Chapter three

Age: 18

"Come on, you gotta eat, girl." The burly guard urged, pushing the plate of steak towards the girl that sat on the small bed that was one of the sparse furniture of the dark cell. One wold not think that a person that lodged in such a cell would not be offered something as luxurious as steak. But this girl was not the ordinary prisoner, no, she was one of the elite, and for that, the guard knew better than to enrage her.

She shook her head; dark hair falling into her eyes as she did so. With a distracted manner, she raked it back with the hand that wasn't holding the files to the small lamp by her side. The guard sighed, torn between leaving her as she was, and forcing her to eat as per his superior's orders. She was surely going to starve herself to death, and her physique being slender did not help.

"Please, girl, Lincoln would kill me." He begged.

She shook her head once more. The guard stood there for another minute, shifting his weight between his two feet. Sighing for the umpteenth time, he left with a jiggle of his keys and the routine check of the lock on her cell. Silence now blanketed her once more; her favourite sound; next to Noah's voice, and Lincoln's laughter. The hand that was frantically scribbling notes on a separate page now stopped in their work. Noah. How long had it been since she had last saw him, heard him? Needless to say, Lincoln would not see her. She blinked, deciding that she would not let herself wallow in pity any longer, as Boss occasionally said, Why spend time thinking about your own misery when you can enforce it to others? Completely engrossed in her work, she failed to notice that there was a visitor standing outside those bars.

"You are going to kill yourself if you keep this up."

She forced the hand to continue scribbling. She forced her eyes to stay trained on the sheet of paper she was holding and not meet the eyes of the visitor, for if she did, she was sure that she would be obliged to do whatever he wanted.

"Eat something." The voice was tired, worn out even. She wondered how he had become so tired when just a few days before, she had been amazed by his energy capacity. Days before... Before the plan had been placed into its final stage.

"Rae..." he paused, and she needn't look up to see that he was twiddling with the loose thread on his immaculate suit, "If your name even is Rae," he chuckled bitterly.

How had the laugh become so bitter? So mirthless? Was it her fault? It had to be. As was those other misgivings that had happened so far; all her fault. And to think that she had once been proud of being the instigator. She attempted to write with the pencil she had in her hand. Scratch, scratch. Strange, nothing seemed to be coming out. The lead had broke.

With that sudden epiphany, she felt something wash over her. And she did what she had done those five sickening years ago when the rape had happened.

Age 13

"Wear these." The doctor ordered, his soft voice lulling her to do as he wished.

His outstretched hand held two articles of clothing, a blue skirt and a black shirt that read Sweetheart. She glanced at him.

"Oh, yes, I shall be waiting outside. Be ready in five." He paused, unsure of what to do as a parting gesture.

Settling with a small smile that seemed foreign on his face, he left Rae with the dressing. Placing both her feet gingerly on the ground, she marvelled silently at the touch of solidness beneath those soles. It had been months since she had gotten out of the bed and she wondered if she even remembered how to stand. One foot, the next. And she was standing. The floor was a little cold, but that failed to ruin the excitement from that simple maneuver. It took her a few moments to get her arm through the tiny opening of the sleeves and the next to figure out how to zip the skirt from the well-hidden zipper that the tailor had expertly hidden.

"Ready?"

She nodded, then realising that he could not possibly hear the sound of nodding, she proceeded to open the door, only to have the man open it before her. The fact that he knew when to open it startled her, proving that her suspicions of him were right all along. He wasn't some doctor that was working in this hospital. Surely he could not hear the soft yelling that the doctor and nurse had elicited before. So why?

He nodded to her and gestured with his right thumb and turned to walk in that direction. She followed his retreating back, glancing around in an almost furtive behaviour that she was glad drew no more attention to her than 'the girl that walked down the halls in a blue skirt and black shirt'. She felt the wind ruffle her clothing for a second when someone raced past her. A shaky exhale was heard from her as she realised that they weren't running to look for her, that she hadn't been caught.

A warm hand clasped around her thin shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. For a second, the overwhelming urge to punch the person who had a vice grip on her almost overrode her want to be inconspicuous. Seeing those green eyes of the man relaxed her somewhat as he swung the blue door before them open and stepped through it. More nurses and doctors racing around, pushing wheelchairs and stretchers in a frantic rhythm. It seemed so abnormal that the two were so slow in their movements as compared to those.

A sharp turn to the left and they were facing a silver door. The man punched in some numbers into the machinery on the side of the door and held it open for her as the machine beeped a confirmation. Her movements were too late and he glared at her slightly to urge her to come in.

It seemed to be some kind of lounge; sofas and a coffee table was set in the middle of the room, and a small kitchen and pantry was to the right of it. A large LED TV hung on the wall and the room was painted a bright sunshine yellow and plastered with paintings that were done by artists of all ages and expertise.

"Did you watch the latest episode of Bones? Yeah, hell, it was -" A doctor was speaking animatedly to his female partner, the two sipping coffee from bland white mugs as they spoke.

