Chapter 8: The Phone Call

Tony remained a bundle of nerves as the next three weeks passed at a glacial pace. He made contact with the agents in place at ATL and all of the arrangements were in place. He finally called Weldon Hutchins and gave him the details of the plan, as if Hutchins hadn't been listening and didn't already know. It was all going smoothly, Tony wasn't sure why he was so nervous. He also wasn't sure why he couldn't hide his anxiety from his family. Even Sophie asked him if he was okay and told him that he wasn't acting like "her Daddy."

Michelle was clearly suspicious of him and was keeping close tabs on him. She rarely bothered him at work, but now was calling a couple of times a day just to "see how his day was going." They finally made love a few days after Michelle's morning attempt to seduce him. It was uninspired and they both felt it. It had been gentle and loving but less than passionate. Tony really wanted nothing more than to kiss her and hold her and caress her and just revel in having her there with him safe and secure. That wasn't at all what Michelle was expecting. She knew that sex during her pregnancies had always been different for them than at other times. They were still passionate, but Tony was particularly gentle with her when she was pregnant. This time was entirely different. He was difficult to arouse and seemed to want to concentrate on kissing and foreplay. His climax was so subtle that the only reason she knew he had one was because he exhaled hard a couple of times. Usually he was burying his face in her neck or the pillow or biting his lip to keep from crying out and waking the children. Afterward, he kissed her once and fell asleep. The whole experience convinced Michelle that Tony had a mistress. She had cringed as he penetrated her. She could just imagine him in bed with another woman, doing the same things that he was doing with her right now. It nauseated her to think he could do this to her, that he could have sex with someone else and now be inside of her. She wanted to pull away from him and cry, tell him to go back to his girlfriend and leave her alone and never touch her again. But if she did, she would lose him forever. It was the way she had treated him that had chased him away. She had to win him back and the only way to do that was to continue. If she wanted to keep him out of another woman's bed, she had to provide a reason for him to get in bed with her and she was determined to do it.

The day the shipment arrived from Korea Tony was a wreck. Twice he snapped at Rita and later he got into an argument with one of his analysts. He checked his watch every few minutes and thought the day would never end. Finally at 4 o'clock he got confirmation that the shipment was on its way to Warner Enterprises. Tony called Weldon Hutchins and let him know that he could send his team to the loading dock at Warner Enterprises at 5:30. Bob's regular loading dock crew would leave at 5 o'clock and a replacement crew that was working for Tony (who were actually federal agents) would arrive to help Yuen's men unload the arms shipment.

Tony got a call from Bob Warner around 7 o'clock that the transaction was complete. Weldon Hutchins and six of Yuen's people unloaded the arms and left with them in a box truck. Tony sat back in his chair and closed his eyes; relief that this operation was over coursed through his veins. Actually, it wouldn't be completely over until Yuen was arrested, but that shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. At least his role in the operation was done. He went home that night acting more like himself than he had in weeks.

While Tony was talking to Bob Warner, Weldon Hutchins was frantically calling Yuen Lim. "We've been had," Hutchins said just as Yuen answered the phone. "I recognized one of the guys on the loading dock. He's a government agent named Richards. He was with the DEA a couple of years ago when they were after me."

"Calm down, Mr. Hutchins," Yuen said as if unconcerned.

"Should I kill Almeida?"

"Not just yet. Let me assess the damage. Where is our team that unloaded the arms?"

"In an old house in an Asian section of LA." Hutchins answered

"How many of them are there? Have they left the house?"

"There are six of them. They don't know about the federal agent. I told them to stay in the house."

"Good," Yuen said chuckling to himself. "Keep them away from the rest of my men. The US agents are using those six to lead them to the rest of our cell. You need to quietly kill the six in the house and tell the others to go underground for a couple of months until the heat dies down."

"What about the arms. Should I get them out of the house and move them elsewhere?"

"Leave the arms. We're going to have to concede them this time. I can get more where those came from."

"What about Almeida? He hasn't left his office yet, I can have one of our men shoot him as he's leaving his office."

