Tina smiled with gratitude for the senator’s attempts to lift her spirits, “Of course, I remember. Maybe I’ll see her in my dreams tonight.”

~~~~~~~~

The tapes in the dark room were quietly rolling, recording the entire conversation.

Meanwhile, briefing in DC, 5 pm

Angus Partridge looked around the room, acknowledging everyone and then turned to Tim, “Agent Haspel, the commander is gone and you’re in charge now.”

“Right,” Tim nodded, “Here’s your new assignments and shifts for the next week. The senator requested only for the four of us to accompany her to London. Agent Wayland, in McCutcheon’s absence you’ll be teamed up with Agent Schecter for the whole length of the London trip. Agent Sweeney will be my shift partner.”

Tim looked at Mark, not surprised to see the other agent frowning slightly at the mentioning of Jenny as his partner. Tim and Bette both agreed that Jenny needed to be rotated between the agents until they all can become better acquainted with the new member of the team.

“When we’re back in the States, we’ll have two more agents as temporary replacements for the commander and Agent McCutcheon while they are working undercover. Any questions?”

“Where’s Sweeney?” Jenny asked, only now noticing that Max was absent from the room.

“Agent Sweeney has been working…” Tim began to explain just as Max walked in, bringing his laptop, “Sorry I’m late…I was checking on the Peabody Foundation.”

“Did you find anything interesting?” Tim asked with interest, realizing that Max’s eyes were gleaming with excitement.

“There’s nothing suspicious about the Foundation’s money origin or the support that the Foundation is offering to different organizations and communities. The same can be said about Peggy Peabody and her daughter’s personal files. It’s all clear as far as I can access in such a short time…”

“So, this is dead end then?” Partridge asked, not surprised that Max wasn’t able to find anything. The FBI didn’t have much luck either.

“Well, I wouldn’t call it a dead end because I did find one interesting detail that isn’t a common knowledge around here. Almost fifteen years ago Helena’s father was a member of the British Winter Olympic team…”

“In what sport? Drinking ice-cold martinis?” Jenny asked sarcastically. Tim shook his head with disapproval and Partridge raised his eyebrows. “What? Like rich people can do anything else that would require hard work and dedication.”

“What’s wrong with your mood today, Schecter? Do you have something against rich people that we should know about?” Mark asked casually.

“Nothing…just some past memories…I’m sorry, I was out of line,” Jenny apologized sincerely and Max continued, “Biathlon…that was the sport, biathlon. Helena’s father was training for the upcoming Olympics when he went to one of the Alp’s training facilities that the British team shared with the Swiss and Austrian teams. Half way through the training he was killed in the skiing accident. Nothing on the scene suggested a foul play. Swiss police ruled it as an accident without a doubt. Helena was 16 at the time, attending a boarding school in Geneva.”

“Biathlon…” Tim said pensively. “Simply put, this is the sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Is it possible that Helena could learn how to handle a rifle from her father?”

Max shrugged his shoulders and continued, “His death did raise some suspicions, especially after a weird phone call two hours after Helena’s father was found dead and it was all over the local news. The caller identified himself as Simon Monroe and said that he saw how the accident happened and right before Grant Peabody went down, Monroe heard a loud sound and then a snap, like something hit Peabody’s ski and he lost his balance. When the police checked remains of Grant’s skis, it was impossible to determine if something happened to them before the accident. Peabody took a very nasty fall and his skis were broken into a few pieces. The police then checked out Monroe and found out that he wasn’t a credible witness after all because at the time of the accident he was seen at the bar in the Olympic village and there was no way he could’ve witness anything. Just a drunkard who wanted a few minutes of fame and some money. Peggy Peabody doesn’t like to revisit this painful time so the complete records are kept absolutely confidential.”

“Agent Haspel…this is a slim connection with the Peabody Foundation but it’s a possibility. We need to notify the FBI to check Helena and Peggy Peabody’s movements and while in London you’ll be guarding the senator day and night. One last thing…use the code names for the senator and her staff in your communications with Agent Porter and other agents.”

