Duplicity Ch. 15

Hey guys,

So sorry for the long wait after a cliffhanger. I hope you like this chapter; it was soo hard to write. But it's FINALLY gonna answer the all of those tingling questions from the beginning. It looks like there will be 2 or 3 more chapters for this story. Thank you guys for hanging in there for me! Don't forget to comment and vote!

Sean's head bobbed as the car drove down the narrow road.

They were in a limo in the middle of a caravan of sleek black SUVs, navigating the old streets Santorini. Since there was a high profile wedding today, it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary to see it drive by surrounded by security. Sean slowly opened his eyes and quietly cut himself free from the zip ties with the small inconspicuous knife he carried by his belt loop.

For a moment Sean stared at the man sitting across from him. The man he hated with every fiber of his being. He seemed distracted as he carelessly looked out of the window. To onlookers he seemed like an average middle aged man. He was tall, slim build and nondescript features with salt and pepper hair, but his blue eyes were cold. Colder than any freezing temperatures in Oymyakon.

Sean felt his breath deepen as old memories threatened to surface. There was always a darkness brewing in the pit of his belly. One that he's tried to suppress, but couldn't completely rid himself of. Especially now. He'd never been this close to him before. After all of these years, he was finally sitting just a couple feet away.

Sean could end him right here, right now.

Sean could make him pay for everything he's done.

A slow and painful death. That's what he deserves.

Sean inhaled deeply willing the darkness from within to dissipate. It isn't the time or place. He had to play this right or it would've all been for nothing. Carefully he masked his rage and played it cool.

"So where exactly are you taking me?" Sean started.

Mikhail's head snapped in his direction. He narrowed his eyes but replied, "You'll soon find out. I have something special prepared for strays like you..."

He maintained eye contact while the older man analyzed him carefully. There were no signs of fatigue or drowsiness. Sean looked alert. Too alert.

"How is it that you're awake? Glory should've knocked you unconscious for at least 6 hours."

"You sure you gave me the right dosage?"

Mikhail's eyes darkened. "Think carefully about the next thing you will say. I'm only going to ask it once. How?"

"How am I awake?" Sean repeated the question to himself. He pondered telling him the truth or fucking around with him some more. When he saw the older man's anger rising, he relented.

"I prefer to stay in control of my senses. I knew you'd try to drug me so I came prepared. I found a little loophole to your super drug."

That information took Mikhail by surprise. To his knowledge nothing like that existed. His thoughts ran wild at the implications of something like this.

Sean smirked. "Don't work yourself up too much. It's bad for your heart. Here I'll show you." He stretched his now untied hands and reached into his back pocket.

"It wasn't easy. I had to travel to basically the ends of the earth to find a counteragent. But I found it in Bali. There's this little herb called Obatnya, translates as "The Cure". People use it for stamina and fertility... Does wonders for this skin. Anyway as it turns out, it works to not only stop the effects of your wonder-drug Glory, but detoxes it out of your system within 24 hours. Imagine that... After all the trouble you went through to get us all addicted."

Sean tossed him the prescription bottle. "I found a company that took this very special herb and made it into convenient-to-swallow tablets."

Mikhail cautiously opened the bottle, peaked inside and saw that there was indeed a multitude of small pink pills. He swiftly chucked the bottle out of the window.

Sean laughed then confessed, "I hate taking pills too." He groaned as if this whole thing was a mere nuisance. "But I've been good. I've been taking that shit every day, all day; just in case you tried to shoot me up again. Even though they give me the worst headaches. I've been taking those pills and I even..."

He pulled out his trusty silver flask from his tux jacket and took a long swig. "I even have this tea liquid form always on me."

He pursed his lips and looked at the flask. "It's not that bad. I add a little honey and lemon. I know people think its alcohol in here because I'm known to like my vodka. I guess I'm a vain to put it in a flask, huh?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Can't have people think I'm a pussy... drinking tea and shit. But it actually helps calm my nerves."

