Glass Reflection

Zeke gasped in fear, his eyes locked on the blood seeping from Aiden's wounds. His face immediately went pale and he felt his breath catch; he forced himself to look down at the floor, eyes screwed shut to avoid the sight entirely.

The woman sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Damn, you don't even have any reflexes left?" she asked rhetorically. "I was going to be worried that you might try to fight back, but if you can't even dodge a few knives anymore, I don't think it's a problem. You used to be so good at this. What the hell happened?"

"Just leave us alone!" Zeke begged between his teeth. "He obviously doesn't know what you're talking about and I don't have any idea either! Hurting him isn't going to get you what you want."

The blonde raised a hand as if to smack him across the back of the head, then hesitated. "S'wrong with you?" she asked. She didn't wait for an answer, instead lowering her hand and leaning on Zeke's chair. "Never mind. Regardless of what you think will or won't help, we will get the information we want one way or another."

"I can't be good at something if I never learned it in the first place," Aiden growled. He wanted to get up and try to get to Zeke, but even if he did, what was he going to do? He had to cut the ropes and that would take too long. He'd get caught again and they'd be in a worse state than before. He doubted making the two angry would help him with anything. He just wish he knew what to do. He kind of wished he was this Tyler person. Maybe if he was, he could get out of this mess. They kept telling him how 'great' he was.

Then he felt a chill run up his back. He whirled and raised a hand to smack something. A knife fell to the floor as the man's hand was pushed away. The man grinned and grabbed Aiden's arm and twisted it behind his back and yanked him off the floor. "Looks like he hasn't gone completely soft. He still has something left. We just have to put more pressure on him. That or he knew you weren't going to kill him so he forced his body to act clumsy." The man slammed Aiden back into the chair to tie him up again.

"I say we quit for the day and come back to this tomorrow. At least we know what to expect now."

The woman nodded her agreement. "We'll be able to come back tomorrow with more ideas about how to get this out of you," she said, looking to Aiden with a slight smirk. "I know it's still in there. We'll have the codes and the files we want soon enough. We waited a few years; a couple more days won't kill us."

She double-checked the bonds on Zeke's chair, found them satisfactory, and turned to leave the room. Zeke held his breath, waiting for them to leave and trying to quell the nausea that roiled in his stomach. It passed soon enough, leaving him to simply wait until the man and woman had left.

He still didn't know what to think. Would they get out? Could Aiden be lying still? He didn't want to believe Aiden was lying at all, and it seemed highly unlikely that he was, but Zeke didn't know what was happening at all anymore. Secret codes and memories and people who may or may not exist--it was too much to take in. He wanted nothing more than to go home.

Three long, awful, days passed. The agents tortured the two men until they were physically and mentally exhausted. Aiden's head was spinning. He didn't believe anything the agents told him but it was getting harder to deny them. He didn't remember anything they talked about but he was so tired, he was ready to admit to anything. He just wanted to go home, take a long bath and soak in warm water and curl up in bed. He wanted to apologize to Zeke and take him on the best first date ever and try to make all of this up to him. If the man still wanted to go on a date and associate with him that is. They hardly even spoke to each other in here. They were afraid to say anything and who wanted to talk when they could be sleeping?

Aiden heard the door open and groaned. The agents were back. His head rolled a little and looked over at the two. What were they going to do to him today? Couldn't they just shoot them and be done with it? He didn't have any information for them so all of this was just a a big waste of everyone's time. He sat up as much as the chair would allow of him and got ready for whatever they were going to do now.

"We have some new for you, Tyler," the man grinned. The showed him a photo of a man he didn't know, but somehow looked a little familiar. "You remember this guy?" the man asked.

Aiden shook his head. "no..."

Zeke didn't bother lifting his head when he heard the door open again. It was going to be the same two people as it had been for days. They didn't care if he looked at them or not. He just hoped that they would get bored quickly and leave him alone again.

The woman had figured out his fear of blood rather quickly, and she, at least, was more than happy to use it. Zeke had no idea at this point why they continued torturing him as well when it was clearly Aiden they wanted. For awhile, it seemed like they were trying to break Aiden through him, but it stopped mattering after that. What did it matter? They weren't best friends, they weren't anything--Aiden was a man he had met at a bar. Zeke couldn't understand why he was involved at all anymore, and wished they would simply give up. He was tired and pained and didn't think he could continue any longer.

