wasuppp! ...tht was wierd. heres another chappy before i go on my 'road to study' :) haha thts a lame title but o well :D
"I got nothin. You?"
"Nothing here."
Cal, Vance and Greg were rummaging through the files. They divided the box into three sections and each took a piece. Cal was spread out in one bed, Vance in the other and Greg sat at the desk, his reading glasses on. On the floor next to them were a pile of read files that looked more like dumped paper. Another file was added to the pile as Cal threw one down.
Both Cal and Greg looked up. "What did your find?" Both said in union.
"There's got to be...something." Vance had his nose deep in one particular file. The first one he's ever worked on that involved DeGrow. "Ah-hah!" He jumped off the bed.
"John and Evan were both orphans at the age of 12."
Cal and Greg expected him to say more and stayed silent. But when he didn't go on, Greg said, "And?"
"And, no kid wants to be in an orphanage." Cal swallowed. Vance continued. "I saw a couple of records from the orphanage they were taken to, and it turns out they kinda had a hiding spot just outside the bridge of the place. It's like some old warehouse or something. Sometimes they would break out in the middle of the night, sneak into there and do experiments or stuff."
"What does that tell us about where they are..." Greg asked, clearly more than a little confused.
"John could be there right now! I mean if we don't have Evan's tracking device one him, he could even be there for all we know." Vance was getting very excited now.
Greg considered this for a moment. "Where is this orphanage?"
"Just outside of DC." He answered without even looking down at the paper. Hope was in his eyes.
Greg looked to Cal. Cal shrugged and Greg's gaze was back on Vance with a sigh. "Call Agent Reynolds. We're going to need back up."
Vance beamed. In a second he was out of the room, phone in hand. Greg soon went back to the file in his hand. Cal sat there for a moment. He felt worse now. The way Vance said that no kid wants to be in an orphanage. He said it with absolutely no emotions. It made Cal think twice about whether or not to tell Vance about the secret. He sighed. Cal had no idea what to do anymore. Things were getting more complicated now, way more complicated. Just then, his phone buzzed. He picked it up. It was a text. The screen didn't have a number, just said out of area. As curiosity filled him, he picked up his phone and flipped it open.
On the screen were the words 'I see you figured out where my brother and I are. Try to come and find us. You'll be welcomed. -JD'
Cal's eyes got wide. His jaw started to slowly open in silent surprise. JD as in John DeGrow. How the hell did he know they knew? The place must be bugged. He started looking around. He got up, to the bathroom, rummaged through the stuff, came out and searched through the drawers. Greg, meanwhile was staring at him, wondering if he's gone mad.
"Cal, what are you doing?" He managed before Cal got a call. He picked up.
"Your looking in the wrong places, Lightman." There was a laugh. Cal gritted his teeth.
"Where'd you hide it?"Cal mouthed that it was DeGrow and Greg's eyes got wide, coming in closer.
"Ah...you are much more dumb than I thought." There was a pause. "Gregory! Put me on speaker will ya?" he asked Cal.
Hesitating at first, Cal did just that. DeGrow's breathing could be heard echoing through the walls of the room.
"So...Lightman. You figure out where the orphanage is yet?"
Cal wanted to punch the man but it was a phone... "Still looking." He acting as if he didn't care. He put on a straight face too, knowing that he was watching from somewhere.
The door opened and Carol walked in, two cups of lemonade in her hands. "Boys you want a drink?" she had no idea that they were on the phone with a terrorist/serial killer. Cal and Greg was still with shock for a minute.
"C-" Before DeGrow can go any further, Cal shut the phone and turned it off. Carol stood at the doorway, eying them suspiciously.
"Who was that?"
Brain racking, Cal quickly thought of something. "Office. Their having some trouble on a case."
Carol liked this man more and more everyday. Even on vacation he helped out at the office, at least that's what she thought.
Greg sighed in relief. "Thank you, honey." He took the glasses, handed one to Cal and led Carol back out in a haste.
