"He was selfish and arrogant and she was his only hope. She was a nun and he was her sinful temptation."

Terry Sheridan was a mercenary. He was a dead man, he had been killed for betraying the love of a woman. A woman who was not Julia. But then he came back into Julia's life and asked that she again give up everything she held dear.  Getting rid of Terry was harder than she imagined but she needed to send him away before he found her secret and ruined her life...again.

Title: Misconstruction by: Apocalyptica

The red shadow of the sun’s descend was reflected on the dry ground of the African landscape.  The hot air was blowing particles of dust into the eyes of the inhabitants of the small secluded tribe that was centered in the womb of this desert.  According to the leader of the people, they had resident in complete solitude since the start of time until the Nuns brought Doctor James Brown and his medicine.  There were close to 50 people, many of them children, in need of vaccines and proper nutrition, that the Nuns of Saint Charlotte of Our Heart Convent had decided to provide. 

Though at first the people had been reluctant, they finally allowed the Nuns and the Doctor to set camp in their territory and begin their lectures and healings.  There were six Nuns present, most of them in their early 50’s, except for one.  Sister Julie was a shy and quiet woman of 28.  She assisted the Doctor, an older man that believed in helping humanity, as a nurse.  Sister Julie had been chosen among many candidates for the service because her history of aiding the needy and her love for the way of Bob had been overwhelmingly moving to the Mother Superior of her convent. 

The horizon’s look signaled the end of the day was very near. Doctor Brown helped Sister Julie and another nun put away the used syringes into a red plastic bag labeled “Toxic”.  The people of the community walked about, momentarily stopping before them to salute with a quick smile and a bow of their head.  Both the nuns and the Doctor responded with friendly smiles.  Doctor Brown felt that there was an understanding among them that surpassed cultural barriers.  Still smiling, the Doctor was carefully placing another un-recyclable item into the bag when he hesitated briefly as he saw a member of the tribe running desperately towards their camp.

Seconds before reaching the first tent, the running man began shouting out frantically.  It was obvious that his cry was one for help, but neither the Doctor nor the nuns near him spoke the native language.  Sister Julie quickly ran toward another tent on the other side of the camp looking for one of the two sisters that served as translators. 

“Sisters!” she exclaimed once inside the correct shelter “You are needed in the healing tent!”

Sister Julie returned to the Doctor’s side as fast as she could, four other nuns and many more curious people followed her.  One of the older nuns, Sister Anne, stopped in front of the desperate man and exchanged words in his tongue.  The man had not finished speaking when the gathered crowd distinguished two other men in the distance.  They appeared to be carrying a heavy load between the two, and such load had the shape of a human.

“He says they had gone out hunting, made it as far as an entrance to what appeared to be a cave they had never seen before.  The territory was not their own so they turned to leave but there a dying man asking for help.” Sister Anne spoke calmly but no less concerned “They brought him here hoping your magic can make him live.” She finished looking at the Doctor.

Suddenly realizing her words, three of the nuns rushed to aid the two men carrying the wounded body.  Sister Julie cleared the wooden bed of any obstacle and began preparing cotton and alcohol on a small table near the bed.  Doctor Brown washed his hands on a bowl of clean water and dried them hurriedly placing gloves on his hand before they were completely dry. When the men and nuns came to deposit, the body on the bed the Doctor and Sister Julie were ready to exam him, hoping they could do enough to save a life. 

The patient was a man and he had been wounded by a gunshot to the stomach, a little to the left side of his body.  He had lost a lot of blood and was completely unconscious. Because of his state, there was no time or need for anesthesia. 

All other individuals left the tent, leaving the Doctor and his nurse to tend to the patient.  After nearly an hour, Doctor Brown exited the tent and informed the nuns and people that he had done all he could but the man was still in danger.  Inside the shelter, Sister Julie padded the man’s forehead with a wet cloth to try to lessen the evil works of a climbing fever.

There was no more to do than to wait.  Doctor Brown did not have the facility or the medicine required to heal the poor man.  Medicine had done all that it was able, now everything rested on the hands of Bob.  In a circumstance such as this one, the man was expected to die. Sister Julie looked toward the entrance of the tent and searched for any incoming people before looking down at the man dying before her.

He was delirious and clearly in terrible pain.  He moaned and growled reflexively but he did not have the strength to move Sister Julie’s hand as she moved the cloth across his forehead.  Probably nearing the time of his death the man uttered soft almost inaudible words.  He repeated a word over and over again, almost as if he was pleading for something.  Sister Julie lowered her ear to his face and at last understood him; he was calling for a female.  Urgently and faintly, the man repeated a name.

When at last the man seemed to draw his last breath, Sister Julie stood still holding her hands together in her lap as she stared at the body.  An unexpected emotion sweeping over her made her abruptly clasp one hand to her mouth to stop herself from sobbing loudly.

I did not wish for your death, she said silently, yet more to herself than to anyone else, I swear I did not.

Slowly Sister Julie touched the man’s face tenderly before speaking.

“I wish you all the peace your soul is able to find. I forgive you Terry Sheridan.”

When the sun rose the next morning, Terry was still fighting for his life.  While it was still unknown whether or not he would survive, the odds were increasing to his favor.  From within his state of unconsciousness he persistently fought invisible battles.  It appeared that he was gaining victory for more than three times he woke up and requested water.

His lips were extremely dry and his skin was peeling, leaving behind reddish superficial canals.  Penetrating through his clothes the strong rays of the sun had burned his body.  Terry had been wounded at least two days prior to the men finding him. It was evident that he had tried to crawl his way out of the cave because the palms of his hands were cut and bruised from dragging the weight of his body.  His knees were perhaps the worst looking part of his body.  They were so badly scrapped that his bone was visible among the peels of mutilated flesh.  The actual bullet hole in his body was small and hidden; it was almost incredible to come to the realization that it was that wound and not all his other ailments that threatened his life.

Doctor Brown came into the tent just as Sister Julie helped a still unaware man get a drink of water.   

“Is he doing any better?”  Dr. Brown asked.

“He seems to be, but the fever does not lower.” Sister Julie responded.

“Perhaps we can try taking him to the nearest town.”

“Do you think that would be a good idea?” the nun said quickly, “ after all who would leave a half dead man in the middle of nowhere, I am sure this man is in some kind of trouble.”

“But that is nothing we should be concerned about.  This man is going to die here unless we can get him to a hospital.” The Doctor said.

Sister Julie remained silent as the Doctor checked Terry’s temperature by touching his forehead.  He then went to his medicine bag and got a syringe, which he then filled with a mysterious liquid and swiftly inserted it into the injured man’s arm.  Meanwhile Sister Julie prayed that the Doctor did not notice her noticeable insistence that the man remained at the camp.  At the moment, there was no better place for Terry Sheridan to be than in a solitary tribal community in the middle of the desert. 