Although the man masked his expression with a neutral gaze, deep down he was surprised. And nothing surprised him. He always expected the unexpected, ten steps ahead of everyone. So this information threw him for a loop. If this cure was discovered it would definitely put a dent in his plans. He couldn't have that. He needed to remind this little piss-ant who was in control.

Mikhail scoffed. "This doesn't change a thing. You'll give me what I want. I can be very convincing. I did an excellent job last time, don't you think?" He let out an wicked grin. "If put in the right mood, I could easily destroy you... just for fun."

Sean didn't want to admit it but his silky voice sent a chill right through him.

He tried to ignore the man's threat and regarded him for a minute as the car continued to drive smoothly. His left temple throbbed and the carefully hidden darkness in the pit of his stomach threatened to peek again.

After a long stretch of silence.

"I gotta admit this whole charade you had going on was quite impressive." Sean remarked.

The man grabbed a decanter filled with what Sean assumed was brandy and poured himself a drink. He let out a dark smile before taking a generous sip.

"I guess I took pointers from you... Merle." He saluted his now empty glass towards Sean.

"I guess you're right. So Carl Rollins... I'm actually touched you personally handled all of this yourself. You are an extremely hard man to find. I know you started out as a military psychologist so playing one named Mikhail Popov must've been a treat. You know if the real Mikhail knew you were doing that, he would probably welcome the excuse to finally put a bullet in your head."

The disgraced former CIA Director's eye twitched at the mention of that name. He knew what Sean said was true. The last time he saw Mikhail he did indeed take a shot at him. It was by sheer luck he bent down to tie his shoes at the precise time the bullet whizzed above him.

However Mikhail Popov never missed, it was meant to send Rollins a message. He wanted him to know he was that close to being finished.

A notorious long range sniper, no one knew where Mikhail came from. They had no success in tracking the bullet's trajectory; it was over a mile away. He was known to take care of sticky situations when the government's hands were tied. His work was flawless, untraceable and was paid handsomely for it.

The real Mikhail knew Director Rollins was a traitor with incalculable influence. He knew he was planning something big, but he couldn't prove it. Unorthodox in his ways, Mikhail took it upon himself to track Rollins and end him. He would expose him bit by bit and finish him. He considered it a gift to the world.

Just as Mikhail expected, the assassination attempt triggered a thorough investigation into Rollins's past. They concluded the assassination attempt had something to do with some unsavory characters Rollins got himself mixed up with.

Of course they didn't know it was actually Mikhail who conveniently left the cookie crumbs for them to find. Rollins was forced out of office with an official statement thanking him for service, accepting his resignation as he tended to private family matters.

Rollins was furious. How dare they get rid of him! But it didn't matter. He already had everything he needed. He moved to the next phase of his plan. When they finally got an inkling of what Rollins was capable of; he quickly rose to the top of every agency's most wanted list.

What happened in Afghanistan's Khan Farm was not an isolated event. Rollins was systemically destroying U.S. presence all over the world. Rollins orchestrated the seizure of U.S. camps and would then execute the remaining soldiers in the most gruesome and morbid ways. He always made sure to leave a couple of survivors who would then be subject to months of torture and psychological reconditioning coupled with being heavily dosed with Glory.

Then he would release the prisoners and "tie up" any loose ends. The captors who participated in the reconditioning were met with their ultimate fate. They served their purpose and Rollins didn't want any ties that would later lead to him. There were only a precious few he kept close as confidants. His lieutenants. His most trusted men.

After adding the cocktail of the super drug he used, those survivors became walking mummies, not capable of any kind of service. Even when they were released they were so fucked up that there was no hope of them ever having a normal life.

Word quickly spread of what was happening in deployments.

The rumors were exaggerated and there was heightened fear everywhere. Stories of beheaded soldiers became twisted stories of savagery, cannibalism and human sacrifice.

Panic was widespread.

That was the biggest threat.

Even for the bravest of men.

Soldier's morale was at an all-time low. Cases of severe PTSD were rising and suicides were at an all-time high.

Rollins was in effect destroying U.S. forces from the inside out. It was only a matter of time. It was imploding...

That and the fact he had thousands of moles in every branch of service. Coupled with his own batch of U.S. Intelligence, Rollins was unstoppable.

