Part 11 Digging in deep
It had been an eventful couple of hours. Steve was not sure how he had managed to keep going but he knew that he and Emma had left a trail that would be difficult to follow. They had taken three cabs in total as well as one bus and both of them had changed clothes. Steve now wore a dark shirt and baseball cap which covered his hair completely. He had also been to the bank and withdrawn a lump sum in cash from his savings, he would not be able to safely use any cards or ATMs for some time.
The car that they were now driving had been brought for cash from one of the less salubrious dealerships. One which could be relied upon, for a price, to lose the paperwork for a couple of weeks. He had more than twenty years experience working homicide in the area so he knew exactly where to go if you did not want to be found. The cell phone sitting in his pocket had similarly been brought from an outlet where if you had the cash they didn't ask too many questions.
He guided Emma out of the city and into the hills. They turned off the main roads leaving the city traffic and prying eyes behind and drove into the woods. Eventually Steve directed her on to a side track which turned out to be the access road to a large wooden cabin.
"This belonged to a friend of my father's." Steve explained as the car approached the building.. "He died recently, my father is executor of the estate which is still in probate. So nobody should come here. We should be safe for a while " Steve realised that this was the first time since the hospital that he had taken the time to explain to her what they were doing. She had followed all of his instructions since then without question. Taking everything, taking him, completely on trust. "I doubt if more than half a dozen people know about it," he continued, "and even less know that I know about it."
Emma stopped the car and turned off the engine. "I'm sorry," She said, "about your father's friend.
"Thanks but I hardly knew him. I just drove up here with my dad when he came out with the valuers"
"Oh," said Emma not sure of what else to say.
Neither of them made a move to get out of the vehicle and a slightly awkward silence fell over them. After the purposeful rushing around of the last few hours, with the goal of getting to this point, a relatively safe location, suddenly taking the last few steps into the building seemed like an insurmountable task. Here, there was no longer the threat, the fear, that the people looking for them would suddenly appear from behind the next building, and with that loss of fear there was no longer the release of adrenaline that had been keeping them both going. So they sat in silence temporarily drained..
Steve was the first to speak. He decided that it was time to at least get some of the background on the situation he was in. So far he didn't even understand his own motives for dropping everything and risking his life and career, only the compulsion that he had to do it. Maybe if he knew more about what was going on things would make more sense.
He considered carefully how to word his first question "Emma'
"Yes"
"It's obvious that you are in a lot of trouble. I think you need to fill me in on why these people are after you."
Emma had known this would come eventually and she definitely owed Steve as full an explanation as she could manage. She sighed, "I'll try to tell you what I can but as I said the last time you asked," She turned to look him in the eye. "I'm not really sure where to start."
Steve opened his mouth to say something.
"I know, start at the beginning," she anticipated his comment and was rewarded with a smile and slight nod of agreement. She thought momentarily before continuing. "Richard and I married about four months after I returned to England and I got everything I wanted, well everything I deserved." Steve noted a slight bitter edge to this last comment but she quickly recovered, staring out into the trees as she continued. "As planned Richard went into the diplomatic service and began quite a successful career. My father's influence helped with that as well as Richard's own family connections. My life became what I had always imagined it to be. I was the perfect diplomat's wife. We went to parties, entertained, lived in various locations all over the world. For more than twenty years Richard's career went from strength to strength until..." Emma stopped speaking without really being conscious that she had, as she remembered the events that had ended here husband's career."
"Until?" Steve prompted.
She snapped back to the present "There was some sort of scandal. Weapons were being sold illegally by a British company and documents that came through the embassy had been faked. The corruption went much higher than my husband but he was the scapegoat. The sacrificial lamb to placate the foreign powers whilst the real culprits continued their careers." She turned to look at him again. " Don't get me wrong I'm not saying my husband was entirely innocent but he was the only one who lost his lifestyle, his career."
Steve returned her gaze. "Not the only one." he said meaningfully.
Emma sighed again. "Yes it was quite a blow for me too. I lost my friends, my position in society. Richard was allowed to retire quietly but even the hint of scandal can make you a social pariah in the sort of circles of English society where we mixed. After more than twenty years it is difficult to start again. It changed both of us." Emma looked away again. Steve needed to know about her background in order to understand her current predicament and she was doing her best to give him a factual account of what he needed to understand, but so much of it was linked to the deep emotional traumas of her life she was finding it difficult to hold her perspective. She paused again and took a deep breath to steady herself.
Steve sensed the difficulty she was having. "It must have been hard for you."
"Yes," she said quietly. "It changed us both," she repeated. "Changed our marriage. We began to fight a lot and then Richard...." she hesitated, tears welling in her eyes. "Richard had an affair. It almost broke us up. When I found out I was so angry." Her fists clenched with remembered emotion. "I wanted to kill him. I was , we were both going through so much and just when I needed him most..." The words trailed off again this time tears fell down her cheeks.
Steve put his hand on her arm to show his emotional support and waited patiently for her to continue.
