by Mike Ryan
Cain was laying on the couch watching TV. He saw Lawson come in and was glad to see her. He watched her come closer and could tell she looked troubled by something. He slightly propped himself up so he wasn’t flat on his back.
“You look like someone who’s bringing bad news,” Cain stated.
“That obvious huh?”
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
“How are feeling?” Lawson asked.
“Pretty good actually. I get tired pretty easily. But I know that’ll get better in time. My head feels good though. More clear if that makes any sense.”
“No other symptoms or anything?”
“Not really. Just tired. Feels like I sleep sixteen hours a day. Why?”
“Just wanted to make sure you’re OK.”
“I’m doing good. Now are you gonna tell me why you’re here?” Cain wondered.
“Can’t I just stop in to say hi and see how you are?”
“Could’ve just picked up the phone to do that. I imagine there’s something that you didn’t want to say over the phone.”
“I hate how you know me,” Lawson said.
“It’s a gift,” he joked.
Heather sat in a chair close to them, listening to their conversation, not liking where the talk was going. It felt to her like someone was about to drop the other shoe. Like a bombshell announcement was about to go off. She feared what was about to come out of Lawson’s mouth.
“First off, I want you to understand, both of you, that me coming here to talk about what I’m about to talk about was not my choice,” Lawson stated.
“OK?” Heather replied.
“I’m doing what I was ordered to do.”
“Shelly, stop running in circles and just say what you need to say,” Cain calmly told her. “We’re all friends. Nobody’s gonna bite your head off.”
“Well, nobody’s heard what I’m about to say yet,” she said, continuing to dodge.
“Shelly….”
“OK. OK,” she said, pausing for another minute. “Eric’s missing.”
“What?” Heather asked.
“What do you mean he’s missing?” Cain asked.
“He hasn’t checked in in almost twenty four hours,” she revealed.
“Where is he?”
“France. He found Booth in Italy. Before he died, he told Eric that Proulx was with a girlfriend named Maxime. She’s supposed to be a photographer there but we haven’t been able to locate her.”
“Can you pinpoint his last location?”
“No. He said he had a meeting with a contact. He didn’t say where though. We haven’t heard from him since.”
“So where do I come in?” Cain wondered.
“They want to send someone in to find him.”
“They can’t just send in anyone. Has to be someone highly skilled, knows the people, can get things done quickly. Someone with experience,” Cain said, knowing full well he was hinting at himself.
“Yeah.”
Heather looked at the two of them for a few seconds before finally picking up on what they were referring to.
“Please tell me you’re not suggesting that Matt go in there?” Heather said.
“I’m not suggesting anything. The director would like you to be the one to go in there,” Lawson answered.
“Absolutely not! That’s ridiculous,” Heather replied. “He just had brain surgery. He’s only been out of the hospital over a week.”
“I know. I’m not pressuring you, Matt. I told him this was out of the question. I didn’t even wanna come here and talk to you about it.”
“I know,” Cain said.
“Please tell me you’re not considering this,” Heather said to him.
“Heather, if Eric’s in trouble then he needs my help.”
“Matt, I understand the relationship you two have, but you’re not in any condition to travel yet.”
“He saved my life. More than once. Yours too.”
“I’m not saying he deserves to be left there. Obviously someone needs to go find him. But why does it have to be you?”
“Because I’m the most qualified.”
“I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation,” Heather said, rubbing her forehead. “Are you even able to fly yet? What about the air pressure? Couldn’t your head explode or something?”
“My head’s not gonna explode. Doctor said give it two weeks before I can fly. We’ll just have to bump that up a few days.”
“Seriously?”
“Worst that could happen would be blood clots,” Cain revealed.
“Oh, well that’s just fantastic.”
“What do you want me to do? Just sit around here and do nothing while Eric’s out there in trouble?”
“Are there no healthy agents available? I just don’t understand why you’re the only one that can go.”
“Because he’s the best,” Lawson stated.
Cain stood up, slightly dizzy, but quickly regained his balance. He started walking around the room, trying to shake the listless feeling he had by just laying around for days. Heather’s leg began shaking, moving it up and down. It was a trait she had when she was annoyed but didn’t feel like talking yet. She watched his every move as he walked.
“Your mind’s already made up, isn’t it?” Heather asked. “You’ve already decided that you’re going. Not even gonna talk about it or anything, are you?”
“Nothing to talk about,” Cain replied. “A friend’s in trouble. He needs me. That’s all there is.”
“Just like that? No care or concern for your own well being?”
“Just like that.”
“You still don’t care about what happens to you, do you?”
