Mister Nobody

Chapter 17

They had been driving for about a few hours when Jack started to sweat. Even though it was the middle of September and the air conditioning wasn't on in the car, Jack felt like he was in the middle of the desert. He rubbed some of the moisture off of his face and heard Alison speak. "Relax. It's a temporary side effect of Ozone. It'll pass in a few minutes." Nodding, Jack looked outside at the road ahead of them, then asked a question that had been itching at the back of his mind. "Did you do any missions for Castling before finding me?" Alison didn't say anything. Jack sighed and turned to her slightly. "Look, if we're gonna trust each other, you have to be more open with me." Alison stayed silent, then spoke. "Yes.They shipped me out twice. Why does that matter?" Jack put his hands in his lap. "Because if we're going to be able to work together, I need to know you just as well as you know me. And right now, I'm at kind of a disadvantage." Alison sighed, then nodded. "Alright. I was born in New Mexico, to two parents who loved me very much. Then my mother died in childbirth. Castling, seeing the opportunity, told my father that I didn't survive the birth either. In reality, they took me away and sent me to one of their training schools. I was taught everything a kid should know: math, science, languages, etiquette, things like that. Then when I got older, they taught me how to fight, shoot, kill. Made me into a weapon. Made all of us into weapons." Jack frowned. "How do you know what happened to your parents? Weren't you too young to remember?" Alison kept her expression blank. "Before I escaped, I looked up my bio in their database. Told me everything I needed to know. Only problem was I didn't really want to know. Somewhere out there, my father is still alive, and he doesn't know I'm alive." Jack looked down. "Would you ever want to see him again?" Alison turned her head slightly, and Jack thought he could see a flicker of a grimace on her face. "No." Deciding to leave that topic of conversation alone, Jack changed the subject. "You said you met me through sparring. Were we friends other than just that?" Looking at Jack for a moment, Alison shook her head. "Friends are a bad thing to have, Jack."

Finally, as the sun was beginning to set over New Jersey, they turned off the highway and headed towards Arcola, driving the truck through the downtown district. Jack looked at Alison as they drove through the streets. "What are we looking for, exactly?" Turning the wheel down a side road, Alison motioned her head to a building in front of them. "That." Jack saw that there was a large club in front of them, with people lined up out the door trying to get in. "Isn't it a bit early for clubbing?" Jack asked, and Alison scoffed. "For this club? Never." Parking across the road, Alison and Jack got out, walking straight to the front door where they could see a large man who appeared to be the bouncer guarding it. As they approached him, he held his hand out. "No one in early unless you're on the list." Alison stared back at the man. "Tell your boss that Alison wants to see him." Frowning a bit, the man decided to humour Alison, then tapped his earpiece. "Boss, some girl named Alison is outside and wants to see you." The orders he got must have been strange, as he frowned. "You want me to do what? Ok..." He turned back to Alison. "Show me your tattoo." Nodding, Alison turned around and pulled down her coat, showing off the tattoo of the chess piece on her right shoulder blade. Looking surprised, the man spoke again. "It's her, boss." Opening the door, he motioned to Jack and Alison. "Right this way." As the two of them walked inside, they could hear the protests and shouts of the people waiting in line behind them. Jack was immediately hit with the smell of alcohol, drugs, and perfume as he entered the darkened nightclub. He could see a large neon dance floor in the centre of the room, with a DJ that was pumping electronic music from huge speakers on a stage. Several people were dancing to the beat, their bodies gyrating back and forth. Around the dance floor were two floors, the top having a balcony and the bottom having a bar on each side, where people were being served drinks and what appeared to be a strange form of e-cigarettes with a familiar-looking amber liquid inside of them. Walking past the dance floor, Alison went to a door that was locked off by another bouncer. Speaking loudly to be heard over the music, she looked up at him. "Your boss let me in." Nodding, the bouncer unlocked the door and ushered them inside.

The room was soundproofed, so thankfully Jack's ears could get a break. Unfortunately, the same smell and air still remained, as a constant thick wave of smoke seemed to permeate his nostrils, making him cough slightly. Clearly this was more of a room where people could "relax". He could see several people reclining in booths, clearly stoned out of their minds or worse. Most of them were smoking the e-cigs that Jack couldn't quite put his finger on how they were familiar. Walking through the lounge, Alison made her way to the back room, seeing an Asian man wearing a white shirt and black tie that was slightly askew due to the woman who was clutching it and absentmindedly sucking on his neck. Another woman was at his other side, her head resting on his shoulder as she blew smoke from between her lips. As the man looked up and saw Alison, his eyes widened and a huge grin grew over his face. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my favourite government agent. And here I thought you were dead." Giving the man a courteous, if somewhat snarky smile, Alison spoke. "Hello, Randall. It's been a while." Randall smoothed his messy hair back and nodded. "So it has...I should really be thanking you, since all of this was because of you and that special little juice you gave me." Jack's eyes widened as it clicked. Staring at Alison, she ignored him as she continued to talk to Randall. "You are doing well for yourself, yes." Smiling, Randall motioned to them. "Come, have a seat. You and your friend are always welcome in my place." Sitting a bit awkwardly in the recliners, Jack and Alison looked across at Randall as he poured a glass of Scotch for the both of them. "Now, if I know you, Ali, and I do know you, very well, I know that this isn't just a social visit. You need good ol' Uncle Randall's services yet again, do you?" Nodding, Alison took the glass and held it in her hands. "Yes, Randall, I'm afraid I do."

Outside of the club, an unmarked car pulled up and parked close to where Jack and Alison's truck was. Two men got out dressed in black suits and formal attire. Looking at the truck, one of them pulled out their phone and dialled a special number. Holding the phone up to his ear, it only took one ring to connect. "Have you found something?" The voice on the other end asked. "We have, sir. The car we've been chasing is outside a club in Alcorn. Sending you the coordinates now." Taking the phone away from his ear, he sent a text message that contained their current GPS location. Back on the MMC, Franklin Ralston pulled his phone away from his ear, and looked at the text message he'd just received. The coordinates were close. They could still catch them. Walking over to Holloway, he spoke to him. "Deputy Director, my men just got a fix on DeLancie's car. We managed to find it by looking at security camera footage that showed any cars that were stolen in the past day. It's parked outside a club in Alcorn. We believe that they may still be inside." Holloway's eyes widened as he stood up and shouted to the driver. "Get us to Alcorn, now!" The truck shifted slightly as the driver began to turn around and head towards the city. Looking at his watch, Holloway cursed. "It'll take us 30 minutes to get there. They'll be gone by the time we catch up." Ralston stared at him. "Deputy Director, my men are already in the area. With your permission, I can send them after DeLancie and Blair now, to at the very least give us more time." Holloway squinted his eyes and considered it, then pointed at Ralston. "If they run, or end up dead, it's your ass." Nodding, Ralston smiled. "Thank you." Dialling the number again, Ralston spoke to the agent. "You are clear to engage targets. Apprehend at any cost."