Emma wiped the tears from her face. "I was ready to leave him but he swore to me, promised that it would never happen again. We moved out to Hong Kong made a fresh start. Richard still had some friends left with influence and he started a new career. I never really asked about the company he worked for. I was just pleased that he was working again and seemed to be happy. Hong Kong society is still full of ex-patriot Britons so we fitted in well. Until a couple of years ago when we had to move here."
Steve was intrigued by the choice of phrase. "Had to move here?" He asked.
"Yes, the new company he was working for dealt with something that my husband was uniquely qualified for; the sale of weapons. It was a legitimate company but lets say that they operated just on the right side of the law and ethics did not figure very highly on the list of company objectives. Now that the Chinese have taken over Hong Kong you have to be careful that you do not upset the wrong people. One of Richard's deals turned a little sour and the authorities were becoming somewhat hostile so the company moved him to LA." Emma shifted in the seat
but kept her gaze studiously on the outside as she continued. "I didn't approve of Richard's new choice of career but I didn't find out exactly what he was doing until we had been in Hong Kong for several years. To be honest, I hadn't really cared as long as I had my position in society, social gatherings, friends, money, the things I always wanted in my life and up until a couple of weeks ago I was.." She paused to find the right word, "content with what I had."
"You and Richard were happy together?" Steve asked. It had not escaped his notice that she kept referring to Richard in the past tense and from the way she had reacted the night before he surmised that his death had been fairly recent and was, most probably, connected to the trouble she was now in. He wanted to gain as much information as he could but he was aware that Emma was operating on a knife edge of emotion that threatened to engulf her.
"Yes, I.. that is we.. " she became tongue tied, somehow unable to get the words out as conflicting thoughts about the situation assaulted her senses. She pulled herself together.
"I loved Richard and he loved me." She returned her gaze to him. "We were happy together...." another hesitation, "at least I thought we were."
Steve stared into her dark brown eyes there was pain and grief reflected in them. He wanted to take her into his arms and comfort her, tell her that everything would be all right. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her further pain and he knew that to continue her explanation of events would do just that but he also knew that he could not help her if he did not know what had happened, so he asked the question. "So what happened to make you change your mind?"
Mark sank down into a chair as Nathan and Amanda joined him at the table. He had a feeling that he was going to need to be sitting down for the rest of this conversation.
"Do either of you know where Steve is?" Nathan asked, sitting himself.
"No, we thought he must have gone back to the station when he left here." Mark replied. "I assume by the fact that you are asking about him that he didn't"
"No, nobody seems to have seen him since this morning. We've tried both his cell phone and the beach house but get no reply."
"But hold on" Amanda said looking confused "I don't understand how Steve could be working on the murder we were both at this morning. Mark says he was called out at around two a.m." She looked to Mark for confirmation then turned back to Nathan. "As I understand it the body wasn't found until 9"
It was Nathan's turn to look confused. "Steve wasn't called out on anything this morning. In fact according to the Captain he didn't have any new active cases. That's why this whole thing is so confusing."
Mark was shocked by the news. "You're sure he wasn't called to a case?"
He got a nod of confirmation from Nathan. "In fact not only did Steve not have any new cases but he asked the Captain for the next few days off to sort out some personal problems"
The more information Mark was being given the less he understood what was going on "Then why did he go out in that storm in the middle of the night?" The question was addressed as much to himself as it was to the other two. He did not expect to get an answer.
There was a short silence whilst everyone considered the new facts they had gleaned from the conversation. Eventually Amanda asked. "So why do you think Jesse's shooting is linked to the murder inquiry?"
"The NSA," Nathan replied. "Well to be specific two NSA agents. They turned up at the station this morning to talk to Steve but they wouldn't tell anyone but him what it was about. The same two men were seen at Jesse's apartment building shortly before the shooting and before I left they turned up at the crime scene to talk to agent Harris." He turned back to Mark. "So Steve hasn't mentioned anything about any of this to you."
Mark's mind was working overtime. He was fairly sure that whatever Steve was involved in had started with the phone call last night. Steve had seemed fine in the brief time he'd seen and talked to him the previous day. He didn't always know what was bothering his son but he could usually tell when he was bottling something up. He replayed the conversations he'd had with Steve that morning. Steve had said that he wouldn't see very much of him over the next few days because he was working on a case. No, he hadn't actually said it was a case, Mark realised that he had just assumed that. He had said that something had come up and it would take several days to sort out, but what? And why would Steve keep it from him?
"Mark?" Nathan asked having waited several seconds for an answer.
"No," Mark finally replied to the question. "He didn't say anything."
Nathan took a deep breath and blew it out. "If Steve doesn't turn up soon and explain himself I'm afraid that the department will issue an APB. Steve and this woman, Emma are the only witnesses to the shooting as far as we know. Have you any idea where he might have gone?"
"Apart from back home." Mark replied "No, I can't think of anywhere."
"Then that's where I'll look first." Nathan said pushing his seat back to get up.
Mark stood too. "I'd like to come with you." He said and then he remembered where he was and why, and was torn between his concern for his son and his concern for Jesse. He wanted to be there when his young friend woke up.
