Nowhere To Run
Chapter Five
/////////////////////////////
Again, thanks sooooo much for the nice reviews. You have no idea how much it means to me. (OK, maybe you do *wink*) ^_-
/////////////////////////////
Monday morning -- 8AM
Whistling. *Who the hell is whistling* Alex thought. Just then a very upbeat Jake Shaw entered the Nest.
"OK, I'll bite. What's got you in such a great mood? Or should I ask WHO'S got you in such a great mood?" she asked.
"I'll have you know, girls have nothing to do with it," Jake replied. To which Alex just smirked and raised one eyebrow.
"Get your head out of the gutter, Cross! Geez, can't a guy just have a nice time without sex of any sort coming into play!?!"
"Yeah, a guy can. You just usually don't."
"Well, not that it's any of your business but I spent the entire five days helping out at the orphanage. We were able to finish that new playground that the kids have been waiting for. It just felt good to put in a long, hard strenuously fulfilling day. After the events of the last couple of months, it was nice to feel like I'd accomplished something. End of story."
"What about you Alex? What did you do with your time off?" he asked as he made his way over to grab a cup of coffee.
"I slept."
"You slept?………….. That's it?"
"Let me think……..yep, that pretty much sums it up. There was the occasional meal, but for the most part, peaceful, restful, dreamless slumber." Jake just stared at her incredulously. "Hey to each his own, Shaw!"
Jake threw his hands up in surrender, "All right. Forget I asked!"
"What about you Cody? Any super computer sales? Star Trek convention?" Jake asked with a chuckle.
Cody turned in his chair to glare at both Jake and Alex, who was trying with all her might not to laugh out loud. It had taken all her willpower not to spit coffee all over the conference table to begin with.
"I want you both to remember something," Cody began, "I'm the guy that makes sure we know where both of you are at all times. I'm the one who takes care of those mics that you wear undercover. Now wouldn't it be a shame if somehow, someday those gadgets break down at the most inopportune moment? Then what would happen?"
"Donovan would shoot you." Monica added quietly from across the room. She glanced up at her co-worker briefly before continuing, "He would too. In a heartbeat," she added with a smile. Cody seemed to consider the possibility and lost the smug look on his face.
"Hey, where is Donovan?" Jake asked. "It's not like him to be late."
"He isn't late. He's in his office. I got here at 7:15 and he was already here." Monica stated.
All four turned to look up at his office windows. The lights were on, but no movement could be detected.
"He wasn't here all weekend, was he?" Alex asked to no one in particular.
There was a long pause, but Jake finally chimed in. "Nah, I'm sure he went home. He just likes to be early. Probably checking in with the big wigs, filling them in on the case." All heads nodded in agreement, but none were exactly sure of anything when it came to Frank Donovan. Especially when it came to his personal life. They assumed he had one. Everyone did. Didn't they?
As if on cue, Frank's office door opened and his footsteps could be heard coming down the staircase. All eyes turned to him as he neared the conference table.
"Good morning. I'm assuming everyone got some much needed rest during your brief time off."
"God knows Alex did," Jake volunteered. "In fact I think she got enough rest for all of us." He was rewarded with a pencil thrown in his direction which he easily ducked.
Frank smiled briefly. "Well good. Now we get back down to work."
"Sounds great. But where do we start, if I might inquire?"
Frank turned to Cody. "I'm glad you asked."
"Cody….I want you to dig up any and all info on one Amanda Blake. Cross reference her background with what we know about Ms. Dawson. Check all federal, state and local data bases."
"Monica…..I want you to go over Katherine Dawson's file one more time. I know we've combed through that file a hundred times, but I want you to look for inconsistencies, or should I say the possible lack thereof. I have a hunch and I want to see if you agree with my assumption."
"Jake…..Alex….. I want you to start a door to door search in a 6 block radius of this address." After handing them the sheet with an address for McCauley's Bar on it, he continued. "And I want you to use this picture while you're doing that search."
He passed out several copies of a police artist's sketch. It showed a woman in her early thirties with brown hair and a blunt cut hairdo. Chin length with bangs.
"We've got a lot of work to do, so let's get to it." Frank turned to leave, but stopped when Jake interrupted his exit.
"Mind telling us where you got these leads? We all figured that we'd be starting from square one today, and here you are with a name, photo and a search perimeter. What gives? You been holding out on us?" Jake asked with some irritation in his voice.
