Shattered: Episode 9: Scarlett Illusions

Shattered: The Scarlett Illusions
Part 9
by Toni Walker

Bobby glanced around at the spattering of Black Council minions. Kevin had been right. It was a trap. But he knew that the voice on the phone had been Faith and Kevin agreed with him on that front. But a new terrorist cell called Echelon had been activated that even trumped the Black Council when it came to evil schemes. The new one was quite a doozie. They were calling their new technique the Lazarus Protocol.

"Bobby, can you hear me?" Kevin's voice came through the miniature earpiece perfectly.

"Yep. Loud and clear. Can you see all the friendly guys hanging around waiting to chat with me?"

"That's an affirmative. Someone should be there in a few minutes."

"Great," Bobby said slowly. "In a few minutes I should be mince meat."

It was then he saw a blur of energy come jumping into the fray. She was a mere stick of a girl, but her fighting stance said she was ninja ready.

"Hello boys." Liz smiled and raised a manicured fingernail. She crooked it at them and motioned for them to come closer.

It may have been five to one, but Liz Hunter made kicking Black Council butt seem like child's play. Within minutes it was over. She then grabbed Bobby's hand and pulled him toward a dark entrance near the back of the nightclub called Crave.

"Man, Kevin is good. How did you get called in so fast?"

Liz looked at Bobby, her eyes filled with confusion. "Who's Kevin?"

***

"Let go of me!" Scarlett Gray struggled with her captors. Their grip was firm but they were careful not to hut her. It wasn't everyday you were kidnapped by polite hooligans. Even though she was their prisoner, they seemed to want to ensure her safety.

The compound they landed at was elaborate and posh. Even her "cell" was like a room in a five-star hotel.

The only thing she could do was sit and wonder... What did they want her for?

***

Gray adjusted his black leather trench coat and ripped the dark sunglasses from his face. His facade was calm and cool but the emotions in his own heart were in hyper drive. He had stalled long enough. Maybe too long. Tonight he would be forced to implant the HAVEN virus into one of the unsuspecting girls they'd captured.

At least he had a clear conscious. Faith was safe in the hands of Marcus. Marcus was one person Gray knew he could trust.

"What have you brought for me?" Gray asked using Solomon's rich, European accent.

"Oh, a fine selection, sir." The henchman laughed. "The master is particularly fond of number nine. He wants her to be the first."

Gray nodded. "Bring her to me."

"Oh, no sir, Mr. Black has already sedated her and set her to Room Four. He's waiting there for you now."

The henchman watched as Gray exited the room and entered Room Four. There was great delight in his eyes when Gray realized that the "real" Helms Solomon was back and already performing the implantation. Then his face paled. The girl on the table... it was Scarlett! It was his daughter!

***

"Is there something wrong, Solomon? Or should I call you, Gray? That is what you go by, isn't it?" Helms Solomon smiled and returned to his work.

Gray could barely speak. He never thought... He never imagined that Julian Black would pick Gray's own daughter as a subject. And there was nothing he could do. No way he could stop the implantation that had already started by the time he arrived.

"She's perfect," Solomon whispered. "This one is going to work."

"Yes, Solomon, she is perfect," Julian said as his eyes traveled over Scarlett's young body. "My sentiments exactly. She will make a wonderful addition to my organization. She'll do anything I want. Kill anyone I wish with no remorse, and with no memory of ever committing the act."

Gray could see the light in Julian's eyes. He had more in mind for Scarlett than a life as a killing machine. He'd chosen her because he desired her. The mere thought of this mad man laying one finger on his daughter's body had him near insanity. He glanced around the room looking for any way to get Scarlett free.

Solomon's eyes warily regarded Gray.

"Don't worry Solomon," Julian said. "No one will interrupt the procedure this time. I have a special friend watching over Scarlett's annoying brother. Please... continue. I'll stay and watch the transformation."

Julian was such an S.O.B., Gray thought. He knew there were some in the organization who wanted to believe the fairy tale that the Head of the Black Council was an undercover agent working secretly for his father who ran the Knights Foundation. But Gray knew better. He knew the evil Julian had done in the name of the Council. He knew the bastard was guilty – all the way to his dark, black heart

They may have similar blood running through their veins, but not a similar soul. He would never believe that he and his half brother were anything alike. He'd rather die than believe that.

***

"Would you two like to be alone?" Cameron Cash asked. Cameron knew that Roanna Ambrose was surprised to see him inside the headquarters of the Knights Foundation, but he couldn't go into all the details about why he was there or what their motives were.

Abraham Moses nodded at him and Cameron walked out of the room, his arm in a sling and a sad expression on his face.

"Exactly what is going on here," Roanna asked, her glassy-eyed stare was full of confusion.

"I'm not at liberty to tell you that due to the classified nature of this mission."

