Simon

It has been a few days since I last been home but I had to sort everything out now before I can rest. For me, it has just been interview after interview with agents, investigators, and staff about New York's mission. This particular interview, though, was the most time-consuming. I've been sitting here, trying to get answers for over an hour now.

"Then what made you believe that abandoning your own members was necessary?" I asked sternly but calmly.

Rebecca bounced her leg anxiously, avoiding eye contact. She was clearly nervous and guilty of something. I knew that for a fact. "I didn't abandon them..."

This isn't getting anywhere.

I've been sitting here for almost an hour but she isn't giving me much information. I'm usually a very patient person when it comes to meetings like these but, right now, I think I'm a hair closer to just ending this the quickest way possible... If she is only going to avoid answering any questions, my only option is to just send her home, which is something I would not want to do to her.

I leaned in on my desk, hands clasped and looked deeply into her eyes, "Ms. Hall... Do you understand how serious this situation is?"

She nodded slightly.

"And you do realize how much this can affect your position."

She nodded, "I do, sir."

"I'll ask you one more time... Why. Did you. Abandon. Your members?"

"Sir, I told you already. I did not abandon them. I didn't do anything wrong."

I raised an eyebrow, "Then what were you doing?"

"I..." she stopped and looked away.

"Rebecca! What were you doing?" I asked sternly.

She kept her eyes away, "I can't tell you." she whispered.

"Why not?"

"I just can't, sir."

I leaned back in my chair with a sigh, sliding a thin stack of papers in front of me and began to write her name at the top of the referral, "Well, if you're not going to tell me, I'll just make this easier and suspend you from headquarters until I get answers. Whether or not you come back will depend on the results."

"No! Wait, Sir, don't..."

I shook my head, "Rebecca, you are dismissed for today, I'll handle it from here. Just pack up within a business week and I'll let you know when you're allowed to come back." I doubted. From the looks of it, she might have to resign.

She looked at me with her mouth parted open as I filled out the form, then, "Mr. Ortez, I'm innocent... I only want to be a loyal member but if it's going to cost my job, I'll spit."

I slowed my pen to a stop, looking up at her over the rims of my glasses.

She sighed with regret in her tone, "I didn't choose to leave the mission... I was ordered to. If I didn't, things would've gotten way worse than it already was."

"Who told you to leave?"

"Well, actually, she told both me and Tabitha to leave. Immediately... So, that's what we did."

"Who told you to leave?" I repeated

She shook her head softly, "I can't tell you, Sir. I wouldn't do that to her..."

"That doesn't matter, Rebecca. You work for me, you aren't allowed to hide these things from me no matter what. If you can't trust the man you work for, then there is no point of you being here."

Worry grew in her eyes, "Sir, I don't want her to get fired. This job means as much to her as it does to me."

"She isn't going to be kicked as long as her actions have some logical reasoning. If I don't know who that is, I won't be able to find out."

"I don't think there was much logic in it. She threatened to hurt me if I didn't listen to her," she said in a low voice.

I winced at that. No one who works for me would really be that ignorant to order something as irresponsible as that. Soon, I demanded, "Tell me who 'she' is, Rebecca..."

She began to bounce her leg again, her expression filled with concerns. She was worried about becoming a backstabber to her member, I knew she was contemplating whether she should tell me or not. I waited for her as I watched her debate against herself in her mind. She then, after a long moment, told me, "Nicole..." her voice cracked.

Nicole? My Nicole?

"Nicole... Greene?" we had two other Nicoles here so I had to make sure it wasn't the wrong one.

"That's the one, sir... She didn't want me to 'get in the way' so she made me leave. I think she still doesn't believe that I'm capable of succeeding in another mission after the submarine incident. I don't blame her, but I've improved... Right?"

I nodded, "You have... Greatly. But why did you actually leave? I put you on the mission for a reason, she's not in charge of that."

"I left because I didn't want a mallet to the head!" she told me with frustration.

I furrowed my brows, trying to piece this whole thing together, "That doesn't seem valid... When the mission was over, wasn't Nicole the one who caught you trying to leave? She had no clue that you were safe in the condo the whole time."

