“Don’t go slamming Bob. This is your responsibility, not his.”
“Then let me be very clear. You need to keep your scholarship, because I do not have the money to pay a year of college, just so you can intern at Bob’s bank. If you want to become a banker after you graduate, fine. That’s your choice. However, if you do not intern with the FBI this summer, then you’ll lose the scholarship and that means you either start your life out with a huge student loan debt or you don’t finish at all. That will also be your choice, although neither of those scenarios will be fine with me.” He glanced at his watch. “Your train is about to arrive. So, let me end this on a positive note. Whatever you do will not alter the fact that I love you.”
“As much as you do your new son?”
Tom stared at his boy in shock. While Sadie might have told him Angel’s second boy was his, there was no way in hell he could know they were still alive. “What are you talking about?”
“Angel’s second born. The one named Tommy…The one Anna’s always talking about.”
“Angel and her boys were killed the day they kidnapped your sister.”
Toby blinked in confusion. “Then you didn’t sneak them off to live in that place you work?”
“Who told you that?”
“Just answer my question.”
Tom had no trouble lying to his son about this. “No! Angel and her three boys died.”
“But Tommy was yours, right.”
He closed his eyes. His boy shouldn’t know any of this. “It’s possible, but I don’t know for certain. Angel never wanted to know, and Max wouldn’t tell me.”
“So, I’m the only son you got?” Toby asked.
“And I’m the only father you’ve got. I will always love you, whatever happens. But going forward I’m going to worry a great deal about you. You seem to have lost your footing, and whoever is causing that, you need to avoid.”
Toby sighed heavily. “That would be you.” He then turned and ran into the building as a train rolled into the station.
Tom remained in the parking lot long after the train left. Had his boy placed a gun to his heart and fired, it couldn’t have hurt any more than it did now.
Chapter 14
Hamilton frowned as he listened to a segment of Tom’s conversation the reviewer had label code 3. He was willing to bet money Tom had never slipped and told his son that Angel still lived. Yet, given Max needed Tom to successfully return and give Angel his message, Max also seemed an unlikely source since Toby’s slip would result in Tom refusing to tell Angel anything. So, who put this idea that Angel still lived in the boy’s head?
He turned to Braddock.
“Find out everything you can about Toby Culp, Sam Anderson, and Tom’s former wife. As of now, this is our problem. Tom won’t be involved at all.”
Braddock nodded.
“And I’ll want to hear the recordings and videos for Tom’s entire day before I decide if he’s to be let back in.”
“Of course. My people are reviewing his surveillance real time. The only three sections of interest so far have been his conversation with Max, the interaction between Toby and Anna, and his car conversation with his son.”
“And your conclusion?”
“Tom’s straight on this. However, I think someone’s gotten to the kid, someone who knows or suspects that Angel remains alive.”
“Max?”
“I don’t think so. He obviously does believe Angel lives or he wouldn’t have asked Tom to deliver that damning message. But to get that message delivered, he was depending on Tom’s goodwill. Undermining the man’s relationship with his son doesn’t fit into that objective.”
“No, he just wanted Angel to stop working.”
“And he was very clever pulling Tom into that hanger. We couldn’t hear a damn word he said. Fortunately, Davenport had predicted that possibility and insisted Tom carry a low-tech tape recorder.”
Hamilton smiled. “Thank you for reminding me of that success.” Max’s clear and unquestionable effort to sabotage a successful and vital program should destroy his career and hopefully get him sent out of the country.
Once alone in his SUV, Tom had played the recording, so they would have the evidence even if something happened to him before he returned to the facility. His action had impressed Hamilton. Most agents would have failed to share the tape to ensure the FBI cared about their safe return.
But then his smile faded as his mind returned to Tom’s boy. “But if Max isn’t the one who got to the boy, that means we’ve got another problem.”
Braddock nodded. “I’ve got some agents who have baby faces. Starting tomorrow, they’ll be attending classes at Princeton. One of the boy’s roommates has a drinking problem. He’ll be removed by the end of this week and one of my agents will be put in his place.”
Hamilton smiled. No moss grew on this rock. He liked that. He liked everything about his security head, except for one thing: Braddock had clearly done all this without getting permission first. “Any reason you acted first and are just telling me now?”
“It’s my job to protect this facility. The moment Tom Culp left this facility, he became my problem. If he had been abducted and forced to disclose what he knew about this facility, it would have been my fault. My actions to protect or remove Tom while he was outside this facility are my call. I am the expert in this matter.”
Hamilton nodded once. Yes, he could see why this man could never make general. You never tell the President he doesn’t get to make the call because he isn’t the expert. No president, and not even Hamilton, liked hearing his subordinate didn’t consider him competent to make the hard calls.
Still, if Hamilton had to do it over again, he’d choose Braddock as his security head. If anyone could protect this facility from intrusion, this was the man.
Still the issue of Braddock having his own agenda was problematic. “Should I be assigning my own agents to go investigate Sam Anderson and the ex-wife?”
