CHAPTER 11—AFTERWARD AND ONWARD
This bed was no academy issue cot. It was also a lot nicer than the standard, every day hotel bed. It was quite large and soft. Was this the first night Loralei had actually laid in it? When she thought about it, she realized that she hadn't slept in it. She had been spending her nights on the small couch stationed near the computer equipment. Wow. Heavy. She wondered why she hadn't bothered sleeping in the bed before tonight. Oh yeah, she thought with a lazy smile. She hadn't had anyone interesting to sleep with. She snuggled up to her husband and laid her head on his shoulder. His arm came up around her, and he had the greatest desire to hug her like a python.
"That little trick you did," he said, "where did you learn that?"
She leaned up over him. "What trick? That toe inside the pants thing?"
He smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah. That. Where did you learn that? You never did it before."
She bit her lip and lifted both of her eyebrows. "Well, a girl tends to fantasize a bit when the man she loves isn't around."
Donovan brought his hand up and began caressing the silky fall of hair hanging just over her naked shoulder. "Loralei, I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry that something like this came between us. I love you so much, that sometimes, I don't know what I'm doing or saying until it's too late."
She nodded. "I know. It's the same for me." I will not cry, I will not cry. "It was pretty bad, Frank, I…I was miserable." Impatiently, she swiped at a stray tear rolling down her cheek. "I thought…thought." She stopped for a minute. Fuckin' crybaby. "I was scared, I've never been so scared in my life. I thought we were going to lose each other, lose what we have."
His hand moved from her hair to her face. "No, Loralei, never."
"Hold me, okay," she whispered. "Can you just hold me?"
* * *
Please don't let last night have been a dream, she thought in her sleep. She knew it was morning, because she could see the sun peeking through the top of the heavy drapes covering the window. She wasn't quite ready to open her eyes, just in case last night was a dream. It couldn't be a dream. She could smell Donovan all over the room, in the bed, and even on her skin. It was wonderful and stupidly enough, she felt tears just behind her eyes. God, what's up with this crying thing? When she felt Donovan's warm lips pressing against the side of her throat, she was finally convinced that it wasn't a dream. Thank you, God. But then, she heard another noise that made her think again she was dreaming. There was a familiar snuffling noise very close to her. No, it couldn't be. Okay, so I guess I am dreaming.
"Wake up, baby, someone is here to see you," Donovan whispered in her ear.
She opened her eyes and looked up into Donovan's. Lying between her and her husband was their baby. "Oh my sweetheart," Loralei whispered as she lifted the infant into her arms. "Oh God, Frank, I loved you before, but I love you even more for doing this for me." She leaned toward him and kissed him deeply. When she pulled away, she thought of something else. "No one saw you bring her, did they?"
He shook his head. "No. Everything is still on shut down. I have your mother waiting downstairs in the restaurant. In a few hours, she'll have to go," he said, almost apologetically.
She kissed him again. "It's okay. I'll take what I can get."
A couple of hours later, Donovan returned to Loralei's room after he took Rachel back to Geneva Kadin. He heard her sobbing quietly the moment he entered the room. He went to her and climbed in bed beside her. She had her back facing him and her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. "Shh. Hey. It's okay, baby," he whispered. "You'll see her again. Don't do this to yourself. Please don't do this." He shifted his body slightly as he felt her move. She turned toward him and buried her face in her favorite secure spot. Her skin felt warm and fevered against his neck. He tightened his hold on her body and held her close. He couldn't comfort her the way he wanted, because no matter what he said, her tears wouldn't dry until she had cried herself out.
* * *
Later that morning, Chance Casey had just sauntered into his office. It had been a few days, and Kadin and her group had yet to stumble upon the website. He wondered what had taken them so long to find it. Was Kadin's computer hacking skills lacking? She had been out of the game for a while; perhaps she had lost her feel for the work. His face puckered in a maw of disgust. She would rather cozy up to her slimy husband than focus on her work. He knew Kadin was distracted, and he hoped her mindset would help his mission along a bit faster. Nope. He was just one unlucky fucker. Yet, she was also pissed at him for dragging her into ICD again, and she would probably work twice as hard to crack the case just to get away from that division. Of course, the way he had it figured, she had no more than two or three days to live. After Kadin was eliminated, he would be free. There was still no sign of Frank Donovan. Everything seemed to be falling into place.
"Director Casey," the voice of his assistant said, "Agents Kadin and Fielder are here for the morning briefing."
Ugh. "Okay. Send them in."
Playing it as cool as possible, Loralei and Fielder entered Casey's office and quietly took a couple of seats that were parked in front of Casey's desk. Something seemed out of kilter this morning. Casey wasn't certain what it was. He glanced at Kadin. Her appearance seemed quite different this morning. For the first time in days, she had actually taken steps to take care of herself. Her face was made up, her hair brushed and styled, and she wore a nice dark blue suit that seemed to be tailor made for her. She almost…glowed. It was weird. What had changed? What little something had happened to her for her to do a total 360? Had she seen Donovan? Had she somehow slipped out and gone to her husband? Surely she hadn't. She wouldn't have defied his orders, would she? Would she? Had Donovan come to her? Were he and his team here now? The thoughts entered his mind in machine gun fashion. Cool it. You're getting paranoid. He couldn't help it. Everything had been working perfectly until this morning. He couldn't simply allow Kadin's appearance to freak him out. So she glowed, so she fixed her hair and face, so she seemed less jittery. So so so so so so. It didn't mean anything, it really didn't. His plan was still iron clad, still running smoothly. If Donovan had been called in, he would have been notified by now. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent asking Kadin if she had gotten a good old-fashioned fuck from her husband.
