Round Robin: Never Again (& Other Lies We Tell Ourselves), Chapter 8.
Title: Never Again (& Other Lies We Tell Ourselves), Chapter 8
Author: spud_runner
Rating: PG
Summary/Author's Note:
Sorry this turned out to be so short, but I ran out of time before I had to leave town and the muses where highly uncooperative. Darn them.
Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7
Last time on Never Again:
Stan sighed but nodded, agreeing to keep her secret a little while longer. “Mary, I hate to ask this, but have you considered the possibility that maybe the explosion had nothing to do with Olivera? That he was nothing more than a convenient delivery system?” Her head shot up to stare at him. “Is it possible that your other problem has escalated ahead of schedule?”
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Four Hours Later
Stan kept watch over his inspectors as they slept. Who was he kidding. In many ways, they were more like his kids (or maybe bratty younger siblings). He was attempting to read a book, but was finding it difficult with only one eye and half his concentration on it.
Marshall finally awoke and for a brief moment, panicked as he saw a third person in the room, but the fog quickly cleared and he realized the cavalry had arrived. After an arduous journey to the restroom and a refill of his water glass, he settled down in the chair opposite Stan where he could peer through the slit in the drapes. Stan brought him up to speed with the update he had given Mary earlier, less the hint of any ‘personal problems’ that might be associated.
“The upshot,” Stan continued, “is that it’s looking more and more like an inside job, though we don’t know if it’s in the FBI, Marshal Service or the DOJ as a whole. The other question is whether Olivera knew whether or not he was carrying a bomb.”
“My guess is no. If he did, he wouldn’t have put the suitcase in the corner. He would have left it front and center to do more damage.”
“Good point.”
“The obvious other answer is that someone at the house, before or during the transfer of custody, managed to get the bomb into his suitcase while we were all otherwise occupied.” Marshall winced and readjusted in the chair.
“You want more painkillers?” Stan asked as he started to stand up.
“Just the OTC stuff for now. I’m starting to feel like I’m becoming one with that bed.” Stan opened the bottle and tapped out a couple of pills. “Don’t forget to write that dose down, or Mary will have your hide.”
Stan chuckled. “Yeah, I’m already on her list for making her get some rest.”
About the time Stan got back to his chair, his phone beeped with a text message; it was from Eleanor. He read the message out loud:
“Chief - No new info on background, but there’s been movement on the other front, right side 1hr. Still digging, though I may need a bigger shovel. Be safe. - E.”
“What other front?” Marshall asked.
“I had Eleanor set out a few landmines in the databases. If someone was trying to poke around where they needn’t be, they’d set them off. ‘Right side’ is code. One of them in Mary’s personnel file was tripped an hour ago.”
“You think this was an attempt to go after Mary? There would be easier ways to do that than breaking through the WITSEC wall. If it was an attempt on her, how did they know she’d be assigned to Olivera? Was our office requested or was it WITSEC lotto?”
“I don’t know what it means right now other than that someone was poking around where they shouldn’t be.” Stan looked over at Mary’s sleeping form, then back to Marshall. “It certainly narrows the suspect pool though. Not just anybody could even get close to those databases without major clearance. I’ll have Eleanor see if she can find out how we got the case. Getting requested is rare, because no one is supposed to know we even exist. Any requests also have to get funneled through Allison Pearson’s office. I’d hate to think there’s a problem there.”
They sat alone in their thoughts for a few minutes, each trying to tie pieces together into a scenario that would make sense. Finally Stan got up and grabbed the ice bucket. “I’m going to go check in with the guys outside and get some more ice. I’ll give the secret knock before I come in so you don’t shoot me.”
“Boy, pull a gun on a guy once and he never forgets.” Marshall joked and shooed Stan out the door. “I’m going to get my stuff together to take a quick shower. I’m starting to offend myself.”
“Yeah, you are a little ripe.” Stan quipped and closed the door behind him.
Marshall gathered his toiletries and clean clothes and started heading for the bathroom. Mary’s phone vibrating on the table caught his attention. Mary was still sound asleep. He looked at the caller ID info on the cracked screen. It was just a number, and not one he recognized. But the area code was familiar: New Jersey.
