Intersection (69 page)

ass?” Alex woke and was surprised to find that Cassidy was not next to her. “What time is it? Nine?” She grumbled and rolled out of the bed. She rarely slept past five or six. Dylan was not in his room either. Reaching the kitchen, she paused in the doorway. Cassidy was sitting at the small table sipping her coffee with Rose and Barb. The small blonde woman at the table looked up and smiled at the agent whose hair was still tussled from sleep. Alex just smiled back, finding it momentarily difficult to process the scene before her. They were truly home.

“Morning sleepy head,” Barb joked. Alex just tipped her head, keeping one eye on Cassidy as the teacher made her way to the coffee maker to pour Alex a mug of coffee. “You were the one who made us promise to be here by eight-thirty. Did you mean p.m.?” Barb poked again.

“You’re a jack ass, and you know, there’s still time to add pin the tail on the…” Alex’s comeback was interrupted by the offering of a hot mug and a pair of green eyes that somehow instantly transported her. Cassidy raised her eyebrow and chuckled as Alex’s arm wrap around her waist. “Morning,” Alex said to her lover placing a kiss on her head.

“So, agent,” Rose snickered. “What are our orders?”

Alex laughed. “This one is all Cass.” Cassidy looked at the woman next to her and shook her head. “Where’s Dylan?” The agent asked.

“He’s in the family room playing with that Xbox.” Alex’s face lit up and Cassidy tried to contain her laughter. “Just go,” she said.

Alex bit her lip slightly, “are you…”

“Go,” Cassidy repeated. “I’ll call you when I need you.” There was no doubt that Alex wanted in on the fun and Cassidy was more than happy to take care of Dylan’s party. It already felt like home to her here and she could not remember when she felt so relaxed. For once she had spent a morning watching Alex sleep and she found herself musing that the reason she could not recall being this happy was because she never had been. It wasn’t the house. It wasn’t the things. It was the woman beside her. It was the small boy asleep down the hall. It was finally feeling a sense of home. She watched Alex walk slowly out of the kitchen and laughed aloud when the agent’s pace quickened down the hallway. Turning back to the table she was met by two pairs of smiling eyes.

“So?” Rose asked.

“What?” Cassidy answered reclaiming her seat across from her mother.

“Well, how many things did you test drive last night?” Rose laughed. Cassidy poked her cheek with her tongue as Barb nearly spit her coffee across the room. “Oh… come on… I meant the game system and the television and the jet tub… honestly…you two have your minds…”

“My mind is a direct product of my genes,” Cassidy quipped back. “And to answer your question; I have full knowledge of how
everything
in the house works.” She raised her eyebrow, soliciting a fit of full blown laughter from all three women that would take more than a few minutes to subside. It was the beginning of what Cassidy thought might truly be the happiest day of her life.

Jonathan Krause paced the floor in his apartment, staring at the small flat object that lay just a few feet away. Eleven in the morning and he was already on his second scotch. He rubbed his hand over the top of his head and shook the ice in his glass. “Christ, John,” he muttered under his breath. “How the hell did we get here?” A faint rattling disturbed his private thoughts and he very slowly reached for the offending party. “Krause,” he said flatly.

“
Je suppose que tout est préparé
(I assume all is prepared?)”

“Bien sûr, Edmond. Il sera toutefois soirée ici
(Of course, Edmond. It will be evening here however),” he answered.

“
Et Strickland comprend son rôle?
(And Strickland understands his role)?”

Krause felt his jaw clench tightly. “Everyone understands his part.”

“Well, then let us hope that everyone can execute his part effectively.
Il s’agit d’une nécessité regrettable, mon ami
. (It is an unfortunate necessity, my friend),” Edmond Callier offered.

Jonathan Krause continued his pacing, considering the man’s statement. He stopped at a small cabinet and set his focus on two photos that sat next to each other. In one, two young men stood side by side; one just slightly older than the other who had his arm across the younger man’s shoulder. The other was a picture taken in front of the Eiffel tower; a much younger Jonathan Krause smiling wildly at a pretty blonde girl handing him a balloon. He took a deep breath and sipped his scotch, remaining fixed on the faces that lay behind the glass. He offered his response deliberately. “
Ce n’est pas une entreprise pour l’amitié. Attendez-vous à monappel
(This is not a business for friendship. Expect my call).”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Michael Taylor blasted through the phone. “What chatter?”

