Betrayal (21 page)

“What is it?” Cassidy asked. Alex’s thumb reached her temple, pressing firmly and she swallowed hard in an attempt to summon the words she needed to speak. Cassidy nodded and closed her eyes. The signs were all there. Something was on Alex’s mind and it wasn’t simply the family visit they had been discussing. “Just tell me.”

“I have to go away Tuesday,” Alex said.

“Away to?”

“I can’t tell you that, Cass.” There was no response. Alex turned to look down at her lover. Cassidy’s eyes were closed and she had hold of her bottom lip with her teeth. “Cass…”

“How long?”

“I don’t know. A few days. Maybe a week.” A silent tear escaped Cassidy’s eye and Alex set out immediately to quell her lover’s fears. “I’ll be fine, Cass. It’s just to look into some files. That’s all.”

“Files? But you can’t tell me…”

“No. I can’t. Trust me it is safer if you don’t know.” Alex wrapped her arm around Cassidy’s waist and laid down beside her.

“Safer? Is it safe, Alex?” Cassidy asked. Some nights she would wake and swear she felt Carl Fisher slumping onto her foot. Memories of her time with the sadistic stalker were still fresh and although she was able to suppress them during the day, her dreams still had a mind of their own. She shuddered. With Alex close, Cassidy felt safe. They had only spent one night apart since that awful day in New York and Cassidy had not slept at all without the agent beside her. The thought of days or longer without Alex to hold her through her nightmares was unsettling. Alex’s career posed risks. That was a reality that Cassidy knew she had to accept. It remained a reality that terrified her.

“I promise, Cass. I will be back before you know it.”

Cassidy felt the agent’s arms pulling her closer. “Alex…”

“I promise, Cass.”

Monday, April 21st

“Taylor, who the hell gave you this information?” Alex demanded.

“Alex….”

“Look, you did not fly to New York with this, you did not call me on a Saturday night with this on the say so of some civilian analyst desk jockey and we both know it.” Michael Taylor paced the small office. “And just what the hell was Fallon doing following Brackett into that building? Jesus.”

“Enough, Agent,” Taylor turned on his heels. “Brian Fallon is a seasoned agent and a former cop. You know that better than anyone.”

“Yeah, and you know as well as I do that this is not about street thugs or even serial killers. The people we are dealing with make the likes of what Fallon has dealt with look like characters on a kids’ cereal box.”

“Interesting analogy.”

“Taylor….”

“Look, Toles, just trust me it’s good information on both fronts.”

“Fine. What am I looking for?”

“Something on SPHINX. Something about the colonel. I’m not certain.”

“Do you trust the source?” she asked

Taylor nodded and groaned. “I trust he has his reasons. I believe there is something there to find, yes.”

Alex nodded and sat on a small desk chair. “What about Fallon?”

“Agent Fallon is following up on Assistant Director Tate as we speak,” Taylor answered.

“I thought he was following Brackett?”

“He is, but whatever Brackett and Tate were discussing, Fallon was able to make out one word that repeated on the paper from his location.”

“What was that?” Alex inquired.

“Corsica.”

Alex picked up a file from the desk beside her and opened it. “You think Tate is involved with the French?” She pulled out a paper and studied it.

“Who knows? Fallon couldn’t tell what it was. He was pretty certain that Corsica was written on it several times. That’s all he saw, other than a few other minor words he could discern from that distance.”

“Nothing is minor,” Alex cautioned.

Michael Taylor laughed. He had forgotten Alex Toles’ propensity for searching what seemed to others to be minor details. “See something in the word ‘and’?” he joked.

Alex remained focused on the paper in her hands, her eyes scanning slowly across the document. Without lifting her sight she answered, “Yes, actually I do.”

“See something?” he asked her to clarify her statement.

“Have Fallon call me when he is done with his surveillance of the assistant director.”

“Toles?”

Alex placed the document in her hands back in the file and stood. “This had better not be some joke about little green men,” she warned.

The NSA director shook his head. “What? I thought Mulder was your hero?” he joked.

“Uh-huh. For the record, I’m more inclined toward his partner.”

“Really?” Taylor chuckled.

“Yeah.”

“Alex, whatever is there; you have to get in first.”

“I’ll get in,” she said assuredly.

“I don’t have to remind you that we don’t have John to…”

“No. You don’t.”

Taylor grew pensive. “I don’t have authority to get you that clearance. Technically, you are not military personnel. What are you going to do?”

Alex smiled and placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “It’s better if you don’t know, Taylor.”

“Plausible deniability?” he asked kiddingly.

“For all of us,” she answered seriously.

“Alex, he did say,” Taylor stopped himself.

“What did this informant say?”

“Be careful. He said to be careful.”

“Well, I feel so much better knowing he cares,” Alex remarked sarcastically. “I’ve got some things to do before tomorrow. If Fallon…”

“I’ll make sure you are the first to know.”

Alex nodded. “Taylor?”

“Yeah?”

“The ands; they mean there are many. Even if John was at the head of the trail, there are a lot of forks in the road. Watch Brackett.”

“Which one?” he asked.

Alex shrugged. “Watch everyone.”

“Alex.”

“Jane. How are you?”

