When Tim returned to the bedroom, he saw that Mary Ann had joined Sebastian and Toby in his living room. He could hear the three of them talking, and he began to consider again how much he could really trust Mary Ann. She was obviously a plant by Sebastian for the purpose of keeping an eye on him and god only knew what else. Was she really not with Toby anymore? Tim had listened to her story the night before and figured that some of it was true, but the rest was probably BS, like the part about Big Doug Bail Bondsman. That said, Tim knew that he was already a part of whatever plan Sebastian was hatching, and he had to figure that Toby and Mary Ann had no clue what that plan was. Toby and Mary Ann were not typical Agency contractors. Real contractors worked for big companies that were known for other things, such as building airplanes and tanks. Real contractors were also usually ex-military, Army Rangers or Navy Seals, not dipshit private investigators from Las Vegas. No, Toby and Mary Ann were expendable pieces in Sebastian’s plan. They just didn’t know it yet.
Tim entered his living and saw Sebastian, Toby, and Mary Ann all sitting at his dining room table. Mary Ann said, “Looking sharp, dude,” Sebastian smiled, and Toby just stared, his face showing no expression.
Tim realized that he had not yet heard Toby speak and wondered what he sounded like. He did not have to wait long. “We better get a move on if we’re going to make it to Virginia by one,” Toby told Sebastian with a Boston accent.
How unexpected, Tim thought to himself. “Hey, Tub, are you a Southie?” Tim asked, referring to the South Boston neighborhood.
“He doesn’t like being called Tub,” Mary Ann warned Tim.
“Aw, we’re just fooling around,” Tim replied, knowing he’d hit a nerve. “Aren’t we, Tub—I mean Toby?”
Toby just continued to stare at Tim. A true psychopath, Tim figured. He would have to be careful from now on. The only person standing between him and a very violent reaction from Toby was Sebastian.
As Tim, Sebastian, and Toby got up to leave, Mary Ann walked over to Tim and gave him a kiss. “Be safe, honey,” she whispered in his ear.
“What are your plans?” Tim asked, not knowing what else to say.
“Oh, I’ll be at the Goose as usual,” Mary Ann said with a smile. “But I’ll see you tonight.”
Toby was first out the door without a word to Mary Ann, followed by Tim and Sebastian. On the street, Toby opened the back door to the Mercedes SUV.
“The two of us will sit in the back,” Sebastian told Tim, getting in first. Tim followed, and Toby slammed the door just a tad too hard.
“He’ll be okay as soon as we get out of the city,” Sebastian said to reassure Tim.
Toby walked around to the driver’s side, got in, started the SUV, and headed south.
As Toby approached Interstate 695, Sebastian told him that he and Tim would need some privacy. In response, Toby reached into his jacket and produced his iPhone and a set of earbuds. He placed the earbuds in his ears and began to listen to music. Tim could hear that Toby was listening to the band Guns N’ Roses. Loudly.
Sebastian turned and smiled at Tim. “That’s a little method I worked out. Sometimes, there are things that Toby doesn’t need to hear.”
“And Mary Ann?” Tim replied. “Do you have a little method worked out for her as well?”
Sebastian just laughed. “Yes. They are quite the pair, are they not? Did Mary Ann tell you how I found them?”
“She gave me some song and dance story of you rigging a poker game or something,” Tim answered, wondering if Sebastian was going to start trashing Toby and Mary Ann.
Sebastian laughed again. “Oh, I wish it was that interesting. The truth is that I found them in Las Vegas, and they did owe some money. I paid that off on the condition that they would work for me for at least one year. I installed Mary Ann at your bar, and yes, it was to keep an eye on you. I did not anticipate that you two would become emotionally involved with each other.”
“What can I say, Sebastian? It must be my charm.”
Toby had exited on Interstate 70, and Tim wondered if they were still headed for Virginia.
“Well, I certainly did not tell her to become involved with you in a sexual manner. If anything, it just complicates matters. Mary Ann does have a bad habit of not doing what she’s told.”
