Chapter Three
Efraim found Geiger leaning up against the wall across from the bullpen doors. Efraim was pulling on his overcoat and heading toward the elevators when Geiger fell in along side of him. Efraim pushed the elevator call button and looked over at Geiger.
"What? Go ahead and say it, Dave. You'll feel better. I won't, but you will." Efraim said, adjusting his lid and pulling his gloves out of his pockets.
"You're not even back in the office for three hours and everything goes to hell in a hand basket. What is it with you? Were you born under a bad sign or something?"
The elevator doors opened and Efraim stepped in, hitting the garage level. Geiger jumped in, a big grin on his face. "Feel better?" Efraim eyed Geiger, checking to see if the verbal unloading was finished.
Geiger slapped Efraim on the back. "I do! Thanks."
"No problem."
"Any chance this could just be crossed wires?" He chuckled at Efraim's look. "I guess not." The two men climbed into Geiger's car, Dave pulling out with enough speed to leave rubber and smoke behind. Efraim stared out the passenger window while Geiger drove, whistling tunelessly.
"Music." Efraim said.
"Fine by me, but the radio is broken."
"No. Stop by that big electronics store, you know, the new one?" Efraim said, excitement coloring his voice.
"What's up?"
"Quigley loves music, he always had it on. I'm willing to bet he doesn't have anything to listen to, so, I'm going to get him one of those personal CD players and some CD's to listen to, and while I'm at it, I'll just slip one of these little handy dandy critters from Leatherneck inside. If the CIA gets to Quigley, we'll know."
"Maybe the gift will loosen his tongue. Any chance that he's in on this?"
Efraim shrugged. "Anything's possible. I guess we'll find out."
"What about the CIA finding the bug?" Dave asked.
"Francine got into their computer system without so much as a delay; their security isn't what it should be. They also have no reason to believe that we're looking into this. We may luck out early on. It'll get harder the longer this goes on. I can't see anyone tailing Lee Stetson and getting away with it for long."
"Or us. We have company." Geiger watched the rearview.
"That didn't take them long. Well, lets go shopping, see how interested they are in us."
"I just love a Monday morning that starts out like this."
"Yeah, gives you hope for the rest of the week, doesn't it?" Efraim glanced in the side view mirror to spot the tail. "What do we have? The silver Ford? Three cars back?"
"That's the one. Changing lanes now. Here they come. Act casual!"
Efraim looked out the passenger window, pleased with the disinterest he saw mirrored in his face. The Ford slowed and pulled in behind them.
"Looks like they're coming over to get a good look at you, Beaman."
"Yeah, I've got them in the side view here."
"Take a look, they should be side by side. . . now." Geiger said
Efraim casually turned his head and got a good look at the driver of the Ford. The passenger was cast in shadows, sitting further back in the seat. Efraim turned his head towards Geiger. "Looks familiar, couldn't see the passenger though. That's who I'd want to see; he's the spotter."
"I saw the passenger, close to 50, maybe. Dark hair, rather hang dog look to him. Eyes close set. You know, typical CIA." Geiger said.
"That's helpful, Dave."
"Yeah, I know. I try!" He laughed quietly as Efraim turned and gave him a look. "You picked that one up from your wife! She does that eyebrow trick really well."
"To good effect. It used to send me into hiding."
Geiger snorted. "Still rather hard to believe the two of you are married, you know what I mean? What was it, just a year ago she got you jammed in the elevator by your yanking on your tie?"
Efraim laughed as he remembered the incident. "Yeah, well, it was an interesting road to the altar. They still with us?"
Geiger glanced in the rear view mirror. "Yeah, they've dropped 2 cars behind us. They're not going anywhere, they don't think we've spotted them."
"Good. Let's keep it that way."
They drove to the strip mall that housed the large electronics store that Efraim had mentioned. Geiger parked close to the back of the parking lot. "We can see the street this way, maybe get lucky." Efraim had nodded and they walked into the store. Geiger stayed by the front, keeping an eye on the doors in case their shadows came in, Efraim asked a clerk where he could find personal CD players and headed in that direction. The salesman showed him several models in varying price ranges. Efraim discarded out of hand the most expensive model; he wasn't about to pay 200.00 bucks for a personal CD player that had almost caused the deaths of him and his wife. He chose the next model down, and he rationalized the 135 price tag to himself that this particular model was better made then the cheapest model.
