A/N- This chapter is short. It was essentially unfinished but I wanted to put it up and to give you all an update on things.
The baby was not responding to the nebulizer treatments and because the oxygen level in his blood was still too low on Wednesday morning the doctor put him on a steroid called Prednisone. It is now Friday morning and we are finally starting to see some results.
But you know how life goes, it aint satisfied unless you are being kicked when your down.
I was laid off yesterday afternoon after giving unbelievable diligence and loyalty to this company I worked for. I was told point blank that I couldn't work evening and weekend hours because of my children. I have a rock solid discrimination case against this company but I am not going to bother suing them. Why would I want to sue for a job with an employer who so thoroughly abused my loyalty and trust?
I'll be honest; when I had this happen some pretty unpleasant thoughts ran through my head, but I have three small lives depending on me and as a parent I don't have the luxury of giving up or feeling sorry for myself. As morose and depressed as I feel about this turn of events, I have no choice but to find a way to make it work or more importantly find work.
As for the story; life is kicking me pretty hard right now so it will probably be a little while before I get back to it. I am very sorry to disappoint you. I will finish it, that I do promise. Once again I apologize for the brevity of this chapter but it's all I can manage at this point.
Chapter Forty-One
Megan and David spent the next hour viewing the video from the conference room. They both studied the faces and posture of everyone present including Director Donaldson and Assistant Director Merrick. Megan was leaving nothing to chance. A title at this point precluded no one from suspicion. She didn't really believe either the director or assistant director was the mole but the investigation a few years back netted zero results and she was not going to see a repeat of that this time. Someone was going to answer for Colby and Don.
As they viewed the tape Megan paid particular attention to Bill Peterson. David's quiet investigation had come up empty but she still had a wonky feeling about the man. Was he sweating a little more than he should be? The conference room was packed with FBI agents and it was warm and stuffy in the room. She had to admit that he didn't look anymore sweaty than his coworkers around him.
"David, what read do you get on Peterson?"
David studied the video closely, rewound the tape and looked again. He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly shaking his head.
"He seems composed here, but then again he knew about this little incident before the others. He has had all day to figure out how to react to the bombshell you dropped in there. I have been looking at McPherson. He seems very uncomfortable. Look; see how he keeps fidgeting with his hands?"
Megan moved her focus onto Ronald McPherson. He did look uncomfortable, but he was also close with Colby. She remembered Colby talking about the fact that he and Ron were planning a fishing trip for later in the year.
"Isn't McPherson claustrophobic?"
David looked at Megan with a puzzled expression. That was something he was unfamiliar with.
"Is he?"
"I seem to remember reading that in his file. It caused some problems with his psych eval on his application to the academy, but he took desensitizing classes to conquer the fear and was allowed admittance. He rarely uses the elevator preferring the stairs. Maybe he is just uncomfortable crowded in the conference room, but run the same discrete checks on him that you did for Peterson."
"Ok I can do that, does anyone else strike you?"
Megan sat back and rubbed her eyes. "Quite frankly; no not really. This entire thing is giving me a headache. Look, we are both exhausted; we've been up since two thirty this morning. Let's look at this again tomorrow when we are fresh, but still do the checks on McPherson."
Megan leaned back in her chair looking out the conference room window and saw two men that she did not recognize walking toward her desk. They were both wearing brown suits that smacked of government officials.
"The NSA agents have arrived." she said, as she rose wearily from her chair. She stepped out of the conference room and caught the eye of one of the agents and motioned them to join her in the conference room.
They made a bee line toward her and quietly entered closing the door securely. Both men wore short cropped hair cuts. The taller one had jet black hair that laid flat against his head and almost black eyes that matched his olive skin tone. He stood easily six foot four inches and Megan found herself looking up into his serious eyes.
The other man was shorter standing only a mere six feet tall. He had brown hair that was tightly curled and cut short. Megan got the impression that if he were to let his hair grow it would be even more unmanageable than Charlie's. He had light blue eyes that held a hint of humor in them and looked to be the polar opposite to his partner.
The taller man stepped forward extending his hand to Megan.
"Agent Reeves? I'm Agent Polo and this is Agent Devon Wilson. Director Thompkins briefed us on your situation and we are at your disposal."
Megan shook the proffered hand and looked at both men in turn.
"Yes I'm Megan Reeves and this is Special Agent David Sinclair. Let's all take a seat. I'm sorry what did you say your first name was?" she said looking at Agent Polo.
