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Tim sat in the back of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s car and watched the deputy speak on his cell phone. Tim could tell by the young deputy’s body language that he had been placed on hold at least twice. The deputy then began to pace back and forth and appeared to be explaining to someone how a CIA Case Officer happened to be in the back seat of his police car. Tim realized that he was officially retired and was no longer a Case Officer but trying to explain all of that to the young man would just confuse the issue. No, it was always best to keep it simple.
Tim could hear bits and pieces of the conversation, such as, “No, he approached me,” and “No, he is not armed.” Finally, the phone conversation reached some kind of conclusion, and the deputy got back into his car.
“Mr. Hall? I have been instructed to transport you to Leesburg, where you will be contacted by government officials.”
The deputy placed his cruiser in drive and pulled onto Route 15. The road had been closed down in both directions, so there was no traffic for a change.
“I do have one question, Mr. Hall. Do you have anything to do with that house on the hill off of Lovettsville Road?”
“Yes, officer,” Tim replied.
“Okay, that’s all I need to know.” The young officer’s attitude toward Tim had changed from one of suspicion to one of deference.
As they drove toward Leesburg, Tim watched a number of marked and unmarked police vehicles heading to the Point of Rocks Bridge. Tim got the feeling that the young deputy wanted to ask Tim if he knew what had happened on the bridge. Tim was trying to figure that out as well.
Although it had appeared that Tim and Pam were working together against Sebastian, this had never really been the case. Sebastian and Pam had always been working together against Tim—and Tim, in his heart, had always known this. Tim had wanted to believe otherwise, but he’d reached the same conclusion the night before. Tim, Pam, and Sebastian were never in a plot together; it had always been Pam and Sebastian.
Tim was now sure that he and Lilly Lin had discovered Pam and Sebastian’s plot, but Lilly was murdered by Pam before she could report it. Meanwhile, Tim had foiled Pam and Sebastian’s Bitcoin plan by sabotaging their Bitcoin account. Tim had changed the account to require a two-factor PIN number—or, in other words, in order to withdraw and transfer funds, the user would need a second PIN number. A PIN number that neither Pam nor Sebastian even knew about until they’d tried to spend the Bitcoins. Only Tim knew the two-factor PIN number, and Tim now lived in Baltimore with an erased memory. Sebastian had done a very good job of erasing Tim’s memory, believing that he and Pam would have no further need of Tim Hall.
Drs. Justice and Lockwood had told Tim and Pam the truth about Tim being drugged in China, but there was no automobile accident, as Sebastian had always claimed. No, Sebastian and Pam, thinking that they’d gotten away with the murder of Lilly Lin, now needed to get rid of Tim, but killing him would have been a major problem. The Agency had sent three agents to China, after all, and it expected three to return. If one of the agents had indeed been killed while on an official mission, there would have been a major investigation.
Sebastian and Pam would never be able to get away with murdering Tim, but what if Tim were to become ill or be involved in an accident? And what if Tim suffered amnesia, or better yet, retrograde amnesia, which was where a person could not recall anything before a traumatic event? Tim had even spoken to Pam and Sebastian about such cases and had unknowingly given them a roadmap for how something like that could happen. He’d even told Sebastian and Pam which drugs could be used to induce such a state. So, it turned out that Sebastian was partially correct. Tim did essentially plan his own amnesia. That was the one aspect of the ordeal that Tim was very embarrassed about. He had trusted both Sebastian and Pam to such an extent that he had given them a way to do him in.
Tim was also feeling badly about Mary Ann and wondering if she was all right. It had been a very long time since Tim had witnessed anyone take the amount of abuse that Mary Ann had been forced to endure. If she really was an undercover cop, then she could have bailed out of the assignment at any point, but she stuck with it. It was also not lost on Tim that Mary Ann’s last-ditch effort to fight off Toby with the tire iron had saved his life. Toby had every intention of killing Tim and probably would have, if not for Mary Ann.
Then there was Toby. What had Toby known? Did Toby know what Sebastian and Pam were up to, or was he just doing what he was told? Toby was not supposed to kidnap Pam outside the doctor’s office and was definitely not supposed to give her the hypo. That was meant for Tim in a last-ditch effort to discover the second PIN number. Tim also believed that Sebastian sent Toby to kill the two doctors in Leesburg, just as he’d been sent to kill Dr. Gray in Baltimore. If not for Mary Ann’s quick thinking, the two doctors in Leesburg would indeed be dead.