She knew that whatever had caused Terry his wound was not something to be taken lightly.  Mr. Sheridan was not at all a man to be taken lightly; everything he did had a vicious intention hidden within the cores of every movement he made. There had once been a woman who had found this particular characteristic to be quite amusing, even fascinating at times.  But as with every single subject in Terry’s life, she had been no more than a route to a bigger goal.  Once he had disposed her of everything but her pride, he left without a word and without looking back.

Sister Julie knew this woman she had a very singular essence, a striking sense of eerie familiarity.

Doctor Brown instructed Sister Julie of what she was to do for the patient for the next ten hours or so before the sun fell once again. Nodding in agreement the nun then returned to tending to the man that started repeating a woman’s name yet again.

Terry’s dirty conscience had in this, his time of weakness won a battle against his wretched soul.   Because he was not able to fight the memories in his mind these ravaged his defenseless senses and body.  Sister Julie knew that Terry’s fever was not due to infection or the actual wound but of the inferno that lived inside this immoral man’s body.

It is ironic, Sister Julie thought, how some people that truly deserve to die seem to live forever.  They are like a virus, spreading without detection and infecting everyone that crosses their path.  There is nothing nice about viruses; they are all evil, destructive, and repulsive.  Terry Sheridan was a virus, a deadly but undying virus. 

She knew his ways, his mind, and not too far back, she could still remember his taste.  It had been fiery and sour, dangerous and exotic, and it had driven her to the point of drunkenness.

Julia Graham fell for the charismatic, sweet-talking, spellbinding Terry Sheridan. A hazardous man that showed her the way to a life of adventure and a fast track to a criminal record.  With him, she learned of the art of lying and deceiving, he taught her to insert venom without biting the victim.  He made Julia into a female version of himself, and she had erroneously thought that she was his greatest pride.

Years ago, Terry convinced her to play along in a scheme directed toward a well-known woman that was his contact.  At the time, Terry had been an employee on the side of the law, but his true purpose was another.  Lady Croft, Terry had told Julia, was his ticket to a bigger fish for whom certain acquaintances would pay big bucks.  There was no stopping Terry once he had set his mind on someone, Croft would become his next victim.

“I’m going to woe her into giving me the information I need.” He explained to Julia just before he left. “But don’t worry darling, you are the only woman for me.”

The pursuit lasted five agonizing months for Julia, and then finally one night Terry attained the information he needed from Croft and called Julia to arrange for a reunion and hasty getaway.  

“I’ve missed you so much.” He had told her

In love, or as blind, as she was Julia did as he asked.  But he never showed up to met her.  She soon found out that Terry had been caught and thrown into a high security prison.  Lady Croft had turned him in herself. 

There was also word that his accomplices had been pin pointed and would soon be captured.  And although the idea of joining Terry was not all unpleasant, Julia decided otherwise. She was not scared of being a prisoner but she refused to experience such degradation.

Determined to wait until she heard more about Terry she hid in the convent pretending to be a transferring nun.  Not long after her foolish initiation into the life of a Good Samaritan nun, Sister Julie, as she would be called from that instant, learned from unquestionable sources that Sheridan had been released from prison and that he was working again with Lady Lara Croft. Right then she realized that Terry had lied about everything and the prey had been none other than Julia herself.

“It’s been a week and he is still unconscious.” Sister Nadia said to Sister Julie “You haven’t left his side, you must be very tired, why don’t you go lie down for a while?”

“I’ll be fine sister, don’t worry about me.” Sister Julie responded, “We will be leaving in two days and I will rest when we get to the convent.”

“Do you think Sister Anne will allow the man to go with us to the convent?”

“I don’t see what else she could do. This man needs medical attention and I have tried to explain that it would probably be safer for him to remain with us until he wakes up and is able to decide for himself whether or not to go to a hospital.” Sister Julie told the other nun.

At that moment, Terry moaned and tried to turn to his side.  Sister Julie held him by the shoulders so that he did not hurt himself even more by moving too abruptly, he was still asleep.  The man ceased his attempt and Sister Julie released him. 

His strength was returning to him slowly.  Soon Terry would probably beat the fever and wake up.  Sister Julie wondered what state he would be in then.  Part of her was anxious to ask him how he got to Africa and why he had been left for dead, her more alert  side cautioned her of the problems that would cause her.  If Terry woke up one day, he would recognize her and probably reveal her secret to the nuns.  She could not afford this; she liked the peace she had surrounded herself with since the day Terry abandoned her.

In addition, Sister Julie was still angry at the way Terry had treated her.  Leaving her to run off with Croft had been the lowest, most vile thing he could have ever done to her.  No wonder his soul was rotten beyond repair, no wonder he frantically sought forgiveness in his dreams.

“Do you think he is going to make it back to the convent?” Sister Nadia asked looking at the delirious man.

“I hope so.” Sister Julie lied

Terry began chanting that woman’s name again, and the nuns looked at each other in silence.  Sister Julie swallowed hard as Sister Nadia opened her eyes wide and made the sign of the cross over her heart at the sound of the man’s voice.  It was clear that the nun understood Terry’s words.

“He is calling your name?!” Sister Nadia said frightened.

“No.” the other nun replied trying to sound calm

The man continued calling for that someone that lived in his mind and traveled the extension of his inner hell.

“But he said…” Sister Nadia tried

“He said Julia.” Sister Julie finished for her.

Sister Nadia was gone and Julia realized that it was getting more difficult to keep up the lie about Sister Julie.  She was finding harder each time to pretend she did not know who Terry was.  She loved the tranquility the nuns offered her but once her secret was revealed, she would lose everything she had.  There was a lot she wanted to keep; too much she could not live without.

Suddenly feeling trapped and out of breath, Julia removed her head cover and let her dark brown hair fall down on to her back.  As she held the piece of cloth in her hands Julia remembered how Terry just to run his fingers through her hair as he kissed her neck. A cold shiver traveled the length of her spine as she recalled the sensation of his lips on hers.

Shaking her head, trying to erase the impious thoughts, Julia returned to the day she had first seen Terry.  Julia had been heavily sedated but through the haze in her mind, she could hear his voice, demanding and powerful.

“Put your hands in the air or I’ll fooking blow your head off!”

Everything was dark in the small circumference of the room in which those men had put her.  Twenty-year-old Julia hugged her knees and rocked herself dizzy.  She had lost sense of time, and thought she had lost all hope until she heard that man’s voice.

Several gunshots followed the man’s command but Julia was not aware of her surroundings.  Inside her head, she was screaming for help, she wanted that man to find her, to take her to safety, but her voice did not respond.  Julia was too afraid to shout out for aid.

On the other side of the door, Terry Sheridan finished clearing the house of human breaths.  He searched the rooms serenely and soon found the object of his pursuit.  A brief case filled with the documents the agency requested.  One more assignment completed, he thought as he grabbed the briefcase in his hand.

