Chapter 11: Twilight Zone

Murdock picked Nancy up a little before 5 and took her over to the Community Center.  Char saw them coming in and hurried out of her office to greet them, "HM, it's good to see you," she said sincerely, "How did the ultrasound go today?"

Nancy glanced at Murdock before replying, "It went great.  We found out we're gonna have twins."

Char's eyes grew wide, "Does BA know?," then almost to herself, "Of course he doesn't, he's been busy all day.  Well practice will have to wait.  He's out back - they've got a basketball game going on.  Let's go tell him!" she said excitedly.

They followed Charlotte through the building and out to the back court, where there was a crowd gathered.  Charlotte worked her way through the crowd, and up to where BA was standing with the team coach.  BA helped out as assistant coach, and tried to be present for all of the games.  She put an arm around BA's shoulders, pulling him down to whisper in his ear.  He straightened suddenly and looked back to where Nancy and Murdock were standing at the edge of the crowd.  He got the attention of the coach, and motioned back, then he and Char moved back through the crowd towards them.

"Is it true," he asked incredulously as he approached, "the crazy man's gonna have twins?"

Murdock was grinning broadly, an arm draped over Nancy's shoulders, "Yep, there be two, count 'em, two babies in there," He pointed to Nancy's belly, "We hit the jackpot, big guy!"

BA shook Murdock's hand vigorously, then gave Nancy a bear hug, "That's great news," he said excitedly, "should make life interestin'. I can't wait to tell Mama. Crazy man gonna have twins!" BA was shaking his head, but his smile was beaming.

Nancy glanced at her watch, "I gotta get in for practice, Jazz is gonna think I've abandoned her," she sighed, "Not that I haven't thought about it, but I think I should give it more than one practice."

Murdock smiled at her affectionately, "Jasmine is counting on you, you won't let her down.  No matter how terrified you are of singing in front of a crowd."

Char motioned towards the building, "You're in the same practice room as yesterday," she said, "I'll be in in a few minutes."

When they entered the practice room, Terra greeted them happily, "Mom thought maybe you were gonna flake out on her."

Jasmine looked embarrassed, "I didn't say that, Terra," she said, then rushed on, "How was your ultrasound today?"

"Twins," Nancy said simply.

Terra jumped up and down, "Really? That is so cool."

Murdock grinned, "Yea, I think so too."

They started practice right away, quickly going over the songs they'd practiced the day before, then starting on several new ones.  About 15 minutes after they'd started, Char ducked in quietly.  They managed to get through a couple dozen songs in the two hours that they practiced.

They were both pleased with their progress.  Char, Murdock and Terra told them that they sounded pretty good, though the acoustics of the small practice room were not great, and at times, Nancy's voice was overwhelmed by the instruments.  Jazz was getting more comfortable with the backup vocals, and even Terra agreed that her Mom's voice wasn't too bad.

"You really should plan on giving the stage a try, sometime soon," Char suggested, "You need to get the instrument volumes leveled appropriately.  The stage is free tomorrow night around 8pm.  There won't be too many people here then, and it'll give you some practice in a setting that will be more like at Charlie's."

Jazz looked relieved at the suggestion, "I agree, I really think we need to start getting used to the stage," she looked at Nancy uncertainly, "It is a lot different than singing in a practice room like this.  You need to get used to how the instruments sound, and make sure you're comfortable with the venue."

Nancy nodded, "OK, we can give it try tomorrow night at 8," she agreed reluctantly, "it probably is a good idea to get used to it."

Jasmine smiled, then turned quickly, "Oh, I have a couple more tapes for you to listen to.  I think a couple of the songs have potential, I thought I'd see what you thought. What did you think of the one I gave you yesterday?"

Nancy took the new tapes, and dropped them in her guitar case, "I really liked a few of the songs," she said, "Especially Mad Season and If You're Gone."

Jazz nodded in agreement, "those are my favorites. What did you think of Burn and Bent?"

Nancy smiled, "Actaully, I liked most of the songs," she admitted, "But If You're Gone is probably the most adaptable. And I'd really like to figure out Mad Season!"

