Agent Alpha Ch. 08

Rhys paused as he got to the door, his hand hovering over the knob while he stood momentarily still. There was a heavy scent that he had picked up as he approached. Harvey's was one and the other one was still very new to him. Clarise. His eyes widened slightly when he realized why their scents were so strong. A devilish smirk hit him in an instant. "You old dog..." he muttered to himself in appraisal of Harvey. Rhys was weighing his options. He truly wanted to let them continue on in privacy, but, he also needed to get a hold of Shepherd's medical records before Agent Peters had a chance to do so.

Waiting until he was sure they were finished, Rhys politely tapped on the door. After a few moments of shuffle, Harvey opened the door abruptly. At first, he had the look of someone who would rip off the head of whoever dared to interrupt him in that moment. Internally Rhys smirked at this. For all his laid back intentions, Harvey was a very dominant wolf and this drove sometimes irrational levels of aggression, as Rhys well knew.

Seeing it was Rhys caused Harvey's expression to retreat slightly into an almost stoic embarrassment. "Hey Rhys," he offered delicately as he adjusted his shirt slightly. Behind him, Clarise was doing the same, running her fingers through her hair and straightening her skirt. Unlike Harvey's retreat, Clarise offered him an indignant frown.

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Rhys told Harvey genuinely.

"Oh no, it's ok. We were, uh... just having a little talk about Clarise moving out here more permanently," Harvey dismissed as he invited Rhys in, gesturing to one of the chairs.

"I think that would be a good idea," Rhys replied, causing Clarise to raise a curious eyebrow. He looked over at her a bit hesitantly. "I'm real sorry that we didn't have a warmer reception for you when you got here," he told her kindly. "Things have been a little crazy. Not likely to calm down anytime soon either, I suspect." He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke to her. "Anyway, they put you up in a nice place?"

It was the wrong thing to say. Clarise seemed receptive to what she assumed was going to be an apology, but the awkward question about her accommodations caused a frown slide across her pretty face. "Yes, Harvey has seen to all my needs," she answered out of irritation. "As well as dealing wiz your little crazy and caring for zee medical needs of zee pack." There was no question that Clarise was more dominant than Harvey.

It was one thing for Analise to talk to him that way. It was another entirely for Rhys to hear it from a true stock werewolf. His eyes were molten and slammed into her light blues with seething anger. Clarise held out as long as she could, but eventually broke the eye contact with a huff and a flip of her blonde hair.

That's right, Rhys retorted in his own mind.

"I suppose you are here to order us to care for your little crazy, zen?" She remarked through a sigh. Harvey cast her a pleading look to stop, but Rhys beat him to the comment.

"Actually, I'm here to apologize to Harv for that shiner," He answered confidently before turning his glance at Harvey. "And to invite you both to dinner sometime. Sure would like to get to know this little French poodle of yours," he added, much to Clarise's irritation.

Harvey visibly relaxed. "Don't worry about it," he answered casually. "I let you down. Figure I deserved a lot worse..."

"Deserved a lot worse!" Let out Clarise in dismay. This was followed by a huff and a stream of unintelligible French cursing.

Rhys largely dismissed her, more concerned about his brother. "You were gonna kill her," he commented, still a bit stunned. "I just sort of reacted but I shoulda thought about it first."

Harvey shrugged. "I didn't know what to do, Rhys," he commented, leaning back into his chair. "I've never even heard of a turn going that badly before, let alone experienced it." Harvey gazed absently at Clarise, who was fuming with irritation for Rhys. "The girl's tough though, I'll give her that," he added in a distant voice. "Every bone in her body must have snapped at least a dozen times but she still refused to let the wolf take over."

Rhys frowned slightly. "Yeah, she's pretty stubborn," he commented in the same absent tone Harvey had donned. "Look, Harv, I need her medical records. Shepherd seems to think that you'll have written stuff in there that gives it up that she's a were now."

Harvey offered Rhys a critical frown. "I'm not an idiot, Rhys," he replied dryly. "It's as squeaky clean as a babe in a bath. No one's gonna find anything in there."

"All the same," Rhys returned, "I'd rather be safe than sorry. That woman's already been surprisingly accurate with her were-knowledge and if what she's saying about those two FBI agents I've got in my office down town is true, we can't take any risks." Rhys considered his brother for a moment. "Maybe you or Clarise could bring them to her," he volunteered."

Clarise scoffed. "Why in zee world would I want to socialize wiz zat woman? She is a hunter, no?"

"She's one of us now," Rhys answered confidently. "Whether or not any of us, Analise included, likes it, she's one of us. I'm sure this ain't as fancy as you're used to, Clarise, but everyone here is safe from hunters because we all stick together and look out for each other." Rhys consciously stepped off of his pedastool. "Besides," he added with a shrug, "You two seem to have a lot in common."

Harvey sighed slightly. "I'll bring her the files later," he relented.

"Good," Rhys said with a half smile and a nod. "Now. Where am I taking you two for dinner tonight?"

