Part 23 The Hunt.
Both Mark and Emma went to freshen up before leaving to check out the Marina.. Mark did not like leaving Steve on his own but there was no indication that there was anything wrong and he could not let Emma go alone. Neither would they be able to sort this out and get into a position where he could get Steve to a hospital if he remained sitting around the cabin.
Explaining that to Steve however was not going to be easy.
Mark had to wake him up to change the dressing on the wound before they left, since he did not know how long they would be gone for. Once he had completed that task he sat down to explain to his son what he had found out from Emma and where they were going to go.
"I'm feeling much better," Steve said, sitting up in an attempt to prove it. Ignoring the pain as his shoulder protested the movement he managed to cover any reaction to it. Although his movements were stiff. "I'll go with her. You stay here."
Mark had known this was how Steve would react and part of him lamented not being able to leave him asleep, with a note next to him saying where he had gone. "Steve you are in no condition..."
"But dad it could be dangerous," Steve interrupted. "If the people who shot at Jesse and me are watching this boat.."
"Which is precisely why you are in no fit state to go. If there was trouble you are barely up to walking let alone running. Need I remind you that you have an open wound in your shoulder." Mark said reasonably
Steve was not about to listen to rational argument, not where his father's safety was concerned. "Look I'm fine," he said, pushing himself to his feet. In his eagerness to prove to his father that he was OK, he stood far more quickly than his abused body would allow.
"Steve," Mark shouted as Steve could not hold his balance and began to drop back. Mark managed to get enough of a hold to lower him gently back down. Damn, his son could be stubborn sometimes.
"I'm OK," Steve protested weakly. "I just stood up too quickly."
"Steve," his father said in an exacerbated tone. "Will you look at yourself. You're still in pain and you can barely stand. Please let me do this. You still need to rest."
Steve waited for the room to stop spinning before he replied finally defeated. "OK but you have to promise me that at even the slightest sign of trouble..."
"Then I will get straight out of there." Mark replied.
"You'd better take my gun just in case," Steve suggested, not wanting his father to go into a potentially dangerous situation unarmed.
Mark looked across at it, but shook his head. "It wouldn't be any use. You know I wouldn't be able to use it." It was true, on the very rare occasions when the situation had called for Mark to hold a weapon on somebody as a threat, he had been glad that his bluff had never been called as he doubted whether he could have pulled the trigger.
"Emma then?" Steve suggested, but she shook her head remembering all too well the incident in the shopping mall. She was unwilling to face that again.
"No, you keep it just in case anyone comes here. We'll be fine" Emma replied smiling.
Mark moved the coffee table closer. "There is everything you need here." He pointed at the assortment of food, drinks and painkillers that he and Emma had assembled within easy reach for him. "And the cell phone is there in case you have problems"
Steve looked at the table. "How long you planning to leave me here for, a month?" He asked, noting that his father had once again overdone the 'making sure his son had everything he needed' routine.
Mark smiled, at least Steve had maintained his sense of humour. "We'll be back as soon as we can." he replied. "In the mean time you get some rest."
"Guess that's all I can do," Steve replied settling back down. He allowed his father to almost reach the door before he called him "Dad," he waited for him to turn. "Be careful."
Mark simply nodded and then followed Emma out of the door.
Collin's sat at Baker's bedside watching the ventilator that was keeping his young colleague alive move up and down. Dammit why had he got the kid involved at all? If only he'd followed instructions and come straight from the office to the hotel, he would be fine now instead of fighting for his life. He punched the arm of the chair he was sitting at in frustration.
The young Agent had been struck from behind with a blunt object with enough force to fracture his skull. Whoever had done it hadn't cared whether he lived or died.
When Baker was over two hours late reporting in, Collins had had an alert put out for anyone matching his description through the LAPD. A sharp eyed officer had matched it to a John Doe brought in with head injuries and Collins had arrived at the hospital in the early hours of the morning, confirming the identity of the agent and using his position to get a full report.
Realising that Baker had been found close to Dobbs' apartment he had arranged for an anonymous tip off to get the local agents to check Dobbs' place out. By dawn they had confirmed that Dobbs had gone.
Collins had remained at the hospital. He was used to ordering agents into potentially dangerous situations and some of them got hurt, even killed, but somehow this seemed more personal. He let out a deep sigh and looked up at the early morning light coming in through the window. He would have to leave soon and help sort out the fallout that a rogue agent in one of the offices would cause, but not yet.
He would allow himself a little while longer to sit in the peace of the early morning and pray that, whatever else happened, the young man in front of him would not die.
Amanda got to the hospital early. She wanted to give Jesse the good news about Mark and Steve as soon as possible and besides, she wanted to spend a little time with him before she had to go and work. She had been somewhat neglecting her duties over the last couple of days and, now that she knew her friends were all right, she was determined to make it up to the people who had been helping cover for her.
