Chasing Shadows

by C Paradee

  Tony walked into the living room and shook her head when she saw the two kittens happily playing with the leaves of the silk plant in the middle of the floor. Shooing them away, she picked up the basket and the plant, putting it back together in a semblance of the way it had been before the kittens had attacked it.

  Setting in up on a shelf, she started to walk back to the kitchen when she stepped on something. Lifting her bare foot, she plucked the offending item off of it, smiling when she saw what it was. The arrangement was realistic, but she never realized it had a ladybug in it. Just as she was about to place it on one of the silk leaves, she stopped, all senses on alert.

  Placing the ladybug in the palm of her hand, she looked at it closely. Something was odd about it. All of a sudden it hit her. There were three antennas protruding from it. The extra one was slightly longer and thinner than the other two. Narrowing her eyes, she placed it back in the basket, her thoughts turning dark.

  Tony walked into the kitchen and raised a finger to the center of her pursed lips signaling for quiet. Looking at Megan, her eyes imploring her partner to play along with her, she said, "I’m going to take a shower now. The kittens trashed the silk flower planter but I’ve put it back together again. Why don’t you put the darlings into one of the bedrooms?"

  Mouthing, "Come with me," she left the kitchen and walked into the bathroom, Megan right behind her. Closing the door, she pulled the shower curtain and turned on the water. Turning and looking at her puzzled partner, Tony said, "We’re being bugged."

  "Bugged? You mean someone’s been listening to us? Why?" Megan asked perplexed. "Who would want to bug us?"

  Tony’s brow creased in thought. "I don’t know. I’ve got a bug detector in my bag in the closet. I’ll check the apartment and find out if there are any more, and if there are, where they are. I don’t want to get rid of them yet because that’ll alert whoever put them here that we found them. Once I get done, let's go for a ride. Then we can try and figure it out."

  Megan placed her hand on Tony’s arm, delaying her departure. "How did you find out?" Her knowledge of bugs was limited to what she saw on TV or in the movies, but she knew they were not easy to find. She was also angry at the invasion of their privacy.

  Tony smiled for the first time since they entered the bathroom. "It turns out that noise we heard was Huggy and Velcro playing with the planter on the coffee table. They got a little rambunctious and knocked it to the floor."

  The lines of her face-hardened, and she continued, "I stepped on something when I was picking it up. It was a little ladybug. Something about it seemed odd, and then I realized it had three antennas. The third antenna was a little longer and thinner than the other two."

  The irony was not lost on Megan. She mused aloud, "Real clever. A bug in a bug." Glancing up at her partner, she asked, "How did you know?"

  Tony shrugged. "I’ve used similar ones in some of my cases. I’ll double check it, but I am sure that’s what it is."

  Megan looked off into space, and spoke her thoughts aloud, "Something is going on. I knew it."

  Tony placed a hand on Megan's shoulder, the contact drawing her lover's eyes to hers. She smiled ruefully at Megan and said, "I hoped you were wrong."

  Shaking her head, Megan said, "So did I."

  "I put it back, so watch what you say in the living room. The running water will keep whoever is listening from hearing our conversation even if there is one in here," Tony explained. "The main thing right now is to act normally. Come on. I’ll show you how the bug detector works. The one I’ve got is nice because it has a setting on it that allows it to vibrate like a pager instead of beeping so if anyone is listening right now, they won’t know what we’re doing."

  After turning off the water, Megan followed her partner into the bedroom. Opening the closet door, Tony pulled out one of her suitcases and took out a small accessory bag. Unzipping it, she removed various small devices. Settling on one that looked something like a remote control, but was smaller, she put the other items back in the bag.

  Picking up the bug detector, she turned it on to the vibrate setting and watched the red light. It would begin flashing if it detected a bug. The closer it got to the bug the faster the light would flash.

  Megan stood out of the way watching Tony. The planes of her face had sharpened and there was no wasted movement in her actions. The few times she had watched Tony at work, she was always struck that this warm loving woman was also a very competent, and when necessary, very deadly FBI agent. Certainly not someone anyone with any sense would antagonize.