"No, don't kill him yet. I have other plans for him." Yuen laughed out loud then outlined his plan to Hutchins.

As Michelle got ready for bed Tony came up behind her and put his arms around her. He pushed her hair out of the way and pressed his lips into her neck. He let his hands slide down her hips as he kissed down along her shoulder. As he did so, he felt Michelle's body tense up. He pulled back, somewhat startled.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"I don't know," she lied as she moved away from him keeping her back toward him. "I'm just not in the mood." Her voice was quivering and tears were filling her eyes. She simply could not bear to have him touch her now that she was sure that he was having an affair.

"It's okay, Honey" he whispered as he moved toward her and tried to take her in his arms.

She jerked away from him again but this time she turned to face him. She swallowed hard, tears now streaking her face. She could take it no longer. "Is she pretty, Tony?"

She said glaring at him.

Tony looked confused. "Is who pretty?"

"Your girlfriend, your mistress, whatever you want to call her!"

Tony's jaw dropped in surprise. "My girlfriend? Michelle, are you accusing me of cheating on you?"

"Oh, Tony, I'm not stupid. You've been a million miles away for the last few weeks. You have no interest in me. My God, you practically fell asleep the last time we had sex. Look, I understand that I treated you really badly for the last few months and I know why you did it, but don't play me for a fool."

Tony sat on the bed stunned. She could have pulled out a gun and shot him and he wouldn't have been more surprised. "Baby," he said in a low voice. "I am not cheating on you. I wouldn't do that to you. We've had our problems in the last few months, but I would never cheat. Michelle, I have too much respect for you to have sex with another woman and then come home to you. I can't believe that you think I'm capable of that. I thought you knew me better than that." His voice dripped with hurt. He stood and walked away from her shaking his head.

He sighed quietly and turned to face her. "You want the truth, Michelle?"

She nodded and said nothing. She wasn't sure she wanted the truth but whatever it was, she had to face it.

"I'm sorry I didn't come clean sooner, but I was trying to protect you." He paused. "Brad Hammond called me about a month ago and gave me an assignment. That was why I went to Korea. It was an undercover mission. I was dealing with a South Korean named Yuen who was trying to import RPGs and shoulder fired missile launchers into the US. We arranged the shipment and it reached LA today. It's going to be a few weeks before CTU can round up all of Yuen's men and arrest them and have South Korean agents pick up Yuen, but more or less, my involvement is over. We've had CTU protection 24 hours a day since I was in Korea. Baker's unit is watching you and me and the kids, their schools, our house and my office all the time. Yuen's men are following me, they've bugged my office and they are watching the house. They haven't been following you or the kids. They have never been sighted anywhere near the kids schools. We will continue to get protection until Yuen is arrested. That's the truth, Michelle. Frankly, I have been so worried about you and the kids that I can barely function, but it's over now and things should be back to normal soon."

Without letting her respond, he turned and walked out of their bedroom. She followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen where Tony opened a high cupboard and pulled out a bottle of scotch. He carelessly poured about four fingers of the amber liquid into a glass splashing scotch onto the counter in the process. He downed about half of the scotch in one large swallow.

"Oh, Tony, please, let's talk," Michelle sobbed. She reached for his arm but he pulled away.

"I'm not sure what there is to talk about, Michelle. You accused me of cheating and I set the record straight." The hurt in his eyes was visible. "I made a vow eight years ago to love you and honor you and be faithful to you. I didn't take those vows lightly then and I don't take them lightly now. I love you, Michelle. I love our kids. Why would I mess that all up for some cheap sex. Jesus, Michelle, is that what you think of me?" He threw back the rest of the scotch and poured another glass. He started to walk away and as he did so he pulled off his thick platinum wedding band and set it on the counter. He rarely took the ring off and usually even slept in it. The gesture was not lost on Michelle.

"Tony, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. Please, Honey..." she pleaded. "I'm so sorry." She followed him into the family room.

"You know what, Michelle." His voice was flat and emotionless. "I think I need some time alone right now. You need some rest. Why don't you go to bed."

