Alex And Cassidy: Betrayal Part 10

Jon Krause held the phone in front of his face and rolled his eyes. Moving it back to his ear he shook his head and chuckled. "He's arrogant. I told you that from the beginning."

"What did Viktor say?" the admiral inquired with notable concern in his voice.

"He's spooked. Worried about Callier. Worried about the French commitment to our operations."

Admiral Brackett paced the floor of his small office. "Is he talking action?"

"It's clearly an option for the Russians."

"Jesus Christ, Jon."

"I think you can rest easy for now. He won't like this change though, delaying the transaction again to deal with O'Brien. What about Edmond?"

The admiral sat behind his desk, twirling a pen mindlessly in his fingers. "Edmond agrees. O'Brien is a liability."

"Sending O'Brien to Corsica...it's an exposure risk. If he..."

"Jon, call Edmond. He will explain. We need to put O'Brien in line. He's no longer an a.s.set. Go to London. Mitch.e.l.l will meet you there. Edmond will deal with Mercier. Corsica presents an opportunity to put this to bed. I'll inform Sparrow. Sparrow will get the doc.u.mentation we need."

Jon Krause took a deep breath. "Are you sure that is a wise decision?"

"There's no choice. Contact Edmond first. We need a trail to O'Brien that is verifiable. Strickland remains a wild card." Krause chuckled. Lawrence Strickland was the opposite of John Merrow. The decision to remove President Merrow may have st.i.tched closed one tear in the network but in the process it effectively infected everything else with an unpredictable virus. "Krause, we need to handle this situation quickly."

"Well, Admiral," the CIA agent began. "Have you an antidote for hubris?"

William Brackett's temple twitched as he considered his response for a moment. The final decision to a.s.sa.s.sinate John Merrow came from him. He listened to the players and their concerns and he took the necessary action. Now, he hated to admit Krause's words stung. Strickland was not dependable, O'Brien was not trustworthy and both had only one agenda; the furtherance of his career. That made them dangerous players that needed to be controlled quickly. "You brought O'Brien into this," the admiral reminded the agent.

"Did I?" Krause countered. "I set up what you asked. I positioned where you dictated. I believe that I cautioned the chosen..."

"Yes, I recall," Brackett admitted. "London, Jon. O'Brien is going to Corsica next week. Work with Agent Mitch.e.l.l. Make it happen. I want him removed from this."

Krause let out a heavy sigh and tossed the phone aside. "My pleasure this time," he said.

"I don't know, Taylor," Alex said. "There was something in Tate's voice."

"You think he suspects..."

"I don't know what I think," Alex said abruptly. "What about Fallon?"

"Not much yet. Brady's digging more on Brackett's time with DCIS. Fallon seems to think her purpose at the bureau was not initially about you. Something about an investigation in 2008 with the DEA regarding a chemical attack on the Saudi Emba.s.sy. Sound familiar?"

"We looked into some of that when we were investigating Al Asad," she recalled as she heard Ca.s.sidy's voice approaching.

"No...No...I understand," Ca.s.sidy said with her phone to her ear. "Of course."

"Taylor, I gotta go," Alex said noting the expression on Ca.s.sidy's face as the teacher hung up her own call.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"I don't know. Keep me posted. I'll head in Thursday and touch base with Brady." Alex disconnected her call and looked at the teacher. "Ca.s.s?"

"It's Dylan." The agent's heart stopped and she immediately went pale. "No," Ca.s.sidy gave a nervous chuckle. "He's all right. We need go to the school."

"What's going on?"

Ca.s.sidy shook her head. "I'll explain on the way."

Alex and Ca.s.sidy walked into the school office and Alex immediately caught sight of Dylan sitting on a small chair in the corner. His eyes were slightly red and his clothes were covered in dirt and gra.s.s stains. He looked at the two women as they entered the room and immediately cast his gaze on his feet. An attractive woman dressed in a blue pantsuit emerged from a frosted gla.s.s door and smiled. "Mrs. O'Brien?"

"Yes," Ca.s.sidy answered.

