by Mel LeBrun
Once they had their phones and exchanged numbers, Michael left them to go see Jessica. He didn't want to drag Martin and Katie along. He also didn't know if they were being followed and he knew it would be easier for him to lose a tail by himself rather than with a group. Josh wanted to go with him, but Michael insisted he go alone. He told Josh he would call him if he needed help.
He walked a few blocks on foot using reflections in mirrors and windows to keep an eye on the people behind him. No one stuck out. He pulled out his phone as he walked and called Jessica.
“Hello?” Jessica answered.
“Hey, Jess. It's me.”
“Michael, are you okay? Where are you?”
“I'm coming, we just had to pick up some phones and I wanted to make sure I wasn't being followed.”
“Are you?”
“Not that I can tell.” He stopped abruptly and turned around. A man walking on the sidewalk behind him suddenly stopped as well. He looked at his watch then stepped into a bank that was nearby. “Hmm. Okay, maybe I am.”
“Oh, fantastic.”
“Relax. I'll be there shortly. I'm going to stop at the bank first. I'll talk to you soon.”
“Michael ...”
Without saying anything more, he pulled the phone from his ear and closed it. He started walking to the bank that the man turned into. He entered the building, coming face to face with the suspicious man as he was leaving. Michael smiled at him. The man looked like he was about to be sick. He tried to breeze past but Michael made sure to bump into him. As he did, he lifted the man's wallet, or at least what he thought was his wallet. The man left in a nervous hurry. Michael stepped back outside watching him walk away. He opened the wallet and wasn't sure how to feel about what he found. The man following him was an FBI agent. Now feeling uneasy about Jessica being guarded by the FBI, he dialed another number from his phone and put it to his ear.
“I need to speak with Agent Timothy Gatti,” Michael said.
“I'm sorry. We don't have anyone by that name working here.”
“Tell him it's Michael Cailen.” He hung up and waited. A minute passed before his phone rang with a private number. “Hi Tim.”
“Michael, what's up?”
“Jessica is with the FBI. I was on my way to meet her when I spotted someone following me. He turned out to be FBI.”
“That's not good,” Gatti remarked
“I'm feeling a little nervous about who she's with right now,” Michael admitted.
“Well don't. I can vouch for both of them.”
“Really? How's that?”
“I can't tell you.”
“That doesn't work for me, Tim.”
He heard Gatti sigh on the other end.
“Michael, just trust me.”
“I trust you. Why should I trust them?”
Gatti's response was silence.
“Tim?”
“Michael, if I tell you, you can't tell anyone. Not Josh, Jessica, and especially not the agents. No one. Am I clear?” Gatti's tone was serious.
“As a bell.”
“One of the agents with her is CIA,” Gatti admitted.
“I thought they were FBI?” said Michael
“They are. But Special Agent Lance Corvo is really one of ours.”
“You guys have your fingers in everything don't you?”
Gatti ignored the remark. “She's safe. Lance trusts his partner Mark Preston. You can trust both of them.”
“So what's with the tail?”
“I really don't know. Mention it to Lance and he'll look into it. Just don't let on that you know, Michael.”
“No worries, Tim.” Michael hung up and continued on his way to meet Jessica.
Finally, he arrived at the hotel and knocked on the door to the room. Corvo had Jessica look to make sure it was Michael. She declared it was and then walked away from the door. Corvo and Preston gave each other a nervous look.
Jessica had been visibly livid since her last conversation with Michael when he hung up on her. Corvo introduced himself and Preston as he let Michael in. Michael greeted them then looked over at Jessica who was facing away from him. He stood for a few seconds wondering why she was acting like that. He stepped closer to her. “Jess?”
Corvo and Preston knew how upset she was and were anticipating a blow out. They moved away from the pair.
Michael reached out, gently touching her arm. She responded to his touch in a way he wasn't quite expecting. She whipped around, raising her hand to slap him. He instinctively blocked it which only made her more angry. She tried to use her other hand, but he grabbed her wrist.
“Whoa. Take it easy.” He tried to calm her down.
“Don't you ever hang up on me like that again,” she spoke through clenched teeth as tears began streaming down her face.
“I'm sorry,” he said, a tad stunned by how upset she was.
“I was so scared.” She started bawling.
He took her in his arms and held her close. “I'm sorry, Jess.”
She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. He squeezed her tight, telling her he loved her and again that he was sorry. She cried in his arms for what felt like an eternity to Preston and Corvo. The trauma of what she went through and him not being there had taken its toll on her.
“Come on.” Michael kissed her head. “Let's get you cleaned up.”
He walked her into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. He grabbed a washcloth from off the linen rack and went to wet it in the sink. Before he could, Jessica reached her hands up to his neck and began kissing him with an intensity he had never felt before. He slipped his arms around her again pulling her close as they settled into a passionate kiss.
Preston and Corvo had been sitting on the bed the entire time staring at the floor, not knowing what to do during Jessica's breakdown. They breathed a sigh of relief when Michael took her into the bathroom.
Preston looked at Corvo. “You ever date anyone that emotional?”
