by Alex Cage
“Yeah, it was a doozy,” Toben replied. “Has my team made it in yet?”
“Yes, sir. Chapp, Boyar, and the director are all upstairs.”
“Okay, thanks. Can you send a couple of your guys up?”
The guard’s face wrinkled. “Send them to your office?”
“Just have them find me.”
The guard shrugged. “Okay.”
Black was the first to the elevator. He pressed the up arrow and the doors immediately split open. He stepped inside with Toben sliding in after him. The elevator traveled up a few floors and thumped open. They walked to the unit’s office area. Toben opened the door, entering first. Ashley and Boyar both stood from their desks. The bags under their eyes made it evident that they hadn’t gotten much sleep.
“You two look like you’ve come out of a war zone,” Ashley said.
“Where’s Hanten?” Toben asked.
“In her office.”
Toben nodded, then started catching Ashley and Boyar up to speed. Black didn’t hear all that was said because he had already left the room on his way to Hanten’s office. Her door was closed, but he opened it and walked in without knocking. She jumped from her desk as he entered. Dark circles had formed around her eyes and her face was puffy, as if she hadn’t slept a wink since Black last saw her.
“Mr. Black,” she said in a dry tone, “happy to see you made it back. Where’s Toben?”
“He’s on his way in here,” Black answered.
“Have a seat, tell me how everything went.”
“I’ll stand. We caught Karl Stokes—”
“H—how’s the kid?”
Black smiled. “Tyler?”
“Yeah, that’s his name, right?”
“Right. He’s not as good as he could be.”
“What do you mean?”
Black ignored her question. “Remind me again how you know Stokes?”
“Huh?” Hanten winced. “From around the organization.”
“You normally assign people from around the organization to work with your team? No. I think you know him more intimately than just ‘around the organization’.”
Hanten said nothing. Just stared at Black.
“The silver Mercedes-Benz parked in the garage,” Black continued, “it’s yours, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“On the front was a Quantico graduation decal.”
Hanten sighed. “Is this going somewhere?” she said, sitting in her chair.
“I saw that same symbol tattooed on Stokes’ chest. We know you’re Tyler’s mother.”
21.
HANTEN DROPPED HER head. She took in a breath and exhaled before looking up at Black. “You found out?”
“It wasn’t too hard after we discovered Stokes was the father,” Black said. “It didn’t add up. He was the father, but he wasn’t too concerned about Tyler. Got me thinking, why would he try to clean up the mess for a kid he gave up for adoption and didn’t care about? Then it hit me—the mother. A mother in her right mind would do anything to keep her child safe. Including getting the cold-hearted father to protect the child. Even if he said he wanted to kill the kid.”
“What! That bastard… I knew it was a mistake—”
The doorknob for the office door turned and the door swung open. Toben stepped inside, staring at Black and Hanten as the door shut behind him.
“You’re just in time, Agent Toben,” Black said. “The director here was about to confess to everything. You may continue.” The last sentence he directed to Hanten.
She frowned and closed her eyes before sighing and opening them again. “About twenty years ago I was at Quantico training for the FBI. Karl was training in the same class. He was in a special unit of the military that required the training. We were both fairly young and inexperienced in life. We spent a lot of time together and took a liking to one another. One thing led to the next and I ended up pregnant. I was able to hide the pregnancy until we completed the training, but it wasn’t good. It was something I knew the Bureau would frown upon—and then there were our families. I came from a home where… it was not okay for us to have kids out of wedlock. Didn’t want to disappoint my family, particularly my mom and dad. And Karl came from a household where there wasn’t much love. He was always seeking his family’s love, so he didn’t want to be a disappointment to them. So after I had Tyler, we gave him up for adoption. I didn’t want to do it, but we had our futures to consider. I thought about Tyler for years and we even kept tabs on him as he got older. But as time went on, I felt less and less like his mother. I thought he was better off with a family that never gave him up to begin with.” She paused and sniffled, wiping the rolling tears from her cheeks. “Then about a week ago I was in a meeting with the Secretary of Homeland Security and staff. It was there I learned Tyler was a person of interest in the New York bombing. They had pictures of him and Petrak’s daughter here in San Francisco. I immediately contacted Karl. At first, he wasn’t interested, but he didn’t know I had evidence tying him and his old team to stolen drug money in Colombia. So I gave Karl an ultimatum: either help our son or I’d expose them. He was on board after that, and obviously his old team was too. But I felt guilty about Tyler and wasn’t going to let him go through that alone.” Hanten shook her head, weeping. “The plan was simple: Find Tyler and get him out of the country until the whole thing blew over. But he attempted a bombing at Fisherman’s Wharf before we could get to him. Then footage of him was bouncing around every government agency. We did our best to block his identity from being discovered. Even tried manipulating his adoption records. Anything to keep law enforcement off his trail. It was supposed to be simple, but it turned out to be a big mess that got away from us. My own team started working the case,” she said, flinging her hand in Toben’s direction. “Then we tried to frame you for the bombing at Fisherman’s Wharf,” she said, looking at Black. “It was nothing personal. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Or the wrong place at the right time—depending on what side you’re on,” Black replied.
