Hello! So here's the next chapter. Only a few chapters left and I'm done. Not sure, if I am happy or sad. It's a story that I just absolutely love. Let's see what happens! ;)
Guest: I'm trying to update as much as I can, but work is really killing me. Since I just transferred to a new department, it's been challenging to adjust because the workload is so great. But, it will pass. I hope…
Tj12398: I'm so glad you liked it! I thought of you as I was editing it, thinking…'I wonder if she will approve.' Anyways, thank you for sticking to this fic. I so appreciate it.
Drica: Thank you so much for your compliment. It means a lot to me. I've always enjoyed writing. I started when I was 12 years old. It also helps that I have a Bachelor's Degree in writing and my favorite subject throughout school was English. I'm trying to make this story a bit different by not adding in too many cliché's about memory loss. I hope you'll like where I'm going with this.
Jdcocoagirl: Oh, you may like the next two chapters. The doctor is just a very evil person. The man has no heart…
DotNetDemon: Your compliment is very sweet. Although, I could never write like that book. LOL. That's way beyond my boundaries. LOL! Writing love scenes have never been my strong point. I want them to be tasteful so I find myself refraining from a lot of things that others might believe to be okay to write. And my Jonny, well…I envision him to be what I'd like him to be if I were Jessie. Girls like the "hunk of their dreams" when reading male characters, while guys like characters they can identify with as men. Not sure if that makes sense. Yes, 38, although, I had the nicest compliment this past weekend with a group of ladies who thought I was 25. Not bad, huh? They were surprised when I told them my age. At least, I know that I don't look it. LOL. BTW, love, love, love, you fic. You're an amazing writer. I hope you give yourself credit for your amazing work.
Geist1321: Here's the thing. Your plots are awesome. You have to continue writing because the overall rule is that the more you do, the better you get. So, since you are already good, you just have to get even better. I expect another story soon because this fandom doesn't have enough writers and I'm hoping a couple of us revive it to the point that constant stories are up. I'm holding you to this. Now, get to it!
Playlist
Ride-Lana Del Rey
Into Dust-Mazzy Star
Audiomachine: Ice of Phoenix (partial)
Chapter 22
The Doctor scoped out the Quest's cottage for about two hours before preparing his plan. He knew that DR128 and the Bannon girl were in there, but he had yet to see them. Pondering about coming closer and peeking through one of the windows, the doctor refrained himself. He couldn't risk getting seen.
He arrived to Maine in the early morning hours and decided to get some rest at a motel near the airport. At around seven, he woke up, showered and headed to a Hertz dealer to rent the vehicle he would drive over to the park. Finding the park was easy. Finding the cottage, however, proved challenging. That in itself took him almost an hour. He was never an outdoors man.
Hiding by the overlapping trees surrounding the cabin, the doctor took out his binoculars to get a closer look inside. He watched the girl walking out of a room and heading to the kitchen. She looked like she was preparing breakfast. DR128 was nowhere in sight. He hoped that he wasn't running surveillance around the area for surely the doctor had no doubt that he'd be caught by the one person he wanted to get rid of.
Quickly opening the bag that was lying next him, he looked inside trying to find what he needed to get his plan in order. He had taken everything that he needed at the checkpoint before the clean-up crew arrived. Guns, detonators, a few grenades, and other gizmos he wasn't even sure he knew how to use, but he'd find a way. Oliver had no doubt that he'd succeed. As he continued looking, he noticed that the girl relaxed, her guard was down. That meant, his was too. DR128 and the Bannon girl would be dead before midday.
XXXXXXXXXX
Corvin read through his records for hours when he suddenly heard the door of his office open abruptly. Looking up from the computer screen, he watched Alex walk in, "You found something." It was more of a statement than a question.
Her smile told him everything. Handing him a few pieces of paper, she said, "Meet one Oliver Crawford."
Looking at first printed papers, Phil saw the picture of an older bald man with thick black glasses, "Talk to me, tell me about Mr. Crawford."
"Not Mister, Doctor," Alex corrected him taking a seat in one of the chairs across his desk. "Dr. Oliver Crawford. In searching the Medical files, I looked up all death certificates and began making a list in order to cross-reference the medical examiners with those that belonging to the agency."
