Trinity Ch. 04

Alec had to remove ten screws before he could gently lift the panel from the wall. Thankfully the space was large enough for his massive frame to still fit inside. He quietly climbed into the space and headed towards the right where the vent for Joshua’s office was. Alec took his time as he slid on the cold steel making sure that he didn’t make any type of noise. It took a few minutes to get to his destination, but it was well worth the time because as he reached the vent he found that it was situated right behind Joshua’s desk.

Alec wasn’t able to see anything, but he was able to hear everything that happened in the office. Joshua was on the phone, but it was with someone from the park. The man was talking about media ads and other non-interesting things. Alec stayed in his place for nearly twenty minutes and was starting to give out hope that the plan was going to work. Just as he was about to throw the towel in he heard a knock on the office door.

“Enter!” Joshua’s voice rang out.

“I thought I’d stop by and see how the morning was treating my sweet husband.” Alec heard Paige’s voice. For a split second he reconsidered the plan because he didn’t want to sit through any cutesy husband and wife chatter. The office door closed with a quiet click and the atmosphere in the office changed dramatically.

“Paige, no one is around now so you can drop the husband crap, okay?” Joshua sounded irritated.

“You were the one who thought up the brilliant idea of me posing as your wife.” Paige’s voice had lost the warmth he had heard last night. “Don’t get pissed at me for doing what you asked me to. I think someone is just a bit upset that his boy toy found out about me.”

“Do NOT call him that, Paige, he does have a name.” Joshua’s voice was tinged with anger.

“Uh oh, it seems that I may have hit a sore spot.” Paige’s laughter echoed through the vent. “Don’t look at me like that, Joshua Finnegan. I hadn’t planned on meeting him. That nitwit Sabrina had been looking for me and calling my cell phone all night. I finally tracked her down and Alec happened to walk in.”

“I should have known Sabrina had something to do with this.” Joshua said with a long groan. “That woman is going to be the death of me. Why can’t she just mind her own business? It is because of her that my chances with Alec have probably gone down the drain.”

“What makes this guy so special, Joshua?” Alec heard Paige ask and it made his heart stop. “Don’t get me wrong, the man is drop dead gorgeous, but you must realize the problems this could cause.”

“I don’t know what it is about him, Paige.” Joshua replied. “I just felt drawn to him. There seemed to be some type of connection the moment our eyes met. He did things to me that I never let anyone ever do to me, Paige, and for the life of me I can’t understand why.”

“That would explain why you are walking a bit funny today.” Paige said with a small laugh. “Look, Joshua. Under any other circumstances I would be ecstatic for you, but we have a problem.”

“What are you talking about?” Joshua questioned her. Alec’s breathing practically stopped. He was hoping that Paige was about to reveal something useful.

“Your new beau and his friend could cause us a lot of problems, Joshua. The President will be here in a matter of days and we can’t let anything get in our way. This mission has to be successful. You know there is so much riding on this for us.” Paige’s voice had the hard edge of determination to it.

“I know how important this is, Paige. You don’t have to remind me of that.” Joshua’s voice sounded tired and frustrated. “What does that have to do with Alec?”

“Alec AND Vanessa, Joshua.” Paige stressed to him. “They are here to stop our mission. Joshua, they are from the Covenant.”

Alec’s eyes bulged and it took all the strength he had from not screaming a few choice words. How in the hell did Paige know about them? A thousand things rushed through his mind and he had to force himself to focus on what was going on in the office.

“Fuck.” He heard Joshua mutter. “I can’t believe this is even happening. I mean we knew that there was a possibility of it, Paige, but for it to really be a reality. We need to form some type of game plan.”

“Agreed.” Paige replied. “There isn’t much time and we have to make sure everything is in place and ready for the President’s visit. I will not allow those two to stop us. Are you going to be able to kill him, Joshua, if it comes to that?”

Alec’s body turned to stone as he heard the words. He had been so foolish. It never entered his head that he might have to hurt Joshua in any way. He had let himself be blinded by his feelings instead of focusing on his job. Alec waited in anxious silence for Joshua’s answer.

“I don’t know, Paige.” Joshua’s voice was practically a whisper.

“Mark my words, Joshua. I WILL kill him and his little friend without even missing a step if I have to. I will NOT allow anyone to stand in our way, and if you can’t take care of business, I will.” Paige’s voice rose in anger as she spoke.

