Paige woke up at 5am . after a restless night . Ralph had slept more peacefully , he was still curled up alongside his mom .
Paige moved slowly in an attempt to get out of bed without waking Ralph , it took nearly five minutes for her to extract herself and not disturb Ralph . Once she had managed to get out of bed , she went to the en-suite bathroom and set the shower running . She then went back into the bedroom to get the clothes she needed for the day , a precaution in case Ralph should wake up .
Once she was showered and dressed , she went to the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on and made herself some toast . At 7am . she went back into the bedroom and woke Ralph up so he would be ready for his carpool ride .
Once Ralph had been picked up , Paige picked her coat and purse and left to go to the garage .
She arrived at the garage , no one had yet arrived . Once she had made herself comfortable she checked her e-mails , her e-mail send out had begun to bear fruit as there were five requests for prices for various jobs , all that appeared to be in the scope of the abilities of the team as it now stands .
The other three members of the team arrived about a hour later , Cabe had already phoned to say he would be at Homeland all day helping with the interviews of the three people involved in trying to break Scorpion . Once she put the phone down her mind again began to remind her , that if not for her stubbiness and pride , the team would be complete with Walter still at it's head .
Paige worked with the other team members to complete bids for the five requests that had come in .
Back at Homeland
At 8 am . Cabe , Rusty , Simone and Nick all congregated in Katherine's office , who had coffee for them .
"Good morning lady and gentlemen . " Katherine greeted them . " It would appear the tech department pulled an all-nighter , they checked on Collins phone and have matched all the texts both sent and received to the one that which was found in Armstrong's flat . They have also found and recovered damaging information off both Armstrong's and Blackman's computers all would appear tying it all back to Collins . Apparently a lot of the computer chatter happened the two days he was free when he escaped and took Toby prisoner . They are at present typing up the reports for the information they have collected . What i have told you is just the verbal information they have given me . In view of this i think it would be pertinent to delay the interviews until we have got the printed information , so we can use it during the interview .
All four people had listened closely to what Katherine had been saying , Cabe was the first to reply .
"How long before we get the information , it as already been over twenty four hours since they were arrested . Do you not think we should at least ask them if they require legal representation , at least that can be done while we wait for the information from the tech department ."
"That could be useful , even though i have a feeling none of them will request legal advice . I will however send one of our legal department down to the cells to see the prisoners and ask if they require legal representation ." Replied Katherine , who immediately got on the phone to the legal department to arrange someone to carry out her instructions .
Fifteen minutes later a legal representative arrived at Katherine's office to advise her that all three prisoners had declined any legal aid .
"Well that is a surprise i expected at least one would have asked for advice , even if only to slow the whole process down ." Remarked Katherine .
The tech team were working flat out to prepare the the reports of both phones and computers . It was two hours later that the lab sent the reports up to Katherine's office . Katherine called the team back into her office and issued copies of the reports to Cabe and Rusty . After reading the reports Cabe put his copy on Katherine's desk and spoke .
" The reports make very interesting reading , but one thing i do not understand how Collins set up the initial meetings , he was locked up in a mental hospital ?"
Katherine sat at her desk , playing with a ring on her finger , she looked up at Cabe and with a sigh began to speak .
" Well the tech reports do not answer that . I am hoping that at least one of the three prisoners will give us some details ."
Cork International Airport Ireland
Walter's plane landed at 2.00pm local time , once he had left the plane as he was traveling on an Irish passport he did not need to go though immigration and as he only had one small suitcase he cleared customs quickly .
He was able to find a taxi immediately he left the the terminal . He advised the driver to take him to the nearest Travel Lodge Hotel . The driver was there in ten minutes , leaving Walter at the entrance to the hotel and pulled away .
Walter booked in for two nights at the lodge . He just needed to rest from the flight and prepare himself for a meeting with is parents , one he was not looking forward to . He knew of how his parents had been when Megan had died . He knew he needed to make a good impression as he was planning on staying with them while he tried to sort both his life out and also look for work .
Back at Homeland
At midday Katherine decided it was time to begin the interrogations . She made sure both Cabe and Rusty had all the evidence Walter had collected together with the evidence collected by the tech department . Katherine who was to interview Stuart , took an agent from the various ones at the office as her second string during the interview .
They entered the interview room , a white walled windowless room , but with a one way mirror on the wall . It was furnished with a bolted down metal table and four metal chairs . The table also had a large metal ring welded in it's center , a means of handcuffing unruly prisoners to .
