Bit of an odd thing, I am receiving the reviews via email but they are not coming up on the website.

So…

JustMyPillow: thank you so much for pointing that out about Gillian! I do take a lot of time to focus on small gestures and details and I always feel like it goes unnoticed, even though the mannerism is always such a big part of the characters. They are not really pushing Ben away, they couldn't have been more open with him about this…at least about the part concerning the case, Ward and Warton. Here Ben caught them still processing the conversation (and the unspoken feelings) at the end of the previous chapter; he doesn't know they had that interaction but he's not blind, he sees what the situation is doing to them. They are not pulling apart, quite the contrary, but he's just misreading the cues a little: they are getting so much closer but it's not the right time for it.

Tori: well thank you, I know there are because I can see the stats, the visits and people following the story…which is why it's a bit depressing to see all the work and time I put into this going mostly unnoticed.

Eteri: seriously, where are you? Honestly getting worried here!

Now, I believe someone mentioned something about Cal and Gillian playing mind games with Warton once…

Not that it mattered much, time had lost any sense of meaning really, but somewhere around what most people would have called lunch the phone at the main switchboard rang. It went on for a while, it took a good six rings echoing in the empty office before any of the four people around got around for it.

Loker, Foster and Reynolds were in the lab, with the agent lending a helping hand on moving and replacing some of the broken equipment. Cal, who had been spared the heavy lifting for obvious reasons, was in his office trying to finish what he had started the night before and read up Warton's file. There was new information to add to that, plus he had assigned himself the task of going through Ward's file as well. It had been years, and as much as the events of the past days had brought back a lot of memories, he had worked so hard to bury them that now a crash course seemed necessary.

He probably heard the phone before anybody else but figured they'd get there first, however as it kept going he grumbled something and hopped on his feet, glad that there wasn't a shooting pain coming up from his right ankle anymore. He was still limping a bit though, and by the time he made it to the lobby the trio was there too, all of them looking at each other with quizcal eyes. It was Sunday, the one day the Group was officially closed as advertised, therefore a call, even from a potential client, was not to be expected. Another option might have been someone from the staff, but they had all been instructed to stay away until further notice so that was unlikely.

Which left only one possible option.

Gillian was the first one to move, inwardly rolling her eyes at the three men who all seemed to have a good hunch as to who the caller might have been and for that reason were not looking forward to answering. She walked around the desk and took the phone, placing it on top and turning it towards the others before pushing the speaker button and accepting the call.

"Hello?"

"Good morning Doc! I didn't wake you, did I?"

Even if he had known Warton would be on the other side, Cal still could barely contain his reaction when he heard his voice. He moved forward, nudging Reynolds aside and grabbing hold of the desk to get closer to the phone. He glanced up at Gillian, her hands too seizing the edges of the desk and her face solid and steady, determined not to let the man get to her easily.

"No, you didn't. We had to get up early to clean your blood off the floor."

Somewhere behind Cal, Loker gasped then quickly covered his mouth with one hand. Pleased, no matter how crazy it made him look, Cal grinned mischievously at her, stunned by her bravery.

"I take it you didn't enjoy my redecorating suggestions?"

"No, actually we've been talking about making some changes for a while," Cal jumped in, then leaned closer to the phone and hissed. "Myself, I was thinking your ugly mug would make a nice hunting trophy for my office."

Behind him, Reynolds rolled his eyes at the both of them, not knowing if should be impressed, mad, amused or outraged. He understood very well the predicament they were in, what with the crazy man coming after them and all, but that shifting from being blasted away by their tormentor to being so blatantly antagonistic with him was driving him up the walls.

"Any time Dr Lightman." Warton countered, and they could all hear the smirk in his voice. "How's your ankle, by the way?"

"Splendid!" Cal retorted with exaggerated enthusiasm. "You get your ass within reach and I'll show ya how good it is."

This time even Gillian gave him a warning look, thinking there was a limit to how much they could tease a psychopath after all.

"No offence Lightman, but you're not the one I want to have close contact with."

Even before Warton finished talking Gillian reached out for Cal's hand, squeezing it hard and then begging him with her eyes not to blow up. He certainly looked like he could have, his face already hardened by the not so veiled threat towards her the man on the phone had just made, but she needed him there with her and not in whatever dark and haunted hold Warton's words had just sent him.

"I'm all for it." She knew it wasn't a good idea, to pile up and escalate the vocal exchange, but Gillian also knew that approach might have helped Cal stay grounded and her nerves not to run wild. "Two against one, I like our odds."

Surprisingly, scarily, Warton let out a loud laugh. It was the kind of laugh villains do in movies and cartoons, the one that tells the characters and the audience that someone with an evil heart was ready for anything. It had the very same effect on them, Loker and Reynolds too since they had seen the footage of the attack from the night before.

"I was told you two are a tight team," Warton mumbled then, once the laugh eased into a chuckle. "Guess I should have stuck with one at the time, but it was funnier that way."

There clearly was a menacing meaning behind his words, and the will to bring up the events of the night before to taunt them, but they didn't get any of it. Cal and Gillian were looking at each other, their eyes had locked the second after the first three words had been uttered, and they no longer had interest in listening to him after that.

As it turned out, Warton didn't have much else to add either because after having let his last word settle he hung up. Gillian and Cal barely noticed, not exactly missing the conversation, and instead she walked back around and stood in front of him, a light in her eyes.

"You heard that?"

"Loud and clear."

"Heard what?"

Reynolds enquired as he stepped closer. He had heard the call like them, but obviously he hadn't listened well enough.

"He said 'I was told'," Gillian explained. "It might have not been intentional but he said it. No hesitation, it was an organic non-forced statement. And it was the truth."