"Okay…" he wasn't sure where she was getting at.
She smiled a bit, "You have no patience, Phil. Anyways, as I was saying before, I was looking over the death certificates when a name came up-Joseph Ruttenberg."
Corvin's eyes widened, "The agent that sent us the video of Jonny?"
"I remember you telling me that," Alex nodded, continuing to speak. "That's why the name stood out. Then, I looked at the medical examiner's name."
"Crawford."
"Correct!" she exclaimed. "I ran his name under every available agency and found him in the least likely place."
"Where?"
"Here," she replied firmly. When she watched Phil grow pale, Alex immediately spoke so he wouldn't interrupt her, "Think about it Phil. We have extremely tight security systems. There's no way anyone could have planted this information from the outside. Someone, somewhere in anyone of I-1 headquarters around the globe planted this."
"Then you are assuming that our agency is the one who took Jonny? The same agency that has been trying to find him for years is the one that had him all along?" He was dismayed not by what Alex was telling him, but because in some sick way it was beginning to make sense.
"We may have a sub-agency under us," Alex grew concerned. "An agency that's kidnapping kids and apparently turning them into operatives so good that even you can't find them."
Sighing heavily, the field director sat back on his chair, "If all you say is true…Alex, the repercussions of what the agency has done…"
"I know," she nodded with noted concern.
As the two fell in deep thought, the room suddenly became eerily quiet. Phil Corvin was beyond tired. He was shaken to the core. He believed in this agency. It was part of him, and now, he felt like an enemy of his own country.
It was Alex's voice that brought him back from his thoughts, "What do we do now?"
"Well," he sighed again, "We can't go to anyone in here because we don't know who is actually in on this. The only way to find out is to search the records."
"We can't go to IT with this Phil," Alex shook her head, "It will be red flagged. We would need a private IT firm and that's not going to happen."
Those last words made Phil Corvin sit up, "Wait. As a matter of fact, it can."
Alex looked at him completely confused.
For the first time, Phil had a genuine smile. Picking up the phone, he looked at Alex, "When this is over, I'm taking you out for dinner, dancing and dessert."
A sly smile appeared on her lips, "I'll settle for the dessert." Then, noticing that he was calling someone, Alex asked, "Phil, who are you calling?"
Laughing a little, he answered, "Our private IT firm."
XXXXXXXXXX
Both Claire and Hadji had fallen asleep in the living room sofa, exhausted from the last 48 hours. After Corvin had left, they had made themselves dinner and had a long discussion of the past events. They considered calling Jessie, but Claire suggested they didn't. Jessie would call when the time was right.
Somehow by the end of the night, Hadji lied down on the long sofa and Claire on top of him. The two had fallen asleep in each other's arms. Hadji's phone was what rattled them awake. Reaching for the phone that was on the table, Hadji picked it up while trying to keep Claire from moving away from him. He really did like having the blonde close to him.
"Hello," he answered groggily.
"Hadj, this is Corvin," the voice at the other end answered.
"Mr. Corvin," Hadji replied. Claire immediately got off her companion in order for him to sit up. "Did you find something?"
"Absolutely," he answered with a satisfied tone. "With the help of a very smart woman. Now I need a favor from you."
"Anything," the young man immediately answered. "What is it?"
"I'll be there in an hour to explain," Corvin answered. "By the way, I'm going to need QuestWorld."
At the mention of Quest World, Hadji knew that what had been found was very important, "I will get it ready."
"Good. See you soon," he heard Corvin say before the line went dead.
When he hung up the phone, Claire asked, "What did he tell you?"
"He found something and needs the use of Questworld," Hadji answered as he brushed his hair back in one motion with his hand, "Whatever he found must be extremely secret."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because Questworld is the only system capable of hacking into even the most underground places you can find." Hadji paused for a moment in thought before he hugged Claire, "We need to get ready. Mr. Corvin will be here in an hour and I foresee that whatever we need to find will not be something quick to locate."
