Alex And Cassidy: Betrayal Part 27

"Alex..."

"Come on." Alex put out her hand. Ca.s.sidy looked at the agent and sighed. "Let me hold you now."

"I need to," Ca.s.sidy began to protest.

"You need to stop trying to take care of everyone else, Ca.s.sidy. Let us take care of you," Alex said lovingly.

"I'm not the one..." Alex smiled and stopped the thought with a kiss. She took Ca.s.sidy's hand and led her to the couch and removed her sling. "What are you doing?" Ca.s.sidy grabbed the agent's hand.

The agent guided her lover down beside her and put her arm around her, holding Ca.s.sidy close. "I told you. You have held me all week. I am holding you now."

"Alex..."

"Ca.s.sidy, just rest. Sleep with me for a while. I am not leaving," she whispered. Ca.s.sidy's tears were still falling freely as she nestled against the agent and caressed the hand holding her. "I can't lose you either," Alex admitted as she let her eyes close. "Je t'aime, Ca.s.s."

"Je t'adore, Alex."

The sound of the doorbell startled the agent from her sleep. Ca.s.sidy was not beside her. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and forced her feet to the floor, slowly making her way toward the hallway. Willing her eyes to open, she noted the time on the clock and smiled. "She went to get Speed," she mused as she reached for the door handle. She squinted as she looked into the afternoon sun. "What the?"

"Alex."

"Jane?"

The former first lady smiled. "I know that this is a bit unorthodox. I have my reasons."

Alex nodded. "No, you know you are always welcome," she stopped to regard the man approaching.

"I know...Alex," Jane began, suspecting that the agent might bristle at his presence. She was surprised to see Alex's shocked expression begin to soften as quickly as it appeared. Alex opened the door wider and gestured for the pair to enter. "I would have called..."

The agent shut the door and let out a sigh. "It's all right," she said. She looked directly at the tall man now standing in her hallway. "I guess I owe you a thank you."

"You don't owe me anything, Agent Toles." Alex nodded.

"Alex? Is..."

"Ca.s.s will be back soon. She went to get Dylan. I a.s.sume you are not here to see her, though."

"Actually, we are here to see you both," Jane replied.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Well, coffee?" she offered as she led Jane and Jon Krause to the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?" Jane asked with concern.

"Better." Alex went about starting a pot of coffee and then looked to the tall CIA Agent. "So, you won't mind if I ask you this, Agent Krause....Before Ca.s.sidy gets home." He smiled his understanding. "Did you do it for him or for Ca.s.sidy?"

"Agent Toles...John was my brother, maybe not biologically, but....there is a lot we need to discuss. I promised to protect you...all of you."

"So that's why you took out Fisher?" Jane looked to Alex and then to the CIA agent in confusion. "Well?" Alex asked.

"Figured you would put that together," he smirked.

"So?"

"John called me right after you called him." Alex looked at him and nodded. "I was already on my way."

"That doesn't answer my question," she said plainly.

"Both, Agent."

Alex sighed as she heard Dylan's voice outside. "I'll be right back. I think it might be best if Ca.s.sidy finds out we have visitors from me."

"Of course," Jane answered.

The agent made her way back into the hallway and was quickly greeted by a sprinting seven year old. She squatted down and accepted his greeting. Ca.s.sidy caught the expression on the agent's face. She looked back out the door and noted the black sedan parked on the street. The teacher's raised eyebrow met the same expression from Alex. "Dylan, Mom and I have some company. Do you think you could go watch something downstairs for a little while?" Alex asked. He shrugged his agreement and started off toward the door.

"Hey," Ca.s.sidy called after him. "That doesn't mean you don't have to do your homework."

"I know," he called back as he descended the stairs.

"So," the teacher began as Alex moved toward her. "Who is our company?" Alex licked her lips. "Alex?"

"Jane." Ca.s.sidy opened her eyes wider in an effort to implore Alex for more details. "Okay...and Krause." Ca.s.sidy leaned in closer in disbelief. "Ca.s.s?"

"Pip is here?" Alex shrugged. "Why?"

Alex let out a heavy breath. "Ca.s.s, he did save me...and he was John's best friend... and..."

"And what?"

Alex released a sigh and took Ca.s.sidy's face in her hands. "And he cares about you."

"Alex, that's..."

"Look, Ca.s.sidy, whatever it is they want to tell us..."

"Tell us? Alex, what do I have to do with any of this?"

"Ca.s.sidy, you are Christopher O'Brien's ex-wife. Dylan is, well John's...and now there is me and what happened in France..."

Ca.s.sidy rubbed her face with her hands. "Alex..."

"Let's just see what they have to say, okay?" Alex suggested gently.

Ca.s.sidy caught the faint smell of coffee in the air. "You're making coffee?" The agent stopped and looked at Ca.s.sidy. "I think I might prefer wine," Ca.s.sidy quipped. Ca.s.sidy's hand affectionately squeezed the agent's and Alex found herself feeling grateful for the morning they had shared.

"So, what are you saying?" Alex looked at Jane.

