The Cure

WHILE TONY WAS PLEASED THAT THE secret service was being more than co-operative with them, but that co-operation was coming pretty much at a snail’s pace. The people Tony wanted to speak with were being brought in for questioning one person at a time and they one had one table to work with. This meant that Bruce couldn’t do his own interviews and split the workload. So, one by one they interviewed advisors from the Senator’s office who were in town with him as well as some of the medical staff in a pitiful attempt to get an idea of what kind of aliment the Senator might be suffering from. Details were not readily available as the doctors were yet to identify what toxin was used, which made treatment of the patient nearly impossible. They were hitting the Senator with anti-bodies, steroids, and other general stuff hoping something might stick. Yet, whatever was in the Senator’s system was not responding to any of it and continued its attack unabated. It wasn’t looking good for the junior Senator from the south who had the charm that looked like was going to sweep the nation all the way to the Whitehouse. Tony could tell he had people like Bruce already set to back him and his campaign straight to the first Tuesday of November, but someone didn’t like the idea of him being commander in chief and went to the extreme to take him out of the equation. The list of possible suspects was enormous. There were close to a dozen popular politicians on both sides of the aisle who hadn’t declared their intent to run for office, and with Jackson out of the picture their chances to run and raise funds would be greater. Then there are companies and industries that Jackson spent a lifetime opposing that would have faced new regulations had he taken office. It was a daunting task, so whoever oversaw compiling that list was going to have their work cut out for them, especially if the Senator didn’t make it.

Tony watched with slight interest as one of the doctors being interviewed by Bruce abruptly walked out of the room when his questioning was done. After he left the room, one of the service agents walked over and asked if they wanted to speak with someone else.

“Not yet.” Tony replied, “We’re going to take a break and get something to eat in the cafeteria.”

At that moment, he realized that Bruce was expressing a little frustration with his work at the desk.

“Is there something wrong, Agent Kern?” Tony inquired.

“Just this stupid pen, Sir.” Bruce said, “Do you have something I can burrow to finish this last comment I’m trying to notate?”

“Yes, I do,” Tony replied, “But you better not lose it.”

Tony dug into his pockets and pretty much had to empty half his coat onto the table to fetch it for him. He placed his badge, his cell phone, a pepperoni stick, and a few five by three photos of Xavier Carter on the table before finally finding what he was looking for. It was a very expensive pen that was plated with gold.

“This was a gift,” Tony informed him, “I want it back when you’re finished.”

“Yes, Sir.” Bruce acknowledged as he took the pen and immediately resumed working on his interview notes.

Since they had to wait for Bruce to finish up, Tony grabbed the pepperoni stick and opened it up, chewing into it as he relaxed into his chair while waiting. While they were sitting there doing their work, one of the secret service agents came into the room to speak with her boss. She was there to report something that was unrelated to what Tony and Bruce were doing, but since Tony wasn’t doing anything, he noted how cute she was and watched as she spoke to her boss but wasn’t able to overhear the subject of their discussion. A few moments later she stood up to leave but as she was walking out of the room, she suddenly stopped when she looked in the direction of Tony and Bruce. Tony thought he might have been busted for staring but did his best to look busy, talking to Bruce about his report. It didn’t stop her from walking over to the table they were sitting.

“Excuse me.” She politely called out to them.

“Yes, can I help you?” Tony asked, trying to be just as polite.

“May I see that?” she asked pointing to middle of the table.

“See what?” Tony asked a little confused.

“The photo.” she replied.

The moment she asked to see the photo, Bruce stopped what he was doing and looked up at Tony, who was just as stunned as he was.

“Of course,” Tony said as he passed up one of the five by three photos of Xavier Carter. “Do you recognize this man?”

She picked up the photo and took a long look at it.

“I do,” She finally answered.

“Are you sure you’re just not recognizing him from television?” Bruce said as he resumed working on his interview notes, “He has been getting a lot of airtime over the last several days since being elevated to our most wanted list.”

“No,” the agent corrected him as she kept looking. “I’ve seen him before.”

“Really?” Tony replied, “When was this?”

“A few hours ago,” She replied before giving the photo back to him.

This is when her boss walked in on the conversation.

“But you’ve been here for the last ten hours, Agent Ross,” He reminded the young agent, “Are you sure about that?”

Something clicked in Tony’s head when he finally did the math.

“Hold on,” Ton started, “You mean he’s here… in this building!”

“Yes,” Ross replied, “I saw him here a few hours ago.”

“Are you positive it was this man!” Tony stood up and held up the photo for her to look at again. The agent nodded again, acknowledging it was Xavier Carter. Tony turned to her boss.

“You have a serious security breach here.” Tony informed her superior.

“Who is this man?” The Senior Agent asked Tony.

“This man is the subject of a massive FBI manhunt,” Bruce said, also rising to his feet. “And according to your agent, he’s been spotted running around this hospital!”

