Revelations

Chapter Five

Frank, Laura and Monica arrived at the motel some 25 minutes later. The place was cordoned off with yellow police tape, and after showing his ID, they were allowed to enter the scene. One of the uniformed police gave them a brief run down of what they had found and who had had access to the room. Nodding his head in gratitude, Frank and the others made their way to the open door.

"Remember….don't touch anything," he warned them.

"I know," Laura answered slightly irritated. "It hasn't been that long since I've visited a possible crime scene." She brushed past him and entered the room first, making mental notes of what she saw. Both beds were still neatly made, indicating that the place had not been used for rest but rather as a place to finish up whatever their suspect had been working on. On the beds were a variety of odds and ends. Tape, electrical tape she noted…..various bits of wires…..some sort of substance that looked like modeling clay but what she was fairly sure was explosive material……and some pieces that could only be described as the innards of a clock.

After perusing the beds and their contents, she slowly made her way through the remainder of the room. Someone had opened the bathroom door and left the light on. The bomber? She stepped inside and noticed immediately that there was still a certain amount of dampness in the air. He took a shower before leaving. Why? To wash away any residual traces of the explosive? If the air was still saturated with water, then their man couldn't have left very long ago. Is he still in the area? Is he watching what's going on here?

Frank watched as Laura made her rounds. He'd learned a long time ago not to interrupt her when she was in her sleuth mode. She needed time to go over the area and filter what she saw through what she knew to be criminal behavior. Putting two and two together, so to speak. He loved watching her work. Face it Donovan….you just love watching her. How can someone look so focused and serious and still look so damned sexy? Shaking his head, he tried to tear himself away and go over the contents of the room himself. Putting on surgical gloves, he began his investigation.

Monica, entered after the other two and stood in the doorway for a few moments watching them. They both seemed oblivious to her presence, which gave her time to come to a conclusion she'd been sensing since she left the Nest. There is definitely something going on between these two! When they'd been in the car earlier, Monica had chosen to sit in the back, and from that vantage point, she could most certainly see the difference in how Donovan related to this woman. When they spoke to each other, it was almost in intimate tones. True, the two knew each other from some time before, but just how well they knew each other was what Monica wanted to know. An old girlfriend? A current girlfriend? An old flame looking to be rekindled? She hadn't been totally sure until they'd entered the motel room and she'd seen how Donovan was staring after Laura like some horny teenager. I can't wait to tell Alex about this one! Snapping out of her own reverie, she began to look over the room herself.

"Doesn't look like he slept here," Monica noted immediately. Frank turned quickly to look at her as if he'd forgotten that there was someone else in the room with he and Laura.

Frank nodded and approached the beds. Lifting the bedspread up on one and then the other with his gloved hand he responded, "You're right…..there are still creases in the pillowcases."

Laura left the bathroom and rejoined the two. "He took a shower before leaving. There's still moisture in the air. I don't think it's been that long since he left." She paused briefly before adding. "He may still be in the area. He may enjoy watching us chase him."

Frank frowned at that, not liking the idea that they may be on display to their prey. "I'm going to talk to the cops outside. I'll ask them to start a search of the surrounding area." With that he made his way to the front door, but before he'd gotten two steps out the door, he was confronted with flashing lights. Turning quickly, he re-entered the room and slammed the door shut. Both Laura and Monica looked at him quizzically, but before they had a chance to question his actions he pulled out his cell phone, and the look on his face could only be described as thunderous.

After a few seconds, someone answered his call. "Cody…..get me Lt. Phil Casey on the phone." While he was waiting to be connected, Laura moved to the front window, and pulled the curtains apart slightly, just enough to give a small view of what was going on outside. She saw immediately what had caused Frank's reaction. The press. There were probably about 5 or 6 news vans outside and from what she could see, about 15 reporters in all, many with cameras at the ready. How the hell did they get here so quickly?? There was no one out there when we arrived ten minutes ago.

Cody came back on the line about a minute later. "Patching you through now, boss."

"Hey Frank what's up? Find anything out at the motel?"

