Hi! I hope everyone liked the last chapter! Well, now I present to you a chapter that ties into the main arc of Season 2 and showcases Rachel Warren's days as a spy. Of course, this chapter is significantly darker than the others, especially the canon ones. One last thing, there is a lemon in this chapter, so if that's not your thing, feel free to keep scrolling until you hit the "X". This story is rated "M" for a reason.
Read and review!
Chapter Fifty-Four
The Ballad of Rachel and Tim
September 1987
She watched through her Binocular Shades as the man she had been tailing exited the embassy. His pale skin and ted hair made him stand out very easily. He had a scar under his right eye, which Rachel supposed came from a knife.
Maybe he got into some kind of fight, she guessed.
Forcing herself back to reality, she jumped into the air, flipping backwards until she delivered a downward kick to the man's back. His face forced into the pavement, Rachel kept her knee on his lower back until she reached into her purse for the handcuffs.
Also out of the purse, she pulled out a pink corded phone receiver and dialed the number that would put her in touch with her boss.
"Jerry," she said. "I caught our terrorist, but there's still no bomb."
"You haven't found it yet?" Jerry asked.
"Well, no. But Hannah's looking for it."
"You sent Hannah to look for it?"
Hannah, of course was her roommate, fellow spy and best friend.
"I trust her," Rachel said. But she wasn't so sure if that trust wasn't misplaced. Hannah had a tendency to rush headfirst into these kinds of situations and almost always acted without thinking. She looked back on their basic training together when Hannah had been so eager to prove herself that she'd forgotten to handle a delicate artifact-really just an old teapot that belonged to Jerry's mother- with care.
"All the same," Jerry said. "You should help her. You have a better head for defusing bombs than she does. I don't think I can stress how important this mission is. If we fail to find that bomb and defuse it, it will mean war."
As loyal a friend as she was, Rachel knew he was probably right.
"Understood," she said, hanging up. She pressed her finger to her ear, touching the sapphire earring that served as a two-way radio between her and her partner.
"Hannah?" she asked. "Any luck with the bomb?"
"Not yet," Hannah's voice said apologetically. "For people who don't believe in opulence, this embassy is huge!
"Just hang tight. I'm on my way. Where are you?"
"The basement. I thought it'd be a good place to- wait! I think I found it!"
"Really? Okay, wait right there, I'll come and help you."
"No need, Rach," Hannah said. "It looks pretty simple. Just pull the red wire, right?"
Rachel's eyes widened. "No, wait!"
But Hannah had already cut off the communication. Rachel groaned.
"Better go help her before she gets herself blown up!"
Running into the embassy, ignoring the people she pushed over in the process as well as the Russian curses, Rachel descended down the first staircase she saw. Running as fast as she could without tripping, she landed firmly on the basement floor. Looking for any sign of her friend.
Not too far away from the main gas pipe, she found her. Hannah was a dark-skinned young woman with short hair and brown eyes, all of which were so contrasted against her silver spy uniform that they set each other off perfectly. But in contrast to her normal smile, Hannah's face bore an expression that Rachel knew all too well. It was an expression that often indicated that she had done something like leave the fridge open or forget to pay their rent when it was time or realized that she'd borrowed Rachel's clothes and then ruined them.
That was my favorite sweater! Rachel thought, thinking back to an incident where Hannah had borrowed a white sweater with dark blue accents to wear on a date. It came back with with a grape juice stain that took forever to clean out.
Forcing herself to look beside Hannah, she had found that she'd already dislocated the red wire, much to Rachel's chagrin.
The black rectangular box had already begun to count down as a result of Hannah's impulsivity.
00:59
00:58
00:57
"What happened to letting me handle the bomb?" Rachel asked.
"Sorry!" Hannah threw up her hands in defense. "It was right there and I thought-"
"You thought? That's a first."
Hannah looked down, guilty.
"Doesn't matter now," Rachel said, trying to reassure her. Then she knelt down at the bomb. "Maybe I can still defuse this."
Rachel reattached the red wire, but that didn't stop the countdown. Prying the bomb open, she saw that the three wires were attached to attached to a circuit that held a cylinder of an unknown red liquid that she assumed was some kind of volatile chemical.
Pulling out the cylinder, she separated all of the wires from the circuit and cut them with her Laser Mascara Brush.
She and Hannah looked at the countdown timer and found that they had cut it extremely close
00:05
Outside the embassy, Rachel smiled with pride as the terrorist she'd just apprehended was led away by W.O.O.H.P agents. Beside her, Jerry looked very pleased.
"Another mission accomplished, Rachel," he said.
"Thanks, Jerry," Rachel returned. "So, what's next? Protecting a queen? Stop the polar ice caps from melting? Oh, I know! You want me to find a stolen nuke."
"Actually," Jerry interrupted. "Your next mission is a bit more... low-key."
Rachel pursed her lips, confused.
"There's a weapons technician at W.O.O.H.P who keeps applying for the position of field agent, but based on his performance in trials, I don't think he's ready. And to perfectly honest, I'm worried about how he might react should he fail again. So, I want you to keep an eye on him. It would be preferable if you got to know him. If he trusts you, he might divulge his true intentions more readily."
"That's it?" Rachel asked. "I was expecting something a little more... exciting."
"I'm afraid this is quite serious, Rachel. This man has access to some of W.O.O.H.P's most dangerous weapons and if we're unable to predict his movements, he could easily cause irreparable damage not only to W.O.O.H.P but the world."
"But why me? Why aren't you asking Hannah to do this?"
Jerry looked off to the distance at Hannah, who by the looks of things, was flirting with another agent.
"Hannah doesn't exactly have the patience for a long-term mission like this," he informed. Rachel groaned, but she knew he was right. She'd tried to get Hannah to do a crossword puzzle with her at one point, only for her friend to give up after only getting one word down.
And besides, if this was as serious as Jerry made it out to be, the assignment required someone who could keep a cool head. Something Hannah could never do.
"Alright," Rachel agreed. "I'll do it."
Jerry smiled before giving her a sheet of paper.
"This is everything you need to know about him," he informed. "Where he works at W.O.O.H.P, what he looks like, where he spends most of his time, all of it."
"Well, not all of it. It doesn't say his name."
Jerry nodded in understanding. "It's Tim. Tim Scam."
According to the file, Tim Scam frequently visited Franklin Canyon Park. For Rachel, this was a stroke of luck as the park happened to be in L.A, where she and Hannah studied at the University of California. Los Angeles was one of the best places to study Rachel's chosen profession of nursing and she had moved here with her father after her mother's death, which made keeping in contact with her father all the easier.
Which was a good thing, because ever since her mother passed away, her father had constantly been out of his mind with worry over his only daughter. In her mind, this was totally unfair since he wasn't nearly as protective of her older brother Kenneth. And he had not exactly been a golden child, having run away from home to elope with the daughter of a film producer just barely out of high school.
If Dad knew I was a spy, he'd have a cow! she thought.
Then her thoughts turned to her mother. When her lymphoma had gotten really bad, Rachel was only just starting middle school. It had been a tough time for her, Kenneth and their father, but their mother was determined to to make the most of the time she had left with her family. Rachel closed her eyes as she remembered the last time she went out with her mother.
It had been early February when her father took her and her mother to the spot where hundreds of vibrantly colorful, beautiful monarch butterflies begin their annual migration from California to Mexico. Her mother had absolutely adored butterflies, a love she had passed on to her daughter. Even though her hair had fallen out due to months of cancer treatment and her skin was deathly pale, Rachel could have sworn she had seen a little color in her mother's face when those beautiful creatures took flight around them.
Her had passed about two weeks after that.
From that time, Rachel had barely been able to focus on much of anything else. There was even a time when she stopped eating for a while. But with the help of her father and even her brother, she found ways to keep going.
