Chapter 3
Lexa decided to bring Clarke to an abandon warehouse she bought 2 years ago. She created the place in case she ever needed a safe place to lay low for a while. It’s a three storey abandon warehouse which she bought and renovated to turn it into a safe house. From the outside, it looks deserted like always but on the inside, it’s basically clean and new. There were electrical fence around the premises with a key pad lock which she could unlock with just a few taps on the smart watch she’s wearing around her wrist or if someone inside buzzes them in.
With all the money that she had earned from working for the organization, the amount was way too much that she haven’t a slightest idea on what to spend it on. So the safe house is what she had decided on with the money she earned. But never once since the warehouse was completed has she ever had the need to use it. Only sometimes she would come by here to use the computers that she had set up or to restock necessities and foods in the pantry.
Now seemed like a good time as any to finally use this space. The organization doesn’t even know about it so it’s definitely safe for Clarke. And it would also give the brunette the opportunity to decode the files in the organization’s system and download everything from it.
So once she’s parked her motorcycle on the front entrance of the warehouse, they proceeded into the elevator taking them to the third floor. The first and the second floor of the warehouse was left looking abandoned with dust particles covering the whole place with broken chairs and tables left strewn around. But the whole third floor was much different; much... cleaner. It was turned into a studio like apartment.
Once you enter the place, there is a staircase right in front of you that leads to the three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. To the right by the front door is the coat closet and to the left is the open kitchen concept while the rest of the space is the living room area. There is also a bathroom near the kitchen.
The first two rooms upstairs were turned into normal bedrooms with queen sized beds, a nightstand and a four drawer dresser in each room. Next was the bathroom and the room at the end is where Lexa had it turned into her computer room that held her supercomputers. All of the windows are bulletproof with black curtains drawn shut. The front door is a sliding door that is made of pure iron and it has three locks from the inside. There are security cameras on every floor and staircases in this building.
When Lexa slides the front door open, she made way for Clarke to enter first. She then took a last look at the hallway out of habit before entering the apartment herself. She switches on the lights before sliding the door shut with a soft thud and locking it before slowly walking pass the kitchen and into the living room. She froze when she saw Clarke standing in the middle of it with her bag on the floor; unmoving. She didn’t know what’s about to happen so she slowly took off her leather jacket and set it on the kitchen counter. She then moves to stand a few steps behind the blonde and waited for her to say something.
When Clarke heard Lexa’s footsteps ceased to a stop somewhere behind her, she looks up from the floor and turns around abruptly to face the woman she thought to be dead. She was staring at the eyes of her supposedly dead wife with so much anger before she took a few powerful strides and stops when she was only a few inches away from the brunette soldier. Lexa looked surprised at the blonde’s fury but stood her ground anyway. Before she knew what was happening, she was being shoved hard on her chest by the doctor.
“You’re dead! You’re supposed to be dead! You made us all... me... believe that you were dead when all along you’ve been alive all this time?!” She shoved the soldier again. Lexa could tell that Clarke was shoving her with all her might, but the force of the push, barely made her move. And if Clarke was surprise by that, she chose to ignore it in favour of her anger towards... Well... she doesn’t even know who she was angry at. But since her dead wife is in front of her, it’s damn good place to start.
Lexa felt the anger and the sadness from the blonde so she just stood there and let the woman shove her as hard as she can and as many times as she wants. She knows the blonde needed it so she just gritted her teeth and let herself be a punching bag for the doctor. Even though the hits hurt, she ignores the pain and let Clarke release her pent up frustration on her. She couldn’t remember anything from her past or what she had done to make the blonde doctor this pissed at her but she figured she must have been one hell of an asshole to make her this way.
“I cried for you every night after I was told that my wife died in combat when it was supposed to be her last mission before she retires!” Lexa was stumped by the knowledge of her being married to this doctor and that she was supposed to come home for good. So when she looked down on her ring finger to analyze it, that’s when she finally notices the faded pale line on her finger where she now knows her ring used to be. ‘I can’t believe I never noticed that before’. She thought to herself before fisting her left hand and directs her attention back to the furious blonde in front of her.
“I nearly had a miscarriage with our child because I was left heart broken by the news of you being killed in action!” Another knowledge that nearly made her heart stops. But before she could ponder more, Clarke punches Lexa on her chest a couple more times which brought her back to reality. The blonde was so angry that she was crying as she shouted and hit Lexa with everything she had to the soldier’s chest.