"Hey, there's a game on tonight. Anyone game at my house?" A young doctor offered, the twenty odd year old man asked his little circle of friends situated in the pantry.

The two walked on forward as though they were part of the crowd. It could have been the posture or the mien that they were exuding, but the two had someone made it past as if they had belonged there. Through a red door this time, and she was looking at a rather technical room filled with TVs and controls. The surveillance room, to be exact.

Now the man nodded to the woman seated at the red swivel chair facing a section of the TVs. She nodded back to him and cast a glance to the girl behind the man. The vague look in her eyes showed curiousity. She leant forward to him and the whispered something, keeping her eyes on the floor all the while. The man nodded back to her and she smiled briefly, though looking forced.

He turned on his heel and walked down the little lane of flashing TV and rows of people on swivel chairs of all colours to another door of red. The girl wondered if she was to follow him, after all, he had seemed to have forgotten all about her. Seeing the pause that the man had in his step told her that she was, indeed expected to follow suit, and she scurried along after him.

A blinking green light caught her attention in her peripheral vision, and when she looked at it, she found it was in the shape of a palm. The man held his out to it and placed it on the square board that had the palm etched into it. A small beep, and the man leant forward so that a green light shone in his eyes. A robotic monotonous voice spoke a code and he whispered one back. The red door that looked like any normal one swung open on its own hinges and revealed something bright.

It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the luminosity and then another moment to realise that she was staring a room. Filled with people that were walking in a faster pace than even the doctor's and nurses's in the hospital. It had to be some sort of lobby, for there were two flights of winding stairs that led to the upper floor that was half covered by the top of the door.

"Get in." The man said, reminding that gawking was rude. If you could count staring at the scene in front of her with blank grey eyes and a bored expression gawking.

She stepped in, and the door closed behind her soundlessly. She did not know what to expect, but having it be silent made her think that this was utterly surreal.

"Boss," several people said when they passed the man, pausing once to bow at him before scuttling away and resuming their chatter with their partner.

Boss? Did that mean that he was the boss of this... This... Organisation thing that they were in? She did not dare to glance at the man, feeling even more intimidated by him than before.

"As you would have guessed by now, this is an organisation. And to cut to the chase, as I am not one to beat around the bush like many others, it is to fight crime." The man suddenly said, as the girl's eyes roamed over every little circle of friends that dotted around the 'lobby'.

The girl remained apathetic, much to the man's delight, for he continued with his much needed explanation.

"This organisation is called Veritas," His deep voice was rather soothing, "as you might know, is the Roman goddess of truth. What my organisation does, you can think of it as some work by the police, or a detective. We do work akin to the CIA and the FBI. Needless to say, I am the leader of it, and you are to call me Boss."

Alright, and so he took me here to tell me that I was to be one of their organisation and be something like a police. Alright.

He searched her face for any signs, what she did not know, and looked mildly relieved.

"I shall arrange for a test for you tomorrow, so for now, I shall find a place of lodging for you."

He walked in the direction of the stairs, and she followed almost hesitantly. Any fears that she would lose him in the crowd dissipated immediately. For one, his build was more than enough to get him noticed. Secondly, the man must have had authority, for the crowd parted immediately into two perfectly straight lines. All kept their heads bent, and the girl felt some sort of embarrassment wash through her. A pair of blue eyes latched onto hers and refused to let go. Amusement clearly stated in it along with something that was familiar to her. Lust. A shudder passed through her, and with effort, she kept on her nonchalant attitude.

The moment the man stepped onto the first step, the neatly arranged columns fanned out into their usual groups with their friends as though their sudden formation had not happened before. The two climbed the steps, she kept a respectful five steps distance from him, and stopped two metres from him when he paused at a door and rapped on it.

"Come in." A cheerful voice remarked.

The door opened and from the small sliver of space that the massive build of Boss hadn't covered, she could see a man sitting on a chair staring at the Boss.

"Who is out there, Boss?"

"Our new entrant. Prepare a room for her. I shall take my leave." the man said, monotonous voice contrasting to the man's happy tones.

As the man turned to walk away, the girl followed. He was the only one that she knew in this place, and although she feared him, she knew that he was the safest choice right now. Those green eyes turned back to look at her. Glared.

"Stay with him. Do not follow me, do you hear?" Gone was the monotonous voice, and the anger present startled her.

Nervous laughter came from behind her. "Yeah, that's right, darling, stay here. Don't bother Boss." the man tried.

The glare soon flared more and she could only look away when the man behind her tugged on her sleeve. She let out a shaky breath that she didn't know she was holding. When she glanced up again the doorway was clear and she felt fear settle in more thickly for the man. The hand on her sleeve loosened and she turned to meet the man.