"Sorry we meet this way. I'm Dr. Bell. I guess Friday was just too long to bring us together," the princ.i.p.al said with an earnest measure of rea.s.surance. Ca.s.sidy smiled halfheartedly. "Follow me," she said with a smile. "Sit down, please." Alex fidgeted in her chair as the princ.i.p.al extended her hand.

"This is my," Ca.s.sidy paused and thought for a moment. "Partner?" she looked to Alex who smiled nervously, "Alex Toles."

"Nice to meet you Ms. Toles," the princ.i.p.al greeted warmly. "So, as I told you, there was an incident on the playground between Dylan and another young man. He was, as I am given to understand, taunting your son."

"It's not like Dylan to hit someone," Ca.s.sidy said plainly.

Dr. Bell nodded. "I don't doubt that. I understand that Dylan did try to walk away. Apparently, George pushed your son. That's according to some of their cla.s.smates."

"And then Dylan hit him?" Ca.s.sidy urged the princ.i.p.al to continue.

"No. The boy said something to him. Dylan would not share with me what it was and neither would George. Whatever it was; it resulted in a brawl." Ca.s.sidy sighed and shook her head. Alex bit her bottom lip. "Both the boys will have detention tomorrow. I think, in light of how upset Dylan was when I spoke with him; well....I know it's been a difficult time for him. This hasn't been the best first day. I thought, maybe a fresh start tomorrow would be best. George's mother a.s.sured me she would speak to him and get to the bottom of things."

Alex swallowed hard as Ca.s.sidy maintained control. "I appreciate that. Alex and I will have a talk with Dylan when we get home." The teacher's voice was even but strained and Alex could tell that Ca.s.sidy intended to be firm with Dylan. It reminded her a bit of her own youth.

"He seems like a very sweet boy," the princ.i.p.al smiled.

"He is," Alex answered bluntly without hesitation. Ca.s.sidy tried not to giggle, completely aware that Alex's reaction was to defend Dylan.

Princ.i.p.al Bell nodded. "Let me know, please....what you discover?" she urged.

"Of course," Ca.s.sidy a.s.sured. The princ.i.p.al opened the door and Ca.s.sidy and Alex stepped through. "Let's go," Ca.s.sidy called over to the boy who would not look up to meet her gaze. Ca.s.sidy kept her pace steady as Dylan fell in behind and looked up sheepishly to Alex. The agent offered him a faint smile. She had asked Ca.s.sidy for boring. As she watched Ca.s.sidy enter the car and Dylan climb in his seat; she realized she had been right. Dull would never be a problem in this family.

The silence in the car lingered. Alex looked over at Ca.s.sidy who was looking out her window and noted the tension on the smaller woman's face. She looked into the rear view mirror and tried not to laugh when she was met with the exact same expression on Dylan's. His words startled her. "I'm sorry, Mom." Ca.s.sidy let out an audible sigh and was about to speak when he continued. "You're mad."

"Dylan, you know better than to hit anyone," she answered.

He kicked at the seat in front of him. "I had to."

"You had to?" Ca.s.sidy uncharacteristically raised her voice. Alex reached over and grasped the teacher's hand. "You don't ever have to hit someone."

"He called you gay!" Dylan yelled.

"That's no reason to hit someone," Ca.s.sidy answered immediately.

"Yes it is," he said. "He said you can't be a mom."

Ca.s.sidy was still aggravated by the entire situation. Alex licked her lips and finally dared to speak. "Dylan..."

Ca.s.sidy interrupted. "Dylan, do you know why he said that to you?"

"No."

"Well, Dylan. You know that Alex is a girl and so am I," Ca.s.sidy began.

"So?" He kicked at the seat again.

"Stop kicking the seat!" Ca.s.sidy demanded.

"Dylan," Alex interjected. "I am gay."

"No you're not," he said. "You're Alex."

Alex shook her head and finally saw Ca.s.sidy start to chuckle. "I guess we have some things to talk about, huh?" Ca.s.sidy looked at her lover. Alex smiled. "Dylan," Ca.s.sidy continued. "You can't hit people. You understand that? Even when they say something about me."

"I know," he muttered.

"Mm...Why don't we get a pizza and head home?" Ca.s.sidy suggested to Alex.

"You're not mad?" he asked his mother hopefully.

