Fic: Truth And Life (3/?)
FYI in case anyone is wondering, I'm fairly certain that after this part, there will only be two more chapters to this fic.
Title: Truth And Life
Spoilers: IWTB, all of Life
Disclaimers, summary, etc. same as in part 1.
Continued thanks to comice and missmonkeh. You're both awesome.
~
Chapter 3
Sunday
Charlie was awakened the next morning by the smell of frying bacon and the sounds of conversation from downstairs. He rolled over to look at the clock and saw with mild surprise that it was after 9:30 - he rarely slept this late.
Yawning, Charlie pushed back the covers and got to his feet. He almost left the room in nothing but his pajama pants, but in deference to his house guests, he stopped and threw on a T-shirt. At the top of the stairs, he paused and listened. It sounded like Ted's voice, and Dana's. Now that's interesting, he thought, moving quietly down the stairs to see this.
Charlie stopped just outside the kitchen.
Mulder was speaking at that moment. “--but never coyotes, no.”
“Well, that's good to hear,” Ted said with a sigh. “But I still don't like them.”
“I guess I won't complain too much about the deer that we get in our yard sometimes,” Dana said, sounding amused.
Stepping into the kitchen, Charlie saw that his sister was taking the bacon out of the skillet and putting a piece onto each of four plates. Her back was to him, and she jumped when he spoke.
“Hey, how long have you guys been up?”
She turned around. “Almost half an hour.” She grinned and added, “I hope you don't sleep this late when you're on duty, Charlie.”
“Nope,” Charlie replied with an easy smile. He looked at Ted, who appeared both surprised and amused by his sister's comment. “Morning, Ted. Coyotes bothering you again?”
“There was one in the yard again, just a few minutes ago,” Ted told him, frowning. He glanced at Dana and Mulder before continuing, “I could've sworn it was laughing at me.”
Charlie hid a yawn and a smile. “I'm pretty sure it's hyenas that laugh, Ted, not coyotes.”
“Yeah, well,” Ted grumbled, “maybe this one had some hyena blood in it somewhere.”
Mulder leaned back against the counter. “It did seem very bold.”
“I can believe that,” Charlie answered.
He walked over to the counter next to Dana, where she had put the plates. He guessed the one that had pancakes with fresh berries on it in addition to the bacon was his; the other plates' pancakes were undecorated. “Thanks for making breakfast,” he said, wrapping one arm around her shoulders in a quick hug.
“You're welcome,” she said, looking up at him with affection. “Ted told me where everything was... and advised that you might want some fruit with your pancakes.”
“Thanks, Ted.” Charlie glanced at him as he grabbed his plate. Ted nodded and smiled slightly. It seemed like he'd gotten over his anxiety about having two ex-FBI agents as guests, Charlie thought.
The four of them ate quietly for a few minutes. Dana and Mulder made small talk with Ted, chatting about the class he had taught this past year. Charlie chewed a bite of pancake with raspberries on top. He was thinking about how strange and yet how right it felt to be eating breakfast with this varied group of people in this moment, when the ring of his cell phone interrupted the quiet of the kitchen. He had forgotten to take it up to his room last night, so it was lying on the counter behind Mulder.
Mulder moved aside, and Charlie picked up the phone and set down his plate. “Crews.”
He heard nothing for a moment, and then Reese's voice. “Crews. Um, hi.”
“Hey, Reese,” Charlie said, smiling and walking a few steps out of the kitchen. “Still enjoying your vacation?”
“I was, until about an hour ago,” she said. She took a deep breath. “Do you-- do you remember what I told you Roman said about my dad?”
Charlie's feeling of contentment vanished immediately. Still holding the phone to his ear, he glanced over his shoulder into the kitchen, headed toward the back door, and lowered his voice. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, I went for a run this morning,” Reese explained, “and some big Russian guy stopped me on the way back to my hotel. He didn't speak English very well, but he seemed to know who I was. He gave me--” She paused. “He gave me some photos.”
“What were the photos of?” Charlie asked softly, although he was sure she knew he had more than a sneaking suspicion. His heart was pounding as she answered.
“My father.” Her voice was carefully steady. “He's dead.”
Charlie took several slow, deep breaths. There was no point in hating Roman now, he knew that - and yet he still did. “Did this guy tell you anything else?”
“No. I mean I think he said-- he was sorry. He couldn't or wouldn't tell me where to look. And I didn't have my badge or gun with me to try to persuade him to be more cooperative.”
The word had gotten out about Roman's death, Charlie thought... but maybe this man, this person who might have been the one who actually killed Jack Reese, was still too afraid to let the whole truth be known.
His partner was saying his name. “Crews, are you still there?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” Charlie ran a hand across his face. More details, more lines to add to his wall. “Are you still coming back to LA tonight?”
She sighed. “No, I'm packing up now.”
“Good,” he said. He wondered briefly if Dani had told any of this to Tidwell - if the captain had in fact been with her at this point during her vacation. “Call me when you get back. I'll be here.”
“Okay.”
Charlie closed the phone with more violence than necessary, nearly dropping it in the process. He closed his eyes and took another series of deep breaths. He would deal with this, and Reese would deal with this, and maybe they would find some answers - though not the kind that she really needed.
“Charlie? Is everything okay?”
He turned to see Ted watching him, concerned. Dana and Mulder were not far behind him, still holding their breakfast plates and also looking worried.
“I think my vacation just ended,” he replied.
“What's wrong with Reese?” Ted asked, continuing to watch him.
Charlie shook his head. He needed to organize his thoughts. “She just got some bad news about her dad.”
The light dawned in Ted's eyes. They had discussed this possibility briefly. “Oh.”
“What kind of bad news?” Dana asked.
“I'm sorry,” he said to her, and then looked at Mulder for a moment as well. “I'm not going to be around much after my partner gets here. But you're welcome to stick around if you want.”
“You don't need to apologize for helping your partner when she needs it,” Dana said quietly. “But Charlie, if there's anything we can do to help...”
