A/N: I'm in a great mood so I'm going to send you THREE! Thanks for the positive reviews. And the PMs wishing me and Nik well. She's still cranky and I feel for her students! It's still frikkin' cold here and the winds off the lake leach the heat out of everything. Send me some Bayou Warmth! i'M SO FRIKKIN' BORED!

APR

A Slip of the Tongue Chapter 13

Safe Haven
Psychiatric Treatment Center

That's what the sign on the stone wall surrounding the facility read. A nut house. What better cover than to hide a fugitive from public view than a psychiatric facility? He would have laughed if he weren't so damned tired.

He'd promised Katherine that he would call Sarah just as soon as he recharged his phone but the three places he stopped at either didn't have chargers or they weren't compatible. He'd need to get his phone on a charger or borrow someone's. He really wanted to hear her voice.

He drove up to the barred gates and leaned over and pushed a button on a call box and waited. A minute later he pushed it again and held it down for a few seconds.

"This is a restricted facility and only those who have registered in advance can gain access to visit patients or consult with therapists. State your name and the patient or doctor or therapist you wish to visit."

Well, at least they didn't say 'por Espanol, marque dos' or something like it. Computerized security?

"Charles Carmichael." He didn't have a doctor or a therapist and he certainly wasn't a patient. He got an unexpected automated response.

"There is no Charles Carmichael in residence. There is no physician or therapist named Charles Carmichael. Please get out of your vehicle and stand beside it. An attendant will be with you shortly."

The damned computer replayed his own voice when it repeated his name. He sighed and then got out of his truck but he left it running and the door open in case he needed to make a quick exit.

He unconsciously adopted a stance that would allow him easy access to the 9mm pistol tucked into the waistband of his jeans under his coat. If he had seen a picture of himself at that moment he would have recognized his stance as one he'd seen Casey adopt too many times back in Burbank and immediately afterwards bad things would happen.

A well-dressed man pulled up to the barred iron gate and stepped out of the golf cart and looked him up and down. He took in the truck and his visitor with a single appraising glance and then opened a clipboard notebook and looked over some documents.

"What was your girlfriend's name in college?"

"Jill." Verification. Maybe he was in the right place after all. Security seemed tight.

"What is your wife's middle name?"

"I don't know. She uses her maiden name as her middle name." A long shot. He didn't know his wife's middle name. Hell, he didn't know if she had a middle name or if Sarah really was her name.

The man nodded and then looked to the side and made a sign with his hand.

"Get in your truck and follow me. Do not attempt to leave the vehicle when we stop. Remain inside with the windows up. Do not attempt to leave the roadway. The grounds are mined."

He got back into his truck and waited while the large doors retracted into the walls like pole doors in some elegant drawing room. The golf cart had a strobe light attached to a long pole and it began to pulse and flash in a bright blue color.

Chuck followed the gold cart down the lane and then they took a side lane that turned sharply to the left into a grove of pine trees perhaps 100 yards thick. The man stopped the golf cart and walked back to Chuck's truck and gestured for him to wind down the window. He was startled to see the muzzle of a jeep-mounted recoiless rifle pointed right at him; it was poorly hidden in the trees.

"Follow this road for another 30 yards and stop your truck where you see the road barrier. Turn off your vehicle but do not leave the truck. Oh, yeah, welcome to Safe Haven, Carmichael. You're late and the General has been calling since early this afternoon and wants an immediate conference call. You've been a baaad boy."

Chuck pulled ahead and followed the road for another 50 yards and stopped where the road was blocked by a simple barber pole barrier with an unattended guard shack.

He turned off his truck and took out his pistol and set it on the seat beside him. Suddenly the road underneath him seemed to bounce and then a section of the road began sinking into the ground. It took him 2 seconds to realize he was on some sort of elevator. He looked around but all he saw were unlighted concrete walls that faded into darkness as the light from above dwindled.

The elevator suddenly stopped and it was pitch black. He almost turned on the headlights but remembered his instructions so he just sat quietly and waited. A loudspeaker somewhere instructed him to leave any weapons in the vehicle and to get out with his hands above his head.

Lights flickered and then came on full and he saw several men in blue coveralls and automatic weapons standing in a rough circle around him. Someone grabbed him from behind and spun him around and did a quick frisk and then he was led away into a darkened corridor and shoved into a room or cell, he didn't know which. The door closed with a thud and he heard a magnetic lock engage with a loud 'clack'.

It was dark as the inside of a well digger's ass wherever he'd been shoved. He felt around on either side of the door for a light switch without any luck. The door was locked. He groped across the room, barking his chin painfully on a chair and he sat down to wait for whatever came next.

He let his mind go blank and figured 'screw 'em' and dozed off but was awakened by a trivial memory, something Beckman had said to him when this nightmare began.

'There won't be another option other than a secure facility if you can't adapt or if your cover fails and you're exposed again.'

