Someone Who Was In Her Shoes (Part 1)

When the seemingly heavy steel door of the bunker closed without making any sound except for the faint beep, which Olivia thought was very ironic, she suddenly felt the urge to follow Matthew and ask him to just stay with her. She blamed it on the fact that she was left alone in a strange place.

She was thankful that Matthew gave her time and space to think and let the information he gave her sink in but does he have to leave her in the bunker?

Fortunately, she was only alone in the bunker for a few minutes because she heard another beep sound coming from the door. She turned her head to look in the direction where Matthew left and saw it open to reveal Megan.

Olivia sighed in relief.

"Hey," Megan greeted her as she walked toward one of the living rooms in the bunker where Olivia was sitting. She was already wearing civilian clothes. A black shirt and white jeans. After her duty, she went straight to Timothy's apartment when she heard about the trouble Olivia brought herself into which she was not surprised at all. Then she and Timothy followed Nic, Mason, and Daxon to the underground facility.

"Hi," Olivia smiled awkwardly at Megan who remained standing in the living room and watching her.

Megan tilted her head and asked, "Are you okay?"

Though expected, Olivia doesn't know how to answer Megan's question. She just stared at Megan as if she would find the answer in the exotic beauty's face standing in front of her.

Megan raises her brow and takes her silence as the answer. "That's a no then," She said. But Olivia corrected her. "I don't know,"

There was a slight frown on Olivia's face. Though she reacted calmly earlier to Matthew's words, her thoughts and emotions were all over the place and she was taking too slow to put them all together and grasp the reality of her conversation with Matthew earlier.

As if Megan knew that Olivia needs time to process everything in her head, she took her time and decided to just stay with her. She will only speak once Olivia asks her a question. She walked toward the kitchen and opened the kitchen cabinets with familiarity. She had been in that bunker multiple times ever since she was a child so she is familiar with every corner of the bunker.

Olivia watched as Megan took out a bottle of wine from the cabinet and placed it on the island counter made of beautiful white quartz. The subtle sound of the glass bottle touching the surface of the countertop could be heard all over the room because of the stillness of the place. Then Megan pulled a drawer under the island counter and brought out two wine glasses and placed it on the countertop.

Olivia knew what Megan was offering her. She knew that she cannot match Megan when it comes to alcohol tolerance. She had seen Megan drink two bottles of wine without getting drunk at all. But she also knew that what Megan was offering might help…maybe…she was hoping it would.

A glass or two won't hurt, right?

So she stood up from the sofa and walked toward the kitchen. She pulled a stool from under the island counter and sat on it.

Megan had already poured her a glass of wine and passed it on to her.

Olivia stared at the dark red liquid on the glass as she swirls it before she inhales its fruity and earthy aroma. Then she brought it to her lips and sip just the right amount to wet her dry throat. She ran her tongue over her lips which still had traces of the wine and put the glass back on the countertop. Without raising her head to look at Megan, she said, "So you knew…" Her voice trailed off but she knew that Megan knew what she was talking about.

"Yeah," Megan replied as she watched Olivia. Her wine glass was already empty compared to Olivia's.

Olivia instantly looked up. "You didn't tell me," Her voice has a hint of accusation in it.

But Megan looked like she was not bothered at all as she tilted her head and asked, "Would you rather learn about it from me?"

Olivia pursed her lips because Megan has a point. It was not Megan's secret to tell and if Olivia heard it from Megan first before Matthew could tell her, she would definitely reacted differently than how she reacted earlier. She would have been mad.

"He intends to tell you soon, though," Megan added.

Olivia slightly nodded her head. "Yeah, he told me so," She believed Megan and she believed Matthew. She was glad that she found it out from Matthew instead of finding it herself accidentally or from somebody else.

Olivia brought the glass of wine to her lips and took a sip before she looked up at Megan again and asked, "Who else knew?"

Megan who was across from Olivia poured herself another glass of wine and then she pulled a stool under the island counter and sat. "Supposedly, just them. Then I found out. Then obviously, Tim's father knew about it since he ran this place. Though I doubt if he asked Tim or Tim told him. Then maybe our friends and parents, but they are pretending not to know,"

"Plausible deniability," Olivia muttered to herself but Megan heard her.

