Jessie made her way inside the Agency facility, her high heels clicking on the tiled floors.

She had no idea why, but as she'd packed her bags for Chicago that morning, she felt like dressing up. It had been months since she'd worn anything but flip flops and sneakers. Since Sam's wedding, to be more precise.

Almost a year. It's been almost a year. Afnd almost three months since Skye died. The thought still made Jessie cringe. She hadn't been there, and she hadn't seen Sam since. It was understandable since he couldn't travel across the country with a baby depending on him.

It still hurt and guilt smothered her every time she thought about it. She should've flown over for the funeral, even if he claimed there was no need. Not saying her final goodbye to Skye weighed down on her on top of everything else. 

But that day had come and gone, and now she was finally flying back to see everyone again. She missed them so much, and even if it would only be for a few hours, she needed it like air. It was maybe that which determined her to dress up.

Not like she was too fancy. She still had jeans on, a red tank top and a white blazer. It was just the high heels that made it look smart casual rather than sloppy.

I must be out of my mind. Why was she fixating on the shoes anyway? Probably to distract herself from another sketchy decision.

Her bag was packed and waiting for her in the car. She still had about an hour until she absolutely had to be at the airport. And that was why she couldn't leave without seeing Jimmy for the day.

"I have time," she whispered to herself.

People stared at her as she passed, maybe because she'd mentioned she wouldn't be coming in today.

This isn't healthy. Why can't you just have on day in which you don't see him?

Not like anything had changed. It hadn't in almost a month. Since that one breakthrough, Jimmy had been more absent than ever. It made her nervous, broke her into pieces. What if he was pretending and she couldn't tell?

It was maybe that which drove her steps towards his room. She threw a fleeting glance to her left, toward the large window looking into the research lab. It was more crowded than ever, everyone inside moving with purpose, their lab coats shining in the neon light. Clean and professional, like the entire complex, and yet they continued to fail.

Unless Jimmy was right and they weren't trying to make him better. What if they really were trying to test the serum on him? But it seemed unlikely when there were no physical tests involved.

One of the doctors stepped out and almost bumped into her. Jessie knew him. His name was Frank something and he was one of Jimmy's direct handlers.

"Oh, Jessica, I didn't see you there. Didn't you say you weren't coming in?"

"Hi, Frank. Yes, I know, but I just popped in for a short visit. I'm on my way to the airport."

Frank smiled, the corners of his brown mustache lifting. "I understand. Well, have a nice trip!"

"Thanks." She watched him walking down the corridor, wondering if he was in on it, if he knew that what they were doing wasn't helping.

Driving out all the dumb conspiracy theories from her mind, she entered the room which held Jimmy's cage. Her eyes scanned the glass block quickly and her breath caught in her throat before she relaxed. For a moment, it looked empty, but he was just on his feet, leaning against the darkest corner.

"Hi, Jimmy."

Usually, she would take her time approaching to make sure he wouldn't perceive her as a threat. Today, she didn't have the patience or luxury for it, so she just marched to the glass walls. The moment she reached one side, she placed her palm on the glass surface. She could still see the tiny chip he had made when he'd punched the wall almost a month ago.

Jimmy pushed himself in an upright position and came towards her, his eyebrows bunched up, his eyes dark and a little hazy.

Jessie gritted her teeth, bracing herself for a possibly violent reaction. Instead, he stopped only inches from her. She had to crane her neck to look him in the eyes. Very familiar eyes. He raised his hand and placed his palm over hers, the reinforced glass the only thing between them.

"No," she whispered. Her pulse thundered in her ears and her chest hurt from how fast her heart was beating. How desperately. This couldn't be happening now.

"What?" he asked.

She hadn't heard him speak in almost a week. "Jimmy, do you...?"

He tilted his head and it was obvious that he wasn't fully well, not the old Jimmy. But he was at least the one form a month ago, the one that would understand that he was a prisoner and they had to bust him out.

"Why are we doing this?" he mumbled, nodding towards their hands.

