Chapter 14
Six hours on the interstate. It wasn't as scenic as the PCH, but time was more important than pleasing their eyes. As they neared San Francisco, Michael spent time quietly contemplating how they would go about finding Anson. It was a very large metropolitan area, and the man had almost a month on them. He might not even be there anymore.
"Mike, I think our first action should be to visit another old buddy of mine. Her name is Tricia Fox. She and I go way back in the Navy. She has her own communications company in the city, and Roger said she was approached by Anson recently. He didn't say whether she agreed to work with him, but knowing her as well as I do, I'm betting she not too politely showed him the door."
"Which means she's got reason to nail Anson as much as we do if he's tormented her as much as he has us," Fiona said.
"Exactly. Let's find out where her business is, and go from there." Michael added, "Just be really careful, Sam."
"It helps when I've got you two watching my back." The corner of his mouth tipped up in a smile. "I didn't realize how much I missed you guys until I got you back!"
"Well, don't go getting all mushy on us," Fiona grumbled. "We've got work to do!"
"Amen, sister." Sam grinned.
The phone, one that Roger supplied them with, rang in Fiona's pocket. Her brow furrowed as she pulled it out and answered. "Hello?"
"Hello, who is this?"
"'Tis Shannon McKellar. And who is this," she asked in her thick brogue.
"It's Roger Holt. Can I speak to Jake, please?"
"Certainly." She held the phone out to Sam. "It's Roger."
"Speaker, Fi," he whispered. She hit the button and he responded. "Hey Rog, thanks for the phones! I'm with Mike and Fi right now, on the road."
"No problem, Sam. They're burners and as far as I know they're secure. Where are you?"
"We're almost into ground zero. Where's Roxy Foxy's?"
"It's on Market Street. I'll give you the address." Roger gave them the information. "Be careful. And if you see Anson, give him one for Linda."
Sam nodded. "Will do, Rog. Is everybody safe on your end?"
"Yeah. I closed up shop for a few days and I've gone into hiding. My baby's out of town. Otherwise, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Look, I've gotta go. I have a meeting with someone in a few minutes, someone who can help you all get back into the CIA's good graces."
"Roger, how'd you manage that?"
"I have friends in high places, Sam." They heard the smile in his voice. "Take care, you three."
"We will. Thanks, Roger." The connection ended.
"Well, that was interesting." Michael glanced over Fi's head at Sam. "This Roger guy sounds like he's got a lot of buddies, like you."
"Only he's got buddies with more clout, apparently. Mikey, I had no idea! When I was with Roger, I felt like there was a lot he wasn't telling me." He glanced at Michael. "I'm afraid that either he thought he was being watched by more than just me and he had to be careful what he said, or... he's working with Anson and pulling us into his web. I really don't wanna believe the latter. He's always been a good guy, on the up and up."
"What about this Roxy Foxy?" Fiona asked.
"That's her nickname." Sam smiled. "Tricia and I, well, we dated when we were stationed out of San Diego. She was a Communications Officer, we were on the same carrier. But we kept our relationship off ship, if you know what I mean." He sighed. "Anyway, we had more than that. She was a great friend, and for years she's helped me with intel gathering sometimes when I hit a brick wall. We haven't talked in awhile, since I teamed up with you, Mike, but I'd trust her completely."
"You're sure about that," Michael asked.
"Yeah." He glanced at both his friends. "When we get in there, though, let me feel her out first. I'm pretty sure I can tell if she's not gonna be on our side."
"Okay. But we should probably find some place to spend the night. It's too late to find her in her office, I would think."
"You're right. Let's get something to eat first and ask the locals where's a good, but cheap, place to stay."
After stopping at a small restaurant on the outskirts of the city, a waitress directed them to a nearby motel. To save on their resources, the three shared a room with two queen sized beds. Sam felt uncomfortable with the arrangements, but as long as Michael and Fiona behaved themselves, he'd have nothing to worry about. As he lay there trying to go to sleep, he listened to the two whispering and now and then they kissed or did other things that he'd rather not know about. But they drew the line at giving him a free show, and for that he was grateful. It made him miss Elsa all the more. He glanced at his watch, and the hands glowed. It would be about 0230 in Miami. Wonder if she's lying there alone in bed thinking of me? He shook his head and buried it deeper into the pillow. Thinking things like that would only make him feel worse.
Early in the morning, Sam navigated them into the heart of the city. He found a parking garage near Tricia's business and parked inside. The three walked two blocks to the high rise, stood across the street, and looked up at it glinting in the sun.
"Well, let's do this," Sam said as he led the way across the street.
"Wait, Sam." Michael held him back. "Let's go into that diner, grab some breakfast, and watch the place for awhile."