The memory of her mother segued into the memory of her joining W.O.O.H.P toward the end of her first year of middle school. When Jerry had given her the offer to become a spy, she was almost sure it was someone's idea of a joke. But now, looking back, she realized that this was what she was meant to do. Well, that and being a nurse, anyway.
But she was no longer sure she could be both at once. Especially since her spy work had begun to interfere with her studies, not to mention the fact that she could barely afford college by this point, even with her father's support.
Mentally slapping herself, Rachel willed herself to focus on the task at hand.
She scanned dozens of people she passed, looking for anyone who might have matched Tim Scam's description.
Tan skin, blueish-green eyes, brown hair. That could've been anyone, Rachel reminded herself.
At long last, she spotted someone sitting on a bench that was approximately similar to who she was looking for. He sat on a park bench, his nose buried in a book that Rachel was unfamiliar with.
She couldn't quite make out the author, but the book had the word "lost" in the title.
"Come here often?" he said without looking at her.
Rachel stopped where she was. ""How'd you know I was here?"
Tim chuckled. "I could hear you breathing."
Sighing, Rachel sat down at the bench at got a good look at Tim for the first time. For a moment, she almost forgot why she was there.
The report never mentioned how handsome he was, she thought happily. She looked away, blushing. True, she had dated several times in the past, but none of the young men she'd had dinner and a movie with looked this amazing.
"I've seen you around W.O.O.H.P before, haven't I?" Tim asked, breaking a long and awkward silence.
"Y-yeah," she responded shyly. "I-I'm-"
"Rachel Warren," Tim cut her off. "I know. You're all everyone's talking about in the Weapons Development lab."
"Really? What do they say?"
Tim smiled. "That you're the best agent W.O.O.H.P's ever had. I heard about your last mission. I gotta say, it's not just gossip."
"I'm not all that great," Rachel said modestly. "What about you?"
"Me? Just a weapons technician. I applied for field agent four times, but Jerry thinks I don't have what it takes."
"Know what you mean," she replied sympathetically. "I thought I'd never pass basic training."
Tim returned to his book and by now, Rachel could see the title clearly.
"'Paradise Lost?'" she read.
He nodded. "Yeah. I read this in high school. Ever hear of it?"
Rachel shook her head. "Well, I've seen it in the library, but I don't know what it's about."
"Well," he explained, flipping through the pages. "It tells the story of an angel who rebelled against his creator and became the greatest evil the world has ever known."
"And by 'greatest evil', you mean..."
Tim nodded in answer before she could even finish.
"Sounds kind of scary," Rachel said.
"Well," Tim replied. "You'd think so. But really, he had every right to go against his creator. He was being kept from his full potential. So, is it any wonder he rebelled?"
"Huh, never looked at it that way before. But still..."
"But enough about me, what about you?"
Rachel stuttered. "Well, I... I..."
No matter how hard she tried, no words escaped her lips.
"Don't tell me, let me guess. Jerry wanted someone to keep an eye on me."
If she wasn't sitting down, she could have fainted from shock.
"How did you..."
Tim held up a finger to her lips.
"I failed that damn field agent test so many times that Jerry's getting paranoid. It's like he thinks I'm gonna snap every time I fail."
Rachel knew it wasn't part of her mission, but she couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic toward Tim's plight. How long had she waited for the day she got promoted to field agent? Three years, if memory served. But Jerry believed in her. Maybe Tim just needed someone to believe in him.
"Well, I think you've got a chance," she said gently. Tim smiled in gratitude, before placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks," he returned. "No one's ever told me that before."
Then he stood up, looking her over with interest.
"So," he continued. "If you're not busy tonight, there's this great Chinese place in Malibu. I was thinking that maybe..."
He trailed off, hopeful.
"Are you asking me out?" Rachel asked.
Tim laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess I am."
Rachel laughed in return. "Alright. I'll meet you at the bus station in Malibu at about 6:00."
"Looking forward to it," Tim said. As Rachel walked off she felt very ecstatic.
"Yes!" she exclaimed to herself as Tim watched her disappear from view, a malicious smirk on his face.
"Hook, line and sinker," he muttered, satisfied. If what he'd heard about Rachel Warren was true, she would be the ideal person that Jerry would share his deepest, darkest secrets with. Secrets that would give Tim the ability to knock Jerry down a peg or two. Including the combination to the vault where W.O.O.H.P kept its most dangerous gadgets. With someone like him charming her, this girl wouldn't be able to help sharing all she knew.
On the plus side, she was attractive as well.
Might as well have a little fun on the side, he thought.
The restaurant was very nice and the food was amazing, but Rachel's attention was so captivated by the charming, handsome, and she admitted, slightly rebellious young man who sat before her the whole time that she could barely focus on her lo mein.
When that dinner ended, Rachel returned home to the apartment she shared with Hannah. It was small, cramped and with only one bathroom, one bedroom and a living room that was combined with their kitchen. But still, it was home. At least until both of them could get a better place.
Rachel walked through the door to find Hannah sitting on the couch, looking both worried and annoyed.
"There you are!" she exclaimed with relief, running over and hugging her friend. "Where were you?"
"Oh," Rachel said, feeling guilty. "Guess I forgot to tell you. I... was on a date."
Hannah's face, once painted with worry, was now excited.
"Shut up!" she squealed happily. "So, tell me all about him! Is he cute?"
"Gorgeous," Rachel swooned, remembering Tim's smile.
"Smart?"
"Very," Rachel replied, recalling how well read he was.
"What color are his eyes?"
"Blue... with a little green."
"He doesn't have a brother, does he?" Hannah asked eagerly.
"Hannah!" Rachel scolded.
"Just kidding. But seriously, does he?"
"If Tim has any, he doesn't know for sure. Or so he says."
"Too bad," Hannah said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you. It's just that I've had no luck with b- wait, did you say 'Tim?' Tim what?"
Rachel hesitated a bit before finally forcing the words out of her mouth. "Tim Scam."
Hannah looked like she had seen a ghost. Then she sat back on the couch so hard that for a moment, Rachel could have sworn she'd fainted.
"Something wrong?" she asked Rachel.
"No," Hannah said, before starting to laugh. "That's real funny. For a minute, I thought you said you went on a date with Tim Scam."
"That's because I did."
The laughter stopped and Hannah rose from her seat to grab Rachel by the shoulders and shake her.
"Are you nuts?!" she demanded. "Do you have any idea what that guy is like?!"
"I'm guessing you do?"
Hannah scoffed. "Do I?! He's only the scariest person to work at W.O.O.H.P!"
"I'm not following."
"Hello! Jerry told me that he's failed his field agent test four times! And each time, he showed a disregard for authority, lack of concern for human life and a tendency for excessive force!"
"That doesn't sound like the Hannah I know," Rachel joked. "She's never that eloquent."
"I'm just repeating what Jerry said," Hannah retorted. "But that's not the point! This guy is dangerous!"
"Really? He didn't seem dangerous."
"They never do."
Rachel turned away, thinking. It was true that Jerry asked her to keep an eye on him, but she couldn't believe that Tim was as bad as Hannah was claiming. Sure, he did have a nonconformist streak, but so did her brother and Kenneth wouldn't hurt a fly.
"You're wrong about him. About Tim."
Hannah sighed in defeat. "Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you."
In spite of her friend's warnings, Rachel continued to see Tim Scam. Their second date was at a showing of a new movie, Fatal Attraction. Rachel had been wanting to see it ever since she saw a poster advertising it at the last movie she saw. And Tim happened like thriller movies, so they agreed to make it a date. The movie was as amazing as Rachel had expected, though she found it odd that Tim seemed to be more invested in what the stalker was doing than in her victim.
The arcade was abuzz with light and activity as Rachel and Tim moved their joysticks around, piloting their virtual cars across a racetrack. It ended when her car zoomed across the finish line first. As she celebrated her win, Tim seemed less happy that she won and more bitter that he lost as he immediately demanded a rematch. She obliged, but only because she didn't want to upset him.
