Bruised
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, as always! I'm kinda nervous about this chapter actually…Anyway, I hope you all like it!
Chapter Seven – You Found Me
But in the end everyone ends up alone
Losing her, the only one who's ever known
Who I am, who I'm not and who I wanna be
No way to know how long she will be next to me
- You Found Me by The Fray
"Claireeeeeeee…" Alex called out a warning a split second before she poked her head inside her sister's room. Claire, who was already in bed, sat up blearily and groaned.
"Whaaaattttt?"
"Nothing…" Alex shrugged, pushing inside. "Thought I'd see if you needed me to kill anymore deadly insects…"
"You know I hate spiders!" Claire whined. Alex laughed and slid into bed beside her, snuggling up just be annoying.
"Alyyyyy…" Claire whined again.
"Maybe I'll just sleep with you tonight…"
"Ummm…no," Claire declared with feigned exasperation. "Just because you don't know how to sleep in a bed alone anymore doesn't mean you get to come invade mine - "
"What?" Alex bolted upright. "That's not even remotely true."
"Really?" Claire turned on her side. "Is that why you slept on the couch last night?"
"I passed out watching a movie…"
"Liar."
"I did!"
"And the night before that?'
"The night before that I was at work…"
"All night when Uncle Bill got home before dinner?"
"I had paperwork to catch up on…" Alex bit her lip, cheeks coloring a little. She'd gotten barely anything done but hadn't liked the prospect of going home to an empty apartment.
Claire rolled her eyes and sat up on her elbows.
"Alright I'm curious then, when was the last time you slept by yourself?"
"Easy…" Alex declared, her voice filled with bravado. As she searched for her answer she realized she didn't have one. She couldn't remember the last occasion she'd slept in a bed by herself. What the hell was she doing?
"You can't remember, can you?"
Alex bit her lip hard and Claire laughed.
"Maybe…before you started your non-dating thing with Rick?" Claire suggested teasingly.
"Shut up. It can't have been that long…"
Claire grinned. "It has been. Trust me. Ashley's crashed here at least ten times in the last month because you haven't been home…and when you're not there he's here. Face facts, babycakes: you haven't slept alone for two months."
Silence filled the room as they both processed this for a moment.
"Damn it…" Alex jumped out of bed, determined to prove her sister wrong. She had to have missed having the space to sprawl out in unencumbered, right? Not having to feel bad about stealing all the blankets? Or kicking him? Or waking him up if she had to get out of bed in the middle of the right? She couldn't miss feeling his weight in the mattress…and hearing his gentle breathing resonating against her skin…and being completely surrounded by his warmth. She had to still be able to sleep alone. She had to still sleep better alone.
"Fine, Aly." Claire sighed exasperatedly. "Go be stubborn for the next half hour. Just don't wake me up when you're over it and decide to come cuddle in the middle of the night."
"Don't wake me up next time a killer spider tries to eat you." Alex grumbled back. Claire was still giggling as the door shut behind her sister.
LONDON, ENGLAND
"You placed the call?" Jack confirmed as he sped north down whatever road they were on. Thankfully Chase's car had GPS. Rick didn't know how familiar Jack was with the London highways but he certainly wouldn't have trusted himself with them. He hadn't found out what their exact destination was until the last possible second. Not that it mattered. They were just supposed to be the diversion to get everyone else – read Alex – out of the country safely.
"Yeah. If anyone's monitoring Bill's phone they'll know we're on the move."
"Good."
"It should work for now…but if this goes on any longer we'll have to come up with something better to convince them Alex is still with us. You're sure they'll be monitoring him?"
"He's the most obvious connection anyone has to where she is right now. That's why they all moved in as soon as he left alone."
Rick inclined his head in agreement, considering Jack's words.
"Now are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on here Jack?"
Jack took his eyes off the road to shoot Rick an unimpressed glance.
"Someone was hired to kill Alex."
"By who?"
"I don't know."
"I think you do." Rick snapped. "I think you know exactly who and why. I don't know how you can expect me to be here when nobody's telling me what the hell is going on - "
"But you are here," Jack countered. "Whatever reason you had for agreeing to this must've been good enough…"
Rick scowled. "What I really can't figure out is why you guys won't just tell me. I'm not trying to screw her over; I'm trying to help."
"You know as much as we do - "
"Those guys were Americans, Jack. How come I'm the only one who looked surprised by that? Someone hired US commandos to take her out and I want to know why."