Charlie was about to answer, and then stopped. “Maybe.” They both did, after all, have valuable investigative experience to contribute. “It's up to Reese, though. I'll call and see what she says.”
Mulder nodded. “Fair enough. Do you know when she's getting here?”
“I'll ask her that, too,” Charlie said. “I'm not actually sure where she was vacationing.” It wasn't as if Reese had been hiding her location from him - he simply hadn't asked, and she hadn't volunteered the information.
“Okay.” Dana ushered Mulder back into the kitchen, and Ted followed them.
Taking out his cell phone again, Charlie dialed Reese's number and waited. She answered after a few rings. “Reese.”
“Hi again, Reese,” Charlie said.
She sounded more tired than annoyed as she spoke. “What is it, Crews?”
“I just wanted to know when you thought you'd make it back to LA.”
“Oh, that's right, you have your sister there,” Reese said. “Um, not too long. Less than an hour.” Then she paused, and said, “Look, I don't want to interrupt your time with family, Crews. I could just--”
Charlie broke in. “That was my other question, actually. I told you my sister and her partner are former FBI. They wanted me to ask you if they could help at all.”
“You just went ahead and told them about my father?” Her voice was hard and incredulous.
“No,” Charlie answered, letting himself feel hurt at the accusation for a moment and then moving on. “They just heard enough of our phone conversation that I told them you'd gotten some bad news.”
“Oh.” She sighed, and was quiet. “I don't know what kind of help they could be, unless they know LA well enough to know the best places to look for-- a body.”
He clenched his jaw at the careful calm of those last two words. “I don't think so, exactly,” he said, “but they're good investigators, Reese. And they aren't interested in drawing a lot of attention to anyone. It's up to you.”
There was another brief period of silence. “Can I get back to you on that after I get home?”
“Sure,” Charlie said. “Talk to you then.”
He walked back into the kitchen, where the others were finishing up their meals and putting the dishes in the dishwasher. They looked up when he came in. “She said she'll get back to LA in less than an hour,” he said, “and that she'll get back to me about you two possibly helping.”
Mulder straightened up from the dishwasher. “All right. We'll go get dressed.”
The two of them were about to head out when Charlie remembered something. “Oh - is the room all right?”
“It's fine - it's great, actually,” Dana answered. “Thanks, Charlie.”
“Very comfortable bed,” Mulder added with a straight face - at which Dana hit him on the arm.
Charlie smiled. “Good. See you two later.”
As soon as they were out of earshot, Ted cleared his throat. “So, um... Jack Reese is dead?”
“Yeah,” Charlie confirmed, instantly serious again. “Some Russian guy gave Reese photos. And apologized.”
“Wow.” Ted sighed and leaned against the counter. “So what are you gonna do?”
“We're gonna try to find his body,” Charlie said. “At least, Dani and I are going to - I'm not sure if she's going to want anyone else to help.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Ted said. “Do you have any ideas of where to start?”
Charlie frowned. “Not yet. We can call around to the morgues, but I don't think we'll find him there.”
“Okay.” Ted waited for a moment, and then sighed again. “Well, let me know if there's something I can do to help.”
“I'll do that,” Charlie said, staring at the fruit bowl. “Thanks, Ted.”
~
When his partner called about forty-five minutes later, Charlie had showered, shaved, and gotten dressed, all while going over everything he knew about Jack Reese and Roman Nevikov in his head. He wasn't sure if this had produced any new results, but no period of thought was a waste. He took a deep breath before answering the phone. “Crews.”
“It's me,” Reese said. She sounded like her usual self, for the most part.
“Reese. Where do you want to start?”
“I was thinking we could start at Roman's club and work from there,” she answered. “And, uh, Crews?”
“Yeah, Reese?” Charlie said, and waited.
“Do your sister and her partner have a car?”
“They rented one.” He almost commented about the model they had chosen, but decided that was probably irrelevant.
“Okay.” Reese paused a second. “So maybe they can meet up with us later if we haven't found any clues. Bring a different perspective.”
Charlie smiled a little. “I'll let them know. And I'll call the morgues and ask about any unidentified remains.”
“All right. Good.” She cleared her throat and said, “I'll be there in a few minutes.”
“All right.”
Before leaving his room, Charlie made sure to pick up both his service weapon and his knife. It never hurt to be prepared, he reasoned. His calls to the morgues had had the lack of results he expected - but at least that was narrowing down the options, somewhat.
He was about to knock on Dana and Mulder's door to give them the latest update, but he stopped at the sound of Dana's voice, raised in anger.
“No. No, Bill, I don't--”
Even through the door, Charlie could distinguish the sound of his half-brother's voice over the cell phone. He let his hand fall back to his side and listened.
“Bill.” Dana cut into his tirade with an icy tone that, Charlie recalled, was usually accompanied with a glare so deadly that it had been quite effective in stopping her siblings from doing whatever she didn't want them to be doing. “He's our brother-- no, let me finish. He's our brother, and he was never guilty in the first place. And most importantly, how long has it been since you've spoken to him?”
Charlie closed his eyes. He had tried to let go of the past, to stay in this moment, but he obviously hadn't succeeded with regard to his brother. He could still remember the last time he had spoken to Bill - if you could call shouted insults speaking.
“Uh huh,” Dana said. She scoffed. “And the rejection of family only came from him, did it?”
Charlie thought he could hear Mulder say something in a low voice, and then Dana replied to Bill, but more quietly. “Even after Mom, you're still going to hold onto this bitterness, Bill? You know she'd want us to put our family back together as much as we can.”
Whatever Bill said in response caused silence to fall for a good ten seconds. “That is entirely different,” she almost spat. “I can't believe you're bringing up my decision, again. I've told you more times than I ever should have to - it's permanent. Nothing you or I say or feel can change it.” Her voice shook, and again Charlie heard Mulder's voice but not the words he said.
There was another pause, as Bill spoke. Dana sighed. “I know. Yes. All right. Thank you.” A pause. “Give Tara and Matt our love. Bye.”
Charlie waited for another ten seconds before knocking on their door. Dana opened it. Her hair was still damp, and she looked upset. “Hi.”