  A complete scan of the apartment only revealed two bugs, one in the kitchen and the one in the living room. Tony smiled grimly. They knew what they were doing. Not coincidentally, both rooms had phones and most of their conversation took place in one or the other.

  Tony and Megan sat in a booth in the back of Diana’s. She was sure they had not been followed, and she was an expert at detecting tails. No one had ever succeeded in following the operative unless she wanted to be followed.

  Ordering a Coke and Pepsi respectively, Tony said, "I don’t get it. I think it’s fairly safe to assume I am the target. Coroner’s apartments are not likely to get bugged." She said the last smiling at Megan.

  Megan sighed. "Just when I thought everything was back to normal for a change. You know Tony, I could really do without all this excitement," Megan said in a bantering voice, but was actually very serious.

  "You and me both. I was willing to write off the accidents even though that guy deliberately swerved into my car. I know you had a feeling about them and I thought it was one hell of a coincidence, too, but I was hoping he could’ve been a drunk or a weirdo of some kind."

  "Do you have any idea why someone would want to," Megan paused, unable to bring herself to say kill, and finished with, "hurt you?"

  "No. I have gone over everything I’ve done in the past several months, and I can’t think of any reason anyone would want to… bug our apartment." Tony pushed her hair away from her face, and continued, "It has to be a pro. The bugs are very cleverly disguised."

  Megan spent each day sifting through evidence and finding clues that were almost nonexistent. Moving the straw around in her Pepsi, deep in thought, the analytical portion of her brain was sorting through everything Tony had done since she met her. An idea began forming in Megan’s mind.

  Tony was watching her partner, worried. She was absently playing with the straw in her Pepsi, her eyes trained on the drink. Tony was just about to interrupt her thoughts, when the hazel eyes met her own.

  "What about when we were in D.C. and you talked to Huey? Any possibility someone could have found out about that? You mentioned Huey said you might have to testify. Maybe someone doesn’t want you to."

  Tony looked at Megan thoughtfully. Nothing she could come up with made any sense. That was a possibility, even though it was kind of far fetched.

  "You might have something there. It’s worth a shot. I’ll call Huey tomorrow. It just seems so extreme." Sighing Tony added, "If it is related to that, they must know the chances of uncovering the perpetrator is very small, so why bother?"

  "Maybe there's more to it than you think," Megan said. "I can’t think of any other reason someone would be after you unless it has to do with some case you did before we met."

  Tony shook her head. "No. You could be right. On the few cases my cover was blown, we ended up busting all the leaders and they are still doing hard time."

  Tony took a sip of her Coke and continued, "We have to remember to act normally when we are in the living room or kitchen. Since the rest of the apartment is not bugged we can talk behind closed doors in the bedroom or bathroom. Now that we know there is a bug, we can use it to our advantage to lure whoever it is in."

  "You’re not going to do anything dangerous are you?" Megan asked, becoming even more worried than she was.

  Tony saw the worry on Megan’s face and said, "No. I’m just going to talk to Huey first and t
hen Brian. I know I can count on them. I’d like to set a trap with Brian’s help."

  Smiling reassuringly at Megan, she continued, "I won’t do anything on my own. But I think we both need to be very careful."

  "I’m not the target here, you are," Megan said, relaxing a little since her partner wasn't going to try to handle this herself.

  "We don’t know that for sure. I just don’t want to take any chances, ok?" Tony asked, her concern reflected in her eyes.

  "Does this mean you’re going to take me to work again?" Megan asked, a small smile forming on her face.

  "Yes. If you don’t mind," Tony said, relieved that Megan had suggested this.

  "Mind… not hardly. Well, in that case, ok," Megan said smiling, hoping to ease some of the worry from her partner’s face.

  PART 5

  TONY DROPPED MEGAN off and headed home. She treated her surroundings with even more care than usual. She thought grimly, there will be no more accidents.