"Here," Jazz said, handing Nancy several sheets of paper, "I found the sheet music for those two and Burn - maybe we could try them . . . tomorrow evening?"

Nancy looked through the music, ''The guitar is almost all electric," she said uncertainly, "it's not gonna sound right on acoustic."

"If you play piano, I can do the other on the synthesizer."

"OK, I guess it's worth a try. It'll take me a little while to work up," Nancy said. 

"We could do a dry run on them tomorrow," Jazz said hopefully, "we could use a couple more lively songs."

Nancy laughed, "Now I see where Terra gets her persistence from!" she headed out the door, "See you tomorrow!"

"Tell me honestly, did it sound OK, or do you think we're gonna be laughed off the stage?"  They were headed home, and Nancy still had some definite doubts about singing at Charlie's.

Murdock just shook his head, "You two sound great. I do think Char is right - you need the stage time, to get used to it.  It will be quite a bit different than in the practice room."

Nancy nodded, then switched gears, "When are you meeting with Uncle?"

"Hannibal said he'd be back between 7 and 8.  It'll be kinda late."

"That's OK," Nancy said, adding pointedly, "As long as you come home."

Carl called to tell them he was having dinner with a friend in DC, and would be home late.  They had just finished dinner when Hannibal called to say that the General was waiting for them at the air field. Murdock told Hannibal he'd meet him there in half an hour.

When Murdock hung up, he was agitated, "I don't like the sounds of this at all," he said, pacing the kitchen, while Nancy was putting dishes in the dishwasher, "What does your Uncle want, anyways?  I guess I was still hoping he'd tell Hannibal he didn't want to see my face again."

Nancy watched him make two circuits of the kitchen, before taking his arm and stopping him, "Do you remember what you promised me earlier today?" she asked quietly.

He looked at her, "Yes . . ."

"OK, let's just go with that," Nancy said sternly, "You make sure that you're happy with whatever arrangement is agreed upon.  Whether Uncle or Hannibal is totally happy with it or not.  I'm not letting you back out of the airfield - it's what you've always wanted."

He relaxed, and leaning down kissed her forehead, "You got it, Short Cake," he said.

After Murdock left for the airfield, Nancy was left at loose ends.  She went into the office and decided to try Sam Germaine again.  The phone rang, but again, there was no answer.  Nancy tried information for a number for Sam Germaine.  The operator told her the number she had was correct, she'd just have to try again.

Nancy dialed again, and let the phone ring, on the twelfth ring she was just about to hang up when a mechanical voice came on with a brief message, "Speak after the tone,"

"Mr. Germaine, my name is Nancy Murdock and I was hoping to talk to you regarding your work at the CIA," Nancy left her home and work phone numbers, just before the machine cut her off.

She put the phone down, and pulled LaSalle's personnel file out.  She pulled the timeline she'd constructed out, and began superimposing LaSalle's career onto it.  LaSalle had been with the Agency quite a bit longer than Caswell, but she found it interesting that once Caswell came into the picture, in Houston, where LaSalle, at the time, had been working, their career movements tracked within a few months of each other.

She sat back and looked at the information she'd summarized.  It looked like LaSalle had started following Caswell through the CIA once Caswell had started.  LaSalle was working in the Houston office when Caswell was first assigned, and they had worked there together for three years. Caswell had moved to LA, and LaSalle had followed, 4 months later.  They'd worked in LA for a little over four years.  Then Caswell had moved to Denver, and LaSalle had followed, this time only a month later.  They had only been in Denver for two years.  Caswell's promotion to headquarters had been sudden, and it had taken LaSalle almost 6 months before he'd gotten transferred to Headquarters himself, that had been nearly two years ago.  It looked like LaSalle had suspected Caswell of being dishonest from the beginning. Once again Nancy had an eerie feeling that LaSalle wasn't telling the whole story.  If he had dirt on Caswell, enough to make him follow the guy through the Agency, then why didn't he reveal it, and get the whole thing out in the open.  Something didn't add up.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes and looked at the clock. It was almost 9:00.  Her father and/or Murdock should be home sometime soon.  She folded up the papers, and shoved them all into her briefcase.  Tomorrow, she'd see if she could track Sam Germaine down.  Maybe he could shed some light on Caswell and LaSalle's relationship, if there was one. 