Tim sensed that Sebastian was telling him the truth. It certainly would complicate things if your hired muscle had a broken heart. The last thing anyone needed in an operation was a distraction. That’s how mistakes were made.
Tim was also bothered by Sebastian’s remark about Mary Ann not following orders. It indicated to Tim that Sebastian may be considering ending his relationship with Mary Ann in a negative way.
Sebastian continued to speak. “If you would try hard not to mention Mary Ann around Toby, that would help a lot. He still has feelings for her, and I’m not sure I could control him if he gets angry.”
Toby was now approaching Frederick, Maryland and the junction of I70 and I270. He exited onto US Route 340, and Tim saw a sign for US Route 15 and Virginia. Tim now knew where he was and where the three of them were going.
Leaving Maryland, US Route 15 began to follow a gentle hill, which led to an old iron-frame bridge that crossed the Potomac River into the Commonwealth of Virginia. Once across the bridge, Toby made a sharp right turn onto another road. Tim looked at the signpost to see the name Lovettsville Road and recalled giving that address to the taxi driver at BWI.
Toby traveled another half mile and made a sudden left onto a gravel road that took what seemed to be a 90-degree angle. There was a clearing at the top of the hill which revealed a large brick home with a circular driveway, a black Mercedes S Class parked out front and an older Land Rover parked in a garage. The Land Rover was the classic type that you might see on the old TV show Daktari.
As Tim got out of the SUV, he noticed that the house had a commanding view of the Potomac River. “I used to live here,” he said out loud.
“Yes, you did. Welcome home, darling,” a woman’s voice said from behind him. Tim turned around and saw that the woman was his wife, Pamela.
Pamela, or Pam, as she was generally known, was in her early fifties, but could certainly pass for a woman in her forties. She was 5’6” and had shoulder-length blonde hair. She wore makeup and was dressed smartly, perhaps like a high-end real estate agent.
She gave Tim a hug, but not the type of hug a wife might give a long-lost husband, Tim thought. More like the hug one would give a friend that they hadn’t seen for a while—which was pretty much the case, Tim realized.
“Please come in. We have a lot to catch up on,” Pam said.
As Tim and Sebastian walked past her, Tim heard Pam call out to Toby. “Toby, dear? Can I get you anything?”
“No thanks, Mrs. H,” was Toby’s reply. He seemed perfectly okay to stay outside.
Toby dear, Tim repeated to himself. Nothing like getting personal with the help. But Pam was that kind of person—just nice to everyone.
The house was immaculately furnished with various antiques, mostly from Asia. China, Thailand, and maybe India. Tim recognized most of the furnishings, but there were some new items, like a life-sized Buddha standing at the end of the hallway. “Where did he come from?” Tim asked.
“Oh, I brought him home last year. I actually bought him at an antique store here in Virginia.” Pam pointed in a southerly direction, which was her way of expressing ‘here in Virginia.’ “You know, I’m a practicing Buddhist now,” Pam added.
That did not surprise Tim in the least. He remembered that Pam was always New Age, and becoming a Buddhist was just a natural progression for her. But he highly doubted that she’d give up material possessions, which was part of the Buddhist teachings.
The tour of the downstairs ended in the kitchen. “Let go upstairs now,” Pam said, leading the way to a back stairway.
Once they reached the second floor, she turned left and walked toward the master bedroom. It was a magnificent room that too
k up the entire front of the house and offered a stunning view of the Potomac River and Lovettsville Road. There was a canopy bed that was at least three feet high and required steps. Tim had a faint memory of falling out of this bed at one time or another. There were also walk-in closets on each side of the room and a master bath. Pam opened the closet on the right side and turned on a light. The closet was full of men’s clothing. Tim’s clothes.
“These are yours, honey,” Pam said as she walked through. Next, Pam opened another door, which led to a smaller bedroom. The room was furnished with a large single bed in an oak frame. There was a matching chest of drawers across from the bed and next to a door that led to the master bath. There was also a small table and two chairs next to the window. Tim walked over and looked out. Straight ahead were woods, but when Tim looked to his left, he saw that he also had a view of the river.