“I gather that Bill sends his greetings,” Charlie said brightly.
Dana stared at him. “You heard that?”
“A lot of it,” he admitted. “It was kind of hard not to, once I got to your door.”
She looked down, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “Sorry about that.”
“That's okay. I was just coming to tell you and Mulder that I'm going to be out with Reese starting the investigation,” Charlie said, “but that as soon as we've narrowed down where to start, we'll call you to help out if we need more input.”
“All right, that sounds reasonable,” Dana said. Then she frowned. “Charlie... you don't want to talk about what Bill said?”
“No, I don't want to talk about it,” Charlie answered through gritted teeth. “I think I have a pretty good idea of what he said, and I don't see the need for you to tell me.”
“That's not what I meant,” Dana said, annoyed. “And besides, you didn't hear all of it.”
“Oh, really?” Charlie crossed his arms. “Fine. I would love to hear what Bill had to say, Dana.”
She looked at him with a hint of reproof. “I got him to admit Mom would be happy to have us all try to move past this, and that he'd make an effort.”
He blinked. “Well, I guess that's something.”
With a sigh and a lift of her eyebrow, Dana nodded. “I think it's a start.”
Charlie was about to reply when something occurred to him. He glanced over her head into the room's interior. “Where's Mulder?”
“He's shaving,” Dana said. She smiled wryly and added, “I think he wanted to be sure not to get in the way in case there was another Scully family argument.”
Charlie winced, and she caught her mistake almost instantly.
“I-- I'm sorry, Charlie, I didn't--”
“I know.” Charlie turned away before she could finish. “Reese is going to be here in a few minutes. I'll call you when we're ready for your help.”
He heard her sigh again behind him. “All right.”
Downstairs, Charlie only waited a minute before the doorbell rang. He crossed quickly and opened it to reveal his partner. She looked more tan than usual, but otherwise dressed as she would normally for work. “Hi. You ready?”
“Yep.”
When they had both buckled their seatbelts, Charlie turned to look at her. “Can I look at the photos while you drive?”
“Yeah.” She reached into the back seat and handed him a folder. “Tell me if you see any distinguishing features of the location in them, because I haven't noticed any.”
He nodded, and opened the folder as she started the car. The first shot was Jack Reese slumped over in a chair, arms tied to the chair behind him, and blood visible from a bullet wound in his chest and the right side of his head. Charlie took it in, and then examined what could be seen of the surroundings. It wasn't much: the metal chair, a grimy-looking concrete floor, and shadows all around the edges of the camera's flash.
The next photo - a head-on shot which showed the gruesome exit wound on the other side of the man's skull - did not have much more outside of this to reveal. The flash did illuminate a crack in the wall behind the chair, which was distinctive enough that Charlie thought he would be able to recognize it if he saw it again.
The last photo was of Jack Reese's body, now lying on the floor with blood pooling beneath him. Charlie nearly damaged the photo when he realized that the position of the body made it clear that he had just been dumped out of the chair and left there. He doubted that was a detail that his partner would have missed, either.
“See anything useful?” she asked.
Charlie scanned through all three images again. “Not anything that could help lead us directly to this location, but there's a crack in the wall in one of them that I think I'd recognize if we saw it.”
Reese glanced at him. “Show me.”
Charlie held up the second photo and pointed to the detail in the background. Reese took a look and then nodded before turning her eyes back to the road. “Yeah, that's pretty distinctive... if we can just find the actual building.”
“If we can just find the actual building,” Charlie agreed quietly.
With a half-hearted roll of her eyes, Reese said, “Don't even start,” and pulled up in front of the boarded-up club.
They both stopped and stared at the building. “You know, Reese,” Charlie said, “if we told the Captain about this, he'd make sure you had the department's resources behind the search.”
She kept staring straight ahead. “I know.”
“Okay,” Charlie said. “Just checking.”
The two of them walked forward and began the search.
~
An hour later, Reese and Charlie had moved on from the Ritual to the warehouse where Roman had kept his dogs - and those he caged like dogs. There was no trace of anybody, much less Jack Reese, and both of them were beginning to feel frustrated. In fact, as they exited the warehouse, Charlie was just about to suggest they call in Dana and Mulder when they spotted a young man peering around the corner of the building at them.
Charlie looked at Reese, and she raised her eyebrows. “I think he just noticed that we noticed him.”
He turned back in time to see the guy take off down an alley. Taking a breath, he started running, with Reese not far behind.
After several yards, Charlie turned the corner and caught up with him at the end of the alley. The man had stopped and turned around to face his pursuers, looking somehow both resigned and terrified. He had his hands up.
“Please,” the man said, between breaths, “don't shoot. I'm not going to try to run again.”
Charlie had taken out his gun, but he began to lower it at the man's words. Reese came up behind him then, also breathing hard, and gave him a questioning look.
“Says he's not going to run anymore,” Charlie told her, keeping his eyes on him.
“Is that right?” Reese asked.
He nodded.
“Why did you run in the first place, then?”
“I was scared,” the man said. His Russian accent was noticeable but not strong. He looked at Charlie then. “I know Roman is dead - I know you killed him - but I also know he had your father killed.” At that, he looked at Reese. “And I thought, maybe you are looking for revenge.”
Reese still hadn't lowered her weapon. “But you just said Roman's dead,” she pointed out. “Who would I be taking revenge on?”
He swallowed and looked down. “Anyone who knew what was going to happen... and didn't do anything to stop it.”
Charlie looked at his partner. She met his eyes for a second before bringing her arms down to her sides and holstering her gun. “I'm not looking for revenge,” she said. “But I do want to hear what you know about my father's death. Everything you know.”
The kid nodded, still looking at the ground. “I will tell you.”
“What's your name?” Charlie asked, after a moment.
He raised his eyes then. “Ilya.”
“All right then, Ilya,” Charlie said, after glancing at Reese again, “let's find someplace to talk that's more comfortable than this alley.”
Ilya nodded again. “There is a café nearby that's never too crowded. We could go there.”
“Lead the way,” Reese said.
