Chapter Twenty-Two
"You agree with Toby, don't you?" Walter was helping Paige with the dishes
later that evening, drying and putting them away after she washed and rinsed
them. Ralph had gone to bed early, which meant he was probably playing video
games under the covers.
Her condo had won the cohabitation contest, as it provided them with more
privacy, and would eventually be easier to baby proof. But the deciding factor
had been living at the apartment had meant less upheaval for Ralph. They
still stayed the occasional night at the garage, mainly after long missions
or when Walter wanted to work on one of his projects.
"About Tim and whether he's behind the harassment?" she asked as she scrubbed
a skillet. "Yes, I do."
For the rest of the day, the shrink had told them the trainee couldn't possibly
be behind the photographs, all the while not giving a reason why he thought
the intern was innocent. Toby would only say he had information he wasn't
at liberty to divulge. And no one could pry it out of him. Not even Happy.
"Why?"
"Because you and the rest of the team investigated him rather thoroughly.
Plus I don't think he's smart enough."
"You don't?" Walter didn't know why he was surprised by her statement, but
he was. And, if he was being honest with himself, relieved her belief in
the trainee's innocence didn't appear to be because of some secret interest
he irrationally believed she was harboring for the other man.
"I'm not saying he's dumb but he'd never come up with something like this
on his own. He's a follower, not a leader." Flipping on the faucet, she rinsed
off the pan before placing it on the rack.
Walter absently picked it up and ran his dishtowel over it. "He still could
be doing it on someone's orders."
"Someone like Molina?" Paige unplugged the sink, the water swirling away
as it was sucked down the drain. "You just don't like her because she was
just going to leave Sly in prison."
"There is that." Slinging the towel over his shoulder, he added, "You have
to admit it's more than a coincidence this didn't start until after he joined
the team."
"Are you sure about that?" She took the dishtowel from him and dried off
her hands.
"Sure about what?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
"It's probably nothing, but. . ." Paige began, "our lives, your life, has
been pretty wild ever since we were, uh, taken hostage." Pausing to take
a breath, she then continued, "There was your credit card getting hacked,
and the hit and run, and now these pictures. . . Well, what if they're not
just coincidences?"
"What if they're part of some bigger conspiracy?" Walter chuckled. "Now you
really are sounding like Toby and all his crazy theories."
But something in the back of his brain wondered if she might be right. Maybe
someone at Homeland was out to get him. He'd normally scoff at such paranoid
thoughts but. . . If he believed in bad luck, he'd say they'd had quite a
string of it the last few months. He had been so sure Collins had been behind
the photos. But after the scene the crazy genius had thrown, it was plain
the other man had nothing to do with them.
Visiting Mark had bothered him more than he cared to admit. The other man
represented a huge error in his judgement. He'd been so thrilled someone
had wanted to be his friend, accepting him for what he was. Someone who had
been an equal. He'd been so blinded, he had failed to see Collins's darker
side until it was almost too late.
Paige startled him from his thoughts as she placed her hands on his shoulders.
"What's wrong ?" she said as she rubbed his knotted muscles.
"Nothing." It was still disconcerting she could read him so easily.
"Bull poop. Seeing Collins again messed with your head, didn't it?" She kissed
his cheek. "It was nuts he got so upset about us being, well, intimate,"
she commented.
Walter closed his eyes. "Was it so obvious?"
"What?"
"That I was a virgin." He drew in a ragged breath. "I know you said it didn't
matter but. . ."
"It didn't," she replied. "It doesn't. I kind of figured out you were before
you told me. But. . ." She held up her hand as he opened his mouth. "But
it was only because I know you so well."
"But the way Mark reacted. . . And Toby's made some insinuating remarks.
. . It's almost like I had a neon sign on my forehead."
Paige laughed as she patted her stomach. "Well, it's pretty obvious you're
not now, isn't it?" She slid her arms behind his neck. "Like I said before,
it's nothing to be ashamed of, Walter." She pressed her mouth to his.
"Wow, you're really tense," she said as she pulled away. "I think you need
one of my patented relaxing massages." She wiggled her eyebrows.
Stifling as groan as he remembered how the last ‘massage' she'd given him
had ended, he could only nod wordlessly.
Flashing him a coy smile, she took his hand and led him into their bedroom.
About a week later, Walter followed Paige and Ralph to a booth at Kovelski's.
It had been another one of those long, exhausting, ‘Save the World' days,
filled with Bulgarian hackers and nuclear weapons and huge balls of aluminum
foil. He was almost too tired to eat but Paige was hungry and she had to
be more exhausted than he was. Being in a building struck by a missile was
stressful for an average person, but had to be doubly so for a pregnant woman.
"Oh, excuse me." A slightly familiar voice to his right caught his attention
as someone bumped into him. A glimpse of long blonde hair confirmed it was
a female. And one he knew.
"Linda. Oh, hey, sorry."
"Oh, no, it was my fault," she said, gazing up at him. "Funny running into
you here. I mean, not literally, but I guess I did just that. . ."
"Um, how have you been?" he asked, cutting off her rambling. He hadn't given
her much thought since he'd turned down her offer of a second date several
months earlier. Looking down at her and the sharp canines revealed by her
nervous smile made him wonder why he had ever accepted in the first place.
She did have a symmetrically pleasing face, and was a nice person. But she
could never be Paige.
"Walter?" As if he had summoned her by his thoughts, Paige appeared by his
side. "I'm going to the bathroom." She placed her hand on her burgeoning
belly.
"Oh, you're pregnant?"
Linda's question was more of a statement. And he saw a brief glimpse of what
he thought might be sadness pass over the other woman's face.
