FIC: In the Arms of the Wicked, 12 (Ian/OMC, Don, Larry, Charlie, Megan, Carl, PG-13)
Title: "Danger for fun"
Series: In the Arms of the Wicked, Part 12/?
Characters: Ian/OMC, Don, Larry, Charlie, Megan, Carl.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: Season 5.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Ian finds out about the link between Dr. Farrow and the FBI.
Feedback: Yes, please. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (characters, situations, etcetera) except my OCs.
Beta: The wonderful fredbassett.
Special thanks to: harknessgirland Lily G, who are always so supportive.
Previous chapters: Click here.
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Part 12: "Danger for fun"
“I knew it. I should have taken him down as soon as he came into that office.”
“You knew the rules, Ian. You acted according to them. There was nothing that could tie Farrow to the case.”
Ian turned his eyes away from the interrogation room which held Dr. Farrow and fixed them on Carl for a moment. When Agent McGowan stepped aside, the sniper watched Dr. Farrow behind the glass one more time. Contrary to what was expected, the man didn’t seem to care that he was in there or that he could be considered to be a new suspect; he had asked for a piece of paper and a pen, and he was writing furiously, as if his life depended on it.
“Christopher would never do anything that could potentially hurt innocent people, much less students,” Fleinhardt suddenly said, making Ian turn around and look at him.
There were a lot of people outside the interrogation room, looking at Dr. Farrow; Professor Eppes and Professor Fleinhardt, Carl and Don.
“That’s not what I saw,” the sniper responded.
Clearly worried, the physicist pointed an index finger at Ian and continued, “I think that underestimating my opinion and personal knowledge of him could lead you to making an incorrect decision.”
“The FBI doesn’t depend on hunches or friendship, Professor Fleinhardt,” Carl said as he folded his arms.
No, not exactly. “Unless you know Security Clearance EAD Noah Cameron. Then, things get so much easier,” Ian muttered, and he was sure that his comment would upset Carl, but he didn’t care. He still couldn’t let go of the fact that Dr. Farrow had contacted one of the top people at the FBI and as a result, had a lot of power in his hands.
“According to Charles’ and my own testimony, there was no sign at all that Christopher intended to use that fire weapon,” Fleinhardt added.
“I don’t know, Larry.” Professor Eppes shook his head. “We were in that room with him, and as we talked about the Horus-eye fractions and other fascinating mathematical issues, he seemed to be a lot more interested in personal matters and… Ian.”
“Oh, really?” Ian muttered, barely surprised by the news. Since he’d had his first encounter with Dr. Farrow, he’d had the feeling that the guy would like to work on a way to get away with whatever he was up to.
“Yeah… He started asking these questions, like for example, if you’d be able to track him down wherever he went, or if you trusted him or not.”
“That doesn’t sound exactly like mild curiosity to me,” Don pointed out.
“I agree, Don,” Carl said, taking a step forward. “It’s more than worth it to undertake some very deep research on the doctor. In fact, I’d say it’s a top priority when it comes to this case.”
Immediately, Don prepared himself to come into the interrogation room, but it seemed that Fleinhardt wasn’t done defending his friend yet. “It’s just his personality. He’s got ways to deal with the kind of life he has. And yes, he can be stubborn and sarcastic sometimes, but he doesn’t have the type of character that’s likely to commit a crime like stealing - especially when those pieces of art are an object of his veneration.” The conversation was getting warmer and warmer and Fleinhardt’s cheeks were starting to get some color.
“Excuse me, Larry, but that’s precisely why he would want those statues - to add them to his personal collection,” Don responded. “Charlie said a while ago that he found out that Farrow has access to classified information both in Egypt and in the US, even within the FBI…”
“And tens of other countries…”
“Which makes him the perfect person to manage a crime organization like the one we’re looking for without anyone noticing.”
“That description could easily fit a hundred other people who are devoted to Archeology in this country, not to mention thousands if we consider the entire globe.”
“Well, I don’t see them shooting people in the middle of CalSci while working on a case that involves the stolen pieces.”
Fleinhardt took a deep breath. “Listen to me, the point is you don’t understand Christop-”
“The point is that he opened fire when there were students around him and it doesn’t really matter if he wanted to do it or not, since he did it anyway,” Don stated, waving his hands and angrily walking around the room. “He had a gun in that briefcase of his. Why the hell was he carrying it around all day, huh? What was he afraid of?”
The physicist looked at one of the desks and landed his palms on both sides of his face. He looked very tense when he muttered, “It is not my place to say.”
