Fair warning, it's long but worth it. Just as an FYI, I will be changing the rating. Sorry folks, my story got a little darker then I anticipated.
Breathing in, she felt a sharp pain on her forearm. Breathing out, her head throbbed.
This was out of the ordinary.
Slowly she opened an eye and felt a blinding white light assault her eye. Closing it again, she groaned in annoyance. But she couldn't quite get the sound out because she felt like she had something lodged down her throat, which caused her to cough and almost choke. Lifting her hands up, she felt the tube in her mouth, she started to force it out of her mouth but her hands were so weak. Coughing through the tube in her mouth she managed to take it out. It was a small tube and it tasted like, baby food. Her throat was dry and raw as she tried to swallow to soothe it. Still in bed, she felt weak, but attempted to open her eyes. At least one of her main senses were in tact, however, she was blind as a bat. No glasses.
Her hearing was on par, the machine next to her was beeped every ten seconds. She could feel the wires all over her when she tried to move. Granted, this was not interrogation but this was just as close. Drifting in and out of slumber, she was weak and could not move if she tried. She felt heavily drugged.
Morgan heard the door slowly open and heard footsteps. One. Only one entered.
With her eyes closed she waited.
"Good, you're awake!" said a familiar voice.
Ted.
Slowly she opened here eyes and blinked hard. She could only make the outlines of a male and wearing a white coat. Trying to clear her throat to say something.
"No, don't speak. Your throat will be aching for sometime. It's better to collect yourself. All you have to do is listen." the male voice spoke in a calm manner.
She felt him remove the tube that she had in her mouth and closed in on her. There was a flash of light to her eye, making her flinch away and blinking hard as she groaned.
"Relax and let me check on your vitals." he said as she guided her face back to him and flashed the light on her eyes again. Morgan did not fight him. Her body could not fight him if she tried, she was too weak to even attempt to move her arms.
Grabbing her hands with both of his, he told her to squeeze. Which she did very slowly and lame. He told her to pull but she couldn't even attempt it. Again he asked her to do it but she just let go of his hands and somehow managed to vocalize a very husky no, as an answer.
"Morgan, you are still very weak and not yet recovered. I will be placing you back to sleep."
Morgan wearily shook her head as she tried to look at him.
"Yes, it's necessary. Your body has not yet recovered from the interrogation."
Again she tried to shake her head but she couldn't even keep her head up.
"You will need all the rest you can. We need you to be on your best- well, I need you to be."
The confusion had settled in for Morgan as her eyebrows knitted together.
"All in good time. I will explain everything but before we do that, I need you to understand that you will have a chance to redeem yourself if you so wish it. If not, then I can no longer help you." her told her as she felt herself, slowly drift off. The sound of the beeping had dissipated and she could only hear the sound of her heart beat ever so slowly.
A week later, she was now on the mend. Which was good for the Kingsmen, but bad for her. She had just woken up two days prior and she had not said a word to any of the doctors. Galahad and Merlin did not come to see her or even evaluate her. They kept their distance. The only person that came in that was new and not a doctor was a man named Arthur. He did not speak to her, only to the doctors. She could not see him, since they still kept her blind. No glasses. But from what she could tell, he was in charge. His whole aura spoke authority. The way he spoke to the doctors and asked questions. They were no hesitations on their answers.
Morgan started to realize how badly she had damaged herself. Her arm had been in sling since her shoulder had been damaged. It wasn't so much the damage from the fight, it had been how she was in one position for so long and without food and water. She did bring this upon herself and felt stupid for it but the deed was done. Now, they were going determine her fate. When? She did not know, all she knew was that she had to be ready. But for what? She still couldn't fight them. The drive was gone. As far as she knew, they had won and she was their prisoner, but in the gist of it, she was not. They were not treating her like a normal human being! Dear Lord, this was a strange concept to her.
It wasn't until the 8th day, that they had placed her on a wheelchair and wheeled her out. Still no glasses. But she could tell that there were no guards walking with her, just the doctor who was pushing her through the halls. Morgan was still weak but not weak enough to move her legs and arms. Still she felt limited on her movements. Still light headed and to grasp fast movements, she had submitted to the docile feeling. Wherever they were taking her, she was not ready for it but had to except the fact that this would very well be her last freedom.