Agent Wilson smiled broadly at this question. "Agent Polo doesn't like to give his first name." he said with a chuckle in his voice.
Agent Polo shot a withering look at his partner and David found himself smiling at this peculiar interchange.
"Why is that?"
Again Agent Wilson answered. "It's a little embarrassing."
David's curiosity was piqued now. "Why; it's not Marco is it?"
The deadpan look from Agent Polo and the barely contained laughter from Agent Wilson was answer enough. Megan and David dared not look at each other for fear of bursting out laughing. They didn't want to alienate these men after all; they had flown all the way from Baltimore to help them.
"My parents had an interesting sense of humor. I have actually considered legally changing it a few times."
Megan wasn't sure if this man was offended or just tired of hearing the same response to his name that he had undoubtedly dealt with his entire life. She was positive that he had endured more than a fair amount of flack over the years because of his name.
"Why didn't you?"
It seemed to David that Megan had asked a rather simple and reasonable question. Neither of the FBI agents, therefore, were expecting to hear Agent Wilson sharply call out,
"Marco!"
Both Megan and David turned to him with quizzical expressions only to have their attention quickly diverted back to the other man when he called out,
"Polo!"
For a moment it felt as though they were witnessing a surreal and oddly comical sort of verbal tennis match. This interchange took on the feeling of truly bizarre when Agent Polo said in a voice that seemed reflective and yet at the same time almost had a petulant tone, "But I like being the most popular guy at pool parties."
That was all it took to push both Megan and David right over the edge. They were so tired at this point that they both had some difficulty regaining their composure. Megan recovered first from her giggling fit and looked at Agent Polo mortified.
"I'm so sorry, we are both very tired and under a lot of stress. I really didn't mean to laugh at you Agent Polo…"
David cut in with his apology as well. "Seriously, we're both sorry. It must have been tough growing up with…"
Agent Polo's face broke into a wide smile which changed his entire appearance. He instantly looked like a completely different man; warm and inviting with humor showing brightly in his eyes as he laughed out loud and held up a hand.
"Relax; I am not at all offended. When we arrived you both looked like hell. As I said, Director Thompkins briefed us on your situation and it looked like both of you could use a little stress breaker."
David looked on incredulously. "You set us up?"
"Of course; yes my name really is Marco Polo and I actually like being able to use such a simple fact about myself to totally disarm people."
Agent Polo's face grew serious again. "Both Devon and I have worked with Dr. Eppes and along with Director Thompkins we are very concerned about him, and his brother. We were told that one other agent in your office is aware that Agent's Eppes' is still alive."
Megan and David both felt the shift in the conversation and sat up a little straighter. Megan automatically glanced up toward the window of the conference room to make sure that they were not about to be interrupted before speaking.
"Yes; Agent Dan Hodges also knows about Don and where he is, but that is all. I have falsified my reports to Assistant Director Merrick and Director Donaldson. I do not believe that they had anything to do with the attack last night but the bottom line is; we have a mole in the Bureau and I don't trust anyone at this point. What I'm looking for is a guard for Agent Eppes just to be sure that there are no more attempts on his life, but I'm not sure how we can accomplish that with only two of you. I need Dan and David working with me and manning the safe house that Charlie and his father are in."
Agent Wilson sat forward. "This will not be a problem; Marco and I will work rotating twelve hours shifts. We have both worked these types of hours on an extended basis in the past and as we said we are more than willing to do what ever is necessary to ensure the safety of the Eppes' family."
Agent Polo nodded in agreement with his partner and said, "We understand that the files on this case are classified information, but perhaps we could see the files on just the Eppes brothers. It would give us a better understanding of the situation. Director Thompkins was able to give us a brief outline of the problems you are facing but he had very little information himself on the details of this case."
"That would be fine; as a matter of fact it would be good for you to have some background on the nature of the trauma that Agent Eppes suffered. He currently has a severe concussion along with a fractured skull and is unconscious. When he wakes up he will most likely be disoriented and could compromise his own situation by disclosing who he is to the wrong person. As far as anyone at Huntington Memorial knows he is a John Doe. We want to keep it that way and you will need to be able to work with him when he wakes up."
Megan stood up to leave the conference room and get the files. After she had left, Agent Polo turned to David as he pulled a small package out of his suit coat.
"Agent Sinclair, this package is from Director Thompkins. Open it in a private place."
David reached out for the bubble envelope with a quizzical look on his face.
"What is it?"
