Park Central Hotel, Manhattan, New York. January 27, 2021
I stood by the window staring out at the stars that dotted the ink-black sky. Below were massive skyscrapers that towered high into the sky. They were lit up, bright, illuminating the city that never sleeps. Despite the very late hour, cars could be heard honking at each other and in a floor somewhere on the twenty-third floor of the hotel rap music could be heard.
It was a little after one a.m. in Manhattan which meant that it was just after eight in Geneva, Switzerland. I'd stayed up later than intended given that we had a briefing with local police at nine in the morning but it had been necessary. Before I'd left Switzerland, I'd promised to call Cedric once I'd gotten settled in New York. And there I was, my duffel bag sitting at the foot of my bed, my case files spread out across the small table. I was as moved in and settled as I was going to be.
The conversation with Cedric was one I was dreading. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he now knew that Jessie Collins was just an alias for Melanie Clarke-Briar. Not only had he had the entire day at work to find out as much information as he could, he had also had the night to stew about it and think hard about what he'd learned. I knew that he normally woke around seven a.m., went for a run, and returned by eight where he gave himself an hour to get to work for nine. If my predictions were right, then he was just getting in now.
I dialed his number on my untraceable cell and waited for the call to go through. I started pacing the room, trying to get the nerves out of my system. It didn't take long for him to pick up.
"'Lo?" He sounded out of breath.
"Hey, Ced."
A pause. Long, like he was debating on whether or not he should hang up. "You called."
"Did you think I wasn't going to?"
"It's been a weird twenty-four hours. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, Jess—or should I be calling you Melanie?"
I hesitated and went to sit on the bed. I felt like my feet were about to give out beneath me. "Whichever you prefer."
"Hmm."
"So...you know."
"I know." There was some shuffling and then the sound of him scraping a chair back against the floor. I could picture him sitting at our kitchen table, the bowl of fruit in front of him, a newspaper grazing his elbow, and his hand wrapped around a cup of coffee. "I know everything."
"I expect you have questions," I said.
The line went silent for a moment. I waited patiently. "I don't even know where to start. You're a terrorist. I should be turning you in. There are outstanding warrants for your arrest in France, the United States, England, and Germany. You've killed so many people. CIA and MI6 agents, prominent businessmen. There's a surveillance video in your file that shows you and that guy who was in Helena's office yesterday breaking into a corporate building in Bristol and opening fire on innocent workers. Care to explain that?"
This was the major issue with my personal case file. Helena had divulged the information to me one day and it was, for the most part, very incriminating. Aside from lamenting on my parents' work connection to Scorpion, it read like a book where I was the villain following in my parents' footsteps and those who'd died as a response to my actions were all untrained civilians or innocent agents.
My file had downplayed the connections to Scorpion. Thanks to my father, there was a close circle of people who knew concretely the names of business men, like Randall Walker, who worked for Scorpion. But to the outside world, the names we had were only mere speculation so instead of helping my cause, they more accurately hindered, drafting shadows of doubt which shrouded my file.
Some people knew the truth. The CIA agent who'd let me leave the States five years earlier was one. She'd sent me on my way with a warning about who, aside from Scorpion, was after my neck. Of course, now that she was out of office, my head was once again on the chopping block here in American but that was really nothing new. MI6 had, for the most part, had stopped pursuing me but I doubted that they would let me off if I just so happened to turn up on their doorstep.
"It's a long story," I said. "I asked you before not to judge me until you've heard the whole thing. I'm not saying I didn't do the things that you read about because I did. But it's not what you think, Cedric. I'm not a terrorist. I'm not hateful or cruel. I didn't kill for enjoyment but rather necessity and self-defence. If you hear what I have to say and never want to speak to me again, fine. I'll vanish out of your life forever and you will never once see my face in front of you."
Cedric breathed deeply on the other end and I could practically hear him weighing the options to hang up on me or to listen to what I had to say in his head. Finally, he said, "Well, go on then."
And I did.
I told him everything. How my father had met Randall Walker during his time at Oaks Academy and had willingly agreed to become a double agent within Scorpion for the GCCO. How my mother had been sent in to make sure he hadn't turned rogue and they'd fallen in love and had me. I told him about the plans for the biological virus attack designed to start World War Three and how they'd surrendered me to my aunt and uncle for safe-keeping as they sought to keep the blueprints out of Scorpions hands.
Then, I told him about how I came to be at Oaks. I lamented briefly about my time at school and the attacks on my life in my final year, how my mother had died in a hit-and-run and how after I returned for her funeral my father was murdered. I paced around the room as I talked, telling him about Wes being kidnapped, setting my father free and saving my brother, killing Randall Walker in the process. Finally I told him about how, after Wes had been saved, the hospital my friends had been recovering in was bombed and not everybody made it out alive.
As I'd spoken, Cedric had been completely silent, listening intently. I knew he was making internal notes, dissecting every word and turn-of-phrase that I used. But he was listening and, I hoped, accepting what I had to say as true.
I ran out of things to say. My story was done and the ball was now in his court. It was me holding my breath now, waiting to hear what the verdict would be and whether or not I would need to be keeping a low profile to avoid getting caught by local police or CIA agents here in Manhattan while we looked for Daniel.
I listened to Cedric breathing on the other end of the line. I stayed silent, giving him a moment to process all that I'd said. My heart was racing erratically within my chest, beating so fast that I worried I might go into cardiac arrest.
"Helena can corroborate what I've told you," I said after nearly two minutes of complete silence. "I told her the exact same story when I first came to the GCCO. She did a bunch of research, went through other government channels and agents and managed to piece together that what I said was true."