They wheeled her into what looked like a library. The doctor placed her by a table and a chair. On the table there were two cups and a water pitcher. Blind as she was, she did her best to make out the scene, she waited for someone to come in. Of course, they would pick a non hostile area to keep her calm. But why?
Slowly inhaling and exhaling, she felt very sore still. Trying to move her fingers and slowly rotate her head to remember the movements. Then she heard someone from behind. Craining her neck and rotating it, she saw that it was a male. Passing her and placing a folder on the table as he unbuttoned his suit.
"I take it you're feeling better?" the male asked in a genuine tone.
Oh, Ted. She thought to herself as she blinked hard and closed her eyes.
"I said, I take it you're feeling better?" he said in a louder tone, causing her to jump a little and direct her attention to him. Shrugging her good shoulder as an answer.
Galahad had tended to her only once and that was when she first woke up. She did look much better, since there was regular color coming back to her face. Her cheeks had a small tint of red. The outline of Ted sat down across from her and poured water from the pitcher and into the cup. He slowly slid it her way. Which Morgan slowly placed her hand on the table, for an attempt to feel for it. Sliding her fingers on the table she felt the glass but it felt foreign. Grabbing it in a docile manner, she lifted it near her mouth and blinked hard to see if it was water. Trying to focus her sight. She was far sighted. She felt the water on the tip of her lips and drank it. Trying to put it down on the table she almost missed it. Galahad quickly caught her hand and took the cup without saying a word.
Finally clearing her throat, she said, "I'm far sighted."
Galahad gave a small smile. This was a start.
"What's your vision?"
Morgan quietly said, "Bad."
"At what age did you start wearing glasses?" asking casually.
This was going to be interesting. He was attempting to get at something.
"I'm in your chains. Stop beating around the bush and get to the point. Ted." she said.
"It's Galahad, but you already know that it's Harry Hart." he said, "It's nice to finally meet you..." he paused, "Morgan? Is that even you're real name?"
"Victoria. That was my name before-" she blurted out, surprising herself, "before I died."
"Victoria MacNamara." he said as she nodded her head. "Why Morgan Morgenstein?" he asked.
"Identity theft is serious stuff, at least if you're living. But when you're dead, it's easy to cover up."
"How long have you been Morgan?"
"A few years."
Well, it was a start and he was going continue with the momentum.
"Let's start from the beginning."
Morgan scowled, "The beginning of what? The beginning was a mess to start with."
"You had been on the run for some time, I presume?"
"Living. I was living. I was getting tired of running."
"Why the British Library?" he asked.
"Why not?"
"Of all the places you can hide, you go to a library."
"I didn't hide. I lived. I worked."
"Why were you being followed?"
She shook her head, "I don't know."
"Before we start with this 'I-don't-know' bull, I will have you know that your only given one chance to redeem yourself. The vague answers will get us nowhere. It'll get you nowhere. So you need to be honest with me." he scolded her. But Morgan didn't understand why.
"It's the truth. I don't know who they were. When I saw you, I thought you were the one following me. I expected to see you bursting through the doors, not that lady with the pearl necklace."
"What did she say to you? Do you know why they wanted you?"
Morgan scoffed and closed her eyes, "For work." as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Work? What kind of work?"
"The usual. As I said, I retired. Or at least, I tried to."
"The usual, meaning, to recreate the Genocidal Hacker?" he finally said.
Blind as she was, she looked straight in the eye with concentration. Galahad had struck a nerve and he saw it with the way her face flinched. She couldn't hide it. "Your episode or breakdown had caused you to say things we couldn't quite understand. Now, we need some clarification-"
"And you still didn't kill me?"
"We are not here to kill you-"
"Do you know what I've done? Do you understand what happened?" her voice had started to raise.
"Morgan, we are here to figure out what you are! We will not be sentencing your death. You have been given a chance to remedy the state of affairs, by defending yourself by explaining who you are and why you are here!" he raised his voice. "Are you or are you not the Genocidal Hacker?" he asked.
Morgan closed her eyes and with her good hand, rubbed an eye as she placed her head down, almost in shame.