"Are you going to come upstairs soon?"

"I don't know right now, Michelle. I need to think." He drank down the scotch and went back to the kitchen. This time he brought the bottle with him. "Just go to bed, Michelle." He said, his tone not so much angry as it was disappointed.

Not knowing what else to do, Michelle turned and went toward the stairs. She lay down on the bed and cried herself into an exhausted sleep. Downstairs in the family room, Tony sat staring unfocused into space. He absently reached out every couple of minutes for his glass. Fortunately, the bottle of scotch was less than half full but he drank it until it was empty then fell into a deep sleep in the sofa.

Michelle awoke the next morning to hear the water running in the shower. The memory of last night hit her like a ton of bricks. What had she been thinking? She knew Tony could never cheat on her. Why did she accuse him like that? She lay in bed rehearsing how she would apologize.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," she said quietly as Tony walked from the bathroom into the bedroom. "Tony, I don't even know how to begin to apologize to you. Please tell me you can forgive me."

"Michelle, I am so hung over that I can't even think. I don't want to talk right now. I'm hurt, Michelle. I'll get over it, but this is going to sting for a while. Let me work through this on my own."

They both went through their morning routines without saying much. The two boys got up without any coaxing, but Michelle had to get Sophie up and ready for school. She looked so cute in her blue and gray plaid jumper and little black shoes. She was wearing a white headband to keep her brown curls out of her face. She picked up her backpack and her lunch and kissed Michelle goodbye then followed Tony out to the car. Michelle tried to kiss Tony goodbye as well, but he stepped away before she got a chance. He and Sophie were gone before she noticed that Tony's wedding ring still sat on the counter where he left it the night before. She took off her necklace and slipped the ring onto the chain then returned it to her neck.

Tony and Sophie chatted a little as he drove her to school. He was nursing a mammoth hangover so he tried to talk as little as possible. He stopped to pick up the other children in the car pool then headed toward the school.

Immaculate Heart of Mary School sat directly across the street from the church. It was a long, low brick building with big windows that let in lots of sun and tended to distract the children on nice days. There was a big playground for recess along one side of the building that was already filling with children who hadn't yet gone to their classrooms.

Tony got out of his SUV and walked to the passenger side. There he opened the rear door and helped the three small children to the ground. He picked Sophie up and kissed her before depositing her on the ground where she took off running toward the playground. "Bye Daddy," she called as she turned to give him a sunny smile. "I love you!" As bad a mood as he was in, Sophie still made him smile. He closed the rear door and was about to walk back to the driver's side just as the Pastor, Father Marty came jogging toward him.

"Hey, Tony," the priest said extending his hand.

The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Tony and Father Marty had gone to high school together. "Did you have a good run this morning, Father?" Tony asked.

"I hate it when you call me 'Father'!" Marty said with a smile. "By the way, I guess congratulations are an order."

Tony looked confused so Father Marty continued. "I saw Michelle and the kids in church a couple of weeks ago when you were out of the country. I didn't realize that you were having another baby, congratulations." Father Marty was close to Tony and Michelle. He had married them, baptized all of their children and Michelle, who, while agnostic when she and Tony had married, converted to Catholicism shortly after Joe was born.

"Yeah, that was a surprise to us, too."

"You don't seem very pleased, Tony."

"I'm happy, but it's been hard on Michelle." He paused and looked down focusing on a stone lying near his foot. He moved the stone around with the toe of his shoe. "We're having some problems right now, Marty."

"I'm sorry, Tony. Would you two like to sit down and talk about it?"

"Give us some time to work it out. If we can't do it ourselves, we'll call you." Tony looked up and made eye contact with his old friend.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be here if you need me. I've got to go get a shower. I'm saying Mass at 9:00 for the second grade. I need to get ready. I'll keep you guys in my prayers." They shook hands and Tony thanked him, then got back into his car and drove to the office.

"Good morning, Mr. Almeida," Rita said as he walked through the door.