"Exactly what are you implying Agent Shaw?" Frank returned. His voice taking on a slightly intense edge.
"I'm just saying, we worked our collective tail ends off for over two months on this case and in the course of 5 days when we were all supposed to be taking some time off, you miraculously come up with a handful of info from seemingly out of nowhere.
I'm just asking for an explanation. That's all. No need to get defensive."
"May I remind you Jake that I'm your superior. I don't have to explain myself to you at any time. Got it?" he said through clenched teeth as he turned to go.
"Excuse me sir!" Jake started, emphasizing the "sir". "May I point out, sir, that if I or anyone else had shown up this morning with these types of leads, you'd be grilling us for an explanation on how we had obtained that information. Isn't that right, sir?"
Jake was barely holding on to his temper.
The others in the group were nervously watching the exchange between the two men. As much as they all had to agree with Jake on this point, they also knew that you could only push their boss so far. Monica especially was aware that Jake was very near to pushing Frank over the edge. She had been watching him intently since the dialogue had begun, There was something in her boss' demeanor this morning. A look in his eyes that she'd never seen before. Something she'd noticed even before their discussion had started, and it worried her. Maybe when he returned to his office later, she'd try to speak to him privately.
Frank turned slowly to face the younger agent. His eyes blazed with a barely controlled fury. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him that Jake was right. If any of his team had presented this type of lead to the group, he would have demanded the source. But at this moment, he chose to ignore that voice. He slowly approached Jake, giving the impression of a wild animal stalking his prey. When he was scarcely a foot away, he said in a quiet, controlled voice, "Are you questioning my ability to run this team Agent Shaw?"
Jake stared wide-eyed at the taller man. From the moment Frank had turned to face him, he knew that he'd crossed the line. He'd seen Donovan angry before, but this was different. The look in his eyes told him to tread lightly. He knew he had to diffuse the situation and quickly, but damn it, he knew he was right! As Frank approached him, for a moment, Jake was actually scared. As his boss drew nearer, he actually took a step backwards only to run into the wall.
"Frank. Of course I'm not questioning your abilities. I'm just saying that if all this had come from me, you'd want an explanation. That's all. I think we're entitled to an explanation."
"Entitled?" Frank asked still barely keeping his anger in check.
"Yeah. I don't think that's too much to ask."
"Let me remind you again Jake, I don't have to answer to you or to anyone else in this group. We'll go where I say and when." Frank began again to turn to go back towards the steps to his office when he added, "If you don't like that, get over it."
Jake was dumbfounded. He never in a million years would have expected Donovan to say something like that. And true to form, he couldn't just let that last remark go unchallenged.
"Who the hell do you think you………………"
Jake couldn't finish his sentence because in a flash he found himself thrown against the wall with Frank's forearm across his throat and a gun in his face. The look on his boss' face was one of absolute rage and for more than a few seconds Jake actually feared for his life. *Donovan won't actually shoot me, right?* His instinct told him "no", but the look in Frank's eyes made him question that.
The others in the room had been watching the exchange with more than a little trepidation. All three felt the tension between the two escalating quickly, but they sat glued to their seats unsure of how to intervene. But when Frank suddenly had Jake pinned to the wall, the three jumped into action.
Monica quickly took the initiative. "Frank," she began calmly, "put the gun down. You've made your point. You know you're not seriously going to shoot Jake, so put the gun down." But even as the words left her mouth, like Jake, for a moment she doubted. "Jake didn't mean to question your authority," she continued. "We've all been under a lot of stress on this case, and I'm sure that's why you're doing this. Stress. That's all it is. Now put the gun down and back away."
Monica could see Frank relaxing his grip on Jake and on the gun, so she knew she was getting through to him. During the time that she had begun to talk to their boss, Alex had quietly slipped out to retrieve her own gun from the weapon's cabinet. Just in case. Cody stood by his computer terminal ready to signal for help if it should come to that.
"Frank," Monica continued, "give me the gun and we'll be done with this. Everyone can cool down and we'll talk about it."
With his arm still across Jake's throat and his gun still pointed at him, Frank turned his head slightly in order to look at Monica. He saw the look in her eyes and knew she was afraid. Afraid of him. At that thought, he closed his eyes and sighed inwardly. When he opened them again, Monica saw that the anger had subsided, replaced by regret and shame. He turned back to Jake and saw not only fear but confusion. *How did things get so out of hand so quickly. How could I have drawn my gun on one of my own people??*
Frank slowly released Jake and gently handed his weapon to Monica. His eyes were still locked on Jake's. *How can I explain what happened here?* he thought to himself.