"It's a sign..." Her words were weak and pathetic, but she couldn't focus on proper conversation when her mind kept spinning madly. "How long since you've taken the meds?"

He stiffened, but didn't pull away, probably guessing that she had the information from him. "Four days," he answered.

Four days? He'd never gone that long without them.

"Why didn't you give me a sign earlier?"

He frowned as though he found her annoyingly stupid and it sent shivers down her spine. "Because you were weary, scared, mechanical. Just like them."

Yes, she'd been a lot more distracted as her trip to Chicago approached, aware that what they were doing was borderline dangerous. So much so that she'd botched her job in the most amateurish, horrible way possible.

"I'm supposed to be leaving for Chicago," she whispered.

"So?"

So of course he didn't know. He had no idea about the plan, about how perfectly it had to be put in motion. She could still call them, use the code, even pretend to fall on her high heel shoes. But she couldn't call from here. She needed to get out, to have privacy.

Could they come in time? Especially since she'd already lost three days? Would Jimmy still be aware tomorrow. Shit! She had no idea what to do.

Jimmy's frown deepened and he pulled away from her. "What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"I don't know what to do," she confessed, feeling like an idiot. "I've been waiting for you to be like this because..."

She faltered. She couldn't say this out loud in broad daylight. What if someone was listening in? But he had to know. So she pressed her forehead against the glass and waited for him to come close again.

"I was supposed to break you out and I'm not ready."

He leaned his forehead against hers, and even if she knew they were only plotting, the gesture shred her heart to pieces.

"You can't do it now anyway," he whispered. "And you can't do it alone."

"I know. But I was supposed to go to Chicago and talk to the people I need for this."

"Then go."

His words had her straightening. "What?"

"You need to get away from here." He gave her a very slow nod, then, out of nowhere, he hit the glass wall so hard with the heal of his hand, the entire cage rattled. "Go!"

If it hadn't been for the nod, she would've thought he'd lost it again. But it wasn't that. He was making it seem like he was raging at her to justify her leaving. He was helping her. The thought gave her enough strength to stumble back and stare at him with fear, all the while giving him a very slow nod of her own.

He didn't acknowledge the signal in anyway, but just by looking at him, she was sure he knew she'd gotten the message.

So she turned around and headed for the door. He had a point. She couldn't do this alone, and if she was fast enough, she could return the following day with the army she needed to get him out. All he had to do was hold the fort down for one more day, not take his pills. And she would make sure he wouldn't get the injection.

She would find Frank or one of the other regulars and ask them pretty please with sugar on top not to do it until she came back because she wanted to be there. It shouldn't be too hard. She'd play the helpless woman card. It worked every time on these assholes.

The moment she was out in the hall, her eyes scanned the inside of the lab through the window, looking for any familiar face. It didn't even last five seconds before she noticed there was a man in a blue suit among the white coats.

The moment he turned sideways, she dropped to her knees and retreated under the window to make sure she wouldn't be seen. Her chest hurt, her stomach twisted... This couldn't be. She was imaging it.

In slow-motion, she raised her head just enough so that her eyes could clear the edge of the window. He was still there. She wasn't imagining it.

It was Lee Hannigan.

Why the fuck was Lee Hannigan there? That guy had been accused of being a traitor and locked away. Herrison as well as everyone else at the Agency had claimed he worked for Snitch Gravel. And yet, here he was, talking to the men who were responsible for making Jimmy better.

Careful not to be seen, she crawled away from the window and stuck her back against the door. She knew the code for the lab too, so she reached out her hand and punched it in, then pressed her back against the door, pushing it open less than an inch.

Voices broke through into the corridor, hard to discern between the shuffle of coats and clinking of phials. But Jessie could never forget that wretched voice, so it was easy to focus on it.

"You're moving too slow," Lee was saying, his tone filled with smugness and displeasure. "What's stopping you from doing this daily?"

"We can't assess the effects if we keep changing the formula," one of the scientists said, sounding annoyed. "Clinical trials don't work like that."

