by D. L. Line
“So what are you worried about, well, despite the obvious?”
“Actually, I’m mostly concerned that I have no idea where Bobby is. You were working together today, right?
“So, now it’s my turn to put two and two together. You heard the conversation from the babe on the bike, Bobby did the computer thing and figured out that it was Denny’s apartment, and it would seem that you freaked a little and took off without him. Am I close?”
“Well, yeah, pretty close.”
Terri swore she could see the light bulb snap on over Jen’s head. “And the first thing that crossed your mind was one of two things.” She held up a hand, counting off her first point with an extended index finger, “One, that I was in some kind of trouble, or...” she raised another finger, “two, that I’m involved somehow. Please feel free to jump right in anytime and tell me that I’m wrong.”
“No, Jen, you’re not wrong. I sent Bobby off to follow the suspect, which by the way, he didn’t want to do, and I called you and came up here. So yes, I was worried about you, and, like you said, I freaked a little, but you were so shocked about Denny. I know you aren’t involved.”
Since she couldn’t quite decipher the look on Jen’s face, Terri waited for her to continue. “Now, you know. But you weren’t quite sure, not a hundred percent.” Jen held up a hand when Terri started to say something. “No, I get it. I wasn’t honest about this from the beginning. But we have another problem here, Agent McKinnon. Despite all that noise you made to the therapist last week about being all better, you’re not really better at all, are you?”
There it was. The question that she didn’t want to hear. “No, I guess not.” Terri looked down as she crossed her ankle over her knee and began to fiddle with the hem of her jeans. “I’m sorry, Jen. I don’t know what to say.”
Jen reached across the desk, took Terri by the chin, and lifted her head. “Baby, look at me. We talked about this. I thought you trusted me.”
“I do trust you.”
Terri saw Jen’s agitation in the set of her jaw and the flash of anger that narrowed her eyes. Jen pulled her hand back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Right. And so the first time something bad happens, you’re all over me. What the fuck in that says anything about trust?”
Terri stood up quickly and backed away. She needed some room to think. “Jen, this isn’t about trust.”
“What is this about then?”
“This is about me being scared, okay? This is about me freaking out and inventing dangerous scenarios in my head simply because someone that you happen to know might be in a lot of trouble.” She kept talking, trying to piece together her thoughts out loud, attempting but failing to remain calm. “Yes, I did have a flash that you might know something about this, but that disappeared as soon as I realized that I was right back in the front yard of your old house, watching Davis threaten you. By the time I figured out what was really going on, I was shaking Bobby off the front of my jacket and begging him to let me go.”
Jen leaned forward in her chair. “So why didn’t you stop when he told you to stop?”
“Because I wanted... no, because I needed to see you. I needed to touch you, to know that you were okay.” Terri had never felt as small as she did at that moment, revealing the depth of her fears, the full extent of her loss of control. She turned away toward Jen’s bookshelves and pushed back the tears that threatened to spill at any moment. She heard Jen get out of her chair and then felt a tentative hand on her shoulder. Terri turned to face her and the pained look on Jen’s face was all it took to reach her tipping point. The tears began to fall. “Jen, what am I supposed to do now?”
“You’re supposed to let me in, let me help you. We touched on this that night on the kitchen floor. You need to stop being Agent McKinnon, mighty defender of the universe, and start being just plain Terri, a smart, wonderful, stunningly beautiful, yet imperfect woman who, by the way, has a really goofy computer geek who’s madly in love with her. You have to stop trying to be something that we both know you aren’t. You aren’t perfect, baby, and you can let me help you.”
Terri felt the tears flowing freely down her face. God, she hated crying. She didn’t quite trust her voice yet, so she let herself be wrapped up in a bone-crunching hug. She buried her face in Jen’s shoulder and accepted the comfort even as it annoyed her that she needed it so badly. When was it that she had become Agent McKinnon, crybaby? She needed to suck it up and get back to work. She sniffed back the last of her tears and tried to put her game face back on. “So, what now, Dr. Rosenberg?”
“First, we need to clean you up. Denny will be here soon, and I assume you still need to talk to her. Do you want me to stay for that?”
“Yes, I think it will put Denny at ease, and I may be able to get more out of her.”
“Second, there’s obviously still a lot that you and I need to talk about. Can we agree to continue this later? I really don’t want to let it drop. I’m worried about you.” Terri hesitated, but finally nodded. “I mean, is it okay for you to be out there with a loaded gun strapped onto your belt, and is it also okay that I just said something really close to strap-on and my completely perverted brain took a huge left turn and went somewhere oh-so-very interesting, yet totally unrelated to this discussion?”
“Well, yeah, that’s always okay. We can continue this discussion later. I promise.”
“Good. Third, you call Bobby and find out where he is and what you need to do to catch up with him.”
“That’s worked out. Well, sort of. I’m supposed to call him at four. I’m hoping he will have found something out about the woman on the motorcycle. Then maybe you can take me to wherever he is, and no one will have to find out that I took off the way I did.”
“Okay. That’s good. I can do that.” Jen stepped back and reached across her desk to the box of Kleenex that she kept on the computer stand. “Here, you might need these.”
