J is for Janus
Rating: K
Spoilers for Janus List
Companion to "A is for Appreciation" and "H is for Hesternopothia"
It had sounded good in his own mind: a life without obsessions. A peaceful retreat where he could meditate on his life and his goals and customize himself to living in the fast paced world of humanity.
The trouble was, his mediations were constantly sidetracked by the fact that he missed the faced paced world and humanity.
Especially certain parts of humanity.
The parts that discussed and debated math.
The parts that asked him for advice and guidance.
Most especially the part that… well… insisted on using wild cards for wild endeavors.
He also missed coffee, but that was beside the point.
Mostly.
So, one foggy morning, when one of the monks informed him that he had a visitor, Larry immediately abandoned his breakfast (no coffee no point, anyway).
"A dark haired man in his thirties," Brother Joseph informed him.
That was actually more information than Larry needed. He figured there were only two people who were likely to come looking for him.
Granted, it was possible that say, Alan or Amita might drop by, but unless something extraordinary had happened, the thirty-ish male visitor was…
Don Eppes.
A chill crept into his bones that had nothing to do with the fog. He couldn't imagine why Don would be here…
Cancel that. His over-active imagination could come up with any number of reasons for Don's grim countenance. While some of them hit on accidents for Charlie, or age related ailments for Alan, most revolved around Megan, and weapons of mass destruction.
Hadn't there been something in the news a day or so ago about a bomb on a bridge? Had that been in LA? Larry wished that he had paid more attention, but he had come here to get away from the world.
Don was staring across the mist shrouded garden as Larry approached him. The cosmologist tried to read the younger man's expression. Surely they would have called him sooner if something had happened to Megan days ago?
Of course, he thought ruefully, he didn't exactly make it easy for people to reach him. He vowed to reinstate his cell phone service as soon as he could.
Don must have heard him, because he turned just then. His pale face made his brown eyes seem all the darker by comparison. He must have divined what was on Larry's mind, or else he might have realized in advance what kind of reaction that his appearance would provoke.
"Nobody's dead, dying or hospitalized, Larry," Don said by way of a greeting. "Nobody that you know, anyway."
"Thank God for that," Larry said. "So, what does bring you here?" He hesitated. "Um, not that I'm not glad to see you."
Don smiled briefly, and Larry thought it was a pity that he didn't smile more often. "It's kind of a long story…" He hesitated and changed the subject. "You want some coffee? I brought Starbucks."
"I'd love some, thank you," Larry said.
Don's silver Mitsubishi became a makeshift diner. "I brought donuts, too," Don said. "I wasn't sure what you liked. They're not white, but they've got white glazing."
Larry grinned. "I'm not concerned too much with the color of foods at the moment. The monks are concerned with eating healthy, which means a lot of greens and other colors."
Don looked into the white bag. "I don't think these are healthy," he said. "Unless jelly donuts have suddenly become a health food."
"Jelly donuts? Good lord, man, hand 'em over."
Don laughed lightly and complied. "Want some half and half?"
Larry shook his head. "Ironically enough, I've always preferred my coffee black."
The brief smile flitted across Don's face again. "And I like my dairy," he said. He handed a coffee cup to Larry, lifted the lid off the second and poured in a generous slug of half and half from a third cup. He also added a packet of sugar.
For a few moments, they ate in companionable silence. Larry knew that Don would get to the point of his visit. So he took the tactic that often worked with Charles. He waited.
Finally, Don continued. "Have you seen any news, lately?"
"Very little," Larry confessed. "Unless this is about the explosion on the bridge, I would need some background."
"You'll probably need some background, anyway," Don said. He sipped on his coffee. "Do you know what a Janus list is?"
Larry shook his head. "No, but given the current trend of misusing poor Janus' name, I would guess it has something to do with treachery." The blond tilted his head and studied the younger man's face. "Given your job, I'd say perhaps even treason."
"Yes," Don said. "Specifically, a list of double agents."
"Does this relate to the bridge incident?"
Don nodded. "The man with the bombs, Taylor Ashby, had created at Janus List. Somebody poisoned him for it."
Larry winced. "Very James Bond."
"Yeah," Don said. "It's a hot topic." He sipped his coffee for a few minutes.
"Why the production on the bridge?" Larry asked.
"It's like the old story about the mule and the two by four," Don said.
"First you have to get the mule's attention," Larry quoted the punch line of that old joke.
"Yeah," Don said again. "Ashby wanted our attention. By 'our' I mean, mine and Charlie's, by the way, not the Bureau's."
"Why not just go to you?" Larry asked.
"Because he figured that I wouldn't believe him if he just told me that Colby was a double agent."
Larry was too aghast to speak for a few minutes. He was almost out of coffee, so he stretched it out by adding some half and half.
"You're sure his information is accurate?" he finally managed.
"Colby confessed."
"Oh." There didn't seem to be anything else to say to that. "Um, what can I do to help?"
"Megan needs you," Don asked anxiously. "I'm really worried about her. This special mission she was co-opted for… I mean, being forced to take the job was bad enough. And, well, it was obviously rough. And now this business with Colby."
Larry nodded. "Yes, of course." He looked at Don worriedly. "What about you? How are you doing?"
Don snorted. "Crappy, thank you. But at least I have Dad and Charlie and Liz. David's got Claudia and his folks. Megan has no one but us, Larry. You and me and David. And you're the one she needs most."
"I'll pack," Larry promised.
"I'll wait," Don said. He shook his cup and frowned.
Larry opened the door, then hesitated.
"What?" Don asked.
"I'm just finding it hard to believe that Colby would…"
"Would what?" Don asked. "Sell out his country?"
"That he would confess," Larry said. "I'm sorely tempted to believe that he's on some covert operation that requires him to act in a duplicitous manner."
"Well, we were about to sift through his life history… bank, email, the works. He probably decided that the jig was up."
Larry pulled on his lower lip. "I would think that he would be able to cover his tracks better. Perhaps after his abrupt arrest he realized that there wasn't enough of a paper trail to make him look sufficiently guilty, so he confessed to buy time for his handler to, well, frame him."
Don gave a snort. "I wish I could believe that," he said.
"Well… I suppose this isn't really germane to this…"
"Go on," Don urged.
"But although the Roman god Janus was two faced, he wasn't a traitor," Larry said. "He was a guardian. The two faces enabled him to watch in both directions at the same time. Perhaps…"
"Perhaps Colby is innocent?" Don asked.
Larry sighed. "Of course, I'm just judging based on my affection for the young man. Well, I won't keep you from your second cup of coffee longer than necessary. I'll just get my gear and inform the good monks that I am leaving. I'll also ask for a few prayers."
"Good," Don said. "Right now, we need all the help we can get."