Betrayal (16 page)

“I don’t know, Taylor,” Alex said. “There was something in Tate’s voice.”

“You think he suspects…”

“I don’t know what I think,” Alex said abruptly. “What about Fallon?”

“Not much yet. Brady’s digging more on Brackett’s time with DCIS. Fallon seems to think her purpose at the bureau was not initially about you. Something about an investigation in 2008 with the DEA regarding a chemical attack on the Saudi Embassy. Sound familiar?”

“We looked into some of that when we were investigating Al Asad,” she recalled as she heard Cassidy’s voice approaching.

“No…No…I understand,” Cassidy said with her phone to her ear. “Of course.”

“Taylor, I gotta go,” Alex said noting the expression on Cassidy’s face as the teacher hung up her own call.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Keep me posted. I’ll head in Thursday and touch base with Brady.” Alex disconnected her call and looked at the teacher. “Cass?”

“It’s Dylan.” The agent’s heart stopped and she immediately went pale. “No,” Cassidy gave a nervous chuckle. “He’s all right. We need go to the school.”

“What’s going on?”

Cassidy shook her head. “I’ll explain on the way.”

Alex and Cassidy walked into the school office and Alex immediately caught sight of Dylan sitting on a small chair in the corner. His eyes were slightly red and his clothes were covered in dirt and grass stains. He looked at the two women as they entered the room and immediately cast his gaze on his feet. An attractive woman dressed in a blue pantsuit emerged from a frosted glass door and smiled. “Mrs. O’Brien?”

“Yes,” Cassidy answered.

“Sorry we meet this way. I’m Dr. Bell. I guess Friday was just too long to bring us together,” the principal said with an earnest measure of reassurance. Cassidy smiled halfheartedly. “Follow me,” she said with a smile. “Sit down, please.” Alex fidgeted in her chair as the principal extended her hand.

“This is my,” Cassidy paused and thought for a moment. “Partner?” she looked to Alex who smiled nervously, “Alex Toles.”

“Nice to meet you Ms. Toles,” the principal greeted warmly. “So, as I told you, there was an incident on the playground between Dylan and another young man. He was, as I am given to understand, taunting your son.”

“It’s not like Dylan to hit someone,” Cassidy said plainly.

Dr. Bell nodded. “I don’t doubt that. I understand that Dylan did try to walk away. Apparently, George pushed your son. That’s according to some of their classmates.”

“And then Dylan hit him?” Cassidy urged the principal to continue.

“No. The boy said something to him. Dylan would not share with me what it was and neither would George. Whatever it was; it resulted in a brawl.” Cassidy sighed and shook her head. Alex bit her bottom lip. “Both the boys will have detention tomorrow. I think, in light of how upset Dylan was when I spoke with him; well….I know it’s been a difficult time for him. This hasn’t been the best first day. I thought, maybe a fresh start tomorrow would be best. George’s mother assured me she would speak to him and get to the bottom of things.”

Alex swallowed hard as Cassidy maintained control. “I appreciate that. Alex and I will have a talk with Dylan when we get home.” The teacher’s voice was even but strained and Alex could tell that Cassidy intended to be firm with Dylan. It reminded her a bit of her own youth.

“He seems like a very sweet boy,” the principal smiled.

“He is,” Alex answered bluntly without hesitation. Cassidy tried not to giggle, completely aware that Alex’s reaction was to defend Dylan.

Principal Bell nodded. “Let me know, please….what you discover?” she urged.

“Of course,” Cassidy assured. The principal opened the door and Cassidy and Alex stepped through. “Let’s go,” Cassidy called over to the boy who would not look up to meet her gaze. Cassidy kept her pace steady as Dylan fell in behind and looked up sheepishly to Alex. The agent offered him a faint smile. She had asked Cassidy for boring. As she watched Cassidy enter the car and Dylan climb in his seat; she realized she had been right. Dull would never be a problem in this family.

The silence in the car lingered. Alex looked over at Cassidy who was looking out her window and noted the tension on the smaller woman’s face. She looked into the rear view mirror and tried not to laugh when she was met with the exact same expression on Dylan’s. His words startled her. “I’m sorry, Mom.” Cassidy let out an audible sigh and was about to speak when he continued. “You’re mad.”