Cal collapsed on the bed. "What do we do? He bugged the place and is probably watching us!"
Greg retreated to the chair and heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know. We have to tell Vance and Agent Reynolds though. That's the first thing."
No body said anything about confronting Gillian with the news, the two didn't want anything to happen to her.
-x-
They were in the hummer. Vance, Greg, Cal, and Ben. Gillian was in the other car. Cal didn't want Gillian to be involved in this any more than she was now. He was afraid. Even a little more than the others who were in the car with him. The two cars were going back to the hotels. A last look before they go off for home tomorrow morning.
"We'll go to DC in three days." Reynolds spoke.
"Three days? He could be gone by three days!" Cal exclaimed.
"That's the fastest we can get back up. And no, your not going there any faster." Reynolds stated cleary.
Cal sighed. "So we wait three days and go. What happens if we miss him?"
Ben shrugged. "We start all over again. This guy isn't Houdini. He can't just disappear forever."
"He's right." Greg said. "And who knows, maybe they're waiting for us. Maybe they want to talk and figure something out."
Vance then shook his head. "He'd not the kind of person who would do that." He stated quietly.
"We'll get him." Ben said reassuringly.
The two cars parked. One by one everybody came out. As Gillian got out, her eyes went straight to the hummer. She saw Cal get out, he offered a small smile, but that was all. It made her worried. Had something happened? Why weren't they telling her? Something was odd. It made her frustrated. Ben quietly went out the other way, so the family won't see. He got into another car and waited until they were all focused on sight seeing. Then he would get out and follow them, just in case Evan showed up.
This time, instead of separating into groups, the whole family went together. They were walking down the busy street. Ben a little farther apart from the group but still had an eye on them. They didn't notice, there were way to many people around. Cal and Greg were towards the back of the group. Vance in the front, holding hands with Sarah. Cal's eyes darted everywhere. Gillian kept looking back at him now and then. Concern was glowing in her eyes. Cal just dismissed it with a smile. She sighed. This was getting more and more frustrating. Why did they go in the car alone? That question was still flouting inside her head like an out of control air balloon. Sooner or later, it was going to pop.
She didn't know why he was ignoring her, and it scared her. Was it something she had said? Or done? Second by agonizing second, her frustration only grew. She would have marched over there and said something if it wasn't for her husband right next to her. It would be easy though, to just lie to Alec and pull Cal over to one side, away from the watchful eye of her husband. Having absolutely no idea of what was going on was the hardest bit. Were they in more danger? But Evan could have gotten away. They were just getting paranoid. But working on a case that involved more brain and intensive care then others, was not an easy thing. It was, in one way, very hard to focus on one thing and go about others. All four of them were focused on the case, but never mentioned, nor looked how tired they really felt. It was nerve racking.
Gillian, who was deep in thought, kept on walking, not noticing that she was alone. Well not alone, there were hundreds of people around her, it was Vegas after all, but alone, her family no where to be seen. She felt panic rise inside her, and tried to stay calm. She searched around, looking for any familiar face. She didn't find one.
-x-
He didn't want to ignore her. But if he didn't, she would look right through him, see what's wrong and make him confess whatever he was hiding. HE would offer her a small smile though, to ease his own heart. He sighed. And with this son who didn't even know they were blood related. He had told Gillian, and that was about it. He decided that unless it was a death, live situation, he would not tell another living soul. He didn't want to ruin everyones lives by telling them he was Vance's dad. No. Not ever. He would take that secret to his grave. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Why were things so damn complicated?
Cal reluctantly picked up his phone as it started ringing. "Hello?"
"Lightman."
His eyes widened just a little and his brain went on alert. "DeGrow. What do you want?"
"You," was his simple answer. "You know where I am. Come here and I won't cause anymore trouble."
Cal almost laughed. "And why would I go there?"
"Cause if you don't, your poor Gillian will get hurt."
