---Personal Entry #273---
The room is spinning, but all I can do is write. I need to figure out the rush of feelings that are flooding through me at this moment. I have never felt so confused and lost before. Layne informed me that Dunn was still alive. Just hearing his name, so many memories, so much pain. I felt winded and had trouble breathing, the one person that I trusted had been keeping such a huge secret from me. The only word I can think of is betrayal. I wanted to scream, cry,disappear and slam my fist in the wall all at the same time. My mind is still a sea of unwanted memories, my energy level has soared and I can barely sit still. I think an hour or so in the gym might help. I need time to sort my thoughts out before I try to write them down.
--End of Entry #273--
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--Raine’s Journal--
--Personal Entry #274--
The room has finally stopped spinning, my mind is a little clearer but my heart is still heavy. I have no more anger although I do feel sorry for the punching bag I used during the 2 hour anger bashing session I just finished. I think the fact Layne didn’t tell me the truth about Dunn is what hurt the most, someone I had opened myself up to, someone I admired for her strength and courage lied to me, and it hurt. I am trying to understand why she lied to me, she could have told me the truth.
--End of Entry #274--
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--Raine’s Journal--
--Personal Entry #275--
It’s been a few weeks now. The atmosphere between Layne and I is hard. The air between us is so tense you could probably slice it with a knife. I’m having a hard time dealing with the fact that Layne lied to me and she’s having a hard time being around me. I don’t know what she’s thinking. Her green eyes look more sad and troubled than usual and I can’t help but wonder if I’m the cause. But I feel like I can do nothing for her because I am still trying to work out what my feelings toward her are. I can only feel anger and disappointment. In a place where you are only told what you absolutely need to know it was a comfort to know Layne would always tell me the truth. I feel that’s been taken away from me and I resent her for that. I know this tension can not go on for much longer, something has to happen.
My evaluation is in a few days and I need closure to this incident. I wish I could run away from my problems but reality is she’s going to be there always and I have to deal with it sometime.
--End of Entry #275--
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"So you told her." Cherokee asked, looking up from the paper work on her desk.
"Yes." Layne replied. Cherokee picked up her pen and began writing.
"Reaction." Cherokee asked, without looking up again.
"About what was expected." Layne shifted her weight, from one foot to the other. "The news wasn't well received."
"Will she be ready for tomorrow." Cherokee stopped writing.
"I believe so."
"I need more assurance than, I believe so. Is she still ignoring you during training?"
"Yes. She..." Cherokee cuts Layne off.
"You will fix the situation, Now." Cherokee looks Layne in the eyes. "The completion of this mission is imperative. Dismissed."
Layne left. She walked over to the security console.
"What is Raine’s Location?" Layne asked the operative sitting at the console. The operative typed Raine’s name in to the computer.
"Raine is in her room." The operative replied. Layne walked out of the main room towards the stairs that lead to Sub-level 4.
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Layne stopped outside of Raine’s room, the closed metal door giving off a chilling cold, Layne paused and thought briefly of turning away, partly, so she wouldn't have to confront the demons of her past. But mostly because, she didn't want to face the look of betrayal, Raine had given her earlier. She looked at the door and felt her chest tighten as her heart beat increased, she gathered up what was left of her courage and knocked on the door, knowing in her heart she was doing the right thing.
Raine answered the knock by turning up her stereo, the sound of Metallica boomed through the room as she turned her eyes back to her training sequence, sort of like a video game. She didn't want to talk to anyone and she had feeling it was Layne at her door. Raine let the harsh lyrics sink in, and she rocked to the music. Layne paused, and for a moment, was tempted to walk away and forget it, she listened for a moment as the loud music made her heart pound faster. Layne looked through the small window and saw Raine playing her training sequence, Layne closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breath. She opened her eyes as she pushed open the door and walked in, she went straight to the stereo and turned the music off. Raine twirled around in the chair to glare at her. Layne wanted to leave, but knowing if she did, Raine would never trust her again, made her stay.
"I just want to talk." Layne started her voice trembled a little. "To explain." Raine shot Layne a look, feeling the anger return, she tried to hide the hurt, but knew she was failing by the look Layne gave her.
"You've done enough talking." Raine replied harshly, hoping to intimidate Layne into leaving.