Alison arrived shortly after Amanda did and, much to Jesse's delight, she brought breakfast with her, including fresh coffee.
Jesse had already been smiling broadly at the good news that Amanda had given him. Now he broke into an even wider grin. "Coffee thanks, the stuff they serve to patients in here tastes like dishwater."
Alison handed it over along with the bag of food. "It's decaff of course," she said, smiling at Amanda and then back at Jesse. "I don't think you need any stimulants at the moment, if ever."
"Hey I can't help my natural perkiness." Jesse replied. "It goes along with my boyish good looks."
Alison sat down and the three of them chatted happily until Amanda got a page from Nathan. When she returned from taking the call she was smiling again. "Well it looks like we all might be closer to wrapping this thing up. One of the NSA agents working on the case has dropped out of sight. It looks like he may have been involved all along."
"Which one?" Jesse asked.
"Agent Dobbs." Amanda answered, "Now let's just hope Mark gets in touch so we can give him the good news and maybe get him and Steve back with us."
Nathan followed Stephanie into the NSA offices. She had been very cooperative since they had met up over a couple of hours ago and Nathan got the impression that she was highly embarrassed that it was one of the NSA's own who had been involved all along. Together they had worked through everything that had happened and it looked like they could almost wrap the whole case up with everything neatly laid at Dobbs' door. He had had the means and opportunity to kill Agent Carlson and indeed even Richard Fielding.
He hadn't actually picked Steele up to respond to the anonymous tip and go after Emma until shortly after the time Amanda had estimated that the last cut was inflicted on Fielding. So he did not have an alibi for either killing.
Steele was sitting working at Dobbs' computer when they got inside. He turned to look at them as they entered and raised one eyebrow slightly at the presence of a police detective but said nothing.
Stephanie moved over to him. "So have you figured out what he was working on before he left last night?" She asked leaning against the desk next to the screen.
Steele remained seated but looked up at her. "From what I can tell he was checking into the Sloan's background again. Looking at known associates and any property they owned and, trust me, given the amount of time Dr. Mark Sloan has been at the top of his profession that is a very long list."
"Still he must have figured that he had found something." Nathan stated. He had moved to stand behind the desk so that Steele had to look over the screen to see him and Stephanie had to turn round. They both looked at him questioningly.
"Well why else choose now to disappear?" Nathan asked rhetorically. "Unless he thought he had figured out where Steve had taken Emma. Up to now he's been playing it very cool and he wasn't under any obvious threat. So why else would he choose now to expose himself? Unless he thought he had a lead on Emma and the missing files."
Stephanie turned back to look at Steele waiting for his opinion.
Steele shrugged. "I guess it makes sense."
"In that case we need to figure out exactly where he has gone and quickly." Stephanie said. "He's got several hours head start on us and I don't rate Mrs. Fielding's or the Sloans' chances if he finds them. He's already killed two people that we know of."
"I'll keep looking here." Steele suggested turning his attention back to the computer.
"And I'll get back to the hospital and see if Amanda or Jesse can come up with anything. They know Mark and Steve better than anyone else."
"I'll come with you," Stephanie said moving after Nathan who was already heading for the door. "Keep me posted if you come up with anything." she said, turning back towards Steele as she continued walking and then she was gone through the door.
Emma and Mark arrived at the Marina almost an hour after leaving Steve and for most of that time Mark had been worrying about his son. Not that he had much to worry about now, he tried to reassure himself. Steve's temperature was almost back to normal, with his wound showing signs of improvement and he was safely back at the cabin. As long as no one knew he was there then he would be perfectly safe.
He pulled his thoughts back to his own situation as Emma pulled the car into the parking lot and maneuvered into a space. Their first priority was to try to ensure that no one was watching the boat before they approached it. So they moved to a position where they got a view of as much of the Marina as possible and then simply stood and watched, looking for anything unusual. In fact looking for anyone behaving like they were!
Eventually they decided that if there was anything to be seen then they weren't going to spot it and they headed down towards the boat.
Amanda pulled up at the edge of the cordoned off area and climbed out of her car, pausing to put on her jacket and collect her bag she looked around for the officer she had been told would meet her at the scene.
The young man in question was already on his way over to meet her accompanied by another man in his mid 30's wearing a hard hat and luminous jacket. "Hi," he said smiling and shaking her hand. "Officer Watts and this is Marlon Reece, site manager, he found the body."
"Dr. Amanda Bentley," Amanda returned both the introduction and the handshake.
"Mr. Reece here is going to guide us in." Officer Watts said gesturing for Amanda to follow as they ducked under the tape barrier and headed towards the building.
Amanda had been paged to come out to this murder scene about half an hour earlier and had reluctantly left Alison and Jesse to finish breakfast and start checking on the background of Agent Dobbs. She had been preoccupied thinking about Mark and Steve on the way over, hoping that they would call again soon, but, having arrived at the scene, ever the professional, she focused her mind on the situation at hand.
