*10*
When they arrived at the nondescript home in the small, and ironically named, town of Jessup a little after noon they pulled into the driveway and around the back where the detached garage was located to park beside a late model Lexus. Gray, had followed the requests to the letter and both of them were currently unarmed and without their badges, their weapons and IDs in the secure case in the cargo area of the Hummer. They had taken enough time to stop by their respective homes and freshening up before making the drive, but no more than that. They hadn't even taken the time to unpack, just transferred the bags and headed out, picking up a late breakfast en route. They had little time to waste and no interest in being stopped by Keller, Franklin, or their hired guns.
Exiting the car they followed the neat stone pathway that had been cleared of snow to the side of the house and climbed the short flight of stairs to the entrance at the rear of the house. Gray opened the wooden screen door and knocked on the far more solid one behind it.
They waited no more than a few seconds for the sound of locks being disengaged and the door itself swinging open to reveal an older gentleman, somewhere in his mid-sixties at an educated guess, with salt and pepper hair that was beginning to lean far more towards the salt. He stood quite a bit shorter than Gray, though still far taller than Alyx, maybe just shy six foot.
The frown he wore brightened to a smile when he recognized Graywolf. "Xavier, good to see you." He swung the door wide and waved them inside.
"I wish it were under better circumstances," Gray said in all honesty as they were led through the mudroom, where they divested themselves of their heavy winter coats, down the hall, past the kitchen, and into the living room.
"And who is this dainty little one beside you?" the man asked with a smile that was touched with just a hint of suspicion as he waved them towards the various pieces of furniture that were designed to be sat upon.
Alyx grinned as Gray shook his head. "My partner, Alyx Silver."
The stranger moved to stand in front of her, his hand extended to be shaken and which she took with only the tiniest hint of reluctance. She had forgotten to wear her gloves; not expecting to be shaking hands with a perfect stranger. She saw Gray shift forward, prepared to intervene and draw the man's attention away, but Alyx gave her head a small shake and he held his place. She suspected this was a test of sorts and that this man knew far more than appearances would suggest.
The man's grasp was firm and revealed little more than, while retired, he was still strong and confident. Alyx kept her emotions tightly wrapped inside and by some miracle she did not get a head full of him, much to her relief. In fact, she was only getting the vaguest of impressions from him beyond the standard information she always picked up, which suggested the man had a very organized and controlled mind.
"So, you are the one causing such a stir in D.C. Not quite what I was expecting." He released her hand and looked at Gray. "She half as good as the rumors claim?"
The look on Gray's face was priceless, a classic Kodak moment of stunned disbelief that lasted no more than an instant, but the man had caught it and broke into a wide grin.
"I may not be in the biz any more, but that doesn't mean I don't keep up on what's going on." He turned back to Alyx. "I'm..."
"Tomas Giovanni," Alyx finished, making him snap his mouth shut in surprise.
"Sil?" Even Gray was curious how she had known that.
She shrugged and, mindful of her back, took a seat on one of the thickly cushioned leather chairs. "I did my research when I joined. You worked intel as a handler for a good decade, was promoted to the position Cavanaugh now holds in the late 70s and retired, early, but with full pension, a little over 10 years ago." Alyx rattled this off fairly quickly and blinked a couple times when done to reconnect.
Tomas sat down on the couch, kitty-corner from her. "Photographic memory?" He'd seen it a couple times before, but never with recall quite this fast. He had the feeling she had his full, public, dossier in that mind of hers.
"Better," Gray answered as he moved up behind her. "They haven't invented a name for what she can do... yet."
"Full recall, huh?"
Alyx nodded, as it was as close a description of what she could that was out there today.
Tomas was tempted to ask an easy dozen questions about how she handled all the data, but refrained. Hopefully, he'd get another chance to discuss it with her when they weren't looking to pick his brain for information. "Sit, Gray. I have no interest in craning my neck up to look at you."
Gray chuckled and moved to the other end of the couch, settling himself after taking a moment to subtly survey the room.
"It's clean, Gray."