Hanten wiped the sniffle from her nose. “Yeah…” She nodded. “We didn’t realize you would be such a problem at the time. We underestimated you, and now I see that was a mistake.”
There were three brisk knocks at the door.
“Come in,” Toben called.
Two guards stepped into the office. One of them glanced at everyone in the room before fixing his sights on Toben.
“You wanted to see us, sir?” he said.
Toben held his index finger to the guard. “One second,” he said.
“I was just trying to protect my son,” Hanten pled, shaking her head in a slow, broken motion. She cupped her mouth and sobbed.
Toben faced the two guards. “Gentlemen, I need you to cuff Director Hanten and take her to a cell downstairs.”
Both men stared at him for a moment. After a couple of seconds, they realized he was serious and walked over to Hanten. She stood from her desk and placed her hands behind her back. The guards cuffed her and walked her to the door. She focused on Black as the guards escorted her out of the office. Black and Toben followed and watched as the guards walked her to the elevator and the doors closed behind them. Ashley and Boyar were in the hallway outside their office, watching the entire thing. They looked over at Black and Toben before going back into the office.
Toben released a heavy sigh. “This has been a rough few days,” he said.
“Tell me about it,” Black agreed.
“I’m going to tell her.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m going to tell Kristi. I’m going to tell her about my affair with Ashley.”
Black said nothing.
“Even if she already knows. She deserves to hear it from me,” Toben continued, dropping his gaze. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. It’ll only tear my family apart,” he concluded, pursing his lips and softly bobbing his head.
Black nod
ded but remained quiet.
They walked into the office and found Ashley and Boyar standing in the center of the room, conversing. Black found an empty seat near Ashley’s desk and sat down, relaxing back with his arms folded. He exhaled and briefly closed his eyes.
“Agents Chapp and Boyar,” Toben called. “I know these last few days have been busy and have taken a physical and emotional toll on us all. But I’ll need you for another few hours. After that, you can go home and have tomorrow off too.”
Ashley shrugged.
Boyar paced towards his desk. “Sounds good to me.”
“Good,” Toben said, clapping his hands together. “I have to contact the Secretary of Homeland Security about Director Hanten. And breakfast. Somebody order us breakfast.”
Black’s eyes became heavy. He dozed off as Toben was giving orders and assigning tasks to Ashley and Boyar. Just when the sleep was pulling him under, he was snapped out of it by a thump against the floor, near his foot. He opened one eye to see his travel sack lying there. Ashley was standing over him with a hand on her hip and a smile on her face.
“You sleeping on the job?” she giggled. “He’s still a consultant, right?” She addressed the question to Toben.
Toben looked over. “Black, would you like to join the DHS?” he asked, grinning.
Black looked in his direction with tired eyes. “Not a chance,” he chuckled.
“Have it your way then. You’re fired,” Toben joked.
Black slightly shook his head, turning his attention back to Ashley. She continued to smile down at him.
“You left this in my car,” she said, pointing to his travel sack. “We’re about to order breakfast. What would you like to have?”
“I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Black answered, closing his eyes.
“Okay,” he heard Ashley say as he stared into darkness.
The sound of footsteps and voices traveled by him. Back and forth. Slow and fast. He heard it all and knew who was doing the talking or walking based on the sound of their voice or the weight of their steps. His eyes opened at Ashley nudging him. She stood in front of him holding a Styrofoam takeout container, a Styrofoam cup, and a smile.
“Breakfast,” she said, placing the container and cup on the desk next to him.
He pulled himself upright in the chair and opened the container. Warm steam rose to his face, bringing with it the aroma of a country-style breakfast. The contents were hash browns, sausages, scrambled eggs, fruit, a biscuit, and a couple of packs of jam. Inside the Styrofoam cup was coffee. He looked over at Ashley, who was sitting at her desk, and gave her a smile of thanks. She returned the smile before opening her own container and turning to face her computer screen. Fifteen minutes later the only thing left of Black’s breakfast was a morsel of the biscuit and a few drops of coffee. The three DHS agents were still working away, typing at their computers, talking on the phone, and opening and reading paper documents. Black felt a vibration in his pocket and realized it was the phone he had mostly ignored the past few days. There were a few missed calls and a voice message. He played the message and heard his sister’s voice expressing her concern for him and wanting to see if he was okay. After listening to the message, he dropped the phone in his pocket, picked up his travel sack, and walked towards the office door. Toben happened to be walking by him.
“You’re leaving, Black?” he asked.
Black lifted his travel sack to eye level. “I’m going to clean up. I thought I saw a restroom in the hall.”
