Chapter 14:  The Other Side of Life

The phone in Doc's office rang.  It was Hannibal, looking for Murdock.

Murdock turned from the papers spread across the desk, and took the phone from Doc, "Hey, Hannibal, what's up?"

"If you can get away, I'd like you to come to the Compound for a meeting to go over status.  You've been out of the loop lately, and we've each been working on our own pet project.  I want to get us all on the same page."

"I'll be right over," Murdock said, then rang off.  He turned to Doc, "I gotta go, sorry to leave you with the mess.  You're sure you don't mind me using your car?"

"Nope, be my guest," he said, "Will you be back later?"

"Yea, this shouldn't take too long.  I'll stop back by before I go home."

At the compound, Murdock pulled in and looked around in awe.  He hadn't been there in several weeks, and BA's crew had made considerable progress in the renovations.  On one side of the original ranch house, the new gym construction was well underway, and part of the wood had been cleared to make a staging area for equipment.  Eventually, that would be paved as a parking area.  Off to the other side, there was a new obstacle course and shooting range being laid out and constructed.

He walked into the house to find Hannibal, Face and BA already sitting around the living room, idly discussing the work underway. He dropped into one of the unoccupied chairs, "How's it goin' guys?" he asked cheerfully.

Face looked at him, a gleam in his eyes, "Not bad, bossman - how have you been?"

Murdock's smile dissolved, "I'm no bossman," he said irritably, then his grin returned, "Unless you show up at the airfield - there I'll boss you around!"

BA was shaking his head, "Stockwell must really be losin' it," he said, "The fool runnin' the company? We'd all be lookin' for work in a month."

Murdock looked offended, "Even I couldn't run Stockwell Enterprises into the ground that fast . . ."

Hannibal cut in, "Alright, enough. I need you guys to focus," he was all business, "BA, give us an update on the renovation project."

BA nodded, "On the obstacle course, we're pretty much on schedule at the moment, but Face said some of the new equipment pieces are on back order and won't be in on time.  Shouldn't impact overall though, we'll just install as it arrives.  The course will be laid out, and ready.  The gym construction is goin' slow," BA looked at Hannibal accusingly, "since Hannibal kept changin' his mind about what all to include.  I think we're set now, and we may be able to make up some of the lost time. Gerry thinks the electrical and plumbing rough-in will be done in another two weeks, which is less time then we'd originally planned for. Then we can start gettin' dry wall up.  We're still quite a ways from completion, though."

Hannibal nodded, then turned to Face, "Lieutenant?"

Face shrugged, "All the materials for the construction are on order, and scheduled for delivery according to BA's needs . . . Well except for a few pieces of equipment for the obstacle course," he amended, "other than that, my focus has been at home with Amy."

Hannibal nodded again, allowing himself to drop business matters for a moment "How's Amy feeling?" he asked.

Face smiled, "She's been feeling pretty good, but tired. Jonny is up every few hours to eat, and the interrupted sleep schedule is taking a toll. We're adjusting, slowly," he said ruefully, "Her Mom's gonna be out tomorrow to help for a couple weeks – thank goodness."

"Do you have anything to share, Murdock?" Hannibal asked.

He shrugged, "Nothing in particular, then he looked at Face, "though I don't think I've had a chance to tell Facey about the ultrasound results."

Face looked concerned, "Is everything alright?"

Murdock grinned broadly, "Oh, everything is fine . . . We're having twins."

Face laughed out loud, "Congrats, Murdock," he said sincerely, "How's Nan taking the news?  She was nervous about havin' one."

Murdock shrugged, "I guess we were both a little shell shocked at first, but we're getting used to the idea.  Ask me again after we bring 'em home from the hospital!"

BA was shaking his head in disbelief, "I still can't believe it - crazy man's gonna have twins.  Life sure is gonna get interesting around here, real quick."

Hannibal refocused, "It's going to get interesting in more ways than one," he said thoughtfully, "looks like our renovation schedule is pretty much on course, but we're still behind in selecting a new team.  I've lined up two Abel agents that are willing to give this new operating concept a try. Note the emphasis is on the word try. I have four others that said they would take it under consideration, but so far no commitment.  The General offered to make a requirement, for those that we considered likely candidates, but I hate to do that . . ."

Murdock was shaking his head adamantly, "That would be a big mistake.  If they don't want to do it, you can't force them.  We really need a team that's committed to making it work. Otherwise this is going to be a dismal failure. By the way," he added, "I talked to Jeff again – he's really not interested."

Face agreed, "If they don't want to do it, then they aren't going to do it well.  Might as well hang it up right there," he said, "We were all in the team because it was the best place for us.  We need a group with that same commitment."