"That is between you and Director Thompkins, Agent Sinclair. We were told to give this directly to you when no one else was around to see. I believe it has something to do with Dr. Eppes."
David saw that Megan was coming back from her desk and he smoothly pocketed the envelope. When she entered the conference room she got the distinct impression that she had missed something. She looked between the men sitting at the table feeling a little uncertain. She trusted David implicitly but she wondered what had just transpired between these men. She sat down again and handed Don's file to Agent Polo and Charlie's to Agent Wilson.
"I can not allow these to leave the office, I'm sure you understand."
"That won't be a problem, Devon and I will take about an hour to look these over and then perhaps you could take us to Agent Eppes?"
"All right; David and I have some work we need to get done. You should be fine in here. I'll come back and check on you when I have completed my reports from this morning."
Megan and David got up to leave the NSA agents to their reading and as the conference room door closed behind them Megan turned to David.
"What happened in there while I was at my desk, David?"
David wasn't expecting such a forward query and he didn't want to lie; not to Megan. He had been told to keep the package to himself but Megan had more than stuck her neck out in this situation and for him. She refused to allow him to share in the responsibility for theft an ambulance or falsifying any reports on Don's death. He was unsure what the Director of the NSA had to say to him but he was sure that what ever it was Charlie had prompted this somehow.
"I was given a package from Director Thompkins that I was told to tell no one about and that I am to open it privately."
Megan stopped dead in her tracks and stared at David. How is it that this was not something that she was to be trusted with? She thought ruefully to herself, 'Well; I'm not trusting anyone at the moment either.'
"Do you have any idea what is in the package?"
"No clue, I certainly wasn't expecting to have any kind of direct communication with the director of the NSA. I am as puzzled about this as you are. What do you want me to do?"
Megan thought about that for a moment. "You were told to tell no one about this and to open it privately so do that. If you think that there is something that I should know about I'll leave it up to you to tell me."
David breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to be put in this awkward position and he was eternally grateful that Megan was not going to push the issue.
"Go to the men's room and do what you have to and then look into McPherson. I have to get the report on my interview with Mr. Cantor finished."
She turned toward her desk without looking back at David who immediately went to the men's room out in the main hallway on that floor. When he entered the room he checked all of the stalls to make sure he was alone then went back and locked the door. Moving over to the bank of sinks he pulled the envelope out of his jacket and carefully opened it. The bubble envelope contained a small cell phone, two notes; one addressed to him and one addressed to Charlie and a business card with a phone number handwritten on the back.
David pocketed the phone and the note to Charlie then opened the note addressed to him and read.
Agent Sinclair,
I spoke to Charlie and asked him if there was
anyone within the FBI that he trusted without
reservation. He gave me your name.
I want Charlie to have a secure means to
communicate with me if necessary and I am
aware that his ability to do that while in protective
custody is going to be severely limited.
The cell phone in this package is untraceable and
will provide that secure means of communication
for him, but it also has a locator chip imbedded in
the Sim card. This is a precaution that I felt could
become necessary. Do not tell Charlie about that
chip or he will most likely remove it.
I am going to rely on you to contact me if there is
any indication that Charlie or his family are in
imminent danger. Devon and Marco are not the
only agents that I have in the LA area. I have
also put two agents on surveillance of the mob family
that has targeted the Eppes brothers. These men
are working on the premise that Dr. Charles Eppes'
safety is a matter of National Security.
This is at the moment unofficial until Director
Donaldson asks me officially to help. I need you to
be the liaison to me regarding this situation but
you must keep this information to yourself at least
for now. If it looks like the men under surveillance
are about to make an attempt on Charlie's life
these agents have instructions
to contact Agent Reeves immediately.
I have her cell phone number because Charlie
used it to call me this morning.
You will also find my card with my personal cell
number written on the back.
Please use this number if you need to contact me.
Robert Thompkins
David took the card and put it in his wallet then tore the note from director Thompkins up into small pieces before flushing them down the toilet. He would tell Megan about the NSA agents watching Saborgia but the rest he would keep to himself, at least for now.
As David made his way back to his desk he caught Megan's eye and she waited a few minutes until David was fully immersed in his work before getting up and approaching his desk. After disclosing the information he though she should know about he asked about doing the night shift at the safe house tonight.
"David! When were you planning on sleeping?"
"Once I finish with the project you gave me I'll go home and catch a few hours. I can be there by say nine o'clock."