Alec heard the office door being opened and then it slammed shut, obviously marking Paige’s departure. He had to take a few deep, calming breaths to relax his body. Alec started to move backwards through the vent as quickly and as quietly as he could. He had to get back to Vanessa as soon as possible. Time had started running out on them and everything was unraveling. He quickly screwed the panel back into place on the wall and gathered up the toolbox and blueprints. He checked the hallway, and finding it empty, darted towards the stairwell.

* * *

“Son of a bitch mother fuckers!” Vanessa exclaimed. Alec had returned a few minutes ago and immediately began giving her a rundown on what he had heard. “I can’t even believe this is happening. How the hell did they find out about us? I knew I was going to have to keep an eye on Paige. I’ll keep both eyes on little Miss Annie Oakley now.”

“Things might not be turning out as we would want them too, but at least we have a few advantages.” Alec said in an attempt to calm his sister down. “We have the element of surprise now, Vanessa. They don’t know that we know about them. Before we didn’t have any clue who was behind the attempt on the President, but now we know exactly who we need to be watching. We just need to keep our eyes peeled and stay on our toes. We can do this.”

“Thanks for being the voice of reason, tiger.” Vanessa said with a warm smile. “You are absolutely correct. We now have the upper hand, thanks to your brilliant eavesdropping idea. So what do you think we should do now? Do we just keep an eye on them and stop the attempt or do we move in and take care of them now?

“I’m not sure, Nessa, but we have to make some quick decisions.” Alec replied.

“I think we both want to get Paige out of the picture as soon as possible. I wouldn’t mind going a few rounds with her right now, that’s for sure.” Vanessa said with a wicked grin as she cracked her knuckles.

“Here’s another thing we have to look at.” Alec said with a smile. “Do we fill Sabrina in on everything that has been going on, or?”

Before Vanessa could answer her brother there was a knock on the door. They both pulled guns out of hidden holsters in the back of their pants and moved into position. Vanessa went to answer the door and Alec sat on the couch that faced it. They were both ready for anything. Vanessa positioned her body to conceal the gun in her hand and slowly opened the door. A sigh escaped her lips as she saw who was standing there.

“Speak of the devil, herself.” Vanessa moved aside so Alec could see Sabrina standing in the doorway.

“Good to see you too, Vanessa.” Sabrina sarcastically replied.

Sabrina sauntered into the living room and rolled her eyes at Vanessa. As Sabrina set her purse down on the coffee table the brother and sister exchanged a knowing glance. Before they shared any information with Sabrina it was time for her to do to a little sharing first. Vanessa raised her eyebrow at Alec in question and he grinned wickedly while nodding his head.

“Hey girl, I have a question for you.” Vanessa said as she turned on her airhead charm.

“What’s that, Vanessa?” Sabrina asked as she turned towards Vanessa.

Alec didn’t waste any time and took the opportunity that Sabrina had unknowingly offered. He quickly moved off the couch and stepped up behind her. Alec swiftly picked her up and threw her down on the couch.

“What the fu…” Sabrina’s voice was cut off as the cold steel of Alec’s gun pressed against her forehead.

“Alec!” Vanessa sounded upset and rushed up next to her brother. “What the hell are you doing?”

“It’s time for this bitch to start explaining a few things.” Alec snarled as he flipped the safety on the gun to the off position. “I have a feeling we are being strung along and I don’t like it.”

Sabrina’s wide eyes flickered back and forth between Vanessa and Alec. Alec could see a thin sheen of sweat break out on the woman’s forehead. She was definitely scared and Alec pressed the gun a bit harder against her skin. He watched as Sabrina’s breathing increased and she swallowed loudly.

“I...I don’t know what you are talking about.” Sabrina stuttered.

“Alec, put the gun down.” Vanessa reached out and wrapped her fingers around Alec’s wrist. She was finally able to get Alec to step back and Sabrina quickly sat up on the couch. Alec sat down on the coffee table next to Sabrina’s purse, but he kept the gun trained on her.

“No quick movements, and don’t lie to us.” Alec’s cold voice was the only sound in the now tense room besides Sabrina’s labored breathing. “I won’t hesitate to use this.”

“What is going on?” Sabrina asked.

Alec opened his mouth to snap at her, but Vanessa placed a calming hand on his shoulder silencing him. Vanessa gently sat down next to Sabrina in an attempt not to frighten her any further. She smiled reassuringly at Sabrina and tried to make the woman a bit more comfortable at least.

