Chapter 13 – Virginia
I feel Vaughn's hand slip into the small of my back, while I fight with the lock on the door. We are in your normal suburb, staring at what could have been a picturesque World War II family home. Only this house hides a dirty secret; a secret I'm trying to pick into. So far there is nothing out of the normal. We drove around the house a few times, and never picked up on any surveillance or movement in the house. They must be gone.
"Hurry up! I think the old woman across the street is starting to wonder what we are doing." Vaughn says out of the corner of his mouth.
"You try to pick a lock in the standing position, with your arms down at your waist." The lock finally gives and we both greet the invisible woman. We close the door, and inspect the condition. There is no sign of forced entry. Vaughn reaches under his coat and pulls out his gun and cocks it. We slowly make our way further into the entry room. There are pictures everywhere, nothing seems to have been knocked over and disheveled. It seems as if the occupants were on vacation. No sign of struggle.
We enter into the kitchen, the sink has a few dirty dishes in it, and there is a stack of bills on the counter. I wonder over and shuffle through the letters, place them back on the counter. Vaughn is over tinkering with a stack of invitations on the table. He catches me looking at them and holds one up. They are invitations for Calvin's funeral. My head drops, I flash back to Danny; another man killed by Sloane's horrid plans.
I advance toward the hall that leads to the living room, leaving Vaughn shuffling through the papers on the table. I walk down the hall and cross through a door and enter the living room. On the table sits today's newspaper and a cup of coffee. This room is filled of pictures too; a set of them catches my eye.
It's one of those frames that can hold multiple photos. It appears as if it was Cassie's 29th birthday. There is a big center picture of Cassie in front of her cake, with Calvin kissing her cheek and Zanna sitting next to him. There seems to be about 25 other smiling people behind them. A lump rises in my throat, this house seems to mock me. They were able to live a normal life, despite his career; while mine has been a nightmare for me and anyone who comes close to me. I look at a few other of the pictures, in the frame. There is a few of just Cassie and Calvin, and then one of Calvin and Zanna. She looks so vibrant in the pictures; she almost looks like a completely different person than the one who has come to our LA office.
I start to wonder further down the wall until I get a nagging feeling in my stomach. I look back the center photo, the one that initially caught my attention. I glance over it once more and there Sark is, my heart stop and the puzzle statrs to make sense. "Vaughn… we got to get out of here right now!" I hear footsteps come in from the kitchen, I turn hoping to get out of here as soon as possible when I stop dead. It's not Vaughn, it's a woman. A red spotlight now on my forehead, I'm looking straight at the barrel of a semiautomatic pistol.
"Hands Up! Don't more!"
*****
I've been sitting here forever, Eric still hasn't returned. Why does he have to act this way? I sit turn towards the windows, and look out into the other offices. I scan the area looking for where he could be; he's across the hall and down a little ways talking to someone. He gives them a quick one liner and then starts to head back towards his office. He enters and places a cup of coffee down on his desk and looks back at his computer. He doesn't say anything to me or even look at me.
"Eric… please don't do this. You are the only person that I have right now, and I don't need you ignoring me." He turns up from his computer his eyes still hold rejection in them. I bite my lower lip; I don't need this, especially not right now. I shake my head and turn away. He turns back to his computer and types away.
*****
I hear another shuffle of steps; two guards enter dragging Vaughn in with them. There's a bright red spot on Vaughn's left temple, and a gun shoved pointing right at Vaughn's other temple.
"Cassie?" I mutter. The guards shift Vaughn towards a chair and push him down in the chair, both now pointing guns on him. I use my peripheral vision to glance at some of the photographs. It is Cassie. This was a trap all along.
"Agent Bristow. Hmm… I wasn't expecting you." With that she reaches into her front pocket and pulls out a cell phone. She motions her gun towards the couch, "please take a seat for a second." With that she puts the cell phone up to her ear but never moves her eyes from me. "We have a problem." She pauses and listens to the voice on the other end. "No, Agent Adurea wasn't the one who showed up. Seems that Jack sent Sydney." Another pause, "Very well." With that she hangs up the phone and returns it to her pocket.
I sit on the couch trying to remain calm. If that was Sloane, I'm safe, but what about Vaughn? I glance up into Cassie's eyes, they are stone cold, they have the look that my mother had when she shot me. "So you and Calvin set this all up."
Her eyes fill with humor, "Calvin was just another pawn, the means to get information for my boss."
"Your boss? Sloane?"
She doesn't move, but the look in her eyes is enough to tell me that it was Sloane on the phone. She advances forward on me, "Seems we have a change of plans, so I'm to leave you the message. We want Sark." With that she raises her arm and smashes it into the side of my head, before I even feel pain everything goes black.