"Morning," he answered succinctly. "How are you this morning?" He asked as he stopped at her desk. Rita was beautiful and every man who worked in the office seemed to get tongue tied when he talked to her, but Tony barely noticed. He knew she was beautiful, but he didn't care. To him, she could never be as beautiful as Michelle.

"I'm okay. How are you?"

"Lousy, but thanks for asking." He rubbed his forehead. "Rita, I owe you an apology for yesterday. I'm sorry. I have a lot going on right now and I shouldn't bring it to work with me. I won't do it again."

"Don't worry about it." She said with that soft smile that drove all the other men crazy. She handed him the morning mail all sorted and ready for him to attend to.

He walked into his private office and pulled open his laptop. His "to do" list was long and he didn't have the patience or inclination to do any of it today. He sat back in his chair wishing his headache would go away, but knowing that this one would last most of the day. He hadn't had that much to drink in one sitting since he lived in Argentina and frequently used alcohol to forget how sad and lonely he was.

The day dragged on and on, or at least that was how it felt. He probably would have spent the morning staring into space if it wasn't for his employees who stopped by his office with questions or projects they were working on. Rita had taken an early lunch and was away from her desk when the phone rang. Tony thought about ignoring it. The voice mail would pick up, but it would take five rings and by the third he couldn't stand the ringing any more.

"Secured Tracking, Tony Almeida," he answered. He noticed that the caller ID was blocked.

"Mr. Almeida, this is Weldon Hutchins." The voice on the other end said.

Tony had to suppress a gasp. Why was Hutchins calling him? "Mr. Hutchins, what can I do for you?"

"You can stay silent and listen while I describe a scene to you." Tony said nothing. "One of my men is sitting on a bench across the street from a building. The building is one story and brick with lots of windows. There is a church across the street and a next to the building is a playground with lots of children playing outside at recess."

Tony's heart sunk. Hutchins was describing Sophie's school. He could feel beads of sweat break out on his forehead and his hands started to shake.

Hutchins continued, "There is one particularly pretty little girl on the playground. My colleague tells me she is on the swings. She has long, curly hair pulled back with a white headband." Hutchins paused for effect. "He likes little girls, Tony, if you know what I mean. He likes their smooth skin and their soft little bodies."

Tony could taste bile in his mouth and had to swallow hard to keep himself from becoming physically ill. He found his voice; it was soft and threatening. "If you touch so much as a hair on that child's head, I will hunt you down and kill you, you son of a bitch!"

"I don't think you are in a position to threaten me, Tony. Your daughter will be safe if you just follow my instructions." Hutchins paused. He took Tony's silence as tacit agreement. "Leave your office. Say nothing to anyone and take the elevator to parking level 2. I will be in a black limousine near the elevator." Hutchins stopped; he could hear Tony typing on a computer. "Stop typing, Tony. Make no attempt to get a message to anyone. I can hear everything that you are doing, surely you must know that. Close the laptop. I want to hear it snap shut. My man is well armed; he can easily get onto that playground and grab one small child without being stopped. All I have to do is give him the signal. By the time you find Sophie, you will need more than dental records to identify her." Tony stopped what he was doing. The mental picture was unbearable. He closed the laptop.

"Very good, Tony," Hutchins said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Now do as I've instructed you and Sophie won't be harmed. Bring your laptop so I can make sure no messages have been sent. If they have, Sophie is as good as dead. You have 90 seconds to get to the limousine or I will give my man the go ahead to grab your daughter."

Tony put on his jacket and picked up his laptop. He strode silently out of the office desperately looking for any way to get a message to someone in the office. His heart pounded in his throat as he left the office and called the elevator. He looked at his watch and counted the seconds. It was an eternity until the elevator opened and Tony anxiously stepped forward to get in. As he did, he brushed past Rita who was coming back from lunch.

"Mr. Almeida," she said surprised. "I didn't think you were going out for lunch."

"I changed my mind." He said without looking at her.

"Don't forget you have an appointment at 2:00." She called as the door closed. Tony raised his hand in silent acknowledgement. Rita watched the doors close and wondered why he was taking his laptop to lunch. His behavior of late was unusual. She shook her head and stepped back into the office.