“We need to know your connection with Joshua and Paige.” Vanessa quietly stated.

“There is no connection with them.” Sabrina’s eyes widened again as Alec raised the gun and aimed at her head. “I swear it. I’ve been in deep undercover for the last few months. The only relationship I have with them is as their ‘employee’.”

“The two of you seem pretty chummy, though.” Vanessa said with a slight smile. “Last night Paige walked in here and greeted you like a long lost friend. She even contacted you on your cell phone before she showed up.”

“You’ll soon find out that Paige is all about appearances.” A sudden heat had appeared in Sabrina’s voice. “She may appear all sweet and sugary, but that woman is the queen viper in this pit. Paige uses her supposed charm and grace to get information out of people and pull them to her side. Joshua makes sure that she interacts with all of the employees and most of them are now under her thumb. She has my cell phone number because it was issued by the park. That bitch calls me at all hours of the night like I’m her personal lackey or something.”

“I overheard a conversation today from some employees on the island that Joshua thinks you’re going to be the death of him. What’s that about?” Alec questioned.

“That’s probably because I’ve been riding his ass to get as much information about the President’s visit as I could.” Sabrina sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Alec kept the gun steadily trained on her just in case she was trying anything. “I’ve used my position in human resources as an excuse to get as much information as I could so the groundwork for this mission could be smoothly put into place.”

Sabrina paused for a moment and glanced at Alec. Her attention wavered and focused on the gun. Vanessa glanced over at her brother and signaled him with her eyes. Alec’s face didn’t reveal that he understood, but after a moment he lowered the gun but continued to glare at Sabrina.

“Joshua must have gotten tired of me because for the last few weeks I’ve had to go through Paige to get the information I wanted. I don’t have much contact with him at all now.” Sabrina continued with a sigh. “I have to act like I’m that bitch’s best friend; otherwise I’d be dead in the water. She’s never around when I need her so I normally have to call her cell phone a thousand times. That’s how she ended up here last night. I had been calling her all evening trying to get more updated information about the President’s visit and unfortunately she tracked me down at an inconvenient time.”

“There was something about Paige that set an alarm off in the back of my head.” Vanessa thought out loud. “I’m glad to see my instincts are still working.”

Sabrina glanced at Vanessa with a bit of shock. Vanessa had unknowingly dropped her valley girl voice and for that split second the real Vanessa had leaked through. Alec could practically see the wheels turning in Sabrina’s head and after a moment a look of revelation appeared on her face. Almost as soon as the light bulb went off in her head a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

“I obviously owe you a bigger apology than I thought, Vanessa.” Sabrina quietly muttered.

“Why is that?” Vanessa asked.

“I’m sorry for being such a bitch to you, Vanessa, but I had to make it look like there was friction between us.” Sabrina began. “If anyone saw us being too friendly with each other it might have raised suspicion.”

“If that was your plan why didn’t you fill us in on that?” Alec asked.

“Well…” Sabrina flushed again. “I had planned on it, but the more I interacted with you, Vanessa, the more agitated I got. You were way beyond the stereotypical dumb blonde and people like that get under my skin pretty quickly. I let my emotions cloud my judgment and I’m embarrassed about that. I’m truly sorry, Vanessa.”

Alec and Vanessa glanced at each other and continued their silent communication. Alec could understand what Sabrina was talking about in regards to emotions causing problems. He knew in his head what he might have to do in regards to Joshua, but that didn’t stop his heart from trying to change his mind. Alec flipped the safety on the gun into place and set it down next to him.

“We all make mistakes sometimes, Sabrina. Let’s just be glad we cleared the air and we can focus on the mission.” Alec said with a warm smile.

“Don’t worry about anything, Sabrina. Apology accepted.” Vanessa added with a warm smile of her own.

A look of confusion appeared on Sabrina’s face as she looked at the brother and sister. After a few minutes she slapped her forehead and let out a fairly large sigh. Her laughter suddenly filled the air.

“I can’t even believe this.” Sabrina said as she looked back at them. “I didn’t think the whole good cop/bad cop thing still worked. I was obviously wrong about that, wasn’t I?”

“We weren’t so sure about it either, but it’s a chance we had to take.” Vanessa laughed. “I have to admit though that Alec even scared me a bit, but that probably helped make it more believable.”