Knowing what he meant, Claire nodded before standing up from the sofa, heading toward the kitchen, "I'll start the coffee pot. It will be made by the time we get out of the shower."
Hadji abruptly looked at her, "Excuse me?"
Turning around, completely red in the face, Claire responded, "Oh no," she shook her head, "I meant you and I…we would take separate showers. Hadji, I'd never suggest‒"
Hadji laughed. It was the first laugh she heard from him since the entire ordeal occurred.
"Why are you laughing?" Claire sounded annoyed.
"Did you not hear yourself just now?" he asked trying to control his ongoing laugh.
Suddenly smiling, Claire broke out laughing as well, "I guess it was funny," she replied.
"We needed this," Hadji acknowledged.
"Yes, we did," she nodded. Walking over to Hadji, Claire gave him a hug. He hugged her back. Just as he held her into his arms, Claire whispered in his ear, "But sooner or later, Hadji, we will need that too."
Giggling, Claire broke away from him and exited the room as Hadji's eyes widened with shock.
XXXXXXXXXX
Looking at his watch, Benton Quest realized that his plane would land in Maine in as little as three and a half hours. He found himself smiling. His son was near and he was anxious to see him. Taking out his wallet, the doctor began looking over some photographs. The first was one of the last pictures he took with his son. A photographer had taken a picture of them by the stage, just after Dr. Quest had finished his speech at a fundraiser to support National Parks. The doctor smiled. It was a black tie event and he remembered arguing with Jonny earlier that day because his son wanted to wear a tuxedo without the tie. As he remembered that day, he could hear his son's words…
"Pop, who's going to care if I don't wear the tie?"
"Jonny, it's a black tie event. You're wearing the tie, son."
"But Pop!"
"You'll wear it and you'll live," Benton replied semi laughing.
"Aww!"
Looking back, the doctor shook his head. He remembered the look on Jonny's face when he walked down the stairs wearing the tuxedo with the tie. He didn't look happy at all, but as the night went along, Jonny came around and his mood lightened just enough that by the time the picture was taken, he was all smiles. Good picture, Benton thought.
He flipped onto another picture. This one was of his wife Rachel holding Jonny just after he was born. In looking over the picture, Benton's thoughts took him away for a while.
"She was beautiful woman," Benton suddenly heard Ethan. He turned around and saw as the agent looked back at him. "Were you reminiscing?"
The doctor laughed, "I guess I was. I'm just excited about seeing my son."
Turning a little serious, Ethan replied, "Benton, you know he doesn't remember you. If what Race and Zachary are saying is true, then he doesn't remember anything about his life prior to his disappearance. You need to be prepared for that."
"I know," Benton admonished, "But, Ethan…do you realize that we have confirmation that he is alive? Do you know what that alone means to me? After five long years?"
"I can only imagine Benton," the English man answered as he tapped Benton's shoulder lightly.
"All these years, I thought I had failed Rachel," Benton suddenly said as he looked back to the picture in the wallet.
Looking rather curiously at the doctor, Ethan asked, "What would ever make you think like that?"
Benton shrugged before he looked back at the Englishman, "I lost Rachel when Jonny was about seven years old. Since I travelled a lot because of my work, she found herself spending a lot of time with him alone."
"As any mother would have in such situations," Ethan answered. "She was a great mother."
Nodding, the doctor agreed, "Indeed, she was. I was always very busy and even though, I tried to spend as much time with them as I could, Rachel must have noticed that it wasn't enough for Jonny. I was missing out on important moments of his life."
Ethan smiled, "She made you come home."
The doctor laughed a little, "In a way. I cut my workload a little, but not by much. One night Rachel made me promise that should anything ever happen to her, I would not only make time for Jonny, but that I would make sure he was my ultimate priority." The doctor paused for a moment before continuing, "After her death. I replayed that conversation in my mind over and over for a very long time. That was mainly the reason why Jonny always travelled with me. Many would think it was to keep him safe, but Race could have done that on his own back in Maine. I travelled with Jonny so I wouldn't miss any more moments. After he disappeared, that conversation with Rachel made its way back to me and I felt awful. I felt like I failed her. Now that he is back, I intend on not failing her again."