“I watched them lower an empty coffin to the ground because they told me that the place that you’ve been sent to last had been decimated so badly that they couldn’t even find your remains at all! All they gave me was a flag, your fucking medals and one of your burnt dog tags they found at the site!”
“I have nightmares and sleepless nights because of you!” The blonde screamed before shoving at her chest. “I barely took care of myself because of you!” And then another. “I had to raise our daughter without you even though half the time I didn’t even know what the hell I was doing because we were supposed to figure shit out together!” And another. “I had to look at her every day and try not to be reminded of you because she’s every bit like you and it’s hard... It’s hard fucking not to see you in her!” Clarke finally slaps the soldier across her right cheek but even then, Lexa just stood there processing what she had just been told with a frown; staring at the blonde as her eyes begin to mist. Lexa felt for the blonde; with every fibre in her being she felt her. But for the love of God, why can’t she remember her? All she had were flashes. So how come she could feel Clarke’s pain right now even when she hasn’t even fully regain her memories of this blonde?
“I needed you and you weren’t there! All I had was ghosts of you in here!” Clarke said as she pointed to her temple. “I missed you so damn fucking much that it hurts!” She said in frustration as she hits her own chest; right on her heart. She then started shoving, punching and slapping the soldier again repeatedly. “Where the fuck were you when I fucking needed you?!” Clarke shouted before finally letting her tears go. Although Lexa was mumbling her apologies, Clarke couldn’t hear beyond her own screaming and rapid heartbeat in her ears. So the blonde kept on hitting until she felt the soldier grab her by her wrists to stop her.
“I’m sorry!!” Lexa raises her voice as she held on to the wrists and pulls Clarke’s hands against her chest. Clarke froze by the raised voice but her tears kept rolling down her face while her chin wobbles as she tries hard to hold in her sobs. Blurry green eyes connect with distraught teary blue eyes so that Clarke knew how sincere she is.
“I’m sorry... okay?” Lexa repeated softly. She sighed, “I-I don’t... I don’t remember... you or... or us... and what I did to make you this angry. But whatever it is, I’m sorry.” Clarke just stood there and stares into sad guilty green eyes as fresh new tears made its way down her puffed up face. “I might have been a bad partner to you, I don’t know...” Lexa said and shook her head at the same time. “I just... I don’t... I don’t remember any of it.” Lexa finally whispers the last part.
Clarke closes her eyes and then pushes at Lexa’s chest where her hands were being held against before turning away from the soldier as she hangs her head in defeat. Lexa remained at her spot and watches the doctor dejectedly took a seat on the couch. She covers her face with her hands and begins to silently sob.
Lexa didn’t know what else she could do or say. Even though she now knows that Clarke was her wife, she still felt... weird... around the doctor since she couldn’t really remember much of their past. Sure she’s starting to remember the blonde but it was mostly glimpse of it and the first real memory she had of Clarke was just last night but she wasn’t a hundred percent sure that that was a memory she shared with the doctor at all. Well she could ask but Clarke is still practically a stranger to her and given the anger the blonde had directed towards her just a second ago, she figured that now is not a good time. So Lexa breathe out a sigh before retreating into her computer room quietly to give Clarke her space.
~
In the computer room, two cabinets of blue gene supercomputer are placed against the right corner of the room. It’s connected to two desktop computers placed on the right side of the room with four 34 inch monitors set up on the wall above it with two keyboards and a gamer wireless mouse which is still slowly blinking different colours every few second. The other side of the room has three 18 inch laptops neatly arranged side by side to each other. The room is fully air-conditioned to prevent the computers from overheating and there are no windows to this room. The room is always in darkness because the glows from the computer screens gave the room enough light to see through everything anyway.
All of her computers are set to sleeping mode so that it won’t take up much of her time to start it all up. When Lexa took a seat on the desktop chair, all she needed to do is press on the space key of the keyboard to begin. As soon as the computer was ready to use, she started clearing her tracks by hacking into the hospital’s security mainframe and deleting all the times she was seen by the hospital security cameras including the time where she and Clarke made their escape. But she did left the part where Finn was seen in Clarke’s office acting all violent towards the doctor.
Once that was done, she hacks into the organization’s security mainframe next. After what happened earlier at Clarke’s office, the soldiers and Finn would surely have reported it in to their superior as soon as they were able to. And true enough, they have just released an all-points bulletin (APB) on her. She guesses that they’ve already figure it out.