Sam turned and saw the old diner at the base of an older sky scraper behind them. "Sure, why not." He followed them inside, ordered, and didn't say much, which concerned Michael.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. Why?"
"You just seem kind of quiet, that's all." He studied Sam. "Care to talk about why?"
"Well, I'm a little, um, nervous about seeing Tricia." He looked up from his plate at Michael and Fiona. "It's been awhile since I've seen her. There have been a lot of women under the bridge since we were last together. But every time we communicate, I get this sense that she hasn't lost any of the feelings she had for me."
"So she was in love with you, and you left her?" Fiona asked with an accusatory tone.
"She was in love with me, but I never felt the same way. I know I broke her heart. I just don't know how she's gonna take being in the same room with me." He paused, let out a breath, and stared out the window at the heavy pedestrian traffic. "I mean, when it came to business she was all good, but on a personal side... I just don't know."
"But you still trust her," Michael said.
"Yes."
"Then let's just focus on business and push the rest aside."
"Yeah, easy for you to say."
"Have you asked her about her personal life since you two parted ways," Fiona asked.
"No. I've always kept it strictly business."
"Well then, maybe she's gotten over you and anything you think you hear in her voice is either nostalgia, or your imagination. I mean, really, Sam. You think a little too much of yourself sometimes!"
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" He sat up straight and gave her a scowl.
"Well, you seem to think that you're God's gift to women, and that you're unforgettable."
"I do not."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"Will you two knock it off," Michael pled through gritted teeth. "Put a sock in it, Sam! And Fi, no more provoking him!"
"Oh Michael, you're just no fun," she said with a glint in her eye.
Sam turned even more glum until it was time to approach the building.
Inside they found a directory that informed them that Roxy Communications was located on the fifth floor. They took the elevator, got off, and entered the reception area. Behind a pair of frosted glass doors, they found a woman sitting at a desk. She smiled at them.
"Can I help you?"
"We're here to see Ms. Fox. We don't have an appointment, but I'm an old friend."
"Mr. Baldwin?"
Sam gave his friends a quick look of surprise. "Yes, that's me."
The receptionist grinned. "She's expecting you. Just have a seat and she'll be done with her other meeting in a minute. Could I get you some coffee or something?"
"That would be great, thanks!"
Settled in with ceramic mugs of coffee made just the way they liked it, Michael and Fiona sat in the comfortable chairs. Sam stayed on his feet, sipping from his cup as he studied the photographs on the walls. Each one was a transparency lit brightly from behind, illustrating all sorts of surveillance and communications products. He picked up a brochure from a table and quickly skimmed it. Tricia's company provided a wide array of services, from setting up a secure wireless network, to providing employers with the means to spy on suspicious employees. Quite the business you've got, Roxy.
"Mr. Baldwin?"
"Yes?" He looked up at the receptionist.
"Ms. Fox will see you and your friends now. Let me escort you to her office."
"Thanks." Sam dropped the brochure where he found it and he and Michael and Fiona followed her past another set of glass doors. Offices ran the length of the hall, all facing a gorgeous view of the bay. At the end of the hall, she led them into a large office and silently scooted past them to return to the reception area.
Tricia rotated her chair from the window and set her cell phone on the desk. She gave Sam a megawatt smile as her eyes locked on him. "Oh wow, Sam. You look great!"
"Me? I've been through a lot lately." He shrugged. "But you, you're not looking bad yourself."
She got out of her chair and met him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and gave him more than a friendly kiss on the lips and caught him unexpectedly. Then she pulled away. "Sorry. I just had to feel if it was still the same."
"And?" He looked down at her.
Her grin widened. "Just as good as I remembered!" Then her expression changed and she was all business as she backed off. "These must be your friends. I can't imagine you'd bring anyone who's a risk in here."
"Of course not! This is Michael Westen, and Fiona... Westen." He silently checked with Fi to see if that was correct. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Ah, the infamous burned spy." Tricia held out a hand. "It's a pleasure, Michael, Fiona."
"Word gets around, doesn't it," Michael said.
"It does."
Sam got them back on track. "Word has it, you were approached by Anson Fullerton."
"I was. I told him to shove off, and I had some of my people keep an eye on him. He tried a few things, like harassing my brother, whose a captain in the police force. He tried to mess with my company's accounts, but I and my team managed to spoil his every move. I think it pissed him off and he left town a few days ago."
"You're saying you were able to defeat his plans," Michael said, incredulous. "No one's been able to do that."
"Michael, besides my background in communications, I earned a degree in psychology. It's very helpful in figuring out how best to relate to people." She smiled and leaned on the edge of her desk. "I used what I knew against him. I also found some leverage that now has him running scared."