Amanda recognised the conflict in his expression and squeezed his hand. "You go I'll wait with Jesse." She said softly. "I'll call you if there is any change."
"Thanks Amanda " Mark said and headed after Nathan out of the door.
They were heading out of the hospital past the front desk when one of the nurses called Mark back. "This telephone message was left for you Dr. Sloan." She said handing him a piece of paper.
Mark took it and read it and then, wordlessly, handed it to Nathan to read.
'Dad, sorry to rush off but I'm involved in something and I don't want anyone else getting hurt. I've had to borrow your car. I'll leave it at home. I'll call and explain when I can. Love you Steve."
Nathan finished reading and looked up at Mark. The message was time coded not long after the shooting.
"Given that, I doubt that he's still at home." Mark said.
"It's the only place we've got to start." Nathan replied and with that the two men hurriedly left the building.
Baker nervously entered the office of his superior. The whole operation in Malibu had turned into a complete fiasco and Baker was tired of taking the flak for it from his boss. Each new report from the field agents down there seemed to carry worse news than the last and, if that wasn't bad enough, the refusal by the LAPD captain to keep his people out of the investigation had left his boss in a worse mood than normal if that were possible. Baker wondered, not for the first time, if a foul temper was a prerequisite of the job or were there some field directors out there who were actually civil to their staff.
He had taken to typing out the updates and leaving them on his boss's desk so that at least he could be out of the room by the time he learnt about the latest negative step. This time he wasn't so lucky "Is that the latest report on the Malibu case?" Director Collins asked as Baker tried to put the report down and leave.
"Yes sir" Baker answered.
"Well don't just stand there what does it say."
The young man's nerves began to get the better of him again. He hesitated and stuttered as he spoke. "They found nothing in the house...The the wife and the disc are still both missing... and they...they have no leads on the...the shooters as yet."
Uncharacteristically Collins remained remarkably calm at the news." So what are they doing?" He asked hoping at least for some positive steps on the case.
"Well they are concentrating their efforts on finding the police lieutenant who was with Mrs. Fielding the last time she was seen, a lieutenant Sloan."
"Is he involved in the thefts?"
"They're not sure. They're checking his background now."
"Well let me know as soon as they report in."
"Th.. thank you sir," A slightly bewildered but relieved Baker replied and hurriedly exited the room.
Collins watched him leave. He liked the young man although he was far too easily intimidated at the moment, he would make a good agent one day. He looked at the report that had been left and placed it with the others. He was past becoming angry about this one, if it wasn't resolved soon, it would cost him and several others their jobs. Time to stop shouting and start taking charge properly himself. He picked up the case file he had been reading and started again from the beginning. There had to be something that he had missed.
Emma considered the question 'what had happened' The last couple of weeks had been such a nightmare it wasn't just one thing but several different things happening all at once. Things that she didn't really want to talk about but she knew she must. "As I told you Richard was working in Arms sales. He was basically a broker. People met with him and he helped negotiate the deals. All of the transfers took place overseas."
The more Steve was hearing about Richard's activities the less he liked it. That the man had been involved in business that was at best unethical and quite possibly illegal and that Emma had known about it made him wonder if he was doing the right thing in helping her but it was too late for such considerations. He was already involved but he needed to hear the rest of what she had to say. He could not, however, prevent himself from making a slightly bitter comment at her latest revelation. "So he could keep his hand's nice and clean eh?"
Emma heard the bitterness in the tone. She looked up at him tears once again glistening in her eyes. "I told you I didn't approve of my husband's business."
"But you were happy to live off the profits?' Steve's anger was building
She remained silent for a moment and then answered quietly. "yes."
"So what am I helping you with here? One of your husband's business deals gone bad." Steve's anger escalated further. "Is that why the NSA agents are after you." He paused his eyes widening. "My God is that why I got my best friend shot." Steve's agitation made his pallid skin flush slightly as his breathing became shallower and more rapid. "Because of some arms deal that went bad. Is that why I'm helping you?"
"No Steve Please hear me out." Here it was what she had been dreading Steve was beginning to regret helping her. "I... I would never involve you in something like that. Richard was helping the NSA. They came to him a few weeks ago and asked for his help because of his connections." She placed her hand on his shoulder "Please calm down. You have to believe me. He hadn't done anything wrong." She searched his features looking for signs that her words were taking effect. "He was trying to help them."
Steve calmed a little but his breathing would not settle. "Then why are they after you?" He asked.
"I'm not quite sure but I think they think I double crossed them. It's all so very complicated and now Richard's ....." The tears began to roll again down her cheeks. She tried again. "Richard's..." She still could not bring herself to say it. She began to sob.
Steve regretted his angry outburst. Although she had clearly buried her head in the sand about some things, he was still fairly sure that she was the victim here. As gently as he could he completed the sentence that she could not say. "He's dead isn't he?"
She looked at him through tear filled eyes and nodded before burying her head into his uninjured shoulder. He put his good arm around her and let her cry.