And what about the escape from the safe room and the fight in the basement? Did Sebastian know that Pam planned the escape, and was Toby supposed to be waiting for them, or did he just happen to be down there? Was shooting Darrel just an accident? Tim realized that he would probably never know the answers to any of these questions.
On the bridge, Tim was sure that Pam had come around the corner intending to shoot Toby and him, and probably Mary Ann as well. That had been what Sebastian and Pam had been speaking about while Tim and Mary Ann were fighting off Toby. How fucking stupid, it all was, and what a dumb way for his wife to die. Pam had most likely told Sebastian to stay in the SUV, and if he had, then Pam would have finished the job.
No question about it, Pam really did think that killing her husband was the most practical thing to do. Tim tried to recall her last words to him. Something about how he would be hard to explain. Ten seconds later, she was dead, and now it was up to Tim to try to explain everything.
When Tim and the deputy sheriff entered the town of Leesburg, Tim expected to be taken to the Adult Detention Center, which was the new and modern Loudoun County jail. However, the deputy instead drove Tim into the Old Town section of Leesburg and behind the County Courthouse.
The car came to a stop, and the deputy got out and opened Tim’s door. “It was good to meet you, Mr. Hall,” he told Tim as he returned to his car and drove away.
Tim turned to see two well-dressed men and one very well-dressed woman waiting for him. The woman did the talking. “Mr. Hall? My name is Beverly Andrews. Would you like to tell us what this is all about?”
Tim spent the next seven hours telling the same story to seven different teams of Agency analysts. These interviews took place in a nondescript four-story office building in a nondescript office park outside of the town of Leesburg. Tim told them about Sebastian and Pam, about Mary Ann Layback and the Adults in the Room PowerPoint presentation. They did seem especially interested in the conspiracy to replace the current President with Republicans from past administrations. They were also very interested in how Tim seemed to know what type of poisons the President had been poisoned with and how he’d managed to determine that. Some of the teams that interviewed Tim played hardball and even suggested that Tim could be convicted of espionage and spend the rest of his life behind bars. Others suggested that Tim should hire a lawyer. A few people called Tim a hero, but one team called him a traitor. And one team even suggested that Tim write a book. However, Tim knew deep down that they did not have anything on him because he’d done nothing wrong except be a houseguest at a home owned by his former employer.
Drs. Justice and Lockwood did not want to press charges. In their opinion, Tim and the woman from the FBI had saved them and their daughter’s life, plus the media was calling Joanna a hero for facing down her kidnappers and saving the President’s life. Her parents knew the truth, of course, but the entire experience had bought them closer together as a family, so why let the truth get in the way of that?
Tim had also found out that Mary Ann Layback, whose real name was Mary Ann Wilson, was indeed working undercover. Tim only discovered this because some of the interrogation team members kept referring to Mary Ann as Special Agent Wilson. Tim finally put it together, and he was told in no uncertain terms that he was not to have any further contact with Agent Wilson. The FBI was not happy at all about one of their Agents having a relationship while undercover. Lie, cheat, and steal, but for god’s sake, do not have a sexual relationship while working undercover. After all, the FBI has standards.
At the eighth hour of the interviews, Tim was ready to call it a day and requested that he either be arrested and charged or set free. That request was ignored. At the ninth hour, Tim was taken to see a man by the name of Robert F. Fredericks, the Director of the Human Resources Resettlement Program. Tim had no clue what Mr. Fredericks wanted to see him about, but he was happy that it appeared to be a one-on-one meeting and not a group interview.
Tim was led to a corner office which overlooked the Dulles Greenway. The Dulles Greenway was the closest thing Loudoun County had to a freeway. Mr. Frederick’s administrative assistant seated Tim and asked if he would like a beverage. Tim asked for and received a Coke Zero.
“Mr. Fredericks will be with you in a minute, Mr. Hall,” the assistant told Tim, leaving the room. Tim stared out the window and watched the traffic go by. It was dark out, but traffic still appeared heavy. Commuters coming and going, Tim thought. Typical Northern Virginia. Typical DC.
