Weathered 18
xxx
Saturday–12:00 pm
Redstone Women's Center
No matter how irritating Kirkpatrick was and how justified the homicide was under these circumstances–she and Gunther were being attacked—this is not how she wanted things to end.
Plus, he's got information that he'll take to his grave.
Alex remembers seeing a worn blanket on the path and retrieves it to cover the body for now. She leaves everything as is, but takes Kirkpatrick's phone. Technically she should leave it, but she can't risk losing evidence if the phone is lost or destroyed.
Since she plans to disclose everything with Dana, except Gunther's involvement, it should be enough for the reports.
She and Gunther go back to the center.
After updating their group, she returns to her room for a shower and a change of clothes. While wandering around her suite, she finds the device Kirkpatrick planted attached to the window frame. It's evidence, so it stays there until she can discuss things with Dana.
Next, she listens to the recording she made while Kirkpatrick was attacking her. It's clear and backs up what took place.
Alex finds Dana's card, makes the call, but it goes to voicemail. She leaves a quick message.
"Dana, Hi, it's Amy. Listen, I need to talk to you as soon as possible. It's urgent. Call this number."
Although she'd rather be out looking for the binder, she waits.
Meanwhile, her nerves are shot. Even though Kirkpatrick is no longer a threat, the entire ordeal in the woods was upsetting. She doesn't have Bobby to call or to lean on. She'll have to push it out of her mind and deal with other matters.
Twenty minutes go by with no phone call.
Another 10 minutes pass and she loses her patience. She needs that binder.
Since Gunther is off somewhere calming his nerves, she calls Jon the EMT, and he meets her at the back of the parking lot.
xxx
1:30 pm
"Thanks, Jon," she says, getting into his SUV.
"No problem. I'm off today. Wasn't doing much," he responds.
"It's Saturday, and it's raining. The only thing to do is stay inside and lounge. I'll be quick."
They arrive at the county lot, and she's told Bobby's car is not there. It's at the police or the fire station.
"Well, they'd start with the fire inspection, then send it over to the police. Unless they're super quick, it's probably still with the fire chief. That's Chief Gibbons," says Jon.
She suspected that already. "Let's start there," she agrees.
A 15-minute drive later, they pull into the fire station.
"I know the guy. I can come in there with you," says Jon.
"I appreciate it, but I don't want you tangled up in this. They shouldn't even know you were giving me a ride. Tell me what you know about this guy and I'll take it from there."
"He's a pretty relaxed guy, but go in assertive. Flash your badge. He hates the feds, but he'll answer your questions."
"Got it."
She walks in, and Chief Gibbons is snacking on some chicken wings. He gives her a bright smile and calls her miss. After she flashes her badge, his smile fades, but he's listening.
Alex explains that she's just getting pictures and clearing up unanswered questions for her report.
Gibbons takes her past the open bays in the firehouse to a small work zone. It looks like they just towed the vehicle there and left it for the inspector.
The sight of Bobby's car makes her heart sink. The bomb's impact damaged the car frame. Smoke, soot, and water have damaged the car's interior. There are scorch marks over the body of the vehicle. A chemical smell is faint but still there.
The chief stands with her, which is not what she wanted. Alex tries the approach that she feels bad for keeping him from his chicken wings. Fortunately, he takes the hint and steps away.
Alex takes pictures of the interior and exterior to keep up with her cover. All she can gather from the damage is that the bomb was planted on the right side of the car, near the back.
Next, she pops the trunk and peeks inside. Bobby's suit jacket and the binder are in there.
While she wants to take the jacket because it's a reminder of him, it smells like chemicals and any traces of his familiar scent aren't anywhere to be found.
She finds the key to his apartment, palms it and puts it in her pocket.
When the Chief goes back inside, she grabs the binder, tucks it inside her shirt and pants, and zips her coat.
She walks back through the firehouse, noticing that Gibbons is on the phone complaining to the chicken wing place about why his french fries were cold and soggy when they arrived, so she's able to get by with a courtesy goodbye wave and she's out the door.
xxx
Alex asks Jon to drop her off at Bobby's apartment and tells him to go enjoy some of his Saturday. She'll find a way back to the center.
She reaches his front door, swipes the key card and enters. A few steps inside, she sees nothing out of place. Feds hadn't been there.
Alex walks into his bedroom and sits on his bed. Her eyes drift around the room at some of his personal things. Although it's tough to be here without him, she feels closer to him.
"I miss you, Bobby."