The salesman pulled a new box off the shelf, opening it to show Efraim the player inside. Efraim asked if he could look at it, and as he did he was able to slip the bug inside the mechanism itself. He handed it back to the salesman, who carefully put the unit away and rang up the player and the several discs that Efraim has chosen as well. Efraim was handed the bag after the transaction was completed and almost ran into a grinning Geiger.
"What?" Efraim asked as Geiger continued to grin.
"You're so transparent, Beaman!"
"What?"
"Couldn't bring yourself to buy the cheapest model, huh?" Geiger teased.
Efraim could feel heat flush up his neck as he shrugged. Geiger laughed in his face. They walked through the security devices as they left, and Efraim stuffed the bag inside his overcoat to shield it from the rain that was coming down heavily now. As they walked out of the store and towards the car, Efraim caught sight of the silver Ford in a strip mall across the road from where they were. "I see our friends are still with us." Efraim said as he got in the car.
"Yeah, I watched them pull in there and get some coffee from the deli." Geiger told him as he started the car and backed out of the space. They pulled onto the street and headed towards the Federal Detention Center. Geiger started laughing. "They poured their coffee out of the windows just as a police cruiser pulled up next to them!"
Efraim laughed. "Yutzes!" He tossed off a favorite word of his wife's to describe the two CIA agents following them. "Well, at least we can get into the detention center without them harassing us."
The Federal Detention Center reminded Efraim of the collegiate setting with bars and guards. Cinder block walls painted in tones of beige with orange plastic chairs bolted into the cement floors were the decor du jour in the institution. After showing their identification cards and signing in, Efraim and Geiger were escorted to a private interrogation room to wait for Harry Quigley to arrive. The guards had given the CD player a thorough look and cleared it for Quigley to receive. Geiger had allowed a slight lift at the corner of his mouth in way of amusement over the guards missing the bug. Efraim on the other hand had just shaken his head at both Geiger and the guards.
Geiger pulled out a chair and sat at the table, calmly waiting for Quigley. Efraim paced the perimeter of the small room, stopping briefly to look out the bar covered window as he passed it. He had laid his overcoat and lid on one of the chairs, the CD player and discs were sitting on the table. He continued to pace the room in silence.
"Beaman, sit down, you're making me nervous," Geiger finally told him. Efraim continued to pace, ignoring Geiger and his looks. He stopped as the door opened and three guards escorted Quigley into the interrogation room.
Dr. Harry Quigley had aged in the month and a half since Efraim had last seen him in Romania. He was shackled at the wrists, waist and feet, a chain connecting his feet and waist. Efraim shook his head, What a waste. Both agents watched as a guard pulled the chair out and helped Quigley to sit while the other attached the tether chain to a round metal 'eye' in the concrete floor. The one guard, a sergeant, looked over to Efraim. "Sir, you have 30 minutes. We'll be outside if you have any problems or finish early." Efraim nodded and watched them close the door on the three men in the room.
The silence was deafening in the room. Geiger looked up at Efraim and watched as he rubbed the small, pale pink scar across his forehead, take a deep breath and walk over to the table.
Efraim opened the box that held the CD player and sat in the chair next to Quigley. "Harry? I know you like music, I brought you a player and some discs so you can listen." He showed Quigley how to open the jewel box and he put the classical CD in the player, put the earphones on Quigley and pushed the play button. Quigley sat motionless, not acknowledging the presence of Efraim or Geiger, but when the music filled the headset, he lifted his head and looked at Efraim, some of the glaze leaving his eyes.
"Mozart." He told Efraim, with a small smile.
Efraim nodded. "I remembered that you liked this piece. Maybe it will help."
Quigley raised his eyes to look at Efraim. "Why?"
"There are a lot of reasons why. I hope you enjoy the player though." Efraim said, aware that the bug wasn't the only reason Quigley was listening to music courtesy of him.
"I tried to kill you. I saw the bullet strike your head." Quigley looked at Efraim, his eyes glazed over again.
Efraim swallowed involuntarily, remembering the incident as if it was happening again. He took a deep breath to steady the pounding of his heart and the surge of adrenaline that flooded his body. "You missed, in a manner of speaking Harry."
"I'm glad. Brilliant student. Married now. I remember being told you were married."