"If you call it that way," Megan shrugged her shoulders.

Olivia was looking at her glass when she thought of something. She looked up at Megan and asked, "Does Mom…I mean Matthew's Mom knew?" There was a slight worry in her tone which did not escape Megan's sharp ears.

"Maybe…maybe not. She's uh…kind of observant. She knows how to read people," Megan said, which was the truth. But she knows that there is a great chance that Matthew's mother knew about it but was just pretending not to know.

"Do you think…she agrees with what Matt was doing?"

"I cannot answer that question," Megan said because she is not even sure if Matthew's mother is aware of her son's activities and if ever she is, she doesn't seem like she is not condoning her son. "But I can tell you something," Megan added.

Megan drank her glass of wine until it was empty before she spoke again, "Aunt Belle has been in a situation when she desperately needs to do something even though it was unlawful. So, she probably understands what Matt feels,"

Matthew was right, Olivia thought to herself. His friends knew about his mother's traumatic and criminal history that was supposed to be a secret. But they were just pretending not to know. After all, it was all in the past, and bringing it out unnecessarily will only bring out unnecessary emotional pain.

Megan might not directly state it but Olivia understands that there is a great probability that Belle approves of what Matthew was doing. After all, Belle was once a victim of unfair justice. Belle wouldn't want other women or children to suffer the way she did. At least Matthew was not hurting innocent people.

"How about you?" Olivia asked. It just dawned on her that Matthew probably sent Megan to accompany her because Megan was in almost the same situation as her. Timothy was the one who started it all and Matthew probably wants Olivia to know how Megan reacted and handled the information. And Olivia was thankful for that because she wanted to know as well.

Megan smirked and said, "I believe I already told you my stand on vigilantism,"

Right. Olivia remembered Megan telling her though not directly that she approves of vigilantism and even expresses her willingness to join hands with them if given a chance.

But it turns out, Megan was already joining hands with them.

But that is not what Olivia was talking about. "But what about the fact that Tim was doing what he was doing?" She asked because it is what concerns her. Matthew had already justified why he was doing what he was doing. What concerns her is how she is going to handle it.

Megan put down her empty glass of wine which was the third and stared seriously at Olivia. "I am not a saint, Liv. If I were not a law enforcer I would have done the same. Even if don't have the same trauma as Aunt Diana or Aunt Belle did,"

"But you are helping Tim…you are helping them," Olivia asked. Her wine was completely abandoned.

Megan nodded her head. "Yes. That's the least I could do to provide justice,"

Olivia stared at Megan. Who would have thought that an official law enforcer like Megan would condone and possibly participate in unofficial actions to catch and punish criminals because she doesn't trust the fairness of their justice system?

Why did she even want to be a police officer? Olivia asked only to herself.

"Do you…participate in torturing them?" Olivia asked instead. She doesn't want to imagine Megan filled with blood, but not her blood, inside one of those torture cells torturing those rapists. But then she thought that it was not far-fetched because Megan seems to be someone who would enjoy it with a sickening smile on her face.

And Olivia was right because Megan answered, "If I have time and am pissed and need to release my anger and frustration. Yes,"

Olivia tried her best but the image of Megan holding a police-issued taser with a sickening grin as she use its maximum voltage to electrocute Jove Latimer inside the torture cell appeared in front of her. It was not bloody but still, but it was still a form of torture and has the same physical and psychological damage as other bloody types of torture.

Olivia instantly erased the image in her head by shaking her head. She went silent for a moment as she stared at her glass wine that was still half filled with wine that Megan poured earlier. As if she suddenly remembered its existence, she wrapped both her hands around its stem and brought it to her lips. She drank it all without leaving a drop which made Megan watch her thoughtfully.

When Olivia brought down the glass on the countertop, she slid it slowly toward Megan.

As if Megan was reading her mind, she poured Olivia another glass making a mental note that it would be the last.

Olivia brought the glass back to her murmuring a small thank you to Megan but she didn't drink it. She slowly lifted her head and asked, "How did Tim tell you?" She wanted to know how Megan handled the information that her boyfriend was unlawfully catching criminals to punish them.

Megan chuckled and shook her head, "It's a long story," Then she drank her glass of wine.