"These are not normal clinical trials," Hannigan said between his teeth. "You should know that, and we want faster results."

If Jessie didn't know better, she would've thought Lee wanted them to double their efforts to make Jimmy well again. But she did know that the last person on Earth to insist on that would be Lee Hannigan, no matter the orders he may have received from the Agency. All he wanted was to keep Jimmy committed for as long as possible. So this had to be about something else.

Jimmy had been right. They were developing some drug and using him for testing. And she had to find out what. So she pushed against the door a little harder, just in time to see Hannigan disappearing behind the blue door on the far right of the room.

She'd never seen that door open, but now she had to know what was behind it. If her guess was right, it was where all the papers were stored. The real medical files she had no access to. All she had to do was wait.

Fortunately, Hannigan came back out pretty fast, one lone folder under his arm. Jessie let the door click closed and hurried under the window and around the nearest corner, praying that Lee would head for the exit.

The footsteps ringing down the hall seemed to indicate that much, so she got to her feet and walked to the lab like any entitled Agency staff. As she passed the window again, she did a quick headcount of the people inside she actually knew or had at least seen before.

There were some, but not may, so if she played this right, she could get in. All she had to do was walk through the door as if she belonged there. Eyes raised and followed her as she strode between tables filled with phials and other equipment, but no one said a word. After all, even if they were lying, they all technically reported to her.

The moment she reached the blue door, someone cleared their voice. Fighting to steady her heartbeat, she turned slowly to her left, a half-interested expression on her face. She'd mastered hiding her feelings and appearing sure of herself while running her company, so it was easy playing boss.

"Yes?" she asked. "Can I help you."

The man looked a little confused by her sense of entitlement. "You can't go in there."

"Why not?" she frowned, feigning confusion this time. "Lee asked me to get some papers for him."

The man faltered, maybe surprised that she was familiar with Lee, that she knew he'd been in there minutes ago. She didn't wait for any confirmation because she technically didn't need it, so with a nod of her head, she pushed the door opened. It wasn't locked or protected by code which in itself seemed weird.

Driving the detail to the back of her mind for later analysis, she focused on the room. She'd been right. The walls were lined with filing cabinets and there was a huge desk and chair against the back wall. There were also files placed in neat rows on the desk and a large chart covering most of the surface. It smelled strongly like cigarette smoke which was explained by the full ashtray on one corner of the desk.

Jessie hurried over and took in the chart, aware she didn't have time to analyze all the files. But this large sheet of paper told her everything she needed to know for the moment.

It was a breakdown of all the tests and medication they'd administered over the last two months, all the changes to the formula and how it had influenced Jimmy's behavior and characteristics. She'd also been wrong about the physical testing. They put Jimmy through it every night at impossible hours, from two to four a.m. No wonder he slept so much during the day. He was exhausted.

They tested his speed, his endurance, his strength and his clotting time. Jessie shut her eyes tightly and opened them again, forcing herself to focus on the chart again. The thought of those people cutting Jimmy just to see how fast he stopped bleeding made her sick. She'd never noticed cuts on him. Maybe they were just pricks, maybe he just healed that fast.

But he'd been right. In spite of everything, he'd been right. They were trying to replicate the serum and didn't care about making Jimmy better. He was the perfect guinea pig, young and strong. Except he already had it running through his veins, so their attempts were ineffective.

They were just torturing him at this point.

Anger shot through her, so powerful, her vision blacked out for a few moments. She could feel her muscles tensing, the strain of the serum on her own body. But she had to keep it at bay. She had to end this now and stop any and all progress.

"Well, well, well..."

Her head snapped up and she took in Lee Hannigan's smiling face. She instantly wanted to murder him, but she couldn't. She needed to keep her cool and somehow get out of this without blowing the place up.

He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, grinning like a cat who had cornered a mouse. Little did he know, he was dealing with a tiger.

"What?" she snapped.

The grin faltered for half a second, then he forced it back on. "I think your anger is a little misplaced. I'm the one who should be asking you what you're doing here."