"Don't give me that ‘need-to-know' crap. This is my daughter and son we're talking about. I can't believe Graham kept them away from me for all these years."

Roanna didn't know exactly why she was in Abraham Moses's office, but she felt like she needed to do something.

"Yes, that is quite unfortunate, but I'm not certain what you want me to do about it."

"I want you to let them go. Release them from this insane spy game you and my husband play. They're only children."

Moses shrugged. "It's truly out of my hands, Ms. Ambrose."

***

"Faith isn't the first to disappear," Bobby told her as they raced through the network of tunnels. "There have been several. Now there's a good chance they've taken Scarlett as well."

"Why would they want young girls?" Liz Hunter asked.

"The technology will only interface with a woman. A man is just not genetically compatible. And they pick them young because their cells are more resilient."

Liz angled closer to Bobby. "I'm afraid to ask exactly what that technology is."

"It's like the PARIS artificial intelligence, only more advanced. It was a fluke when the PARIS program took over that agent's body a few years back. It wasn't meant to be inside a human mind, but amazingly, somehow she adapted. Then she split, part of her stayed with the agent. The other escaped into Lee Myers computer when Ethan was being refueled with the nanite's ATP juice."

Liz could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"It's being speculated that this new off-shoot of PARIS has incorporated nanite technology. From the whispers I'm hearing on the hi-tech grapevine, the new artificial intelligence is calling herself HAVEN.

***

Phoenix had to get up. Scarlett was in danger. His twin radar was flashing redder than it ever had before. He knew it as if he were experiencing the sensation himself. But there was something wrong. His body refused to move. It wasn't responding to his mental commands.

Soon he knew why.

"Grandfather?"

"Hush now. Go back to sleep. Give the medicine time to do it's job. I have people out looking for your sister."

Chandelor Knight watched as his grandson's eyes grew heavier. It was better this way. Better that he didn't know what was truly going on.

"Is he out?" Nadia stood behind Chandelor, the head of the Knights Foundation and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, unfortunately, he is."

"This was the only way. You know he'd go after her, but Scarlett can handle herself. It was her choice. She knew what she was getting into. Phoenix, however, is another story. We need to distract his attention. And I think I have the perfect way.... Faith Fairchild."

Chandelor nodded. "Maybe all he needs is a push in the right direction. I have an idea that might just do the trick."

***

"It's done," Solomon said as he glanced to the guards holding Gray hostage.

Julian smiled at Gray. "You couldn't save your daughter and now you won't be able to save yourself. When she's ready, Solomon, have your men bring her to me."

Gray struggled against his captors. "NO! You cannot have my daughter."

"I'm afraid that choice is not up to you," he said. "We'll let your daughter decide."

As he walked away, he could hear Gray yelling "I will kill you."

As he exited the door, he threw a comment over his shoulder. "I'll look forward to it."

***

The first sound she recognized was the sound of her breathing. Labored but basically unhampered. She was lying in what felt like a hospital room She could hear beeps and machines running all around her.

There were sensations in her body that were new. Her mind felt full, as if she had downloaded the information of the ancients into her brain. The wound at the base of her neck near the top of her spine ached but only from tightness.

What's going on, she wondered mentally.

"You're a new creation," her mind answered back. In that moment she was consciously aware of the duality alive in all people, but she knew this voice was different.

"You're right. I am different."

"Who said that?" Scarlett asked, this time out loud. She glanced around, but she was the only one in the room.

"You're stronger than the others. The best I've seen in some time."

"What? What are you talking about?... Who are you? ... Where am I?"

"You, my dear, have the privilege of being my new host."

"Host?"

"Yes, you see, I need a body to live and you, well, you conveniently have one. It will do well for me."

"What if I say no."

"You can't say no. I'm already inside you, taking over access to everything you remember, everything you hold dear.

"You can't," Scarlett pleaded. "I won't let you."

"You can't resist me. I'm everywhere. "I've been everywhere since you opened your eyes. I am the One. I will be the one in control and you will be merely the whisperings inside my mind that I can easily ignore."

"Who are you?"

"I am Haven. I am you. You and I are the One."

"No," Scarlett resisted. "I am my own person. You can't be in my mind."

Haven snickered. "Who are you?" she asked Scarlett.

Scarlett could no longer speak. Nothing came to her mind. It was then she realized she had no past. No family and no name.

Shattered: Episode 8: The Impostors

Shattered: The Impostors-Part 1
Part 8
by Toni Walker

Bobby Sullivan glanced over at Faith. She was different. The plastic surgery had made her that way. At least, that was the official Knights Foundation story. Three years ago she had shown up out of the blue. Her face different. Her speech different. Everything about her slightly off. But he had believed the cover story the KF had supplied. Hell, they all had. The only question was... what was the truth? Was the truth this woman in front of him or was the truth the woman waiting for him at Crave?

