[[NRPG : Bravo : This occurs on the night after we get settled in at the Pentagon on our current case.
Zulu : This happens on the night before we got our current case, which is why Mr. Jones was a bit tired at the briefing.
All : Hope you all enjoy this little ditty. Hopefully, this will be just the first of more crossover posts between teams. I hope that I'm not creating some sort of RPG faux pas with this. ]]
It was getting on to 10:00 when Jeff stumbled into his apartment. This new case with the missing items was more than just a little frustrating, what with so little they had to go on. As he walked across the room, he noticed that he had 3 messages on his machine. He pushed the playback button and listened as he got himself a snack from his refrigerator. The first message was from his mom back in Hawaii, checking up to see how he was doing and wondering if he made his reservations to fly back, as he did every year. Jeff made a mental note to call her back after he showered. The second message, was a bit more mysterious. It was from a guy whose voice he didn't recognize, and hmmm... was that Ernie in the background? An agent, perhaps, calling from the Hollow. All he said was, "I might have some useful information for you and your group regarding Docker. Meet me at the Lincoln Memorial at 11 tonight. Come alone."
Looking at his watch, Jeff saw that it didn't leave him much time to get there. Stopping the machine before it played the third message, he put on his jacket and shoes once again and left the apartment.
Location : Steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
As the cool air cut through his jacket, Jeff stood waiting for this mysterious caller, occasionally looking at his watch for the time.
"You're early.", the voice of the man who called said behind him. "Not too many people are very time conscious in this day and age."
"Thanks." Jeff replied cautiously. "Since you obviously know who I am, would you mind telling me who you are?"
The figure in the shadows paused for a moment, thinking about this. After having some sort of internal debate with himself, the tall imposing figure stepped into the lighted area. "The name's Leo Jones. Back in the military, my nickname was Deadeye. You really don't want to know how I came by that name."
"You're an agent in the bureau, aren't you?", Jeff queried.
"What gave me away? My clothes, or my calling from Hoover's Hollow?"
"Both, actually." Jeff said with a smirk. "Why call me and not Richard, the team leader of my unit?"
Leo hesitated for a bit, not sure as to how to tell Jeff what he knew. "Baker's being watched by certain, um... groups within the upper echelons of our government. The same groups which employ Docker."
"and you, at one time.", Jeff looked at Leo with some suspicion.
"and me.", Leo said with a sigh. Seeing that look that Jeff gave him reminded him of his stint at Quantico, and how all of the other recruits looked at him that exact same way. "Your past will always haunt you." That was what his squad leader in black ops told him, now he was starting to realize fully what that meant.
"IF you once worked with Docker, why are you giving us info on him." Jeff asked, still cautious of the man before him. There was a reason why this Leo person told him his nickname, so he knew he'd have to be on his guard.
"I have my reasons", Leo said. "But they're not nearly as strong as the reason why you should be interested in him."
Jeff's eyes narrowed to slits, wondering what Leo knew about Docker's attempt on his life. "Just because he tried to take me out...."
"That's not what I'm talking about." Leo interrupted. "He messed up and he got frustrated. He wasn't intending on hurting you, just destroying the car. You were never in any danger. Believe me, if he wanted you dead, he would have stuck around to make sure the job was done right. That's what he has been trained to do. Be thorough, and no loose ends. Although Docker wasn't one to clean up after his messes. Once a screw-up always a screw-up."
"So, why should I be so interested in Docker?" Jeff challenged.
Leo gave a sigh and sat down on the steps of the memorial. "About 8 years ago, Docker had an assignment in Hawaii. While he was there, he decided to drop in on a friend of his, some guy named Sharp. I believe you know who he is. While he was there, he found out what this guy was up to, the Red Shoes Rapist, I believe he was called. Of course, Docker didn't give a rip what his friend was doing, but he did care that his friend didn't get caught. He found out that it was you who was helping the police with your profiling. Then he cased your house, finding your routine, and finding out about your fiancee. It was Docker who told Richard about you, and it was Docker who called him from the University, telling him when you were about to leave, so you would walk in on your fiancee's dying body."
