Chapter 14

'Where are we going?' I asked Olivia – well, a far less appreciable version of the Olivia I loved, but it was somehow her nonetheless. She just glanced at me quickly and sat behind the wheel of the black SUV without a word. I clenched my teeth and fists and tried to remain as calm as possible before sitting next to her as the engine roared loudly. I had no idea where she was taken me and I even doubted that she really knew someone who could help us figure out the shapeshifter's agenda, but the only thing I could do was follow her lead. I looked at her, though I had rather have looked outside the window, and I noticed she bit the inside of her cheek, probably uneasy because she felt my stare on her. I guessed she was resisting the urge of looking back at me when she turned her eyes to the left rear-view mirror and checked the road behind us a little longer than necessary.

'No one is following us, if that's hat you're afraid of,' I teased her, more to annoy her than to entertain myself.

She pinched her lips in response with a heavy sigh she tried to muffle in the collar of her jacket, and I savored with pride this tiny revenge that I had well deserved.
'So tell me, where are we going?' I asked again, and it was her turn to clench her teeth.
'You'll see by yourself when we're there' she replied, still avoiding my look.

I shook my head, knowing that I wouldn't get anything more from her. I had thought there was a way we could work together, but I was wrong. We would never be able to get on because we both wanted and needed the same person, and this person couldn't be shared. None of us had mentioned it yet, neither I nor her had dared to tackle that issue, but that didn't mean we were not aware of it. I perfectly knew a kind of rivalry between I and her had settled ever since they came back in that universe. I even thought it was something even worse that rivalry. Oh yes, it was so much more than that. I had hoped we could have helped each other to overcome the whole situation, but as hard as I would have wished it to be possible, it wouldn't not have come true. It couldn't have come true. Because I hated her. Maybe I was possessive, quick-tempered, resentful and every other thing that I shouldn't be proud of, and maybe she didn't didn't deserve my hating her, but there was nothing I could do about it. She had stolen my Olivia and that was not a fact a man like me could ignore that easily. I truly believed their bizarre relationship could be scientifically explained – Olivia would never have done something like this, so it had to be – and that I was simply unable to wrap my mind around it. But I also truly believed they could have avoided it too, there was no way something as gross as than could have happened without their consent. And I truly believed that woman sitting next to me was the one who pushed Olivia to do it. Just the sight of those fingers on the wheel and the thought of them touching Olivia wherever I should have touched her first, and the sight of that mouth I found so appealing when I watched it stirring into the most delicious smile whenever Olivia was happy, and the thought of it traveling down a body I should have discovered first... It made me sick. All those things I loved in Olivia, from the tiniest wrinkle in the corner of her lips, to the color of her eyes, were turning into evil and repulsive things before my eyes. She disgusted me because she made me think of Olivia in a way that I would never, ever have before. That woman was everything Olivia was not and as much as I was ashamed of it, I could only see the bad in her. That wasn't fair and I knew it, but I wasn't looking for fairness nor objectiveness. I just wanted Olivia for myself and I would have done anything to get her. I was being selfish, I even had seen it in Olivia's eyes when she talked to me about their situation in the damn cafeteria. But even the little sparkle of resentment in the green of her irises had not made me feel guilty. I just knew what I wanted and I was ready to fight for it no matter what it took.

'We're almost there' she said lowly as we drove past old buildings lost in the dark depth of the city.
It was probably just a trick played on me by my imagination, but the overall impression I got from that place was not good at all. It looked as if a greyish fog had suddenly fallen upon us, like a black cloud announcing a storm. There was not a single living soul around, not even an astray cat to be seen in the corner of a street. She slowed down when we approached a dead end, took a quick look around probably to make sure we were at the right place, and finally parked silently on the sidewalk. She waited a few seconds, her hands on the wheel, as if she was deciding whether it was a good idea to get out or not. That should have made me realize there was something fishy, but unfortunately I only realized that later.

'Okay, let's go,' she said, more for herself than me.
I nodded and got out of the car, making my way around it to open the trunk.

'Shit...' I muttered at the sight of the bare carpet.
'What is it?' she asked me.
'The case of guns is not here' I replied, barely looking at her. 'I hope this friend of yours is reliable because we're on our own with no weapons.'
She said nothing and closed the trunk, nodding her head toward a flight of stairs diving into the darkness. I followed her, though a bit hesitant because I didn't trust her, not to mention that this place was giving me creeps. She walked down the steps slowly and stopped in front of a large metal door with no handle.
'Once we're in here, you gotta stay close to me,' she told me, her voice sounding a little unusual, as if she was trying to keep a light tone tough she was emphasizing each of her words clearly as if it was the only thing I needed to remember.