Terri chuckled a little as she wiped her eyes with the offered tissue. “Yeah, that might be a good idea. We don’t need Denny thinking that the FBI is populated with a bunch of weepy girls. Doesn’t do a lot to project an image of confidence, you know?”
“No, it really doesn’t.”
“There’s something else. I can see it all over your face. Tell me.”
Jen picked up and began to fiddle with a paper clip. “Yes, okay. There is one more thing. Do you think you should recuse yourself from this case? Maybe you’re right. Maybe Denny is too close to me. I’m more than a little concerned about your objectivity here.”
“Well, Dr. Rosenberg, isn’t that a great question? I wish I had a great answer. Right now, I should probably be thinking about what I’m going to say to fix this with Bobby and we should report in about what’s going on. My biggest concern, outside of what we just talked about, is Denny and what’s going on with her. I mean, there’s still the woman breaking into her apartment, and depending on what she’s been hacking into and how far into it she is, she could be facing some criminal charges herself.”
“I get that, but what about you?”
“What about me? I might be the only thing between your graduate assistant and three to five years in a federal prison. As Agent McKinnon, mighty defender of the universe, and by the way, I like the sound of that way more than I probably should, I should be taking her into custody to at least investigate what’s going on.” Jen started to interject, but Terri stopped her with a raised hand. “But I think she just screwed up, is in way over head, which she probably doesn’t even realize, and that we should at least get her side of the story. Maybe there’s something I can do to help her.”
Jen opened her mouth to answer, but never got any words out before there was a knock at the door. She looked toward Terri, mouthing a quiet question, “Are you ready for this?”
Terri nodded yes even though she wasn’t sure that she was totally prepared. She slipped into agent mode, at least as much as she could muster, and got up from her chair as Je
n called toward the door. “Come on in. It’s open.”
The door opened slowly. Denny peeked around the doorframe, stopping abruptly when she noticed that Dr. Rosenberg wasn’t alone. “Is it a bad time? I can come back...”
“No, Denny. Come on in and have a seat.”Jen motioned toward Terri, who was now half-sitting on the edge of the desk. “You remember Agent McKinnon?”
Denny looked a little scared, but Terri could tell, from her years of experience, that the look most likely came from uncertainty rather than full-blown fear. She would have to be careful; she didn’t need to try to talk down a panicky college student. She smiled, a look that she hoped would provide a little comfort, as she offered a greeting, “Denny. It’s good to see you again.”
Denny appeared to relax a little as Jen offered her the chair next to the desk. She came into the office, closing the door behind her, and sat down as requested, still looking more than a little unsure of herself and the situation. Terri didn’t move from her perch on the edge of the desk, trying to read Denny’s body language to determine the best way to start the conversation. She decided that a gentle line of questions would work better than an outright accusation.
“Denny, is everything all right with you?” Denny only nodded as Terri noted that her demeanor hadn’t really changed at all, so she pressed on. “Is there anything going on? Something you should tell us about?”
Terri could almost see the wheels turning in Denny’s head as she offered up a response. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Taking a deep breath, Terri realized that the gentle approach would have to be amended. She also realized that she’d have to do it carefully. “Denny, do you have any friends who have a key to your apartment? Maybe a friend who likes to wear leather pants and who also rides a motorcycle?”
That did it. Terri could plainly see the shift in Denny’s demeanor. She was scared, as evidenced by the panicked change to her facial expression. Denny shifted her gaze to the floor and nodded almost imperceptibly. “Yes, that would be Faith.”
Terri looked over toward Jen, noting that Jen looked a little scared herself, perhaps coming to the full realization that Denny really was in trouble. Turning back toward Denny, Terri asked, “Does she have a key to your apartment?”
Denny, who was still staring at the floor, shook her head no.
“Denny, look at me,” Terri said. Denny looked up. “Listen, I’m not here to get you into trouble. I’m here to see if I can help you. I need to know what’s going on in order to do that.”
“I guess it started a few weeks ago. I got this weird phone call with a job offer, and it concerned me a little. That’s when I came to you.” She looked toward Jen. “Then she called me back. I told her no, but she pushed a little harder, and offered me more money. It was a lot of money, and I really needed it, so I told her that I’d take the job.” She stopped and looked back toward Jen, defending herself as best she could. “I mean, I did listen to you, and I did say no, but...”
Jen answered, “Denny, it’s okay. I get it. I was there once and I said yes too. And, if you remember, I told you that it didn’t work out so well.”
“Yeah, I remember, but it was a lot of money, and so I just—”
Terri interrupted. “Denny, it’s okay. I get it too, and I’m not here to judge you about your choice. I need to know exactly what she wanted you to do.”
“She wanted me to hack into some giant corporate server. I had an information sheet with a lot of details about some kind of alternative fuel development in Africa. I got partway into the information, and I found lots of weird stuff.”
“What kind of weird stuff?”
“Well, there was lots of stuff about all these nasty diseases. You know, like Ebola, and bubonic plague, stuff like that. It scared me, so I called Faith and told her about it. She came over right away, explained it, and convinced me not to worry about it.”
“Convinced you? What did she say to do that?”
