Webb Odyssey Pas Deux
Claire Vincent
Chapter 8
Andrews Airforce Base
1609 local time
The trip home was uneventful. By silent mutual consent, Clay, Amy and Harm did not discuss Neville Webb any further. Amy and Harm both slept on the flight home, but Clay could not. He envied his wife, and her innate Marine ability to sleep anywhere and at anytime. It was a talent she said she had needed in the Corps, and was still able to use.
Clay was left alone with his thoughts. He still didn't believe that his father had made a deal for trading arms for the release of the Iranian Hostages, all those years ago. What ever had happened, the arms deal, if there was one, had fallen through. The Hostages had been released in January 1980 when President Regan was sworn into office. There had been arrangements with Syria to help get them out. So whatever his father had been involved in, it was not the plan that had finally freed them. Besides, when they were released, Neville had been dead already.
No, Neville may have been part of a plan that went wrong, and had paid with his life, but he wouldn't have broken the rules, wouldn't have gone against the government policy. Clay was sure of that. Clay knew full well that rules were bent, and even ignored in the field sometimes, and agents had to improvise, but he was convinced his father would never have gone that far.
And what about the money? His father never needed money for himself. That part of the story was the biggest hole. His family was very well off, and his father had been an excellent manager of the family's financial interests. No, the secret bank account didn't fit at all.
And who had been trying to stop his investigation, and why? Had they been involved in the arms deal, and needed to keep their part of it secret? That seemed the most likely reason to keep the files sealed, and try and keep Clay off the trail. How far would they go? And how could Clay find out who they are? And how could Clay clear his father's name once and for all?
All these questions floated in Clay's mind on the long flight home, and they only seemed to become more confusing as the hours passed. He was glad when the captain announced they would be making their final decent to Andrew's.
As they taxied to their spot on the tarmac, they all gathered their gear, and exited the plane. All three were stiff, and tired, and very glad to be home.
Not far from the plane was a dark government car, with the emblem of JAG on the door. Harm was trying to think of who would be here to meet their plane, when Commander Bud Roberts stepped out from the car, and made his way over to them. Instead of a welcoming smile, his face looked very worried.
'Commander, Mr. Webb, Mrs. Webb.' Bud greeted them each with a nod, then looked directly at Harm. 'Sir, Harm.' He paused.
'Hello Bud, what brings you here?' Harm asked.
'I'm sorry Sir, I have…There is no easy way to say this but to just say it.' Bud was trying to put on a brave face, but was failing.
As he said this, a cold finger ran down Harm's spine. Was Sarah ok? Had something gone wrong with the baby?
'Just tell me Bud, what is it?' Harm asked a little frantically.
'It's the Colonel Sir. She's been kidnapped. We received an email this morning at JAG Headquarters making demands involving Mr. Webb.' Bud said, looking over at Clay.
Clay swallowed. This was the last thing he had expected, or wanted.
'Kidnapped!' Harm shouted. 'What do you mean?'
'I mean she is being held by someone and they said Mr. Webb had to stop his investigation and turn over all his files on it before she will be released.' Bud said calmly, but he couldn't hide the worry in his voice.
Harm looked at Clay with fire in his eyes. 'If something happens to her I'll kill you with my bare hands Webb!'
Before Clay could reply, Bud interjected, 'Sir, the Admiral is waiting for you at HQ with the FBI agent assigned to the case. I'm to take you there immediately and they can fill you in further. Mr. Webb, you are to come too.'
'Of course Bud. My car is here, Amy and I will follow you over to HQ.' Clay said calmly, and with that Bud brought Harm over to the sedan, and Clay and Amy walked over to the parking lot.
Neither said anything until they were in the car, and moving.
'What could this mean, Clay?' Amy asked.
'It means a lot of things.' He answered.
'Like….?' She prompted.
'Like whoever was threatening us found out where we were, and what we were doing, but had no one in the Middle East to do any harm. They didn't know, or care about where Claudia is, so they struck at Sarah, thinking that added pressure from all around me, you, Harm, AJ may just be enough to get me to quit.'
