CAN I GET A WITNESS
CHAPTER 6: SPY GAMES
AN: Okay, we're gonna liven things up a bit in this chapter. You in?
oxoxoxoxoxo
"Walter, I think I might be pregnant."
"Walter? Say something." Paige pleaded as she waved a hand in front of his face. When she got no response, she snapped her fingers a few times. She was growing ever more troubled by his blank stare. He hadn't said a word since she'd shared her suspicions.
His eyes vaguely focused on hers. "I don't know what to do with that information," he muttered.
"Neither do I. Let's keep the panicking to a minimum though. I don't know anything for sure yet." Paige chuckled a little. "And if I am? We'll figure it out. Right? Scorpion thrives on the unexpected. We never shy away when things get complicated."
Suddenly fully alert, he replied, "This isn't Scorpion we're talking about. It's us. Historically, you and I have always run from complications in our relationship."
Paige was temporarily taken aback, but she couldn't deny the blunt truth even if she'd wanted to. "Okay. You're not wrong. We usually tend to react before we talk. Communication has never been one of our strengths, has it?"
"No. It wouldn't say so." Walter shook his head. "If we don't improve, we're doomed to repeat the same mistakes. And-and I don't want that."
Paige placed a hand on his cheek and stroked it with her thumb for a moment. "I don't want that either. How do you think we should start?"
"You're asking me? You're the EQ expert."
"Except we've already proven I'm as flawed as any human in that department. I'm open to suggestions."
He stared at his fists in his lap as if he didn't know how they'd gotten there. "I-I guess I could start by confessing… See, I was reluctant to say anything before… So I, uh, tried not thinking about it. That stratagem doesn't work as efficiently as it once did."
He gave her a brief pained look and she motioned for him to go on, hoping she came off as more encouraging than alarmed.
"Things have been going so well, considering everything. But in the interest of full disclosure, I think I should tell you that I'm afraid, make that terrified, of disappointing you yet again. I may have changed somewhat over the past few years, but I'm still essentially the same man. Take the other night when I didn't want to go to dinner at the neighbors' house. It wasn't because I thought our identities could be exposed. Or it wasn't only that. It was mostly due to the fact I still don't understand normal human interactions under many circumstances. I figured it would go badly and it would irritate you, making you impatient with me. I know you told me it didn't matter, but I'm concerned that later on down the road, when-when you and Ralph are out of danger and I do something else wrong, which is an absolute inevitability… you-you will recall all the aggravating things I've done and it will prompt you to give up on having a relationship with me and you'll leave again. The last time, you didn't even want to be friends anymore. And what's worse is, if you truly are, um, ex-expecting? I'll not only be losing you and Ralph next time, I'll be losing another person. Another innocent person who shouldn't be subjected to our whims and character flaws and problems as a couple. Like my insensitivity and ignorance as a partner or your insecurities and your tendency to run off when I'm unavoidably less than you need. I might desire a different outcome, but I keep running the odds in my head and coming up with the same scenario every single time."
"Oh, ouch." Paige winced. "That hurt."
He went instantly remorseful. "I-I didn't mean… That wasn't the intention…"
She touched a finger to his lips. "I know. It's okay. First of all, I want to thank you for opening up. But you know that's the thing about truth. Sometimes it hurts. After the 'white lie' nonsense, I see the value of it now more than ever. I can still wish you'd learn to sugar coat it and make it easier to swallow." When he opened his mouth, presumably to apologize or berate himself for his inadequacies again, she stopped him, "But I've accepted that's not in your nature. You struggle with nuances. I can deal with that. What I can't deal with is us splitting up over some little thing that we've let fester until it becomes a big thing. By all means, give me the unvarnished truth. I can handle it a lot better than I handled being away from you. And listen, I can see why you might not trust me yet. But I stand by what I said after that disaster of a dinner the other night. I'm not going anywhere. It'll to take time to prove I mean it, but I'll show you eventually." She scoffed. "It's crazy. I never realized when I was busy running away because of my insecurities, I was actually foisting them off on you. I'm sorry."
Walter shook his head. "It's no different from all those times I got close to you only to pull away. It amounts to the same thing, doesn't it? I was feeding your insecurities too."
"That was very insightful. I'm proud of you. You've come a long way, mister." Paige poked his side playfully.
They sat for a few moments mulling over what was said, grasping hands because they didn't want to lose the physical connection.
"So… I've told you my big secret," Walter began quietly after a few minutes, "Other than fact I'm worried I'll fail to protect you and Ralph and lose everything important to me, which you've probably already guessed, that was the only thing I haven't disclosed since we've reconciled. Um, did you h-have anything you've been keeping from me?"
"You'll think it's stupid."
Walter's look turned incredulous as if he couldn't believe his ears. "It's true. I do find a lot of things stupid. You, however, have always been many things to me. Unfathomable, beautiful, frustrating, insightful, essential. But I can honestly say I've never thought of you in that context. That is the unvarnished truth."
