Three

"This looks serious Stan. Is everything OK?"

"No Henry, I'm sorry to say everything is not OK. Your parents and Paige, as far as we know, are safe and well though." He had planned that part, to allay any initial fears Henry might have had about his parents being involved in a car accident or the like.

" 'As far as you know'?" Henry repeated his words. There was already a concerned look on his face, like he knew bad news was coming, despite Stan's reassurance.

"Have you heard from your parents recently, Henry?"

"They rang last night. It was a bit weird really, Mom actually spoke to me on the phone. That's not normal. They basically just said "Hi, and we'll see you next week."

"Did anything strike you as strange about the phone call, what they said, or they way they said it?"

"I don't know, I can't say they said anything unusual, except that they love me – they never say that normally. I was just, like, 'why are you calling to tell me this stuff?'" He stopped and looked at Stan. "Why, what's this about?"

Stan had a way of speaking that involved a lot of pauses when he needed to slow things down. He had developed this over many years, and it had helped him out in many difficult situations. Bought him time. Time to think, sometimes time to allow the other person to think. He often avoided eye contact at these times also, another way of protecting the moment, giving him control. Often he used this technique without even realising it. He used it now.

"Henry."

Pause.

"Have you ever suspected that your parents, or Paige for that matter, were not...all they seemed to be." This was met by a blank look.

"You know, the late nights….

...days away on business…

...things that other normal families do that you never do?" Stan looked up into Henry's eyes.

"The lack of family and friends?"

Henry looked down, away from Stan. "No." His voice had a questioning tone, unsure of himself. "I always think Mom and Dad work too hard, you know? The travel agency is hard work. Late nights, going to see clients, all that stuff. I don't really know what they do."

"Henry, their work was not all it seemed. We have recently had reason to believe they had...what you might call a second life, totally separate to what you saw day to day."

There was a long pause, Stan giving Henry time to process, to wonder.

"What, you mean they have another family?"

"No, nothing like that. I'm talking about...activities that they took part in….

...Secret stuff that nobody knew about."

"Secret stuff?" Henry's expression was puzzled. This is really hard for him to understand, Stan thought. Certainly doesn't appear to be acting, or covering anything up. Now is not the time to rush this. Keep up the slowly slowly approach.

"You see Henry, we now believe that your Mom and Dad were part of a network of people, who tried to access information to send to another country, to help that other country keep tabs on what America is up to. Information that ordinary citizens don't have access to. People like your parents find ways to learn this stuff, and pass it on." Stan brought in another pause, waiting to see Henry's reaction.

"Like spies, you mean?"

"Yes Henry, like spies. In fact, that might be a perfect description for what they did."

Another long pause. Stan watched Henry's body language closely, seeing him close up slightly. Bracing for more bad news.

"So why the past tense, Stan? You said 'what they did' not 'do'. Are my Mom and Dad in trouble Stan?"

"The truth is, Henry, I really don't know where they are. We… the FBI don't know. They've not been into work today or yesterday. We believe they have..." He did not want to use the words 'run away', emotive words likely to be remembered by Henry later on. Instead he changed tack. "I'm sure your parents are on a train, or plane, or boat out of here somewhere.

"They're not coming back, right?"

"I'm really sorry Henry." Another pause. "I don't think they will." Another pause. "There is a chance that they'll be stopped before they can leave, and then you'll be able to see them, talk to them. But I think the reality is that they're gone."

After a long minute, during which Henry seemed to shrink in size, colour fading from his face. "Which country are you talking about? Russia?"

This hit Stan like a truck. He had not expected Henry to make this leap so soon. "Why do you think Russia, Henry?" Suspicions aroused again.

"It's the obvious one. Am I right?"

Stan exhaled, long and slow, looking down at his feet. He finally looked up at his friend's son. "Yes Henry. We believe both your parents were born in Russia, and that's where they're returning to."

"What about Paige? Where's Paige? She wasn't born in Russia!" Henry asked the question looking directly into Beeman's eyes, his gaze steady.

Stan had expected this question, the answer already planned in his mind. "Henry, this is something I don't know with any real certainty, but it is highly likely that your parents, and maybe the people they were working with, had started brainwashing Paige to see things from their point of view." He paused, waiting for some reaction. After a period of silence, he continued. "I'm pretty sure Paige has gone with them Henry…..I'm so sorry to have to give you this news." He knew full well of Paige's involvement – that much was clear from his encounter with the Jennings in the garage last night.

He watched the boys face carefully. Tears were forming in Henry's eyes, and he shook his head. "You must have this wrong! My Mom and Dad aren't bad people!" He suddenly stood up, and turned his back on Stan. Stan made no attempt to speak, or move, just let the boy run through his emotions.

Henry's shoulders shook as he started to sob. "It can't be true! It can't be!" Stan stood and moved alongside, well within Henry's personal zone but not touching. Letting him know he was there, giving him comfort, an option to make contact but not overtly offering an embrace. Henry was staring down at the ground. "Are you sure, are you really sure?"

"I wish I wasn't Henry. I was your Dad's best friend. I didn't want to believe it either. The facts were there in black and white." And your father admitted it to my face! he thought, the anger of betrayal still close to the surface. One day, maybe, he would tell Henry how he came to suspect them, and the steps he took to check his suspicions, but that day was a long way off. "Henry, you're gonna need time and space to think this all through. It's really important that you listen to me now. Miss Henderson knows some of what I've told you, but not everything, not the Russian part. It's up to you how much you tell her, but I would advise you to think carefully what you tell anyone from now on. People won't always be understanding."

"What will happen to me Stan? Am I all alone?"

"No Henry. I know that your parents would want me to be there to help and support you, so that's what I'm going to do. You can stay here if you like, or you can come back and stay with me for a few days, at least until you figure out what it is you want for your future."

More than anything, Stan wanted to be on hand, to help protect Henry from the inevitable shit-storm that would be raging around his young head, although there were limits to what he could do. New Hampshire was too far for him to keep commuting back to, and who knows what would happen to Henry if word got out amongst his classmates. The likelihood was that the authorities would bring him in for questioning anyway, and Stan wanted to be as close as possible, if that would be allowed. At least he could fight for it in his own territory. There were a number of field offices between his home office in Washington and New Hampshire, better to be near home.

Stan noticed Joy in the distance, staring in their direction.

"Henry? You coming back with me? There'll be plenty of time to talk, for you to ask questions on the way."

"I guess."

They walked back towards the entrance. Henry's tutor put a hand on his shoulder, took him away out of sight. Agent Beeman watched them for a moment, contemplating their conversation. His gut feeling was that this was all news to Henry, his actions and emotions seemed to confirm this. Plus, he doubted that Henry would have divulged the phone call if Philip and Elizabeth had dropped the news that they were leaving. Beeman doubted Henry had the skills and experience to hide this, and it would have been evident in his demeanor and the way he responded when given the news.

He turned and walked back to the Principals office. Warner saw him in immediately.

"Agent Beeman. A terrible business, terrible. The poor boy. I'm sure we can keep him on here until, how shall I put this, alternative arrangements can be made, unless you think his fees might be paid from some other source?"

Beeman gave Warner a long look that needed no words. His eventual response was curt and completely devoid of warmth. "We'll be in touch."