We drove through the city in silence. I was in the back of the van with three of the men, while one drove, and Karai sat in the passenger seat. I had my head resting in my hands. It was all I could do: I was so lost, it was taking every ounce of my strength to not start sobbing...
And at the same time, a part of me was growing angry the longer that I sat there. This wasn't like when I had been attacked in the alley way. The Foot Clan obviously wanted me for something, since they hadn't just killed me in my apartment. I saw no reason as to why they would leave me alive, and take me hostage, if they were just going to murder me some place else.
No, I could tell from the devilish expression on Karai's face that they had other reasons for keeping me alive.
"Someone will come looking for me." I said, finally finding some bravery to speak up.
Karai chuckled darkly. "We looked into your phone history. You haven't talked to your family in over a year, and the only other calls were to work or take out restaurants. So tell me Lily, will the Chinese place on the corner come to your rescue, or the Mexican place?"
I tried to not lose my nerve even though what she was saying was painfully true.
No one would miss me. Except Raphael, only I couldn't tell her about him.
"My work will wonder what happened to me." I continued after a moment.
"Not after you quit they won't. The pressures of working on Mr. Sacks' party will grow too great for you to handle." Karai replied, sounding extremely proud of their plan.
I was starting to have trouble breathing now. What were they going to do, wipe me from the face of the planet?
"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice faltering now. I had no more cards left to play.
"Mr. Sacks wants you to help him with a project." Karai answered mysteriously. "No more talking."
I didn't have a problem with that. I didn't want to know anymore of their plans for me. I couldn't handle it without completely losing my mind.
I leaned back against the wall of the van and closed my eyes, which I immediately regretted.
The only thing I saw was Raphael.
That was all it took to finally break me. I began to cry.
I couldn't tell where we finally stopped. The doors to the van opened and all I saw was an empty parking garage. It had felt the road dip down right before we had parked, so I assumed that were underneath a building. The same man as before grabbed my arm and dragged me alongside him and the others. We went over to an elevator, which we took to the top floor.
A sterile white hallway stretched out before me. It had a hospital-like vibe to it, which made me nervous. We passed many doors, all shut, all with no windows, before entering one. The room had a desk, a long couch, and a large window that overlooked the dark city.
Something about being able to see outside made my muscles relax just a little bit. It grounded me, made me remember that I was still very much alive.
I would get through this. I had to.
Karai stepped in front me and pulled out my cell phone out of her pocket. She then pulled out her own phone and pushed a few keys on the surface.
"You get three chances. I will be taping you. Say that you are quitting and going back home to California. Say that the pressure broke you. If you don't say it convincingly by the third try, I will kill you. Understand?" Karai said to me sharply.
I nodded stiffly.
She held out her phone close to my lips and then mouthed "speak".
"This is Lily. Today with Mr. Sacks made me realize that I can't do this job anymore. I've decided to leave my-"
Karai pulled the phone quickly away from me. "Too formal. Again."
I waited for her to hold out the device once again.
I swallowed hard.
FOCUS.
"This is Li-Lily. I can't do this job anymore. Dealing with Sacks today proved that to m-me. I'm quitting and going back home. I'm sorry. Goodbye."
A smile twisted across Karai's features. "Well done."
She left the room briskly, the men following her, and they closed the door, undoubtedly locking it behind them. I went over to sit on the couch, observing that the space looked very much like a therapist's office would. It was plain and nonthreatening, but I found nothing about it comforting. To me, it was just a prison.
The silence was almost enough to kill me. My skin was on fire from the nerves and my breathing was ragged at best. I had to keep blinking in order to focus my eye sight and every single limb on my body was shaking violently. Leaving the message had rattled me beyond the point of repair. All I could do was sit and stare at the ground, forcing myself to not think about the brothers and Splinter.
The door opened once more and Eric Sacks waltzed in, seeming completely untroubled.
He didn't acknowledge the fact that I was in the room until well after he had sat down behind the desk. Finally, his eyes flicked over to me and he grinned.
"So glad you could join me, Lily." He said. "We've got a lot to discuss."
I scoffed. "You're insane," I spat.
He ignored me. "Now, what are the chances of you telling me who you're working for?"
"I won't ever tell you." I replied fiercely, hot tears filling my eyes.
He sighed. "I figured as much. No matter. They're the least of my worries."
Sacks got up from the desk and sauntered over to sit beside me on the couch. I moved as far away from his as I could, feeling like I might be sick.
"Did you know, that at this very moment, your apartment is being packed up?" He questioned me. "By morning, it will be as if you'd never even lived there."
I shook my head. "Just tell me why you're fucking doing this! Because I tried to spy on you?"
"No. Normally I would have just killed someone like you. But, I think you're perfect for an experiment of mine that I've been wanting to try." Sacks explained.
"An experiment?" I clarified, confused by the turn this conversation was taking.
"Yes. You see, once the Foot Clan and I finish up our first bit of business, I will be quite rich. And I plan to use that money towards a serum of mine that could change the world."
"A serum?" I repeated. "I don't understand."
"Oh, come on now, I know you're smarter than that." He teased menacingly. "Put the puzzle pieces together."
I knew what he was hinting at, I just didn't want to say it out loud.
I could also sense that in a way, history was repeating itself.
It was a serum that had created the brothers, after all.
"What is it going to do to me?" I questioned him quietly after a moment.
Sacks' eyes traveled to a far off place. "Imagine being able to change a person's history... Imagine being able to make them remember or forget what ever you wish. Imagine making them believe that they had been living a completely different life, giving them a whole new story. Murders? Rapists? Pedophiles? We could change the very fabric of their being and cure them. No more violence... unless, of course, we want there to be."
"That's... impossible." I choked out, but even I could hear the fear in my voice.
Why are you even kidding yourself, Lily? Look what his serum did to the turtles and Splinter. Is this really so crazy, so impossible to believe?
No, no it wasn't. And that fact made me almost pass out.
"What are you going to... change about my history?" I asked him softly, already resigning myself to the fact that I was doomed.
My apartment would be packed by morning.
I had quit my job.
My family didn't give a fuck about me.
I had thrown away the only link that I had to Raphael.
I was nothing but a ghost now.
"Everything," Sacks murmured happily, leaning in close to me. "I'm going to change everything."
He reached out quickly and grabbed my arm. Before I could even realize what he was doing, he had jammed a long needle into my arm. I watched as he emptied the cartridge into my body.
The world immediately began to fade. The only thing I could hear in my head was the echo of Sacks saying "everything".
And then, it all went black.