“Who is this man?” the senior agent asked again as he took the photo.

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this!” Tony grabbed the rest of his stuff from the table, and then used his cell to dial Quantico. It rang a few times before Wilson finally came on the line.

“Tony,” Wilson started, “What’s up?”

“Drop whatever you’re doing,” Tony ordered, “We got a positive ID on Xavier Carter from a member of the secret service. She says he was here at the hospital a few hours ago. He could still be here.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me!” Wilson called out in utter disbelief.

“Inform the director,” Tony ordered, “I’m putting his fact-finding mission on hold and going back on the chase.”

Tony took the cell away from his ear for a moment and turned to the senior agent who was still looking at the photo. “Lock this building down, now!”

“Are you sure about this?” The Senior Agent asked.

“This man is dangerous fugitive,” Tony repeated, “So do it, NOW!”

“Alright,” The senior agent conceded, “Lock this place down!”

Tony put a blue-tooth device into his ear, “Wilson, contact the local branch. I want every agent they can muster to get their asses down here to help secure the building.”

“I’m already on it, Tony...” Wilson replied.

“Good man,” Tony said as he vacated the room, “Bruce and I are going to start searching the building and show his photo to more staff members and see if we can get someone else confirm his sighting and if he’s still here. For all we know he could be long gone, but we’re going to check first and ask questions later.”

“Good attitude, D,” Wilson agreed, “Local agents are enroute to back you up.”

“Alright, I’ll call back if I need anything,” Tony said before disconnecting.

As Tony turned off the cell, Bruce got up from the table and looked pleased to be done with the paperwork. He motioned to both Bruce and the Agent that had identified Xavier first.

“Both of you,” Tony ordered, “You’re with me. Let’s go!”

As the spilled into the hallway, the first thing Tony did was approach the information desk that was across the hall where three nurses were stationed. He immediately flashed Xavier’s photo to the nurses.

“Have any of you seen this man?” he asked them.

The three nurses all shook their heads to say negative, which was true because Carter and June had avoided this floor when he came into the building. Tony dug into his pocket and produced a few more photos and handed one to Bruce and the Agent who identified Xavier.

“You take the first floor,” he told the agent, pointing at Bruce. “You take the third floor and I’ll take care of this floor before moving on to the fourth. Let’s move!”

Tony watched as the two agents split and ran off to follow their orders. Showing them the photo, every person Tony bumped into on the second floor was a complete strike out. He quickly believed Carter probably skipped the second floor when he came into the building, due to the heavy law enforcement present there. Yet Tony wondered how the hell Carter managed to get through the checkpoint to get inside building in the first place. Tony bolted for the stairs and raced for the front door, as he was approaching the guards, he immediately whipped out his credentials.

“Special Agent Deacon, FBI.” Tony called out as he waved the picture to the two agents guarding the door, “Have any of you two seen this man at any time in this building today?”

They looked at the photo. “No. Is this person of up most importance?”

“Let me put it this way,” Tony said as he was still trying to catch his breath, “This is the last man you want in the same building as the Senator. I need to check with the guard outside.”

Tony walked out of the building and ran over to the guards who were watching the checkpoint outside the entrance to the parking lot.

“Gentlemen, I assume you remember me,” Tony called out, “Man from the FBI.”

“Yes, I do Sir.” The guard replied, “What can I do for you?”

“Take a hard look.” Tony ordered, as he waved the picture around. “We suspect this man may have been inside the building. Has he at any time entered or left the building today?”

The guard leaned over and looked at the photo.

“He entered the parking lot six hours ago,” One of the guards answered, “He was in the passenger seat and a woman was driving the car.”

Tony took a moment to process this.

“He wasn’t alone?” Tony inquired.

“No sir,” the guard confirmed. “She was driving and doing all the talking.”

“When did they leave?” Tony immediately asked.

“They didn’t.” the guard answered bluntly. “At least if they did it wasn’t through here. I only saw him go in, and we haven’t seen him since.”

“Thank you,” Tony said, “If this man tries to leave, arrest him! Is that understood?”

The guards both nodded and responded by breaking assault rifles out of the security booth and preparing for anything that might come their way. Tony reached for his cell phone and contacted Bruce who was still in the building.

“I just spoke with the guards outside,” Tony started, “They said Carter entered the building through parking with a woman, and they’re still here.”

“That confirms what I’ve heard,” Bruce replied, “I’ve spoken to some nurses who saw him walking around with a woman. They were last spotted a few hours ago so is it possible they could have bailed by now?”

“Possible,” Tony conceded, “But the guards have this place locked up rather tight. So, unless he jumped out a window, I don’t know how he could have managed to get the hell out of here.”

Tony paused for a moment to listen to his gut.

“Keep looking,” Tony ordered, “I’m willing to bet he’s still here.”