She went to the dining room, and sat at the piano. She opened her guitar case and took out the two new tapes Jazz had given her, as well as the music, laying them out on top of the piano. She checked her tape player, the tape of Matchbox20 was still in there, and she searched until she found Mad Season. She might as well practice while she had the time.

Murdock arrived at the airfield a little before Hannibal, and went into the hangar to wait for him.  Doc was behind the counter, and looked up when he came in, "Hey, there Murdock.  You get a chance to go over those papers?"

Murdock smiled, "Yep, Carl and I went over them at lunch briefly.  He wants to take a closer look tonight, but said everything looked like it was in order."

"Good, I'm ready to take a vacation."

Murdock grimaced, "Don't get your hopes up, Doc," He said uncertainly, "I'm meeting with Stockwell tonight - he says he doesn't accept my resignation.  I'm not sure exactly what's up, but I may not be as unemployed as I thought."

Hannibal came walking in, "Ready for this, Murdock?" he asked, concern evident in his tone.

Murdock shrugged, "I guess," he said quietly, "Do I have any choice?"

Hannibal shrugged, "No, I don't suppose you do."

Doc broke in, "Just make sure my new business partner comes back outta that jet in one piece," he entreated, "I really need that vacation."

Hannibal raised an eyebrow, but wasn't overly surprised by Doc's revelation.  He'd always seen Murdock running a small airfield like this.  If the pilot had anything to say about it, his kids would probably be able to fly before they could walk.  The timing was a little hairy, though.

Hannibal nodded towards the door, "We better get out there," glancing at Doc, he added jokingly, "I'll do what I can to make sure the General doesn't kill 'im."

Murdock looked back at Hannibal sharply, and Hannibal laughed, "Just kidding, Captain," he said, "You are a member of the clan now, so at least you have that going for you.  I don't think that Stockwells kill their own." Murdock grimaced; Hannibal always had had a sick sense of humor.

Murdock walked into the office first, followed closely by Hannibal.  Stockwell glanced up as they entered, "Take a seat, gentlemen," he said stiffly.  They sat in adjacent chairs in front of the desk, and waited quietly for the General to start. Hannibal sat back, arms crossed, looking relaxed, though his gaze was alert, and expectant.  Murdock sat stiffly in his chair, his jaw clenched, and his foot tapping in agitation.

Stockwell sat back in his chair, his fingers steepled in front of him, and considered the two men silently, his expression unreadable. He allowed the silence to stretch on for a couple of minutes before beginning, "I am hoping that we can resolve this dilemma to everyone's satisfaction," he began evenly, "I am willing to overlook the difficulties that Captain Murdock's actions caused yesterday, given the possible misunderstanding that my statements may have led to earlier in the week.  However, we need to come to an understanding about his future responsibilities with Stockwell Enterprises."

Murdock was now sitting stock still, "As we have discussed before," he stated quietly, his eye not wavering from the General's face "I do not wish to pilot the jet all over the country.  The whole point of the 'retirement' plan was to make sure that we were home more.  I thought you understood that.  The last month has been intolerable.  I was home more when we were still on the regular mission roster."

Stockwell leaned forward, and rested his elbows on the desk, "I have found another pilot, Captain.  Your services in that regard will no longer be needed.  However, as I've discussed with Colonel Smith, my purpose in utilizing your services over the past month was two-fold.  First of all, I did need a pilot, on short notice.  But ultimately, I will need someone to take over the management of Stockwell Enterprises."

Murdock interrupted, "Whoa, back up," he looked more than a little shocked, "You can't be serious - did you say take over management of Stockwell Enterprises?"

"I'm not going to live forever, Captain," Stockwell said matter-of-factly, "I will need a successor to take over the business when I retire. I thought you understood that.  Why else would I be introducing you to my contacts . . ."