The café was in walking distance. When they arrived, Charlie realized it was time for lunch. He offered to buy both Ilya and Reese a meal; Ilya accepted gratefully, but Reese said she wasn't hungry. Charlie ordered her a blueberry muffin anyway and cheerfully ignored her irritated glare.
As soon as their orders were taken, Reese focused on Ilya. “What do you know about what happened to my father?”
The young man took a deep breath. “You were given some photos earlier today, by a man who couldn't speak English well.”
“Yes.” Reese looked at him expectantly.
“The man who gave you those pictures is the man who killed Jack Reese,” Ilya continued. His voice dropped almost to a whisper. “He is also my father.”
“Your father,” Reese repeated. She sat back in her chair.
Charlie stepped in. “Roman ordered your father to kill him, didn't he?”
“Yes,” Ilya said, leaning forward urgently. “He-- Roman came to our house, and said that if he refused, Roman would make him watch while he killed our entire family.”
“Did he go with your dad when the time came?” She was still outwardly calm, but Charlie could guess what kind of thoughts were going through her head.
“To make sure he carried out his orders, yes,” Ilya said. “He left some of his men at our house that day, too.”
“And how long ago was that day?”
Ilya blinked. He was still having trouble meeting Reese's eye for more than a few seconds at a time, Charlie noticed. “Six days ago.”
Reese gripped the armrests of her chair and looked at Charlie. Six days ago was one day before she had been kidnapped. “I'm going to the restroom,” she muttered, and left the table.
Swallowing again, Ilya watched her go. “You-- neither of you are going to kill me, are you?”
“No, Ilya,” Charlie said. He watched her until she was out of sight, as well. “We're not going to kill you. But we're not done asking questions yet, either.”
Before the kid could respond, their waiter came by with their orders. Charlie thanked him, and turned back to Ilya. “Well, go ahead and eat,” he said with a smile. He dug into his sandwich (with a side of fruit salad) as they waited for Reese.
They had both nearly finished by the time she came back. Her expression was still closed off, although she gave Charlie another look when she saw the blueberry muffin at her place. Sitting down, she pushed aside the plate with the muffin and rested her arms on the table. “So, Ilya, where did Roman and your father take my father six days ago?”
He shrugged. “I don't know,” he murmured.
“You don't.” Now Reese's voice was hard and dangerous.
There was a pause. Eyes widening, Ilya looked from Charlie to Reese. “No, I swear, I don't know! When I saw you outside the warehouse, I-- I thought you were looking for my father to take revenge on him - I didn't know you were looking for a body!”
Charlie smiled again, but much less warmly. “Now you know, Ilya. Are you absolutely positive you don't know where Jack Reese was killed, or where his body is now?”
“And if you don't know,” Reese added, “can you take us to your father so we can ask him?”
“I'm sorry,” Ilya said. His voice cracked as he told her, “I don't know where my father is. He hasn't come back since he went to find you. And... he had his gun with him. I thought...” He trailed off and rubbed a hand over his scruffy beard.
Reese let out her breath. “He doesn't have a cell phone, or another way to contact him?”
“No,” Ilya said. “I don't know where he's gone. I'm sorry.” Once again, his voice dropped. His repeated apology was all but impossible to hear.
Holding back the urge to break something, Charlie said, “Ilya, if my partner and I go outside to talk for a minute, will you wait?”
The kid nodded. Reese had one eyebrow raised at him in question, but Charlie just said, “Okay, good. We'll be right back.”
As soon as they were outside the restaurant, Charlie put his hands against the wall and leaned on them, taking several deep breaths.
“Crews, are you all right?”
He stared at the sidewalk. “Roman knew where your dad was killed,” he said. “But Roman is dead - I killed him - so we can't ask him anything.”
She was silent for a moment. Then she leaned against the wall, facing him. Charlie raised his head as she spoke.
“If you hadn't killed him, one or both of us would be dead.” Her arms were folded, but she was looking at him steadily. “And even if not, there's no reason he would tell us anything.”
Charlie returned her gaze. “You're not angry?”
“Not at you,” Reese said.
“Good. 'Cuz you know, Reese, anger--”
“Poisons the mind, I know,” she interrupted, standing up as he did likewise. “You ready to see what else Ilya knows?”
Charlie smiled. “Okay. You want me to call my sister afterward?”
Reese was looking toward the door of the café. “Yeah, maybe.” She sighed. “I don't think Ilya is lying to us.”
“No,” Charlie agreed. “But maybe he can give us more ideas of what parts of town to look in, at least.”
“Crews,” she started, and then stopped.
Charlie waited, and then said, “What, Reese?”
“There are only certain areas of town where a body could be left for almost a week without anyone noticing or reporting it,” Reese said.
He blinked. “You're right.” Why hadn't that occurred to either of them before? Maybe because it's not a very pleasant thought, he answered himself almost immediately.
He had another thought. “Those parts of town weren't Roman's usual scene, either - he would have taken plenty of bodyguards.”
“And made enough of an impression on the regular inhabitants of that scene to be remembered,” Reese finished, nodding. They walked back to the entrance. “I don't think we have anything else to ask Ilya.”
Charlie agreed.
Ilya looked pleased when he was told that he could go. As he was getting up from the table, Reese stopped him with a hand on his arm. “When you see your dad again,” she said quietly, “tell him I'm not looking for revenge.”
“I'll tell him,” Ilya said, smiling for the first time. Then he turned the smile on Charlie. “And thank you for lunch, Detective.”
Charlie shook his hand. “You're welcome.”
After their new acquaintance left, Charlie sat forward and pointed at the muffin in front of his partner. “That's made with real blueberries, you know.”
“Do you want it, Crews?” Reese asked. She pushed it a few inches closer to him. “Because you're paying for it anyway, and I'm pretty sure I remember telling you I'm not hungry.”
“How about this?” Charlie suggested. “I'll take half of it with me outside while I call my sister, and you can eat the rest.”
She shrugged, smiling slightly. “Fine.”
Charlie took a knife from a nearby table and cut the muffin in half. It wasn't warm anymore, but it was definitely still fresh. “Be right back.”