Paige kissed him soundly. "See there? You did it again. You just said the exact right thing."
"Twice in four years," he muttered glumly.
She nudged him with her shoulder. "No. Actually you have a real knack for being unexpectedly sweet. It was one of the first things I fell in love with about you."
His expression turned both shy and elated and she was about to kiss that look right off his adorable face, when he asked, "So, what is your big secret then?"
Paige grimaced.
"It's only fair. You have to tell me if we're going to get better at this open communication thing. Not to mention, I'm more clueless than most men. I'm unusually terrible at reading non-verbal cues and subtext."
"I've been worried you aren't as attracted to me," she blurted, then hurried on before he could comment, "After the break up and after what happened to my body what with the wounds and scars from the gun shots… You've been so careful not to touch or even brush against my injuries even though they're almost completely healed now..."
"What?!" His mouth dropped open in astonishment. "How could you think that? I was trying not to hurt you, that's all. I swear."
"How about you give me some non-verbal cues to prove it?" Paige waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Walter wasn't as bad at picking up on cues as he thought.
OXOXOXOXOXO
"You're pushing yourself too hard." Paige placed a plate piled with grilled cheese sandwiches on the desk next to his elbow. Walter had barely left the basement office since he'd found out about the possibility of a baby. As she sat a water bottle beside the plate, she peeked inside his coffee tumbler and wrinkled her nose at the cold dregs.
Rubbing his gritty eyes with the heels of his hands, he answered, "No I'm not. I'm not working anywhere close to fast enough either. We don't have a minute to lose." He glanced down at her flat abdomen. "Especially now. With-with the, um, potential new development."
"You haven't slept or eaten properly in days, sweetie. Now I'm worried about you."
Walter offered her a crooked grin. "That is a switch. I'll try to rest for a couple of hours when I get to the point I can hand off to Sly back at the garage. It's still early yet." He turned back to the keyboard, hands poised to begin typing.
That wasn't good enough. Time to try a different tack. "It's 2:30 in the morning. Take a break. Please? I don't sleep well when you aren't next to me."
His eyes darted to hers. "You aren't getting adequate sleep? Your body needs proper sleep to heal. To borrow a phrase from Happy, that's 'not good'. Not to mention, if you're actually, um, pregnant, you're going to need even more rest because I-I've read pregnancy is statistically more taxing for a woman in her mid-thirties anyway."
Leave it to Walter to research pregnancy while also hunting down bad guys and delegating workload to others on the team. Whoever said men can't multitask had never met her genius.
"Who are you telling?" His concerns about her lack of rest gave her another idea on how to get him to lie down with her for a few hours. "Um, I've also heard worry can increase cortisol levels too. If I'm worried about you, that can't be good for a little stranger. Right?" She smoothed a hand over her lower tummy for affect.
If Walter could tell he was being manipulated, he didn't let on. He blinked tired eyes at her. "I suppose not. So-so, in order to be a good partner and a, um, good prospective father, you think I should come to bed to alleviate your worry about… me?"
"Exactly. But first let's you and me make a few of these sandwiches disappear." Paige grabbed one off of the plate and took a large bite to help hide her satisfied smile.
Yep, she was still a champion genius whisperer.
OXOXOXOXOXO
"That is what I've been trying to tell you for the last twenty minutes! I have all the evidence you need to back it up. I'm one hundred percent positive this shell company is their main pipeline. If you cut off that source, the rest of their enterprise will dry up in due course. And the lack of funds would soon expose all the factions of it to the various authorities."
An exasperated Walter was sick of explaining something so simple to this government dolt. He'd lost every ounce of patience and any semblance of tact he ever claimed to have. He massaged his aching forehead taking a moment to collect himself. He was so incredibly weary.
So Cabe stepped up beside him and peered into the laptop's screen. "He's saying if you drain that particular swamp, all of the alligators will be visible and therefore vulnerable."
"Almost immediately," Walter concurred, nodding his agreement. "I've given you the names, addresses and all of the information you need for the arrests. This is urgent. It needs to happen today."
They had already wasted enough time. It had been one, no two, nights – they were all running together in one big blur - since Paige had talked him into sleeping for a few hours. He hadn't even shut his eyes since. Because the next afternoon he'd had a breakthrough and it took him and Ralph both manning the computers at the farm and Happy and Sly tracking down the leads they'd found back at the garage to get to this point. No amount of coaxing could make any of them stop. They were all ready for the entire family to be reunited.
Only Walter and Paige knew their little family desperately needed to get back to life in LA. It was essential. Being on the run was no place for kids. As in plural. As in more than one to consider. Walter had to quell a panic response every time he thought of it.
When it was all said and done, everything triple checked and backed-up multiple places, after exchanging a couple of exuberant high-fives with Walter, Ralph finally crept upstairs undoubtedly to collapse on the nearest horizontal surface for a few hours. The older genius wouldn't have been far behind except he was left to convince this federal clown of the legitimacy of their findings. Over and over and over again. Until the urge to scream and pummel something became almost overwhelming.
