nrpg : don't believe this, upgrade my pc over teh weekend and my old hdd gave up on me... (ditto with my floppy drive)... therefore archiving will be delayed (again) 8( 8( 8( posting based on my memory as all my old mails are inside the old hdd, therefore sorry for any discrepancy...if i am not wrong, the scene below should be before the meeting at X
rpg :
St Vincent's Hospital's cafeteria 0900 hours
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Jordan walked into the cafeteria, expecting a small cafeteria, a large crowd, and extreme difficulty in finding Sissy Lane. He was wrong on all counts. The cafeteria was large and spacious, and there was only two small groups of nurses enjoying a short break. He was about to find a seat and wait for Sissy when he heard her voice behind him.
"Good morning Agent Stern."
He spun around, and saw her as he remembered, flaming hair and all. She had took off her white coat and now wore a grey knitted top and a pair of black pants, which set off her slim figure perfectly.
Jordan was impressed.
"You had your breakfast?" she asked as she chose a nearby corner table and sat down.
"I'm afraid not," Jordan admitted. He had spent the whole night running between several wards, and then doing some background search on the doctor herself. The information he found was baffling.
They each ordered a simple breakfast, sandwiches and coffee, and Jordan started the ball rolling.
"Dr Lane -"
"Please, call me Sissy, Agent Stern."
"Then you must call me Jordan."
She smiled.
"Sissy, you said last night that Carol is your sister?"
"Yes, my twin sister. She is 5 minutes older."
"But according to what I had found, you are the only child."
Jordan saw her eyes blinked rapidly, and then she let out a sigh.
"I know. That was what they told me too."
"They? Who is this 'they'?"
"Statistics, Jordan. "
"Perhaps you would like to tell me the whole story, from the very beginning?"
Sissy nodded her head, and she began.
"Caroline and I were born in Beverly Hills. My father's name is Frank Lane, a rather famous plastic surgeon there. My mother's name is Victoria, which is Caroline's and my middle name. Mama named us after two of her best friends, Caroline and Sissy. I presume that you can say that we are the perfect family, rich, attractive, hanging around the high class society. But I guess no matter where you are, some people is bound to feel unhappy. Caroline is one of those people. She thinks that she did not have enough freedom, was not pretty enough, not popular enough. She was wilder, more adventurous, and she tried out alot of things. At first, it was playing truant and petty theft. After she got older, it was fights, drugs, booze, sex. My parents were naturally upset, and there were quite alot of quarrels and arguments. She began to stay out frequently, and then finally left home when we were in the second year of college."
"After that, did you keep in touch?" Jordan asked.
"No. We were not close in the first place. According to her, I was the apple of our parents' eyes. She hated me. She said that she was the best, but if she was the best, why does she hates herself so much as to abuse her whole life? She even hates her name, saying that Caroline is too nerdy-sounding, and insist that we called her Carol. She always said that her talents is being buried by us, and that she wanted to break away, and one day, she will be back, powerful."
"What happen after she left, Sissy?"
Sissy Lane finished hte last bite of her sandwich, took a sip of her coffee before she continued.
"Nothing much happen. I finished medical school, moved out in a house quite near to my parents. Then they died. The police said that it was an accident, a car accident. After their death, I tried to find her. I asked that police for help, and that was when they told me that Caroline Victoria Lane never exist. No records at all, no social security number, no police records, no medical records. I went back to school to try to find her old school records. It was not there. None of the teachers I spoke to remembered her. It was as if she was a figment of my imagination. Old friends either disappeared or claimed ignorance. The final straw came when I got attacked one night."
"This attack happened after you asked the police for help?"
"Yes, about one fortnight after that. I was in the bathroom, about to bath, when two masked men suddently appeared. They knocked me out, threw me into the bathtub, and slit my wrists. Before they left, they removed all evidence of Caroline from my house - photos, presents, cards, everything."
"Setup for suicide."
"You're right, Jordan. Well, in a way, I was lucky. There was a 13 year old kid next door who was getting interested in female anatomy. He found a good hiding place which he got have a good view of my bathroom. He saw everything, and, well, called the police and saved my life." Sissy gave a laugh at this point. "I was rather grateful, and provided the thing he needed most."
Jordan's eyebrows raised.
"He was in shock after witnessing the events. I sponsored him for one of the best psychology-cum-counselling sessions one could get in Beverly Hills. After that, I moved to Washington."
St Vincent's ICU
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Vanessa yawned. It had been a long time since she had taken a nap, but she did not want to close her eyes.
Chris was still the same. He just lied there, not moving. Vanessa thought that he looked paler than he was one hour ago, paler and weaker. She prayed that she was wrong.
According to the doctor who had come in, George and Ellen Starling, Chris' parents, would be there soon. She shuddered at the thought of that. What could she said to his parents? That she was the cause of all these trouble?
"Wake up, sleepyhead," she told him, echoing the same words he had said to her in the morning when he had proposed.
"Why don't you take a rest?" A voice came from the doorway.
She looked up, and saw Jim.
"Hi, Jim. You looked awful. "
He gave a chuckle. "Look who's talking. I'm fine. You do look terrible though. Why don't you take a nap?"
She shook her head. No.
"I want to stay here. I want him to see me when he woke up."
If he woke up, Jim told himself. He wondered if he should told her about Barney.
"You hiding anything from me?" She asked, looking at his face.
"What do you think I'm hiding?"
"I don't know. Something. There is this look in your face. Tell me, Jim. I can take it. Its about Chris isn't it? He's not going to recover?"
Jim sat down beside Vanessa, and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Its not really about Chris, Vanessa. Rather - "
"Rather what?"
"Chris is not the only one."
She looked at him, not understanding.
"What do you mean? Not the only one."
"Rebecca Cross. Chris was not her only victim."
"Who else?"
Jim told her everything.
"Oh my god. Everyone. Is everyone else fine?"
"Yeah, all of them are okay. Zenya's boyfriend is occupying your formal ward though."
At that moment, Jim's handphone rang. Remembering Rebecca's near-fatal phonecall, he answered it with some distaste.
"Reaper. Yes. Yes. I'm with her right now. I'll tell her. Okay. Bye."
"Who was that?" Vanessa asked when he slapped the phone shut.
"Its Jenny, she said that ZULU is having a meeting. YOu'll be there?"
She nodded her head.
Just then, a thought struck Jim.
"What about your family, Vanessa. Will Rebecca - "
She shook her head. "I don't think so. Her motive is to hurt. If she is so efficient as to find out some much about us, she would have known that I am not close to my family. Hurting them won't hurt me."
"You sure?"
"I'm positive."
"Still, as a precaution, I think I called San Francisco PD and took them to get some more patrols. Would that be all right with you?"
"That will be find. Thanks, Jim. Now why you go home and take a rest. I'll be all right here. Chris' parents are coming, and I want to meet them here."