“
I'll be here,” Reese said.
Title: Truth And Life
Spoilers: IWTB, all of Life
Disclaimers, summary, etc. same as in part 1.
Continued thanks to comice and missmonkeh. You're both awesome.
~
Chapter 3
Sunday
Charlie was awakened the next morning by the smell of frying bacon and the sounds of conversation from downstairs. He rolled over to look at the clock and saw with mild surprise that it was after 9:30 - he rarely slept this late.
Yawning, Charlie pushed back the covers and got to his feet. He almost left the room in nothing but his pajama pants, but in deference to his house guests, he stopped and threw on a T-shirt. At the top of the stairs, he paused and listened. It sounded like Ted's voice, and Dana's. Now that's interesting, he thought, moving quietly down the stairs to see this.
Charlie stopped just outside the kitchen.
Mulder was speaking at that moment. “--but never coyotes, no.”
“Well, that's good to hear,” Ted said with a sigh. “But I still don't like them.”
“I guess I won't complain too much about the deer that we get in our yard sometimes,” Dana said, sounding amused.
Stepping into the kitchen, Charlie saw that his sister was taking the bacon out of the skillet and putting a piece onto each of four plates. Her back was to him, and she jumped when he spoke.
“Hey, how long have you guys been up?”
She turned around. “Almost half an hour.” She grinned and added, “I hope you don't sleep this late when you're on duty, Charlie.”
“Nope,” Charlie replied with an easy smile. He looked at Ted, who appeared both surprised and amused by his sister's comment. “Morning, Ted. Coyotes bothering you again?”
“There was one in the yard again, just a few minutes ago,” Ted told him, frowning. He glanced at Dana and Mulder before continuing, “I could've sworn it was laughing at me.”
Charlie hid a yawn and a smile. “I'm pretty sure it's hyenas that laugh, Ted, not coyotes.”
“Yeah, well,” Ted grumbled, “maybe this one had some hyena blood in it somewhere.”
Mulder leaned back against the counter. “It did seem very bold.”
“I can believe that,” Charlie answered.
He walked over to the counter next to Dana, where she had put the plates. He guessed the one that had pancakes with fresh berries on it in addition to the bacon was his; the other plates' pancakes were undecorated. “Thanks for making breakfast,” he said, wrapping one arm around her shoulders in a quick hug.
“You're welcome,” she said, looking up at him with affection. “Ted told me where everything was... and advised that you might want some fruit with your pancakes.”
“Thanks, Ted.” Charlie glanced at him as he grabbed his plate. Ted nodded and smiled slightly. It seemed like he'd gotten over his anxiety about having two ex-FBI agents as guests, Charlie thought.
The four of them ate quietly for a few minutes. Dana and Mulder made small talk with Ted, chatting about the class he had taught this past year. Charlie chewed a bite of pancake with raspberries on top. He was thinking about how strange and yet how right it felt to be eating breakfast with this varied group of people in this moment, when the ring of his cell phone interrupted the quiet of the kitchen. He had forgotten to take it up to his room last night, so it was lying on the counter behind Mulder.
Mulder moved aside, and Charlie picked up the phone and set down his plate. “Crews.”
He heard nothing for a moment, and then Reese's voice. “Crews. Um, hi.”
“Hey, Reese,” Charlie said, smiling and walking a few steps out of the kitchen. “Still enjoying your vacation?”
“I was, until about an hour ago,” she said. She took a deep breath. “Do you-- do you remember what I told you Roman said about my dad?”
Charlie's feeling of contentment vanished immediately. Still holding the phone to his ear, he glanced over his shoulder into the kitchen, headed toward the back door, and lowered his voice. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, I went for a run this morning,” Reese explained, “and some big Russian guy stopped me on the way back to my hotel. He didn't speak English very well, but he seemed to know who I was. He gave me--” She paused. “He gave me some photos.”
“What were the photos of?” Charlie asked softly, although he was sure she knew he had more than a sneaking suspicion. His heart was pounding as she answered.
“My father.” Her voice was carefully steady. “He's dead.”
Charlie took several slow, deep breaths. There was no point in hating Roman now, he knew that - and yet he still did. “Did this guy tell you anything else?”
“No. I mean I think he said-- he was sorry. He couldn't or wouldn't tell me where to look. And I didn't have my badge or gun with me to try to persuade him to be more cooperative.”
The word had gotten out about Roman's death, Charlie thought... but maybe this man, this person who might have been the one who actually killed Jack Reese, was still too afraid to let the whole truth be known.
His partner was saying his name. “Crews, are you still there?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” Charlie ran a hand across his face. More details, more lines to add to his wall. “Are you still coming back to LA tonight?”
She sighed. “No, I'm packing up now.”
“Good,” he said. He wondered briefly if Dani had told any of this to Tidwell - if the captain had in fact been with her at this point during her vacation. “Call me when you get back. I'll be here.”
“Okay.”
Charlie closed the phone with more violence than necessary, nearly dropping it in the process. He closed his eyes and took another series of deep breaths. He would deal with this, and Reese would deal with this, and maybe they would find some answers - though not the kind that she really needed.
“Charlie? Is everything okay?”
He turned to see Ted watching him, concerned. Dana and Mulder were not far behind him, still holding their breakfast plates and also looking worried.
“I think my vacation just ended,” he replied.
“What's wrong with Reese?” Ted asked, continuing to watch him.
Charlie shook his head. He needed to organize his thoughts. “She just got some bad news about her dad.”
The light dawned in Ted's eyes. They had discussed this possibility briefly. “Oh.”
“What kind of bad news?” Dana asked.
“I'm sorry,” he said to her, and then looked at Mulder for a moment as well. “I'm not going to be around much after my partner gets here. But you're welcome to stick around if you want.”
“You don't need to apologize for helping your partner when she needs it,” Dana said quietly. “But Charlie, if there's anything we can do to help...”
Charlie was about to answer, and then stopped. “Maybe.” They both did, after all, have valuable investigative experience to contribute. “It's up to Reese, though. I'll call and see what she says.”