"Yes, it's been a month now since I was married."
"The laser John. Where is it?"
This was what they had been hoping would happen, that Quigley would get around to talking about the laser. "It's parked at the bottom of Vidraru Lake, Harry. It went into meltdown and I couldn't shut it down."
Quigley nodded. "How did it get parked at the bottom of the lake?"
"I, ah, I put it there." Efraim said, feeling like a kid in the principals office.
"Good option John. I had wired the unit with C-4 to detonate if it went into a fatal exception or meltdown phase. You remembered that it was water cooled. I would think that the reservoir was cold and wet enough to halt the final stages."
"It was." Efraim leaned both arms on the table, almost weak with relief that he had made the right decision. He cast a quick glance over at Geiger who was grinning like a fool. "It was a tremendous breakthrough in design Harry. You told me about some of it, do you remember? I read your research papers, although the complete formulas aren't there."
"No, didn't trust the Department of Defense." All three men at the table nodded for their own reasons. "I wanted to get you there John, so I could kill you. I thought I could get the President too, but he didn't come."
"I knew that you wanted the President and I knew that you wanted me. I remembered what you had said about random data in statistical evaluations, and was able to decode your equations to find the target and the place."
Quigley just nodded, still listening to the music, softly rocking in the chair to the swell of the piece playing on the CD. "Michael lied to me, didn't he?" Harry was referring to his nephew Michael Porter, one time Agency employee, now a resident of this same detention center and awaiting trial.
"Yes he did, Harry. I'm sorry. Michael never had a relationship with my wife, they were never friends. I never took anything away from him." Efraim told him.
"Do you have a piece of paper?" Quigley asked, looking at Geiger for the first time. Dave pulled a small notepad from his pocket and a pen, which he gave to Quigley. Geiger pushed his chair back to give himself room to maneuver should the need arise. Efraim stood beside Quigley watching as he wrote a complex series of mathematical equations on the notepad. Geiger leaned over, knowing that the room had a closed circuit monitor, he effectively shielded what Quigley was writing and the motion of his hand from the camera. Quigley flipped the pad closed, handed the pen and pad pack to Geiger and sat back in the chair. Geiger looked up at Efraim who nodded and went to pick up his coat and hat. He put them on, watching Harry Quigley listen to the music as he buttoned his overcoat.
"Harry? Can I come and talk to you again?" Efraim asked him.
"Why?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure. But, I'll bring you some more music to listen to, maybe some Chopin next time. Alright?"
"I'll look forward to the next time then John. Thank you."
Efraim knocked on the door and the guard opened it immediately. "We're finished for today." Efraim told him and watched as the guards unlocked Harry from the floor, help him up and escorted him from the room. "Goodbye Dr. Quigley. I'll see you again soon." Efraim told him as Quigley shuffled past. His nod was the only indication that Quigley had heard him.
Geiger slapped Efraim on the back. "Let's get out of here. That was a little too dejavu for me. And you're looking green around the gills. Besides, that scar of yours is standing out like someone took a red marker to you."
Efraim just nodded, he felt sick; seeing and talking to Quigley had been too surreal for words. They signed out and went back out into the parking lot. Rain mixed with ice pellets, fell heavily from the sky. Efraim pulled the collar of his overcoat up around his neck and put his head down to keep the freezing rain from hitting him in the face. The two men reached the car, Geiger pulled out his keypad and hit a few switches.
"Dammit all to hell!" Geiger said, kicking the tire of his car. Efraim looked over the hood, a smile lighting his face. He got the biggest kick out of Geiger swearing, the guy was usually silent, and he sure didn't know how to swear.
"Should have joined the Navy. We know how to swear in the Navy."
"Watch this Squid." He gave him his middle finger, causing Efraim to grin wider. Geiger then brought his hand down on the hood of the car and mouthed 'Bugged'. Efraim shrugged, it was what he had expected . Brushing off the ice pellets, Efraim slapped his hat against the side of his leg as he climbed in the car.
"Where to?" Geiger asked, knowing the answer but wanting to keep up the appearance of not having found the bug.
"Back to the office, park it in Georgetown." Efraim once again just stared out the passenger window, drained from the encounter with Quigley. He wanted to get back to the Agency and hug his wife, reassure himself that they both had really lived through that day in Poenari. Maybe have a short chat with Dr. Pfaff. He knew it was common to feel like this after coming face to face with someone who had shot you, but he just wanted to reassure himself.
