Scene 4
"I need a crisis," Jo burst into Fargo's office without knocking.
"What?" Fargo looked up, surprised.
"A crisis, a crisis," Jo repeated urgently. "Surely something is going wrong around this place?"
"Um, so far it seems to be a quiet day," Fargo shrugged. "What kind of crisis are you looking for? And, uh, why?"
"Well, I'd like the kind of crisis that would let me shoot things. But I'll settle for one that will keep me incredibly busy for the next few days. Surely someone at GD is doing something insane." She paced across the office, nervous energy keeping her moving.
"Well, yes, that's probably a safe bet. But nothing has come to my attention yet." Fargo looked back at his computer screen, scrolling down through a lengthy list of emails. "Try Zane," he said absently. "He's always got trouble brewing."
Jo rolled her eyes and glared at Fargo. "Not helpful, Fargo."
"Hell, Mansfield wants a report on the gamma interferon zoological molecular optimization project. That's Dr. Glenn's project," Fargo sighed.
"Dr. Glenn? The vet?" Jo asked, remembering the sweet blond woman who had helped discover the organic chicken that had once poisoned most of GD.
"Yeah," Fargo leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead.
"What's she working on?"
"That's the problem," said Fargo. "It's not my field. In fact, it's so far outside my field that when she tells me about it, it sounds something like blah-blah-blah molecules. That doesn't usually happen to me, and I don't much like it. Especially when I have to come back and regurgitate to Mansfield. "
"Now you know how the rest of us feel," said Jo, wryly, although not unsympathetically. "Cheer up, though, Mansfield probably doesn't understand it any better than you do."
"Ooh, good point," said Fargo, immediately looking happier. He stood up, shrugging to adjust his suit coat, and straightening his tie. "Let's go see her, and you can tell me why you want a crisis on the way."
"It doesn't need to be a big crisis," said Jo, falling into place beside him as he started to walk. "Just something that will keep me really busy for a couple days. Taggart's in town and—"
"Taggart's back?" Fargo interrupted. "Cool."
"Not so cool," Jo said evenly. "Turns out that he and I are…" she searched for the right words.
"Are?" Fargo prompted, curiously, when the pause grew too long.
"I don't know what," Jo refused to meet his eyes. "But I need to find out and quickly. Or, somehow, avoid him until I do."
"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good." Fargo glanced around for eavesdroppers and let his voice drop to a whisper, "We really can't let anyone else know. Every extra person in on the secret makes it a little more likely that we'll get caught."
"I know. That's why a nice crisis would come in handy."
"Maybe I can make something up," Fargo mused, as they entered the rotunda. "Some emergency lock down that traps you in GD quarantine for a couple of days. Maybe a virus?"
"Ooh, that sounds perfect," Jo said, gesturing enthusiastically.
"Ah, just the people I wanted to see," Carter jogged up the couple of stairs from the elevators. "But—virus? Is there something I should know?"
"No, no," said Fargo, waving the question off. "Or, well, yes," he added, looking at Jo. "But maybe not right now."
"Jo?" Carter looked at her questioningly.
She grimaced and said, "I'll tell you later. You wanted to see us? Please tell me you have a nice minor crisis for me, just something to keep me trapped in GD for the next couple of days?"
"Uh, no," said Carter, "Kevin was in a little bike accident and broke his collarbone, and that's why I'm here. But I wanted to check something else out, too. I think it's probably nothing."
"Ouch," said Fargo.
"Oh, poor Kevin," added Jo. "Broken collarbones are miserable."
"What did you want to check out?" asked Fargo, pausing in the center of the rotunda.
"Is anyone missing from GD?" Carter asked.
"Not that I know of," Fargo looked taken aback. "But that doesn't sound minor. A missing scientist is serious business. We'd need to alert the DoD and-"
"Yes," said Carter, acknowledging the point. "Sorry, I shouldn't have made that sound so quite so dramatic. I don't have a missing scientist on my hands, just an unidentified pool of blood in a clearing in the woods."
"Uh, that still sounds kind of dramatic," said Fargo.
"Wouldn't it be animal blood?" asked Jo. "There are plenty of hunters around here."
"Andy says it's human." Carter shook his head. "It's probably nothing. Maybe someone accidentally cut themselves, but managed to bandage it up and get to a doctor."
"Was there a blood trail?" asked Jo.
"No," replied Carter.
"Well, that sounds kind of implausible, then." Jo looked skeptical. "Someone bleeds, badly enough to leave a lot of blood, but then manages to bandage it up so they're not even dripping? That's unlikely, Carter."
"Yeah, I don't like it much either. And—even weirder—Andy found some fur from a wolf in the clearing."
"A wolf?" repeated Jo, at the same time as Fargo said, "Eureka has wolves?"
They glanced at each other. Fargo raised his eyebrows as Jo's mouth twisted, and they both said simultaneously, "Taggart."
"Taggart?" Carter questioned.
"He's in town," Jo confirmed.
"Excellent," Carter grinned. "It's always great to see Taggart. Oh! But you mean he might have brought a wolf with him?"
"Could be," Fargo glanced at his watch.
"I"ll check with him. Did you see him? Did he show any signs of recent injuries? Maybe the blood is his?" Carter was asking Fargo, but with a wave of his hand, Fargo deferred the question to Jo.
"I ran into him at Café Diem," Jo said, "And no, he didn't look injured. But Carter…" she looked around the rotunda, trying to judge if any of the passersby were paying attention to them, and then stepped a little closer to Carter.
Dropping her voice, she said, "My relationship with Taggart is—not the same." She looked at him to see if he understood what she was trying to say. He was frowning, not understanding. She looked at him intently, meaningfully, waiting for him to read her mind.
"Oh!" he finally got it. "Oh." He looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.
"If you could, without giving anything away, find out, um, I don't know, what the status is…or…well…"
"I get the idea," Carter nodded, letting Jo off the hook.
"Then we'll go back to inventing viruses that'll keep Jo trapped in GD," Fargo said, impatiently bouncing on his toes. "We do have to get moving, though, I have to get a report to Mansfield within the hour."
"Don't worry, Jo. Does Taggart know you're living at S.A.R.A.H.? I'll tell him no overnights while my impressionable minor daughter is at home." Carter grinned. Jo glared. And Fargo grabbed her sleeve and dragged her away across the rotunda.