She was handed a hard hat to put on and couldn't help but notice all of the 'Danger' and 'Condemned' signs that became more dense as they approached the building.
"We were about to bring the entire place down. The whole thing is rigged with explosives," Reece explained.
"If they had blown them then it's doubtful that the body would have been found until the site was cleared, if then," Officer Watts added as they entered the building.
"It's through here," Reece indicated a door to another room.
Amanda noticed that some of the internal walls had been removed and explosives were packed around the pillars that had been left to support the floors above.
"I was doing my final checks to make sure that the building was clear and noticed some carpet that I just didn't remember being there." Reece continued, talking as he led them deeper into the building. "Whoever put it there had done their best to make sure it wouldn't be noticed, They had even gone to the trouble of covering it in a layer of dust."
"I've been in the room already," Watts confirmed, "And if Mr. Reece here hadn't pointed it out to me. I wouldn't have noticed anything out of place."
"I don't suppose I would have spotted it either if I hadn't rigged the explosives in that room, so I was in there at least an hour only yesterday."
Finally they entered the room containing the body. Amanda was a little relieved as all of the explosives around were making her feel distinctly nervous
"As soon as I realised what it was I didn't touch anything else I just called you people in." Reece stated.
"Well you did the right thing," Amanda said smiling at him. "Thank you for all your help. Mr. Reece." She then made her way over to the carpeted mass on the floor.
Nathan and Stephanie arrived in Jesse's room. They had been disappointed to find that Amanda was out on a call but at least Jesse was alert and awake and might be able to help them. Jesse was alone, since Alison had succumbed to his little boy lost look and had gone to find him some more decent coffee on the understanding that it would have to be decaff. . Nathan updated Jesse on why they were there.
"So you think there's a real chance that Dobbs has gone after Steve and Mark?" Jesse asked his eyes widening as Nathan finished his explanation.
"If they're both with Mrs. Fielding then yes." Stephanie replied. "It's still our belief, and so presumably his, that Mrs. Fielding knows where the missing files are hidden. Remember they are worth a fortune to whoever has them."
"So if you can come up with anything that might help us figure out where they might be." Nathan continued. "As I said the last thing Dobbs was looking at was Mark and Steve's acquaintances and friend's and any property they own. If you could think of anything like that that they may have mentioned, anyone you know who owns property that they don't or aren't living in?" Nathan looked at Jesse, not encouraged by his blank but somber expression. He shook his head.
"No sorry, I am sure there are plenty but none that I can remember Steve or Mark telling me about." Jesse said frowning, there was something in his mind that was vying for attention, something someone had said to him but he couldn't quite pin the memory down.
"Yes there's a long list we were just hoping you could help narrow it down for us. Are you sure you don't own a cabin in the woods that you aren't owning up to for tax purposes Jess?" Nathan asked half joking, half out of desperation for some sort of lead as time ticked on.
That was it! The word 'cabin' triggered a flood of memory in Jesse's mind. He remembered the call that he'd taken still in a half drugged state the day before. "My God," he blurted out excitedly
"Hey I was only joking," Nathan said worried by Jesse's suddenly agitated state.
"No, you don't understand," Jesse could barely get the words out quickly enough. "I think I know where they are." And he went on to describe the telephone conversation.
Nathan took out his cell phone. "I'll call it in and we'll get an address."
"You can do that on the way," Stephanie said stepping back quickly. In her haste she didn't notice Jesse's IV stand directly behind her and knocked it to the floor. "I'm sorry," she said apologetically bending to pick it up. "I hope I haven't caused any damage."
"No, it's fine," Jesse said . "Now get out of here."
Neither Stephanie or Nathan needed telling twice as they rushed out of the door.
Emma and Mark entered the Marina cautiously, still on the look out for any sign that there was anyone watching them or the boat, whilst trying to behave as naturally as possible. It wasn't easy and by the time they actually arrived at the correct slip both of them had racing hearts and quickened breathing.
Mark climbed on to the deck first and moved cautiously towards the door to the cabin. He pushed it gently and to his surprise it opened. He would not need the key that Emma had retrieved for him. Even more cautious now, he pushed the door wide enough to enter and stepped inside.
The loud gasp that he let out made Emma rush forwards to see what he had found. Mark stepped into the room so that she could get a look as he looked around in dismay. The inside of the boat was in exactly the same state as the beach house; every surface had been emptied, every drawer turned out, all of the soft furnishings ripped apart.
A tear formed in Mark's eye as the sight bought back the painful memories of his wrecked home, something that would still have to be dealt with, and his heart sank as he realised that if the disc with the missing files had been here, then by now it was in the hands of whoever had trashed the place and with it their chances of bringing this case to a successful conclusion diminished considerably.
Steve heard the car drawing up outside. He checked the clock on the wall. His father and Emma couldn't possibly be back from the Marina yet. He carefully reached for the gun from the table, thankful that, since he was left handed, it was his right shoulder that was injured.
