Chapter Five
Jaime's heart reeled and her mind screamed in disbelief as she stared across the table at the woman who could still pass for her mother. My father was not a traitor! She waited in silence for Chris to tell her more.
"He introduced me to a group that he'd met through the University," Chris explained. "They were professors, from a number of foreign countries, who called themselves 'The Advocates'. Ann couldn't meet with them because of her position within the government, but I wasn't in her league, and James was fascinated by their thoughts on University and Government hierarchies. When their ideas became more radical and he realized they were much more than a discussion group, he tried to pull out, and they didn't want to let him go."
"Because he knew too much?"
"Yes, but more importantly, because they saw him as an open doorway into the United States government, via his wife's connection to the OSI." Chris's eyes began to brim with tears. "Of course, he should've turned to Ann for help, but he was afraid. They'd threatened to hurt her, and -" Chris shook her head and suddenly grew quiet, realizing she'd said much more than she'd intended to.
"And what? Chris, please - what else were you going to say?"
"Jaime...they were threatening you."
There wasn't much more for the women to talk about, after that. Jaime wanted to take what she'd learned back to Oscar and Steve, where they could help her decide what to do next. The guard phoned for the car to pick her up, but while Jaime sat in the vestibule to wait for her ride, she changed her mind. When the car arrived, with both Steve and Oscar inside this time, Jaime was gone.
- - - - - -
Oscar and Steve met very briefly with Chris, to determine what had set Jaime off and caused her to venture out on her own, then the two men reluctantly returned to OSI Headquarters to regroup. Oscar called Russ in Los Angeles, to have him pull any CDI files he could find that mentioned The Advocates, and he instructed two of his chief security officers to politely request Jack Hansen's presence, without giving him an option to refuse. When he'd finished making the calls, Oscar looked up and noticed the grim, deeply worried look on Steve's face and the way his hands had balled into tight fists.
"Maybe Jaime just went for a walk, to think about what Chris told her," he ventured, trying to reassure his friend.
"Oscar -"
"Right." They both knew that was not the case, not even within the realm of possibilities. "But Jaime's got a good head on her shoulders -"
"Which won't help her if she's thinking with her heart."
Oscar nodded. "Has she been dwelling on this ever since Chris Stuart popped up in Ojai?" he asked.
"I'm not sure. I think seeing Chris, believing at first that she was Ann and then finding out she wasn't, may have made Jaime start mourning her parents all over again – as an adult, this time. And finding out they were murdered..."
"I wish I'd never told her that."
"Oscar, you had to; she had the right to know."
"Maybe, but now she may have jumped right into the center of something that's way over her head." He looked up as his office door opened. His security officers had acted quickly. "Mr. Hansen – please have a seat."
Jack Hansen scowled. "You had me dragged out of a very important meeting, Goldman."
"For another important meeting," Oscar told him. "Tell us everything you know about a group called 'The Advocates'."
Jack's faced paled, and he seemed to shrink back in his chair. "Discussion group at the University, from what I understand," he said in a voice that had tried for 'casual' but failed.
"Hansen, we aren't fooling around here; we don't have time for the NSB run-around," Steve growled through gritted teeth.
"Started as a simple discussion group," Jack continued. "A place for the University staff from other countries to get together for support. When a portion of them splintered off, though, that wasn't so innocent."
Steve was long past impatient. "We know that."
Jack began to rise from the chair. "Then I guess you don't need me."
Steve pushed him back down, much more gently than he would've liked to. "Sit down. Are they still in existence?"
"Which part?"
"Dammit, Hansen – we're not playing around! Take your pick." Steve was seething, but Oscar stayed silent, letting him have the first go at Jack, figuring his friend could cross lines that the OSI Director could not.
"The discussion group is still very much alive and kicking. They're harmless enough; even sanctioned by the University."
"And the others? Are they still around?"
"I suppose they are...portions of their group, anyway. But they went underground years ago; wouldn't be easy to find – although I doubt anyone would want to."
"Years ago...about ten years ago?" Steve surmised.
"Yes, I suppose that's accurate. Why do you ask?"
"Someone very close to me is most likely trying to find them, right now."
"You don't mean Miss Sommers, do you?"
"Yes. Jaime Sommers."
"If she does find them, and they realize she's James Sommers' daughter...they'll kill her on the spot."
- - - - - -
At almost precisely the same moment, somewhere in Virginia, a door flew open – courtesy of a bionic foot. Jaime, too angry to consider the implications of what she was doing, stood in the center of a large warehouse-type meeting room, with half a dozen pairs of startled eyes staring back at her.
"Hello," she said, through clenched teeth that mirrored Steve's, "I believe you knew my father."
- - - - - -