Intersection
Authors: Nancy Ann Healy
Copyright © 2013 Nancy Ann Healy
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0615934188
ISBN 13: 9780615934181
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013922511
Bumbling Bard Creations, Manchester, CT
gent Alex Toles sat at her desk wiping the sweat from her brow. “What the hell is it with this place?” She griped to her partner. “The air conditioning never works.”
“Guess they’ll just have to raise taxes again,” the man across from her joked.
“As long as it’s not MINE they are raising,” the woman answered raising her eyebrow. She pushed out her chair and stretched her back, rising to her feet.
“Your back again?” Her partner inquired.
She sighed and turned her side back and forth attempting to release the knot in her back. “Nah…it’s fine, Fallon, just stiff.”
“You working out too much, or just working out too much with that new redhead down the hall?” He goaded.
“Jealous?” Alex laughed.
“A little,” her partner conceded with a grin.
Alex walked to the water cooler and started to fill a cup. She raised the cup to her lips and shook her head in disgust, “Uck….it’s like freakin’ bath water.” Her partner laughed. “Listen, Fallon,” Alex began, “I would love to find a nice woman like Kate. You’re the lucky one.”
“Yeah? You settle down? Who are you kidding?” He rolled his eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, even if you could sit still long enough to actually have a relationship, no woman could ever put up with all your antics.”
“Antics?” She asked, feigning surprise while her partner just shuffled some papers and laughed.
“Hey…Toles…Fallon,” a voice called from the hallway outside the office. “My office – now.”
“Great. See that?” Alex pointed to the door and tossed her cup in the trash. “You insult me and now we have to work. Karma’s a bitch, huh?”
Fallon stood and walked to the door opening it for his partner to walk through. “Well, at least you’ll get that air conditioning,” he offered as they began walking down the hall.
“Hey Toles,” a woman greeted.
Alex smiled seductively. “Brackett,” she acknowledged.
“See you later,” the redhead flirted as the pair of senior agents passed by.
Alex smiled to herself and took a short breath of satisfaction. Her partner scratched his head and smirked as he opened the door for her. “Let’s get you cooled off,” he joked.
Walking through the door, agents Fallon and Toles were immediately met by the cold stare of FBI Assistant Director Joshua Tate. Tate was a veteran of the agency and had mentored both Agent Toles and her partner Brian Fallon. “Sit,” he instructed. The partners took their seats in front of the large pine desk. Alex shifted in the chair to make room for her legs. “You all right there?” The director inquired.
“Yep.”
“Okay then,” he looked at the pair and sat back in his chair. “I’ve got a case for you.”
“What kind of case?” Fallon asked as Alex continued to squirm about.
The director rubbed his chin and frowned. “Look, this case is sensitive.”
Alex stopped her movement and looked squarely at her boss, “Serial killer?”
The director pushed his chair out with some force and paced to the window behind his desk. He rubbed his chin again and sighed so heavily that both Alex and Fallon saw his shoulders rise and fall. “No,” he answered flatly before turning to face the pair. “Are you both familiar with Christopher O’Brien?”
“The congressman?” Alex asked.
“That would be the one, yes.”
Fallon looked at Alex and then at the director. “He’s New York’s new golden boy.”
Assistant Director Tate frowned. “Yeah. And, in spite of his very public divorce, he is indeed a golden boy. So much so that the president is aware of this case.”
Alex and Fallon were puzzled. “Should this be under Secret Service jurisdiction?” Fallon asked.
“Mmm,” Tate stood behind his chair gripping it. “No. The president specifically requested
your
assignment.” Fallon’s shocked look prompted further explanation as Alex placed her hand over her mouth thoughtfully. “The president and Toles here go back quite a long way.”
“You never told me you knew the president,” Fallon said with some resentment.
“It never came up,” Alex said plainly. “So, why me? Why us?”
“He trusts you,” Tate sat in his chair and grabbed a large manila envelope, pulling out a small stack of photos. “The congressman started receiving these earlier this week.”
Alex began thumbing through the photos slowly. Each was of a letter. Some of the letters appeared to be handwritten and some were pieced together from clippings but all had a similar tone. Alex stopped and brought one up to her face, studying it carefully while Fallon began exploring the pile left behind.
This and that
I know you
Can you find me?
Back and Forth
Hide and Seek
I’ll find you
Before you see
.
Alex studied the picture carefully. Her partner sought more clarification from their director. “Does he have some idea? Enemies? Some legislation,” Fallon began asking.
“No,” Alex shook her head. “This isn’t political.”
Tate’s jaw tightened. “Why do you say that?”
Alex kept her eyes on the picture. “Whoever it is… There is something personal here, an obsession. ‘I’ll find you before you see’. It’s a game, cat and mouse, a challenge.”
Tate scratched his head and smirked. “Well, this needs to stay quiet.”
“We need to talk to the congressman,” Fallon said.
“Yes, and you will but not as FBI agents, at least not to the rest of the world.”
Alex set the picture down. She was well versed in the issues of the day and clearly understood why the president was concerned about keeping this quiet. The congressman was a point person on several key pieces of legislation for military funding initiatives and domestic policy. He was also a likely senatorial candidate in the next election. The president certainly did not want any public distractions. “So, you want us undercover,” she said. Tate nodded.
“As what?” Fallon asked.
“Well… This will be an easier one for you Fallon.”
“Why is that?” Fallon asked while Alex began exploring the other photos.
“You, Fallon, will go in as Secret Service and liaise with the Secret Service and the D.C. police. All of the letters have been received here in his Washington office… All except…”
“This one,” Alex said as she read it aloud:
This time apart
Breaks a heart
Who takes mine
I’ll take his
I’ll keep watch
Until you see
What you have
Belongs with me
“What the hell does that mean?” Fallon asked in complete bewilderment.
“It either means he is infatuated with the wife or in love with the congressman,” Alex surmised, slowly placing the photo back on the pile and looking directly at Tate. “And me?”
Tate poked his cheek with his tongue and scratched his nose. “That came to his house. You’re going to New York....The Big Apple…As a P.R. Assistant to the congressman’s ex-wife. Who is quite popular in the press these days, I understand.”
“A P.R. assistant?” Alex questioned.
Fallon’s eyes bulged. “That’ll be great when she drop kicks some poor paparazzi dude,” he joked, receiving an icy glare from his partner.
“Well, it was either that or a nanny to their six year old. Take your pick.”
“Great,” Alex sarcastically agreed.
“Hey… I’d pay to see you play nanny,” Fallon laughed. “Looks like you’re trading in Brackett for servant to a school teacher,” Fallon gloated. “Guess everybody’s luck runs out sometime, Toles.”
“Funny, who’s the comedian now?”
“Well, it’s not funny,” Tate said breaking up the partners’ banter. “And for what it’s worth Fallon, Mrs. O’Brien has a reputation for being…well…”
“Opinionated,” Alex said standing up and placing the pictures back in the envelope.
“Yes, exactly.”
“Great,” Alex said again. “How do we communicate?”
“The congressman picks up his son on Saturday mornings. Fallon will be assigned to travel with him. Until then secure lines across the boards. Understood?” The two nodded their understanding and began to head out the door. “Toles,” Tate called and the agent turned. “Do me a favor, will ya’?”
“What’s that?” She asked holding the door slightly ajar.
“Don’t corrupt Brackett.”
Alex laughed. “Doesn’t look like I’ll have time for much corruption, Assistant Director. She winked and closed the door behind her.