“Heather, right now, this isn’t about me. It’s about saving someone who we all care about,” he told her. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten the surgery to begin with.”
Heather nodded, knowing she wasn’t going to talk him out of going. The best she could do was try to help him to ensure he’d get home safely.
“Fine. I’ll go with you then,” she said.
“What? Absolutely not,” Cain replied.
“Matt, I may not be able to stop you from leaving, but you won’t be able to stop me from going with you. You leave me here and I’ll be on the next flight out after you.”
“What do you think?” Cain asked Lawson. “Your personal opinion. Not your professional one.”
Lawson contemplated a few seconds, trying to sort out her thoughts. “I agree with Heather. I think she’s right. I don’t know if Eric’s gone or not but I don’t want to lose both of you.”
Cain stopped roaming around the apartment and settled back down on the couch, sitting and listening intently to his handler’s thoughts.
“So what would you have me do?” Cain asked.
“I know you’re your own man and you’re gonna do what you want. But she’s right. If you’re gonna do this, then I think we should take precautions to make sure you’re as least vulnerable as possible,” Lawson responded.
“Which means?”
“Someone should go with you. If you have some type of complication? What if you’re there and you pass out and nobody’s there to help you? We have to think about these things.”
Cain sighed. He knew she was right. Needing help wasn’t something that he usually sought though. Asking for help was something even more unnatural.
“So who do you suggest I pair up with?” Cain wondered. “It can’t be you,” he said, nodding to Heather. “I love you and I couldn’t do my job properly, I couldn’t do what needs to be done, if I’m there worrying about you and trying to keep you safe.”
Lawson looked at Heather knowing there was only one solution. “I’ll go,” Lawson stated. “Nobody else would know you like I do, what you need, what you’ve been through. It wouldn’t be my first time out in the field.”
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Heather said, a few tears starting to run down her cheeks.
She wiped them off her face as Cain looked over at her. He got up and came over to her, squeezing next to her on the chair as he put his arm around her shoulders.
“I’ll be OK,” he told her, their heads touching.
Heather nodded, not able to formulate any words. She wasn’t sure she believed he would be. She knew it was time to stop fighting and arguing as she knew it wasn’t doing any good. Cain was going to do what he wanted and she just had to hope and pray that it would work out for the best. She didn’t like long arguments or anything that would dampen his mood before leaving on a mission. Heather always feared that if he left after a fight with her it’d weigh on his mind and possibly interfere with his mission and prevent him from coming home.
“So when do we leave?” Cain asked.
“I guess as soon as you’re ready,” Lawson answered.
“Might as well make it as soon as possible. The longer we wait the more trouble Eric’s likely to be in.”
“I’ll uhh…I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”
Lawson took out her phone and called Director Conlin to let him know Cain was on board and that she would be accompanying him. Conlin had already anticipated Cain’s answer and had a private jet on standby. It’d be ready as soon as they got there. She walked over to Heather and put her hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” Lawson told her.
Heather put her hand on top of Lawson’s, nodded, and smiled. “It’s OK. Just bring him back home to me.”
“They’ve got a private jet. It’s ready when you are,” she told Cain.
“I guess give me a few minutes to put some things together,” Cain replied.
“They’ve already put some gear and weapons on the plane.”
Heather stood up to put on a brave face and was greeted with a hug from Lawson.
“Be careful,” Heather told her.
“I will. You need anything?”
“Only thing I need is him coming back in one piece.”
“He’ll be back. I promise,” Lawson said.
“Make sure you do the same.”
Lawson moved over to the door as she waited for Cain to emerge from the bedroom. He came out a minute later with only a backpack as was his custom. He preferred traveling lightly just in case he ever had to move in a hurry. Or if he had to leave anything behind there was nothing of value that he’d regret losing. Cain took Heather’s hand and they walked together to the door before he leaned in and kissed her.
“You be OK?” Cain asked.
“I will be. Just make sure that’s not the last one of those I ever get.”
“Not a chance. Nothing will stop me from coming back to you. I…we…haven’t come all this way to let something stand in our way now. I will be back.”
Heather smiled at him and kissed him one more time. There was a sheer determination in the tone of his voice that at least provided a little bit of comfort to her, even though she knew it wouldn’t necessarily come down to just that.
Chapter 5
Cain and Lawson arrived at the airport and immediately boarded the twenty three foot long private jet. The jet was big enough to transport thirteen people, though the main advantage for its size was that it could get to France without stopping to refuel. The jet would save them several hours, all of which would be critical in finding Raines, as they could get to France in just over seven hours. The jet started up the engine, ready to take off. Lawson looked at Cain to make sure he was all right. She gave him some pills to help prevent any complications from the flight and the air pressure.
