The Agent's Daughter

by Ron Corriveau

  Melina turned to Alex, who was still dazed by the kiss. “I guess I have to go,” she said.

  Angela grabbed Melina by the hand and led her toward the sidewalk. Melina looked back at Alex and waved as she disappeared around the corner.

  Chapter 12

  Evan stood bent over the side of Laura’s hospital bed with his face buried in her pillow, his face next to hers. He had been a fixture at her side since the previous night’s escape from William’s building, and he had fallen asleep. Because Laura was a witness to William’s scheme, Evan did not feel comfortable leaving her alone until he was sure everyone involved had been captured. He had sent Melina to a safe house for the night for the same reason.

  Although it was morning, the room was dark with the lights off. The sun barely peeked through around the heavy curtains on the window. Arthur had promised Evan that he would put every agency chemist to work on creating the antidote for the nerve agent that had been injected into Laura. He had ordered them to work straight through until they came up with it. Evan was not leaving Laura’s side until they did.

  The door to the room opened, and the room was filled with light from the hallway as Melina entered. Travis and Angela followed close behind.

  “Hey sleepy head!” Melina said as she switched on the light and walked over toward her dad. Evan twitched and moved his head on the pillow but continued sleeping.

  “We should wake dad up by giving him a wedgie,” Travis said as he laughed and pointed his finger at the obvious opportunity.

  Angela gave Travis a smack on the back of the head, and Melina rolled her eyes. She would never understand the fascination that middle school boys had with the butt.

  Travis feigned a hurt head, staggered over to the couch, and collapsed.

  “Daddy, wake up,” she said as she grabbed her dad’s arm and gently tugged on it.

  Evan opened his eyes and leaped to his feet, his fists up ready for a fight.

  “Good morning, Daddy,” Melina said, standing with her arms crossed in front of him.

  “Uh … good morning kiddo,” Evan said as he strained to focus his eyes.

  “Did you sleep well?” Melina asked.

  “Yeah, I had a decent night,” he said. “I woke up a lot, but nobody tried to get near Mom.”

  “Maybe the two agents posted outside had something to do with that,” Angela laughed, pointing toward the door. “Have you heard from Arthur this morning?”

  “He called earlier. He said that he was going to stop by here later this morning to give me an update on the progress the chemists were making. He said they were close. They just had some testing to do.”

  “That sounds encouraging,” Angela said.

  “You would think. But he seemed evasive on the phone when I asked him if he were sure the antidote was going to work. Maybe I am just making something out of nothing. He does have a lot on his mind.”

  “Ya think,” Angela said. “The biggest scandal in agency history was exposed last night.”

  “That’s true. In fact, he has an emergency meeting with the agency oversight committee this morning. They want to know the extent of the damage to the agency from William’s activities.”

  “Oh my,” Angela said, cringing. “I would not want to be Arthur at that meeting.”

  “It wasn’t so bad,” Arthur said, standing in the doorway. “They didn’t use the thumbscrews this time.”

  “Arthur!” Angela said as she turned to the doorway.

  “It’s delightful to see you, Angela,” Arthur said as he stepped forward and gave her a hug. “You left before I arrived last night, so I didn’t get a chance to see you. I want to thank you for all you did.”

  “Not a problem, Arthur,” she said. “Once an agent, always an agent.”

  Arthur smiled at her and then looked at Evan. “Evan, can I talk to you outside.”

  “Sure,” Evan said as a worried look overtook his face.

  Arthur turned and walked back through the doorway. Evan followed him through the door and then caught up to him, walking by his side as Arthur continued down the hall.

  “Okay, give me the bad news,” Evan said. “Are the chemists having problems with the antidote?”

  Arthur looked over at Evan with a puzzled look. “Heavens no, my boy. The chemists had no problem at all synthesizing the antidote. William left extraordinarily detailed instructions on how to make it in his lab notebook. Remember, he left these instructions in case he was exposed, so it was in his best interest that the instructions be thorough. The chemists are in the final stages of testing the antidote on a substitute life form this morning.”

  “You mean a lab rat,” Evan said.

  “The chemists prefer to call them substitute life forms, but yes, a lab rat. They successfully put a rat to sleep with the nerve agent and then woke it up with the antidote that they synthesized. When I left, they were observing it for side effects. If that goes okay, the antidote should be here sometime this morning.”

  “So what is on your mind?” Evan asked. “Why did you want to talk to me alone?”

  “Evan, I resigned this morning as head of the agency,” Arthur said. “After last night’s debacle, the committee has lost faith in my leadership. Since I was going to retire soon anyway, I figured I would spare the agency the embarrassment of having to fire me.”

  “I’m sorry Arthur,” Evan said, putting his hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “That’s not right. What happened with William was not your fault.”

  “Maybe, but don’t feel sorry for me, Evan,” Arthur said, winking. “At least now I’ll have time for some fishing.”

  “Let me know if you need a fishing partner,” Evan said.

  Arthur smiled. “Now, I want you to know that I recommended you to the committee as my replacement. I know that you told me that you weren’t interested, but I still think that you would do an excellent job.”