As he made his way back toward the exit he was unexpectedly startled by strange noises coming from a closet.  It sounded like heavy breathing, almost a gasping sound.

Ready to fire again Terry swung open the closet door and found a girl rocking herself back and forth.  She had obviously been kidnapped by the men that he had killed.  Her clothes were dirty and torn but he could tell they had been expensive.  Terry deposited the briefcase and gun on the floor and lowered himself to her.  He tried to move her hair from her face so he could see her eyes but the girl abruptly moved away from him and curled up into a ball. 

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He told her sincerely “I just want to know if you are okay.”

Julia’s memory was foggy.  She remembered being carried by the man into a vehicle that sped away from the hell house she had lived in for weeks.  She knew she was safe with the man but she could not tell why.

Terry had not understood the urge he had to get this girl to a safe place. Never in his life had he felt such a need to take care of someone. Yet he could not bring himself to tell his agency about the girl, no one had expected her to be there and he had been given the order to leave no one alive.  Admitting that he had broken the orders by taking the girl to the station would have been the end of him. However, he could not leave her behind, and for that reason, he could not take her anywhere else but to his home.

For days, Terry nursed the girl back to sanity. When she was able to answer questions, he began with the simplest ones.

“What is your name?” he asked her one early afternoon 7 years ago.

“I don’t know.” The girl answered bursting into tears.

“Shh shh… It’s going to be all right. We can leave the questions for later.” He said stroking her hair gently.

Thanks to his job and certain contacts, Terry later found that the girl’s name was Julia Graham. She was a socialite and had been indeed kidnapped three months ago.  While on vacation, her parents had received a note for ransom but unfortunately, they died on a traffic accident while trying to return to their home to fulfill the request. 

Terry gave the news to the girl as easily as he could manage.  Uncertain and detached due to her lost of memory Julia just stared into his eyes as he spoke.

“If you want to I can take you home to your relatives. They’ll know how to help you there.”

“I can’t go!” She told him desperately “Please don’t ask me to go. I don’t know anything about them; I don’t know anything about me.”

Confused by her reaction but even more so by his own desire to keep her with him Terry decided to let her stay until she felt stronger both in mind and body.  Slowly the girl regained her memory but by then the two of them had developed feelings for one another. 

Theirs was a union built on survival.  Julia saw in Terry the protection she needed to face the world. On his part, Terry had the opportunity to shape the young girl into everything he wanted in a woman.

Julia was beautiful. Her long wavy brown hair was like silk in his hands, and her form belonged to a goddess of lust.  For the first time in his existence, Terry allowed a woman to enter his heart.  He gave her his soul but maintained his control over her mind. 

For three years their relationship prospered, until one day he had to go away for an assignment he felt very confident about.  He left, and he never returned.

The pain ran through his body, spreading like an uncontrollable fire with one goal to accomplish, destroy everything within reach.  Terry screamed silently as he felt the dark spirits of hell ripping his body apart.  

From within his mind he quickly relived the events that led him to that cave.  Lara had thought he would not find her, but he did.  She had tried to trick him just as he had done to her four years ago, but he had a card up his sleeve. He knew she cared for him so it was logical that she would allow him to share the findings, after all he did save her life.

Terry could not have been more wrong about Lara. That witch not only denied that he had helped her but she had the nerve to shot him.  Leaving him for dead, she walked away from the cave, not once stopping to take a glance back.  Terry held onto his injury as he saw her disappear, then everything went black.

When he woke up, he found himself weak and dying.  He struggled, trying to gain the strength to pull himself up but it was useless.  At last, he opted for crawling towards a light in the distance.

Initially he did not know whether he was crawling down into the depths of hell, or if he had actually found a way out of the cave.  He thought he could see three men approaching him and with the last of his strength, he called out to them, begging for their help.  When the men reached him, Terry lost consciousness.

Everything was dark and cold, then slowly a light appeared, faint at first, then brighter with every passing second.   Terry saw himself trying to block the light with his hands until a voice startled him.  At once, he dropped his arms to his sides and then he saw her face.

As beautiful as ever, her dark hair flowing around her, Julia smiled at him.  She was there at last, after all this years without her, she was back into his life.  Terry reached for her, needing desperately to take into his arms, but she disappeared and right there he knew he was in hell.

Distressed, Terry woke up from his nightmare and moaned as he tried to sit up but a sharp pain on his side impeded him from doing it.

“My Bob!” exclaimed a Nun sitting on a chair by his bed.

Disoriented, Terry looked around to find himself in a strange room where the walls were white and various religious images hanged from them.  He turned to the Nun at his side and found her smiling at him. Had he made it into heaven after all? He wondered stupidly. However, his mind was set at ease as the Nun spoke.

“You must be feeling very lost.” She said tenderly

“Who are you?” Where am I?” he asked her

“Please don’ try to get up. You are still very weak.” She responded putting the pillows on against the headrest of the bed and helping him lean on them so he could be sitting “I am so glad you finally woke up.  You were wounded.”

Terry stared into the nun’s eyes wanting to know how much she knew about that. It appeared that she was clueless as to whom he was or what had done to be injured like that and Terry felt safe for now.

“You are at Saint Charlotte of Our Heart Convent. We found you in Africa and brought you here to heal.”

“How long have I been unconscious?” Terry asked closing his eyes, attempting to steer the pain away.

“Since we found you, two weeks ago.” She answered sitting back in the chair “You are very lucky, Bob was looking out for you. It is a miracle you are alive.”

Yes, Terry thought, a miracle indeed.

“Do you remember anything about what happened?” the Nun said

Terry looked at the closed-door right in front of the bed as he searched for an easy answer that would leave the Nun satisfied without revealing the truth.  Not being able to find one, he resorted to shaking his head negatively.

“Do you remember your name?” she inquired worried

Terry was silent for a while concentrating on the question and on his pain, simultaneously when suddenly the room’s door opened and in came another nun carrying a food tray.  Terry’s eyes darkened and he felt his heart skip a beat as a recognizable face came into view.  She was wearing the official dark suit of a nun but there she was nevertheless. She had found him, he did not know how but she had done it, and she was there, standing before him.    

“Your name, do you remember it?” the Nun insisted

Julia walked around the bed and deposited the tray on the night table. Terry’s eyes followed her moves smiling incredulous and excited.

“Jack.” Terry responded to the Nun as he stared into Julia’s face “My name is Jack Higgins.”

She had found him, Terry repeated in his mind. Julia had been in the same room as he, a few feet away from him. Though she exited the room as quickly as she had come in, Terry was sure that it had been her.  He always knew that she was bright and that she would not abandon him. Obviously she was clever enough to track him to Africa and rescue him from a sure death. He smiled thinking what sort of plan she had worked up to get them into a convent. Only Terry himself would ever have completed such an intelligent scheme. No one, not even MI6 would ever think to look for him in a convent, especially now that they believed him dead.

