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“I’ve been on a jazz kick lately. I like some of the oldies, Dave Brubeck, Al Hirt, Wynton Marsalis, and of course Ray Charles, which I think his music is a combo of jazz, the blues, and gospel, but I always enjoy listening to him. And you can’t go wrong with John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong either. I’ve also just found Okvsho, two brothers from Switzerland. They have a good sound.”
“I haven’t listened to too much jazz,” she admitted. “But I’d like to.”
Dupont got up from his chair and crossed his living room. His stereo system with the turntable and a large vinyl collection was hidden inside a cabinet. He already had the one he wanted to play on the turntable. He placed the needle on the first track. He had the volume set at the perfect place for the desired background music he wanted.
Laura Lee ate and listened to the calming music that played softly. “That’s nice. Who is this?”
“Dave Brubeck. It’s considered West Coast cool jazz. After a crazy day in Ops, I like it to mellow out.”
“Yeah, I don’t know how you stay calm when the shooting starts.” She helped herself to another slice of the roast.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had years of practice.”
“I also told Joe today why being staffed in Ops is such an issue for me,” she said.
“Because you don’t want to see someone you know get shot. I get it. I think everyone feels that. But for me, I want to be there watching over them with hopes that I can prevent things from going south. And if it does go to shit, I want to get them help as fast as possible.”
Laura Lee nodded. “And you’re good at it. For me, it brings back the horrible memory of when someone I loved was shot and killed in front of me.”
“When was this?”
“When I was four years old, my biologic father was killed. Charles and Dorthea Saxton adopted me. Not many people know this. It’s not in my file. The Saxtons hid who I was and cautioned me not to tell anyone.”
Dupont was speechless at this revelation. He stared at her for several silent minutes, thankful he’d turned the music on. “That never came out during the military background check to issue you your security clearance?”
She shook her head. “And not when Shepherd Security ran theirs, either.”
“Holy shit, Laura. That’s one big secret. I’m sure Shepherd would be pissed our people didn’t discover that about you, either.”
She shrugged. “I told Joe today, so I’m sure he’s told Shepherd by now. I hope no one gets in trouble for not uncovering it. It wasn’t there to be found. The Saxton’s made sure of it to protect me. I could identify the shooter and they didn’t want him coming after me.”
“Wow, just wow!” Dupont said.
“I know. Joe said had he known my history, I would never have been scheduled in Ops. When I did my basic training, I knew when gunshots were going to be fired so I could prepare myself. It’s when I’m not ready for them that it causes me an issue.” She paused and took another bite of her salad. “You know, you think you’ve dealt with things, but then they come back and smack you upside the head to remind you that you haven’t.”
Dupont chuckled. “I’m sure these things have impacted your life greatly, maybe in ways you don’t even realize.”
“Thank you, Doctor Lassiter,” she joked.
“Seriously though, Laura. Don’t you feel a certain degree of, I don’t know, freedom maybe, now that it’s all out and you can talk about it and get support from your friends?”
She was thoughtful for a moment. There was that word, friends, again. “I feel like I’m being more honest than I have in the past, not that I felt like I was lying. It’s just that I seem more authentic to myself as registered on my own internal barometer.” Brad smiled at her, causing her lips to tip up as well.
“It feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
The moment was broken by the ringing of her phone. She pulled it from her back pocket and her chest tightened. It was an unknown number, but she recognized the area code 703. Quantico. Her trembling hand placed the phone on the table between them.
Dupont gazed at the display. He, too, recognized the area code. Then his eyes shifted back to hers, which clearly showed how panicked she felt. He pulled his own phone from his pocket. “Don’t answer that. I’m texting Garcia.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m not answering that call.” As she mentally tried to calm her racing heart, Joe’s words came back to her. West could not hurt her now. His set up of her held no liability to her any longer. West was the one who should be afraid now. They were going to bait a trap for him and this call to her was his first step towards getting caught in that trap.
After the call went to voicemail, Garcia’s return text displayed. “I’m checking her voicemail. Hold until I advise.”
The thirty seconds dragged on an eternity before Dupont’s phone rang the incoming call from Garcia. Dupont answered it on the first ring. “I have you on speaker, Garcia,” Dupont said. “It’s just Laura and me listening.”
“It was a call with follow-up questions to Laura regarding her submitted coursework. He didn’t identify himself,” Garcia’s gravelly voice said. “I hate to ask you to do this, Laura, but check your voicemail and let me know if you recognize the voice.”