Both men remained quiet for a while before Ethan spoke again, "I'm not sure if I even told you this but I met your late wife once."
Benton looked surprised, "You did? When?"
"Many moons ago," Ethan replied with a small laugh. "I had been assigned to the I-1 California headquarters and I was asked to cover one of your speaking engagements."
"California," the doctor became pensive, "The last time I was in California with Rachel was probably a year or two after Jonny was born."
"Yes," Ethan nodded. "He was about two and a half. I happen to remember because I had read your files."
"So what did you think of my Rachel?"
"She was a lovely woman," the agent replied.
"Yes," Benton agreed. "She was."
XXXXXXXXXX
Jonny and Jessie ate breakfast in silence. At first Jessie wanted some small talk, but began paying careful attention to Jonny's habits at the table. Everything he did, he did it calculated. After Jessie served his breakfast, he arranged his utensils and plate and glass in a specific way. He cut his omelet carefully and equally. He drank his juice in intervals, for every third bite, he'd drank a sip or two.
Jessie watched cautiously, making sure he wouldn't catch her. They had trained him in the most miniscule details. Every move in his life had been trained by those who had taken him. At that moment, Jessie felt the anger boiling inside of her. They had taken every aspect of him away. It hurt her.
"Are you okay?" she suddenly heard his voice.
"What?" she suddenly looked up. "Oh, nothing, I was just thinking."
"About what?" Jonny said placing his utensils on the plate, a sign that he was finished. "What's on your mind Jessica?"
"You," she replied with a sad smile. "What's next for you Jonny?"
Standing up, he sighed as he looked at her, "I have to go. You'll need to stay here until I can contact you again and tell you that you're safe."
"I don't mean that," she shook her head. "I mean… I know that…what I meant was…what's next for you?"
For a moment, his gaze went to the bathroom before looking back at her. Carefully, Jonny asked, "What are you asking Jessica?"
"Where are you going, Jonny?" she finally answered. "Where are they taking you? I need to know that…I need to know."
Shaking his head and sighing, Jonny's mind ran through every possible way of evading that question. He didn't want to tell her because if he did, she would make every possible effort to find him. He couldn't tell her, it wouldn't be safe, "It's not safe for you to know Jessica."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Jessie tried reasoning to him. "You are going away with this Master of yours because you think that by doing so, he won't harm me. That doesn't necessarily mean it won't happen, Jonny. How do you know he won't go ahead and get some other assassin to come after me or after your father or brother?"
"He won't do it," Jonny shook his head before his gaze went back to the bathroom.
"How do you know that?" Jessie asked, noticing t where Jonny's gaze fell every now and again.
"Master is different with me than with the others," he explained as he began walking a bit toward the living room. "I don't know why, but he is. That's why I know he will do what I ask and in return, I will go with him."
Looking at him as if trying to understand Jonny's last words and sudden actions, Jessie asked, "He treats you differently? Why?"
Just then, Jessie's phone rang and she took it out of her back pocket. Looking at it, she noticed it was Hadji's number, "It's Hadji."
Nodding Jonny waited until she picked it up and then headed straight to the bathroom.
"Hadji?" Jessie answered as she paid close attention to Jonny.
"Jessie, I have news for you," she heard Hadji's voice. "I believe that Mr. Corvin has found some information on the people that took Jonny."
Jessie's eyes widened, "Are you serious?" She lowered her voice, not wanting Jonny to hear, but as she looked at the bathroom, she noticed that Jonny was brushing his teeth. That was what he wanted to do all this time, she thought.
"Jessie?"
Her attention was brought back to Hadji, "I'm sorry, tell me more. What else did Agent Corvin find?"
"He has not told me anything yet," the young man answered, "The only thing that I know is that he is on his way to the compound and he needs to use Questworld."
That brought much of Jessie's attention back to Hadji, "Questworld? Why?"
"I am not sure, but I will call as soon as I have more," he stated. "Your father should be arriving today by around five thirty. I will have him call you as soon as he comes in."
"Perfect," she answered, who still studied Jonny. She couldn't believe they had programmed him in every way possible.