They were quiet for a few minutes, thinking this over, then Clay continued. 'It also means they are getting desperate, which could be a dangerous thing. Desperate people make mistakes, and they can do the unthinkable.'
Amy looked over at her husband, and realized again, how much she didn't know about him, or what he did in his work. She shivered, and it wasn't because of the air conditioning inside the car.
'What are you going to do?' she asked.
'I don't know yet. We'll see what has been done so far, see what the demands are, and go from there.' He said, never taking is eyes off the road.
They both were lost in their own thoughts. Neither would have been surprised to find out that they each were thinking this situation was rapidly getting out of control.
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, VA
1702 local time
When they arrived, the Admiral was in the bullpen talking to an ensign. As soon as he saw them exit the elevator, he called to Harm. 'Commander'.
'Admiral, what do you know? What is being done, Sir?' Harm asked excitedly.
'Let's all go into my office, I will fill you in.' the Admiral said.
They all filed inside, and were met by an older man, in a dark suit, and a dark expression on his face.
The Admiral made the introductions, 'Commander Rabb, this is Agent Fornell, FBI, he is in charge of the investigation.'
Harm skipped the pleasantries and started asking his questions. 'Agent Fornell, what can you tell me? What is going on?'
Fornell looked at Harm, then glanced at Clay, 'Agent Webb.' He said ignoring Harm for the moment.
'Agent Fornell.' Clay answered. 'Have we ever met before?' he asked.
The FBI agent smirked, it was as close to a smile as he ever got. 'No, but I know you by reputation.' He answered.
Clay wasn't sure this was a compliment or an insult, but he didn't have much time to think about it, as Harm began with his questio
'Will someone please start telling me what is being done to find my wife?' he demanded.
The Admiral began, trying to sound reassuring. 'This morning I received an email with a video attached showing the Colonel. She looks fine, Harm. There was a voice over the film making demands. Here, let me show you.'
He spun is computer screen around so they could all see it, and began the video. At first it showed only a metal door, and an electronically altered voice came over the speakers.
'Colonel Sarah Mackenzie Rabb is my special guest. She will stay with me until Clayton Webb returns to this country, and turns over all his information on the private investigation he has been conducting. He will be contacted within 12 hours of landing with instructions of where to bring everything. We know where you traveled, and who you talked to, Mr. Webb. You should have stayed home. You should never have involved Commander Rabb.'
The voice paused, and the camera was swung around showing a room with a bed, a chair, and a kitchen counter. Standing in the middle of the room was Sarah, looking just a little scared.
The voice continued. 'As you can see, Colonel Mackenzie is being well taken care of here. She is in comfortable surroundings, and has enough food for herself and her baby. We are not interested in harming her, but Mr. Webb must comply with our demand, and when we are satisfied he will end his investigation, Colonel Mackenzie will be returned unharmed. If we are not satisfied…well, you know.'
Then the voice addressed Sarah, 'Say Hello Colonel.'
Sarah's voice came over the speaker, unaltered, at least electronically. She sounded scared and tears brightened her big brown eyes. The camera focused closer on to her face. 'I'm fine Harm. I just want to go home.' Then the screen went black.
Everyone in the office looked away from the screen, and tried to find another focal point. Harm sank slowly into a chair, and his eyes never left the screen. His face was pale and he seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.
Finally he looked at Fornell, and anger brought some color back to his face. 'What is being done to find her?' he demanded in a low voice.
'Our lab techs have been taking this video apart since this morning. There is no background noise to help with a location, and the voice is altered as you can tell. I doubt you would recognize it anyway since the person seems to know Mr. Webb.' At this he looked across the room at Clay.
During the video, Amy heard Clay whisper to himself, 'I know that place.' When she looked over at him, he shook his head ever so slightly to indicate not to say anything about it right now. He looked a little confused, as if he was trying to remember something. She didn't say anything, but felt like she was holding back an important piece that could help her best friend.
Now, everyone looked over at Clay expectantly. Fornell continued, 'Do you recognize the voice at all Webb?' he asked.
'How could I? You said yourself it is electronically altered.' He really didn't recognize it, and it would take some work to adjust the voice to a normal tone to try and make an identification from it.