  Arriving home, she exchanged the line from the jack to the phone with a 25 foot one and walked into the bedroom. Attaching a scrambling device to the phone, she made the first of two calls. Since phone monitoring was most often done remotely, she had no idea if the phone was tapped and wasn’t taking any chances.

  Sitting on the bed, Tony said, "Hi Huey," when he answered the phone.

  "Hi Tony. What’s on your mind?" Huey asked, surprised by the call. The phone was propped on his shoulder and he was looking at the messages that he had received.

  Deciding to get right to the point, Tony asked, "How’s the investigation going?"

  "I turned it over to Internal Affairs the same day you were here. Why?" Huey sat back in his chair, his full attention on the conversation now.

  Tony stood up and began walking around the bedroom. "I have suddenly become accident prone and I found a bug in my apartment. Both of the accidents were a little too close for comfort. There is nothing I am involved in here that should elicit this kind of action. The only other thing I can think of is that it has something to do with your investigation."

  "Anything is possible, but it doesn’t make sense. Internal Affairs runs a fairly tight operation and your current assignment is only available through your personnel file."

  "Well how about humoring me and checking to see if my personnel file has been pulled?" Tony asked knowing the record could not be accessed unless a log was signed. Standing in front of the window, she continued, "I know it’s a long shot but I’d like to know so I can eliminate the possibility."

  "Ok. I’ll check on it today."

  * * *

  Megan sat at her desk going through her inbox. She had already finished her only case for the day. Some of the results were back from the lab and she was pleased to see that her suspicion on the drowning victim had been right. He had been dead prior to entering the water.

  David walked in and sat down, draping a leg over the arm of the chair. "Hi Boss," he said, grinning.

  Megan chuckled. While it was true that she was his boss, their friendship extended to their work relationship.

  "Hi. You want me to tell you what happened over the weekend, right?" she asked, smiling warmly at her friend.

  "Well, it would be nice since we were too busy yesterday, and I did see Tony drop you off in that gorgeous Jeep, and you just happened to tell me enough yesterday to worry me." David said, settling back in the chair and crossing his arms.

  "Yeah. Guess I did. Relax, it’s a long story," Megan smiled ruefully at her friend, and began relating the events of the weekend.

  * * *

  Tony dialed Brian’s number and waited for him to pick up. Wasting no time, she said, "I need to see you. When would be a good time?"

  Brian listened to the terse statement and knew something must have happened. "Come on down now. I’ll make time."

  "I’ll be there in twenty minutes." Tony said, relieved that he had time to see her so quickly.

  Tony quickly walked across the squad room oblivious to the admiring looks from the occupants. Arriving at Brian’s desk, she said, "Hi," and sat down in the chair adjoining the desk, stretching her legs out in front of her and crossing them at the ankles.

  Brian took in the controlled look on Tony’s face and leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He answered her greeting by asking, "What’s going on?"

  Tony looked at Brian, and said, "I found a couple of bugs in the apartment last night. Apparently, someone is very interested in what I am doing. I’d like to set up a sting operation to lure this guy into the open. But I need some help."

  "How do you know it’s a guy and how do you know there is only one person involved?" Brian asked, wanting to know how Tony had come to the conclusions she had.

  "I don’t know if more than one person is involved, but I don’t think I’d be sitting here talking to you now if he had help." Tony paused, gathering her thoughts. Turning slightly in the chair, she rested her elbows on the desk. "Call it a gut feeling, but the type of incidents leads me to believe that he acted independently. I’m thinking it is the driver of the pick up that rammed me. I did get enough of a look to know it was a man."

  Brian nodded his head. He had forgotten she had mentioned that in her report. He had also learned long ago to always trust your gut. "I take it you have something in mind?"

  Tony smiled grimly. "Yeah, I do. I want to stage a meeting in my apartment where we set up a phony bust scenario for the surveillance case I’m working on. We can make it seem authentic by mentioning that some information has been leaked and that Braxton gave me the authority to call in you guys to prevent anyone from being tipped off about the bust. This guy obviously knows a lot about me and has to know I just finished working a case with you, so he should buy it."

