Martin and Samantha walked in to Agent Allen's small office in Manhattan's DEA field office.
"Kevin Allen? I don't know if you remember me. . ." began Martin.
"Martin Fitzgerald. Of course, I remember you. Your father said you were with Missing Persons. Sorry we have to meet again under these unfortunate circumstances."
"This is my partner, Special Agent Samantha Spade. We need to ask you some questions about Agent Riley." Martin glanced in Samantha's direction.
"Of course. I want to help in any way I can. Agent Riley has
done some great work for us and made many sacrifices. I just want to find her.
Samantha asked, "Can you tell us about the last time you saw her?"
"Three days ago, we met in my car at the corner of 126th and Grand. We met there each week at that time unless we contacted each other before. She told me when the meet was and she was going to call me with the location. We spoke for all of five minutes."
Samantha continued, "How did she seem to you?"
"The same…anxious to get the deal done, but still focused. Annie is a real professional."
"Are you two close? You've been working together for a while," asked Martin.
"Um…," Kevin hesitated, "Yes, we are fairly close, but professional. I've watched her grow up with this job. When she first started she was very green – Danny can attest to that. But, she got it together and now she is one of the best. I care about what happens to her."
Samantha eyed Kevin suspiciously. She could tell he was holding back.
"Did Agent Riley mention to you that she wanted out of the DEA?" asked Martin.
"No. She didn't tell me that, but this is a high-stress job. Undercover agents don't last long – just ask Danny. She stayed with it longer than I ever expected. She is an amazing young woman."
When Agent Allen said that, Samantha immediately asked, "Are you in love with her?"
Martin looked at Samantha with a mildly shocked expression.
Agent Allen replied, "I have a wife and two children, Agent Spade."
"That's not an answer Agent Allen. You two have been working closely for the last few years. You are in a position where a beautiful young woman is completely dependent on you. You are her link to the real world. I can imagine it would be a powerful position. You admit to having feelings for her." Samantha wasn't backing down.
"I care about her as I would about any agent. To answer your question, I'm not in love with her. I just want to find her."
Samantha's phone rang. "Excuse me," Samantha said pointedly and walked out of the office.
"She must have gotten that line of questioning from Taylor," Agent Allen said to Martin with disgust.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"He and I had issues when we worked together. He's not the easiest to get along with, and he tends to jump to conclusions. I can imagine what is going through his head now that Annie is missing. He probably can't wait to nail my ass."
"We haven't had any feedback from Danny about you regarding the case," Martin lied.
"Your father said you've been with Missing Persons for a little over a year, right? Well, you have to know him by now. You can't trust him. He is only out for himself."
Martin was surprised by Kevin's outburst. "I'm not here to talk about Danny. Do you think Escobar found out about Agent Riley's cover?"
"It's possible. She may have slipped up."
"Or someone from the DEA tipped Escobar?"
"That's doubtful. There are maybe two people besides me who know about Annie's cover."
"I'll need to know who else knows."
"Fine."
Samantha walked back into the room.
Martin looked to Samantha and then to Kevin, "I think we are done here for now. We'll be in touch."
Martin and Samantha left the office.
"That was Jack on the phone. They didn't get very far with Escobar. He lawyered up. We'll need to find evidence to get a search warrant."
"That's typical. Maybe Viv found something. You were a little hard of Agent Allen." Martin didn't tell Samantha about Agent Allen's outburst regarding Danny.
"He's hiding something, and I know he has more than professional feelings towards her. Did he give us anything else?"
"Not really. He doesn't think that Escobar could have been tipped, but he will give us the names of who knew about Annie's cover."
"Jack wants us to meet back at the office. Let's go."
FBI officeDanny is sitting at his desk reviewing deep background about Pedro Escobar. Annie was dealing with a very dangerous guy. If Escobar did find out that she was undercover, chances are he has already lost her.
Vivian approached Danny, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure."
"Let's go to one of the conference rooms."
Danny followed Vivian with hesitation.
On the table in the conference room were five journals. Vivian and Danny sat down.
"What's this?" Danny asked.
"I found these in Agent Riley's apartment. They are journals she has kept for the last several years."
Danny looked at Vivian, and then looked down.
"Danny I've only read a few pages from the most current journal. While she does write about her work, Escobar and Allen, she also writes about you. And I found this in the most current journal." Vivian showed him the picture of the two of them.
Danny looked at the picture. It took him back to the time when they first met.
Five years agoDanny was working in Miami. He was posing as a drug dealer, and trying to infiltrate the Ferrar cartel. While he was able to get in to the periphery of the organization, he was having trouble gaining trust. Kevin Allen decided to send in a new agent to help him. Annie was brand new. Danny was livid when Allen told him. He didn't have time to hold someone's hand. But when he saw Annie, he knew why Allen picked her. She was beautiful and charming. Allen's theory was that Danny might have better luck if he was part of a couple.
He and Annie didn't get along at first. She asked way too many questions. But, ultimately, she started doing her job. Between the two of them, they charmed their way into all the right places, and talked to all the right people.
Annie couldn't help but be attracted to Danny. But she didn't want to show it. So she tried to remain as professional as possible. It became more difficult when they were in public settings. He would do things to show they were a couple. He would lead her in to a room with his hand at the small of her back. When he spoke to her, he would lean in to her and look in her eyes. And Danny seemed to be amused by her reaction to his flirting. And that made Annie mad because she was trying so hard to prove herself.
One night they found themselves in the right place at the right time. They were able to get into the private home of Ferrar the leader of the cartel. A large party was going on in the backyard. Danny and Annie were able to slip away from the party, and get into Ferrar's private office. While in the office, they were able to collect very sensitive contact information about who made up the cartel. As they were exiting the office they heard someone at the door. Danny grabbed Annie's hand and pulled her in to a closet. Annie was breathing hard from the adrenaline. Danny gently put his hand over her mouth. He was standing in front of her as her back was to the door. They were standing just inches from each other, but they could barely see each other in the darkness. They tried to listen to the voices in the office, but the voices were too muffled. When Annie recovered from the rush, Danny slowly removed his hand. He was looking down into her eyes. Without thinking, Danny bent down and brushed his lips over hers. Annie responded by pulling him back down. He started to kiss her deeply. She met his tongue with hers. He pressed her against the door with his body as his kisses trailed down her neck. And then, he came back to her face, and looked in her eyes. At the moment, Danny noticed that the voices were gone. He put a finger to her lips, and slowly opened the door. They quickly left the office and went down to the party. After saying their goodbyes, they left to meet Kevin.
The meeting with Kevin was filled with tension. It was as if Kevin could feel the sexual tension between the two agents, and he didn't like it. He took his frustration out on Danny by chastising him to taking a risk going into the office. Kevin downplayed the importance of the contact information.
The two agents couldn't leave Allen quick enough. They drove in silence back to the two-bedroom apartment they were sharing. Within minutes of returning, they were giving in to their mutual attraction that didn't even know existed. The started kissing again and removing each others' clothes. From that night on, Annie slept in Danny's bed.
Back to Present – FBI office"We were pretty close," Danny finally said.
"Pretty close. . . what does that mean?"
"Vivian, what difference does it make? How will it help to find her?"
"Danny, you know better than that. We need to know everything about her in order to find her. I have to read all these journals. Do you understand that?"
Danny finally understood where Vivian was going. She felt like she was invading his privacy. "Viv, I know what you have to do. It's OK. I'd rather you read the journals than anyone else. Just know that I do care about her. I always have. We had this intense relationship, and then it ended when I left the DEA. I'm sure you'll read all about it," Danny smiled sadly and left the room.
Vivian opened the journals and began reading.
