Ask, and you shall receive… eventually! All chapters of this saga are also available on https://www.fanfiction.net/~catkthompson

ENDGAME

Chapter 5

NOT MY ANNA 

“Listen here, Frisco, I don’t care what you have to do. It’s been forty-eight hours and I haven’t heard a word from her since she arrived in Geneva. No. She should be back by now. She would have called. I need you to—What? I don’t care if— What do you mean you can’t? Aw, to hell with you and the WSB, then!” Robert hung up and tossed his phone down on the bed. Moments later, he consulted the phone again and shook his head in disgust. “Damn it! Don’t do this to me, Anna! Where the hell are you?”

As if it were an answer to his question, there was a knock at the door. Robert sat up, hopeful. The door opened and in walked a tall, well-dressed young man in an overcoat and sun glasses carrying an attaché case and a badge.

Robert rolled his eyes “Can I help you?”

“Robert Scorpio?” the man said, removing his glasses.

“That depends. Who wants to know?”

“Agent Tom Jacobs. Interpol,” the man said, extending his hand.

“Agent Jacobs,” Robert said as he shook it.

“It’s an honor, sir. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve—”

“Cut the crap, Jacobs. What brings you here?”

“The organization heard that you were awake and they sent me to check on your condition.”

“My condition?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What condition were they hoping to find me in?”

“Sir?”

“Never mind. Don’t answer that. Believe it or not, I’m actually glad you’re here.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Turns out, I’ve got a bit of a situation and I could use your help—Interpol’s that is. I’ve been in contact with Jones at the WSB and he says his hands are tied.”

“What is it that you need, sir?”

“I need you to locate Anna Devane.”

Jacobs frowned at him. “It’s funny you should ask that sir.”

“Why? And you can stop calling me sir.”

Because, sir… ah, because…  We were actually hoping you could help us find her.”

Robert lowered his eyes and stared at the young agent. “What do you mean? What’s going on?” He asked in a slow, deep voice.

“We have reason to believe that Ms. Devane aided one Cesar Faison in his escape from Steinmauer night before last.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I take it you haven’t see the news reports?”

“No. They’ve been poking, prodding, and rehabbing me every five minutes. Come on. Out with it!” Robert bellowed.

The agent stalled as he pulled his laptop from his case. After a quick search, he turned the screen toward Robert without a word. Head shots of Anna  and Faison were plastered side by side on the screen while the newscaster spoke.

Tonight on WLPC News: The future of the PCPD is in question as whereabouts of Commissioner Anna Devane are unknown. Devane, last seen at Steinmauer Maximum Security Prison in Geneva, Switzerland, has been incommunicado for the past two days. She is currently believed to have assisted criminal mastermind Cesar Faison in his escape from said facility. At this point we can only speculate as to why Commissioner Devane might have been involved with the breakout, though sources remind us that the two were engaged briefly in the early 1990’s. According to Mayor Lomax, a decision has not yet been made as to whether or not an interim commissioner will be appointed. More on this story at the bottom of the hour.

“I don’t believe it!” Robert shouted.

“Sir, according to the reports—”

“To hell with the reports. It’s all rubbish.  They’re no better than a bloody tabloid. Anna would never help that bastard escape. Not even if he….” He trailed off and took a deep breath, trying to still the nagging feeling in his gut. God, he hoped Anna hadn’t been convinced to help Faison due to some promise of information about Robin. Or Heaven forbid, that Faison hadn’t managed to use some kind of mind control on her again.

“Sir, the evidence does seem to suggest that—”

“What other evidence do you have?”

“We have surveillance footage from the prison as well as an audio clip picked up by our receivers outside the prison.”

“Show me.”

Agent Jacobs clicked and clacked over the keyboard of his laptop and pulled up the video files. “As you can see, we have footage from the cameras near the entrance as well as in the hallway outside the visitation room inside the prison itself. Ms. Devane enters at nine thirty-two am. Here we have a shot of her at the front desk at nine forty-five. Then, at ten-oh-seven, she’s seen exiting down this hallway here with Faison.”

He’s still handcuffed,” Robert said, pointing vigorously at the screen. “How do you know she wasn’t taking him into custody in an official capacity?”

“First of all, that would be out of her jurisdiction. Second, she reportedly assaulted two of the guards in order to get him out. And third, they haven’t been seen since and no one has been able to reach her.”

“Other than the shot at the gate, you can’t even see her face. What happened to the rest of the security cameras?”

“The system was tampered with, sir. Hacked.”

“Aw, hell,” Robert said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t like the way things were stacking up, but he refused to let them incriminate Anna so quickly. “So this is your proof? A series of half-assed camera angles and the fact that she won’t return your calls? She ignores mine on a regular basis. She’s a busy woman.”

“Would you deny the fact that Ms. Devane is quite… skilled… in accessing world networks?”

Robert shook his head. He couldn’t deny that. Anna had never met a system she couldn’t access.

“In all fairness, sir, we’ve brought suspects in with less evidence.”

“So just exactly what is it you want from me?”

“Well, Ms. Devane is a very experienced agent. She has eluded some of the best spies in the world.”

“True.”

“And you… are one of the few agents who… You and Ms. Devane…”

“Spit it out, Jacobs!”

“You know Ms. Devane. Intimately. Sir.” Jacobs cleared his throat.

“What’s your point?”

“If anyone would know how she thinks, it’s you. We’re hoping you can help us determine where she might go so that we can bring the two of them in.”

“Let me see the footage again. Rewind it.” Robert watched the screen intently, studying every shot of Anna for some kind of indication of distress or any other emotion, but it was difficult to tell anything without even so much as a glimpse of her expressive face. He watched it a third time, looking for clues in her body language. Finally, he threw back the covers and announced, “Out of my way, Jacobs.”

“What are you doing, sir?” Jacobs asked as Robert struggled to pry himself out of bed.

Robert grabbed his cane off of the bedside table and headed toward the cabinet that housed his clothing and personal effects. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m busting out of here.”

“Where are you headed?”

“To Geneva, my boy.”

“So you’ll help us find her?”

“Oh, I’m gonna find her all right. Whether or not that leads us to Faison is another story.”

“Why wouldn’t it? Do you think she might do something to him?”

“I’m more concerned about what he or that imposter might have done to her. Anna could be in grave danger.”

“What makes you think so? What imposter?”

“That’s not my Anna.”

“How can you tell?”

“Like you said, Jacobs, I know her. Intimately.” Robert smirked, eyebrows raised. “I don’t give a damn what your evidence indicates. The woman in that footage is not Anna Devane!”