The blonde-haired woman trailed behind her partner, smiling too gleefully. "I'm sure he'd be a bit sad if he found out you forgot him," she mocked, putting her hands on her hips. "That's your old partner there, you know? Hell, maybe he even wiped your memory. I wouldn't know. Either way, he seemed pretty damn important."

"I am not Tyler. This man isn't important to me. If he was important to Tyler, Tyler should still be with him or whatever. Just get tot he damn point," Aiden answered. He didn't want to play their games anymore.

"Oh, how horrible of you to say that. You still have a heart of ice. Well, if you don't care, then I guess you won't care what happen to him then. You see, he never got a partner after you left him. He was all alone... carrying out the missions and investigation and such the agency wanted from him. Good sport he was, he did everything they asked. He fell into our trap. It was amazing. If he had a partner to watch his back, he might have, you know, survived."

Aiden looked up at the man and then the picture again. He didn't know why, but his heart was hurting a little. Why was it hurting? He generally didn't like death and he always felt sad when he heard a story like this. Maybe that was why. He fidgeted a little. The man in front of him saw the movement and grinned a little more.

"You didn't even hear the best part, Tyler. It was a wonderful evening. Your old friend here came into the warehouse looking for something or just sniffing around. We found him and he put up a good fight. I shot him in the knee. He dropped to the ground and we had him tied up pretty quick. Started to break bones then. Dislocated both shoulders... broke his arms at the elbows and broke his wrists and then ever finger. Shattered his hip and both knees and ankles. He was quite the mess. He didn't scream at first but it got too much for him after a while. He screamed your name you know. Tears stained his cheeks and he muttered things about missing you and failing you. It was touching. Broke his ribs next. Punctured his lungs. He died suffocating on his blood," the man said as if he were talking about some great treat he had feasted on.

Aiden stared at him in horror. How could someone do that to another person? The images kept dancing in his head. He could hear the man screaming and calling for him. His heart hurt so much. Tears started to collect at the corner of his eyes. They had to be lying. James couldn't be dead! He just couldn't be! James. He knew that name. He remembered that face.. that sweet, kind, smiling face and that carefree laugh that bubbled out of those lips. Then it all started to come back; the memory device, the agency, the work he had been doing, his wish... and then leaving James behind to start a new life. He swallowed hard and didn't look up.

Zeke listened in stunned silence, only daring to finally lift his head so he could look at Aiden. The other man seemed unable to speak; Zeke opened his mouth to try to get Aiden's attention, but the woman cut him off.

"Anything coming back yet?" she asked, leaning down and trying to get a view of Aiden's face. "If that doesn't jog your memory, nothing will. It was a pretty eventful day--superiors were pretty happy that we got rid of him. Maybe not quite that satisfied with the methods, but nobody really cared. Just one man." She shrugged her shoulders.

"How can you do that to someone?" Zeke asked, but his voice sounded hollow. He knew how they could do something like that. He had spent days experiencing it firsthand. They could do it because they didn't care. They were selfish and soulless and only wanted one thing, and it didn't matter how they went about getting it.

The woman laughed lightly, the only response she gave.

He needed to get out of here. He needed to get Zeke out of here. These people were monsters. It wouldn't be long before they started breaking bones. They'd get frustrated and start the real torture. Now was for information but how long would that playing last? Tyler glanced up at the two. Their gaze was centered on Zeke when spoke. Good. They wouldn't be watching him. He could move and it would give him enough time to do what he needed to do hopefully. If not, he was going to fight like hell. He needed to get Zeke away from them and find out for good what happen to James.

Tyler dislocated his wrist with a rather painful twist and the ropes fell away thanks to the new position of his wrists. Once the bonds were gone, he was quick to bring his arm around to punch the man in the gut as hard as he could. The man gasped and toppled over a little, grabbing at his partner. Tyler was quick to use that time to get out of the bonds on his legs. He grabbed the gun the man had in his belt and used the back of the gun to hit the man again to get him away before he fired the gun and killed the man rather nicely. He knocked the woman down and hurried to Zeke to untie him.

"Can you run?" he asked and pulled him up.

Zeke sputtered for words as Aiden suddenly sprang into action, but was too startled to think of a coherent response. He managed to stumble to his feet with Aiden's help and nod dumbly to the question. There wasn't any time to answer properly as they went quickly for the door. He felt sick when he saw the man crumple to the ground, his own ears ringing from the sound of the gunshot.

The woman hit the ground hard. She was quick to jump back to her feet, her usual smile replaced with a scowl. Her hand went for another set of throwing knives, of which she seemed to carry an impossible number. As soon as those left her hand, she produced another dagger and sprinted after the two.

