Redemptio Animae

by Sydney Gibson

  I groaned, standing up, taking the files with me, I dumped my coffee and followed the two to the front door and out to the Cadillac.

  Davidek held open the back door giving me a look, "I hate to shove you in the backseat, Claire. I think Kit should drive to get the GPS and route generator down and I want to sit in the front to get a refresher on the system as well. I may come to you later to buy the program to integrate it into some of my own vehicles."

  I smiled, patting his arm, "I will allow it just this once." I climbed into the back while the two climbed into the front seat to begin fiddling with the route generator. Kit cursing quietly when she continued to get the gentle robotic English voice telling her, "ROUTE ERROR. PLEASE TRY AGAIN." Each time Bo didn't wait for the system to catch up before hitting the initiate button.

  I retreated from the cursing and grumbles to the files Davidek handed me. I slowly tuned out Kit and Davidek bickering at each other and the GPS.

  The first file I opened was the quick field debriefing from the motel incident, it was written by the two agents originally sent to investigate the compound.

  "The entire motel and surrounding property was victim to a catastrophic fire. Most evidence was lost. Critical evidence remaining is partially destroyed and will take days to weeks to decipher. There is no clear information on who Alistair Montgomery is and if he was in the compound recently. There are no signs of the key items requested by section chief." I sighed when I saw the name of the Section Chief blacked out. Typical of the CIA. Hide behind the wipes of a magic marker. "Refer to classified file 740-1467 for an inventory list of key items. Agent Reagan found blood spatter on the staircase as you exit the basement/point of ignition. Two different spatter angles and heights may suggest two different subjects in the area. Tried to send swabs off to the lab but was interceded by the FBI evidence team. They have taken over most of the jurisdiction at the motel, but are sharing, they have more cases involving Alistair Montgomery and his church, more open cases and therefore have first dibs.

  Witness statements suggest there were two possible parties at the motel right before the fire. Multiple witnesses report hearing gunshots and one neighbor states they saw a possible female form run into the woods, bloodied. Witness in question is also half blind and only saw the fire from a house sitting on a small hill two hundred yards away from the motel. Interviews were conducted around the town and turned up little. Appears the neighbors are happy to see the "Church" burned down.

  The evidence in regards to Senator C. Avondale has been handed over to the FBI and Section Chief for further review. "

  The report was signed off by an Agent Regan and Agent Borneo. I set the pages down. If the FBI ran the swabs they would only get a blood type. The immense amount of heat would more than likely destroy any DNA and other identifying characteristics, so Kit would be safe there.

  The witness statements were obviously written off by the two agents leaving Kit out of the picture again. I had to make sure Kit would not be placed at the motel by either agency, that happening would result in a lot of explaining and possibly handing over the notebook or face concealing evidence charges. I sighed and made mental notes to have Ivan ping key words in his chatter searches.

  I tucked the debriefing away and looked over the small handful of scene photos Davidek had acquired, the room was charred to a deep black and unrecognizable as a room. Burnt masses of desks, papers and walls filled the images most of the images, leaving nothing to even the imagination to pick out. Davidek had told me that the entire room was decorated as a shrine to me, showing me the pictures Kit had taken with her phone.

  It unnerved me, flat out frightened me, but I held it in, walking away from the images he laid out on the lab counter in the basement. Bottling up the fear and confusion of why I was the object of morbid affection from this mad man and returned to the serum, tweaking it for hours to save Kit. That alone effectively and silently told him I did not want to discuss that room and its contents any further.

  I knew one of the key items discussed was the notebook I secured in my safe. There would be no way anyone would get that until I was done with it, then it would be destroyed so no one would have it. I set the photos with the debriefing, I oddly found a small comfort in knowing the CIA was at an equal loss of who Alistair was and all of his why's behind his actions. We both were on equal footing and no idea where to turn to next.

