The Agent

by C Paradee

Megan finished the running narrative and led Tony to the first of several alleys with signs posted indicating "water taxi." The alley curved first to the left, then back right, and left again before straightening again at the dock. As they reached the dock, she turned until she was facing south and showed Tony where the last body had been found. Tony had already noted that this would be a perfect place to commit the crime unseen.

  Voicing the thought aloud, Megan interrupted and said, "No. It's not that simple. These alleys are traveled constantly throughout the evening and night. People are always going back and forth across the river. To be totally deserted long enough to strangle someone would be almost impossible."

  Tony disagreed thinking, I could do it with no problem. Obviously so can the killer. Now that I've seen the location, I can understand how he has gone undetected... he is good,

  she acknowledged. "I'll have to come down here at night and look at it then."

  "Ok, when do you want to go. We could come down Saturday night."

  Tony looked at Megan and said, "You were kind enough to take the time to show me around down here today. You don't need to come back again."

  "I want to come. I don't mind, and it'll make me feel like I'm contributing something to the case. Besides you can't come down here alone at night. It's dangerous. No women travel alone here after dark, and you'd be noticed if you were all by yourself."

  When Tony didn't immediately respond, Megan put her hands on her hips, her hazel eyes flashing, and added, "You're new in town. You don't know this area. There are muggings, stabbings, and," looking pointedly at Tony, "murders."

  Tony had lifted an eyebrow at the words as her mind took in the absurdity of this conversation. She didn't know if she should be mad or laugh. She could understand Megan wanting to help. It was the rest of it that confounded Tony. She's worried about me? I'd probably be the most dangerous person here. If she had any idea what I've done for the last 10 years she run as fast as she could the other way.

  Tony mused, Megan had shown her nothing but kindness. Would it really hurt to let her come along? All she planned to do was coming down and absorb the essence of the place when it was in full swing. She couldn't deny she enjoyed Megan's company. Still feeling guilty about the incident at lunch yesterday, she ignored the warnings vying for attention in the back of her mind

  Tony looked at Megan's petulant pose thinking, she's so damn cute,

  and was suddenly drawn into the gold and green vortex of the flashing eyes looking back at her

  Megan had watched Tony's eyes narrow and turn inward at her words. Holding her breath wondering if she had gone too far, she was startled by the intensity of the dazzling blue eyes as they returned to her. Captured by the baby blues she was totally unprepared for the sensations that surged through her, barely hearing the tall woman say, "Ok."

  Bewildered by her body's physical reaction to the silent exchange, Megan was confused and said, "Ok?"

  "Ok, we can come down here together Saturday night," Tony replied gazing thoughtfully at the small woman, the turmoil of her own emotions firmly back under control

  "Oh... yeah... right... good," turning quickly, she began walking down the alley hoping Tony wouldn't notice how flustered she was. God, what's going on with me?

  Calling over her shoulder, she said, "Come on. I'll show you the other sites."

  Tony silently followed, forcing her attention back to the case and her surroundings

  Megan had regained her composure and while showing Tony the crime scenes, she noted her companion's casual air and decided that she hadn't noticed after all. Thank God, she thought

  Tony had not missed anything, but her interpretation was vastly different from Megan's. She fully expected Megan to cancel her offer for Saturday. But that's ok. It's no big deal. It doesn't matter. I wasn't planning on company anyway, she rationalized to herself.

  They finished visiting the crime scenes and headed back to the train stop. Megan pointed out the few places she had missed on the way down, and then asked Tony, "Well, what do you think of Cleveland so far?"

  "It's ok, I guess," Tony answered not really knowing what to say. As far as she was concerned it was like any other city.

  "It grows on ya. You'll see. There's a lot to do here. We have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the new Science Center and we've got all the major sports covered. The Indians are great, but it's really hard to get tickets and we've got a women's basketball team, the Rockers. The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the best in the world. When they're in town, I always go see them." Megan stopped, momentarily out of words

  Walking beside Megan listening to her, Tony had a small grin on her face thinking about how multifaceted the small woman was

  "Do you ever talk?"

  "Huh... yeah... sometimes," Tony responded, caught off guard by the frank question. Tony was actually quite a good conversationalist when she needed to be. However, since Megan obviously liked to talk, she was quite content to listen

  "Well then... did you find a place to live yet? Have you even had time to look? Are you looking for a house or an apartment? I could suggest some nice places." Megan finished, quite satisfied with herself for asking enough questions that Tony would have to talk for a while

  Tony thought through the questions carefully and then answered, "No, no, I haven't decided, and thanks, that would be nice."

  Megan's mouth dropped open and totally exasperated, she complained, "I don't believe you. What kind of answers are those?"

  Tony couldn't help herself, and started laughing. She had answered that way purposely just to see what Megan's reaction would be

  Megan was so surprised to hear the deep rich sound coming from Tony, she quickly forgot her exasperation and joined in the laughter

  Taking the train downtown, they walked companionably back toward the Marriott. Megan continued to do most of the talking

  Tony walked Megan to her car and then thanked her for her help. "See you Saturday," she offered casually

  "Right. How about I meet you here at 9pm?" Megan answered

  "Ok, see ya then," thinking, well at least she didn't cancel.