"Is everything alright on your end?" Hadji now asked.
Jonny was getting ready to go out when Jessie answered, "We're fine, but I have to go. I'll call you as soon as I can. Bye." She had just hung up when Jonny had walked out.
"What did he tell you?" Jonny asked as soon as he saw Jessie hang up the phone.
"Nothing," she lied. "Just wanted to know how we were and to tell me that my father should be coming home later this evening."
Nodding, Jonny kept silent and sat on the couch. "I'm assuming we are going to continue our conversation?"
"You bet we will," Jessie admonished. "Let me be very blunt Jonny. I have been in love with you since I was seventeen. I had never given up hope to find you and now that I have, I won't lose you again. Even if you don't tell me where you are going, I will find you, I won't stop. You can either tell me and we can work out a way to communicate with each other or don't tell me and get a visit from me when you least expect it. Choose either one, but in the end, I guarantee that you will not cut me from your life."
Jonny thought about it for a moment and truth be known, he didn't want to cut her from his life. She was the most important thing in his life now. But the thought of losing her….
"Jonny?" her voice brought him back to the moment.
"Amsterdam," he found himself saying the word out loud. "We leave tonight."
XXXXXXXXXX
Phil and Alex had arrived at the Quest compound about ten minutes after Hadji had finished speaking with Jessie. Getting out of the car, Alex took a look around the large U-shaped mansion seated on a hill that overlooked the ocean. The lighthouse, a few hundred feet away, was accessible by a walkway of steps leading downhill. She whistled manifesting her awe, "Wow, Phil. What does one have to do to own a place like this?"
Corvin laughed, "An IQ of over 140 and a lot of business savvy." As he closed the door of the driver's side of the car, he walked over to Alex.
"How much do you think a place like this goes for?" she asked as they began walking toward the door.
"More than you and I will ever make in a lifetime, beautiful," he answered as he knocked on the door.
Welcome Agent Corvin, Please come in, they suddenly heard Iris' voice.
Alex turned to Phil, "The house speaks?"
"Wait until you see what's in the lighthouse," he answered with a smirk.
Entering, they found Hadji and Claire walking toward them, "Hadji, Claire, thank you for your help."
"No thank you needed," Hadji answered, "It is you who we should be thanking. What do you need from us?"
"We need QuestWorld," Corvin replied as he looked at both Hadji and Claire. "Let me present you Dr. Alexa Perry. Alex was the one who gave me the lead. Alex, this is Hadji Singh and Claire Somerville."
"The lead?" Claire asked. The young girl looked at the older woman in front of her, "What did you find Doctor?"
"Agent Corvin told me that Doctor Quest researched a man by the name of Oliver Crawford," she began before Hadji interrupted her.
"Oliver? That's the same name Jonny mentioned to me before he left with Jessie."
Alex and Corvin looked at each other. Alex asked "What did he say about him?"
"He was the physician that helped him when he was injured on an assignment a few years ago," he answered.
Corvin chimed in feeling happy that they had finally found someone with a connection to Jonny, "Then, we have a connection."
"And you found him?" Claire now asked.
"Yes," Alex replied looking at both youths, "He signed the death certificate of one Joseph Ruttenberg."
"The man who sent us the tape from Russia," Phil answered.
Hadji and Claire looked at each other, shocked. "What else did you find?" Claire questioned.
"That's all we've found so far," Corvin answered, "That's why we need your help. I need Questworld to break in to I-1's computer bank."
"We think that I-1 has a sub-agency. I need you to find those records," Alex added in. "Can you help us?"
Nodding, Hadji answered not wasting any time, "We will get started right away. Please follow us."
XXXXXXXXX
"How long will you be there," Jessie asked Jonny stoically after he told her where he headed. Her green eyes controlled the tears that threatened to spill out. She stood from where she was and headed to the sofa in the living room. It broke her to think she was losing him again.
"I'm not sure Jessica," he shrugged, "It might be a passing point. I'm just not sure. It depends on where Master wants to send me."
"How will you contact me?" Jessie continued her questioning as she sat back down on her chair.
