Chapter 12

Guarding the House

Furey's frantic message scared the hell out of me. Guns? They had guns or were selling guns or both. If they were worried about the ATF, then it meant they probably bought and sold guns. I immediately informed the Princeton FBI field office of my contact with Furey and then demanded to see my boss's boss and was now standing in his leather-laden office in Washington D.C.

"I don't really give a damn, sir. I know Agent Rhodes told you I was working an important case, and I am, but this is more important to the nation's security. We have a boy out there with abilities equivalent to mine and he's been kidnapped. Now this kid is not only an important intuitive, but he's the son of Teagan Furey, my friend and intuitive that worked for the Agency for ten years. We owe it to her to get her son back, safe and sound. I owe it to her."

I was pleading my case to Joseph Persichini, Jr., the Assistant Director in charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office. He kept looking at me and then Rhodes, who had just a few minutes earlier told him it was a waste of valuable resources to send me to Princeton. I, apparently, was the valuable resource.

"Agent Ferrell is an important part of this investigation." Rhodes said.

I kept my mouth shut; I could hear the AD debating the pros and cons in his head. He was leaning my way because he knew I was going to go anyway; he didn't want to be the person to lose both the best Intuitive agent they had and another intuitive in the wild.

"I'm releasing Agent Ferrell and her partner to work the kidnapping."

Rhodes sputtered, "But we don't even know it's a kidnapping!"

The AD gave Rhodes the funniest look as if to say, 'after all the years you've been around her and you don't believe her?', but instead he said, "I think it's safe to assume we have a kidnapping." He turned to me, "I will call Princeton and let them know you're coming and tell them to give you their full cooperation."

I was given access to the division chopper. Freddie and I were on loan from the San Diego field office for the last two months while we worked this murder case and now we were being loaned out by the Washington field office to investigate the kidnapping of Gregory Scott Furey. We went first to the hotel rooms where we had been living for the last two weeks. Our rooms both looked like we had been living in them for years. We hastily packed what clean clothes we had and took off for the heliport, arriving in Princeton at 9:40 pm. Another agent would come in and pack the rest, sending it on later.

We contacted the police who had set up tracing equipment in Greg's townhome, Wilson's house and Greg's office, just in case the kidnappers called on those lines. I asked to be taken directly to the last place anyone had seen Furey. We couldn't get in, the janitor had gone home, but I was able to stand near the door. I tried to relax to pick up any residual imprints of what had happened. It turned out to be the school. When I arrived, I realized quickly that the kidnappers were no longer near the school because I was feeling no connection to them except for the imprints I picked up from the kidnapping itself. I was concentrating and hadn't noticed the raucous behind me. Finally a voice pierced my trance.

"Auri, damn it. Auri, tell them to let me through."

I shook the cobwebs from my head and turned to see a very pissed Gregory House wrestling with one of the special agents from the Princeton area. "Richard, it's okay…he's the father, let him through."

As soon as I said it, he rushed towards me and I was hit by a wall of emotions from Greg. I had forgotten how upset he would be and how he would broadcast his anxiety. Normally, I can buffer the emotions of loved ones during a case, but after our few intense days together in San Diego, I was picking Greg up like an amplifier. I knew immediately that letting him near me was a mistake. My absorption of his pain, guilt and worry was going to make it difficult for me to concentrate on what little residual was left at the school.

I raced to meet him, to prevent his imprint from over-imprinting the area. "Greg! Stop! Don't come any closer." He stopped and I caught up to him. I grabbed his arm and gently pulled on it. I said quietly, "Come over here." I nodded towards the other side of the street.

He became frustrated, "Where are you taking me?"

I centered myself, preparing my psyche so that I could pull off some of his energy, to help drain the fear and helplessness off of him. It was overwhelming. I realized that I was already highly emotional because of my fondness for Furey. Trying to take on Greg's emotions was too much. I turned and looked at him, but my head was swimming,

"Greg, don't contaminate the scene with your emotions."

He screwed up his forehead, "What?"

