"You want us to do what?" Cody and Monica stared at each other.
Frank shook his head and repeated himself. "You heard me. Trace the last call Litha made and find out where her mother is at."
"But, Sir..."
"No buts Cody. Do it. I'll explain later. When you've located her mother, I want you to bring her into the nest until we get back." Another wretching noise drew his attention to the lavatory where Litha had locked herself 15 minutes ago. All she'd said as she ran by was 'Mother'... "Monica, I have a reason to believe her mother's life is in danger. Bring her back to the nest until Litha walks through that door to take her home."
"Alright Frank. We'll get it done. But I gotta tell you that I don't think she'll go peacefully. She called here yesterday looking for Litha and ripped both of us to shreds because we wouldn't tell her where Litha was. That Scots-woman is absolutely evil when it comes to her daughter."
"I've met her mother. She's a scrappier version of Litha - and yes, she is evil. Get backup from Wallace if you have to. Monica, if necessary, you get in contact with an Aaron Dodge in D.C. and you tell him that I am sending you on this task. He'll give you the help you need."
"Got it." Monica looked at Cody as she disconnected the call. Up in Frank's office, Adam Wallace had been listening in on the conversation. Apparently Litha hadn't told Frank anything yet if he was more concerned about Elizabeth Sinclair than Lina.
Down below, Monica looked over Cody's shoulder as he worked his magic. Frank didn't know that she'd placed a call from the nest only a few days ago. It'd be a damn sight easier to track down that location than a satellite telephone call. She stood up and paced as the maps and numbers whizzed by on the screen. Her conversation with Litha came back as she did... 'my lies are truths and my truths are lies...' What was she trying to tell her by that? 'You go right ahead.. destroy three lives instead of one.' Monica stopped pacing and frowned. She'd had the feeling all along that Litha was hiding something from them, Frank especially...
"Got it. She's living in a suburb of Detroit. Just a hop skip and a jump from here." Cody spun around in his chair. "My talents are so under-used in this manner. With my skill, I could be ruling the world. Instead Frankie Frankie Frankie has me playing telephone operator." He sighed melodramatically and looked up at Monica. "And with my good looks a la George Clooney, I could have it all."
"Keep dreaming computer geek."
Both turned to see Wallace standing just a litte behind them. What was it about senior JD agents that they developed a knack for sneaking up on everyone?
"Frank set you two onto finding Elizabeth Sinclair?"
"Yes he did. Told us to come to you for backup. He wants her here at the nest until Litha and he arrive."
Wallace looked over the both of them. "Sit down you two. Mrs. Sinclair can wait a few minutes." He waited until they did as instructed and then took a seat himself. "Elizabeth Sinclair is fine. She's under surveillance as we speak. I've been on the phone with my people and my best agents are there protecting her and everyone in the house."
Everyone in the house? Cody and Monica exchanged looks again. Frank hadn't said anything about other people there...
"I saw that look. Yes, there is more than just her mother in there. But it's not my place to divulge that information. What do you know about Litha Sinclair and myself?"
"Not much. She was your protege, you were the former head of the FBI. When you stepped down, Eric Boone stepped up and started ruling the Bureau with an iron fist."
"Correct, computer-boy." Cody wasn't liking this man at all. At least Frank called him by his name from time to time.
"Litha is still my protege. When she left Frank, she called me for help. I pushed her paperwork through for the indefinite furlough and contacted a friend of mine in Virginia. You two might know his name - Gerrod Walden, Ddirector of the FBI Training Academy. He owed me a favor and when I called it in, Litha Sinclair landed a nice position on tenure at the Academy... teaching Special Operations and occassionally running Black Ops training drills."
Monica and Cody were thunderstruck. They knew she'd put in for the furlough, and they knew she was at the Academy. But in Black Ops and Special Ops? From what Jake and Alex had told them about Black Ops personnel, you had to have a few screws loose to run in Black.
"Yes, she ran Black Ops training drills." Wallace had seen the looks on their faces and knew what this would mean in regards to their treatment of Litha when she was back home. "She's still IAD of course - and Special Ops. When she came back from her undercover stint, she returned to Washington to debrief and give testimony against Callahan. By then we'd identified Callahan's associates in this muck and realized that it went a lot further than just him. That's why she was gone for a month. We convinced her to return to us as an IAD Associate to collect information and evidence against the other accomplices. In a ploy, I stepped down as Chief Director and Boone took my place. There is a lot more detail that I'm leaving out for the sake of time, but leave it at this. Boone was implicated by another lesser agent accomplice. He has a revenge fantasy against Litha the likes of which haven't been seen yet and he doesn't believe in an eye for an eye - he wants humiliation. We've uncovered evidence that he's got his dirty little fingers into this current mission up to his elbows and will do everything he can to either kill or severely punish Litha for what she did to him 4 and a half years ago. He's a sad, depraved little man." He stood up, leaving Monica and Cody with their mouths open in shock.
