Fu Wong Chinese Restaurant, Chinatown, New York
2239hrs Friday 18th February 2005

'Will there ever be a day without some reminder of Joshua's death?' Samantha Hanky muttered under her breath.

Glancing down at the screen of her cell, Sam reread the message she'd received an hour earlier. Big trouble in little china. Although she didn't want to, the FBI agent found her feet leading her to a meeting with a man she considered the enemy. Dementedly holding back the tears, Sam understood the message behind the biennial words. This pervasive feeling of sadness always threatened at the thought of her twin's betrayal and murder.

As she looked up, a man of average height and looks approached. He carefully took her arm. They'd perfected the ritual, meeting several times previously. The location changed but not the operative she'd been sent to contact. The act consisted of a quick kiss on either cheek. Walking into one of Chinatown's many Cantonese restaurants, the CIA agent signalled for a table. A slightly menacing smile covered Sam's lips.

'To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?' Sam inquired sardonically after they'd been seated in a quiet corner.

'Don't let your brother's death cloud your judgement,' the man replied lazily. Looking deeply at the woman opposite him, Enrich Johansson took her hand in his. Keeping his tone low and husky gave the other diners the impression he'd meet his lover for a late night meal. 'Don't let his murderer achieve his goal by allowing your emotions to get in the way of cold, clear logic. The person or syndicate behind this will be brought to justice. I have one of my best agents on the case. If anyone can solve this, she can.'

'You really don't think Belden's involved in any of this, do you?' Distrust lurked in the corners of Sam's brown eyes. I liked Trixie from the moment I met her. She comes across as inherently good and has an innocents about her that's disarming. Yet I know she never really loved my brother. I guess that's why I'm having such a hard time forgiving her. Does she realise Josh loved her enough to take a bullet meant to kill her? Still, Sam played along with the lover's scene Johansson acted out because she'd been ordered to.

'No, I don't,' Johansson's tone expressed as much as his words, 'but to prove it I need to know what you know, what you haven't included in your official reports.' Ensuring he had her co-operation, Enrich called a waiter over and ordered for the both of them. He'd made sure he'd read every document relating to the woman sitting before him. He understood her motivations perhaps better than Sam. 'Start with the connection between your husband, Jacob Hanky and your brother,' he requested.

Sam took a deep breath before beginning the story. 'Joshua met Jake when he signed up for the Marines straight out of school in 1991. They became friends after serving in the same unit while in Iraq. After Operation Desert Storm, they returned stateside.'

'That's when you married your brother's best friend,' Johnson asked.

'While in my final year of college the FBI recruited me,' Sam sighed at the memories. 'Jake's position within the intelligence service of the armed forces lead him to make contact with the CIA. I'm not sure when he actually became an agent. We don't talk about our work at home.'

'Josh went into the NYPD. I convinced him to apply for the FBI. We lived in DC and my bother became stationed in New York so we saw each other maybe twice a year. When Belden came on the scene, they started seeing each other regularly. A raw recruit under Jake's direction, he considered her innocent, naïve and far too young for the line of work she'd chosen. The boys got together and decided to set her up romantically with my brother for her own protection.' And she decided to go along with it because she couldn't have the man she's in love with and the career she wanted!

Nodding his understanding, Enrich pushed a packet of photos towards Sam. As she took them out, Sam became alerted to a mini data disk hiding among the negatives. Enrich motioned for her to look at the images. Waiting until their meal had been delivered, Johansson hoped they would remain undisturbed. He needed the information he felt Sam withheld to fill in the gaps in his investigation. 'Do you know this man?'

'This is the man who murdered my brother,' Sam stated vehemently after only a glance at the first picture, although her face remained passive.

'Tell me about him,' Johansson demanded. Understanding how uncomfortable the situation made the young woman feel, Enrich gave her time to carefully select her words. 'I need the whole story, Sam,' he coaxed. 'I need to be able to find the links between your brother's investigation, the attempt on Belden's life, and her operation,' Johansson added. 'Because at the moment, I have no clue how they're related and I know it's important.'

'This is Jonas Van Der Zwan.' Sam tapped the short, well-dressed, grey-haired man in the picture with one finger. 'He's a small-time player. Under deep cover, my brother spent six months inside with him in 2003 before his release early last year. From the meeting, Josh managed to make some good connections with organised crime.'

'Sam!' Enrich rebuked quietly.

'I don't see what any of this has to do with your investigation, but here's the full story,' she sighed. 'Jonas Van Der Zwan came from a dirt-poor Dutch family who settled in New York post World War II. When the Vietnam conflict heated up in the late 60's and early 70's, he got conscripted after finishing high school. By all reports, the man's intelligent, but lazy. His family forced him into serving time, as they thought it would make them loyal to their new country. True to character, he became a sniper, because they didn't do as much work at the average foot soldier. It turned out he's a very accurate shot.'