"That would explain a lot," Cal added. "We've been wondering how he could know what happened to his brother, how he could know we were responsible. That," he pointed at the phone behind him, "was a confirmation of what we've been suspecting."

"Which is?"

They all looked at Loker, who had just asked the question and was now looking at them begging to be included. They had kept him in the loop as much as possible, but they hadn't yet shared with him their growing suspicion that someone they used to work for might have been the cause of all their problems. And they still weren't going to, at least not until they had some proof to go with it.

Which seemed to be getting more and more likely.

"Now, hold on a minute. Lightman." Reynolds jumped in, shaking his head. "That's not a confirmation of anything. And before we go down that route I wanna be damn sure. Did we get the call recorded?"

"No," Gillian answered, but then folded her arms and stared at him. "But that's what he said, and that is what he implied."

"Well, before we discuss that," the agent took the phone from his pocket and browsed through the contacts, "I'm gonna get a tech team here to hook up the phones."

"There is nothing to discuss. You heard him, a recording won't change that," Cal insisted, standing closer at Gillian's side. "C'mon mate, we all know what's going on here."

"I wouldn't mind an update," Loker mumbled, then Gillian sighed and decided it was time to come out of the closet.

"Back then the Pentagon and the NSA came up with a story about Ward's death, they didn't want the truth about his misdeeds to come out." Loker nodded, he knew that much already. "Ben found out that Warton's parole hearing came because someone pushed for it, then all of a sudden he had money and a ticket for Washington."

"So what, someone put him up to this?"

"Someone who knows how to move in very specific circles," Cal clarified. "This guy was not supposed to leave the state, yet he skipped town and nobody seemed to even report it, let alone care- Son of a bitch!"

Cal's sudden switch surprised everybody. He had been speaking with that little hint of harsh sarcasm in his voice, acknowledging the painful absurdity of the situation but also trying to cope with it in his own way, but the way he had interrupted himself fell in neither category. It was a sudden and very unpleasant epiphany, his voice suddenly charged with rage and frustration.

Before any of them could ask what had come to his mind he was on his way, as quick as he could be, the rush of the thought he was holding on to powering his sore body. They followed, Gillian leading the pack and signalling to the others to let him get to it with no interruption. He was frantic but clearly going somewhere, and the best policy was to go along with it.

They got to his office and Cal went straight to his desk where the files he had been reading were still open, then he dropped on the chair catching his breath and anxiously browsing through the pages of Ward's documents. Gillian felt Loker and Reynolds looking at her, possibly wondering if it wasn't time for Cal to get another head scan or something, but she dismissed their concern with an annoyed eye roll.

"Son a bitch!" Cal shouted again then, loud and increasingly frustrated, then leaned back on the chair as if to escape from the blast of the information that had just exploded right in front of him. "I can't believe I missed that!"

"What is it, Cal?"

He sighed and leaned forward again, turning the folder around for her to see.

"Remember how I tracked Ward down to the warehouse?"

"Yeah, it was listed as one of his hideouts for his shady affairs. It was in the file Merton put together when we started, with the intel the NSA provided."

"Which meant they knew about it, that he might be there." Cal went on, ready to add something, but had a quick pause as his eyes flickered at Loker before landing back on her.. "But when I called it in to say Merton was missing and asked if they had any idea of where Ward might have taken him nobody had a clue."

"They? Lightman, who are you talking about?"

Reynolds asked, understanding and admiring his attention to keep part of the story out of his explanation for Gillian's sake, but still needing more information. But Cal was engaged with his memories, trying to use them in the most fruitful way, and most importantly he was having that conversation with Gillian and nobody else.

"When I tracked down Ward and called for backup I told them I was at the warehouse listed in the file. But later, when it was all done, they told me the team didn't know where to go because they didn't have an exact location."

"But it was in the file," Gillian said absently, her own eyes reading about it as she slowly sat down, her legs feeling unsteady all of a sudden. "The address is here, all they had to do was to send the backup team there."

Before it happened, before things got too bad, before it was too late.

As those thoughts ran through her mind Gillian felt the file in her hands slip, but managed to recover just in time. She felt her own breath shorten and her skin going cold, and she did the only thing she knew was going to help her avoid a full on panic attack. She looked up at Cal on the other side of the desk, who had clearly been waiting for her to make that contact, and soon calmed down despite the whirlwind of thoughts going through her mind.

Loker watched them, no longer surprised by how stranger than usual their interactions had become. He knew by then there was still something that they hadn't shared with him, but whatever could get Foster so flustered was probably something he didn't want to know anyway. He was more than willing not to pry, all he had to do to be able to ignore the fact that he wasn't being told everything was to think about the footage from the night before…after that, as far as he was concerned, they had earned the right to keep things to themselves.

Besides, he was under the impression that Reynolds knew a bit more than him, and perhaps it was best that way. They weren't his bosses and he was far better then him when it came to trying to reel them in.

"Who's they?" The agent asked after a few silent moments. "You're talking about someone in particular. Who?"
"It was my operation, I coordinated everything with Foster and Merton but of course someone had to supervise the whole thing." Cal explained eventually, clenching his jaw in frustration. "That's who I called when I felt we had lost Ward, same people I called for backup."

"I'm gonna need names."

"This could get complicated," Gillian whispered, carefully checking with Cal who nodded in agreement.

"Why?"

"They still work with the government, they went up the ranks." At our expenses, Cal added in his own head, feeling his heart accelerating with rage.

"All the better," Reynolds quipped then, fishing his notebook out of his pocket and handing it to him with a clear hinting gesture. "They will be easier for me to find."

So, what do you think? Is it a good idea to antagonise this crazy guy? And what has Cal truly uncovered?