Declining Grace

Chapter Four

Dossiers

The Homeland Security office building was absolutely buzzing with activity with the exception of Director Dennis Ryland's sparsely decorated office. Dennis sat in his black leather desk chair, hands shaped into a steeple while he leaned on his glass-topped desk to scan over the two agents in his office. Diana Skouris and Tom Baldwin were his best agents in the agency without a doubt. He had worried only slightly when he had partnered them. They were like oil and water; Diana with her caustic remarks and Tom with his seasoned, know-it-all attitude. Dennis had wondered if they would ever get along. Still, Dennis had been positive that the two would make a great team since Diana had a strong scientific background and Tom had the field experience. Their personalities seemed to coalesce over time as they spent more time together. Now, they seemed to almost compliment each other with the variety in their attitudes. The pair sat in deference on the poorly designed couch as Dennis talked about the latest 4400 trouble.

"This case involving the 4400 is particularly odd. I hate to sound callous about this case, but this guy has been moving across the country. He even crossed the Atlantic."

Dennis paused for the dramatic affect he wanted as he debated whether or not to explain the case right at that moment or wait until the accepted the assignment. They might not accept it since the mission would require some major traveling, and it was need-to-know. Diana might not want to leave Maia behind, when the little girl was adapting to her new life. Plus, Maia would be left at the mercy of the Homeland Security doctors who wanted nothing more than to study the clairvoyant. Tom wouldn't want to leave Kyle's bedside, understandably. Tom rarely left Kyle's bedside since the night his son fell into the coma. He had only torn himself away when his nephew, Shawn Farrell, had returned.

"You both have dealt with the 4400 anomalies: Carl Morrissey, Orson Bailey - Maia Rutledge." Dennis continued.

Diana's face flashed with indignation at the mention of Maia being clumped in with the other anomalies. Maia was gifted. She wasn't an oddity.

"Now, Diana, I didn't mean that in an offensive way. Maia Rutledge is special. That's what inspired you to take Maia in the first place. But you and I aren't going to debate Maia's worth, because I have no doubt of it.

"Also, your experiences with Maia and Shawn will make you handle this situation more delicately. Both of you fit the criterion to take this case; the clearance, the experience, and most importantly, the relationships."

Tom sighed loudly and folded his arms across his chest. All these various gifts that seemed to be popping up amongst the 4400 worried Tom. What if Shawn came up with one of these odd powers? Tom flashed back to Shawn's welcome home party when Shawn had cradled the seemingly dead bird in his hands and saw it come back to life as it flew away. Tom was sure that bird had died. The neck had been broken. Had Shawn healed it? Was that what had happened? Did Shawn have a power? Tom had the sinking feeling that he had been able to delude himself on the reason that bird had flown away alive from the crash with the window. He sighed loudly to rid himself of all his troubling thoughts. He couldn't keep wondering about his nephew. That was why they were estranged now. He had to stop second-guessing Shawn. And he had to focus on what Dennis and Diana were saying.

"That sigh Tom just gave you was his way of thanking you for your candor. You're right about Tom and I being qualified for this case and we'll be happy to take it. Isn't that right, Tom?" Diana asked it with a coy smile on her face. Tom couldn't resist returning the smile as he nodded.

"That was exactly the reason I sighed. I wanted you to know I appreciate your candor."

Dennis rolled his eyes and bit back his laughter. He really couldn't encourage the two. They were in a serious business meeting and the light-hearted, joking tone the meeting had taken wouldn't be acceptable for what he was about to tell them.

"All right. Since you both have so gracefully accepted this job…" Dennis hesitated and smiled at them slightly before he continued. "I'll go ahead and fill you in on the details. A series of kidnappings have occurred in two different states and in lower London as well, making this an international case. We have several eyewitnesses that have delineated what they saw when several women disappeared. There certainly wasn't a dearth of witnesses in this instance, which makes the case even more odd. We're not quite sure how the perpetrator has gotten away with so many witnesses."

"What do the kidnappings have to do with the 4400?" Diana asked immediately.

"They started the day after the 4400 were let out of quarantine."

"And no one made the connection until now?" Tom said.

"Well, not really. The police suspected, but with this becoming an international case, they were asked to give it over to us. It's our investigation now. Anyway, all the women have had blue eyes, brown hair, about 5' 7", and are around the age of 33."

Diana cocked her head. "Why the specific targets?"

"We're not sure. But the even more odd thing about this case is that all the victims were taken in broad daylight in the middle of busy places. The first three taken were in New York, and then two in London, and then one here in Seattle. So whoever it is has moved around quite a bit. This assignment is going to require you to travel more than usual."
"But Maia -"

"We can find a place for Maia to stay, Diana. Doesn't she have any friends or someone to stay with?"

"Maybe her friend, Kaleen." Diana said it thoughtfully.