Rachel screamed as the rollercoaster made its dip before zooming back down and eventually turned her and Tim upside-down. Her screams however, turned into a slight moan as he gripped her inner thigh.
The two sat snugly together inside the photo booth that they entered after disembarking the rollercoaster, smiling as the flash bulb went off three times before depositing the small strip of three photographs depicting them. Rachel picked up the photo strip, and showed it to Tim, who looked noticeably offended that the process made his and her eyes look red.
As the sun began to set over Santa Monica pier, Rachel looked out over the horizon, watching the sky turn a beautiful shade of pink. Tim stood next to her, his hand intertwined with hers before she was even aware of it. As soon as she become conscious of her fingers connecting with his, she turned away from the sunset and towards him. Tim looked at her, his eyes filled with a pleading, longing look. She couldn't help herself and before she realized it, he was tilting his face downward to perfectly meld his lips together with hers. Rachel groaned into the kiss, never wanting it to end.
Moving her toothbrush across her teeth, Rachel couldn't stop herself from smiling. Two weeks. That was how long she and Tim had been going out. Admittedly, the relationship did move fast, but she didn't care. Turning off the water, she put her toothbrush down and looked a little further to the left of the counter, where she saw her white bikini spread out on top of a matching white sundress.
Sighing longingly, she undressed and put the swimsuit on and put the dress on over it, her nerves jumping with anticipation as to what tonight's date could bring. Slowly creaking the bathroom door open, she tiptoed out through the apartment. Hannah was busy working on a term paper and thus could not be bothered. But she disapproved of her relationship with Tim and Rachel didn't want to make her angry. As quietly as possible, Rachel made it to the front door.
"And where are you going this late at night?" Hannah's voice asked from behind her. Rachel turned around and saw Hannah standing just a few feet behind her, arms folded in suspicion.
"Uh..." she droned, trying desperately to think of an excuse. "Out for a walk?" It was a half-truth. She would be walking part of the way to where she was going.
"In that dress?"
"Well, you've gotta keep cool! This is California, after all."
"It's only 75 degrees outside."
Leave it to Hannah to tell her what the temperature was like. Whereas Rachel wanted to be a nurse, Hannah's passion was meteorology.
"Fine," Rachel said in defeat. "I admit it. I'm meeting Tim again."
"And you don't think that's a stupid idea because..."
"Because you're wrong about him. And about us."
"I don't trust him, Rach," Hannah said.
"You don't trust Tim? Fine! You do trust me, don't you?!"
"Of course I do. But I think you're making a mistake!"
"The only mistake I'm making is listening to you!" Rachel shouted angrily. Then she opened the door and slammed it as she walked out into the night.
Rachel was still fuming as she waited on the beach for Tim.
Who does Hannah think she is? she thought to herself. Tim wouldn't hurt me. And besides, I can take care of myself!
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down as she looked at the ocean ahead of her. The moon was a silver sliver in the night sky and the water was calm. She sighed as the gentle waves collided with her bare feet and listened to the distant cry of seagulls and the horn of a ship somewhere offshore.
Closing her eyes, she smiled. It was a perfect night.
"Excuse me," a familiar voice said playfully. "But the beach is closed."
She turned to see Tim standing off to her left. He was dressed in black boardshorts with a tank top of the same color.
She laughed in response. "Well, it was your idea to come here."
And then he kissed her gently.
"I missed you," he whispered affectionately.
"I missed you too," she returned, grinning happily. "I almost didn't come at all."
Tim looked almost hurt. "Why?"
"I'll explain later. Right now..." she trailed off as she gripped the hem of her dress and lifted it off of her body, exposing her white bikini. "...I think you promised me a late night swim."
He smiled as he looked her over, clearly enjoying the view.
"So? You gonna stand there and stare or are you gonna join me?"
Nodding happily, Tim placed his thumbs under the straps of his tank top, yanking it off. Rachel's eyes hungrily wandered over his exposed torso, paying particular attention to his well-defined chest and what had to be the most attractive six-pack she'd ever seen.
In spite of the cool night air, Rachel's face suddenly felt hot.
"Now who's staring?" he joked, noticing a massive blush on her face. She laughed and entwined her hand with his as they ran off into the water. When it was finally waist deep, they dove under.
Rachel propelled herself through the depths, her surroundings illuminated only by the light of the moon above. Looking back, she saw Tim swimming behind her, his strong arms helping him glide through the depths with ease.
The two smiled at each other the best they could while holding their breath and dove deeper, swimming just above a school of tuna, their scales glowing silver in the moonlight.
Rachel always loved the water, but until tonight, she never truly experienced how magical it was.
That didn't mean she could stay down there forever. Apparently, Tim felt the same way since he was tapping her shoulder and pointing upward, making the gesture that it was time for both of them to come up for air.
Nodding, Rachel kicked her legs until she was just below the surface before her head finally broke it and she took the biggest gulp of air she could. Tim surfaced not long afterward, breathing deeply and shaking his wet hair out of his eyes.
"That was amazing!" she exclaimed.
"I know," he agreed, swimming closer to her. "I do this often, but this is the first time I've brought someone."
"I'm honored," Rachel returned as the two started swimming back to shore. As soon as their feet were on the beach again, she crossed her arms in front of her body.
"You cold?" he asked.
Shivering, she nodded.
Wasting no time, Tim toweled himself off and went to gather the driest pieces of driftwood he could find. After digging the pit, he knelt down in front of the pile of wood he had placed inside and begin rubbing two sticks together. In just a few seconds, they had a roaring fire in front of them, instantly warming up Rachel and drying up the few traces of seawater that remained on both their bodies.
Rachel sat on a beach towel that he had spread out in front of the fire pit and laid back, letting the heat permeate her skin.
"You're really good at that," she complimented, referring to his fire starting skills.
"W.O.O.H.P survival training," he explained. "What can I say?"
Rachel sat up, her smile now tilted downwards into a frown. "Listen, about before- you see, Hannah doesn't think you're good for me."
"Hannah?" he asked.
"My roommate. And my friend. She's a W.O.O.H.P agent like me."
"Not the first time someone's said things about me that aren't true."
"So, she's lying?"
Tim shook his head and began to pace around the campfire. "Not exactly. You see, I have a record. This was before I joined W.O.O.H.P. I robbed stores, I stole cars, I even took a woman's necklace off of her while she was walking."
"Really? You don't seem like the kind of person to have a juvie record."
"I was a kid. I'd been shoved from one foster home to another and... I guess you could say I was confused."
Rachel leaned forward, sympathetic.
"Before I joined W.O.O.H.P, I didn't exactly have a happy childhood. My mom died giving birth to me and my dad... he blamed me for the whole thing. He put me in the system literally the instant I was born."
His fists clenched at his side, as if he still remembered that happening even though he clearly shouldn't have.
"I guess I just wanted to prove that I existed, when my own dad treated me like I didn't. Then Jerry came along and offered to give me a fresh start. So, I took it."
"So, Hannah wasn't lying?" she asked as the fire began to burn brighter.
"Not really," he answered. "She just didn't know the whole truth."
Rachel's smile returned until she remembered what Hannah said about Tim's field agent assessment. "But she also said that-"
"-just hearsay," he countered. "Nothing more. I'd never do anything to hurt you, you know that?"
"I know."
She stood up and got so close to him there was almost no space left between them.
"I don't know what the future's gonna be like for either of us," she said. "But I know I'd like you in it."
Tim smiled before kissing her again.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she responded before her lips collided with his again and she caught his lower lip with her teeth.
X
As Tim deepened the kiss, Rachel moaned into his mouth. When they pulled apart, Rachel gasped. Somehow, she could sense where this was going.
"Tim," she shuddered. "I-"
"Yeah," he said. "Me too."
Both excited and nervous, she threw her arms around his neck as their lips touched again, his tongue gently caressing the inside of her mouth.