She sighed, shaking her head, "She did know. She hit me because I wasn't gone sooner. Tabitha and I were both supposed to be out of sight until after the team headed back home. That's hard to do when some of our team members were patrolling the area for the suspect. She covered it up to make it look like I did something wrong."

I rubbed my chin, "Nicole would never lie to us. Especially, not for something as serious as this."

"Well, you don't know Nicole as we all do. She's dangerous and everyone knows that. The thing is, everyone is too scared to speak up about it in fear of being confronted by her."

She isn't entirely wrong about that. People are scared of her sometimes but she isn't the type to frame her members for an act she wrongly committed.

"I need to speak to her." I thought aloud.

Hopefully, her psychology sessions are working so far because this has to stop. I've gotten reports of her fighting with her partner, stealing, and doing all these unacceptable things that made me begin to be concerned about how long I should keep her working here.

"Please do, oh, and Sir?"

"Yes, Rebecca."

"Don't mention my name to her. I don't want her to come looking for me." She asked with her voice slightly shaking.

"Don't worry. You're fully protected."

She stood up and nodded, "Thank you."

With that, she headed for the exit, walking passed the guards and disappearing behind the doors.

I let out a huff and pulled out my phone, dialing my secretary's number. I ordered him to come and take care of things while I headed out to go see Nicole until I came back. My secretary, William, is my half brother and he's exceptional at what he does. He could even run the place if he wanted but, he's terrible at making useful investments so that probably won't happen soon.

After he made it to my office, I headed out to the limo and began the trip to my home.

Should I call her? I thought, having the urge to tell her that I was on my way.

No. I'll wait to see her in person. This was definitely something I had to handle face-to-face. I'll try not to upset her when we talk. I hate it when she's upset with me.

Don't soften up. Tell her like it is. She needs discipline.

I sighed and lit myself a cigar.

My guard noticed my expression and asked, "Are you feeling on your feet today, Sir?"

I only nodded, "I'm hanging in there."

He nodded, still watching me as I puffed a few clouds of smoke out of my cigar. I just ignored him, keeping my mind on one thing.

What am I going to do about her?

I've already talked to Mr. Miguel about putting her on medication to help her control herself better. I wonder if that's working. If it is, I'll probably buy a few containers to keep at home whenever she needs it. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure my little girl gets the support she deserves...

I'd never would've thought I had to go down this road with her...

After what felt like a long ride, the limo finally stopped in my driveway and the chauffeur opened the door for me and held out a small tray so he could dispose of my finished cigar. I headed out with my report folders in hand and walked up to my door, unlocking it and making my way inside.

The house was awfully quiet. There wasn't any clinking, pounding, or loud music so I knew she wasn't in the exercise room. The T.V was off and only a few lights around the house were turned on.

"She must be asleep," I said to myself, looking at the time on my watch. It wasn't too late in the day, only 9:00 pm but I knew she's been training like she said she would. That, and she met with Mr. Miguel which could be pretty tough for her to sit through at times.

I headed to the special room I had built for her sessions. I call it "The Happy Place." It's a very relaxing room, made to ease the mind and calm the senses. I plan on using it later after I talk to Nicole... Those massage chairs would be perfect for that occasion.

Oh, my...

My thoughts were interrupted when I opened the door and saw the mess in there. One of my $3,000 massage chairs were shredded, furniture and papers were tossed and flipped, but thankfully, that's all it was. Well... At least, I think so. Maria was already working on cleaning the place up.

She turned around and jumped when she saw me, startled, "Oh la la!" she giggled.

"Oh, pardon. " I smiled.

She smiled, waving her hand, "Pas de soucis, pas de soucis." (No worries, No worries)

I left to let her work then walked up to Jerry, the first guard I saw, "Where's Nicole?" I asked him.

"I believe she's upstairs in her room," he said.

I knew it. She's asleep. "Thank you," I told him before going to the elevator, not wanting to take the stairs.

When I got to her floor, I quietly headed down the hall, knowing she's a light sleeper. I stopped in front of her door but didn't open it when I noticed that there were voices coming through the walls.

So she's not asleep... That's fine, it would make it quicker to get through this talk.

I pressed my ear against her door to listen.

"Like that?" she asked.

"Yeah, right there... Damn, you're good at this!" another voice, a male's voice, responded, making me wince.

