Chapter 23
Daniel was sitting outside of Director Morgan's office, waiting for him to have a few minutes to spare. He hadn't been sure who to go to for what he was going to say, but in the end, since Tim was involved and it didn't fit with anything else that he himself was aware of, Daniel had decided that going to the director was the best option. His own supervisor wouldn't have anything to do with this, and Director Morgan knew Tim at least a little bit.
"Agent Worthing?"
"Yes?" He looked up at the assistant.
"The director said that he has about five minutes to spare."
"I'll take it."
"All right. You can go right in, then."
Daniel nodded and got to his feet. He walked into the office with a feeling akin to being summoned to the principal's office.
"Agent Worthing, I thought you were still on leave," Roy said. "Have a seat."
"Thank you, sir. Technically, I am, but...I'm not actually."
"What's this about, then?"
Daniel leaned forward. "Let me preface this by saying that I know what I'm about to tell you and to ask is a little iffy, but I think that it could still fit within the CIA's mandate."
Roy's brow furrowed and Daniel hurried on before he lost his nerve.
"I've been helping Agent McGee search for Levi Carew...specifically, I've been trying to track down places that Marc Logan might be."
The furrow deepened and Roy leaned back in his chair.
"Searching for Levi Carew definitely is outside our mandate, but I grant that Logan would still fall within it. What are you doing?"
"Asking people questions mostly."
"And I take it you have a question for me as well."
"Yes."
"Well, you lose nothing by asking. Have you already promised results?"
"No, sir."
"Good. Then, go ahead."
"I found out that it's possible Logan had a girlfriend when he was still working at the CIA."
"Why is that significant?"
"She was an agent herself, but she quit before he...went rogue," Daniel said, not wanting to give words to what Logan had done, not even now. He knew that Roy had noticed.
"Many people have dated others at their workplace. There's no law against that if both parties are consenting adults."
"But that means that she might be aware of places that Logan would go in this area. It might be that he would have taken her places that might not be listed in his file."
"I hear a lot of mights in there."
"Yes, sir. There's no guarantee of any kind of success in this, but if I could ask her about it, then, we'd know and stop guessing...whether the answer is yes or no."
"All right. What are you asking for, then?"
"Permission to find out where she is."
"The CIA doesn't keep track of people who leave its employ, unless they've committed a crime on their way out."
"Understood, sir, but a current address or a phone number or a forwarding address might still be on file. I considered just doing it and asking for forgiveness later, but I don't like operating that way."
"Haven't you been doing that up to this point?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Daniel smiled. "No. Up to this point, I've been doing a friend a favor by asking a few questions. There aren't any rules about sharing gossip."
To Daniel's relief, Roy also smiled.
"Very true, Agent Worthing." He turned to his computer. "What is the former agent's name?"
"Sir?" Daniel asked, unsure whether or not he was understanding what was happening.
"For obvious reasons, I'm keeping any of the CIA's involvement in finding Levi Carew secret, no matter how peripheral we might pretend that is. I am perfectly capable of getting into an agent's file. Even a former agent."
"Yes, sir. Her name is Janell Riggins."
Roy nodded and entered the name into the computer. He gave no indication that he recognized the name for any reason. Daniel couldn't see the screen, but after a few silent seconds, Roy printed off a page and then handed it to him.
"Remember that we have no jurisdiction in searching for Carew. The fact that Logan is likely where Carew is does not change that fact. Tread carefully. I don't want us involved in something negative if we can avoid it."
"Yes, sir."
Daniel took the page and started to leave.
"Agent Worthing, one question on my side."
He turned back.
"Yes?"
"Are you sure you're doing this for the right reasons? I remember what you were like when you escaped Logan. You're still not completely over it and it's been quite a long time."
"No, I'm not, but I am doing it for the right reasons. The world will be a better place without Logan in it. If I find him, I'll do what you tell me to, but I'd be lying if I didn't hope that it was an order to stop at any cost."
"Meaning that you want him dead?"
"Yes," Daniel said, bluntly. "He's a monster, and I'd be much happier knowing he was dead."