Katherine and her second string sat on the chairs so their backs were facing the door . Another agent escorted Stuart into the room and sat him down on one of the chairs opposite Katherine , then went to stand by the door . Stuart was handcuffed , but not to the table , and was giving off an impression of being very nervous .
Katherine began looking through the papers in front of her for a few minutes . She stopped and looked Stuart in the face , before turning to the agent at her side .
"Can you switch on the recording apparatus please ." The agent nodded and reached over and switched the recording machine on .
"Stuart , you do not mind me calling you Stuart do you ?" Asked Katherine . Stuart just nodded his head in agreement .
"Right first you have been read your rights and of your own free will you have told us you do not require a lawyer ." Stuart nodded his head again , but this time Katherine stopped him and requested he answered with a verbal response for the benefit of the tape , which he did immediately . Katherine began speaking again .
"Before we start asking you any questions is there anything you want to say ?"
Stuart sat there looking straight at Katherine , licking his lips and swallowing hard .
"First i want to make it very clear my wife knew nothing at all about what has been going on , and before i tell you all that i know i need assurances that no charges will be bought against my wife ."
Katherine sat without saying a word for a few moments before answering Stuarts question .
"If what you tell us helps with our cases against the other two , then yes we could agree to that , with the proviso that if we find information at a later date she was actually involved with the plan the agreement will be voided . Now if you know that could happen ,i would suggest you tell us now and we may be able to still come to some sort of settlement ."
Stuart immediately began to reply . "She knows nothing at all about any of the plan , the first she knew of the money was when you arrested me . I swear that to almighty God ."
" Ok Stuart how about we start at the beginning , you talk we will listen , unless we require clarification of any points . But just to clarify you are sure you do not require legal assistance ."
"I do not require legal assistance ." Replied Stuart .
"Ok lets start at the beginning ." Requested Katherine .
"I was approached through an e-mail about six months ago . I received an e-mail from an unknown source that they knew i owed a large amount to a bookie . Yes i have a gambling habit . Problem is i am not a very good gambler i tend to lose a lot more than i win . This is another thing my wife knows nothing about . Anyway my debts at that time was $15,000 .The e-mail said they were prepared to transfer $250,000 to a bank account of my choice . If i was interested i was to e-mail back a message , just saying . I need a new car . I then received another e-mail saying if i should arrange for a Tim Armstrong to be allocated to Scorpion , the money would be transferred one month after Armstrong joined Scorpion . It just seemed to easy and to good to be true . I asked for more details , but the reply i got back was rather frightening . The sender threatened to have my wife raped and then disfigure her if i did not do what he wanted . After that i found out Tim Armstrong had applied to Homeland , following a medical discharge from the navy following a failed Seal mission to recover some old piece of pottery . So then i moved paperwork about to ensure he was allocated to Cabe Gallo as his trainee . Then just over a month ago i found a deposit of $250,000 in the account i had especially set up . A day later another e-mail arrived with just two words .Good job. " Stuart sat back into his chair and after a deep breath , he said. "That's all i know ."
" So you never met or spoke with the person who gave you all that money ."
"No, never , i thought it strange but he had said in an earlier e-mail that all his e-mails were untraceable ." Replied Stuart .
Katherine sat there for at least five minutes with a look of disappointment on her face , eventually she found her voice .
" I am sorry Stuart despite the somewhat extenuating circumstances you will be charged with accepting a bribe to enable a valuable goverment asset to be attacked with the intention of of causing Scorpion to fail and breakup . You of course will have what is left of the $250,000 confiscated as we know were the bank account is . "
A disappointed and broken Stuart was led out of the interview room , and back to his cell by the agent who had been standing by the door .
As Katherine was carrying out her interview Cabe in an identical interview room was interviewing Tim . Nick switched on the recorder , Cabe spoke into it ,giving time , date and the names of the people present in the room .
" Before we start i need to check with you that you have refused legal assistants ." said Cabe
"Yes ." Was the blunt answer given by Tim .
Cabe just gave Tim a dark stare , having removed his dark glasses .
" First thing i would like to know , how did you get involved with Collins ?" Asked a very stern Cabe .
Tim leaned back in his chair and a smile spread across his face . " Oh that's easy , he his my uncle by marriage ."
Cabe's jaw dropped so far it seemed it might even have hit the table . " You are Collins nephew ?"