Mulder nodded. “Fair enough. Do you know when she's getting here?”
“I'll ask her that, too,” Charlie said. “I'm not actually sure where she was vacationing.” It wasn't as if Reese had been hiding her location from him - he simply hadn't asked, and she hadn't volunteered the information.
“Okay.” Dana ushered Mulder back into the kitchen, and Ted followed them.
Taking out his cell phone again, Charlie dialed Reese's number and waited. She answered after a few rings. “Reese.”
“Hi again, Reese,” Charlie said.
She sounded more tired than annoyed as she spoke. “What is it, Crews?”
“I just wanted to know when you thought you'd make it back to LA.”
“Oh, that's right, you have your sister there,” Reese said. “Um, not too long. Less than an hour.” Then she paused, and said, “Look, I don't want to interrupt your time with family, Crews. I could just--”
Charlie broke in. “That was my other question, actually. I told you my sister and her partner are former FBI. They wanted me to ask you if they could help at all.”
“You just went ahead and told them about my father?” Her voice was hard and incredulous.
“No,” Charlie answered, letting himself feel hurt at the accusation for a moment and then moving on. “They just heard enough of our phone conversation that I told them you'd gotten some bad news.”
“Oh.” She sighed, and was quiet. “I don't know what kind of help they could be, unless they know LA well enough to know the best places to look for-- a body.”
He clenched his jaw at the careful calm of those last two words. “I don't think so, exactly,” he said, “but they're good investigators, Reese. And they aren't interested in drawing a lot of attention to anyone. It's up to you.”
There was another brief period of silence. “Can I get back to you on that after I get home?”
“Sure,” Charlie said. “Talk to you then.”
He walked back into the kitchen, where the others were finishing up their meals and putting the dishes in the dishwasher. They looked up when he came in. “She said she'll get back to LA in less than an hour,” he said, “and that she'll get back to me about you two possibly helping.”
Mulder straightened up from the dishwasher. “All right. We'll go get dressed.”
The two of them were about to head out when Charlie remembered something. “Oh - is the room all right?”
“It's fine - it's great, actually,” Dana answered. “Thanks, Charlie.”
“Very comfortable bed,” Mulder added with a straight face - at which Dana hit him on the arm.
Charlie smiled. “Good. See you two later.”
As soon as they were out of earshot, Ted cleared his throat. “So, um... Jack Reese is dead?”
“Yeah,” Charlie confirmed, instantly serious again. “Some Russian guy gave Reese photos. And apologized.”
“Wow.” Ted sighed and leaned against the counter. “So what are you gonna do?”
“We're gonna try to find his body,” Charlie said. “At least, Dani and I are going to - I'm not sure if she's going to want anyone else to help.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Ted said. “Do you have any ideas of where to start?”
Charlie frowned. “Not yet. We can call around to the morgues, but I don't think we'll find him there.”
“Okay.” Ted waited for a moment, and then sighed again. “Well, let me know if there's something I can do to help.”
“I'll do that,” Charlie said, staring at the fruit bowl. “Thanks, Ted.”
~
When his partner called about forty-five minutes later, Charlie had showered, shaved, and gotten dressed, all while going over everything he knew about Jack Reese and Roman Nevikov in his head. He wasn't sure if this had produced any new results, but no period of thought was a waste. He took a deep breath before answering the phone. “Crews.”
“It's me,” Reese said. She sounded like her usual self, for the most part.
“Reese. Where do you want to start?”
“I was thinking we could start at Roman's club and work from there,” she answered. “And, uh, Crews?”
“Yeah, Reese?” Charlie said, and waited.
“Do your sister and her partner have a car?”
“They rented one.” He almost commented about the model they had chosen, but decided that was probably irrelevant.
“Okay.” Reese paused a second. “So maybe they can meet up with us later if we haven't found any clues. Bring a different perspective.”
Charlie smiled a little. “I'll let them know. And I'll call the morgues and ask about any unidentified remains.”
“All right. Good.” She cleared her throat and said, “I'll be there in a few minutes.”
“All right.”
Before leaving his room, Charlie made sure to pick up both his service weapon and his knife. It never hurt to be prepared, he reasoned. His calls to the morgues had had the lack of results he expected - but at least that was narrowing down the options, somewhat.
He was about to knock on Dana and Mulder's door to give them the latest update, but he stopped at the sound of Dana's voice, raised in anger.
“No. No, Bill, I don't--”
Even through the door, Charlie could distinguish the sound of his half-brother's voice over the cell phone. He let his hand fall back to his side and listened.
“Bill.” Dana cut into his tirade with an icy tone that, Charlie recalled, was usually accompanied with a glare so deadly that it had been quite effective in stopping her siblings from doing whatever she didn't want them to be doing. “He's our brother-- no, let me finish. He's our brother, and he was never guilty in the first place. And most importantly, how long has it been since you've spoken to him?”
Charlie closed his eyes. He had tried to let go of the past, to stay in this moment, but he obviously hadn't succeeded with regard to his brother. He could still remember the last time he had spoken to Bill - if you could call shouted insults speaking.
“Uh huh,” Dana said. She scoffed. “And the rejection of family only came from him, did it?”
Charlie thought he could hear Mulder say something in a low voice, and then Dana replied to Bill, but more quietly. “Even after Mom, you're still going to hold onto this bitterness, Bill? You know she'd want us to put our family back together as much as we can.”
Whatever Bill said in response caused silence to fall for a good ten seconds. “That is entirely different,” she almost spat. “I can't believe you're bringing up my decision, again. I've told you more times than I ever should have to - it's permanent. Nothing you or I say or feel can change it.” Her voice shook, and again Charlie heard Mulder's voice but not the words he said.
There was another pause, as Bill spoke. Dana sighed. “I know. Yes. All right. Thank you.” A pause. “Give Tara and Matt our love. Bye.”
Charlie waited for another ten seconds before knocking on their door. Dana opened it. Her hair was still damp, and she looked upset. “Hi.”
“I gather that Bill sends his greetings,” Charlie said brightly.