He stood slowly, remembering his earlier mistake and headed cautiously for the window, standing in much the same position as his father had the day before, but unlike his father Steve held his gun easily as one who was long practiced and comfortable with it. The car drew to a stop and Steve muscles tensed, from the make of car he knew it was definitely not his father. He waited for the doors to open.
Alison reentered the room with two insulated cups and found a nurse attending to Jesse. "I'm sorry I'll come back," she said.
"No come in," Jesse said quickly. "It's not a problem. My IV line just got knocked out and it needs fixing, besides, detective Turner and Agent Harris were just here and I've got lots to tell you."
Alison carried on in to the room as the nurse excused herself to get a fresh dressing and sat down whilst Jesse filled her in on the latest developments.
By the time the nurse came back to reattach the drip Alison already had the computer powered up and was checking the location of the Van Heus cabin.
Steve relaxed a little as he recognised Nathan Turner getting out of the car, well if he had to be tracked down by someone, then at least it was a friendly face, but he did not recognise the extremely attractive young woman who seemed to glide out of the other side of the car. Probably someone from internal affairs. Steve grimaced at the thought of the questions he would have to answer at the hands of IA. Still, at least he would have a pleasant view whilst he was answering them and he was thankful that his father and Emma were not there. Maybe he could find some way to warn them not to come back to the cabin.
He moved over to the table and picked up the cell phone and slipped it into his pocket and then headed for the door to let the officers in. Steve pulled the door open slightly and called out, knowing that both of the people outside would have their weapons trained on him, and not wishing to startle one of them into firing. He had put his own weapon down on the table when he had retrieved the phone.
"It's lieutenant Steve Sloan. I'm alone and unarmed," Steve called out in a loud even voice. "I'm opening the door." Steve stepped out.
Nathan and Stephanie kept their guns trained on him. "Not that I don't want to believe you," Nathan said looking at his normally fit and tanned colleague who somehow looked slightly stooped and pale. "but there could be someone inside who's got you covered."
"I understand," Steve said, as the woman with Nathan moved over cautiously and then past him into the cabin, gun in front of her she efficiently checked all of the rooms for anyone hiding inside.
"It's clear," she said dropping her gun to her side having checked the last room.
"If you don't mind," Steve said, "I need to sit down." He made his way back to the couch and sank down gratefully on to it. Even standing for that brief period had exhausted him.
Amanda pulled back the tarpaulin. The body was lying face down although from what she could see it was definitely a heavy set male and not very young. There was a huge exit wound in the back of the skull She checked for a pulse but the size of the wound and temperature of the skin told her she was wasting her time. Happy that she would be able to declare him dead at the scene, she rolled the body over slightly so that she could get a look at the face and gasped in shock.
The young police officer looked at her. "Hey aren't you the Medical Examiner? I would have thought that you had seen someone shot in the head before." He said misinterpreting Amanda's reaction.
Staring back up at her with soulless eyes and a neat bullet hole between them was the face of agent Dobbs.
Recovering from the shock, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Nathan's number but there was no answer.
Nathan felt the impact briefly as pain exploded in his head moments before everything went black.
Steve watched in horror unable to get a warning out quickly enough as the woman with Nathan struck him visciously over the back of the head and he dropped to the floor unconscious before he hit the ground. She then turned the gun round and leveled it at Steve's chest.
"Good morning lieutenant Sloan, since Detective Turner here didn't get around to introductions allow me to introduce myself." Stephanie said in a polite tone completely incongruous with the circumstances. "My name is Stephanie Harris." She looked down at Nathan's prone form, "and I believe I just retired from the NSA."
Nathan's cell phone began to ring.
Getting no answer Amanda finally hung up and rang the beach house number, knowing that it would be diverted to Jesse's room. It was quicker than going through the hospital switchboard.
A rather frantic Alison answered the phone. "Amanda, I'm sorry I can't really talk," she said as Amanda identified herself. "It's Jesse, he passed out about five minutes ago and he's struggling to breathe." Alison moved out of the way as another nurse pushed past placing an oxygen mask over Jesse's face as he fought for each breath.
Amanda put two and two together instantly. "Alison," she almost shouted, "Don't hang up I know what's wrong. Pull the IV line out of his arm right now and put the doctor on and don't take no for an answer or Jesse could die."
Alison moved back over to the bed and yanked the IV line from Jesse's arm.
"What the hell...." the doctor who was working on Jesse said but Alison did not give him time to finish.
"Take this call," Alison said authoritatively. "It's Dr. Bentley, she knows what's wrong." She held out the phone." If you don't he'll die," She repeated Amanda's words hoping that they would have the same effect on the doctor as they had on her.
They did. He took the phone. Amanda prayed that her diagnosis was not too late.
"Now lieutenant perhaps you'd like to tell me the location of Mrs. Fielding and your father," Stephanie said. "Or shall I just shoot you and wait for them to return."