A woman working at the next terminal named Maggie smiled at him then returned to her duties. She couldn't see his monitor, and the higher ups wouldn't know what he was doing until it was too late. However, what Bobby failed to realize was that the Legacy was always watching, always waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting, foolish employee. By the time he had made the arrangements for the helicopter and walked out of the control room, forces were already converging on Faith's position.

The woman at the next terminal spoke softly into her wireless microphone. "He's gone."

"Don't worry. It will all be over before he ever gets there," said a voice on the other end.

Faith's eyes narrowed. She knew there was someone working on the inside, and there were probably more. Moles who were only in place to make reports to the corporate office about the activities of key personnel. Bobby hadn't noticed Maggie's blatant betrayal, but she had. She was familiar with the beast. Betrayal was her gift as well.

Faith walked up and nonchalantly elbowed Maggie in the face. The woman collapsed in her arms and Faith caught her easily.

"Someone call a doctor," she said with a quickness to her voice. "This woman just fainted."

Two guards from the door came and took Maggie away toward the direction of the infirmary. Faith followed along until an easy exit revealed itself. She stood out on the front lawn past the point where people came to smoke and spoke into her own nearly invisible wireless microphone.

"Faith has surfaced," she said. "They've sent a team after her. Extraction point? Crave, a club in Athens. Just be careful, Marcus. These people mean business. Nadia out."

Nadia Kassoff turned and smiled at the throng of smokers gathered outside for their break. She pawned a cigarette off of one and drew heavily. It wouldn't be long now. Three years was a long time to play double Jeopardy, and she had a feeling it wouldn't be long before someone discovered her ruse. But by then it would be too late.

***

Marcus inwardly cursed. He didn't know if he was ready to see Faith again. But ready or not, the Legacy cleaners were coming to deal with their most pressing problem. They, like most of the others, didn't know which Faith was real and which Faith was fake. But he knew. Betrayal was his gift as well. And this gift had come the hard way, through personal experience. Experience the real Faith Fairchild would know all too well.

"Faith has turned up. It's time to go." Marcus and his red headed partner gathered into the waiting van and adorned themselves with a disguise that would make them blend into the crowd at the gothic vampire club.

Liz, his partner, exited first and walked across the plaza. They knew this would attract Faith's attention, because Liz was a very familiar looking woman, someone Faith would recognize. Marcus kept close to the building and slipped into the club unnoticed. All he had to do now was wait.

***

If Liz was good at anything, it was dealing with men. She had learned a lot in three years of hard knocks being a secret agent. Her Nancy Drew days were over and would probably never return again.

Out of pure happenstance, a friendly face appeared in the crowd outside the club. He was a rebel and everyone knew she loved a dangerous man. She sat down beside Cameron Cash and kissed him hard on the lips.

"For a man supposedly mortally wounded, you look none the worse for wear." Liz smiled and wiped the lipstick off his mouth.

"I have to say, out of all your disguises, I do like this look on you." Cameron took advantage and fondled the wide expanse of skin revealed by her outfit. He was surprised when Liz didn't brush his hand away. "What's wrong, Liz? Am I finally getting under your creamy skin?" He pulled her ever closer. Their lips only inches apart. "Am I?"

Liz's breath came faster in her chest. What was wrong with her? She had been able to push away Cameron's advances before now. Maybe he was right. Maybe a part of her really did desire him even knowing who he really was. Even with his amorous come ons Liz was able to note Faith's position with ease. Her eyes were filled with confusion, and it was obvious why. She still didn't remember fully what had happened. But had any of them really regained all their memories? They may never know for sure.

Faith entered the club just as Cameron pulled Liz closer. "I've been denying myself way too long." This time, when he kissed her, he put his real emotion into it and Liz was helpless if not to comply. And Liz could not remember the last time she surrendered to something she wanted, needed.

Their kisses became rampant, their breathing heavy. "I can't do this now," she whispered.

"I know," Cameron replied. "But this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up." He stole one last kiss from her and disappeared like a shadow into the crowd.

Liz tried to compose herself. That was something she hadn't been expecting... the revelation that she did indeed have feelings still churning away inside her body. She thought emotion was a technique she had lost long ago.

It was easy to spot Bobby Sullivan among the crowd at Crave. He looked like an angel among a sea of sinners.

"Marcus, he's here," Liz said into her wireless microphone.

"Copy that."

***

Marcus watched as Faith saw Bobby enter the club. Relief filled her eyes, but he knew that relief would be short lived. He also knew that she would think he betrayed her and that was a fact that Marcus knew he had to keep to himself. Bobby would have to deal with the fallout on his own. That was just how it worked around here.

Shortly after Bobby entered, a group of military commandos dressed all in black dominated the patrons of the club. A look of horrific realization filled Faith's eyes. Marcus felt that realization like a knife in his own heart. The only thing he hadn't anticipated was the swiftness of the commandos. They circled around Faith before he could do anything to intervene.