"How are the new living arrangements coming along Beaman?"
"Great!" Efraim smiled. Now this was a topic he could talk about all day long. "We finished getting the rest of Francine's things into the townhouse last week. Next weekend, my sister and her husband and the baby are coming for dinner. My nephews want to come stay over one night, they adore their new aunt. They used to scare her, but kids are pretty much right up front about things and Francine appreciates that. So, they get along just fine."
Geiger shook his head. "I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. But it's good to see, buddy. Hey, your wife still owes me dinner for betting against Army in the game." The Game being the annual Army-Navy spectacular.
"I'll remind her. But you know she doesn't like to lose, I can't guarantee what you'll be eating!"
"You mean you aren't going to cook?" Geiger frowned.
"You didn't make the bet with me, I payed in cold hard cash and dinner in Jersey, if you remember. You made this bet with my wife."
"You did this on purpose! You didn't stop me! This is your way of getting back for Navy losing!"
Efraim laughed. "I hadn't thought about it that way, but it works for me!"
They drove the rest of the way in silence, keeping an eye out for the tail they had picked up earlier. Efraim knew that they wouldn't see them, but he hoped just the same for an opportunity to see the passenger. They would look through the photo file of CIA agents they had and hopefully put names to the faces, maybe Geiger would recognize the passenger.
They walked through the Georgetown door, flashed their badges and the word of the day to the receptionist and were buzzed through. "How long are you going to drive with the car bugged?" Efraim asked Geiger as they exited on their level.
"I was thinking of taking a pool car tonight. I have no desire to be leading these guys around by the nose. If they want to follow me, they can do it the way everyone else does."
"We bug them." Efraim reminded him.
"Everyone else but us."
"Let Leatherneck take it into the shop and do some work on it. He'll set an air compressor next to the critter and turn it on. I've seen the after effects, it messes them up for weeks!"
"Beaman, you have a mean streak! Good for you."
"Keep it under your hat, will ya?"
They both walked into the bullpen, only to find it in disarray. The files were out of the office next to his and Francine was directing the movement of her office furniture into her new office. Billy's office door was closed as were the shades at the window. Francine's face lit with pleasure when she saw Efraim walk in the bullpen.
"Hey! Any luck?" She called out to him, pointing the maintenance man carrying her chair towards her new office .
"Yeah, all the way around. Geiger and I have some work to do in my office. Is it safe? Computer still in one piece?" he asked her, his tone derisive. The bullpen stopped and watched, no one ever talked to Francine like that.
Their jaws did a collective drop when she laughed, a light, lilting sound that brought a smile to her husband's face. "Yeah B, your computer is still in one piece. You gonna share?"
"Maybe." He replied with a wink in her direction as he walked into his office, Geiger grinning, following right behind. Geiger took a chair and tossed the small notepad to Efraim.
"Let's see what we have here." He shrugged out of his overcoat and tossed it over a hook on his coat rack, his hat following right behind. He sat in his chair and flipped open his laptop and started plugging in the mathematical formula that Quigley had written down.
"Why do you use the laptop?" Geiger asked, watching as Efraim continued to punch the keys.
"The laptop has formulas in it that I can compare with this. This isn't just some straight forward algorithm, he's telling us something with this like he did with the last ones. I'm trying to match some of it up to save us some time, that's all."
"Makes sense."
Francine stuck her head in the door. "Leatherneck called down earlier, he said he was picking up your signal from the FDC without a problem. How'd it go?" She watched Efraim's face, knowing that visiting Quigley would bother him.
"Like being back on the roof of that building in the snow and wind." Efraim said, not looking up.
"And?" Francine asked, pushing him.
"It was strange. To be honest, I have real mixed emotions about it."
"What he is, is pissed as hell that he can't get past his innate boy scout personality and just go for the man's throat." Geiger added
"Shut up, Geiger." Efraim said, not wanting to get into it in his office with the bullpen watching.
"Good start, Boy Scout. Look, I'm going up to see Leatherneck and set up some preventative maintenance on my car. Then I'm going to go to the rogues gallery and see if I can put a name to those faces that were following us today."
"Francine? Dave reminded me that you owe him dinner for betting against Army in The Game."