Cal's world turned to a stop. HE would hurt Gil? He better not. If that monster ever laid a hand on her, he swore he would rip it right off. "We're in the middle of hundreds of people. You can't just come out and shoot."
He looked up and saw everyone pressed to the railing of a fence. In front of them, a beautiful firework was happening. The sight was simply breathtaking. The different mixture of colors and sparks. Cal saw every one there...except Gillian. He thought she was close by so he went looking for her. He must have walked past dozens of faces, but none of which was Gillian's. He started to panic. What if Evan hadn't gone back to DC? What if he planned to take her? Cal was in full blown panic mode now. Every single nerve on his body was on alert. He scanned faces, only spending a millisecond on one. He suddenly felt a strange feeling of anger towards Alec. How can that man be so calm even if his wife wasn't next to him! Did he even give a damn? Cal growled inwardly.
-x-
Gillian wandered around. At least she wasn't plain alone, at night in Vegas. She was in the middle of the crowd. But she felt an odd sense of feeling crawling up her spine. A sense that she was being followed.
-x-
"I have my ways, Lightman," the voice on the other end taunted.
Cal growled. "Where the fuck are you," he hissed into the mic. He was no where near the group now. He heard the beeping on his phone. It was Reynolds and Vance but he didn't have anything else in mind anymore, everything was focused on Gillian, and only her.
There was a laugh that sent chills diving up his spine. "Where always have been. The warehouse, planning."
-x-
She turned around, expecting to see someone holding a gun or something. But she saw nothing.
-x-
"Don't you dare touch her." Cal threatened, his voice dangerously low.
Another laugh. "I won't..."
-x-
She was still wandering. She didn't know where to go. Panic started to seize her. Then she heard a voice.
-x-
"...just yet." There was a click as the phone call ended.
Cal whipped around just in time to see the back of Gillian's head in the crowd. "Gillian!"
-x-
She turned around at the familiar voice. "Cal!" Boy, was she happy.
They ran to each other and hugged. Cal gripped her like she was his last life line and she the same. Gillian buried her head in his chest. He rubbed her back. After a while, Cal lifted Gillian's head off of his chest and lifted her chin with his fingers.
"Gil, you ok?" His eyes were dropping with fear and concern.
She had to smile back at his concern. "Yea. I am now."
They stood there for a while, until they were interrupted, by no other than Alec.
"Gillian!" He ran over to her as Cal dropped his hand. Alec pulled her into a hug. Cal hung back as he saw the rest of the gang come through. Soon, they were bombarded with questions.
"Where were you?"
"Are you ok?"
"Did you get lost?"
"Can you give me twenty bucks?"
That last question was Danny. He was laughing and Brian kicked him in the ankle at the comment.
Gillian smirked. "I'm fine guys."
Greg, Carol, and Alec glanced at Cal. He had his head down and was looking at his phone. Alec pulled her to one side. "What happened?" He whispered.
Gillian risked a glance at Cal. He was talking to Carol. "Nothing. I was talking to something at the office about a case. I guess I got distracted and ... wandered off," she told him truth.
Alec seemed to think she was lying. "And Cal?" To him it seemed that the two were going to kiss, before he had yelled out his name.
"And Cal found me." She was going to stand her ground. For Cal too. If he blamed Cal for the reason she wandered off, she would never hear the end if it.
Before he could utter another word, she pulled him for a kiss. Alec was shocked. Gillian was shocked at herself. Cal was the most shocked.
She didn't know why she did it. Yes she did. If Alec was distracted then it would mean no trouble for Cal. So she kissed her two timer husband.
Cal stood a few feet from them, talking with Carol when he saw the kiss. Afterwards, Alec had caught his eyes and smirked. Gillian turned around, saw him gaping and avoided his eyes. Why did he care anyways? Cause he loved her. Cause he would do anything for her. And it was her who pulled in for the kiss first, not Alec. Maybe she was just tired. Tired of waiting. Maybe he was already to late. He dipped his head down, made some lousy excuse to Carol and walked away.