"Now all the witness' stories are more or less the same. I want you to travel to New York and corroborate the stories of the witnesses there. We have some agents working in London already. You'll come back here and compare notes with the ones in England."

The two nodded dutifully as Dennis handed them three dossiers each. He opened his own and lifted the pictures from all three files and explained quietly.

"We have narrowed down the suspects to these three: Tristan Bree, Patrick Grace, and Jensen Longtree. All have been in the area of the disappearances at the time they occurred and match the description we've been given."

Diana's scanned over the Patrick Grace dossier and wasn't too shocked to find that he had two daughters listed. Delainia and Kaleen Grace. Those poor girls. Now she understood the sadness behind Maia's little friend's eyes. Her father could possibly be behind these abductions. And if he was abducting women, who knew what was happening to the girls.

"Any questions? Good. You'll be leaving tonight."

Dennis looked away from them as he began to study some papers on his desk. The partners knew they had been dismissed. They exited the office quietly as they were each lost in their retrospective thoughts.

He was tired of waiting for her to come home. She'd been avoiding him for three days now and he didn't appreciate it at all. He was sure that her choice to avoid him would end if he would go look for her. They had always been able to talk out their problems, but she seemed intent on playing this ridiculous game of hard-to-get. He was sorry that he had been late to dinner. He had been working late and lost track of time. He wanted to make it up to her, but he couldn't do that if she wouldn't talk to him. He walked down the street in Seattle, the Space Needle almost directly ahead of him. He saw her, then, darting in between people in the crowd. He called to her, but she didn't even turn her head. This was ridiculous. He increased his pace as he began to dart in between people as well. He finally grabbed her arm. She looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling, and it warmed his heart.
"I've been looking for you. I know you're mad, love, but I had to finish my assignment. Forgive me."
"I don't know who it is you're talking about, Sir. I don't know you."

"Come on, love. Let's go home. Our daughter misses you as well."

"I don't know who you are. You have me mistaken for someone else."

"So you won't give up this game of yours. Fine."

He grasped her arm even tighter than before and began to jerk her towards the Space Needle. She tried to wriggle from his grip, but he wouldn't let her go. Not this time. She needed to know how sorry he was. He would take her to the Space Needle and wait until they make sure they made up before he took her home again. Their daughter shouldn't be put through the stress of hearing them fight.

"Darling, don't worry. I just want to talk to you. Don't keep fighting me."'

"I won't capitulate. I'm not who you think I am. Please, just let me go."

The man jerked her around so she was forced to look into his green eyes. She seemed to be completely enraptured in his gaze. They seemed very much the happy couple at that moment, gazing lovingly in each other's eyes. She smiled at him, then, a toothy grin.

"I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you, Sweetheart. I was just upset. You didn't even call to let me know you weren't come home. I was worried."'

"I'm sorry. I really am." He returned her smile and wrapped an arm around her. They continued to walk to the Space Needle with the appearance of a happy married couple.

Delainia slung her book bag over her shoulder and began to walk to the door. She hadn't spoken with Shawn for several days. Their tentative truce seemed to be working. He had smiled at her a few times, and did that whole guy nod thing that she had never quite understood. She had returned his smiles and continued to sneak shy glances at him. No matter what their history, he was still incredibly handsome. While the truce with Shawn was nice, Delainia hadn't made any other friends. No one else seemed interested in speaking to her. She didn't know why she was outcast. She was new and the high school already had its cliques. But the only one she seemed to fit in with was Shawn, his brother Danny and Nikki. Not that he had spoken to the latter. She was almost afraid to speak with them. No telling what Shawn had told them about her. She hated herself for her craven choice to avoid making any initial contact with anyone. She had to put herself out there to make friends. She decided, without much conviction, to talk to Nikki and Danny. She approached them nervously in the hallway. The trio was on their way out the door after sixth hour French, the last class of the day. She called out to them.
"Shawn! Wait up!"

Shawn paused in surprise at the sound of his name. Not many people called him in the hall. In fact, pretty much only Danny and Nikki talked to him. And they were with him, so it wasn't them. He turned and saw Delainia hurrying towards them. He had never expected Delainia to be the one to call his name. They had been okay, since their talk in the hall last week, but they hadn't really become friends either. He wanted to be friends with her. She fascinated him. She was different than others at that cursed high school. She didn't even care that he was a 4400 - an abnormality in his life.

"Delainia? What's wrong?"

She glanced down at her feet, suddenly interested in the flowers that adorned her flip-flops. She shifted her weight from leg to leg in a way that made her look like she was almost doing some weird dance. Shawn reached out and put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Delainia, are you all right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm right smashing."

Delainia's eyes widened at the sentence she'd just blurted out. With her accent. Her accent from Lower London. She was so good at covering it up, but when her nerves got to her, she tended to revert to her childhood way of speaking.

"You're British? I never even knew that. You've never sounded British before."

Delainia cleared her throat and squirmed away from Shawn's grip. She stood a good 12 paces away from the trio now, like she was ready to bolt down the corridor at any moment.

