A summons from Michael wasn't what Hawke had wanted or expected the day after Michael was given an award, but that's exactly what the three of them got not long after lunchtime. Hawke had wanted to leave work and go back to the cabin to get some sleep to make up for the night before. He and Caitlin had spent the night on the couch with her using his chest as a pillow and him finding it hard to fall asleep at all. Now they were all three planted in chairs arranged around Michael's office waiting for him to walk in.
An hour after they arrived at the FIRM, Michael strolled in and took a seat. Without greeting, he handed a picture to Caitlin.
"Do you recognize that man?" He asked.
Caitlin took the picture and studied it. "His name is Hollis Dunstan." She handed the picture back to him. "Henri introduced me once before they had a meeting. I don't know much about him. Why?"
Michael took the picture and handed it to Hawke, who handed it to Dominic. "So you know him as Angela Wolfe?"
"Yes. He was a sweet old man, but I got the impression he wasn't well."
"You're impression was correct. Hollis passed away last week and his empire went to his granddaughter Kyra and his grandson Keith. Hollis was a very good businessman, but since last week the FIRM has been seeing an increase of strange dealings coming from Hollis' grandchildren." Michael used his cane to help himself stand and he came around the front of his desk. "Caitlin, I need you to be Angela Wolfe again for this case. It's the only way we can get in to investigate."
"No!" The exclamation came from both Hawke and Dominic. "No way," Hawke spoke up.
Michael saw the distressed look on Hawke's face and Dominic's, but Caitlin wasn't looking at him. She was looking down at her hands in her lap.
"Caitlin, Angela Wolfe is our only way to get in without anyone being suspicious. The FBI and locals have all tried to get in even before Hollis passed away with no luck."
Caitlin looked up at him. "I'll do it."
The looks Hawke and Dominic were giving Caitlin were enough to make Michael want to cringe. He knew of the guilt she was feeling because he felt it too. It was guilt that neither of them, Hawke nor Dominic, knew about; guilt that neither one of them could assuage no matter how much they tried. He knew Caitlin was doing this because of the guilt she felt.
"I don't think Caitlin understands what being Angela Wolfe again means." Dominic told everyone.
"Don't put words in my mouth, Dominic!" Caitlin spat out at him. She stood up. "I'll need to go by my apartment and pick up some of the clothes I still have that Henri bought for me and get a dress for a funeral that Angela would have worn. When is the funeral?"
"Tomorrow afternoon," Michael said. "Cait, you'll be protected. I've seen to that."
She nodded. "I'll also need a car."
Michael leaned back and grabbed a set of keys. He tossed them to Caitlin. "There is a black convertible waiting for you in the parking lot. If anyone gets suspicious and traces the car, it will lead back to you. I've also had a dossier set up in that same reasoning. Angela Wolfe was a very quiet person after Henri went to prison."
Hawke shot up out of his chair. "You can't be seriously thinking about doing this!"
Caitlin ignored Hawke. "I'll be at the funeral tomorrow, Michael." Caitlin palmed the keys to the convertible and the address Michael offered her.
Caitlin slipped a black dress into her garment bag along with a pair of matching black heels. Three months ago, she was Angela Wolfe, a woman with no past and a questionable future. Today, she was Caitlin O'Shaughnessy, a woman with a past and a questionable future.
"Are you rethinking this?" Caitlin jumped at the voice and dropped the pair of pants onto the floor.
Hawke bent over, picked up the pants, and handed them to Caitlin. "I used the key you gave me when we moved you in," He explained, holding the key between his thumb and forefinger letting it dangle in the air. Hawke dropped the key into his pocket and took the pair of pants she was holding in her hand. He folded them while he talked. "Caitlin, for the past few weeks there has been something going on with you and doing this case for Michael isn't going to make it any better."
Caitlin ripped the pants out of his hand and laid them in her suitcase. "I'm fine, Hawke."
Hawke sat down on the bed. "Yeah, that's why you turned ghostly white last night and couldn't stop talking about your demons. If the same thing that happened last night happens while you're undercover, what are you going to do?"
"Deal with it like I have for the past three months." Caitlin ran the zipper along the suitcase until it was closed and then she lifted it from the bed. She stopped beside Hawke. "Everything will be fine, Hawke. Michael said I would be protected and I believe him. I'll see you in a few days."