The depth of his emotions was overwhelming, I felt like I was drowning.

"I w…want...you." I could feel the heat of my body on the outside, while the cold seeped up from my feet to my head on the inside. I couldn't keep my mind from going black. I wasn't sure what had happened, but I could smell grass, blades of it were tickling my nose. A hand was shaking me accompanied by a very animated voice, Greg's voice.

"Auri…Auri?"

I turned over on the ground and looked up to see an annoyed Greg looking down.

"Auri? For Chris' sake, get up. Do what you do--you have to find Furey."

I tried to lift my head up, but it kept swimming. "Greg, you're so worried, your emotions are pushing me over the edge. I love Furey and between my anxiety and yours, I'm on overload. I either need you to calm down or leave."

He looked as if I had just thrown cold water on him. He was pissed and shocked and confused all at the same time. He rolled through these emotions which then rolled right over me. I still couldn't get up.

"Agent Ferrell? Are you okay?" Officer Dill asked as he and Richard were leaning over me.

I looked up from the ground at their rather perplexed faces. Holding up a hand, I weakly motioned for them to leave Greg and I alone.

After they left, I touched Greg's foot, "I can't…I really can't do this with you nearby. You're so worried and because we've…well, because of the special relationship we had, I'm susceptible to your feelings. Your feelings on top of mine, well, it's hard to handle. Do you understand? Did Teagan ever explain to you how it works?"

"She never said that I was too emotional."

I smiled as kindly as I could, "She never had to deal with you facing the kidnapping of your son. I'm just as intuitive as Teagan, maybe more."

He smirked, "Yeah, right. Then how come my son is missing?"

Now I was pissed, he was trying to blame me for Furey being gone. "Greg, I'm good, but I can't be listening in to Furey's thoughts all the time. I at least have a very good connection with him. When he's awake, I can hear him clearly."

I felt him ease up a little, "You can?" He sounded like a little boy. He swallowed and his voice cracked, "Did he sound scared?"

I sat up, finally feeling somewhat in control, "Yes, he was frightened, but he's smart. He gave me some information which was helpful. I was hoping to come here to get some more vibrations, imprints of the kidnappers." I looked up into his beautiful, but miserable, blue eyes. Even in what little light we had from the headlamps, flashlights and street lamps, I could see his worry. "Greg, I'll do whatever I can. Have they contacted you yet?"

He shook his head. "I have my cell phone and need to get back. I overheard them say you were here. I thought something might be happening here so I came down."

"Go back to your place; I'll drop by after I read this area. Greg, you do know that I love Furey and I'll do whatever it takes to get him back?"

House nodded, "No matter what happened between us, Furey adores you and I trust you."

I chuckled. "Happened between us? What happened is that you flew home and forgot about me."

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, "I flew home, I didn't contact you, but I never forgot about you."

He helped me to my feet and I patted his back and then put my arms around him, hugging him like a mother. "We'll do everything possible to get him safely home."

I felt the muscles in his body tighten, "He's all I've got. He's the only reason I get up in the mornings."

"I know, now be careful, they had someone watching you. I don't think they're watching anymore; they did it so Furey would see it in their minds, but I think that they pulled their spy off of you. Still be careful."

I held him until he was able to lift his head and walk away. I believed him; Furey was the glue holding Greg House together. I wanted so much to make them both feel safe and wasn't sure that I could.

Greg was escorted back to his townhome to hopefully wait for a phone call, but I had a vague feeling that the kidnappers didn't want money from Greg; they wanted Furey. He was worth more than what Greg could give them.

I went back to the front door of the school, but wasn't picking up anything of substance. However, I did feel a very nervous presence, an imprint of someone who was scared so I followed it. I was a little surprised to find out that it went out to the street…to the crosswalk. I started getting images, strong, clear images of Furey getting off the bus. Someone who had stood in this crosswalk had watched him. It was a woman and she was actually worried about Furey. She knew that someone had lied to her, that they were not going to release Furey after he did whatever it was they wanted him to do. I was glad that I was feeling this. It meant someone among the kidnappers was worried about their charge. Furey had someone who might be used to help him. When he woke up, he could try to gain her sympathy.