"And as soon as anyone finds out why we'll let you know." Jack insisted. "Just because they hired Americans doesn't mean the people who sent them in were Americans. Someone wants her dead and we're trying to throw them off the trail. That's all you need to know."
"Fine." Rick wasn't done, but from the looks of it if he wanted any insight into what was going on and who those people were he was going to have to get it himself.
"No one's behind us?"
"No."
Jack's hands relaxed a little bit on the steering wheel and he nodded gruffly.
SANGALA, AFRICA
Tony wasn't a fan of the heat, especially in the middle of the afternoon. The dirt and grime from travel felt like it was being permanently baked into his skin and it made every movement seem that much more exhausting. Michelle rode in the truck beside him, her head was leaning back against the seat and he could tell she was sleeping even behind her sunglasses. He glanced briefly in the rearview mirror. Chase was conked out as well and had been for the better part of the car ride. Alex had her head tilted against the cooler glass and was staring aimlessly at the landscape that hadn't changed much since they left the airport. It was only too clear her thoughts were elsewhere. The most talking she'd done since leaving London had been with Chase, snapping at him for trying to shield her from fire in the courtyard. She blasted at him to never pull that shit again. They had been outnumbered and they needed every man they could get and she was a better shot than he was anyway. Chase had argued back about how someone had to protect her and she'd turned livid and shouted that no one was there to protect her in China and she did just fine. Alex hadn't spoken to anyone since, save Michelle who got a few minutes of conversation with her between connecting flights.
Tony was a little surprised he found himself sympathizing with Alex during the spat…considering a similar fight of his own was the reason Michelle had opted to lean a pillow against the window of the airplane to rest instead of cuddling into his warmth. The only time she didn't prefer to cuddle against him when she was trying to sleep was when they had argued. She was upset, undoubtedly, but then so was he…
"Tony?" Alex interrupted his thoughts softly.
"Mhm?"
"Nothing yet?"
"Not yet," he finished gently. He knew she knew that. She hadn't slept a wink since they got in the car and his phone definitely hadn't rung.
"They didn't tell you where they were going?"
"No…"
She sighed in response.
"He knows something's up."
"Jack will keep quiet."
"He still knows."
This time Tony sighed. After a minute again Alex spoke.
"How much longer?"
"You were one of those kids, weren't you?" he tried to lighten the mood. "The 'are we there yet' ones…"
Alex laughed lightly. "Only when I didn't have something to entertain me."
Tony grinned a little, the smile not quite touching his eyes.
"Were you one of those kids Tony?"
He chuckled softly. "You act like you're surprised."
She snickered and let her eyes close. "Not even a little bit." She paused a beat before speaking.
"So are we there yet?"
"Smart ass."
She laughed again and he was relieved. If he could only get her mind off what was going on for only a few minutes at a time he would take it. Alex always looked and sounded instantly better when she laughed.
"Wanna play I-Spy?" she taunted.
"I was always a fan of Twenty Questions," he rebutted.
"Fine. Is it a person?"
He snorted. "Give me some warning, Al."
"You know you have an old standby."
Tony feigned annoyance and nodded.
"A guy?"
He grinned a little to himself. "Yes."
"Athlete?"
"Yeah."
"Cub?"
Tony scowled, but grumbled a yes.
"Ernie Banks." She declared proudly.
Tony reached back as he bit down on his lip, smacking her on the knee. Alex laughed quietly and rolled her eyes.
"You're just that predictable, Tony."
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
Rick glanced around the foyer of the small Bed and Breakfast they'd pulled into the night before, a phone pressed to his ear. Jack had insisted they stop, wanting to see if the tail had caught up to them or not. The message he placed on Bill's phone would be discovered soon enough if it hadn't been already and whoever was after her would think Alex was with them. Even if they couldn't triangulate the location exactly, they'd have a vector to go on. And Mandy had insisted the attacks wouldn't stop with her. The words from her lips still sent chills down Rick's spine.
Someone was after Alex and someone who wasn't Cheng. Mandy had been released right after Alex disappeared, not after Alex escaped from China. All signs pointed to one solution: whoever had gotten Mandy out of that transport vehicle had done it so Mandy could take out Alex. Whoever had the access to those transfer documents was the person they were looking for.
Which meant someone at DOD – someone high up in DOD – was helping the people who wanted Alex dead. Now the question was why…
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
"Claire Evans," Claire's chipper voice resonated.
"Hey Claire - "
" - One second, Uncle Bill," she declared into the receiver. "I'm just getting something to Eva. I'll call you back."