Alyx spoke so softly that Tomas almost didn't hear her and even then it took the words a moment to sink in. It was obvious that the rumors and small truths he'd come across were just the tip of the iceberg. "So what is it you need?"
"Harrison Keller." Gray knew the name would cause a reaction, it just didn't cause the one he was expecting.
Tomas leaned back into the cushions of the couch laughing. Alyx and Gray exchanged a look that was laden with questions and confusion. "May I ask why you find this so amusing?" Alyx inquired once the laughter had died down a bit.
"Keller is dangerous, as I imagine you are beginning to learn." A few remaining chortles escaped before he completely got a hold of himself. "What put you on his tail, those assassination threats'?"
"Yes," Gray responded, even more surprised than Alyx by his friend's reaction. "Cavanaugh assigned us to the special task force."
"Franklin's in charge right? Lawrence Franklin?" Tomas' tone had turned very serious and he responded to Alyx's nod of confirmation with a frown. "Old crony of Keller's. Been in his pocket for years."
Gray wasn't sure how to react to this information. "What went on, Tomas? Exactly how were Keller and Lee connected?"
"You don't know?" Tomas made it sound like the information was easily accessible and coming to him should have been completely unnecessary.
"Their full CIA records are missing and any other information is sketchy," Alyx offered up for inspection. "We found some info in Lincoln, but not nearly enough to fill in all the holes."
"So you found the connection between Lee, Keller, and Randall." He shook his head in evident dismay. "Damn, what a mess that was."
"Mr. Giovanni..."
"Call me Tomas, please. If only to feed an old man's ego to have such a pretty young thing calling him by his first name." He gave her a grin, but wasn't surprised when he achieved nothing more than a slight quirk to her lips. All business, she was; not surprising Lauren took notice of her.
"Tomas, we need details on their working relationship. We know they were in the CIA at the same time, but not much more." Alyx detailed the little they knew.
Tomas rubbed his face in his hands for a moment. "There was a time, not all that long ago, I would have said to drop it. To let the dead rest and to stay as far away from Keller as you can, but not now. I have the feeling you," He looked right at Alyx, "would not give up, and for the first time I think someone might actually be able to face down Keller and win." He looked from one partner to the other, not intentionally dragging it out, but to give them the chance to back away from this. "Keller was Lee's handler. And, at the time, they were the best."
Alyx turned inwards for a moment searching her memory. "You trained him. Didn't you?"
Tomas just barely kept from voicing his surprise. "Yes. My partner and I were chosen to ... shepherd the pair. Pretty standard. But they blew the lid off the scale. They ran more successful missions in their years, than any other three teams combined."
Gray shifted to lean forward a bit. "So what happened?"
"Life." Tomas turned to look at the larger man. "And death."
"Angela," Alyx guessed.
It was with a look of complete confusion that Tomas turned back to her. "No, William."
"Huh?" Gray perfectly summed up both his and Alyx's feelings in that one word.
"William died on his last mission," Tomas explained.
Alyx shook her head. "That makes no sense. Even what's left of his file only lists him as MIA." She didn't even consider mentioning the fact that they had been attacked by a group that they believed included Lee.
"Technically true. Outside sources were never able to confirm. No body." He could tell neither of the agents was satisfied with the answer. "Look, the whole situation was touchy. We had a mission come up that needed the best, but by then Lee was already on desk duty, his wife pregnant. He was assigned to train replacements; agents to take his place doing deep cover work in China."
"Then what happened?" Gray asked with a hint of dread in his voice.
"Keller came to me. I was in charge of that section at the time. And he had a very compelling argument for sending Lee instead of any of others that had been trained. I agreed and, with some reluctance, ordered Lee on the assignment." The regret in his voice was plain to both Alyx and Gray, but they didn't comment on it, remaining stoically silent in hopes he would continue. "The assignment was supposed to last three months, but after just six weeks Keller came to me with information that suggested Lee had been discovered, his cover blown, and that he'd been interrogated and killed."
"And you took his word for it?" Gray tone was surprisingly condescending.
"Of course not," Tomas snapped. "We did everything we could to verify it and as far as any of us could tell Keller's intel was completely valid and accurate."
