Trellis: Trellis Trilogy (One) Page 12

  There was only one person she dealt with, Peter Coughlin. This had never changed in the few years since she left and had reluctantly arranged her ‘freedom’ with Trellis and the US government. D knew Trellis wanted her back but someone she assumed in DC wanted her stateside. She didn’t know why, speculating since she had caused no trouble and abided by the ‘stay out of Washington’ rule, they allowed it. She had been paid ridiculous amounts of cash, and had never questioned the missions they sent her on. Although, they didn’t put her in harm’s way, she was their golden child. Logically she assumed they wanted to keep her out of Dr. Salvaggi’s hands and out of his surgery room. Why fix what isn’t broke? He would try, no doubt.

  D heard the computer beep and she knew Banks must have turned on his computer.

  “Well, Good Morning, Colin. Let’s see what you’re up to today.” Sitting at her desk, she turned the laptop towards her.

  D watched while he checked the morning news stories, checked a dog training website and reads a boring article about making dogs shake hands/paws, pulled up email and deleted some junk mail, and checked his bank account again.

  His sister popped up again on video chat. Her sandy colored hair pulled up in a messy pile on top of her head; without a doubt she had just rolled out of bed.

  “Hey, Col.” She said as she rubbed her eyes.

  “Ruff night, Sis?” He said with a chuckle.

  “For the record it’s way too early to be up. I couldn’t sleep last night- at all.”

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  “Nope. When are you coming to visit me?” She asked in a needy baby voice.

  “I saw you less than a month ago.”

  “I know, but being here at school is hard, I miss all my friends, and you. You are the only family I have now.” Her voice cracked as she tried to push back tears.

  “Sis, I know it’s been hard since mom and dad died. I think about them a lot, too. How about I put a real bed in the spare bedroom and you can stay here over Christmas break and we’ll even go get a tree to put up?” He answered with the most compassion she had heard from him, yet. Clearly, he was stepping into a parental role and seemed comfortable with it.

  She wiped the tears from her eyes, “That sounds nice. You don’t like sleeping on the couch when I come?” She forced a laugh. “Don’t forget, you have mom and dad’s dog, too. You’re not completely alone.” She reminded him as she smiled.

  “No, not really. This dog is yours. And when you come here your hippy-uneducated-lawyer-want-to-be-take-the-year-off-school boyfriend isn’t coming.”

  ‘And there it is, that is the Banks I have come to know the last few days,’ D thought, as the sweet moment passed.

  “Colin.” She quipped as she rolled her eyes at him.

  “Are you feeling better yet?” He asked.

  “Yes,” Sissy answered probably trying to move his terseness along.

  “Well, I need to go take Spudsy out to the bathroom and then head to the Kennel. This week I will try to get out and look at beds. Any requests?” he asked.

  “Yes, a dark grey, and dark purple comforter,” she answered.

  “Really? Purple? Fine. I’ll talk to you later, Sis.”

  “Love you, Colin.”

  “Love you, too.”

  So the one person in this world that had Banks wrapped around her finger was his sister. By the sound of it they had a recent death or deaths of both parents. That could explain the recent weight loss on his belt loop I noticed in the interrogation room, from worry or grief, possibly both.

  She could hear Zan’s thoughts getting closer to her. He was headed up the stairwell and by the sound of his thoughts, he wanted to ask her to breakfast. She did not have time for that today. Does she tell him, no? Does she manipulate his thoughts? Yes, because she didn’t really feel like hurting anyone’s feelings today. She pushed the breakfast thought out of his head and in its place, she placed a thought to head across the street to the coffee shop and ask the cute little redheaded barista behind the counter to lunch. Although, D had thought she better make Zan wait to ask her so D could make sure to get to redheaded girl first so things go smoothly. He turned around and headed back down the stairs without ever knocking on her door. Easy as pie.

  She washed and blow dried her hair, and ran a large curling iron through it she got the other day at the salon. She decided she wanted it down on her shoulders today, parting her hair and braided a modest section of the right side back over her ear, and secured it with a pin. She really loved her new hair so far.

  In her closet, she pushed her hanging clothes left and right, looking over everything she owned. Jeans would usually be her first choice but not today. Deciding on a beige knee-high casual dress, the new cream colored jacket she got at the salon, with her new knee high riding boots.

  ‘Hope I match’, she thought, as she looked in the mirror one last time. ‘It doesn’t matter, my hair still looks fierce,’ she smiled.

  Standing in front of the long full-length mirror, she heard her computer beep. Banks? Walking to her desk, she moved her mouse around. Whatever he was doing, she couldn’t see. She clicked a few tabs on her screen and pulled up his video chat camera. She saw the drum set in the corner but no one was on the computer, certainly not Banks.

  From under the desk, emerged the top of someone’s head moving around, someone with black hair. Definitely not Banks. She held her breath. A face finally appeared- it was the woman in the front seat of the SUV with Coughlin the other day. The one Coughlin capriciously mentioned would be her handler. She swiftly moved around Banks’ computer as if she was installing something. Then getting really close to the camera as if she was looking in it.