"Jake," he started, "I'm…….so sorry. I really don't know what came over me. Maybe Monica's right. Maybe the stress of this case has gotten to me. But that's no excuse for my actions. I hope you can forgive me and believe that I would never intentionally cause you any harm. But the bottom line is, what just happened is inexcusable. If you want to bring me up on charges I won't stop you. I'd deserve it if you did."
Jake just stared at Frank for a few moments. This was a man he looked up to, someone he admired. Frank Donovan always seemed so in control of every situation. Always knew what actions to take. Always knew the right things to say. The man he'd seen this morning had none of those qualities. It was almost like looking at a complete stranger. *I guess everyone has a breaking point* he thought to himself. The question was, could he continue to work with this man after what had just happened.
"Donovan, look, I don't know what just happened here, but I'm willing to talk about it. Maybe Monica is right. Maybe this is just a case of one too many straws on that camel's back. I don't know. Maybe we all expect too much from you. You always seem to be in control of every situation we've ever been in. I guess we just take for granted that none of this ever gets to you. At least it never seemed that way before. I suppose that today we found out that you're human after all."
Frank looked at Jake incredulously. *He's actually going to forgive me for this* He was stunned. He took a few seconds to look around at the others in the room. Monica was still looking at him with great concern on her face. *No doubt analyzing my actions at this very second* Alex and Cody both just looked relieved. He also quickly realized that Alex was holding a gun. *She would have gunned me down without barely hesitating if anything had happened to Jake* he thought coolly.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness Jake, but I do appreciate it. More than you know. I think you and I and Monica should talk in my office. What do you think?"
"You got it. Just one last thing though."
"What's that?" Frank asked nervously.
"You put a gun in my face again, and by way of payback, I get Cody to explain to you how that network interface of his works."
Frank turned to look at Jake and saw the humor in his eyes. *Incredible. I threatened his life not five minutes ago and now he's joking with me!* he thought.
Jake added, "Paybacks can be hell."
"I'll remember that," Frank replied.
Chapter Five
/////////////////////////////
Again, thanks sooooo much for the nice reviews. You have no idea how much it means to me. (OK, maybe you do *wink*) ^_-
/////////////////////////////
Monday morning -- 8AM
Whistling. *Who the hell is whistling* Alex thought. Just then a very upbeat Jake Shaw entered the Nest.
"OK, I'll bite. What's got you in such a great mood? Or should I ask WHO'S got you in such a great mood?" she asked.
"I'll have you know, girls have nothing to do with it," Jake replied. To which Alex just smirked and raised one eyebrow.
"Get your head out of the gutter, Cross! Geez, can't a guy just have a nice time without sex of any sort coming into play!?!"
"Yeah, a guy can. You just usually don't."
"Well, not that it's any of your business but I spent the entire five days helping out at the orphanage. We were able to finish that new playground that the kids have been waiting for. It just felt good to put in a long, hard strenuously fulfilling day. After the events of the last couple of months, it was nice to feel like I'd accomplished something. End of story."
"What about you Alex? What did you do with your time off?" he asked as he made his way over to grab a cup of coffee.
"I slept."
"You slept?………….. That's it?"
"Let me think……..yep, that pretty much sums it up. There was the occasional meal, but for the most part, peaceful, restful, dreamless slumber." Jake just stared at her incredulously. "Hey to each his own, Shaw!"
Jake threw his hands up in surrender, "All right. Forget I asked!"
"What about you Cody? Any super computer sales? Star Trek convention?" Jake asked with a chuckle.
Cody turned in his chair to glare at both Jake and Alex, who was trying with all her might not to laugh out loud. It had taken all her willpower not to spit coffee all over the conference table to begin with.
"I want you both to remember something," Cody began, "I'm the guy that makes sure we know where both of you are at all times. I'm the one who takes care of those mics that you wear undercover. Now wouldn't it be a shame if somehow, someday those gadgets break down at the most inopportune moment? Then what would happen?"
"Donovan would shoot you." Monica added quietly from across the room. She glanced up at her co-worker briefly before continuing, "He would too. In a heartbeat," she added with a smile. Cody seemed to consider the possibility and lost the smug look on his face.