Ian couldn’t blame Fleinhardt for feeling intimidated or offended by Don’s words, as for the past few hours, the oldest Eppes brother had been acting even weirder than before. He kept behaving like he was really annoyed by an issue he refused to talk about.
After a long moment in which everyone remained silent, Don said, “Well, okay, then,” and walked towards the interrogation room.
You’re not going in there like that. In seconds, Ian’s arm barred Don’s way, keeping him away from the door. “Don… I’ll take care of it.” He felt the other man’s doubts through his eyes, but he never retreated. He even looked at Carl, knowing that Don would follow his gaze, and got a nod in approval. Finally, Don raised his hands in a sign of surrender and walked away from the door.
Ian took a look at the room full of people, catching Professor Eppes’ worried eyes on his brother and Carl’s focused face as he started watching Dr. Farrow again. Larry kept rubbing his hands, as if he was afraid of what might happen inside the interrogation room. It would be Ian’s job to find it out. So without saying another word, Ian walked in and he sat on the table, folding his arms and staring directly at Dr. Farrow. The archeologist didn’t stop writing on the piece of paper he had been given, until apparently he was finished. Then he slid the paper over the table towards Ian.
“Give this to the owner of the house where the last piece was found,” he said. Ian didn’t answer. “If he shows signs of knowing what these symbols mean, then he’s part of the organization, trust me.” Again, there was no response. “All right, if we’re going to play…”
“I’m not here to play.” They stared at each other, and Ian sensed that Dr. Farrow was trying to read his mind. So he said, “You opened fire at CalSci when you know you had hundreds of students around you who could get hurt or even killed, and you pretend…”
“Did anyone get hurt?”
“No.”
“Okay. I know I made a mistake anyway.”
Farrow’s face was serious and even a little worried now. Getting a little honesty from him was nice for a change, but Ian didn’t completely buy it. “You carried a gun inside your briefcase.”
“It’s for my own safety, because I’m in the middle of an ongoing investigation. I told you, I have a license, and I’m allowed to use it.”
“That’s true, we checked it out. Who did you buy it from, exactly?”
“I got it the traditional way. Not the black market, if that’s what you mean,” Farrow seemed to feel offended. “I understand that my lifestyle can bring up lots of ideas about how I get things, but I don’t like taking much advantage of my fortune.” Ian snorted. “It’s the truth, believe it or not. I don’t know why I bother to explain these things to you, though. Nothing I do seems to suit you.”
“Can you blame me?” The silence that followed made it evident that Ian was right. “Who’s following you?”
“I have no idea.”
“Could it be someone within the organization who didn’t like you very much? Or maybe someone you didn’t sell the pieces of art to?” After saying this, Ian analyzed the way Farrow reacted. He noticed that the man’s forehead creased in surprise while his cheeks blushed furiously in anger.
“What?” the archeologist finally said. “Look, I don’t know who could have been the one who shot at me, okay? I just thought about protecting myself and Larry; I didn’t think of the consequences, that I admit. But stealing and selling those statures in the black market, or even exposing them to the damage of being buried… I’d never… I live because of these ancient cultures. They’re what I love the most about my job and the different areas I work in. They’re pretty much everything I have.”
The lines of his face built a troubled expression and for a moment Ian believed him, but he couldn’t make up his mind about the guy yet. There were so many things he needed to know first. Slowly, the sniper got closer to Dr. Farrow and asked, “What about EAD Noah Cameron? What do you have to do with him, exactly?”
The next moments were strange. A big revelation had to be about to come up, since Farrow stared at his entwined hands for a minute; sometimes he even bit his bottom lip, as if he had doubts on whether to tell the truth or not. But he finally spoke, and what he had to say surprised Ian. “Noah and I - we have an agreement. I put myself at risk while trying to figure out these thieves. That way, he gets someone who’s qualified enough to guide the investigations and make progress on them, no matter how little or slow the results are.”
This has to be a joke. Ian didn’t say anything, he just kept thinking about what things the Bureau was capable of doing as long as they got answers. In the meantime, Farrow kept talking.
“The FBI is really interested in finding those pieces, as the Egyptian government is following their footsteps. They don’t want to make any mistakes.”
“Do they pay you to put yourself at risk?”
“No. I pay them,” Farrow stated.
Ideas were popping out into Ian’s head after hearing that. So, besides being unbearable, you’re nuts.
