by Mike Ryan
“Is there anyone around here who isn’t in the CIA?”
They went into Cole’s apartment and directed Turner to sit down on the couch as they began questioning him.
“So start from the top,” she said. “Everything about you and Heath.”
“He emailed me last week saying we’ll talk soon. Then all of a sudden I get sent a flash drive at work with all these documents on it and he calls me and says lets meet for lunch. He asks for my help and says he’s on an undercover mission and can’t trust anyone else and if I’ll help him.”
“So you said yes,” Cole said.
“He was an old college buddy. He said he’s setting up these meets and selling the information on the drive to find out who in the CIA has gone rogue. If I helped him he’d give me a little money. That’s it.”
“He’s the one who went rogue, moron. Do you really think the CIA would just out of the blue ask some game company techie to help them solve something as important as rogue agents?” Cole asked, irritated.
“He came to me and asked for help. What was I supposed to do? Call the CIA and check his credentials.”
“Did you see what was on the drive?” Parker asked.
“Yeah. It was agent names, aliases, codenames, files, cases, just about everything.”
“You said he was a college buddy?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you went to USC?”
“I did.”
“Heath told me he went to Stanford,” Parker stated.
“Stanford? No. He got rejected there. That’s why he wound up going to USC,” Turner replied.
“He lied to me all along.”
“Sounds like he’s been setting this up for a while,” Cole interjected.
They continued grilling Turner for the next hour to see if he knew more than he was telling or changed his story in any way. Once they were satisfied that he was being truthful and believed that Davis had played him, the agents discussed their next course of action. They moved away from Turner to discuss what to do with him.
“I can tell you right now what they’re gonna say to do with him,” Cole stated.
“Stop,” she quickly responded, knowing what he was getting at. “He’s innocent and didn’t know what he was getting caught up in.”
“Yeah, but they’re not gonna look at it like that. They’re gonna say to cut our losses and move on.”
“That can’t happen,” she replied, pacing up and down.
“Do you actually have feelings for this loser?” he asked.
“He’s not a loser,” she said, trying not to reveal her true feelings.
“You do.”
“I don’t. He’s a nice guy who trusted an old friend. Most people would’ve done the same.”
“We’re still gonna have to tell Burnett.”
“I know.”
“I’ll hook up the feed,” Cole said, going to her computer.
While Cole was getting their conference ready, Parker turned her attention back to Turner.
“So what happens now?” Turner asked.
“For now I want you to go back to your apartment and wait there for a little bit,” Parker told him.
“I guess I’m in some trouble, huh?” he asked, depressed.
“We have to talk with one of our superiors and let them know what’s going on.”
“And then what’ll happen?”
“Well…just go back to your place for now. When we’re done here I’ll come over and talk to you, OK?”
“Sure,” Turner replied, walking out the door.
Parker watched him leave and felt bad for him. She truly felt he was a good person who just got mixed up with the wrong guy. A few seconds later Cole came back over, setting the computer on the kitchen counter.
“Cole gave me the basics already,” Burnett said. “So Davis was there and got away?”
“Yes ma’am,” Parker replied.
“So what do you plan to do now?”
“I’m not sure yet. We have to regroup and figure out our next step.”
“And of Turner?”
“We believe Heath lied and manipulated him to help him. He’s not involved with Heath in any way other than that he trusted what he thought was an old college friend,” Parker said.
“What does Turner know?” Burnett asked.
Parker hesitated before answering, not wanting to implicate Turner and tell her he’d seen what was on the drive.
“It appears that he’s seen the information that Heath stole,” Cole stepped in, looking at his partner, who looked down at the floor.
“That presents a problem, doesn’t it?” Burnett asked.
“But he doesn’t seem…,” Parker said before being interrupted.
“Stop right there,” Burnett told her. “We all know that he now knows vital, classified intel. What we don’t know is how Davis plans to use him or exploit it.”
“So what are you saying?” Parker asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“I’m saying Ryan Turner must be eliminated.”
“But he’s an American. You can’t order the death of an innocent citizen on our own soil,” Parker protested.
“In the interest of national security I can do any God damn thing I damn well please,” an aggravated Burnett replied.
“All I’m saying is…”
“Let’s cut to the chase, Alex. We both know you can’t be stationed there forever. If you don’t locate Davis soon, you’ll be redirected to a new mission. Once that happens, Turner will be there on his own. Who knows what Davis has planned and if it includes Turner. Once you’re gone and he’s there on his own, what happens if Davis compromises him and lets other undesirables know what Turner knows? He could be beaten, tortured, or God knows what before he divulges our secrets. That is not an option.”
Parker closed her eyes and bit down on her lip, trying to figure out a way to prevent Turner’s death.
“What if we used Turner to our advantage?” Parker asked.
“And how could we do that?”
“Well he also has knowledge of Heath and could perhaps think of something that we’re missing in order to find him.”