He soon moved away from her mouth to her neck, planting several kisses along her neckline until he reached the top part of her left breast. Rachel moaned as she was suddenly aware of a moist sensation pooling between her legs. She knew it wasn't water as the fire had long dried her off after her swim.
Was she really going to do this? Sure, she was almost eighteen, but she'd never dreamed of this happening with Tim so fast. At the same time, she didn't care and allowed him to continue what he was doing.
All at once, she felt his fingers behind her back, fumbling with the knot that held her bikini top together. After a little effort, he finally got it untied. As it fell off her chest, she reflexively moved her arms in front of her breasts, blushing. But his hands caught her wrists.
"You don't need to hide," he said, is voice gentle but his eyes clouded over with lust. Her face still feeling hot, she let her arms fall to her sides, letting him see her breasts for the first time.
Getting over her shyness, she allowed herself a moment of pride as Tim's jaw dropped and he just stood there as if he was trying to remember how to breathe. When he snapped out of his trance, he walked a little closer to her and began leaving kisses down her exposed skin. His lips trailed down her left breast until they finally reached her nipple.
She moaned a little louder when his teeth enclosed it and he began to suck it. His hand moved to her other breast and her pleasure intensified when he started stroking it. Her own hands, having basically gone on autopilot at this point, traced smooth lines of his his abs and reached down into his waistband. Feeling around inside, she soon found what she was looking for and gripped it.
He clenched his teeth together to keep from shouting too loud. Then he moved his hand away from her breast to grip her wrist and pull it out of his shorts.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.
"No," he panted. "Quite the opposite. But if you keep doing that, I don't know how long I'm gonna last."
As she smiled, he leaned down to kiss her again. "Besides, it's my turn to touch you."
She pulled away and nodded, giving him permission.
His fingers moved to the edges of her bikini bottom, gripping the damp white fabric with his middle and index fingers. Curling them, he pulled her last article of clothing down and she let it fall to the beach towel along with her top. Never once taking her eyes off him, she moaned as his fingers gently traced her entrance before plunging inside. Carefully withdrawing his fingers, Tim pushed them back in, eliciting another moan from Rachel.
As much as she was enjoying this, she flashed him a look that told him to stop teasing her. When he pulled his fingers out for the third time, she gripped his wrist to prevent him from doing it a fourth.
"What is it?" he asked.
"This has been amazing," she replied. "But don't you think it's time you stop messing around? I'm ready for you. All of you. And I can feel you're ready too."
She looked down, paying particular attention to the tent that had formed in his shorts. Taking a few steps back, he nodded eagerly as he gripped both sides of his waistband. Slowly but surely, he pushed his shorts down before kicking them off.
Now it was Rachel's turn to drop her jaw. She had felt that his erection was big, but seeing and feeling were two different things.
"Like what you see?" he asked, smiling.
"You know I do," she answered, trying to keep herself from fainting. "But I'll like it more when I feel it... inside me."
And with that, she laid down on her back on the beach towel. Giving off a slight chuckle, Tim walked over and knelt down on his knees before extending himself over until his body completely covered hers.
He looked in her eyes, silently asking if she was ready. She nodded, giving him permission to proceed. He kissed her one last time before he positioned himself just above her entrance. Finally, he pushed inside.
Rachel groaned, gritting her teeth in pain. From what she had heard from the girls around her college campus and what little romance novels she read, she knew that this always hurt the first time. But she also knew it would subside and be more pleasurable than painful.
"Everything alright?" Tim groaned, clearly doing his best not to release just yet.
"Fine," she whimpered. "Don't stop."
A few more minutes of thrusting and Rachel could feel his length fully inside of her. True to what her limited knowledge told her, the pain stopped.
When her whimpering stopped, he took it as the sign to continue, pulling nearly all the way out before thrusting back in. Rachel moaned louder this time as Tim continued to pound into her. Since it was the first time for both of them, she knew neither was going to last very long, but both were determined to make it count.
Looking over to her side, she saw Tim's hands clutch the beach towel beneath them and bunch the blue fabric so hard he almost ripped it. Deep in her core, Rachel could feel a tension building up in her. An unfamiliar sensation, she knew. Yet somehow, she knew instantly what it signaled.
"Tim!" she groaned. "I'm gonna-"
"Yeah," he growled. "So am I. I'm gonna try and hold off until you-"
But he never finished that sentence as the coil that had been building inside her finally snapped and she was sent spiraling into the threshold of ecstasy. As she rode down from the high, up above her, Tim's face was contorted, her own climax triggering his as he spilled his seed deep inside of her.
The two laid there for a while, panting and covered in sweat as Tim buried his face into Rachel's hair, sniffing it.
After about forty-five seconds, he finally pulled out and rolled over to his side. Though a little sore from what they had just done, Rachel scooted over closer and laid her head on his chest.
"Wow," she panted. "That felt-"
"I know," he cut her off. "Amazing."
"That's an understatement."
Tim laughed before he pulled her head up to his and kissed her again.
X
Rachel walked back to the apartment feeling lighter than air. Though a little sore in her lower body, she felt happier than she had ever been. She wondered what time it was, how long she and Tim went at it.
It. A simple two-letter word that she never dreamed could be used to describe what the two of them did.
Sure, it only lasted about thirty minutes, but hands down, they were the best thirty minutes of her life. Apparently Tim thought so too as when they had begun redressing before leaving the beach, he had said to her, "I look forward to the next time."
Truth be told, she was too. And everything that would happen after that. A house, marriage, children. On top of her ambition of being a nurse, Rachel had wanted to be a mother ever since her own passed away. Perhaps with Tim, she would be able to achieve that dream.
Her own mental question about the time was answered when she quietly crept back into her apartment and into the bedroom, careful not to disturb her sleeping roommate. On the table beside her bed, the clock radio read "3:30 AM." Apparently, she'd been out later than she expected.
But it was worth it, she thought happily as she climbed beneath the covers of her bed. Still in her sundress, Rachel closed her eyes and fell into a contented sleep.
Two Weeks Later
Tim was hunched over his desk, tinkering with the latest weapon he had designed: The Evapo-Blaster, a large gun that could easily evaporate any water source that the light came in contact with, whether it was solid or liquid. His work was how he vented his frustrations and right now, they were through the roof. He had recently failed his field agent assessment... for the fifth time.
Well, he thought angrily. Last time was the last!
Luckily for him, Rachel was practically putty in his hands. He just had to keep up the loving boyfriend charade for a little while longer. Although, he admitted, that night on the beach with her certainly was a bonus.
A few more days at most and she would tell him everything he needed to know.
"Tim?"
He turned around and saw Rachel standing in the doorway of his lab. Her face was covered by a frown.
"Rachel," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard about your assessment," she replied. "I'm sorry you didn't get the cut."
Tim didn't want to be reminded of his most recent failure and banged his fist against his desk.
"Jerry's an idiot if he can't see my potential!" he snarled. "Can you believe the nerve of him?!"
In a fit of rage, he swept his papers off his desk along with the Evapo-Blaster. Rachel jumped at the noise, a little startled.
"He'll pay for not seeing my greatness!"
"There's no need to get angry," Rachel tried to reassure him.
"What do you know about it?! You're his favorite agent!"
"I don't what you mean. He values all of us!"
"Well, clearly not all! You get all the glory! All the prestige! While I slave away over a workbench all day!"
He stormed over a file cabinet, knocking it over with one push.
"Tim, stop!" Rachel cried. "You're scaring me!"
He didn't appear to be listening and before she could realize what was happening, the back of his hand connected with her cheek, knocking her to the floor. Barely holding back tears, she looked up at Tim, who appeared to be remorseful, but she wasn't so sure. He wasn't acting like the man she fell in love with.
Then again, she thought. He is under a lot of stress.
"I'm sorry," he said, extending a hand to help her up. "I don't know what came over me."
"No, it's my fault," Rachel countered. "I should have known this was a sensitive topic for you."