Geiger stopped dead in his tracks, tossing a look of disgust at Efraim..
Francine smiled and put her hand on Geiger's shoulder. "Dave! How could you have let me forget? Come Saturday night, Lucy and her husband are coming over, and she called earlier to say a friend is coming to town on last minute business, so she's bringing her along. Saturday evening at 5, alright?" Francine left, knowing that Geiger really had no choice.
"That was mean Beaman, just mean. Now I have a blind date! You planned this. You somehow got me to remind you about the bet! Now I have a blind date! I haven't had a blind date in years! What did I ever do to you? I'm going to see Leatherneck. And I'm telling everyone you still can't get out of a pair of handcuffs! Boy Scout my foot. Vulture is more like it!" Geiger stormed out of Efraim's office, leaving Efraim to chuckle at his departure. He watched as his computer ran the equation that he had input.
Francine came back in and shut the door behind her. "So. Strange meeting?"
"Yeah, it was. Come here." He held is arms open to her and she sat on his lap and let him wrap his arms around her.
"I've wanted to do this since we left the detention center. Just hold you and reassure myself that we made it through another one."
"We did, B." Francine kissed him gently, looking into his eyes, rubbing her thumb on his cheek. "Flashbacks?"
He nodded and pulled her head to his shoulder, inhaling the scent of her shampoo and light perfume. "I felt sorry for him. I didn't want to, but I did. I do."
Francine smiled at him. "That's because you're a boy scout!"
"Funny." He kissed her, letting his lips linger against hers, a sweet kiss of comfort and love. "Is Lucy really bringing a friend with her?"
"Yep. I'll ask her again what her name is. A fortuitous happenstance."
"Geiger doesn't think so."
"That's what he gets for rubbing my nose in the Navy's loss to Army." Francine told him while she straightened the ribbons on Efraim's uniform. She lightly touched the last two ribbons he had attached, the Purple Heart, and Bronze Star. "He's right, you know? You really are a boy scout." She leaned over and kissed him. "Tell me later what Quigley had to say, okay? It'll give you time to think about it."
He smiled at his wife, she understood that he liked to get things straight in his mind before he talked about them. He nodded, kissed her nose and gave her a pinch for her to move. She grinned and winked, tossing him a saucy look over her shoulder, and she was gone. His computer was still working away so he decided to go have a chat with Pfaff and see what he had to say. Maybe he could snag some ice cream too. Pfaff always had something good in that freezer of his.
Efraim walked down the medical hall, slowing outside of Pfaff's door. He gave a slight shake of his head and knocked.
Dr. Pfaff opened the door, his eyes lighting up when he saw Efraim standing there. "Beaman! Welcome back! How was the honeymoon. Come on in, have a seat." Pfaff was always happy to see someone, anyone. Efraim liked him, he was a great guy and Efraim appreciated his quirks.
"Thanks, Doc. How's it going?"
"Good, good. You look good, I see you've added a few new ribbons to those bars."
Efraim shook his head, smiling as Pfaff zeroed in. "Yeah, a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Commander came with the recall to active service."
"Ah, something to soothe the pain."
"Yeah, something like that. I saw Quigley today. Geiger and I drove out to the detention center. It was like I was in the snow and ice on top of that maintenance building again. I could almost feel the bullet graze my forehead again."
"Big surge in adrenaline? Heart pounding?"
"Yeah."
"Fear?" Pfaff opened the little freezer he kept and tossed an ice cream sandwich to Efraim. He caught it and grinned, quickly unwrapping it and taking a bite.
"Not really. Well, maybe a little bit. He asked me where the laser was and I told him it was at the bottom of the lake. He told me he had wired it with C-4 to blow on overload. Said I made a good choice. I felt intense relief, I had to lean on the damn table to keep from falling out of the chair."
"You like to second guess yourself. You shouldn't."
"I like to be right."
"How often are you wrong?"
Efraim stopped and thought. "Some."
"Not much is more like it Efraim. How did you feel about Quigley?"
Efraim frowned, then took a few bites from his ice cream sandwich before he answered. "I felt sorry for him, and angry. I don't know, it was . . . strange. I'm worried that I should just be pissed at him and let that be the end of it."
"Why would you be worried about that? Why can't you feel sorry for him?"