  Megan drove home with thoughts rolling around wildly in her mind. She knew she had some serious thinking to do. Parking the car, along with several other tenants just getting home from work, she was unaware of the hostile eyes following her moves

  After starting dinner, Megan got a glass of iced tea and moved to the living room to sit in her recliner. Her thoughts flickered back over the afternoon coming to rest on the moment she had been drawn in by Tony's eyes. Megan didn't consider herself naive. She realized had she was with a man, there would have been no doubt in her mind regarding her body's reaction. Her mind fathomed just as quickly that no man had ever engaged her senses like that either. Megan understood for the first time what the words 'animal attraction' meant. She had taken her share of psychology and sociology courses so the thoughts running through her mind were certainly not alien to her. But what she couldn't understand was that she had never shown any inclination... that way. She remembered her hero worship of some of her female teachers, but that was considered normal. But what was normal? Could the way she felt be normal for her? Megan thought about her limited sexual experience and realized it couldn't even begin to compare with what she had felt just gazing into Tony's eyes. But it was more than that. She was interested in everything about the woman. She was attracted to her, plain and simple. Megan surprised herself with this candid self-revelation. But what surprised her even more was that it didn't bother her like she was sure it should. She sighed with frustration. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she was reading too much into her reaction to Tony. She had known a few lesbian women in college and they had been aware of their sexuality. If that were her niche, how could she not know? She was a grown woman. Playing devil's advocate in her mind she thought what difference did it make anyway? Tony would never be interested in her that way. Just look at the woman. She was gorgeous. She could obviously have anyone s
he wanted. Megan tentatively tried to come to terms with her feelings and simultaneously realized she must never make the mistake around Tony she had made today

  Megan wished there was someone she could talk to. Her thoughts flickered to David, but no, that was different. He was a guy. More frustrated than ever, she went to check on her dinner

  The next morning Tony decided to develop her own dress code for the FBI. She had spent the last several years dressing whatever part she was playing. For the most part it had been anti-establishment and militant groups. So her normal attire had been anything from jeans to cami's. Tony liked dressing for whatever the occasion called for, but in her mind sitting in an office or doing street work did not warrant a suit. She decided on a pair of navy blue slacks and a long white shirt, finishing the ensemble with a pair of comfortable walking shoes.

  Tony was so bored she thought she was going to go crazy. If one more person she called told her about a vision of the killer, she was going to throw the phone across the room. Damn Davies anyway. All day she had worked through the hot line tips and she had about reached her limit.

  Tony had a sudden thought and pulled a number out of her wallet

  When Megan arrived at work, she found two cases waiting for her. One was particularly nasty and took a long time. The city had been particularly brutal the night before, and Jerry and Dwayne had also been busy. It wasn't often all four were in the autopsy suite together. Jerry preferred to work around her and did his cases separately. She and David were finishing up when the phone rang

  "David would you please get that?"

  "Sure." Picking up the phone, he answered, "Dr. Donnovan's office."

  "Is she there?" drawled Tony who had all of a sudden decided she just had to know if the test results were in

  After asking Tony to hold on, he put the phone on hold, winked at her and said, "Megan, there some lady with an incredibly sexy voice asking for you on the phone." David had never been shy about his sexual preference and loved to tease Megan

  "David, you are so crazy. Give me that phone." Putting the phone to her ear, she answered, "Dr. Donnovan."

  "Hi, Megan, It's Tony. I was just wondering if you got the lab results back yet."

  Megan smiled at the sound of the voice, answering, "Hi, Tony. Yes. I faxed the toxicology results over to the police department yesterday. They were negative. But the GMCS showed some slightly abnormal chemical elements. Unfortunately that could take anywhere from a week to a month for the chemist to figure out exactly what the chemical strands mean."

  Tony wasn't even angry the police had not told her the toxicology was negative. She had just felt like talking with someone normal. Yeah, right... her mind supplied

  "Ok, well thanks. I was just curious." Tony answered trying to think of some other business to talk about. "Do you still want to go tomorrow? You don't have to, you know."

  "Of course I want to go tomorrow. I told you, the Flats will be rocking. It's the best time to go. I'll be there at 9," wondering why that came up again

  The conversation had been monitored very closely by one of the men in the room and a diabolic idea was born.

  * * *

  Saturday morning, no longer able to stand the confines of the hotel room for another minute, Tony grabbed the phone book, made a few phone calls and left after pulling on her heaviest jeans, a T-shirt, jean jacket and a pair of well-worn black boots

  Enjoying the feel of the wind against her face, Tony maneuvered the bike crazily up the hill, the rear wheel skidding back and forth when she goosed the gas. Reaching the top of the hill and looking at the cratered track heading almost straight down with turns meandering throughout the area, she let out a yelp of joy. Building her speed down the hill she laid the bike almost flat on a sharp curve, the only balance offered was a strong leg. Negotiating the hair pin curve at a speed never intended, dirt and dust went flying. Seeking greater challenges Tony entered an S curve pushing the speed. Rider and bike became as one navigating the dangerous curves each responding to the strains put upon it. Careening out of the turn into a swell of hills, adrenaline racing through her body and heady with the excitement, Tony's wild grin was at odds with the dirt covered sweaty face. Leaning forward to gather momentum, she automatically increased the speed before forcefully throwing her body back, and rotating the bike up. She crested the hill, rider and bike leaving the ground effortlessly. Shifting her weight forward for maximum extension, she guided the bike to the next hill and the next