"Oh I found plenty Phil…….how about twenty news reporters with cameras! What the hell is going on?? I thought we agreed that we need to keep as much of this off the airwaves and out of the press as possible?" Frank asked, extremely pissed off. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge about serial criminals knew that they thrived off public exposure. It satisfied their egos, made them believe they were more powerful than they really were. It was like fanning a flame.

"Whoa! Frank…..I don't know what you're talking about. There are reporters outside the motel? Now? Why haven't our men cleared them out of there?"

"You're asking me?!?!" Frank nearly yelled. "I suggest you get in touch with your men right now, or so help me……"

"OK Frank….calm down……it's done……I'll take care of it. We've got some pretty green recruits out in the field right now due to this bomber's escapades. We had to call some of them up from the Academy before they were probably ready. I'll put in the call right now. I'll have the area clear within minutes." Frank mumbled a hardly recognizable "it had better be" before slamming his cell phone shut.

Sighing heavily, Frank moved to the front window and followed Laura's lead by taking a peak through barely parted curtains. He saw the six or so cops outside all listening intently to their police band radios, and then they all went into action. True to his word, Phil's men had the area emptied within five minutes or so, and to say that the members of the press were anything but thrilled would have been an understatement. God damned vultures! Deep down inside, he knew they were just doing their jobs. The world had an insatiable desire to know all the down and dirty details, and they were just feeding that desire.

Pushing away from the window, Frank turned to look at the two women. Neither one needed to be told how bad the situation was. The truth be told, they could probably give him an education in serial criminal behavior. However, the up side was that none of the press had been able to get a very clear view of the interior of the motel room. Or at least he hoped they hadn't.

"So what did we find?" he asked, calming down considerably.

"Other than what we see here," Laura indicated by waving her hand at the beds, "not a whole lot. He came here to make his bomb and then showered before leaving."

"The question is," Monica began, "why here? Is it because it's near the place where he's planning his next hit, or is it because it's such an out of the way location?"

"And why would he need to shower before leaving?" Frank asked bewildered. "He didn't sleep here. So why shower? Is he planning on trying to take a bomb through security somewhere, knowing that bomb sniffing dogs can smell residue on the hands? Or is he just a neat freak?"

The two women puzzled over the questions that he posed. "Or…." Laura began, "he's been sleeping somewhere where there are no bathing facilities available."

Frank knew they weren't going to find the answers they needed at that moment. "So is there anything else we need to cover?" The two shook their heads. "Fine. We'll leave the scene to the forensic team. I doubt they'll find anything. Although rooms are cleaned between guests, we all know it's not cleaned that well. They may easily find prints and residue from persons who stayed here a month ago or more.

"Well….if there's nothing else, maybe we can get back to the warehouse and Monica and I can get to that briefing we never had the chance to start," Laura suggested.

"Good idea. Let's head out, but let me just make sure that none of the press is left lurking outside." Frank opened the door and peered out cautiously. After surveying the area, he was fairly certain that the coast was clear, so to speak. He motioned for the two to follow and they left to approach their car. Halfway between the motel room and their awaiting vehicle, Frank spotted a rather nervous looking uniformed officer waiting for them.

"Uhhh……Agent Donovan?" the young man began. Frank stopped walking and merely glared in response.

"I wanted to apologize for what went on here earlier. You know….with the press and all," he continued, suddenly finding something interesting to look at on the ground. He shuffled his feet a few times and found his voice again. "I wasn't informed that they weren't supposed to be in the area. I've worked a few crime scenes before, and…..well…..I've never heard orders given that said we should keep the press away completely."

Frank looked at the kid. What is he….18?...19? Yeah, I know he's older that that but… geez…..did I ever look that young when I first started out? As much as he knew it wasn't the cop's fault, something in him wouldn't let him absolve his mistake. Lessons to be taught.

"You have no idea how this could have jeopardized our whole case," Frank said through clenched teeth, trying to look as intimidating as he could, and from the look on the kid's face, it had worked.

"I….I…didn't…" the cop stuttered, looking at Frank in horror.