I feel Vaughn's hand slip into the small of my back, while I fight with the lock on the door. We are in your normal suburb, staring at what could have been a picturesque World War II family home. Only this house hides a dirty secret; a secret I'm trying to pick into. So far there is nothing out of the normal. We drove around the house a few times, and never picked up on any surveillance or movement in the house. They must be gone.
"Hurry up! I think the old woman across the street is starting to wonder what we are doing." Vaughn says out of the corner of his mouth.
"You try to pick a lock in the standing position, with your arms down at your waist." The lock finally gives and we both greet the invisible woman. We close the door, and inspect the condition. There is no sign of forced entry. Vaughn reaches under his coat and pulls out his gun and cocks it. We slowly make our way further into the entry room. There are pictures everywhere, nothing seems to have been knocked over and disheveled. It seems as if the occupants were on vacation. No sign of struggle.
We enter into the kitchen, the sink has a few dirty dishes in it, and there is a stack of bills on the counter. I wonder over and shuffle through the letters, place them back on the counter. Vaughn is over tinkering with a stack of invitations on the table. He catches me looking at them and holds one up. They are invitations for Calvin's funeral. My head drops, I flash back to Danny; another man killed by Sloane's horrid plans.
I advance toward the hall that leads to the living room, leaving Vaughn shuffling through the papers on the table. I walk down the hall and cross through a door and enter the living room. On the table sits today's newspaper and a cup of coffee. This room is filled of pictures too; a set of them catches my eye.
It's one of those frames that can hold multiple photos. It appears as if it was Cassie's 29th birthday. There is a big center picture of Cassie in front of her cake, with Calvin kissing her cheek and Zanna sitting next to him. There seems to be about 25 other smiling people behind them. A lump rises in my throat, this house seems to mock me. They were able to live a normal life, despite his career; while mine has been a nightmare for me and anyone who comes close to me. I look at a few other of the pictures, in the frame. There is a few of just Cassie and Calvin, and then one of Calvin and Zanna. She looks so vibrant in the pictures; she almost looks like a completely different person than the one who has come to our LA office.
I start to wonder further down the wall until I get a nagging feeling in my stomach. I look back the center photo, the one that initially caught my attention. I glance over it once more and there Sark is, my heart stop and the puzzle statrs to make sense. "Vaughn… we got to get out of here right now!" I hear footsteps come in from the kitchen, I turn hoping to get out of here as soon as possible when I stop dead. It's not Vaughn, it's a woman. A red spotlight now on my forehead, I'm looking straight at the barrel of a semiautomatic pistol.
"Hands Up! Don't more!"
*****
I've been sitting here forever, Eric still hasn't returned. Why does he have to act this way? I sit turn towards the windows, and look out into the other offices. I scan the area looking for where he could be; he's across the hall and down a little ways talking to someone. He gives them a quick one liner and then starts to head back towards his office. He enters and places a cup of coffee down on his desk and looks back at his computer. He doesn't say anything to me or even look at me.
"Eric… please don't do this. You are the only person that I have right now, and I don't need you ignoring me." He turns up from his computer his eyes still hold rejection in them. I bite my lower lip; I don't need this, especially not right now. I shake my head and turn away. He turns back to his computer and types away.
*****
I hear another shuffle of steps; two guards enter dragging Vaughn in with them. There's a bright red spot on Vaughn's left temple, and a gun shoved pointing right at Vaughn's other temple.
"Cassie?" I mutter. The guards shift Vaughn towards a chair and push him down in the chair, both now pointing guns on him. I use my peripheral vision to glance at some of the photographs. It is Cassie. This was a trap all along.
"Agent Bristow. Hmm… I wasn't expecting you." With that she reaches into her front pocket and pulls out a cell phone. She motions her gun towards the couch, "please take a seat for a second." With that she puts the cell phone up to her ear but never moves her eyes from me. "We have a problem." She pauses and listens to the voice on the other end. "No, Agent Adurea wasn't the one who showed up. Seems that Jack sent Sydney." Another pause, "Very well." With that she hangs up the phone and returns it to her pocket.
I sit on the couch trying to remain calm. If that was Sloane, I'm safe, but what about Vaughn? I glance up into Cassie's eyes, they are stone cold, they have the look that my mother had when she shot me. "So you and Calvin set this all up."
Her eyes fill with humor, "Calvin was just another pawn, the means to get information for my boss."
"Your boss? Sloane?"
She doesn't move, but the look in her eyes is enough to tell me that it was Sloane on the phone. She advances forward on me, "Seems we have a change of plans, so I'm to leave you the message. We want Sark." With that she raises her arm and smashes it into the side of my head, before I even feel pain everything goes black.