Page 53 of Protecting Silver
After knocking on the door twice, she opened it and walked in. That was when she saw her partner, Jackie sitting in a chair before Atwater’s desk wearing a huge grin.
“What’s up, Sir?” Tamara asked as she took the seat offered. She looked at her partner and couldn’t read anything in her expression beside the grin, so she turned back to her boss.
“First, let me congratulate the two of you on a successful takedown. It’s my understanding that it went off without a hitch?”
“That’s correct, Sir. If it hadn’t been for your brother, I don’t know what would have happened. When Freedman lunged for Ms. Roundtree to attack her, he took her out with one punch.”
“Bruce was there?” Daniel Atwater looked at her in confusion. “Why would he be in Montana when he has a ranch to run out in Wyoming.”
Tamara and Jackie exchanged confused looks, then Jackie pulled her notebook and flipped several pages, while Tamara pulled her phone and accessed her photos. As Tamara handed her boss her phone, Jackie read from her notes.
“Crap, the guy was right, his last name is Atwal, not Atwater. His entire name is Douglas Michael Atwal. That’s A-T-W-A-L.” Jackie spelled the name and looked up in time to see her boss turn deathly pale and blanch at the photo he was looking at. Tamara acted fast as she jumped to her feet, rushed her boss, and shoved his head between his knees. It took several minutes before he waved her away. Once he sat back up, Jackie handed him a bottle of water she’d retrieved from the small refrigerator in the corner of the office.
“You alright, Sir?” Both agents asked as one.
Holding the phone up, he demanded, “Do you have any more photos of this guy?” He watched as Tamara swiped to the side and there were four more photos of the man who could be the spitting image of Daniel. He looked at Tamara and demanded. “Send them to my phone.” Then he wrote down his personal cell number. Once they were on his phone, he shook his head. “That was scary.”
“Why do you say that, Sir?” Jackie frowned her question at him.
This time Daniel accessed his own phone, and turned it around for the others to see. “This guy right here, this could be my father thirty to thirty-five years ago.” Then, he jumped to his feet, went over to the far wall, took a picture frame off the wall and brought it back over. He put his phone next to the frame, and they all realized that it could be the same person.
“Holy shit, Sir, sorry for swearing, but when I asked to take his photo, I thought he could be your twin, but he assured me that he grew up in the foster-care system.”
“Can you give me any information you have on him? I’ll look into it. No one goes around with my father’s face except for my father. You can be sure that I’ll get to the bottom of things. In the meantime, how are you doing on the report for Freedman?”
“All done,” Tamara grinned as she handed over the folder she’d entered with. “What did you need to see me about?”
“The report, and to inform that both of you will be promoted to Special Agent during the ceremony in two weeks’ time. You both went above and beyond your duty to get him off the streets. Not only during the takedown, but also in the paperwork leading up to the takedown. For that, I’m promoting you.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“You’re welcome. Now take the rest of the day off. You earned it. It’s Sunday. I’m sure there will be a fresh case for you to sink your teeth into tomorrow morning. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.”
He watched as his two agents left, then quickly accessed the photos on his phone. With Atwal’s information set before him, he began an investigation and found that he did indeed grow up in the foster-care system. However, something was tickling the back of his mind and he couldn’t shake it. Making a quick decision, Daniel cleared his desk, hung the photo of his family back on his wall, then as he left his office, he told his secretary, “I’ll be out of town until Wednesday.”
“Okay, would you like me to cancel your appointments?”
“Please, sorry for it being such short notice, but a family emergency just came up. Could you call and make me a reservation to fly home to Wyoming? I’m going to go home and throw a bag together.
“Don’t you have a go bag here at the office.
“I do, thank you.” Daniel went back into his office, and returned ten minutes later. He had found a set of jeans and a tee shirt in his closet in his office and had changed out of his suit. On his way back out, his secretary stopped him and handed him a folded piece of paper.
“Here’s your flight information. It’s a direct flight, and it leaves in three hours.”
“Thanks, Samantha.” Daniel nodded and gripped the paper in his hand. As he strode from the office, his mind immediately went to what he was going to ask his father when he arrived home.
* * *
“Daniel!”Douglas and Anna Atwater cried out when Daniel walked in the kitchen of his childhood home. It had been almost three years since he’d been there. With his busy work schedule, and him living in Chicago, he didn’t always make it back home for the holidays, or for vacation. This had been a last minute, spur of the moment visit.
“Mom, Dad, it’s good to see you,” Daniel said as he put his bag down, and hurried forward to take first his mother, then his father in his arms for a hug. It felt like he’d come home. After hugging his mother, and then his father, he stepped back and studied them intently.
“What’s wrong?” His father frowned at him. “And don’t tell me nothing. One, because you’re home on the spur of the moment. You never do anything on a whim. Second, you look like you have something to say. Third, how long can you stay?”
“I have to be back in the office by Wednesday. And you’re right, this is spur of the moment.” Daniel took the cup of coffee his mother handed him and settled in at his regular seat at the kitchen table. Before he could say anything else, his mother, Anna pulled her phone and sent off a quick text.
“I just let everyone know you’re here. We’re having a big family dinner. I suggest you start talking now if you don’t want the others to know why you’re here. You have at least two hours before they arrive.”