Just as she was searching through the mainframe to decode every file there is; her mind drive notifies her of an oncoming alert. The organization was trying to reboot her mind drive but was failing. Lexa smirks but her fingers never stop typing on the keyboard. She just carries on decoding every file there is in the mainframe that they have stored. It surprisingly took her only about half an hour with the supercomputer to decode everything before she connects a 100 TB USB hard drive to her computer’s CPU and downloaded everything into it. The process will take a while since there was clearly a lot in it.
While the downloading is in progress, Lexa kept an eye for any changes in their system mainframe. When she hacks into their systems, she has the all Seeing Eye on their every move. She also has the power to make changes or to block them out from the system but Lexa chose to just monitor their movements instead.
Just then, a notification from their mainframe alerted her of a counter hacking in progress. Without wasting any more time, she quickly created a firewall so that the organization’s hacking team could not bypass her downloading and then blocking them from making any more attempts at hacking. She smirks when they fail to counter her.
“Yeah, nice try.” Lexa mumbles to no one in particular.
Lexa’s eyes were frantically looking through the computer screen while her fingers never stop moving on the keyboard. Just then a notification pops up from the mainframe and then a GPS coordinates came from none other than Emerson himself. He was reporting to Cage and Nia that he was en-route to the subject’s home.
“Shit...” The brunette mumbled. She looked at the time on her wrist watch and estimated that Emerson and his team would be at Clarke’s home within the next half an hour. So she quickly connects the progresses she had on the computer to her phone so that she could observe them remotely from anywhere she is. Once that’s done, she got up and was about to exit her room when she bumped into Clarke who was looking for her.
“Sorry...” Clarke mumbled. “I uh... I need to get home. Your m-... uh... Aria is probably wondering where I am.” Clarke said nervously.
“We need to get whoever is in your home right now. You guys can’t stay there. It’s not safe.” Lexa blurted out as she passes the blonde as she exits the computer room.
“Whoa... Hey... What? Why? What’s going on?” Clarke asked as she begins to panic.
“The men that came for you have alerted their bosses and are sending another team to your home right now.” Lexa said before she moved pass the blonde and went down the stairs and towards the book shelves in the living room.
The blonde quickly took out her phone and called Aria while she follows Lexa to the living room. She saw the brunette pulling at a specific book before the book case clicks open. The book is a lever and behind it was an open space where an array of hand guns and knives were kept. Clarke was jaw slacked when she saw the deadly stuff in it. She wanted to ask Lexa what’s with all of the weapons but the serious look on Lexa’s face told her to keep her questions for later.
While Lexa was preparing herself, Clarke talked to Aria on the phone and told her to pack her and Madi’s things and be ready for when they would come by to get them. Her mother-in-law asked why but Clarke told her that she will explain later. Sensing the seriousness in her voice, Aria gave in and did what Clarke told her to do.
Lexa reaches for her Colt Double Eagle and two of the extra clips. She then cocks the gun and places it to the back of her pants while keeping the extra clips in her jeans’ front pocket. Four of her throwing knives are already kept at the side of her boots and under her sleeves. And when she was all set, she closes the book shelves and went to the kitchen counter where she had left her leather jacket. She grabs it and puts them on before grabbing one of her car keys and motioned Clarke to follow her. They left the apartment and waited for the elevator. Clarke was confused by this since they were practically on the third level. They could easily just take the stairs down.
But once they got inside the elevator, Lexa opened a hatch below the floor selection buttons. Inside reveals a keypad that the brunette quickly keys the pass code to. Clarke notices the code and was speechless when it happens to be their wedding date; December 31st. The blonde isn’t sure if the brunette realizes it but Clarke thinks that maybe it’s her unconscious mind that remembers.
“Uh... Is there any specific reason why you chose those numbers as your pass code?” Clarke asked hesitantly. Lexa looks at Clarke from the corner of her eyes and thought for a bit with a frown. “No. It- It just came to me.” Clarke pursed her lips and nodded once before looking away from the brunette.
When the elevator doors dinged open, turns out they’ve arrived at a secret basement which Clarke wasn’t aware of. It revealed a huge garage space that held at least 20 cars and 10 motorcycles. Clarke was jaw slacked yet again when she laid eyes on all the different vehicles Lexa had in the garage.
Clarke turns her head to look at Lexa who was already pressing the button of her car key. The sound of a car beeping came from somewhere in front of them and there, sat an all matte black with red racing stripes down the middle is a 1999 BMW M3 Coupe.
Lexa walks over to it with Clarke trailing behind with her mouth open in awe. The brunette then wordlessly opens the passenger door for Clarke before moving to the driver’s side. When she has buckled herself in and made sure that Clarke is too, Lexa revs up the car and speeds them off to the blonde’s home.