Carol watched him go. He had told her that he needed to check up on something at the office. She sighed. Somehow, she knew he was lying. She liked Cal, maybe more than Alec. But Alec was married to her daughter and Cal wasn't, what was she going to do about it? And Greg liked Alec. This was all very complicated.
Cal walked far away as possible. He was nearing a corner to the parking lot when he felt a tap in the back. He turned to see Alec standing there. Alone. The parking lot was filled with cars but was deserted. Not a single person in sight.
Alec cleared his throat. He looked mad. "What were you doing with my wife?" he asked, making sure to put the emphasis on 'wife'. He jabbed a finger at Cal.
Cal tried to not hit him as hard as he could. "I was lookin' for her," was his simple anwser.
Alec's jaw clenched. "Why."
"Cause' I didn't see her," he said in truth. He turned to leave.
"She's never going to want you," Alec said. Cal kept on walking, ignoring him. "You can't make her happy. A playboy like you can't make her happy." Cal stopped dead in his tracks. His fists clenched and he took in a deep breath, trying to ignore Alec. A playboy like him? "No wonder Zoe left you...she couldn't trust you," Alec continued taunting. Cal shook his head and started to walk away from him. But the last sentence did it. "Your mom too. What did you do to make her kill herself."
Cal stopped mid step, his eyes widened in genuine amazement. He didn't know Alec would go that far. His jaws tightened and without wasting another second, he turned around, and punched Alec with all his hatred and frustration, right in the face. Alec's head snapped back and he fell clinging to his nose. Blood was seeping through his hands. Cal stood in front of him, chest heaving up and down, his face flooded with fury.
"Alec!" a voice shouted from behind him. Cal turned to see Gillian staring at them, a horrified expression plastered on her face. Behind her, the family was there, a similar expression on all their faces, especially Vance. Gillian ran over to Alec and crouched down. She ignored Cal for a moment. Vance ran over to Alec also, trying to help the bleeding stop. That was when Gillian looked up and Cal. Her face was a mix of horror, surprise, confusement, and most of all, anger. She got up. "What in the world were you thinking?" she practically yelled in Cal's face. He stood there, still in his dangerously violent state. He turned his gaze from Alec to Gillian, his eyes as cold as ice. At first, it scared her and she took an uneasy step back. His eyes, she had never ever seen them like that before. It made shiver run down her spine.
Vance helped Alec up, holding one arm and his back so he won't fall. "You ok?" Vance asked quietly.
Alec nodded. His face crunched up in pain.
"What happened?" Greg moved forward from the back. Cal's back was to him. Gillian looked back into Cal's eyes. Instead of looking back, his eyes were trained at Alec again.
"Cal hit me." Alec huffed.
Greg turned to Cal. "Is that true?" In reality, he knew it was true, everyone there did. They had seen the punch, but nothing before. Danny rushed both his kids into the car and came back, not wanting them to see this. Cal nodded, his eyes still trained on Alec.
Vance didn't know what was going on. Why would Cal do that? He didn't know Cal personally, but he knew that he wouldn't do something like that.
Cal, meanwhile, wasn't thinking straight. He just wanted to beat Alec. The thought of his mom killing herself because of him, was pushed out of his mind for 40 something years. Now it was back. And it was eating him from the inside out. His hand was numb from the punch but he didn't feel that. He saw the surprise in Gillian's face. He'd seen it on Vance's. He didn't feel like he had the courage to turn around and face everyone. So he just nodded at Greg's question and walked off.
Everybody back there was still confused. Alec had a small smile under his hands. It worked.
Gillian was standing there, looking at Cal's retreating form until he turned a corner and was out of sight. Why would he do that? She stepped forward, go go after him but a hand pulled her back. She was soon hearing Danny's voice in her hear.