It was several hours later that Rhys found himself in the hospital again. Isa had done as he had asked and saw to it that Agent Shepherd was moved to a recovery ward in Riverton Medical and Harvey had delivered the files as promised. Rhys was grateful for things to work out for a change. He had a mountain of paperwork waiting for him at the precinct and it wasn't until he had lost track of time that he realized he was about to be late for the dinner date with Harvey and Clarise.

So, he returned to the hospital and strolled down to Harvey's secretary only to learn that Harvey was attending Shepherd while the other two agents talked to her. A chill ran down Rhys's spine. He had been so focused in his own work that he forgot to keep an eye on Agent Peters.

Rhys carefully paced his steps as he made it to the recovery ward. He didn't want anyone to know that his natural urge was to run in so he counted his steps very carefully. The beauty of being a werewolf, however, was that Rhys's hearing was phenomenal. He could hear the conversation between the FBI agents from well down the hall.

"Thanks," Analise commented to Harvey as he finished taking her blood pressure.

Agent Peters tightened his eyes. "What did you say your name was again, doctor?"

"Harvey Forrester," he replied tersely. "Look, she really needs to rest and I'm not-"

"As in Captain Forrester's brother?" Peters continued smoothly.

Analise rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Frank, it's a small town. You are surprised by this, why? The whole place is inbred."

Rhys could almost hear Harvey growl in irritation at Analise.

"Doctor, if you would excuse us..." Agent Peters suggested in his strange, fluid tone.

"It's fine, Dr. Forrester," Analise added. "I'm feeling a lot better. If you see Captain Forrester, could you let him know that I'm still waiting on those case files?" Rhys smirked. She was certainly feeling back to normal if the all-work-and-no-play Analise was back.

Harvey frowned, sighed heavily, and left the room. As he made it down the hall, his expression changed from professional irritation to worry. Rhys had expected as much. Harvey trotted over and gestured for Rhys to sit with him on a bench in the hospital hallway. Rhys gestured for Harvey to be quiet and his brother nodded, joining him in the eaves dropping of the Agents' conversation.

"What do you want, Frank," Analise let out in a tired and irritated sigh.

"I merely find it interesting that Captain Forrester has taken up such an interest in your well being that he would request his brother to do a nurse's job in monitoring you," Peters replied smoothly.

Analise rolled her eyes again. "A Federal Agent was assault in his town. I don't think it's peculiar at all. He's terrified that we'll press charges or something. Anyway, I've got this situation under control. You still haven't told me why you are here."

"Under control?" Let out Agent Carter in a concerned voice. Unlike Peters, Carter seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. "Analise, you said it yourself: you were assaulted! Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. A couple bruises is all," she replied dismissively.

Peters wasn't buying it. "An a concussion that rendered you unconscious for almost a week," he added. "At least, according to the medical records..." It didn't take a genius to see that he didn't believe what he read and Rhys was suddenly curious about what Analise had changed there.

Analise offered Frank an irritated glare. "As is documented in my own report, we were attacked by the cultists and I pursued them. I was ambushed and during the struggle I was rendered unconscious. Captain Forrester's report clearly states that his team approached the scene and was driven to use lethal force in subduing the targets. I previously had estimated 5-6 cultists based off activity levels, which is the number of targets that were killed in the conflict, which means that this cell has been neutralized and it brings me to my original question of why you are here?"

"It's standard procedure to dispatch personnel when an agent has been injured in the line of duty," Carter answered calmly. "But no one is questioning the thoroughness of your work, Analise. And Captain Forrester has been very accommodating in getting us your notes too."

"Yes, he has been very accommodating," Peters commented dryly. "Tell me, Agent Shepherd, what is your relationship with Captain Forrester?"

Both Rhys and Harvey went wide-eyed at the question. Analise, on the other hand, didn't miss a beat. "He's my boyfriend," she offered both casually and dismissively, as if it were nothing at all. "You'll have to excuse me for not filing the appropriate conflict of interest forms while I was in a coma, but even still, I fail to see what relevance that has on this investigation."

Carter looked a bit stunned. "You... you are... I shouldn't ask. I'm very happy for you, Analise," he told her kindly. Rhys decided then that he liked Agent Carter. He seemed to care about Analise.

"Actually, you should ask," Peters continued smoothly. "Because it strictly against Bureau policy to fraternize with local law enforcement."

Analise wondered if her eyes would continue to roll like this indefinitely. "You are more than welcome to take it up with our supervisor, Frank," she told him dryly. "I'm sure he'll get a kick out of that sort of complaint anyway. Besides, when I called him to request a leave of absence, he basically mandated it anyway. Not really sure what else you'd be hoping to accomplish there, but knock yourself out."

Peter's eyed her critically. "Unfortunately, Analise, your relationship with Captain Forrester is of interest in this investigation."

"And why's that," she commented in irritation.

"Because it is highly suspicious that you would become romantically involved with him."

"Oh I know," Analise returned in full sarcasm. "I mean, how could a woman be attracted to a soft spoken gentleman cowboy with beautiful blue eyes and ripply muscles. What in the world was I thinking? And for him to be attracted to me? Well, something is clearly wrong with this situation..." Harvey smirked and jabbed Rhys in the side with his elbow.