“I thought Tim would start out in here,” Pam mentioned casually as she walked out the door so she could show off the other two rooms on the second floor.
“So, this is my room,” Tim said to himself. It was so WASP-y for the husband to have a separate bedroom from the wife. Tim turned and followed Pam and Sebastian as Pam showed off the other two bedrooms and bath on the second floor. Next, the three descended down the main staircase, where Pam opened a door which led to the basement.
“Wait until you see this, Tim,” Pam said with a bit of excitement in her voice. Probably some new dungeon Pam built while I was gone, Tim thought, almost believing it to be true.
Pam flipped the light switch at the bottom of the stairs. A bank of florescent lights came on that revealed a finished basement. In the middle was a large worktable with a granite top. That was a sink with hot and cold-water taps sunk into the table and a gas line used for a Bunsen burner. The table appeared to come from a science laboratory. There were several cabinets lining the walls. Pam opened each one of these to reveal a number of instruments, glass test tubes, plus boxes and tubes of chemical compounds. There was also another cabinet filled with chemistry and biology books.
“I think you will find everything you’ll need right here, Tim, although we can get you anything that we don’t have. Now, you have to see this.”
Pam walked to what looked like a stone wall. She removed one stone in the wall, which revealed a lock. She took a key from around her neck and placed it in the lock. A door that appeared to be part of the wall opened to another large room.
They descended down about ten steps as the lights came on. Tim saw what appeared to be a very sophisticated safe room. The room looked to be at least three hundred square feet with a nine-foot-high ceiling.
Pam walked over to a bank of TV screens and turned on a switch. They could now see each room in the entire house as well as outside. There was also a screen showing CNN, where a talking head was calling the President an idiot. Tim could not remember a point in his lifetime where newscasters had ever called the President of the United States an idiot, even if he really was one.
On another screen, he could see Toby leaning against the SUV, smoking a cigarette. There was also a microphone. “Can I speak to Toby?” Tim asked.
“Sure,” Pam replied as she pressed a button next to Toby’s screen.
“Toby?” Tim said. “This is the Surgeon General speaking. I have determined that smoking is very bad for your health.”
Toby did not move except to raise his hand and give the finger.
Pam laughed. “Leave poor Toby alone. He knows all about the surveillance system—he helped me design it. Toby was a top private investigator in Las Vegas.”
“Yes, so I understand,” Tim deadpanned.
Sebastian shot Tim a look as if to say to lay off Toby.
As Pam, Tim, and Sebastian left the safe room, they passed what Tim recognized as a gun safe. “So, what’s in here, honey?” Tim asked sarcastically.
Pam walked in front of Tim and keyed in a combination. She was at an angle where Tim was unable to see, but it sounded like a four-digit code. The door opened to reveal four M16 type rifles and two 12-gauge shotguns. Below that were six 9 mm pistols and two revolvers of some caliber.
“Well, we are certainly prepared to rob the Bank of Lovettsville,” Tim joked, but neither Pam nor Sebastian laughed. Pam closed the safe and started back upstairs.
“For security purposes only,” Pam said, referring to the gun safe.
Yes, Tim thought. The Agency was not about guns. Guns were for the cowboys at the FBI and ATF. The Agency only resorted to firearms when absolutely necessary. Tim always laughed at that rule, since “absolutely necessary” seemed to occur much more often than anyone at Langley would like to admit.
With the tour of the Lovettsville house now concluded, Pam, Tim, and Sebastian retired to the library. Pam made drinks for the three of them, then sat in a chair in front of Tim and Sebastian. “What do you think of the setup, Tim?”
“It’s great, assuming you’ll be hosting some chemistry students,” Tim deadpanned, “but I don’t get what it has to do with me.”
Pam shot Sebastian a look which seemed to ask what the fuck was going on, but Sebastian just held up his hand. “Tim,” he started, “will you recite the periodic table and its symbols for Pam?”
Tim’s first reaction was to say that he had no idea what the periodic table was, but, almost automatically, he began to recite.
“Well, you start with, I mean do you want it listed by element and symbols alphabetically?”
