Chapter Twenty-Seven -- Prey
Lincoln sat behind his large, spacious desk, contemplating what had just transpired between him and his already ex-partner Dave. He sighed and rested his head on the cluttered surface and closed his eyes. He was clueless as to why Dave had made the decision he made. Lincoln thoughts were at warp speed, trying to figure out why Dave decided to leave The Unit so early.
"Ugh, maybe it just wasn't for him I guess." Lincoln thought.
Lincoln shook his head and began to organize the mountain of files on his desktop. He imagined Dave's unpleasant reaction to having Maryse debrief him tomorrow. He'd seen the video footage of their first encounter and could instantly tell that Dave didn't care for her much. Not too many folks did. Lincoln seemed to like her however. They got along quite fine.
As Lincoln finished stacking the files into one massive pile his office phone ranged.
"Burros."
"Hi Mr. Burros. This is Kelvin Sparks down at cyber forensics, I just wanted to follow up with you on the information I sent you earlier about the Gillete/Baker case."
"Oh yeah. I got the fax. I'm going to go check out the information in a short bit."
"OK. We'll let you know when we finish decrypting the files on Ms. Baker's hard drive"
"Thanks. Bye."
Lincoln hung up the phone and stood up from his chair. He received a preliminary report from the cyber forensics division of The Unit earlier that morning about a possible connection between Cheryl Gillette and Kathleen Baker. It turns out that both victims were campaign contributors and volunteers to Mark Hanson's political run for Mayor earlier that year. Lincoln thought that was an interesting link between the 2 and prepped for him and Dave to check it out. With Dave now gone however, he would have to be accompanied by another agent. The forensic tech also found a bunch of encrypted e-mail files on Kathleen's computer. That sparked Lincoln's curiosity.
He left his office, grabbing his leather coat and headed out to see Agent Ballard. Ballard was a nice enough guy and Lincoln enjoyed his company. He didn't mind asking him to go out in the field with him.
"Mr. Burros."
Lincoln swung around to see a tall, clean cut, authoritarian male standing in front of him.
"Hello Boyd...oh um cough Mr. Langton."
Boyd Langton was head of security and operations at the dollhouse. His presence was very commanding, yet he was one of the nicer agents inside the secretive fortress. Lincoln, as well as many others admired the seasoned vet of The Unit.
"I heard about Agent Batista's decision to leave. Sorry to hear that. He seemed like a good candidate and I could tell you enjoyed working with him.
"Yeah, um he was OK." Lincoln said quietly, not trying to let on how confused and hurt he was that the larger man had left.
"I should be assigning you another partner soon enough.
"Sure. Well I have to go. See you later."
"Might I ask where you are going?" Boyd inquired.
"To see Agent Ballard. I think I hit a break in the case and I need someone to go out in the field with me to question the suspect."
"You have a suspect?"
"Yes. Both Kathleen and Cheryl were campaign contributors to Mark Hanson's mayoral run."
"And your thinking the suspect is...?"
"Mark Hanson." Lincoln said quickly without hesitation.
"I see. I think it would be best if I assigned the case to someone else."
"Why?" Lincoln asked confused.
"Well for starters you have no partner, and given your record of not keeping one for too long, I would feel more comfortable if a more stable pair investigated the murders. Besides Mayor Hanson is a big figure to be accusing of murder."
"But Boyd I've been working this case really hard. I know it better than anyone. Just let me continue to work it. I promise I'll work with anyone you throw at me."
Boyd stood there for a while before nodding.
"How about me?"
"You?"
"Yes. I got some free time. Let's go.
"Great..." Lincoln said dejectedly.
...
Boyd and Lincoln arrived at the Los Angeles County City Hall building only a few minutes after leaving the Kelencine building. Lincoln proceeded to step out of the vehicle until Boyd placed a gentle hand on the eager man's shoulder.
"What?" Lincoln asked.
"We need a plan Linc." The older man replied.
"OK. What kind of plan?"
"We go in tactfully. This is the Mayor's office after all."
Boyd stepped out of the vehicle and Lincoln followed. They walked up the long, washed stone steps and entered the temperate building. Lincoln watched as Boyd walked over to the receptionist desk. He reached for his "FBI" badge and showed it to the lady behind the desk.
"I have a few questions for Mayor Hanson. Is he available?"
"Sure let me check."
As the woman called Mr. Hanson's office, Lincoln looked around the airy room. It had a sanitized feel to it; everything was bright white and lacked any colorful expressions.
"Mr. Hanson will see you now. Floor 5."