Hannibal looked sideways at Murdock, thinking that perhaps he should have prepared him for this.  But he'd been unwilling to be the one to tell Murdock that Stockwell was looking to him as an heir of sorts, the whole thing just seemed so . . . farfetched.  From Murdock's face, Hannibal could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

Murdock was shaking his head in wonder, "Did it ever occur to you to clue me in to your intentions?" Murdock said, "I figured you were just trying to distract me from the fact that I wasn't home. Of course, I should have known you wouldn't be that thoughtful."

The General had obviously expected a much different reaction, "Of course, since you married Nancy, this has always been my intention.  The business should remain in the family . . ."

"That's a great idea, but, I'm really not interested in managing Stockwell Enterprises," Murdock said.

The General was relentless, "I know you don't know the business end of things, but you're bright.  You'll learn.  I'm hoping to transition at least the team portion of operations to your control in the fairly near future . . ."

Murdock's face reflected many emotions, the last of which was total disbelief, "Did you listen to me?" he asked angrily, "I said I'm not interested.  I don't mind working with Hannibal to train the new teams, but running even a portion of Stockwell Enterprises does not interest me in the least."

Hannibal broke in, "Listen, obviously you two don't have enough heart to heart talks.  Just let me say for the record, I need Murdock for training the new teams.  That can probably be worked out on a part time basis," he stood up, "The rest of this is between the two of you. Obviously it's something you need to work out."

Murdock stood, too, "There's nothing to work out," he said flatly, "I'm not interested in managing Stockwell Enterprises. Period."

Stockwell stood as well, "At least take the opportunity under consideration," he said evenly, "We can discuss it tomorrow."

Murdock shook his head adamantly, "You know, General, if you really want to keep the business in the family, why don't you look a little closer to home for your successor." He turned and strode out of the office.

Hannibal took a deep breath, shrugged at the General, and then followed Murdock out.

Murdock quickly outdistanced Hannibal once they were off the jet, his long legs carrying him through the hangar and out to the parking lot, where Hannibal finally caught up to him.  He was pacing in circles by his truck, "You should have warned me, Hannibal," he said, venting some of his anger on his commanding officer.

Hannibal leaned against the truck, "I told you this afternoon that the General respected you, and besides, given what he's been doing with you for the past month I figured it was kind of obvious what his intentions were," he said quietly, "I thought the rest should come from him directly."

Murdock crossed his arms, "I think he's crazier than me.  Keep it in the family? What the hell - Nan's his only family, why doesn't he talk to her? She's a more likely candidate . . . certainly more capable."

Hannibal knew Murdock was upset, he never swore, "I don't know about that, I think the General is pretty suave - for the last two and a half years he's put you in positions to force you to get to know the Abels who, by the way, hold you in pretty high regard," Hannibal reasoned, "He knows you've got the brains to learn the business side of things.  He's been introducing you to his contacts, not just in the last month, but before, too."  He looked at Murdock, "If you think about it, his actions have pointed to him considering you as a successor for some time.  Even if he didn't say it in so many words."

Murdock continued pacing, obviously mulling over what Hannibal had said. The whole thing seemed so ludicrous, but Hannibal had a point.  That didn't change one fact, "I don't want the job," he stopped and looked at Hannibal, his eyes very serious, "I promised Nancy . . . and managing Stockwell Enterprises is not my idea of fun.  It's not what I want, and I'm not going to do it."

Hannibal nodded, "We'll just have to convince the General that he's gotta look elsewhere for his successor."

Murdock nodded in agreement, then slapped a hand to his forehead, "I can't believe I suggested Nancy. I don't want her in that position anymore than I want to be in it.  What difference does it make whether it's me that's gone, or her?"

Hannibal shook his head, "I think that the General and Nancy will make that decision," he said quietly, "You may influence it, but you aren't going to have the final say.  Honestly, I agree with you when you say Nan is more suited to the job than you are."

Murdock stood, his arms crossed "Honestly, I don't think I have anything to worry about.  I can't see the General 'grooming' Nancy for anything, it just wouldn't occur to him."

Hannibal didn't look as certain, but decided not to press the issue, "Perhaps, it isn't an issue at the moment anyway.  You can cross that bridge when . . .," he corrected himself, "If the time comes."