"Yes my father married his sister , when he did he knew nothing about Mark he was the black sheep of the family who no one talked about . However about twelve months ago , he some how learned of my existence and sent me a letter , to which i replied . He sent me a visiting order ."
" Hold on a minute , we checked all the visitors logs and your name never appeared on any of them ." Queried Cabe
" Well Mark does have an I.Q. almost as high as Walters , do you think he would have sent a visiting order in my name . No he used a false name James McArther so the visit could not be connected to me ." Replied a smug Tim .
Cabe leaned over to Nick and whispered to him to go and get someone to check the visiting logs for a James McArther . Cabe spoke that Nick was leaving the room so a taped record of Nick leaving the room was made .
" So what did he ask you to do ?" Asked Cabe .
" He outlined what he wanted me to do , first to apply to Homeland for a job . He told me that he had a contact at Homeland who would be able to push through my application for Homeland and to manipulate the records so i was allocated to you as a trainee . It took nearly six months before i could apply as i was still in the navy as a seal , but i had been seriously wounded and was going through medical care . The navy discharged me on medical grounds . As soon as that happened i applied to Homeland and was accepted and then allocated to you . I was to seduce Paige , i had already seen photographs of her so it was going to be a pleasure . I was then to rub our relationship in Walter's face in an attempt to break him . What was strange though i felt all along Paige was not really into me and she certainly would only ever go as far as a little bit of kissing .I was sure she had really strong feelings for Walter . The way she flirted with me and was constantly touching and kissing me whenever Walter was around it seemed she was trying to make him jealous . Once we were on our own , she seemed to always try and keep me at arms length , most dates would end with just a peck on the cheek . To be honest if i was trying to be a boyfriend for real , i would have dumped her after the first few dates , because it was obvious she had no real interest in me . All that after she stopped what she never should have started , which was the way she dumped me . All my anger and annoyance was really for the others to think i was upset . But with Walter's death Mark's plan is beginning to come together . " Said a smirking Tim .
"But Walter is alive ." Said Cabe , smiling which grew bigger as he saw Tim's facial expression went from smug to anger .
"What do you mean ,he is alive ,no one could have survived that explosion ." Said an angry but confused Tim .
"Oh that was all staged for your benefit , he had already suspected you . Walter realized something was not correct , as soon as you said you chose Scorpion to work with . No one from Homeland especially a trainee could choose what assignment they want to do . But Walter knew if he was around there was a good chance you could learn or hear something to to give Walter's plan away ."
" I never thought Walter could be that devious ." Said a very unhappy Tim .
"What else do you know in regard to your Uncle's plans . Questioned Cabe
Tim looked at him now with hatred in his eyes . "Get that arrogant Walter to work it out . From now on NO COMMENT ." Spat back Tim .
"Well if that is what you want that is fine by me . We have sufficient evidence to make the charges stick and with a little more digging we may even be able to charge you with treason , if that is the case and you are found guilty we can ask for the death penalty ." Said a smiling Cabe .
What do you mean a charge of treason , that would only be bought up if the actions are actually against a goverment department or the armed forces ." Said a shaky Tim .
"Scorpion is a goverment contractor of high security bearing , making it a goverment asset . So yes it could be argued that it was treason ." Cabe relaxed in his chair , turning to Nick he told him to switch off the recorder , as he did Tim suddenly shouted .
"Wait what would i need to do to take the charge of treason off the table ?"
Cabe indicated to Nick leave the recorder working . "Before we would take treason out of the equation we would need a lot more information with regard to Collins plans ,especially if he has something either planned or already in place ."
"All the real information i do have was connected with the breaking up of Scorpion . He was still brooding over Walter removing him from Scorpion , but his anger went even higher when Walter told him that there was a place on the team , but is was not for him , but for Paige , the waitress . since being told that he has been planning to bring Scorpion down , by using the waitress as a catalyst to break the cyclone . " Said a completely dispirited Tim .
"One thing that is a little confusing . You put so much effort into helping the team recue Toby from Collins grasp , including finding that big clue of the frequency on the stainless steel table in the kitchen . Then coming up with the idea of using the floss like a guitar string . You even handcuffed him on the bus . " Asked Cabe .
"Simple when i agreed to help him i did say if i became involved in a case he was involved , i would react as if i had never met him or even knew a lot about him . So as not to blow my cover .My main goal was the breaking up of Scorpion ." Answered a more compliant Tim .