  “I don’t know what I want anymore,” Evan said. “I’ve always been an agent. It is all I know. But I’m not a young man anymore, and there is something to be said for staying home. You know, to spend more time with the kids. I certainly need to reconnect with Laura.”

  “Either way, I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” Arthur said. “The committee said that they would take my recommendation into account when they evaluated potential candidates, but I’m afraid they still have concerns putting an ex-agent in charge. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay, Arthur,” Evan said. “Thank you for telling me.”

  They had walked around the entire floor of the hospital and now were back at Laura’s room.

  “Mr. Roberts,” said a voice behind them.

  Evan turned around to see Laura’s doctor, Dr. Johnson approaching them.

  “I’ll see you inside,” Arthur said as he opened the door to Laura’s room. Evan nodded and turned back to Dr. Johnson. He reached out his hand as the doctor approached and they shook hands.

  “Good to see you Dr. Johnson,” Evan said.

  “Mr. Roberts,” Dr. Johnson said. “I want to apologize for not figuring out what was wrong with Laura. We were so sure that she was in a coma we overlooked that there could be any other explanation for her not to wake up.”

  The agency had not told Dr. Johnson the truth about what had happened to Laura. That was classified information. He was told that a psychotic man had poisoned Laura, which was not far from the truth.

  “That’s okay doctor,” Evan said. “The man that did this had everybody fooled. Fortunately, there is an antidote. It should be here any minute.”

  “It’s here now,” Dr. Johnson said. “I was just paged that a chemist has arrived and is waiting in Laura’s room. I’m here to administer it.”

  “All right then,” Evan said. “Let’s go wake up my wife.”

  The two of them went into Laura’s room. Evan walked over and sat on the couch next to Melina.

  “What do you think kiddo?” Evan said to Melina. “Are you ready to get Mom back?”

  “
Dad, I have been waiting for this moment for a long time,” she said with a giant smile on her face. “I have missed Mom so much.”

  Evan put his arm around her shoulder. “I know you have kiddo.”

  Melina looked over at Dr. Johnson as he prepared a syringe with the antidote on a tray next to the bed. The syringe was massive. She had never seen one that large. And it was filled with a pale blue, opaque liquid.

  “How long will it take to work?” she asked Evan. “Will she wake up right away?”

  “Arthur said that the chemists told him that the effect is immediate,” Evan said. “Like you are being woken up from an anesthetic.”

  “Okay, we’re ready,” Dr. Johnson said toward Evan.

  Evan jumped up and went to Laura’s side. Melina and Travis went to the foot of the bed and held onto the railing.

  Laura lay motionless on her back. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow but steady. Dr. Johnson turned her arm over palm up and wiped an area of the inner arm with an alcohol wipe. He grabbed the syringe off the tray and held it straight up in front of his face. He squeezed it until a minute ball of the antidote formed on the tip of the needle. Then he brought the needle down to the spot on Laura’s arm that he had prepared and plunged it in. When the needle was fully inserted into her arm, he squeezed the syringe until all of the pale blue liquid was gone.

  “It’s all in,” Dr. Johnson said as he pulled the needle from Laura’s arm and stepped back.

  Nobody said a word as everyone scanned up and down Laura’s body, looking for any indication that she was going to wake up. Melina never took her eyes off her mom’s face.

  And then Laura moved. Melina saw it first.

  “Her eyelids!” Melina cried. “Her eyelids moved.”

  Everyone focused on Laura’s eyelids, waiting for her to move them again.

  A gasp went through the room as Laura’s eyes batted a few times and then slowly opened.

  Her head did not move, and Laura’s expression remained frozen as her eyes began to move to the side. She stared right at Evan and arched her brow. Her expression changed to one of confusion and her eyes began to drift around the bed, pausing to focus on each person present.

  Laura’s eyes made their way back to Evan, and her lips began to move. A dry whisper sound came out of her mouth.

  “Here, give her some of this,” Dr. Johnson said, handing Evan a glass of water with a straw. “Laura hasn’t used her voice in a long time. Her throat will be a little dry.”

  Evan held the glass of water in front of Laura and put the straw in her mouth. She closed her lips around it, and he watched as the water level dropped. When it stopped going down, he drew the glass away.

  Then Evan heard the six words that he would remember for the rest of his life.

  Laura leaned her head forward and whispered to Evan in a gravelly voice, “Your elbow is on my hand.”

  Not quite poetry, but they were the first words she spoke.

  “What did she say, Daddy?” Melina asked.

  Evan stood up fast and looked at Melina. He had a weird sheepish look on his face. “Um… well...”

  Laura smiled at the look on Evan’s face. She waved to him to lean back down to her. “Evan, help me to sit up,” she whispered.

  Evan reached back behind Laura with both of his arms, lifted her until she was upright, and bent at the waist. He grabbed both of her pillows and stuffed them behind her, so she had something to lean on. She sat back against the pillows and looked out toward the foot of the bed. Melina and Travis were a bundle of excited energy, jumping up and down at the foot of the bed, huge smiles on their faces. Evan had told them to stay back, so the doctor had enough room to work. But he had forgotten to tell them that they could move to their mother’s side when the doctor stepped away.