Hannibal nodded, "My thoughts exactly, any ideas on where to go from here?  I'm open to suggestions."

Murdock was the first to reply, "It's like Nan was saying the other night, Hannibal, the Abels are too set in their ways.  Maybe it's time we started looking outside Stockwell Enterprises for the new team."

Hannibal turned to Face, "Did you start work on the acceptance criteria we discussed earlier this week?"

Face shook his head, "You just said something about it a few days ago, and I've been kind of busy with personal things since then.  I really haven't had a chance to get started."

Hannibal nodded, and turned to Murdock, "That's an assignment that I'd like you to take over, Murdock," he said, "And I'd appreciate any insight Nancy might have into it.  After all, it was her idea. I want a plan for interviewing, as well - what are we looking for in each position, and how do we determine that during an interviewing process. This is going to be a lot different than recruiting from a group of already qualified agents."

"No problemo, herr Colonel," Murdock quipped in reply.

Turning to Face, he said, "Face I want you to start developing a recruitment plan for outside Stockwell Enterprises, and the sooner we get started the better. And I don't want to recruit from the standard outlets that the General uses. I'll continue with the internal recruitment, though I am beginning to think it's an exercise in futility.  Even though things aren't ready here, yet, I want to get a team pulled together, and start training as soon as possible, so we can better evaluate whether the internal team concept is going to work out," finally he looked over at BA, "BA, continue with the construction oversight.  See what you can do to get us back on schedule - it's probably the only part of our schedule for the project that we can salvage at this point.  I don't want to give the General too much ammunition for putting us back on the mission roster again."

Just before noon, Nancy decided to give Trixie a call and see if she wanted to get together for lunch, "Hi, Trix, what's up?" she said when Trixie answered her office phone.

"Hey there, stranger," Trixie said warmly, "How have you been?"

"I'm doing great," Nancy said sincerely, "I was hoping you might have some time for lunch, so we could catch up."

"That sounds good," Trixie said, "You want to meet at Charlie's in about 20 minutes?"

"See you then!"

The two friends greeted each other warmly at Charlie's and found a seat.  After placing their orders, they started catching up on each other's lives.

Trixie started, "Well, I've been waiting to hear from you about the ultrasound.  How did it go?"

"Well, we had a little bit of a shock, actually, "Nancy said grinning broadly, "we're gonna have twins."

"You're kidding me," Trixie said in surprise, "You and HM never do anything half way, do you?"

"I guess not," Nancy said, chuckling, "Sometimes I think we're doomed to live in chaos the rest of our lives!"

"With twins, you can probably bet on it," Trixie said, "Is your Dad still in town?"

Nancy nodded, "Yep, he's been traipsing all over the county looking for a place to live.  He'll be around for another week, anyway.  Then he'll head back to Chicago.  How about you, did that new class proposal get approved?"

Trixie nodded enthusiastically, "I can't wait to actually teach a practical course in investigative procedures.  I've started to line up the class schedule. I'm hoping to have several guest lecturers come in throughout the course to emphasize the lessons.  It's taking a bit of time to coordinate, but I want to get it right.  They only approved a trial course, so how this is received, and evaluated will depend on whether it gets added to the class roster permanently."

"I'm sure you'll make it successful," Nancy said certainly, "You're one of the most popular professors there anyways."

Trixie looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Popularity isn't gonna make the course a success," she said ruefully, then looked at Nancy meaningfully, "You know I can use all the help I can get.  Wouldn't you like to guest lecture for me?"

Nancy smiled, "Of course I will - though I'm not sure what I can offer."

"You have lots to offer, Nan," Trixie said encouragingly, "speaking of work, how are things at Adams Investigations?"

"Pretty busy - we're keeping the four operatives we have fully loaded, with Riley picking up the slack.  He's been talking about possibly having to hire again.  Seems like the business keeps building to fill capacity, so we'll keep growing, at least for now."

Their meals were served, and they kept chatting idly as they ate.  About half way through their meals, Charlie stopped by their table. He dropped into one of the extra seats, "So, how's my new entertainment act coming?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows at Nancy.

Nancy smiled at him complacently, "Fine . . . I've been meaning to talk to you about something . . ."

Charlie looked at her suspiciously, "And that would be?"

"I know you Charlie," she said quietly, "You're gonna charge a cover for admittance - I'd like at least a portion of that cover to go for charity."

Charlie grimaced, "I wasn't necessarily gonna charge a cover, at least not the first night . . . besides that's to pay you and Jazz" he said hesitantly.

