Monday, July 14, 2014

More odd bits


Ten Little Spies
Not Himself

“Bobbie, slow down. You need to tell me what happened so I can understand you.” Mackenzie Gray shook the controller. He seemed to be in shock. Bobbie pointed to the far monitor where Stephen’s dead body still filled the screen.

Mac inhaled a steady breath and called for assistance on his cell. I need medical to get down to the chrio-chamber. Webb has been hit.”

He turned to Bobbie. The boys eyes seemed large as he stared straight through him.

“Who killed Webb?” he asked. “It’s okay. You can tell us.”

“Ethan,” Bobbie said. “It was Ethan.”

^^^

“My sister doesn’t know how to handle something like this,” Kaye Corday said to her partner, Jared Quinn.

“You don’t think you’re underestimating her just a little bit?” Jared asked. He drove the SUV toward the blinking dot on his map. The dot was Dare’s GPS transmitter. All operatives were fashioned with one years ago.

“She hasn’t been trained, Quinn. She’ll just put Dare into more danger.”

“Oh, we wouldn’t want that,” Jared quipped. He and Dare had never been the best of friends.

Kaye studied the map. “The signal has stopped a few miles ahead. What do you think those guys want with Dare and Alison?”

“I stopped trying to make sense of this. Nothing has made sense since that booby-trapped candle was delivered to me.” 

Jared thought about the reasoning behind it all. The only thing that made sense to him was the idea that Ethan and Stephen had both displayed bizarre abilities. Ethan and his nanites and Stephen and his spontaneous healing. Maybe the bad guys thought they all possessed some sort of super power.

^^^

“You’re saying my father is dead?” Adrian Zeller couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the fact that the man he’d been speaking with all these weeks was an imposter.

“Unfortunately, it seems your father has been dead for quite some time. Our forensic team suggests he’s been decomposing for six months. I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Zeller.” Mac Gray rubbed came around the desk and sat next to Zeller. “The device you found simulates a holographic effect around the wearer’s head. It’s a very convincing disguise. Two of my operatives have seen it up close. It’s no wonder you were fooled into believing your father as alive.”

Adrian rubbed two hands over his face. “What do I do now? There’s no telling how many changes he made to the corporation in my father’s name.”

“I suggest you and your lawyer assess everything as soon as possible. He could have acquired your father’s billions or they would have used his various contacts to nefarious ends.”

Adrian held a hand to his head. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“In your shoes, I might feel the same. You’re free to go. We’ll let you know when you can return to the property.”

While Adrian was escorted from the mansion, Mac returned to Bobbie in the control room.

“How are you doing?” Mac asked him.

“How can you be so calm about this?” Bobbie asked. “Stephen’s dead.”

Mackenzie asked one of the on-site Legacy sweeper team to take up Bobbie’s position at the security center.

“Come on, kid. I have to show you something.” Mac led Bobbie to a secure area. Only a few trusted agents were allowed beyond this point.

“What’s going on, Mac?”

Mac opened the door and ushered Bobbie inside. Sitting on an elaborate canopy bed inside an elaborately designed bedroom was Stephen Webb.

“What? How?”

“We don’t know. We’ll do a battery of tests,” Mac said. “Strange occurences have been happening inside the Legacy for years. But this has to be the most amazing thing I’ve seen.”

Bobbie poked Stephen to make sure he was real and not a figment of his imagination. A nurse took Stephen’s blood pressure as Mac and Bobbie approached.

“Welcome back from the grave,” Mac said to Stephen.

Stephen chuckled. “Crazy, isn’t it? This is only the second time it’s happened, and I can’t get used to it.”

“Second time?” Bobbie croaked.

“Yeah, Octavia shot me earlier in the day. The bullet pushed out of my body as if something was inside me rejecting it.”

“So, she knows you can do this?” Bobbie asked.