Sitting back, Sam watched Enrich's expression cloud over. Just wait and the connections will become obvious, even if the links are tenuous at best, and I don't have a shred of proof to back up my assumptions.

'The story gets interesting when Jonesy, as he likes to be called, walked out of an advance on some unknown ridge carrying David "Win" Winthrop Frayne's injured body. The only survivors from the battle, Frayne went on record, citing Jonesy as a hero for saving his life. Jonesy had a medal for bravery awarded.'

'Frayne made it home due to his injuries and back to the college degree he'd started before Nam. He had Jonesy as his groomsman at his wedding a few years later, before taking his bride upstate to start a new life.' Sam paused as she recalled what happened next. 'Jonesy stayed in the army and moved around a lot. Seems he developed his inclination for supplying the troops with a little recreational fix while in Vietnam. He made some drug contacts stateside, earning a reputation and a good living from the proceeds. He got out of the military in 1980, when the heat got oppressive, but learned to turn the same tricks with ex-vets.'

'Jonesy turned up in New York state in 1989, just before Frayne passed away of cancer due to his exposure to Agent Orange in Nam. Jonesy promised to look after Frayne's family and reunite them with a rich old uncle living in Sleepyside. Of course, Van Der Zwan became the shoulder the widow lent on for support. It took him almost two years to convince her into marriage, but he never completely subdued the son's sprit.'

'Marriage gave him respectability and stopped a local PD investigation into his past, until the new wife died in unexplained circumstances. The autopsy proved inconclusive,' shrugging her shoulders, Sam continued. 'A local officer believed Jonesy took the next step in his crime spree and murdered her.'

'My brother suspected Jonesy wanted the stepson's inheritance. By this time, staying in the States became a liability for him. With the wife gone, he started beating the kid into submission. Gaining access to the stepson's inheritance would've given him the funds to move to a country where he could have indulged in his pleasures without fear of getting caught,' Sam added, the note of disdain in her voice clear.

'It might have worked, only the stepson ran. Belden discovered him leading the pair to meet Matthew Wheeler's daughter and become fast friends. Incidentally Frayne's best man and a friend since high school, Wheeler's money and connections successfully kept him out of Vietnam. They came in handy when community services pressed charges against Jonesy for physical abuse against his stepson. After which Jim became Wheeler's ward,' San concluded.

'So your brother became aware of the link between Belden, Frayne, and Jonesy while under cover?' Enrich questioned.

'Josh first learnt of the connection between Belden and Jonesy by accident,' Sam corrected. 'December 22nd last year, Jonesy arranged to meet Josh in Central Park. He sounded excited and wanted Josh's opinion on a job. Until that point, Jonesy had been tight-lipped about his past.'

'After showing Josh a photo of Jim Frayne and Trixie Belden having what looked like an intimate coffee at a nearby café, Jonesy explained his personal agenda. Although the photo later proved to be over two years old, Jonesy didn't let that dissuade him. He wanted revenge for the years he'd spent in jail because of the pair. He intended to set up a meeting between Frayne and Belden on Christmas Eve. He assumed from their interaction the relationship between then had grown.'

'He'd followed their exploits throughout his incarceration and believed they were lovers. Jonesy thought it would be easy to manipulate them. Josh could hardly blow his cover by attempting to protect his, by this time, ex-girlfriend. So he helped Jonesy arranged the hit, which had been sanctioned by The Don of New York, if it could be done cleanly. My brother called my husband and informed him of the situation. Jake arranged Sabina to take Jim out of the picture, leaving my brother to protect Belden. You know the rest.'

'Do I?' Enrich asked lightly with one eyebrow raised. 'Give me your take on the situation, Sam,' Enrich requested. Leaning forward, he opened his body language to inform his companion he actively listened to her words. 'This version of the facts may be coloured by your emotions, but it's quite different from the official reports and is placing a very different light on my investigation of Belden, Hanky, and Sabina.'

Sam was thoughtful for a few moments before offering her opinion. After all, her brother had paid the highest price and she didn't want the same fate to befall her husband. 'Officially,' she said slowly, 'Josh's death resulted because his cover had been blown. However,' looking Enrich in the eye, Sam's body language became like a tightly coiled spring, 'Jonesy became furious at the delay. Josh needed the time to get Jake and Sabina into play. Impatient, Jonesy decided to take Belden down while he still had the chance. Josh approached her in the park. He'd planned to warn her. Jonesy obviously though his chance for revenge might slip away.' Sam's eyes clouded with unshed tears for the umpteenth time. 'He took a position on a building across the street from Central Park. He lined up the shot and pulled the trigger. I wonder if he even looked back to see what happened,' Sam became deathly still for a moment, before recalling the incident as though she had been in the park at the time. 'Josh tried to get Trix down but not fast enough. The bullet caught him in the head, killing him instantly. The impact didn't stop the shot so Trixie caught a severe flesh wound under the left arm. It looked worse because she'd been covered in Josh's blood. Jake, first on the scene, managed to stall the NYPD until the FBI could get involved in the shooting.'

