Meanwhile, Back at the Office

Efraim Beaman had decided to come to work a few hours early, hoping to get out in time to make it to his youngest daughter's softball game in the early afternoon. She was the only one of his kids who shared his love of the Washington Nationals, and she'd been swinging a bat since kindergarten. He'd been proud of her for making the varsity team as a sophomore but suddenly it was her last game of the season and he'd been very bad about attending this year. He'd promised to be there.

That was before he found Fred Fielder.

The light was on in Fred's office. Eff figured he'd "fallen asleep" at work again. Being a good friend, he thought a little coffee might sober him up in time to avoid another disciplinary notice. He was having a rough time with this divorce, but after five of them, everyone thought he should know how to deal with it by now. Nobody understood how he'd managed to get 5 women to marry him in the first place, but like they say: life is full of mysteries.

It had been arranged to look like a stereotypical suicide. Instead of a note, there was an itenerary for the ill-fated Energy Summit with a name and phone number scrawled at the top of the bloodstained paper: Fielder and Sons Expert Demolition (555)BIG-BOOM.

Beaman knew he shouldn't touch the body, but he and Fred had been friends for decades. Plus, something didn't look right. Old Freddie didn't look dead. Not yet, anyway.

Fielder stirred briefly when Beaman prodded him. Encouraged, he shook him a bit harder, hoping he would revive. After a moment, he opened his terrified eyes. The fear subsided as he recognized his friend. Efraim reached for the desk phone to call for help.

Fielder struggled to speak. "Minter... D1... Francine... Going to grab Amanda... Used my brother..."

He tried jabbing at the paper but couldn't figure out how to move his fingers. His eyes widened in shock as he noticed the gun in his hand right before he passed out again.

It took Beaman a few seconds to process anything beyond "D1... Francine". He called security, knowing they were all trained medics. Things like this rarely happened, but The Agency believed in being prepared, even at 3:30 in the morning.

He suddenly realized what the piece of paper Fred was trying to call his attention to meant. He knew better than to touch it, so he quickly pulled out his phone and snapped several pictures of it, plus a few pictures of Fred in case they were needed later. Personal photos within the complex were strictly prohibited, and Efraim Beaman was a notorious rule follower. However, in this case he didn't think anyone would blame him. Covering his own ass was the other attribute he was well- known for.

He made sure to photograph both the entry and exit wounds. The blood had begun to coagulate, but the fresh pooling would prove he was still alive when Beaman found him, and after the call to security was logged. No way in hell was he getting framed for this.

The bullet appeared to have gone around his skull rather than into it. In the back of his mind, he wondered where the slug had ended up. He was glad it wasn't lodged inside his friend's brain. For once, it looked like poor old Fred had caught a lucky break.

After security arrived to attend to Fielder, Beaman went to his office to write up the report he knew he'd be expected to provide. Now what did he say? Minter put a D1 out on Frannie? No way. Not a termination order. Not on my Frannie.

Francine Desmond would always be "The Woman" to Efraim Beaman in the sense that Irene Adler would always be "The Woman" to Sherlock Holmes.

And what does that have to do with the Energy Summit? And Fred's brother's company. What did they have to do with it? And who tried to kill Fred? Did Minter think Francine was the one who tried to kill Fred? Is that why he put out the D1? Everyone knows she never got over Lee Stetson's death, but there's no way she'd sneak into town and try to kill Fred even if his brother's company was involved. And my Frannie would have made sure he was dead. So... did he mean Minter tried to kill him?

Okay Eff, think. THINK! What else did he say? Something about Amanda. It would have to be Amanda Stetson. But she's on leave, not even in D.C., so how was he going to grab her?

Hacker! Andy has been seeing her! Maybe he knows what's going on. I'll give him a call as soon as I get this report finished. No! I need to call him right now!

Efraim Beaman and Andrew Hacker had been friends for years. He'd trained Andy at the FBI before coming to work for The Agency. Unlike with most of the recruits, Beaman had instantly recognized a kindred administrative spirit in Hacker, and they'd become good friends. That friendship had facilitated a lot of off-the-record cooperation betwen The Agency and the FBI over the years.

While Efraim had been happy for his friend when he retired, he sure missed having him around. He'd been surprised a few months ago when Andy called him to inquire about Amanda Stetson. He'd met her at a coffee shop in the little town he'd grown up in, of all places. The barista had mixed up their orders. For Andrew, it was love at first sight. Amanda Stetson had somehow often had that effect on men. Efraim could never figure out how she'd ended up with a jerk like Scarecrow, God rest his soul.

Unlike the late Lee Stetson, Beaman was a firm believer in "signs" and some sort of cosmic alignment. He couldn't help thinking that maybe everything had happened for this very moment; to save Frannie's life. And of course, Amanda's too, if Minter was going after her to get to Frannie. Beaman liked the idea of Andrew and Amanda together. She was so much nicer than that awful Brennan woman he'd been infatuated with.

It was only 4:10 in the morning, but if he had understood Fred correctly, Andrew would forgive him for calling so early. And if he was right and waiting cost either of the women her life, neither would forgive him for not making the call.

Andrew didn't answer, so Beaman resolved to try calling every 15 minutes until his old friend picked up. He was smart enough to realize that once whoever tried to kill Fred found out he was alive, and that he'd been the one to find him, he could be in a bit of a tight spot himself. As a precaution, he sent Andrew a text summing up the situation, and included the pictures he'd snapped.

For now all he could do was wait...and watch his back.