Chapter Eleven
Tiny pieces come to me every day. Still I wait. Things are falling into place. But so much time goes to waste. I stretch and shift. These parts won't fit. I can chop and change all I like. Rearranging this won't make it right. All doors are open. All the doors are open. Puzzle With A Piece Missing - Gotye
Charlie made a familiar circuit through the building to Vincent's office. She found Rossabi at his desk with headphones on. He was watching a playback of something. Charlie pulled open the glass door. He saw her enter and took off the headphones. Vincent stood. He came around the desk to greet her.
"About earlier," Rossabi rubbed the back of his neck.
"We can talk about that later," Charlie got the thumb drive out of her pocket. She held it up.
"What's that?" Vincent's brow furrowed.
"I don't know what's on it- I was taking my breather outside when a woman approached me with the drive," Charlie replied.
"A woman?" Rossabi frowned.
"An Annie- she seemed to know you," Charlie shrugged.
Vincent groaned, "Let me guess, blonde hair, brown eyes, kind of shifty?" Charlie nodded. "That's Walker," he bit the inside of his cheek. Charlie looked at him with eyes that asked him to continue. "Annie Walker- CIA spook," Vincent added.
"So she's a spy," Charlie tipped her head in understanding.
Tension rose in Vincent's shoulders, "Using the term loosely."
"The two of you have a history?" she questioned.
"Let's just say she has a history of blowing my cases to hell," his upper lip curled back.
"By 'helping'?" Charlie used air quotes.
"Did she say she wanted to 'help'?" Rossabi raised an eyebrow, "That is never a good sign."
"What do you want to do with this?" she offered out the flash drive.
Vincent pursed his lips. He stared at the device as if it were a snake ready to bite him. Against his better judgement, Rossabi slowly reached out and took it from her. They should at least see if the information was relevant. "We'll have Mike and Wes take a look," Vincent said.
"We're supposed to check in with Tanya," Charlie noted.
"If Walker tries to contact you again I need to know," he stated.
"I came right to you the first time," Charlie asserted.
"I know, just call me if it happens again," Vincent requested.
"I will," she promised, "We're on the same team."
Vincent placed his hand on Charlie's shoulder, "I can't stress this strongly enough: Walker is bad news. She will chew you up and spit you out. For the sake of your career let me deal with her, ok?"
"What about your career?" Charlie stepped closer.
Vincent inhaled sharply. "I have lost count of how many times Walker has screwed me over," he admitted. His expressive face fell. Charlie could see that was an ego hit. Rossabi locked eyes with her, "I don't imagine this time will be any different, but better me than you."
"You don't have to protect me," she protested.
"This is my battle," Vincent asserted. He rubbed her shoulder a few times before heading to the door. "Let's get back to work," Rossabi said. Charlie followed him out of his office.
Mike and Wes were at their desks looking over the forensics reports from Toby Greene's place when Charlie and Vincent stepped out of his office.
Rossabi tossed the flash drive to Mike who caught it against his chest. "See what's on that drive," Vincent ordered.
"You got it," Mike agreed.
Rossabi looked over the desks to Wes. "Hook it unto an unconnected computer to make sure there aren't any surprises," Vincent directed.
"We're checking in with the witness, we'll be back in a few hours," Charlie said.
She looked at Vincent. Sure things from earlier hadn't been settled, but they had a long enough drive to clear the air.
A ringtone echoed in the car. The PI sitting in the driver's seat hit a button on his steering wheel to answer. "Got anything new for me, Rodgers?" the man who watched Abby in court asked.
"Did you get the picture I sent you?" Rodgers returned.
"Yes, I did," came the reply.
"She finally left the office and we're on the road at the moment," he reported, "While she was working, I had time to check out the older man in the photo with her. He's Brennan Sinclair."
"Her father?" the boss deduced from the last name.
"Also a named partner in the law firm where she works," Rodgers added.
"We're stopping at a park- I think she's going to meet someone," he reported.
"Good work," the man praised, "Keep it up and there might be a bonus in it for you."
"You're the boss," Rodgers replied. He'd rather follow around a beautiful woman than an FBI agent any day of the week. "I'll send you everything I've got when she's in for the night," Rodger advised.
He had parked in a different section to keep under her radar. Rodger quickly caught up to Abby as she reached her destination. He discreetly began to snap pictures. This was a goldmine.
