The Net: Dog: Chapter 7

"Rape kit came back on Jane Doe," Jane Faraday said the next day back in the dark hotel room with Walter. "And you're lucky Resh. Although results indicated that she was raped repeatedly over a long period of time, you've been cleared of that charge."Jacob was aware that he'd be cleared. It didn't take a dummy to figure that one out.

"Why did you call her Jane Doe? Her name is Angela."

"Why yes, it actually is. Surprising, isn't it?" she asked, looking over at Walter sitting on the opposite bed from Jacob. "Angela Marie Bennett Resh. Sole surviving sister to one Jacob Gabriel Resh, according to her record."

Walter said nothing, just sat there, staring at both of them looking stunned.

"I had a Crime Scene Investigation team find the mansion you talked about Resh. They're going through their findings right now as we speak. Hopefully we'll know more in the next few days as they piece the evidence together along with what Dr. Vecchio has to say. So we can't get you on any rape charges, but I'm sure something else will stick. See you later boys."

With that, Jane left the still dark hotel room. Jacob leaned back against the pillows on his bed with a sigh. He was glad he'd been cleared, but not entirely happy. Walter only leaned forward to look at Jacob.

"You know they shut down CIC."

Jacob looked at him. "They did what?"

"They shut down CIC. Until this is all over. Thanks to you Dave and Ben can't keep the home fires burning. They can't work on cases. They can't do shit! Because of your stupidness. I'm stuck here, depressed as hell, unable to do my job. Thanks, Resh. Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome," Jacob grumbled. "You know this isn't what I wanted."

"I know. You were planning to spirit her away without telling anyone. You were going to quit the CIC."

"How did you know?"

"I just do. But what I don't know is why."

"Because she's my sister!" Jacob stared at his feet in dejection. "The men who did this to her are gone. Dead from the fire. So there's nothing left for me to do except to keep her safe and to help her get back her life."

"Keep her safe from who?" Walter asked, still leaning towards him from the edge of his own bed that had once been Angela's.

"From everyone. From people who would want to hurt her like that again. And from the law. From doctors who would want to throw her into a mental institution. From people who would want to poke and prod her in an attempt to understand what she went though, what she's going through now, and to determine what they should do with her. She's confused and scared. That would only make it worse. It took me a whole month for her to trust me just a little bit because she was so scared. Because she'd forgotten who I was. After three years of their torture she didn't even remember who I was."

Jacob remembered going to her that first night, remembered the feeling in his heart when she only stared at him in fear when he said he was going to get her out of there.

Clasping his hands together in his lap he continued, "If I could have gotten her out of there any sooner, I would have. If I had known they were...but I didn't...until that last night. But if I had...I would have acted sooner. Whether she trusted me or not. She never deserved that. And she doesn't deserve this."

Walter's face softened at Jacob's words.

"You were cleared of the rape charges. I'm sure you'll be cleared of everything else. But I don't know what the doctor is going to say about releasing her to you. And what about your job?" his boss asked in a much kinder manner.

Jacob looked over at him, surprised by his change of temper. The man actually seemed to be siding with him now.

"I'm sorry Walter. But she's going to need me 24 hours I think. If they release her to me I will have to quit. I'll help you get a replacement."

"What will you do then?"

"Work from home. I've been thinking about it, and Angela used to work from home a long time ago. She was a computer programmer, one of the best. That's what I'll do. I can work, earn money, and take care of her at the same time."

Walter only nodded before leaning back against his pillows and staring off into space.

"If what you say is true," he said all of a sudden. "that these people did what you say they did to her for three years, if you're cleared...I...I would want her to be released to you. If she really did know you once under good terms for a long length of time, it would make sense that you take care of her. Especially if you care about her as much as I think you do. I don't think I would want to see things turn out any different and I know you'd get me the best programmer in the world."

Jacob turned his head to look back at his boss, surprised yet again. But he knew Walter wasn't always as angry as he had been for the last week.

"No. That I can't do."

"What?" Walter wore a confused look on his face.

"I can't get you the best programmer. Because Angela is the best. She was amazing the last time I saw her. I looked up to her abilities. Nine years older than me she had way more experience than I did at the time. If they hadn't gotten her on that day, you would have hired her over me in a split second. And it would have been your decision not someone else. But I can get you the next best programmer."