Amanda took a deep breath and rounded her shoulders before moving round the corner towards the room in ICU. Unlike Jesse and Mark she did not come here very often. Her patients never ended up here it was too late for them. The only times she had visited ICU was to see Steve and that had been so hard. Now she was here to visit one of her other best friends and she was finding it equally difficult if not in some ways even harder. She hated to admit it to herself but she had come to accept Steve's frequent visits to the hospital as an occupational hazard. A risk that he accepted as part of his job. She did not like to see her friend suffer or in pain but somehow it was easier to come to terms with than the thought of Jesse hurt.
He was so enthusiastic so full of energy, even the constant trials of working in the ER dealing with the pressure of life and death situations day after day could not dampen his spirit or his zest for life. Dammit, he was supposed to be the person saving lives not the one lying in the bed.
As she caught her first glimpse of him lying so still and quiet she swallowed and choked back a tear. His left arm was heavily bandaged and raised off the surface of the bed and all of the various wires and tubes that monitored his condition, provided him with vital fluids and painkillers and provided him with oxygen, only served as a reminded to her of the seriousness of his wound and how close they had come to losing him. "Oh Jesse," was all she could say as she sat down by the bed, took his right hand in hers and waited for him to wake up.
Mark and Nathan pulled into the drive of the beach house. On the way over Mark had had a lot more time to think as well as to question Nathan about the case. He did not like the conclusions that he was being forced to draw and he still had far more questions than he had answers. About the only thing he was sure about was that he had good reason to be worried about his son.
Mark spotted his convertible parked in its usual place. So Steve had definitely been here at some point. He and Nathan got out of the car and headed over to check it. Nathan put his hand on the bonnet. It was cold. "It hasn't been used for some time," he said turning to look at Mark who was examining the interior of the car.
Mark was clearly distracted by something that he had found. He took a pen from his pocket and carefully scraped something from the passenger seat. Nathan looked at him questioningly. "It's blood," Mark said grimly "and judging by the stain on the seat whoever was sitting here had quite a nasty wound." He looked up at Nathan not wanting to consider the idea that it might be Steve who was hurt, he stood and moved towards the house. "Come on let's check inside."
Emma eventually stopped crying. She pulled herself away from Steve and looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "You're right I shouldn't have got you or your friend involved."
"No," Steve replied, "I'm the one who should be sorry I should have let you finish your explanation and I shouldn't have judged you like that."
She smiled at him. "You're a good man Steve Sloan."
He started to smile back but was only partly successful as all of his muscles tensed in an involuntary shiver. He bit back a slight gasp of pain as the muscle spasm caused the throbbing ache from his shoulder to increase in intensity.
As though snapped out of a daze Emma suddenly realised that they were still sitting in the car. She had been so wrapped up in her explanation of events she had forgotten about Steve's injury. Mentally chastising herself for her lapse. She set about putting it right. "Come on we need to get you inside and I need to check that dressing."
Steve started to protest but didn't have the energy to argue. He still needed the rest of Emma's explanation as to why they were here but that could wait until they were inside. He opened the door and started to reposition himself so that he could stand. He wasn't aware of how slowly he was moving until he realised that Emma was by his side and he hadn't even made it to his feet. She helped to steady him as he stood up. He was grateful for the assistance but once he was standing he shrugged off her help. He had made it this far he was sure that he could make it into the house.
Mark knew that there was something wrong before he reached the door. It was very slightly open. He put his key away and went to push it but Nathan touched his arm. As Mark turned to look at him he saw that Nathan had taken out his gun. Silently he gestured for Mark to wait and let him go in first.
Nathan pushed open the door and stepped inside. He was met by a scene of utter devastation, the contents of drawers were scattered over the floor along with the stuffing from soft furnishings, tables chairs and lamps had been overturned and bookshelves emptied. He heard a gasp from behind as Mark entered and viewed the wreckage of his home.
Standing only a few feet in front of him was a slim elegant female figure. She turned as she heard them enter. "Ah Nathan I wondered when you would get here," she said smiling slightly at him. She switched her gaze to Mark, "and you must be Dr. Sloan. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Agent Stephanie Harris from the NSA and yes I do have a search warrant."
Amanda felt the slight twitch in Jesse's fingers first and it brought her back from her daydream. The next sign that he was waking was the rapid movement beneath his eyelids as though he was trying to force them open. "That's it Jesse," she said squeezing his hand. "Come on wake up."
Steve stumbled a couple of times as he walked slightly unsteadily from the car into the cabin. Emma had to retrieve the key from it's hiding place and open the door. She knew she needed to get Steve inside and to somewhere he could rest as soon as possible.
Steve made it through the door and half way to the couch before his knees buckled and he began to fall to the floor. Emma who had been hovering by his side did her best to support him but he was too heavy. All she could manage was to cushion his fall as he dropped to the floor.
Jesse drew in a deep breath aware that Amanda was calling his name, his eyelids fluttered open, bright light assaulting his senses as he returned to consciousness.
Steve hit the floor vaguely aware of his slow motion fall and of Emma calling his name but he could not hold on to consciousness. The blackness descended and his eyelids fluttered closed.
