Previously on TLS...

Last we left Team LEG in Episode 9, they were trapped inside a mansion by an unknown villain. Friends had turned into enemies. Gia Doyle wasn't acting like herself with her head injury, while Steven Webb and Octavia, Bobbie Sullivan and Ethan all were brought to a very familiar looking mansion atop the mountain.

Jared Quinn awoke to find himself in a strange environment, while Alison Corday found the bodies of Mackenzie Gray and Echo piled outside the abandoned safe house.

---

Episode 13: Their Father's Lies
by Toni Walker

No, he wasn't surprised by Bobbie's revelation. There had been a time when he wanted to believe in his father. Know that he was innocent, but too many things didn't add up. Too many things had been slid under the proverbial carpet that were never addressed again.
The microdot for one. He remembered the microdot. He remembered that nanites, but according to this reality, none of it had happened. It had been a dream. Hell of a realistic dream.

He listened to the others as they talked and discussed strategy. Gia whispered to Octavia about him being Ian, and why wouldn't she? She was a survivor, just like him. She would use any information she had on hand to make sure she was the one to come out on top. She was a hell of a lot different now than when she first joined the Legacy ten years ago. Or maybe that was thirteen considering the three year gap in his memory.

She had been happier then. She looked happier, as if she was content whereever she was in her life before she lost her memory and was found by Philip Lancaster. She had an uncanny knowledge of a curious group of warrior monks called the Knights Templar. And it was her knowledge that helped them track down the smugglers and bring them to justice. That was back in the day when they helped people, organizations and the government. Back when they were legit. Back when the name Legacy meant something.

Everything was different now. Tainted by his own father who had used his power to corrupt. But he wasn't the only one. The High Council was just as guilty of this sin. Together they were as horrible as the Black Council ever thought of being. There had been a time when he thought the Black Council and Julian Black to be his worst enemy, but now he knew the truth. A truth he had contemplated on for years.

The Legacy was his enemy.

And the operatives were only pawns in their ultimate game of cat and mouse. To what end, he still wasn't sure, but whatever it was, the Black Council was still a threat to their objective.

His attention was drawn back to Gia who was now poised next to him. Her eyes were glassy with pain but that wouldn't stop her from killing him if she had the chance. Before she could speak, he told her the only truth he knew for certain.

"I'm not him. I'm not Ian."

Gia smirked. She had obviously been expecting his answer. "And why am I supposed to believe that?"

"Take a look around you, Doyle. What do you see? All Legacy operatives save for Mr. Webb here. All people who certain parties want dead and have tried to kill numerous times."

"You're insane. You're Ian. Some clone they created to kill us all." Gia nodded to Octavia who remained aloof in her lounge chair, not moving. She wasn't interested in the drama.

Bobbie nodded to Ethan's ruminations. "I see what you mean. One of these things is not like the others."

"Exactly." Ethan marched over to a bookshelf and began throwing books. They crashed to the floor as he searched for something, anything to get them out of there. He had an inkling when he arrived that he had been there before. Maybe he had. Maybe this inkling was a memory and not just an inkling.

"Don't you see what he's saying?" Bobbie asked Gia, Octavia and Steven. He counted each of them off one by one. "Operative. Operative. Operative. Civilian with Operative." Bobbie then pointed to Ethan. "Wouldn't it then make sense that Ethan is Ethan considering we're all operatives? Why stick a killer in with us? I'm certan there is more of us coming. Look at the table."

For the first time, the rest of them took in the sight that garnished the table setting in the study. There were ten perfectly shaped candles. Each resembled one member of the Legacy.

"Here is me. You Gia. Octavia." Bobbie stalled. "Even you Mr. Webb." He thought a moment. "Why would there be one of you? They couldn't know that you would save Octavia from the helicopter crash. It was pure coincidence."

"Maybe it wasn't," Ethan said simply. "We're each here for a reason. You said earlier that Ezekiel wanted his daughter back?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Who were the operatives responsible for her kidnapping?"

Bobbie's eyes grew wide at the realization blossoming in his mind. "Your father, my father..."

"A freelancer named Silas." Steven Webb offered his two cents into the conversation.

"Your father?" Ethan asked?

"Yes."

"Looks like we have a winner," Gia said sarcastically. "But there is one problem with your theory. I don't know who my father is."

Steven's hard eyes met Gia's. "Looks like someone has the inside scoop, sister. I doubt very much gets past them. Your past included."

Octavia stopped examinating the miniature wax idols of themselves and said, "But my father never worked for the Legacy."

"Yes, but he was part of the Bulgarian Underground rebels," Ethan knew what he was saying was true. Zeller was the madman who had them trapped inside the large mansion. "Maybe Ezekiel's daughter was taken via the underground. If so, he would be a possible suspect to someone like Zeller."