I continued to search for further imprints, but would have to come back the next day to get inside the school. I drove back to Greg's to wait in case I was wrong and there was a phone call. When I arrived at the townhouse, I sat in the car to center myself before facing him. I knew that I had to get a handle over my own emotions. I meditated for twenty minutes, felt better and then got out of the dark blue Taurus with the government license plate. As I was walking into the townhouse, Wilson was walking out. He looked up and I could tell that he was sick with worry and guilt. He was blaming himself for Furey's absence. We talked briefly and then he went home to get some sleep. I walked in to find Greg on the sofa with a tall glass of whiskey. Surrounding him were agents with all the necessary equipment to trace and record a call if it came in. I went over to Greg.

"Greg, you need to go get some sleep. I'm going to need your help in the morning and I need you sharp and alert."

He shook his head, "No, I want to be awake when the call comes in."

I whispered in his ear, "Let's go to your bedroom so that I can discuss something with you."

As we made our way to the bedroom, there were a few looks from the other agents, wondering what I was doing. But, since I was the senior agent on the scene, they said nothing. Opening the door, I couldn't help but look around the bedroom while he sat his drink on the night stand and took off his shoes to lie down on top of the bed. I smiled when I saw the photo of Teagan holding Furey. It broke my heart. I realized how much I missed her and how stupid it was to have lost touch with her.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Greg, who was obviously exhausted. I grabbed his sock-clad foot and gave it a sympathetic squeeze. He didn't react; he wanted me to tell him what he needed to hear.

"They aren't going to call." I had decided that Greg House was the last person I wanted kept in the dark. He was too damn bright not to use his talent if he thought of something and he was too persistent if you tried to keep something from him.

I saw his eyes pop open and his mouth open slightly. He shook his head, "But why?" But, before I could get it out, he closed his eyes as he realized the answer, "They want him, not the money, don't they?"

I nodded. "But we're ahead of the game. They didn't count on Furey having a close relationship with an FBI agent, an intuitive. We've already got several leads including the fact that Furey was being watched by an adult female for several days. We'll start interviewing witnesses tomorrow. This woman is having second thoughts. She was originally told that Furey would be returned after some event, but now she knows that isn't true. Furey told me that it was his substitute teacher and a crossing guard that took him. We've got the principal and administrators working on these two identities. But, they obviously didn't care about being identified so I suspect that the trick will be to find them. They drugged Furey, but he contacted me within two hours of his abduction which means he's within a one and half hour plane or car ride. That narrows down the location. When Furey comes through again, I'll try to get him to describe his location in more detail. I think they're gun dealers and are using him because they have suspicions about whether the buyers are ATF. Now you know, in a nutshell, what I know. I'm supposed to give you limited information, but in light of the fact that you put puzzles together for a living, you may be able to help us. But Greg, you won't be any good to me if you don't get some sleep."

He kept shaking his head, "I'm too wired."

"Well, maybe I can help."

I received an image of us having sex which made me laugh, "No, not that."

"I forgot that you're intuitive. So, how did that work when we were together? Were you playing me?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Not really, I would have told you, but Furey didn't want you to know. He thought you wouldn't like me if you knew. It looks as it didn't matter either way, you still didn't stay in touch. But, he and I have talked on an almost daily basis."

Greg cocked his head to the side, "He talks to you?"

"We share our thoughts. I told you, he's very worried about you and the IRS. He thinks you're going to jail."

He rolled his eyes. "I never told him that."

"He picked up on your anxiety and started talking to people and reading things on the internet. I tried to assure him that you wouldn't go to jail." I took a deep breath and looked over at Teagan's photo. "Unless Furey contacts me, there's really nothing to be done until the morning. My abilities are better if I'm rested. So, I plan to get some sleep. Wait here."