Denny didn’t answer, well, not out loud anyway. Terri watched as Denny turned bright red and lowered her head to stare at the floor again. Jen jumped in. “Denny what happened?”
Again, Denny didn’t answer. Jen was not about to let it go, evidently.“Denny, did you sleep with her?”
Terri arched an eyebrow, but she held back judgment, waiting to see if Denny responded. After a moment’s hesitation, she did answer, very quietly. “Yes.”
With no idea what to say next, Terri stopped to think about Denny’s revelation. She didn’t have to wait long to see what happened as Jen offered up a statement. “Denny, please remember, we’re here to help you. Besides, who hasn’t had sex with the wrong person at least once? Well, besides Agent McKinnon. She’s never done that. I’ll shut up now. Sorry, Terri.” Terri brushed off Jen’s statement with a slight wave of her hand and continued her questioning, “Right. Whatever. Anyway, what happened next?”
“Well, since I couldn’t download the file, I told Faith that I’d call her when I was able to. I managed that this morning, and I called her on the way here. I got her voice mail, so I have no idea what’s supposed to happen next. I guess she’ll want to come to my house later.”
“Actually, Denny, she’s already been to your apartment, and apparently she didn’t find what she was looking for.” Denny said nothing, but she did look surprised. “We, the FBI that is, have been following your friend around for a few days. I’m not sure why, but I have a better idea now. Earlier this afternoon, we followed her to your house. That’s why I asked you about giving her a key. It would seem that she broke into your apartment and pretty much tore it up looking for something. Do you know what was she looking for?”
Denny said nothing as she reached into the front pocket of her backpack and pulled out a small USB drive. She held it out, offering it up to Terri.“I think she was probably looking for this. She gave it to me for when I downloaded the files she wanted.”
Terri accepted the offer of the small USB drive, turning it over in her fingers as she attempted to ascertain her next move. “So what’s on this?”
“I’m not sure ’cause I haven’t read the entire document. Honestly, it kind of scared me, so I just called Faith and left a message. I figured that she’d know what it was, and I really just don’t want to know if it’s something awful.”
Terri turned the USB drive over, debating her next step. Jen held out her right hand and said, “Why don’t we just see what’s on that puppy? Might help.”
Terri handed her the drive as Denny continued to stare at the floor. Jen slid the drive into an appropriate port on the side of her laptop and waited for the computer to recognize the hardware and load the document. A couple of quick strokes and a click or two to the touchpad opened it. Jen got up from her seat behind the desk and offered it to Terri, who began to scroll through, quickly scanning the document. A nervous silence hung in the office as Terri looked over the file, finally stopping at a spot that captured her attention.
“Holy shit,” Terri said into the air, recognizing something that scared her more than a little. Pointing at the screen, she turned to Denny.“Do you know what this is?”
Denny, who was still staring at nothing on the floor, looked up toward Terri and shook her head. “I have no idea what any of that stuff means. It looked scary, so I didn’t read all of it.”
“What is it?” Jen asked.
“Well, I’m no expert, but this looks like some of the stuff that we saw in our Homeland Security briefing last year.”
“Homeland Security? What does this have to do with them?”
“Bioterrorism, Jen. This looks to me like someone is cooking up something really scary that some crazy idiot somewhere can dump into a reservoir. This is bad.”
Jen responded, directing her statement toward Denny. “Agent McKinnon has a gift for understatement. I don’t think bad begins to cover it, do you, Denny?”
“No, not really. Wow, I really fucked up, didn’t I?”
“No, actually, this
might be just what I need to help you. Since you found this, we can treat it like an anonymous tip, well, except it’s not really anonymous.” Terri explained, as the puzzled expressions remained locked in place. “You know, since you brought this to the FBI, in a manner of speaking anyway, we can probably use that to take some of the heat off of your hacking activities.”
“Really? That would be cool,” Denny brightened a bit.
“Yes, really. I can take this to my boss, and—” Terri stopped mid-sentence as her earpiece crackled to life. Surprised to hear Bobby’s voice, she answered, speaking into the microphone attached to her watch. “Bobby? Where are you?”
“Well, actually I’m on campus, in the faculty parking lot across the street from the library. I’m out of the truck and following the suspect. She’s on the front steps of McKinley Hall, smoking a cigarette. Is that close to where you are?”
“Oh, shit. That’s exactly where we are.” Terri turned to Denny. “This Faith person is right outside.” She waited while Jen and Denny took in this new information and tried to come up with something to say. Denny offered nothing except a terrified expression, while Jen broke the silence with a question, pointing toward the computer for emphasis.
“We can’t let her have that information, right?”
“No, that’s not even an option. But here’s the best I can come up with. Jen, is there a back door to the building?”
“Yeah, there’s a loading dock out the back.”
“Okay, what we do is this. I’ll head out the back door. Faith is less likely to notice me if I don’t come out the front door. I’ll meet up with Bobby and we’ll get back in the van and follow her. Next, Denny needs to call Faith.”
Denny looked panicked.
“It’ll be okay,” Terri assured her. “So, Denny calls Faith and tells her that she has a meeting off-campus with her professor. That’s you, by the way,” she said to Jen.”