"Hey, where is Donovan?" Jake asked. "It's not like him to be late."
"He isn't late. He's in his office. I got here at 7:15 and he was already here." Monica stated.
All four turned to look up at his office windows. The lights were on, but no movement could be detected.
"He wasn't here all weekend, was he?" Alex asked to no one in particular.
There was a long pause, but Jake finally chimed in. "Nah, I'm sure he went home. He just likes to be early. Probably checking in with the big wigs, filling them in on the case." All heads nodded in agreement, but none were exactly sure of anything when it came to Frank Donovan. Especially when it came to his personal life. They assumed he had one. Everyone did. Didn't they?
As if on cue, Frank's office door opened and his footsteps could be heard coming down the staircase. All eyes turned to him as he neared the conference table.
"Good morning. I'm assuming everyone got some much needed rest during your brief time off."
"God knows Alex did," Jake volunteered. "In fact I think she got enough rest for all of us." He was rewarded with a pencil thrown in his direction which he easily ducked.
Frank smiled briefly. "Well good. Now we get back down to work."
"Sounds great. But where do we start, if I might inquire?"
Frank turned to Cody. "I'm glad you asked."
"Cody….I want you to dig up any and all info on one Amanda Blake. Cross reference her background with what we know about Ms. Dawson. Check all federal, state and local data bases."
"Monica…..I want you to go over Katherine Dawson's file one more time. I know we've combed through that file a hundred times, but I want you to look for inconsistencies, or should I say the possible lack thereof. I have a hunch and I want to see if you agree with my assumption."
"Jake…..Alex….. I want you to start a door to door search in a 6 block radius of this address." After handing them the sheet with an address for McCauley's Bar on it, he continued. "And I want you to use this picture while you're doing that search."
He passed out several copies of a police artist's sketch. It showed a woman in her early thirties with brown hair and a blunt cut hairdo. Chin length with bangs.
"We've got a lot of work to do, so let's get to it." Frank turned to leave, but stopped when Jake interrupted his exit.
"Mind telling us where you got these leads? We all figured that we'd be starting from square one today, and here you are with a name, photo and a search perimeter. What gives? You been holding out on us?" Jake asked with some irritation in his voice.
"Exactly what are you implying Agent Shaw?" Frank returned. His voice taking on a slightly intense edge.
"I'm just saying, we worked our collective tail ends off for over two months on this case and in the course of 5 days when we were all supposed to be taking some time off, you miraculously come up with a handful of info from seemingly out of nowhere.
I'm just asking for an explanation. That's all. No need to get defensive."
"May I remind you Jake that I'm your superior. I don't have to explain myself to you at any time. Got it?" he said through clenched teeth as he turned to go.
"Excuse me sir!" Jake started, emphasizing the "sir". "May I point out, sir, that if I or anyone else had shown up this morning with these types of leads, you'd be grilling us for an explanation on how we had obtained that information. Isn't that right, sir?"
Jake was barely holding on to his temper.
The others in the group were nervously watching the exchange between the two men. As much as they all had to agree with Jake on this point, they also knew that you could only push their boss so far. Monica especially was aware that Jake was very near to pushing Frank over the edge. She had been watching him intently since the dialogue had begun, There was something in her boss' demeanor this morning. A look in his eyes that she'd never seen before. Something she'd noticed even before their discussion had started, and it worried her. Maybe when he returned to his office later, she'd try to speak to him privately.
Frank turned slowly to face the younger agent. His eyes blazed with a barely controlled fury. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him that Jake was right. If any of his team had presented this type of lead to the group, he would have demanded the source. But at this moment, he chose to ignore that voice. He slowly approached Jake, giving the impression of a wild animal stalking his prey. When he was scarcely a foot away, he said in a quiet, controlled voice, "Are you questioning my ability to run this team Agent Shaw?"
Jake stared wide-eyed at the taller man. From the moment Frank had turned to face him, he knew that he'd crossed the line. He'd seen Donovan angry before, but this was different. The look in his eyes told him to tread lightly. He knew he had to diffuse the situation and quickly, but damn it, he knew he was right! As Frank approached him, for a moment, Jake was actually scared. As his boss drew nearer, he actually took a step backwards only to run into the wall.
"Frank. Of course I'm not questioning your abilities. I'm just saying that if all this had come from me, you'd want an explanation. That's all. I think we're entitled to an explanation."