Both Mark and Emma went to freshen up before leaving to check out the Marina.. Mark did not like leaving Steve on his own but there was no indication that there was anything wrong and he could not let Emma go alone. Neither would they be able to sort this out and get into a position where he could get Steve to a hospital if he remained sitting around the cabin.
Explaining that to Steve however was not going to be easy.
Mark had to wake him up to change the dressing on the wound before they left, since he did not know how long they would be gone for. Once he had completed that task he sat down to explain to his son what he had found out from Emma and where they were going to go.
"I'm feeling much better," Steve said, sitting up in an attempt to prove it. Ignoring the pain as his shoulder protested the movement he managed to cover any reaction to it. Although his movements were stiff. "I'll go with her. You stay here."
Mark had known this was how Steve would react and part of him lamented not being able to leave him asleep, with a note next to him saying where he had gone. "Steve you are in no condition..."
"But dad it could be dangerous," Steve interrupted. "If the people who shot at Jesse and me are watching this boat.."
"Which is precisely why you are in no fit state to go. If there was trouble you are barely up to walking let alone running. Need I remind you that you have an open wound in your shoulder." Mark said reasonably
Steve was not about to listen to rational argument, not where his father's safety was concerned. "Look I'm fine," he said, pushing himself to his feet. In his eagerness to prove to his father that he was OK, he stood far more quickly than his abused body would allow.
"Steve," Mark shouted as Steve could not hold his balance and began to drop back. Mark managed to get enough of a hold to lower him gently back down. Damn, his son could be stubborn sometimes.
"I'm OK," Steve protested weakly. "I just stood up too quickly."
"Steve," his father said in an exacerbated tone. "Will you look at yourself. You're still in pain and you can barely stand. Please let me do this. You still need to rest."
Steve waited for the room to stop spinning before he replied finally defeated. "OK but you have to promise me that at even the slightest sign of trouble..."
"Then I will get straight out of there." Mark replied.
"You'd better take my gun just in case," Steve suggested, not wanting his father to go into a potentially dangerous situation unarmed.
Mark looked across at it, but shook his head. "It wouldn't be any use. You know I wouldn't be able to use it." It was true, on the very rare occasions when the situation had called for Mark to hold a weapon on somebody as a threat, he had been glad that his bluff had never been called as he doubted whether he could have pulled the trigger.
"Emma then?" Steve suggested, but she shook her head remembering all too well the incident in the shopping mall. She was unwilling to face that again.
"No, you keep it just in case anyone comes here. We'll be fine" Emma replied smiling.
Mark moved the coffee table closer. "There is everything you need here." He pointed at the assortment of food, drinks and painkillers that he and Emma had assembled within easy reach for him. "And the cell phone is there in case you have problems"
Steve looked at the table. "How long you planning to leave me here for, a month?" He asked, noting that his father had once again overdone the 'making sure his son had everything he needed' routine.
Mark smiled, at least Steve had maintained his sense of humour. "We'll be back as soon as we can." he replied. "In the mean time you get some rest."
"Guess that's all I can do," Steve replied settling back down. He allowed his father to almost reach the door before he called him "Dad," he waited for him to turn. "Be careful."
Mark simply nodded and then followed Emma out of the door.
Collin's sat at Baker's bedside watching the ventilator that was keeping his young colleague alive move up and down. Dammit why had he got the kid involved at all? If only he'd followed instructions and come straight from the office to the hotel, he would be fine now instead of fighting for his life. He punched the arm of the chair he was sitting at in frustration.
The young Agent had been struck from behind with a blunt object with enough force to fracture his skull. Whoever had done it hadn't cared whether he lived or died.
When Baker was over two hours late reporting in, Collins had had an alert put out for anyone matching his description through the LAPD. A sharp eyed officer had matched it to a John Doe brought in with head injuries and Collins had arrived at the hospital in the early hours of the morning, confirming the identity of the agent and using his position to get a full report.
Realising that Baker had been found close to Dobbs' apartment he had arranged for an anonymous tip off to get the local agents to check Dobbs' place out. By dawn they had confirmed that Dobbs had gone.
Collins had remained at the hospital. He was used to ordering agents into potentially dangerous situations and some of them got hurt, even killed, but somehow this seemed more personal. He let out a deep sigh and looked up at the early morning light coming in through the window. He would have to leave soon and help sort out the fallout that a rogue agent in one of the offices would cause, but not yet.
He would allow himself a little while longer to sit in the peace of the early morning and pray that, whatever else happened, the young man in front of him would not die.
Amanda got to the hospital early. She wanted to give Jesse the good news about Mark and Steve as soon as possible and besides, she wanted to spend a little time with him before she had to go and work. She had been somewhat neglecting her duties over the last couple of days and, now that she knew her friends were all right, she was determined to make it up to the people who had been helping cover for her.
Alison arrived shortly after Amanda did and, much to Jesse's delight, she brought breakfast with her, including fresh coffee.