"Calm down, Jaden." she laughed. "You're getting a little too excited about this."

"No, keep going, babe! We're almost there."

Babe? Keep doing what?

I glared when it finally occurred to me.

I don't think so.

I furrowed my brows, disgusted... Splendid. More to stress about. I felt the veins in my arms rise as I gripped the doorknob then swung her door open. I stopped myself when I saw that her bed was empty. The only things on it were a notebook filled with notes and some highlighted portions. Next to it sat Nicole's laptop which was open, displaying a bunch of tabs, involving the Twisted Reality tour.

I quickly scanned the room with my eyes then noticed that Nicole and Jaden were both on the balcony with the sliding glass door wide open. He was only wearing his tank top and his actual button-up shirt was being worn by Nicole with one side hanging down her shoulder. I then noticed that Nicole was wearing a pair of silk pink shorts and a matching spaghetti strap blouse. An outfit that I've never seen her in before, considering the fact that she hardly has any pink in her closet. She hates that color.

I scratched my chin as I watched Jaden hold up a flashcard to her with a word on it while Nicole matched a picture to it. Suddenly, my eyes softened with less anger.

"She's reading?" I widened my eyes slightly with a small gasp, "She's reading."

"Alright, this is a harder one." Jaden pulled out a card that read "Machete" on it.

I watched as she stared at the card for a moment with her hand hovering over only two of the pictures that were left, "This one... A machete."

He nodded then pointed to the last picture of a bear, "And spell Nuke."

She laughed softly with a hand on her forehead as she shyly started, "N-O-O..."

Jaden shook his head.

"I mean, N-U... K-E."

"Yes..." he said in relief as he tossed the cards onto the table and bent down to kiss her... For quite a long time...

Suddenly, a glare crept upon my face again and my bad mood filled my chest once more before shock and confusion did.

She's having an affair with her partner?

No. She isn't because I won't allow it!

I began to march up to them but she quickly pulled back from him and aimed a pistol at me. I raised my hands, subconsciously with my eyes wide and sudden chills forming in my body, making me freeze in my place.

"Simon?" she asked with an eyebrow raised but kept the gun pointed.

Jaden reached out and lowered her arm as she continued, "Why did you sneak up on me like that?" I could hear the startle in her breathing.

I put my arms down to cross them, "I have to talk to you... Immediately." I said sternly.

They looked at each other then she stood up from her seat and walked over to me, "What's up?"

What's up? I'll tell you exactly "what's up" young one...

I silently put my hand on her shoulder and led her out of the room, into the hall so we could speak in private. I closed the door and tapped my foot, glaring at her for a moment before asking, "Nicole... What's going on?"

"With what?" she half chuckled.

"With you..." I sighed, "Where do I even start?"

She watched as I thought back to the interview. I continued, "I just interviewed a few people these passed days and I've heard some... Interesting things about what really happened during the mission."

She tilted her head, slightly confused but more of a rising suspicion, "Really? Like what?"

"Like you taking matters into your own hands..."

She rolled her eyes, "What else did you want me to do? Just let the mission fall apart without trying?"

"We had a plan, Nicole, and you didn't stick to that. What made you change it at last minute?"

She stared at me, confused for a moment, "Wait... What are you talking about? Because I was talking about me taking matters into my own hands to save Jaden's ass... I stuck to the plan... Rebecca didn't, she abandoned us."

"That's not what I was told... Is it true that you made Rebecca leave to, quote, 'stay out of' your way?"

"What? No! I had nothing to do with Rebecca going missing!"

I sighed, rubbing the back of my head, "Nicole. I'm just concerned about you. In my mind, I don't see you doing this but after taking a look at recent reports around the mission time, witnesses, and what was told to me at the interviews... All the fingers are pointing to you..."

"But-"

"Nicole, please..." I interrupted. "All I want to know is if it is true that you tried to blame Rebecca."

She looked at me with disbelief and I didn't like it. She isn't going to be happy with me and I know it but, I needed to know the truth. "No." she answered. "It's not true."

"What about these reports?" I showed her the folder with the reports in it. "Are they true? Is it true that you stole jewelry at the mall?"

Her eyes went wide at the folder then she said, "No. Who reported that?"

"Not important," I answered, not wanting to put Rebecca in danger. "but, is it true that you've threatened Rebecca in any way? Physically or verbally?"