"Really?" Sam leaned up against the desk beside her and crossed his arms and ankles. "Care to tell us what it is?"
"With a little help, I found his leaks in the CIA. Roger knows too, and he met with the west coast director yesterday and outed them. After that, it'll just be a matter of time before the CIA national director hears about it. Then look out, because there'll be a major manhunt and the next time he gets caught, Anson won't be faking his death." Her brown eyes sparkled at the implications.
"You know what happened in Miami," Michael said as he stared at her.
Tricia swept a lock of her long black hair away from her face and smiled. "Yes, thanks to my connections. And it was just a happy accident, really." She reached out and ran a hand along the back of Sam's neck and down his back. "If I didn't still have an interest in finding out what Sam was up to the last few years, I wouldn't have discovered that he was working with the famous Michael Westen. That intrigued me."
"So you're saying that because you have an obsession for Sam, you know about us?" Fiona asked, her arms crossed, peering at the two.
With a small chuckle, Tricia replied, "Yeah. Crazy, but true. I always had a soft spot for him. I never forgot about you, Sam. I was even thinking of trying to recruit you after you retired. When I heard about what happened to you and that you were in Miami, I kept my eye on you. I was impressed."
Tricia moved around her desk and pulled something from a drawer. It was her purse. "Why don't we get out of here and go get something to eat? I'd really like to sit down with you all and get the scoop on everything you've been up to. And then we can work out a plan to locate Anson and end this, once and for all. You guys like Chinese? There's a great little place in Chinatown, it's quiet, secluded, and safe for lunch meetings. Come on."
She led them to the restaurant, and once they were in a small alcove away from prying eyes, Fiona spoke. "I'm curious about your relationship with Sam."
Tricia sat next to him, across the table from Michael and Fiona. "Sam and I met on leave in San Diego. We had a whole weekend together, a very hot, exciting weekend," she replied as she gave him a look that could have set the place on fire. "When it was time to go back to our respective ships, we wound up walking to the same carrier. We both thought that was pretty funny, but then, it also brought a real challenge. On-board... relationships... are risky, so we had to learn how to be just friends while on duty."
"I can't imagine that was easy, knowing Sam's... ow!" Fiona glared at Michael after he kicked her under the table.
"How'd you get the nickname Roxy Foxy," Michael asked.
"I'm guilty of that one," Sam confessed. "I found out her middle name is Roxanne, so I just got a little creative." He chuckled, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
She covered his hand and gave it a squeeze. "That's okay, I never really minded it. I only let my friends use it, though. Anybody else, well, they learned fast."
"Yeah, she could kick some butt. Don't mess with her." Sam gave her a grin.
"Still can." She patted his hand and let go. "So, any other personal questions before we get down to business?"
"No questions, but I just remembered something I'm supposed to tell you, Sam." All during their exchange, Michael noted how Tricia sat close to his friend, forcing him into the corner as he tried to evade her overly affectionate moves. Hopefully what he was about to say would throw some water on the fire and settle down Ms. Roxy Foxy. "I had a chance to talk to my Ma. She said that Elsa got the message, and she wanted you to know that the lifts are lovely this time of year. I have no idea what that means, but, well, Ma was pretty adamant about you getting that message. Elsa's been taking good care of her."
A tender smile crossed Sam's face. "That's my girl! I sent her a letter after we met in Topeka. I postmarked it out of Oklahoma City, and at the end I included some sentences that were a code. She obviously found my code book in the stuff I had at her place, and she was able to figure out when and where we were meeting next. Her response told me that she would be there."
"Who's Elsa?"
"With everything you know about me, you don't know about her?"
"I know that you've had a lot of girlfriends over the past few years, but I thought you were unattached."
"Nope. I'm vary attached to Elsa," Sam replied with a grin.
Tricia saw the beaming expression on his face, and she unconsciously put some space between them as she frowned slightly. When she knew Sam was coming to see her, she'd hoped that maybe it would result in him staying in San Francisco and reuniting as a couple. The look on his face dashed that hope into a million pieces.
With a serious expression, Tricia said, "I guess you'll be going back to Miami then, after this is all resolved."
"If I could hop on a supersonic jet to get there, you betcha."
The look in his eyes obliterated any fantasy that may have remained. "Amazing. I never, ever, in my wildest dreams would have expected to see you genuinely in love with someone." A bittersweet smile parked on her lips. "I always hoped that it would be me, but, oh well, that's life, huh?" Awkward silence followed.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
"I hope you weren't waiting for me."
"No, I just never had much luck with other guys. It's not your fault, so let's just get off this subject and move on to Anson and what we're going to do about him."