"What do you want with me?"

"Leave her alone," shouted a voice from the doorway. He looked like a dark knight straight out of Lord of the Rings. It was Graham Gray, aka Helms Solomon. To many in these parts he was part devil part savior, but only a few knew where his real loyalties lay.

Marcus was one of those people.

He took Gray's distraction as the voice of God telling him to move on. He grabbed two shots from the bar, and filled his mouth with one seizing a patron's lighter he spit out the alcohol onto two of the men while lighting the liquid. For a moment he became a human blow torch. The other shot he threw at another man and lit him up as well.

The diversion gave him only seconds, but that was all the time he needed. He grabbed Faith and melted into the bowels of the club.

The commandos were momentarily surprised and looked from the doorway to the bar and both men who had commanded their attention were now gone. The only outsider left was Bobby, and he was quickly taken into custody.

***

Marcus led Faith down into the basement where he knew an entrance to the tunnels existed. Once inside he knew they would be safe. No one without formal knowledge of the tunnels would dare ventre more than a few feet.

"Where are you taking me?" Faith asked. She knew not to question too much, after all, this man had just saved her life.

"I'm taking you to safety. That's all you need to know."

Faith knew that voice. She recognized it from her past. She pulled them both to an abrupt halt.

"Who are you?" she asked. "I know I know you. I recognize your voice."

Against his better judgement, Marcus lit one of the unlit torches lining the outer wall of the tunnel.

"Oh, my God! It's you!" Faith hauled her arm back and punched him in the face.

Marcus should have known she wouldn't welcome him back with open arms.

Footsteps pounded behind them and they both knew this shocking revelation would have to wait for later. There would be much to discuss then. But right now, the only thing they had to do was survive.

Shattered: Episode 7: Lost Faith

Shattered: Lost Faith
Part 7
by Toni Walker

"Where am I?"

The words were barely audible but the man sitting in the chair next to her seemed to be waiting to hear them. He rushed to her side, tripping in the process. When he recovered his balance, he didn't touch her. He didn't seem to have it in him to touch her. He merely came closer.

"Thank you!" Nigel uttered the words to the heavens and then stared back down at Faith. "You gave us quite a scare. I had no idea the drugs they gave you were so potent."

The man was definitely British. He had the accent and the bumblesome manner. It was only then she noticed the monk's robe he was wearing. The man seemed uncomfortable in it making her think he wasn't really a man of God.

She took in more than the dress of the man. She'd been trained to look for subtle nuances her entire life. Both of her brothers were operatives for the ultra secret covert agency known as the Legacy.

Her eyes moved from the man to her surroundings. The room was dark. Shadows painted frightening shapes on the walls making Faith Fairchild feel like she was five years old again. She had bad memories of being five. Memories she didn't talk about with anyone, not even her best friend, Bobby.

Faith searched her memory. Why was she here? Her last memory was meeting with a rogue Black Council operative seeking intel about his previous employer's upper echelon of agents. After that, nothing.

She already had a three year gap in her memory. She didn't need any more memory lapses.

"When I saw you the other day at the cafe I could barely believe my eyes. Everyone thought you were dead after the Bulgarian mission. Now here you were looking as far removed from Faith Fairchild as anyone could be. You definitely weren't yourself."

He reached for the sleeve of her gown as if proving to himself that she was really lying before him. Nigel sat beside Faith. He knew losing three years would be hard on anyone.

"What do you mean, I wasn't me?" Faith decided to subtly question this British man and then when she had the chance, she would run for her life. Her head throbbed and a pain criss-crossed her chest. Her entire body felt as if it had been thrown around like a rag doll.

The man continued speaking even as she tried to tune him out to develop a plan of escape. But talking seemed to comfort him more than silence.

"I saw you in Athens. I was on my lunch break from the American Embassy and you came strutting past me and sat down with Cameron Cash. He's a known operative for the Black Council who's gone rogue." The tone of Nigel's voice rose and his excitement in telling the story caused his speech to quicken.

"I barely recognized you. You had this awful black and green hair hanging to your waist. Your body was encased in skin tight black leather. Then you boldly kissed that maniac as if he was your prom date and you were looking to get lucky."

Faith didn't falter in her assessment of him. He might have been talking a mile a minute now but Nigel was a born listener.

"What did you find out from listening to us?"

He seemed surprised by her question.

"Wha...? You were quite a distance from where I was seated. It's not like I was prepared for surveillance. Cash called you Shiloh. He had to suspect who you were given his past history with both your brothers. I was concerned for your safety."

"Anything else?" she snapped, noticing a ball point pen lying not a foot away from where she was lying.

"No, nothing. He did mention something about a next job, but didn't elaborate on it."

She didn't know who this crazy Brit was or why he had brought her here, but she knew she had to escape. Faith jumped off the bed grabbing the pen from the night stand. Her quick action had Nigel edging backward and tripping over his own feet. She took the opportunity and shoved him against the wall aiming the ballpoint at his jugular vein.