"NO!" Octavia stalked to the bookshelf and kicked the area that Ethan had recently cleared of books. Her foot slammed into the empty space time and time again. "NO. My father vould not have done such a thing. Never kidnapp someone else's child."

Ethan put a calming hand on Octavia's shoulder. "Maybe he was a victim of one man. Maybe they all were."

"Who, who vould kidnapp children?" Octavia pulled free of Ethan's grasp and moved to the opposite corner of the room.

He wanted to keep them all at arms length. Octavia had the right idea. He was sure who had initiated the kidnapping. The memory that had hauted him for years blossomed into his mind full blown.

He knew it was Franklin. He was certain of it. More certain then he ever had been. The memory that came to him told him that. It was the memory that shook him to his very core and confirmed what he had feared for years.

His father had kidnapped him from his parents.

***

Alison and Jared ran to safety from the avalanche. He was still in massive pain, but he had a clear head. Alison, however, was in major panic mode.

"We're not going to make it," she yelled, running at the top speed she could manage. Her pace was still slower than Jared's.

"We will, just keep running!" he shouted. The words he spoke were overshadowed by the grumble of the mountain as it gave a great shudder and disintegrated beneath them.

Alison's screams caught in her throat. She was going to die.

***

Jared fell straight down landing on his back Debris fell into the hole on top of them knocking the wind out of him and rendering Alison unconscious. He had to get her and himself to safety before they were completely trapped by the avalanche.

His bruised body didn't want to listen to his inner commands. He wavered and wobbled once back on his feet. He was still feeling the effects of whatever had been injected into him.

Jared drug Alison's body to a vantage point far enough away from the diameter of the hole to keep them away from any more falling debris. Alison laid in an uncomfortable position over rocks and dirt, but he couldn't help that. He was more focused on discovering an exit. The hole they had fallen into resembled a mine shaft. The construction was crude, but he was pretty sure it would be safe enough to use as an escape tunnel. The only problem was... he didn't know where this particular tunnel came out.

***

Franklin Fairchild gazed in on Kevin. It was too bad, really. He had more hope for him to overcome the coma state. In previous trials, only the strongest survived the programming Franklin had subjected Kevin to.

It truly was the ultimate failure. He'd had so much hope that Kevin and Ethan would both come out on the strongest side. Ethan had. Kevin had not. Franklin would give Kevin one more week, then he'd have him cancelled. Ethan, on the other hand, would come in very useful for his future projects.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Fairchild? His secretary approached from behind carrying her notebook-sized PDA and stylus.

"We must protect our secret by deleting any files related to Ezekiel and the candle killings. No one must know that we set up many of the deaths."

She glanced nervously in Kevin's direction. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to discuss this in a more secure area? Maybe in one of our white rooms?"

"No, he's no security threat to us."

The secretary wasn't sure this was a good idea, but she had to defer to Franklin's expertise in these situations because he was, after all, the boss.

"Whatever you say."

"And don't forget to delete any files regarding the agents involved, including my personal research on them. Save that onto a DVD for me hidden in the usual place."

"You want me to delete even the files of the high profile agents like Ethan, Gia and Octavia?"

Franklin responded without feeling. "All of them."

He spared a glance in Kevin's direction. "Kevin's included."

***

Kevin Fairchild awoke to voices outside his hospital room. His most pressing problem had been recuperation, but now he realized there was more going on at the Legacy than even he could fathom. He groaned and attempted to roll out of bed, but his body wasn't completely in his control. He fell back onto the pillows.

He uttered a crude four letter curse that would rival any sailor's colorful language, then tried to roll over again. This time succeeding. But he lost his balance and soon found himself face down on the floor with a nearly broken nose. He'd bloodied it, but at least a feeling of pain was better than feeling nothing trapped in a coma.

It took him an hour to crawl to the door leaving a trail of sweat and blood smears behind him. Kevin collapsed in the doorway on his back hauling in deep breaths.

"I don't need this, God," Kevin shouted. "A little help here?"

He could hear a voice down the hallway. It was that crazy nurse who was his own personal little stalker. He tried to crawl out of the doorway to avoid being seen by her. The last thing he needed was the attention that little blond chick would bring to his new self-appointed mission – to find out what in the hell his father was up to. He never had been his father's biggest fan, but then again, he always did figure there was something a bit off about him. It was Ethan who was blind to their father's faults.

Maxie drew closer and closer as she completed her rounds. Eventually, she would come into his room. There was no way to hide from her. It had taken everything in him to crawl to the door. Maybe if he played his cards right, and turned on the charm, he could gain the psycho girl's trust rather than have her report his newly awakened condition to his father, Franklin.

There was no telling what was ahead for him if his father found out that little tid bit.

