I could feel my breathing getting shallower as panic set in.

"Aspen," Catherine said worriedly, watching my features shift as she slowly moved towards me, "this isn't what you think."

"Isn't – isn't what I think?" I stuttered, inhaling sharply as I tried to pull the reins on my emotions. I narrowed my eyes and clenched my jaw, struggling against the restraints that held me in place. "What am I supposed to think right now?" I asked incredulously, my voice growing louder with each word. "Everyone here thinks that I had something to do with the alarm last night, all because I'm related to you, and considering it was my father who somehow broke into the Division unseen, I'm starting to think that maybe they aren't wrong for having trust issues. After all, someone had to help him get inside."

By the way that Joe's skin paled and his eyes widened, it was clear that Catherine hadn't told him the truth about what'd gone down last night. "Damon was here?" he asked in disbelief, his gaze shifting towards Catherine.

And even though I expected her to be angry that I'd let that bit of information slip – to narrow her eyes or vehemently deny the accusations, she didn't.

Instead, she looked defeated.

"He was," she admitted weakly, her gaze on the ground and her shoulders hunched.

His gaze became murderous as he stepped closer to her. "And you saw him?"

Though she didn't flinch at the force behind his words, she swallowed thickly, nodding as she debated what to tell him. "He knew that once the alarms were activated everyone would be scrambling," she admitted, though I wasn't sure if what she was saying was true. After all, agents, especially skilled ones, were trained in the art of deception. "He also knew that I'd go to my office to oversee the grounds and act as the front line of defense within the building, because when I got there, he was already there."

"How did he even get in?"

By this point, it was as if Joe had forgotten I was there. His back was facing me and his focus was solely directed towards my mother as I sat silently, watching the interaction and soaking in any useful information.

"I don't know how he got onto the grounds unnoticed, but the timing doesn't add up. To get to my office that quickly, he would've had to scale the building, and while it's a possibility, I think he had help. Either he wasn't acting alone or – "

" – he had help from one of our own," Joe finished for her, to which she nodded solemnly.

The silence stretched on as they both considered the possibility that someone within Division 27 had helped Damon, but after a few moments, Joe was the one to break it. "What did he want?" he asked, and although it was an automatic reaction to the question, he immediately trailed his eyes over her in search of any wounds or bruises.

There was a flash of intensity in her eyes that faded as quickly as it'd appeared, and while I couldn't grasp what it meant, that didn't stop Joe's eyes from widening in understanding.

"Look," I interrupted, bringing their attention back to me as I rattled the chains that secured me to the chair, "I don't think you brought me here just to listen to the two of you discuss something that's clearly private, so for the love of god, just let me go."

Catherine's resolve toughened at my words as she looked to Joe.

"No," he said firmly, turning to face me before he stepped forwards to adjust the lie detector. "I brought you here because this," he gestured between Catherine and I, "has gone on for far too long. Now, neither of you can change what's been said and done in the past, but that doesn't mean you can't move past this."

"But – "

Joe held his hand up to stop me. "But nothing." I grinded my teeth together in frustration as I watched him untangle the remaining wires for the lie detector, but this time, instead of placing them on me, he motioned Catherine over and began to hook her up. "Your friends are worried about you Aspen, and frankly, I am too. Emotions are a part of us – they're what make us human, but when you let them affect the way you act and the way you think, especially in the field, they can be dangerous. You need to be able to trust the agents that stand by your side."

"How am I supposed to trust someone who seems hell-bent on keeping things from me?" I asked snidely.

"That's why we're here," Joe explained, pressing a button on the laptop so that the program started, a steady buzzing coming from the speakers as a flat green line ran across the screen. "Both of you will be hooked up to the lie detector – you, Aspen, so that you'll be able to see that it works, and her," he pointed to Catherine as he addressed me, "so you can get the answers you want and clear the air between the two of you."

I quirked an eyebrow in disbelief. "And you agreed to this?" I asked, glancing towards Catherine suspiciously.

She nodded. "I did," she replied, and when I glanced towards the machine, the line stayed level.

I sat back disgruntledly in the chair, still aware of the fact that I was unable to move. I wanted to believe that they were telling the truth, that this my chance to get answers, but with so many holes left in the puzzle, I didn't know what to believe.