"Alex," her friend implored.

"You are telling me that there is a government within the government? Is that what you are saying?"

"That is what we are saying, yes, Agent Toles," Krause intervened.

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. "For what purpose?"

He nodded and pulled out his chair, taking a moment to pace across the kitchen toward a window. "That's really the question; isn't it?"

"Krause, what the h.e.l.l does that mean? You don't know the objective? You work for these people, don't you?"

"Alex," Ca.s.sidy put her hand over the agent's to calm her.

Jon Krause looked at Jane who offered him a halfhearted smile of encouragement. "Agent Toles, John and I...we were raised to be who we are. To do what we do. Do you understand? The objective? We took orders. Orders to protect our country. That was the objective."

"Protect the country? Selling arms to warlords and drug dealers? You are telling me he knew about all of this?" Krause nodded. "Why? Jesus Christ," Alex pulled away from Ca.s.sidy's touch as her anger began to burn hotter. "So, now what? You want my help?"

"Yes," he said.

Alex let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Why now?"

Jane looked at Ca.s.sidy and then made her way to Alex. "Alex, listen to me. We are pretty certain that John was working against The Collaborative."

"The what?" Alex asked.

"The Collaborative," Krause repeated.

"The Collaborative?"

Jane took Alex's arms. "Alex, please....please, sit down." Reluctantly, Alex complied. She looked at her friend as Ca.s.sidy gently stroked her back. "Listen, for a long time there have been people working to root out the source; determine who is really pulling the strings." Alex looked at Jane skeptically as the former first lady continued. "Matt...he never went that way. Even when our father tried to convince him to take a role in Admiral Brackett's office at the Pentagon, he refused. Things didn't make sense to him. John...He called Matt that Sat.u.r.day. Left a message. They never spoke."

"All right, what does this have to do with O'Brien?" Krause started to answer and Alex stopped him. "What about Ca.s.sidy and Dylan?"

Krause looked at Ca.s.sidy and smiled. "I'm sorry, Ca.s.sie," he said honestly. "O'Brien is nothing more than a p.a.w.n. The admiral chose him, among others. He fit a profile; ambitious to a fault, adept at storytelling; a convincing liar." Ca.s.sidy shook her head and rolled her eyes as he continued, "he was easy to manipulate."

"And now?" Alex asked.

"Well, Claire Brackett has tipped that on its head. Look, Agent Toles, I will tell you everything I can. I don't know as much as I know you would like to believe. I can tell you about transactions, players...orders," he stopped. "We are all p.a.w.ns. Nothing more."

Alex studied his expression. "Why? What changed?" She looked at him and caught his gaze drift to the woman beside her. Alex chuckled and shook her head.

"They killed my brother, Agent Toles."

Alex sighed. "So, where do we start? We both have something to protect."

"SPHINX.".

"What do you know about it?" she asked.

"Not a lot. Enough to know it leads somewhere deeper than even I have been."

"What did he want me to know about Iraq?"

"I don't know, Agent," Krause admitted. "He would never speak about that; never. SPHINX leads to something deeper. It was not my operation, not part of my duties."

"Okay...what do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Matthews."

"The Amba.s.sador?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Jane is closer to Russ..."

Krause looked at Alex. "No. Jane needs to be out of this part."

"Why not just come to me, Krause? Why involve Ca.s.s?"

"Ca.s.sidy is involved, Agent, no matter whether you or I like it that way. Dylan, well no matter whether they think he is...o...b..ien's or John's or...."

"You're worried they might use him as leverage. Against who?" Krause looked at her blankly. "s.h.i.t. Against me?"

"Maybe. Against anyone."

"And Ca.s.sidy?" Alex asked.

He sighed. "Agent Toles, I came here because I don't intend to let anything happen to Ca.s.sidy or Dylan. Now, after John; after what happened in France; this is the only way."

"This is crazy," Ca.s.sidy muttered as she put her face in her hands.

"Ca.s.sidy," Alex whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you or Dylan."

"What about you, Alex?" Ca.s.sidy's voice raised a decibel.

The agent attempted to smile. "What did I tell you, earlier?"

"I know, I know this is a lot," Jane said quietly. "You deserve to know, Ca.s.sidy. John tried, my father tried to keep me from it. When John came home from Iraq, things just didn't add up. Not for me. It wasn't just PTSD. It was something else. I heard him on the phone screaming at someone about murdering innocent people. That's when I went to Matt. That was the first time I heard of The Collaborative."

"Jesus," Alex muttered. "Ca.s.s, maybe I should step..."

"Don't you dare, Alex," Ca.s.sidy cautioned.

"Alex," Jane said. "Ca.s.sidy is safer with you than she would be without you and so is Dylan."

"All right. Ca.s.sidy doesn't need all the details. Krause?" He nodded his agreement. "Why don't we take a walk," Alex suggested. "Let Ca.s.sidy and Jane breathe."

"Alex," Ca.s.sidy stopped the agent as she went toward her jacket on the back of a chair.

"It's all right," Alex kissed the teacher. "Better we know. We'll be back."