Zeke didn't have a chance to move and one of the throwing knives sank into the back of his arm. He cried out and instinctively grabbed at the wound, knocking out the knife. He felt blood leaking between his fingers and it took all of his effort not to panic as he tried to run.

"Shit," Tyler hissed when he heard the woman. He should have shot her when he had shot her damned partner. He heard the knives and pulled Zeke with him. He at least managed to get Zeke out of the way before he was killed by the dagger that hit his arm. He looked back and shot at the woman. She was out of his sight before he could shoot again. He needed to save the bullets in the gun. He knew there were going to be more people after them soon. He couldn't risk missing now. He needed to find another gun or a weapon he could use. Alarms were already going off.

Tyler scanned around quickly. He didn't see anything yet. he grabbed Zeke's hand and ran through the halls as fast as he could. When he came across someone he didn't recognize, he shot first. He didn't have time to stop and ask questions. When the bullets ran out, he threw the gun and continued to push Zeke through the hallways. He saw a disposal vent in a the wall and pulled Zeke over to it.

"Get in," he ordered and pushed him through. He was quick to follow. The two slid down the vent and into the garbage can outside.

Zeke ran with Tyler as fast as he could, managing to keep pace despite feeling dizzy and growing more confused by the second. He could feel the blood running down his arm, still threatening to make him ill, but as long as he didn't look at it, he could ignore it for now. he couldn't do much as he was dragged along. He made a half-hearted attempt to protest at being shoved through the cramped vent, but he was already sliding down before the words could leave his mouth, and they were deposited in a dumpster outside.

The woman who had been pursuing them didn't show again. She had taken cover when Tyler shot at her, and had taken another route through the building. Evidently, she didn't find the open vent, as they were alone for the moment.

Zeke scrambled to climb out of the garbage bin, smearing more blood across his hands and arm. He was panting for breath but knew they couldn't stop. Others would probably be outside in a matter of seconds, but he didn't know where to go or what to do. His brain was a mess of jumbled thoughts and adrenaline-fueled instinct, and the man with him was the only one who seemed to have any idea of how to get through this.

Tyler scrambled out of the garbage along with Zeke and straightener up a little. he looked at the building and did his best to memorize it for later use. He was sure the agency was going to want to hear about this and find out where the enemy was located. So much for living a normal and peaceful life. This was supposed to work! He was supposed to keep his memories locked away and no one was supposed to be hurt! How did they find him? How could the agency let some hacker get into the files? Something either was wrong at the agency or the enemy had one hell of a hacker.

"Come on. We can't go home. They'll find us if we go there. You'll be coming with me. I am sorry you got dragged into this mess. None of this was supposed to happen," he said to his companion and hurried through the streets and weaved through the alleys trying to figure out exactly where he was. Once he found out the location, he headed towards his old agency. They were going to have quite the surprise when he showed up.

After a while of traveling through the back streets, Tyler stopped in an alley and looked around to see if anyone was following them. One he was satisfied, he pressed the brick wall in a certain pattern. The wall slid aside and Tyler pulled his friend into the wall. "We are going to get your arm healed up. I am probably going to have to debrief first. They are going to be surprised to see me."

Zeke shook his head and stopped, pulling away from his companion's grip before they could go too far into the building. "Okay, no," he said. "I just want an explanation first. I don't even know who you are anymore. I don't know where we are or why they wanted you besides some stupid thing about 'files' and I really, really don't want to go anywhere else without figuring something out!"

He felt bad for snapping, but by that point, he felt like someone owed him an explanation. He was running through the back streets in nothing but socks because his kidnappers hadn't thought to give him his shoes when they grabbed him. His head hurt, he was covered in bruises andcuts, and he was covered in blood and he still thought he was going to panic and vomit at any second because of it. He didn't know whether this man's name was Aiden or Tyler or something else entirely, or whether he could trust him, or what this agency was, or anything else.

Zeke silently waited for an answer, refusing to move until something was said.

Tyler sighed and turned to face the man and ran a hand through his hair. This was too complicated for his taste. "I am sorry you got involved" he said. "None of this was supposed to happen. They weren't supposed to find me or trace me in any way. Tyler was supposed to be wiped from the database. Apparently, that hadn't happened. I can't tell you everything. That's just the way it is, but this should help. My name is Tyler Kerrison. In essence I retired working for the government and that meant my memories had to be suppressed. I became Aiden to live a normal life and start over.