Steven Brady rubbed his jaw with some force. “It’s just chatter.”

“There is no such thing as just chatter, Brady. Either it leads directly to something or it is meant to lead us directly from something. Either way we need to know what the direction is. Timing?”

Brady shook his head and exhaled before speaking back into the phone. “No timeline in the communication.”

Taylor rubbed his brow. “Location?”

“West coast,” Brady repeated.

Taylor put his face in his hands. “What the hell is going on?” He muttered into his hands.

“Sir?” Brady asked unable to understand the words through the phone.

“Dig…. And dig fast.”

“What’s the rush?” Brady said. “There was no timeline.”

“That’s what worries me… Dig now,” he hung up the phone and tilted his head backward over the chair. “Shit, Colonel… what are we into?”

“Nope… sorry Speed!”

“Aww… come on, Alex… one more.”

“It was one more like five games ago,” Alex laughed, receiving a small pout. “We’ll both be in time out if we aren’t ready for your party.”

“You’re not gonna’ be as much fun now, are you?” He asked with some seriousness.

Alex tried not to laugh. “Me? I’m Alfred. Is Alfred fun?” He shrugged. “Oh.” Alex grabbed two small legs and pitched the boy over her shoulders. “We’ll see who has fun!” She said to the sound of a delighted seven year old squeal.

“How many people does she think we are feeding?” Cassidy shook her head to Barb.

“She’s a Toles. You get your genes from Rose, well wait ‘til you meet Helen.” Cassidy looked at Barb curiously. “Oh… yeah,” Barb winked. “She might not be affectionate all the time but she sure as hell feeds us. I think that’s where Nicky got his culinary obsession.”

“Not Alex,” Cassidy laughed.

“Nope. I think it would be safe to say that Alex and Helen are the human equivalent to oil and water.”

“That bad?” Cassidy asked.

“Don’t be too frightened. Remember, I endured that alone. You have me to protect you.” Cassidy laughed. Her curiosity was now piqued about Alex’s parents. It remained a subject that saw little conversation between them, even in the presence of Nick and Barb.

“Cassie!” Rose called. “You’ll never guess who is here?”

The teacher made her way to the front door and was astounded to see Brian Fallon with his entire brood in tow. “Brian,” she smiled immediately taking him into a warm hug. “Thank you for everything,” she gleamed, embracing him tightly.

Fallon tried to temper the rising blush he felt in his cheeks. Cassidy had a quality that he rarely found in others. She was completely genuine and unaware of how beautiful she was. It was a combination that existed in few people in his experience and he understood fully how Alex had lost her heart to the small woman. In truth, there was nothing small about Cassidy O’Brien. She was larger than life. “No need to thank me, Cassidy.”

“And this must be…”

“Cassidy O’Brien, this is my wife, Kate.”

Cassidy extended her hand to the woman beside her friend. Kate Fallon was an attractive woman in her own right. Her
auburn hair fell at her shoulders and she had dark blue eyes that highlighted her fair complexion. Cassidy could tell just from her smile that she had an easy way about her. “Welcome. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m sorry we have kept him away so much,” she said earnestly.

“Comes with the territory,” Kate said smiling sweetly at her husband and then back at the teacher. “You’ll learn,” she said jokingly.

Leading the group through the door Cassidy came even with the woman and returned the good natured joke. “After being married to congress I’ve learned how to do nearly everything by proxy.” Kate laughed.

Barb stepped in and guided the Fallons’ three children off to the family room to play. “Come on kids. I hear there is some cool driving game running in the other room. Better claim it now before Alex gets back.” Cassidy laughed. There was some truth in that statement she thought.

The banter was quickly interrupted by the sight of Alex chasing a giggling Dylan toward his room. “No, Alex!” The boy was laughing so hard he could barely run.

“Paybacks Speed!” The agent called after him.

“No…Alex….”

The agent caught the small boy and picked him up in her arms. As she moved to tickle him she caught view of the small group watching in amusement from below and cleared her throat. “Yeah….Speed….Umm….sneakers,” she placed his feet back on the floor facing the room.