"Well i suppose that makes sense ." A still slightly confused Cabe said .
After spending another half hour trying to get more information out of Tim without much success Cabe called a halt to the interview . Tim was taken back to his cell , a much less smug person to when the interview started . Once Tim had left Cabe rolled his shoulders to try to release some of the tension that had built up in his muscles .
In the third interview room , Rusty and Simone were sat waiting for an agent to bring Collins from the cells .
"How do you want to handle this ?" Asked Simone .
" Let me ask the questions , you just intimidate with the looks you use on other suspects ." Answered Rusty .
Simone just nodded her head , she knew exactly what he wanted . An agent arrived with Collins , who pushed him into a chair and then handcuffed him to the ring on the table . Collins stared at Rusty his face full of anger .
" You do not expect me to talk to you do you ! " Spoke Collins through gritted teeth , his anger changing to disinterest . Rusty looked across at Simone , who moved her head a fraction .
" There is no video or sound recording on at the moment , are you sure you want to carry on this way ." Spoke Simone in a very gentle voice , that Collins looked totally surprised as the last time he had heard her speak it was in a powerful commanding voice .
"What i said still stands ." Collins said as he began to laugh .
Simone slowly raised her self up from her chair and slowly walked behind Rusty and towards Collins . Simone stood behind Collins and lent over Collins and began to whisper in his ear .
" That is not a nice way to behave i would suggest you think about that again , other wise i may have to take the situation under my control ."
"What can you do to make me change my mind ." Asked Collins .
Still in a whisper , Simone carried on . " First i will silence you , the same way i did yesterday . Then i will paralyze you, only temporally of course , then i will put you through so much pain you will beg for mercy . Oh sorry you will not be able to do that because you will not be speaking . Now i will count to ten , and then you can give me an answer . Just so you know i am serious while i count i will give you a short idea of what i am capable of . " Simone began to count on two she applied pressure to a section of Collins shoulder , which caused him to squeal like a pig , on four she squeezed his elbow , and again he squealed like a pig .
" Enough, enough , i will talk ,no more please ." Cried out Collins . Simone stopped and looked across at Rusty , who gave a slight nod . She moved away from Collins in doing so she reached over and gently tapped Collins on the cheek and said . " That's a good boy ." She then made her way back to her chair by Rusty .
Collins nodded his head , Rusty told Simone to switch the recorder on . Once it was working Rusty looked straight at Collins .
"You have been read your rights and just to double check you have refused any legal assistants ."
" Why would i need legal advice m i have read enough law books while incarcarated and remember most of it ." Said a gloating Collins .
Rusty stared at Collins for a few seconds and then started speaking .
"Tell us exactly why you want to destroy Scorpion ."
" I was an original member of Scorpion and Walter was my friend and we worked well together on problems which meant we would go days without sleep and food . However the three under achieving other members of the team eventually turned him against me , and he had me sectioned in a mental hospital . I suffered for over two years , undergoing all sorts of medieval torture ,by quack doctors who just did not understand me . I was eventually released , and managed after about a year to trick Walter and his Scorpion team into believing a nuclear plant was ready to explode . However some how he and his Cyclone managed to beat me and and shut the nuclear reactor down . I got shot in the leg for my troubles , then spent another two years in a prison's mental ward . So i believe i have enough reasons to blow apart Walter's Cyclone and using the waitress to do so was even better than i could have imagined . " Having said all this Collins first tried to lean back in his chair , but because he was handcuffed to the table he found it almost impossible to do .
Rusty and Simone just glared at him. Rusty eventually spoke .
"So do you admit to offering bribes to Tim Amstrong and Stuart Blackman ."
Collins remained silent for about thirty seconds , and just as Simone was preparing to stand up again , he began speaking again .
" Of course i needed help on the outside while i collected enough of my tranquillizers to be able to drug the guards so i could escape ."
" How did you get access to a computer with WI-FI availability . Asked Rusty .
" That was easy a few bits and pieces taken from the kitchen microwave , and a computer in the library i was able to connect to the WI-FI in the main office building of the prison ." A smug smiling Collins replied .
"How about using Stuart Blackman , why did you use him in particular ?"
" A little bit of digging and you can find out anything you like . He was the ideal puppet he has got a gambling habit and he his not a very good gambler , he had run up a large debt with a bookie , in fact he reminded me a lot of Toby ."
"Well what about Tim Armstrong ?"
