Chapter Two – Asking for Help
Adam Franklin walked around the corner of the building to the secluded area that was the prearranged meeting place. He lit up a cigarette and leaned against the side of the building, glancing at his watch for the fourth time. They were late. Franklin had little tolerance for this kind of behavior, and thus was already annoyed when the two men he had hired to apprehend Brenna Davis showed up to meet with him.
"They weren't there."
Franklin's look of displeasure almost made the man step back.
"What do you mean, they weren't there?" he asked slowly.
"We searched the whole house, sir, and we made sure to leave things the way we found them," the nervous man told Franklin. He didn't like getting those looks; they had never bode well in the past. "Their clothes were still hanging in their closets and their dressers seemed full." His partner snickered at that and he hit him in the stomach to shut him up. "There is food in the fridge and pantry. Everything looks as if they'll be coming back."
"Maybe they just went out for the evening," the second man suggested.
Franklin gave the man the look he deserved. "How long did you search the house?"
The first man answered. "It took us about an hour to go through everything. We didn't find anything about the lab either."
Franklin shook his head. "Brenna doesn't need to write things down, you fool! Whatever she saw will stay in her head forever."
"Unless she loses her memory," the second man piped up again.
"Get out of here," Franklin told them. Watching them make their retreat, he mumbled, "Idiots!" He pulled his cell phone out and dialed a number, and then waited until the line was picked up. "I've got a job for you. I need some information."
---
Jenna sighed at the amount of talking on the current radio station. Looking for her purse, she figured she could loop a finger in the strap with one hand and keep them on the interstate with the other. Reaching over, she jumped when Brenna gave her hand a tap.
"What do you need?" Brenna asked, her eyes suggesting Jenna put hers back on the road.
"Can you plug in the iPod? The radio is driving me crazy, and I need music if I'm going to drive."
Digging around in the suitcase Jenna called a purse, Brenna asked, "How do you know it's in here?"
Jenna laughed. "Try the little side pocket. I keep it in there to protect it from the rest of the stuff I carry."
Brenna pulled it out and hooked it up to the truck's stereo system. Before long, the soundtrack to Grease was playing and the girls were singing along to "Hopelessly Devoted to You".
As the song ended, Jenna turned the volume down a little and said, "We should be in DC by morning. I really think we should contact Ben's sister. I think she can help out with both situations."
"We'll need a prepaid cell phone first. I don't want anything leading anyone to us, and pay phones are just inconvenient."
Jenna nodded. "I agree. Now I see how smart it was for you to leave our cell phones in that rest stop back in Texas."
Brenna grinned. "Starting to listen to your older sister? Have I suddenly been sent to a parallel universe?"
"Ha ha. I've always known you were smart, and you usually give great advice. This isn't the first time I've listened to you."
They laughed together, and then squealed in delight when "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee" started playing.
---
Franklin was in a foul mood. It was as he suspected; they hadn't just gone out for the evening. After having a GPS search for their cell phones, they had been found wiped clean and dumped in the trash at a rest area. Further inquiries proved that they had emptied their bank accounts. It was official; they were running. He just didn't know to where, and that was bugging him.
Staring at the Private Investigator sitting in front of him, he said, "I want full backgrounds on these two. More in-depth than we do at the time of hire."
"Why?" the PI asked. He was the man the company turned to for all their background checks.
"I'm head of security; I don't need a reason. Just see that it gets done."
Unhappy with the orders, and suspicious of Franklin's motives, the PI left the office. He was determined that the Davis sisters wouldn't be the only ones into whose backgrounds he would research.
---
"Brenna, let's go out to dinner," Jenna said, suddenly excited.
"Bad idea, Jenna. We need to keep moving; maybe just grab something from a drive through."
Jenna sighed, "I'm tired of drive through fast food already. I want to sit down and have a steak with a baked potato smothered in butter and a salad loaded with toppings and drowning in dressing." When she saw Brenna looking in her direction, she gave her sister her most pitiful look.
Laughing, Brenna told her, "That look isn't going to work on me. We should stop at the first fast food place we come to, get some burgers or a crappy fast food salad, and then check into a motel."
Giving up the quest, Jenna shrugged, "Okay, but can it be fish and chips this time? That burger from lunch did not taste the best."
Spying a seafood place ahead, Brenna told her, "Fish and chips it is."
They ordered their food and drove a few short miles down the road to another motel off the beaten path. Checking in, they grabbed their bags and their food and went inside to settle down for the night. They were only a few hours from the city, but they both needed some sleep and a shower before going in search of help from anyone. When they awoke the next morning, Jenna loaded their bags into the truck as Brenna returned the room key to the desk clerk.
At the nearest gas station, they pulled over to fill up and fell into their new routine. Brenna filled the tank with a scarf covering her head, and Jenna paid and bought essentials with a ball cap covering her hair and face from any cameras. Picking up two prepaid cell phones, she paid cash for them and the other stuff. Within ten minutes, they were back in the truck, heading to the highway, and were getting ready to make the call that would hopefully help them, if not save them.
---
Abby's phone continued to ring as she explained her findings to Gibbs. Hitting the speaker button, she took a breath and said, "This is Abby; you're on the air."
"Abby...?"
Her brow wrinkling, Abby asked, "Who is this?"
"It's Jenna. Jenna Davis. Abby, I..."
Abby snatched up the phone, "I can't believe it!" she said with forced cheer. Smiling at Gibbs, and seeing his annoyed look, she nodded. "It's so great to hear from you, Jenna! Listen, I'm in the middle of some test results; I'll call you right back, okay?"
Disconnecting the phone, she cut to the chase and gave Gibbs his suspect's name. As he walked out the door, she picked up her phone and redialed the last number received.
---
"So, Abby is Ben's sister?" Brenna asked, assimilating everything in her mind.
"Yes," Jenna said, biting her lip, waiting for the phone to ring again. She was half afraid that Abby wouldn't really call her back.
"Not to mention, she's a forensic scientist working for a federal agency." Brenna sighed, and decided to think positive thoughts. She really hoped Jenna was right, and Abby could help them.
The cell phone rang and Jenna gave her sister a hopeful look as she hit the answer key. "Hello?" Hearing Abby's voice, Jenna let out a relieved breath. "Abby, I'm so sorry to call you... Yes, I know what we agreed… Something's come up though, and my sister and I need help... No, not that kind… I don't feel comfortable telling you over the phone." Listening, she motioned for Brenna and turned the phone so her sister could hear the address as well. "We're in DC now. We can be there," Jenna told her, and put the phone back to her ear. "Abby, thank you for this and please, don't mention this to Ben." Nodding once more before realizing Abby couldn't see her, she said, "See you then. Bye."
"So, can she help us? And why don't you want Ben to know what's going on? Do you have a plan at all?"
"No, I don't have a plan. I'm just shooting from the hip here, Brenna. I want to keep Ben out of this whole thing because he has nothing to do with DAX. Let's just not get ahead of ourselves, go meet with Abby and take it from there. If she can't help, then we can call your FBI friend."
"See! Sounds to me like you have a fine plan," Brenna said with a smile.