At 2:30 p.m. the alarm went off and Peter groaned. "That was not long enough."
"I agree," Olivia said, swatting at the alarm clock and turning off the blaring buzzer. "Do you want the first shower?"
"I want to sleep," Peter said, pushing himself up on his elbows. "But I think I want something to eat even more. You take the shower, I'll order lunch, or dinner, or whatever."
"Get me a green curry, OK?" Olivia asked as she pushed herself out of the bed and headed towards the bathroom.
"Yeah, sure," Peter replied as he pushed himself out of bed and wondered to the kitchen. It didn't take long to order their meal, so he turned on the TV while he was waiting. He found a preview of the Red Sox double-header and was enjoying the mindless sports talk when the doorbell rang. Amazed at First Star Thai's speed, he buzzed the person at the door in, threw on yesterday's pants and undershirt, and pulled a couple of dollars out of his wallet for a tip. But when he opened the door, he didn't see a delivery boy with a bag full of curry and rice.
"Gennie?" he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see Olivia," Big Eddie's sister said. She was obviously very upset, though it was hard to say if she was beside herself with grief or anger.
"She's in the shower," Peter said.
"I'll wait." Gennie replied.
"What is this about?" Peter asked, not letting the mobster's sister into the house. It was not inconceivable that Eddie has chosen Gennie as his next host.
"Look," Gennie said, her emotional state driving her to tears. "I want you to leave my kids alone, OK? I know Eddie's gone, and you got to tap our phones, or whatever, 'cause you think he might call, I get that. Follow me around, follow Ben around all you want – we don't have a clue where he is, and we don't think we'll ever see him again – but I know that's what you think you gotta do to find him. But leave the kids out of it, OK? Don't go messing with my kids!"
She was sobbing now, and Peter very much doubted the creature that had been Big Eddie would have been able to generate such convincing emotion.
"Come in," he said, stepping aside and holding the door open for her. "Tell me what happened."
Gennie obeyed, walking into Olivia's living room and sitting on her couch. Peter quickly turned off the TV and sat across from her.
"Look, I don't know how much you know, but . . . but I can tell you that Eddie knew he was gonna escape last night. He didn't tell us any details or nothin', but last night, at dinner, he told us all that you were gonna come and that he was gonna leave and we'd never see him again. We were all upset, but he said it was the only way to keep us safe. And when my brother says a thing, I believe him. He's never lied to me."
"Ok," Peter said, very much doubting Big Eddie ever told Gennie what he really was – but there was no reason to challenge her belief, so he let her keep talking.
"And then when the cops called at two a.m. and said he'd escaped, it all made sense. I won't lie; I slept easier knowing that he was free. I knew—I expected—to get called in to questioning and all that. But I really don't know anything, and I don't mind. But I do mind when you harass my kids."
"We haven't seen your kids," Peter said. "Olivia and I have been gone all day."
"Not you," Gennie said. "That's why I came here, because I know Olivia's a good person and she wouldn't put the kids through that. I need her to talk to her boss, or someone, to keep those other slime ball agents away."
"Slime ball agents?"
"That creep Kholler," Gennie said. "He was at Kevin's tournament today."
"Really?" Peter was surprised. He'd been told that Kholler was home on medical leave – not out in the field looking for Eddie.
"I saw him," Gennie insisted. "The bastard had the gull to go up to my son and talk to him. My boy's there to play soccer – it's hard enough on him knowing Ed is on the lam – he doesn't need Feds interrogating him in-between matches," her voice was steadily rising as she started to express full extent of the anger she felt. "You really think Ed would have told his ten-year-old nephew where he was going? You really think it's right to put a kid in that situation, where he has to choose between family he loves and law enforcement that he's supposed to respect? Ed would never put Kevin in that place, and I'm . . . and you can't . . ." she started to cry again and did not seem capable of finishing her thought.
"Gennie," Olivia's voice said soothingly from behind the couch. Peter hadn't notice her walk in, but she must have heard most of the tirade, because she sat next to the older woman, put her arm around her shoulders, and said, "We wouldn't ask that of Kevin, or anything like that. Agent Kholller was not supposed to be there – he must have acted on his own. And what he did was totally inappropriate. I'll talk to his supervisor and see that it never happens again."