"I am- was! The Genocidal Hacker." she quietly answered as her voice pitched a tad higher and then cleared her throat.
"Did you do it alone or did you have help?"
"Neither."
"Explain." his voice was cold and she could feel the tension.
Her chest was becoming heavy as she felt a wave of anxiety. Never had she had to address her past, when she thought she left it all behind. This was unfair. Why did he have to bring this all up? Shaking her head, "I didn't-" she tried to speak but it was so hard. The dates were running in her mind, like it was yesterday.
"November 17th' 2011 Beijing. April 1st' 2012 Indian Ocean. January 16th, 2013 Rio De Janero November 13th, 2013 New Hampshire, Connecticut. December 25th, 2013. There were more. So much more. So much.." she blurted it out as she tried to hold herself together.
"The dates don't mean anything if you don't tell me who told you to do it?" he paused as she craned his neck to get a better look at her, "Or did you deliberately do it on your own terms?" he asked in a low tone.
"I didn't. I had no say- I can't- I thought-" she closed her eyes and felt a tear come down from her cheek.
"Morgan, I want to help you. Truly I do, but you need to tell me what happened! You are not far from the truth when it will set you free-"
Morgan then a gave a sheepish laugh then shook her head, "You see, I thought that too! But then I realized it didn't. I've been haunted by it, ever since. Haunted by the truth that will never let me go." she said as she gazed towards him. "You know what it's like. Your hands are unclean. Just like everyone here. How do you sleep at night? Because I know I don't."
A point had been made, this women was damaged beyond the usual. Changing the conversation he asked, "Why London?"
Again Morgan scoffed, "I wish I really knew!" she said as she gave a small smile. "I guess I always had a thing for it."
"I can only assume that you're an American and you haven't been home since."
"There is no home to go to." she said bitterly.
"So you came here, in hopes of a new life, is that correct?"
"You could say that."
"They why the Black Swan?"
Morgan froze. Why did she pick the Black Swan? It was meant to be a distraction to get money from the banks. She was broke and needed the extra money to make ends meet. The pay of being a librarian wasn't enough, not for the things she needed for her computer. Shrugging her shoulders. She didn't answer him.
"Victoria-" he was cut short when she somehow willed a small amount of strength to hit the table and growl, "Don't call me that!"
Another nerve had been struck.
"Why not?"
"Because she no longer exists. She's been dead for a long time and she will no longer be called."
"The name suits you-"
"The name is vile and dangerous. She was never meant to be and she will never come back."
"Yes, you're right, she can never come back because she has been erased. However, Merlin did find something." lifting up the folder, "I know you can't see it but this is what he was able to muster up." he said to her. "For a dead women, you sure have a scary record."
"You're bluffing! I made sure everything was erased."
"Not all of it. You may be smart but if you get Merlin on the right mood, he will find what he needs and you, gave him that drive. You've angered him to a point that he got what he wanted."
Shaking her head, "That's not possible! There is nothing! It's all gone." she started to raise her voice again.
"I don't know what to say about you. This file-" he paused as she took of his glasses. "disturbed me greatly. Disgusted, would be another word but it doesn't-" he said with a growl, as he took of his glasses, "I can't even come up with a word to describe what I thought or even felt."
Her face had now become pale and she was loosing her energy. It was a bluff. It had to be.
"Whose Denny, Victoria?"
A gasp escaped from her mouth.
'Checkmate'
Shaking her head, her whole demeanor had changed. As if she was afraid. "No. No. Don't." she quickly answered. "Don't do anything to him. He did nothing! He only mean to-" her throat started to croak as she cleared it, "He's harmless. A mind of a child-"
"I don't see how he would be, since he is affiliated with you." he paused, "Did he murder people? Did he have no remorse?"
"Denny is nothing like me," she pleaded with him, "he has a big heart and he would never do what I did."
"And what was it that you did? What makes you so different from him? Why should we not find him and bring him here? Give me a good reason why I shouldn't just snuff him out of the picture?" he said in a calm manner as he watched the color from her face drain.
"God, you guys are really a piece of work." she said as tears started coming down her face. Galahad was giving her time to think. The silence was harsh for him but he knew he had to give it to her. It would force her to speak.