“I was surprised to get your call so soon. Is everything all right? Cassidy? Dylan?”

Alex smiled, accepting a seat on a large sofa. “They’re fine. Other than a split lip.”

“Good Lord, teaching Cassidy hand to hand are you?” The woman laughed.

The agent offered a broad smile. “Not Cassidy; Dylan. But that might not be a bad idea.”

“Alex, you didn’t fly here for a brief afternoon chat. What is going on?”

“I don’t know.”

“I see,” the former first lady responded. “Well, what do you know?”

“Jane, John wanted to tell me something. Something about Iraq.”

The older woman across from the agent nodded. “That’s not all, though, is it?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Alex said. Jane Merrow stood and walked across the room. Alex watched her as she moved. She was graceful and poised even in the midst of difficult situations. She had seen Cassidy take on that persona as well. It was a skill, not unlike Alex’s mastery of language. The agent had a proclivity for observation and memorization. Jane Merrow, much like Cassidy O’Brien, had a natural ability to relate to people. It enabled them to command any audience in a manner that to most seemed effortless. Alex admired both women. It was her job to observe and to dig beyond the surface and Alex was adept at peeling back the layers. As graceful as Jane Merrow appeared, Alex could see the anxiety pouring off her friend in waves, much like those that rise off pavement on a summer day. “Jane?”

Jane turned and looked at her friend. “Alex, we both know presidents don’t get randomly shot.” Alex felt her jaw tighten. The frank admission of the woman before her surprised her. “What is it that you need from me?” Jane asked.

“I need clearance.”

Jane Merrow covered her mouth and considered the agent’s statement. “Military, I assume?”

Alex nodded. “I can’t tell you much more than that. I…”

Jane held up her hand. “I don’t want to know, Alex. I don’t need to know the details.”

“I wouldn’t ask if,” Alex began.

“I know that.”

“Can you…”

The former first lady smiled. “I still have my connections, Alex.”

“I know it’s…”

Jane shook her head. “Where?” The agent sighed. “Alex, I have to know where.”

“New Mexico.”

“Holloman?” Alex nodded. Jane understood. “I assumed it would be an Air Force installation if you were coming to me.”

“Jane, if I thought there was another way…”

“Just tell me this; do you think you can find out? Why they killed him, I mean?”

Alex looked at her friend and pursed her lips. “Do you really want that answer?” The former first lady nodded. “Then, yes,” Alex said. “I have to know.”

“You’re worried about Cassidy and Dylan, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Alex, I would never…”

“You and I both know there is no such thing as a perfect secret,” Alex said.

“He’s gone, Alex. Do you really think Dylan could be…”

The agent slowly began to rise from her seat. She paced across the room, considering her next words carefully. “O’Brien is in this, Jane. That’s bad enough on its own. If he ever were to…”

“Alex, you don’t think Christopher O’Brien would use his son as leverage?”

The agent let out her breath and turned to face her friend. “Yes, I do. If he knew Dylan was John’s; I think he would use either of them.”

Jane Merrow covered her face with her hands and shook her head. “When do you need it?”

“Yesterday,” Alex chuckled slightly.

Jane nodded and headed toward the large wooden doors at the far end of the room. “I’ll make the call. Alex?” The agent looked at Jane who now had her hand on the large brass doorknob. “No matter what you find,” Alex listened intently, “he loved you. He loved his family.” She opened the door and turned back, “Dylan too. Don’t forget that.”

Alex forced a crooked smile. She held her breath until Jane had left the room and released it as she closed her eyes. She did not want to come here, but Jane Merrow was someone she trusted, at least as much as she trusted anyone these days. The former first lady had the one connection that Alex knew would
provide anything without explanation. It was her only choice and she would use it to her advantage. “Colonel, what the hell are you leading me to?”

Tuesday, April 22
^nd
.

Alex walked with Cassidy to the bus stop and looked down at the small eyes gazing up into hers. “I’ll see you in a few days, Speed.” Dylan swung his arms around Alex’s neck tightly. “Whoa,” Alex said. “I won’t be gone that long, I promise.” Dylan pulled back and looked at the agent with great apprehension. Alex caught his eyes as they wandered in concern to his mother and she mentally slapped herself for missing the obvious signs of his fear. Dylan had been quiet the last two days. She and Cassidy dismissed it as nerves about the new school, but it was clear to the agent now what was bothering him. No matter how brave Dylan tried to be; he was afraid. The agent knelt down and put her hands firmly on the boy’s small shoulders. “Dylan, no one is going to hurt your mom. I promise.”

He looked at her and Cassidy caught her breath at the sudden realization of what was disturbing her son. The last time Alex left, Carl Fisher had arrived. They had tried to shield Dylan from as much of that reality as possible. Dylan was very perceptive and extremely attentive. He might not have known all of the details, but he was aware that someone had hurt his mother, and he certainly understood that it had happened as soon as the agent had set off on her last “working” trip. Cassidy understood his anxiety. She would never have admitted it to Alex, but she had been experiencing a deep sense of foreboding ever since the agent announced her latest travel plans. She smiled over the agent’s shoulder at a pair of small eyes. “It’s okay, Dylan. I will be here when you get off the bus. I promise,” Cassidy attempted to reassure her son.