As Jeff listened to Leo's story, he felt sick to his stomach. All of the anger and all of the hurt that had accumulated over the years started to fill him up once again. Softly, without a sound, he unsheathed his automatic and put it to the back of Leo's skull. His fingers trembled as his tears started to flow, his mind racing back to the afternoon that he came home and discovered his fiancee's broken body lying on the floor in the bedroom, her body naked, save the red stiletto heels that Sharp had put on her. He also remembered how she had been stabbed in her chest, her stomach and how the blood flowed out over his fingers as he tried to stem its flow. The helplessness he felt, sitting there, holding her as she lay dying, her dying words being muffled by the blood that accompanied it. The yell of pain, pure and strong, as she passed on, also taking their unborn child of which they didn't know anything about until after the autopsy was done. The sights, the sounds, all came back to Jeff as he contemplated blowing Leo's head off of his neck with one squeeze of the trigger.
"You could pull that trigger right now and end it all here." Leo said, his voice even, calm, and a little detached. He just sat there, looking off into the distance, not showing the littlest bit of fear as this other person was holding a gun to his head. "Lord knows that I've done a lot of things myself that would warrant my death."
"You're lying..." Jeff hissed as he wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his free hand. "Why?"
Leo let out another sigh. "about Docker, I'm not lying. He did all that I told you, or at least he said that he did. I got the word when I came back from an assignment in Ireland."
"Damn you." Jeff said as he re-safetied his gun and put it back into his holster. After a moment of recomposing himself, he stared at the hulking figure sitting down and asked, "What's your interest in Docker? Why hand him over to us?"
In a voice barely louder than a whisper, Leo answered, "He killed my wife."
"What was that?", Jeff asked.
"He killed my wife." Leo said, a little louder.
"Why?", Jeff asked, suddenly feeling a little ashamed of his actions. Here he was, about to kill this guy that made him relive his past, not knowing that Leo was probably reliving it each day of his life.
"We were on a mission, in some part of the world that you prolly never heard about.", Leo started. "We were supposed to take out a hidden military complex, and Docker and I were the scouts. I noted the location and gave Docker the coordinates. But, as usual, he screwed it up and transposed the one of the coordinates that I wrote for him. Needless to say, a small town was leveled, and a lot of innocent people were killed. Docker wanted me to help cover up for him, but I didn't and I let him fry. He got kicked out of the military and he swore revenge on me. I ignored him, taking him for the blowhard that I knew him to be. Next thing I know, I got word from the states that my wife was savagely murdered. Docker disappeared, and until your run-in with him down in Florida, I hoped he was dead. I guess not."
"I'm Sorry." Jeff replied, knowing the pain that Leo was going through.
"Yeah, thanks. I'm sorry also, about your fiancee." Leo said, taking out a folder from his overcoat. "Here's as much info on Docker as I could remember or retrieve from the military database. Be careful, he may be an idiot and he may screw up a lot, but that makes him all the more dangerous. He has no conscience, which makes him worse."
Jeff murmured a thanks as he took the folder from Leo's outstretched hand. Leo then got up and started to walk away from the memorial.
"Gotta go. I've got a meeting with Garrison tomorrow, prolly a new case." Leo said as he started to leave.
"What team are you with?" Jeff called out after him.
"Zulu. I believe it's a newly formed team. They all seem like awesome people. I'm looking forward to this case." Leo called back. "If you need anything, just buzz."
"Yeah. Thanks." Jeff answered. "You too."
"Yeah." Leo replied, waving a hand as he walked off into the night.
Jeff tucked the folder away under his arm as he left the memorial to head back home. He knew he had one more message on his answering machine. He hoped to himself that it was Shirley, he could sure use someone to talk to tonight.
Respectfully Submitted, Jeff Uribe (Email : [email protected]) SA-1 Jeff Calderon, X-files Bravo Team SA-2 Leo Jones, X-files Zulu Team