CHAPTER Six

Bobby returned several minutes lately. He stood uncertainly by Alex's desk. "Uh…Eames…I need to leave early…It's something I need to do for the case…"

Alex started to stand.

"No…No…I can handle this on my own…And I don't know how long it'll take…"

Alex gave him her look that frequently forced him into confessions. It shook, but didn't break him.

"I plan to get this done and then see Dr. Linley."

"I'm not sure you should see this Linley at all," Alex said. "And certainly not alone."

"I'm meeting him in a bar," Bobby answered. "There'll be lots of other people around. And I promise…I'll call you immediately before and after I talk to him. If you haven't heard from me by nine, you have my permission to call the captain and all the cavalry you want."

Alex regarded him skeptically. "And just what will you be doing until you meet this supposed doctor?"

Bobby shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Please…Eames…You'll have to trust me on this one."

"The last few times you've asked me to trust you," Alex said softly. "It hasn't gone well for you."

Bobby stared at his feet. "I know," he admitted after a moment. "And I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be easy for me. But as long as I don't tell you what I'm doing, I think you'll be ok."

The next few seconds were some of the longest of Alex and Bobby's lives. They would have been surprised to learn their thoughts moved on similar paths. "Trust," they both thought. "We have to…We have to get it back…We have to have it, or the professional and personal partnerships can't work…"

"This pain," Alex asked cautiously. "You'll get over it?"

"Yes," Bobby said.

"You'll call me before and after you've met this guy? You'll let me know where and when you meet him?"

"Yes," Bobby said.

"This thing you're going to do…It'll make me very angry, won't it?"

"Yes," Bobby said. "And I'm prepared for that. But…But I have to do this for the case…And…And…Any other time, I'd want you with me…Truth is, I'd love to have you with me…But I'm afraid you'd be a distraction…To me and the person I'm going to talk to…"

Alex bit her lip. "All right," she finally conceded. "But I don't like this. I trust you, but I don't like this…"

"Ok." Bobby released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I will talk to you tonight."

Alex watched him walk away. "I do not like this," she thought. "I do not."

Bobby tried not to shiver as he handed his gun to the guard. Ryker's wasn't the most welcoming of places, and its hospital wing was even less inviting than the rest of the prison. Declan Gage's lawyer waited for him on the other side of the gate. The man was a specialist in cases involving mentally ill defendants, and Bobby thought that one of the many ironies surrounding Dec's crimes was that Dec had been a witness against several of his lawyer's past clients.

"Thank you for coming," the lawyer said after Bobby passed through the gate.

Bobby looked at him steadily. "Let's make one thing clear," he said firmly. "I'm not here for him. I'm here for a case. I wouldn't be here for any other reason."

"I understand," the lawyer said after a moment. "And I can't say that I blame you."

Their steps echoed in the prison's hallway.

"How is he?" Bobby asked, his concern undercutting the coldness of his previous words.

"He's having a relatively good day," the lawyer replied. "He's excited about seeing you…Although I don't think he understands why you're here. I've tried to explain to him, but…" The man shrugged. "Mr. Gage doesn't ….or chooses not to…understand some things."

Bobby swallowed. "Does he…Does he know about Jo?"

"Sometimes he remembers…Sometimes he doesn't…" The lawyer sighed. "Sometimes he doesn't remember why he's here…His memory of things in the past is actually good…It seems the farther back you go, the better it is."

They stopped in front of another guard in front of another door. As the guard unlocked the large, metal obstacle, the lawyer said, "I have to warn you about his physical appearance. He doesn't look well, and it's been some time since you've seen him."

The guard glanced at Bobby and the lawyer.

"It's not because of his treatment here," the lawyer said, eying the guard. "I've made sure of that…And the fact he knows a Major Case Squad detective has carried some weight…But he forgets or won't eat…He can't exercise…And he's sick…He's just an old, sick man."

"An old, sick man who engineered or performed the murders of two people," Bobby said softly.

"That was several months ago," the lawyer said.

The guard led them through one door and stopped at another. "I don't know why we bother with all these doors," he said as he unlocked the second door. "No one in there is going to get away without a lot of help."

For several moments, Bobby didn't recognize Dec as one of the occupants in the row of beds. A skeletal figure in the first bed by the right of the door raised itself.

"Bobby," it screeched. "I knew you'd come…I knew it!"

