A/N: I am so sorry for the delay! I've been terribly busy at work lately, so sorry for the long wait! And thank you for staying with me!
Still don't own them…
Chapter 6
"Ethan, are you sure about this?" Brandt asked, as Jane and Benji froze up at hearing the leader's plan. "Getting more people involved in this… more policemen, actually… Do they even know about you, Benji?"
The technician shook his head.
"They don't, as far as I know. We agreed that Nick wouldn't tell anyone about me. And for the people who knew us before I moved to America, we made up a story that I'd died in a car crash".
There was a short silence, as it finally dawned on everyone how many liaisons had to be cut off in order for Benji to start his new life in America. But still…
"Of course, we could have gone without doing it, and I could have just moved," Benji added, seeing some confusion in his friends' faces. "But then we'd need to come up with excuses for me never showing up when he got promoted or did something especially exceptional or… or got wounded," Benji swallowed, "for never being there when he needed me".
He sighed and shook his head. Nick certainly needed him now, but yet again, he was the reason his brother had gotten in trouble to begin with…
"I think Benji should stay here," Jane spoke up after another awkward silence.
Ethan took a few seconds before nodding. Of course, they could let him wear a mask but it was still too risky. Besides, it was unlikely that they would stay in Sandford for long. They just needed information to proceed with their search. It couldn't be far from London anyway. The team leader looked at the Englishman, expecting him to speak his mind, but got nothing, as Benji remained silent, staring in front of him absentmindedly.
"Jane has a point," Ethan had to admit. Benji just shrugged, still in silence. "You should stay here and see if you can get any information from the cops' computers…"
Benji nodded, still wordless. Sensing his teammates' concern, he looked up.
"Yeah," he finally said, a faint smile growing on his lips, "I think I should also fix that door, shouldn't I?"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Do you think he's gonna be fine?" Brandt asked Ethan, throwing a worried glance at the building they had just left their friend in.
"He will be as soon as we find his brother," the team leader replied without slowing down his pace.
"And what if we don't?" Jane asked quietly but steadily. "In the time that had passed anything could have happened. We can be too late".
Ethan stopped and took a deep breath, turning to his teammates.
"We will do it," he stated and, without adding a single word, continued his walk.
The way to Sandford took quite a few hours, which were mostly spent in rather heavy silence, as all the agents could think about was how to make it there faster.
Sandford was very not like the places the agents were mostly used to. It felt like everything here was cartoonishly, fairy-tale-ishly calm and peaceful. It was hard to believe that something like what Benji had read in that article could have possibly happened here.
It was also hard to believe that someone like Benji's brother could be happily settled here. Unless he was really tired of being a big city cop… The three Americans felt like they stood out in this place, that everyone here knew each other, and were now throwing curious glances at them. Another unusual and unwelcome feeling for the agents who were used to being stealthy and passing unnoticed everywhere. Now was not the case for that.
Finding the police station was fairly easy, as it was a relatively new building, albeit quite a small one. Working out a plan was even easier, as they didn't need to get too complicated now.
Inside it was weirdly quiet for a police station. They saw a curly haired policeman sitting at the reception desk and reading a book, seemingly without noticing the newcomers.
"Excuse me," Brandt called out impatiently, causing a somewhat annoyed look from the policeman who obviously didn't like being distracted from his book.
"We're from the FBI," Ethan spoke up without waiting for the policeman to say anything, deciding to be blunt from the very start. They didn't have any time to waste. The three of them took out their badges almost simultaneously. This gesture seemed to have some sort of effect on the curly haired man, as he was now looking at them expectantly, however, without rewarding them with any sort of a verbal response.
"We're looking for Nicholas Angel," Ethan went on, looking at the man intently.
"He's not in," the policeman finally proved that he wasn't actually mute, although there was still no emotion on his face.
"Where is he then?" Jane demanded, trying to stay calm, although the man was really getting on her nerves.
"I don't know," the policeman shrugged. "Nobody tells me nothin'".
Brandt had to physically grab Jane's wrist as he noticed she was about to punch the desk (he hoped it was the desk she was going to punch) in frustration, but then he heard the policeman speak up again.
"Oi! Danny!" he called out to another policeman, who was just passing by. It was a rather large man, however, not very tall. He approached, eyeing the agents up with visible curiosity.
"There's some people here from the FBI," the curly officer spoke again, and the newly arrived cop's eyes lit up instantly. Ethan noted that the way they sparkled with excitement reminded him of Benji's enthusiasm in the Kremlin and suppressed a smile. "They're lookin' for Inspector Angel".
Danny's big brown eyes showed a shadow of confusion and his face got ever so slightly more serious.
"Sergeant Butterman," he introduced himself, trying to look more official and serious. After exchanging brief glances, the agents introduced themselves with their real names, hoping no-one would bother to check them.
After rather hesitantly leading the three guests into an empty room, he finally turned his face to them, his eyes still full of confusion, the established official tone causing him some evident uneasiness.
"So…" he started, looking from one of them to another, "what do you need Inspector Angel for?"