Jesse had already been smiling broadly at the good news that Amanda had given him. Now he broke into an even wider grin. "Coffee thanks, the stuff they serve to patients in here tastes like dishwater."
Alison handed it over along with the bag of food. "It's decaff of course," she said, smiling at Amanda and then back at Jesse. "I don't think you need any stimulants at the moment, if ever."
"Hey I can't help my natural perkiness." Jesse replied. "It goes along with my boyish good looks."
Alison sat down and the three of them chatted happily until Amanda got a page from Nathan. When she returned from taking the call she was smiling again. "Well it looks like we all might be closer to wrapping this thing up. One of the NSA agents working on the case has dropped out of sight. It looks like he may have been involved all along."
"Which one?" Jesse asked.
"Agent Dobbs." Amanda answered, "Now let's just hope Mark gets in touch so we can give him the good news and maybe get him and Steve back with us."
Nathan followed Stephanie into the NSA offices. She had been very cooperative since they had met up over a couple of hours ago and Nathan got the impression that she was highly embarrassed that it was one of the NSA's own who had been involved all along. Together they had worked through everything that had happened and it looked like they could almost wrap the whole case up with everything neatly laid at Dobbs' door. He had had the means and opportunity to kill Agent Carlson and indeed even Richard Fielding.
He hadn't actually picked Steele up to respond to the anonymous tip and go after Emma until shortly after the time Amanda had estimated that the last cut was inflicted on Fielding. So he did not have an alibi for either killing.
Steele was sitting working at Dobbs' computer when they got inside. He turned to look at them as they entered and raised one eyebrow slightly at the presence of a police detective but said nothing.
Stephanie moved over to him. "So have you figured out what he was working on before he left last night?" She asked leaning against the desk next to the screen.
Steele remained seated but looked up at her. "From what I can tell he was checking into the Sloan's background again. Looking at known associates and any property they owned and, trust me, given the amount of time Dr. Mark Sloan has been at the top of his profession that is a very long list."
"Still he must have figured that he had found something." Nathan stated. He had moved to stand behind the desk so that Steele had to look over the screen to see him and Stephanie had to turn round. They both looked at him questioningly.
"Well why else choose now to disappear?" Nathan asked rhetorically. "Unless he thought he had figured out where Steve had taken Emma. Up to now he's been playing it very cool and he wasn't under any obvious threat. So why else would he choose now to expose himself? Unless he thought he had a lead on Emma and the missing files."
Stephanie turned back to look at Steele waiting for his opinion.
Steele shrugged. "I guess it makes sense."
"In that case we need to figure out exactly where he has gone and quickly." Stephanie said. "He's got several hours head start on us and I don't rate Mrs. Fielding's or the Sloans' chances if he finds them. He's already killed two people that we know of."
"I'll keep looking here." Steele suggested turning his attention back to the computer.
"And I'll get back to the hospital and see if Amanda or Jesse can come up with anything. They know Mark and Steve better than anyone else."
"I'll come with you," Stephanie said moving after Nathan who was already heading for the door. "Keep me posted if you come up with anything." she said, turning back towards Steele as she continued walking and then she was gone through the door.
Emma and Mark arrived at the Marina almost an hour after leaving Steve and for most of that time Mark had been worrying about his son. Not that he had much to worry about now, he tried to reassure himself. Steve's temperature was almost back to normal, with his wound showing signs of improvement and he was safely back at the cabin. As long as no one knew he was there then he would be perfectly safe.
He pulled his thoughts back to his own situation as Emma pulled the car into the parking lot and maneuvered into a space. Their first priority was to try to ensure that no one was watching the boat before they approached it. So they moved to a position where they got a view of as much of the Marina as possible and then simply stood and watched, looking for anything unusual. In fact looking for anyone behaving like they were!
Eventually they decided that if there was anything to be seen then they weren't going to spot it and they headed down towards the boat.
Amanda pulled up at the edge of the cordoned off area and climbed out of her car, pausing to put on her jacket and collect her bag she looked around for the officer she had been told would meet her at the scene.
The young man in question was already on his way over to meet her accompanied by another man in his mid 30's wearing a hard hat and luminous jacket. "Hi," he said smiling and shaking her hand. "Officer Watts and this is Marlon Reece, site manager, he found the body."
"Dr. Amanda Bentley," Amanda returned both the introduction and the handshake.
"Mr. Reece here is going to guide us in." Officer Watts said gesturing for Amanda to follow as they ducked under the tape barrier and headed towards the building.
Amanda had been paged to come out to this murder scene about half an hour earlier and had reluctantly left Alison and Jesse to finish breakfast and start checking on the background of Agent Dobbs. She had been preoccupied thinking about Mark and Steve on the way over, hoping that they would call again soon, but, having arrived at the scene, ever the professional, she focused her mind on the situation at hand.