“How could he possibly know any more about him than you do?”
“As long as we’re here, we might as well use him in any way we can. Maybe he can think of something that we’re missing,” she pleaded.
“I really don’t see how he’ll be of any use whatsoever. I will get approval for the order tonight,” Burnett said. “Have you grown fond of the subject, Ms. Parker?”
“No. It’s not like that at all. I just feel he can be of use to us.”
“Well, I don’t share the same opinion. Once I get the approval to eliminate him, do you want to be the one to do it?”
Parker cleared her throat and thought carefully about how to respond. She’d never before rejected a kill order.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll sit this one out.”
Burnett was slightly surprised at her agent’s rejection, though she could tell from their heated conversation that she was leaning that way. Since it was the first time Parker had ever said no about anything, she could see how passionate Parker was about the matter.
“Very well. Cole, it will fall to you then,” Burnett told him. “Any objections?”
Cole looked at Parker briefly before answering. He’d never rejected an order before either and couldn’t believe what he was about to suggest.
“Uhh, no objections per se.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Burnett wondered.
“While I don’t have an objection to executing the order, I do agree with Agent Parker that we might still be able to use the twerp to our advantage.”
“How’s that?”
“What if Davis isn’t through with Turner yet? If he somehow contacts him again, we can be on it this time,” Cole explained.
“You really think he’ll contact him again knowing we’re on him?”
“Possibly. But we also can’t rule out that he already knew we’d be here already. He must’ve known that email he sent to Turner would be tracked. Maybe he’s got a bigger plan in mind. If we eliminate Turner now, we might be losing sight of the bigger picture.”
“And you honestly think Turner can help?”
“I’m not certain. But I don’t think it can hurt to try. Even if the order is temporarily delayed for a week or two until we can get a clearer picture of what’s going on here,” Cole added.
“Very well. The order will not go out. At least for the next week or so,” Burnett relented. “I’ll check in tomorrow for your progress.”
The video feed went to black and the duo kept staring at the monitor. Parker thought of what to say to him.
“I guess I should say thank you,” she said.
“Just don’t make me regret it,” Cole replied.
“Well, I’ll see you later,” Parker said, leaving his apartment.
Parker saw Turner still sitting on a chair on the porch of his apartment. She walked over to him and sat down next to him.
“So what’s the verdict?” Turner wondered. “Am I going to jail or something for abetting a fugitive?”
Parker laughed. “No, you’re not going to jail. I asked them to let you help us on this mission by trying to find him. I think maybe you could help us with your knowledge of him.”
“But I don’t really know him. I mean, I haven’t seen or talked to him since college except for the last week. I don’t know him any better…than you, I guess.”
“Well, maybe he’ll still try to contact you at some point.”
“So I guess that everything about you, about us, has been a lie. Everything you’ve told me,” Turner stated.
“Not everything,” Parker gently told him. “Everything I told you about me was true. It was the real me. I didn’t lie about that.”
“Just about what you do.”
“Well, we had to try and figure out exactly if you were involved and how you were involved. Whether you were an innocent person mixed up with Heath’s plans or you were actively involved in his scheme. Coming right out and telling you who I was could’ve jeopardized everything,” she told him.
Parker could tell he was a little depressed and tried to be understanding of his feelings. His world had been thrown upside down and she was trying to make it as easy as possible for him. She did care about him, though she tried to suppress exactly how much because it did scare her a little bit. For the brief time she’d been there, she started feeling like a normal person when she was around him, and not just a CIA operative. Through all the missions she’d been on she learned to control her emotions and feelings to the point where sometimes she didn’t feel anything. So it made her a little nervous that she could feel something of a connection to him on a personal level.
“I guess then that the time we’ve spent was nothing more than a job for you,” he dejectedly said.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Parker replied. “I think you’re a great guy.”
“But not one who…,” Turner said, suddenly stopping his thought. “I guess the kiss you gave me was strictly part of your CIA assignment, huh?”
Parker started moving her mouth to say something but stayed silent. She felt caught between the truth and a lie. The truth would’ve been that she actually enjoyed that moment. But she also knew that with her frequent assignments, she wouldn’t be in the area long, and their chances of a relationship were not good. She didn’t want to make him think they actually had a chance of something if they really didn’t. But she also didn’t want to lie to him and tell him it was just part of the job either and crush his self esteem. In the end though, by not saying anything, she made it worse.
“Well I guess by your silence that pretty much answers my question,” Turner angrily said, getting up.