"Mr. O'Brien, these things take time. There are procedures. We have to verify the authenticity of your evidence. We have to notify the different agencies. We'll need to obtain the proper warrants…"
Walter slapped both palms to the desk. "Are you on their payroll too? Is that what your problem is? Perhaps I should do some more digging into your finances."
"More?" The Marshal spluttered in indignation, his face going red, "Now-now see here…"
Walter narrowed his eyes. While he spoke softly, his tone was growing ever more ominous. "You have forty-eight hours."
"That's not nearly enough time. This office isn't equipped to deal with organized crime. We'll have to contact at least half a dozen different task forces…"
"I can't tell whether you're being deliberately obtuse or if you're really that stupid. A fourteen year old boy's life is in danger. He wasn't equipped to deal with organized crime either. But somehow he's been forced to deal with it by your agency's failings. I've done everything but hand you this scum on a platter. So let me say this again: You have forty-eight hours after which I will take all my evidence and a recording of this call to the LA Times. I will also broadcast this information on every public computer in the country. Do I make myself clear?" Walter signed off before the jerk had time to answer. He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'surrounded by imbeciles' under his breath.
Cabe grinned at him and gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. "Hey. I take exception to that comment."
"You know I didn't mean you. Or anyone else in this house."
"Go and get some sleep, son. You earned it."
OXOXOXOXOXO
It started sometime around midnight.
Walter wasn't sure what woke him at first, but he was suddenly wide awake and on high alert. He thought perhaps it was a noise, but he couldn't be sure.
He gently disengaged himself from Paige's warm embrace, trying not to disturb her.
She stirred and whimpered a little anyway. "What is it?" She whispered groggily.
A muffled beep chirped up the stairs from the living room.
Walter glanced at the bedside clock. There was nothing on the display. The power was out. He quickly figured out what woke him wasn't a sound, but the absence of it. There was no low hum of the refrigerator's compressor nor a whir of a ceiling fan to be heard anywhere in the house.
"Get to the closet and lock the door," he hissed, "The power is out. That means no alarm system. The battery back up is beeping. That means either the batteries need changing or…"
"Someone tampered with it…" Her eyes were wide, white circles in the darkness. Her breaths were rapid and shallow. "What about Ralph?"
"I've got him." He laid one finger on his lips and quietly urged again, "Now, please get to the closet and don't open it until you know it's us."
She clutched at his arm and shook her head. "Not without you." She swallowed hard.
They heard a quiet creaking footstep on the stairs.
"GO!" He mouthed and vaulted out of bed toward the Jack and Jill bathroom that separated their room from their son's. His mind was silently begging Paige to do what he asked as he rushed to Ralph's bedside.
Walter shook the boy's shoulder then briefly covered the teen's mouth to keep him from making a startled sound. He motioned for Ralph to follow him back through the bathroom. They crept soundlessly across the cold tile on bare feet. Walter's heart was hammering so hard it was all he could hear even though his ears strained to listen for the prowler.
He peered around the door into the inky shadows of the bedroom, looking for an indication of anyone crouching ready to pounce. He caught no sign of movement. Ralph clutched the back of Walter's shirt in a tense fist and they began to sneak around the bed toward the closet that doubled as a safe room.
Hinges squeaked as the bedroom door was slowly being pushed inward. The two geniuses noticed simultaneously and made a dash across the floor. If they were spotted, and the killer had a gun, there wouldn't be time for Paige to disengage the locks for them before one of them was shot.
Walter positioned himself between Ralph and the outer door. Maybe he could buy the boy the spare seconds he needed.
The closet door popped open and Paige grabbed a forearm each and hauled her two men inside with her. She promptly hit the panic button as the first shot ricocheted off the steel reinforced door. The heavy bolt locks snicked into place as two more shots hit the wall echoing loudly into the tiny chamber.
"I told you to lock the door behind you!" Walter snapped as he clicked the flashlight on and gathered up the go bag they had prepared.
"It's a damn good thing I didn't. Besides, you want to talk about this now?"
"You could've been killed." Walter removed three pairs of slip on shoes from the bag and shoved the duffle down the laundry chute with a little more force than was strictly necessary.
"And you two would've certainly been killed if I had locked the door behind me. You're welcome."
"Can we focus, please? Guys with guns in the next room, remember?" Ralph handed the shoes around to everyone, jiggling them a little to get their attention. He shoved his feet into his own pair and gave his parents an exasperated look as he boosted himself up and disappeared down the chute after the duffle.
Walter quickly donned a pair then bent and laced his hands together so Paige could slide down next.
"You're coming down directly after me. Right? You won't try anything stupid, will you?" She asked.
"I'll be right behind you." He straightened and looked her square in the eye.
"Swear?" She kissed him hard on the mouth.
He nodded once. "I swear."
Paige slid out of sight.
Walter turned off the flashlight and followed his family, hoping it was another lone gunman and he didn't have any hostile cohorts waiting downstairs.