She looked away with hesitation, "Maybe. But not because I want to, she pisses me off."

"How so?"

She twisted her face at me as if I was dumb, "She abandoned us at the mission. And she tried to leave New York without telling anyone! How could that not bother me?"

At this point, I couldn't tell if she's lying to me or not. She just lied to my face about the watch she stole, which I have proof she took. How am I supposed to tell if she's lying now when she clearly looks angry about this?

"How come people are saying that you threatened her to leave."

"Simon, that's dumb. That's fucking stupid! Are you accusing me of something? Don't you fucking trust me!?" she raised her voice at me with growing anger.

I took in a deep breath, "I told you to stop cursing, Nicole... I trust you with all my heart but you just lied to me about stealing. How do I know you're not lying now?"

She raked her fingers through her hair in clear frustration, "Okay. I took the watch, happy? But I didn't frame Rebecca! She's trying to get me fired. If I wanted to get rid of Rebecca, I would've done a lot more than just scare her with little words." her eyes grew cold and cruel. "If I wanted to truly get rid of that bitch, you would've never known about it..."

"Don't... Talk like that..." I glared.

She glared back at me, "Oh, but Rebecca is allowed to go around and talk all the shit she wants about me."

"Go back to your room and..." I stopped and turned to look at her bedroom door, "Actually, I want you to explain to me what you have going on with Mr. Brown."

She rolled her eyes with a sarcastic chuckle, "What do you want to accuse me of now?"

I crossed my arms at her attitude, "I saw you two on the balcony. If he's going to be unprofessional and touch you inappropriately, I won't allow him back in my house."

"He..." She sighed as her cheeks reddened and she rubbed a hand over her arm, "He wasn't doing anything wrong. He was just helping me with something."

"And the kiss?" I raised an eyebrow.

She looked away to avoid eye contact, "We're just partners. Nothing more."

"Nothing more? So what made you think you could walk around this house, showing all of that for your guest?"

She looked down at her clothing then back up to me with a sneer, "What are you trying to say? I didn't wear this to impress anyone. Now you're just finding reasons to be mad at me. I don't know what I did to make you hate me all of a sudden when all I've done was try to be a good enough daughter for you! I'm doing my part but you still refuse to trust me!" I could hear the hurt in her voice which made me feel horrible. It made my heart chip a little.

"Nicole, I do trust-"

"No... You don't..." she interrupted. "If you trusted me, you wouldn't be blaming me for something I had nothing to do with. If you trusted me, you wouldn't have ordered Miguel to secretly drug me into being calm for you..."

I sighed stressfully.

She eyed me, "Didn't think I'll find out about that?"

"Nicole... Everything I do is for your own good and the good of the USSCI. I'll never do something because I don't trust you and I definitely don't hate you so don't ever think that."

She crossed her arms, looking away.

I huffed, not wanting to get too deep into this, "Just... Go to your room and rest. We'll talk later..." I opened the door for her and saw Jaden on the balcony, already packed up. He looked over his shoulder to us then stood up as Nicole walked back into her room.

He raised an eyebrow at me as he walked across her bedroom floor then grabbed Nicole's hands, whispering, "He tried to drug you?"

"I'm fine..." was all she said.

He searched her face with concern and whispered something else to her. I couldn't tell what he was saying this time but it put a heartbroken expression on her face.

"Jaden, don't worry about it... Just go home," she said with a shakey but stern voice, moving her hands away from him.

He nodded and looked at me slightly disgusted as he walked towards the doorway, "Not cool..." he uttered to me and with that, he walked out of the room with his things and headed down the stairs to leave, swinging his backpack onto his shoulder.

I turned back to Nicole who looked sad and angry at the same time. It made me feel guilty even when I did nothing wrong. She sat in her bed, gazing out at the balcony silently. Seeing her like that easily made me feel as though I was slowly getting swallowed by a dark shadow, closing me away from her. Preventing me from coming any closer to her.

I sighed, "Goodnight, Soldier..."

She ignored me and kept her eyes out at the moon, without a word.

I gently closed the door and headed downstairs for another cigar.

My little girl...

Maybe I should consider having her work alone again. Maybe that'll cheer her up these days...