Minutes after Julia had left the room and he had told the Nun that he was not feeling well enough to continue speaking, he was left alone to recall the previous occurrences of the past years.

When Julia regained her memory she was able to tell Terry that her relatives were not good people.  In fact, after much investigating, Terry was able to find that it had been her relatives that paid for her kidnapping and the murder of her parents.  Julia was to be killed by her captors, leaving her Uncle to claim her family’s fortune. If Terry hadn’t shown that night, Julia would have been dead.  It was after learning of this that Julia decided to allow her Uncle to enjoy her fortune and stay by his side.  At first Terry wasn’t so happy with her plea, but he ended up accepting her company.

In time he had molded her into a near perfect replica of what he saw to be perfection in a woman.  There was someone in particular that Terry had in mind as his Julia matured before him.  He had heard many things about her, but had only seen her a couple of times, never exchanged more two words, yet he was captivated by her beauty and charm. Lady Croft was both gorgeous and dangerous, true perfection in Terry’s eyes, his missing compliment.  He and Croft were a pair in a place where being perfect for each other was too risky to fathom. It was she who inspired Terry to make Julia into his very own version of himself, someone that had all that he craved from Croft yet wasn’t threatening to his existence.

Terry achieved his goal and soon Julia had become more than he had expected her to be.  There was a uniqueness to her that had a passion of its own, an alluring mystery in her character that didn’t subdue her caring nature.  Terry had to admit that he had fallen for his creation not because of what he gave her, but because of what she had kept of herself. 

Then one day he saw the original object of his desires again. Terry was working for the army this time, in charge of a group of men on a secret mission, something so confidential he kept it hidden even from Julia. On one of his visits to obtain future orders he saw Lady Croft leaving a government building close to his superior’s quarters, and the lust was ignited in him once again.  He had to get close to her.

Blinded by need to taste the forbidden fruit, knowing he was capable of trespassing her known barriers to her heart, Terry prepared a plan of conquest.  He told Julia that he needed to get close to Lady Lara Croft to attain valuable information that would lead him to an important individual for whom many people would pay a great deal to get their hands on him.  It would certainly be his last job and after that they would be free to enjoy life together.  Terry lied to Julia from the beginning. There was no valuable information; he was really working on the same assignment he had been dealing with for the past two months before he saw Croft again. 

But all Terry could think about was how to get close to Croft and lure her into his arms.  It was not hard, not as difficult as he had expected.  True, she was hesitant at first, but with Julia out of the scene Terry was able to concentrate entirely on Croft.  He dismissed all other matters from his mind, including his pending assignment, and he had five wonderful months by Lara’s side.  She proved to be everything he had predicted and more.  Fervent yet gentle, and each time he was in her arms he wanted her more.  Still something about her reminded him of Julia and Terry had to admit that he longed to return to her side. 

By the time Terry realized that he had spend too long courting Croft it was too late to regain control of the operation he was responsible for so he did what any tormented man in desperation would do, he sold his men out.  It was good money, more than he would have gotten for the assignment itself, and his newly acquired title of mercenary was not as bad as he had thought.  True, he would have to be on the run from that moment on, but he already was an invisible citizen and that would be no different. 

He called Julia and told her that it was over. He lied again telling her that he had the information he needed from Croft and he was ready to move on.  The only sincere words he uttered where when he said that he had missed her.  They made arrangements to meet the next day and ended the call.

Walking back to his hotel room Terry couldn’t control the urge to see Lara one last time to say good bye.  He knew she would be at her Manor and headed there hoping for a clean break up. Once he was facing her he found it hard to express the true intention behind his visit and ended up making love instead.  Minutes after their rendezvous, they were interrupted by Hillary, Lara’s butler, saying that men from MI6 were downstairs asking to speak to Mr. Terry.

“What do they want?” she asked Terry very seriously

“I don’t know.” Terry answered smiling

Later Terry would regret that because of his manly need to attract Lara Croft’s attention, and keep his secret from Julia, he had missed some very important steps in his betrayal of his men.  Mistakes that traced back to him and were his doom. 

Lara was smart enough to figure that MI6 did not what to just say hello to Terry.  She asked no questions but her expression turned harsh as she clothed herself. Screaming she ordered Hillary to show the waiting agents upstairs and merciless she held Terry at gun point until they arrived. 

“You have no heart.” Terry told her still smiling as he was handcuffed and taken prisoner.

She did not answer him.

“Where is the other nun?” Terry asked the next day as a new woman dressed in black entered his room with a tray of food.

“Which one sir? There are many of us.” The woman answered with a smile.

“She is young; she came in here yesterday just after I woke up.”

“You must mean Sister Julie.” She said placing the tray on the side table where Julia had placed a similar tray the day before.

“Sister Julie.” Terry repeated.

“Yes Mr. Higgins.” The nun told him reminding him of the fake name he gave them “In fact, she is in part very responsible for your recovery.  She nursed you back to health herself and never left your side. That was until yesterday when Sister Ann came to take her place and you woke up.”

“In that case, I want to thank Sister Julie for saving my life.”

“I will let her know you appreciate her help. Right now she is in the nursery with the orphans; our Mother Superior thought that since you are already awake there wasn’t much need for her here anymore.”

“Can’t you ask Sister Julie to come see me? So that I can thank her personally.” Terry asked smiling sadly.

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible Mr. Higgins. This is a convent, and your presence here is on its own very traumatic for the sisters.  We cannot disobey orders that came strictly from our Mother Superior.”

“Forgive me.” He said taking the bowl of soup the nun was offering to him.

“I don’t know if you are able to walk yet, but in case that you are, I must ask you to remain in this room at all times.  Food will be brought to you daily and the restroom is behind that door.” She said pointing to a small door next to the side table.

“I haven’t tried walking, I really don’t know if I can but I will stay here if I must.”

“There is a wheel chair somewhere in the supply room, I’ll see if I can bring it here so you can at least move around the room.”

“That is very kind of you.” Terry said smiling thankful.

“I hope you heal completely soon, it would be best if you left the convent as soon as possible.” The nun said as she opened the door to leave. 

Terry shock his head amazed that the nuns were scared of the temptation his presence created on them.  His arrogance did not allow him to think that there might be other reason for which the nuns wanted his removal from the convent.  He just didn’t know that it was one nun in particular that pushed forth the need to rid themselves of the wounded mysterious man.

“Don’t worry,” Terry said softly still thinking his sex appeal was evidently the cause for the urge of his dismissal. “there is only one nun here I am interested in.”  