Dana stared at him. “You heard that?”
“A lot of it,” he admitted. “It was kind of hard not to, once I got to your door.”
She looked down, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “Sorry about that.”
“That's okay. I was just coming to tell you and Mulder that I'm going to be out with Reese starting the investigation,” Charlie said, “but that as soon as we've narrowed down where to start, we'll call you to help out if we need more input.”
“All right, that sounds reasonable,” Dana said. Then she frowned. “Charlie... you don't want to talk about what Bill said?”
“No, I don't want to talk about it,” Charlie answered through gritted teeth. “I think I have a pretty good idea of what he said, and I don't see the need for you to tell me.”
“That's not what I meant,” Dana said, annoyed. “And besides, you didn't hear all of it.”
“Oh, really?” Charlie crossed his arms. “Fine. I would love to hear what Bill had to say, Dana.”
She looked at him with a hint of reproof. “I got him to admit Mom would be happy to have us all try to move past this, and that he'd make an effort.”
He blinked. “Well, I guess that's something.”
With a sigh and a lift of her eyebrow, Dana nodded. “I think it's a start.”
Charlie was about to reply when something occurred to him. He glanced over her head into the room's interior. “Where's Mulder?”
“He's shaving,” Dana said. She smiled wryly and added, “I think he wanted to be sure not to get in the way in case there was another Scully family argument.”
Charlie winced, and she caught her mistake almost instantly.
“I-- I'm sorry, Charlie, I didn't--”
“I know.” Charlie turned away before she could finish. “Reese is going to be here in a few minutes. I'll call you when we're ready for your help.”
He heard her sigh again behind him. “All right.”
Downstairs, Charlie only waited a minute before the doorbell rang. He crossed quickly and opened it to reveal his partner. She looked more tan than usual, but otherwise dressed as she would normally for work. “Hi. You ready?”
“Yep.”
When they had both buckled their seatbelts, Charlie turned to look at her. “Can I look at the photos while you drive?”
“Yeah.” She reached into the back seat and handed him a folder. “Tell me if you see any distinguishing features of the location in them, because I haven't noticed any.”
He nodded, and opened the folder as she started the car. The first shot was Jack Reese slumped over in a chair, arms tied to the chair behind him, and blood visible from a bullet wound in his chest and the right side of his head. Charlie took it in, and then examined what could be seen of the surroundings. It wasn't much: the metal chair, a grimy-looking concrete floor, and shadows all around the edges of the camera's flash.
The next photo - a head-on shot which showed the gruesome exit wound on the other side of the man's skull - did not have much more outside of this to reveal. The flash did illuminate a crack in the wall behind the chair, which was distinctive enough that Charlie thought he would be able to recognize it if he saw it again.
The last photo was of Jack Reese's body, now lying on the floor with blood pooling beneath him. Charlie nearly damaged the photo when he realized that the position of the body made it clear that he had just been dumped out of the chair and left there. He doubted that was a detail that his partner would have missed, either.
“See anything useful?” she asked.
Charlie scanned through all three images again. “Not anything that could help lead us directly to this location, but there's a crack in the wall in one of them that I think I'd recognize if we saw it.”
Reese glanced at him. “Show me.”
Charlie held up the second photo and pointed to the detail in the background. Reese took a look and then nodded before turning her eyes back to the road. “Yeah, that's pretty distinctive... if we can just find the actual building.”
“If we can just find the actual building,” Charlie agreed quietly.
With a half-hearted roll of her eyes, Reese said, “Don't even start,” and pulled up in front of the boarded-up club.
They both stopped and stared at the building. “You know, Reese,” Charlie said, “if we told the Captain about this, he'd make sure you had the department's resources behind the search.”
She kept staring straight ahead. “I know.”
“Okay,” Charlie said. “Just checking.”
The two of them walked forward and began the search.
~
An hour later, Reese and Charlie had moved on from the Ritual to the warehouse where Roman had kept his dogs - and those he caged like dogs. There was no trace of anybody, much less Jack Reese, and both of them were beginning to feel frustrated. In fact, as they exited the warehouse, Charlie was just about to suggest they call in Dana and Mulder when they spotted a young man peering around the corner of the building at them.
Charlie looked at Reese, and she raised her eyebrows. “I think he just noticed that we noticed him.”
He turned back in time to see the guy take off down an alley. Taking a breath, he started running, with Reese not far behind.
After several yards, Charlie turned the corner and caught up with him at the end of the alley. The man had stopped and turned around to face his pursuers, looking somehow both resigned and terrified. He had his hands up.
“Please,” the man said, between breaths, “don't shoot. I'm not going to try to run again.”
Charlie had taken out his gun, but he began to lower it at the man's words. Reese came up behind him then, also breathing hard, and gave him a questioning look.
“Says he's not going to run anymore,” Charlie told her, keeping his eyes on him.
“Is that right?” Reese asked.
He nodded.
“Why did you run in the first place, then?”
“I was scared,” the man said. His Russian accent was noticeable but not strong. He looked at Charlie then. “I know Roman is dead - I know you killed him - but I also know he had your father killed.” At that, he looked at Reese. “And I thought, maybe you are looking for revenge.”
Reese still hadn't lowered her weapon. “But you just said Roman's dead,” she pointed out. “Who would I be taking revenge on?”
He swallowed and looked down. “Anyone who knew what was going to happen... and didn't do anything to stop it.”
Charlie looked at his partner. She met his eyes for a second before bringing her arms down to her sides and holstering her gun. “I'm not looking for revenge,” she said. “But I do want to hear what you know about my father's death. Everything you know.”
The kid nodded, still looking at the ground. “I will tell you.”
“What's your name?” Charlie asked, after a moment.
He raised his eyes then. “Ilya.”
“All right then, Ilya,” Charlie said, after glancing at Reese again, “let's find someplace to talk that's more comfortable than this alley.”
Ilya nodded again. “There is a café nearby that's never too crowded. We could go there.”
“Lead the way,” Reese said.