"The damn mobster life," Gennie sobbed into Olivia's shoulder. "It's so hard on kids. I didn't want it to touch Kevin and Nora the way it did Ed and me. I tried so hard to get out – but you can't just abandon family. I had to help Ed when I could. But now he's gone . . . he's really, really gone . . . and the kids should be above the mess he left behind."
"You're absolutely right," Olivia said as Gennie continued to cry on her shoulder. "If anything like this happens again, call me, OK. I'll come and knock some sense into whoever is bothering your kids."
"She'd do it too," Peter said. "Walk right onto a soccer field and punch a fellow agent."
"I don't know about punch," Olivia said, glancing ruefully at Peter. "But I can promise you that I will not let anyone harass your children."
"Thank you Olivia," Gennie said, calming down enough to pull away from the other woman's comforting embrace. "You're a very good person – and I, well, I have something to confess."
"Confess?" Peter asked nervously as he glanced around the room, trying to remember where Olivia had put her gun, just in case.
"That day we found you – the whole thing was a set up. I knew you'd be there. I knew what Ed wanted. I helped him."
"Yeah," Olivia said. "We kind of figured that out."
"He told me that morning that he needed my help," she said. "He said he had a friend at the FBI that would help him escape, but he had to create opportunity. He said that all I'd have to do was walk through the park with the kids at ten thirty and help the lady that needed help. I didn't feel right about it, but he promised me I'd be doin' nothing more than my Christian duty. No one would get hurt."
"No one did get hurt," Olivia assured her.
"That we know of," Peter added.
"Peter," Olivia scolded.
"That's the thing," Gennie said, looking at Peter. "I don't know. I know my brother escaped, and I know he's not coming back. But, I don't know who he's hurt, or how and so . . . well, I'm sorry, Olivia, if anything I did added to that pain. I'm really, truly, sorry."
Olivia looked at Peter. She was clearly surprised by Gennie's heartfelt apology. Peter was surprised as well, but he was not suspicious. The woman in front of him had displayed a series of complex, deeply felt emotions. She was angry, grieving, regretful, and grateful all at once. Only a human could ever be that complicated, and only the best of actresses could ever express so much. Gennie was clearly the former but not the later.
Peter's own expression must have reassured Olivia, because she turned back to Gennie and said, "You didn't hurt me. And whatever you did to help your brother, you did out of love. I have a sister, and I would do anything for her. I don't hold anything against you."
Gennie started crying again. Olivia let the older woman blubber on her shoulder, and even patted her back compassionately. Peter felt extremely out-of-place, and so was relieved when the doorbell buzzed once again.
"I'm sorry," Gennie said, pulling herself out of her sobs. "Were you expecting someone?"
"Only the delivery guy," Peter said, walking to the door.
"Oh, I should let you eat, then," Gennie said as she wiped her eyes and pushed herself off the couch. "I didn't acutely mean to stay this long. Ben's gonna wonder where I am."
"Do you want me to see you out?" Olivia offered.
"I think I can find my way," Gennie replied with a forced smile. "Thank you, Agent Dunham, Mr. Bishop. You've been really kind."
"Good bye, Gennie," Olivia said as Big Eddie's sister walked through the door Peter was holding open and out of the apartment.
"Well?" Peter asked once he saw the elevator door close and knew that Gennie was safely out of earshot.
"I don't think Eddie became his sister."
"Neither do I," Peter said. "Do you think she's really clueless?"
"I think so, yeah," Olivia said. "I can't see Eddie telling anyone, especially her, that he was a shape-shifter."
"It would be admitting that he murdered her brother," Peter said in agreement. "But what about Agent Kholler?"
"He was way out of line, talking to a minor without his parent's approval," Olivia said, obviously amazed by the agent's gall.
"I know he was knocked out too, but what exactly happened to him?" Peter asked.
"He was taken from the Kresge Building just like you were," Olivia said. "He was found handcuffed in the back of the SUV Eddie stole."
"What did he say happened?" Peter asked.
"Well," Olivia said, really thinking about her fellow agent's testimony for the first time. "He said that he could hear you and Eddie talk about whether or not to kill him. But that must not have been you – it must have been his other accomplice."