"There's no need for that," Cedric said. "I believe you."
"You do?" Even I could hear the surprise in my voice.
"Yes. I've been living with you for the past six months and covering you for a year. I know how you sound when you lie."
I swallowed thickly. "Oh."
"I do have questions," he remarked.
"Ask away."
Cedric paused. "What are you really doing in New York? What case are you working and why did it take you so long to get there?"
These were not surprising questions to me. I'd expected them of him. "Did you come across anyone of the name Ortiz in my file?"
"Yes. Two CIA agents. Most of the information surrounding them was redacted."
"There's a reason for that." I walked to the bed to sit down. It felt like my legs were about to give out beneath me. "They were friends of my birth parents and when my aunt and uncle took custody of me they left the agency to raise their son and watch over me in case Scorpion found out who I was and tried to kill me. They had a son my age and Daniel and I were thick as thieves growing up. We were rarely apart. And then I went to Oakes but couldn't tell anyone I was leaving behind where I was going or why. So Daniel and my family assumed that I was dead. They believed that until the year I graduated and went home because my mom had been murdered.
"When I turned up again a few years later he hated me. And then my brother got kidnapped and suddenly we were working together trying to get him back alive but things were different. He got injured because of me. He was shot the night that we broke my father out of Scorpion's prison and I left him to recover in a hospital as I went to get my brother back. I told you that the hospital was bombed and not everyone made it out. Daniel didn't make it out."
Cedric sighed. "Melanie, I'm so sorry."
It was the first time he'd ever said my real name in a manner that was directed at me. The effect of it was almost unnerving and for a moment I was silent. It was almost strange how easily my name flowed from his lips, almost like he'd been calling me Melanie the entire time he'd known me and not Jessie.
I had to clear my throat roughly before I could continue. "The other day when we were in Helena's office...those MI6 agents were friends of mine from school. They were there through everything that happened five years ago. One of them was covering that string of bank robberies throughout the UK and got photo evidence of the group pulling off the heists and it was Daniel."
"You just said he was dead."
"We thought he was. This is the first time we've figured otherwise since the night the hospital was bombed. His body was never recovered from the wreckage. He was just gone and we assumed that he'd been vaporized in the blast. Clearly, we were wrong."
"Holy shit," Cedric said.
I almost laughed. Not because it was particularly funny but because the situation was so completely absurd. "You can say that again. The photo was taken in New York which is why I'm here. We figure that whoever pulled Daniel out of the wreckage are trying to get to me. We haven't seen or heard from him in five years which is the same amount of time that Melanie Clarke-Briar has been off the grid. We think they might be using him to lure me out."
Silence. Cedric's even breathing was all I could hear so I knew the line hadn't been cut off but it was clear he was not fond of this idea. Still, it made sense from nearly every angle and it was the path I was going to pursue.
"As for why it took me so long to get to New York after leaving Geneva—we took a detour to tell my brother and Daniel's parents that their son is alive," I finished.
"You know," Cedric said conversationally, "the biggest secret any of my previous girlfriends have ever told me was that one of them was a Virgo and not an Aquarius. Apparently because I'm a Scorpio, I'm not compatible with an Aquarius and that was a big deal to her so she lied. I can honestly never say that I've dated anyone with as many issues as you have, Melanie. This is the sole reason that I do not date people in my job field."
I bit back a laugh. "I'm an Aquarius. Guess that just makes the whole situation even worse, doesn't it?"
Cedric couldn't hold back his laughter but I got the sense that his mirth was stemming more from a place of shock than because the situation was actually humorous. "Of course you are. I don't believe this..."
"I'm sorry for lying to you." My tone leaked of sincerity. I just hoped that he could hear it through the phone. "I never wanted you to find out about who I was this way. I actually never wanted you to find out at all."
"It's okay, Melanie. I—I understand why you had to do it. I don't necessarily like the fact that you lied to me but I do understand it. It was for your safety and for the safety of those you care about."
"Yes. I wish things were different."
"Me too. But, since they aren't, we need to figure out what we're going to do moving forward. How can I help?"
Astonishment. That was the emotion that flowed through my body. I lurched to my feet and started pacing again. "Help?"
"Mm hmm."
I was instantly touched. This must have all been such a shock for him and yet here he was, handling with an ease and skill I in no way possessed. I felt like a bull in a china shop, just running through trying to get to the other side while breaking everything in the process. Cedric was nimbler, able to pass by the china without breaking a damned thing.
But how to utilize his talents...
My mind threw up a blank wall. I wasn't even sure how we were going to be investigating this case yet and I knew that I would need to bring Lia and Max into the conversation on Cedric offering his assistance. He was a wonderful hacker and analyst, almost on par with even Tasha who was the best computer technician I'd ever met.
"Um, can I get back to you on that? We have a meeting in the morning with the local police force who have been investigating the case so far. I'll see how much they have and where we need the most help."
"Morning?" Dawning realization coloured his tone. "I'd forgotten about the time difference. What time is it in New York?" The clock read just before two a.m. and after I reiterated that to Cedric he said, "Get some sleep and call me later when you have instructions for me. We're going to bring your friend home, okay?"
No emotions would ever be able to describe the relief and the thankfulness I felt towards Cedric in that moment. Most agents would turn their backs, or turn me in, for a situation like this. But Cedric was one of a kind and somehow I'd been lucky to find him in this crazy world.
"Okay."
"And Melanie?" he said just before I went to hang up the call. "I love you."
I smiled as I came to a stop in front of the big windows. My eyes roamed the city and it was as if I could feel him standing there next to me. "Yeah, you too."