Chapter 20
Lee stepped off the elevator and walked briskly down the hall to the bullpen. He pulled the doors open and immediately crossed the room to Billy's office. He knocked twice and opened the door as soon as he heard Billy's voice instruct, "Enter."
"Billy, Francine, what's the latest update?" Lee asked as he closed the door behind him.
"Good morning, Lee. Francine was just getting to that. But first, how's Amanda this morning?" Billy smiled at Lee.
Lee dropped into one of the seats across from Billy's desk, "She had a rough night, but that's to be expected. She was sleeping when I left this morning. Dotty said she would keep an eye on her."
"She's strong. It will pass," Billy reminded him. "Now, Francine, what's the latest surveillance update?"
Francine looked down at the papers in her hand and summarized, "Not much. He didn't show up back at HiCo last night and no one's spotted the truck yet. The lab did manage to analyze everything they found in his room and it was most definitely his shop. His fridge was filled with vial after vial just waiting to be mixed."
"But no sign of him. Dammit. I never should have let him get past me!" Lee snapped. He stood abruptly and began pacing as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Scarecrow, just calm down. Take a deep breath and settle yourself," Billy commanded.
Lee stopped pacing and stared at Billy. "You don't get it. If I had stopped him in that room, he wouldn't be on the run right now and Amanda would never-" Lee stopped talking just as suddenly as he had stopped pacing.
"Amanda would never have what? You can't blame yourself for Amanda getting hurt. It's a chance we take every time we go out into the field," Francine reasoned.
"Francine's right. Amanda knows the risks every time we walk out of this office. Nothing you did could have changed what happened," Billy agreed.
"But I should have kept chasing him outside, maybe I could have caught up with him, maybe…" Lee's voice trailed off as he slumped into one of the chairs.
"Or maybe you would have gotten hurt worse than Amanda. Now quit this caveman syndrome and stop beating yourself up over this!" Francine stated.
Lee leaned forward, his hands on his head. He inhaled and exhaled several times loudly then ran his hand down his face and conceded, "You're right. I know you're right, but it doesn't make it any easier."
Billy sat back in his chair and agreed, "No it doesn't, but you have to remain objective, Scarecrow. Otherwise, we are not going to find Harborne." Before Lee could respond, the phone on Billy's desk rang, the shrill sound echoed throughout the room. Billy grabbed the receiver quickly, "Melrose. Are you sure it's him? Okay, don't lose him. Scarecrow and Francine are on their way." He placed the phone on the desk and stated, "Franklin and Murphy have spotted Harborne and the truck cruising the Washington Memorial Parkway heading toward Gravelly Point."
Lee stood quickly and crossed the room in two long steps, Francine right behind him. He yanked the door open and ran through the bullpen to the outside elevator. He hit the button continuously as Francine joined him. They heard Billy call down the hall to them, "Scarecrow, Francine, get Harborne but be careful. He may have more of that poison on him and the last thing we need is anyone else getting sick."
Lee nodded, his lips pressed tightly together while Francine acknowledged him, "Will do, Billy." The elevator doors slid open and the pair stepped inside. They emerged in the garage where the motor pool vehicle Lee was using sat near the door. They climbed inside and Lee started the car, slammed the car into reverse and squealed out of the parking spot. "Lee, slow down!" she cried.
"Do you want to lose him?" Lee snapped. The car thumped loudly as they hit the bottom of the ramp, sparks flying from the sudden impact of metal on concrete. They turned sharply onto the main street and Lee sped in the direction of the Potomac, praying traffic would be light.
"Lee, we need a game plan. This Harborne, from everything I've read about him, he's most likely going to be unarmed," Francine stated, hoping to distract Lee and calm his erratic driving.
Lee nodded in agreement, "I don't see him carrying weapons, other than the toxin." He eased up on the accelerator and slowed at the next traffic light.
Francine relaxed a bit as they turned onto the next road, closing the gap between them and Gravelly Point. "How about we approach him slowly, talk to him, you know. He's bound to be scared. He's not used to being on the run," she suggested.
"Yeah, yeah," Lee muttered. He could see the turnoff for Gravelly Point ahead and pulled off to the side of the road was a small brown sedan where Franklin and Murphy sat, waiting for them. He pulled onto the shoulder and got out where Murphy met him first.
"He pulled in about five minutes ago, hasn't come back out yet. There's nowhere else for him to go," Murphy stated.
"And you're sure it was him?" Lee questioned as he scanned the quiet entry road.
"It was him all right. We ran the plates to confirm," Murphy assured him.
Lee looked down at the ground then at Murphy and asked, "And he was alone?"
"Definitely alone, Scarecrow," Franklin interjected. "He hasn't stopped anywhere since we spotted him."