  Could this not-so covert agent see D? D swiftly moved out of the way of her screen and continued to watch from out of view of the camera. This agent wasn’t supposed to be there, no doubt. How did she get in? One thing was for sure, D didn’t see an alarm yesterday when she was there so she knew there was no way this gal had found it to disarm.

  What in the world was she doing? D quickly shut the computer, unplugged it, shoved it in a big leather bag, grabbed her keys, and headed out the door, fuming.

  She was hoping she could get to his apartment before Coughlin’s minion left. She rushed out the bookstore and quickly made her way to her car. Banks only lived 8 minutes from the bookstore, hopefully less since today was Saturday and no one was on the streets this early.

  She pulled up outside of Banks apartment. Well, perfect timing. Banks ran across the street no doubt tipped off by his alarm someone was in his apartment, and this time he couldn’t blame his dog because Spudsy was supposed to be at the kennel. As he entered the door, the female agent walked out the side door. Late again, Banks!

  D was too far for her to read her mind. She pulled away from the curb and slowly began to follow her as she walked around the corner. There sat a white flower delivery van, the back door slid open, and Coughlin’s minion lady jumped in.

  ‘White flower delivery van? Predictable.’ D thought. D drove past it and parked in front of the van, close enough to hear what was going on inside.

  She sighed, ‘They know something. They are talking about ‘surveillance has been established’ and ‘operation D in full swing’.

  Is this a set up? Are they trying to trap her, Banks or both? If they suspect Banks then they probably have surveillance up watching Hinkle. That poor kid had only been out of the academy a short time. He was too green to know anything. She knew one thing and one thing only— this little surveillance game was ending right now.

  She drove forward about ten feet, placed the shifter in reverse and backed up over the curb and onto the sidewalk right next to the side of the van door. She grabbed one of the people’s thoughts inside of the van and had them open the side door wide. Just as D mentally pictured, the young man and woman that was helping Coughlin the other day when they picked her up at the CCD Headquarters. They were sitting amidst computer screens, wires and
other spying tools inside the so-called flower delivery van. She took complete control of their movements and had them get out, slam the door, and casually walked around to her passenger side, climbing in her little two-seater car sharing the passenger seat, tightly.

  Once they both crammed inside the passenger side of her little two-seater, sports car, they drove to a park on the far side of Penn Quarter. D was so angry she couldn’t speak. Once there she had them get out and they walked to the nearest park bench taking D’s computer. She set her computer in front of them with the camera set to record everything about to happen. She had them hand her their guns and she placed them in the side pockets of the leather bag she had the computer in.

  She asked for their ID’s and had them hold them up in front of the camera. The female’s name was Sara Drake and the male’s name, Leon Foster. Let the games begin.

  “What were you doing in Agent Banks apartment?” She asked sternly.

  Agent Foster answered, “Surveillance. We need to find out if he has ties to D.”

  She sat there mentally digesting what she heard. She finally directed her attention to Agent Drake and asked her, “Have you set up the same recon on Hinkle?”

  Agent Drake quickly answered, “No.”

  ‘Good to know.’ D ruminated.

  “Why Banks? What made him stand out?”

  “Coughlin reasoned that D’s body language from the video of the interview seemed agitated when Banks questioned her. He wanted to know why.” Agent Drake explained further.

  “Agent Foster, did you go through the proper channels for a warrant to be able to enter into Agent Banks apartment?” She asked, knowing what the answer would be.

  “No, we didn’t.”

  “Do you know where D lives?” She asked.

  “No.” They both answer.

  “Do you know anything about Trellis?”

  “Top secret military location that is imperative to national security.” Agent Foster spit out like a trained parrot.

  ‘Imperative to national security? Yeah, okay. Imperative to a few people to keep a web of lies spun securely, maybe.’ D thought, then her voice turned cutting and she asked them both, “How long have you been watching Banks?”

  “Just today.” Agent Drake answered flatly.

  D took a long reflected sigh, watching the pair of agents squirm, “Do you know an Agent Casey? Beth Casey?”

  Leon answered with a smile, “Yes.”

  D was unamused, ‘I bet you do.’

  Sara Drake shook her head and answered with more of an explanation, “She feeds our office information. She is a useful operative.”

  D mused at what that could have meant, “Does she know about your operation on Agent Banks?”

  Both the captured agents shook their heads no.

  Sara explained further, “She is useful to us with intel at the CCD. Not the other way around. We would never trust an agent so willing to sell out her fellow agents.”

  This scratched at D in a grating way, “Isn’t that effectively what you two are doing now?”

  Leon Foster answered, “No, what we do for Secretary Coughlin is for National Defense. For the Good of the people.”

  D rubbed her hands around her face in disbelief. “You two are as brainwashed as they come.”

  “Excuse me?” Sara blinked confused at what D had mumbled.

  “Nothing… So we are clear, Beth Casey is no more than an information operative for Coughlin? She has nothing to do with Agent Colin Banks?”