The sound of a someone clearing their throat told them that they weren't alone. They turned to the doorway and saw Hannah standing there, her eyes wide in shock.
"Hannah!" Rachel exclaimed. "H-how long have you been-"
"Long enough," Hannah cut off. "Can we talk? In private?"
Reluctantly, Rachel nodded and Hannah dragged her by the wrist into the women's restroom not too far away from where Tim's study was located. They came to a stop in front of a mirror, where Rachel could see the bruise on her cheek.
"Okay, Rach. We've been best friends for a long time now. Do you wanna tell me what just happened in there?"
"I tried to cheer Tim up about not getting promoted again and... he got upset."
"Upset?!" Hannah pointed to the red, swollen skin that was now on her friend's cheek. "You call that getting upset?! Rachel, this isn't normal!"
"He did apologize!"
"Yeah? Well, so did my dad! And he still kept beating my mom until it got so bad we had to run away from him!"
"You don't know him!"
"I don't know him?! Maybe you're the one who doesn't know him!"
"I love him! And he loves me!"
"He may say that," Hannah argued. "But actions speak louder than words! And what he did to you in there says a lot about how he really feels about you!"
Rachel turned away, groaning in frustration.
"If you really want love," Hannah continued. "You deserve someone better than him."
"Well, maybe I deserve a better friend than you!" Rachel snapped. It took a few words for the reality of her words to sink in. And when they did, she turned around, completely mortified.
But the damage had been done. Hannah stood before her, completely stunned. And her eyes were welling up with tears.
"Fine," Hannah choked, barely containing a sob. "If that's how you feel..."
And she dashed out of the bathroom, leaving Rachel behind.
"Hannah!" Rachel called out. "Wait! I didn't mean-"
However, she brought her hand to her mouth as her stomach began to clench up. With all thoughts of her friendship with Hannah forgotten for the moment, she rushed into a stall and leaned over the toilet as she began to heave until the entire contents of her stomach emptied themselves out through her mouth in the most violent way possible.
The minute her vomiting episode concluded, she went to the sink to wash the sweat from her face. She had been having these spells a lot since the week began.
I hope I'm not coming down with something, she thought. But when she placed her hand to her forehead, she oddly felt no fever. It definitely wasn't food poisoning, so she didn't know what else it could be.
Unless...
Was it possible? She and Tim had only done it one time.
She had to find out for sure.
Tim walked down the busy Los Angeles streets, unable to hide a grin. Although mentally cursing himself for losing his temper with Rachel and nearly ruining his plans, he had been relieved to hear that she blamed herself for his own actions. If she had been wiser, she might have caught on and he would have to get what he needed to know the hard way.
And if there was one thing he hated doing, it was trying to accomplish anything the hard way.
That didn't mean he didn't like a challenge, of course. But there was a difference between a challenge and a blockade, at least in his mind.
All at once, he was aware of her following him. He knew it wasn't Rachel, her footsteps were usually much lighter than this. His grin never leaving his face, he turned and ducked into an alley and stood perfectly still.
"Why don't you come out and say hello?" he taunted, without looking back.
The footsteps stopped.
"You knew I was following you?" Hannah's voice asked, bewildered.
"For a top W.O.O.H.P agent, you really need to learn to be a little quieter."
Hannah scoffed indignantly as Tim turned around. "I never thought I'd be so popular. Between you and Rachel, it seems I can't keep the ladies away from me."
"Save it, Scam," Hannah fired back. "I don't know what you're planning to do with my best friend, but I'm not gonna let you treat her like this!"
"Like what?" Tim retorted, feigning innocence.
"You know perfectly well what you did to her! If she wasn't so crazy about you, she'd probably have handed your ass to you!"
Tim just smiled as if he didn't care what Hannah said or even thought about him.
"You know something?!" Hannah ranted. "I'm beginning to think you don't even care about her, let alone love her!"
"You know, you're smarter than I gave you credit for," Tim said smugly. "But that's not saying much."
Hannah's rage, already tepid by what she had seen Tim do to Rachel, had now reached a boiling point. Without thinking, she charged at him, her fist balled up and aimed directly at his face. Tim ducked just in time, sending Hannah colliding with a pile of cardboard boxes. Quickly regaining her footing, she tried again only for him to catch the fist this time and throw her backwards into a dumpster.
"Is that all you got?" he taunted.
"Oh, believe me," she retorted venomously. "I'm just getting started." And she leapt out of the dumpster, preparing to deliver a kick to his face. Unfortunately, she didn't see what he had in his hand until it was too late.
As soon as her foot was about to make contact, she felt something long and sharp in her side. Gasping in pain, she looked down to see Tim's hand holding a knife... one that was now lodged firmly in her stomach.
"Rachel wasn't kidding," Tim laughed. "You do act before thinking. It's no wonder you get along so well. Or got along as the case may be."
Hannah tried to say something, but just coughed up a trickle of blood as she sunk to her knees.
"Oh," Tim continued. "And by the way, you were right. Rachel doesn't mean anything to me. But she's useful for what I have planned. Too bad you won't live long enough to tell her anything."
With a final glare, Hannah raised her right fist before extending her middle finger up as close as she could to Tim's face before she fell down on her back as her life left her.
"Well," Tim said to himself. "That was easy. Now to get that combination."
And he calmly walked out of the alley, leaving the body of the young woman who attacked him behind.
For a moment, Rachel was sure her heart almost stopped beating when she saw the two blue lines on the tiny screen in the center of the white, plastic strip secured in her fingers. Blood draining from her face, she forced herself to march out of the bathroom and landed on the living room couch.
She never took her eyes off those two lines, which seemed to speak louder to her than any other words she'd heard spoken. For those two lines meant that her life was to change forever.
A million different emotions buzzed through her skull. Happiness, fear, excitement, anger, and disbelief all rolled into one.
How could she have not seen this coming? That night on the beach with Tim, everything happened at once, so quickly she didn't stop to think of the potential end results. She placed her face into her hands, allowing herself a small sob. Her tears were of fear, but also of joy.
On one hand, she had barely been making ends meet as it was, even with her and Hannah splitting the rent. A baby would only add to the expenses. On the other hand, this was what she wanted for so long. And that desire only intensified after she met Tim. She just didn't think that her time with him would grant that wish.
Drying her face, she sat upright, a new terrifying thought forming in her mind. Just how was show going to tell her father and Kenneth about this? Her occupation as a W.O.O.H.P agent was a secret to everyone she knew, including her family. It would be a little difficult to explain that the father of her unborn child was her co-worker at an undercover espionage agency.
Calm down, she told herself. One problem at a time. You always knew this could happen sooner or later. Looks like it's sooner.
Maybe a little too soon, she realized. But if she could save the world from being plunged into chaos and destruction, raising a baby would almost certainly be a cakewalk. Or at least she hoped.
Wringing her hands together, she contemplated on who she should tell first. Tim was the first one to come to mind, but she didn't want to just drop a bomb on him like this, especially with all he had been going through over the past few weeks.
Jerry? Well, that would be a necessity as her condition would soon make it so that she could barely move, let alone spy. But it seemed too weird to tell him before anyone else. Her father and brother? Definitely not. Her father had been immensely overprotective of her enough before this and she didn't want him tracking down Tim and doing... who knows what he would do? And even though Kenneth was a bit of a rebel, he was still an older brother with very dangerous protective instincts. He would likely react even worse than their father.
That just left Hannah. Her best friend. The girl she could always turn to whenever she felt she couldn't talk to anyone else. And that list included Jerry and her family.
I know I can count on her, she thought. Just then, the doorbell rang. Excitedly jumping up from the couch, she made a quick rush to the door.
"Hannah!" she exclaimed happily. "You'll never guess! I'm-"
But the person standing at the door was not Hannah. It was Jerry, who cast his eyes downward with a sad expression. From his pained grimace, Rachel could tell that what he was about to tell her was not pleasant.
"Jerry? What are you doing here?"
"Rachel," he said, like he was trying not to cry. "I'm so sorry."