Claire snapped the phone shut, smiled brightly at Eva Jacobs and apologized softly as she found the location of the file she'd been looking up.
"I sent the softcopy to your system. It should be there by now. Melancon was arrested in West Virginia a year ago, but he got extradited back to Florida. They still haven't been able to find any traces of the people working with him though."
"He's still awaiting prosecution?"
"Yes."
Eva nodded thoughtfully. "Good job, Claire. Now I need you to compile any data we have on the cells he was working with."
"Okay…" Claire looked up hopefully. "Since it's not really a time issue, would it be okay to do it after lunch? My friend's already waiting on me and I want to call my uncle back…" desperate times called for desperate measures. Eva immediately straightened up.
"Of course, hun. Go take your lunch."
Claire beamed back. "Thanks Eva. It won't take long when I get back."
"Sure…" Eva paused and then leaned in a little. "Hey hun um…you haven't heard anything about Rick have you. It's not like him to disappear for this long without getting in contact with Nadia. I'm getting a little worried."
Claire feigned surprise. "I know he was with Bill taking care of some things. I think there was a meeting in DC. It was an impromptu thing with all the Directors. Off-book probably. They're revising some protocols and stuff. I gotta think he's still there."
Eva blew a wisp of hair out of her eyes and huffed a little.
"You okay?" If Eva wanted to make nice Claire should really play along. Eva wanted a way of seeming buddy-buddy with the District Director's niece and Claire needed Eva to not ask questions right now.
Eva laughed a little and her cheeks tinged pink.
"Mhm…we've just…" she leaned in closer. "Well you can't tell your uncle, but we've kinda been dating for the last few weeks," she informed Claire delightedly. "It's hard for him to find time…you know how it is…"
It hadn't been hard for him to find time for Alex, Claire thought to herself, a wave of indignation flaring within her she managed to keep off her face. She liked Eva okay most of the time, but Claire always felt like she was too saccharine and it got on her nerves. Most everyone else she talked to agreed that it wasn't exactly the environment for the overfriendly, caring and concerned manager.
She hadn't known Rick was dating Eva though. That was new.
"And y'know…three date rule…" Eva continued, grinning mischievously. "I was kind of hoping we might…y'know…but he had to leave."
Ew.
"Everything else has been great though…he's a really good kisser…"
Ew. Ew. Ew. Claire winced as Eva raised her eyebrows suggestively, unable to imagine circumstances under which she might possibly want to hear this.
"Mhm…He should be back soon."
Eva pouted, sensing Claire wasn't into the conversation. Rick was always nice to Claire though, so maybe she had a little crush on him. That was kind of cute. Claire was a doll; surely there was someone in IT closer to her age she could be set up with. Give Rick a little breathing room for when he did get back and things could finally heat up with her… Claire Evans was the last person she needed breathing down their neck about these kinds of things. One wrong word to Claire and Eva would be sent packing.
"Well…alright. You can take off now. Get me the file first thing when you get back, okay?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
Eva was gone a second later and Claire exhaled. Rising, she slid her scrambled cell phone beneath the sleeve of her shirt and grabbed her purse, heading for the exit.
"Hey…"
"Hey…sorry, Eva was asking questions. She wants to know where you are since you broke your date."
She heard Rick swear on the other end of the phone. He'd completely forgotten about that and was certain at least a few of the two dozen messages he had were from her. With what was happening to them, a few dates with Eva seemed a million light years ago.
"What'd you say?"
"Said you probably had been at an off the books meeting with some people in DC. I played the my-uncle-is-your-boss'-boss'-boss card' so she left me alone. Bill called me. He's on his way back to LA. He was transferring at JFK."
"Alright…thanks…listen um - "
"You're dating her? Why? I mean she's okay I guess but like - "
"I'm not dating her, we went on a few dates. Now listen to me…I need you to do a little digging for me."
"What happened with that woman?"
"We got out thanks to you warning us. You did great, Claire. Now I need something else..."
"O-okay…" she gulped hard, wondering what in the world he could possibly need now. Her blood had run cold when she'd seen who had landed in Heathrow. She still vividly remembered the day she found out that woman had escaped.
"You need to find Chloe," he explained. "Bring her one of the laptops from IT. She can hack in and look at the archives."