Nancy sat back and crossed her arms, "No donation to the Community Center, no new entertainment act."

Charlie's eyes narrowed, as he seemed to consider the proposal, "50% of the cover can go as a donation to the Community Center," he offered.

"All of it, Charlie," Nancy said relentlessly.

"75%, I need to at least cover the cost of having a person sit at the door collecting the money," he argued.

Nancy nodded, "OK, 75% - but you've got to put up a sign accepting additional voluntary donations."

Charlie sighed, "Deal.  Man, I have a feeling I'm gonna regret pushing you into this gig," he said ruefully.

"If I have anything to do with it, you will," she said flatly.

He looked at her with a cranky grunt, "Well, I better make enough in extra sales to cover what I promised to pay you and Jazz."

Nancy smiled, "That's just a chance you're gonna have to take, Charlie!"

"I'm willing to take the chance," Charlie said, then sat forward with a happy smile, "Jazz called yesterday evening, said that you were making really good progress, and might be ready to sing in as little as a week."

Nancy didn't look too certain, "Perhaps, but it would probably be a short program.  We have made pretty good progress, though."

"Well, I'm just waiting for the word on the schedule so I can start advertising," he said hopefully, "Jazz said she'd have a better idea after tonight, you guys are practicing on-stage somewhere?"

Nancy nodded, "Char said the place would be empty tonight, so we're gonna give the stage at the LCC a try . . . Without an audience, and see how it goes."

Charlie looked at Nancy appraisingly, "Still not real sure about this, are you Nan?" he said, "I don't know what you're so worried about.  You've got a great voice, and from what I've heard, Jazz has a lot of talent, too.  You'll be a hit.  I personally can't wait to hear ya."

"You've just got dollar signs dancing in your head," Nancy said teasingly, "Unfortunately, I think they might be misplaced - I can't see how Jazz and I will draw any kind of crowd . . ."

Charlie smiled mischievously, "Oh, I know you will," he said certainly, "I've been feeling the regulars out about the show, and to a person they've been enthusiastic about it.  In fact, I think that the word is already spreading.  I've had folks asking when it's gonna be," Charlie turned as the bartender waved to get his attention, "Well, I'll have to leave you ladies to your meal.  See ya soon."

Trixie had been quiet, looking at Nancy in disbelief.  As Charlie walked away, she burst, "You mean that the rumor Joe told me about is true?" she asked incredulously, "I told him there was no way you'd sing at Charlie's."

"Rumor?" Nancy's voice was quiet, "where did Joe hear about it?"

"He said it was a rumor going around at the station.  Charlie must have talked to a couple of the guys down there.  This is a pretty popular cop hangout, you know."

Nancy sighed dejectedly, "I cannot believe I let myself get roped into this. Unfortunately, Jazz has her heart set on it, I can't back out now."

"Well, honestly, I think it's great," Trixie said enthusiastically, "and I think Charlie's pretty smart - you'll draw one hell of a crowd. He's gonna make out like a bandit.  Heck, I'd bet a good portion of the police force'll show up just to hear you.  Most of 'em have worked with you at one point in time or another over the years. They'll be itchin' to see you unbend some."

"Yea, well, that's still a ways off, I think Charlie and Jazz are pretty optimistic," Nancy decided to change the subject, if they kept talking about it she was going to lose her appetite, "How're the kids?"

Trixie smiled knowingly, and let it drop, "They're doing fine. Emma loves pre-school and Jeff is finally starting to walk. Speaking of children, how's HM - still gallivanting about the country?" she asked teasingly.

Nancy's face became serious, "At the moment, that is still up for debate," she said, and filled Trixie in on the events of the last few days.

When she related the precipitating event, Trixie's eyes went wide, "He really brought your Uncle to Langley, instead of LA? That took guts.  I can't believe your Uncle didn't kill him . . ."

"Actually, it gets even weirder," Nancy said quietly, "Uncle turned around and told HM he was planning on him taking over Stockwell Enterprises when he retired."

Trixie was shaking her head in wonder, "So, HM is going to be the big boss, huh?"

But Nancy was shaking her head, "HM told him he doesn't want it.  But you know my Uncle, he isn't turned down lightly.  I figure he's busy trying to figure out how to rope HM into the position," she sat back, looking reflectively out the window, "I told HM that I wasn't going to let him back out of the airfield deal, but if Uncle pushes the issue and HM gives in, something in his life is going to have to give.  I just hope it's not me."

Murdock had lunch with the Team before heading back to the airfield.  He arrived about 1:00 to find that Doc had been caught up in an emergency repair. So Murdock gathered the files in the office, and worked his way through them himself while manning the desk.