'Safe Haven my ass! I'm in a bunker! I'll bet they never told Sarah I called. They probably told her that I was dead and now she'll be reassigned and she'll never know that I…'

He put his head on his arms on the table and slept. There was nothing else to do and he was dead tired. He'd figure out what to do next when he didn't feel so damned tired.

Control room

Two men sat and watched a special monitor and observed their newest guest. One, a psychiatrist, watched and took notes, chuckling when the subject sighed and put his head down and slept. He expected a different reaction after reading the subject's file. 'Interesting'. He was not privy to the events in Eden or to his special talent. To him, he was just another poor bastard who'd seen, heard or knew about something and could no longer be in society.

The other observer, an agent, also noted the reaction but had paid more attention to the subject's initial moves. He smiled when the man in the monitor seemed to reach a mental decision, shrug mental shoulders and then sleep. Considering the man's actions in Eden, he expected nothing less than what he'd observed. He made notes to have the vehicle searched carefully and cautiously. This one liked surprises.

He had no idea how long he'd been asleep. He awoke to find himself in a brightly lit conference room with a huge flat screen monitor dominating the narrower wall of the 10X20 room. He drank two glasses of water from an ice-cold pitcher and then walked around to loosen stiff muscles.

'Either I slept for only a few minutes or my keepers came in, placed the water and glasses, and then slipped out again.'

He sat back down and waited. And waited. He had no way of judging time and he wondered if this was deliberate or if they'd forgotten about him or just didn't give a damn.

He heard a chime and the lights dimmed and General Beckman's unsmiling face appeared without the usual NSA logo fanfare.

"Good day, Mr. Carmichael. Welcome to Safe Haven. I understand that you were unable to contact Agent Walker as promised due to technical problems beyond your control. We'll arrange for you to have a cell phone and you can make your apologies to her and explain why you blew up her home." The eyes crinkled but she still didn't smile.

"Now, on to business. After this conference ends, you will sit down and be debriefed regarding the events in Eden."

She looked at Chuck, really looked at him. He looked tired and…defeated.

"Charles, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, General. A detailed debriefing of the events in Eden."

"Do you know where you are and why?" Time to get it on the table.

"I'm in Safe Haven, a maximum security holding area for individuals who cannot be allowed any access to the general public. You weren't kidding when you said there wouldn't be another option other than a secure facility if my cover failed." He'd accessed the intersect.

Now it was the General's turn to look uncomfortable. She had said that, almost word for word.

"Yes, that's almost exactly what I said but these are different circumstances and you did nothing to cause the security breach. By the way, Flynn escaped. So far as we can determine, he flipped to Fulcrum."

"I don't know if any of his team were in the group that attacked the house or were in the SUVs I might have gotten with the road mines. I was long gone when I heard the explosions."

"Your booby trap – how did you conceive of such a thing and where did you get the explosives?"

"I saw something like it in a movie but I had better materials. I ordered the explosives and detonators and mines under the blanket' purchase order' you gave me for the truck upgrade. I figured Casey liked blowing things up and they might come in handy on a mission or something."

"Major Casey was shot by Flynn and is in stable condition in a local hospital still under his cover. He's worried about the 'moron'. He may be rejoining Team Intersect if his recovery continues."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to finish the semester. I hope whoever takes over is fair in grading my students. They are good kids. Dr. Moran won't miss me. She'll have a real teacher even though it'll come out of her budget."

"Your memorial service was well-attended and very emotional. I think Dr. Moran 'had the hots' for Mr. Carmichael." Chuck blushed and the General gave a brief smile before continuing.

"Now, your stay here will involve additional training, both physical and technical but you will be allowed unlimited access to your cell phone so you and Walker can stay in touch. The world in general thinks you're dead and unfortunately you'll have to develop a new cover. When Agent Walker is released, she'll join you with the cover details."

"So 'Agent Carmichael's widow' is out of the picture? I'm single again?"

"That's up to you and Agent Walker, don't you think, Charles? Actually, we'll legally bind the two of you together again once we've developed a new cover. Marriage seems to be good for the both of you."

Now he saw a definite twinkle in the General's eye. 'Why the old 'yenta'.'

"If you have no further questions, I'll let the staff know you're ready for your debriefing. Your training will be difficult but nothing you can't handle. Oh, one further question: Why did you place a self-destruct bomb in the truck?"

"I wasn't going to be taken. It seemed the logical thing. I don't think I have the balls to shoot myself but I certainly could push a button on the dash board. I'm good at pushing buttons. Just ask Major Casey."

The General seemed to hesitate but then chuckled briefly.

"I'm sure he'd agree with you. Enjoy your stay. Intel reports and dailies will be available beginning tomorrow." The screen blanked out and within seconds the conference room door opened and two men entered and took seats across from him.

APR