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.

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