"No you didn't….did you?" he nearly hissed at him. And before the cop could say anything further, Frank waved his hand at him in dismissal and proceeded to the car, Monica and Laura trailing behind him.

Once inside the vehicle and on their way, Laura turned in her seat so that she could face Frank. "Well I'd say that was a little uncalled for!"

For a second, he had no idea what she was talking about, but when he glanced at her, he could see that she was really mad. Her eyes were blazing, her mouth drawn in a taut line, lips pressed together tightly and her cheeks slightly reddened. Damn……she's hot when she's mad! He turned away promptly, trying to focus on the road in front of him.

"What was uncalled for?" he asked, although he knew the answer.

"That cop! You had no right to talk to him that way! He was just following standard procedure. And who the hell are you to yell at him like that?"

"Laura…."

"Don't you dare Laura me, Frank Donovan!" She turned away from him and stared out the side window, her arms now folded tightly across her chest.

"The kid screwed up!" he blurted, suddenly getting mad. "Somebody needed to set him straight!"

"And I'm sure someone would have. You know….I'm pretty sure he's got a superior somewhere who's chewing his ass out right now. But noooooo………you had to yell at him first, you just jumped in there like you always do." She turned to him once more, and could tell right off that she'd pushed a few buttons. His jaws were clenched and his hands were gripping that wheel like his life depended on it. She prayed silently that he wouldn't turn to gaze back at her. When he was mad, he got this incredibly intense look on his face, and that look never ceased to make her feel like she was melting…..melting and totally turned on.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked, now totally pissed off. God, he hated that sarcastic tone to her voice.

"You always think it's your place to set the world straight! You think it's your sworn duty to fire off your mouth whenever you damn well feel like it!"

Frank gripped the steering wheel as tightly as he could, until his knuckles were literally turning white. Grinding his teeth, it was taking everything he had not to retaliate. God….she can get me madder than any other person I've ever met! He stole a very quick glance at her. I don't know whether to strangle her or ravage her until she's screaming my name and clawing my back in ecstasy!

Neither one said another word during the remainder of the trip back to the Nest, and the silence was almost deafening.

Monica, of course, had witnessed the whole exchange. At first, she whole-heartedly agreed with Laura. Donovan did tend to jump in where he was not necessarily needed. She understood him enough to know that he was only trying to teach the cop a lesson. Of course the lesson being…..don't mess with an FBI investigation and more importantly, don't fuck with Frank Donovan.

However, at some point during the fight, she realized they weren't really fighting about what had happened. The tension between the two was almost palpable and she wasn't sure if most of that tension wasn't primarily sexual. Now I really want to know what's going on with these two! She suddenly felt like an outsider. Like she had just witnessed a lovers' spat and it made her feel slightly voyeuristic. Boy….it's going to be a long trip back to work.

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When the three arrived back at the warehouse, Frank immediately went up to his office, slamming the door behind him, which left Monica and Laura to themselves. Looking around, they noticed that Dave had some sort of program running on one of the computers, but was nowhere to be found.

Monica glanced at her watch and saw that it was nearly noon. "He probably went to get some lunch," she commented. Laura simply nodded in recognition. Monica sighed, wondering how long it was going to take for the spat to blow over. Not wanting to overstep any boundaries, real or imagined, she cautiously started a conversation with the subdued woman.

"Are you OK?" she asked quietly.

Laura turned to Monica and could see the real concern on her face. She suddenly felt like an idiot knowing that she'd witnessed the whole exchange in the car. Sighing softly she closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"I'm fine. It's just that……" she hesitated wondering if she could confide in her fellow profiler. She wanted to talk about it….she really did. But she also knew that this was not the time and place. "He just makes me so mad sometimes, always coming off so heavy-handed….always being so……so….…Frank Donovan."

Monica smiled at that. She could understand the sentiment. It was just funny hearing it come from this woman that she had only met 3 or so hours ago.

"I shouldn't say that," Laura quickly added with a timid smile. "I mean he's your boss and everything. You have to work with him all the time, I don't."