“Nervous?” Lawson wondered.
“Not about the flight,” he replied.
“What about then?”
“Heather.”
“What about her?”
“Just hope she’ll be OK while I’m gone and not stress out too much.”
“She’ll be fine. She’s strong. She’ll get through it.”
“Yeah.”
“Anything else? Not worried about the flight at all?” she asked.
“Nah. You should know by now that I don’t worry about myself all that often. I’m more worried about Eric.”
“Think he’s still alive?” Lawson asked, the concern evident in her voice.
“Well, the fact that he hasn’t turned up yet would suggest two things.”
“Which are?”
“He’s either being held for some reason, and probably tortured, or he’s at the bottom of a river somewhere,” Cain answered.
“No room for a third option in there?”
“Not likely. In any case, the first possibility doesn’t worry me as much, he can handle that. It’s the other option that concerns me.”
Lawson periodically looked over at Cain every so often just to make sure he wasn’t having any problems. She was probably more nervous about it than he was. He pretty much just rolled with whatever situation happened in front of him. They were about two hours into their flight and everything seemed to be going pretty smoothly. Lawson was working on her laptop when she looked over at Cain, who was rubbing his eyes. Cain leaned back in his and looked up at the ceiling of the jet. He started breathing a little bit more heavily and his eyes opened wider like he was having trouble seeing. Lawson rushed over to him and grabbed his hand.
“What’s the matter? What’s happening?” Lawson frantically asked.
Cain moved his mouth like he wanted to speak but started blowing air through his mouth to help breathe a little better. Lawson quickly left to grab her phone so she could call the doctor and came back over to him. Cain, though still having quite a bit of difficulty, managed to say a few words.
“Everything’s spinning,” he blurted out, still breathing heavily. He was also sweating quite profusely. He unbuckled his seat belt and stood up, though his balance wasn’t very good.
“What are you doing?”
Cain took a deep breath and gulped as he struggled to balance himself. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned around. He quickly stumbled to the back of the jet where the bathroom was located. Just as Lawson got through to the doctor, she could hear Cain throwing up in the toilet. She kept talking to the doctor as she waited for Cain to reemerge from the bathroom, keeping her eyes glued in that direction. After waiting a couple minutes for Cain to return she didn’t hear any noises coming from the back of the jet. She started walking back there to make sure he was OK. As she got there Cain walked through the doorway, looking much better, though he was still sweating a lot. He wasn’t having any balance issues and seemed to be breathing normal. He saw Lawson on the phone and motioned to her to put it away; he was OK and didn’t need any help. He walked past her and wiped the moisture off his forehead as he returned to his seat like nothing happened. Lawson informed the doctor of his status and told him she’d call him later if anything changed. She also returned to her seat and looked over at her friend, analyzing his every move.
Cain felt her eyes watching him and turned his head toward her. “I’m fine.”
“Had me worried for a minute,” Lawson said.
“Nothing to worry about. Easy as pie, right? Nothing to it.”
“I’ll never get how you can be so calm about everything.”
“Practice.”
Lawson went back to her work on the computer but kept shifting her eyes over to Cain every few minutes as she worried that his symptoms might return. Cain on the other hand seemed as calm as ever. Didn’t worry him in the slightest that he might have another complication. Didn’t worry about the last one either. He took turns between staring out the window and staring at the wall in front of him.
“Thinking?” Lawson wondered.
“No.”
“Most people would listen to music or watch a movie or something to calm themselves down.”
“I’m not most people,” Cain replied.
“Boy do I know that.”
“I’m already calm.”
“Then what are you doing?” she asked.
“Visualizing.”
“Visualizing what?”
“Situations.”
“Like what?”
“Situations we might find ourselves in. Things or people we might face. If I visualize dangerous situations that we might be placed in, I visualize in my mind what I would do. Then if those things actually happen I already feel like I’ve been through it before. Helps to minimize any hesitation I might have if I’ve already been through it in my mind and gone through the possible scenarios,” Cain explained. “Helps to not panic.”
“I can’t imagine you panicking over anything.”
“Not in a fearful way. Panicking over finding a solution.”
“How many times have you visualized things that actually took place?”
“More times than you’d think.”
Another two hours in the air went by without a hiccup. Lawson’s work was interrupted by a phone call that she received from Director Conlin.
“How’s everything going?” Conlin asked.
“Fine.”
“Got a call from the doctor saying there were some issues.”
“Minor stuff. Nothing to be concerned about,” Lawson replied.
“Good. We’ve just gotten word from an informant that says he knows what happened to Raines and that he’s willing to meet with someone to relay that information…for a price of course.”