She was handed a hard hat to put on and couldn't help but notice all of the 'Danger' and 'Condemned' signs that became more dense as they approached the building.
"We were about to bring the entire place down. The whole thing is rigged with explosives," Reece explained.
"If they had blown them then it's doubtful that the body would have been found until the site was cleared, if then," Officer Watts added as they entered the building.
"It's through here," Reece indicated a door to another room.
Amanda noticed that some of the internal walls had been removed and explosives were packed around the pillars that had been left to support the floors above.
"I was doing my final checks to make sure that the building was clear and noticed some carpet that I just didn't remember being there." Reece continued, talking as he led them deeper into the building. "Whoever put it there had done their best to make sure it wouldn't be noticed, They had even gone to the trouble of covering it in a layer of dust."
"I've been in the room already," Watts confirmed, "And if Mr. Reece here hadn't pointed it out to me. I wouldn't have noticed anything out of place."
"I don't suppose I would have spotted it either if I hadn't rigged the explosives in that room, so I was in there at least an hour only yesterday."
Finally they entered the room containing the body. Amanda was a little relieved as all of the explosives around were making her feel distinctly nervous
"As soon as I realised what it was I didn't touch anything else I just called you people in." Reece stated.
"Well you did the right thing," Amanda said smiling at him. "Thank you for all your help. Mr. Reece." She then made her way over to the carpeted mass on the floor.
Nathan and Stephanie arrived in Jesse's room. They had been disappointed to find that Amanda was out on a call but at least Jesse was alert and awake and might be able to help them. Jesse was alone, since Alison had succumbed to his little boy lost look and had gone to find him some more decent coffee on the understanding that it would have to be decaff. . Nathan updated Jesse on why they were there.
"So you think there's a real chance that Dobbs has gone after Steve and Mark?" Jesse asked his eyes widening as Nathan finished his explanation.
"If they're both with Mrs. Fielding then yes." Stephanie replied. "It's still our belief, and so presumably his, that Mrs. Fielding knows where the missing files are hidden. Remember they are worth a fortune to whoever has them."
"So if you can come up with anything that might help us figure out where they might be." Nathan continued. "As I said the last thing Dobbs was looking at was Mark and Steve's acquaintances and friend's and any property they own. If you could think of anything like that that they may have mentioned, anyone you know who owns property that they don't or aren't living in?" Nathan looked at Jesse, not encouraged by his blank but somber expression. He shook his head.
"No sorry, I am sure there are plenty but none that I can remember Steve or Mark telling me about." Jesse said frowning, there was something in his mind that was vying for attention, something someone had said to him but he couldn't quite pin the memory down.
"Yes there's a long list we were just hoping you could help narrow it down for us. Are you sure you don't own a cabin in the woods that you aren't owning up to for tax purposes Jess?" Nathan asked half joking, half out of desperation for some sort of lead as time ticked on.
That was it! The word 'cabin' triggered a flood of memory in Jesse's mind. He remembered the call that he'd taken still in a half drugged state the day before. "My God," he blurted out excitedly
"Hey I was only joking," Nathan said worried by Jesse's suddenly agitated state.
"No, you don't understand," Jesse could barely get the words out quickly enough. "I think I know where they are." And he went on to describe the telephone conversation.
Nathan took out his cell phone. "I'll call it in and we'll get an address."
"You can do that on the way," Stephanie said stepping back quickly. In her haste she didn't notice Jesse's IV stand directly behind her and knocked it to the floor. "I'm sorry," she said apologetically bending to pick it up. "I hope I haven't caused any damage."
"No, it's fine," Jesse said . "Now get out of here."
Neither Stephanie or Nathan needed telling twice as they rushed out of the door.
Emma and Mark entered the Marina cautiously, still on the look out for any sign that there was anyone watching them or the boat, whilst trying to behave as naturally as possible. It wasn't easy and by the time they actually arrived at the correct slip both of them had racing hearts and quickened breathing.
Mark climbed on to the deck first and moved cautiously towards the door to the cabin. He pushed it gently and to his surprise it opened. He would not need the key that Emma had retrieved for him. Even more cautious now, he pushed the door wide enough to enter and stepped inside.
The loud gasp that he let out made Emma rush forwards to see what he had found. Mark stepped into the room so that she could get a look as he looked around in dismay. The inside of the boat was in exactly the same state as the beach house; every surface had been emptied, every drawer turned out, all of the soft furnishings ripped apart.
A tear formed in Mark's eye as the sight bought back the painful memories of his wrecked home, something that would still have to be dealt with, and his heart sank as he realised that if the disc with the missing files had been here, then by now it was in the hands of whoever had trashed the place and with it their chances of bringing this case to a successful conclusion diminished considerably.
Steve heard the car drawing up outside. He checked the clock on the wall. His father and Emma couldn't possibly be back from the Marina yet. He carefully reached for the gun from the table, thankful that, since he was left handed, it was his right shoulder that was injured.