  I looked up at the front seat, barely noticing that Kit and Davidek had finally gotten us on the road. Both now indulging in idle chatter about the weather and how both of them could barely handle the cold, I smiled at the silly complaints from them. Kit looked in the rear view mirror, catching my eyes, holding them for a moment. I could see the grin on her face as it touched the corners of her eyes. I winked at her before I looked away, picking up the Bourne file, letting Kit focus on driving and not on me.

  The file was thick and obviously copies taken from the internet. I went to open it when I saw the capital building pass by in my peripheral. Kit turned halfway in her seat, "We're here, where do I go to park?"

  I shoved the Bourne file into my briefcase, "Take a right, the underground access is the first left after. I have a designated spot near the elevator we can take up to the main offices. My office will be there." Kit smiled, turning back in her seat, following the directions.

  Five minutes later I was standing in the back of the elevator behind my two bodyguards. Kit was visibly tense and nervous, this was her first time back on her old stomping grounds and it showed in the way she kept tugging at the sleeve of her coat. Davidek was visibly bored, trying to set the time on his Breitling watch to east coast time.

  I was anxious, anxious to get back into a rhythm of being back at the Senate and all of the awaiting work on my desk. I had left it all untouched for weeks as I fought my way through attacks and finding a new love that made me forget the desire to work.

  I let my mind wander and my eyes wander to how well Kit's pants fit her and if I could go the day leaving her untouched. I sighed, shifting the briefcase in my hands, tearing my eyes from her and to the digital floor counter, ticking off numbers until it reached level two. The doors dinged open and Kit turned to me as Davidek exited first. "After you Senator Avondale." I shot her a sarcastic, dirty look that made her giggle, smoothed out my coat and exited the faux wood and metal box. Sucking in the first few breaths of stale office air, taking deep breaths in through my nose as I began the slow transformation into Senator Avondale.

  Being back in the Senate and Congress offices felt strange, new and scary, scary like a first day of kindergarten.

  I knew I would run into former co-workers and former details, this was a hard fact. I hoped I could maneuver out of any lengthy conversation or shitty side remarks that could set my temper off or instigate Claire's quiet rage. Directing at anyone who dared to openly judge me in front of her.

  I walked behind her, scanning the white antique halls. Looking over exhausted and ragged interns, the hurried pretentious secretaries and the smatterings of Secret Service Agents and capital police officers stationed here and there as points of protection.

  I bit the corner of my mouth when we walked up to the security checkpoint, recognizing the agent at the metal detector, checking everyone’s identifications.

  Agent Alan Coolidge still looked younger than his thirty three years would dictate. His dark auburn hair was free of grey and styled in the youthful, vintage cut he always loved from his mom's old movies. The bright green eyes smiled with him as he genuinely greeted all the Senators, interns, Congress members and visitors in his line. Treating them all the same, with equal amounts of kindness and respect.

  I shuffled to hide behind Claire when Alan spotted Davey and grinned. The three of us Davey, Alan and I, had worked together when I was fresh out of the academy and assigned to the other side of this building with the Florida Congresswoman.

  I wanted to shrink up, run to another entrance and loop back around, when I heard Alan. "Davey Janes
! How the heck are you?!"

  I heard the hearty back pats and the usual manly greetings followed by quick introductions to Claire. I was taking the opportunity to pick out my exit and take the slow starter steps to dash out of sight.

  I was one step away, when I heard, "Kit Witmer. I still need to see your identification, even though I would spot you in a crowd at Times Square in the middle of the day."

  I scrunched my face up, turning to face Alan, letting my scrunch turn to a genuine fake smile. Davey was grinning like a little brother, giving me a look that made me want to punch him in the gut. He knew exactly how awkward this was for me, especially with Claire standing by.

  Claire who was now giving me a, ‘are you okay look.’ I issued her a short nod, digging deep into my pocket for my ID. "Hi Alan." I met his green eyes as he took my ID card.

  "It's really good to see you, Kit. Are you back with the Agency?" He raised his eyebrows, his voice dropping a little bit into the soft, smooth, charming one I remembered from years ago.