"I cover it up. You know, I'm already the new kid. I didn't want to be the new kid with the weird accent. It's not hard to cover it up. I just forget to, sometimes."

Shawn didn't understand her reasoning for covering up her accent. He liked it. But it was her prerogative.

"Okay. So what did you want?"

Delainia got that same petrified look on her face. She wasn't at all the spitfire she had been when she had been fighting with Shawn. She seemed fairly subdued, in fact.

"I just wanted to see if any of you guys got the assignment Mademoiselle Ambrose gave us. I totally spaced and-"

Shawn didn't believe her for a minute. Delainia was excellent in French and she always paid attention in class. He'd seen her taking notes. Shawn suddenly realized how lonely she must be. He hadn't ever seen her with anyone. At least he had Danny and Nikki. He felt an unexpected surge of sympathy for her. Maybe that was why she looked sad all the time. She wanted friends.

"Oh, I didn't get it. But did you get it, Nikki?"

The blond girl nodded and flipped her long hair over her shoulder. She pulled out a folder and handed it to Delainia.

"Yeah, I did. Hey. I'm Nikki Hudson. I'm Shawn's friend."
"Delainia Grace."

"Yeah. I've seen you in French. You really speak it well. You always sound like you're actually French. Or at least what I think a French person would sound like. That's really cool."

"I'm going to have to agree with my girlfriend on this one, Delainia. Not that I disagree with her much. She's kind of scary when she gets mad."

Delainia blushed at the copious accolades the two had given her. She wasn't used to so much attention, especially not of late. She self-consciously tucked her black hair behind her ears. She really was rusty at this whole socializing thing. She spent most of her time with her little sister.

"Thanks."

"It's the truth. Oh, I'm Danny, by the way. Shawn's brother."

"Nice to meet you both."

Shawn smiled at her as she politely nodded at them. She started to write down what was on Nikki's paper, the page number and assignment numbers. She handed it back to Nikki. "Thank you so much for letting me use this."

"No problem. Hey, maybe we could study together for the test tomorrow. You obviously know a lot about French."

"I took it at my old school in London. We learned other languages earlier than in America. I've been taking French since I was twelve. The stuff we're doing in French now is just review for me."

"So, you'd totally be saving my life, and Shawn and Danny's if you could help us. We could study outside for awhile."

Delainia seemed torn. She obviously wanted to stay. All three could tell. But she shook her head reluctantly.

"I wish I could. But I take care of my little sister. She can't be home alone. In fact, I need to go now to beat her home."

"Well, we could study at your-"
"No. We can't study at my house. We just can't. Thanks for inviting me to stay with you."

Delainia turned and ran down the steps as abruptly as she had come. Nikki raised her eyebrow at Shawn and Danny. "What was that?"
"I don't know. I'm not the one who's had other conversations with her." Danny said smartly. Danny turned his gaze at Shawn and waited for his answer.

Shawn shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not sure. Something's up with her. I just don't know what it is. Maybe I can talk her into going out on Friday. I'll try tomorrow."

Delainia slammed the door, fighting back the tears that stung at her eyes. She couldn't cry, no matter how much she needed a catharsis. Her dad would see it and wonder why. And there was no way she could tell her half-insane father what was wrong, especially since he was part of the problem. She wiped at her eyes haphazardly and dropped her bag in the hall. She walked into the living room to find Kaleen sitting on the couch staring at her father with curious eyes.

"Hey, Sweets. How was school today?"

Kaleen bounced off the couch and went to give her sister a hug. Delainia returned the hug, comforted by her little sister's touch.

"Good. Maia and I were teamed up to do a book report together."

"What book?"
"Maia says it's going to be Hatchet. The teacher hasn't told us yet."

"But Maia will be right."

"She always is."

"Is Maia coming over tonight?"
"Yeah. Miss Skouris is on a business trip, so her baby-sitter is letting her come over for the night. We need to go get Drusilla something."

Delainia looked down at her sister questioningly. She didn't remember Kaleen mentioning a Drusilla. All Kaleen talked about was Maia.

"Who's Drusilla?"

"Laini!" Kaleen was obviously put off by the question.

"Kaleen!"

"Drusilla is the one that invited me to her birthday party. You remember?"
"Oh. A birthday gift. The party's this Friday, isn't it?"

"Yep!"

"All right. Go get ready for the mall and for Maia to come."

Kaleen giggled delightedly and dashed off to her bedroom. Delainia smiled at her sister's sudden light-heartedness and turned away from the hall. Her father sat in the blue recliner, his feet propped up.

"How was your day, Daddy?"

"It was wonderful, my little Laini. I finally fixed some of my problems today."

Delainia wasn't quite sure what that sentence meant. She decided it was better not to ask. Instead, she leaned forward to kiss Patrick on the cheek.

"I'm glad, Daddy. You deserve a good day."