Bobby stood stunned. The bald scarecrow in front of him was a caricature of the Declan Gage he knew. The eyes glowed from the emaciated skull, and its arms were terribly thin sticks.

"Bobby…Bobby…Come closer…Let me take a look at you!" Dec's claw like hand grabbed his glasses from the table beside his bed and put them on. They were grotesquely huge on his face. Bobby shuffled reluctantly closer to the bed.

"You…" Dec waved away the lawyer. "Go away…I want to talk to Bobby alone…"

The lawyer hesitated.

"Go! Go!" Dec flapped his hands.

"It's ok," Bobby said softly to the lawyer and the guard.

The two men walked away.

"Bobby…Bobby…You look tired…You've lost weight…But it's good to see you in a suit again…"

"Dec…Please…" Bobby pulled up a battered folding chair and sat. "I…I need to speak to you about a case…"

"A case! Excellent…You and me, Bobby…Working together again!" Dec rubbed his hands together, and Bobby winced at the sandpaper like sound that resulted. "So…Tell me…Tell me…"

"It…It relates to the Sebastian cases…" Bobby began.

"Sebastian! Our old nemesis! Is he back? After all these years?" The delight in Dec's face horrified Bobby. "How long has it been since we've heard from him?"

"Dec…Please…I need you to focus," Bobby said patiently. "I'm not sure if it's Sebastian or if it has anything to do with him. But I need to know…and quickly…Does the name Linley mean anything to you in connection with the case?"

Dec rubbed his chin. "Yes…Yes it does. But what do you have? A copy cat…Jo hasn't escaped, has she?"

Bobby winced. "No…It may be another, though…"

"Linley…Linley…" Dec's mind jumped several feet. "There was a psychologist or psychiatrist of that name…Tried to get on my team…Or offer advice…There was something about his credentials…"

"What do you remember about him?" Bobby asked. It was exhausting to watch the tics and leaps of Dec's ravaged mind.

"No…No…Bobby…If I saw the scenes…The victim…Get me out of here…I could help you…"

Bobby started to stand. "No…I can't…And I don't think it would be a good idea…"

One of Gage's hands shot out and seized Bobby's arm. Its claws clutched at Bobby through his jacket and suit.

"Bobby…Please…"

Bobby jerked away. The folding chair clattered to the floor. His gaze met Gage's, and the desperate need and insanity in his mentor's eyes horrified Bobby.

"Please, Dec." Bobby controlled himself with a great effort. "You know you can't leave here."

"Stay," Dec pleaded. "Tell me about the case at least…Maybe there's something I can help you…"

"No…Dec…I'm sorry…I have to go," Bobby said.

"I knew this would be a mistake," Bobby thought. "Anything I can't share with Alex…"

"You have to meet your partner?" Dec asked coldly.

Bobby struggled again to control himself. "No…"

"She has you at her beck and call, Bobby," Dec said dismissively. "Just like your mother…"

"Eames," Bobby said. "Is nothing like my mother. For one thing, she's perfectly sane. The sanest person I've every known."

"And you've had so much experience dealing with sane people, haven't you, Bobby?"

It had been a long time since Dec's sarcasm had targeted Bobby, and an even longer time since any of it arrows had drawn blood. This one hit its mark dead on, and Bobby stood silently for several moments.

"I've seen enough insanity to know when someone is sane," he finally said. "And Eames is sane…and good…"

"I wonder why you do that," Dec mused, his brain shifting gears again. "Why do you always call her by her last name? Are you trying to distance yourself from her?"

Bobby turned and began to walk away.

"As much as she cares about you, Bobby…You care about her more…My God…I nearly missed it…They must be right…My skills are deteriorating…"

Bobby stopped and turned.

"You're terrified of loosing her…I always said you could've gone either way…With that mother…"

Bobby flinched.

"And we know what happened to your brother…But…But you found a way to deal with…Even use your demons…But I've seen cops who've turned with far less provocation than you've had…"

"Go," Bobby thought. "Get out of here…"

"And it wasn't me…It wasn't…As much as I would like to have been the person who saved you…It wasn't me…"

"You had a child," Bobby said bitterly. "And if your treatment of her means anything, I'm better off without you as a father figure…"

"Oh, her." Gage casually and cruelly dismissed Jo. "You were the one with potential…But…It's Eames…She's the one…She's the perfect partner for you…No wonder Jo took her…A perfect way to get at me through you…"

"It's not all about you!" Bobby shouted.