She pulls his pillow close to her and cries.
x
Alex collects herself after a few minutes, wipes her eyes, then opens his binder. While sitting up in his bed, she flips through the pages to find the page he left off in his notes.
Bobby seemed nervous and upset when he arrived at her place to let her know he was going to Quantico. She can't help but wonder if it was just about leaving.
If something crossed his mind, even if he wasn't ready to share it, he could have scribbled something down.
She sees a section of notes on the UC's work and it contains information he already gave her.
Alex flips back a few days to the other entries and sees a couple of short-hand notes and abbreviations, but nothing jumps out of her.
Her eyes get tired, so she sets the binder down and goes to his kitchen.
There are iced tea bottles in the refrigerator. She takes one and sips it as she wanders around his place, hoping for some inspiration.
Time isn't on her side. The feds could show up anytime and Dana hasn't returned her call.
Any minute now, her investigation may be shut down.
While the binder notes are still fuzzy, Alex retrieves Kirkpatrick's phone. She brought it with her in case she had time to go through it.
Kirkpatrick has three new voicemail messages. One number is Dana's, one from the Chicago field office, and the third she doesn't recognize.
From the limited information she knows about Kirkpatrick, she makes a few attempts to get his 4-digit pin code for the voicemail. Her third guess is the last 4 digits of his phone number and it works.
The first is a message from Dana to call her as soon as possible. Says it's urgent. The second is from the Chicago FBI Director. Same message. Also says it's urgent. Both calls are within 5 minutes of one another. Neither sounds too happy.
Alex moves on to the third message.
Malik.
She stops it when she hears the voice, tosses the phone down and runs to the bathroom to throw up. While the urge to throw up stays with her for several minutes, nothing comes out.
Alex gets up and splashes some water on her face, returns to the phone, and attempts to listen to the message again in case it's something useful.
Malik is checking in. Said things are on schedule. He'll be in touch in a couple of weeks. Said two payments were made.
Not much, but it proves that they're in contact.
Alex returns her attention to the binder. She takes out a pen and paper, and flips back to the entries Bobby made when he started at the Chicago office. She's looking for any patterns and connections with his most recent shorthand notes.
About 20 minutes into her session, something finally clicks.
She grabs her phone, redials Dana's number. This time she answers.
"Agent Lewis."
"Dana… Are you in Chicago?"
"Who is this?"
Apparently, she hadn't checked her messages. "It's Amy. You need to come to Bobby's apartment."
The other end of the line gets quiet. Alex imagines the look of disapproval on the senior agent's face.
"This is important."
"Yes, I'm at the airport. See you in 30."
xxx
Dana arrives. Alex opens the door and lets her in.
The senior agent says sarcastically, "I suppose I shouldn't ask how you arrived. Better not to know, huh?" "What's this about?"
"It's about my case and what happened to Bobby yesterday. I know you don't want me involved. But I'm the closest person to Bobby, and you're going to need my help."
They walk into his living room and take a seat on the couch.
"Can you tell me what you know about his condition?" Alex starts.
The senior agent sighs, then smiles. "Look, you're not the first set of partners I've worked with who got too close. But you need to stay away from the hospital. They'll arrest you on the spot, and I can't do anything about that."
"Someone in the ER told me he was dead. Feds are doing damage control. You know something, Dana."
"He's stable. They're going to transfer him, if they haven't done so already."
"Who's protecting him?"
She sighs then says, "They're agents I trust."
Alex shakes her head. "Until we know who Malik is working with, there's no trust!"
"Alex, you have my word. No one will touch him without my approval."
"Why was he going to be sent to Quantico?"
"They wanted someone with his profiling skills on some special assignment. I didn't find out about it until after the bomb incident. Dunkirk and I don't want him re-located, but it wasn't our call. Obviously, he's not going anywhere until he's cleared. I don't know what happens after that."
Alex nods. "Okay."
"He's one of my best agents. I'm mad as hell about what happened. I've got your back and his."
"Thanks."
"By any chance, have you seen or heard from Kirkpatrick?"
Before she opens her mouth to explain, Dana adds, "Because if you do, I need you to call me immediately. Do not approach him. There's a BOLO out. Surveillance tapes from the field office parking lot show Kirkpatrick planted the bomb in Goren's car."
"He's dead, Dana."
"What?"
Alex recounts what happened, even admitting how she was planning to look into Bobby's case when Kirkpatrick jumped her. Alex pulls her phone out and plays the recording for her.