'Just checking.' Fornell answered. 'What is the investigation you are working on and why would someone go to this extreme to make you stop?'
'It's personal.' Clay answered flatly. This answer surprised Amy. How could Clay be so cold to keep this information from the FBI when Sarah was in danger?
Fornell was not interested in playing games. 'It's not personal anymore Webb. It is now part of a Federal kidnapping investigation, and if you withhold information, I will hold you myself until we get what we need.' He said threateningly.
Clay looked around the room, and saw many faces that would help Fornell carry out this threat. He finally said, 'I'm trying to find out how my father died in a foreign country while on a mission 25 years ago. It has been kept secret all this time by the CIA.'
'That's it?' Fornell asked.
'I have more information, and three people know it, my wife, Harm and myself. As I have uncovered more facts, the threats to our lives have increased. Someone, and I am beginning to think a few someones, rather high up in CIA, maybe even FBI and the Government could be hurt by what I uncover and therefore are trying to stop me. Sarah has none of this information, so in that respect she is safe, there is nothing she can tell them about how far I have gotten in my investigation.'
'Give me names Webb.' Fornell demanded.
'I don't have any, but they don't know that!' Clay shouted back.
'What have you uncovered so far? What are they trying to hide?' Fornell was beginning to make this an interrogation. He was asking the questions that were on everyone else's mind.
'If I told you that, I would be putting you all at risk. Three people know, and that is enough for now. The three of us are not safe right now, and as time goes by, the risk grows.'
'Then let's you and I go have a talk somewhere and you can at least fill me in.' Fornell suggested rather strongly.
'No, not yet.' Clay answered. 'Let me go home and put everything together. Let me work it out and see if I can come up with some possible names.'
'If you have information my agents can use to find Colonel Mackenzie…' Fornell started but Clay cut him off. 'Not yet I don't. Give me some time.'
Then Clay looked at Harm, who was drawn between pleading with Clay for the information, and beating it out of him. The look in his eyes almost made Clay relent. He said, 'I'm sorry Harm. I will find out who is holding her and get her out. I promise.'
One little part of Harm's mind that was still working and not consumed with worry over his wife and child, understood Clay's request. He didn't want to put anyone else in danger. Clay was right all three of them were in danger now. He would give anything to trade places with Sarah, and know she was safe, but there was nothing he could do right now. He couldn't trust his voice, so he only nodded his consent to give Clay some time.
Fornell sighed, and looked at the Admiral, who shook his head. AJ knew there was no ordering Webb to do anything. Their hands were tied.
Fornell gave in, but he didn't like it, 'All right, Webb. I will give you a few hours. I will keep the investigation going. If you find anything…'
'I will call you immediately.' Clay said. Fornell handed him his business card with phone numbers. Then Fornell said, 'And if you are contacted directly by the kidnapper, I want to know that too. I'll have agents follow you home to set up equipment to trace a call just in case.'
Clay didn't like that idea, but nodded his consent. He knew he had to give them something to work with to buy himself some time to go over his information again.
Fornell turned to Harm. 'Commander, I will have agents escort you home also. I'm afraid all we can do right now is wait to be contacted again, but we will still work on what we have. We'll find her Commander. She's in no immediate danger right now.'
It was small comfort, and everyone knew it. Harm got up slowly and turned to leave the office. He looked once more at Clay. 'Work fast.' Was all he said.
'We'll find her. I promise.' Then everyone exited the Admiral's office quietly.
Webb's car
On the way to their home
1817 local time
Clay and Amy were quiet in the car going home, but Amy wasn't content to let Clay be alone with his thoughts. 'What did you mean in the office about recognizing the place where Sarah was being held?'
Clay glanced at his wife, then turned his attention back to the road. 'Just that it seemed familiar somehow. I don't know for sure. I am trying to remember where I might have seen it.'
'It looked like an old basement to me.' Amy said. 'Which would account for no background noise.'
Clay just responded with a 'Hmmm.' and a nod and concentrated on driving.
After another moment of silence, Amy broke in on her husband's thoughts again. 'What are you going to do?'