“I even put up a couple of million for Larry’s space travel two years ago. It was a fascinating project, really. I wanted to collaborate.”
That was another surprise. “I didn’t exactly see you in that rocket beside him waving the Earth good-bye.”
Dr. Farrow smiled. “Ha… That’s true. But I had another matters to take care of here.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Ian answered sarcastically, as he got up from the table and walked around. “I don’t buy it. Why would you pay them to get shot at?”
“Because… it’d be fun.”
Amused by how rich people understood the fine line between life and death, the sniper turned around and leaned on the table. “You use your money to buy danger… for fun.”
“I’m bored, all right? I don’t care if that’s a valid excuse for you or not. But are you going to tell me that you’ve never done your job -even if it’s dangerous- just because it’s fun, too?”
It’s not that much about the fun of it. “You’ll have to give me more than that.”
Farrow took another breath. “Millionaire’s lives are monotonous. I can have everything I want, but I hate it most of the time. Having access to money is okay, but only to do meaningful things like research…”
“… and stealing from the Cairo Museum.”
“Would you stop that and listen to what I’m saying? God…”
Slowly, Ian approached the archeologist. I am listening, but all you say sounds like a big, fat lie. “If I find out that you’re lying to my face, you can be sure I’ll hit you. Hard.”
Defiantly, the other man closed a bit the distance between them and muttered, “Well, it doesn’t matter if I’m telling the truth or not - I’ll be waiting for that punch anyway, since you want it so badly.”
Ian could almost feel Farrow’s breath on his face, but he confidently retreated, wanting to listen to other people’s opinion about the conversation that had just taken place. He walked out of the room without grabbing the piece of paper the archeologist had written, and joined Don, Carl and the others. Reeves had also joined them, and apparently she had been analyzing Farrow’s responses and behavior during the discussion.
“He seems to be honest, judging from what I see,” she explained. “But of course, we need more than that, we need evidence.”
“I know,” Ian responded. “But he’s got something to do with all this, he really does.” However, there was an issue he wanted to discuss more than that one. He turned to Carl, who was standing in the end of the room. “So that’s what links him to Cameron? A stupid adventure that puts the crazy archeologist in danger and benefits the FBI?”
Carl spent a moment in silence, looking into Ian’s eyes, and then he stated, “We don’t do that.”
“He’s bait,” the sniper stated.
Confidently, agent McGowan smiled. “You know, Ian, I’ve always had the best impression of you. I thought you knew that what my superiors do is not my responsibility, anyway.”
“What do we do now?” Professor Eppes snapped, catching Ian’s attention. “I mean, he’s still in that room, does he get to walk away?”
“Yeah, what’s going to happen to Christopher?” Fleinhardt asked, as Reeves put a hand on his shoulder.
Don raised his voice. “Like Megan said, we need evidence. And maybe if we…” When his cell phone rang, he took the call. “Eppes.” Suddenly, he frowned. “Okay, wait a second.” He looked at everyone in the room, but especially at Carl, as if he was looking for approval. “There’s a man outside who claims he’s got something about the case… Apparently, he’s Farrow’s employee…”
“Sergio?” Ian asked.
“Yeah, that’s the name.”
“Then let him in. Let’s see what the butler’s got for us.”
When Carl nodded, Don arranged everything for Sergio to come in. Everyone waited for him at their desks, but when the man came in, he didn’t pay attention to them; all the wanted, apparently, was seeing his boss. He kept looking around, trying to find out where Farrow was, until Ian said, “Hey, Sergio! Here.”
Sergio seemed to recognize Ian, as he walked towards him in a second. “Where’s Christopher? I’ve got something from him.”
“Hey, hold on. You’re his employee and you talk to him like that?” Don asked, looking a bit confused. He looked at Ian, probably expecting an explanation.
“Don’t ask,” the sniper preferred responding. Trust me, not knowing is better.
“What is it that you have to give your boss?” Reeves wanted to know.
Looking scared, Sergio shook his head. “No. I will only talk to Christopher.”
Reeves cocked her head, and Don muttered, “Fine. Follow me.”
As soon as Farrow was visible through the glass of the interrogation room, Sergio ran towards the door, opened it and approached his boss. Farrow apparently couldn’t believe he was at the FBI. “Sergio, what’s going on? Why are you here?”
“I thought you’d want me to give you this…” As Ian and the rest of the team entered the room, Sergio took out of his pocket a tiny envelope; it seemed that he was trying to hide it from everyone’s view. Farrow stared at it and then at the people who surrounded him.