He was shocked. She could tell. Didn't he think a woman could take care of herself?

"I don't know who the hell you are but you are compromising an ongoing Knights Foundation operation."

Faith's eyes gleamed with a dangerous intent. The fear in his eyes made it known that he knew she wouldn't hesitate to use any weapon at her disposal. The pen inched toward his throat.

"Why are you holding me against my will?"

Nigel's eyes grew round. "Against your ... We're helping you. Julian Black tried to brainwash you!"

"I'm not buying it. Start talking or you're a dead man."

He stared at the pen and then back to Faith.

"After that day at the cafe, Gray started following you. He knew first hand what atrocities the Legacy put their operatives through. He's suspected a link's existed between them and the Black Council for years. He thought you'd been brainwashed and given a prototype AI (Artificial Intelligence) that would cause you to bend to the will of the BC. You would do their bidding and then experience a memory gap, sometimes as long as a month or more. You'd wake up in familiar surroundings not realizing what crimes you had committed in the past months."

"That's ridiculous!"

Faith knew she couldn't let on what she knew about the brainwashing.

"You're crazier than I thought." She held the pen at his jugular and motioned toward the doorway. "Which way leads out? Don't test me because I will use this thing."

"Left. But it's a maze of corridors out there. You may never find your way out."

"I'll take my chances."

She knew he could be right, but this job was filled with risks. Her fist impacted with his face. She didn't have time to deal with the likes of him. She had a mission to attend to. Freelancers need not apply.

Faith shook out her hand as she ran down the long stretch of hallway looking for an exit. Her hand hurt like hell. That punch had connected with his jawbone. As she stared up at the cathedral ceiling she knew the reason the man was wearing a robe. This place was a church.

"Sick bastard," she muttered.

She had to find a way out and back to Bobby. He was her solid ground. He could help her. She'd hear the truth, whatever that was, straight from him.

Finally, after what seemed hours, she found her goal. Light shone through the front door like a beacon of hope. As she stepped out into the light she realized she'd never left Athens. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she stumbled down the cobblestone street looking for a phone. It didn't take long to find one. In a manner of minutes she was dialing the only man in the world she could trust.

"Do you believe in God?" she asked as a familiar voice picked up the extension. He audibly gasped at the sound of her voice.

"I don't know about God," he said. "But I believe everyone needs some kind of faith."

The code phrase was intact. He hadn't been compromised.

"I need an extraction point."

"Where are you?" She could hear him typing away at his keyboard.

"Looks like Athens."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Find a club called Crave. I'll meet you there."

"How long?"

"I'll have to confiscate a helicopter. Maybe an hour?"

Bobby's voice was uneven but hopeful. It was the dose of strength she needed.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I will be when you get here."

Shattered: Episode 6: Whisper of Betrayal

Shattered: Whisper of Betrayal
Part 6
by Toni Walker

Phoenix planted his foot on the accelerator jolting the vehicle forward. Idential looking cars formed a box around him. The one to his right was dragging its wheels on the shoulder. He knew this wasn't good. Someone was preventing them from contacting their grandfather. But why would anyone really care, Phoenix wondered. He wanted to know why their mother was alive. That wasn't something the enemy would care about or use. What would they gain by it? The idea had him pressing his foot even farther into the floorboard.

"Whoa!" Scarlett Gray screamed. "What are you trying to do? Get us killed?

"Nah," Nadia Kassoff commented. "I think all the cars surrounding us are doing fine with that concept all on their own."

The Russian girl pulled a gun from the waistband of her hip-huging jeans.

"We've got five cars. Two behind."

Scarlett wasn't as focused on the aspect of them being in danger as much as she was the fact that this girl seated next to her not only owned a gun but was prepared to use it.

"What are you doing with that... thing?" The breath seemed to leave Scarlett's lungs.

"I'm using it for what it was created for. You see. You.... Aim..." Nadia rolled down the window and turned around backward in her seat. "And fire."

She fired off two rounds. The sound wasn't ear splitting which made Scarlett believe Nadia had a silencer on her gun. The effect of her marksmanship was dead on. One car behind them careened out of control taking the one behind it out of commission as well. Both flew like Evil Kenevil over the edge of a very steep embankment.

Phoenix rammed their compact into the car on his left. It lurched wildly away from them before quickly returning to its place in line.

"Scarlett. Get Nadia's cell phone." Phoenix barked the order and the cell was thrown into her lap. "Call Grandfather. He'll know what to do."

Her hands shook as she attempted to dial the number she had memorized. Nadia fired off a few more shots which made her flinch. Her heart beat so quickly in her chest she thought she might have a heart attack. She placed the cell to her ear and it began to ring.