"Damnit Raine, I didn't want to hurt you. If you let me explain, maybe you will understand." Layne replied loudly, she slammed Raine’s door, so the whole Section wouldn’t hear this conversation. Layne started to pace and Raine strategically placed her silver and purple sunglasses over her eyes as she followed Layne’s movements with her eyes. Layne stopped pacing. She turned towards Raine. The level of her voice dropped, but took on a forceful tone.
"All I ask is, That you sit there and listen to what I have to say. Then, when I am done, You can condemn me or forgive me. It’s up to you." Layne stood in front of Raine. "But for now you will listen. Understand." Before Raine could object, Layne continued. "Before, I justify what I did to you, I am going to tell you a story. So you will understand that, my lying to you wasn't meant to hurt you. But to protect you."
"Protect Me." The venom in Raine’s voice increased. "You lied to me about Dunn being canceled to protect me." Raine stood up and stepped towards Layne, her face inches from Layne's. A cold fury burned in Raine’s eyes. "How could your lying to me. Protect me." Raine spat out. Raine pivoted around and sat back down. "Protect me from what. The big bad wolf." She added sarcastically.
"Yourself." Layne replied softly, as she walked over to the chair at the desk and moved it, so she could sit in front of Raine. Layne sat in the chair. She examined Raine's face watching for a reaction. When she didn’t get one, she continued. "I lied to you to protect you from yourself." Raine started to say something, but Layne stopped her. "No, you'll sit there and listen to what I have to say." Layne took another deep breath. "I knew, that if you knew Dunn was still alive you wouldn’t have been able to function. You..."
"How do you know." Raine interrupted . "I could've..."
Layne raised her voice again. "I know, because." Layne paused. She placed her clenched hands under her chin, and looked at Raine. "Dunn is the reason my sister is dead. He is the reason I was sentenced to death, and he is the REASON, I am in the section." Layne's voice took on a icy chill, that even Raine had never heard in her mentor's voice before. "Your life, your Family, wasn't the first Dunn had ruined. But if I have any say about it, It will be the last." Layne got up and walked over to Raine’s desk. She knew Raine eyes were following her but she didn't turn back around. She looked at one of the posters on the wall "I was sixteen when I first met Dunn. I didn't like him from the start. He had a sadistic streak, but he was willing to fight for our cause, so the group ignored that side to him. But if I had known then what he was
truly capable of. I would have killed him then. I wish I had." Layne stared to rub her scar and turned back to face Raine. When she continued, her normally nondescript accent became a very pronounced Irish lit. "When I was Eighteen, Dunn started showin' his true colors. He, my sister, Moira, and several other members of our IRA faction split from the main group, their actions were fueled by greed and not by the quest to free our people. Those who remained in the main group, ignored their actions, 'till it was to late. Dunn 'ad gone to far... And it was to late for me to stop him."
********************
FLASHBACK
"Rowan, We've a problem." A young man, rushed into the room, gasping for breath.
"Sean, with yew, there's always a problem." Rowan brushed a lock of her pale blond hair behind her ear and looked up at her cousin. She saw the frantic look in his eyes. Rowan stood up and placed her hand on his arm.
"What 'tis it, Sean? What 'as happened?"
Sean tried to catch his breath. He spoke in gasping, short intervals. "The little girl..." Sean grabbed his chest trying somehow to finish what he had to say. "The little girl..." Rowan started patting him on the back.
"What little girl, Sean? If yew, don't calm down. I can'a help you."
"The little girl." Sean coughed and finally managed to catch his breath. "The little girl, the one on the telly. The one that was kidnapped yesterday, and the nanny was...." Rowan interrupted.
"Megan St. James, the Daughter of the British ambassador. What a 'bout her?"
"I know who took 'er, and I know where she's at." Rowan's grip on Sean's arm increased.
"What. What did you say?" Rowan started to shake Sean. But before he could answer, she added. "The army 'as been tearing Dublin apart looking for 'er." Rowan looked him in the eyes. "Who, Sean. Who took 'er and where is she?"
Sean just said. "Dunn."