"No, asshole, I'm the one who should be asking that. Why are you here?"

His eyes shone with hatred and satisfaction and the grin turned into a grimace. "They were wrong. I never betrayed the Agency. They were just so quick to point to a guilty party, to give you the satisfaction of retribution, that they didn't think for one second before throwing me under the buss."

Jessie's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying you're not working for Snitch Gravel?"

"No. I never have." He pushed off the door and stepped inside. "I was wrongfully accused, and now they have to make it up to me. Which is why I was put in charge of this little project."

She thought she was going to throw up from how sick that information made her. The thing was, she believed him. It seemed plausible that he'd never worked for Snitch Gravel, that the Agency was quick to place blame to appease them.

"What did you do to him?" she asked, her voice low and threatening. "Why did you try to kill him?"

"I didn't try to kill him, I tried to save him. Which is exactly what I keep doing." He didn't look like he was trying to save anyone, just cause them as much misery as possible. "That doesn't answer why you're where you're not supposed to be. Are you actually a sneaky little traitor?"

"Since when does wanting to know the truth make me a traitor?"

Lee took out his gun and pointed it at her. "Since this truth you claim is not meant for your eyes. I mean seriously, why can't you Grants and girlfriends just follow the rules? You think it makes you special?"

Jessie glanced at his gun unimpressed, but deep inside, she was making calculations. She could try to disarm him and beat the living daylights out of him, but that would mean she would no longer have access to Jimmy. Plus, there was the fact that she couldn't just let this go on. The lies, the serum, the torture...

But one thing was clear. Lee Hannigan entering the equation had simplified things for her, though not necessarily in a good way. Whether she knocked him out or not, the result was the same. They would no longer let her in because she knew the truth. So they'd either kill her, or lock her up as well.

No way in hell that's happening. Her mind spun, taking in all possible options. None were good, and she saw no way out of this. Imprisonment or a bullet through the head which Lee could justify with a smile on his face. She'd attacked him, it was self-defense. She was already in a place she wasn't supposed to be.

She had her watch, but signaling danger would be meaningless. There was no one close enough to come to her rescue. She was on her own. And the realization cleared her head. She was not. She had Jimmy. And if it had come to this, if she had to get him out on her own, so be it. But in order to do that, she had to avoid getting killed.

"So what, are you going to shoot me?" she asked, keeping her tone even.

He squinted at her, the satisfaction on his face sick. "Wouldn't that be the perfect revenge? I accidentally shoot his girlfriend. Though, to be honest, he probably won't give a fuck. Sad how he doesn't remember you, isn't it?"

His words would've hurt if she didn't hate him with everything she had. This asshole was the reason they were here in the first place. Him and all he stood for.

Lee took a step forward, looking very much like a starving hyena. "Though that would be too easy, wouldn't it? You're in much more pain now? How does it feel? To have your man not know who you are? Not give a shit about you?"

He was trying to provoke her, to make her attack him so he'd have a reason to shoot. He claimed it was too easy, but he wanted to do it, Jessie could see it in his eyes. He was too far away for her to disarm him, and wasn't stupid enough to come closer than he had to. Unless she could make him feel like he could inflict more damage in other ways.

The thought made her want to hurl, but at the moment, she saw no other way out of this. So she cringed, stepped back and forced some tears into her eyes.

"You have no idea how that feels," she said, her voice raspy and breathy.

As expected, the idiot faltered. "What?"

She kept her slightly hunched posture for a few more seconds, then straightened in the most dramatic fashion and looked him in the eyes. "How hard it is to tend to someone who doesn't remember. How hard it is to go so long without..." She whimpered and looked away again.

He stepped closer, bending slightly, his eyes glowing with satisfaction, as if he reveled in her pain. "Without what?"

This was it. The shot in the dark she was forced to take and the only way she could make him drop his defenses. "Without a man. I need a man, Lee. I'm sick of this burden."

