'm definitely not going back to the base…She crossed out that option without a second thought. But I shouldn't bother Tim, Clover or Alex either… They have been nothing but nice and accommodating…A motel perhaps?
Tim had also stopped walking the moment he noticed Sam was lagging behind. With a quizzical look, he approached her.
"What is it Sam?" There was no mistake the edge of concern in his baritone voice.
"I have nowhere to spend the night." She cocked her head to the side in embarrassment while biting her lower lip.
One of his eyebrows raised a fraction. Clearly, he hadn't considered this question either. But at the next instant, his features relaxed as a solution came to mind.
"You can stay with me." His statement was laced with a mix of firmness, yet also uncertainty.
"I wouldn't want to be a bother…" She trailed off.
"You wouldn't be." He replied immediately. "You can't be crashing on the girls' couch, or a motel or something else forever. There is no spare bed in the girls' apartment. And my guest bedroom is unoccupied at the moment. You'll be doing me a favour actually." Tim's eyebrows quirked up and he attempted to lighten the mood. "It does get kinda lonely living alone…I'll appreciate the company." He finished sincerely.
The butterflies in Sam's stomach returned with full force. Stay…with Tim? "Alright…Thanks Tim." She smiled, shyly but sincerely.
"Anytime." He let out a half-grin.
"Aww…You two are too cute." Clover and Alex had backtracked upon realizing their other two companions were not there and caught the end of their conversation. At that moment, it was the blonde superspy that was gushing over them. "And now roomies? Interesting…you two sure move quick." Her tone left no question of what she was implying.
Heat rushed up Sam's cheeks, while the butterflies in her stomach swooped and dived-bombed at the thoughts racing through her mind.
"Clover…" Tim sent his colleague a warning look with pointed eyes. Clover rolled her baby blues.
"Come on you two. We're no longer in high school. Stop being so prudish." Clover dismissed Tim's warning look with a wave of her hand.
With a twinkle in her eye, she continued crassly. "The chemistry between you both is practically sizzling. Maybe living together would be good for you. You're so wound up Tim, maybe all you need is someone to jump your bones."
Sam's eyes widened at the explicit implication, and a tell-tale flush rose up her cheeks immediately.
"That's it." Without warning, Tim lunged at Clover. The blonde barely had time to duck before Tim was ruffling her locks with his hand. Half-worried that something serious was going on, Sam shot a glance at Alex. But her friend only shook her head reassuringly, letting her know with her eyes that it was a common occurrence between the pair.
"Not the hair Tim Scam! Okay okay, I'll stop. Geez." Clover shrieked, finally throwing her hands up in surrender.
"And keep it that way." His tone indicated that he was serious. Once he was certain Clover would stop with the teasing, Tim let the young woman go. His sea-foamed eyes lingered onto Sam. She was smiling with mirth at their actions, but he could still see traces of her embarrassment on her face.
I wouldn't mind having my bones jumped on. He secretly thought, chancing another glance at the woman he loved. But only when she's comfortable with me… I wouldn't want to make her uncomfortable or feel awkward in any way…
Apologies everyone for the delay! Time sure flies when one is busy!
Eternally grateful for the support I'm getting for this story: Cresenta, Sammi, Musin for reviewing, and the countless others who fav/follow/hit. It's heartening to see the TS fandom still going strong.
Best wishes everyone and until next time,
TrixieNancy