"I was an instrument of death." stating in as she looked at her hands and started to feel dizzy. "I killed because I thought I was doing something right. Denny," she swallowed hard, "he thought it would save his sister." Lifting her head up to look at the outline of Galahad, "Please leave him out of this. I beg of you! Don't drag him into this. He's been through enough-"
"Then tell me what I need to know!" Galahad had cut her short as he slammed on the table, making her jump. His patience was not wearing thin, by no means. The facade was there so he could get what he wanted. Yes, it was a low blow that she could not see his reactions or what he had done, but it had give them an advantage. The file was a dud. Harsh yes, but it was affective.
But the name, where the hell did he find the name? In reality, there was nothing on Victoria MacNamara, erased from the world. They went through her items and found nothing that of personal matters, no journals, no notes, no letters. Morgan was very thorough on holding no personal items.
Except one.
A picture of a black man, skinny, tall, and smiling big with his arm hooked, around a very happy and young Victoria. Like they were the best of friends, with no cares in the world. On the back of the picture it had his name, Denny.
Closing her eyes, she remembered him. Denny. The most innocent man in the the whole madness. Why did they bring him into this?
Morgan paused as she inhaled hard, "They hired me." she cleared her throat, "Us, Denny and I." as she wiped the tears from her face. "The Lonix Corporation." she paused again as she swallowed hard, "I was young and stupid." she said with a small laugh. Again, she paused as she inhaled slowly and shamefully started to explain."They were a private corporation. A military for hire, that the government could not shut down or go against, because in a way, they had hired Lonix to take care of things. And when I say, 'take care' I mean, accidental deaths of certain House of Representatives or even their family members. Lonix basically had them in their pocket. But it wasn't just them." she explained as she looked at him, or at least attempted, "They were hired by anyone, any country, or even a dictator. It didn't matter who you were, what you were, what your agenda was, as long as you had the money. You had a grudge or a problem, they could meet it and make it disappear." she said while closing her eyes.
"The Lonix Corporation." he repeated.
"Does it sound familiar to you?"
"It doesn't ring a bell."
"If you haven't heard from them in a long time, then it means I did my job right." she said with a smile.
Galahad wasn't sure where she was going with it. "I don't understand. What job?"
Biting her lip and trying hard not to smirk, "Go ahead and ask Merlin to look them up."
Galahad hesitated, "Merlin is not here. It's only you and I. I requested for some privacy so that we may talk in confidence."
"Oh, lucky me! Should I thank you for it?" she said a false happy tone. "I find it hard to believe that it's only you and me. Someone has to be listening in on all the juice details."
Morgan wasn't wrong. Merlin was, indeed, listening and he couldn't help himself. He did plan on leaving Harry to the task, since he was so adamant on getting her side. Yet, something in the back of his mind was nagging him to listen in. There was something to be learned. Jonathan was not going to let Harry know that he was listening in, at least not yet.
"How long did you work for them?"
"Long enough to know that I was an idiot, blinded by their agenda."
"The Lonix Corporation had hired you to make those kills?"
Shaking her head, "No, I wasn't hired. I was forced to do it." she said in a quiet tone as her smile slowly faded. "At first, I did it without thought. I did it with an idea that I was saving people." Morgan started to remember. Closing her eyes she shook her head. "I did what they asked and what I was hired to do, but after a while, I found out why I was doing it and the conclusions of the missions. I was not to ask questions or even look into the nature of the job. I was supposed to be a good girl and I always was. . . " inhaling she smirked, "And then, I stopped." paused to inhale, "Curiosity really hurts you in the end." shaking her head. "After I flooded them with questions, I was monitored closely every time I was given a task." It was hurting her to even talk about it.
"Denny had worked as an IT engineer. Like to tinker with the little things and create little robots." she said with a sad smile. "My only true friend who was with me through it all. Shy and awkward but brilliant, brilliant mind." tears were still streaming down her face as she felt herself become more and more weak. Her breathing had become slow as her head started to bow.