It had been an eventful couple of hours. Steve was not sure how he had managed to keep going but he knew that he and Emma had left a trail that would be difficult to follow. They had taken three cabs in total as well as one bus and both of them had changed clothes. Steve now wore a dark shirt and baseball cap which covered his hair completely. He had also been to the bank and withdrawn a lump sum in cash from his savings, he would not be able to safely use any cards or ATMs for some time.
The car that they were now driving had been brought for cash from one of the less salubrious dealerships. One which could be relied upon, for a price, to lose the paperwork for a couple of weeks. He had more than twenty years experience working homicide in the area so he knew exactly where to go if you did not want to be found. The cell phone sitting in his pocket had similarly been brought from an outlet where if you had the cash they didn't ask too many questions.
He guided Emma out of the city and into the hills. They turned off the main roads leaving the city traffic and prying eyes behind and drove into the woods. Eventually Steve directed her on to a side track which turned out to be the access road to a large wooden cabin.
"This belonged to a friend of my father's." Steve explained as the car approached the building.. "He died recently, my father is executor of the estate which is still in probate. So nobody should come here. We should be safe for a while " Steve realised that this was the first time since the hospital that he had taken the time to explain to her what they were doing. She had followed all of his instructions since then without question. Taking everything, taking him, completely on trust. "I doubt if more than half a dozen people know about it," he continued, "and even less know that I know about it."
Emma stopped the car and turned off the engine. "I'm sorry," She said, "about your father's friend.
"Thanks but I hardly knew him. I just drove up here with my dad when he came out with the valuers"
"Oh," said Emma not sure of what else to say.
Neither of them made a move to get out of the vehicle and a slightly awkward silence fell over them. After the purposeful rushing around of the last few hours, with the goal of getting to this point, a relatively safe location, suddenly taking the last few steps into the building seemed like an insurmountable task. Here, there was no longer the threat, the fear, that the people looking for them would suddenly appear from behind the next building, and with that loss of fear there was no longer the release of adrenaline that had been keeping them both going. So they sat in silence temporarily drained..
Steve was the first to speak. He decided that it was time to at least get some of the background on the situation he was in. So far he didn't even understand his own motives for dropping everything and risking his life and career, only the compulsion that he had to do it. Maybe if he knew more about what was going on things would make more sense.
He considered carefully how to word his first question "Emma'
"Yes"
"It's obvious that you are in a lot of trouble. I think you need to fill me in on why these people are after you."
Emma had known this would come eventually and she definitely owed Steve as full an explanation as she could manage. She sighed, "I'll try to tell you what I can but as I said the last time you asked," She turned to look him in the eye. "I'm not really sure where to start."
Steve opened his mouth to say something.
"I know, start at the beginning," she anticipated his comment and was rewarded with a smile and slight nod of agreement. She thought momentarily before continuing. "Richard and I married about four months after I returned to England and I got everything I wanted, well everything I deserved." Steve noted a slight bitter edge to this last comment but she quickly recovered, staring out into the trees as she continued. "As planned Richard went into the diplomatic service and began quite a successful career. My father's influence helped with that as well as Richard's own family connections. My life became what I had always imagined it to be. I was the perfect diplomat's wife. We went to parties, entertained, lived in various locations all over the world. For more than twenty years Richard's career went from strength to strength until..." Emma stopped speaking without really being conscious that she had, as she remembered the events that had ended here husband's career."
"Until?" Steve prompted.
She snapped back to the present "There was some sort of scandal. Weapons were being sold illegally by a British company and documents that came through the embassy had been faked. The corruption went much higher than my husband but he was the scapegoat. The sacrificial lamb to placate the foreign powers whilst the real culprits continued their careers." She turned to look at him again. " Don't get me wrong I'm not saying my husband was entirely innocent but he was the only one who lost his lifestyle, his career."
Steve returned her gaze. "Not the only one." he said meaningfully.
Emma sighed again. "Yes it was quite a blow for me too. I lost my friends, my position in society. Richard was allowed to retire quietly but even the hint of scandal can make you a social pariah in the sort of circles of English society where we mixed. After more than twenty years it is difficult to start again. It changed both of us." Emma looked away again. Steve needed to know about her background in order to understand her current predicament and she was doing her best to give him a factual account of what he needed to understand, but so much of it was linked to the deep emotional traumas of her life she was finding it difficult to hold her perspective. She paused again and took a deep breath to steady herself.
Steve sensed the difficulty she was having. "It must have been hard for you."
"Yes," she said quietly. "It changed us both," she repeated. "Changed our marriage. We began to fight a lot and then Richard...." she hesitated, tears welling in her eyes. "Richard had an affair. It almost broke us up. When I found out I was so angry." Her fists clenched with remembered emotion. "I wanted to kill him. I was , we were both going through so much and just when I needed him most..." The words trailed off again this time tears fell down her cheeks.
Steve put his hand on her arm to show his emotional support and waited patiently for her to continue.