"No, I'm not mad." He perked up in his seat and smiled. "But I'm not happy either," she went on. "I think we need to talk about some things. And I don't want you fighting. No matter what he said; hitting him was wrong."

Alex kept her focus forward. "Your mom is right, Speed."

"I know," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Alex smiled. "Speed, some people don't understand. Somebody like your mom being with somebody like me."

"You mean because you're like a superhero and Mom is a teacher?"

Alex laughed and Ca.s.sidy covered her face with her hand. Dylan was so innocent and it was nothing if not endearing. "No. I mean because I am a girl and so is your mom. And when that happens some people call it gay."

"Oh," he said taking the statement in. "Why?"

"I don't know," Alex confessed.

"That's stupid," he said.

Ca.s.sidy shook her head. For a moment she had begun to worry about explaining things to her son. There was nothing to explain; had the other boy called her any name Dylan would have responded in the same way. He had no idea what 'gay' even meant. As they drove now she realized that George probably didn't either. He had probably heard someone else say it without even grasping what it meant at all. She and Alex could prepare Dylan for some of what he might hear and they needed to do that, but she would never be able to make him understand why people said it. She chuckled and looked at Alex; her first visit to the princ.i.p.al's office. It was a milestone, a rite of pa.s.sage in parenting, and unlike the many that had pa.s.sed before it; this one she was sharing with someone else. Her distress over her son's fisticuffs dissipated into an overwhelming sense of gratefulness and she squeezed the hand that held her own.

"Is this what you meant by chaos in the boring?" Alex asked. Ca.s.sidy nodded and raised her eyebrow. "Sign me up," the agent smiled.

Wednesday, April 16th gent Steven Brady rifled through the papers that were spread across his desk. He held one up and examined it closely. Letting out a strong sigh he placed it carefully on top of the heaping pile and retrieved another. Brady shook his head and pushed his chair away from the desk with some force. He pulled at the short hairs on the top on his head and grimaced. "It can't be," he muttered, running his hand over his face and pulling at his lip. "s.h.i.t." The agent picked up his phone and waited. Hearing the voice on the other end, he spoke. "Michael," he began softly.

"Brady?" Michael Taylor answered. There was no question that something was troubling the younger man. It was more than unusual for Steven Brady to address the director as Michael. That informality was reserved for two things; personal time and issues that were sure to produce emotion. "Brady, what?"

"Well...Admiral Brackett," Brady paused. "Listen, you said that the president mentioned Iraq to Agent Toles."

"Yes, he did." Brady paced the floor of his small office, holding the phone with one hand and continually rubbing the other over the top of his head. He stopped for a moment behind the desk and glanced down at the two papers set atop his pile. "Brady?" Taylor called with some impatience.

"What exactly was your mission there?" Brady asked.

"In Iraq?" Taylor asked in confusion.

"Yes, in Baghdad. Your team; what was the mission?"

"I told you before, we were a.s.signed to a.s.sess threats. a.s.sess movements in and around the city that would pose a danger to our forces or the new government."

"And?" Brady asked.

"And liaise with the locals. Strengthen their trust, help rebuild local commerce in order to stem insurgents."

Brady swallowed hard. "What was it called?"

"What?"

"The operation. Did the operation have a codename?" Brady asked.

"Well, of course," Taylor offered. "Brady, what the h.e.l.l does this have to do with..."

"Please, what was the name?

Taylor pursed his lips and tightened his jaw, "SPHINX, the codename was SPHINX."

Steven Brady collapsed into his chair. "I think you need to see this."

"Brady, what the h.e.l.l is going on?"

"Remember when you said Merrow was at the head of every..."

"Jesus, Steven...just tell me!" Taylor interrupted.

"SPHINX...as in the creature for which you must solve a riddle."

"I suppose," Taylor said.

"There's the riddle," Steven Brady paused and approached his friend and mentor carefully. "That mission; that's not what SPHINX's objective was."

"What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?" Taylor yelled in frustration.

"Brackett, Merrow, according to this, that had to be a front." Brady picked up one of the papers. "I have to dig some more..."

"Brady, what the h.e.l.l are you saying?"

"ASA...money filtered from SPHINX to ASA."