I went out to the living room and made an announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen, I need to recharge or my abilities aren't going to work very well tomorrow. I'm going to be lying down. If you find something, come back, knock on the door and wake me. I'll be in Furey's room. Dr. House will be in his room if you need him for anything." I went over and had a short conversation with Richard. Freddie had already gone to a hotel to get some sleep. I turned and went back to Greg's room, locking his door when I closed it.

He was sitting up on the side of the bed. I took off my shoes and motioned for him to stand up. I pulled back the cover, "Get in."

"I can't sleep…I told you."

"Just get in."

He gave me a brief look of frustration and crawled into the bed. I crawled in with him. I could feel his frustration turn to alarm. I slipped my arm around him and held him. His entire body stiffened, not sure what I was doing.

"Close your eyes and think of the harbor in San Diego." I could see his thoughts bouncing around, from the harbor to visions of me naked in bed, to Furey. I felt like I was in an arcade. But, it was okay…he was trying to concentrate on concentrating and so some of his emotions were calming down. I started to pull his anxiety out of him and send him waves of calm. I could feel his body relax. He slipped down to put his head squarely on the pillow. He was now eye to eye with me. I had to smile, he was so beautiful. I was more tired than I thought because I transmitted what I was thinking.

"You are too." He said.

We both smiled. I petted his hair and rubbed his ear. "Close your eyes again. You really need sleep."

It took another fifteen minutes of just stroking his face, hair and ear along with my calming waves, but he finally fell asleep. I doubted it would last long because his dreams would most likely be anxious and wake him. But any sleep was better than no sleep.

I got up and left, making my way down the hall to Furey's room. I chuckled when I saw it. It was so jammed with different interests and memories. The wall didn't have an inch that wasn't covered with posters of some sci-fi movie, television program or other iconic image. He had a keyboard, guitar, mandolin and flute in a corner that obviously was used when he felt musical. The photos on his dresser broke my heart. They were of Teagan as a young girl, then as a young woman, another of her holding him as a baby and one of her in Yosemite dressed in a waitress uniform. I smiled at the one of her in Yosemite, she was so happy in the mountains. There was even one of her that I had taken when we were on vacation at her cabin. She was pretending to be a mountain woman with a huge shotgun by her side. I smiled. I saw a photo of Greg and Teagan with Furey in Greg's arms. They all looked like they belonged together, their smiles warm and genuine. My heart was aching.

Turning, I saw his bed, unmade. It had a headboard with a bookshelf crammed with books. The room had books, computer equipment, a stereo, an incredible amount of paraphernalia for a young child. You could tell that this was the room of a very bright mind.

I kicked off my shoes and took off my clothes, grabbing a t-shirt from Furey's drawer. I turned on a soft light that reflected stars on the ceiling. Climbing in bed, I tried one more time to make contact with Furey before turning off the main light, but I received nothing back. I meditated to get rid of Greg's anxiety that he had passed on to me and then fell into a deep sleep.

I thought they were waking me up to tell me they had a lead. But then I caught a smell and knew that the body crawling in under the covers was Greg. I was about to ask him what he was doing when his arm wrapped around my body. I was confused at first. He was anxious, upset, concerned about Furey, but his body was in need of a release and he had decided I was it.

I had little time to protest; I was still waking up when I realized that he had already wrestled my panties down, pushed my top up and was sucking on my breasts. I started to say something to him, but he covered my mouth with his, pressing his tongue to meet mine. I felt waves of desperation, desire, pain, need. I felt his hand pushing my legs apart and within seconds he had stabbed inside of me. I wasn't wet, the lack of lubrication made the entire experience painful for me as he pumped me raw. It was over in less than a minute. He collapsed into a stupor on top of me, the pain was excruciating, both mentally and physically. I slid out from under him and then held him as tight as I could. He started to cry in my arms. My heart broke into pieces for this man who looked to his son to make him human.

I don't know when we fell asleep, but we did and the next thing I knew, I woke up with Greg House's naked body draped over my semi-naked body.

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