"It seems that mentioning my older partner along with everything else that has been going on has triggered my memory so now I am back to being Tyler. The people that were holding us hostage have been trying to get their hands on some top secret things and I am the only on who has access. That is why they were looking for me. Unfortunately, I was with you when they found me. I am sorry. Will you come with me now so we can get your arm fixed and things sorted out? I would really like to make sure my old partner is alive and not dead, and then return to the normal life I was hoping to enjoy and.. perhaps continue the relationship we were going to start. If you'll have me of course."

Zeke was quiet for a long moment, digesting the information. Even though it was exactly what he needed to hear, none of it made sense. Secret government agencies, messing with memories . . . It was an explanation, and it was technically satisfactory, but it still barely helped.

"I don't think we need to have that conversation right now," he eventually said with a sigh. He glanced at his hands out of habit, flinched, and shoved both in his pants pockets. That damn blood. He needed a shower at the very least, among other things. "Let's just . . . go wherever it is you're trying to lead me. I feel like I'm going to pass out and I need to wash this off before I freak out more and . . . everything.

He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, trying to clear his head more. Despite everything, he felt just a tinge of foolishness. He was on the verge of a panic attack because he was bleeding a bit and Tyler was explaining and leading the way as if nothing had ever happened at all.

"All right," he answered. "I'll get you everything you once we are safe in the agency." He led the man deeper into the underground tunnel which was quick to morph into a rather nice hallway. They reached a door with a camera and Tyler crossed his arms and waited.

"State your identity please," said the automatic voice behind the computer system.

"Tyler Kerrington. Code number 38642007."

"That name and code does not exist in the database."

"Damn computer," he grumbled. "Username Dusk. Administrative mode. Password Novel. "

"Voice activation verified."

"Deactivate security for five seconds."

"Deactivating in 5...4...3...2...1..."t The system beeped and the doors opened.

Once more, Tyler rushed his friend through the hall and behind the doors into the agency before the computer locked up again.

Again too numb to do much more than what Tyler directed, Zeke followed through the door just before it closed shut behind them. He tried to straighten a little, though his appearance was haggard enough at that point that it probably wouldn't matter, and made an effort not to gape.

The room they were in now was white and impeccably clean, yet it reminded Zeke of a small office. An empty desk set at the back of the room despite having no secretary, and doors led off into other hallways. He was simultaneously curios to see what was there and terrified of the idea of wandering through here.

Before he could ask what was next, a door opened on the far right of the room. A hurried-looking man stepped out of the corridor behind it, glanced around the room, and settled his gaze on the newcomers. He was unimpressive at first glance, standing at an average height with dark brown hair and soft blue eyes. As he caught sight of the other two, he crossed the room in a few long strides, then hesitated, looking at Tyler, to whom he would be familiar.

"What are you doing back?" he asked.

Tyler looked around and couldn't help but smile a little. So much hadn't changed. It was like nothing had happened and he had only stepped out for a few minutes; not a few years. He took a deep breath and sighed. He wondered if the people he worked with were still here. The commander had to be here. Why would the man leave? He was still in his prime. For a moment, he debated on forgetting his dream at a 'normal' life. This was his normal life. He knew everything about this place; he helped design the computer and security systems.

When he saw James, he was frozen for a moment as relief flooded through him. His smile brightened a little and he rested his hands on his hips. "All these years and all I get when I return is 'what are you doing back'? Geeze, I see how loved I am. And here I thought you'd be a broken corpse." Tyler didn't move for a couple of seconds before he moved forward and hugged the man tightly against him just to make sure he was really there. He sniffled a little before he pulled away and wiped his eyes. "Gosh I can't believe them. They said they killed you. Do you have a partner?" he asked him and squeezed the man's arm.

Then he turned and motioned for Zeke to come forward. "This is Zeke. Zeke, this is my old partner James. Now I need to talk to the commander. We have an issue with the Aeus agency. They are the reason why I and my friend are here and why he is bleeding. He needs to get cleaned up and looked at to make sure he doesn't get an infection or something.

James finally smiled and laughed lightly at the unexpected hug. He returned the embrace with one arm. "I'm not dead as far as I know," he said. "You'll have to excuse me if I'm not as excited; I thought you might have been a couple of random intruders, which is the only reason I came down here in the first place."

He looked up again at Zeke, who was standing about a foot back despite Tyler beckoning him forward and appearing uncomfortable. "I see you're making friends . . ." He sighed deeply, his mirth gone. "You owe me an explanation when we have time, Tyler. I'll take care of him for now while you see the commander, but obviously, this wasn't supposed to happen."