In spite of her fear, Rachel had to know what he was sorry for. "What are you talking about?"
"It's Hannah. She's... she's... dead."
For a moment, she wasn't sure if she heard him right. "What?"
Jerry sighed. "Our reconnaissance agents found her in alley... with this driven into her abdomen."
He held up a small plastic bag containing something so horrible that Rachel knew she would never be able to burn it from her memory. It was a small knife, the kind used for hunting. Both the handle and blade were ink-black and stained with blood.
"No," she said softly. "No! She can't be! I just talked with her this morning!"
"I'm afraid it's true, Rachel."
"No. No! NOOO!"
She broke down into sobs before wrapping her arms around Jerry, who rubbed his hands on her shoulders in comfort. Rachel's tears fell not just because of her hormones and not even because she lost a friend. It was also what she had said to Hannah the last time they'd ever seen each other.
Maybe I deserve a better friend than you!
Had she known that she was going to her death, Rachel probably would have chosen her words a lot carefully. But now her best friend in the entire world was gone... and she left the world thinking that Rachel hated her.
Her previous elation over her pregnancy had now just been slammed into a brick wall. This had been the best day of Rachel Warren's life.
But it was also the worst.
Hannah's wake was a quiet affair, as was tradition both in W.O.O.H.P and the world outside it. Rachel stood off to the corner, dressed all in black as did every other agent in attendance. Jerry stood before the assembled agents in the briefing room before clearing his throat into a microphone. It was customary to for him to give eulogies to W.O.O.H.P agents who died in the line of duty. But neither he nor Rachel dared to dream he would be delivering one to Hannah, who was cruelly ripped from the world before her time.
"Hannah Miller," Jerry began. "Was a fine agent and a very good friend of mine. She always gave everything she had into her missions and cared very deeply for those who could not defend themselves. I've yet to meet another spy like her. And I don't think I ever will. But she knew the risks. And while she will be missed, I feel that the world is a safer place because of Hannah Miller."
He raised a glass and every other agent lifted one as well just as a huge black tarp was pulled off of a metal stand, revealing a black framed photo of Hannah. Rachel couldn't help but turn away as this was a picture she recognized. In it, Hannah was smiling and propping her hand against a W.O.O.H.P helicopter. It was the day they had both been promoted to field agent. Rachel remembered that day very well. She was even the one who took the picture that was now being used as part of her best friend's memorial.
Never in her life did she imagine it would be used for this.
Sniffling, she was suddenly startled by the presence of a hand on her left shoulder. She looked up to see Tim, who cast his eyes down at her in sympathy.
"I'm so sorry, Rachel," he whispered.
She couldn't speak, instead burying her face into his chest and began sobbing harder than she ever had in her life.
"Shh, it's gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be okay."
Rachel ignored him and her tears stained the front of his shirt.
After she calmed down, Tim gripped her shoulders.
"They have any idea who did this to her?" he asked.
"No," she said tearfully. "Jerry said they were investigating, but they still haven't found any suspect yet."
She looked back to the the podium, where Jerry had brought out a piano and had begun to play Hannah's favorite song, Candle in the Wind.
"If you want to talk about anything," Tim said gently.
Rachel thought for a minute. There were many things she wanted to talk about with him-one thing in particular, actually- but now just didn't seem like the appropriate time.
I can't tell him about the baby when we just lost a friend! she thought sadly.
"The only thing I want to talk about," she said. "Is finding whoever did this... and making them pay."
"Maybe I can help with that," he revealed. "I just finished work on a gadget that can take DNA from skin cells... no matter how small they are. If we use that on the knife, we can find whoever killed her."
Rachel sighed. "Okay. Where is it?"
Tim frowned. "I don't have it on me. Jerry locked in the gadget vault when I showed it to him."
"Why would he do that?" Rachel asked. "It doesn't seem dangerous to me."
"That's why I thought. But if we could get into the vault, we could take it and use it to find the killer."
She was about to nod in agreement, but then hesitated. It was true that Jerry had given her the combination to the vault in case she needed to access it. But as a rule, she was forbidden from divulging that information to anyone else, even other W.O.O.H.P agents.
"I don't know, Tim. If Jerry finds out about this, I could lose my job. We both could."
"And if we don't," he rebutted. "Then whoever did this to Hannah gets away scot-free. And who knows who he'll kill next."
She knew he was right. And as much as she hated to admit it, Jerry's investigations had a tendency to move slowly when they concerned crimes against W.O.O.H.P agents. If there was something that could point the way to Hannah's killer, she had to give it a chance.
"Alright," she conceded. "But this stays between us."
Tim grinned and kissed her forehead. "Meet me here tonight at 11:00."
The hallways of W.O.O.H.P HQ were mostly deserted by this time of night, giving Rachel free reign to sneak through them unnoticed. She had drunk some ginger tea just before leaving her apartment in case her morning sickness decided to make a comeback. She made a mental note to thank Jerry for introducing her to different types of teas. But the mere thought of her boss sent a pang of guilt rushing through her.
Jerry had believed in her at a time she felt directionless and doing this made her feel like she was betraying his trust.
It's for a good cause, she thought. He'll understand.
She wasn't sure, though.
Sighing, she gently cradled her stomach, which she knew would be like a planet in just a few short months.
"I hope you never have to deal with something as crazy as this," she said to her still-to-be born baby. He (or she) couldn't hear outside the womb just yet, but it felt comforting for Rachel to have someone to talk to. Even if that someone wasn't there yet.
She rounded a corner and turned left, where Tim stood waiting for her.
"There you are," he said. "Where were you?"
"It's a long story," she explained, not wanting to go into the fact that before she left, she had a sudden encounter with lightheadedness.
He nodded, apparently understanding. "Okay. The gadget vault's just up ahead. Once we're there, you'll enter the combination and we head inside. Got it?"
"Got it."
The hallway down to the vault was long and cold. Rachel had only been down here once and that was when Jerry taught her the combination. It had remained buried deep within the recesses of her mind ever since.
The door that opened up to the vault was made of titanium, virtually indestructible and openable only from the outside keypad. Reluctantly, Rachel typed in the numbers "50826" and the doors split apart, exposing a vast room filled with rows upon rows of drawers each tucked into a separate nook in the cool metal wall.
"We're in," she told Tim, who unbeknownst to her, was grinning maniacally. They stepped inside, browsing the cabinets that contained many of Jerry's experimental gadgets.
"Alright," Tim said. "The gadget were looking for should be somewhere compartment 403."
Rachel nodded as the two traversed deeper into the recesses of the vault, passing hundreds of different cabinets and none of them were the one that would contain the gadget they needed.
Finally, a success. Eagerly, Tim pulled the cabinet out of its place in the wall and reached inside. When his hand finally emerged, it held a small glass sphere that held an unknown tiny crystal that glowed a bright red.
"Finally," he said with glee. "I've found it."
Rachel looked over the sphere, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Tim, that doesn't look like any gadget I've ever seen."
"That's because it isn't. It's called Apophis 30. It was Jerry's attempt at creating an unlimited clean energy source. But he locked it away because he believed it was too unstable. Funny thing is, he said the same thing about me."
"But how's it gonna help us find Hannah's killer?" Rachel asked, now very scared. Tim wasn't acting like his usual self... if that even was his usual self.
"Who said anything about finding a killer?"
Hannah gasped. "But you said-"
"You're a spy, Rachel. You should know better than to believe everything a person tells you. With this, my weapons can reach a potential they've never had."
"What do you mean?"
Tim simply held the sphere, clutching it as if it were a precious jewel. "My Evapo-Blaster can dry up any water it comes into contact with. But the effect is reduced by fifty percent when it's used on humans. Good, but not good enough. However, with this, I can evaporate every single drop of water in a human body."
"But wouldn't that kill them?"
Tim grinned. "Yes it would. And it will make robbing W.O.O.H.P's gold reserves much easier. With all that gold gone, W.O.O.H.P will go under faster than they can even realize what's happening."
Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Hannah was right about you! You really are dangerous! I should have listened to her!"
"Well, what can I say? Hannah was the first one to catch on to what I was doing. That's why she had to go."
Her nausea, long since subsided, was threatening to comeback with a vengeance when those last six words left Tim's mouth.
"You killed her, didn't you?!"
"She only had herself to blame. If she'd just kept her nose where it belonged, she'd still be alive."
"No," Rachel said in denial. "No! This can't be happening! I love you!"
Tim only laughed, but it was unlike any laugh she had heard from him before. "And that was your first mistake. Your second was thinking there was any love between us at all. You were only a means to an end."
Rachel lowered her head, letting her tears fall. It was a lie the whole time. Tim never loved anyone or anything but himself.
"If it's any consolation," Tim sneered. "I did enjoy that night on the beach."
Lifting her head, Rachel's sobs turned into an enraged snarl as she delivered a kick to his chest, sending him flying backwards. Tim recovered quickly and pulled out a small handgun, taking aim at her.
Taking off in a sprint, Rachel ran out of the vault, too scared to stay behind to even lock the door.
She heard six gunshots behind her, each one missing their mark.
Back inside the vault's entrance, Tim continuously pulled the trigger of his gun, only to be met with silence. In frustration, he threw it to the floor, the clattering echoing across the halls of the vault.
I can't worry about her right now, he thought. I have bigger fish to fry.
Jerry sat in silence as he registered everything Rachel told him. And he wasn't sure what to think at first. It was several minutes before he finally spoke.
"I don't believe it," he said, horrified.
"I didn't want to either at first," Rachel said. "But he told me himself! He's been planning this ever since I met him and maybe even before that!"
She sat down on the seat in front of Jerry's desk, crestfallen.
"It's all my fault! I trusted him! I gave him the vault combination! I... I..."
But she couldn't say it, even now. "Hannah tried to warn me about him and now she's dead all because of me!"
She leaned forward, burying her face in her hands as she began to cry again.
Kindly, Jerry rose from his desk and walked over to her, taking her hands in his.
"No, Rachel," he reassured. "It was nothing you did. It was all him."
"But I went along with it! I caused this whole mess!"
"And you can still help clean it up. The W.O.O.H.P gold reserves are just outside of the city limits. But he'll have to come back here if he wants to make his escape. We can cut him off and make sure he never hurts another person again."
"But how?"
Jerry smiled. "We'll use a decoy. As far as he knows, you haven't told anyone else about what he's done. He thinks he has a chance. But if you come along, he'll take every opportunity he has to try and get rid of you before you can say anything."
"So, I'm the decoy?"
Jerry nodded as she sighed.
"Okay. I'll do it. But after that, I'm done. And not just with Tim."
"What do you mean?" Jerry asked.
"I mean that once this is over, I'm retiring from W.O.O.H.P."
"But Rachel, you're one of my best agents! You can't just quit because of what he did to you! None of his crimes are your responsibility!"
"That's not the only reason," she admitted.
Jerry arched his eyebrow, waiting for her to explain. She took a deep breath as she prepared to say what she needed Jerry to hear. But she hesitated. Rachel had never said it aloud to anyone before now. She had wanted Hannah to be the first to hear, but that was no longer a possibility. Exhaling deeply. she looked straight into Jerry's eyes as she finally let the words flow out.
"Jerry, I'm pregnant."
He was silent for a while, which was somehow even worse than him saying anything at all. He was clearly surprised, as he always went silent when something shocked him.
"I didn't know until the day Hannah was killed. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't think it was the right time."
"Why are you saying it now, then?" Jerry questioned. "More importantly, is the father who I think?"
"Yes, it's Tim. He doesn't know and he can never find out. Not after what he just told me." She stood and turned away.
"That's why I'm leaving W.O.O.H.P once this is all over. I can't let him put our child in danger."
Jerry sighed. "If that's the way you feel, I will respect your wishes."
"No!" the security guard shouted. "Please!"
Tim Scam refused to listen, instead aiming the Evapo-Blaster at the young man. Now powered by the Apophis 30, its ability to vaporize water was now enhanced. He pulled the trigger and like hundreds of others in that building, every trace of moisture in the guard's body dried up, including in his organs. The young man collapsed into a heap on the floor, his skin now like that of a centuries-old mummy and his eyes open but unseeing.
Taking the key ring from the guard's belt, he placed one of the keys into the lock on the massive door behind him. Behind that door was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever laid eyes on. Shelves upon shelves stacked with millions of gold bars.
Stepping inside, he picked one up, his grin never leaving his face... until he heard her voice behind him.
"You know, Tim. If you want to get away with something, don't tell me what it is."
He whipped around and there she was, standing in the doorway, orange spy suit and all.
"If you're here for a goodbye kiss," he taunted. "Not interested."
"I'm not here for that. I came here to stop you."
Tim just scoffed and picked up the Evapo-Blaster. "Let's see you try when your body's so dried it up it makes a desert look wet."
He fired it, but Rachel ducked to evade the blast and made a beeline for the exit. Scowling, he pursued her. Outside, she hopped into a car that Jerry had loaned her for the purpose of this mission. Starting it, she sped out of the parking lot as an armored car followed closely behind her. Driven by Tim, she reasoned. Slamming her foot on the gas pedal, she willed the car to go faster as the armored car's own speed picked up.
The chase soon came to a road built into the side of a cliff and Tim's armored car had caught up with her to the point that they were neck and neck. Turning the wheel of his own vehicle, he slammed into hers, making her car scrape the railing that divided the cliff from the sea. But she was able to push him back and retake the lead.
After several minutes of careening past cliffs, deserts and fields, Rachel could finally see she was in familiar surroundings when she saw the Hollywood sign in the distance. Unfortunately, she was far from alone as Tim's armored car was still behind her and gaining fast.
The car lurched as the armored vehicle behind her rammed it, cracking a few of the windows.
Panicking, Rachel scanned the dashboard when she saw a red button.
"Oh, please let this be something that can stop him," she prayed before pressing it. From the car's tailpipe, out shot a small missile that flew under the armored car's undercarriage and exploded. Inside, Tim screamed as his vehicle was thrown into the air and over Rachel's car before landing on its side a few feet away from her.
She stopped the car and hopped out as Tim crawled out of the driver's seat and turned to glare at her. He was carrying a duffle bag that was large enough to hold the Evapo-Blaster and probably indeed held the very same device.
"You really think that'll be enough to take me down?!" he growled.
"No," she said confidently. "But this might."
The roar of a helicopter flooded the air above them. Tim looked up and saw a W.O.O.H.P helicopter positioned right above the scene. In the doorway stood Jerry, a megaphone in his hand.
"Drop the bag!" he called into it. "We have you surrounded!"
A long tube extended from the helicopter to stop just inches away from Tim's face, powerful suction beginning to draw him in. He screamed in frustration before placing the duffel bag inside the tube's opening, blocking the suction.
With his only weapon gone, Tim was left with no choice but to make a run for it. But not before shooting one last glare at a Rachel. She knew right away what it was. A promise to return. And a vow of vengeance.
As Tim disappeared into the early morning light, Rachel looked down. She had failed to capture the man who hurt her and thanks to her would escape to hurt so many others.
Climbing aboard the helicopter as it landed, Jerry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"He will be back," she said miserably.
"And we will be ready," Jerry reassured.
But she wasn't sure. Tim was many things, but an idiot was not one of them. If by some miracle W.O.O.H.P did catch him, it would take many, many years.
Nine Months Later
"You're doing great," the nurse said, wiping Rachel's forehead clean of sweat with a damp rag.
Rachel screamed in pain. "I don't feel like I'm doing great!"
"That's a normal part of birth," Jerry, who was in the corner of the room said. "You didn't pay attention in health class?"
"Jerry," she hissed. "You're still my friend, but please stop talking!"