“Yes, that would be fine,” Sebastian agreed.
“Okay, well, actinium is Ac, silver is Ag, aluminum is Ai, americium is Am, argon is Ar...” Tim’s recitation made it to potassium before Sebastian held up his hand for Tim to stop.
“That’s quite the parlor trick, Sebastian, but does he remember what it all means?” Pam was looking directly at Sebastian.
“Eh, I’m in the room too, Pam,” Tim remarked with a wave.
“Of course, you are, honey,” Pam replied, but Tim detected a somewhat patronizing tone in her voice.
“It’s all still in there someplace, Pam,” Sebastian said as he looked at Tim’s head. “We determined that in Santa Domingo.”
“Okay, but can he remember enough to use it?” Pam said, still acting as if Tim was not in the room.
However, Tim no longer cared about the etiquette of conversation. He was more concerned about how Sebastian was able to get him recite the periodic table. It had come to him automatically, as if it had been programed into his brain: a table of the chemical elements arranged in order of atomic number, usually in rows, so that the elements with similar atomic structure appear in vertical columns. Tim could also see a picture of the table in his mind.
Tim had not noticed Pam walk over to one of the bookshelves, where she removed two books. He looked up as she was walking back toward him.
“Here you go, Einstein. See if you can remember anything in here.” Pam handed Tim the books. “I’ve made chili and beans if anyone is hungry,” she added as she headed back to the kitchen.
Tim looked at the two books. One was a college-level textbook named Advanced Chemistry. The other was called The Practical Applications of Chemical Formulas by Dr. Timothy Hall.
Chapter 14
Tim opened The Practical Application of Chemical Formulas and went straight for the copyright page. 1974, University of California Press. This was the book Tim had written during his doctoral work at Berkeley. He hadn’t really forgotten this, but since he had no use for that information, he’d just put it out of his mind. Now, though, it was all coming back. He’d studied chemistry at UC Berkeley for, god, six years and had started working on his Ph.D. when he was recruited by the Agency. The book was the last thing he had finished before he traveled east to spy school, where he met Pam.
Spy school was the first time Tim had ever been east of the Mississippi River, and that was just a short trip to visit Northwestern University in Chicago. Tim was born and bred in Fort Bragg, California, the only child of two schooltea
chers who Tim recalled paid very little attention to him. His parents made sure that he was clothed and fed but did little else. Tim could not even recall having one conversation with either of his parents of any significance.
Tim’s parents did put aside a sum of money for his higher education. Tim’s college fund, as it was known. He’d picked Berkeley because it was close to home and the only life he had ever known.
After earning his undergraduate degree, Tim decided to become a teacher like his parents and return to the Fort Bragg area. This plan changed when both of Tim’s parents died within six months of each other, effectively leaving him an orphan at the age of 22. Tim buried one and then the other parent, then sold the small house where he was raised. He took the proceeds from his parents’ estate and returned to Berkeley. He got an apartment and moved in with his college girlfriend, a woman named Sarah.
With his girlfriend’s encouragement, Tim decided to enter the graduate program in chemistry in order to obtain his Ph.D. From there, Tim thought he would eventually become a college-level chemistry professor. This particular plan seemed to work out very well. Tim was popular with the professors in the Chemistry Department and was even able to publish a textbook with their support. Tim also got along with Sarah very well and thought seriously about asking her to marry him. The two of them could then become teachers, just like his parents. The irony of this was not lost on Tim, yet he determined that it was the life he wanted.
All of that would change the day Tim was visited by two men in dark suits.
Tim had already been recruited by a number of large corporations such as Dow Chemicals and DuPont, but he had little interest in that kind of work. Teaching, on the other hand, seemed to offer a sort of relaxed, easygoing lifestyle. And if he could become a tenured professor at one of the many colleges and universities in the state of California, then he and Sarah would have it made for life.
Tim expected that these two men in the dark suits were just two more recruiters from some major chemical corporation. Therefore, he was quite surprised when they told him that they represented the United States government and that his talents were needed to help save the world from total destruction.
The Adults in the Room Page 8