Mac answered his query. “She didn’t see him heal but she knows he got up and walked away from it. We suspect Octavia may have given him something, a formula she was working on. The symptoms didn’t display themselves until after his encounter with the Russian.”

“What is she doing? Trying to make super soldiers?” Bobbie asked. “That’s crazy.”

“No one’s said she’s working with a full deck. Because of her deception and realigning herself with Julian Black, we need to redo every security measure we have. She’s been inside the organization and seen too many things. She’s a dangerous threat to us now.”

Bobbie’s head was spinning with all he’d have to do in the coming days and weeks. 

“What’s the plan,” he asked.

“We’ll discuss that at a more secure location. Let’s just leave it with this -- we’re going old school.”

^^^

Dyan Ransom paced in front of Julian Black’s large mahogany desk She didn’t like this. She didn’t like this at all.




Ten Little Spies - episode bits out of context


Ten Little Spies

By Toni Walker

While Ethan Fairchild and his team evaded Julian’s men, Julian had other plans in mind. He looked to his new recruit, Cypher, a professional hacker, the best in the business. He’d needed his help on occasion and Cypher had provided it, at a price. But to Julian Black, head of the notorious Black Council, price was no object.

“Can you do it?” Julian asked with a tone that edged on hopeful anticipation.

“This is not hacking through a firewall, Black This is hijacking a man’s mind.”

“I don’t need your opinion on the ethics of this. Can you do it?” Julian’s tone turned lethal.

“If those little nano suckers flowing through his blood have any sort of wireless signal, I can gain access to it. It might take a while to decipher the gibberish in his brain, thought. We’re breaking new ground here. This has never been attempted.”

“I need you to do this as fast as you can. It won’t be long before Ethan will require a refresher of the ATP cocktail Myers shot him full of last week. As you being to tax his nanites, Ethan may become weaker. It’s a drawback we’re just going to have to be aware of. I don’t want you to kill him. I need him alive.”

***

"Mac got Gia, Rudy and the others in stasis out of the basement,” Bobbie said his voice filled with relief.

“What about Jared?” Stephen asked.

“He and Kaye went after Alison & Dare. We’re not sure of their whereabouts,” Bobbie said.

“These sudden disappearances are starting to freak me out. First Alison and Dare and now Ethan.”

“What are you talking about? I thought he was looking for an egress route,” Stephen said.

Bobbie’s confidence was shaken. “That was over an hour ago and he still hasn’t contacted me. Not even wirelessly. I’m worried this sudden extended use of his nanites may be draining him. The last time he nearly died when the mini machines began feeding on his energy reserves. Myers didn’t tell us when he’d have to be dosed again. All I can say is, the sooner we can get back to HQ and deal with this the better I’ll feel.

***

Dare Ransom wasn’t sure what Black wanted with him, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let the bastard get the better of him. 

Alison was still beside him. She hadn’t moved since the gurney was wheeled into this fake ambulance façade. If he didn’t miss his guess, Black had made the mistake many had by confusing the identity of Alison and Kaye.

He’d never fallen into that trap. Their personalities were so different it was easy to tell one from another. But then again, he’d been married to their sister, Dyan for years.

“Everything’s going to be all right, Alison. I’ll make sure of it.” Dare whispered in a voice filled with emotion. She didn’t deserve to be pulled into the middle of this. He, however, had known this day would one day come, the day he’d have to pay for his mistakes.

He did love Dyan. He truly did, but she’d been pulling away from him for years. He’d always expected she’d been seeing another man. He’d never had the time to investigate his theory. But the theory was enough to spur him into a mistaken relationship with Kaye who was unstable and edging on the side of delusional. She’d blown up in her mind their few brief encounters into a love affair of epic proportions. When this was all over, he’d suggest professional help. Until then, he just had to keep them all alive.

When the ambulance came to a halt, the hair on the back of Dare’s neck stood on end. He wasn’t sure what to expect when the doors opened but he’d been through this sort of thing enough times to expect trouble.

