Rachel
I have new respect for anyone innocent who's ever been interrogated.
Ever since I woke up, they've been asking me the same set of questions. I am fortunate that it's not because they think I'm guilty of something. But still, there comes a point when the same questions asked over and over again just get… annoying.
What's the date today?
Who is your supervisor?
What was the last meal you ate?
What's your father's middle name?
They are testing me, I get that. But I'm fine. Really, I am. Except for that hole in my memory, I am really fine. And so long as they agree, I get out of here tomorrow morning. Which means the next meal I eat will not consist of Salisbury "steak". And limp carrots. And I will not have to look at Jell-o again for a good long time.
I cannot wait to get some decent barbeque from Wally's. Or some green curry from Beau Thai. Or some Bukom Devil Wings. Anything, so long as it comes with flavor.
I never was any good at patience.
Agent Lee appeared at my door promptly at 9:00 this morning. I heard him coming down the hall, moving as fast as he'd been moving the last few days. Did he never just walk?
"Special Agent Young. I brought you some clothes from your apartment."
He held up a pile that appeared to contain jeans, my favorite blue sweater and a white turtleneck.
"That's great."
He smiled widely. I was coming to expect that kind of thing from Agent Lee. He smiled easily and broadly. But he was sharp and never missed a thing. He might be happy but he wasn't dim. I was counting on it. He was going to be my source for reorienting me to my work with Dr. Hood. I flipped through the pile and realized suddenly it contained underwear and socks in addition to the rest of the clothes. Felix had been in my apartment and in my underwear drawer. I raised my eyes to him.
"Yeah, I remembered that they everything you were wearing for analysis and I figured you'd need…"
I almost smiled watching this very big man blush.
"Good thinking, Agent Lee. I would hate to leave the hospital dressed in one of those unfortunately ventilated paper gowns. I just need a few minutes to change."
"Of course. I'll be out in the hallway nuking my latte and your mocha."
"You brought me a mocha?"
"From Starbucks around the corner. Tall skim hazelnut extra hot mocha with whip."
"Now I know you and I have worked together. Bless you, Felix."
He flashed that megawatt smile as he ducked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
It seemed to take forever to sign papers and get released from the hospital but at long last, we were in Agent Lee's car.
As we left the hospital entrance, I wondered what my apartment would look like. I'd lived there for just over 2 years but I didn't remember the place. Apparently, I'd moved in right around the time I started working with Dr. Hood.
Dr. Hood.
I'd spent a lot of time with him. That much was clear from the way he'd rolled off all those details about me yesterday. It was bothering me more now that he knew me when I couldn't remember anything about him. I decided to quiz Agent Lee while he drove me towards Wally's. I was not going home without some real food.
"How're things with the lead on the chemist? Have you heard from Dr. Hood?"
"When I spoke to him this morning, he said they'd secured a lab that they think our phantom chemist used. There was a quantity of the substance that Dr. Hood thinks is a precursor to the one we found when you were dosed. He's put a rush on a chemical analysis of that substance. We expect it this afternoon. Once we have those results, we should be able to compare to the results that are now available from the substance you were exposed to."
"Dr. Hood seems to know how to pull the strings to get things done. "
I stayed quiet and Agent Lee glanced over at me for a brief moment.
"He was really upset when you passed out. I don't think I've ever seen him so upset."
"Dr. Hood. He seems like a smart man."
"Off the charts. When I started with you two, I'd have to write stuff down that he said and look it up later just to keep up. But then I realized he didn't do it to make anyone feel stupid. Not like the last MVP I was on protection detail with. That guy talked like a walking dictionary and made it seem like you were a knuckle dragger if you ever asked for a definition. He was definitely…."
He glanced back at me and I must have looked uninterested because he righted himself back to the topic I was interested in quickly.
"But Dr. Hood is not like that. He keeps giving me books to read and documentaries to watch and explaining the science behind the cases we're working. I've learned more in six months with him than I learned in 8 years of high school and college science."
"So he's decent to work alongside?"
"In a big way. I like the Doc a lot. And I think you do too. He annoys you sometimes. But I've seen you go to the mat for him. I think you like him too."
He pulled the car into Wally's parking lot and we got out of the car. If it's true what they say about smell holding the key to memory, the smell of this place ought to wake up something. There is no smell I've encountered yet that matches Wally's baby back ribs in the sauce that made this place famous. I looked across the roof and saw Agent Lee's eye closed in what can only be described as bliss. Clearly, he was no stranger to Wally's particular charms.
"Oh, Dr. Hood is going to be sorry he missed this."
"Really? Have we been here, the three of us?"
"Several times. Last time we were here, Dr. Hood got into a discussion with Wally about the ingredients in the special sauce. Dr. Hood was about to spill the secret when Wally made a deal with him. Dr. Hood gets a table on demand as long as he never spills the secret."
