Dark Latitude - Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Agent Christiansen escorted Lexi back to the reception area after the video call. He told her he would call with any news about Rodney Bickers. She should expect a call from the bureau's human resources department about the internship. There would be paperwork to fill out, but he expected she would be at work in two days, three at the most. The task force had work to do. Renton’s priority was finding Wolfram Samiri.
He walked back to his office to check his email and get started on an investigation plan for the team. A scan of his email revealed a new one from the U.S. Attorney. It was about the negotiation with Rodney Bickers and his counsel. Bickers would plead guilty to felony murder in the second degree, and to the assault on Lexi. If he named Wolfram Samira as the person who hired him, he would receive WITSEC protection, including relocation. It would include a change of identity. He would have to report to a federal probation officer for the length of his sentence. If he failed to report, he would violate the probation terms. That would mean serving the murder sentence he pled guilty to in Texas.
Miss Balestra should be OK with that, Christiansen thought. He planned to show her the email on her first day at work in the office.
Lexi left the FBI office and drove to Willow Bend, followed by the security detail. She parked and went into the building.
“Good morning, Gail,” Lexi said.
“Good morning, Lexi. How are you?”
“The jury’s still out, so to speak,” Lexi said.
“I heard. Melanie told me a little about what’s going on. I am so sorry that all this happened.”
“Me, too,” Lexi said. “Is Melanie busy?”
“Not too busy to talk to you. She’s not on her phone and has no appointments for at least an hour.”
“Thanks,” Lexi said.
Lexi walked down the hallway to Melanie’s office at knocked on the open door. Melanie looked up and smiled.
“Well, how was the meeting?”
“Surprising is the only word that I can use to describe it,” Lexi said.
“I thought it might be,” Melanie said. “Agent Christiansen called me early this morning. He asked if you were going to stay with us for a while. I said yes, of course. As long as needed. The ‘bottomless pit’, also known as Mikey, will approve, too.”
“I don’t know what to say, except ‘Thank you.’”
“You’re welcome, of course. Do you want to go to your apartment and get some more clothes? We can do it this afternoon after I pick up Mikey at school.”
“Sure, that works,” Lexi said.
“Now,” Melanie said, “What went on this morning at the FBI?”
“They formed an internal task force to investigate Markus’ death. The information Erich provided provoked a lot of interest in the FBI and other groups I can't talk about. They asked Katy Hershey to consult with the task force, and she negotiated a place for me as a paid intern. She thinks I would make a good analyst. The FBI said that I can apply to their Academy at Quantico if I want to after the task force completes its work.”
“Are you serious? Who knew that giving a perp a beat down with a mop handle could get you a scholarship to the FBI Academy?”
“Not funny! There are two major problems. First, I need to do good work on the task force. Second, I do not know how to explain all this to my parents when they get back from London.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Melanie said. “Are you hungry? It’s past lunchtime. How about we go get a salad?”
“I’m in,” Lexi said. Melanie reached for her purse, and the two walked out of the office into the hallway. Melanie let Gail know they were going to lunch as they passed the reception desk.
* * *
Tuesday went by fast for Lexi. She unpacked the clothes she and Melanie had retrieved from her apartment the day before. She was still waiting on a call from the FBI Human Resources department. It came mid-afternoon and took almost an hour. The HR admin gave her links to the online forms she had to complete. It took her over three hours to fill out the forms. The amount of detail was staggering.
She had to list everywhere she had lived since birth, every school, and the years she attended. Next, she had to list her diplomas, degrees, and domestic and international travel. The section about siblings, parents, and their occupations was very detailed.
Late in the afternoon, she received an email from Agent Christiansen. She could report for work on Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. Lexi replied and asked what she could bring to the office. His response was "cell phone, but no computer." He also noted that there were locations in the office where she could not take her cell phone. That included the SCIF, during certain types of briefings. He would provide more details when she came to the office.
Lexi had already let her parents know she had a job offer and accepted it. She was cautious when she composed the email and said only that she was going to work for a government agency. It was an interesting job doing research and might lead to a career. Lexi was confident the email would provoke questions, especially from her father. She hoped all their activities would divert her parent’s attention while they were in London. Coming up with an explanation via email or on a video call would be very difficult, and she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She also hoped that her father hadn’t checked the alarm system at the family home. He would see immediately that there had been no activity. She didn't go there, hoping she wouldn’t lead anyone to her parent’s house.