“I wouldn’t resist,” the driver whispered through the partition. “Those guys are just looking for a fight.”

Dare wasn’t sure why the driver had sympathy for their situation, but he couldn’t afford to trust anyone. Trusting the wrong people was a death warrant.

The guard who opened the door couldn’t have been more than twenty-five. He clutched a semi-automatic in both hands and waved it in the direction of a three-story brownstone. The building looked like much of the architecture in London, so they couldn’t have gone far. All he needed was an opening to get him and Alison into the tunnels beneath the city. Once there, he knew he could easily get them back to safety. 

“How can you be so calm? Alison asked her high pitched soprano voice didn’t fit with her smoky-eyed bombshell appearance.

“When I see a threat, I’ll let you know.” Dare mumbled. Then a guard shoved him from behind causing him to stumble forward.

“Get moving,” the guard ordered.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you want, hotshot.” Dare assessed his restraints as he stopped suddenly bumping Guard Number One. Guard Number Two leveled a pistol at Alison’s head.

“Do that again and I’ll put a bullet through her pretty little head.” Guard Number Two looked pleased with himself when Dare backed away.

They led them to an empty room on the first-level. The door wasn’t particularly strong, and all Dare had to do was bide his time until an opportunity presented itself.

Alison punched Dare lightly on the shoulder. She wasn’t strong like her twin sister, Kaye. “Let’s not try to provoke the soldier wanna-bees, all right? I don’t want one of them accidentally shooting my foot off.

Dare chucked.. “Nice to see you’re back in good humor. Most of the drugs must have worn off.”

“When I woke up this morning, this was not how I planned out my day.”

“It wasn’t high on my priority list either.”

“I hope you know of a way to get us out of here.”

Dare stared at her thoughtfully. “I’m working on it.” He liked to work on the fly. And Alison knew better than anyone how he could get himself out of a jam with only a paperclip. She didn’t see any nearby, but she knew it was only a matter of time.

“What do they want with us?” Alison asked as she watched Dare check for escape routes.

“No clue. I’m not really interested in why.” He found a loose large stone near the floor. It opened like a doorway. It was big enough for Alison to crawl through but not Dare. “We have to get out of here before they move us to a secondary location. Crawl through here and find help.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Alison protested.

“I’m a big boy. I think I can handle it.” He rubbed her arm in a comforting gesture. “Please, Alison. Go. Save yourself.”

“No.” She tried to object more but Dare shoved her feet into the opening. He was much stronger than her and before she knew what was happening he’d pushed her completely through and closed the opening.”

“Dammit,” she screamed pounding the rock wall. “Why did you do that!”






Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Cloak & Dagger - Episode 13 - Who To Trust?



Episode 13: Who To Trust?

Gia Doyle didn't realize her current actions were most unlike her but since she had the mysterious microchip extracted from her brain her personality had drastically changed.

"You don't need to do this," Will Daly said. "I was happy to wait for the landlord."

Gia smiled. It was an expression she had rarely used in the past. And if any of her usual co-horts had been around to see it, they wouldn't have believed it.

"Henry isn't the most reliable soul," she said. "Let me do this for you. I can afford it."

Will agreed but it was silently understood that this conversation was not over. He liked paying his own way but with his billfold locked in his apartment, he was at Gia's mercy. Not that it was a bad thing. He kind of liked the idea of being trapped by Gia.

The boutique where Gia had an account was fancy and high end. They had selections for both men and women but mainly focused on corporate attire. The sales lady whisked Will off while eyeing Gia warily. It was obviously Gia had been there in the past being her former rude self. So, obviously, The entire staff jumped to help her.

"How can I assist you today, Ms. Doyle?" a young, pretty blonde said with a slight fearful hitch in her voice.

"I'm not really here for me. I'm just trying to get Will on his way. But I wouldn't mind checking out some of those fall outfits." 

The blonde glanced from the clothes rack and back to Gia.