Emma wiped the tears from her face. "I was ready to leave him but he swore to me, promised that it would never happen again. We moved out to Hong Kong made a fresh start. Richard still had some friends left with influence and he started a new career. I never really asked about the company he worked for. I was just pleased that he was working again and seemed to be happy. Hong Kong society is still full of ex-patriot Britons so we fitted in well. Until a couple of years ago when we had to move here."
Steve was intrigued by the choice of phrase. "Had to move here?" He asked.
"Yes, the new company he was working for dealt with something that my husband was uniquely qualified for; the sale of weapons. It was a legitimate company but lets say that they operated just on the right side of the law and ethics did not figure very highly on the list of company objectives. Now that the Chinese have taken over Hong Kong you have to be careful that you do not upset the wrong people. One of Richard's deals turned a little sour and the authorities were becoming somewhat hostile so the company moved him to LA." Emma shifted in the seat
but kept her gaze studiously on the outside as she continued. "I didn't approve of Richard's new choice of career but I didn't find out exactly what he was doing until we had been in Hong Kong for several years. To be honest, I hadn't really cared as long as I had my position in society, social gatherings, friends, money, the things I always wanted in my life and up until a couple of weeks ago I was.." She paused to find the right word, "content with what I had."
"You and Richard were happy together?" Steve asked. It had not escaped his notice that she kept referring to Richard in the past tense and from the way she had reacted the night before he surmised that his death had been fairly recent and was, most probably, connected to the trouble she was now in. He wanted to gain as much information as he could but he was aware that Emma was operating on a knife edge of emotion that threatened to engulf her.
"Yes, I.. that is we.. " she became tongue tied, somehow unable to get the words out as conflicting thoughts about the situation assaulted her senses. She pulled herself together.
"I loved Richard and he loved me." She returned her gaze to him. "We were happy together...." another hesitation, "at least I thought we were."
Steve stared into her dark brown eyes there was pain and grief reflected in them. He wanted to take her into his arms and comfort her, tell her that everything would be all right. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her further pain and he knew that to continue her explanation of events would do just that but he also knew that he could not help her if he did not know what had happened, so he asked the question. "So what happened to make you change your mind?"
Mark sank down into a chair as Nathan and Amanda joined him at the table. He had a feeling that he was going to need to be sitting down for the rest of this conversation.
"Do either of you know where Steve is?" Nathan asked, sitting himself.
"No, we thought he must have gone back to the station when he left here." Mark replied. "I assume by the fact that you are asking about him that he didn't"
"No, nobody seems to have seen him since this morning. We've tried both his cell phone and the beach house but get no reply."
"But hold on" Amanda said looking confused "I don't understand how Steve could be working on the murder we were both at this morning. Mark says he was called out at around two a.m." She looked to Mark for confirmation then turned back to Nathan. "As I understand it the body wasn't found until 9"
It was Nathan's turn to look confused. "Steve wasn't called out on anything this morning. In fact according to the Captain he didn't have any new active cases. That's why this whole thing is so confusing."
Mark was shocked by the news. "You're sure he wasn't called to a case?"
He got a nod of confirmation from Nathan. "In fact not only did Steve not have any new cases but he asked the Captain for the next few days off to sort out some personal problems"
The more information Mark was being given the less he understood what was going on "Then why did he go out in that storm in the middle of the night?" The question was addressed as much to himself as it was to the other two. He did not expect to get an answer.
There was a short silence whilst everyone considered the new facts they had gleaned from the conversation. Eventually Amanda asked. "So why do you think Jesse's shooting is linked to the murder inquiry?"
"The NSA," Nathan replied. "Well to be specific two NSA agents. They turned up at the station this morning to talk to Steve but they wouldn't tell anyone but him what it was about. The same two men were seen at Jesse's apartment building shortly before the shooting and before I left they turned up at the crime scene to talk to agent Harris." He turned back to Mark. "So Steve hasn't mentioned anything about any of this to you."
Mark's mind was working overtime. He was fairly sure that whatever Steve was involved in had started with the phone call last night. Steve had seemed fine in the brief time he'd seen and talked to him the previous day. He didn't always know what was bothering his son but he could usually tell when he was bottling something up. He replayed the conversations he'd had with Steve that morning. Steve had said that he wouldn't see very much of him over the next few days because he was working on a case. No, he hadn't actually said it was a case, Mark realised that he had just assumed that. He had said that something had come up and it would take several days to sort out, but what? And why would Steve keep it from him?
"Mark?" Nathan asked having waited several seconds for an answer.
"No," Mark finally replied to the question. "He didn't say anything."
Nathan took a deep breath and blew it out. "If Steve doesn't turn up soon and explain himself I'm afraid that the department will issue an APB. Steve and this woman, Emma are the only witnesses to the shooting as far as we know. Have you any idea where he might have gone?"
"Apart from back home." Mark replied "No, I can't think of anywhere."
"Then that's where I'll look first." Nathan said pushing his seat back to get up.
Mark stood too. "I'd like to come with you." He said and then he remembered where he was and why, and was torn between his concern for his son and his concern for Jesse. He wanted to be there when his young friend woke up.
