-Walter tries to engage the others in a late night debriefing session, but Paige's mind is elsewhere.-
Thank you to everyone who is reading and enjoying this story. I really appreciate all the reviews.
CHAPTER 10.
"Let's think about what we know." Walter sat cross-legged on the bed in his hotel room and opened his laptop. He pressed a finger to his left ear. "Sly? Cabe? Are you there?"
"Right here, son," came Cabe's reply over the comm.
"Do we have to debrief now, Walter?" asked Paige with a sigh. "I'm exhausted."
Toby looked up at her, but she deliberately turned her head away. She realised he'd know something had happened, but she wasn't ready to talk about it. Right now she just wanted to sleep.
Walter briefly stopped typing and frowned at her. "We're no closer to solving this puzzle and… and lives could be at risk. I'm not happy about leaving Marnie with Lydia and Gary, there is a possibility that whoever killed the truck driver will come after her next."
"Agreed," said Happy. "The plan was she shared a hotel room with me, or Paige tonight. Changing the plan at the last minute is not good, Boss."
"But she was desperate to stay, remember?" replied Paige.
Marnie had become quite distressed at the thought of not being able to stay with Lydia and Gary. Walter had repeated their earlier, somewhat flimsy excuse about her being a witness, but Marnie had insisted she wanted to sleep in her own bed – she thought of Lydia's apartment as her second home and she had emotionally explained that, after all the recent drama, she just needed to be at home.
Paige didn't have the strength to argue, but had managed to persuade Walter and the others that she'd be fine.
"With Marnie no longer under our protection there is all the more reason to bring the perpetrator to justice quickly," said Walter. "Now, we know the hack originated at the naval base and also that, if today is anything to go by, they are being deliberately obstructive to our investigations. We also know that… that T…T…Timothy Armstrong's accounts were used in the execution of the attack."
"Without his knowledge," Paige pointed out.
"That's speculation," retorted Walter.
"Walter…" It was Cabe's voice again. His tone was low and cautionary.
Walter cleared his throat. "But we… we can probably assume he was not involved," he said.
"Y'know, Walt, gritting your teeth so hard wears down the enamel," Toby chipped in.
Walter ignored the jibe. It was true he would like nothing better than to somehow prove Tim was guilty of something other than being a person of dubious character, but right now he knew he had to focus on finding the real criminal.
"We also know that a truck driver, now deceased, was paid to pick up Marnie and plant the device in her bag," he continued.
"Has that been confirmed?" asked Paige. She vaguely remembered something about a payment being mentioned during the taxi ride to the hotel, but she hadn't been concentrating on the conversation at all and now the details were foggy.
Sylvester's voice answered. "Five thousand dollars wired into his account forty eight hours ago," he said. "And then removed again this morning."
"It was there long enough for the driver to think he'd been paid so he didn't start asking questions," noted Happy. "Then he was killed so they took their money back. Smart."
"Sure looks that way," acknowledged Sylvester. "Source is untraceable… for now, but Ralph and I are still working on it."
"Our hacker sure knows how to cover his tracks," noted Toby.
"We also know the device is advanced tech, not readily available on the open market," added Walter.
Toby slipped his hat from his head and slowly spun it round in his lap. "What we don't have is a motive," he said. "If these guys were that tech savvy they'd know they wouldn't be in our system long enough to get any useful data from us. So they were just posturing. Making themselves known to us. Sending us a warning, maybe?"
"A warning that they're planning something bigger?" suggested Happy, shifting uncomfortably on the bed.
"Possibly, lovebug," nodded Toby seriously.
"So what's the plan for tomorrow, boss?" asked Happy. She needed to feel like she was doing something.
"We return to the base," replied Walter. "Cabe, you said you may have another contact, do you have a name for me yet?"
"I'm still waiting for her to return my call," Cabe answered. "I haven't seen her for twelve years and… well…"
"Ooh, an old girlfriend!" exclaimed Toby with a grin.
"Old commanding officer, actually, Doc," Cabe corrected him.
"But there's still a story there isn't there!" exclaimed Toby with delight. "We'll definitely talk about this when I get back!"
"No, we definitely won't!"
"Spoilsport." Toby folded his arms across his chest, momentarily defeated. "When we're done at the base tomorrow I'm going back to the hospital with Marnie to see Sara again," he added.
"And where does she fit into all this?" asked Happy.
Paige frowned. "You think she has something to do with the hacking?" she asked.
"We don't know at this juncture," replied Walter, furiously typing notes as he spoke.
"Someone swapped her meds with placebos," added Toby. "And it started weeks ago, based on her condition."
"Right around the time she identified Tim as Marnie's Dad," Happy pointed out.
"Surely just a coincidence?" offered Paige.