Corvo just stared at the floor and shook his head, no.
“Me neither,” Preston admitted. “Don't think I'd want to.”
Corvo raised his eyebrows while shaking his head in agreement, never taking his eyes off the floor. They sat there in silence for another five minutes.
“They've been in there a while,” Preston observed.
Corvo nodded his head.
“You think she's okay?”
Another nod.
“You think they're..?”
Preston didn't even have to finish the question and Corvo was again nodding his head.
“Well.” Preston sighed. “At least some of us are having fun.”
Corvo chuckled painfully.
“How do you suppose they know people inside the CIA?” Preston asked. “I always thought, like, your own brother could be CIA and you wouldn't know?”
Corvo just shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Chapter 7
Michael and Jessica emerged from the bathroom looking disheveled. Jessica appeared calm and content while Michael looked exhausted and worn out. Preston was sitting up watching TV. Corvo was lying down shirtless with a bag of ice on his bruised chest.
“Have fun?” Preston grinned.
Jessica's face turned bright red. She crossed her arms and walked over to the other bed and sat down.
Michael was trying not to smile. “What happened to you?” He directed his question to Corvo.
“Took one to the chest at close range,” Corvo answered.
Michael grimaced at the thought. He had taken similar hits in the distant past. You never forget the pain.
“Think I have a broken rib too,” he added.
“You taking anything for the pain?” Michael asked.
“No, we didn't really have time to pick anything up,” Corvo replied,
“We tried to call an ambulance for him. He refused,” Preston chimed in, annoyed at Corvo's stubbornness.
Michael grinned. He li
ked Corvo already. “Anyone have cash?” he asked.
“Some. Why?” Corvo answered.
“I'll go pick up some pain meds,” Michael offered.
Corvo reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. He tossed it on the bed. “Just take it.”
Michael slipped the cash into his pocket.
“By the way ...” He tossed the FBI badge he took off the man following him on the bed. “This guy was following me. Any idea why?”
Preston grabbed the badge before Corvo could reach it. He looked at Michael. “How did you get this?”
“Told you. He was following me. I took it from him.”
Corvo took it from Preston. “He wasn't following orders from me, that's for sure. What did you do to him?”
“Nothing. He ran off when he knew I was onto him.”
“I'll look into it,” Corvo assured him.
“Thanks.”
MICHAEL RETURNED with painkillers. He tossed the bottle of pills to Corvo then filled one of the little plastic cups in the bathroom with water and brought it to him. Corvo groaned in pain as he sat up. He thanked Michael and swallowed the pills.
“So what happened?” Michael asked.
Corvo proceeded to tell him about being followed, how they captured one of the drivers and how he was subsequently shot.
“What did you get out of him?”
“Nothing.” Corvo sighed.
“Let me talk to him,” Michael said.
“I'm afraid that won't be possible,” Corvo answered.
“Do I need to go over your head?” Michael tried to pressure him.
“Unless you're good friends with God, I don't see how that's going to help you,” Corvo said.
“He's dead?” His eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“Apparently he kept a cyanide pill on his wrist under some latex. Looked like a scar,” Preston chimed in.
“Who does that?” Michael asked, feeling disturbed by the news.
“My thoughts exactly,” Corvo replied.
Michael took a deep breath then glanced over at Jessica who was watching him, curled up on the bed hugging her knees. He walked over and sat down next to her. “How are you holding up?”
She rested her head on her arms. “You're leaving, aren't you?”
He sighed. “You know I have to.”
She turned away from him and looked at the wall.
He frowned. “Jess.”
A few seconds passed before she suddenly moved towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tight. He hugged her back, tightly embracing her.
“Please be careful,” she whispered.
He pushed her away so he could look in her eyes. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I will.” He leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
When he stood up he was confronted by Corvo. “Where do you think you're going?”
“We don't know who's after her or why. They've lost the trail, they're going to go to anywhere they think they can pick it up again,” Michael replied.
“Get to the 'you're leaving' part,” Corvo demanded.
“I know where they are right now, but they won't be there for long. If I want answers, I need to go now.”
“Where are they?” Corvo asked.
Michael looked away and smirked. “You don't really think I'm going to tell an FBI agent my plans, do you?” He looked back at him.
“I want to get to the bottom of this too, Michael. Why don't we work together?”
“I don't think so.” Michael brushed past him and out the door. Preston watched on, wondering how it was going to play out.
Corvo followed him into the hallway. “You can't go home alone,” he spoke quietly.
Michael grinned to himself. Knowing Corvo was CIA was a huge advantage. “What makes you think I'm going home?”
“You and I both know it's the first place they'll look.”
He turned around to face Corvo. “And if I manage to get one. What then? Arrest him, take him in for questioning? Hope he talks?”
Michael could see the wheels turning in Corvo's head. He wanted to go with him but he didn't want to seem too eager to break the law.
Corvo bit his bottom lip. “As long as you don't kill them, I can look the other way.”
“Fine,” he agreed.
“Let me get my gun.” Corvo went back into the room to grab his shirt, gun, and badge. He told Preston he was going with Michael. Preston was not pleased, but he didn't have much choice.