"You worked with him before though, right?" Monica asked.

"Yeah….I did. But that was before…….it was a while ago." She nervously looked away and went off in search of some paper and a pen to write with.

Monica looked at her strangely. She knew she had meant to say something else and had changed her words at the last second. The mystery continues……

Laura soon returned with a smile and a whole different demeanor. It's show time! "What do you say we get started?" she began. "I know we have a lot to cover and this is probably going to be one of the few times we'll have to go over this material together."

Monica eyed the other woman suspiciously for a few more seconds, but decided to play along. "Sounds great. Let me grab the files and then let's get comfortable. There's a lot of material to go over."

So the two did just that. Over the next several hours they reviewed every aspect of the case. The suspect's history, the bomb sites, any physical evidence remaining at each site, as well as any other pertinent information.

Frank spent the whole afternoon sequestered in his office, and finally at around 5:00 or so he emerged and announced that he'd be at the police station meeting with Lt. Casey. Then without so much as a glance in their direction, he left.

From the second Frank opened his office door, Monica watched Laura as her eyes were glued to his every movement, and she could have sworn she heard a small sigh escape her lips. Not a sigh of longing, but one of sadness or regret. Before Laura caught her staring, Monica quickly looked away and busied herself with the papers in front of her.

An hour or so later, the rest of the crew began to join them, as the next shift was ready to take over at about 7:00 or so. Frank, however, didn't return to the Nest. He called a few minutes before 7 and asked if everyone was in place to take over. David, who answered the phone, assured him that Alex, Jake and Cody were ready. He told Dave to tell the team that he'd be out for a while but to call him on his cell phone if needed.

Laura listened to the message and felt the whole situation was her fault. She'd run him off and all because of some nonsensical argument. When seven o'clock came she told Alex and Jake that she was heading home and that, like Donovan, she could be reached by cell. Grabbing her things she beat a hasty retreat. She needed to talk to him. She needed to apologize.

After she'd left, Alex looked at Monica and asked, "What the hell went on here this afternoon?"

Monica kind of shrugged but gave Alex a look that said 'I'll tell you later when so many ears aren't around'. Alex gave a short nod of understanding.

A short time after taking over, the team received a call from the PD saying that they'd just gotten a tip on the hotline concerning a man at a downtown bar. Someone spouting off to the bartender that he knew where the bomber could be found. After writing down the pertinent facts, Alex and Jake left to check it out.

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The two arrived at the bar a few minutes after 8:00. They went in and introduced themselves to the bartender and he pointed them in the direction of the man in question. They turned and approached the table where the man held audience with three of his drinking buddies. Jake and Alex exchanged a quick glance. Both knew in an instant that this was not going to lead anywhere. Like so many other tips that they'd followed, this guy just wanted to make himself sound important. In other words…..he didn't know shit. But Jake still got a perverse pleasure out of seeing the man turn green and come damn near close to soiling himself when he was shown their FBI badges. Soooo busted!

After a few minutes alone with the man, enough to make sure that he really was just running his mouth off, Alex and Jake exited the bar and started making their way back to Jake's waiting vehicle. But a few steps later, Jake suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Alex looked over at him bewildered and saw him staring intently ahead of them. For a split second, she thought he'd spotted their suspect, but something in his eyes told her this wasn't the case. Looking around, she couldn't see what he was attentively focused on.

"Jake? What is it?"

At first he didn't answer, instead he moved two or three steps to his left so that he could get a better view of something. "Come here," he waved at her with his hand, motioning for her to step closer to him. When she did so, he pointed directly in front of him.

Again, Alex didn't see what was so mesmerizing about the scene before them. It was a rather busy section of town and several dozen people could be seen walking up and down the street. She was about to ask for an explanation, when she saw what he was intently staring at. Walking hand in hand down the street away from them was one Frank Donovan and one Laura Daniels.

Jake and Alex exchanged a rather bemused look. So this was their boss' big secret. He had a girlfriend.

"I told you," Jake finally stated.