~
The first few minutes of the drive were quiet. Clarke kept glancing to her long lost wife and didn’t know how to broach the subject about what was going on. But lucky for her, Lexa was observant and started explaining to her what she needed to know. “The men earlier, they work for an organization called The White Mountain Corp. The guy that pretended to be interested in you is actually interested in the project that you are currently working on.” Lexa explains.
“But... why would he... they want it I mean... I’m just a doctor. My work is to help patients; nothing more.” Clarke said in confusion.
“Yes. But at the wrong hands, it will be more than just medicine.” Lexa said while still keeping her eyes on the road. “I have my theories but right now, all they wanted is you dead and to steal your work for themselves.”
Clarke was looking forward with a frown, “H-How do you know all this?”
“Because...” Lexa pauses for a few seconds before she decided to tell the doctor the truth. “I was sent for you too.”
“W-What?!” Clarke shrieked.
“I’ll explain everything to you later. But until then, that’s all you need to know.” Clarke wanted to know more but the seriousness in Lexa’s tone told her to wait.
They were driving through Clarke’s neighbourhood when Lexa saw a black humvee in front of them. They were slowly driving through the neighbourhood, scoping for Clarke’s home. And when they found it, they parked the car in the driveway of the house and got out of it. Lexa slowed her car to a stop as well but parked a few houses away.
When Clarke notices the soldiers getting out of the humvee and walking towards her home with rifles, she started to panic. “Oh my God, Lexa! They’re going into my house!” She was about to leave the car when Lexa grabbed her wrist; stopping her.
“No! I want you to stay here. Whatever happens, you stay in the car. Understand? I will get them out, I promise.” Lexa said calmly but with determination in her eyes. Clarke shakily nods her head before she moves to the driver’s seat once Lexa got out of the car.
There were four soldiers including Emerson himself. Lexa saw one of them kicking the front door open and they all barged in shouting. The moment Lexa heard a little girl’s cry; she took out her gun with the silencer on and hurried in. She peeks in and saw two of them with Emerson, surrounding an older woman who was holding a crying little girl in her arms.
“Where is she?” Emerson growls while pointing a gun to the woman’s head.
“I- I d-don’t know...” The woman answers shakily.
“What do you mean you don’t know?!” He shouted and poked the gun barrel to the woman’s head.
Just then one soldier came down the stairs and saw Lexa by the door. He was about to shoot her when Lexa fired at him hitting right in between his eyes. His lifeless body stumbling down the stairs caught the attention of the rest of them in the living room. Lexa took that element of surprise and fired at the rest of them while Aria held Madi and hid behind the couch. Lexa manages to get the others, but not before getting hit in her right shoulder herself, except for Emerson. Like a coward, he took the opportunity and run out towards the back door.
When the fire ceases, Lexa steps into the living room and looks around to make sure that they were all dead. Just when she was sure that everything was clear, she heard the humvee turning on and backing up from the driveway and speeding off from the place. Lexa only looks on from the window since there is no point chasing after a coward. She breathes a sigh of relief but then she heard the quiet whimpers of the little girl and the woman from behind the couch.
Lexa slowly walks over to it and saw the woman lying on her side on the ground, her head tuck into her chest while holding the little girl in her arms. Lexa knelt by the woman’s head and gently touches her shoulder. The woman flinches and looks up before her eyes went wide in shock.
“L-Lexa... H-Honey...”
“I’m sorry, but we have to go. Now.” Lexa said as she held her hand out for the woman to take. The woman takes it without question and stood up with the whimpering child still in her arms.
The both of them were leaving the house when the woman pointed to the duffle bags by the door. Lexa grabbed them and as soon as they stepped out of the house, Clarke drove her car to the curb. The blonde ran out of the car and took her daughter in her arms; hugging her tightly when the little girl started to cry again. She mouths a ‘thank you’ to the brunette before quickly moving to get into the car. Aria followed behind and soon Lexa was driving them back to her safe house.
Once they were at the warehouse basement garage, Lexa wordlessly switches off the ignition and steps out of the car before grabbing the duffle bags from the trunk. She then waited patiently for both Clarke and Aria to get out of the car before locking it. The both of them trailed behind her as she leads them into the elevator to the third floor. She then pulls the sliding door open and beckons them to enter first.
Like before, Lexa took a last look at the corridors before entering the apartment herself.