"Well, he did try to kill me. Twice, no, three times. He tried to kill Francine. He was planning to kill the President. He didn't seem to have a problem with taking out the Fargaras Ridge or the Vidraru Dam. Very unsociable behavior."
"And because of that, you can't allow yourself to feel sympathy for a man who is obviously . . ."
". . .Mad as a hatter?" Efraim supplied.
"Rather an understatement, but it fits the bill."
"I shouldn't feel sorry for him." Efraim stated, anger flaring in his voice.
"Says who? You're human, Efraim. Don't you think that your sympathy sets you apart from Quigley? He didn't feel the specter of loss for faceless thousands. Your pity makes you very human. And a decent person. You shouldn't feel guilty for being who you are. Think about it for a few days."
Efraim shrugged and nodded, only willing to give it some thought.
"So, how's the marriage?" Pfaff asked, knowing this would lighten Efraim's mood.
Efraim grinned.
Pfaff laughed. "Yeah, I thought so. You and Francine are really suited to one another, strangely enough. The two of you are willing to put in the effort required."
"I like watching the reactions we get from people."
"I saw that earlier as I walked past. Makes life fun, the teasing and the tightening of your commitment to one another. Gives the two of you a safe haven within a crowd. Most good marriages have that retreat that you can slip into while in a crowd. How is it going with Francine moving into your place?"
"Feels like home now that she's there."
Pfaff smiled at Efraim's answer. "Efraim? I wouldn't worry about the panic, that's all it is and it will pass. If it happens the next time you see Quigley, we'll talk some more. You've had a couple of close calls very close together and that's enough to rattle anyone, make them doubt their abilities. You have no reason to doubt yourself. How's your sleep?"
"Good."
"Yeah, thought so." Pfaff laughed as he watched a dull red creep up Efraim's neck. "Get out of here and make sure your wife leaves you some office space.
Efraim laughed. "Thanks Doc. I will. I'll let you know how the next visit goes." Efraim left Pfaff's office and headed up to Leatherneck's. Francine had said that Leatherneck was getting a signal, Efraim would stop in and see how it was going, if anything was happening. He was just about to head through the doors to Leatherneck's door when he saw Lee walking toward him.
"Beaman. I hear you had a tail today."
"Good news travels fast."
Lee sighed and shot Efraim an exasperated look.
"Yep, we let them follow us, get a good look at us. Didn't want to tip our hands."
"Anyone you recognize?"
"Driver looked familiar, I'll take a look in the file and see who I come up with. The passenger was a no go for me, although Dave got a quick look at him."
"Yeah, that's what he said. Could be anyone with the description he had. Geiger said you got Quigley bugged."
"Yep, in a CD player."
Lee chuckled. "So I hear. He's going around calling you a boy scout."
"Nice. Is he telling everyone I can't get out of a pair of handcuffs too?"
"Nah, everyone knows that already, Beaman." Lee laughed as Efraim shrugged.
"He mention he has a blind date Saturday night?"
Lee stopped walking and laughed. "You're not kidding me, are you?"
"Nope. My sister has a friend coming into town for business and asked Francine if she could bring her Saturday night. Geiger gave Francine a hard time about the bet she lost for the Army-Navy game and Francine hit back."
"Sounds like Francine pulled off a quarterback sneak! Look, can I get an invite to this shindig? This I have to see!" Lee continued to laugh as they walked into Leatherneck's office.
"Yeah, come on over, but not a word to Geiger. Let him think this is going to be kept quiet."
"You know Beaman, I used to worry about you when you and Francine first hooked up, but now, I think you can hold your own."
"Gee, thanks. Guess I'm not such a boy scout after all, huh?"
"Nah, you're still a boy scout! Hey Leatherneck? You in here?" Lee and Efraim looked around. Efraim took a seat while Lee went to find Leatherneck. He spied what he thought was a pair of glasses sitting on the counter. Efraim remembered them from the last time he had visited Leatherneck before the operation in Romania. He got up and walked over to the counter, picked the glasses up and put the miniature camera up to his naval insignia on his jacket. He heard a groan from the back room and laughed.
"Commander! That was just plain mean. I'm sitting there watching my monitor and all of a sudden I see this navy boy fill my screen. Enough to put me off my food." Leatherneck came out of his office, a big grin on his face.
"Uh huh. Leatherneck, Francine tells me you were picking up Quigley's signal clearly. Anything?"