Michael never would have allowed Corvo to tag along if Gatti hadn't told him he was CIA. Knowing that, he knew Corvo wouldn't fret over breaking a few laws. Another advantage was that CIA operatives were trained to notice things a normal person, or even an FBI agent, wouldn't think twice about. They were also very smart. You can't be a covert operative if you're dumb as a doornail. Having him around could prove very useful.
As they left the hotel, Corvo asked how they would get to his house. Michael thought it was interesting he didn't suggest taking his vehicle, which was readily available. If Corvo was just an FBI agent then it would have been totally natural and even logical for him to propose taking his vehicle. Corvo, however, knew it would be a bad idea to show up in anything that could be traced back to him or the hotel. It would be better to steal a car and he was hoping Michael would suggest it, which he did. He pretended to protest, but Michael insisted it was safer this way. He made an act of caving in and they were soon driving a stolen Camry to Michael's home.
“By the way, Michael. While you were out stealing this car, I tried to get hold of that agent who was following you. He's not answering his phone and no one has heard from him in a while. I have someone looking for him,” Corvo informed him.
“That doesn't bode well.”
“No. It doesn't,” Corvo agreed. “Any idea what they're after?”
“I have no idea. But I can't wait to find out.”
Michael stopped the car a block from his house. “How are we going to do this?” he asked.
Corvo opened his mouth to speak when his phone rang. “Agent Corvo,” he answered. “Are they certain? How long? All right, thanks.” Corvo hung up the phone, took a deep breath and released it. “They found the agent who was following you. He's dead. His body was found a few hours ago in an alley. They just confirmed his identity.”
“Oh, this just gets better,” Michael said, shaking his head
“They probably don't know my face.” Corvo returned focus to the mission at hand. “I could make a pass and see if anything stands out.”
“All right,” Michael agreed.
He climbed into the backseat and lay down. Corvo slid into the driver's seat. He drove down the street looking at everything and everyone. He kept it just under the speed limit so as not to draw any undue attention to them.
“Michael, I don't see anyone watching the house.”
“Doesn't mean they're not.”
Corvo tilted his head and scrunched is face. “Maybe.”
“Drop me off on the other road and keep an eye on me as I approach the house,” Michael suggested. “If someone is watching, you should be able to spot them.”
Corvo did as he asked. He watched Michael walk down the sidewalk to his house. He looked around in cars and in the windows of nearby homes. He couldn't see anyone watching the house. Perhaps someone was inside, he thought to himself. He pulled up closer as Michael approached his house.
Michael stepped through his front door and wasted no time retrieving a gun he kept hidden in a closet in the entry. He checked the clip and cocked it as he began searching the house. It was empty. He came out to see the Camry parked in his driveway. Outside it Corvo was standing, looking around at the neighbors' homes.
“They're not here.” Corvo said it before Michael could.
They both seemed baffled. “Why not?” Michael asked. He pulled out his phone and called Josh. He asked him if there was anyone watching his place. Josh checked and told him no. Michael
asked him to check again, which he did, but the answer was still no. He thanked him and hung up.
“They don't know where she is,” Michael thought out loud. “The first thing they, or anyone, should do is start with what they know, her home, friends. They should be here, but they're not.”
Corvo had a sudden and unsettling realization. “Maybe it's because they already know where she is.”
The thought struck Michael like a bolt of lightning. He ran to the car and jumped in the driver's seat. Corvo barely had enough time to get in before he took off. Michael dialed Josh again.
“Josh! You need to get to Jessica right now!”
Josh could hear the panic in his voice. “What's going on?”
“I think they know where Jess is. I'm at the house. You're closer.”
“Where is she?”
Michael gave him the address to the hotel and her room number.
“I'm leaving now,” Josh said as he raced from his apartment.
Corvo then tried to reach Preston. After a few rings he answered.
“Mark! I think you might have company soon. We believe they know Jessica is there and they might be coming for her,” Corvo warned him.
“What? How?”
“There's no time to explain. You need to get out of there,” Corvo urged him.
“All right, all right. We're going.”
Preston hung up the phone looking anxious and distressed. Before Jessica could ask what was wrong, he told her to grab her stuff, they had to leave.
“What's going on?” She grabbed her purse and slide her phone inside it.
“My partner thinks they know you're here,” he told her as he walked to the door.
He checked the peephole, then opened the door looking both ways down the hall. It was clear. He motioned for Jessica to come while stepping into the hallway. She was right behind him as he started walking. Two men emerged from the elevator ahead of them. The men looked surprised to see them in the hallway and one started reaching for a gun in his waistband. Preston yelled for Jessica to run while he drew his. She wasted no time moving in the opposite direction of the gunmen. She feared for Preston, but her adrenaline and survival instincts took over. Shots rang out in the hallway behind her. She turned to look just as Preston went down. The men were standing right over him. She couldn't help but pause to see what would happen to him. She saw blood on the wall that she knew must be his, and he wasn't moving. Her heart sank thinking he was likely dead. One of the men was doubled over. Preston must have gotten off a good shot before he went down.