He stood slowly, remembering his earlier mistake and headed cautiously for the window, standing in much the same position as his father had the day before, but unlike his father Steve held his gun easily as one who was long practiced and comfortable with it. The car drew to a stop and Steve muscles tensed, from the make of car he knew it was definitely not his father. He waited for the doors to open.
Alison reentered the room with two insulated cups and found a nurse attending to Jesse. "I'm sorry I'll come back," she said.
"No come in," Jesse said quickly. "It's not a problem. My IV line just got knocked out and it needs fixing, besides, detective Turner and Agent Harris were just here and I've got lots to tell you."
Alison carried on in to the room as the nurse excused herself to get a fresh dressing and sat down whilst Jesse filled her in on the latest developments.
By the time the nurse came back to reattach the drip Alison already had the computer powered up and was checking the location of the Van Heus cabin.
Steve relaxed a little as he recognised Nathan Turner getting out of the car, well if he had to be tracked down by someone, then at least it was a friendly face, but he did not recognise the extremely attractive young woman who seemed to glide out of the other side of the car. Probably someone from internal affairs. Steve grimaced at the thought of the questions he would have to answer at the hands of IA. Still, at least he would have a pleasant view whilst he was answering them and he was thankful that his father and Emma were not there. Maybe he could find some way to warn them not to come back to the cabin.
He moved over to the table and picked up the cell phone and slipped it into his pocket and then headed for the door to let the officers in. Steve pulled the door open slightly and called out, knowing that both of the people outside would have their weapons trained on him, and not wishing to startle one of them into firing. He had put his own weapon down on the table when he had retrieved the phone.
"It's lieutenant Steve Sloan. I'm alone and unarmed," Steve called out in a loud even voice. "I'm opening the door." Steve stepped out.
Nathan and Stephanie kept their guns trained on him. "Not that I don't want to believe you," Nathan said looking at his normally fit and tanned colleague who somehow looked slightly stooped and pale. "but there could be someone inside who's got you covered."
"I understand," Steve said, as the woman with Nathan moved over cautiously and then past him into the cabin, gun in front of her she efficiently checked all of the rooms for anyone hiding inside.
"It's clear," she said dropping her gun to her side having checked the last room.
"If you don't mind," Steve said, "I need to sit down." He made his way back to the couch and sank down gratefully on to it. Even standing for that brief period had exhausted him.
Amanda pulled back the tarpaulin. The body was lying face down although from what she could see it was definitely a heavy set male and not very young. There was a huge exit wound in the back of the skull She checked for a pulse but the size of the wound and temperature of the skin told her she was wasting her time. Happy that she would be able to declare him dead at the scene, she rolled the body over slightly so that she could get a look at the face and gasped in shock.
The young police officer looked at her. "Hey aren't you the Medical Examiner? I would have thought that you had seen someone shot in the head before." He said misinterpreting Amanda's reaction.
Staring back up at her with soulless eyes and a neat bullet hole between them was the face of agent Dobbs.
Recovering from the shock, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Nathan's number but there was no answer.
Nathan felt the impact briefly as pain exploded in his head moments before everything went black.
Steve watched in horror unable to get a warning out quickly enough as the woman with Nathan struck him visciously over the back of the head and he dropped to the floor unconscious before he hit the ground. She then turned the gun round and leveled it at Steve's chest.
"Good morning lieutenant Sloan, since Detective Turner here didn't get around to introductions allow me to introduce myself." Stephanie said in a polite tone completely incongruous with the circumstances. "My name is Stephanie Harris." She looked down at Nathan's prone form, "and I believe I just retired from the NSA."
Nathan's cell phone began to ring.
Getting no answer Amanda finally hung up and rang the beach house number, knowing that it would be diverted to Jesse's room. It was quicker than going through the hospital switchboard.
A rather frantic Alison answered the phone. "Amanda, I'm sorry I can't really talk," she said as Amanda identified herself. "It's Jesse, he passed out about five minutes ago and he's struggling to breathe." Alison moved out of the way as another nurse pushed past placing an oxygen mask over Jesse's face as he fought for each breath.
Amanda put two and two together instantly. "Alison," she almost shouted, "Don't hang up I know what's wrong. Pull the IV line out of his arm right now and put the doctor on and don't take no for an answer or Jesse could die."
Alison moved back over to the bed and yanked the IV line from Jesse's arm.
"What the hell...." the doctor who was working on Jesse said but Alison did not give him time to finish.
"Take this call," Alison said authoritatively. "It's Dr. Bentley, she knows what's wrong." She held out the phone." If you don't he'll die," She repeated Amanda's words hoping that they would have the same effect on the doctor as they had on her.
They did. He took the phone. Amanda prayed that her diagnosis was not too late.
"Now lieutenant perhaps you'd like to tell me the location of Mrs. Fielding and your father," Stephanie said. "Or shall I just shoot you and wait for them to return."