Intersection (45 page)

She quietly exited the room and crossed the hallway. Peering around the door a blonde head began to come into focus. The agent tiptoed to the side of the bed and gently ran her fingers through his hair. “I’ll be back, Speed Racer,” she whispered. He shifted slightly without ever opening his eyes and the agent smiled. “I told your mom, chocolate cake…I know you told Uncle Nick you love that. I love you.” Alex bent down and kissed his head. She stood back up and took in a large breath, shaking her head. It was unbelievable to her. She’d seen war. She’d seen atrocities, violence and experienced the apprehension of it all. Nothing, not one thing in her life, had been this difficult. She’d never been in love. Sometimes she had wondered if that could even exist amidst all the chaos in the world. She had her answer now. Love existed here with these two souls and somehow life seemed to conspire to pull her from them.

Alex kissed the small head one last time and made her way out of the room. She looked at the bags that leaned against the front door; right where she had placed them the night before and shook her head. It should be the day she was going home and instead she felt as though she were leaving home. It unsettled her. The agent walked into the kitchen and started the task of brewing coffee. She wished she could talk to Dylan before she left, but she didn’t want to wake him. The coffee had just started to drip when she felt two arms encircle her waist. The agent closed her eyes and clasped both the small hands that held her. “Good morning,” she said softly. There was no response, just a tightening of the grip that held her close. The agent shifted and turned to look into the watery green eyes behind her. “I know,” she said. “I’ll be back before you know I was gone…I promise.”

Cassidy looked into the agent’s crystal blue eyes and summoned a smile. “I know when you are gone for five minutes,” she confessed.

Alex smiled. She had no doubt that was true. No matter how interesting or challenging any situation the agent was engaged in was, since she met Cassidy, it was inevitable that at some point her thoughts would turn to the woman and the time they shared together. Sometimes she struggled to banish her emotions so that she could focus on her work. They hadn’t truly been apart more than a few hours since they met. Although Alex knew it had been a very short time, it often felt as if they had always been this way. “Come on…let me get you some coffee,” the agent suggested. The pair silently sipped their morning coffee; both understanding that this separation would be short and neither able to fully comprehend why it was so painful for both of them. Alex took a final sip and placed her mug in the sink. She offered a crooked smile to her lover and Cassidy sighed.

The agent extended her hand and the teacher accepted, following the dark haired woman she loved to the door without any words. Alex took hold of Cassidy’s face and searched her eyes. She leaned in and gently kissed the woman, struggling to pull back and release her. There was a sensation building within the agent that she could not describe. For some reason she felt an overpowering urge to stay. It was almost a physical reaction. The teacher sensed her partner’s apprehension and swallowed her own sadness to offer some reassurance. Cassidy kissed Alex’s cheek. “Go…call me when you are out of your meeting.”

“You’ll be in class,” the agent said.

The teacher smiled. “Then leave a message. I will call you when Dylan gets home from school,” Cassidy said. Alex stroked her lover’s cheek and the teacher offered a knowing smile.

The agent grabbed the handle of her bag and started through the door. She stopped abruptly and kissed Cassidy again. “Cass…”

The teacher smiled again, “I love you, Agent Toles.”

Alex returned the affectionate smile. “I love you too, Cassidy. I’ll see you in a week.”

Cassidy watched as the agent lifted her bag into the trunk and then moved to her seat in the car. She gently grabbed her lower lip with her teeth as she heard the ignition start and forced a smile to accompany her wave. The car pulled out of the driveway and paused one last time before making its way out of sight. “I miss you, Alex,” the teacher closed her eyes, “already.”

The man fidgeted with the bag on the passenger seat of the blue sedan. He squirmed in his seat to get comfortable. Fingering the items in the bag he sighed. Some rope. Some tape. Ahh, there it was, the envelope. He pulled it out and removed a stack of photos, his favorite subject. She was beautiful and he smiled. She thought she could deny him. He answered to no one now; no one. She would answer to him. What she could tell him mattered very little from his point of view. He didn’t care if she spoke at all. He would ask the questions and play the game he had been taught before he indulged in his own recreation. He’d earned it. Then he would be free of all of them. He would search out another; no ties to hold him anywhere; no one caring who he was. He was dead now.