"Or a conspiracy," suggested Sylvester over the comms.
"You think everything's a conspiracy, Sly," Paige pointed out, rolling her tired eyes.
"It would be prudent for you to investigate further, Toby," agreed Walter.
"Especially considering we have zero other leads right now," noted Toby. "There is another angle we should look into," he added. "Gary."
"Lydia's husband?" queried Cabe. "You think he's involved somehow?"
"Not sure," replied Toby. "But something's... off. I didn't pick up any deception markers, but he was eager to make sure we knew a lot about him."
"I thought he was just making conversation?" said Happy. "Really dull and boring conversation."
"I don't understand why he thought we'd be interested in his life story, or medical history?" said Walter.
"Maybe he was just fishing for sympathy?" suggested Paige.
"Or deflecting," said Toby.
"I'll run a background check, guys," said Sylvester.
"Anyone have anything else?" asked Walter, glancing around the room.
It was then that he noticed how pale Paige was looking. Just a few hours earlier they'd shared... what was it Toby had called this kind of thing in the past?
A moment.
Yes, they'd shared a moment. Her eyes had been bright and their closeness had sent feelings surging through his body that he hadn't dare to imagine he would feel again.
Then during dinner it had almost felt as though the old Paige was back. Her laughter had lifted the conversation and her company had been delightful.
Now the sparkle was gone. Something had happened, something was wrong.
Paige noticed him staring at her and quickly looked away.
"Paige…?"
"Are we done?" She cut him off, getting wearily to her feet as she spoke. "I want to go to bed, it's almost midnight." Her tone was pleading.
"We've crossed three time zones," Walter pointed out pedantically. "We started the day in Pacific Time, your body clock has not yet had time to adjust, therefore…"
"We could have a debate about circadian rhythms now, One Ninety Seven," said Toby, raising his eyebrows. "Or we could all go to beddy-byes. I vote for option two."
Toby stood up from his position on the bed, deliberately bouncing as he moved which caused Walter's laptop to slide from his knees. Walter barely managed to prevent it crashing to the floor.
Walter readjusted the position of his laptop and glared at Toby.
"Goodnight, Walter," said Paige and before anyone had time to reply she had left the room.
"Sleep tight, O'Brien," added Happy stretching her legs as she stood up from the uncomfortable chair she'd been sitting on. She turned to Toby. "You coming to bed, Doc?" she asked.
Toby winked at her. "You don't have to ask me twice, darlin'," he replied. "Don't let the bedbugs bite, Walt," he added and then in an instant, Walter was alone.
He snapped the lid of his laptop closed with more aggression than necessary before placing it on the floor. Then he laid back on the bed. The hotel pillows were softer than he was used to and he immediately realised he would most likely wake up with stiff shoulders in the morning.
He let out a long sigh. They'd flown here without any real leads and now he was starting to think it had been a waste of time. He glanced over at his phone which was charging on the bedside table, half hoping to see the flashing LED notification indicating Sylvester had just emailed some more information, but there was nothing to see.
Walter felt anger starting to rise inside him. Someone had attacked Scorpion and they had no idea who it was, or why they'd done it, or even if they were at this very moment planning something worse. How dare anyone do that to him, to his company… to his family!
He felt helpless.
And he wanted to talk to Paige.
But Paige was probably at this moment Skyping Tim to say goodnight. Blowing him kisses, telling him how much she loved him… despite the way he'd upset her, despite the appalling way he'd reacted to the news he had a daughter. Why couldn't Paige see that Timothy Armstrong did not deserve someone like her, especially not now?
Walter turned onto his side and clutched his arms around his middle. Now his anger had turned to sadness and he gulped hard as a wave of emotion came out of nowhere and threatened to overwhelm him. He despised his low EQ, despised that he couldn't make sense of his own feelings, let alone anyone else's. Maybe if he could understand why Paige was acting the way she was, he could find a way to get through to her? Maybe if he they could just talk rationally about Timothy… No, no, that just wasn't possible.
Walter closed his eyes and within minutes his brain couldn't take anymore and he was asleep.
Happy and Toby's room was on the next floor up and they'd raced up the stairs to get to the door. Happy got there first by almost two seconds and scanned the keycard. "Winner gets the bathroom first!" she exclaimed with glee as the door unlocked.
A panting Toby scowled at her. "Whatever you wish, Light-of-my-life," he replied and he closed the door behind them.
As Happy headed straight for the bathroom, Toby unlaced his Converse boots and threw them under the chair. Their hotel room was slightly larger than Walter's and he took a moment to smile smugly to himself about that particular fact. Then his smile faded.
All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and snuggle with Happy all night, but he couldn't help worrying about Paige. He knew something had happened at Lydia's and he also knew she wouldn't want to talk about it… but he had to try anyway.
