by Alton Reich
[Train Station]
> The Metro station was filled with people and that made it very hard for > Martin to follow the person who had pushed Amanda.
> "FBI! Out of my way!" he yelled, but people were too terrified to really > grasp the severity of the situation. Instead Martin had to push his way > through the crowd. He almost felt like he was back on the field again, > dodging linebackers.
Jordan turned and shoved his way through the stunned passengers emerging from the train. as he approached the front of the train, he could see the driver talking animatedly on the phone. He knew it would only be a matter of minutes beofre the Metro Police would arrive. He reached the front of the train and jumped down onto the tracks.
He knelt next to Ann's body and reflexively checked for a pulse, even though he didn't expect to find one. Jordan then noticed that Ann's purse had begun to open. He flipped the top open and noted the 9mm H&K tucked into the front pocket. Something else caught his eye.
"What's this?" Jordan asked no one in particular as he pulled out a ZIP disk. It didn't have a label on it, which made it a bit more interesting.
The sounds of sirens outside told him that his time alone was just about up, so he holstered his gun, tucked the ZIP disk into a pocket and closed Ann's purse.
***
[Eve's Cafe]
> "Where is Jim?" Jordan asked Martin.
> "I don�t know," Martin replied, "I thought he was with you."
> "He is probably on his way back to the office. We'll catch up with him > there. So - did you find anything?"
> Martin handed Jordan the business card and told him what had happened > in the alley.
> "The Praetorian Guard....I've heard that mentioned somewhere before," > Jordan said.
> "Weren�t they the hand picked bodyguard of Julius Caesar? I think they > were the ultimate fighting force in ancient Rome. But I don't see what they > have to do with anything..."
> "Me neither, but perhaps we'd better run this by the rest of the team. They > might have heard of any modern day reference to The Praetorian Guard."
"It's possible," Martin replied.
"I've also got something else to show them."
"What?"
"Ann said that she had something she wanted to show me," Jordan replied pulling the ZIP disk from his jacket pocket, "Since I found this in her purse, I'm wondering if this was it."
Martin took the disk and looked it over, "No external clues to what's on it."
"Nope," Jordan agreed taking it back. "There's only one way to find out what's on it."
"Pop it in and take a look."
"Yep, so lets get on it."
The agents rose, and Jordan dropped a ten dollar bill on the table. They walked out the door and almost ran into Jim.
> "Jim," said Jordan, "where did you get to?"
> "I saw Martin track the shooter into the alley, ready to back him up. I was > across the street, but I couldn't get a clear shot. The guy disappeared into > the alley and Martin followed. Where did he go, Martin?"
> "I don't know. The guy just disappeared."
> "Ever heard of The Praetorian Guard?" Jordan asked.
> "Not since my last History lesson. Julius Caesar's Secret Service?" he > smiled.
> "I found this in the alley," said Martin, handing Jim the card.
> "Then someone wanted you to find it?" Jim said.
> "Obviously. So, are we dealing with a new lot of bastards?">
"Just what we need, eh?" Jordan asked. "Let's get back to the office. I've got something I want to look at."
***
[JEH]
Jordan led the way into the office with Jim and Martin behind him. He headed straight for his computer and jiggled the mouse to wake it up. He pulled the ZIP disk out and slid it smoothly into the drive. "Let's see what Ann was carrying in her purse."
Behind him, he heard the door open and Leo, Zenya and Vanessa enter.
"Well," Leo said, "now we're getting our threats second hand. I heard you had a little excitement."
"What did you find out?" Jordan asked as he promped the computer to list the contents of the disk.
"Chris doesn't remember anything." Vanessa reported.
"That and we've been threatened through him to drop the whole matter," Zenya added.
"I prefer getting threats directly," Leo joked, "What'cha got there?" he asked Jordan.
"I was hoping Ann Cross' will naming us as heirs, but it looks like a bunch of GIF files and a couple of web pages," Jordan replied pointing at items on his computer screen.
"Well," Martin said, "open one up. Let's see what Ann thought enough of to save."
Jordan double clicked on one of the HTML files and Netscape happily sprang into action. A moment later a banner appeared at the top of the browser window advertising a new mini-van, and a series of maps began to appear in the window.
"It's driving directions from one of those map sites," Zenya pointed out with a hint of dissapointment in her voice.
"Yeah, but they're from JEH to someplace in the mountains of Virginia," Jordan said as he scrolled through them. "See, Interstate 66 west to Interstate 81 south. Turn off on some state road just north of Roanoke and go into the woods."
"Maybe she was planning a vacation?" Jim asked.
"Maybe," Jordan replied as he brought up the other file. "Maybe not."
The second page loaded and the window filled with thumbnail images of small photos.
"Those look like satelite photos," Leo said. "Click on this one."
Jordan did, and the photo enlarged on the screen.
"What does that look like to you?" Vanessa asked.
"A cabin in the woods on top of a mountain," Martin replied.
"It certainly does," Leo agreed. "It looks like there's some type of compound out there, and I'll bet a week's pay that's where Christopher was."
"It looks like it's time for a road trip," Jordan said, "courtesy of Ann Cross."
NRPG:
Well, I think it's getting time to wrap this one up. Ann has shown us the way to where Chris was held. The question is, what do we find there.