At 1:30 Stockwell came through the hangar, on his way out to the parking lot, and stopped by the desk to see what Murdock was working on, "Helping Doc out with his book keeping?" he asked conversationally.

Murdock looked at him through narrowed eyes. He could tell the General was trying to mend the rift between them at the moment, and he suspected it was so he would consider taking on the management of Stockwell Enterprises.  He'd worked for the man long enough now to have learned most of his tricks.

"I'm reviewing the records of my new business," Murdock said pointedly, "Doc and I signed the partnership papers this morning."

Stockwell's expression turned black, "Does Nancy know about this?"

Murdock bridled at the insinuation, "Not that it's really any of your business, but Nancy encouraged it," he said irritably.

The General stepped back from the desk, "Your time and money would be better invested in Stockwell Enterprises," he said evenly.

Murdock sighed, "General, I told you last night, I'm not interested in managing Stockwell Enterprises," he tried a reasonable tone, "Why don't you talk to your senior Abel agents, surely one of them would be much better suited to the job than me. Caleb Britton, Arnie Smith, Zeb Deal, any of them would . . . "

"I built this company with my own two hands, and I do not intend to turn it over to just anyone," Stockwell interrupted curtly.

Murdock was surprised, he could have sworn that the General sounded almost hurt by his refusal, "I understand that," he said in a conciliatory tone, "but I really don't think that I'm the person for the job . . ."

Frank Tinker, the General's chauffer, walked in from the parking lot, "Sorry to interrupt sir, but it's twenty 'til 2.  If we don't leave now, we won't make it into your appointment on time."

The General nodded, an agreement and dismissal all at once, then turned back to Murdock as Tinker headed back out the door, "Perhaps Colonel Smith is right, we need to take some more time to discuss this 'heart to heart'.  I'll see you when I return from town," in afterthought he added, "If you have time."

Murdock couldn't think of a graceful way to refuse, but did decide to get the discussion on his own turf, "OK," he agreed, "Why don't you plan on coming to our place for supper tonight, around 6. We can talk after that."

Stockwell nodded, "Until this evening, then."

At 2:04, Nancy's Uncle strode into her office, and shut the door.  Nancy looked at the clock, "Why Uncle, you're late," she said smoothly, a small smile curving her lips.

Her Uncle took it in stride, "I was speaking with your husband at the airfield, and ended up a bit behind schedule," he offered in explanation.

Nancy motioned to a chair, "It's no problem, I don't have any other appointments this afternoon anyway," she said, "I trust your talk with HM went OK?"

He looked at her with an unreadable expression, "It went fine.  He invited me to dinner, so I guess I'll be seeing you tonight at six o'clock."

Nancy was a bit taken aback by that announcement, she couldn't remember the last time her Uncle had come to visit them at home, "That will be nice.  Dad's in town, too.  It'll be like a mini family reunion of sorts."

"Wonderful," the General said, tight-lipped, he'd never been all that fond of his brother-in-law, "Have we chit-chatted enough for common courtesy, now? I'd like to discuss LaSalle's case with you, but I do have another appointment at 3:30."

Nancy sat up to her desk, the case file sitting open to her right, a pen in hand, and a fresh notebook in front of her, "Alright, let's get started," she said, "I've reviewed the information that you sent, talked to Phillipe LaSalle and reviewed the information that LaSalle had gathered, supposedly about Caswell.  So given this rather overwhelming arsenal of currently only loosely-related facts, what is it exactly that you want me to do?"

"Phillipe LaSalle has worked in the CIA for decades, and he's a good agent.  I want to know who the true perpetrator of this betrayal is. I suspect that that person may be Tristan Caswell.  What have you been able to conclude from the information?"

Nancy looked at her Uncle ruefully, "Well, the information that LaSalle has managed to gather is nothing but circumstantial.  You won't be able to do anything with it, without some concrete evidence of Caswell's actual direct involvement in something. As far as the Columbia incident is concerned, I know only what LaSalle has told me.  I'll have to do some more digging.  I assume Internal Affairs is investigating it."

Stockwell nodded, "I believe Edward Mitchell is the lead agent in the investigation," Nancy noted the name on her note pad, while her Uncle continued, "The investigation started late last week, and Phillipe hit the top of the suspect list early in the game.  I would wager that Caswell made sure that would happen, to take some of the heat off himself."

Nancy nodded, then glanced at her timeline, which was on the top of the case file, and was folded back so only the most recent events were visible, "Was there anything that would have taken Caswell to LA, say about 4 months ago?"