The years he had spent in confinement in the very unpleasant prison he refused to mention by name for fear it will bring back bad karma, were nothing compared to the anxiety he felt being locked up inside a dreadfully white room in a convent.  Not only was he stuck inside the four walls that reminded him more of an insane asylum than anything else, but he was also in pain from the wound he had received and spending his hours sitting on a wheel chair looking at a wall, or laying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

He didn’t want to recall any more of the memories that followed his imprisonment.  But he was helpless to the recurrence of a dream in which he relived the day in which Lara appeared before him offering his freedom for his guidance to the Shi Ling, the treacherous band of thieves had once been his allies, until he had the audacity to betray their trust and steal hundreds of precious Ming vases that he later sold for a very satisfying sum in the black market.   The dream always ended with him falling into an abyss of eternal darkness from which he fought to emerge yet was incapable of freeing himself from the gravity that pulled him deeper into the womb of the sinister gap in time.  Night after night he woke up sweating and panting, scared that what he was experiencing was real.

Damn Lara and her quest for good of humanity, along her personal campaign for sainthood in the eyes of all mortals.  Still Terry had to agree that if it had been for her he would still be held captive for many more years to come.  Not that that mattered much at that precise moment when though in different circumstances he was still a prisoner.  This time however Julia was very near and probably planning their escape. 

“I am pleading that you let me stay until I regain my health completely.” Terry told the Mother Superior, a week after he had regained consciousness.

He couldn’t leave yet, he still hadn’t talked to Julia, and he didn’t know what her plan was or what they would do after when they were outside the shelter of this convent.  Terry had tried everything to get Julia, or Sister Julie like she was called inside this place, to return to his room but somehow the chief nun forbid her to return to him. He wondered why that was, but no one was able to given him a straight answer or was willing to tell Julia he wished to see her.    

“I am sorry Mr. Higgins but this is a convent not a hospital. I am sure that we can arrange so that you are transported back to your place of origin where you can be taken care of by relatives…”

“I have no one waiting for me. No relatives.” Terry hurriedly added

“Surely there must be someone that you can return to.” The Mother Superior insisted on the verge of desperation.

“There is no one. Please, I would not be asking to stay if it wasn’t a matter of safety on my part.”

“I beg your pardon?” The woman asked alarmed at the tone in which Terry uttered his last statement.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t come down to this but I am afraid I have no other choice than to tell you the truth. You must promise that you will not repeat a thing I say to anyone, it is that important.”

Speechless the Nun nodded in agreement and listened doubtfully but closely to the tale Terry began reciting.

“When the Nuns found me I had been left for dead by a woman who was assigned as my partner by MI6. Together we had stopped…”

Thirty minutes later a smiling Terry limped out of the Mother Superiors office.  At last, he thought, Lara’s little speeches about making the world a better place served a useful purpose.  He was able to entrance the Nun with the story of keeping Pandora’s Box away from the hands of evil doers that endangered the human race.  The woman had believed his every word and it appeared she was familiar with the tale as she had asked whether he had informed MI6 that the box was back in its safe place.  He was taken aback by her question but assured her that he would do that as soon it became possible for him to visit the nearest city.  In the end the Nun thanked him for the good deed he had performed and welcomed him to stay as long as he pleased, thinking that she was giving shelter to a good soul.

“It’s pathetic what some people would do in the name of…” Terry stopped mid way through his whispered sentence as he saw Julia emerging through a door a few steps from him.   

He grabbed his side with one of his arm and forced himself to walk faster, catching up to her and evidently startling her as he took her by the arm with his free hand and pushed her into the safety of a dim corridor.  Terry held her against the wall with both arms and closed his eyes as he inhaled her aroma, his face inches away from hers, and his lips menacingly close to Julia’s.  He opened his eyes, frantically embracing her, then placed his mouth upon hers and prepared for a warm greeting home.  Instead he found her cold and resistant.  The stiffness of her kiss gave Terry the impression that she wished for more than a kiss, most likely she wanted an apology for leaving her, and a thanks for saving him. 

He smiled as he released her from his arms and stared into her dark eyes before he spoke.

“When are we leaving?” Terry asked quietly into her ear.

“Let me go.” Julia said trying to push him away.

He took a step back and narrowed his gaze on her wondering why she was acting so strangely.

“We don’t have much time Julia; these women will call the police to verify what I just told their Mother Superior. We have to leave before they know who I am.” He told her without removing his eyes from hers.

He thought he heard her clear her throat before she straightened her head piece and moved to one side, leaving a more than sufficient distance between them. 

“I don’t know what you are talking about sir.”  She said to him expressionless looking into his eyes.

“What?” Terry murmured baffled.

“I must go.” She said walking away hurriedly.

It was then that Terry heard the footsteps behind him.  She was pretending to save them from being discovered.

As she passed by him, he smiled at the Nun that had interrupted his bump into Julia.  The woman blushed slightly and giggled at his gesture.  I’ve still got it, Terry said to himself triumphant.

That night, Terry was very certain that Julia would visit his room. It was a strange connection between them; one that some incredulous souls would even argue that it did not exists. But Terry knew better, he knew that when he had looked into her eyes he saw that she too wanted answers.  Her refusal of his kiss was an undeniable clue that things were not going to go very smoothly between the two of them.  Though if she had tracked him down and saved him it must mean she cared. Yet women were unpredictable. Terry found that out the hard way, thinking Lara cared for him and that Julia would forget him. 

Four years, four long years away from Julia, Terry repeated in his head. All those years had only made her more striking. She had matured and her eyes did not have the innocent they once possessed in his presence, but she was unquestionably astonishing.  Terry experienced something new when he had looked into her eyes and held her in his arms.  There was a mystery to her that had not been there before, almost like she was hiding something.  It intrigued him to imagine that Julia now possessed the means to leave him wondering about her, dreaming of her.

If only she would hurry to his side so he could hold her once again he would be thankful to the Bob and saints that were hanging on all four walls of his room. 

Meanwhile Terry ran through his mind the many versions of the truth that he could use with Julia.  He cared for her very much but somehow he still kept a tight grip on his dominant traits, arrogance and pride.  Of course Julia would already be informed of his stay in the Kazakhstan prison, which ruled out the chances of her being angry over his sudden disappearance from the face of the earth.  Therefore it must be that Julia was mad at him because she had heard about his reunion with Lara.  What she didn’t know was that he had only agreed to that because it was the only way to be freed.  That was the truth, more or less.

At around 1am the door to his room opened slowly, and Julia entered trying to shut the door behind her without making any sound.  Terry’s eyes sparkled as she came into view and he smiled at her. She was wearing a dark blue nightgown of a heavy fabric that covered her from her neck down all the way to her toes.  Not exactly what Julia was accustomed to wear to sleep according to Terry’s memory.  And even in that horrendous article of clothing Julia looked amazingly divine to him.  He did not worry much about the nightgown; it could easily be removed in less than a minute.

“Come here you naughty nun.” A smiling Terry told Julia patting the mattress he was sitting on.

