Chapter 4:
Ben noticed the boy on the bed shifting slightly, and walked over to the bed in which he lay. He sat down and smiled at the boy, though the boy could not see him. Ben was risking a lot by just being here. If the boy recognized him, then he could easily report to the owner of the house about Ben's presence. And if the boy managed to do that, then Ben would be in for a good three hours of yelling. It was better to simply blindfold the boy. His identity would be kept a secret this way.
The boy seemed to notice his presence for the first time, and made as if to sit up. Knowing that the boy would only cause himself more harm than necessary, Ben gently grabbed the boy's shoulder and eased it back into the pillow. He felt the boy tense at his touch, and started running his hand through the blond locks in order to settle him.
Ben remembered several times in the past where this had calmed the boy, and this time was no different. He continued running his hands through the boy's hair, and smiled slightly as the boy unconsciously leaned into the touch. The boy's breathing started to even out, and Ben knew he was almost asleep again. Just as the last of the tenseness went out of the boy's body, Ben's phone rang. He quickly got up and put it on mute, hoping the noise had not woken the boy or any of the house's other occupants.
When he heard no noise for 25 seconds, he quickly unwrapped the blindfold from the boy's eyes and climbed out the window before slipping off into the night.
When he was about 8 blocks away from the house he had just exited, he pulled out the cell phone that had almost brought him to ruin. He had a missed call. From a certain bank located in the center of London. And, if the extension number was anything to go by, this was the phone call he had been dreading to have. And he was definitely no looking forward to having it at 1 AM.
Sighing, Ben dialed said bank's phone number and extension and waited as it rung twice before being picked up by a woman. Without being able to see her, Ben knew exactly what she would be doing. She would be sucking on a peppermint.
"Agent Daniels?" Mrs. Jones asked into the phone.
Ben knew that he would be ruined if he sounded as awake and alert as he actually was and adopted a voice filled with tiredness. He slurred his words slightly, going for the 'I was just rudely awoken at 1 AM and am not fully awake and definitely not alert' tone of voice. With any luck, Mrs. Jones wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
"Yes? Mrs. Jones?"
"Good. I was hoping that you'd call back quickly."
"What for?" Ben questioned, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Well, I have something to report, and I thought you might like to hear it right away, Ben."
In his head, Ben snorted. Mrs. Jones always thought that by using an agent's first name, she was magically transmitting comfort and that it helped break the news easier.
"What might that be? It's 1 o'clock in the morning. Couldn't this have waited until the sun actually rose above the horizon?"
"Sorry about the time, but I thought you might like to be informed right away."
Knowing that at this point in the conversation, he would've been finally waking up, Ben let the tiredness start to seep out of his voice, "Um, thanks. But informed of what?"
"Well, there was a slight incident at the hospital late last night. After reviewing the security footage, we have deduced that someone impersonated a doctor and spiked the IV of one of our agents. An agent you know…"
"What? Who? Was it Alex? Is he okay?"
"I'm sorry, Ben. No one found anything suspicious about the man, and we didn't really catch a good look at him. Alex's heart monitor was rigged so that when it flat lined, no alarm went out to the doctors or nurses. They found him dead the next morning."
Ben's hand opened, and the phone clattered to the pavement. He figured two minutes time would be the normal for someone to get over the initial shock, and waited that amount of time before bending down and picking up the phone.
"Agent Daniels? Are you there?"
"Yea, I'm here," this time he adopted a shaky voice.
"Listen, the guy knew where all of the cameras were. Only our agents know where they are located."
"What are you saying?"
"It was an inside job. Someone betrayed Alex."
"That man is going to regret the day he was ever born," Ben responded, lacing his words with an anger he did not feel.
"Please don't do anything rash. Anyways, can you come in later today, around maybe 8? I'm really sorry about this, but Mr. Blunt insists that we interview every single agent, even you. I mean, I know you would've never spiked Alex's IV, but he wants to be reassured. He doesn't find anyone above killing Alex."
'Smart man,' Ben thought, but out loud he said, "That's crazy, but I always knew that man was insane. If it will make him feel better, I'll be there at 8. Bye."
"See you then. And know that I am really sorry about Alex's death."
"Yea, but are you sorry enough?" Ben couldn't resist adding in that last question before cutting the connection. He knew that it did not blow his cover at all, seeing as he would've added it in whether he was acting, or not.
Ben did not put his phone away just yet. Instead he sent off a text message.
Jones took the bait. They think he's dead. Keep him quiet and in bed.
I'll be there around noon or so. Blunt thinks he has a traitor in his midst,
and wants me to come in to talk to him about my suspicions.
Good luck with Alex. You're probably going to need it.
Ben did not add the fact that they also wanted to interview him, as then the receiver of the message would not allow him to visit the blond haired boy. Anyways, neither head was actually suspicious of him, they just needed to make sure. Ben was sure they were thinking about the incident with ASH and John Rider.
He sighed, realizing that now he would need to stay up the rest of the night in order to keep his cover at the bank tomorrow. If Alex was actually dead, he would not have gone back to sleep after receiving that information. He would've stayed up the entire night. That was what the heads would expect. And that was what they would get.