The Cure

IT HAD BEEN ALMOST A WEEK since the incident at the park, and Tony was beside himself with frustration. He totally wanted to rip that cop a new one, but he understood that years of undercover work could have been blown up for nothing if the person in question wasn’t Carter. The guy had no confirmation, he had no reason to take the risk. Tony understood predicament the guy was in, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He and Bruce had spent a lot of time at the park where Carter had been sited trying to find regulars, like homeless people and joggers who might have been there that day and flashed Carter’s photo to see if anyone recognized him. There were no takers, and Tony was starting to get the feeling that the cop might have been better off not taking the chance because this might have been a false alarm after all. A few hours after they arrived Tony got the urge to hit the hotdog stand and grab a few dogs and a soda and call it lunch. While he was munching on his dogs Tony could sense that the dead ends were getting to his underling.

“Something bothering you agent Kern?” Tony called out.

Bruce didn’t seem that hungry as he had turned down the chance for a downtown dog, which was surprising considering how fit he was.

“I’m getting a little frustrated with our game so far,” Bruce confessed, “All this running around after our own tail. Where is it getting us?”

“Believe it or not,” Tony started while taking another bite, “It will all add up and help in the long run. While we trace Carter’s steps, we are profiling at the same time. By taking a walk in his footsteps, we retrace everything. The what, where, and why he turned this way whenever others were running after him. That way when we’re the ones doing the chasing, then we can anticipate which way he’ll go. Every tip helps and could eventually lead to his capture.”

“So, this is like studying for a test?” Bruce asked.

“Worse,” Tony corrected him, tossing out his garbage, “This is like getting ready for a final exam, and we’re pulling an all-nighter the day before. You’re only going to get one shot at this test, and yet it feels like we haven’t cracked a book in weeks. That’s the kind of pressure you go through when trying to apprehend someone. You’re not studying for something with a lot of time in advance, you’re always playing catch up and the clock is ticking.”

“Damn,” Bruce said, “That sounds brutal.”

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” Tony confirmed, “It’s never easy and it can get on the strongest of nerves, but this builds patience makes us better agents. The job and the profile can be difficult, but I personally find it easier when the person you are after is a real sick puppy.”

“Like the turd we’re after?” Bruce guessed.

“Exactly.” Tony agreed, but as he said that he got a buzzing on his cell, which was an indication that there was a text message coming through. It was from Wilson, so Tony flipped open the phone to check it out. The look on his face when he read the message pretty much said it all to Bruce as Tony’s eyes because as wide as saucers and he took what was left of his soda and slammed it into the trash bin with authority. He immediately dialed the number and waited for Wilson to answer.

“I checked my calendar before calling in,” Tony started, “It’s not April 1st. If this isn’t an April Fools joke then what the hell is going on?”

Tony paused for a moment and listened to what Wilson had to say.

“And that’s all he told you? Nothing else?” Tony paused again for a few more seconds. “Alright, we’ll visit the branch downtown and get our orders from there when we find a secure line. Thanks for the heads up, we’re clearing out now.”

Bruce was very confused. “What the hell is going on, Tony?”

“We’re being reassigned.” Tony said as he closed the phone and put it away.

“Reassigned?” Bruce repeated. “Are you serious?”

“I’m not fond of it either, but it happens.” Tony said as he kicked a trash can on their way back to the car. “Manpower gets re-shifted all the time based on priorities.”

“Priorities?” Bruce repeated with a stunned look on his face. “What the hell is more important than what we’re doing out here?”

Tony walked up to Bruce and with one had seized a small handful of his collar.

“Let me spell this out for you,” Tony chided back at him, “The last time I checked only one building has the authority to tell the FBI where and when to reassign manpower without notice. It’s this big house in Washington with pillars in front of it on Pennsylvania Avenue.”

“Oh, crap.” Bruce said as he suddenly realized how serious this was.

“The last time I was taken off a case to handle an emergency the Pentagon was on fire because someone slammed an airplane into it.” Tony explained, “If we’re being called in, it’s because somewhere around the country it’s currently hitting the fan. Let’s head back to the local attaché for the Bureau. From there we can get a secure line and get our new orders from there.”

“Alright,” Bruce replied, “If it’s something that serious, I guess this investigation and manhunt will have to wait.”

“Wilson is still on it,” Tony replied, “He will keep his ear to the ground like he did the last time this happened. We’ll keep an eye out, but we’ve got to see to whatever this is first. If this is big enough to call us back from the field, then someone seriously needs our help.”

They retreated to their car, and it took Bruce about twenty minutes at high speed to race back to the bureau office in heart of the city. Once they were in, they immediately went to the office of the district manager and took over for a few moments to use his secure line to contact Quantico. Tony dialed Wilson’s line and wasn’t in the mood for small talk. He made Bruce close the door and put the line on the speaker.

“Wilson,” Tony called out, “I want the 411 and I want it now.”

“We might have a case of domestic terrorism,” Wilson informed them, “Someone just tried to murder a member of government.”

“Which member?” Bruce asked “It can’t be POTUS. It would have been all over the news by now.”

“It’s Senator Jackson,” Wilson answered, “Right now it’s being spun as an unknown illness. As of right now we suspect an unknown poison.”

“Damn, that’s old school.” Tony said, “What do we know so far?”

“That no one knows what it is or how to make the Senator feel better,” Wilson continued, “And right now fingers are being pointed and that sound you’re hearing is several pounds of political shit hitting the fan. This guy is the favorite to win the democratic nomination. They’re calling this an attempted political assassination.”

“Forget the nomination,” Bruce corrected, “This guy was favored to be sworn into office in fourteen months.”

“How confident are you about that?” Tony quickly asked.

“I shipped his campaign a cheque a last week.” Bruce said with a stern look on his face. “The amount I gave him was the legal maximum I could donate.”

“Where are we being assigned?” Tony quickly barked into the phone. He knew this was big enough to overrule his case.

"Since you have access to the private jet,” Wilson reminded him, “The director wants you wheels up ASAP and on your way to Florida as soon as possible. The Boss want you interviewing the doctors and support staff to get as much intel about what’s going on and report back to him. This is a factfinding mission for him personally.”

“I get it,” Tony replied. “He’s sending me in because I’m the only one he really trusts to check in and evaluate what’s going on.”

“Pretty much,” Wilson confirmed. “And you how much he doesn’t like second-hand information.”

“Alright, we’re on our way to the airfield,” Tony declared.

“I’ll call ahead and get if fueled up,” Wilson replied.

“We’ll get in touch once we’re in Gator territory and on our way to ground zero.” Tony said before hanging up the line. He went back to the office where they had first started to set up a small command post for the city, and quickly started to repack what they had unpacked in short time they were in the city. Some of the agents in the building were confused to what was going on.

“You just got here and you’re leaving already?” the agent asked.

“We go where we’re told,” Tony replied, raising his hands up. “It’s the nature of the beast. Catch you on the flip side.”

It took them only seconds to have everything they needed repacked, and they left the office immediately. Field agents were likely being reassigned based on priority. Tony hadn’t gotten far into his investigation and had been closer to making a break into his case they might have left him alone. Since he hadn’t, he and his people were subject to recall for such emergencies. Tony was glad it didn’t happen too often, but whenever the boss made the call, he did as he was told. When shit like this happened, Xavier Carter was going to have to wait.