  Laura took care of that. She held out her arms wide in their direction. “All right, who wants a hug?”

  Travis was at her side instantly and was swallowed up by one of Laura’s arms. Melina arrived a close second and was corralled by the other arm. Laura took turns kissing the tops of each of their heads.

  “We missed you so much, Mom,” Travis said. His face still smashed to Laura’s chest.

  Melina did not talk. Words did not exist to describe her feelings. She just smiled and held on to her mom.

  “I suppose you are wondering where you are and why you are here,” Evan said.

  Laura looked up at him and smiled. “Oh, I know exactly where I am. And what happened. My daughter has kept me well informed.”

  Melina looked up at her mom. “You could hear what I was saying?”

  “Not all the time. There would be days that I could hear you like I can hear you now and other days … well, I just wasn’t awake.”

  Evan looked down and covered his face with one of his hands.

  Laura gave him a curious look. “What is the matter, Evan?”

  He got down on one knee, took one of her hands and looked up at her, a tear making its way down his cheek.

  “I should have listened to Melina. All this time, you could have heard what I was saying. I only visited you for the first time in a long while yesterday. I am so sorry that I was not here for you-”

  Laura put one of her fingers to his lips. “I was awake when you visited yesterday. I remember every word you said. I understand what you were going through. How you blamed yourself for what happened to me. I forgive you.”

  Evan jumped to his feet and put his arms around Laura, his eyes closed with his chin resting on the top of her head.

  “I love you so much,” he said, tears now streaming down his face.

  After a moment, Evan heard a noise at the back of the room, and he opened his eyes. He looked around, and his eyes were drawn to the door. He wiped the tears from his eyes and saw two men, each wearing a dark suit standing on either side of the door. He recognized one of the men. He smiled as he gave the man the standard guy greeting of pointing his finger at him. The man stood firm, but smiled and nodded his head in recognition.

  Evan stood up and turned to Melina and Travis. “How would you guys like to meet the President?”

  “Of the United States?” Melina asked with a confused tone in her voice.

  “Are you planning a family trip to Washington?” Travis asked, very excited.

  Before Evan could answer, everyone’s attention was drawn to a commotion in the hallway just outside the room.

  A moment later, President Elizabeth Stone walked through the door.

  “Hello everyone,” she said cheerfully as she looked around the room. When her eyes met Evan’s she gave him a wink. He knew what she meant. It was The President’s way of telling Evan that he had done a superb job. He smiled and nodded back.

  Arthur greeted her near the door. “It’s good to see you Madam President.”

  “I heard about the meeting this morning,” she said. “I know William’s actions were not your fault. Thank you for what you did. You have saved me from a painful and damaging investigation by the Senate.”

  “That was a factor in the decision to step down,” he said.

  “You are a good man, Arthur,” she said, extending her hand. “I will always be in your debt.”

  Arthur took her hand and shook it. “It has been an honor serving your administration.”

  She smiled at Arthur and then turned and walked toward Laura with her arms open wide. “All right, where is Sleeping Beauty?”

  Melina and Travis, eyes wide open slowly backed up and let the President take their place beside their mother.

  “Nice of you to stop by, Madam President,” Laura said, laughing at the absurdity. “Hope it wasn’t too much trouble?”

  President Stone took one of Laura’s hands. “Not too much. My staff has me making a policy speech in California this evening. I just made sure we had to stop off in Dallas to refuel.”

  “Isn’t Air Force One able to fly across the country without refueling?” Travis asked, not getting the President’
s joke.

  “Travis, honey,” Laura said. “She was just joking.”

  President Stone put her hand on Travis’s shoulder. “I’m afraid I’m not the best joke teller. I did not truly make them land the plane to refuel. But I will tell you a little secret. In addition to stopping by to see how your mother was doing, I have something to discuss with everyone else in your family.”

  Travis’ eyes widened. “Even me?”

  “Let’s start with you,” she said. “Now, I understand you were able to crack the agency password system and break into the network using a new algorithm that you developed.”

  “Uh… yeah,” he answered. His face pale as his excitement turned to panic at being busted by the President.

  “Oh, don’t worry. You are not in trouble. In fact, your situation is quite the opposite. The head of information technology security at the agency was so impressed with your ability that he wants you to come in and brief his staff on your algorithm.”

  “How about that, big guy,” Evan said. “You and I can ride into work together.”

  Travis raised his arms above his head. “All right!”

  President Stone turned to Melina. “As for you, dear, I understand you demonstrated exceptional skills and a level head while you were being held captive yesterday. Almost as if you were a field agent. Were you aware that there is a co-op program for college students to work at the agency during the summer? The students get to learn about all aspects of the agency. Everything from how the tools group makes those fancy gadgets to how the field agents learn to blend into their surroundings. The agency gets thousands of applications, but there are only seven openings.”

  “That sounds fantastic!” Melina said.

  “Well, I think you are one of those rare people that the agency needs more of,” the President said. “If it is okay with you, I’d like to recommend you for inclusion into the co-op program this summer.”

  Melina looked at her confused. “Um… the program is for college students. I don’t know if my parents told you or not, but I’m still in high school.”