A quick three knocks sounded at the door, and in came a tall man of six foot four, Tim estimated, with thinning salt and pepper hair. He stood at Tim’s side and introduced himself. “Mr. Hall? I’m Bob Fredericks.”
“Tim Hall, Mr. Fredericks,” Tim replied as he began to get to his feet.
“Please call me Bob,” Mr. Fredericks told him, walking around to his side of the desk and opening a folder as he sat down. “You’ve had quite a day, Mr. Hall.”
“Please call me Tim,” Tim interjected.
“Very well, Tim. I do realize that it has been a traumatic day, with the death of your wife. However, I understand that you were estranged?”
“Yes, three or four years now,” Tim replied, though he really no longer remembered how long it had been.
“Yes, quite the day. Tim, my job is to make sure our agents are properly settled once they leave active service, and I will get straight to the point. Would you consider taking over for your wife at the Lovettsville Road secured facility, otherwise known as the safe house?”
The question caught Tim off guard. At best, Tim figured that he would be sent home to Baltimore. At worst, he would be transferred to the jail in Alexandria, VA so he could stand trial for espionage at the Eastern District Federal Court House.
“Yes, I would be happy to do it.” Tim’s quick response to the question surprised even him.
“Wonderful. Would you consider starting tonight?” Bob asked.
“I don’t see why not...but why the hurry, Bob?”
“You may have guests arriving soon, and it’s important to us that we have someone there who we can trust,” Bob explained. He picked up his phone and dialed a three-digit number. “Gail? Tim Hall is taking the safe house position and will need an ID made before he leaves tonight. Wonderful.”
Call finished; Bob placed the phone back in the cradle. “Tim? If you come in next week, we can work out the details, including your new pay package and also the backpay you are owed.”
“Backpay, Bob? I admit that you have me there. After all, I’m retired.”
Bob Fredericks held up his hand. “Tim, you never retired. You have been paid your salary per month, but you were also eligible for the Danger Pay premium, which we have no record of you receiving since 2012. You were also eligible for a pay increase that you never received.”
“So, I never retired?” Tim repeated in surprise.
“No, Tim, you never retired,” Bob confirmed. “You are eligible to do so if you would like. Would you like to retire?”
“No, Bob, I would like to continue working for the time being.”
“Excellent, Tim. We still need men like you.”
Tim took a few seconds to gather his thoughts, then asked, “Is there anything that I need to know about the events this morning?”
Bob nodded. “Yes. They were unfortunate. As you know, the Agency does everything it can to avoid situations such as these, but sometimes they just occur. Nonetheless, you were completely debriefed today, and everyone is satisfied with your explanations.”
Tim saw that Bob was smiling at him like they were sharing some kind of inside joke. He decided to press his luck. “Another question,” Tim asked. “What is the condition of Special Agent Wilson?”
“To the best of my knowledge, she is okay and is resting at Lansdowne Hospital, but I understand that she had a very traumatic experience.”
“Yes, Bob, I’m afraid that she did. And one more question: what happened to the Mercedes? The one at the safe house?”
“That is downstairs and ready for you to drive back to Lovettsville Road tonight. Gail will give you the keys after you have your new ID made. Now, if there are no more questions, I promised my wife that I’d be home before nine tonight.”
“No more questions for now, Bob,” Tim confirmed. “And thank you.”
“No—thank you, Tim. I look forward to working with you.”
Tim walked quickly out of Bob Fredericks’ office for fear that this had all been a mistake and that he was still about to be arrested.
Bob Fredericks’ admin met Tim at the door and escorted him down to a small room where there was a camera. “Now, no smiling,” Gail laughed as she took two pictures of Tim. It only took another couple of minutes to produce Tim’s new CIA ID card, and Gail gave this to him along with a packet that contained the keys to the house.
“There will be a security detail at your house, Mr. Hall, but they have been alerted that you will be on your way home,” she assured him.
“Thank you, Gail,” Tim answered. “I just need to make one stop on my way out of town.”
Tim was almost running now. He found Pam’s Mercedes parked behind the office building, unlocked the door, and jumped into the front seat.