“Dylan, you know better than to hit anyone,” she answered.

He kicked at the seat in front of him. “I had to.”

“You had to?” Cassidy uncharacteristically raised her voice. Alex reached over and grasped the teacher’s hand. “You don’t ever
have
to hit someone.”

“He called you gay!” Dylan yelled.

“That’s no reason to hit someone,” Cassidy answered immediately.

“Yes it is,” he said. “He said you can’t be a mom.”

Cassidy was still aggravated by the entire situation. Alex licked her lips and finally dared to speak. “Dylan…”

Cassidy interrupted. “Dylan, do you know why he said that to you?”

“No.”

“Well, Dylan. You know that Alex is a girl and so am I,” Cassidy began.

“So?” He kicked at the seat again.

“Stop kicking the seat!” Cassidy demanded.

“Dylan,” Alex interjected. “I am gay.”

“No you’re not,” he said. “You’re Alex.”

Alex shook her head and finally saw Cassidy start to chuckle. “I guess we have some things to talk about, huh?” Cassidy looked at her lover. Alex smiled. “Dylan,” Cassidy continued. “You can’t hit people. You understand that? Even when they say something about me.”

“I know,” he muttered.

“Mm…Why don’t we get a pizza and head home?” Cassidy suggested to Alex.

“You’re not mad?” he asked his mother hopefully.

“No, I’m not mad.” He perked up in his seat and smiled. “But I’m not happy either,” she went on. “I think we need to talk about some things. And I don’t want you fighting. No matter what he said; hitting him was wrong.”

Alex kept her focus forward. “Your mom is right, Speed.”

“I know,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Alex smiled. “Speed, some people don’t understand. Somebody like your mom being with somebody like me.”

“You mean because you’re like a superhero and Mom is a teacher?”

Alex laughed and Cassidy covered her face with her hand. Dylan was so innocent and it was nothing if not endearing. “No. I mean because I am a girl and so is your mom. And when that happens some people call it gay.”

“Oh,” he said taking the statement in. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Alex confessed.

“That’s stupid,” he said.

Cassidy shook her head. For a moment she had begun to worry about explaining things to her son. There was nothing to explain; had the other boy called her any name Dylan would have responded in the same way. He had no idea what ‘gay’ even meant. As they drove now she realized that George probably didn’t either. He had probably heard someone else say it without even grasping what it meant at all. She and Alex could prepare Dylan for some of what he might hear and they needed to do that, but she would never be able to make him understand why people said it. She chuckled and looked at Alex; her first visit to the principal’s office. It was a milestone, a rite of passage in parenting, and unlike the many that had passed before it; this one she was sharing with someone else. Her distress over her son’s fisticuffs dissipated into an overwhelming sense of gratefulness and she squeezed the hand that held her own.

“Is this what you meant by chaos in the boring?” Alex asked. Cassidy nodded and raised her eyebrow. “Sign me up,” the agent smiled.

Wednesday, April 16
^th

gent Steven Brady rifled through the papers that were spread across his desk. He held one up and examined it closely. Letting out a strong sigh he placed it carefully on top of the heaping pile and retrieved another. Brady shook his head and pushed his chair away from the desk with some force. He pulled at the short hairs on the top on his head and grimaced. “It can’t be,” he muttered, running his hand over his face and pulling at his lip. “Shit.” The agent picked up his phone and waited. Hearing the voice on the other end, he spoke. “Michael,” he began softly.

“Brady?” Michael Taylor answered. There was no question that something was troubling the younger man. It was more than unusual for Steven Brady to address the director as Michael. That informality was reserved for two things; personal time and issues that were sure to produce emotion. “Brady, what?”

“Well…Admiral Brackett,” Brady paused. “Listen, you said that the president mentioned Iraq to Agent Toles.”

“Yes, he did.” Brady paced the floor of his small office, holding the phone with one hand and continually rubbing the other over the top of his head. He stopped for a moment behind the desk and glanced down at the two papers set atop his pile. “Brady?” Taylor called with some impatience.

“What exactly was your mission there?” Brady asked.

“In Iraq?” Taylor asked in confusion.

“Yes, in Baghdad. Your team; what was the mission?”

“I told you before, we were assigned to assess threats. Assess movements in and around the city that would pose a danger to our forces or the new government.”