Mastermind

"What do you mean she's on vacation?" Acting Energy Secretary Christopher Oldfield paced heavily in front of his Very Official Looking mohagany desk. He always capitalized it in his thoughts. Expensive desks and monogramed pen sets equalled power, and if there was one thing Oldfield craved, it was power. He was a relatively tall, rail-thin man, yet he paced like a herd of elephants. Very agitated elephants. He'd received news from his New York source last night that Francine Desmond had disappeared, just a few days before his Senate confirmation hearing to the vacant Cabinet post.

Lawrence Minter, Assistant Director of The Agency, was used to Oldfield's outbursts and knew better than to answer until the pacing stopped. Interruptions often led to near pathological side tangents, especially where Dr. Desmond was concerned. He often wondered how Oldfield had managed to work his way up the food chain at the Department of Energy with such an explosive temper.

He also wondered how Oldfield knew about Francine's quickly arranged vacation, but experience had taught him better than to ask directly, especially when the acting Secretary was on the warpath.

The Agency was HIS house, and the fact that a Cabinet member, or at least a presumptive member, had access to his Regional Director's schedule put him in a position he didn't like. Agent duty assignments were often a matter of national security, and the Department of Energy hadn't requested Agency cooperation since the Energy Summit.

The obvious conclusion was an inside source, but he'd have to allow that situation for now. He suspected that there would come a time when that as yet undiscovered pipeline could be used to his advantage.

Oldfield had developed a morbid obsession with Francine in the months following the Summit disaster. The obsession was distinctly unrequited, but she had shown an unusual interest in his activities and associations. Minter had promoted and transfered Dr. Desmond to the New York office in part to separate the two. He'd hoped she would ease off after her friend Amanda Stetson requested a leave of absence, but he should have known better. Desmond was smart, determined, and tenacious. Excellent qualities in a Regional Director, but not in an adversary. The Agency did not need enemies in the Cabinet, especially under an administration that favored transparency over clandestine operations.

Perhaps he should have denied her request -more accurately her demand- to be involved in the Agency's side of the Energy Summit investigation. She'd lost a close friend in addition to two members of her team on that one. She had not, however, lost her objectivity or tenacity. That was unfortunate. He'd hate to have to ...retire... her early. She was one of the best, quite possibly THE best. Her sudden "vacation" so close to Oldfield's confirmation hearing could be a coincidence, or perhaps subtly snubbing the elevation of a man she despised, but he had known Francine Desmond too long to not consider the possibility that it was something more. Something dangerously close to home.

He'd have to activate the additional tracker his man in the motor pool had placed on her car before she left for the New York office. Surprisingly, she hadn't found it, at least since the last time he activated it. Minter pinged each of his personal tracking devices monthly to ensure they were in place and functional. "Trust, but verify" was his policy regarding his department heads.

He suspected she would have disabled the standard Agency trackers, as most agents did on extended leave or vacations. He also found it noteworthy that she'd chosen to drive rather than fly, which she usually preferred. In this case, he was willing to consider that driving across New York could have been faster than waiting for a flight, and would avoid the extra hassle of crossing the border in a rental car. However, Francine Desmond was not the type to waste precious time driving when it could be spent shopping, pampering herself, finding wealthy men to flirt with, or whatever it was that women did on solo vacations. It was out of character enough to warrant consideration.

Whatever her reasons, he was glad she had chosen to drive. He had already determined that her laptops were left in her office and her phone was turned off. No matter. He still had an easy way to verify her whereabouts.

She'd better be where she said she was going to be and doing what she said she'd be doing...for her sake.