"That's only six hours from now. No David; you need to go home and actually sleep tonight. If there is a reason that you need to see Charlie then stop by on your way home, but go home afterwards. That's an order!"
David understood why Megan was such a good profiler. She knew why David wanted to go to the safe house but she wasn't going to push him for answers. He had told her all that he felt she needed to know and that was good enough for her.
"I'm going to finish this report and then take our friends for a ride. Then I'm going to check on Colby. Have we heard from Mr. Granger? Do we know what flight he is coming in on, or if he needs a ride from the airport?"
"I haven't heard anything. Do you want me to check the incoming flights for his name?"
Megan rubbed her hands down her face. God she was so tired. "No; I gave him my cell number and asked him to call when he arrived. I'll just make sure I am available to pick him up when he gets in."
"Hey if you can't, just let me know ok?"
"Will do."
Megan made her way back to her desk to finish her own work while David set about investigating the financial and phone records of yet another of his collogues.
By four o'clock Megan was finished and went back to the conference room to check on Agents, Polo and Wilson. They were deep in conversation as they pored over the files and both wore grim expressions on their faces when she entered.
She could see the anger that they both felt reading about what was done to their consultant. She stopped mid-thought at that. It seemed strange to her to think of Charlie as anyone else's consultant although she knew perfectly well that he worked with several other agencies besides the FBI. What made her feel more trust for these men was the fact that they looked at this assault on Charlie as an affront to a member of their own family.
The ride to Huntington was long with the congested LA traffic. The NSA agents had little trouble following her through rush hour traffic as they were used to navigating the beltway around Washington that made LA traffic seem tame by comparison.
After a lengthy conversation with Don's attending doctor she was satisfied that his condition hadn't gotten any worse. He had undergone another CT scan and the swelling around his brain due to the skull fracture was still an issue although it did seem to be subsiding if only slightly. He had shown no signs of waking up and the doctor didn't feel that he would for several days. The incision on his chest was stable and the VAC bandage was doing a good job with the healing process. The doctor felt that it could be removed within four to five days time.
It was nearly seven thirty by the time she left Huntington to head out to Cedars to check on Colby. She had not received a call from Mr. Granger and was beginning to wonder if he was able to get a flight out to LA today. She considered calling him again but held off. She would check on Colby first.
When she arrived at the burn unit the nurse assigned to Colby told her she would have to wait for a few minutes because her patient already had a visitor. Megan was instantly alert and demanded to know who was with her agent.
"I believe it's his father."
Megan walked deliberately up to the door to Colby's room and looked inside. Sitting next to the bed was an older version of her friend. Colby was the spitting image of his father and she visibly relaxed. The nurse wandered off to continue with her rounds and Megan cracked the door open slightly undecided as to whether she should go in to introduce herself to Mr. Granger when she heard Colby's voice.
"Dad?"
Nicholas leaned forward and took his son's right hand. Colby was lying on his right side and looked to be in severe pain. He had been dreaming and moved his left arm causing the bandages to shift over the burn site.
"I'm here son."
"I… How long?"
"I have been watching you sleep for about half an hour. I took the first flight out as soon as I got the call from your Agent Reeves."
"I can't believe you're here. I thought… I… are you still mad at me?"
A sob escaped Nicholas Grangers control. "Oh, Colby, how could I be angry with you? I'm so proud of you. You have always lived your life honorably. Just because you chose to express that honor outside of the military, it doesn't change the man that you are. I should never have let so much time go without telling you these things, son."
Mr. Granger's voice trembled a little as he fought to maintain composure. "I love you, Colby and I always have. Can you forgive this old fool for allowing pig headed pride to stand between us for so long?"
Colby's voice sounded so weak that Megan felt her heart ache for him. This exchange between father and son was private and she should not be eavesdropping on it but she couldn't move as she listened to the voices of regret and forgiveness ring through the air. She couldn't help but think of her own father and the rift between them.
"I'm glad you're here, Dad."
Mr. Granger stroked his son's hair and whispered, "There's no other place I would be. Go to sleep my boy. I'll be here when you wake up."
Megan silently stepped back away from the door as tears ran down her face. It was time to get some sleep so that she was fresh in the morning. As she walked down the hallway to the elevators she vowed to herself and to Colby that the FBI informant would be found.
'Maybe I'll leave the bastard alone for a few minutes with David. Then maybe I'll take a turn with him.'
She shook her head as the elevator doors closed and said allowed to the empty elevator car, "No, I think I'll arrange a nice comfortable cell in the general population."