Her look of disapproval only made Terry more anxious to get his hands on her.  He stood and practically ran to her side trying to embrace her. But he was greeted by Julia’s fist to his nose.        

Punching Terry, like she had done in her mind, would have been a much better option than melting away in his embrace.  She should have stepped away and let him hug thin air and kiss the door, but her body refused to let another of his kisses go to waste.  This time she did not reject his lips and returned the caress with equal, if not surpassing, passion and need.  No matter what her better judgment told her, her heart and body missed him, and even when she had come to him tonight to ask him to leave, she wanted to at least this time say good bye like they should have done years ago.

For days Julia had avoided all contact with Terry.  She had smoothly talked the Mother Superior into pushing ‘Mr. Higgins’ away from her because she did not feel comfortable in his presence.  Without questions the nun understood that the man was putting Sister Julie’s purity at test and she agreed to Julia’s request.   But all the progress Julia had made trying to secure herself from him was erased by a few seconds in his arms.

Struggling with her senses, Julia was able to part from his mouth long enough to breath.  Terry was just as agitated and he too gasped with delight and sorrow when their lips were no longer jointed.  He was still holding her inside his arms when she spoke.

“You lied to me.”

Terry narrowed his eyes and let out a small sight, in preparation for what he knew had to be the best alteration of the truth he could ever conceive.   

“I did not.” He said after finding it unbelievably hard to come up with a decent yet untruthful answer.

“You deny that you were Lady Croft’s lover only for the pleasure of it?” Julia asked him defiant

The sudden pang at his side allowed Terry to spare a few seconds before responding to her sarcastic question. Holding on to his wound and with a look of pain and confusion shadowing his handsome face, Terry slowly made his way back to the bed where he sat at a snail's pace. 

“I won’t deny that I had a good time with her. But you knew I needed to get some information from her.” He finally said trying to sound convincing. The bad thing about lying to his own creation was that she knew him too well.  He was able to fool her once but her eyes now told Terry that she could read his every thought.

Terry found her disapproval terrifyingly real as she walked to be face to face with him. 

“You are amazingly stupid Terry,” she stated, staring into his eyes “even after you get caught you continue to lie like the coward that you are.  You know if you continue at this rate you might even end up believing your own lies.”

“Fook Julia, what did you want me to do, it was something that I had with her, something that was older than you and me!” he confessed, into the deep brown of her gaze.

A light sound outside made the both of them turn abruptly to the door.

“Be quiet.” She told him nervously.

After a minute of silence she continued with her verbal attack.

“How can you live with yourself after what you did to me?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call a prison cell and almost getting killed by an angry woman living.” Terry said smiling mockingly

“So you are telling me that Croft did that to you?” Julia asked suddenly interested in his new made up story.

“Yeah, but only after she got me out of prison.”

“And after you tried to cheat on her again?’ she asked, jealousy silently making its way into her heart.

“Cheating, how?” he asked still smiling, and before she was able to answer he continued speaking “You mean leaving her for another woman? But no, that was not it, not at all.  You see she had the power to kill me for any reason, so I tried not to give her one. Hell I even tried to remind her of what a good time we had together, but she turned me down. It was another kind of betrayal that did me in.”

Julia shook her head and closed her eyes surprised that she had expected more than only the raw truth that Terry usually gave when he found himself trapped.  She couldn’t decide whether she was happy with him been so sincere or had wished he kept lying to her like he always did before. 

“Don’t you want to know why she shot me?” Terry asked Julia.

“No.” she responded looking at him “I want to know what you are still doing here.”

“I have to say that I never thought I would be so ‘excited’ by a nun.” He said smiling sardonically before answering her “I am waiting for your signal. Just say when and how and we’ll be out of here.”

“There is no ‘us’ anymore Terry. You are here by a coincidence, and I want you to leave because the nuns will throw me out if they find out I had something with you.” Julia said with a plea in her voice.

“You are really a nun?!” Terry exclaimed shocked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“You left me.” Was her dry response

“But I am here now, we can…”

“No,” she interrupted him “I like my life, I like living here.”

“I know of other things that you like.” He said taking her in his arms again.

“Let me go!”

“Don’t fight it Julia, you know you want me just as much as I want you. You can never be a nun, you are mine.”

Terry’s teachings of survival kicked in as Julia forcefully tapped his wounded side to free herself from him.  He let out a mumbled groan and closed his eyes in pain, only to open them again enraged by her act.  Once Julia found herself safely away from him, she turned to him and spoke before leaving the room.

“You are wrong Terry, I ‘was’ yours.”

“Wait!” Terry called after her, but it was too late, she was gone and could not longer hear him.

Again, alone in the room, Terry wondered if in fact Julia would never return to him and found it terrifyingly real that if she never wanted to speak to him again she would be justified.

I can’t let this happen, Julia screamed in her mind. She couldn’t allow Terry to march right back into her life and put her in jeopardy, she had so much to lose now.  There was a bigger reason for her to stay here than Terry could imagine, and Julia felt even if he knew what that reason was Terry would never understand it.  He was heartless and arrogant; there wasn’t an ounce of compassion or affection in him.  For all Julia knew Terry could very well have been lying to her from the instant they met, perhaps he had made up all of what happened so that he could have her as his sex slave.  Yet, as tempting and consoling as that thought was Julia knew it wasn’t true. Terry had loved her once, or at least he had acted like he did.

She was holding on to the bit of hope that she saw in his eyes as she left him. It could be that he was confused by her reaction but she sensed that he was hesitant and remorseful. Julia hoped that that had been a sign that he would agree to leave as soon as possible.  She couldn’t allow him to stay longer and wander around the convent.  Terry was stubborn and clever and she knew that he would convince the Mother Superior to give him shelter until he damned pleased to leave, and that pretty soon he would also be granted permission to walk around the convent as if it were his private garden.

If only there was something she could do to drive him away. If only she could ask him to leave without revealing anything.  But no, Terry wouldn’t leave just because she asked him to, he was too proud.  And if she left with him just to get him away from…

“No!” Julia said to herself “There is nothing, nothing!”

She was trapped. For a moment Julia wondered why she hadn’t done as Doctor Brown suggested and left Terry at the nearest African city they found. It was because she had expected him to die and while that idea had not been at all very compassionate, she also did not have the heart to let him die alone.  She had wanted to be there holding his hand.

But he didn’t die, and now he was threatening her peace of mind, once again Terry had burst into her life and expected her to accept all his faults and forgive him.  Not only that, he also wanted her to leave with him and leave behind her life in the convent.  If only Terry was the kind of man she had thought he was. 