Claire agreed, fighting the urge to frantically scribble everything he was telling her down. She couldn't leave any record of what she was doing, but she was afraid of screwing it up. She wondered if Alex ever had gotten afraid like that – afraid she'd make a mistake and it would mean life or death for someone…
"Tell Chloe I need to see if any report was filed the day Alex disappeared. It'll be heavily restricted and it might take her a while. It'll probably be archived at CTU and Division. Get her whatever she needs and tell Karen if you run into any more trouble - "
"The day Alex was…" the bile in the back of her throat thickened and Claire had to gulp hard.
"Alex…?"
"Yeah…" Rick rubbed his forehead, now was as good a time as any to tell her. "Can you do that for me - ?"
"Have you…" she gulped again. "Rick have you…do you know where she is…?"
He sighed heavily. "I was with her for the last three days. So was Bill."
"Oh my god…" Claire brought her hand to her eyes to try and quell her tears. "Oh my god, is she…?"
"She's okay. She's gonna be fine, but something's up with her and I'm trying to figure out what. That's why I need you to find those archives. Something's going on they're not telling me. That woman was hired to kill her for some reason."
"But you said…" Claire's skin went clammy. "But you said you thought it was a mole…right? No one else had access to the transfer documents - "
"Exactly. That's why I need you to look at those files, okay?"
"Yeah…" Claire rubbed her nose and wiped away her loose tears. "Yeah of course. I'll go to Chloe as soon as I'm done work."
"Thank you. Call me as soon as you - "
"Can I…" Claire squinted her eyes shut. "Can I talk to her?"
"We had to split up. I'll let you know when anything changes. She's with Tony right now, but we have to keep communication to a minimum."
"Tony's with you?"
"Yeah. I gotta go Claire…" Rick had just glanced over his shoulder to see Jack coming down the stairs. "Call me when you find anything."
The phone snapped shut and Claire checked around her quickly before wiping her eyes a final time and heading to her car, thoughts of her sister flooding her brain.
SANGALA, AFRICA
"Hey Carl…" Tony jumped out of the truck, relieved they'd finally arrived. The sun had disappeared on the horizon long ago and they'd been on the road since early that morning. His back cracked and he groaned a little. He heard the other doors of the truck open as everyone else moved to join him.
Carl clasped his hand as he reached them. Tony had only met the man once or twice, but Jack insisted they would be safe here.
"Good to see you again, Tony."
"Yeah…you too…Thanks for doing this."
Carl smiled gently. "Of course."
Tony turned towards the rest of them.
"This is my wife Michelle," he indicated. Michelle smiled tiredly and shook Carl's hand.
"This is Chase. He was Jack's partner at CTU a few years back."
They too clasped hands as Tony turned to the fourth member of their party.
"And this is - "
" – Aly Evans…" Carl stared at Alex who stared back in bewilderment.
"I'm…" her blue eyes widened. "…What?"
"I'm sorry…" Carl rubbed his face apologetically. "Jack was here before. I don't know if he mentioned that to you."
Alex stiffened a little.
"No."
"Well…" Carl held out a hand and motioned them towards the building. "Come inside; we'll get you all cleaned up and fed. You must be tired."
Alex held back a little, watching everyone else start to move inside. Her eyes surveyed the area and noticed the soccer ball sitting in the middle of an empty field.
"Al…" Chase called for her. "You okay?"
"Yeah," her eyes landed on Carl's retreating back, still taken aback at what had just happened. Pushing the thoughts out of her head she went to join Chase.
Two hours later Tony grunted, flicking on the light and glancing around the tiny room. There was barely enough space for the two extra cots Carl had found and brought into the room for the four of them. He and Michelle would be squishing into a twin bed together, but it wasn't the end of the world. These last few nights they held each other tighter than usual, so the lack of space wasn't really noticeable. All he cared about was keeping her as close as possible. They were tempting fate being out here like this and already he'd come far too close far too many times to losing her. In a way it was ironic: the thing he probably loved about her the most was the thing that drove him the craziest. He wish she'd learn to put herself before everyone else…for once.
They hadn't said much to each other since leaving London. She still maintained she'd done exactly what needed to be done and he still maintained she should be staying with him…not running off to corner assassins and hoping it turned out for the best. But being upset didn't mean he wouldn't be cradling her against him when he finally had the luxury of doing so.
"Tony…" the soft flit of her voice startled him and he spun around.
"You haven't heard anything yet, have you?"
He lifted his eyes to meet hers, clawing at the side of his cheek and shaking his head ever so slightly.
"No," he answered abruptly. "How's she doin'?"
Michelle lifted her shoulders a little, tucking some matted hair off her face. The humidity wasn't helping the situation much.