"I'll take whoever you can get, Jacob. I just wish I could have met Angela back then."

"Yeah, me too." Regret filled his voice as he whispered the words. Regret that he hadn't had voice communication with Angela that day. He'd known they were going into danger taking down the Praetorians with a band of Mariano's men and he'd been worried. He should have been more prepared.

Jacob went back to staring at his shoes and Walter lay his head back to stare at the ceiling. Inside his mind Jacob remembered Angela as she had been, strong, vibrant, the woman no Praetorian would ever bring down. He saw her beautiful smile, the way she'd been with Mariano the first time he'd secretly seen her in person before showing himself as Sorcerer. But the moment she was to succeed they'd gained the upper hand. They'd been the ones to gain control. He saw her at the mansion standing up in the yard with a chain attached to her neck the moment he realized who she really was. He saw her bruises, deep and purple. He saw her sitting on the floor in a puddle of blood from her arm. And he saw her walking slowly up the stairs with Sean Trelawney behind her with his hand on her shoulder. The look on her face was one he would always remember but couldn't describe. Such sadness and despair that she'd accepted as the rest of her life. They'd ruined her.

"She's not ruined," he heard Walter's voice from somewhere nearby. "I'm no psychologist but I'm sure the real Angela must be in there somewhere just waiting for the right moment to come out."

Jacob blinked his eyes several times before he saw Walter reaching out to him with a Kleenex in his hand.

"The right moment when she knows she's safe and you'll be there for her like you always have been."

It was then Jacob realized his shirt was soaked and wet tracks had made their way down his cheeks and neck. He'd been caught crying by his boss. His cheeks turned red at the thought.

"Some FBI agent I am. I'm falling apart at the seems."

"No you're not. Jacob, of all the people I know, in a situation like this, you're the strongest. Most of them would have given up. Would leave her to the doctors, walk away, and forget she exists. Most wouldn't do everything they could to get her out of those conditions themselves. And yes, most of the people I know are cops or FBI agents."

"Tells a lot about our profession." Jacob sighed, "I just want her safe. Is that too much to ask?"

"No."

✢

"The DNA we found..." Jane paused for a moment and started again. "The DNA we found inside Angela belonged to fifteen different people, all described the same and all in different forms of law enforcement."

It had been two days since Jacob's conversation with Walter and he felt like he'd started to go insane since then already. They'd had no news. No visitors. Nothing to do. Nothing. Nothing except hope and pray for Angela's safety. Even though Jacob hated Jane Faraday for doing this to them when she walked into their hotel room he'd been glad to see her. He'd almost smiled too, and he saw a small bit of relief on Walter's face as well. Her news, however, was not surprising. He knew Sean Trelawney. She didn't. He was just glad she didn't have bad news for him, either that they'd proved he'd hurt Angela or that something horrible had happened to her.

Now, as they listened to Jane he and Walter sat on their beds, the tv muted between them. Walter seemed more interested in what she had to say than Jacob.

"All male," she continued. "Dan Dalsburg was in the FBI, Chad Kensington was in the NSA, Michael Vale was in the RCMP..."

Jacob cut her off, "RCMP?" he questioned.

"Royal Canadian Mounted Police."

Jacob nodded, remembering their time in Canada running from Sean while trying to save the life of a girl younger than Jacob had been at the time.

"These names were obviously aliases all for one man. We checked each agency and none of them had records of him."

"They wouldn't," Jacob said. "Trelawney knew how to cover his tracks."

"What did CSI find at that mansion?" Walter asked.

"They're still processing the evidence. When they're done I'll let you know."

Jane's visits were always short and aggravating. Even though Jacob was glad for some interaction besides the one he was constantly having with the tv, she still annoyed him quite a bit. She only stopped by to give them the facts on what they were finding. She would have called instead had she not wanted to see their reactions to what she said. She also just wanted to check up on them to make sure the guard was still outside their door and they hadn't decided to flee anywhere.

"By the way Resh, Dr. Vecchio wants to see you. There's a uniform who will take you to his office."