Alex tensed as she listens to those moments he was crawling over her, calling her a bitch or a whore while she's screaming at him to get off of her.
"I've heard enough," says Dana, clearly disgusted.
Right as Alex is going to stop it, there's Kirkpatrick's guttural scream as Gunther stabs him.
She puts her phone away and turns to answer Dana's next obvious question. Keeping her promise not to mention Gunther, she goes with the good Samaritan story. "About 6.0' tall, thin male. He took off before I could get his name and I didn't see his face. But Kirkpatrick was already dead."
Dana nods and frowns. "I wasn't too happy with the guy, but never thought he'd pull something like this. I'll send a unit out there to get the body and although I'll have to say you left the center, what you faced in New York, he could have chased you out of there."
"He did chase me. Planted a device at the window ledge in my room. I didn't touch it."
She nods. "We'll dump his phone."
Alex pulls Kirkpatrick's phone out of her pocket and hands it to her. "He's been in touch with Malik. Message is vague. You can listen if you want, but not here. I'm done."
"Sonofabitch," Dana groans.
"I've got more to show you." Alex retrieves Bobby's binder from his bedroom. She sits down and flips through a few notes to show Dana.
"Bobby's recent notes mention seaports and airport codes—at least I believe that's what Bobby's abbreviations are. We know Malik was involved in illegal trade. I think whatever he's up to could be more of the same, but on a larger scale. Maybe he wants to shut down a seaport or circumvent US inspections. He hates the US, but it's about selling guns or whatever and making money."
Alex sets the binder down, then adds, "Whoever is working from inside the bureau is probably a hacker. Maybe a transportation expert. I know that doesn't narrow it down by much."
Dana nods. "I haven't spoken to the UC, but I spoke to Dunkirk. Goren's computer search history shows he was looking into Agent Yarez in the New York office. I couldn't figure out the why, but now it makes sense. Yarez is a hacker. He worked at the Departments of Commerce and Defense. Knows the transportation grid. He had a confrontation with the director that didn't end well, so he's pissed."
"That's your dirty agent."
xxx
Earlier
Saturday–2:40 am
Chicago General
Bobby opens his eyes. The overhead lights cause his headache to worsen and he winces. Bad idea.
There's throbbing pain in his head, some sharp pain at the back of his head. A gash, maybe? Shoulders, back and legs are aching. His whole body feels weak.
He focuses on his surroundings, enduring the headache for the time being. His vision is blurry. When he tries to focus, the eye strain gets worse.
"I can't see…" he says to anyone who might care. He counts six people in his room. Three that are dressed in all green or all blue that keep walking in and out of the room.
Scrubs… Ok, so, I'm in the hospital.
Three in dark attire. Suits. Federal agents. They stand along one side of the bed in whatever space that isn't occupied by equipment or medical staff.
Where's Eames?
The events are coming back.
He remembers the parking lot. A flash of light under the car, then everything went dark.
Then he remembers her voice.
"I love you too. Stay with me. I'm here. Not going anywhere, partner."
He looks for her. "Eames…? Eames…?"
A girl in blue scrubs appears at his side. "Hi, sir. Glad to see you're awake."
"I need Eam—" Oh wait… He remembers. "Where's Agent Eastman?"
He looks over at the agents. "Tell Agent Eastman to come in."
They don't look at him, much less respond.
Eames would know what I need without me having to say it.
"Bring me Eastman! You three can leave!" he tells the agents. Again, no reaction.
Blue scrubs girl speaks again. "I'm sorry, they've limited visitors."
He's still trying to focus and getting increasingly frustrated. "What's going on? I can't see."
"You suffered a head injury. Any vision loss, dizziness or nausea you may experience is to be expected, but it's temporary. Is anything hurting besides your head?" says the scrubs girl.
"Yes. Everything."
"Just a second." Blue scrubs girl steps away, talks to someone at the counter and returns to him. There's a syringe in her hand which she inserts into his medication tube.
Bobby feels a little pressure, then the aches suddenly lift. "That's…nice." He smiles and relaxes.
Blue scrubs girl laughs. "Yeah, it works fast. I'm glad it helped. You need your rest." She starts to leave, then turns back. "By the way, I'm Hannah. I'm your nurse." She reaches for something near his bed. "Here's your remote." She puts his fingers over the button. "Just press that if you need help. I'll be in."
She seems sweet. Has a calm, reassuring voice.
Bobby settles in and falls asleep.
xxx