"Really?" Her voice was skeptical. "Is that really your style?"

"Oh, sure. They look very cozy. And I'm all about being comfortable."

That fact was news to the sales lady. She'd obviously waited on Gia in the past and was used to her clipped, angry tones and sharp orders. She flipped through a stack and found a warm berry and burn orange selection that went perfectly with Gia's dark auburn hair and skin tone.

"Oh, that's wonderful. What about a couple of pairs of jeans too? I don't seem to own any. I'm not sure why."

The sales lady, named Sallee, raised a curious eyebrow. "Ma'am, you usually only buy severe suits and corporate clothing. I'm not surprised you don't own a pair of jeans."

The two of them spent a good half an hour looking through the store's casual section. Gia had a near cart full of warm winter tops, jeans and sweaters, not to mention a couple of make up palettes she just couldn't manage to bypass without buying.

"I have to say, Ms. Doyle. This is the loveliest experience I have had working with a client."

"I"m glad." She handed the girl her credit card. "Make sure and put Mr. Daly's purchases on here as well."

Sallee ran back to the men's dressing room to find the prices. She was only gone a moment before letting out a blood curdling scream. Gia ran to investigate and found a blood drenched body of a sales lady and red hand prints on the mirror in bloody smears that suggested a dire scene had taken place inside the dressing room. 

She placed a calming hand on Sallee's shoulder. "Call the Constable and a medic immediately." 

Sallee gave her a glassy-eyed nod and rushed off happy to oblige and leave the messy scene.

Instinct told Gia that this crime was personal. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the only person she thought she could trust. "Philip? I have a situation."

***

Chandelor Knight may have been stored away in an alternative location inside the Knights Foundation mansion but that didn't necessarily mean he was safe. Liz Hunter and Bobbie Sullivan maintained their charades. Liz as the Gia wanna-be and Bobbie as Chandelor. Faith Fairchild knew what was going on but Liz and Bobbie both had reservations about her. They didn't know how far they would be able to trust her. She had many issues in the past not to mention she was currently sleeping with the enemy and had been for months. Could she have been compromised too?

Unbeknownst to Faith, Liz or Bobbie, Daniel Fouts had a bigger plan up his sleeve. While Fouts diistracted them, a second team stealthfully stormed the fortress and went straight for Chandelor.

***

The little girl in the dream sequence with the Madam Zolton card quickly faded away and he was once again in the hallway of The Legacy lying on a gurney with unfamiliar faces around him.

Something was pulling at his energy reserves. Something was controlling him and he had no power to stop it. Suddenly his mind wandered to another time. A time when he was young and also had no control over his life.

Ethan Fairchild had spent his entire existence trying to recover from scars endured from a childhood fraught with fear, anxiety and trembling. Father Macaire Ambrose and his aunt on his father, Franklin's side, Sister Mary Rosa had brought on much of the fear, much of the torment,. All in the name of a faceless God he could not, no, would not identify with.

He had never felt this vulnerable or weak before. As a spy he had trained his mind to deal with unusual scenarios, things normal people would think unfathomable. But he didn't flinch.

That was the job.

He knew it had successfully torn a huge hole in his heart but thew was no going back now. The damage had been done starting with Macaire Ambrose and his strict church doctrine. 

It was no wonder he had fled at his first opportunity when he was young toughing it out on the streets of New York then London. He ran as far from Macaire Ambrose and his aunt, Sister Mary Rosa as he could. If what Father Ambrose had to offer was religion, he wanted no part of it.

And in the end, it was this distrust of the system, of "the man in the corporate office," the powers that be, for his father to take advantage of his mindset and lure him into the life of a spy. Now that life was being drained from him. He could not only feel it but see it. It was as if the nanites were tormenting him, fighting against him.

As the gurney he had been hefted onto careened down the hallway, Ethan could for the first time feel his life slipping away from him.