“Yep. Out the door, down the hall to your left.”
The restroom had a pine scent and the floor and countertop shone. He walked to the paper towel dispenser, grabbed a few towels, and doused them with water and soap. He then entered a stall, stripped, wiped down, changed into some spare clothes from the travel sack, and walked back to the office door and opened it a crack. Toben’s voice wafted through. He was explaining to Ashley and Boyar how he wanted to walk through an event timeline. Boyar suggested using the whiteboard located in the back room. Footsteps knocked against the floor and faded in the distance. Black opened the door wider, just in time to see the backs of the three agents as they drifted into the back room and the door closed behind them. He stepped into the office, grabbed his Styrofoam trash, tossed it in the garbage can, and strolled back into the hallway. He figured it was best not to say goodbye. They no longer needed his help, his name was cleared, and they were busy. He rode the elevator down to the main lobby and took the front entrance outside, where he saw the sun rising behind the buildings. Beaming strips of light illuminated the city streets. The moist, cool air breezed over his body as he jogged across the street and walked nearly a quarter of a mile to a bus stop. It took two bus rides and three blocks of walking before he arrived at the sandwich shop where his car was parked. He circled around the Viper, tossing his travel sack in the trunk and easing in behind the steering wheel. The car was just as he had left it. He removed his phone, jabbed at it, and held it to his ear. It rang three times before Olivia’s voice jumped on the line.
“Hi, I’ve been trying to reach you,” she said.
“I know. That’s why I’m calling you,” Black said.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I flew to New York for a job after I got off the phone with you the other day. We were running a security detail while repairs were being made on account of that bombing out there. When I got back to Chicago, I heard there was another bombing attempt at Fisherman’s Wharf, where you were. And then another bombing attempt at Fantastic Galaxy. Did you hear about them?”
“Yeah, I might’ve heard something in passing.”
“Anyhow, I knew you were at Fisherman’s Wharf and wanted to check on you.”
“As you can see, I’m fine. Now how about you?”
“Things are going good. I think I might stay with this company for a little while.”
Black said nothing.
“Hey, did you go see Mom and Dad?” Olivia continued.
“Not yet.”
“That’s what you said like five days ago. What have you been doing?”
“Sightseeing.”
“Look… I know they’re not our biolog—”
“I really want to go see them,” Black interrupted.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I’m not sure when I’ll have a chance to see them next—so I’m going to go.”
“Okay… well, good,” she said. “I have to go, but let’s try to do a better job of staying in touch, okay?”
Black nodded at the phone. “Yes, I’d really like that.”
“Bye, big bro. Talk to you soon.”
“Bye.”
The call ended and Black dropped the phone on the passenger seat, silently looking out his windshield for a moment. He reflected on the last few days and how his life, and his sister’s, could have turned out much differently. He removed the parking permit from his dashboard and placed it in the passenger seat with his phone. Starting up the car, he rolled onto the empty street, heading east for a bit. Then he turned south on US-101. It was a little over a two-hour drive which took him through the mountains and forestland before he arrived at a town near Del Monte Forest. He cruised through the small downtown and drove a couple more miles until he reached a large gated home. The gate was open and a truck hauling a riding lawn mower and other yard tools was pulling into the driveway. Black turned into the driveway behind the truck and approached the house, a two-story red brick home with white trimming. It had a three-car garage and sat on a large plot of land with thick green grass. The yard was encompassed by thick but sightly brush with a couple of small trees growing in the front. He followed the truck around the circular driveway. The truck stopped at the bottom arc of the circle closest to the gate entrance, while Black parked directly in front of the main door. He looked through the passenger side window and watched as an older couple ambled down the steps. The woman wore loose white pants and a white
shirt covered by a grey button-up heather top. The colors helped accentuate her beautiful brown skin. The man behind her had the same skin complexion. He was clothed with a plaid shirt tucked into a pair of navy-colored slacks. As they both stared at Black’s car, some wrinkles around their eyebrows joined the permanent wrinkles already on their faces. Black stepped out of the car and rested his arms on top of the roof, lowering his chin to his hands and smiling widely at them. The woman stepped closer, her mouth gaping. She looked back at the man, whose mouth had fallen open also. Her eyes brightened and a smile grew on her face as if she had come to a realization. Black continued to smile. He knew he hadn’t seen them in a while. He knew they weren’t his biological parents. He knew he wouldn’t stay long. But he didn’t care about any of that, because he knew he was looking at his mom and dad.
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About the Author
Alex Cage is an action adventure thriller author.
Cage’s books blend his interest in martial arts, adventure, travel, and knowledge with exploration and high-octane action. Cage enjoys action adventure and thriller stories with fantasy and sci-fi sprinkled in. He has always wanted to create his own stories but spent many years thinking about it before actually putting his stories on paper. He currently lives in North Carolina where he enjoys reading, writing, and practicing martial arts.