"You have a very personal connection to Logan. This could be considered a conflict of interest, Agent Worthing."
Daniel smiled grimly. "Only if you think he should be taken alive."
Roy sat back and stared at him for a long moment.
"Agent Worthing, as far as I'm concerned, Marc Logan signed his own death warrant when he killed his team. If he is truly involved in the abduction of Levi Carew, then, that just adds insult to injury. You have my permission to take Logan out. I doubt he would try to surrender, but, as far as I'm concerned, there is no reason to take him alive, even if he did attempt to surrender. I will leave that to your discretion should you find him."
"Thank you, Director."
"Just don't let this take over. You have another week of leave time, and I will expect you to be prepared to return to your real job in Morocco when that time comes. Whether you've found him or not."
"Understood," Daniel said.
He left the office, paper in hand, and was prepared to do what it took to find Janell Riggins and find out if she knew anything. Luckily, it looked like her last address was not too far to drive.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Bri had an unexpected cancellation which gave her a rare free moment. Her job kept her busy, but it was an easy kind of busy. Very different from the busy she had experienced in the CIA. This kind of busy wasn't likely to kill her or anyone else. She had purposefully sought out a place that did not deal with serious cases. That didn't mean that an emergency couldn't come up on occasion, but mostly, she dealt with the daily aches and pains that most people experienced throughout their lives. The occasional broken bone, but nothing more serious than that. It was easy to deal with these things.
Even so, she didn't mind having some time to herself when it came during the work day. She sat in her office for a few minutes, not really thinking about anything in particular, just trying to relax, something she still had to work on generally.
Then, there was a soft knock.
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing one of the receptionists.
"Sorry to interrupt you, Dr. Carew, but someone just dropped this message off for you."
Bri sat up and took the paper, feeling a little bit of unease. She didn't like unexpected messages coming to her at work. It felt too much like her old life. Still, she smiled and nodded.
"Thanks, Alice."
"You're welcome."
Bri waited until the door closed and looked at the note. Then, she jumped to her feet and ran out to the front desk.
"Who did you say left this?"
"Just a man. He didn't leave his name. He said you'd know what it was for. Is there a problem?"
"Which way did he go out?" Bri demanded.
"That way," Alice said, pointing to the front door. "What's wrong?"
Bri didn't answer. Instead, she ran out the front door and looked around the parking lot, old habits kicking into high gear. Then, she saw him. She knew it had to be him and she ran over as he got into his car.
"Wait! Stop!"
She reached the car. The window was up, but she got a good look at the driver.
"Who are you?"
He just smiled knowingly and pulled out.
Bri resisted the urge to kick something, suppressed the regret that she didn't still carry a gun everywhere so that she could at least shoot out the guy's tires or his rear window, and looked down at the note again.
Your father has been abducted.
The annoying thing was that the single sentence was the entire message. No details, just that one single supposed fact. It was typed, not handwritten. No signature. Nothing. Just five infuriating words. It seemed like she could never have anything normal with her father. Her mother was fine, but her father...
Finally, she sighed and walked back into the building.
"Dr. Carew, what's wrong?" Alice asked again, deeply concerned.
"Nothing. Or at least, I don't think there's anything wrong. How long do I have until my next appointment?"
"Ten minutes."
"Okay. I need to make a phone call. Don't interrupt me unless it's really important."
"Of course."
"Thanks."
Bri went back into her office and locked the door. She looked at the message again and then pulled out her phone and called her mother.
And there was no answer on her phone.
Feeling a rising sense of disquiet, Bri sat very still. She was still very ambivalent about her father, but could her mother be missing, too? If she was right about the origin of the message, it might be that it was from someone who didn't care about a civilian.
Before panicking (which was always the last resort in any situation), Bri took a calming breath and decided to call her parents' neighbor, Lauren. She dialed that number.
"Suttons. This is Lucy."
"Hello, is your mother home?"
"Yeah. Just a minute. MOM! Phone's for you!"
She was almost yelling right in the phone. Bri rolled her eyes but said nothing. After a few seconds, she heard a low voice.
