Chapter 10: Tango and Crescent
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC.
"Are you sure you want to go to C.H.R.O.M.E. to check on the progress being made with Collin? I'm certain it would not be held against you if you wished to stay at home. You're still on medically allowed bedrest, after all." Finn asked Christie as they made breakfast the next morning.
"Finn, this isn't the first time I've been shot at, nor will it be the last. And my shoulder honestly doesn't hurt any more unless I really push it. I'll be fine if I go. Besides, I'll have you with me."
Pausing a pancake mid-flip, Finn assessed her words before allowing, "Well, I'm not denying my ability to keep you safe but if you insist on going, I'm pretty powerless to stop you at this point."
"You know it," Christie said with a nod, pulling two plates out of the cabinet as Finn slid pancakes onto them.
The two quickly ate breakfast, Christie managing to eat surprisingly well for a person who only had one proper working arm.
When they had finished eating, the two cleared away the dishes as Finn asks, "Are you ready to leave?"
"Of course," Christie replies, placing a plate in the sink. Whirling around, she asks him, "Can I drive?"
Finn opened his mouth to respond with a 'no' when Christie cut him off.
"I'm only joking," she told him quickly before offering her arm to him. "Shall we go?"
Taking her arm, Finn replies, "Might as well if we want to get to him before he's either locked back up or relocated."
"From his smuggling weapons to attempted murder, I doubt he'll be going anywhere anytime soon." Christie pointed out as they made their way into the garage. Finn made sure to get the car door for Christie before getting in himself to start the car. After a second, the Aston Martin revved to life before speeding off down the road towards C.H.R.O.M.E.
Upon arriving at work, Finn and Christie were signed in before making their way towards the interrogation room where Holley and Siddeley would most likely already be either talking to Collin or one of his men. However, as they passed by the holding cells, they noticed that their fellow agents were in a state of panic. People were running up and down the corridor, papers were flying through the air, and the shouts were so loud and numerous that they overlapped one another, resulting in nothing more than roaring buzz. Exchanging unsure glances, the couple changed their course and made their way towards Nathan's office hoping if anyone, he could shed some light on the reason for the current uproar.
Without waiting for permission to enter, the two simply walked into the office, interrupting the conversation Nathan was having with a fellow agent. Upon seeing Christie and Finn outlined by the doorway, he ushered his current guest out before beckoning the pair in. When the door shut behind them, the buzz was quieted down enough to where they could actually hear their own thoughts once again.
Sitting down at his desk, Nathan massaged his temples before saying, "I take it you're here for Collin?"
Finn opened his mouth to reply but Nathan cut him off.
Lowering his hand, he continues, "That was a rhetorical question. I know you both want to interrogate him yourselves but at the moment that is impossible."
Looking affronted, Christie counters, "Why would that be impossible? He shot me, Nathan. I have a right to yell at him a little."
"It's not an issue of clearance." Nathan looked up then and noted the confusion on both of his top agent's faces. "He's gone," he concluded lamely.
"He's gone?" Finn and Christie simultaneously gasped.
Shaking his head, Finn asks, "How is that possible?"
Waving his hand, Nathan explains, "It seems word of his arrest reached some of his associates. They quite literally busted him out of the interrogation room."
Biting her lip nervously, Christie suddenly asks, "Where's Holley and Siddeley?"
"They were taken as well," Nathan explained softly. "But I've already dispatched several agents after them so they should be back in no time."
Her face lighting up, Christie exclaims, "Then you know where they are?"
Tapping his index fingers together, Nathan replies, "Er, well, no, actually. No one does but it should only be a matter of time before they are located."
Cupping his chin in thought, Finn shuts his eyes. He could not believe that Holley, Siddeley, and Collin had been so easily taken from C.H.R.O.M.E., which was supposed to be a top-notch spy facility; the best in the country if not in all of Europe. However, he suddenly opened his eyes as an idea flashed in his mind. Grabbing Christie's hand, he cries, "I think I know where they might be! Bye, Nathan!"
"Wait, Finn!" Nathan cried after them but the pair didn't stop running.
As they hurriedly clambered back into the car, Christie excitedly inquires, "Finn, do you really know where Holley and Siddeley might be?"
Pulling out of the parking lot, Finn explains, "I'm not one hundred percent sure but I think it's all related to what Redline had written. Do you still have that file?"
Unsure of where he was going with this, Christie obligingly pulled the file out. "You think these clues are the key to finding where Siddeley and Holley were taken?"
Nodding confidently, Finn replies, "Yes. I don't think those are symbols, I think they're coordinates. Or as close to coordinates as Redline could write down without making everything obvious."
Her brow furrowing, Christie asks, "But if they are coordinates, why didn't he just write them down? He was the only agent working on this, after all, so why the secrecy of his own personal files?"
On a roll now, Finn explains, "Because he knew he was investigating a mole at C.H.R.O.M.E. and he couldn't risk that mole seeing the coordinates and immediately knowing Redline was onto him. It makes sense now why he was spying on Collin at the bar. He already knew where his base was, he just needed to catch him in the act of actually committing a crime to get a warrant to search the base. Eavesdropping at a bar is a lot easier than breaking into a heavily guarded warehouse."
"So you think this is the location of the warehouse?" Christie asked, referring to the piece of paper she was holding.
"Absolutely. It all fits. 'Tango' and 'Crescent' aren't foods; they're street names. And I think the upward facing arrow is a cardinal direction; north in this case. So we're looking for a building north of Tango and Crescent." Finn punched the location into the onboard computer, pulling up directions towards the warehouse. After a moment, the GPS had them on a course to the outskirts of London.
Looking dejectedly at the location, Finn groans. "London? Why would a weapons dealer be located anywhere near a massive city? With that many people crawling around, it should be nearly impossible to not arouse suspicion. Maybe that's not where the warehouse is after all."
"That's what the negative four represents. The building, or at least the room containing all of the incriminating evidence, is underground! Negative four stories to be exact." Christie exclaims, reassuring Finn that he was indeed correct. "They wouldn't have to worry about getting caught if no one could see the warehouse. There's probably a normal shop above it just to maintain appearances."
"I can't believe we didn't see this earlier. I mean, all we could think of for 'tango' and 'crescent' was that we were dealing with a nefarious gang of food thieves." Finn exclaims with a laugh, leaning back in his seat.
Crossing her arms, Christie defensively points out, "To be fair, that was Siddeley who suggested it. We simply didn't have a better idea to debunk his ridiculous one with." Gazing out the window, she adds, "I hope we find them here. I can't imagine what Collin might be doing to them right now."
"Then don't. We're almost there and we will have them freed and Collin back in jail in no time." Finn confidently assured her. When we get there, I'll radio Nathan for backup. Then we'll break out Holley and Siddeley."
Cracking her knuckles, Christie tells him, "I hope the back up takes their time. I've been waiting for this reunion with Collin and injured or not, I'm going to have some fun."
"Not as much as I'm going to have once I get a hold of him," Finn promised, frowning as he remembered their last encounter. The unpleasant walk down memory lane filled him with rage as he further pressed down on the gas pedal, pushing the car to go more than double the speed limit. Another perk of being a spy was, again, under special circumstances, that he was issued a license plate that when spotted by cops, they could not pull him over if he was speeding unless they had been notified to do otherwise. Given that no such notification was currently circulating, Finn continued to speed down the road as the city of London rose up in front of them, stretching across the horizon in an arch of hundreds of massive buildings.
"I'm radioing Nathan now," Christie informed him as the GPS told them they were practically driving on top of the building. While that could technically be true given they had no idea how wide the building stretched underground, they didn't want to risk being spotted.