" That was a bit of a surprise , i was bored one day about a year ago so i began to look up my family tree . Surprise, surprise ,i found out my elder sister was married and there was a son and four daughters in the family . With a lot of digging i found out he was a navy seal , who had been injured , I sent him a letter to which he replied and it just went from there ."
Rusty was looking at Collins with an amazed look on his face . He leaned towards Simone and whispered . " See if the techs found anything on the computers that ties any of this up to him ." Simone got up and left the interview room .
"Right i am suspending this interview , it will be continued when certain things have been checked ." Said Rusty as he indicated the agent by the door , to uncuff Collins from the table and take him back to his cell .
An hour later the three interview teams were in Katherine's office going over the interviews . Everyone agreed that all three could be charged with bribery but treason was going to be more difficult thing to prove . After a hour of conversation they all decided the best thing to do would be another interview the next day , but change the interviewers for each of the prisoners .
Paige's Condo
Paige had picked up Ralph and she was parking the car in her parking spot .
They made their way to the apartment door ,once she opened the door , she saw they had received mail .she picked up the white envelope , and was surprised to see it was addressed to Ralph , but then she realized the writing was Walter's . She knew Walter would not be able to leave without getting some sort of message for him . She called him out of his bedroom , he came out and she handed him the envelope . Ralph immediately went to the sofa sat down and opened the envelope , he straighten the pages out and began reading .
My dearest Ralph
I am so sorry i have had to leave without being able to tell you in person , the reason i have had to leave America . I have been in love with your mother since the first day we met . However my E.Q. was so low i did not realize it was love that gave me a tingling feel and a rapid heartbeat every time i looked at her . It was not until i had lost her when she decided to take you back to Portland , because she did not want you to be like me . On that matter i can totally agree with her and i am sure if you are prepared to listen to her you will be able to grow up as a genius but with normal E.Q. . But i am going off the point ,when i came out of hospital and we were in that weather balloon , we both expressed our feelings to each other , but i as usual over thought things and told her we should not have a relationship because if anything happened to cause us to split up , it could have a dramatic impact on Scorpion . Once we were back in the office your mom suggested we should kiss as an experiment to prove we could work together with no romance between us , I am sure we both lied about the feelings we had after the kiss . I know i did , for about nine months it seemed to work well , i still loved your mom more than anyone i have ever known . I thought your mom had feelings for me , but that proved incorrect the moment Tim showed up . Your Mother showed an immediate interest in the normal , and he appeared to show a great interest in her , i later found out that it was a $250.000 bonus that really interested him . I know i was a moron to give her the tickets to take Tim to Tahoe but by the time i realized and followed them to tell her i loved her , i was to late , because the first thing i saw on my arrival in Tahoe was the two of them kissing and your mom seemed so happy . Once they came back your mom seemed to take great pleasure in torturing me by kissing , cuddling and private conversations between the two of them always in my eye line . Made me realize just how much she hated me and was much happier with a normal . But putting all that to one side , you must never blame your mom for my leaving , she has done wonders with my E.Q. . I know it is no were near normal , but it is 100% improvement on what is was before i met her . It is important that you follow and do what your mom tells you . You do not want to grow up like me low E.Q. high I.Q. , you need to be high E.Q. high I.Q. . The only way to achieve that is to listen and take your actions from what your mom says . Paige was and still is the only woman i have fell head over heels in love with , she has spoilt me for anyone else ,unfortunately it was not reciprocated . she good not accept the difference between us . What i did not realize until it was to to late she actually hated me . Again i would ask you please do not hate your mom . I know i will never be truly happy again . However i can give Toby and Happy their happiness by divorcing Happy so she can marry Toby . This means i have to leave America never to return again . I hope one day to be able to meet and hug you again . Until then i wish you all the luck in the world . Remember i will always think of you as my loving son.
Until we can meet again .
Your ever loving DAD .
Walter
He read the letter slowly at times reading a section more than once .Tears had been streaming down his cheeks almost as soon has he had begun to read it . As he finished reading it he was sobbing loud enough for Paige to rush into the living room from the kitchen .
"What is up sweetie ?" Asked Paige .
Ralph just showed her the letter in is hand and threw it down on the sofa and ran to his bedroom and slammed the door . Paige picked the letter up and with a little trepidation began reading it . As with Ralph she began to sob the more of the letter she read ,eventually she said to herself . "What have i done ?" before burying her head into a cushion .