Three cars were left following them and the one on the shoulder moved behind them. Before they realized what was happening the car in front slammed on their brakes while the one on the side pushed the compact toward the edge. They were jarred forward when the compact impacted with the car ahead. It was only a matter of seconds before they were moving again. This time it was sideways.

Scarlett screamed. No one picked up the extension at the Knights mansion and by this time, she had forgotten about the call.

"We have to get out!" her wails were erratic and desperate. "They're pushing us over the edge of the embankment. They're trying to kill us."

Phoenix tried to restart the compact, but to no avail. They were at the mercy of the men in the three cars left on the highway.

***

Roanna Ambrose Gray stood outside the building where the Knights Foundation did most of their ultra-secret work. The skyscraper loomed high above the street and sported an abstract logo on the front lawn which, strangely enough, looked like a horse's head. It seemed to be an odd sort of chess piece shattered in fragments. Each section lit up making the head appear to move.

A man who worked here wanted to ask her a few more questions about what happened the day her son and daughter found Cameron Cash shot on the floor of his hospital room. She still didn't understand what the Knights Foundation had to do with any of this. Cameron wasn't working for them, and her children -- well, they were -- her children. Running into them had shocked her badly. As a result, she didn't remember everything she told Abraham Moses.

So many things had happened in such a short period of time. She met Cameron and fell in love. They had only known each other only a few months before an enemy from his old life took out vengence on him. He'd been shot and then admitted to a secure Legacy hospital facility. She wasn't used to the world of a covert operative. A world where you could be targeted at any time. And someone had done just that while he was in the facility. She had found him lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, but that wasn't the only surprising thing she discovered that day.

She surrendered to the fact long ago that nothing would bring her children back to her. Even spending thousands of dollars on therapy to be able to get past the fact they were gone from this Earth.

Then that day everything change.

That day she found out Scarlett and Phoenix were alive.

A split second before she recognized her children, she thought they were the ones who tried to kill Cameron. She even made the mistake of telling that to one of the men at the scene. The black man stalking around the peremeter seemed more interested in her children than he did in finding Cameron's shooter.

Once Abraham Moses discovered Phoenix had been on the scene, all hell broke loose. The man even concockted the absurd idea that her son was holding Scarlett against her will. The Foundation showed her security footage of Phoenix breaking Scarlett out of her hospital room. This man who claimed to fight for truth and justice was willing to believe anything so long as it went along with his current theory about Phoenix. He was a bad seed gone rogue.

Roanna hadn't been able to banish the pained look on Scarlett's face from her mind. They thought she was dead too, it turned out. She wanted to believe they were in the hospital that day to find her, to reunite their family, but the other woman with them, a Russian beauty, quickly dispelled that thought.

Nadia Kassoff ran into the room as if hell were nipping at her heels.

"Guys, we've got BCs all around and someone called Moses. It's time to make a hasty departure." she grabbed both Phoenix and Scarlett by the material of their shirts. "Company is only seconds away. I've alerted the nursing staff about Cam's condition. They should be able to distract the BCs long enough for us to get away."

Phoenix spun on his heel and darted out of the room.

Scarlett was dumbstruck. She stared at her mother as if she was an apparation.

"Mom?"

Nadia pushed Scarlett toward the door.

"Nice to meetcha, lady. I'm sure they'd both love to have a whole reunion thing, but there's just no time."

The pounding of feet down the hallway brought Scarlett out of the strange state she'd fallen into. Then the two girls ran in the opposite direction of the rain of troopers who filled the room seconds later.

Cameron groaned from the floor mumbling 'get out', but she couldn't leave him. Her eyes were drawn to the door where both her children had fled. Her mind stuck between the horror of knowing Cameron had been shot and the mysterious resurrection of her two children.

***

There was no pulse!

Nigel Bennett lurched backward knocking into the side table where they kept her medicine. The pills rained onto the floor and the candle went out making the room horrifically dark.

It couldn't be true. Faith Fairchild couldn't be dead.

He felt along the uneven floor searching for the candle and its stand all the while lambasting himself for letting the girl he was supposed to protect die on his watch.

Shaky hands set the candle back into place and lit it once more. The light flickered softly on Faith's face. God, she was as beautiful in death as she was in life. Nigel sighed. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently.

"Wake up! You bloody well better wake up!" A tear escaped his eyes and he flicked it away. This was no time for tears. It was time for her to breathe.

Footsteps pounded out in the hallway but Nigel paid no notice to them. He was only focused on the girl.

"Don't die," he pleaded, pounding on her chest. "Please wake up."

Gray appeared like a spector in the doorway. He raced to Faith's bedside with his long duster flailing out behind him. He pulled on her legs until she was lying flat on the bed, then he ordered Nigel to breathe into her mouth.

"What? Me?"

"Yes, you. Don't question me. We don't have time for that. Now breathe five slow breaths."