  I cleared my throat, "Uh, no. I, um, work with Senator Avondale now. In an administrative capacity." My eyes darted to her amber ones squinting at me curiously, picking up on the strange amount of awkwardness that was between Alan and I.

  I waved over at Davey, "Davey found me the job and dragged me back to the east coast."

  Alan nodded slowly, handing back my ID card, "I heard you escaped to the sun and sand of the west coast." He met my eyes again, "It's really good to see you, it's been far too long, Kit."

  I cringed and went to take a step back, "Yeah, it has. Sorry about not calling you back before I left for London." Before I could take another step away, Alan reached out. His hand resting on my upper arm, squeezing affectionately, "Hey it’s okay, but maybe you can make it up to me at lunch? Maybe grab a salad at the cafeteria and you can fill me in on the last three years?" He paused, grinning, "You look really good, by the way."

  I smiled tightly, hearing Claire's irritated sigh followed by, "Ms. Witmer, we need to get to the office."

  I swung my head around to face her, she was doing her best to hide the irritation that came with jealousy. Jealousy that I could clearly see she was struggling with since it was such a foreign idea for her. I stepped back from Alan completely, "Yes Senator Avondale."

  Alan held his grin, patting me on the arm, "I will come by the Senator's office around one and take you to lunch." Alan had always been politely persistent. He turned to Davey and Claire, wishing them a pleasant day, then turned to the groggy intern holding her ID card out. Chatting with her about the day's weather.

  Claire took the lead, walking faster than before, her eyes dead set forward. Davey and I had to quick step to catch up. He nudged me with his elbow as we stopped behind Claire, "I still cannot believe you dated creepy Coolidge!" Claire's back stiffened ever so slightly when she heard him.

  I nudged Davey back, "It was only a month and a half. He isn't creepy, he's just old fashioned." I threw him a hard look, trying to motion towards Claire and her growing distance meant he needed to shut the fuck up.

  I did date Alan for one month and two weeks. I had found him to be really witty, charming, kind and handsome, but under it all he was really boring. Even in the bedroom it fell stale the two times we tried to consummate our attraction. I eventually played the "Let's be friends" card and moved on.

  Alan and I became good friends after, even though I could still see the lingering hope I would reverse my decision and take him back. I ended up keeping a polite distance and when Callum came into my life, there was nothing but him and the sweeping romance of London.

  Davey snickered, "Creepy Coolidge. I like the guy, but the way he looks at most of the girls is semi creepy." He raised his eyebrows, "Bold move with the, I'll pick you up at one for lunch. I bet he asks you out over the Capital Cobb salad."

  My arm shot out, slugging Davey in the shoulder hard, making him yelp. Claire paused, swinging around to face us, "If you two are done acting like stupid teenagers, I have work to do. We have work to do." She stared holes at Davey then gave me a look that could only be her stern attempt to hide the building jealousy of overhearing about my previous dating adventures. Claire waited a moment before turning around to the door in front of her, swiping her access card, she pushed the tall white door open. Revealing her office.

  Davey rubbed his shoulder, mumbling, "Someone's a little jealous of creepy Coolidge." He spoke it low enough that only he and I could hear it, I slugged him once more, then entered the office.

  Claire's office was larger than the other Senator and Congress members I had been in. There was a small desk next to a set of dark wooden double doors. Claire walked purposefully, pointing at the small desk as she passed, "That is your desk Kit. It's primarily for show when I have meetings and conference calls." She pushed the double doors open, "This is my office."

  There was huge dark mahogany desk in the middle of the room. Book shelves lined the walls, filled with endless rows of legal texts, history books and binders. There was a small seating area with boring conservative pale yellow couches.

  Claire tossed her briefcase on the desk, pulling out the large leather chair to sit. She pointed in random directions, still visibly agitated by my hallway reunion, "There is a fully equipped bathroom over there, shower and tub. Over there is extra file storage." She flicked a hand over the black plastic phone on her desk, "The phone system has not changed in ten years. I am sure you will still be familiar with them." When she finally looked up at me, I felt the full force of the Senator. She only did that when she was upset, irritated or hiding something. Claire would slide into the Doctor or the Senator, depending on the situation and what hat fit best.