Francine stepped up beside Lee and explained, "Scarecrow and I will go in first, you two, follow behind just in case he gets past us. We'll try to take him quietly, not cause a scene in the park."
"Right, ok. Let's get this show on the road," Lee said as he bounced the car keys in his hand. He and Francine climbed back into the sedan and drove slowly into the parking area. Francine spotted the truck and pointed to the left where Lee steered the car. The truck appeared to be empty, so Lee pulled the sedan into a spot and climbed out. He glanced into the truck cab and nodded at Francine the truck was indeed empty. They opened the tailgate to confirm he wasn't hiding in the bed of the truck.
Francine looked across the parking lot to the grassy field where she could see a few people gathering together, flying kites. A short distance away they could see a lone individual sitting at a picnic table, staring out over the water. "That's him," Lee whispered loudly, pointing to the man sitting alone. They walked side by side to the grass when Lee stopped short, reaching out to Francine. "He's already seen me so let's try not to spook him. Tell you what, I'll cut around by those trees just in case he starts to run," Lee gestured at a small grove of trees set back near the trail.
"Good idea. I'll wait until you give me a signal before I get closer," Francine confirmed. Lee nodded sharply and took off, jogging around the kite flyers. He considered drawing his gun until he saw a mother chasing her toddler across the grass in front of them. He stopped once he cleared the field, standing beside the trees. He raised his hand and waved to Francine indicating he was in place.
Francine approached Dr. Harborne, who was still sitting at the table watching a sailboat glide silently down the river. "Dr. Harborne?' Francine asked quietly. He didn't respond right away so she took a few more steps closer and called him again, "Marty Harborne?"
Dr. Harborne looked up at her, confused. He was still wearing his HiCo uniform, his shirt wrinkled as if he had slept in it, his hair blowing around his head. "Do I know you?" he asked.
"No," Francine smiled, hoping a friendly approach would work best. "My name is Francine Desmond. I'm a federal agent and I'm here about the poisoning of five senators and the attempted poisoning of a sixth."
"It was me," Dr. Harborne confirmed. "Have you ever been fired from a job, Miss Desmond?"
"Yes, when I was seventeen. I worked at this little coffee shop," Francine tried.
"But were you fired because you found something no one else had found then a bunch of people you don't even know decided you shouldn't be paid any more?" Dr. Harborne cried.
"No," Francine shook her head. "No, I was fired because the owner's daughter didn't like me."
Dr. Harborne looked at her, his face turning red in anger, "Did you lose everything because of it?"
Francine replied, "No." She put her hand on the table beside him, hoping to get closer to him in case she needed to subdue him. She glanced over at Lee, but he hadn't moved, he was just watching.
"I lost my wife, my home, my job, everything all because those putzes in the Senate decided I wasn't worthy enough, because I found a chemical that would bond with toxins and extend their ability to survive in the air longer," he sneered.
"I understand, believe me, I do," Francine stated as she got closer.
Dr. Harborne stood up abruptly and pulled another small canister out of his pocket. "No, no you don't! There's no way you could understand!" he shouted. His hands were shaking as he held the canister in front of him.
Francine immediately backed up and raised her hands, "I'm not here to hurt you, Dr. Harborne, but I need you to come with me. We can do this the easy way or-"
"NO! I'm not going with you!" he shouted loudly, drawing the attention of the other patrons at the park.
Lee heard a woman scream, then watched as a few patrons began running toward the trees near him. "Harborne!" Lee hollered, hoping to draw Harborne's attention away from Francine. Dr. Harborne's head snapped in Lee's direction then back at Francine. Panicked, he pressed the button on the canister and a small cloud formed between them. Francine dove to the ground and rolled to the side, hoping to avoid the toxin. Dr. Harborne threw the canister in Francine's direction before he took off running down the paved trail that snaked along the park.
Lee watched as Dr. Harborne threw the small canister at Francine then started running. Lee took off from the small grove, in an attempt to cut him off before he got too far away. He tackled Dr. Harborne and two of them tumbled to the ground where Dr. Harborne swung one fist at Lee. Lee grabbed the front of his uniform shirt, raised his fist and growled, "This is for my wife!" He punched him once in the jaw, Dr. Harborne's head lolling to the side as he muttered, "I give up, I give up." Lee climbed off him and yanked him roughly to his feet. He heard Francine running along the path, so he turned in her direction and asked, "You all right?"
Francine nodded, "I'm fine. I think the wind was blowing just right. Now let's get the good doctor here back to the Agency. I think he's going to like spending time in our hospitality."
Lee snapped a set of handcuffs on Dr. Harborne and pulled him toward Francine. "Call Billy, let him know we have him," he instructed.