"Who is it, Lucy?"
"I don't know. I didn't ask."
"You could have... Never mind. Just give me the phone. Hello?"
"Hello, Ms. Sutton, this is Bri Carew. You know my parents."
"Yes! Oh, I'm so sorry about what's happened. It makes me sick to think about it."
Trying to keep calm, Bri swallowed.
"I tried calling my mom's phone, but she didn't answer."
"Oh, yes. She told me she was staying with some friends. I can give you the number she called me from."
"That would be great."
"Of course. I can't think why Tamara didn't call you already."
"Lots of things on her mind, probably," Bri said, choosing not to get into it any more than that.
"Yes. I'm sure that's it."
She got the number and then ended the conversation as quickly as she could. As soon as she hung up, she dialed the number Lauren had given her and then waited for an answer.
"Hello?" The female voice was accented, sounded like some Arabic origin, but she couldn't be sure which dialect.
"Hello. May I speak to Tamara Carew, please?"
"Who may I say is calling?"
The voice sounded distinctly wary. This was not someone used to concealing her intentions.
"It's her daughter," Bri said, trying not to antagonize the person who was currently between her and her mother.
"Oh! Yes, of course."
A brief pause and low voices that she couldn't hear. Then, Tamara was finally on the phone.
"Brianna, how did you get this number?"
"I called Lauren when you didn't answer your phone. Why didn't you call me yourself?"
"How did you know to call at all?"
"Someone decided to leave me a note at work, saying that Dad's been kidnapped. What's going on?"
"Who left you the message?"
"I don't know, but he had a CIA look to him. How long has he been missing?"
"Over two weeks."
"And you never thought to call me, not even once?"
"I considered it."
"And you didn't call because...what? You didn't think I'd care?"
"I'll admit that the thought crossed my mind, but it wasn't just that."
"What was it, then? Mom, tell me why you didn't say anything."
"Because I was terrified that someone would find out I was still alive."
"What? I thought it was Dad who was taken."
"He was. They took him from the cabin...and blew up the cabin. The only reason I got out was because I heard your father calling for me."
Bri heard the tears in her mother's voice.
"They tried to kill you?"
"Yes."
Bri didn't have to ask why. She understood. With Tamara out of the way, no one would have been looking for them for weeks, giving the perpetrators plenty of time to get away.
"And you're okay?"
"Yes."
"I'm coming down there, Mom."
"You don't have to. People are looking for him."
"That's not why I'm coming," Bri said.
"I know I can't stop you, but really, Bri, you don't need to come yet."
"Yes, I do. I needed to come two weeks ago."
"Call again when you get here. I don't know if I'll still be in the same place or not."
"All right."
"I love you," Tamara said.
"Love you, too, Mom."
Then, Bri hung up. There was still a large part of her that wanted to just say good riddance to her father and whatever might be happening to him, but at the same time, she couldn't. If he was still alive, she knew what was likely happening to him. She'd gone through the same and worse. Even though her feelings were ambivalent at best, she still couldn't leave him to be tortured.
And she wanted to see that her mother was all right.
Decision made, she started the process for taking leave, making sure that her patients wouldn't have to put off their appointments while she was gone.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Daniel pulled up in front of a small, neatly-kept house in Delaware, just about two hours from D.C.
He noted the car in the driveway, the neat and tidy flower beds, and the cheery green door. This was someone who had left the CIA far behind.
And probably doesn't regret it one bit.
He knocked on the door and waited patiently.
The door opened, revealing a woman a few years old than Daniel himself. Her expression was cautious but no more than that.
"Hello?" she said. "Can I help you?"
"Janell Riggins?"
Then, he saw it. An almost-unnoticeable shift in her stance, her expression, her eyes. She was now alert the way one would be on a mission. He wasn't sure what had triggered the change, but she was now very aware that things weren't simple.
"Yes."
He pulled out his I.D., glad that he'd thought to bring it with him.
"Daniel Worthing."
She looked at his I.D.
"CIA."
"Yes, ma'am. May I come in?"