Zeke was quiet throughout the exchange, unwilling to offer his bloody hand for a handshake as he might have otherwise. He felt an odd stirring in the pit of his stomach as he watched Tyler and James speak--he was extremely hesitant to call it jealousy at this point, but the interactions between the other two men hinted at something more than just an old partnership. He wasn't sure why it would bother him at all at that point in time, when there was so much else to worry about. Then again, with the sort of day he was having, it was just what Zeke needed to make everything better.

"Come on, then," James said, making a gesture for Zeke to follow him. "Find you a bath and some bandages. You both look like hell, really."

Zeke laughed a little and straightened up a little. He ran a hand through his rather dirty hair and groaned. He so wanted a bath right now. He looked down at his body that was stained with old blood and dirt. Gosh he must smell horrible. Especially after the dumpster dive. And he wanted a shirt. And pants. He didn't like being in just shorts. It was cold. He rubbed his arms a little and looked at his friend and gave him a reassuring smile. Things were going to get better now. he wanted to give the agency the information and hopefully, he could go back to living a normal life after this fiasco.

"Of course we look like hell. We've been through it," he said. "Yeven and Angela got a hold of us. Yeven is dead. Thank me later for that. I kind of want to take a shower and get dressed before I see the commander. You guys still have extra clothes right?" he asked. "I don't think the commander would like me walking in smelling like a trashcan."

(ugh sorry short. I'll be slow. working on a poem I want to publish and something with a coauthor.)

James nodded as he led the way down the corridor. "We have some extra clothing I can give you," he answered. He turned to look back at Zeke. "I assume you'd want a set as well."

"Please," Zeke answered listlessly. He felt numb more than anything else. He supposed it was an improvement from sheer panic.

James smiled softly in understanding and turned ahead again. "I can arrange that," he said. "We'll have to ask the commander what you'll be doing after this. Hopefully we'll just be able to turn both back out without too much issue, though I really don't know. Yeven and Angela . . ."

"Yeah. The best case scenario I would rather appreciate, is wiping our memories that any of this happened and return us to where we had been. I could deal without the stress and pain we went through in a matter of days," he grumbled and rubbed his face. "I don't know if we'll be allowed to though. This issue with me getting discovered doesn't spell out good news for the future in case someone wants to try this again. Angelina said they hacked into the old files and took the information. Something is wrong with the security or they have a really good hacker. I am going to need to take a look at that. And besides, why did my profile still exist? It was all supposed to be destroyed as if I hadn't existed; including my birth certificate and everything. Please tell me you don't have those on file," he grumbled.

"And at least Yeven is dead, so we only have to worry about Angela and the rest of her agency. They seemed pretty hell bend on the codes and breaking me," he commented.

Once int he clean up room, Tyler patted his old partner on the back. "See you on the clean side soon." Tyler turned and smiled at Zeke. "Let's get cleaned up." Tyler shut the door behind them and turned on the shower. It was a rather large shower. "Do you want to take a shower together or one by one?" he asked. "If one by one, we could always face the wall or whatever when the other is in the shower. I don't want you to be uncomfortable with things. I know a lot of things have been happening so it is a bit overwhelming and stuff so.. I want you to be comfortable."

James didn't answer Tyler's question about his file, instead letting the other man keep talking. He wasn't entirely certain himself of the situation; like Tyler, he would have to talk to the commander later to figure out what to do and what had happened to even bring Tyler back in the first place. It was quickly looking like a huge mess. He left Zeke and Tyler alone to get cleaned up and bandaged, heading elsewhere to find some extra clothing and make other arrangements.

Zeke ignored Tyler for the time being; it wasn't clear whether he even heard Tyler or not. He instead turned to the sink and twisted the faucet on full, not waiting for the water to heat before sticking his hands under the stream and scrubbing at his skin with his fingernails. He left red streaks on his arms from wrist to elbow from how roughly he scrubbed, but as he managed to get the majority of the blood off, he seemed to relax slightly.

"Just--just one at a time," he eventually said, releasing a shaky breath. It was hard to form a coherent thought. He hoped Tyler wasn't thinking poorly of him for his reaction. "S'hardly the time to think of anything else." Zeke leaned on the counter and hung his head, trying to quell the returning nausea and dizziness that always came with his fear. The wound in his arm throbbed as if to remind him of its existence.