"Your records were unclear: does Captain Forrester have any involvement with the cult?" Any lightheartedness the brothers had been feeling evaporated with Agent Peters' forward and blunt question.

"Jesus Christ, Frank," Analise reprimanded sharply. "Do you honestly think I'm that big of an idiot? Of course he doesn't; that's absurd. No one in this town does; I was very thorough in that. The kidnappers were drifters and nothing more. In fact, a lot of locals commented on the number of strangers lately and if anything, these little river towns are probably going to shut themselves off to the outside world after this incident."

Peters didn't believe her, but he didn't argue. "I will bring you the conflict of interest form. Of course, I will be inquiring with Director Forbes about the status of this investigation. It has been assigned to me in your interim."

"Congratulations," she offered dryly.

"That wound on your neck...?" He added as he and Carter were preparing to leave. Rhys's anxiety level had swelled so high that he was already on his feet heading toward her room.

"Yeah, I got in a bar fight," Analise answered smoothly. "I'm sure you already talked to my lawyer about it. One of the assholes bit me. I think it's infected too... Dr. Forrester has been concerned, from what I've been told, because they tried a round of antibiotics when they found it after the assault but obviously I was allergic, which they didn't know, and it screwed up my blood work. All of this is in the medical records you certainly read, Frank. Trust me, if it was a cultist who bit me, I'd have reported it right away."

Rhys entered the room in time to watch Agent Peters offer Analise a condescending smile. "That's good to hear," he answered smoothly. "Ah. Your significant other."

Rhys offered Peters a sour look. "You told 'em then?" He nodded to Analise as if to silently will to her that he had heard the whole thing. "Gentlemen," he offered them both with a lift of his hat and a polite nod. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to have a word with Analise."

"Of course," Carter said in understanding. "We were just leaving, right Frank?"

Agent Peters looked like he was on the verge of sneering.

"I, uh, I didn't know what the right form number was," Rhys told her, pretending to be a bit sheepish. "Looks like there are a lot of forms for conflict of interest. Maybe one of your friends here could grab it for you?"

"How fortuitous," Agent Peters said, the condescention in his tone seeming to have grown. "I have a copy right here. I've taken the liberty of filling out your respective names. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate an original birth certificate for you, Captain, so I was unable to apply your date of birth."

"You coulda just asked," Rhys stated firmly. "Court house burnt down several years back. We only got copies of things. Did you have any particular reason to be looking into our records, Agent Peters?"

"Forgive me, I thought it was a matter of public record," he replied smoothly. He was right, of course. "And I didn't want to trust a copy. Pity, really. So all of the city records were lost in this fire?"

Analise let out a long and impatient sigh. "Yeah, as Jim just said, Frank and Jim were just leaving. Thanks, Frank, but I will fill out the form from here. Let me know when you've talked with Forbes. My understanding is that I am the lead on this investigation and I am closing it. Take it up with Forbes if you want that changed."

Agent Peters offered a smirking nod and Agent Carter ushered him out of the room. From down the hall, both Analise and Rhys could hear Carter lecturing Peters on being rude. Analise let out a sigh of relief as the pair made their way out of the hospital. Only after this exasperation did she turn her tired eyes to Rhys.

"You heard all of that, I gather?" She inquired smoothly.

"One of the perks of our kind, I suppose," He acknowledged while taking a seat along the side of her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Stop asking," she remarked. "I'm fine. Look... about the whole... well..." She paused to dismiss her own awkwardness. "I think I need to stick around for a while until I get a handle on what's happening to me," she finally admitted. "Between that and all of your attention, I figured a relationship was the best way to call off Frank's curiosity. I'm more than happy to explain all of this to your girlfriend and I swear I'll even be nice when I do it."

Rhys smirked at her. "No need to worry. I don't have one," he answered before becoming slightly playful. "Though, it's real sweet that you find me attractive, Analise. You aren't too bad yourself."

Analise snorted and blushed slightly. "Oh get over it. You know you're pretty. Look, it's a weird situation, but it's all I could come up with to keep Peters at bay. It shouldn't be that bad. I'll play nice if you do. With any luck, Peters will buy it and go back home."

"I don't know, Analise. What exactly does a pretend boyfriend do? Besides, half the time I'm wanting to punch you in the face. Certainly isn't something I'd do if you were my girl." Rhys was obviously uncomfortable with this entire topic.

"Well, it's good that you don't punch me in the face Rhys," she added, obviously finding his behavior to be strange. "That's called assault and I'm definitely not into that... Honestly, just keep up the interest in my well being. You don't have to do anything affectionate or anything. I think it would just make Peters more suspicious if you did. I'm not really the affectionate type, you may have heard."

Rhys cocked an eyebrow at her. "And what is your type?"

Analise cast him a bored expression. "Soft spoken gentleman cowboy with pretty eyes and ripply muscles," she answered through a smirk. "You?"

Rhys was smirking too. "Sweet and quiet overweight housewife type. Looks like it's not meant to be."

Analise actually laughed at the comment. "Alright, alright. What's your pretend date of birth so I can fill this thing out."