We entered the building and sure enough, Wally greeted Agent Lee and I like we were kin back from the war. He showed us to a table, waved over a waitress and patted Agent Lee on the shoulder and called him "son" before he left us to contemplate the brief and utterly carnivorous menu. We ordered.
"So you were saying, Agent Lee, that…"
"Felix. Please. Call me Felix. Every time you call me Agent Lee, I feel like I'm on an audition."
I smiled.
"It's a little strange for me, Agent Lee. You and Dr. Hood both seem to know me reasonably well. And I can't remember the first thing about either of you. It's enough to make me a little… edgy."
"Fair enough. I can't imagine what this is like for you. I mean, waking up with no physical injury and finding out that 3 years is just missing. That's gotta be…"
"Freaky."
Our platters arrived and we dug in. Around a mouthful of rib meat, Felix managed to say, "The first time I saw you eat, I was convinced you must run 15 miles a day. I had never seen a woman eat so much and keep trim like you do."
"Well, thank you, Felix. I think that was a compliment buried under there somewhere. You appear to enjoy your food as well."
Another megawatt smile. "Yes, m'am. Dr. Hood makes jokes about not reaching between us at breakfast for fear of losing an arm."
We laughed together.
"The doc is a bit of a gourmand. He likes to eat slowly and taste what he's chewing on. I think you and I have spent too many meals in chow halls. We know that taste is not guaranteed to be friendly."
"Amen to that."
"And some of the places we've eaten on cases have been legendarily bad. I've seen Dr. Hood come back from a week long case 5 pounds lighter because he actually asked what he was eating in the only restaurant in town. Major mistake."
"He seems like a decent guy."
Felix paused and looked at me.
"Yes, he is a good and decent man. And he cares. A lot."
With that, we finished our meal, paid up and left.
Felix drove me to my apartment. Apparently, I'd moved up the pay scale. This place was far nicer than the place I remembered living in before I went to Kabul.
As I moved about, looking things over, Felix's cell phone rang. He answered and began writing things down on his notepad. He hung up and turned to me.
"Special Agent Munson is asking me to run down a series of names. They may be aliases for our chemist. I need to head in and get on the network. You're okay here?"
"I'm good."
His cell phone beeped again and he fished it out once more.
"Dr. Hood just landed at Reagan. He's headed home to change and then he'll be over to catch you up on the case. He says it'll be about 3 hours before he's here."
"Good. Should give me plenty of time to find everything."
"Ok. Give me a call if you need anything."
"You got it. Thanks for the ride home and the run to Wally's. I owe you."
And with that, Felix was gone. And I was left in my gorgeous, obviously not cheap apartment. I wondered what my pay grade was now and how much of it I spent every month on this place. I shucked the clothes Felix had brought me and took a long, hot shower. Hospital showers are not real showers. I put on the terrycloth robe hanging next to the shower stall and tucked my hair into a towel.
I poked about for a solid hour - opening drawers and closets, opening the pile of mail that had collected, examining the contents of the fridge. There were no surprises, just a series of encounters with familiar mementos and new clothes. It was clear I was dressing more expensively than I remembered. The suits were better quality. The shoes were definitely more expensive.
After I changed into sweat pants and my FBI sweatshirt, I realized I'd not looked at my computer. My email probably was close to overflowing. I made myself some tea and sat down at my desk.
I checked my work email account and sorted out mail that needed action from that which could be filed. I had a notice that I had to requalify for active duty, starting with an appointment the following day with the department headshrinker. Fun. Next was my personal email account. I threw out lots of Viagra and porn ads and saved a few emails I didn't recognize. I'd figure out later who those were from.
I was dealing with a seriously out of whack balance on my cable bill and was on hold with customer service when my laptop's screen saver kicked in. I watched the pictures flash by as the hold music droned on. Picture of me with my niece as a baby. Picture of me aged 10, holding up a fish. Picture of me in desert warfare training out in Nevada with my squad. Picture of me in a low cut dress, being dipped by Dr. Jacob Hood.
Wait a minute.
Naturally, this was the moment the cable service person came on the phone. I excused myself and hung up.
I did a search on my computer and found the library with pictures.
There were a dozen or so from the same event where I was wearing a dress that made me look like a hooker. Dr. Hood was wearing a tux and in every picture, his arm was around me. I scrolled through the pictures one by one. It was the second to last one that made me stop. I had no idea who'd taken the picture but it was most definitely well timed. Dr. Jacob Hood was kissing me. And not politely kissing me like a coworker kisses a coworker at a holiday party. No. This was full on, go-for-the-gusto kissing.
And I was definitely participating. From the look on my face, enthusiastically.
Oh crap.