"Auntie Abby!" Ava cheered. Bethany got her down out of the toddler swing. Once her feet hit the ground Ava took off like a rocket towards her aunt. Abby reached down for her niece and lifted her into an embrace. Abby pulled back without setting Ava down.
"Hi, You!" she beamed just as enthusiastically as the two-year-old had greeted her. Ava giggled.
The two walked over to Bethany. "Hey, Sis," Bethany said. They hugged with Ava between them. "I was starting to get worried about you," Bethany added.
"Sorry, my meeting ran late," Abby explained.
"Don't be sorry, the little one loves the playground. Don't you, Ava?" Bethany smiled at her daughter. The tiny girl nodded profusely. "Besides it gets some of the toddler energy out," Bethany added, "She'll go down for her n-a-p much easier."
"Are you hungry?" Abby asked.
"Want nuggets!" Ava proclaimed.
"We're having nuggets for dinner tonight with Daddy, Sweetie," Bethany reminded her daughter. The little girl pouted for a moment.
"How about we find us some biscuits to eat?" Abby offered. Ava brightened at the suggestion. Biscuits where her second favorite food next to nuggets.
"I'm sure there is a bakery somewhere around here," Bethany agreed, "Why don't we go find it?"
Ava walked in the middle of them. Her aunt held one hand while her mother held the other.
"Swing!" Ava demanded.
Bethany looked at Abby who nodded. "Ok, ready? 1, 2, 3!" The two lifted Ava between them and swung her just off the sidewalk. Ava's giggles rang through the air.
"Are you bringing anyone to brunch this Sunday?" Bethany asked.
Abby shook her head. "Neither of them are meeting Mom and Dad until I make my choice," she said, "I don't want them getting attached to the one I don't pick."
"Good point," Bethany tilted her head.
"You remember how quickly Dad latched onto Nathan," Abby pointed out.
Bethany laughed. Her chest puffed out in pride, "I chose well, didn't I?" Abby couldn't really argue with her sister on her point. She rather liked her brother-in-law.
"Can I ask a favor?" Abby inquired as they walked along.
"Shoot," Bethany replied.
"This is totally up to you, and you can say no," Abby lead in, "Would it be alright with you if one of the guys helps me babysit Ava next week?"
"You want to see how they do with a kid?" Bethany deduced.
"Well, that and Ava is pretty important to me," Abby smiled down at the child. Her option could be pretty enlightening.
"I don't foresee a problem, but can I check with Nathan first?" Bethany.
"Sure thing," Abby agreed.
"Who would be the lucky guy?" Bethany asked.
"We'll see who I talk to first after getting the go ahead- who knows if he'll say yes," Abby answered.
"The first one you ask is going to jump at the chance to impress you," Bethany asserted.
Mike came up behind Wes with a bag of takeout food. "It's still decrypting?" Mike frowned. No viruses or malware came up in their scans though it had some security layers to get through. The tech set them up with a decrypter program and left them to babysit it.
"Yeah," Wes sighed. He sniffed the air. "Something smells good," Wes remarked, "What did you bring?"
"Burritos," Mike answered, "There's a steak one in here for you." He opened the bag and looked through the food until he found it. Mike handed over the burrito to Wes.
"Thanks, how much do I owe you?" Wes accept it.
"Forget about it- your money's no good with me," Mike settled down into his chair.
"I also got nachos if you want some," Mike offered.
Wes unwrapped his burrito and took a bite.
"Were you into any sports when you were a kid?" Wes inquired.
"I loved baseball when I was younger," Mike replied.
"You root for any teams?" Wes questioned.
"I'm a New York boy so I'd have to go with the Yankees," Mike ate a bite of his burrito.
Wes covered his mouth, "You can't be serious." He swallowed.
"Ok, who's your team?" Mike threw back, "And don't say Red Socks if it isn't true."
Wes laughed, "If I have to pick for baseball I'm a Cubs' fan."
Mike took the lid off of the container of nachos. He offered Wes first dibs, "Are you from Chicago?"
"I was born there, but I'm a military brat so I kind of feel like I'm from all over," Wes nimbly retrieved a chip.
"Your Dad was Army too?" Mike inquired. He grabbed a chip for himself.
"Fourth generation," Wes answered after he swallowed.
"I bet that seemed like destiny," Mike unwrapped more of his burrito.
"Yeah, I was used to the life," Wes nodded.
"Miss it?" Mike asked.
"All the moving, no," Wes answered, "Other aspects, yes, but I'm here now." His blue eyes dimmed just a bit.