It was no secret that Loralei felt tons better today than she had in a couple of weeks. However, it took extreme control for her to hold onto her temper. She was tempted to fly across his desk and beat him senseless. He had murdered Bart Jackson, a man who should have been sitting in Casey's seat years ago. You took out such an honorable man, you sick fuck. I am so close to whipping out my service revolver and putting a bullet in your brain. It might make her feel better, but of course, it would ruin the case. She wasn't so sure that her field supervisor had bought the story Donovan had told him. The two of them had talked about it on the way to the morning briefing. Fielder claimed he would assist the team in any way to bring justice to Jackson's killers, but he hadn't said one way or another if he believed Donovan, even after Cody had shown him the supporting documentation. She hoped that Fielder wouldn't spill his guts to Casey or mention the UC team offhandedly. Although she suspected Fielder had doubts, she didn't. Donovan was hardly wrong about anything. He could take a hunch, run with it, and walk away victorious. She had seen him in action dozens of times. Like those other times, he was not wrong about Casey. She vaguely wondered if Casey was aware that she and the other agents were onto him. Loralei's mind began to drift again. Had her director been running his own child porn operation somewhere in Chicago? The thought drove her mad and made her sick at the same time. Simply sitting in his office looking at him made her nauseous. She felt the all too familiar tickle as acrid bile attempted to rise into her throat. She fought mightily against her knotted up stomach. At that moment, she was quite tempted to let it go and vomit all over him and his pristine desk. He would definitely love that. The image of disgust and anger on Casey's face almost made her smile.
Casey stopped studying her for a moment to focus his eyes elsewhere. He was staring at Kadin way too much, and he didn't want to make her suspicious. "So, I know as of last night, there weren't any major breakthroughs. I should hope that you have Agents Bey and LaKonte working furiously this morning while you're sitting so comfortably in my office. Kadin, you are running this operation 24/7, aren't you?"
How would you like a flag of puke in your lap, you son-of-a-bitch? "Of course, Director Casey. Bey, LaKonte, and I switch shifts. We expect to have the code broken at any time." Or sooner if Cody is as much of a genius as I think he is. "This particular site has a lot of booby traps and viruses. This person is quite crafty." Actually, you're an idiot, but I have to bullshit you, don't I? "So far, I haven't harmed my new baby yet. The computer was built by Superman, wasn't it?"
You smarmy bitch. I have the greatest urge to shove my cock down your snarky little throat. How would you like that? Kadin was playing some kind of game, he was sure. He kept thinking that Donovan had to be lurking about somewhere. Perhaps he needed to isolate each agent and ask him or her separately. Bey was a rookie, and should be easy to intimidate. LaKonte was a bit more seasoned. Or perhaps Fielder would break first. Fielder had the brown-nose syndrome down pat. He wanted to be the FBI director when he grew up. "You may have a point, Kadin," he said with a bright, false smile. "We had an ex-CIA man doctor up the computers to keep them safe. You shouldn't have any problems with booby trap viruses. It would have been nice to have such unique machines back when you were a rookie, huh?"
Puke on him. Puke. Go ahead. Do it. It might be good for a laugh at least. If he calls me 'Kadin' like that one more time, I'll send him a bucket of puke in the mail. "That's nice to know. The machine is quite nice." I'm sick of stroking your ego. I want to beat the shit out of you. I want to hold you down and let those children you abused beat the shit out of you. Puking on you is not a bad enough punishment. I hate you, you fucker, you make me sick. "By the way, what happened to my first baby?"
I fucked it up the ass, you cunt. "Supercomputer, Sr.? We retired it." Actually, I smashed it with a sledgehammer, and then I pissed on the pieces. After that, I masturbated and blew my wad on it. "It's all obsolete now, you know. Fielder, do you have anything to add before I dismiss you?"
'Camptown races sing this song, doo dah, doo dah…' "No, Director Casey, I don't."
He nodded. "Okay. Kadin, I suppose you can go back and get busy." I have half a mind to bash in your skull with my paperweight.
Loralei stood first and Fielder took her lead. "Of course. Oh, and just for the record, Director Casey, I am married now, and I would prefer for you to address me as Donovan." Of course it didn't matter one way or another what he or anyone called her, but she absolutely hated the way he said her maiden name. It was almost like he stressed the two syllables to make it sound ugly and flat [Kay-den]. Knowing the prick, he probably did. "If you need me, you know where to find me."
Yes, Donovan, I know. The question is, will your husband know where to find your dead body? Six feet under, you bitch, that's where you deserve to be. "I can certainly address you as Donovan if that's what you'd like. I never thought of you taking a man's name. You were always so independent."