  I moved to the desk, "Claire, Alan is just a friend at best. I can't even call him an ex. We barely dated."

  Claire smiled tightly, "That's fine. I understand you have friends." She held my eyes for a second, "I just hope it doesn't distract you from the work here and maintaining a professional appearance." Claire dropped her eyes to the desk, picking up the stacks of paper and moving them across the desk with harsh movements.

  Claire was jealous. Plain and simple. Jealous of a man I dated for a hot minute and utterly forgot about until just now.

  I tried to hold in the smile, watching the brilliant perfect woman fight around one of the most basic human emotions. "Claire, you don't need to worry. I think by now you would know you're all I ne..."

  Claire cut me off, "I need to make a call to Senator Rogers before eight a.m. If I don't, I will never get to talk to him for the rest of the day about next week’s committee hearing." She snatched the phone up, dialing out, "You and Davidek should get to work examining the office." She raised her eyebrows, signaling to me the conversation was done for now. I saw in her eyes that I did indeed catch her in her jealousy and she was going to do her damned best to ignore it, hoping I would too.

  Normally I would have been upset with Claire, but knowing she was jealous filled my heart in unexplained ways. I held my hands up, backing away, "Yes Senator Avondale." I smiled lightly, leaving the office, closing the double doors behind me. Cutting away the sounds of her cheerfully greeting Senator Rogers.

  I found Davey at my desk, clicking through the computer. I walked over to him, slugging him in the same spot on his shoulder. "Good job. Claire is all grumpy now. Why did you have to make a big deal out of Alan? She's apparently jealous of him and I, and now there's a mild cold front coming my way."

  Davey frowned, rubbing his shoulder, "What are you talking about? Claire never gets jealous. Her big brain does not compute that particular emotion. Even in high school when her crushes dated boys or let her down. She would shrug it off and claim it was a part of life." He squinted at me, "She must truly love you, Kit."

  I shoved him out of my chair, "Well she computes it now. The Senator told us to go do some work immediately." I pointed at him like an angry teacher, "If this cold front hits the bedroom, I will cut all your ties to shreds."


  Davey frowned deeper, "I don't want to know about your bedroom, her bedroom or what goes on in any of them. Bits is like my twin sister. She doesn't have...you know. Girl parts."

  I chuckled at his discomfort, enjoying the new relationship he and I had silently adopted, "Trust me, Davey boy, she has girl parts." I took a deep breath as thoughts of Claire naked hit the lingering serum, causing a delicious ache to form in my body. I coughed to clear my head, "Let's get to work. We can check the firewalls first until Claire is done with her calls. Then we can go over her office."

  _____________________

  Davey and I worked through the morning. He adjusted Claire's email firewalls and increased her ISP protection, making it harder for breaches or leaks to weasel in. Claire was in and out of her office for most of the day, on the phone with other Senators and only coming to me to drop off memos or notes about random things that needed to be added to her schedule. She had eased up from earlier and would smile at me when our eyes met, but before either of us could say anything or apologize, an intern would rush in, handing her mail and new memos.

  Davey had left to meet with one of his old Secret Service buddies to go over more of the old building on a whole. I busied myself with answering fan emails, finding the irony of how boring Claire's job was compared to the shit show of her life as a wunderkind geneticist.

  I sipped the last of my coffee, relishing in the boredom of not having to stick on top of Claire while in the office. It gave us space and felt less stifling compared to the last few weeks, she was always in my sight and I would have first contact with anyone who came into the office.

  Around one fifteen, my stomach increased its loud complaints for food. Angry I had only given it coffee and a few pieces of candy from the glass dish sitting on the small table reserved for visitors. I sent off the last thank you for supporting Senator Avondale email and stood up, walking to Claire's open door, knocking lightly on the door frame.