***

Ian hated leaving the old man behind but he had no choice. The man promised he could escape on his own, but Ian wasn't so sure. He'd been imprisoned for much longer than Ian had he had. Ian wondered  if he had an ulterior motive for staying behind. Maybe he wanted ta showdown with Isidor. Ian wasn't sure but he knew a man with a vendetta when he saw one.

He pulled Athena down the dark corridor, but to him it looked almost as bright as day. It was like he had a sudden night vision.

"How do you know where you're going?" Athena gasped stumbling over the rough surface o the mine shaft floor. "It's pitch black and I can't see a thing."

"Trust me." I know what I'm doing," Ian said. 

Athena wasn't one to put a lot of weight in trust. Both her father and her sister had lived this nefarious double life she knew nothing about. She could hear the guard's worlds taunting her, telling  her how her father's decision were made to keep her in a lavish lifestyle. She tried not to let it get to her but she could sense a sliver of truth among the lies. And it was a truth she didn't want to focus on.

"You're lagging behind. Try to keep up." Ian's voice was gruff and determined. 

"The only way you're going to go any faster is if you carry me," Athena said. "so, why don't you give me a break."

"If you insist." Ian grabbed Athena by her thighs and threw her over his should like a huge sack of flour. Athena gave out a shrill squeal as she picked up his pace.

"What in the hell are you doing?" She pounded on his back.

"At the moment I'm close to my destination." He was beginning an almost robotic speech pattern and it  was freaking her out. "Pipe down. We should be there in a few minutes."

It was a strange phenomena. Ian had been near exhaustion before  being zapped with the stun gun. And now he suddenly had enough energy to power half of London. Little did Ian know exactly where he was getting his reserve of energy.


Next time on The Legacy: Cloak & Dagger:


Familiar Adversary - Episode 8 - Train of Thought


Part 8 - Train of Thought

"Where do you think you're going, little miss?"

The second man sounded younger, maybe mid-twenties. I hadn't seen his face yet, so I wasn't sure which bad guy he could be. I didn't think any of them were that young.

A face suddenly filled my vision. He had a shock of spiky hair colored in a checker board pattern of various dark blacks and vibrant yellows.

I know that hair. I created that hair for a very specific character and it surprised me that this character would be involved with the likes of a bad guy like Ian.

"No way!" I shouted. "Echo? You can't be evil!"

Echo laughed. "Evil? Of course not. I'm not evil. At least no more evil than you are."

Echo turned to Ian and smiled. "She thinks I'm evil."

That's when Ian came back into my view. He spoke to Echo but looked directly at me.

"That's because she thinks we're behind everything that is going on."

A third voice joined the other two. This one was a young girl's voice.

"Don't' you think it's about time you gave her the 411 on the situation? She is, after all, the creator of us all." The girl giggled. "The characters teaching the one who created them. That's pretty cool, don't you think?" This voice belonged to Evie Raines from my series, Legacy of Spies.

I was completely thrown off guard. What was Echo and Ian and Evie doing working together?

Evie pushed the other two away and leaned over me. I was pretty much stuck where I was since the trio had shackled me to the bed where I was still lying on my back. I could only see straight up.

"You know what," Evie said. "I have a bug to pick with you. Why is it that you gave all these spy guys episode after episode of exposure but I get barely nothing. And... AND... I don't even get to meet the cool, dreamy spy guys? I mean, come on! Who was I really going to hook up with on LoS? I think we all knew that Tony Wolfe was on his way out and I doubt Mac would give me the time of day not when he has both Nikki and Teresa to contend with. And, by the way, you never did tell me who my sister is."

Evie crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't think that was very nice of you at all."

All I could do was stare at her since my arms were still clasped in bindings. The thoughts running through my head were bumping into one another. I was trying to figure out why I wasn't' dead and why they were talking my ears off. I was also a bit concerned about how they had come to know of my intentions for other characters like Tony Wolfe. And why they had banded together in the first place.