"I've got it feeding into transcription on quarter hour reporting. Should come right to your in box."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"Didn't get a chance to say it earlier, but welcome back to work Commander."
"Leatherneck? You've been calling me Beaman for years, you don't have to call me Commander."
"Respect the uniform, and in this case, respect the wearer of the uniform."
Efraim nodded. "Thank you Leatherneck. I have to get back down to the office and see if my wife and my boss have come to blows yet."
"It's gonna be hard on Billy. He's used to Francine catering to him and he's taken a drop to a distant second in her eyes."
"I know where to get his favorite donuts. I'll keep him supplied until things settle down. Lee's looking for you, you may want to give him a shout overhead."
"I will. Smart move with the donuts, Commander. See you later."
Efraim headed down to his office, he figured Lee would catch up with him later. He came out of the elevator on the lower level and was greeted by the usual sounds of the bullpen. He walked in and normalcy reigned; the filing cabinets had been put into Francine's old office and his wife was in the old filing room, putting pictures and her citations on the walls. He rapped on the door jab, watching as Francine turned, a smile lighting her face.
"Hey! They finished." She told him, gesturing to him to come in.
"I see, and no blood on the floor! The move went smoothly I take it." He took his wife by the waist and gave her a kiss on the nose. She smiled at him, tip-toed up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"I kept it to a minimum, Billy isn't a happy camper today."
"He doesn't have his assistant anymore."
"Aw, you mean he misses me?"
"I wouldn't go that far, Francine." He laughed at the disgruntled face she made at him. "Billy's used to you waiting on him, you have been busy with other 'things' lately."
"Hmmmm, don't I know it!" She answered, her voice husky as she slipped her arms around his waist. "Can I do this to an officer?"
"Only to me, I won't complain." He hugged her back and looked around the office. "Not bad! I see the door works."
"First thing I checked."
"Smart women. I want to check my computer, then if you're done here, lets sit down and brainstorm this problem, see what we can come up with."
"I need to get Billy some donuts." His wife said, glancing over her shoulder at their boss's closed door and blinds.
"Already taken care of, my love. They should be here momentarily."
"Aw B! Taking care of me!" Francine smiled at her husband, her eyes sparkling as she watched him blush.
"Every little bit I can. See you shortly?" He walked through the open door into his office and stopped. He turned around and smiled at his wife, her hands on her hips watching him. She blew him a kiss and went back to her walls. He shook his head and sat down at his desk to look at his laptop. Efraim scrolled through the data that had accumulated in reference to the equations he had entered. Some were familiar, some he would need time to study. He lifted the paper on which Quigley had written the equations, holding it up to the light looking for pressure points where he may have paused or started a new equation. He shrugged, it didn't tell him anything new.
He rolled his chair to the computer terminal that sat behind his desk and he opened a program and put the equations in. He scrolled each part, checking to make sure that every part was where it should be. He turned around and watched his laptop, kicked the chair back and put his feet on the desk, hands behind his head. He let his mind wander, watching as the laptop screen scrolled. His fingers began to keep rhythm with the changing screen. The rhythm was familiar, but something wasn't right. He pulled his feet off the desk and leaned on his desk, resting his head on his one hand while tapping on the desk. He slapped his hand down and laughed. He pulled his wallet from his inside his jacket and looked at the receipt from the electronics store. His finger followed the receipt until he saw what he was looking for. Mozart. A movement to his side caught his eye and he looked up, startled.
"Scare you?" Francine asked, walking into his office from hers.
"Yeah. I forgot about the door."
"I saw you thinking and tapping. What did you figure out?"
He motioned her over to his desk. "Watch the screen, see how it's changing? Now listen." He began to tap his fingers. Francine shook her head and shrugged. "Hon, close your eyes and listen." She closed her eyes, a small sigh escaped through her lips. He knew she was humoring him. "Do you hear it?" He continued to tape, and added the missing taps. He watched her face, smiling as her eyes opened.
"I hear it! It's Mozart, right?"
"Bingo Babe!"
"Okay, we have Mozart. What does it mean and why do we care?"
Efraim grinned, he used to dread his wife's get to the point attitude, now he enjoyed getting to the point with her. He gave a mental shake and got down to business. "Quigley gave us this equation, it's what's driving the program. I bought him this CD with this music on it." He showed her the receipt.
"I still don't get it B."
