“Good. That’ll give me time in the morning to see your friend, and in the afternoon I can pick up the material.”
“Okay.” He held out a hand. “It’s been great to see you, girl.”
“Same here, Carl. One of these days you’ve got to come back East and spend some time with me.”
He shook his head. “Not a chance. I love these here mountains. Even when everything gets crazy, I know they’ll be there, steady on as always.” He looked at her. “Don’t you ever miss them, Teren?”
She nodded. “All the time, Carl.”
And now, she was once again on a plane leaving those mountains. Heading back into a case where her involvement had started out unintentional. Even now, she wasn’t really sure how that had happened.
Sure, Graves had gotten her over to FBI Headquarters by telling her about Perry’s badge. And she had wanted to see if Alex could lead her to the men who paid Mather. But how did she become a part of that search, she wondered?
She could blame it on Sarah and Maggie, she supposed. After all, they had invited her to their house to meet Alex, who had talked her into helping. But that wasn’t fair because she had had every intention, and even the opportunity, to say she couldn’t make it. Instead, she had agreed, shown up, and even agreed to drive the blond agent back to her apartment. After that, there was no way to stay out of the investigation.
So, Teren thought, it’s Alex’s fault. She’s the reason I’m involved in this mess.
Teren smiled to herself. Involved. Ann had put a whole new meaning on that word.
She and her former lover had a short but affectionate conversation after Alex left them alone. It had started with Ann’s question about how she knew the blond FBI agent, and Teren’s story of being on loan from the Agency.
“So, you are still with the Agency. I had wondered. Even worried.” Ann was holding Teren’s hand. “How is Perry?”
Teren bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood, but managed to finally say it. “He’s dead, Ann. He died about six months ago.”
“Oh, Teren, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She stroked Teren’s cheek, trying to get the woman to look into her eyes. “I know how close you and he were.”
Teren lowered her head and nodded. “We were.”
“How did he die, can you tell me? Or was it —” She broke off.
“Yes, it was in the line of duty, Ann. The two of us had our cover blown in Eastern Europe. I got out. He didn’t.”
Teren said all of this without raising her head.
“Goddess, Teren, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” Ann tried to put her arms around Teren’s shoulders, but the sling and the IV got in the way. She had to settle for holding even tighter to her hand. “I’m grateful you got out at least. And I know Perry would feel the same.”
“Yeah. As a matter of fact, he told me that. He said if he was going to die, he didn’t want me to be there beside him, and I should get my ass to the helicopter.”
“And you did?”
“Yeah. I almost made it, too.”
Ann’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean, almost?”
“Just before I got there, somebody shot me.”
“What did you do?”
Teren grinned. “I got back up and dragged my ass to the chopper. Wasn’t any way I was going to the afterlife then, just to have Perry pound on me for not making it another four feet.”
That brought a smile to Ann’s face. “So, you’re okay?”
“Yeah. A couple of scars, but I’m fine.”
“Uh-huh,” Ann sounded doubtful. “You’re fine? Right. Why don’t I believe that, Teren?”
“Hey, it’s true, I’m okay. Really.”
Ann nodded. “So, tell me how you got involved with Agent Reis?”
“We’re not involved, Ann, we’re just working on the case together.”
A smile slid across Ann’s lips. “I never meant anything else, Teren. Was that a Freudian slip?”
Teren chuckled and shook her head. “Nice try. No, it wasn’t.” Was it?
Here in the plane Teren was reminded of that little afterthought. She had time now, to look at it again. No, she hadn’t meant involvement with Alex, that was absurd. Sure, Maggie and Sarah had tried to set them up, but the two of them were just working together. Yes, she was involved in this for Alex, but it wasn’t the only reason. She really did care about this case.
As for being involved with Alex, it was a preposterous idea.
*******************************************************
David had dropped his seat all the way back, and was snoring softly. Alex, sitting by the window, wished she could get some sleep. She needed to be able to function tomorrow, but at this rate would probably not even be awake.
It would have been easier to fall asleep if she could get the voices out of her head. It wasn’t that they were really loud,but they were very persistent. The voices were actually from memories, from her day, and everything that had happened. Especially the last conversation with Teren before she left.
The former spy had business back in Washington, and had returned to the capitol as planned. Her plane left twenty minutes before the flight for Philadelphia, and Alex and David had stayed with her at the gate until it was time for her to board.
“Are you sure you don’t want to join us? This is an area we could probably use your expertise in.”
“I’ll meet you guys up there, David. But first I have to check with some contacts in DC. It’s important.”
He shook his head. “Be careful, Teren. From the way you and Alex were talking in the car, this Treville might try to make you our next victim. I’d rather not see them put you in a body bag.”
She smirked. “That’s not what you would have said Friday night.”
He grinned “I know. Amazing what forty-eight hours can do, huh?”
Alex wasn’t happy about the situation either.
“Can you tell me what’s so important about meeting these contacts?”
Teren glanced up at Dave who had wandered away for the moment. Then she met Alex’s eyes.
“I might have a lead on the money angle. I know Treville spent time in Lithuania, Poland, Switzerland, and Germany, before returning to the states. Ostensibly, he was touring right wing Christan groups in those countries. But as you know, that wasn’t his only reason for being there.”
“You think he found, what, a treasure trove, and brought it back to the States?”
“No. I think someone else has been guarding this treasure trove, and simply allowed Treville access to it.”
“How can we prove that?”
“We probably can’t. But I might be able to at least uncover the source of his funds.”
Alex nodded. “But that brings us back to those bank accounts, doesn’t it. If that’s part of his funding, and you mess with those —”
“Look, Alex, one problem at a time, alright? First, you find Brogan, and I’ll try to find the link between Treville and the treasure. Once we get those out of the way, we’ll worry about the rest.”
Alex let her chin slump to her chest. When she raised her head again, she looked at Teren with deadly seriousness.
“You be careful, understand? Don’t go putting yourself in the line of fire. You may not believe it yet, but this team needs you.” I need you.
Teren smiled and nodded. “I promise.”
“Besides, if you get yourself killed, Maggie and Sarah will never forgive me.” I’ll never forgive myself.
Teren laughed at that.She placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.
“Alright, I have to board. You and David take care. As soon as I can, I’ll be calling Cliff for your location so I can meet you. Stay in touch with him, okay?”
“You won’t be available on your cell phone?”
“No, or at least not consistently. There are places inside the building that you’re not allowed to bring things like a phone into. Since I need to get into one of those places, I won’t always have my phone with me.”
“Will they let you in, even though you’re supposed to still be on leave?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry. Just remember to stay in touch with Cliff, alright?”