The car smelled like Pam, which stopped Tim cold for a minute. His wife had died tragically on the bridge about eleven hours ago, and here he was running over to his girlfriend’s hospital room. The fact that Pam had intended to kill him somehow didn’t make much of a difference to Tim. He did still love her. It was also not lost on Tim that he would be returning to her house with all of her things still there, unless they had been moved out already.
But Tim had to see Mary Ann. She might leave the area and return to her home and perhaps her family soon. Maybe she was even married. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
Tim started the Mercedes and made the short drive from the CIA building in Leesburg over to Lansdowne Hospital. He parked and walked into the front entrance, showing the cop at security his newly minted CIA ID. He told the guard that he was with the CIA and that he had to see a Mary Ann Wilson on official business.
The guard gave Tim still another ID and directed him to the 4th floor. Tim got off the elevator and looked for a locked unit, then rang the bell.
The door buzzed open. He showed his new CIA ID once again to the charge nurse, who motioned to a room.
There was a young man sitting in a chair outside the room who immediately got to his feet. Tim showed the young man his new CIA ID, and the man requested that Tim place his hands and arms against the wall. He frisked Tim for weapons, then yelled to someone named Alice that a CIA agent was coming into the room.
Alice met Tim at the door, and Tim noticed that she was holding a Glock 19 9mm at her side. A voice behind her called, “It’s okay, Alice. This one is mine.”
Alice just smiled and holstered her weapon. As she left the room, Tim finally saw Mary Ann.
Except, she didn’t really look or sound like Mary Ann anymore. She actually sounded a lot more like Tim’s late wife Pam. “I thought I gave strict orders that I did not want to see anyone,” Mary Ann said, and Tim could not tell if she was joking or not.
“What have you done with Mary Ann Layback, lady?” Tim said, halfway kidding, halfway not kidding.
“She’s returned to Las Vegas with her very dead boyfriend,” Mary Ann told Tim. “I’m taking messages for her. My name is Mary Ann Wilson, and I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
“Pleased to meet you, Agent Wilson. My name is Tim Hall, and I am a Case Officer with the Central Intelligent Agency, although I am currently running a safe house in the Lovettsville area of Virginia.”
“Really, Mr. Hall? I thought you might be retired.”
“Me too, Agent Wilson, but I found out today that that was never the case.”
“Well, Mr. Hall, what can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to thank Ms. Layback for saving my life this morning,” Tim explained. “I am pretty sure that her crazy boyfriend was going to kill me.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Mary Ann said, sounding for the first time like her old self.
“Nonetheless, I wanted to make sure that she knows how much I appreciated that,” Tim said.
“I’m sure she does, Mr. Hall, just as I’m sure she appreciates how much everyone has done for her.”
Tim smiled at that. “Well, I should be going now, but it was sure nice meeting you, Agent Wilson,” he said.
“You too, Mr. Hall.”
Tim turned to go, but Mary Ann’s voice stopped him. “And Mr. Hall—would you answer a question?”
Tim turned around and faced Mary Ann again.
“Mr. Hall, do you feel it would be possible for you to love a divorced FBI Special Agent who has two children?”
“I think that may be entirely possible,” Tim replied with another smile. Then he walked out of the room.
As Tim rode an elevator down to the first floor, he did wonder if he would be able to rekindle his relationship with Mary Ann, but he figured that was something they would need to decide together. After all, they’d fallen in love while believing that they were different people than they’d proven to be. Tim wondered if he could love the real Mary Ann and whether Mary Ann could love the real Tim.
Tim knew that he and Mary Ann would have a lot to consider, so he felt that he should give her a couple of days before he called her again. He was in such deep thought about this as he walked out of the hospital that he did not see that Mary Ann was now standing right in front of him. She must have run down the stairs.
Before Tim could say a word, Mary Ann jumped into Tim’s arms and began to kiss him like only Mary Ann could kiss.
“I love you; I love you; I love you,” Mary Ann said after each kiss. “And I want to be with you forever. After all, you do need someone to watch your back. I’m the girl to do it.”
“As long as you understand that we will be living in my wife’s old house with all of her old stuff. That might bother some women,” Tim replied.
“But I’m not some woman, Tim,” she protested. “I’m Mary Ann Wilson, and I’m an adult and a professional.”
“As a matter of fact, Mary Ann, I’m an adult, too,” Tim agreed.