"Maxie," Kevin whispered, trying to draw only her attention. "Maxie."

Maxie Demarco appeared in the doorway, her eyes were hooded making it difficult to gage her intentions. What she did from this moment on made the difference between life and his death.

***

Jared traveled a bit up the passageway to see if it was safe. What he found was a bit dodgy, but if they were careful, the could make it. Where the tunnel opened up, he wasn't sure, but anywhere was better than being trapped where they were. Or so he thought.

"Alison! Wake up!" Jared said suddenly. "We have to go. We have to get out of here."

"Jared?" she said groggily. "I just had the craziest dream."

She opened her eyes slowly only seeing his concerned face cast in shadow, then she noticed it was freezing cold, which probably had something to do with the pile of snow only a few feet away. Alison sighed with disappointment. "It wasn't a dream, was it?"

"Hardly." Jared glanced around looking for something to use as a light source. A pain wracked his head dropping him to his knees. In a split second his mind traveled back to the Legacy infirmary where he and Alison were being treated to counteract the effects of the strange blue candle that had been delivered to him. In the memory, he could see Alison lying on a gurney similar to the one he was lying on. Then voices appeared out of the fog of his flashback followed closely by the faces of the people who had extracted them from the infirmary. The faces weren't the ones he was expecting to see.

"Kaye and Dare?" Jared whispered. "It can't be. I don't understand. Why would they..."

A sudden noise had him spinning around positioning himself to protect Alison from harm.

Mackenzie Gray and Echo appeared out of the shadows. They were unconcerned with his startled demeanor and Mac answered Jared's partial question.

"They were working for a source high up in the Legacy ranks who wants a number of agents dealt with, and extreme prejudice is putting it mildly.

Mac reached his hand out to Alison. Her face was contorted with confusion. "You're both dead. I saw you."

"You saw what we wanted you to see. You and the people who had been tailing your every move," Echo said. "I'm pretty sure we've convinced them we're no longer a threat."

"What?" Alison sighed loudly. "What in the hell is going on?"

"Plenty. More than we have time to explain here." Mac handed both Jared and Alison a coat and a light stick. "If you're up for it, why don't you join us in kicking a little ass."

"Exactly whose ass are we kicking?"

"Ezekiel Zeller."

"The billionaire?" Alison balked. "Don't you think it would be a bit conspicuous killing such a high profile man?"

"Oh, I'm not going to kill him," Mac said mysteriously. "What I have planned for him is much worse than that."

Echo slid up beside Alison. "Don't worry about him. He means well, but Zeller and this dark contingent he used to work for was responsible for Mac's parent's deaths."

Alison wasn't sure how to respond, so she said the only thing that came into her head. "I'm sorry."

"So will they be when Mac gets a hold of them."

***

Octavia Kassoff had in her eyes the look of someone who knew what was going on, yet chose not to react. She was an expert at compartmentalizing her emotions. They (The Legacy Brass) had made her once choose between her lover and her father. One day, they would pay for that order.

She didn't want to be where she found herself today... Throwing herself at Steven Webb was one thing, but this directive was too much. It was too much to ask of her. Franklin wanted Steven Webb back in the fold so he, in turn, could cause Silas Tremaine, Steven's father, to return.

Octavia could hear the voice in her earpiece com-link prodding her foward.

"I know what you're thinking," the Voice said. "Just think of him as that bananna split you never allow yourself to have."

But you're not the one who has to eat the damn thing, she wanted to say. But she couldn't respond to the taunt. Ezekiel Zeller had the entire house wired. Any whisper could be heard and recorded. She was not looking forward to her new directive, not at all, no matter how good-looking the aged Zeller truly was.

Ethan Fairchild had escaped the study where they were being held minutes earlier through an unknown secret passageway. He was on his own now. It was up to him to contact the other agents who were in on this particular sim.

Octavia donned a pair of fake, fashion-conscious reading glasses and pretended to thumb through a book in the library. She didn't need reading glasses. They were devices that allowed others to see what she was seeing. It was the Legacy's version of a mini spy camera.

The Voice, as she had deemed her new earpiece partner, recorded the data the eye glasses picked up. He related to her the only route in the house that would lead to where Zeller was hiding out. She gritted her teeth as she received the intel and slipped from the locked room without incident.

Outdated locks. Didn't they know better?

She hoped the Voice knew what he was doing, because she wasn't about to expose herself to this horrifying process more than once.

"One hundred meters then turn left." The Voice's command didn't sound as calm as he intended. It sounded more like a request posed as a question.

"Hum." Octavia muttered loudly, loud enough that Ezekiel Zeller could hear her and come out to investigate.

Time for the game to begin.

THE LEGACY HAS MANY REASONS
TO LEAVE REALITY BEHIND!

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