  A few hours later, her excess energy finally expended, Tony removed her helmet and returned the bike

  Megan decided to go to Bally's. She usually stopped three to four times a week. Not only did she take pride in staying in shape, but it allowed her mind a break from the pressures of the job. Today, she needed a distraction before she drove herself crazy with self-analysis

  Debating on whether to warm up on the stationary bike or the murderous stair stepper, she decided to go for the physical challenge of the latter. Finishing her warm up, she continued on to the Nautilus machines, working through a regimen designed specifically for her. She then went upstairs and began lazily jogging around the track

  Hearing someone moving up quickly behind her, she moved to the side. The runner pulled even with her and said, "Hi, Doc, you aren't going very fast."

  "Hi Mark," Megan replied ignoring his standard greeting

  "Have you eaten yet? Do you want to stop when you're finished?"

  Megan was not ready to go home to her empty apartment yet. Why not,

  she decided. "Ok, but give me half an hour to shower and change."

  "No problem," he smiled, happy that she had agreed

  After being seated and ordering, Mark asked, "Anything new on the case?"

  Megan was in no mood to discuss the case. "I'm surprised you're not over at the station asking around. You'd find out a lot more over there. Is that why you wanted to go to lunch?" she asked testily

  "Megan, you know better than that. You seem preoccupied. What's wrong?"

  "I'm sorry Mark. I just don't want to discuss the case right now," she answered honestly

  Adroitly changing the subject, he asked, "Did you see the game last night?"

  Megan and Mark finished lunch discussing the Indians and whether or not they would make a return trip to the World Series

  Much later, Megan looked in the closet trying to decide what to wear. She skimmed through skirts, slacks, and dresses, looking at each, undecided. The attire of the Flats was anything from cutoffs to dressy. Pulling a pair of peach colored slacks out of the closet, she added an off-white blouse and decided that would do

  After showering and blowing her hair dry, Megan looked at her choice of clothes and decided she didn't want to wear that tonight. Going through her closet again, she finally pulled out a simple sleeveless teal dress, whose only ornament was a belt around the waist. Holding it up against her in front of the mirror, she liked the way it set off her eyes. A thought danced through her mind, you'd think you were going on a hot date or something. Megan banished the idea thinking, this is business,

  but there is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice. Megan took more time than usual with her make-up and hair until she decided it was just right before departing

  Tony took much less time with her attire, choosing black light weight slacks and a long blue shirt. Checking her appearance carefully one last time, she went down to wait for Megan.

  Seeing Megan walking toward her, Tony flashed a grin, her eyes slowly soaking in the sight with appreciation. She shoved her overzealous libido down warning herself, no more mistakes. "Hi, there."

  "Hi," Megan smiled back as she discretely took in the image before her thinking, she is so beautiful.

  "Are we going to take the train down again?"

  "Yeah, I think it's better than driving down there."

  They began walking toward the station and all of a sudden Megan found herself tongue tied. She realized she was nervous. She couldn't think of a
thing to say

  Tony noticed her nervousness and was not surprised. Who could blame her? Ok, what's a good neutral subject? "Have you lived in Cleveland long?" knowing the answer, but wanting to relax her companion

  Megan, finding her voice, smiled in appreciation, "Yes, I was born here and have lived here ever since. I thought about leaving once, but my sister talked me out of it. We're pretty close and I realized I would really miss her."

  "How about you? Where were you born?" Megan inquired

  "Boston." Anticipating the next question, she added, "I left there when I joined the FBI and have just traveled around to the places they've sent me since then."

  "You don't have a Boston accent."

  "I know. In my line of work you have to be able to adapt. You can't adapt with a regional accent."

  Both relaxed and conversed easily with each other as they rode the train to the Flats. Arriving there, Megan and Tony began a slow leisurely walk past the clubs, bars, and diners just taking in the sights around them

  Tony noticed that most of the nightclubs were so crowded people were standing out on the sidewalk in front of them holding drinks and socializing on the streets. This was definitely not her type of place. It was much too crowded

  Megan had been a regular visitor to the Flats when she had dated Ray and although she hadn't been down at night for quite a while, nothing had changed. After they had walked the entire area Megan asked, "Do you want to go in some of the places now."

  "Yeah, that would be good. But we'll be lucky to find any place to sit," Tony commented

  "Oh, I know some places we can try. That place over there plays jazz and they're usually not too crowded." Megan turned toward the nightclub leading the way

  Tony had been using her senses to assess the area as they had walked and had so far felt absolutely no threat of any kind other than that usually associated with a very busy, drink catering, night life area. Following Megan, she relaxed slightly. She knew the biggest threat in an area like this was probably muggings and drunks

  Entering the nightclub, Tony noticed an empty table near the back of the room. Turning to Megan, she said, "Let's go sit over there."