He made quite a name for himself among U.S. enemy forces in the Middle East. His lieutenants called him the Amir of Amirs which translated as the Commander of Commanders. Women chanted his name as they prayed every day for his health and success. The young men whispered he must be a prophet sent by their forefathers to save them. The white man with eyes so blue that they were made of ice would finally slay the western beast.

Rollins laughed and took it all in stride, he loved the adulation.

He slowly became a legend. He had all the respect and fame he could ask for. Something he could never get in the U.S. He had more wealth he could possible spend in one lifetime and dined with kings and princes. Beautiful young women flocked to him and considered it a privilege to give him their virginity.

Rollins didn't hesitate, he freely took and took. His thirst would never be satisfied. His thirst to destroy the mighty and seemingly indestructible nation consumed him. He forged on with nothing and no one to stand in his way.

Yes Rollins was unstoppable. Until now.

Sean had become like a stubborn invisible hair in his eye. Annoying as hell and fucking hard to get rid of.

In the beginning this young soldier was nothing more but another prisoner to break. Rollins found out a little too late Sean had been gathering information and resisting the reconditioning. He didn't know how, but he was. Somehow Sean got his hands on something big. The encrypted device he stole held the answer to everything.

It had the name of every mole Rollins had ever used, some of which were people in very high positions. The device had detailed conversations, bank statements and wire transfers. It also held every single reconditioning site and every survivor's name and rank. All very incriminating evidence. It was necessary to keep such detailed records, just in case someone decided too rat him out one day. He'd be sure to take everyone down with him. Always expect the unexpected.

Rollins was careful. No one knew of the device's existence or what information was on it. Rollins hadn't told a soul, not even his lieutenants.

That was why Rollins was baffled when he learned the device had disappeared from its secure hiding place. He'd underestimated Sean. Somehow the little fucker got his hands of a device and had been extremely hard to catch since then. Rollins made a mistake by not realizing him as a potential threat. That would never happen again. Even now he wondered if it had all been too easy.

Rollins stared at Sean as if trying to uncover what he had up his sleeve. Sean had proved to be a bigger pain in the ass than that motherfucker Mikhail.

"When I find him, Mikhail will get what he deserves. In the meantime I decided to pretend to be him to convince your silly little sister to cooperate in handing you over. It was easy fooling her and her dumb fiancé. All I had to do was show them a couple of torture pictures of you and they were eating out of my hand. People are so desperate to believe whatever they are told, if it's shocking enough with just the right amount of hope mixed in. I knew she couldn't resist trying to save you." He said mockingly. "And I knew you couldn't resist being the sacrificial lamb."

Sean stared straight into his eyes. "That's what family and loyalty means... Not that you know anything about that. It's true Sienna was worried about me, but she means well. And her fiancé Jason?" Sean let out a crooked grin. "Well he's smarter than you think. They both are."

Sean glanced down at his watch. It was almost time.

_____________

"Is he gone?" Sienna whispered.

Jason peered over head and said, "Yep. Time to go." He helped her up from her kneeling position and they quickly moved towards the house where everyone waited for them.

As they hurried Jason kissed his bride's hand and remarked, "Your acting skills were beyond good. You had me believing it."

She grinned. "Well thank you very much. Do you think shoving him was too much?"

"Nah, I think that motherfucker bought it."

The whole scene unfolded exactly as they planned. Exactly as Sean planned.

They quickly entered the makeshift dressing room and found everyone ready to go. The whole family, close friends and most of the house staff. Everyone except Frank and Latisha, they thought it was a little soon to include them and at the moment Frank was a bit unpredictable. They were all armed with any kind of weapon they could find.

They ushered Sienna to the corner and helped her slip out of her gown into comfortable jeans, shirt and sneakers and Jason did the same.

Jason got everyone's attention. "Alright people! Listen up. We have 20 minutes until they reach the rendezvous point. Stick to the plan. No one is gonna go rogue or apeshit. These men are extremely dangerous, but they're never going to suspect normal people doing day to day activities. Blend in and be smart. Our only goal is to detain them until backup arrives. I've been told they're on their way. Under no circumstances can we let them leave the island. Sean is counting on us. Understood?" He waited for them to nod their heads in confirmation. "Any questions?"