Gray waited until Nigel was finished then he did chest compressions that massaged her heart. They continued for a few minutes before he stopped and checked her pulse a second time.

The pulse was back.

His heart jumped from his throat back into his chest.

Nigel was still giving her recessative breaths. When Gray attempted to pull him away, he found Faith's fingers biting into the Brit's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he growled.

Nigel pried himself way.

"It wasn't me," he stammered. "I swear. First she wasn't breathing and then she was kissing me."

'Likely story." Gray sent Nigel out for more blankets, and then moved Faith into a more comfortable position on the bed.

He'd nearly lost her. Until she as well and back in her right mind, he wasn't going to send her back into the clutches of the LEGACY or the Knights Foundation. He didn't trust them. He never would. For him, for now, they were merely a means to an end. When he had enough proof, he would bring them down and put them officially out of business... forever!

***

"What's wrong?" Phoenix asked. "I thought you liked this Nancy Drew world."

He wanted to tell his sister to shut up. To stop screaming, but he knew she wouldn't do it. The compact car wobbled on its hood and Phoenix crawled out of the shattered front window.

"People are trying to kill us and you're giving me lip? Are you out of your freaking mind?" Scarlett followed her brother trying to dodge the pieces of broken glass. "And for your information, this is not Nancy Drew! This is freakin' James Bond meets Mission Impossible."

Nadia hung upside down suspended by her seat belt. She released the catch and crumpled to the hard dirt when gravity kicked in. She moaned and managed to open the door and spill herself onto the patchy green and brown surface. Her head was bleeding from impact with the passenger window, and her two co-horts were giving her a major headache.

"This is not the time for bickering." She raised a hand to her forhead. It came back sticky with blood. Her own blood. Her eyes focused up the embankment. Men were coming! "It's the time for running," she mumbled, still a bit dazed.

The sound of a helicopter swirled overhead dragging up dust from the country ground. Phoenix guessed it belonged to the Knights Foundation. They would have been able to trace Nadia's cell phone like a beacon even if Scarlett wasn't able to send a distress call.

Even though the calvery was near, Phoenix feared they were too late. The men from the highway were streaming down the hill holding guns and shooting random shots. The helicopter's search light was making them a perfect target. A bullet impacted Phoenix's shoulder spinning him around. He grabbed the wound and applied pressure.

Nadia was staggering at best. He knew she wouldn't be able to make it if they had to run for it. The proof came when she tripped, stumbled and fell forward landing half on Scarlett. Both of them came crashing to the ground.

"Scarlett!" Phoenix's breathing was ragged due to the pain of his injury. He backtracked to their position, but by then the men in black were upon them. One injected something into Nadia's neck, then turned a weapon on him. They knew he wouldn't go down without a fight.

All he needed was something to distract the BC. But Phoenix didn't have time to come up with an ingenious solution. Out of the dark a tranquelizer dart shot him in the middle of the chest. He fell to his knees as the men grabbed Scarlett, dragging her back toward their convoy. She screamed but he was helpless to protect her. The tranquelizer was swiftly taking effect. He could still hear her screams when he pitched forward and everything went black.

Shattered: Episode 5: The Price He Paid

Shattered: The Price He Paid
Part 5
by Toni Walker

"What in the hell is going on?" Phoenix Gray posed the question to himself. He didn't express the question verbally, that would only warn Scarlett something less than kosher was happening. He internally laughed. Things hadn't been normal in a long time.

He remembered following Faith down the hole in the monastery as it exploded and than having Julian Black, Gia Doyle and Chandelor Knight find them. Things after that seemed to get a bit fuzzy until one day he woke up in his own house. For a time he wondered if it had all been a bad dream, but in the end, his memories didn't lie.

It wasn't long after his re-emergence into the world that Abraham Moses began his vendetta. At first, it was merely loud-mouthed accusation The verbal abuse accelerated until Moses actually sent a cleaner team after him claiming he was the one who kidnapped Faith Fairchild. He knew this was utter nonsense. Phoenix would have to find out why Moses was targeting him for termination.

Phoenix actually knew very little about the Knights Foundation, except that it posed as a high-class think tank. And the thought of his father working there seemed strange. He couldn't see his father being a covert anything much less a spy. And Nigel? Forget about it. Bumbling was Nigel's middle name. Any good spy would catch him in a second.

All he really knew about the Foundation was what he had learned from Faith in Bulgaria. Her brothers were spies of the deepest caliber, so, over the years, she'd learned a great many things about secrets, how to keep them and who to trust. For some reason, she chose to trust him.

He kept his eyes on the road ahead trying to ignore the gentle falling snow and the forcast for a near blizzard coming the next day. The road to Chandelor Knights mansion was free from traffic. Not many people used this stretch of highway. He remembered his grandfather mentioning that fact when he stayed here briefly. And Chandelor himself used a helicopter, making the road extremely smooth and easy to navigate, not one pot hole or bump in sight.