The other patients stared at him; the guard rose from his chair. Bobby held up his hands and took a deep breath.

"Eames," Bobby said as calmly as he could. "Doesn't exit for you…Or for me…She is a person…A great person…Her life is not for you or for me…Her life is her own…"

"Of course….Of course," Gage said. "But she's the reason, Bobby. She's why you are what you are…"

Bobby stared at him. "You…You were human once, weren't you, Dec? You cared about people…I remember that…God…What happened?" Bobby rubbed the back of his neck. "You're right, of course, you damn genius…Eames…She saved me…God know why…"

"Bobby," Dec said. "You're the one I'm proud of. All the ones I taught…You're the most brilliant one…And the one with the guts to challenge me…I couldn't be prouder of you if you were my son…"

"That might mean something if you hadn't destroyed my life…and if you weren't sitting in the hospital ward at Ryker's." Bobby spun, but discovered he couldn't leave Gage on that discordant note. He turned slowly. "Thank you, Dec," Bobby said. "For the good you did me…Which was a lot…Thank you…Good bye…"

Bobby lurched from Rykers in a fog. He managed to find a cab, but sat for several minutes before the cabbie's impatient sounds brought him back to something resembling reality. He directed the driver to take him to his meeting place with Linley. Bobby sat numbly during the drive and tried to make some sense from the storm of emotions resulting from his encounter with Gage. "I didn't even get any good information from him," Bobby thought.

The cab arrived at the bar, and Bobby stumbled from the car. He paid the driver and tried to ignore the growing uneasy feeling in his stomach. He pulled out his cell phone and called Alex. He wasn't surprised when his call went to her voice mail. He knew she didn't always leave it on when she was with her family. "And," Bobby thought. "I'm not part of her family." As he waited to leave her a message, Bobby noticed a large, white van parked next to a fire hydrant. Something about the van worried him.

He left her a message telling her he was about to meet Linley, and that he had a bad feeling about it. Impulsively, he told her about the van and gave her its license number. "I'll call you later…Uh…Thank you, Eames…Thank you for everything…" He closed and pocketed his phone and walked into the bar.

Alex was away from her purse when she heard her cell ring. She glanced at a clock. "Must be Bobby," she thought. Before she could move to get the phone, her nephew rushed up to show her his latest Lego creation. "If it's work and it's an emergency, they'll call again," Alex thought. "And if it's Bobby, he'll understand…And I'm a little angry at him for not telling me what's going on…" Her nephew and the rest of her family occupied all of her attention for the next few hours, and it wasn't until she was in her car and headed home that Alex listened to Bobby's message.

"He sounds so tired…and so sad," Alex thought. She listened guiltily as Bobby revealed his apprehension about meeting Linley. She was puzzled by his giving her the van's license number, and touched and troubled by his last words. She looked at her car's clock. It read nine seventeen.

"When Bobby says nine, he means nine," Alex thought, and a heavy, uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. She pulled out her phone and called Bobby. His cell ran several times, and went to voice mail.

"Bobby…Alex…Sorry, I didn't answer earlier…I was with Nathan and my family, and you know how that goes…Anyway, it's nine twenty, and you haven't called. Call me. If I haven't heard from you by ten, I'm calling out the troops."

The weight in her stomach grew heavier as she neared her home and no return call came from Bobby. She called his cell again.

"Bobby…Alex again…I'm going by your apartment. If you're there, and just not answering your phone, or if you've lost your cell, I'm going to kill…No, wait, I'm going to make you wish I'd killed you…Seriously…Call me." She hung up, called Bobby's apartment phone, and left a similar message.

By the time she reached Bobby's apartment, the weight in her stomach was so heavy that Alex wondered how she could walk. She knocked for several minutes on Bobby's door until she finally pulled out the key he'd given her in case of an emergency. "This," Alex thought as she opened the door. "Fits my definition of an emergency." There was no sign of Bobby in the apartment; no sign that he'd been in it recently.

"Ok," Alex thought, and she called Bobby's phone at Major Case. The call went directly to voice mail, and she didn't bother leaving a message. She called the main number for Major Case, and the detective who answered told her that Bobby wasn't in the office and he hadn't been there all evening. Alex swallowed, hung up, and dialed Captain Ross' cell phone.

He answered on the second ring. "Eames…What is it?"

"It's Bobby, Captain…He's missing…And I'm worried…No…I'm scared."

END CHAPTER SIX