Author: spud_runner
Rating: PG
Summary/Author's Note:
Sorry this turned out to be so short, but I ran out of time before I had to leave town and the muses where highly uncooperative. Darn them.
Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7
Last time on Never Again:
Stan sighed but nodded, agreeing to keep her secret a little while longer. “Mary, I hate to ask this, but have you considered the possibility that maybe the explosion had nothing to do with Olivera? That he was nothing more than a convenient delivery system?” Her head shot up to stare at him. “Is it possible that your other problem has escalated ahead of schedule?”
----------------------------------------
Four Hours Later
Stan kept watch over his inspectors as they slept. Who was he kidding. In many ways, they were more like his kids (or maybe bratty younger siblings). He was attempting to read a book, but was finding it difficult with only one eye and half his concentration on it.
Marshall finally awoke and for a brief moment, panicked as he saw a third person in the room, but the fog quickly cleared and he realized the cavalry had arrived. After an arduous journey to the restroom and a refill of his water glass, he settled down in the chair opposite Stan where he could peer through the slit in the drapes. Stan brought him up to speed with the update he had given Mary earlier, less the hint of any ‘personal problems’ that might be associated.
“The upshot,” Stan continued, “is that it’s looking more and more like an inside job, though we don’t know if it’s in the FBI, Marshal Service or the DOJ as a whole. The other question is whether Olivera knew whether or not he was carrying a bomb.”
“My guess is no. If he did, he wouldn’t have put the suitcase in the corner. He would have left it front and center to do more damage.”
“Good point.”
“The obvious other answer is that someone at the house, before or during the transfer of custody, managed to get the bomb into his suitcase while we were all otherwise occupied.” Marshall winced and readjusted in the chair.
“You want more painkillers?” Stan asked as he started to stand up.
“Just the OTC stuff for now. I’m starting to feel like I’m becoming one with that bed.” Stan opened the bottle and tapped out a couple of pills. “Don’t forget to write that dose down, or Mary will have your hide.”
Stan chuckled. “Yeah, I’m already on her list for making her get some rest.”
About the time Stan got back to his chair, his phone beeped with a text message; it was from Eleanor. He read the message out loud:
“Chief - No new info on background, but there’s been movement on the other front, right side 1hr. Still digging, though I may need a bigger shovel. Be safe. - E.”
“What other front?” Marshall asked.
“I had Eleanor set out a few landmines in the databases. If someone was trying to poke around where they needn’t be, they’d set them off. ‘Right side’ is code. One of them in Mary’s personnel file was tripped an hour ago.”
“You think this was an attempt to go after Mary? There would be easier ways to do that than breaking through the WITSEC wall. If it was an attempt on her, how did they know she’d be assigned to Olivera? Was our office requested or was it WITSEC lotto?”
“I don’t know what it means right now other than that someone was poking around where they shouldn’t be.” Stan looked over at Mary’s sleeping form, then back to Marshall. “It certainly narrows the suspect pool though. Not just anybody could even get close to those databases without major clearance. I’ll have Eleanor see if she can find out how we got the case. Getting requested is rare, because no one is supposed to know we even exist. Any requests also have to get funneled through Allison Pearson’s office. I’d hate to think there’s a problem there.”
They sat alone in their thoughts for a few minutes, each trying to tie pieces together into a scenario that would make sense. Finally Stan got up and grabbed the ice bucket. “I’m going to go check in with the guys outside and get some more ice. I’ll give the secret knock before I come in so you don’t shoot me.”
“Boy, pull a gun on a guy once and he never forgets.” Marshall joked and shooed Stan out the door. “I’m going to get my stuff together to take a quick shower. I’m starting to offend myself.”
“Yeah, you are a little ripe.” Stan quipped and closed the door behind him.
Marshall gathered his toiletries and clean clothes and started heading for the bathroom. Mary’s phone vibrating on the table caught his attention. Mary was still sound asleep. He looked at the caller ID info on the cracked screen. It was just a number, and not one he recognized. But the area code was familiar: New Jersey.