Braddock’s brow furrowed. “Sir, I believe I may have communicated poorly if you need to ask that. I will always follow your orders. I was only responding to your question as to why I acted before talking to you. In no scenario did I believe you would object to my order to place agents close to the boy.”
Hamilton cleared his throat. “Well, I did get a slightly different impression from your first response. As to the boy, I strongly approve of your action—had you wished to maintain my belief that I, the director, am actually in charge of this facility.”
“There is no question in that, sir.”
“Yes, but silly me, I thought that included what happened outside the facility.”
Braddock frowned but made no reply.
“So, in matters outside, you report to someone else?” His thoughts went to the mysterious Mr. X.
“I am not being given orders from anyone else other than you. I’m just stating in matters of security that occur outside this facility, but could impact it, I am solely responsible for the outcome.”
“Am I at least assured I will be kept abreast of what you are doing?”
“I will always keep you abreast of things you wish to know. However, there may be times where you need denial of knowledge to avoid culpability.”
Hamilton’s brows rose in shock despite his efforts to rein them in. “Have there been such cases so far?”
“I did not provide you details of the day we took down the terrorists at Angel’s house, and I would recommend you don’t ask.”
Yes, he had definitely chosen the right man for the job. His future political career depended upon him to be successful and squeaky clean. “I trust you, Braddock. If you believe it’s outside my jurisdiction and I have no need to know, then I am satisfied with that.”
“Thank you, sir. I will see to your requests at once.”
***
Seven hours later, when Tom arrived at the gates, the guard ordered him out of his SUV.
Is this how it’s going to
end?
Maybe he shouldn’t have sent Max’s request in advance. Honestly, he thought it would help. They had to be worried what Max said to him in the hanger.
He was led to a black sedan and handed the keys. “Proceed to Building 6.”
Tom breathed in with relief and took the keys. Building 6 was a good sign.
However, when he arrived, the warehouse door didn’t open.
A male voice spoke from the console of his vehicle. “Please leave your vehicle and take the other vehicle in the lot. Then continue to Building 12.”
Tension crept into his neck muscles, reminding him how long this day had been. And except for seeing his baby girl safely into a place where she could hopefully heal, not much good had come of the day. While Hamilton would no doubt be thrilled with Max’s recorded request, Tom took no pleasure in destroying the career of a man who proved to be less than he claimed. Max, much like other men in power, proved his ego was more important than the country. What pissed Tom off was Max getting involved with Anna. That was just wrong, and for that, he had no problem betraying Max’s trust by recording him.
Once Tom got into the second vehicle he headed to Building 12. Once there a metal garage door rolled up and he drove inside.
A man’s voice spoke again from the console, “Tom, my name is Dr. Thorn. We are going to need to keep you in quarantine until we can verify you haven’t been given a contagion. On the seat beside you, there is a hazmat suit. Please put it on, and then entered the door that says, ‘Do Not Enter’.”
His words shocked Tom. He was about to assure the doctor that Max had never physically touched him but realized the toxin could have been delivered by air. Then there were the guards. They had gripped his arms excessively hard. He could have been injected then and never known it. He might have infected both Toby and Anna.
His heart beat triple time as he attempted to put on the suit in the cramped quarters of the car. Once done, he stepped outside and headed to the Do Not Enter door. Before he could reach the handle, the door slid open and closed once he entered.
He stared at a short narrow hall, white walls and a strange bluish tinge to the lights. His ears popped, making him suspect he’d just entered a negative pressure zone. The same voice spoke in his hazmat helmet. “Enter the first door to your right.”
He did and stared at a comfortable looking living room with a large flat screen TV and a man’s recliner.
“This will be your new home until I can assure the director with a hundred percent certainty that you are clean.”
“How long?”
“Could be months, so if there is anything we can bring you that will make your stay more tolerable, let us know. However right now, I need you to enter the door to your left, remove the hazmat suit and all your clothes so I can examine you.”
Tom did as he was asked. Once he was naked, staring at a robot with a nasty looking probe, his mind went back to the nightmare searches that Max used to put those poor boys and Angel through.
***
Hamilton expected Angel to give him trouble over the delay of Tom’s return, but the assurance Tom was back in the facility and would return to work once he cleared quarantine, calmed her at once.
Her acceptance and continued superior work impressed the hell out of Hamilton. Angel was either the best actress in the world, or incredibly resilient, patient, and trusting.
He was glad he could give her good news about Tom, because against his expectations, he had grown very fond of this most reasonable and obliging woman.
Now, if only he could determine if there was a second saboteur working from the outside, or just Max appearing to double-cross himself to make Hamilton think there was someone else.
***
Tom Culp stared at his cup of coffee as he relaxed in his recliner. Davenport had gone out of his way to ensure his quarantine didn’t feel like prison. The doctor had found no obvious contamination, which meant his kids were safe. However, there was still the possibility of a time-released toxin.