Once she had dared to dream that she and Terry could have a family, a life away from their pasts, away from Terry’s job and all the dangers that that implied.  She had gathered the courage to tell him of it and he had said he also wanted that kind of life.  He had promised to start a new life after he got back from that job, but he had said that only to get her off his back.  Only to distract her and leave her dreaming of a life that would never be so that he could be free to run around with Lady Croft.  How innocent and stupid Julia had been, how easy it had been for Terry to trick her.

But now it was different, it was Julia who was hiding a secret from Terry, a secret that she could not reveal because it was so powerful that it would either make Terry run away as fast as he could or stay forever, and Julia could not take that chance, she needed and wanted Terry as far away as possible.  Far away enough so that he would never be able to hurt her again.

Terry woke up the next morning and put his arms under his pillow to stare at the white ceiling still trying to figure out how to win Julia back.  He didn’t understand what she wanted from him.  Sure she had asked him to leave but when she had been in his arms her response was authentic and therefore Terry was mystified.  There was no reason why Julia would resist his kisses unless she didn’t love him anymore and Terry was sure that Julia loved him.  She had loved him seven years ago when he guarded over her sleep after her nightmares and she loved him now even after all that he had done to her.  Terry held on to this belief because his life depended on it.

Without Julia, Terry would have nothing, he would have no one.  If she left him Terry would again find himself completely alone in the world.  The thought of spending the rests of his days without her frightened him.  Before Julia, Terry had learned to be alone; he lived his life day by day and took delightful gratification in finding the most dangerous adventures his position in the army offered.  He found himself sleeping in too many beds to count and the memories of the women he shared those beds with were erased as soon as he lay down on the next mattress. 

After his near death experienced Terry had found that the myth about your life passing through your mind as you died was a lie. He saw none of the women he slept with, he only saw Julia’s face.  If what he felt for Julia was genuine love Terry was astonished to find that he didn’t want to run from it but he also did not want to lose the power he had over her.  Though Julia seemed more mature and commanding, Terry still wanted to be the one making the decisions.  He just couldn’t live without controlling all the aspects of his life, that was the reason why he was willing to do anything to get out of prison, and it was also the reason why he was shot after… Terry shook his head to stop his thoughts of that treacherous woman.     

Ever since Terry could remember he had been the kind of person he was.  He didn’t remember much about his early life, he had programmed himself to forget all that was painful but only after dreading on it until his heart ached and he could no longer breathe.  After that everything was calm and he was ready to move forward. 

He remembered realizing his unlucky fate at the tender age of four when the chicken pox struck him and he didn’t have his mother caressing his forehead and telling him all would be well.  Terry was raised in a government orphanage from the time of birth until his18th birthday when he was told he had to go and fend for himself.  Before leaving he found out his mother had abandoned him because she had been a teenager afraid that her father would kill her if he ever knew she had had a child.  She gave the baby the name Terrence and left without looking back.  Terry knew nothing about her or his father, he knew nothing of himself.  The orphanage had been a cold place where the women in charge only fed him and schooled him, nothing else.  All the children walked with their heads down and at night their cries could be heard from room to room making a mumbled melody of sadness. 

Terry had been a quiet boy; he kept all his pain and all his anger inside never releasing the least bit of emotion.  When at 18 he found himself on the street Terry came across a revelation that changed his life forever. 

He was walking down a dark street frightened that he didn’t know what to do with his life and wondering if the orphanage would take him back only for one more night when three men approached him.  They closed him in and without warning began punching him ruthlessly until Terry fell to the floor.  The men then searched his pockets for money and when they found none they kicked him furiously for wasting their time.  After minutes of painful agony the men left and Terry sobbed angry for not been able to defend himself.

After that account Terry vowed to never again experience such an insult.  He promised to never again be taken advantage of and he decided to change his nature to protect himself.  He would become the aggressor instead of the victim; he wanted people to surrender to him and not the other way around.  Terry wanted to show the world that he was powerful and he wanted to make up for those who had overpowered him.  Control over the fate of others gave Terry a sense of security that was the only warm feeling he had ever know.

Terry spent his early twenties in the army and the later signed for more exclusive duties. He became a man among gunshots and arduous assignments that tested his intelligence and endurance.  He passed all tasks with flying colors and was recognized for his valor. While his professional life prospered and his back account grew his heart remained cold and dark.  After years of a life that led to no more than misery Terry because the ogre that one day would betray his men only for the pleasure of a woman’s company.

In all of Terry’s life the only light had been Julia’s love for him, but now he felt he was about to lose that too.  Scared that he would spend his old days as he had started his life Terry stood up from his bed and went into the bathroom.  Minutes later he was out and changed.  He opened his room’s door and looked out to see if there were any nuns around that would stop him from leaving his cell. There was no one around and Terry slowly closed the door behind him to avoid making any noise that would get him caught.

He walked around the convent, hiding from all the passing nuns that came across his path, until he came to a playground where many children of various ages played.  Terry scanned the place for nuns and having determined that it was clear he opened the small gate and entered the wild territory.  The older kids stood talking to each other while the little ones ran about making the weirdest of noises.  Terry frowned thinking of how he never ran merrily as those children were running.  He walked to a bench near a sandbox and sat next to a girl who looked about 14 years old and was watching over two small children that played in the sandbox.  When she saw that Terry had sat next to her the girl smiled and said hello.    

“Hello.” Terry said to her.

They then turned to the children, two boys that looked around three years old and smiled.

“Aren’t they adorable?” the girl asked Terry

“I wouldn’t know.” He said startled by her question and by his previous smile toward the children.

The girl was quiet for a few minutes and Terry was able to look closely at the small boys.  One of them was blond with blue eyes and pink cheeks, the other boy had very dark brown hair and deep brown eyes that looked at him curious and attentive.  Terry was a little intimidated by the boy and he looked away as the child stood up toward him.

“No.” the girl told the child “Stay in there until Sister Julie comes back.”

At the sound of that name Terry turned to the girl and asked her if Sister Julie would be back soon.  He wanted to talk to Julia and it would certainly be easier if she came to him instead of searching the whole convent for her.

“She should be here any second. “ The girl answered.

The boy with the brown eyes was still staring at Terry and he found it surprisingly hard to concentrate on his thoughts with those eyes on him. 

“What are you looking at?” He asked a little irritated.

Ignorant to the tone in which Terry spoke to him, the boy smiled and did not move his gaze.

“Don’t mind him, he is just a little pest.” The girl said to Terry.

“I can imagine.” He answered rubbing his hands together in desperation.

Why can’t Julia just get here, Terry thought. Then finally decided to give in to the depth of the boy’s eyes.

“What’s your name lad?” Terry asked staring straight at the child.

The boy mumbled something but Terry didn’t understand him.

“What did he say?” he asked the girl next to him.

“Terrence.” The girl answered smiling.

She walked in a state of daze through the corridors of the convent, ignoring the worried glances of her fellow nuns. She came upon the door to her room and opened it hurriedly wanting to burst into tears as soon as her body had passed the frame of the door. There was no time to spare she needed to get herself together and follow Terry’s trail if she ever wanted to see her son again.