"Okay…" Michelle stepped closer. "She's just waiting to hear I guess."
"Yeah, I know. When I find out anything she'll be the first to know."
"Alright…"
Michelle's big eyes angled towards his the second he started to look away. Tony frowned, hating when she looked at him like that. It made it hard to maintain his anger. And he was rightfully angry this time, that was for sure.
Ignoring her apologetic expression he spun around and heard her puff out an exhausted sigh.
"So, what? You're going to ignore me the rest of the trip now?"
He didn't answer, pretending to be absorbed in the titles of the books on a small shelf in the corner of the room. The sound of her gentle footsteps filled his ears as he felt her draw closer. His hand returned to his face as she touched his shoulder lightly.
"Sweetheart…"
His scowl firmly intact he tilted his head to twisted slightly to steal a glimpse of her face. Still apologetic, but not for what she did. Michelle never apologized for what she did, she only apologized for making him worry.
"Hey…" she pulled his hand away from his face.
"Tony, I'm sorry I disappeared like that but I took a chance. I didn't want to risk her escaping - "
"I told you to stay put," he growled. She sighed patiently.
"I know. But everyone else was distracted and I was afraid if we let that woman go…she'd show up when we weren't expecting it and that would be it. I want to help, Tony…and not just because Alex needed me to hold her up during a shower or rub cream on her back. I can do other things. God only knows what we're up against right now and we need every set of hands we can get. You have to let me help."
"Helping doesn't mean running off by yourself after someone like her, Michelle."
"Somebody had to do it and you were all busy and I was just standing there…"
"I don't care." He shook his head angrily. "You don't do that again, you hear me? For Christ'ssake you could be pregnant!"
Her eyes lowered to the ground to hide the moisture that had welled within them.
"I'm not. Don't worry."
Tony's right hand returned to his cheek while his left pulled her close.
"Michelle…"
"It might not happen, Tony," he heard the quaver in her voice and immediately felt bad for throwing that in her face
"After you miscarry the risk of it happening again goes up and it might not - "
"C'mere, c'mere…" he enclosed her tightly in his embrace and her head pressed against his collar. He still remembered the day four months into trying they'd gotten the positive test result. The doctor had confirmed it and then five days later…nothing. It was there and then it wasn't and Michelle had been devastated. She'd urged them to keep trying and he'd urged her to consider using the money they'd been left but she remained adamant against it.
Tony inhaled, breathing in the scent of her hair. It smelt like the shampoo in Chase's bathroom, but he could still smell Michelle underneath it all.
"I'm sorry; I'm an ass. You should know this by now."
She laughed meekly and he kissed the top of her head.
"When we get back we're going to figure this out, okay? You stop worrying."
She sighed a little.
"You'll love me even if I'm unfixable?" the teasing got lost in the tightness in her throat. He tugged her in for a slow kiss.
"I always love you, Michelle."
The sincerity in his words warmed her inside and she swiped her tears on the back of her hand.
"I love you too."
His arms enveloped her again and they both exhaled. It felt good just to hold her. Being constantly around everyone else made it feel like a rarity because it was always a little bit more censored than usual. To just be alone and hold her and take five seconds to just think about her and not what was going on around them at a mile a minute…that was what he craved more than anything.
They would just stay like that for a little while. Hopefully that would give him the energy he needed to pull through these next few days. Lifting his head long enough to glance through the window his brow creased slightly, seeing Alex hunched over her hands. He had a feeling it was going to be a rough few days.
Michelle shifted in arms but didn't pull away, choosing instead to snuggle closer and muffle a yawn against his chest. He rumbled a soft laugh against her and tightened the embrace.
Just a few minutes to get him through everything else, he decided.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Claire was a little nervous as she stood on the doorstep of the small bungalow. Her palms were moist and she had sunk her teeth into her lower lip. She didn't know Chloe that well at all (she'd been leaving just as Claire finished up her training), but she did know she was temperamental. And Claire wasn't exactly in a position to order Chloe to shut up and do what she was told; Rick or Alex could get away with that. Tony could definitely get away with that…but Claire was nervous to tell a sleep-deprived first time mother (who happened to be Chloe O'Brian) she needed help.
A man appeared at the door with a bald head and a beard.
"Well hello, love…" he smiled gently. Claire fidgeted a little, knowing this must be Chloe's husband.
"Hi…um…M-Morris, right?" she clamped down on her lip and he studied her with amusement.
