Moment in Time Part 3

Chapter 71

Fidelis Ad Mortem

Part 9

Kate, Esposito, and Ryan watch from a warehouse across the alley from Lucky's Lingerie as Decker retraces Bardot's route to Flanagan's office. The recruit draws a deep breath before opening the door. "Come on! You've got it," Kate mutters under her breath.

"The Prodigal Daughter returns," Flanagan proclaims. "I am a bit surprised to see you considering that the last time we met, you told me to go screw myself. So why am I blessed with your presence now? Come on. Speak up, child."

Decker's eyes blaze. "You know it didn't have to play out this way. It was one thing to ask me to be your rat. But when the man I loved volunteered and delivered, why did you have to kill him?"

Flanagan strokes the white stubble forming on his jaw. "You know, it's funny. You're the second lady cop to come in here this week to accuse me of that crime. An interesting coincidence."

"Damn! He made her!" Ryan exclaims.

"He's going to smoke her, Captain," Esposito asserts.

Decker pulls a gun and points it at Flanagan. "I'm not afraid of you anymore."

He puts his hands in the air. "Whoa!"

"Admit to killing Danny, or I will blow you away!" Decker commands.

"Where the hell did she get a gun?" Kate questions as she leads the rush from the warehouse.

"Look, I had nothing to do with your boyfriend's murder," Flanagan claims.

Decker's hands tighten on her weapon. "For once in your miserable life, own up to what you did."

"I'm not lying," Flanagan insists.

Decker raises the gun. "I don't believe you."

Kate and the detectives charge into Flanagan's office, weapons drawn. "NYPD!"

"Decker, look at me," Kate commands. "You can take him down. Just not like this. "You're not him. Put the gun down."

Decker shakes her head. "Not until he starts telling the truth."

"Come on, Captain," Flanagan pleads. "Do something!"

"Flanagan, start talking," Kate retorts.

Jack locks eyes with his daughter. "OK, you wanted the truth. Here it is. Your boyfriend had a set of balls on him. I'll give him that. He marched in here and told me to back down. And you know what I did? I said sure, but he had to do a little something for me. Your boy came through. We shook hands. That was it."

"Then who killed him?" Kate presses.

Flanagan shrugs. "I don't know."

"Did he mention having problems with anyone?" Kate prompts.

"No, but I noticed that when he left, a car started down the street. For a minute, I thought he was being tailed to me, but the driver paid me no mind. It was a dark sedan. That's all I know. I swear."

Decker looks to Kate. "What do you think, Captain?"

Flanagan seems to shrink in Kate's gaze. "I think he's telling the truth. Stand down."

As she lowers her gun, Flanagan appraisingly regards his daughter. "You know, you're more like me than you think."

Decker hands her gun to Kate. "I'll never be like you."

Hunt hesitates for a moment before knocking. At least this time, he's not bleeding. Rick's eyes widen as he recognizes his visitor. "Dad!"

Hunt strides inside, closing the door behind him. "Hello, Richard. You've been sticking your nose into things and upsetting people again. And congratulations for being invited into the GDS, by the way. Not many people make it. But their tools can only take you so far. And before I have to drag you out of another mess, I guess you need to know what happened."

"It's about damned time. So, were you the one who got me out of the temple?"

"Yeah, but there's a lot more to the story. I understand that you discovered the details of your foray into Thailand."

"More or less."

"I can only guess about this, but I believe you had a bad reaction to the drugs the man you know as Jenkins gave you. You should have been reasonably clear-headed when his people dropped you off in LA. with survival cash."

"Why would they mix a baht in with the American bills?" Rick wonders.

"Another screw-up. Parts of the agency aren't particularly competent at keeping track of currency – or other commodities. Actually, that's part of a much larger story. If they were better at it, the guy whose operatives grabbed you in LA would never have gotten the foothold he has, on or offshore."

"Are you talking about Reed?" Rick queries.

Hunt nods appreciatively. "You have been doing your homework. But anyway, his people thought you knew more than you did. They tried to just snatch you off the street, but apparently, you were grazed before they captured you. From what I could tell, they slapped a bandage on you and pumped you full of their own drugs to question you. That seems to have fuzzed up your brain even more.

"You were lucky I was on the West Coast and got a heads up from routine surveillance. I extracted you from the distribution facility hidden beneath the temple. As a parting gift, I made sure it was sealed off again. The house of worship is back to being as close as anywhere gets to godliness.

"Once I had you, I took you to company facilities on the East Coast to get your head straightened out. Our people worked on you and decided they had you ready to go. They even set you up with the pants that Jenkins supplied with the safety deposit box key sown into them. But apparently, you had another flashback or something. You got loose and stole that dinghy. Some ass at the dock took a couple of shots at you as you were casting off. Fortunately, the rounds didn't hit you or do too much damage to the boat.

The company didn't want to launch a rescue that would give away the location of any of its operations. But it managed to steer the Coast Guard in the right direction to pick you up before you suffered too much damage from exposure. I heard the dinghy had some emergency rations onboard, which probably helped you out. So that's about it. That's what happened to you. I've been here too long. I've got to go."

"One thing before you leave," Rick asks. "For years, people have been mistaking me for Jason Bateman. Are we related? Is your real name Lowell Bateman?"

"In answer to your second question, I don't have a real name anymore except in the bowels of government bureaucracy. I have to inhabit whatever legend I'm living, or I won't live much longer. In answer to your first, I believe you and Jason are distant cousins. But as far as I know, he's unaware of it and for his good should remain that way.

"Now that really is it, son. I know you want to take care of your family and yourself. The best way you can do that is by not doing any more poking around about me. Do you get that?"

"Yeah, Dad, I get it. But can I tell Kate what you told me?"

Hunt flashes a crooked grin. "I doubt I could stop you."

As the door closes behind his father, Rick returns to his desk. With the questions that constantly clogged his thought processes gone, his prose has never flowed so freely. He hopes the day was as illuminating for Kate. Yet, Reed is still out there.