How foolish she had been thinking that she finally had outsmarted the arrogant Terrence Sheridan. Julian swallowed hard imagining all the wrongs he had ever done her and all the vengeance Terry had gained by taking her child. Of course Terry had not believed her when she told him the boy was not his son, but Julia had been stupid enough to forget that Terry was a natural born liar, a conniving basket.

With tears in her eyes, Julia went to her dresser and pulled out a drawer. She dumped upside down over her bed and began to frantically pull off the many layers of masking tape that were concealing two large stacks of bills hidden beneath the drawer. Safety money, the money that she had been able to take out of Terry’s bank account before she started running for her life. The penalty for his accomplice in crime, according to the report made by his former employer, was life in prison for treason to the country. Julia had been too scared to risk her liberty. She was six months pregnant and alone. Five months before she hadn’t had the courage to tell Terry that she was expecting a baby and he had left to be in the arms of another woman while she dealt with morning sickness on her own hoping that upon his return he would be as excited as she to be a parent. But the cruel reality of what Terry had been doing all along destroyed her dreams and her spirit.

For the next month she traveled along the outsides of the country, wondering what to do, where to hide from everyone and everything, until she became enlightened by the sight of a church in the distance. A convent had been the perfect solution to her troubles. She fabricated false documents that noted her as a former nun who had withstand a humiliating rape assault, to that she attributed her state of pregnancy. A sinful reminder of what once had been her calm spirit. She wasn’t far away from the truth; Terry had been an immoral temptation from the start. The nuns at the convent took her in and later transferred her to a more isolated convent where she would be cleansed of her deeds and burdens. Julia became Sister Julie until the day when the ghost of her past caught up with her.

Still crying Julia took the money and threw it into a small bag. She then a pair of pants and a shirt from another drawer, and put them on quickly. Desperately she stuffed the few more regular clothes she had to her possession and closed the bag, throwing over her shoulder. She had no time to think rationally, she would not allow herself the opportunity to rethink what she knew she had to do. She closed her hand into a fist, tightly gripping the keys to the convent vehicle she was still holding and headed out her door to look for her son.

--------------------------------

Terry wandered into town not knowing where he was or what he was going to do. Julia had been very clear with him, she wanted him out of her life for good and as much he hated to lose he had to admit he had lost her. It had become a habit for him now, losing, being the defeated one, and yet no matter how many times it happened, it still left him with a sour taste in his mouth.

It had been different with Lara, he hadn’t cared about her, not the way he cared for Julia, Julie, or whoever she had become. Croft had been a nice distraction for him, something he had to prove himself he could gain only because he had wanted her. But Julia was real, she had been there all along willing to be for him what nothing had ever wanted to; his home. Now it was too late, he had ruined it all and despite the notion that his life was not over he felt that he had also lost the opportunity to have one. He might as well have died in that cave, or better yet in the rotten prison that had housed him for one too many years, before facing the reality of Julia’s hate. She had been everything he had and he was dull enough to take her for granted. What a fool he had been.

He walked slowly and uninterested, he wanted nothing with the world, but then who would after what he had gone through. What kind of life did he expect to live now? Unless, he wondered, unless I underestimated the length of Lara’s humane instincts. Suddenly revived by a hope he did not yet know was accurate, Terry hurried his pace until he was face to face with an old man who was loading boxes of bananas into a truck.

“You look like you could use some help.” Terry told him witnessing his struggle with the heavy boxes.

“Are you offering your help?” The old man asked smiling as he pushed a box into the truck.

“That depends.”

“On what?” The man asked with his hands on his hips.

“On whether or not you’ll be willing to give me a lift to wherever it is you are, going in exchange for my help.”

“Now wait a minute, you don’t even know where I am heading, how do you know that’s where you want to go?”

“I don’t. Frankly I don’t care where you are going, but I must get out of here if I want to get to Zurich sometime in this lifetime.” Terry answered.

The old man smiled again and threw a pair of brown leather work gloves and a red bandana to Terry.

“Zurich you say?” The man said pointing to the pile of boxes Terry had to load. “Why Zurich? It’s so far away.”

“I have some unfinished business there.” Terry answered picking up the first box and holding it against his shoulder. He bit his lip briefly trying to contain the pain that ran through him as he forced the weight of the box onto him. His wound was not yet healed but he needed the ride so he had to ignore the pain and continue with the duty.

He moved slowly toward the truck and moaned as he released the box into the truck. He hadn’t expected it to be so hard on him.

“You alright?” The old man asked worried.

“Yeah, never better.” Terry lied, he was going to load those damn boxes even if it cost him his very life.

------------

“And don’t you ever do that again Terrence, you half scared us to death.” Chantal told the boy after she had found him hiding in one of the rosary rooms.

Terrence smiled and hugged her tightly around the legs. It was hard to stay mad at him for more than five seconds. His brown eyes and friendly nature won you over in less than that.

“Sister Anne!” Chantal cried out when she saw the nun exiting the Mother Superior’s office “Look, I found him.” She told her pointing down to Terrence.

Sister Anne walked over to the two of them with a concerned look on her face. She ruffled the boy’s hair and restated the thread about hiding before turning to look at Chantal.

“Have seen Sister Julie?” The nun asked the girl

“No. She was helping me look for Terrence but then she disappeared.”

The nun nodded and dismissed the children worried. She hurried to the entrance of the convent and saw that the car was not in its usual parking place. She was about to say her most sincere prayer for her sister’s safety when a voice behind her interrupted her.

“Sister Julie is not here it that’s who you are looking for. She came out running in civilian clothes, got into the car and sped away.” A recently recruited sister told her.

Sister Anne ran back to her Mother Superior’s office and informed her of what had happened.

--------------

Julia’s mind was clouded with images of her son riding along a demented man like Terry, wasting his childhood, losing his innocence as his father lied and schemed his way back to the top of the highest paid mercenaries in the world.

She was driving efficiently only because her survival instincts had kicked in sometime after she pressed the gas pedal for the first time when she got on the car. She wasn’t sure what she would do, or how she would do it but she had to find her son and bring him back to the convent even if that meant not being able to live as Sister Julie again. In the convent Terrence would have a chance to be happy and Julia wanted that for her baby.

She came into town at roughly 50 miles per hour and did not notice the old man she almost ran over. He had been loading boxes into a truck and both he and his companion, who had his face partially covered by a bandana, did not see her reckless driving until she too close. Julia was unalarmed at the jump the old man gave to avoid bring hit, she simply did not see him, she was lost in thought.

There was only one person that could help her find Terry, only one person that hated him so much to be willing to do anything against him. Julia knew that if she wanted to get to Terry she had to get to this person first; she needed to talk to Lady Croft.