Amanda recognised the conflict in his expression and squeezed his hand. "You go I'll wait with Jesse." She said softly. "I'll call you if there is any change."
"Thanks Amanda " Mark said and headed after Nathan out of the door.
They were heading out of the hospital past the front desk when one of the nurses called Mark back. "This telephone message was left for you Dr. Sloan." She said handing him a piece of paper.
Mark took it and read it and then, wordlessly, handed it to Nathan to read.
'Dad, sorry to rush off but I'm involved in something and I don't want anyone else getting hurt. I've had to borrow your car. I'll leave it at home. I'll call and explain when I can. Love you Steve."
Nathan finished reading and looked up at Mark. The message was time coded not long after the shooting.
"Given that, I doubt that he's still at home." Mark said.
"It's the only place we've got to start." Nathan replied and with that the two men hurriedly left the building.
Baker nervously entered the office of his superior. The whole operation in Malibu had turned into a complete fiasco and Baker was tired of taking the flak for it from his boss. Each new report from the field agents down there seemed to carry worse news than the last and, if that wasn't bad enough, the refusal by the LAPD captain to keep his people out of the investigation had left his boss in a worse mood than normal if that were possible. Baker wondered, not for the first time, if a foul temper was a prerequisite of the job or were there some field directors out there who were actually civil to their staff.
He had taken to typing out the updates and leaving them on his boss's desk so that at least he could be out of the room by the time he learnt about the latest negative step. This time he wasn't so lucky "Is that the latest report on the Malibu case?" Director Collins asked as Baker tried to put the report down and leave.
"Yes sir" Baker answered.
"Well don't just stand there what does it say."
The young man's nerves began to get the better of him again. He hesitated and stuttered as he spoke. "They found nothing in the house...The the wife and the disc are still both missing... and they...they have no leads on the...the shooters as yet."
Uncharacteristically Collins remained remarkably calm at the news." So what are they doing?" He asked hoping at least for some positive steps on the case.
"Well they are concentrating their efforts on finding the police lieutenant who was with Mrs. Fielding the last time she was seen, a lieutenant Sloan."
"Is he involved in the thefts?"
"They're not sure. They're checking his background now."
"Well let me know as soon as they report in."
"Th.. thank you sir," A slightly bewildered but relieved Baker replied and hurriedly exited the room.
Collins watched him leave. He liked the young man although he was far too easily intimidated at the moment, he would make a good agent one day. He looked at the report that had been left and placed it with the others. He was past becoming angry about this one, if it wasn't resolved soon, it would cost him and several others their jobs. Time to stop shouting and start taking charge properly himself. He picked up the case file he had been reading and started again from the beginning. There had to be something that he had missed.
Emma considered the question 'what had happened' The last couple of weeks had been such a nightmare it wasn't just one thing but several different things happening all at once. Things that she didn't really want to talk about but she knew she must. "As I told you Richard was working in Arms sales. He was basically a broker. People met with him and he helped negotiate the deals. All of the transfers took place overseas."
The more Steve was hearing about Richard's activities the less he liked it. That the man had been involved in business that was at best unethical and quite possibly illegal and that Emma had known about it made him wonder if he was doing the right thing in helping her but it was too late for such considerations. He was already involved but he needed to hear the rest of what she had to say. He could not, however, prevent himself from making a slightly bitter comment at her latest revelation. "So he could keep his hand's nice and clean eh?"
Emma heard the bitterness in the tone. She looked up at him tears once again glistening in her eyes. "I told you I didn't approve of my husband's business."
"But you were happy to live off the profits?' Steve's anger was building
She remained silent for a moment and then answered quietly. "yes."
"So what am I helping you with here? One of your husband's business deals gone bad." Steve's anger escalated further. "Is that why the NSA agents are after you." He paused his eyes widening. "My God is that why I got my best friend shot." Steve's agitation made his pallid skin flush slightly as his breathing became shallower and more rapid. "Because of some arms deal that went bad. Is that why I'm helping you?"
"No Steve Please hear me out." Here it was what she had been dreading Steve was beginning to regret helping her. "I... I would never involve you in something like that. Richard was helping the NSA. They came to him a few weeks ago and asked for his help because of his connections." She placed her hand on his shoulder "Please calm down. You have to believe me. He hadn't done anything wrong." She searched his features looking for signs that her words were taking effect. "He was trying to help them."
Steve calmed a little but his breathing would not settle. "Then why are they after you?" He asked.
"I'm not quite sure but I think they think I double crossed them. It's all so very complicated and now Richard's ....." The tears began to roll again down her cheeks. She tried again. "Richard's..." She still could not bring herself to say it. She began to sob.
Steve regretted his angry outburst. Although she had clearly buried her head in the sand about some things, he was still fairly sure that she was the victim here. As gently as he could he completed the sentence that she could not say. "He's dead isn't he?"
She looked at him through tear filled eyes and nodded before burying her head into his uninjured shoulder. He put his good arm around her and let her cry.