  “No, nothing. She feeds us information from everyone in that office. Coughlin likes to keep tabs on the inner workings and cases that the CCD is working on in Washington.” Leon answered.

  Sara Drake spat, “The man is a micromanager.”

  “That is something we can agree on…” D hissed. The thought of how Coughlin micromanaged every aspect of her missions and it made her cringe. She guessed it was why he was in the position he was being so detail oriented.

  “How many people know about this operation you’re on?”

  “Coughlin.” The agents answered in unison.

  “Where is that Coughlin, today?” she asked, exhausted of everything she had heard this far.

  “I guess at home.” Sara replied.

  “Well, that is where we are headed then, let’s go.” She commanded. She closed her computer and packed it back in the leather bag. She had them get up and the two spies cram back into her little car.

  She knew right where that power drunk old man Coughlin lived. She had visited him before; of course, he had no memory of it. While driving to Coughlin’s home, she continued to question her detainees on what other jobs they had done for Coughlin. Nothing as nefarious as she had assumed he had done. These agents knew nothing more than the mission they were currently working on which was D and Banks for the time being.

  After fifty minutes of driving to Montgomery, she had acquired a lot of info on the two hostages she was holding. She’s not sure it was of any use, but worth holding on to in case she had to use it in the future.

  Passing the security detail at the entrance of the large subdivision easily she drove straight to Coughlin’s driveway. Skirting the long curvy driveway following it back to Coughlin’s home. They pull up to the side of Coughlin’s large stone home bordered in pointy green sculpted bushes, a large four car detached garage, in the back there was a basketball hoop above one of the garage doors, and 3 trash cans that sat on the side. An inconceivably normal upscale looking home, for such a secretive man.

  Rounding the back sidewalk, she had the two agents follow behind her. D knocked on the back door and she sees an older woman through the window walking cautiously to the door, then Coughlin’s wife peeped through the window. D had no time for this. She took control of her mind and had Ruby Coughlin open the door. As soon as they enter, Coughlin circled the hallway door and dropped his newspaper when he sees D; it falls to the ground in a mess.

  “Shocked to see me?” She asked with a severe expression on her face. She doesn’t take control of him yet. She had found she got more information out of this man when he was allowed to try and freely hide information from her.

  He yelled for the two agents standing behind D to grab her. Of course, they don’t.

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. They are playing nice today.” D smirked with an edge to her laughter.

  “What do you want? You’re going back to Trellis! I contact you! You don’t come to my home! How do you know where I live?” He screamed with a spasm of panic.

  “Calm down and this will go quick, and then I’ll leave. Have you learned anything new about Trellis?” D asked walking around the large marble island placing a hefty distance between Coughlin and herself.

  “Nothing!” He screamed as he stepped towards her trying to close the gap.

  “Wrong.” She said, his thoughts told her he knew something new. He knew Trellis has had a clone they wanted to send to help with Fort Knox but Coughlin objected when the Doctor had suggested this idea. ‘Good,’ she thought, however this turned her thoughts morose, ‘Remarkable and worrisome’, she thought, she wondered if the new clone could do what she did?

  “Is Trellis coming for me?” She asked, hoping the answer was no.

  “No.” He was telling the truth; at least his mind was telling her that and it seemed like he knew little else about this. Of course, they could be coming for her and he wasn’t in the loop.

  “Why were you having Banks spied on?” She asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” He bellowed at her.

  “Wrong, again...” She sang slowly. His thoughts told her he was suspicious with how she physically appeared uneasy with Banks. Exactly what the Agents had told her.

  She didn’t think she behaved any differently with Banks, but then again she had never talked with anyone she couldn’t read before, so who knew. Apparently, Coughlin wasn’t as easily fooled as she first thought.

  ‘Well, trained,’ she su
pposed.

  “Who have you talked about this with?” She asked Coughlin.

  “No one, yet.” He answered and the thought he thinks next: He will run to the phone as soon as she left. A number popped in his head, she walked to a desk area in the kitchen, grabbed a pen, and quickly jotted down the phone number Coughlin inadvertently exposed. He clearly had no idea who the number belonged to and she ascertained that he had to check in every so often to get missions for her. This was a first. She had never grabbed onto this phone number in his thoughts before.

  He lunged towards her and she stopped him quickly with her thoughts. Standing there staring at him distrustfully, tapping her fingers on the huge marble island. He was absolute in his anger against her. He wasn’t scared, he was ticked-off and she wasn’t sure she was getting everything she should be getting from his thoughts. She was frustrated and knew his memory was defeating her thought reading skills. Then as if the emotions in his mind took an about-face and his face grew long with worry.

  “Wait, D before you go. I have to ask, do you know anything about DARAPA the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency? Weather control possibly anything about HAARP the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program? Possibly being used as a weapon?”

  She read his thoughts and had asked the questions before realizing they popped out of her mouth, “Very little, if anything, why? Nothing other than what I have been seeing on the news and late night shows. I thought HAARP was dismantled because of budget cuts? Is this why our weathers been unpredictable here in the States? Do you think another country is trying to cause a catastrophic event that will pause us, or immobilize us?”