I didn't take her advise seriously – as a matter of fact I didn't take her seriously – and I shrugged just to show I had heard her. She took a deep breath and pushed the door which opened – surprisingly easily – on a corridor even darker than the outside, only lit by a few, dim lights embedded in the walls. We took a few steps into the unknown and the heavy door closed loudly on us. Without the light coming from the outside, it was even harder to make out things in the gloom of the narrow space ahead of us, and I watched carefully where I put my feet to avoid stepping on anything. As much as I hated obeying her orders, I followed Olivia closely, because she seemed to know where she was heading. We walked past many doors, so many that I supposed they led to rooms that were probably as big as a closet. Giant navy blue letters and numbers were stuck on their thick windows which prevented anyone from peeking inside. We strolled about the corridor for long minutes, not really knowing what exactly we were looking for, nor when we would find it.

'Are you sure this is where you friend is?' I asked in a whisper, turning on my heels to try and find something we had missed. I froze when I realized that that something that I had missed had come to me, and appeared to be something very unexpected and very inconvenient. I found myself standing a few inches away from the barrel of a gun pointed right at my forehead. The man holding it was staring at me with intense blue eyes, his forefinger across his lips to order me to remain silent without having to speak a word. I held my breath, hoping that Olivia would notice something before it was too late.

'Yes, I'm sure,' she answered without turning to look at me.

The man draw me to him by the wrist and, without a sound, wrapped his muscular arm around my shoulder, his calloused hand on my mouth, the gun pressed tightly on my temple, and he guided me backward into an obscure room. The door closed on us and I only had the time to hear a light 'Peter?' coming from her, followed by a muffled gasp. I was pushed roughly against a wall, and I tried to take the opportunity to have the upper hand over him before he could do anything. Unfortunately, I ran into what was probably a chair and fell hard on the floor, my legs trapped between the ones of the chair. I heard a brisk laugh followed by a clicking sound. After a few seconds, a blinding light enlightened the whole room, and I had to protect my eyes from the sudden brightness with my arm. I felt two strong hands grab me by the shoulders, lift me up and push me back against the wall. I blinked a few times trying to adjust to the light, and when I finally was able to open my eyes I noticed the man had put the chair back on its legs, and was offering me to take a seat with a devilish grin. I stared at him with all the defiance I could show but sat nonetheless, thinking he was of the 'quick to shoot' kind.

'Thank you', he said with a forced smile that looked everything but friendly.
He got around me and took a pair of handcuffs hanging from his belt before grabbing my wrists and twisting my arms behind my back. I almost let out a whimper of pain when he closed them tightly, to the point I felt my skin being cut.

'You got the wrong guy,' I said, repositioning myself on the chair to ease the pain. 'I'm not who you think I am.'
'I know who you are,' he said with sparkling eyes. 'It's all in here,' he added, tapping his temple with his fingers. ' I know everything about you, Peter Bishop. Every single detail of your miserable life.'

His electric blue eyes looked even more intimidating in this bright light and I noticed the insidious air of superiority emanating from them. He crossed his arms on his chest and stared at me for long minutes, as if he was trying to decipher me, taking in every tiny detail he could. I waited anxiously, because I didn't know what he wanted from me. I had often found myself in such situations in the past, but the circumstances were very different. Dealing with Big Eddie's underlings was a child's play, but that smiling man in front of me was not of the same kind. He looked intelligent, and he obviously knew enough to get whatever he wished. The best way out was to keep my mouth shut for as long as possible and do my best not to give him any information at all. I lowered my eyes to my knees, debating whether I ought to do something else to try and get out of this damned place or not. The silence was broke by the unbearable noise of his fingers tapping the door, over and over again, but I ignored it, concentrating on things that preoccupied me much more than that. He suddenly stopped, and laughed. I heard walk about the room for a little time, and felt that he had stopped in front of me.

'What do you want?' I grunted, my fingers clenching around the leg of the chair.
'Why did you come here?'
'We just happened to pass by and we thought we might just take a look around.'

The grin I wore quickly disappeared when his strong fist hit my face violently, splitting my cheekbone. I wiped the blood I felt rolling on my cheek on my shoulder, and lifted my head to look at him into the eyes. His own smile had disappeared too, and I noticed his hands were shaking a little – though not as much as mine.

'Why did you come here?' he repeated, this time more loudly, and dangerously getting closer to my face.
'Just told you, we stopped here like half an hour ago,' I dared, closing my eyes in anticipation of the blow I felt coming. The chair almost fell backward when he punched me once again, but he grasped me by the collar just in time.
'I swear to you Bishop,' he whispered in my ear. 'If you don't tell me what brought you here I'll blow your damn head off!'

I stared at him with my fiercest look, feeling my cheek swelling, and I would probably have hold his frosty stare for much more longer, if it wasn't for the photograph of Olivia he waved right under my nose...

It's been like an eternity since I've uploaded this story, and I am so sorry ! I had tons of exams to prepare and I really didn't get the time to write !

Anyway, here is a new chapter, it's not very long but I'll try to write another one whether in a few days or next week, I still don't know.
I hope you still like it ! :)