Galahad could see that she was emotionally exhausted and had opened a world of pain for her all over again. He had dealt with many women and how they could lead men astray, he knew how they worked. The body language, the tone, the gestures, the looks. It wasn't hard for him to notice the little things, but this, this was more than he anticipated. Harry knew during her episode that she conveyed defeat and delirium. But in that delirium she wanted to be heard. She wanted someone to listen to her and understand before she asked to be killed. It made him wonder, 'What the hell did they do to her?'
"I worked as a hacker." she said with a hint of anger. "Mr. Thewles, thought the world of me. He saw potential and taught me everything they knew. I worked with multiple company's, organizations, governments, and underground groups, everyone from CIA, NSA, Interpool, MI-5, you name it. Any form of education that dealt with ways to unlock the cyber world. Eventually, Mr. Thewles started to pawn me off to others for an expensive price tag. I was there cash cow." she paused as she gave a deep exhale. That was hard to say all in one go with so little energy.
"And a weapon." said another voice.
Harry heard the voice from the side, it was Jonathan.
Slowly she moved her head to where the sound was coming from. She gave a small snigger, "So much for confidentiality." she mumbled as she shook her head. "Are we done yet?" she asked. She had just lost interest and Harry was not too pleased to see Jonathan.
"The Lonix Corporation no longer exists. Why?" Jonathan started.
Morgan was hesitant to answer him.
"Why?" he asked again as his tone became harsh.
"Because I pulled the plug on them." she said with a small look of triumph. "I made damn sure that they would no longer be hired by anyone or anything. What they stood for and what they wanted to achieve was nothing more than an illusion. I ended it."
"How?" Jonathan asked.
Morgan sighed and let the silence drag for a while. Not for her sake but to torture Merlin. She didn't have to have her sight to know how she ticked him off.
"I have to pee." she said, indicating that she no longer wanted to speak.
"What the hell were you doing? I thought you said you wanted nothing do with it! I almost had her-" Harry yelled at him.
Morgan had been wheeled off back to her room where she would sleep or at least attempt to sleep.
"I will apologize for interrupting, but when she mentioned The Lonix Corporation, I knew that this was out of our depth. You need to understand the severity of the situation. I've heard about hackers like her, they get rented out and they do their dirty work. Sometimes they don't even come back alive. If she had been used more than once, the former corporations, or organizations will be looking for her! To utilize her and make her work!" Jon yelled at him.
"Yes, I gathered that much-" Harry tried to make an argument but Jonathan was not finished. "She is a threat to us, Harry! She may not wield a gun or a knife but she already knows the inside and out's of the area. Whose to say she won't kill us? She knows are faces and our profiles."
"Jon, put two and two together- she resisted! You saw her body and the torture she endured. They did not kill her because they needed her and she resisted them for as long as she could. Yes, there will be others who be looking for her but locking her up will do us no good when we know what she can do-"
"Murder people-"
"And has she murdered anyone ever since? As far as we know she only has done harmless-"
"Stealing money from a bank is harmless?" Jon's condescending tone had backlashed on Harry, "I'd say it is compared to blowing up a building or destroying the bank and causing a great depression." Harry responded back in a matter a fact tone.
"We don't know what she's been doing before this?" Jon argued back, "There are no records of her and it's her words. It's just words. What if she is lying? We need facts."
"And we will get facts, if you stop interrupting! She shut down the moment you interrupted."
Jonathan paused as she rubbed his head in frustration. "Fine, lets see things your way. Lets say, she decides that she helps us. What then? What if she finds a way to destroy us. What if she kills us all with a stroke of a key?" retaliating in frustration as she turned his back on him.
"And what if she doesn't? What if she does exactly what we need and she willingly agrees? She needs a purpose! We give her a purpose and maybe, just maybe, she might just work with it."
"You're a fucking dreamer, you know that?" he said as he growled in annoyance.
"I'm open and awake to the possibilities." answering back with his arms wide open as he poured himself some scotch.
"That's fine and dandy, Harry, but Arthur is going to need proof." he mocked him, "Nothing will go past him and you know this."
"I understand that and that is why I will need one more session with her. I will talk to her when she is feeling better. In the mean time, get some damn manners and have a little sympathy. You've been single for too long, you can't even tell the different between deceit to truth when it comes to a women! " Harry said as he walked out of the room.
Let me know what you think!