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. She was never going to hear the end of it. "Jake….."

"No…..uh uh……you just about told me I was crazy! I knew there was something about her. Admit it," he demanded smugly. "I was right."

Alex shook her head and relented, knowing that she was not going to get a moment's peace until she did. "All right….all right," she stated, her hands up in a supplicating gesture. "You were right. Happy now?"

Jake smiled triumphantly. It wasn't nearly enough but it would have to do for now, because at the moment, there was something he wanted to do.

"Let's follow them."

"Jake! Are you crazy?!?! That is one highly trained government agent there," she said pointing in Frank's direction, "and on top of all that he's our boss. A boss who would fire us in an instant for even considering it."

"Come on……you know you want to! You're as curious as I am. Just admit it."

Alex looked at her partner and she had to confess that the situation certainly had her curious. If Donovan were open to them about his personal life, she wouldn't be the slightest bit interested. But seeing as he wasn't……..

"I cannot believe I'm even considering this," she said as she looked up at the darkening sky as if pleading for guidance.

Jake gave a short laugh and then took off in the direction that Frank and Laura were heading in. Shaking her head in exasperation, Alex followed closely behind him.

The two trailed the couple for well over a block. Shortly after they started following them, Frank let go of Laura's hand and trailed his hand caressingly over her back and then to Jake and Alex's surprise he leaned over and kissed her gently behind the ear. Laura responded by wrapping her arm around Frank's waist and leaning in to give him a tender kiss on the lips. The two continued walking but never broke eye contact, their arms now wrapped possessively around each other. A short time later, Jake and Alex lost sight of them because of the crowd. When the way before them cleared a bit, they realized that they'd lost them. Jake looked around almost frantically, trying to figure out where they'd gone. Looking around at the buildings, he realized that he had no clue. Most were small businesses or offices and the majority of those had already closed for the day.

"I think we lost them," he stated when he turned to look at Alex. But she, however, had found something else that held her interest, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head. Quickly grabbing Jake's arm she hauled him roughly over to the front of the nearest building.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked annoyed.

"Ssshhhh! They'll hear you," she whispered to him.

"Who?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Who the hell have we been following for the last three blocks, idiot!" she again said in hushed tones.

"Where are they?" Jake asked as he tried once more to look around the street for the two.

Alex once again pulled him back. "They're around the corner," she told him motioning with her hand to the alleyway that separated the building they were in front of from the next.

"What the hell are they doing in a dark alleyway?"

Alex gave him a look that said 'are you seriously this stupid or are you just faking it'. Jake looked at her perplexed for a second longer and then the light bulb came on over his head.

"Holy shit! They're going at it in a filthy downtown alleyway?"

"From what I saw…..yeah. He had her pinned up against the wall and she had her skirt hiked up and her legs wrapped around his waist. Granted I didn't get the full floorshow, but I have a pretty fair idea what uncontrolled passion looks like when I see it."

Jake made a move to peek around the corner, but Alex grabbed hold of him and prevented him from moving.

"No Jake!"

"Ahhh come on…..you got to see," he said with a slight whine to his voice.

"Yeah I did, but it's not like I was exactly looking for it. They were just kind of…..there. You know what I mean?" He looked at her dejectedly, but he saw her point. It's not like he really wanted to watch, he just wanted to make sure that Alex wasn't just yanking his chain.

While the two were still trying to figure out what their next course of action would be, they both heard footsteps in the alley. Plastering themselves up along the wall, hoping against hope not to be seen, they practically held their breath waiting to see what was going to happen next.

They saw Frank and Laura emerge from the alley hand in hand once again and this time they seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. Jake and Alex looked at each other for a split second and then made a bee line to follow, but this time they had a hard time keeping up. Where the hell are they going in such a big hurry?

They soon got their answer. About two blocks down, Frank and Laura entered one of the buildings. Jake and Alex approached stealthily not knowing exactly where the couple had gone in. When they approached the building, Jake and Alex stopped and after looking at the name on the front of the structure, both broke into wicked grins.

The Hyatt Regency Hotel.

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