A few more hours was all he needed. He pulled a silver flask from the glove box and lifted it to his lips with satisfaction. She was turning down the street now. The clock had begun to tick. No more clicking cameras. No more annoying distractions.
Another large swig of the powerful liquid and his hand reached for the cigarettes. Now he would move where he longed to be. His patience would be rewarded. The small black box suddenly interrupted his thought. He looked at it with disdain. The strength in his hands growing as his anticipation swelled. He threw it with force against the dashboard and its deafening cries waned to a squeaky whisper. No more conversation. “My turn,” he whispered.

“Did you find him?”

“He’s not answering,” Claire Brackett replied. “I’ve tried.”

“Idiot,” John Merrow mumbled. He picked up the cell phone on his desk and lifted it to his ear. “We have a problem,” he said.

The voice on the other end seemed to be expecting the call. “Fisher,” it replied.

“Yes….Do you know where he is?”

“Yes,” the man answered. “He’s in New York.”

The president glared at the redheaded woman across from him. “Unacceptable.”

“Understood,” the man answered. “However, it could be advantageous…with the agent gone.”

The president shook his head and attempted to quell his anger. “If you want to create a crisis...Toles will not rest….not ever.”

Brackett shifted in her seat unsure what this conversation was regarding. The president continued. “O’Brien called me yesterday.”

“Yes…..did you convince him?” The other man asked.

“I believe so.”

“Good,” the man responded. The president kept an unflinching glare on Brackett as the voice continued. “I will take care of the situation,” the voice concluded.

“I’ll expect your call,” John Merrow hung up the phone. “You realize what you have created?” The president said as he moved toward the woman.

“I did as you instructed,” Brackett said.

“No. You did as you pleased,” he placed his forehead against hers menacingly. “Get to the field office and play nice. Let me know when Toles leaves.”

“Why? She’ll be on suspension,” Brackett answered.

“Mmm…just do it, Claire. Toles is a lot smarter than you are.”

“You want me to follow her?”

“No,” he pulled back. “I want you at the office. I don’t want her having any trail to me…or to anyone else you’ve met with… understood? Don’t increase her suspicions. We have enough problems already thanks to your carelessness. You’d better hope that phone call I made works out.” Brackett was not easily intimidated but the tone in John Merrow’s voice told her if ever there was a time to comply, it was now. “I can’t protect you, Claire. This is not my game…I am only a player….just like you. If he fails…well….”

“You’re the president,” she said definitively.

“How do you think one achieves that, Claire? Through campaigns?” He laughed. “You have no idea. You are just a girl….a baby in this world. The way to the White House is paved with a lot of things, money, promises, betrayals, blood. And those who will shed the blood of their friends…they are the most dangerous beasts in the world. Watch yourself, Claire. No one is indispensable. Not even me.”

Alex walked to her desk and sat in the large chair. She rolled it back and forth and traced the top of it with her fingertips. She closed her eyes for a moment as her hand instinctively dropped to the I.D. badge on her hip. She pictured Cassidy in
her mind. Cassidy was standing at the counter making breakfast. There was a small dusting of flour on her face, and just a hint had lifted through the air and rested in her hair. Alex sighed. “I miss you, Cass,” she whispered and then chuckled at the thought that if she were home, Cassidy would have heard her faint whisper nearly a full room away.

“You okay?” Brian Fallon asked as he placed a hand on his partner’s shoulder.

Alex swiveled her chair and smiled. “Must be that time, huh?” He nodded with sadness evident in his eyes. “Hey,” Alex smiled. “It’s all right Fallon. Some things are worth it.” She patted his shoulder as she stood and began the short trek down the hallway to a small conference room.

“At least Fisher is out of the way,” her partner offered.

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, “give me some time to pack.” He looked at Alex inquisitively. “Like I said, Fallon….some things are worth it,” with that she was gone.

“Agent,” Assistant Director Tate greeted Alex as she entered the room.

“Assistant Director,” she returned the greeting.

“Please…sit,” he said as she complied. “Let’s just get this over with,” he said plainly.

laire Brackett felt the heat of his stare and looked up from her desk. “Can I help you with something?” She asked smugly.