Amanda took a deep breath and rounded her shoulders before moving round the corner towards the room in ICU. Unlike Jesse and Mark she did not come here very often. Her patients never ended up here it was too late for them. The only times she had visited ICU was to see Steve and that had been so hard. Now she was here to visit one of her other best friends and she was finding it equally difficult if not in some ways even harder. She hated to admit it to herself but she had come to accept Steve's frequent visits to the hospital as an occupational hazard. A risk that he accepted as part of his job. She did not like to see her friend suffer or in pain but somehow it was easier to come to terms with than the thought of Jesse hurt.
He was so enthusiastic so full of energy, even the constant trials of working in the ER dealing with the pressure of life and death situations day after day could not dampen his spirit or his zest for life. Dammit, he was supposed to be the person saving lives not the one lying in the bed.
As she caught her first glimpse of him lying so still and quiet she swallowed and choked back a tear. His left arm was heavily bandaged and raised off the surface of the bed and all of the various wires and tubes that monitored his condition, provided him with vital fluids and painkillers and provided him with oxygen, only served as a reminded to her of the seriousness of his wound and how close they had come to losing him. "Oh Jesse," was all she could say as she sat down by the bed, took his right hand in hers and waited for him to wake up.
Mark and Nathan pulled into the drive of the beach house. On the way over Mark had had a lot more time to think as well as to question Nathan about the case. He did not like the conclusions that he was being forced to draw and he still had far more questions than he had answers. About the only thing he was sure about was that he had good reason to be worried about his son.
Mark spotted his convertible parked in its usual place. So Steve had definitely been here at some point. He and Nathan got out of the car and headed over to check it. Nathan put his hand on the bonnet. It was cold. "It hasn't been used for some time," he said turning to look at Mark who was examining the interior of the car.
Mark was clearly distracted by something that he had found. He took a pen from his pocket and carefully scraped something from the passenger seat. Nathan looked at him questioningly. "It's blood," Mark said grimly "and judging by the stain on the seat whoever was sitting here had quite a nasty wound." He looked up at Nathan not wanting to consider the idea that it might be Steve who was hurt, he stood and moved towards the house. "Come on let's check inside."
Emma eventually stopped crying. She pulled herself away from Steve and looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "You're right I shouldn't have got you or your friend involved."
"No," Steve replied, "I'm the one who should be sorry I should have let you finish your explanation and I shouldn't have judged you like that."
She smiled at him. "You're a good man Steve Sloan."
He started to smile back but was only partly successful as all of his muscles tensed in an involuntary shiver. He bit back a slight gasp of pain as the muscle spasm caused the throbbing ache from his shoulder to increase in intensity.
As though snapped out of a daze Emma suddenly realised that they were still sitting in the car. She had been so wrapped up in her explanation of events she had forgotten about Steve's injury. Mentally chastising herself for her lapse. She set about putting it right. "Come on we need to get you inside and I need to check that dressing."
Steve started to protest but didn't have the energy to argue. He still needed the rest of Emma's explanation as to why they were here but that could wait until they were inside. He opened the door and started to reposition himself so that he could stand. He wasn't aware of how slowly he was moving until he realised that Emma was by his side and he hadn't even made it to his feet. She helped to steady him as he stood up. He was grateful for the assistance but once he was standing he shrugged off her help. He had made it this far he was sure that he could make it into the house.
Mark knew that there was something wrong before he reached the door. It was very slightly open. He put his key away and went to push it but Nathan touched his arm. As Mark turned to look at him he saw that Nathan had taken out his gun. Silently he gestured for Mark to wait and let him go in first.
Nathan pushed open the door and stepped inside. He was met by a scene of utter devastation, the contents of drawers were scattered over the floor along with the stuffing from soft furnishings, tables chairs and lamps had been overturned and bookshelves emptied. He heard a gasp from behind as Mark entered and viewed the wreckage of his home.
Standing only a few feet in front of him was a slim elegant female figure. She turned as she heard them enter. "Ah Nathan I wondered when you would get here," she said smiling slightly at him. She switched her gaze to Mark, "and you must be Dr. Sloan. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Agent Stephanie Harris from the NSA and yes I do have a search warrant."
Amanda felt the slight twitch in Jesse's fingers first and it brought her back from her daydream. The next sign that he was waking was the rapid movement beneath his eyelids as though he was trying to force them open. "That's it Jesse," she said squeezing his hand. "Come on wake up."
Steve stumbled a couple of times as he walked slightly unsteadily from the car into the cabin. Emma had to retrieve the key from it's hiding place and open the door. She knew she needed to get Steve inside and to somewhere he could rest as soon as possible.
Steve made it through the door and half way to the couch before his knees buckled and he began to fall to the floor. Emma who had been hovering by his side did her best to support him but he was too heavy. All she could manage was to cushion his fall as he dropped to the floor.
Jesse drew in a deep breath aware that Amanda was calling his name, his eyelids fluttered open, bright light assaulting his senses as he returned to consciousness.
Steve hit the floor vaguely aware of his slow motion fall and of Emma calling his name but he could not hold on to consciousness. The blackness descended and his eyelids fluttered closed.