'I'm going to go back home, and pour over all the notes I have about my father, and see if there is anything that fills in the blanks. Names of people he had contact with that keep coming up… I don't know. I just have to look and hope I find something.' He finished on a frustrated note.
'Can I help?' Amy offered.
'I wish you could, but I don't know how. I don't even know what I am looking for.'
Webb Residence
Alexandria, VA
1847 local time
When they arrived home, Clay got right down to work in his home office. He pulled out everything he had collected over the years on his father's last mission, and began going over it with a fine toothcomb, writing notes as he went along.
Amy made them both something to eat, and kept the coffee coming for him. She stood by while the FBI agents arranged the phone tap to their line, just incase the kidnapper called, and watched as they set up their surveillance from a truck outside. She was glad they didn't have to stay in the house. After a couple of hours, the jet lag caught up to her, and reluctantly, with Clay's urging she went up to bed. Clay kept working into the night.
After hours of reading his notes, and trying to make connections that weren't really there, the words started jumping around on the page, and his notes were not making any sense anymore. He hated the weakness, but realized he would be of no use to anyone, if he didn't get some rest. He turned out the lights, and made his way slowly up to bed.
Amy was sound asleep, and it gave Clay some comfort to watch her. She seemed so peaceful. He lay down beside her, and fell instantly asleep, but it was not restful.
He dreamed of Sarah, the way she was in Paraguay with the fake pregnancy. Sarah on Sadek's table with the battery, but she wasn't crying, she just looked at him with her big brown eyes, the way she had in the video, and said, 'I want to go home.'
Then he saw the room again, where Sarah was being held, and everything looked bigger. The bed was bigger, and the countertop was higher, and his mother was there, and she looked at him and said, 'I want to go home.' Then she turned and left him there, and he was the one calling, 'I want to go home. Please, Mother, I want to go home! Mother!' but she kept walking away from him, leaving him alone in the room. Clay kept calling, 'Mother! Mother!'
Amy woke up beside Clay, hearing him call out for his mother. She had been with him through nightmares before, but he had never called out for his mother in them. 'Clay, wake up. You are home. Clay, please wake up, it's Amy, Clay. You are home.'
She shook her husband, and his eyes opened wide, looking at her without recognition at first. Then he looked around the room, and took a deep breath and relaxed.
'Clay, are you all right, honey? It was just a dream.' Amy said.
Clay wiped a hand across his face. 'Oh my God.' He said.
'What is it?' his wife asked.
'Oh no.' was all he said, then looked at her. 'I know where Sarah is. I have to call my Mother.' And he jumped out of bed, left the room and headed downstairs.
Amy wasn't sure she was awake, and had heard him correctly. 'You have to call your Mother?' she asked the empty room. Then she got out of bed and followed Clay downstairs. She found him in the office.
'Clay, it is three o'clock in the morning. I'm sure your Mother would not appreciate a call at this hour.'
'I have to call her. She knows where it is.' He said as he dialed the number to his Mother's home.
'She knows where Sarah is being held? How can that be?' Amy said, more confused than ever.
'It's a long story.' Clay said as he listened to the ringing on the other end of the line. 'Call Harm from the cell and get him over here. Then call Fornell and tell him…' Then he stopped as the phone was answered on the other end. 'Hello, this is Clayton Webb. I need to talk to my mother right away.' Then he paused and nodded his head, 'Yes, I know what time it is; I have to talk to her. It is an emergency. Go wake her up.' As the staff member at his mother's house went to wake up their employer, Clay looked up at Amy again. 'Get me road map to Virginia first.'
Amy left the room, found a map and brought it back to Clay. Then she went to the kitchen and took out her cell phone and began calling Harm and FBI Agent Fornell. Both men had a lot of questions, which Amy could not answer. She just told them Clay thought he knew where Sarah was being held, and they both should get over to their house as soon as possible.
Chapter 9 coming soon, I promise. This chapter was long enough, and this was a good place to stop. Sorry about another cliff hanger. (I'm not really, but you know….) CV And yes, I borrowed Agent Fornell from NCIS.