Jerry smiled and came over closer to Rachel, who gripped his hand so tightly that it was almost like a boa constrictor.
It had been several hours since Rachel had started experiencing contractions far beyond what were the usual ones. And the sudden trickle of fluid down her legs announced that the moment she had been waiting months for had finally come.
And now she lay in a bed in W.O.O.H.P's infirmary, her legs propped up by stirrups and clad in only a white gown. The one thing she wasn't prepared for was the pain that came from this. She had heard giving birth was painful but she had never been told it was far more agonizing than the time she had broken her arm when she was ten years old.
But the thought of holding that baby made it feel all worthwhile.
"Okay," the nurse said. "I can see the head. Get ready to push when you feel the next contraction."
Rachel braced herself and pushed all of her weight downward, her groans turning into yells.
"That was wonderful. Okay, just a few more pushes and it'll be over."
Tears stinging her eyes, Rachel nodded as the next contraction hit her before she pushed again.
The pain was so excruciating that she wasn't sure how long she kept pushing. And each time was more difficult than the last.
Finally, the nurse said, "Alright. Just one more push. Go on, you can do it."
"I can't," she whimpered.
"You can," the nurse reassured, positioning herself to catch the baby when it finally arrived. Nodding reluctantly, Rachel steeled herself, her left hand gripping the railing of the bed and her right still wrapped around Jerry's.
"On the count of three, get ready to push," the nurse instructed. With a deep breath, Rachel leaned back.
"One, two, three... push!"
For the last time that day, Rachel forced all of her weight downward and let out a scream so loud that she was certain the whole building heard it as she felt a small mass slide out of her.
Then the whole room was filled with a different sound altogether. The most beautiful sound she had ever heard. The sound of a newborn baby crying.
"It's a boy!" the nurse announced.
Though sore and exhausted, Rachel smiled as the nurse got to work cutting the umbilical cord and cleaning him up. Finally, after being wrapped in a soft white blanket, her son was finally in her arms.
She looked down at the baby, who calmed down the instant his mother started holding him. Allowing herself a few tears, she gently rubbed her fingers against his face.
"Hey there," she whispered gently. "I'm your mom."
She let out a sigh, taking in how beautiful he was. She was relieved to see that he had none of Tim's looks, instead looking more like her. His soft skin was fair and she could already see a patch of blond hair on the top of his head.
His eyes opened and she almost stopped breathing when she saw what a rich deep blue they were. He looked up at her and apparently recognizing her, smiled.
Rachel let out a sound that was both a laugh and a sob.
"He's perfect," she said to Jerry, who smiled.
"Congratulations," he returned. But then his smile dropped. "Are you sure I can't convince you to stay?"
Rachel pursed her lips. "I'd love to. Believe me, nothing would make me happier."
Then she looked down at her son, who was now flailing his arms about to touch her face. "But I can't. I have a new responsibility now. And I want to be there for him. I can't be a spy if there's always someone waiting for me to come home. And Tim's still out there. If he finds out about him... who knows what he could do?!"
"I understand," Jerry said sympathetically. "I'll miss you, Rachel."
"And I'll miss you. But it's for the best."
Jerry reached into his vest pocket and took out something. "I thought you might like this."
He held up a golden necklace with a sapphire-blue butterfly pendant on the end. Rachel didn't know what to say.
"To remind you of your time spent here at W.O.O.H.P," Jerry explained as he placed the necklace around her neck.
"Thank you, Jerry," she said. "But there's a favor I want to ask you."
"And what's that?"
"My son? Tim can't know he exists. If he finds out, he'll do everything he can to use him to get back at me. He might even try to hurt him if means hurting me. I guess what I'm trying to say is... I don't want him involved in any of this. For his own safety, my son can't be what I was. He can't even know W.O.O.H.P exists. So I need you to promise that you'll let him grow up as a normal boy."
Jerry let out a long exhale before answering. "I promise you. He will be completely safe."
Rachel nodded in gratitude before cradling her son to sleep.
"Before we go our separate ways," Jerry said after a while. "I have one more question to ask. What's his name?"
With a smile, Rachel cast a glance down at her son before looking back up at Jerry. She had already compiled a list of names when she'd reached her second trimester. She had initially thought it would be a girl so she could name the baby after her mother. But she was happy with a boy as well. And her mother wasn't the only relative she had been close with. When she was very young, her grandfather would take her to downtown San Francisco to see Coit Tower, which offered her a view of the city unlike any she'd seen in her life. It was a view she thought would never find an equal in terms of how beautiful it was... until she held her baby in her arms.
And she knew that if her grandfather were alive today, she would approve of his name being used to honor him like this.
"Sean," she answered. "Sean Warren."
Sixteen Years Later, May 2004
Sean perched himself on the roof of the W.O.O.H.P penitentiary, clutching the aerosol bottle he had retrieved from LAX. The aerosol was his father's own invention and had the ability to speed up oxidation to the point that even the strongest metal on Earth could rust.
"I shouldn't be doing this," he said aloud to himself. But his anger at Jerry keeping so much from him had threatened to consume him. He didn't even know why he was here. But he knew it was too late to turn back now.
Covering the grate of the air vent with the aerosol, the shiny metal turned dull and rusty before he kicked into dust.
Thankfully, the prison's ventilation system was wide enough for him to crawl through. It took him less time than he expected to find Scam's cell, but find it he did. Pushing the grate open, he dropped the can inside and his father caught it, looking up to see his face inside the chute.
With a sinister smile, Scam moved over to the wall of the cell and sprayed the can's entire contents over it. The metal underneath had rusted so much that it was now as soft as cheese, allowing him to break it down easily.
After vacating the prison, Sean stood on the rocks as the waves crashed against them.
He couldn't believe what he just did. It went against everything his mother taught him. Against everything Jerry taught him.
But when he thought of Jerry, all he could think about was how the old man had lied to him for so long. Maybe this was what he deserved. Maybe this was the appropriate punishment.
No, he thought. I can't think like that. Not like Scam!
"Took you long enough," a voice said from behind him and he turned to see Scam standing on the same rock, a wide grin plastered on his face. "You made your old man proud, son."
"Don't get any ideas," Sean said. "I'm not doing this for you."
"Then why are you doing it, then?"
"I... I...I..."
But he could give no answer.
"Because you like it," Scam stopped him. "Because you know that deep down, you don't belong with W.O.O.H.P. And because you want to hurt Jerry the same way he hurt you."
"Just get out of here already!" Sean snapped.
"You know you get that temper of yours from your mother. She was feisty too."
Sean growled, angered at Scam for mentioning his mother like this.
"Alright," Scam said. "If it makes you feel better, I'll go. But think about my offer."
"Forget it!" Sean hissed. "I may be angry at Jerry, but there's no way I'm joining you! Not after what you tried to do to my friends!"
"You call them your friends, but you don't know how they'd take the truth. Not like me. When your mother found out what I was, she forgot everything she felt about me."
Sean bowed his head, ashamed.
"Well, gotta go," Scam said before Sean stopped him, remembering something.
"Wait!" he called out and Scam stopped in his tracks. "Whatever happens next, you have to promise me that Sam, Clover and Alex won't get hurt."
Scam turned around.
"Of course," Scam answered quickly. "I won't lay a finger on them."
With a final glare, Sean turned on his Jetpack Backpack and flew off into the night sky.
Alone, Scam watched as his son disappeared from view.
"Your little girlfriends have nothing to fear from me, Sean. It's you they should be scared of."
And he chuckled to himself as he made his escape.
Longest chapter so far! And possibly one of the darkest. For Scam's behavior in the 1987 segments, I studied sociopaths and domestic abusers. And I think the resulting effect is very unnerving. So anyway, Rachel's past has now been brought to light fully and we now see the incident that led to Scam being fired from W.O.O.H.P in the first place. Also, Scam has gotten away again. What happens next? Continue reading to find out.