All this waiting to see if Max had given him some contagious lethal disease set to go off after he returned to the facility, gave him way too much time to worry about Toby.
It hadn’t taken him long to peg ‘Bob’ as the instigator of Toby’s change in attitude.
Davenport had promised to pass the request to investigate the man on to Hamilton, but if they’d discovered anything, they hadn’t shared it.
That frustrated the hell out of him, but he understood why he was left in the dark. He was too close to the problem. Even if he were in the normal ranks of the FBI, he would have been removed from this case. He’d never be partial when investigating his son. He’d start with the assumption that his son was not the problem, but a misguided tool of someone else.
But Hamilton, seeing Toby at his worst, would have to view him as the potential problem. The Toby he met on Anna’s return, was a selfish, self–centered, provoking kid with an agenda.
Hopefully, his agenda had only been to get a large sum of money. However, the agent part of Tom had to acknowledge all his boy’s upsetting accusations could have been a ploy to get him so flustered he might misspeak and admit Angel was alive.
What the hell had happened to his precious boy?
At the end of the day, the intercom asked him to enter the exam room where he received his daily health check.
He remained firm that Max had never touched him, but the guards certainly had, so every day he expected to have his doctor inform him he was dying of Ebola or something equally horrible.
He entered the lab room, removed his clothes, and climbed onto the lab table.
The first week, this exam had been hard for him, but now it was just part of his foggy days.
After the inspections, he was hooked up to an assortment of wires and asked to jog on the machine.
When done, the doctor spoke. “Tom, we are seeing a decrease in your heart function. It could be all the time you sit in the recliner.
Tom nodded at the truth of that possibility. He’d always been an active person.
“I’m recommending an exercise room be established for you. It should be ready by tomorrow morning. Please use it as often as you can.”
Man, he didn’t want to know the expenses that his request to leave and return was costing the facility. Hopefully, some good would come out of it. He was confident his daughter would recover, but whether he’d helped significantly, or she was just incredibly strong, he had no idea. However, his son, whom he never had a moment’s worry about, now looked like a train wreck in slow motion. If all went well, the tape recorder got enough to at least stop Max from making further attempts to damage the facility. Otherwise, his leaving was a huge waste of facility money, and Anna aside, a day of great disappointments.
Toby wasn’t the only one who let him down that day. While he had never been a big fan of Max Straun, due to those poor boys he tortured in his facility, Tom had at least believed the man loved his wife. But this latest attempt to sabotage the facility by convincing her to stop working made him realize that Max put his own career before his country and wife.
Max Straun only loved Angel for her talent, and only if she worked for him.
***
Braddock entered Hamilton’s office with almost a lilt to his step, and while his lips gave no hint of a smile, they weren’t downturned. That was a big change from the last month.
“Good news?” Hamilton asked.
He sat down. “Hopeful news. The agent posing as Culp’s roommate is gaining the boy’s confidence. Today, Toby shared he preferred his step-father to his real dad.”
“But you determined Sadie wasn’t married.”
“She’s not, legally, but they held a wedding, so all her friends and family believe they are married.”
Hamilton worried over that bit of news. It was possible they remained unmarried, so the woman wouldn’t lose her alimony, but he worried the reason might be darker.
“What about Tom’s girl?
”
“Quiet as a mouse. The cook is worried she’s clinically depressed and thinks she needs professional care.”
“Any visitors?”
“Not a one.”
“Anything on Sam Anderson?”
“The DNA test should be back today, but my gut tells me he’s not really Sam Anderson, although he looks a great deal like the younger pictures of the guy.”
“Wouldn’t his family notice if someone had switched Sams?”
“No family. Parents died five years ago, and he went off to Africa soon after and wasn’t seen for three years. When he returned, his bank rehired him and he’s been there ever since.
“That’s a bit odd. Either he’s really good at his job or his boss is an unnaturally obliging person.”
“Got an agent embedded at the bank. There’s nothing nice about the boss. In fact, to all appearances, he intensely dislikes Anderson.”
“A victim of blackmail?” Hamilton suggested.
“We haven’t found anything yet, but we are searching.”
“If it’s money related, Angel could probably find it in seconds,” Hamilton threw out. “Should I ask her to look?”
Braddock paused. “That might be helpful.”
“Why the hesitation?”
“Because it will take her away from her real work. However, my agent has been there for a month, and has yet to find anything. It might be the catalyst I need to move this case along.”
Hamilton sighed. “It’s frightening how much we depend on that one woman. She has been very open with how she finds things, yet she’s still stays a mile ahead of the other team members.” He thought of the children’s lesson last night. “However, this intuitive skill appears to have been passed to her kids.”
Braddock frowned. “I find their abilities a bit alarming.”
“Because they are five and eight years old?”
“Yeah. At the rate they’re going, they’ll have the skills of a run of the mill hacker by the end of the year.”
Hamilton smiled. Braddock was way off his time line. According to Leon, the boys had already passed that milestone.
A Better Life Page 15