Walking closer to her, he kneeled down to her. Jonny raised his hand toward Jessie and gently caressed her cheek, "I will find a way Jessica. Just because you won't see me, doesn't mean I won't kept you safe."
"I'm not afraid of that," she answered. "I just don't want to lose you."
Looking at her, Jonny couldn't hold his feelings any longer and kissed her. She, in turn, kissed him back passionately. They fell into a wonderful feeling that was interrupted by one of their cell phones ringing. It was Jonny's. He forced himself to let go of her. Looking at her for a moment before looking at his phone, he said, "I have to take this outside."
"It's Master," she immediately acknowledged.
He nodded, "I'll be right back."
"You'll tell me everything he says?" she looked at him adamantly.
Jonny nodded again, "I will. I promise." He rose and walked out of the cabin as he pressed the button, "I'm listening."
As Jessie watched Jonny, she sighed heavily. She stood up and rubbed her face with the palm of both hands, "Get a grip Jessie," she whispered to herself. Seeing that he was out the door, she walked over to the bathroom, stood by the mirror and looked at herself. Her eyes were puffy, even though she hadn't cried. Opening the faucet, she splashed some water on her face. After closing the faucet, Jessie took a towel and dried her face. Putting the towel away, she briefly looked at her toothbrush lying on the counter, and then she looked at the toothpaste lying right next to it. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. She picked up the toothbrush and the toothpaste.
xxxxxxxxxxx
"I'm listening," Jonny said as he walked out the door.
"Is it safe to speak?" he heard Master's voice.
"Yes," Jonny answered.
"Good," Master answered in a satisfactory tone. "I should be landing soon. I need to prepare a few things and I will meet you at the designated location. We will be leaving later tonight to Amsterdam and stay for three days as we plan for the next mission. Would you like to know where it is?"
Jonny stayed quiet for a moment before answering, "If you would like me to know, then I'll know."
A pause. Jonny didn't hear anything for a long moment before Master spoke again, "I long for the day when you make your own decisions DR128."
Jonny remained quiet, waiting.
"As I was saying, we will be leaving to Amsterdam later tonight and we'll stay there for three days before leaving to Rome. You and I will be working together for the next year."
Jonny's eyes widened, but he held his tongue and didn't say a word as Master continued.
"We will be impersonating a family. Father and son. Our job is to infiltrate a mafia family, gain their trust to then dispose of the necessary targets in order to bring them down. Do you understand what I am telling you?"
Jonny paused for moment before answering, "I understand."
"No, DR128, what I meant was, do you understand that we will be working together undercover? Do you know what that means son?"
"I…I'm not sure, but you will tell me, won't you?"
"All in due time my son, all in due time," Master answered. "For the moment, make sure you clean up all your tracks where you are. Do not leave any clues. You need to disappear. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand Master."
Xxxxxxxxxx
Jessie looked at her teeth on the mirror facing her, "Clean enough," she replied as she used the towel once again before putting it in its place and walking out. As she looked out the living room window, she noticed that Jonny was still outside talking for a few seconds before putting the phone back in his pocket.
Suddenly, she noticed his posture change, he looked to his right and quickly turned around heading toward the door. Opening it, he yelled out, "Get down now!"
Jessie dropped to the floor before she heard gun shots flying through the house.
xxxxxxxxxx
"There is one more thing, DR 128," Master said over the line as Jonny listened, "Did you take care of her?"
Jonny closed his eyes, knowing full well who his master meant by those words. He immediately felt like speaking up, but forced himself not to. He had to make sure he didn't let out his feelings, "Yes."
"Good," he sounded satisfied. "Keep a low profile and I will see you soon son."
"I'll see you soon Master," Jonny said as he hung up. Frustrated, he stood straighter, wanting to relieve the sudden stress he felt on his back and neck. If things didn't work out the way he hoped, then later tonight he'd get rid of the Master. The only person that has shown me some care. It has been care, right?
A sudden movement had him look to right, by the trees. Quickly, he turned around and watched from the window as Jessie was walking toward the living room. Jonny ran in and opened the door, "Get down, now!"