"So when did you become suspicious of him?" Alyx asked in a soft voice.
Tomas shook his head. "It's not that simple. Still isn't. He's good, he's patient and he's willing to take the long view to further his goals. Only a few of us suspect anything and we have less evidence. I made sure Cavanaugh was aware of the situation when I... was encouraged to take early retirement."
"Keller?" Even Gray could catch on to the running theme of this discussion.
A shrug was the response. "Probably." He tapped a finger on the arm of the couch for a moment. "Whose orders are you following on this mission? Franklin or Cavanaugh?"
"Franklin," Gray answered the same time Alyx said, "Cavanaugh."
Gray snapped his head around to stare at her. "Orders Gray. You weren't to know. My rep can handle the bruising, she wanted yours safe."
"Damn it, Sil, no excuse," Gray all but snarled at her. The fact that she'd been keeping yet another secret from him, one that directly involved them and this mission caused black anger to settle in his gut.
"Xavier, you know better than that," Tomas admonished. Somewhere along the way he'd figured out that not only was the young woman sitting before him far older than her appearance decried, but that she was also senior of the pairing. "I've kept any number of secrets over the years from friends, family, and, yes, even from my partners. As have you." He gave Gray a knowing look that made the man pale slightly.
"Tomas..." Gray paused and took a deep breath. Tomas was right. She wasn't intentionally keeping secrets, not if it was orders from Cavanaugh. And based on his comments Cavanaugh had been aware of the Keller problem for a while now, not surprising the "Dragon Lady" had put Sil on the man's tail. At least now he understood why she had been ignoring Franklin's orders. She'd had her own to follow. Her turned to see her watching him, her gaze calm and unruffled. His obvious bad mood did not appear to affect her in the least. Hell, by this point she was probably getting used to him being angry with her and took it for granted. That was not how he wanted their partnership to be.
"What happened after Lee was considered MIA?" Alyx asked while still watching Gray.
Thankful the discussion had been drawn away from the current track, Tomas answered, "He left. Quit. Blamed himself to all appearances. Went back home to Lincoln from what I recall, why?"
"When did he get married?" she prompted.
"Huh. Oddly enough within months he was back in D.C. with a new bride and child." He was thinking about it now, remembering, even with all the confusion and work he still had to do, that he'd thought it strange Keller had been dating with no one's knowledge. And the fact that she'd been pregnant... Looking back, it was more than just odd, it was completely wrong. "What do you know?"
"Know? Not nearly enough," Gray told him now that he had calmed. His suspicions even more aroused with this news. "We know Angela Randall is dead. We know she had a daughter. And we know we were attacked twice while trying to find that information."
"Attacked?" Tomas sounded appropriately shocked.
"That's not all we know, Gray. Suspect, anyway." She met Tomas' calm blue eyes. "We think Lee is alive."
"Damn." Tomas pushed himself to his feet and began to pace the room. "Why? Why do you think he's alive?"
"The first group that attacked us spoke Chinese, fluently," Alyx answered with a solemn expression. "We're missing something here. Something obvious, but damn me if I can figure out what."
"You will. I'm quite certain of that. Keep following the trail. If Lee is alive and the source of the threats against Keller, he won't move 'til he's ready. If that was him in Lincoln, then he's looking for something and Keller may only be secondary." Tomas shook his head, not sure of anything anymore. "Have you spoken to Cavanaugh recently?"
Alyx shook her head. "Been keeping moving and trying to draw Keller's goons away from the agents that were helping us."
"Then you need to." He waved his hand at her. "Come on, you can use my secure line, while Gray and I toss about some ideas for what to do next."
Alyx got to her feet a bit stiffly and walked in the direction Tomas pointed and soon found herself deep in discussion with Cavanaugh, alone.
Tomas found Gray in the kitchen making a pot a coffee. By the scent it was from the really expensive stash. "So you still remember where everything is, good. How is Zach doing these days? Still Tribal Attorney?"
"Yes, and just as much of a badass as ever. You'd be proud." Gray sat on one of chairs that stood by the small breakfast table.