“It’s all right, I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said before taking the envelope and opening it. He took out a little note and read it. His face suddenly turned into a shocked expression. “Oh, no.”
“What is it?” Professor Eppes asked. “What does it say?”
“I can’t believe…” Farrow continued, and he threw the note and the envelope to the table.
Don reached for it and read it out loud, while the archeologist grabbed his head and Sergio’s hands trembled. “Working with the FBI won’t take you to the Fields of Hotep.” He looked at Reeves and Ian. “There is a message for you in Arizona. Unbury it. Enjoy it. Breathe it. It is what you deserve.”
“That’s the language of a cult,” Fleinhardt snapped. “They mention the Fields of Hotep - those are the Heavens Egyptians believe in. They’re really sending out a message for Christopher.”
As if things weren’t complicated enough already… Ian shook his head. “What the hell could that be?”
“They buried something in my Arizona house, of course!” Farrow suddenly yelled.
Evidently, Reeves had doubts about that. “How could they do that? Someone like you must have security there.”
“I do, I do… only when I’m there. It’s a secret location where no one can find me. I don’t even let guards remain at the house if I’m not staying, so no one suspects that eventually there could be people living in it.” Farrow took a deep breath and turned around. “I’m telling you, you can be sure that if the guy that’s in the other interrogation room is involved in the case, he’ll know what my note says.” Again, he pointed at the piece of paper he had been writing before Ian’s interrogation started.
“You want us to give that to the owner of the house where the pieces were found?”
“Yes.”
She stared at him for a moment, but she still took the note. “Okay.” She left, and when Ian followed her with his eyes, he noticed that Carl was making a phone call. He looked determined and from some words the sniper could catch, he was already telling someone about the message in Arizona.
“Did I do well by bringing the letter, Christopher?” Sergio asked.
“Yes, yes… You did well. Trust me.”
“This has to mean something else. They didn’t just say ‘unbury it,’ they also said, ‘enjoy it’ and ‘breathe it.’ It is a personal matter,” Fleinhardt said.
“They also said you deserved it,” Ian added.
Farrow fixed his eyes on him. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
“What did you do?”
“Why do you always assume that I did something?”
Ian was about to respond when Reeves came into the room again. “Stanley Hopkins doesn’t understand what you’ve written here. These are all symbols.”
“That’s classified data I got access to a year ago. It’s the old code the organization used to communicate with each other,” Farrow explained. “It didn’t include hieroglyphics, but it was based on them.”
“I see that it’s very simple,” Professor Eppes agreed, as he took the code from Reeves’ hands. “Each symbol has a correspondence with the sound of a hieroglyphic.” Everyone landed their gaze on him. “I read a couple of things about hieroglyphics today. Dr. Farrow, Larry and I have been looking up the Horus-eye fractions and… Okay, imagine that…”
“I’ve got news for your team, Don,” Carl’s voice said all of a sudden, interrupting Professor Eppes’ speech. “EAD Cameron has made a decision about this situation.”
Ian folded his arms, wondering what Cameron would have to say about a case in which he’d be responsible if Farrow got himself killed.
“He wants whatever it is that’s in Farrow’s property unburied and analyzed. He wants him to follow the organization’s orders,” McGowan informed everyone. Then he looked at Ian. “And he also wants someone there with him. Someone who follows the rules. Someone we can trust blindly.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. “I’m not a bodyguard,” the sniper replied. Even if Farrow already stated that I am to the press.
“No, you’re not. But Cameron says you’ll do it anyway.”
Annoyingly, Carl was right. Ian was capable of doing anything as long as the case would be solved and the pieces of art restored and shipped to Egypt again. But most important, he’d do it because he didn’t like little know-it-alls like Farrow to get away with it. “True. When do we leave?”
“In six hours. You, Farrow and Sergio. You three get ready, and the rest of you, work on that code.” After saying that, Carl started making another phone call and left the interrogation room.
Suddenly, Ian’s phone rang, and as he usually did, he looked at the Caller ID. He refused to answer the call. Oh, no. You swallow your words. I’m not in the mood to talk to you.
“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle it?” Don whispered to him, looking slightly worried, probably because of the way Farrow and Ian got along.
“Of course,” the sniper answered, smiling. Then he turned to Farrow, whose mouth was barely open. “So… it seems that we’re going to spend a lot of time together from now on.”
The archeologist looked at him, folded his arms, muttered, “Oh, for God’s sake…” and shook his head. But Ian was satisfied. From now on, whatever Farrow did, it would be impossible for him to run away.