Turner started walking to his car to just cool down a little and think. Parker’s eyes started to tear up but she successfully kept them from flowing down her face as she thought about hurting Turner’s feelings. She watched him as he walked to his car and sat on the hood. She continued sitting there for a few minutes before deciding it was best if she just headed home for the night. Hopefully Turner would be more forgiving of her the following day. As much as Turner was upset about being lied to by Davis, he was more upset about Parker. He just thought she was different. He really liked her and was hoping that maybe it was the start of finally entrenching his ex-fiancee in his past. He felt like his life was all screwed up and maybe that’s all it would ever be. That he would never really find true happiness. After twenty minutes of sitting there and feeling sorry for himself, he walked back to his apartment. He noticed Cole sitting in front of his apartment and just kept his head down and kept walking toward his own place. Cole could tell from Turner’s sad expression that he was in the dumps and figured he’d try to lift his spirits a little. Not because he cared about Turner’s feelings but because if he was to help find Davis, Cole figured he’d need to be more upbeat and positive to do it. Cole stood up and walked over to Turner’s porch as he arrived.
“Look like your dog just died,” Cole stated.
“Well, hasn’t exactly been a great day.”
“Gotta get over it. If you’re gonna help on this mission you need to be thinking clearly.”
“Yeah, well, when you’re lied to constantly by neighbors, friends, dates, it makes thinking clearly a little hard,” Turner replied.
“Your feelings are hurt. I get it. But if you’re gonna make it through this then you need to move past it.”
“What do you mean…get through this?”
“You want the nice, friendly, massage your feelings version or the blunt and honest version?”
“Umm…well,” Turner stated, not sure he liked the sound of either.
“Doesn’t matter. I don’t do nice and friendly anyway. I’m always blunt and honest.”
“I guess that makes it simpler.”
“Stop worrying about what you’ve lost and start being thankful you’re even alive at this point.”
“You’re trying to tell me something. I can tell,” Turner quipped.
“Need me to spell it out for you?”
“Please do. I guess.”
“You need to get your head in the game and help find Davis before time runs out on your ability to stand upright,” Cole sarcastically added.
“What exactly are you saying?”
“Fine. I’ll explain the game to you. You were in direct contact with a rogue CIA agent who has stolen classified documents. Thousands of top secret and classified files. You’ve seen what’s in those files. Know what that makes you?”
“Uhh…an extremely good person?”
“In the eyes of the CIA that makes you a security risk and possible leak,” Cole informed him.
“I wouldn’t tell anyone anything.”
“You say that now. But what if Davis gets into a sticky situation and dimes you out that you know things. Bad people come knocking at your door and beat the information that you know out of you.”
“Hopefully you and Alex would come save me?”
“We’re not gonna be here forever. So in order to prevent that scenario from happening, they would put a hit out on you.”
“Hit. As in to kill me?” Turner shockingly asked.
“They’d send a guy like me to come out here and put a bullet in your head,” Cole bluntly said.
“So what’s to stop them from doing that even if we find Davis?”
“Nothing.”
“I could always run.”
“Please. This ain’t like the movies. They’d find you in about thirty seconds. Your best bet is helping to find Davis and prove you’re not a liability.”
“I thought this was gonna be a pep talk to raise my spirits,” Turner stated.
“Wasn’t it? You should be feeling pretty good right now. You’re alive and breathing. Doesn’t get much better than that,” Cole smiled.
&n
bsp; “So how do I know I’m not gonna get killed in the middle of the night while I’m sleeping?” Turner worried.
“The truth?”
“Aren’t you gonna give it to me anyway?”
Cole laughed. “Yeah. The truth is you may feel like you’ve been betrayed by Davis, Parker and whatever else. But that woman over there is the only reason you’ve got a fighting chance right now.”
“How’s that?”
“Because after we made our report they felt you had no value and were gonna put the order out on you,” Cole explained.
“So why didn’t they?”
“Parker. I know you probably think she lied to you or hurt your feelings or something and you lost your chance to stick your wee wee in the pickle jar. But she went against orders and fought for you. I don’t know if she thinks you’re just a good guy who didn’t deserve it or she thinks…something else. But she resisted. For whatever reason she thinks you’re worth fighting for. For some reason I can’t think of, she seems to actually have feelings for you. I, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t have done the same. So you better thank your lucky stars that she’s even here.”
“Maybe I will.”
“And before you go getting weepy and emotional just remember…Parker’s a top operative. A highly trained CIA assassin. She’s probably got over a hundred confirmed kills to her credit. She may seem all sweet and innocent…but looks can be deceiving.”
“I’ll remember that. Just out of curiosity, how many kills do you have?” Turner wondered.
“Ahh, I’m only up to ninety,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Sorry to hear it.”
Cole pulled out a cigar and lit it.
“Smoke?” Cole asked.
“No thanks. I prefer to keep my lungs intact.”
“Suit yourself,” he replied, puffing on the cigar.
“So what are the chances of us actually finding Heath at this point?” Turner wondered.
“Well, right now, we got no leads and no prospects. So what’s that tell you?”
Cole then left to go back to his place and Turner went inside his. Ten minutes later he knocked on Parker’s door. She opened it, wearing pajama pants and a tank top.
“I’m sorry. Were you getting ready for bed?” Turner asked, both hands behind his back.