"My, God." Rowan let go of Sean and took a step back. She started rubbing her forehead. Her mind racing. She walked to her desk and picked up her 9mm Beretta. She chambered a bullet, clicked on the safety, and slid two extra clips into her belt. She put on her jacket and looked at Sean. "Where?" The rage in her voice, scarcely contained.
"Hogan's farm." Rowan rushed past Sean. When she reached the door, Sean added. "Rowan wait. 'Tis somethin' else, you need to know." Rowan paused at the door, but she didn't turn back around.
"What?"
"Moira is with 'im." Rowan spun around. She just watched him. "Moira is helping him. According to Ian, she's the one who killed the child's nanny." Rowan's gaze drifted to the photo on her desk, taken when Moira and her had just turned five. In the picture, the twin girls are having a tea party. Most people couldn't tell the sisters apart in that photo, but, if someone examined it closely, they would know Moira was the little girl with the pale blue eyes and Rowan was the one with the pale green eyes. Rowan's gaze returned to Sean. She turned back around, and without saying a word, she left.
Rowan walked up to the moldering cottage that was referred to as 'Hogan's farm'. Hogan's farm was a well used IRA hideout, nestled in the picturesque Irish country side, not far from Dublin. Rowan made no attempt to conceal her arrival, so that whomever inhabited the cottage wouldn't panic and hurt the child. She reached back, pulled out her gun, clicked off the safety and returned it to its hiding place. When she reached the door she called out. "Moira, I know you're in there. Open up."
The door open slowly revealing Rowan's sister Moira. "Row, what are yew doing 'ere? If Dunn finds yew 'ere, he’ll not be happy." Rowan looked at her sister, wondering how they could be so identical on the outside, but so different on the inside. Rowan pushed Moira aside and entered the cottage.
Once she was inside the entryway, she turned back towards Moira. "How could you be so stupid? Do you 'ave any idea what you have done? My, God. The daughter of the British Ambassador." Rowan grabbed her sister.
"Why? What could 'ave possessed you to do this."
"Let me go Rowan." She did what Moira asked. Moira started to laugh.
"Why do yew think. Dunn and me are going to make a bleedin' fortune off that brat. Her da is willin' to pay anything to get her back."
"Money, you did this for money." Rowan shook with rage. "The British army is tearing Dublin apart, innocent people, our people, are being hurt and killed. Just so Dunn can collect a ransom. You bitch." With an unexpected lunge Rowan grabbed Moira's hair, turned her around and slammed her, face first, into the wall. She wrapped Moira's hair around her fist and pulled her head back.
"Where is she?" When Moira didn't answer, Rowan slammed her head into the wall again. With her free hand, she pulled out her Berretta and pressed it into the small of Moira's back. "Don't make me ask you again." Rowan then whispered. "You might be me sister, but at this
moment, I’ll 'ave no regrets about killing you. Well?"
"The bedroom at the top of the stairs." Moira quietly replied. Rowan let go of Moira's hair and pushed her to the floor. Rowan headed for the stairs. She turned to her sister’s crumpled form.
"Moira for your sake, you better be gone by time I come down the stairs." Rowan with gun drawn continued up the stairs. When she reached the landing, she slowly walked over to the door. She paused next to the door. Listening for any signs that the child wasn't alone. She reached out and slowly turned the door knob. She opened the door just far enough to see a small huddled form in the corner. Then suddenly she slammed the door open all the way, just in case someone was hiding behind the door. She knew when the door hit the wall that the only one in the room with the girl. Rowan rushed over to the quivering form. She kneeled down next to the girl. The child started crying. "It's all right, I won’t hurt you." Rowan reached out and brushed the child's dirty brown hair away from her face. Rowan wished she had rung her sister’s neck when she saw the condition of the wee girl's face. The girl had a three inch gash on her forehead and a bruise that covered the whole right side of her face. She put her hand under the child’s head and lifted it up enough, so that Rowan could look the child in the eyes. "Your name is Megan isn't."
The girl spoke in barely a whisper. "Yes, my name is Megan." Rowan smiled at Megan to reassure her.
"Well, Megan. My name is Rowan." Rowan’s smile grew. "You know, like the tree. And I'm 'ere to take you home." Megan eyes lit up, and she wrapped her arms around Rowan’s neck and hugged her. Megan wouldn’t let go of Rowan, so Rowan had to pick her up, carried her out of the room and down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she started to put her down.