"Uh, Linda, right?" Paige smiled serenely. "Yep."
"When are you due?" the blonde asked.
"Middle of October," answered the liaison. She patted Walter's arm. "I really
gotta go. Nice seeing you again," she said to the other woman before taking
off toward the restrooms.
"Are you the father?" Linda waited until Paige was out of earshot to spring
her inquiry on him.
"Yes," he said, pride creeping into his voice. He didn't know why, he'd done
nothing spectacular. Billions of other men had done the same throughout the
course of human history. Yet he was damn proud of his impending fatherhood.
He chuckled quietly at his own arrogance.
"She must have gotten pregnant not too long after our date."
Linda's sharply spoken words reminded him she was still standing before him.
Was she jealous? She had turned him down first, why would she care if he'd
moved on to another woman? The woman of his dreams, the one he'd thought
he could never have, the one he planned on loving for the rest of his life.
"Uh, yeah." Glancing over his shoulder, he nodded toward the back of the
deli. "Listen, Linda, I'd, um, better go see how Ralph's doing." Taking a
deep breath to brace himself, he lied, "Nice seeing you again."
"Oh, you, too, Walter." She stared up at him, tears forming in her eyes.
"Good luck with. . .everything, I guess." She spun around, nearly colliding
into a couple waiting at the counter.
His concern for her was short-lived as Paige rushed toward him, her face
glowing with excitement. "Come here," she said, grabbing his arm, pulling
him toward their booth. "You, too, Ralph."
Snatching one of Walter's hands, then one of her son's, she pressed them
onto her abdomen. "Wait," she said.
Several moments passed before there was a flutter against his palm, so light
he thought he'd imagined it. Then it happened again, stronger this time.
Glancing over at Ralph, he saw the boy had felt it too.
"That's the baby," Paige said.
"Wow." Ralph seemed genuinely impressed. "Does it hurt? Did I kick like that,
too?"
"No and yes," Paige replied, ruffling her son's hair. "It does get a bit
harder as the baby gets bigger and stronger. And I thought you were going
to be a soccer player the way you kicked so much."
"That's so cool." The youngster rubbed his hand against her stomach then
scooted into the booth. "I'm hungry."
She glanced over at Walter, the look of utter amazement on his face making
her eyes grow damp. Biting her lip, she nudged him. "You okay?"
A smile spread across his face. "Yeah."
Blinking away her tears, she slid into the booth. "Let's eat. I'm hungry,
too."
Walter sat down beside her and she leaned over, kissing his cheek before
handing him a menu.
"Gather up, gang." Cabe's voice rang through the garage as he walked through
the creaking door. "Tim's coming in with an Agent Cook from the Department
of Defense. He has top clearance and these guys don't mess around."
"What kind of case?" asked Walter.
"Don't know," the Homeland agent replied. "Cook contacted Tim. Something
about Tim's dad being an old friend of his or something. They'll fill us
in when they get here."
"DoD," said Happy as she, Toby, and Sylvester all looked guiltily at each
other before the mechanic muttered, "Not good." Everyone but Paige and Cabe
had hacked the Defense Department's databases at one point, including Ralph.
That wasn't as worrisome as the fact Tim was bringing in the case. The team
was split on the intern's innocence, with Happy and Sly siding with Walter.
Cabe had deliberately been left in the dark about their suspicions of his
trainee.
Fifteen minutes later, Tim and a man dressed in a military uniform, who was
carrying a large blue duffel bag strolled into the garage. The team listened
restlessly as Agent Cook gave them a brief history of Fort Knox.
"Knox also houses historic valuables belonging to foreign governments for
safekeeping because the facility is, without question, the most secure on
earth," he droned on.
"I'm sensing a big ‘but' coming," interrupted Toby with a giggle. "Big butt."
Both Paige and Happy rolled their eyes as the liaison thumped the shrink
in the chest and the mechanic slapped the back of his head.
Cook ignored them, continuing on with his explanation. "The Treasury privatized
the security by hiring a Blackwater-like firm. The DoD feels this compromises
our nation's treasures and reserves and we want to prove it to the president."
"Okay." Walter wasn't sure what the man wanted them to do, other than look
for flaws. "Provide us with aerial photos and a breakdown of the security
company's operational logistic and we'll analyze their effectiveness."
The Defense agent shook his head. "No. I can't use theories. I need proof
Steelson Security is compromising the integrity of the base. And the only
way to prove Fort Knox isn't secure. . ." He paused as he glanced around
at the team, ". . .is to break in."
"Crazy-man-says-what-now?" Toby and Sylvester said simultaneously.
Walter could only stare at the man. Break into Fort Knox? As Cook went on
about jeweled Prussian scepters and waved a million dollars of tax-free cash
under their noses, the more determined he was to take a pass on a mission
which would be nothing short of suicidal.
You know what, i-it is very tempting," he began when the agent finished his
presentation, "but there are too many variables... and we're not lab rats.
Put us in a cage and see if the trap springs? No, thank you."
"Yeah, Walter's right," Tim chimed in. "These guys, they don't do Mission:
Impossible. I mean, the mechanical obstacles they would face in the vault
alone are too daunting." He smiled at Happy.
"Easy, Prom King. I can figure out any safe," the mechanic said smugly.
The intern went on as if she hadn't said anything, basically insulting Toby's
profiling skills, and Walter and Sylvester's hacking abilities. He was manipulating
their egos, and doing a damn good job of it. Walter felt compelled to defend
the honor of his team, but his decision to take the assignment wasn't solely
based on ego or honor.
It was to expose Timothy Armstrong as the provocateur who was behind all
the trouble which had befallen him and the rest of Scorpion for the past
four months.