I'd learned a long time ago that when something seemed too good to be true, it normally was.

"Okay," Joe said, getting settled in a chair across from me when I didn't question them further. "Now let's start off easy, what's your full-name?"

I stared at him for a moment before I responded. "Aspen Rigby."

The line on the screen didn't waver, prompting Joe to continue. "And how are you dealing with everything that's happened over the last couple of weeks."

"Just fine," I replied, giving nothing away in my expression. When the line began to climb high and dip low in rapid succession, Joe's features tightened. I shrugged. "If either of you would've believed that without the machine telling you otherwise, you need to brush up on your skills."

"Next question then," Joe said, brushing off my words as if they were nothing. "Why did you want to start training to become an agent?"

"I didn't really have a choice, now did I?"

"You did," he countered, "and you made the choice to get involved."

I toyed with my thoughts for a moment, debating on which answer to give. While I hadn't had any doubts about the lie detector's skills to begin with, it seemed to be working, but if they felt the need to convince me, it didn't matter whether I chose to lie or tell the truth.

"Because I wanted to protect myself," I ended up saying truthfully. "In the beginning, I didn't care much about helping the Division in any way, shape, or form. I just wanted to make sure that if I was attacked again, like I was that first night, I'd have a better chance."

"And now?"

"Now," I trailed, hardening my gaze, "I think it's about time for me to be able to ask the questions."

What I failed to say was that I was now emotionally, physically, and mentally invested in S.I.C.O, and even though the Gemini Clan were seemingly after me, I knew that I was only a small part of their plan.

And I intended to find out what the bigger plan was.

Joe nodded in agreeance, motioning me to ask away, though I simply quirked an eyebrow at him and shook my leg – which was still chained to the chair. "I think I'd be able to concentrate more if I didn't feel like a prisoner wearing these shackles," I drawled.

The hesitation that crossed his face was immediate, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. What did he think was going to happen?

"Let her go."

I concealed my surprised at Catherine's words, turning to see that while her features were impassive, her gaze was stuck firmly on me. Joe didn't question her however, despite his own wariness. Pulling a key from his pocket, he stepped forward, watching me carefully as he unlocked both my ankle restraint and the belt that wrapped tightly around my mid-section.

I could've leapt up from my chair in that moment and attempted a rush towards the door, but I knew it wouldn't have done me any good.

Besides, even though their approach was uncharacteristic, they were giving me a chance to settle the questions and concerns circling my mind, and I wasn't about to waste the opportunity.

Shaking out the ankle that'd been shackled, I took a few seconds to gather my thoughts before turning back to face her.

"Who is Damon?" I asked, cutting straight to the point, though before she could respond I continued. "And I don't want to hear some half-assed answer about him being my father. I want the full truth."

"He's a lying, manipulative son-of-a-bitch," she started without hesitation. "He's ruthless and he's conniving, and there's no doubt in my mind that he can twist the truth to convince those who fear him to do his bidding for him. And yes, he is your biological father, but as it stands right now, he's the sole leader of the Gemini Clan."

I gulped as she confirmed what I'd only guessed thus far; the lie detector staying level and undisturbed by her words.

"What happened then?" I asked, shaking my head as I trailed off. "How did you go from trusting him all those years ago to threatening to kill him more than twenty years later?"

"I was young and naïve," she admitted. The emotion in her eyes was evident as she struggled to keep herself together. We were behind closed doors, and with nobody to judge her, she was allowing her toughened exterior to fall. "I met him while on a mission and at the time I didn't know who he was. He didn't tell me about training as an agent or who he really was – he made up a completely new persona, and it was one that I slowly fell in love with."

"It was only when I caught him in a lie a year later that I grew curious and suspicious." There was a hitch in her breath before she exhaled slowly. "I found out he'd known exactly who I was the day he met me. Everything was a lie. He'd wanted to grow close to someone on the inside so that he'd have an alibi if things ever went downhill with his plans. By the time I broke it off with him and came clean to the Head of the Division I was working for at the time, he'd disappeared without a trace."

It was clear that Joe had heard this story before, as none of what Catherine had said seemed to surprise him. He stayed quiet as he sat next to her, though his expression pulled tightly with anger every time Damon was mentioned.