'Whisked away to hospital, Trixie missed the fall out. Officially, on one ever questioned her over the incident because officially she never went to Central Park that day. The powers that be let Josh become the fall guy. They arranged a cover up to protect Jake's operation and the other FBI agents Josh managed to place within the crime syndicate he'd infiltrated. Even the coroner had instructions on how to deal with the case to limit the fallout.'

Enrich reached for Sam's hand. It wasn't enough, nor could it contain the comfort she sought. I'm not the right person and this is not the right time, he told himself quietly. Still, I'm going to get the perpetrator of this crime. No one in law enforcement should have to pay for protecting the people they love with their lives. 'What proof do you have?' Johansson finally asked.

'None,' Sam lamented. 'The bullet, conveniently, became lost in the system. By itself, it means nothing. There are Joshua's official reports of his investigation, but no weapon or physical evidence that Jonesy had ever been involved in my brother's murder. I've questioned Belden "unofficially" and am convince she knows nothing of any importance. Open and shut case of the mob taking out one of their own to silence him. At least, that's how it got sold to the press,' Sam finished bitterly.

'I promise, by the time I have wrapped up my investigation, I'll have the proof you need to put this guy away for a very long time,' Enrich swore. Keeping his expression neutral, he once again indicated the pack of photos between them. 'Sam, take a look at those and get them to Belden when you have a chance. I've already sent your husband a copy. These documents are illuminating, and they're of the same opinion as you. Belden is being set up from the inside by the people she's supposed to trust. Suspicion is being cast on everyone she knows and cares about, including you, yet I believe the link to your brother will protect you from her mistrust. Hanky needs to know his partner's in trouble and she may be thinking he's the one out to get her, because that's what she's being groomed to think with her limited experience in the field. I need you to change her mind.'

Nodding quietly at the information, Sam wondered, Do I dare ask where this information came from? And do I dare ask who Johansson works for? Most of all, do I dare ask how Sabina is involved in all of this? Because my instincts tell me she's at the centre of this mystery.

Reading Sam's thoughts, Johansson signalled for the check. 'Those documents where sent from inside my own department. The intelligence they contain is from an Interpol investigation conducted into a female terrorist. We almost had her in London two years ago, but somehow she always manages to stay a step ahead of us. The CIA Internal Investigation unit has been tracking the source without any luck. Then Belden turned up on the scene and had a rather novel idea to draw her and her informer out into the open.'

'Now one of your own is out for the bright new kid on the block with all the ideas,' Sam theorised.

'Too much competition when you're at the end of your career and not willing to accept it gracefully. I believe your theory about your brother's death is valid. The Don allowed the hit on Belden for two reasons. Firstly Jonesy had a chance at revenge, deepening his loyalty. Second the syndicate had been payed to dispose of my brightest new recruit by someone within my department. Two birds, one stone.' Sam understood the other meaning in his words. In two days, they'd meet again, after she'd contacted Belden and delivered the package. The restaurant would be one block away and named after a bird. Sam knew the Peking Duck well; it'd been one of Josh's favourites.

And the place where Jake set Trixie Belden up with my brother, Sam recollect, for their first date. Strange, that this should start and end at the same location. I wonder if there is a message in there somewhere.

'I've had an agent called Robinson following Belden. He'll pick you up two blocks north of here. He's been to her apartment and preloaded files onto her laptop. You need to get it to her within the next few hours,' Enrich explained. 'The only piece of advice I'll leave you with,' Johansson said as he prepared to leave, 'is to keep your friends close, Sam, but keep your enemies closer.'

'Are you warning me about Robinson,' she asked, 'or insinuating my husband is involved in this.'

'Why don't you ask your husband about Robinson,' Enrich offered, 'after all he trained not only Belden but Robinson as well.'

Leaving the restaurant, Sam pulled out her phone. Dialling her home number, she mentally begged her husband to pick up the phone. When he did, she demanded, 'we need to talk, NOW. This is a secure line. I need to know about your dealings with my brother, Belden and Robinson.'

'Good,' she heard the defeat in his voice, 'because I need to get an outsiders opinion on this. I think she'd being set up and Robinson is playing both sides. It's the only thing that makes any sense to me.'

'I don't think,' Sam told her husband determinedly, 'I know. I just had dinner with the head of Internal. He's sending me out to meet Belden now, so talk fast. I need a reason for her to trust me and I don't think learning about our marriage for the first time will cut it. Johansson found out because he needed to know, but it hasn't been broadcast openly.'

'Thank god for that,' Jake sighed. 'Have you ever had dealing with a CIA agent called Tim O'Hara?'

'Should I have,' Sam questioned.

'He and Trixie have been working closely together since her recruitment,' Jake offered, 'after we've talked, call him and get his opinion. If anyone can give you an insight into the real Belden, it's Tim.'