Clarke walks into the living room and settles herself on the couch with Madi finally asleep in her arms while Aria cautiously trailing behind the blonde before settling down on the couch next to Clarke as well. Lexa puts the duffle bags by the couch unsurely before stepping back and going into the bathroom near the kitchen. She heard the older woman asking Clarke about her; how was she alive and did Clarke know all this time? But Lexa never heard the blonde’s reply.
Lexa quietly shuts the bathroom door and then stood before the mirror by the sink. She then slowly took off her jacket and long sleeve shirt beneath; leaving her in only her bra. Scars filled her body from missions and assignments she was put through when she first became the soldier for ‘them’. The gunshot wound to her right shoulder is just another scar added to the collection. It was a through and through and it was now bleeding slowly which is a good thing. So she cleans it as best as she could with warm water and took out the med kit she kept behind the mirror.
She was trying but failing to put the thread into the needle because of her shaky hands. She was so concentrated on it that she didn’t noticed Clarke pushing the bathroom door open. A gasp could be heard in the silence of the bathroom when the blonde saw the scars all over the brunette’s body.
Lexa drops the needle and thread in shock at the sudden sound and faces the blonde with wide eyes. “I-... Wha-... Uhm... S-Sorry. I-I didn’t mean to startle you.” The blonde stuttered but Lexa remained silent and wide eyed as she looks into worried blue eyes.
“I could um... h-help you...” Clarke motioned to the needle by the sink, “if you’d like.” Lexa looks down to the needle for a moment before nodding her head with a defeated sigh. “Sit down.” The blonde pointed to the edge of the bath tub but Lexa turns back to the toilet bowl instead and reaches out to close the lid before taking a seat on it. As she waited, she couldn’t help but observe how easy it was for Clarke to put the thread into the needle. But then again, she is a doctor after all. “You don’t have any anaesthetics so you’re gonna have to brave through this.” Clarke said when she stood beside her with the needle in hand.
“It’s fine. I’ve had worst.” Lexa said nonchalantly without looking up at the blonde who froze at the admittance. Clarke took a moment to look at the old scars that she could see. Some were poorly healed but healed nonetheless. And some healed nicely. Before she could ponder more, she shook her head and started sewing the new wounds on Lexa’s shoulder; the front and back. Surprisingly, Lexa didn’t even flinch at all.
“Thank you for saving Madi and Aria. And I’m sorry for my outburst earlier.” Clarke begins to say after a while. “I didn’t mean to...” She sighs as she left the sentence hanging.
“It’s okay. I understand. You thought I was dead. You grieved about it and then suddenly I was there... alive... If it were me, I’d be angry too.” Lexa said softly before stealing a glance into the doctor’s eyes and then looking away. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry. I honestly didn’t know about you. They never told me anything.”
“What did they do to you?” Clarke whispers distractedly as she traces some of the scars on the brunette’s shoulder blades when she was done sewing. There were also faint lines across her arms, her back, her chest and stomach. Lexa remains quiet as she watches the blonde tracing the scars as if in a trance. Clarke then gently cups the brunette’s left jaw with her right hand and smoothes it with her thumb. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here.”
Clarke then realizes the sweet tender gesture she’s doing before removing her hand away and reaches for the antiseptic cream. She applied it around the wounds before covering it up with some gauze and tapes. “Done.” The blonde said and then she turns around to clean up the mess to keep herself busy.
“Thanks.” Lexa replies softly before slowly putting back on her long sleeve shirt again. Lexa was about to ask Clarke who Aria is to them when the blonde’s phone buzzes in her pocket. She took it out and answers the call when she saw who it is that is calling.
“Oh my God Clarke! Are you alright?! Someone just called in and said that they heard gunshots from your house! Neighbours saw you, Aria and Madi leaving with someone on a black vehicle! I kept calling but you didn’t answer! I’m on my way to your house right now!” The voice on the other line practically screams.
“I’m fine O. Too much went on and my phone was on silent. And I’m not there by the way. I uh... I got Madi and Aria out just in time.” Clarke answered almost hesitantly while looking into Lexa’s eyes.
“What... What’s going on? Why were there people shooting in your house anyway? Where are you?”
“Uh... Hold on, O.” She then covered the receiver of her phone with her right hand, “That’s Octavia and she’s a detective. She got a call about the incident earlier at my house and she’s on the way there. Do you think it would be okay if I tell her to meet me here to explain?”