It took Fielder's hand grasping her arm to keep Loralei from flying over his desk. She controlled her rage by putting her arm behind her back and clenching her fist so tightly, that she could feel her fingernails digging into her flesh. "That hasn't changed, Casey, only my last name. Actually, I decided to take his last name because of this wonderful private joke between us. Loralei Shana Donovan. LSD. Get it? My husband has a great sense of humor, along with one hell of an intuitive nature. Keep in touch."
Casey watched as Kadin and Fielder left his office. He would definitely check with the other agents separately. Something fishy was going on, and he had to get to the bottom of it. Kadin's death was imminent now. He would somehow have to get her alone and fix her but good. He hated the bitch, hated her more than he hated her before. He should have eliminated her back then when he had the opportunity. Bitch denied me, and I could have easily thrown her out the window. Why didn't I? He didn't because he had intended to keep trying, but something else thwarted him. Frank Donovan, the fucker. After she confessed, he had been tempted to take her out back then, but the Black Heart had taken care of that…almost. When the bitch recovered, he lost his opportunity altogether, because what do you know…she moved in with and married the man she had been 'watching' [which had turned into fucking…slut].
* * *
Loralei and Fielder returned to the hotel, going to their separate suites. She entered hers and noticed the hub of activity going on inside it. Agent Bey had taken first watch with Cody, and Loralei watched the two of them with an amused smile. Bey was flirting with Cody a little, and her sudden attention was flustering the computer wizard. She tore her eyes away from the spectacle and leaned over Bey's shoulder. The computer continually broke code after code, only pausing when it hit a virus. However, it would rebound quickly and continue chewing line after line of script. Another thought entered her mind, disturbing her. What was the connection? What could she almost see but not? Goddamn it. She straightened her body and stepped back, bumping into Donovan, and then trampling his toe.
"Oh shit, baby, I'm sorry," she said as she sidestepped back out of his way. "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that. Are you okay?"
He smiled a little. "I think I'll live. I've had worse happen to me." He gently grasped her arm and took her to the other side of the room. "Fielder let me in on your little meeting this morning with Casey. I don't think it'll take him long to figure out we're here."
She nodded. "I know. He probably already suspects it. I think he might try to isolate Bey, LaKonte, and Fielder to see if they'll break and talk. I'm worried, Frank. Bey is a rookie and might be easily intimidated by Casey. He's oily." The thought of Bey going in by herself unsettled her. What is it? What fucking is it? I think he may be losing it." She chuckled bitterly. "Hell, he lost it years ago. I can tell he still loves me."
"Be careful around him, Loralei. He drew you in for a reason, and I don't think he'll give up even if he does find out we're here."
She took his hand in hers and raised it up to her lips. "I'll be fine," she said with a smile. "I'm armed now. Remember?"
He laughed. "That you are, my love." Donovan leaned down to kiss her when a resounding EUREKA burst from the computer's speakers.
Both knew immediately that the code had been broken. They approached Bey and Cody as the screen began to dance and blink crazily. When the site finally popped up and came into clear focus. Loralei gasped aloud. The site owner didn't want to remain hidden, at least from Loralei. She understood how Jackson was tied into it as well. He saw the very same image and it likely made him gasp as loud as she just had. Behind her, she heard Donovan's own sharp intake of breath. He gritted his teeth as a sound of utter disgust left him. Jackson, Loralei, and Donovan were the only three people in the room who would have seen the immediate connection. Just above a blinking "ENTER HERE" logo was a photo of Loralei as a child, or at least the face was Loralei as a child. Her head had been superimposed on the naked body of an adult female. The neck was slit, spouting blood; the arms and legs of the body were bound by cuffs and attached to a torture device.
"Shut it down," Donovan demanded. "I can't look at it anymore."
Loralei stood back, nearly tripping over her husband again, and he laid a steadying hand on her arm. She drew away from him and continued to step back. The image on the screen didn't bother her, the thought of who had built this website didn't bother her. What bothered her was the onset of a vivid memory. She remembered breaking the code on a snuff site, and then it had implanted a virus into her machine and Casey's. He had built the site directly from his own damn office. She then recalled going to Casey to repair his sick machine. He had touched her, had tried to rape her. The bile rose in her throat yet again. She barely made it to the bathroom. As she hung her head over the toilet, she understood, she finally understood. Jackson had found the site first and made an instant connection; Casey had killed him before he could tell her. As Donovan had said, he then drew the only other person back into the fold who would uncover his secret a second time. Of course, after he eliminated them, he could continue to carry out his sick deeds. What he had done to Jackson and what he wanted to do to her was hardly scratching the surface of an even larger problem. She thought of all those people, all those children, he had harmed. It was too much. The bile rose again, and again, she was sick. Oh God, oh God, oh God.
Donovan came just moments later and before she knew what was happening, he was on the floor with her, holding her. She hadn't even realized she had begun whimpering like a trapped animal. How she hated Casey, how she wanted him under the ground where he had put Jackson. She clung to her husband, just barely aware he was there at all. He didn't quite understand everything, but soon enough she would tell him. Soon enough, it would be over. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to rip every piece of flesh off Casey's body.