"Lovebug," he called through the bathroom door. "I'm just gonna go check on Paige. Won't be long. Love you."
"Love you too, Dummy," came Happy's muffled reply.
Paige's room was on the same floor as Walter's, but this time Toby took the lift. It took three loud knocks and him calling her name to get Paige to open the door and when she finally did she didn't look pleased.
"Remember how I told Walter I was exhausted?" she snapped.
"I remember," replied Toby, barging past her and into the room. "So am I."
She had changed into a robe and had been in the middle of removing her make-up. "Then what the hell are you doing here?" she asked indignantly.
Toby strode purposefully across the room, opened the mini-bar and took out a bottle of water. Paige looked on in disbelief as he unscrewed the cap before handing it to her. "Drink this," he said. "Doctor's orders."
"You came here to get me to drink some water?" she asked, screwing her face up into a puzzled frown.
"Dehydration," Toby explained as he led her by the shoulder towards the bed. "Happens after vomiting."
Paige gasped and stared at him. "How did you…?" but she didn't need to finish her sentence. Of course he'd have figured it out by now.
"Your eyes," he replied. "And your… never mind. Now drink, small sips if your stomach still feels like Walter's after he tried Ray's home brew that time."
"I… I'm not pregnant if that's what you're thinking," said Paige.
Toby chuckled at her comment. "Of course not," he replied. "I remember at medical school they told us how babies are made and you definitely haven't been doing that!"
"Toby!" she exclaimed.
Paige knew he was deliberately pushing her buttons, trying to wind her up to the point where she just blurted out whatever it was he wanted to hear just to get rid of him. She wasn't going to fall for it. Not this time.
"Just get into bed and finish that water," he said. His voice was more gentle now, more caring. He paused for a moment, analysing her every move. "Then you can tell me what happened with Lydia."
"Toby! No!" she exclaimed. She climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged. "I'm not doing this now. Go back to Happy. I promise I'll drink the water."
Toby pressed his lips together. "OK," he said, eventually. "But if whatever Lydia told you today was…"
"What were you like, say, fifteen or sixteen years ago?" she asked, suddenly interrupting him.
Toby sat himself down on the edge of the bed. "Me? I was a jerk," he began, with more than a touch of regret in his voice. "More than I am now, I mean. I was in the grip of my addiction, I was drinking too much, I treated people like crap… but then people were kinda treating me like crap too. My dad, mostly…"
He paused to gather his thoughts. It wasn't often that he allowed himself to be this vulnerable in front of anyone apart from Happy, but he realised Paige deserved his honesty and it was the only way he could get her to return the favour and open up to him.
"Then… then, Walter found me in the gutter," he continued. "Literally in a gutter, I think I'd been there all night. And, well…" a smiled danced at the corners of his lips. "Now I'm the wonderful person you see before you."
"You've changed," she stated, sipping at her water.
"Not really," he admitted. "I just learnt how to overcome the… let's say the less appealing sides of my personality. I'm still that person."
"No, no, you're not!" insisted Paige. "You're my friend, Toby, you're a good person. People can change."
Toby let out a sigh. "What did you find out about Tim?" he asked. Paige's heartfelt words had caught him by surprise and that didn't happen very often. He really didn't want to talk about himself anymore.
"He… he cheated on her… on Sara," said Paige, her voice barely more than a whisper now. "He's a cheat, Toby and… and after everything I went through with Drew I don't think… I don't think I can…"
Toby grasped her wrist and looked into her eyes. "Then don't," he said. "Call him, email him, send a carrier pigeon, whatever it takes, but…"
"But then I'm judging him on his past mistakes," said Paige. Her bottle of water was half empty now and she swirled the remaining liquid around, watching as it splashed higher and higher towards the neck of the bottle and threatened to splash out into her lap. "What kind of person does that make me?"
"You need to take care of yourself," insisted Toby. "Look at you. Look what this is doing to you. Think about Ralph."
"Don't bring my son into this," snapped Paige.
Toby released her wrist and held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry," he said. "But isn't Ralph always the first person you think about in any situation?"
Paige opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it again. He was right. Of course he was right. This wasn't about her, or Tim, or even Walter. It was about Ralph. What kind of example was she setting for her son?
"Listen," continued Toby. "I know you're scared. You're giving me every fear marker under the sun right now. Thing is, I'm good at this, but even I don't know what exactly you're so scared of, unless you want to tell me?"
Paige thought for a moment. He was absolutely right, of course, she was scared. It made sense to her now, all the feelings she'd been experiencing over the last few days suddenly made sense, but she had absolutely no idea what to do about it.