"Collect yourselves you two. You still have to help me monitor Frank and his team's progress with Geraldo Montcalvez. Tomorrow we'll go to Detroit and get Elizabeth, bring her down here."
--
Frank was standing at the locked lavatory door in serious concern. Litha had been in there for over 30 minutes now. He could hear her occasional sobs and the once and again wretching... though the latter had turned to dry heaves. The other Agent on board with them kept watching him as he paced. What had Wallace said to her that upset her this badly? One moment she was giving a thumbs up and laughing, the next she was shaking like a leaf and running for the bathroom. He'd never seen her this bad before... And they were due to land in Sao Paolo shortly. Again he knocked on the door.
"Litha?"
"g... go away... F-Frank..." again with another heave.
"Litha, open the door." He wanted to break the damned door in and pick her up, but he kept his voice controlled and calm. If he did that, she'd shut him off again.
"No... I... I... oh god Frank what am I going to do?" She was in tears again... at least she'd stopped heaving for the moment.
"You, Lillith Morgana Sinclair are going to live up to both of your names and collect yourself. Then you are going to open this fucking door and talk to me. I know your mother is in danger. I put Monica and Cody onto finding her and bringing her to the nest as soon as possible until you arrive to take her home." He waited for her reaction.
There was dead silence on the other side of the door. After a minute, the sound of the toilet flushing heralded the opening of the door. Perhaps a bit too forcefully as Litha stumbled before catching herself. Even for the 30 minutes of sobbing and wretching, she still looked decent in her makeup. Thank God for waterproof. If anything she was just a little pale and green around the gills, which a glass of water and some time to calm down would fix. Frank put his arm around her and led her back to her seat. She looked up at him with one blue eye and one green eye. Uknown to her, while she was losing her last three meals in the airplane toilet, she'd managed to lose one of the blue colored contacts. Frank just shook his head. He'd tell her later when she was calmer.
"It's not just my mother, Frank."
His attention was back on her now. She leaned forward and took his hands in hers. So petite against his, but both pair of hands held infinite strength behind them.
"There is a baby there too. A little 9 month old baby girl. My mother is watching her while her mother is out of town."
"Then Monica and Cody will bring the baby back to the nest as well. I'm sure your mother will -"
"No. Frank. You don't understand..." She looked at the other Agent a few seats back. He got up and left them, heading into the back of the plane to give them some privacy.
"It's my baby."
****
Frank shook his head and repeated himself. "You heard me. Trace the last call Litha made and find out where her mother is at."
"But, Sir..."
"No buts Cody. Do it. I'll explain later. When you've located her mother, I want you to bring her into the nest until we get back." Another wretching noise drew his attention to the lavatory where Litha had locked herself 15 minutes ago. All she'd said as she ran by was 'Mother'... "Monica, I have a reason to believe her mother's life is in danger. Bring her back to the nest until Litha walks through that door to take her home."
"Alright Frank. We'll get it done. But I gotta tell you that I don't think she'll go peacefully. She called here yesterday looking for Litha and ripped both of us to shreds because we wouldn't tell her where Litha was. That Scots-woman is absolutely evil when it comes to her daughter."
"I've met her mother. She's a scrappier version of Litha - and yes, she is evil. Get backup from Wallace if you have to. Monica, if necessary, you get in contact with an Aaron Dodge in D.C. and you tell him that I am sending you on this task. He'll give you the help you need."
"Got it." Monica looked at Cody as she disconnected the call. Up in Frank's office, Adam Wallace had been listening in on the conversation. Apparently Litha hadn't told Frank anything yet if he was more concerned about Elizabeth Sinclair than Lina.
Down below, Monica looked over Cody's shoulder as he worked his magic. Frank didn't know that she'd placed a call from the nest only a few days ago. It'd be a damn sight easier to track down that location than a satellite telephone call. She stood up and paced as the maps and numbers whizzed by on the screen. Her conversation with Litha came back as she did... 'my lies are truths and my truths are lies...' What was she trying to tell her by that? 'You go right ahead.. destroy three lives instead of one.' Monica stopped pacing and frowned. She'd had the feeling all along that Litha was hiding something from them, Frank especially...
"Got it. She's living in a suburb of Detroit. Just a hop skip and a jump from here." Cody spun around in his chair. "My talents are so under-used in this manner. With my skill, I could be ruling the world. Instead Frankie Frankie Frankie has me playing telephone operator." He sighed melodramatically and looked up at Monica. "And with my good looks a la George Clooney, I could have it all."
"Keep dreaming computer geek."
Both turned to see Wallace standing just a litte behind them. What was it about senior JD agents that they developed a knack for sneaking up on everyone?
"Frank set you two onto finding Elizabeth Sinclair?"
"Yes he did. Told us to come to you for backup. He wants her here at the nest until Litha and he arrive."
