Echoes

 Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, 10:34 AM

“Suta! My office!” Tabitha winced as her head jerked up from her computer terminal when SAIC Martin barked at her from his office door on the other side of the bullpen. Her neck was heavily bandaged, stiff and sore from the bite wounds she'd suffered Wednesday night, and the stitches the ER doc had applied. She tried to hide her pain, and rose to cross to her boss's office. None of the other agents overtly watched her cross the room, but she was the center of attention none the less. Martin was closing the blinds on the glass walls of his office as she approached – never a good sign. Tabitha closed the door behind her and stood before her boss’s desk.

The Last Equation – Solution

“Oliver. Oliver!” Tabitha shook him by the shoulder, drawing his attention away from the scribbled notes that Michael Wei somehow, impossibly, seemed to have written personally to him. He looked up, eyes still not quite focusing on her. “I need to ask you something,” she said, voice solemn. “Were you working with him? Did you help him get the gun?”

The Last Equation – Variables

Oliver’s phone chirped, and he glanced down at the caller ID: Unknown Caller. He answered, and a voice he didn’t recognize asked a single question: “Do you have any special training in mathematics?” Oliver held the phone at arm’s length, staring at it quizzically, then brought it back to his ear. “Um … no. Just the usual math classes – algebra and stuff.”

“Good,” the caller responded. “Go to the Port Authority Bus Terminal; go inside and head for the 42^nd Street exit. Just inside will be a man holding a sign reading ‘USGS Seminar’. He’ll take you to your contact. Get there as quickly as you can – we’ll have gear waiting for you.” The call clicked off.

Home Fires

Oliver

“Geez! I swear, Keene, you must need glasses – we’ve been coming to the range twice a week for three months and you still can’t hit the center ring!” Tony O’Malley was laughing as he popped the clip out of his Sig and stowed it in its carry case. Oliver laughed along with him, although his smile masked his frustration. Tony was right – despite all his practice, his shooting didn’t seem to be getting any better. And after what had happened at the cabin, he was worried that was going to come back to bite him – or something else was. However, he had gotten a lot closer to Tony, more than the simple co-workers they’d been three months ago. Oliver glanced up at Tony’s lean grin and spiky hair, and wondered (not for the first time) just where this might lead.