Albatross (9 page)

The lieutenant’s question was a good one. Not a simple one but a good one
, David thought. David would never forget the moment he saw Burns change. David had seen such transitions before as someone would finally remember a lost memory or make a pivotal connection.
All because burnt wires triggered his memories
, he remembered. David had since reflected that Burns’s complete metamorphosis was the beginning of his own, one from honest therapist to a criminal. Easy to recall. Painful.

“Alex? What’s wrong?” David asked.

David could easily see Burns’s eyes burning hot though still and focused. Typically, Burns’s eyes were soft brown. Not now. Burns shifted from a searching, distracted mode to a suddenly focused presentation. Then Burns uttered an odd question: “Do you know what the ace of spades means in the intelligence community?” His casual question was out of sync with his body posture, which was now still and vigilant, listening for any possible noise as his eyes remained fixed. This was very startling to David. It almost seemed like a dissociative state. David knew in these cases, remaining calm was critical to keep the client grounded in reality.

“No idea. I thought it was a suit in a deck—the highest card for that suit, actually,” David answered.
What is going on here?
David thought.

“Using playing cards for identifying bad guys goes way back in military history. The ace of spades was the card for Saddam Hussein in Iraq, for example. There are still eight of the original fifty-five still at large. Did you know that?”

David sat down as Burns remained standing near the door. David thought that if he sat down, maybe Alex would as well, or at the very least, David would appear less of a threat if he was sitting while Alex remained standing. “What does this mean? Is this the thing you have been trying to remember? Is it coming back?”

Burns remained silent, recounting something.

“You were a soldier? A field agent?” David offered. David attempted to appear relaxed as he sat back in his chair. David’s presentation of relaxation was not very convincing, though he was sure Burns’s mind was not in the same room with him.

“No. More than that. Logistics primarily. I also had communication experience but to a lesser degree. I had more field experience than the usual logistical and tactical specialist, but information, recon, and data collection was my specialization.” Burns was far away at this point, but not as far as he had been a moment ago. Burns seemed to be returning as he moved two steps toward the back of his own chair and placed his hand on it for support.
Is Burns going to pass out?
David wondered.
Is there a secondary issue from the brain trauma that might be affecting his balance or worse?

“I did many bad things, Dr. Caulfield. It is disheartening to remember all these things I did,” Burns trailed off.

Guilt. That’s what it was. Burns was remembering very difficult things about himself that had been locked up tightly in his brain, David surmised. Knowledge could cause pain.

Then suddenly, Burns was in the here and now and offered a partial answer: “I worked with an extraction team. And my ride was hit, and we crashed. I remember my team continued with the mission without me, but there was so much more. Do you remember your colleague who provided the first record?”

David was caught off guard by a questioned being fired at him. “Yes,” was the short answer.

“She may know more than she thinks, and they might think she knows more than she does. Either way, it’s unsafe for her, and you should let he know that she should not return to work.”

Burns quietly turned toward the door and left. It was a full minute before it was clear that Burns had just walked out of treatment. David had had patients “storm out” of his office. They had wept when they had left. David had even had some patients wheeled out of his office in full restraints to be hospitalized before. But this was a first. No good-byes or good lucks.

“No … thank you. It was nice working with you,” David said to no one.

“Michele!” David bellowed.

“My God! What are you yelling about now?” she responded as she came through the same open doors that Burns had just exited.

“Don’t buy the leather couches just yet. Our cash cow just left without so much as a ‘thank you.’”

Michele frowned. Her eyes narrowed as she peered at her boss. It was easy for David to figure out what was on her mind.

“And for the record, I did not make him go either. It’s as much a shock for me as it is for you,” David added. “Call the hospital and let them and whoever brought him today know that he just walked out.”

David got up and walked to the doors and closed each as Michele exited. He found the cell phone Littleton had given him in his desk drawer, and now he planned to use it. He dialed the only number in the contacts section and waited.

Samantha’s voice came on, though it was very different. “This is Danielle. How are you, honey?”

It took David a minute to remember Samantha’s primary career. The voice was light and seductive. It made you feel like you were the only one she knew.
She does that well
, David thought.

“Sam, it’s David. Our mutual client wanted me to let you know that you should not return to work and that your safety is of concern.”

The alter ego on the other end of the line suddenly changed to a familiar voice. “Okay, memorize the number and address and get rid of the phone. It’s been nice knowing you, David. Take care.”

“Samantha, whatever is going on, you need to be careful. This thing seems a lot bigger than anything I have ever imagined,” David pressed.

“Will do,” Samantha added briefly. Then the line clicked off.

All right. David closed the cell phone and remained standing for a moment, looking at it.
Now how do you get rid of a cell phone? Throw it in a river?
David mused. “I’m not a spy,” he finally said, exasperated.
Should I take the SIM card out of the cell and flush it down the toilet before I toss the phone itself?
David thought. Then he smiled.
Well, I got something done right with originality
. He did plan to drop the cell, but in pieces on his ride home after he had flushed the SIM in the toilet. For now, the cell was in his coat pocket. Well, at least Burns was his last patient of the day.
Time to go home
, David thought. It was amazing that no more than ten minutes ago, there were two people in his life, and then they both just walked out, never to be heard from again.
Surreal
, David reflected as he collected his briefcase. Part of finishing work for the day meant that as David would get ready to leave his office, he would reflect on his patients. While Burns and Samantha were the last two people he had to deal with clinically, he started his evening ritual by going over the cases he had had earlier.

David’s car was right next to his building in an open parking lot. The sun was setting, but it was beautiful and warm. With patients running through his head, David thought he would call Jenny to meet for dinner rather than just head home. Suddenly, his happy thoughts vanished. Two men blocked his path. They were in dark suits, and they were pretty set on getting answers. One man was very large in height and width. The other agent was smaller but reminded David of an armadillo.
That’s an odd way of describing someone who is short but strong
, David thought.