John's hand shot up. "Tell me again why we couldn't try to trap them while they were here?"

"Because these men are heavily armed and are trained killers. We didn't want to be in a situation where they could take people hostage or start hurting people to get what they want. We needed them to think they had the upper hand. Taping them on route was the best plan." Sienna replied before giving Jason a smile. She was enjoying this a little too much.

As if suddenly remembering something Sienna furrowed her eyebrows and said, "And for the last time... I'm going. I'll be fine." This had been the subject of a long and heated argument.

In response Jason let out a grunt. He knew there was no dissuading her.

"Anyone else?" Jason looked out to see the crowd of friends, family and employees and felt an overwhelming sense of pride. He felt so lucky to be part of this family. Even those not bound by blood would forever be considered family. More than family.

They all did a good job in convincing remaining guests that the wedding was supposed to be happening right now, when in fact the wedding wouldn't really take place until that evening or so they hoped. The small crowd's solemn expressions held a mixture of worry, determination and excitement. This was for Sean. There was no hesitation, not even a question. No one messed with family.

Jason smiled in satisfaction. "Let's go."

Groups of people filed in cars, trucks and motorcycles and moved out. They all knew what to do.

While they drove Sienna thought back to the day all of this started. When she first met Mikhail...

After Jason and Sienna were allowed to leave, she had this nagging feeling she couldn't shake.

Deep in her gut Sienna didn't trust this man Mikhail.

She trusted Sean. Her flesh and blood. Always had always would.

Some things just didn't add with Mikhail. For one, Sean always said Mikhail was a diehard smoker. And yet Sienna noticed this man not only didn't smoke in their presence but his nails were pristine and his lips had a normal hue. The armed men around this mysterious man looked more like mercenaries than U.S. military personnel. Another thing was that a real doctor would've gone into further detail on the kind of therapy Sean would receive or the state-of-the-art facilities he would live in. But this mysterious stranger's focus was the actual capture Sean.

There was a gleam in Mikhail's eye Sienna caught when he spoke of finally catching Sean. It was almost a desperate anticipation. It unnerved her and creeped her out. However she decided to file that information for later and play the part.

When they left Jason admitted to also not trusting Mikhail. He wasn't 100% certain he believed his story and yet he also decided to let him believe he did... just in case.

They were surprised and relieved to see Sean. He pulled them into another secure building a couple blocks away. Apparently Sean had been following them and caught up with them when it was clear.

Finally they talked for hours. Sean confirmed some of the things he'd been through, but it was all at the hands of the man who supposedly was there to help him. A man who would stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Sean got the idea earlier that day and thought he'd give it a shot. He knew you weren't supposed to smoke while taking the Obatnya herb. It gave you the shakes and made you jumpy... so he smoked a couple of cigarettes and popped some Obatnya pills before talking to Sienna. It helped him play the part as he acted unstable and a little crazy on purpose, to see if Rollins would bite. And he did. It would also make Sienna even more worried than she had been and probably reach out for any kind of help.

Sienna was annoyed he made her worry that way, but was grateful to know the truth. Together that night they devised a new plan. The bait was set and it seemed the big fish had taken it.

They knew by then the house must've been bugged so they had to be extremely careful. The wedding had to continue but the focus would be capturing this monster once and for all. Even while they were in secret they had to pretend to be a part of Rollin's plan to get Sean some "help".

Close family members were finally told discretely and individually while out of the house running errands.

Jason and Sienna arrived at the location. It was an overbank with narrow strip of road underneath. There was a massive crowd waiting for them already. Jason and Sienna only needed to ask once and most of the townspeople jumped to pitch in and help.

The locals made sure to set up strategic detours so the caravan had no choice but to take this precise route. A herd of goats blocked the path and made sure they couldn't head one way. An overturned truck packed with boxes didn't allow them to go another way. The caravan of SUV's had only one plausible route to quickly get off the island and to their chartered boat.