"Four months ago would be late February or early March," he pulled out his planner, "Yes, we had a mission meeting on March 4, in LA. Caswell was there, as were LaSalle, and Santini and Landon, from DEA."

Nancy made a notation on her timeline, only a week after Germaine's murder.  That was way too much of a coincidence. She looked up at her Uncle, "So basically everyone who could have given up the spy network was at this meeting," she said, receiving a brief nod in confirmation, "have you worked with Santini and Landon before - are they trustworthy?"

"I've worked with Reagon Landon on several occasions, and from everything I've seen he's a good man. Santini, I don't know very well personally, but LaSalle vouched for him."

Nancy nodded, "And you trust Phillipe LaSalle?"

"Implicitly," he said earnestly, "I've worked with Phillipe for years.  He's a good man."

Nancy considered that. She'd always thought of her Uncle as an excellent judge of character, and he certainly wasn't someone who came to trust anyone easily. She still had reservations about LaSalle herself, but there was no real foundation for them - just an uneasy feeling when she had met him.

"What is it you have against Caswell?" She asked, finally.

"Phillipe was working in Houston when Caswell started, and he was the first to draw the parallel between several Agency leaks and Caswell's presence.  I've looked into it some myself, and I'd say there is a definite pattern."

Nancy had to agree, "Yes, but still no concrete evidence linking any of those events to Caswell," she pointed out, "If LaSalle is so certain that Caswell is a loose canon, why doesn't he take the information to Internal Affairs, and have it checked out officially."

Her Uncle stood and began pacing, "As you've said, there is no concrete evidence, just LaSalle's gut feeling - which I have learned to trust over the years."

Nancy switched tacks, "OK, how about Phillipe? How long have you known him?"

"I've known Phillipe for 40 years.  We started at the Agency together, before I decided to pursue a military career and went to Army Intel. We worked a field op in Cambodia, fresh out of training, and things went horribly wrong. If it hadn't been for Phillipe, I would have been dead."

"So you and Phillipe have kept in touch for 40 years?" Nancy asked.

"Off and on," her Uncle said, "We really renewed our relationship about 10 years ago, when he came back to the states, and was assigned to the Houston office.  He'd been working international operations, and stationed overseas, so I hadn't seen much of him during those intervening years."

"Did you know Caswell before he joined the Agency?"

"Actually, Caswell is a shifter," her Uncle said, "He was with the FBI for several years, and I had a few encounters with him while he was there.  He never impressed me, either with his knowledge of field operations, nor with his professionalism.  Why the CIA hired him, I will never understand."

He sounded almost as if he'd been prompted by LaSalle, who had said basically the same thing about Caswell. Her Uncle's disdain for Tristan Caswell seemed to mirror LaSalle's. She'd really like to meet Caswell herself, "Is there a particular reason you don't want me to talk to Caswell?"

Stockwell had resumed his seat, "I don't want you putting him on guard. Though to be honest, part of the reason I thought of you is because Phillipe recommended a woman for the investigation.  He said Caswell would never see a woman as a threat.  We were hoping that he might let his guard down."

Nancy found that line of reasoning odd, considering that an internal affairs investigation was starting, certainly Caswell would be on high alert, no matter what, under the circumstances.

She was tapping her pencil absently on the desk, lost in thought, when her Uncle stood, "I have another meeting to attend," he said tersely, "I appreciate you looking into this matter for me.  I lost three very good agents as a result of Caswell's betrayal, and I intend to see that he pays for his mistake."

Nancy stood as well, "I'll do what I can Uncle," she said quietly, "but please understand that I will conduct this inquiry to find out the truth, not as a witch hunt for Tristan Caswell."

Her Uncle smiled at her as if she were a small child, "Of course I expect you to find out the truth, Nancy," he said condescendingly, "I'm just trying to point you in the right direction."

Her Uncle had succeeded in infuriating her, "If you want to talk about being pointed in the right direction, let's talk about what you're doing with HM," Nancy said crossly, "You've got to stop pushing him to run Stockwell Enterprises, it is not what he wants."

Her Uncle smiled at her, "He and I had a discussion about that just awhile ago, and he is willing to discuss the opportunity," he said quietly, "I think that maybe he is beginning to see reason.  That's why I'm coming over for dinner this evening."

Nancy had a pretty good idea why her husband had delayed talking to her Uncle until tonight, he wanted moral support.  She sighed, that fight probably was best left until after dinner.  It certainly wasn't going to be a relaxing evening at home, "I hope you're not too disappointed, Uncle," she said wearily, then waved towards the door, "I don't want to keep you, you said you needed to be going.  I'll see you tonight."