“Dr. Caulfield?” the larger man asked.

“Yes,” David responded promptly. He still had the cell phone in his coat pocket, the SIM card in place. He was still feeling guilty for not getting rid of the phone, and now he felt really stupid.

“Dr. Caulfield, we are from the US Department of Defense’s Foreign Intelligence Office. We would like a word in regard to your patient Mr. Alexander J. Burns.” Their badges and identification confirmed their employer.

“Well, you just missed him by about fifteen minutes ago,” David answered in full knowledge that he had violated patient-doctor confidentiality.

Both men looked at each other and then back at David. They waited for an answer. While the sunglasses obscured much of their facial features, it was also evident they were not happy with this new development.

“Where did he go?” the large man asked as the smaller man immediately stepped away from both of them and began a low, curt discussions with his cell phone.

“Honestly, I have no idea. He clearly remembered something of importance. He asked me if I knew what the ‘ace of spades’ meant, and then he simply left. He gave no clue as to what happened and where he was off to. I did notify the hospital about him seemingly going AWOL,” David concluded. David then looked at the larger man. The larger man’s face was without expression, and not seeing his eyes made David feel uncomfortable.

The man was not too happy, but it was clear his anger was at something else.

Then from behind, David heard the voice of the attendant who had brought Burns to his appointment. The attendant was a man this time with clear muscular definition.

“Is it true? Did Burns just take off?” the attendant asked.

His attention now divided, David turned to the new voice, acknowledging the accuracy of the statement. The attendant got on his phone and was now speaking in a quick, urgent tone as he picked up his pace p in the direction David had planned to take to get to his car.

David’s attention was brought back to the larger federal agent again. “We will be back, Dr. Caulfield. If you hear anything from him, call us as soon as possible. This is a matter of national security. We will have a court order for your records. That means all notes,” the federal officer added.

Okay. Maybe David had caught a break here. Once he ditched these guys, he would be able to get rid of the cell phone. He had to get rid of the SIM card first. “Do you want it now, or will tomorrow be all right?” David asked. David truly expected an answer that would mean like “a day or two.”

“Oh, not right now. It will take about thirty minutes for the court order, and we will need to supervise the process. If you want to get a cup of coffee with my colleague here, that will be fine.”

David frowned.
So much for catching a break. So much for dinner with the wife.
“All right. Why don’t we just get this over with and start packing,” David answered.

“That’s a great idea,” the smaller federal officer supported.

David gave a quick look back, and the attendant was out of view. David was surprised how rapidly the guy had vanished. He was also surprised the federal agents never even seemed to acknowledge that the attendant had ever been there.

As David walked back to his office with two federal agents behind, he was still worried about Alex.
Why is everyone after him? I hope he’s okay,
David thought.

Chapter 6

Burns watched everything from
the shadows. Getting out of the building undetected was the easy part. Getting across the street without the federal agents, the attendant, and driver watching the building was not. The federal agents, one larger and the other one more compact, were at two different vantage points across the street, while the driver remained in the car in front of the building. The attendant remained just in sight of the front door on the sidewalk. After five minutes, a fifth person arrived and entered the front passenger side of the car. She was a stocky woman with dark hair and dark features. Her clothes stuck out because of how blatantly they cried out “security detail” with the vintage gray slacks, white blouse, and blue blazer. This was the first attendant that had brought him to see Dr. Caulfield for the first several visits.
Well, you’re back again,
Burns thought when he confirmed who she was. Burns had a visceral reaction to her. Her movements were efficient. She seemed to show very little emotion. She always seemed to be looking for advantages, physical or otherwise. Burns had seen this kind of woman before. Not a soldier but a hired killer. He hadn’t missed her and was glad she was gone. Burns knew that seeing her now meant there was serious trouble to come. After ten minutes, there was sudden movement. As the world of bystanders moved all around, they seemed to dissolve as Burns focused on the five people of interest. The two federal officers moved toward the professional building as David Caulfield exited. As they approached, the person Burns knew as the attendant watched, and the two in the car remained still and observant. There was an exchange between the doctor and the federal officers; the smaller one turned to make a call, while the other watched the doctor. The attendant came up and clearly asked, “Did Burns really take off?” Once answered, the attendant turned and talked on the phone to someone, but it was not the people in the car. The people in the car did not appear to have their cells on speaker. The attendant continued talking as he slipped in the backseat of the car. The car remained parked as the two in the front seat listened to their side of the conversation and looked forward.

Burns turned back to the federal officers and Caulfield, and then he saw them all return to the building. Burns assessed that they would probably collect all the doctors notes and grill him for a couple of hours. Burns liked Caulfield; he knew Caulfield would cooperate and give them the data, and that would tie them up for hours. The crew in the car was another matter. They were not military or federal, but they were something—private security and professional. Burns focused on the car. The phone conversation was now done, and the three in the car were now talking. The two in front listened as they continued to look forward, while the attendant in the backseat continued to talk to them and issue orders. All seemed matter-of-fact until the female occupant shook her head as if she understood something, exited the car, and hailed down a cab.
I wonder where you’re going,
Burns thought to himself. Burns had an overwhelming urge to follow the woman. He knew wherever she was going, something bad was going to happen. Pushing his feeling aside, he tried to focus on his acquired skills and experience as a field agent. Burns shifted his attention back to the car’s remaining occupants. The driver handed the attendant something. There was some brief discussion, and then the attendant exited and started walking away from the car and building. The driver then carefully pulled out and was gone. The decision was clear—he would follow the attendant to get information. This guy seemed to be the one issuing orders and seemed to be in charge.