"Don't worry. He just needs to calm down." Danny pulled her to one side.
"I know but..." Gillian tried.
"But nothing. Look I know the kind of guy Cal is. He won't just go around punching people like that. I'm sure he has a reason and will tell someone later one. He just needs space."
Gillian stared at her brother. He was right. But what was the reason? And why did he punch Alec? Questions invaded her mind as she tried to figure things out.
-x-
Cal caught a cab and went back to the hotel apartment. He payed the cabbie and went inside. No one was there. It was quiet. He sighed and went to his and Vance's room. He sat on the bed, angry at Alec, at himself. He had his head in his hands when he realized something. He was causing too much trouble here. He didn't want to break up a perfectly good family.
Bzzzz Bzzzz
His phone buzzed. A text message. He flipped it open to see it was from DeGrow. 'Don't want Gillian hurt do you? Come to the warehouse by tomorrow. Alone.'
He sat there staring at the text for a moment. With a yell, he threw the phone to the wall on the other side of the room. There was a crack and a thump as the broken phone hit the ground.
'I'll go,' he thought. 'For Gill.'
He made his final decision. He got up, pocketed his wallet and was out of the bedroom in a matter of seconds. The front door didn't open and still no one was back to disagree with his mind. He was coming out of the room when he remember something. The bracelet. He couldn't give it to her face to face, especially not now. He walked into Gillian's room and was instantly hit by her smell. He was going to miss that. Chocking up his tears, he removed the the box and placed it on the bed. He scribbled a not and put it on top. Without another look, he turned and went out, not wanting his choice to be faltered.
-x-
Carol, Gillian, and the kids were back in the hotel. The men went out to find Cal and told them to call if he showed up. Gillian sat down on the couch. She was exhausted. She honestly didn't know where Cal was and it was starting to scare her. What if he went out and got himself hurt? What if he did something stupid? Gillian shook her head. She was sure Cal was fine, just downing a drink or two. He'd be back any second! Carol came back with two mugs of coffee. She handed one to Gillian who took it and muttered a thank you. She heaved a sigh.
"You ok Gilly? You have that look on your face." Carol asked quietly.
Gillian only nodded, not knowing how to reply. She took a drink. The hot liquid ran down her throat, warmly her inside. She spoke up, "Do you think he's ok?"
Carol was stopped drinking as she raised her own cup to her mouth. She didn't know what to tell her daughter. But a positive answer wouldn't hurt. "I'm sure he's alright honey." Gillian nodded. "Why don't you get some sleep? We're going back tomorrow after all."
Gillian offered a small smile and got up. "Gnight mom."
"Good night honey."
She didn't want to sleep. She wan't to see if he was ok. But she still retreated to her room, hoping he was ok. When she opened the door, she was welcomed by a surprise. On her bed was a black velvet box and a note on top. She curiously went over and picked it up.
'You were a great friend, Gill. One I don't deserve. The words on the piece of medal are true. I'm sorry for all the things I've caused you and your family. I was being an ass. I hope you come in term to forgive me. Truly yours, Cal.'
She nearly dropped the note. Drops of salty tear splattered on the note. Her eyes teared up. Was he gone? Was this good bye? Her hands shaky, she opened the box. Inside was a silver bracelet with the engraving, 'To Gill. Thanks for always being there for me. From Cal.' She let out a soft whimper. He can't be gone. He can't. She rushed up and ran to his room, ignoring her mom's look. When she barged into the room, the first thing that caught her attention was that his clothes was there. She was filled with relief but then she saw, in the corner of the room, Cal's broken phone. He slowly walked up to it and picked it up. I was blacked out, and cracked in several places. She fell to the ground. Carol came into the room. She saw her daughter on the edge of the bed, her hands holding onto a phone.
"Gill?"
Gillian was silently weeping. "He's gone." She had to admit the truth. "He's...gone."
DONT WORRY! there will be more callian :)