"Good, hate to think he'd gone soft." Tomas reached into a cabinet and pulled out mugs, which he set on the counter. "So, how do you like having a female partner?"
Gray groaned and turned away. "That is a very loaded question."
"I got that impression. I had similar problems with my first female partner. And my second." Tomas watched as Gray stiffened and got to his feet with a sudden need to locate the sugar bowl and the silverware drawer.
"Is it that obvious?" Gray asked around a sigh.
"No." Tomas leaned back in the chair and stretched out his legs. "I'm betting she didn't notice, though I suspect she knows about it now." Gray's head whipped about followed by the rest of his body to stare at his friend. "Just don't mistake it for more than it is."
"And what makes you think it isn't more?" Gray sounded tired, tired of this discussion, tired of being told what he felt was not what he was feeling, tired of everyone telling him he was wrong.
"'Cause I've been there, Gray. And screwed up two damn good partnerships because I allowed myself to cross that line. Yeah, I cared about them, loved them a bit maybe, but I wasn't in love with them." He watched Gray's look go completely blank, essentially refusing to hear another word. Just like his uncle used to do. "If you care about her in the least, then let it rest. Be what she needs the most ? her partner. If she's half the miracle I believe she is, she's going to need that far, far more than a lover."
"You have no idea what she is, and trust me when I say you don't want to know." Gray shoved away from the counter, his hands curling into fists for a moment.
"Don't do this again, Gray." He got to his feet and moved to stand next to the young man. "You lost Shari because you couldn't take that step back."
Gray tensed and for several minutes as he fought the urge to scream in total frustration, but the words sank in, albeit slowly. And they, along with other things that had been said by Hobbes, Sil, and, yes, even Fawkes, much as he hated to admit it even to just himself, were beginning to make sense.
A soft voice startled both men.
"Shush-yahz, is everything all right?" Alyx stood just in the doorway, not wanting to intrude if they were discussing something private.
"Tsidi, yes, everything is fine." Gray looked at her, seeing her for the first time since they had met four months ago. "Cavanaugh up to date?" He went to her and urged her into the kitchen and slid out a chair for her to sit in. Perhaps too much formality, but he could tell she was tired and in pain.
Yeah, and we're still to follow her orders." Alyx sighed, the conversation had been interesting and enlightening. "They torched the records building in Lincoln."
"What?" Tomas asked, sounding about as stunned as Gray suddenly felt. "Why?"
"To cover whatever they took? To keep us from tracking down the info? To keep Lee from the truth? Who knows?" Alyx rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand. "Is that coffee I smell?" She failed to mention she'd caught the scent almost from the instant the beans had exposed to the air.
"As a matter of fact, I've dipped into my quality stash just for this occasion," Tomas commented with a wink to Graywolf, as he crossed the room and proceeded to fill the mugs. It was enough to cover his reaction to the news of exactly how far Keller would go.
"You had no way of knowing this would happen." He spun about at her quiet words. "You said yourself he was good."
"Not good enough, it appears. Not with the likes of you about." Tomas both wanted to know and was terrified to learn how she had known what thinking and feeling.
Alyx shook her head. "The trail has always been there, but until now there was no reason to go ambling down it. No one brave, or, far more likely, foolish enough to see where the breadcrumbs led." She took the proffered cup and sipped at it. "Oh, this is wonderful. Thank you, Tomas."
"You're welcome, my dear." He handed Gray his cup. "Where do you go from here?"
Gray set the cup Tomas had handed to him on the table, thinking. "Back to D.C., I suppose. See if we can dig into Keller there." It wasn't the best of plans, far from it, in fact, but Keller was currently in D.C. and that's where Lee, if it was Lee and he wasn't really dead as Tomas had told them, would be going eventually.
"Dangerous. Keller has... friends in high places," Tomas warned, as he joined them at the table.
"He doesn't have Sil," Gray said with confidence.
"You can't get past his security, physical or electronic. It would have been done prior to this if it could be." Tomas knew they most likely wouldn't listen, but he had to give them what warnings he could.
Alyx chortled. "No worries, Tomas. They'll never see me coming."