"People always leave me, Toby," she replied, eventually, her voice cracking with emotion. "My Mom… my Dad… Drew… so now I have someone who actually wants to be with me, I… I just don't think I can take that leap. I don't think I can be the one to do the leaving. What if I never get the chance to be with someone again? What if I'm alone for the rest of my life? It could be the biggest mistake I ever make. Am I crazy?"
Toby reached out to her again, grasping her shoulder as tears formed in her eyes. "Big time crazy," he replied with a warm smile. "Total fruit loop."
Paige couldn't help but laugh. "Is that what you used to tell your patients?" she asked.
"Sure," he replied. "How else do you think I got 'em to come back for a second appointment?"
Paige's smile soon faded. "I just need more time," she said seriously. "I know it doesn't make sense – hell, it doesn't even make sense to me – but that's the way it is. The way it has to be. Turns out Walter isn't the only one who has trouble processing their emotions."
"OK, well you know I'll do everything I can to help," he said earnestly. "But ultimately you have to do what's best for you. For now I prescribe sleep."
"I'll try," she replied and she quickly gulped down the rest of the water. "Thanks for this," she added.
Ten minutes later Toby was brushing his teeth and Happy was lying in bed waiting for him. "Come on, Doc!" she pleaded.
At the last minute she'd thrown a black silk camisole into her overnight bag and she'd secretly slipped it on while he was in the bathroom. It had been a rough week and she knew exactly what she wanted to do to de-stress.
"Hurry up!"
"Sorry, Honeybunch," he said as he emerged naked from the bathroom. "I was just thinking about… oh…"
Toby's eyes widened with delight at the sight of his soon-to-be spouse sprawled across the bed. She didn't often choose traditionally sexy lingerie – he didn't care, he found her sexy in anything… or nothing - but the way the silk draped over her curves made his heart pound with anticipation.
Happy grinned at him. "Thinking about what?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"Doesn't matter," Toby answered as he jumped onto the bed, straddling her hips and interlacing his fingers with hers. "Right now I'm thinking about…" he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the lips… "…about how lucky I am that I get to do this…" he kissed her again… "…with the most beautiful woman in the world."
"Quality line, Doc," she replied, throwing her head back so he could kiss her neck the way he knew she liked.
Their lovemaking was always passionate, sometimes with a heightened sense of urgency, sometimes slow and gentle – Toby always knew how she wanted it - but always passionate. Tonight was no exception and it wasn't long before Toby fell back onto the pillows, gasping for breath. "Wow…" he breathed.
Happy fell on top of him. "Wow…" she repeated. "We really should…" she trailed off to catch her breath. "We really should do this again sometime."
"Hmmm… maybe," he replied with a dismissive shrug, earning him a slap on the shoulder.
"We should go to sleep," added Happy. "I think tomorrow is gonna be another long day. How was Paige earlier, by the way? I forgot to ask. I was… distracted."
"Paige? Oh Paige is a mess right now," replied Toby, pulling her close and tenderly stroking her hair. "But it won't last forever. I trust her to fix this, even if she is going about it the hard way."
Happy's eyes closed contentedly as she pressed herself against him, but the moment was ruined by the sound of her phone ringing.
She let out a grunt of frustration and leaned over Toby to pick it up. "It's O'Brien," she said, not really surprised. She tapped the screen and pressed the phone to her ear. "This had better be important, boss," she snapped, switching the phone to loudspeaker so Toby could hear.
"It is," came the reply.
"Whatever it is can't be as important as me and my wife-to-be laying here in post-coital ecstasy!" called Toby, folding his arms across his bare chest moodily.
"I just got off the phone with Sly," continued Walter, pretending he hadn't heard Toby's comment. "He ran that background check on Gary and guess what."
"I don't play guessing games at one thirty in the morning," retorted Happy. "Whatever time zone we're in," she added, rolling her eyes.
"Gary was in the same intake of new recruits as Tim at West Palm Beach," explained Walter. "Sixteen years ago, they trained together, they knew each other."
"Is that it?" snapped Happy. "Lydia knew him too, they're married, this isn't really news, is it?"
"But, I… I," stammered Walter. "There's a connection there, he didn't mention it yesterday, why did he keep it from us?"
"Walter," began Toby. "Listen to me, pal. You need to get this fixation with proving Tim's involved in all this outta your head. Got it?"
"But, what if…"
"Go to bed, Walt!" exclaimed Happy and she ended the call. Then she turned to Toby. "What are we gonna do with him, Doc?" she asked.
Toby thought for a moment. "Look, Walter's done some really dumb things lately, but this… I think he may have something here. He's just getting distracted by Tim."
Happy shrugged. "If you say so," she replied. "Y'know something, Doc, I really wish we'd never met Tim Armstrong."
To be continued...