As expected, he glowed with satisfaction, and Jessie almost shuddered at the glint of lust in his eyes. She hadn't been wrong. He was up for screwing with Jimmy in every way possible, and this was too good to be true. But he wasn't that stupid. It was obvious from the way he curled his lips, the tightness in his jaw.

"Really now?"

She dared step around the desk and come closer. The moment she was within reach, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her towards him. She was just a few inches taller than her, so they were almost at eye level. All she had to do was maneuver her knee between his legs and that would be the end of that. But the barrel of his gun found its way under her chin, pressing hard against her skin.

"You're trying to fool me," he growled in her ear.

"This is actually kind of hot," she whispered in return. "You're a dangerous man, aren't you?"

"You have no idea." From his tone, he obviously enjoyed this game. He shoved her against the nearest wall, pressing his body against hers, the gun still in place. "Now tell me, Jessica, what are you hoping to achieve?"

Murder you. Painfully. But she knew she wouldn't and that it wasn't why she was putting on this show. Her plan was much clearer and made a lot more sense. What it lacked for in revenge, it made up for in effectiveness.

"I'm not trying to achieve anything," she said, which was mostly true. "You hold the gun, you hold the power. I just want this to be over."

"Such a pity to hear such things from a beauty like you."

Dumbass. "You think I'm beautiful?"

Her shy question made the asshole pull away and glance at her. The hunger in his eyes only grew once he realized she wasn't kneeing him in the groin, wasn't pushing him back. It was taking long, but he was falling for it, and falling hard.

"You know," he whispered, running the barrel of the gun down her neck as if caressing her. "I always thought you were too good for him. That you deserved more."

She smiled in the most seductive way possible, since all she wanted to do was end him. "That's awfully sweet of you. I always thought you had a certain... Charm, let's put it that way. With the confident way you carry yourself. There's got to be a story behind that."

"Really now?" He squinted at her and came closer. "Maybe we've been harboring a mutual little crush we were too afraid to act on."

"I wouldn't say it was little."

It worked like a charm. His gun slipped between her breasts, still pointed at her, and his mouth latched on her neck. She shuddered with disgust, hoping he took it as a sign of pleasure. She let out a tiny moan just to cover that she was one second away from throwing up all over him.

"I like that sound you're making," he muttered into her skin. "And maybe it's time you got to see what a real man feels like."

She put her hands on his cheeks and let them slide down his neck, tapping into all her self-control not to break his neck, then over his shoulders, his arms, to lower them and get the gun away from her. He responded by wrapping his arms tight around her waist and kissing her collarbone. The gun was finally pointing at the wall.

It took a second for her to position herself, pretending that she wanted to rub against him more. Then she kneed him in the balls as hard as she could. With a yelp, he backed down, eyes bulging out of his head. The gun fell out of his hand and clattered to the floor, joined by his pathetic squirming body.

Jessie aimed another kick at his liver to knock him out, then grabbed his gun and stuck it in the waist of her jeans. Not wasting a moment, she folded the chart on the desk into a tiny square and shoved it in her pocket, then bent over and started searching Hannigan's pockets. She hadn't been wrong. The guy was a heavy smoker and the lighter was easy to find.

It was maybe wrong, but she didn't have a choice. She couldn't carry the files out of there, didn't have time to study them, and they needed to disappear. The serum had to die. So without giving herself time to change her mind, she lit the lighter and set fire to the nearest row of files. The paper lit up immediately, turning the tiny flame into a blaze.

Throwing Hannigan one last disgusted look, she stepped over his body and headed out of the room. She hadn't killed him, but wouldn't cry over it if the flames did.

🏯🏯🏯

Well, this went south really fast. And the story has taken quite a turn. Poor poor Jessie having to resort to such methods.

Do you think she's right to destroy everything? Does she actually have another choice? And what now? She just set fire to a room. It can't be that easy.

Stick around for the action packed next chapter.

Fun fact: This was the song which inspired a (rightfully dreadful) previous title for this book. So yeah...😅

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