Series: In the Arms of the Wicked, Part 12/?
Characters: Ian/OMC, Don, Larry, Charlie, Megan, Carl.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: Season 5.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Ian finds out about the link between Dr. Farrow and the FBI.
Feedback: Yes, please. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (characters, situations, etcetera) except my OCs.
Beta: The wonderful fredbassett.
Special thanks to: harknessgirland Lily G, who are always so supportive.
Previous chapters: Click here.
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Part 12: "Danger for fun"
“I knew it. I should have taken him down as soon as he came into that office.”
“You knew the rules, Ian. You acted according to them. There was nothing that could tie Farrow to the case.”
Ian turned his eyes away from the interrogation room which held Dr. Farrow and fixed them on Carl for a moment. When Agent McGowan stepped aside, the sniper watched Dr. Farrow behind the glass one more time. Contrary to what was expected, the man didn’t seem to care that he was in there or that he could be considered to be a new suspect; he had asked for a piece of paper and a pen, and he was writing furiously, as if his life depended on it.
“Christopher would never do anything that could potentially hurt innocent people, much less students,” Fleinhardt suddenly said, making Ian turn around and look at him.
There were a lot of people outside the interrogation room, looking at Dr. Farrow; Professor Eppes and Professor Fleinhardt, Carl and Don.
“That’s not what I saw,” the sniper responded.
Clearly worried, the physicist pointed an index finger at Ian and continued, “I think that underestimating my opinion and personal knowledge of him could lead you to making an incorrect decision.”
“The FBI doesn’t depend on hunches or friendship, Professor Fleinhardt,” Carl said as he folded his arms.
No, not exactly. “Unless you know Security Clearance EAD Noah Cameron. Then, things get so much easier,” Ian muttered, and he was sure that his comment would upset Carl, but he didn’t care. He still couldn’t let go of the fact that Dr. Farrow had contacted one of the top people at the FBI and as a result, had a lot of power in his hands.
“According to Charles’ and my own testimony, there was no sign at all that Christopher intended to use that fire weapon,” Fleinhardt added.
“I don’t know, Larry.” Professor Eppes shook his head. “We were in that room with him, and as we talked about the Horus-eye fractions and other fascinating mathematical issues, he seemed to be a lot more interested in personal matters and… Ian.”
“Oh, really?” Ian muttered, barely surprised by the news. Since he’d had his first encounter with Dr. Farrow, he’d had the feeling that the guy would like to work on a way to get away with whatever he was up to.
“Yeah… He started asking these questions, like for example, if you’d be able to track him down wherever he went, or if you trusted him or not.”
“That doesn’t sound exactly like mild curiosity to me,” Don pointed out.
“I agree, Don,” Carl said, taking a step forward. “It’s more than worth it to undertake some very deep research on the doctor. In fact, I’d say it’s a top priority when it comes to this case.”
Immediately, Don prepared himself to come into the interrogation room, but it seemed that Fleinhardt wasn’t done defending his friend yet. “It’s just his personality. He’s got ways to deal with the kind of life he has. And yes, he can be stubborn and sarcastic sometimes, but he doesn’t have the type of character that’s likely to commit a crime like stealing - especially when those pieces of art are an object of his veneration.” The conversation was getting warmer and warmer and Fleinhardt’s cheeks were starting to get some color.
“Excuse me, Larry, but that’s precisely why he would want those statues - to add them to his personal collection,” Don responded. “Charlie said a while ago that he found out that Farrow has access to classified information both in Egypt and in the US, even within the FBI…”
“And tens of other countries…”
“Which makes him the perfect person to manage a crime organization like the one we’re looking for without anyone noticing.”
“That description could easily fit a hundred other people who are devoted to Archeology in this country, not to mention thousands if we consider the entire globe.”
“Well, I don’t see them shooting people in the middle of CalSci while working on a case that involves the stolen pieces.”
Fleinhardt took a deep breath. “Listen to me, the point is you don’t understand Christop-”
“The point is that he opened fire when there were students around him and it doesn’t really matter if he wanted to do it or not, since he did it anyway,” Don stated, waving his hands and angrily walking around the room. “He had a gun in that briefcase of his. Why the hell was he carrying it around all day, huh? What was he afraid of?”
The physicist looked at one of the desks and landed his palms on both sides of his face. He looked very tense when he muttered, “It is not my place to say.”