"And yesterday? Why didn't you call for back up?" I asked, pushing back the sympathy that began to settle in my chest as I thought logically. "You're supposed to be the one heading up the investigation to bring down the Gemini Clan, yet you hesitated when it mattered the most."

My gaze was drawn to the computer screen as the lie detector spiked slightly, and instead of being the result of a lie, it was due to the change in questioning. Her nerves were growing, and attached to the machine it was impossible to hide.

"If you're looking for a valid answer, I don't have one," she trailed, her voice losing conviction as her gaze dropped to the table. "At first I wanted to pull information out of him, knowing that I could use what I knew of him in the past to exploit him, but once you showed up, my only focus was keeping you safe."

"I heard him say that it didn't matter who died – he'd make sure to get what he wanted," I said, pausing as I flicked my eyes between her and Joe. "What is it that the Gemini Clan is after?"

Catherine didn't answer right away, instead taking a few moments as she debated what to tell me. "When S.I.C.O was first created over 150 years ago, the founders were skilled weapon crafters and ahead of their time with scientific advances," she explained. "They were trained to work deep undercover, collect intel from all reputable sources, and bring any usual information back to their labs for research. But one of their first trainees began to veer off track. He kept a low profile, but he saw things differently than everyone else – he saw how S.I.C.O's resources could be used for evil instead of good."

"When he was caught and sentenced to death, the foundation of the Gemini Clan had already formed, with other operatives working secretly on the inside. It took the founder's a long time to figure this out, but once the knowledge was out in the open, they started to tighten security. All their research went into lock down and their specially crafted weapons were hidden and replaced with new-age guns. As the years went on – with S.I.C.O growing larger and the Gemini Clan splitting off and going into hiding, the weapons became a mythic tale. One that some agents never quite let go of."

"And these weapons," I started, quirking an eyebrow, "S.I.C.O still has them locked up?"

Catherine nodded. "They're scattered around the globe, with only a few people truly knowing their location."

Her small evasions were enough to flip a switch in my mind. "One of them is here," I said, my eyes widening with realization, "isn't it?"

It would've been simple to deny it, but it was evident from the way she hesitated that I was on the right track. "Aspen – " she started carefully, as though she wanted to tell me the truth, but knew she couldn't.

"Look," I cut her off, "I don't need to know where it is, or even what it is. I just want to know how I fit into all of this, considering I didn't even know S.I.C.O existed until that first attack."

Catherine avoided looking me straight in the eye as her gaze moved to Joe – the two of them having a silent conversation. I noticed the way her features shifted. The way her jaw clenched and her lips thinned, but the longer I was left without a reply, the easier it was to read the signs and figure out the words they didn't want to say.

And the realization felt like a knife to the chest.

"Damon thought he could use my life as a bargaining chip to get what he wanted," I stated, my voice filled with dread.

"Yes," she responded bluntly.

My hands began to tremble as I looked towards the screen, hoping that the lie detector would spike and let me know that I'd been wrong – that her confirmation was a lie, but as the line stayed calm, my stomach rolled with fear.

I released a shaky breath as I gently pulled at the cords still attached to me. "I think that's enough," I said weakly, and neither of them stopped me as I stood up. I looked towards Catherine. "And I hope you know that this doesn't mean that I forgive you, or that I suddenly trust you. I still want Joe to train me, but thank you, for telling me the truth now."

"You know you can't mention this to anyone – the weapons, Damon, any of it," Joe said, sounding as though he was speaking for Catherine.

I nodded as I moved around them and headed towards the door. "I know," I replied, "and don't worry, I won't."

a/n: sorry that this is a little shorter than usual, but I didn't think adding another small scene was any use! Also, I know it's been a few weeks since I uploaded, but I was finishing up something else that you guys will find out about in due time, and I'm super excited about it.

In other news, I'm finishing up my internship at Wattpad this week and then I'm heading off to England for a week before university starts back up again. This essentially means that there probably won't be an update for the next two weeks, but I'm hoping that throughout the term I can at least get a few chapters up for you all!

Remember to leave your thoughts and predictions below, as well as vote if you enjoyed the chapter :)