“I can definitely see why the Covenant sent you two for this mission.” Sabrina said with a smile. “You make a great team.”

“I hope you understand why we did it.” Vanessa studied Sabrina. “We had to be sure that we were working on the same team.”

“I understand completely.” Sabrina replied with a nod of her head.

“It’s funny you should mention the Covenant.” Alec said with a sigh. He glanced at his sister and she nodded her head in agreement. Sabrina was definitely on their side, and it was time to fill Backdraft in on the information they received that morning.

Alec took the next fifteen minutes explaining to Sabrina everything that he had heard. Since part of the conversation involved him he had no choice but to reveal what happened with him and Joshua. He wasn’t as graphic with her as he was with Vanessa, but he made a pretty clear picture of what had happened. Sabrina sat for a few minutes in silence letting everything Alec had said sink in.

“Son of a bitch mother fuckers.” Sabrina murmured.

“That was exactly my point.” Vanessa said. “We have to form a game plan and fast.”

“There is some information I have to share with both of you as well that will shed some light on why they know about the Covenant.” Sabrina said with a sigh. “I received a communiqué from headquarters this morning. It seems that we have a bigger problem than the President’s visit. It is still important for us to stop the assassination, but it is no longer our main objective.”

Vanessa and Alec exchanged another silent communication. Things were already difficult enough, what else were they going to have to possibly deal with? It seemed as if they were being pushed out of the frying pan and right into the heart of the fire.

“Have either of you ever heard of an agent named Dreamcatcher?” Sabrina asked.

“I’ve heard bits and pieces before on other missions about Dreamcatcher.” Vanessa replied. “It sounded more like whispers of legends or myths though. I never really paid attention to any of it.”

“Dreamcatcher is no legend or myth, believe me. Dreamcatcher was one of the top agents in the organization. Dreamcatcher can handle any weapon and is an explosives expert. The Covenant used the agent mostly as an assassin because Dreamcatcher never failed in any assignment.” Sabrina explained.

“What do you mean ‘was one of the top agents’, Sabrina?” Alec questioned.

“Dreamcatcher went rogue a few months ago. It turns out that both sides were being played. Dreamcatcher is the first known mole ever in the Covenant.” Sabrina said.

Alec whistled softly in shock. It was incomprehensible that anyone in the organization would turn to the other side, especially one of their top agents. Anger and rage bubbled through Alec and Vanessa. How could anyone betray the Covenant like that? The Covenant was like a close, but distant, family and no one messed with their family.

“So what does Dreamcatcher have to do with our mission?” Vanessa asked.

“The problem is that Dreamcatcher, the mole, is here on the island.” Sabrina said with a weary sigh. “This is going to totally complicate things. We are going to be up against some fucking tough competition.”

“Who is Dreamcatcher?” Alec asked.

Sabrina paused and collected her thoughts before answering. Vanessa already had a feeling of what the answer to the question was going to be.

“Alec, it’s Joshua.” Sabrina quietly replied.

Alec’s blood turned to ice water at her words. It was one thing for the man to possibly be trying to kill the President, and Alec could just about deal with the fact that the man he was possibly falling for was a bad guy, but betraying everything Alec believed in went beyond anger.

“The sooner we take him and that bitch Paige out the better.” Alec’s voice was as hard as granite. “We need to isolate both of them. Sabrina, you can take care of Paige and Vanessa and I can handle Jos…I mean Dreamcatcher. This thing ends right here, right now.”

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Vanessa said as Sabrina nodded her agreement. “What’s the game plan?”

“This might help things out.” Sabrina said as she leaned past Alec to pull an envelope out of her purse. “I didn’t open it. Joshua asked me to bring it to you. It seems like opportunity might be knocking for us.”

Alec leaned forward and took the envelope from Sabrina. He turned it over in his hands a few times before opening it. Alec wasn’t very sure he even wanted to know what was inside. He locked eyes with Vanessa and she nodded her head to encourage him to open it. Alec shook his head a bit to clear his mind and tore the envelope open. He quickly scanned the single page of paper that was inside.

“Alec,

We really need to talk and I have to see you again. I’m sorry about how you found out about Paige, but I promise you that I can explain. Meet me by our waterfall at eight o’clock. Everything will be clear then. Please don’t worry about Paige. I’ll take care of everything. Please come.