Mike sensed the shift and decided to return to the original topic, "What's your game?"
"Football!" Wes grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"You were a Quarterback in high school weren't you?" Mike rolled his eyes playfully.
"I played," Wes admitted, "Still do when I get the chance. How about you? Do you still play baseball?"
"Not as often as I would like," Mike admitted, "I golf now."
"Golf," Wes snickered.
"Hey, it's a real sport," Mike rejoined. They both laughed.
An alert beep sounded from the computer. Their attention turned to the monitor. The screen changed, now it showed a directory window. A single file appeared at the top. A numerical file name teased them giving them no further clues. The extension gave away the type of file, but not its contents.
"Is that a movie?" Mike inquired upon reading it.
"Yep, an MP4," Wes clicked on the file with a mouse. "And it's loading," he announced.
Tanya turned her head when she heard the front door open and the FBI agent on guard talking to someone. "Charlie, Agent Rossabi," Tanya switched off the TV. She stood. Charlie and Vincent came into the living room to meet her.
"How are you holding up?" Rossabi asked with a concerned smile.
"Better than Ray's family I'm sure," she sighed. A moment of pained silence passed between the trio. "I hope you can tell them how sorry I am," Tanya looked down at her hands.
"It's not your fault," Charlie assured the redhead.
"You have been going through a lot this past week. Do you need to talk to someone? We can arrange it," Charlie offered.
"That's not my style, but thank you," Tanya declined, "Why don't we sit?"
The women sat together on the couch while Rossabi found an armchair for himself.
"We have Sergei in our physical custody- he was released from the hospital," Vincent reported.
"So he's going to survive?" Tanya questioned.
"Long enough to get the death penalty," Charlie asserted. Couldn't say she felt any pity for the guy either.
"I can't imagine he's been too helpful," Tanya muttered.
"He's only spoken through his attorney," Rossabi confirmed.
"How well do you know Sergei?" Charlie inquired.
"Not personally, Yuri tries to keep me separate from that side of the business," Tanya explained, "We'd socialize when he'd come to Yuri's home for our Christmas party and stuff like that."
"But nothing else?" Vincent questioned.
Tanya frowned shaking her head, "Not much I'm afraid."
"But you still would have been able to ID him from earlier?" Charlie asked.
"Possibly, I don't think any of us were supposed to survive, Agent DeMarco," Tanya looked away and out the window.
"One man to take out four trained agents and a witness?" Vincent raised an eyebrow, "Yuri must put a lot of faith in Sergei."
"I guess he's earned it as long as he has worked for Yuri," Tanya replied.
"Are he and Yuri tight?" Charlie asked.
"Sergei is Yuri's right hand man," Tanya replied, "The one thing I know for sure about him is he's pretty protective of my cousin."
"If you spent any time around Sergei you'd hear what a 'great man' Yuri is," Tanya said, mimicking Sergei's Russian accent. Vincent fought a frown. How she chose to answer caught him as odd. "Yuri knows how to surrounded himself with loyal men," Tanya added.
"Do you think this is a move Sergei could have planned on his own to protect Yuri?" Rossabi inquired.
"Honestly, I don't think anyone of Yuri's men, especially Sergei, would make a move against a member of our family without his say so," Tanya answered, "That would be seen as very disrespectful."
"Yuri doesn't strike me as the type of guy to tolerate that sort of thing," Charlie remarked.
"He'd have to retaliate," Vincent deduced.
"I guess," Tanya shrugged.
"Has Yuri been to see him?" Tanya inquired.
"Briefly at the hospital," Charlie answered, "There wasn't much time for them to speak to each other."
"Yuri wouldn't need words- his presence would be enough to ensure Sergei's silence," Tanya said.
"Silence isn't going to help Sergei," Vincent asserted.
"He's not getting out- we got Sergei dead to rights," Charlie said, "It's just a matter of time- we'll figure out how to connect Yuri." She patted Tanya's arm. "Hang in there."
Tanya showed Rossabi and Charlie to the door.
They had parked some ways out just in case they had been followed. They took a different route back to the vehicle for the same reason.
Vincent loosened his tie as they approached their car. "Feel like sharing, Vinnie?" Charlie questioned.
"It's nothing concrete- just something seems off," Rossabi replied.
"This whole situation stinks," she grabbed pulled the door handle.
They opened their doors in sync. "We're missing a very important puzzle piece," the side of his mouth curled up in a frown. He hated that feeling.