"All I have to do is configure the rest of this movement to a mathematical equation and I'll have the piece of the puzzle that he gave to me!"
"For what? What will it give you?"
"I have absolutely no idea Francine." He sat down in the chair, deflated. He looked up at Francine, shrugging at her and giving her an apologetic grimace.
"Sweetie, don't worry about it. When you figure it out, tell me then. I shouldn't have interrupted you before you were finished. But it was like I was getting the full Beaman at work, and I wanted to be a part of it."
"You make me the full Beaman, my love."
She laughed as she leaned over and kissed him. "Don't I know it! Figure out your equations B, and call me when you're done. I've got some files that I want to look at, okay?"
He nodded and watched her walk out of his office. It's gonna be hell with her next door, he thought to himself. How am I ever going to get any work done with her walking around? I can't keep my mind on the job as it is! He gave himself a mental scolding and pulled paper and pencil out, logged on to the Internet and found the piece of music that Quigley had used as the basis for his equation. He listened to the piece of music several times, looking for just the right movement. He knew he would need the score to the music to figure out the rest of the equation. He got up and walked over to Francine's office.
"Hey!" He grinned as she jumped in her seat.
"Hey yourself! What's up? You have it figured out?"
Efraim shook his head. "Nah, I need to go to a music store and find the score to get the numbers right. Wanna come with me, maybe have lunch?" He watched as Francine smiled and pushed back her chair.
"I'll be right with you, okay?" She grabbed her purse and Efraim took her coat off the hanger from behind her door. He held her coat for her, letting his hands brush over her breasts as he closed the front. She smiled at him, leaning into his chest as he pulled her up against him. He kissed her, his hands at her waist underneath her coat. He let one hand wander up her back and one to her backside, pressing her even closer against him. She sighed as she felt his response to her closeness and felt her own nipples harden in response to his tongue on her jaw and throat.
"Should we go home for lunch Francine?" He murmured against her ear, his breath tickling and his tongue filling her with a warmth she felt down in her toes.
"Yes. Home. Home for lunch. I'll drive." She kissed him, pulling his head to her as she deepened the kiss, feeling him respond. They were both breathless when they pulled apart, Efraim's eyes were nearly black with passion, hers had deepened to a purple that reminded him of the sky at sunset. He strode into his office and grabbed his coat and lid and threw them on. Francine waited at the opening between their offices, he held out his hand and she beckoned back with a finger. He stepped up to her, grabbed her and kissed her hard, holding her tightly. She took his hand and dragged him from the office.
Billy was standing at his door, his blinds open, a jelly donut in his hand. "Where are you two going?" He asked as he watched Francine pull Efraim through the bullpen.
"Music store, need a Mozart score to finish a math problem. Back later." The guards opened the bullpen doors and saluted, Efraim saluted back, still keeping up with his wife. She pressed the elevator doors, pulling Efraim in behind her when they opened. Lee and Amanda were there, Amanda smiled her greeting and stepped back to allow Francine and Efraim some room.
Francine kept glancing at her husband, a secretive smile on her lips. Efraim glanced back, catching her eye and looking away. Neither noticed the grins on Lee and Amanda's faces as they watched the newlyweds send heated glances at each other. The elevator opened, Efraim took Francine's hand and pulled her through the parking garage as he yelled over his shoulder that they needed Mozart. He had the car door unlocked and Francine in the passenger seat before she could argue that she could drive faster and well before Lee and Amanda had left the elevator. Efraim hopped in the car, tossing his hat in the back seat, started the engine and pulled out, driving like his life depended on it.
Lee and Amanda stopped and watched as the car with the Beaman's in it speed by. "They sure were in a hurry, weren't they Lee." Amanda stated, a full fledged smile on her face.
"Yeah." They walked to their car, Lee opening the door for Amanda and climbing in the drivers seat. "Amanda, where is everyone today? At home I mean?"
Amanda turned to her husband, a smile on her face. "Everyone is gone for the day."
"You're sure? Positive?" Lee asked again, his voice husky.
"Absolutely." She answered, her voice catching on her breath.
"Let's go home for lunch."
"I think they said they needed Mozart." Amanda said, her voice soft and teasing.
"Whatever. I need you." Lee sent his wife a look of need and desire of his own as he pulled out of the parking lot with speed that matched Efraim's.