Lexa thought about it for a second before coming up with a plan. “Tell her to go to 6th Treeland Street. There’s a 24 hours diner there called the Fire Dines. We’ll meet her there.” Lexa answers the blonde who nodded her agreement. “Oh and tell your friend not to say anything to anyone about ever having talked to you.” The brunette added. Clarke looks confused for a second before Lexa added, “Safety purposes.”
“Hey uh, O. You still there?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m here. What’s going on?”
“Listen. When you’re done with your work, meet me at 6th Treeland Street. There’s a diner there called the Fire... Dines?” Clarke said unsurely to Lexa who nodded her head. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Uh... Okay... S-Sure... Is everything okay? I’m starting to worry here.”
“Don’t be. I’ll explain later. And also, don’t tell anyone that you’ve talked to me.”
“But why?”
“Just do it okay? For me...”
“Okay okay. I won’t say anything. I gotta go. I’ll call you later when I’m done. Raven’s calling me now. I’m gonna tell her what you’ve told me. And by the way, your mom called me earlier about you too saying that a nurse called her and told her that she saw you with a hooded person? She also said she saw three men in your office when she walked pass it. So yeah, you mom is frantic right now. Just a heads up.”
“Shit... Harper... Argh... Uhmm... Okay uh, just bring Raven along. Tell her not to call me. I’ll meet you there later. And I’ll deal with my mom later.”
“Alright. Stay safe Clarke.” Octavia said before hanging up.
Clarke stuffs her phone into her front pocket with a sigh before looking back at expectant greens. “Now you have to explain everything to me before I could explain it to them.”
Lexa nods and then slowly got up from the toilet cover. She put the med kit in its rightful place before leading Clarke back into the living room where Aria was still sitting with a sleeping girl on her lap. When Clarke sat down, Lexa moves to stand before them.
After taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Lexa begins her story. “I first woke up in a medical facility somewhere with no memory of who I was or what had happened to me. The doctors present at the time told me that I suffered from amnesia given the ‘situation’ that they found me in. They told me I survived an explosion. They never told me anything else; just that.” Lexa pauses for a breath before continuing her tale. “They said I was injured badly and that they had to do a major surgery on me to save my life. But now I don’t know if that’s true either.”
“They showed and explained what they did to me. They’ve actually covered my bones with titanium plating that they’ve design to specifically fit around them and they’ve also added a mind drive at the back of my neck. The lines you saw, it’s from it.” She told Clarke specifically. “I didn’t know how I survived all of that because from the research I did, it’s close to impossible.” Clarke nodded along but Aria remained still as she listens. “At first I didn’t see the use of what they’ve done to me. They were suppose to help me heal and then send me back home... wherever that is... but they told me that I didn’t have anyone waiting for me back home. So they offered a place for me and I stayed. They trained me and I became the perfect soldier... their perfect soldier.”
“Wh-What does the mind drive do?” Clarke interrupted after a moment of processing.
“It works like a computer hard drive. You could store vast amount of knowledge in it and I could learn everything abnormally fast once it’s downloaded into it. As of right now, I’m an expert in hand to hand combat, a master hacker. I’m also able to drive any known vehicle; be it land vehicle to planes to ships and I’m very much familiar with every weapon to ever exist in this world. It uh... also advances my memory; my mind. It also made me have a highly advance photographic memory as well. Whatever I see or hear, it’s automatically saved into the mind drive.”
“So if they were to capture you, could they play back your memories?” Clarke asked intrigued.
“Yes technically they could but I’ve made sure that they can’t.” The brunette answered confidently.
“Why?”
“Because my mind drive has bonded with me. Every important memory I encounter, I’ve isolated them in a secret compartment within it where no one could find it. And I’ve also made sure that they couldn’t bypass the pass code to the memories if they ever find it.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Trust me; they can’t. I’ve been to a lot of ‘protocol check ups’, as they like to call it and they’ve cleared me every time.” Lexa’s answer seemed to calm the blonde doctor down. “So anyways... with all the stuff they did to me, imagine if they get their hands on your work and turns it into a serum that could allow fast healing.” Realization dawned on Clarke’s face. “At least that’s what I theorized they’re going to do once they get their hands on your work. Soldiers with fast healing and advance knowledge in... everything, durability and strength? It will definitely be impossible to defeat or kill.” Lexa added.
Clarke sighed and rubs her face with both of her hands before looking up at the soldier. “Are there anymore... you know... like you?” The blonde asked hesitantly.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve hacked into their mainframe earlier and I saw that they were working on one other candidate as we speak. I’m not sure if this one will survive the procedure since all the others before either died on the table or after the surgery.”