Ian couldn’t blame Fleinhardt for feeling intimidated or offended by Don’s words, as for the past few hours, the oldest Eppes brother had been acting even weirder than before. He kept behaving like he was really annoyed by an issue he refused to talk about.
After a long moment in which everyone remained silent, Don said, “Well, okay, then,” and walked towards the interrogation room.
You’re not going in there like that. In seconds, Ian’s arm barred Don’s way, keeping him away from the door. “Don… I’ll take care of it.” He felt the other man’s doubts through his eyes, but he never retreated. He even looked at Carl, knowing that Don would follow his gaze, and got a nod in approval. Finally, Don raised his hands in a sign of surrender and walked away from the door.
Ian took a look at the room full of people, catching Professor Eppes’ worried eyes on his brother and Carl’s focused face as he started watching Dr. Farrow again. Larry kept rubbing his hands, as if he was afraid of what might happen inside the interrogation room. It would be Ian’s job to find it out. So without saying another word, Ian walked in and he sat on the table, folding his arms and staring directly at Dr. Farrow. The archeologist didn’t stop writing on the piece of paper he had been given, until apparently he was finished. Then he slid the paper over the table towards Ian.
“Give this to the owner of the house where the last piece was found,” he said. Ian didn’t answer. “If he shows signs of knowing what these symbols mean, then he’s part of the organization, trust me.” Again, there was no response. “All right, if we’re going to play…”
“I’m not here to play.” They stared at each other, and Ian sensed that Dr. Farrow was trying to read his mind. So he said, “You opened fire at CalSci when you know you had hundreds of students around you who could get hurt or even killed, and you pretend…”
“Did anyone get hurt?”
“No.”
“Okay. I know I made a mistake anyway.”
Farrow’s face was serious and even a little worried now. Getting a little honesty from him was nice for a change, but Ian didn’t completely buy it. “You carried a gun inside your briefcase.”
“It’s for my own safety, because I’m in the middle of an ongoing investigation. I told you, I have a license, and I’m allowed to use it.”
“That’s true, we checked it out. Who did you buy it from, exactly?”
“I got it the traditional way. Not the black market, if that’s what you mean,” Farrow seemed to feel offended. “I understand that my lifestyle can bring up lots of ideas about how I get things, but I don’t like taking much advantage of my fortune.” Ian snorted. “It’s the truth, believe it or not. I don’t know why I bother to explain these things to you, though. Nothing I do seems to suit you.”
“Can you blame me?” The silence that followed made it evident that Ian was right. “Who’s following you?”
“I have no idea.”
“Could it be someone within the organization who didn’t like you very much? Or maybe someone you didn’t sell the pieces of art to?” After saying this, Ian analyzed the way Farrow reacted. He noticed that the man’s forehead creased in surprise while his cheeks blushed furiously in anger.
“What?” the archeologist finally said. “Look, I don’t know who could have been the one who shot at me, okay? I just thought about protecting myself and Larry; I didn’t think of the consequences, that I admit. But stealing and selling those statures in the black market, or even exposing them to the damage of being buried… I’d never… I live because of these ancient cultures. They’re what I love the most about my job and the different areas I work in. They’re pretty much everything I have.”
The lines of his face built a troubled expression and for a moment Ian believed him, but he couldn’t make up his mind about the guy yet. There were so many things he needed to know first. Slowly, the sniper got closer to Dr. Farrow and asked, “What about EAD Noah Cameron? What do you have to do with him, exactly?”
The next moments were strange. A big revelation had to be about to come up, since Farrow stared at his entwined hands for a minute; sometimes he even bit his bottom lip, as if he had doubts on whether to tell the truth or not. But he finally spoke, and what he had to say surprised Ian. “Noah and I - we have an agreement. I put myself at risk while trying to figure out these thieves. That way, he gets someone who’s qualified enough to guide the investigations and make progress on them, no matter how little or slow the results are.”
This has to be a joke. Ian didn’t say anything, he just kept thinking about what things the Bureau was capable of doing as long as they got answers. In the meantime, Farrow kept talking.
“The FBI is really interested in finding those pieces, as the Egyptian government is following their footsteps. They don’t want to make any mistakes.”
“Do they pay you to put yourself at risk?”
“No. I pay them,” Farrow stated.
Ideas were popping out into Ian’s head after hearing that. So, besides being unbearable, you’re nuts.
“I even put up a couple of million for Larry’s space travel two years ago. It was a fascinating project, really. I wanted to collaborate.”