"Entitled?" Frank asked still barely keeping his anger in check.
"Yeah. I don't think that's too much to ask."
"Let me remind you again Jake, I don't have to answer to you or to anyone else in this group. We'll go where I say and when." Frank began again to turn to go back towards the steps to his office when he added, "If you don't like that, get over it."
Jake was dumbfounded. He never in a million years would have expected Donovan to say something like that. And true to form, he couldn't just let that last remark go unchallenged.
"Who the hell do you think you………………"
Jake couldn't finish his sentence because in a flash he found himself thrown against the wall with Frank's forearm across his throat and a gun in his face. The look on his boss' face was one of absolute rage and for more than a few seconds Jake actually feared for his life. *Donovan won't actually shoot me, right?* His instinct told him "no", but the look in Frank's eyes made him question that.
The others in the room had been watching the exchange with more than a little trepidation. All three felt the tension between the two escalating quickly, but they sat glued to their seats unsure of how to intervene. But when Frank suddenly had Jake pinned to the wall, the three jumped into action.
Monica quickly took the initiative. "Frank," she began calmly, "put the gun down. You've made your point. You know you're not seriously going to shoot Jake, so put the gun down." But even as the words left her mouth, like Jake, for a moment she doubted. "Jake didn't mean to question your authority," she continued. "We've all been under a lot of stress on this case, and I'm sure that's why you're doing this. Stress. That's all it is. Now put the gun down and back away."
Monica could see Frank relaxing his grip on Jake and on the gun, so she knew she was getting through to him. During the time that she had begun to talk to their boss, Alex had quietly slipped out to retrieve her own gun from the weapon's cabinet. Just in case. Cody stood by his computer terminal ready to signal for help if it should come to that.
"Frank," Monica continued, "give me the gun and we'll be done with this. Everyone can cool down and we'll talk about it."
With his arm still across Jake's throat and his gun still pointed at him, Frank turned his head slightly in order to look at Monica. He saw the look in her eyes and knew she was afraid. Afraid of him. At that thought, he closed his eyes and sighed inwardly. When he opened them again, Monica saw that the anger had subsided, replaced by regret and shame. He turned back to Jake and saw not only fear but confusion. *How did things get so out of hand so quickly. How could I have drawn my gun on one of my own people??*
Frank slowly released Jake and gently handed his weapon to Monica. His eyes were still locked on Jake's. *How can I explain what happened here?* he thought to himself.
"Jake," he started, "I'm…….so sorry. I really don't know what came over me. Maybe Monica's right. Maybe the stress of this case has gotten to me. But that's no excuse for my actions. I hope you can forgive me and believe that I would never intentionally cause you any harm. But the bottom line is, what just happened is inexcusable. If you want to bring me up on charges I won't stop you. I'd deserve it if you did."
Jake just stared at Frank for a few moments. This was a man he looked up to, someone he admired. Frank Donovan always seemed so in control of every situation. Always knew what actions to take. Always knew the right things to say. The man he'd seen this morning had none of those qualities. It was almost like looking at a complete stranger. *I guess everyone has a breaking point* he thought to himself. The question was, could he continue to work with this man after what had just happened.
"Donovan, look, I don't know what just happened here, but I'm willing to talk about it. Maybe Monica is right. Maybe this is just a case of one too many straws on that camel's back. I don't know. Maybe we all expect too much from you. You always seem to be in control of every situation we've ever been in. I guess we just take for granted that none of this ever gets to you. At least it never seemed that way before. I suppose that today we found out that you're human after all."
Frank looked at Jake incredulously. *He's actually going to forgive me for this* He was stunned. He took a few seconds to look around at the others in the room. Monica was still looking at him with great concern on her face. *No doubt analyzing my actions at this very second* Alex and Cody both just looked relieved. He also quickly realized that Alex was holding a gun. *She would have gunned me down without barely hesitating if anything had happened to Jake* he thought coolly.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness Jake, but I do appreciate it. More than you know. I think you and I and Monica should talk in my office. What do you think?"
"You got it. Just one last thing though."
"What's that?" Frank asked nervously.
"You put a gun in my face again, and by way of payback, I get Cody to explain to you how that network interface of his works."
Frank turned to look at Jake and saw the humor in his eyes. *Incredible. I threatened his life not five minutes ago and now he's joking with me!* he thought.
Jake added, "Paybacks can be hell."
"I'll remember that," Frank replied.