"And who are you?"
"Um…" Claire gulped a little. "I'm Claire…I'm from - "
" - Morris it's okay. She's from CTU."
Morris' brow creased a little as Chloe joined them, but he nodded.
"Well come on then," He motioned to Claire. "Come inside."
"Tea?" Morris suggested as the three of them clamored into the kitchen. Chloe shook her head and Claire offered a soft smile in his direction. Morris took the hint and disappeared, though it was apparent he was a little reluctant to do so.
Chloe slumped down on the couch looking tired.
"What do you want, Shorty?"
"Claire…" Claire corrected. One of the guys from Field Ops had started the nickname and it caught on quickly, much to her dismay.
"Whatever." Chloe rolled her eyes. "I'm on mat leave. I'm exhausted. Don't you have other people for this now."
"Um…" Claire blushed a little. "I need your help with something…off the record. Some stuff's been going down the last few days and I've been helping them…"
"Helping who?"
"Um…" Claire wiped her palms on the legs of her pants. "My uncle and Rick…he's with Tony, and Michelle too I'm pretty sure and…and I think Jack Bauer…"
Chloe straightened instantly.
"Well then spit it out. What's going on?"
"It's…It's Alex." Claire lowered her voice softly. "Something happened the day she disappeared and Rick needs to know what. I don't know where she was or what happened but she's with them now and…" Claire bit her lip. "And I think something's happening…inside the government. Something bad and I don't have the clearance and the firewall would take me forever to hack through - "
Chloe sighed exasperatedly, but her eyes had narrowed slightly in concern.
"So you need me to hack through it for you?"
"I need to uncover some archived files too. From the day she disappeared."
Chloe's face contorted unpleasantly.
"Morris, make the tea. We're gonna need it."
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
Rick squinted when the sun hit his face, groaning a little. Sleeping on Chase's floor hadn't done much for his back and rolling around on the ground during the firefight had only aggravated it further. Glancing quickly to his right he noticed Jack's bed was already empty and he heard the water of the shower running. On the nightstand his phone jingled and he realized what it was that had woken him from his meager attempt at sleep.
Snatching it up he checked the display and flipped it open, casting a final glance in the direction of the bathroom before answering.
"Almeida."
"Hey…" Claire sounded tired, but alert. "Sorry…did I wake you?"
"Nah. What's up?"
"I'm still with Chloe. It's taking forever, but we finally found something. Did you know that all of the records with stuff implicating my dad were transferred to a completely different server? Chloe found the artifact."
"What?" Tony hadn't told him that.
"Yeah…that's weird, right? Chloe thought it was weird. So we hacked into the mainframe at District - "
"The files were kept at District?"
"Mhm. I don't know how the hell we got in but Chloe worked her magic. And then when we found the files…I mean you should've seen the kind of protection they had on this stuff. It took forever just to break through the firewall and then…"
Claire inhaled deeply.
"The only thing we found was the status report from CTU for the day and…it said my dad was murdered. Not that the building collapsed and any of the debriefs that would have implicated him…they're all missing."
Rick's jaw dropped slightly as he tried to process was Claire was saying. Anything stating Ben Evans was a terrorist was missing in the file that was supposed archiving the events of that day…and the report said he'd been murdered. But…he couldn't have been. Not by one of their people anyway. Rick himself was the last person to see him alive and…
A sudden wave of dread overwhelmed him. Only two people could have signed off the status report that day before it filed and he was one of them.
"Who signed the status report?"
He heard her inhale sharply in response.
"It was um…Tony. Tony signed it."
What the hell? Tony was the one who had told him Ben had died in the building collapse. Tony wouldn't have…
"Look, we just got kicked off the mainframe because they're rebooting it or something…" she hesitated. "But at the last second Chloe found another file that was heavily encrypted. She thinks it might be my dad's autopsy report so we could see what the exact cause of death was listed as. She's trying to get back on now…I just wanted to give you an update."
"Alright…let me know if you find anything."
"Okay…" she bit her lip. "Rick, why would the file be archived at District? They weren't running any of the Ops that day were they?"
"No," his mind was already starting to wander at what that could possibly mean. "Look just focus on decrypting that file and we'll worry about District's involvement in this when that's done."
"Okay. I'll call you soon."
"Thanks Claire…I owe ya one."
Claire's voice thickened. "Just bring her back, okay? In one piece if you don't mind…"
Rick laughed tiredly before hanging up the phone, still trying to piece together what was going on.
What the hell, Tony?