That was another surprise. “I didn’t exactly see you in that rocket beside him waving the Earth good-bye.”
Dr. Farrow smiled. “Ha… That’s true. But I had another matters to take care of here.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Ian answered sarcastically, as he got up from the table and walked around. “I don’t buy it. Why would you pay them to get shot at?”
“Because… it’d be fun.”
Amused by how rich people understood the fine line between life and death, the sniper turned around and leaned on the table. “You use your money to buy danger… for fun.”
“I’m bored, all right? I don’t care if that’s a valid excuse for you or not. But are you going to tell me that you’ve never done your job -even if it’s dangerous- just because it’s fun, too?”
It’s not that much about the fun of it. “You’ll have to give me more than that.”
Farrow took another breath. “Millionaire’s lives are monotonous. I can have everything I want, but I hate it most of the time. Having access to money is okay, but only to do meaningful things like research…”
“… and stealing from the Cairo Museum.”
“Would you stop that and listen to what I’m saying? God…”
Slowly, Ian approached the archeologist. I am listening, but all you say sounds like a big, fat lie. “If I find out that you’re lying to my face, you can be sure I’ll hit you. Hard.”
Defiantly, the other man closed a bit the distance between them and muttered, “Well, it doesn’t matter if I’m telling the truth or not - I’ll be waiting for that punch anyway, since you want it so badly.”
Ian could almost feel Farrow’s breath on his face, but he confidently retreated, wanting to listen to other people’s opinion about the conversation that had just taken place. He walked out of the room without grabbing the piece of paper the archeologist had written, and joined Don, Carl and the others. Reeves had also joined them, and apparently she had been analyzing Farrow’s responses and behavior during the discussion.
“He seems to be honest, judging from what I see,” she explained. “But of course, we need more than that, we need evidence.”
“I know,” Ian responded. “But he’s got something to do with all this, he really does.” However, there was an issue he wanted to discuss more than that one. He turned to Carl, who was standing in the end of the room. “So that’s what links him to Cameron? A stupid adventure that puts the crazy archeologist in danger and benefits the FBI?”
Carl spent a moment in silence, looking into Ian’s eyes, and then he stated, “We don’t do that.”
“He’s bait,” the sniper stated.
Confidently, agent McGowan smiled. “You know, Ian, I’ve always had the best impression of you. I thought you knew that what my superiors do is not my responsibility, anyway.”
“What do we do now?” Professor Eppes snapped, catching Ian’s attention. “I mean, he’s still in that room, does he get to walk away?”
“Yeah, what’s going to happen to Christopher?” Fleinhardt asked, as Reeves put a hand on his shoulder.
Don raised his voice. “Like Megan said, we need evidence. And maybe if we…” When his cell phone rang, he took the call. “Eppes.” Suddenly, he frowned. “Okay, wait a second.” He looked at everyone in the room, but especially at Carl, as if he was looking for approval. “There’s a man outside who claims he’s got something about the case… Apparently, he’s Farrow’s employee…”
“Sergio?” Ian asked.
“Yeah, that’s the name.”
“Then let him in. Let’s see what the butler’s got for us.”
When Carl nodded, Don arranged everything for Sergio to come in. Everyone waited for him at their desks, but when the man came in, he didn’t pay attention to them; all the wanted, apparently, was seeing his boss. He kept looking around, trying to find out where Farrow was, until Ian said, “Hey, Sergio! Here.”
Sergio seemed to recognize Ian, as he walked towards him in a second. “Where’s Christopher? I’ve got something from him.”
“Hey, hold on. You’re his employee and you talk to him like that?” Don asked, looking a bit confused. He looked at Ian, probably expecting an explanation.
“Don’t ask,” the sniper preferred responding. Trust me, not knowing is better.
“What is it that you have to give your boss?” Reeves wanted to know.
Looking scared, Sergio shook his head. “No. I will only talk to Christopher.”
Reeves cocked her head, and Don muttered, “Fine. Follow me.”
As soon as Farrow was visible through the glass of the interrogation room, Sergio ran towards the door, opened it and approached his boss. Farrow apparently couldn’t believe he was at the FBI. “Sergio, what’s going on? Why are you here?”
“I thought you’d want me to give you this…” As Ian and the rest of the team entered the room, Sergio took out of his pocket a tiny envelope; it seemed that he was trying to hide it from everyone’s view. Farrow stared at it and then at the people who surrounded him.