Out of nowhere a figure came rushing at her. She managed to push Megan out of the way, before the figure slammed into her. Rowan could hear Megan terrified screaming in the background. Rowan knew before she even hit the floor, that her attacker was Moira. Rowan struggled on the floor with Moira. Moira suddenly pulled out a knife. Rowan grabbed her wrist, trying to get her to drop it. "Moira it’s over. You don’t ‘ave to do this." One moment, Moira was sitting on Rowan's chest. Ready to plunge the knife into Rowan's chest. And in the next, Rowan had flipped Moira on her back, and had planted the knife deeply into Moira’s heart.
Rowan was only vaguely aware of Megan's sobbing terror, as she watch the life leave her sister’s body. She slowly stood up and looked at her sister’s blood on her hands. Rowan tried wiping her hands off on her shirt, but the blood wouldn't come off. She turn to the sobbing child. She walked over to Megan and kneeled down to try to calm her. Then she heard the smug, gloating voice."
"Tsk, Tsk, Row. Murdered your own sister, you did. And here, I didn't think you had it in you." Before Rowan could turn around, she was hit on the back of the head. The next thing she saw was darkness.
~
"Wake up." Dunn slapped Rowan's cheek. Rowan moaned as she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw, was Dunn standing over her holding the same knife that had killed Moira. "Welcome back to the world of the living, at least for now." Rowan wanted to smash him in his smug smile. When she tried, she discovered that her arms were tied to the cot she was laying on. Her struggling only managed to tighten her restraints. "Rowan do quit struggling. All you will manage to do is hurt yourself more."
Dunn sat down on the edge of the cot. He reached out and caressed her cheek. "You shouldn't have interfered, but what is done, is done." He begin to laugh. "I should however, thank you for eliminating your sister, she was no longer useful, and I do hate wasting bullets." He brought the tip of the knife up to Rowan’s chin. "Your interference has cost me a lot of money. And for that, you will have to pay. But, don't worry. I will not kill you."
"You, son of a bitch. You won't get away with this." Rowan tried to struggle free of her bonds. "Let the girl go." Dunn just laughed, as he jabbed a syringe in to her arm, and injected an amber colored liquid into her. Rowan stopped struggling, as the drug started to make her limbs heavy.
"Rowan you were always the fighter, but, alas, for you. You won't be able to fight your way out of this one." Dunn once again pressed the knife tip in to her chin. Rowan felt a sharp prick on her throat, but it instantly became a dull throb. The last thing she heard, before she slipped into unconsciousness, was. "Do not worry Row, the girl didn't suffer. But you will, for the rest of your life."
END FLASHBACK
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"Rowan woke up in a prison cell five days later. With a everlasting reminder of Dunn." Layne rubbed her scar. "She had been charged with the kidnapping, torture and murder of Megan St.James and the murder of her sister Moira. Rowan pleaded guilty to all charges." Layne walked over to Raine's bookshelf and picked up a book. "And, she was quickly sentenced to death. Which was carried out two weeks later. Rowan died that day, and halfway across the world I was reborn, as Layne. That was five years ago." Layne put the book back down, and she turned back towards Raine.
"At first, my trainer and the Section heads believed that I was guilty. By time it became apparent that I wasn't, it didn’t matter to them. I had proved myself as a capable operative, who would do anything to complete a mission. But I had one flaw, I had become fixated on Dunn, to the point of obsession. Not because I blamed him for what happen to me, but for what he did to Megan and all the other innocents lives he destroyed. I was given a choice. Either, get over it, or drastic measures would be taken. That was a week before, I jumped through that air vent and stopped Dunn from killing you. Training you helped me overcome my fixation, at least that's what the Section council seems to think." Layne walked over to the door and opened it. Before she left, she paused and added without turning back around. "But it didn't, it just made me more determined to see him dead. You think about what I have said here. There is a briefing at 0900 hours tomorrow. Don't be late." Layne pulled her leg up to rest on the chair, lifting up her pant leg she revealed a knife in it’s holster, she pulled the knife out and dropped it on the desk then left Raine in silence.
Raine picked up the knife, holding it gently, she walked over to her laptop, still holding the knife she placed it next to the computer then turned the computer on.