Seeing Evie there opened up the possibilities even wider. This wasn't just The Legacy. This was Legacy of Spies too. And most likely my entire Legacy Universe had been affected. It was boggling my mind.

"If you're all not mysteriously evil like my other main characters... why am I still tied up?" I was really getting tired of lying here like a victim.

Ian came over and sat next to me. "I needed a captive audience. I needed time to explain my position."

"Explain your position?" I mocked. "What position? In my story, you were evil."

"No," he said, defensively. "You hadn't completely developed my character yet. I had the * possibility * of being evil. I even heard a rumor running down the train of thought that you even thought I might be the real Ethan Fairchild."

I wanted to turn away but I couldn't. I felt open and exposed lying on a table like a slab of meat.

"There's no way you could know what I was thinking."

Another voice joined the mix, one decidedly British. "We're all thought forms in your mind. And with a person like you with a vivid imagination ... those thought forms sometimes communicate."

The British accent threw me off for a moment, but seeing Nigel Bennett from Legacy of Spies almost didn't surprise me.

"So, you know about every decision I've made about plotlines and character histories?" I had to find out as much as possible before I attempted an escape. I was already working on getting my hands loose from the bindings.

"We remember things that you remember. And like you, sometimes the memory of plotlines past begin to fade. Every character in your Legacy Universe is struggling for existence. You're forgetting about us and we don't want to be forgotten."

My mind was still a little boggled about how Ian could know I thought about the Bulgarian Underground lab from time to time and had more than once conjured the possibility that the wrong Ethan had escaped. And maybe a cloned Ethan had been sent into my universe instead of the true spy guy.

"There had to be a reason why you resisted making me completely evil," Ian said. "A reason why you held out the possibility that I could be one of the good guys."

"Stop reading my mind, Ian." Speaking to these guys was beginning to get a little spooky. Now they were catching onto my immediate thoughts. I didn't' know if that was good or bad. I guess it depended on if they were truly good or evil.

The biggest concern I had at the moment besides getting home was "who brought me here and how much damage had they done to my storyline?"

"I know you're full of questions, but I have just one. If your favorite character is Kevin Fairchild, why did you make Ethan your main spy?"

They all stared down at me with enquiring eyes. It was a little unnerving. But I was almost free of my bindings. I had been working to loose them the entire time we talked.

I hated being put on the spot. How did they know that I preferred Kevin over Ethan? This must be another display of their mind reading ability.

Ian leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Seems like we're all on the same train of thought doesn't it?"

"I don't know," I mocked. "Were you expecting this?" I had freed my hands and punched at Ian's face. I imagined him crumpling to the ground and reeled backward. The shock on his face was apparent. I had moved him without barely a punch. And I knew that the punch hadn't caused him much pain.

"How did you do that?" Ian asked backing away slightly.

"My train of thought is just a little stronger than yours. And like you said, I did create you." I mentally froze them all to the spot and then ran out the back door. I was probably making a mistake but I needed time to regroup and decide what to do next.

Familiar Adversary - Episode 7 - Far From Normal


Part 7 - Far From Normal

Have you ever thought that if you went to sleep that when you woke up everything would be back to normal? I feel that way many times during my dreams. I don't know if you know this, but I'm notorious for having bizarre dreams. Maybe that's why I like to write fiction since I have such a vivid imagination. I don't know.

All I know is that I was dreaming of being strapped down, and then woke up and realized that I really was. The only pesky question running through my brain was the identity of who had captured me.

I hated being helpless especially at the hands of either one of those traitorous characters. But I was grateful for one thing... At least I was alive.

And another thing that kept my hopes up was the fact that my characters didn't seem as vicious under the influence of another writer's pen. If I had been her, I would have made them even more deadly than they already were. That fact made me question who was really behind this all. I knew it couldn't be one of the characters. They were make-believe. They didn't live, breathe or think for themselves. Someone else was pulling their strings. The question was... who?