“It’s all right, I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said before taking the envelope and opening it. He took out a little note and read it. His face suddenly turned into a shocked expression. “Oh, no.”
“What is it?” Professor Eppes asked. “What does it say?”
“I can’t believe…” Farrow continued, and he threw the note and the envelope to the table.
Don reached for it and read it out loud, while the archeologist grabbed his head and Sergio’s hands trembled. “Working with the FBI won’t take you to the Fields of Hotep.” He looked at Reeves and Ian. “There is a message for you in Arizona. Unbury it. Enjoy it. Breathe it. It is what you deserve.”
“That’s the language of a cult,” Fleinhardt snapped. “They mention the Fields of Hotep - those are the Heavens Egyptians believe in. They’re really sending out a message for Christopher.”
As if things weren’t complicated enough already… Ian shook his head. “What the hell could that be?”
“They buried something in my Arizona house, of course!” Farrow suddenly yelled.
Evidently, Reeves had doubts about that. “How could they do that? Someone like you must have security there.”
“I do, I do… only when I’m there. It’s a secret location where no one can find me. I don’t even let guards remain at the house if I’m not staying, so no one suspects that eventually there could be people living in it.” Farrow took a deep breath and turned around. “I’m telling you, you can be sure that if the guy that’s in the other interrogation room is involved in the case, he’ll know what my note says.” Again, he pointed at the piece of paper he had been writing before Ian’s interrogation started.
“You want us to give that to the owner of the house where the pieces were found?”
“Yes.”
She stared at him for a moment, but she still took the note. “Okay.” She left, and when Ian followed her with his eyes, he noticed that Carl was making a phone call. He looked determined and from some words the sniper could catch, he was already telling someone about the message in Arizona.
“Did I do well by bringing the letter, Christopher?” Sergio asked.
“Yes, yes… You did well. Trust me.”
“This has to mean something else. They didn’t just say ‘unbury it,’ they also said, ‘enjoy it’ and ‘breathe it.’ It is a personal matter,” Fleinhardt said.
“They also said you deserved it,” Ian added.
Farrow fixed his eyes on him. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
“What did you do?”
“Why do you always assume that I did something?”
Ian was about to respond when Reeves came into the room again. “Stanley Hopkins doesn’t understand what you’ve written here. These are all symbols.”
“That’s classified data I got access to a year ago. It’s the old code the organization used to communicate with each other,” Farrow explained. “It didn’t include hieroglyphics, but it was based on them.”
“I see that it’s very simple,” Professor Eppes agreed, as he took the code from Reeves’ hands. “Each symbol has a correspondence with the sound of a hieroglyphic.” Everyone landed their gaze on him. “I read a couple of things about hieroglyphics today. Dr. Farrow, Larry and I have been looking up the Horus-eye fractions and… Okay, imagine that…”
“I’ve got news for your team, Don,” Carl’s voice said all of a sudden, interrupting Professor Eppes’ speech. “EAD Cameron has made a decision about this situation.”
Ian folded his arms, wondering what Cameron would have to say about a case in which he’d be responsible if Farrow got himself killed.
“He wants whatever it is that’s in Farrow’s property unburied and analyzed. He wants him to follow the organization’s orders,” McGowan informed everyone. Then he looked at Ian. “And he also wants someone there with him. Someone who follows the rules. Someone we can trust blindly.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. “I’m not a bodyguard,” the sniper replied. Even if Farrow already stated that I am to the press.
“No, you’re not. But Cameron says you’ll do it anyway.”
Annoyingly, Carl was right. Ian was capable of doing anything as long as the case would be solved and the pieces of art restored and shipped to Egypt again. But most important, he’d do it because he didn’t like little know-it-alls like Farrow to get away with it. “True. When do we leave?”
“In six hours. You, Farrow and Sergio. You three get ready, and the rest of you, work on that code.” After saying that, Carl started making another phone call and left the interrogation room.
Suddenly, Ian’s phone rang, and as he usually did, he looked at the Caller ID. He refused to answer the call. Oh, no. You swallow your words. I’m not in the mood to talk to you.
“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle it?” Don whispered to him, looking slightly worried, probably because of the way Farrow and Ian got along.
“Of course,” the sniper answered, smiling. Then he turned to Farrow, whose mouth was barely open. “So… it seems that we’re going to spend a lot of time together from now on.”
The archeologist looked at him, folded his arms, muttered, “Oh, for God’s sake…” and shook his head. But Ian was satisfied. From now on, whatever Farrow did, it would be impossible for him to run away.