He looked nice enough, now that the Boss was gone, the girl noted carefully. Kind smile and clean looks and a fashion that screamed gay in flamboyant ways. The pictures on the wall only affirmed his sexual orientation. The twenty odd year old man smiled at her kindly, the smile that he flashed her was lacking in something that she had seen so many other smiles that other visitors that she had had given her. Pity. She realised how much she hated it now. How much she did not like being looked at like a poor rag doll that people discarded.

"Hello, sweetheart." She shuddered briefly, "My name's Eric. Eric Radley, and I am part of the Intelligence unit of Veritas." His smile widened.

Patting the chair next to him, he coaxed her into sitting, though thoroughly failing in the task.

"Hey, Eric, I'm heading out to the-" Another voice interrupted before the man could get out a word.

Glancing up, he waved enthusiastically like a child when they saw their bff. The girl turned slightly to meet wide blue eyes staring at her own. She had not felt his mien when he had neared her. And that was the thing that scared her most.

"Hey, beautiful," he muttered in a low tone that had the girl cringing. Whatever he had said after was tuned out, the sounds that were heard were not unlike those odd snuffed out sounds that one can hear if they were submerged in water.

The scent that the boy wore was the same as the rapist's. Cologne, and not the cheap type, but certainly one that was famous, though she was not a connoisseur in that area.

"Scream, 'oney, it only 'eightens the experience."

And that was exactly what she did.

Tick tick tick tick. God... How annoying was that clock? The girl shifted to cover her eyes with her arm, turning to the side to settle down in the warm comforter. Her right arm swung around lazily as she relaxed into the bed, to find that soft linen was met with her skin. That was not right, her bed was a single and although she had constantly begged her mother to get a bigger bed for her, the older woman had never agreed. Either her mum was being unusually kind or... She sat up in bed suddenly, all in one fluid motion that her usually graceless body succeeded in. Gone was the dream that she had. Gone was the previous thought that she had. All that she focused on was the sudden feeling of another person in the room. Who was he? And what did he want?

"Ugh... You are finally awake. 'Bout time, babe." A voice in the darkness spoke in a tired tone.

There was the sound of fumbling in the dark, in which some profanity slipped into. A light was turned on and the two that were in the room winced together. Blink blink. The girl finally adjusted to the light enough to stare at the boy that sat in the chair next to her bed. Light brown hair, and from what she could catch, blue eyes, which made her only more disgusted at him. Finished with the act of rubbing his eyes, he smiled at the girl. She noticed only then that the boy was the one that was staring at her when her and Boss were walking towards the stairs. Those eyes roamed her body and it took the girl some effort to remain calm. The boy raised his eyes back to her own and worry flooded it.

"Are you alright? You suddenly screamed, we had to knock you out with a sedative to get you to calm down. Hell, you must be on your way to being part of the field agents." Despite the boy's hateful impression on her, she decided that he had a nice voice, even better than the Boss'.

His eyes searched her's, and for a second, under the gaze of the lamp, they appeared violet. A calming violet that was unusual for most. The other eye was a nice shade of the periwinkle flower. A blink of those enchanting eyes and a smirk and they were gone.

"Like what you see, sweetheart?" He taunted, joking voice and smirk were the obvious signs that this boy was a egoistical fool.

He shifted his position in the chair - it appeared to be rather hard as he squirmed for a bit before settling - and gone was the bi-coloured eyes and they stayed as blue, though the left was slightly lighter, she noted. Despite all that, she decided that she hated him. After all, he had triggered the effects and who was he to act all chummy with her when the first thing he had done was to startle her.

"Sorry, didn't realise your circumstances before," he lowered his gaze apologetically and she realised that she had been staring at him all along. "I shouldn't have done that in that room..." the smile was tentative, and he looked like a kid trying to apologise to as spiteful adult after throwing a wayward ball that crashed into their window. "So, can we start over again? Fresh?"

The girl wanted to say no. Why did she need friends now that she had lost everything else? She turned a questioning gaze to him, wondering why he would offer it. Maybe he was like that man... He had to be, look at him. She snuggled closer to the blanket, dragging it closer to her chest.

"You look like you need a friend." He answered, as though he had just read her mind.

Either way, it looked like he was going to be one whether she liked it or not. Well, it could be one-sided for all she cared. It sure wasn't going to be mutual any time soon. He smiled when she allowed her head to droop down once and back up again. She decided that, like his voice, the smile wasn't all that bad. Friendly. Kind. Don't let him fool you... She blinked. The voices in her head were getting more and more frequent.

"Chael. A member of the Intelligence unit," he widened his already jubilant smile, leaning forwards towards her as he did so "Nice to meet you." He didn't extend his hand like most did when introducing themselves to another. He must have found out that she was afraid of contact. About time.

She noted dutifully that he had left out his surname. Like Hell she cared, anyway. She nodded at him.

It would take them a few months after to realise their importance in each other's lives. And when the time finally came, both would have looked back on this event as their best moment in life. The event that changed their lives drastically. For they both found someone that they cared for; that in a bleak life filled with destruction and fighting, there was a single drop of hope.