“God...” They were silent for a while when Clarke decided to ask, “So... you really don’t uh... remember me? Or us?” Clarke asked and pointed to herself and Aria at the ‘us’ part.
Lexa looks down at her feet before giving the woman her honest answer, “I have flashes that’s all. No concrete memory, I’m sorry.” She said in a whisper and then sighs.
“About a year ago, I started having flashes of you, Clarke. I made a mistake of telling my superior about it. She told me that they were going to run some tests but as it turned out, she had her people erase the flashes I’ve been seeing. But lucky for me, my mind drive have downloaded every pieces of flashes I’ve gained and when they thought they have erased everything. I lied to them when they ask me if I could remember anything at all after the first procedure. And they’ve even created a neural serum to suppress my memory since that first time. Once a week I was told to come in and get that serum but it never worked on me.” She pauses before continuing. “Anyways, my superior gave me 72 hours to do my job and I didn’t realize that she had sent another to get to you too.”
“Finn...” Clarke said; suddenly remembering. “He was in it?”
“I didn’t know who he was but I recognized the men that came earlier to your office and I knew he had to be working for them too.” Lexa said. “How long have you known him?”
“Uh... I met him about a year ago at one of the hospital Galas. Ever since then he kept popping up at work to try and ask me out. I only accepted his invitation about 3 months ago. Just regular hang outs really. But after last night, he thought that we were dating.”
“I guess my superior sent me because he was taking too long. And I theorized that I was the last resort since my target is you. She probably didn’t sent me earlier because she’s afraid that you might trigger my memory.” Lexa muses. “I guess she’s right.”
“Your superior is a woman?” Clarke asked.
“She’s a Major General in the Marine Corps actually.” Lexa answers truthfully. Clarke was shocked but remained silent.
And then without another word, Lexa went up into her computer room and grabbed her laptop. But instead of going back down the stairs, Lexa jumped over the railing and landed in the living room with an amazingly soft thud. But since the whole place is dead silent, the thud startled the blonde who was mindlessly playing with her ring on her necklace and Aria who was caressing her granddaughter’s hair.
“Jeez. What the...” When the both of them look up, they saw that it was only Lexa before breathing out a sigh. “Can you use the stairs like us normal beings?” Clarke scolded lightly.
Lexa ignored the blonde and took her seat on the two seater couch furthest from the blonde. “What’s his name?” She asked without looking away from her laptop.
“Uh... Finn Collins.” Clarke answered almost unsurely.
“Full name, please.” Lexa added.
“Uhm, Finnegan Stuart Collins, I think. After what happened, I’m not sure if that’s even his real name.”
Lexa types in the name anyway and kept typing as her eyes frantically moves all over the laptop screen. Clarke was stunned from earlier when she saw Lexa using her lab’s computer and now, she was just amazed at the way Lexa uses the laptop because never in a million years has she ever thought that her wife could be this tech savvy.
The Lexa she knew once asked Clarke how to lower down the volume of the laptop and when she was told to press the F7 button on the keyboard, her computer inept wife pressed the letter ‘F’ and number ‘7’ on the keyboard instead. And also the Lexa she knew that used to type really slowly with just her two index fingers is now typing with all of her fingers without even looking down at the keyboard once.
While Clarke was admiring her wife, Aria was unusually quiet and was just staring at her long lost daughter in wonder and longing. A few minutes passed and when Lexa finally found what she was searching for, she gave the laptop to show it to Clarke who read into it along with Aria peering from Clarke’s side.
The page reads along the lines of, ‘Finnegan Stuart Collins. 34 years of age; wanted for conning, 20 counts of rape and 3 second degree murder. He escaped from prison a year and a half ago when his cell was broken into by...’
“Oh my God... I can’t believe I went out with him.” Clarke pauses and thought for a minute on all the times she went out with him. “This seemed to be quite the news but why have I not seen this before?” She asked.
“Everything about him was deleted from the web and the police departments’ systems. It made it hard for the authorities to find him. All he has to do is lay low and since he’s been working with them, staying invisible was just that easy. But there is always a way to find his files since deleted files always go somewhere. You just have to know where to look.” Lexa said as she took back the laptop and continues typing.
“Come to think of it, he has been weirdly interested in my work. Every time we meet, he would never fail to ask me about my work progress.” Clarke added distractedly.