  Tony paused for a minute brushing the hair away from her face with her hand. She knew she needed help, but it seemed funny to be asking for it. She had always handled her own problems.

  Brian waited quietly for her to continue. He knew her well enough to know that she was unaccustomed to asking for help and was pleased at the show of trust.

  "The only way I can make this work is to have some of your people help. I want to set myself up as bait to draw him out. But I don’t want to be a sitting duck. I need to be covered by your guys," Tony said, watching Brian closely trying to gauge his reaction.

  Brian was more than willing to help Tony out. He knew he’d have to call on his friends, since this was certainly an unofficial request. But he felt she was putting herself at too much risk.

  "I don’t like the idea of you as bait. It’s too chancy. What if my guys don’t see him in time? I’d feel personally responsible if anything happened to you."

  Tony sat up straight in the chair, and crossed her arms. "Whoever is doing this is definitely a pro. If I don’t set myself up, he’ll never show."

  Brian still wasn't convinced this was the best plan and decided to try another tactic. "Does Megan know about this?" he asked, pointedly.

  Biting off her initial retort, which was to tell him that was between her and Megan, she said, "Not yet." Meeting Brian's gaze, she continued, "There didn't seem much point in telling her until I knew if you were going to help."

  Shaking his head, he said, "Tony, you've got someone else to think about. We’ll figure out something else."

  Frowning, Tony looked pointedly at Brian, and said, "I know that. I’m worried about her. What if he gets frustrated and tries to get at me through her? I can’t take that chance. She’s too important to me. There isn't any other way. I have to do this."

  Brian made a decision. "I’ll help you. But I got a feeling Megan is going to be pissed off at both of us."

  Tony nodded her head in agreement. Explaining her plan to Megan was not something she was looking forward to.

  Brian took a pen out of his pocket, and began jotting notes on it. "What’s the time line?"

  "If you can get the others together in time, I’d like for everyone to come to my apartment this
evening. I thought we could set up the sting for tomorrow night." Tony said, knowing what she was asking would be difficult to accomplish.

  Brian looked up from the pad of paper and met Tony's eyes. "Moving kind of fast, aren’t you?"

  Deep blue eyes met steel gray ones. "I have to. I have a feeling the attacks are going to intensify, and I don’t want Megan or anyone else I know jeopardized."

  After a moment's thought, Brian said, "Ok. I’ll start notifying people. How about we show up at 7pm?"

  Tony smiled, and said, "Sounds good. And Brian… thanks."

  "No problem," Brian said, hoping he had made the right decision.

  * * *

  Huey hung up the phone and sat there thoughtfully, his elbows resting on the desk and his chin supported on a bridge formed with his hands. He had been concerned about Tony’s accusation and the ramifications of it since she had reported it to him. If her file had been pulled, then this was bigger than he had first thought.

  Walking out of his office, he said to Jean, "I’m going over to Human Resources."

  Arriving in the Records Room, he walked up to Sarah who was standing behind the sign-in desk.

  Looking at the older woman fondly, he said, "Hi Sarah. I need the personnel record on Antonia Viglioni."

  Pushing the login form across the desk, Sarah smiled and said, "Hi Huey. Just sign for it here. That record’s been kind of popular lately."

  Huey looked up from the log. "What do you mean?"

  "I just pulled it for someone else last week." Sarah said, a little puzzled by his reaction.

  Taking the log back, she flipped a few pages back and began running her finger down the entries. Finding the one for Viglioni she murmured, "That’s strange."

  "What’s strange?" Huey asked, trying to see what Sarah was pointing to on the log.

  Looking up, Sarah said, "This isn’t the name of the agent who signed for the file. This has the Director of Quality Control’s name. The agent who signed for it was a young guy I’ve seen around. That’s why I didn’t question it. Can’t think of his name right now. Nice young man. I can’t believe I missed that. Oh, well. Maybe he was just signing the name of the person he was getting the information for."