"Thank you."
Boyd motioned for Lincoln to follow him to the elevator. They got inside and rode it up to 5 floors up.
"I'll ask the questions OK?" Boyd said as they exited the lift.
Lincoln protested. "But I—"
"No Buts." Boyd replied. Lincoln frowned and followed Agent Langton to Hanson's office.
"Hello. Are you here to see Mr. Hanson?" Another female sitting behind a desk asked the two men.
"Yes we are." Boyd answered.
"Just right through that door." She gestured towards the large double doors across the room. They walked over and opened the door. A clean cut, alert man sat behind a desk near the windows. He was on the phone.
"OK OK I'll talk to you later Bernie. Thank you. Bye." He hung up the phone and stood up promptly.
"Welcome. I'm Mark Hanson. How can I help you two?"
Boyd spoke. "We're here to talk to you about two of your campaign contributors, Cheryl Gillette and Kathleen Baker.
"Hmm...I'm not sure I know those names. Should I?" Hanson responded.
"Of course you should. They help you with your campaign." Lincoln replied coldly. Boyd shot him a look of agitation.
"Oh, well I had many people to thank for helping out with my political run. It's sometimes hard to remember them all."
Boyd began to speak. "We understand. Is there some way we could talk to your chief of staff? Maybe he or she might be able to provide us with some insight?"
"Oh of course. Just ask my secretary Carly on your way out. She can give you the information you need. Is there anything else I can help you two with?"
"No that's all. Thank you for your time." Boyd smiled and proceeded to leave the office but stopped dead when he noticed Lincoln walking up towards Mr. Hanson's desk.
"You know Mr. Hanson. I don't agree with the decisions you've made during your what I hope to be your short tenure in office. I think your stance on community project funding is nothing short of gross incompetence. You have no idea what that money means to the people who need it. Furthermore your failure to react and lack of compassion for the 312 city employees who've lost their jobs last month is revolting. I certainly didn't vote for you and those who did made a huge mistake."
Mark Hanson stood there with a blank face before responding to the fired up male.
"I understand your frustration sir. It is duly noted."
"Right of course. You once again brush off the concerns of your constituents, an easy cop out for the dense politician."
"Mr. Burros I believe we should be going now." Boyd insisted. He grabbed Lincoln's shoulder but the younger man pulled away.
"Your son Peter, you know the drug smuggler, is better off where he is now than anywhere around you. Then again he's a murderer so he belongs where he is."
Boyd shook his head as the gloves were thrown off.
Mark Hanson stood up with fury plastered on his face. Lincoln wasn't backing down.
"Now you listen to me very carefully son. I don't appreciate you coming in here and copping an attitude with me. If you have legitimate concerns about the way I run things then you address them to the appropriate channels. If that is all then good day to you." He gestured for the two men to promptly leave his office.
"Oh right because the man who actually makes the decisions doesn't want to hear any complaints from those he is suppose to serve directly. You just send us off to someone else."
"LINCOLN!" Boyd stepped in front of Lincoln and Mark. He had an irate look on his face. Lincoln bit his lip and nodded. He turned around and stormed out of the office.
"I apologize for that." Boyd said to Mark as he too left the office. He headed towards the elevator where Lincoln was furiously pressing the buttons on the panel to get the doors to open.
"What a jerk!" Lincoln shouted as the elevator doors opened. He rushed inside and quickly pressed the ground floor button. Boyd had to rush inside to avoid the doors closing on him.
"Lincoln..."
"Yeah Yeah I know. I shouldn't have done that. I was just so upset. This guy is a disgrace to the entire city and the office he serves. I mean my god the different blunders he's committed is ridiculous. How on earth did he get elected in the first place?"
"Where is this anger coming from?" Boyd asked.
"What do you think? The guy can't do his job right." Lincoln replied. He crossed his arms and kept a stern look on his face.
"Is that all?" Boyd solicited.
"What other reason would I have?" Lincoln asked.
"Maybe the fact that Mark Hanson is the father of the man who's responsible for the death of your former partner's Dave's partner?" Boyd answered.
"Peter Hanson didn't fire the shots that killed Roger, Jeff Hardy did." Lincoln retorted.
"Yes but he was still involved was he not?"
"True, but whatever."
The elevator doors opened and out stepped the two men. They exited the building and swiftly walked down the steps to the vehicle Boyd had secured from the garage of Kelencine. They got inside and drove off to the stronghold that was the dollhouse.
"Ouch." Lincoln said as he rested against the car door.
"What's wrong?"
"My head hurts."
...