“Hmm... Alright, as of right now,” Lexa punctuated the word ‘now’ with a press of the ‘enter’ key, “he’s back on the wanted list. His deleted files have been ‘suddenly’ restored into every police headquarters systems. They should put out an APB on him very soon.”
“How do they know where to find him? Like you said, he’s working for them, which makes it easy for him to disappear.” Clarke pointed out.
“I’ve attached a video footage of him in your office from earlier today.” Lexa answered distractedly as she read through Finn’s file from the laptop.
“But you’re in it.” The blonde interrupted.
“I’ve deleted my part and the part where you left with me. Don’t worry; I know how to cover my tracks.” Lexa answered while still reading through the file.
Clarke sighs and rubs her temples, “So... What now?”
“We need to secure your project files. You can keep it here; it’s safest. No one knows about this place; not even them.” Lexa told Clarke who nodded along. “For now, we’ll just stay here. We will plan the next move when we meet your friends later.”
The brunette’s eyes then caught the movements from the little girl who is trying to get comfortable on Aria’s lap. “Uh... The first two doors upstairs are the bedrooms. Choose any. She might be more comfortable if she sleeps on a real bed.”
“Yeah, that would be great, thank you.” Clarke said as she stood up and gently carried her little girl to the bedroom upstairs.
Once the blonde was gone, Lexa was left with the older woman who was currently staring at her. Lexa didn’t know what to do or say to this woman who clearly should mean something to her. So she decided to get up and go to the kitchen to put the kettle on. As she was standing facing the stove; waiting for the water to boil, she felt a present behind her. She knew it was the older woman but she didn’t dare to turn and face her because... what was she to say? But what surprises her was what the woman says next.
“I-I know that you don’t remember me but... w-will you allow me to hold you? Just this once...” The woman said almost in a whisper. She could tell the woman was trying so hard not to break by the trembles in her voice.
Just then the kettle whistles loudly. Lexa turned the stove off and slowly turns around to face the woman who looks timidly back at her. So Lexa hesitantly took a step forward and the woman had her arms wrapped around Lexa’s waist in an instant. Aria rests her head on her heart with closed eyes and listens to the soft thumps of the heartbeat. Somehow the hug felt familiar to Lexa and so she melted into the embrace.
“I’ve missed you so much my dear daughter.” The woman mumbled brokenly. Lexa felt bad for not remembering her own mother so she wrapped her arms gently around the woman’s shoulders and hugs her back. The woman cried softly in her arms and Lexa let her. It’s the least she could do.
“I’m sorry that I don’t remember you.” Lexa whispers to the woman.
The woman leans back and cups her daughter’s face. “It’s alright. It’s not your fault. Maybe one day you will. I’m just glad that you’re alive.” She replies gently as she soothes her thumbs on Lexa’s jaw line. Lexa was looking into the woman’s soft light brown eyes and the smile the woman gave was so bright despite the tears that a sudden flash of the same woman smiling at her with tears in her eyes at the beach played in her mind.
**
Alexander just left for his sixth tour and Aria was feeling sad as she stood there hand in hand with an 8 year old Lexa by her side. Little Lexa knew that her mom was sad so she decided that they should go down to the beach. Alexander told her once to go there if ever she was feeling sad. He used to say that the soft sea breeze will blow your sadness away. And she did believe him because Lexa is always happy whenever they go there.
So here they are walking hand in hand as the breeze from the shore line blew gently on their faces. Suddenly the little girl tugs at her mother’s hand stopping their walk. “Mommy, don’t be sad. Daddy told me to protect you whenever he’s away. And I promise him that I will. Daddy will come home soon, I know it. I love you mommy.” Aria kneels down and cups her daughter’s face and soothes her thumbs on the girl’s jaw line.
"I know, honey. Thank you. And I love you too little one. Always remember that.” The woman said with a smile so bright that little Lexa knew that she made her mother happy that day.
**
When her flashes dissipate and the same woman, now older, was looking worriedly at her. “Are you alright little one?” Aria asked gently but Lexa shook out her head before clearing her throat. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” She answered with a small frown.
Just then Lexa heard Clarke answering her phone before hanging up and informing her that her friends were 15 minutes away from the diner. Lexa took a last look to the older woman before she went to grab her leather jacket and keys. Before they left, Lexa told Aria that she’s not expecting any company and told her specifically not to buzz anyone in no matter how urgent they seem. Aria understood the seriousness of the situation; doesn’t fight her daughter on it.
Once they left, Lexa and Clarke took the elevator to the basement. And this time, Lexa decided to take her light grey Mercedes-Benz GLC- Class for tonight.