Wallace looked over the both of them. "Sit down you two. Mrs. Sinclair can wait a few minutes." He waited until they did as instructed and then took a seat himself. "Elizabeth Sinclair is fine. She's under surveillance as we speak. I've been on the phone with my people and my best agents are there protecting her and everyone in the house."
Everyone in the house? Cody and Monica exchanged looks again. Frank hadn't said anything about other people there...
"I saw that look. Yes, there is more than just her mother in there. But it's not my place to divulge that information. What do you know about Litha Sinclair and myself?"
"Not much. She was your protege, you were the former head of the FBI. When you stepped down, Eric Boone stepped up and started ruling the Bureau with an iron fist."
"Correct, computer-boy." Cody wasn't liking this man at all. At least Frank called him by his name from time to time.
"Litha is still my protege. When she left Frank, she called me for help. I pushed her paperwork through for the indefinite furlough and contacted a friend of mine in Virginia. You two might know his name - Gerrod Walden, Ddirector of the FBI Training Academy. He owed me a favor and when I called it in, Litha Sinclair landed a nice position on tenure at the Academy... teaching Special Operations and occassionally running Black Ops training drills."
Monica and Cody were thunderstruck. They knew she'd put in for the furlough, and they knew she was at the Academy. But in Black Ops and Special Ops? From what Jake and Alex had told them about Black Ops personnel, you had to have a few screws loose to run in Black.
"Yes, she ran Black Ops training drills." Wallace had seen the looks on their faces and knew what this would mean in regards to their treatment of Litha when she was back home. "She's still IAD of course - and Special Ops. When she came back from her undercover stint, she returned to Washington to debrief and give testimony against Callahan. By then we'd identified Callahan's associates in this muck and realized that it went a lot further than just him. That's why she was gone for a month. We convinced her to return to us as an IAD Associate to collect information and evidence against the other accomplices. In a ploy, I stepped down as Chief Director and Boone took my place. There is a lot more detail that I'm leaving out for the sake of time, but leave it at this. Boone was implicated by another lesser agent accomplice. He has a revenge fantasy against Litha the likes of which haven't been seen yet and he doesn't believe in an eye for an eye - he wants humiliation. We've uncovered evidence that he's got his dirty little fingers into this current mission up to his elbows and will do everything he can to either kill or severely punish Litha for what she did to him 4 and a half years ago. He's a sad, depraved little man." He stood up, leaving Monica and Cody with their mouths open in shock.
"Collect yourselves you two. You still have to help me monitor Frank and his team's progress with Geraldo Montcalvez. Tomorrow we'll go to Detroit and get Elizabeth, bring her down here."
--
Frank was standing at the locked lavatory door in serious concern. Litha had been in there for over 30 minutes now. He could hear her occasional sobs and the once and again wretching... though the latter had turned to dry heaves. The other Agent on board with them kept watching him as he paced. What had Wallace said to her that upset her this badly? One moment she was giving a thumbs up and laughing, the next she was shaking like a leaf and running for the bathroom. He'd never seen her this bad before... And they were due to land in Sao Paolo shortly. Again he knocked on the door.
"Litha?"
"g... go away... F-Frank..." again with another heave.
"Litha, open the door." He wanted to break the damned door in and pick her up, but he kept his voice controlled and calm. If he did that, she'd shut him off again.
"No... I... I... oh god Frank what am I going to do?" She was in tears again... at least she'd stopped heaving for the moment.
"You, Lillith Morgana Sinclair are going to live up to both of your names and collect yourself. Then you are going to open this fucking door and talk to me. I know your mother is in danger. I put Monica and Cody onto finding her and bringing her to the nest as soon as possible until you arrive to take her home." He waited for her reaction.
There was dead silence on the other side of the door. After a minute, the sound of the toilet flushing heralded the opening of the door. Perhaps a bit too forcefully as Litha stumbled before catching herself. Even for the 30 minutes of sobbing and wretching, she still looked decent in her makeup. Thank God for waterproof. If anything she was just a little pale and green around the gills, which a glass of water and some time to calm down would fix. Frank put his arm around her and led her back to her seat. She looked up at him with one blue eye and one green eye. Uknown to her, while she was losing her last three meals in the airplane toilet, she'd managed to lose one of the blue colored contacts. Frank just shook his head. He'd tell her later when she was calmer.
"It's not just my mother, Frank."
His attention was back on her now. She leaned forward and took his hands in hers. So petite against his, but both pair of hands held infinite strength behind them.
"There is a baby there too. A little 9 month old baby girl. My mother is watching her while her mother is out of town."
"Then Monica and Cody will bring the baby back to the nest as well. I'm sure your mother will -"
"No. Frank. You don't understand..." She looked at the other Agent a few seats back. He got up and left them, heading into the back of the plane to give them some privacy.
"It's my baby."
****