“Should we do the seven dwarfs as we did in the Jewel operation?”

Partridge laughed at Tim’s fascination with the Disney characters, “Just don’t call the senator ‘Grumpy’.” 

“Roget that, sir,” Tim smiled, “I will inform Agent Porter about the Peabody Foundation development.”

Partridge nodded and dismissed everybody. “See you all tomorrow bright and early to meet Senator Grisham and her staff.”

Meanwhile, at the Providence Hospital in DC

Shane was pacing impatiently in the waiting room of the cardiology wing, biting her nails and checking her phone as if she was expecting some emergency call. Earlier, she chatted with a very cute nurse Nancy who had a few trips with Shane to the bathroom at the local bar before.

Nancy let it slip casually that Carmen was in her mother’s room at the moment but not for very long. The doctors were getting ready to take a few tests to determine Mrs. Morales’ condition and Carmen should show up in the waiting room any minute.

It was taking too long and Shane was getting restless. Right when she was about to go and talk to Nancy again, a very exhausted Carmen walked slowly into the waiting room and sat down on the couch. She gave Shane a sad smile, the one the strangers share when they are in the same poignant circumstances. Shane smiled back just as her phone began ringing.

“Yo, vanilla…what’cha doing?” she heard cheerful voice.

“Visiting my sister…she’s at the Providence hospital,” Shane replied somberly and quickly glanced at Carmen who didn’t pay any attention. It was painful for Shane to watch and pretend but she had to do her job. “Listen, can you get me into one of your private games? I need money, man…”

“Doesn’t the government pay you enough…” Papi began saying but she heard Shane clearing her throat and understood what was going on. “Sure…I’ll be your sugar mama. Come to the casino tomorrow night. The boss-lady is going out with her special friend and won’t be back until the next morning.”

“I’ll be at the casino tomorrow. Just don’t forget to invite all the important people,” Shane repeated for Carmen’s benefit. She could see that her conversation was getting Carmen’s attention. Shane paused and then decided to take a little risk, betting on her first impression of Carmen and belief in her innocence. “Just don’t involve Rothberg, Papi…I don’t want that barracuda breathing behind my neck.”

“It’s a done deal, Shane,” Papi was serious now. She helped Shane in the past and she knew when to stop joking while her friend was doing her job. Shane’s phone call had Carmen’s full attention now and she sat up straight on the couch as soon as she heard Rothberg’s name. The young agent hung up the phone and sat down on a chair, covering her face with her hands.

“Excuse me,” she heard a soft voice with a slight accent. Shane lifted her head and looked at another woman. Carmen hesitated and then asked, “I couldn’t help but overhear…you mentioned Catherine Rothberg…how well do you know her?”

“Not well and I don’t want to know her better…what about you?” Shane tried to sound nonchalant, hiding her excitement that Carmen took the bait.

“Well enough but I wish I never have,” Carmen replied bitterly. Since she had that conversation with her mother about her gambling problems, Carmen needed to talk to someone who might understand what she was going through. She looked at Shane again as if weighing her options and took a deep breath. “Can I ask you something?”

“Uh…okay,” Shane replied after a slight hesitation. She didn’t want to sound too eager…they were strangers after all.

Carmen looked down at her hands nervously and then took a deep breath as if she finally got the courage to speak, “I’m sorry…I heard you talking about a private casino game…my mother is in the hospital and I need to help pay for her medical bills and some other…private matters…I was wondering…I mean, I know you don’t know me but is it possible for me to join the game?”

Shane just stared at her, not believing her luck and Carmen began fidgeting on the couch as her face turned slightly red, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to listen and you don’t…”

“That could be arranged…” Shane interrupted her gently and smiled. Carmen smiled back and Shane’s heart melted, “Yes…absolutely.”

Later that night, Tina’s apartment