The café was in walking distance. When they arrived, Charlie realized it was time for lunch. He offered to buy both Ilya and Reese a meal; Ilya accepted gratefully, but Reese said she wasn't hungry. Charlie ordered her a blueberry muffin anyway and cheerfully ignored her irritated glare.
As soon as their orders were taken, Reese focused on Ilya. “What do you know about what happened to my father?”
The young man took a deep breath. “You were given some photos earlier today, by a man who couldn't speak English well.”
“Yes.” Reese looked at him expectantly.
“The man who gave you those pictures is the man who killed Jack Reese,” Ilya continued. His voice dropped almost to a whisper. “He is also my father.”
“Your father,” Reese repeated. She sat back in her chair.
Charlie stepped in. “Roman ordered your father to kill him, didn't he?”
“Yes,” Ilya said, leaning forward urgently. “He-- Roman came to our house, and said that if he refused, Roman would make him watch while he killed our entire family.”
“Did he go with your dad when the time came?” She was still outwardly calm, but Charlie could guess what kind of thoughts were going through her head.
“To make sure he carried out his orders, yes,” Ilya said. “He left some of his men at our house that day, too.”
“And how long ago was that day?”
Ilya blinked. He was still having trouble meeting Reese's eye for more than a few seconds at a time, Charlie noticed. “Six days ago.”
Reese gripped the armrests of her chair and looked at Charlie. Six days ago was one day before she had been kidnapped. “I'm going to the restroom,” she muttered, and left the table.
Swallowing again, Ilya watched her go. “You-- neither of you are going to kill me, are you?”
“No, Ilya,” Charlie said. He watched her until she was out of sight, as well. “We're not going to kill you. But we're not done asking questions yet, either.”
Before the kid could respond, their waiter came by with their orders. Charlie thanked him, and turned back to Ilya. “Well, go ahead and eat,” he said with a smile. He dug into his sandwich (with a side of fruit salad) as they waited for Reese.
They had both nearly finished by the time she came back. Her expression was still closed off, although she gave Charlie another look when she saw the blueberry muffin at her place. Sitting down, she pushed aside the plate with the muffin and rested her arms on the table. “So, Ilya, where did Roman and your father take my father six days ago?”
He shrugged. “I don't know,” he murmured.
“You don't.” Now Reese's voice was hard and dangerous.
There was a pause. Eyes widening, Ilya looked from Charlie to Reese. “No, I swear, I don't know! When I saw you outside the warehouse, I-- I thought you were looking for my father to take revenge on him - I didn't know you were looking for a body!”
Charlie smiled again, but much less warmly. “Now you know, Ilya. Are you absolutely positive you don't know where Jack Reese was killed, or where his body is now?”
“And if you don't know,” Reese added, “can you take us to your father so we can ask him?”
“I'm sorry,” Ilya said. His voice cracked as he told her, “I don't know where my father is. He hasn't come back since he went to find you. And... he had his gun with him. I thought...” He trailed off and rubbed a hand over his scruffy beard.
Reese let out her breath. “He doesn't have a cell phone, or another way to contact him?”
“No,” Ilya said. “I don't know where he's gone. I'm sorry.” Once again, his voice dropped. His repeated apology was all but impossible to hear.
Holding back the urge to break something, Charlie said, “Ilya, if my partner and I go outside to talk for a minute, will you wait?”
The kid nodded. Reese had one eyebrow raised at him in question, but Charlie just said, “Okay, good. We'll be right back.”
As soon as they were outside the restaurant, Charlie put his hands against the wall and leaned on them, taking several deep breaths.
“Crews, are you all right?”
He stared at the sidewalk. “Roman knew where your dad was killed,” he said. “But Roman is dead - I killed him - so we can't ask him anything.”
She was silent for a moment. Then she leaned against the wall, facing him. Charlie raised his head as she spoke.
“If you hadn't killed him, one or both of us would be dead.” Her arms were folded, but she was looking at him steadily. “And even if not, there's no reason he would tell us anything.”
Charlie returned her gaze. “You're not angry?”
“Not at you,” Reese said.
“Good. 'Cuz you know, Reese, anger--”
“Poisons the mind, I know,” she interrupted, standing up as he did likewise. “You ready to see what else Ilya knows?”
Charlie smiled. “Okay. You want me to call my sister afterward?”
Reese was looking toward the door of the café. “Yeah, maybe.” She sighed. “I don't think Ilya is lying to us.”
“No,” Charlie agreed. “But maybe he can give us more ideas of what parts of town to look in, at least.”
“Crews,” she started, and then stopped.
Charlie waited, and then said, “What, Reese?”
“There are only certain areas of town where a body could be left for almost a week without anyone noticing or reporting it,” Reese said.
He blinked. “You're right.” Why hadn't that occurred to either of them before? Maybe because it's not a very pleasant thought, he answered himself almost immediately.
He had another thought. “Those parts of town weren't Roman's usual scene, either - he would have taken plenty of bodyguards.”
“And made enough of an impression on the regular inhabitants of that scene to be remembered,” Reese finished, nodding. They walked back to the entrance. “I don't think we have anything else to ask Ilya.”
Charlie agreed.
Ilya looked pleased when he was told that he could go. As he was getting up from the table, Reese stopped him with a hand on his arm. “When you see your dad again,” she said quietly, “tell him I'm not looking for revenge.”
“I'll tell him,” Ilya said, smiling for the first time. Then he turned the smile on Charlie. “And thank you for lunch, Detective.”
Charlie shook his hand. “You're welcome.”
After their new acquaintance left, Charlie sat forward and pointed at the muffin in front of his partner. “That's made with real blueberries, you know.”
“Do you want it, Crews?” Reese asked. She pushed it a few inches closer to him. “Because you're paying for it anyway, and I'm pretty sure I remember telling you I'm not hungry.”
“How about this?” Charlie suggested. “I'll take half of it with me outside while I call my sister, and you can eat the rest.”
She shrugged, smiling slightly. “Fine.”
Charlie took a knife from a nearby table and cut the muffin in half. It wasn't warm anymore, but it was definitely still fresh. “Be right back.”
“
I'll be here,” Reese said.