His sister, Scarlett, was quieter than usual and Nadia Kassoff, his new sort-of partner, never spoke much anyway. So it made the drive easier if not slightly disturbing since he was used to women talking up a storm on a road trip across country. It made the silence in the car all the more deafening.

Nadia was the first to break the spell of quiet.

"So, we're visiting the main cheese of the KF because of your mother?" She seemed to find this fact interesting considering their current mission. "Whatever happened to your "I-have-to-find-Faith" mantra? Although, I don't mind the side road, I don't want Moses to kick my ass if he finds out I'm helping you on your Fairchild mission. The faster we find this chick, the better."

"This is just a slight detour," Phoenix explained.

"Yeah, a slight detour that could get you killed." Scarlett's cheeks blossomed with color. It proved she wasn't used to disagreeing with her brother.

"Ya see? My point exactly. Even the sibling questions your thinking with regards to this."

"Mom's been dead for a long time, Phoenix. How do we know that was even her?" Scarlett's mind raced a mile a minute and it had been the entire drive to the Knight mansion.

"And if it wasn't her," Nadia added. "Someone is going to want to know there is a lookalike running around. Those covert types get all edgy if things aren't what they seem."

"My main concern is the person she was seen with. Cameron Cash is a dangerous man. He worked for the Black Council before Julian hired that new security expert."

"You mean, Helms Solomon?" Nadia said.

Phoenix angled Nadia a curious look.

"What? I get intel. I'm informed."

The quiet stretch of highway suddenly became a bustling nerve center when cars converged on all sides of them.

"Heads up," Nadia said. "Looks like we have company, and I doubt they want to wish us tidings of comfort and joy."

***

The mill house and monastery where they were hiding Faith was not far from the Black Council's compound where Julian Black did a majority of his business. Nigel dressed as a monk in order to come and go freely. Graham Gray, known mostly as only Gray to his colleagues, had been forced to use the complex network of tunnels underneath the holy place. A few branches even reached as far as the Black compound and Julian's private villa. It made checking on Faith easier than if he were to travel above ground.

Gray's long hair matted against his face as he followed the path he'd memorized back to the villa. He had masqueraded as Helms Solomon so many times over the years that the KF had invented some of Solomon's history to mimic missions Gray had experienced. It made becoming a whole new person much easier when he didn't have to remember every single detail.

In an assignment such as this, there were very few people he could speak to frankly, and virtually no one he could trust.

Nigel Bennett and Gray had been friends for a long time. At first, he trusted the safety of his children to him, and now he trusted him with his life. Nigel knew the things he had once had. The great love he had lost and the price he paid to keep those he cared about safe from the enemy.

The bumbling British man knew what Gray most desired: a life with Roanna and his children, Scarlett and Phoenix. But that desire was something fate had taken from him. Early on in his tenure with the Knights Foundation, he learned of a plot to steal the children of top agents and brainwash them into walking in their parents footsteps.

Gray didn't want that future for either Scarlett or Phoenix.

So, in the end, he made the greatest sacrifice he could, he let them go. Gray created an accident. He made it appear that his wife and children had all died in a fiery car crash. In order to keep them all safe, Gray made the children believe their mother was dead. He left Roanna at the scene sedated with an undetectable drug that would fog her memory of the accident and make her think the rest of her family was dead as well.

It was as brilliant as it was heartbreaking. Walking away from her that cold winter's night had torn him up inside. He still had nightmares about it.

In the eyes of the world, he had succeeded in his quest. His family was gone. And with their departure from his life, so went his heart.

***

A candle flickered a dim flame in the dank room where Faith Fairchild was fighting the brainwashing process the real Helms Solomon had put her through. She was greatly resilient to infection and in the end, the brainwashing hadn't succeeded. But the after effects were hell on her mind and body.

She thrashed on the bed and Nigel Bennett tried to calm her. While he struggled with her flailing hands, he ruminated on Gray's situation. A long time ago he had made his choice. He had sacrificed his own happiness in order to keep Roanna and his children alive. They may have called him father, but in the eyes of the world and any document you could dig up, they belonged to his dead brother, Hunter.

He still couldn't believe Gray had kept up the masquerade for so long. The man was beyond paranoid when it came to the Knights Foundation and the LEGACY.

Faith slapped the glasses off his face and he watched them skid across the floor and into a dark corner.

"Blast!"

Nigel knew how important this girl was not only to Gray but to the Legacy. He had to keep reminding himself of that fact. Maybe when she finally woke up she'd be easier to deal with, but for now, the nightly seizures were getting on his fraying British nerves.

"Calm down, Faith," he whispered in a low accent. "It's only a dream."

In that moment, Faith went from a bucking bronco to a docile lamb. She was completely still, fightingly so. This shocked Nigel. He pressed two fingers to her throat.

There was no pulse.