"What other accomplice?" Peter asked.
"He must have had an accomplice," Olivia said, as if stating a self-evident fact. "I know he didn't have chloroform on him when we brought in him into the building."
The elevator chimed and the First Star Thai deliveryman came out, carrying a brown bag full of delicious smelling food. Peter and Olivia paused their conversation while he paid for their lunch and she got the bowls and flatware from the kitchen. Once they each had a large helping of curry and rice, they resumed the conversation.
"Think about it," Peter said. "Eddie told his sister he had a 'friend in the FBI,' and I don't think he was talking about me."
"You're saying Kholler was Eddie's 'friend in the FBI'?" Olivia asked skeptically.
"Eddie had this planed weeks, if not months, in advance," Peter said. "Charles Singh knew two weeks ago what Eddie was planning, and he had time to get everything prepared. The question is, how could Eddie know the night we would move him before we even knew he was worth moving?"
"Agent Kholler suggested Saturday night," Olivia said, following Peter's train of thought.
"Which also happened to be a night he knew his partner couldn't be there," Peter said.
"But if he's in league with Eddie, why harass the family?" Olivia asked. "He'd know they don't know where he is – and he wouldn't want him found in any event."
"You and I agreed that Eddie genuinely loved those kids, his niece and nephew," Peter said. "As much as a machine can love anything."
What Peter had been implying suddenly solidified in Olivia's consciousness. The realization was so startling, so disturbing, that she almost dropped her bowl.
"We have to call Broyles," Olivia said seriously.
"I think so," Peter replied.
~B~R~E~A~K~
"No, Walter," Peter said, his anxiety about the upcoming meeting making him short with his father. "For once in your life, listen to me. Stay here."
"But, if you are correct and the shape shifter has moved . . ." the scientist began.
"Then you should stay here," Olivia finished. "And keep well out of his way."
"But what about you?" Walter asked his son anxiously. "If you are not going to stay out of his way, I don't see why I should."
"I'm the one person in the world who's safe, remember?" Peter said.
"Peter will be well protected," Olivia assured the old man. "I'll be in there with him, as will Agent Broyles."
"But what if Broyles is the shape shifter?" Walter said.
"There's no reason to think that," Peter replied.
"But you will not tell me who you do suspect," Walter insisted pathetically. "How do you expect me to feel reassured when you refuse to give me complete information?"
"We expect you to trust us," Peter answered.
"By leaving me in Olivia's office, you give me the distinct impression that you do not trust me," Walter argued.
"You get that impression, do you?" Peter asked, amused.
"This confrontation could be dangerous," Olivia said. "Shape shifters are stronger and faster than humans, and hard to kill."
"You've both killed your fair share," Walter observed.
"But we've never taken one alive, which is what will be really useful," Olivia said.
"I don't see how that's more dangerous than sneaking into one's home and shooting him in the brainpan," Walter said. "Because I helped do that."
"How well I remember," Peter said. "And the reason you cannot come is because you don't see the danger. You didn't then, and you almost got killed."
"I saved your life," Walter protested.
"You saved my fingers," Peter corrected. "For which I am grateful, but not grateful enough to let your recklessness put your life, and Olivia's, and many other FBI agents' in danger."
"You think I'm reckless?" Walter asked curiously.
"Do you think you're not?" Peter laughed.
"Please Walter," Olivia said, skipping over that particular discussion. "As a favor to me, so I won't have to worry, just wait here."
Walter looked up at Olivia and smiled his charming, paternal smile. It was a smile that always warmed her heart, even though she knew it made Peter roll his eyes. "For you, my dear, I will wait here."
"Thank you, Walter," Olivia said smiling back at him. Then, she turned to Peter and her smile disappeared. "Let's go."
They walked out of her office and Peter closed the door behind them. "How do you do that?" He asked with wonder as they walked down the hall towards the briefing room.
"More flies with honey," Olivia answered.
"It's because you're a pretty girl," Peter concluded.
"Doesn't hurt," Olivia admitted as she reached the door to the conference room. "You ready?"
"To get Big Eddie out of my life forever?" Peter asked. "Oh yeah, I'm ready for that."