I attempted to open my eyes a fraction of an inch in order to get a good read on my surrounds, but my captors, like me, seemed to be somewhat psychic, although, my psychic intuition hadn't been on my side lately. And I can't tell you how much it really sucks to have your own intuition go a little on the wonky side.

Ian Fairchild's intuition, however, happened to be working perfectly fine.
"You might as well open your eyes," Ian said in a rather smarmy tone. "I know you're awake." I could almost see the smirk on his face in my mind's eye.

I inwardly sighed. I almost think I preferred to be captured by Gia. At least I knew in what area her psychoses laid. Ian ... well he was somewhat of a mystery. I hadn't created much of a back story for him so he could possibly do anything. The only thing I could cling to was the fact that Ian had seemed somewhat normal before his past with Faith had been revealed. And that past had never truly been confirmed. Because if Ian was all that I imagined him to be... I could be in big trouble.

Not that I thought Gia would be a better option, mind you. Both options were equally nasty and depressing fixes to be in. And as it seemed Ian wasn't going away any time soon, in fact, from the smell of it, he was fixing breakfast.
"What did you two do? Flip a coin to see who would get to torture me first?" I struggled with my bindings to let him know that I wasn't happy about being tied up like a crazy mental patient.

"Nah!" he said casually. "The FO's came in to led me an assist against Gia. Thank you, by the way. We had no idea Gia's character had been compromised along with the main spy guys: Ethan, Kevin and Michela."

"Oh, no problem," I mocked. "I love helping a stark raving lunatic."
Ian chuckled. And to make it worse, that laugh sounded damn sexy. "Easy now, kitten. Let's not get carried away."

God I hated this. Not only did he sound like Ethan. He looked like him too.
"Why couldn't I have created an ugly evil twin? It's so much easier to hate someone who looks the part."

Ian came closer, standing over me. I could feel his breath on my cheek. "Was that some sort of backward compliment?" He quickly turned away, looking over his shoulder. "I think she's breaking down. Heck, I think she deep down really likes me."

I tried to see an evilness in his grin, but darn it! That grin was looking almost charming.

"I can't take this," I said. "If you're going to be evil, be evil! Don't pretend to be a productive member of society."

"Oooh," said a second voice. "She's a feisty one. Harsh, but feisty. Why don't you do her a favor and put her out of her misery."

I gasped. "Wait! There's no need for that." I struggled with my restraints. I had to get out of there and I had to get out of there now. I didn't want to imagine what they both had in store for me.

Familiar Adversary - Episode 6 - The Not So Real Ethan Fairchild



Part 6 - The Not So Real Ethan Fairchild

I knew there was something weird about my experience in the alternate world. I could not accept the fact that I would ever turn evil. I mean, come on... Me? Evil? How asinine a thought is that? I knew for a fact that I would never turn evil. And some Make Believe Me was not going to convince me of that fact either. My nemesis was not myself. That woman was a big time imposter!

I watched as she fired at me and Thornton with such gleeful abandon. There again was another reason that could not be me. I would never try to kill myself.

The bullet zipped past us going wildly into the bushes. She wasn't a very good shot. Neither was I. So in that aspect we were the same. Dang.

I glanced at her again. Her face was made up with a sparkly kind of makeup. Not my style at all.

I slapped Thornton on the shoulder. "I can't believe you thought that phoney was me."

Thornton fired back at the woman nicking her in the arm. "I had nothing to base the real you on, so sue me. There was no way I could really know what you would be like. I accepted what was put before me."

I shook my head. "I thought you were a better spy than that."

"Obviously not since you keep nixing my progress at every avenue."

I shot him a wry smile as the Other Me cried out in pain from the bullet wound. "You're going to pay for that!" she shouted.

He chuckled. "What is she going to do? Write a red herring into this strange mystery?"

"As soon as you're gone," she screamed in misery. "As soon as you're gone, everything will go back to normal."

"Everything?" I whispered to Thornton. I call him Thornton because that's the secret middle name I had given to my super spy character, Ethan.

In case you've forgotten the players in this mystery, Thornton is the real, flesh and blood Ethan Fairchild. Apparently, he's a bit perturbed at me since I've ruined his life by posting his story on the internet. How the heck was I supposed to know there was a ëreal' Ethan Fairchild? I guess I'm more psychic than I realize.

"I knew what used to be normal," Thornton said. "But you changed overnight."

"You mean she changed overnight. Not me. That is not me! How many times do I have to say it before I get it through your lunk head skull? That is not me, nor has it ever been me. She's an imposter."

I don't think Thornton was quite accepting my theory. I based this observation on the fact that the temperature had dropped about ten degrees in the last few seconds around the area where we were hiding. Men! They have such a hard time admitting when they're wrong.

"Can't you see that she's changing? Look at her. Even now, before our eyes, her wardrobe has become more dark and dastardly. She's revealing her true colors. Now that I'm here, I'm sure it's harder for her to maintain her disguise."
"Disguise?" Thornton looked at me with glassy eyes.

"Haven't you been listening to anything I've been saying? That woman is NOT me!"

I heard my adversary's gun discharge. And this time it came precariously close to my head.

"Watch out!" Thornton yelled, pulling me backward out of harm's way. "She means business. She wants us both dead."
I snuck another look at the Alt-Me. Her hair was beginning to change color now to a vibrant red.

"That's what I don't understand," I said. "Why would she want you dead too? I think she's created this alternate reality in order to keep you both together. She should want you to live."

"Maybe she's jealous of your relationship with me." Thornton gave me a smirk that for a second reminded me of Ethan's evil twin, Ian. But I shook that thought off quickly. I seriously did not want to delve into anything concerning Ian Fairchild.

"We don't have a relationship," I shot back after stumbling over the image of Ian swimming in my head. "I created Ethan Fairchild from bits of information deep in my psyche. If she was really me, she would know that."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it's most likely that she's someone from your past. You're her focus. She only wants me dead because of you. She's used my story to draw you into her web."

"You're crazy," Thornton said. "This is not about me. It's YOUR story!"

"Not exactly. It's my Legacy universe, but the characters have been altered. She's writing them in a new way, controlling them."

"Can't you get back in control of them so they're on our side?"
I smirked. "Oh, so now we're on the same side?"

I dodged another bullet and somehow landed in Thornton's arms. I began to push him away from me, but then I noticed something on one of his wrists. It was a red stain. A birthmark. Ethan didn't have a birthmark. So Thornton shouldn't have a birthmark either. The image of Ian came back into my mind screeching to a halt in my mind's eye.

I pulled back from him quickly putting as much space between us as possible.
"Oh, my God! Get away from me!" I screamed.

He could see that I knew his secret. "I can explain."

"No you can't. You're not the real Ethan Fairchild. You lied to me. You're ... You're ... Ian!"

I stumbled backward and straight into the path of one of my adversary's bullets. It came at me in slow motion as it slammed into my shoulder. The pain was immense but not as bad as the fear in my gut. I looked for a way out. Any other avenue to scramble to. It was then I looked at the one who had shot me. She no longer looked like me. She now looked like another person I knew.

"Gia?" I gasped. "You? Why is it you?"

I stumbled backward and tripped over a rock as both Ian and Gia advanced toward me. The rock caused me to stumble and I fell hitting my head on a rock. The last thing I remember before I passed out was seeing their feet so close to me that I knew I was soon going to be dead at the hands of one of them. Maybe they'd even have to fight for that honor.

I could only pray that I'd wake up alive by some miracle. Maybe someone would come to save me, someone I would never expect. Maybe another character from another story. Or maybe we would start this scene all over again and I would keep the knowledge that it was Ian and Gia who were in league together against me.

I don't know. If I wake up tomorrow, I'll find out.