Carter's Recourse - 14. Chapter 14

Tyler was on the overnight shift. The small 7/11 was tucked down by the St. Patrick's bridge in the Sandy Hill area. It was just remote enough that he seldom got anyone in at that late at night, mostly just students from the Ottawa University campus that was about a block away who were getting home from the bars and looking for snack food or the other assorted overpriced crap he sold.

He was sitting behind the counter reading; there was little else to do. He had gone past the late night rush, and the clock was winding closer to dawn and time for him to go home. He turned the page on the battered fantasy novel he was trying to read.

Concentration had always been his biggest bane; he couldn't remain focused for long periods of time on something. Attention Deficit Disorder had been a catchall term overused by psychologists just looking to explain patterns of behaviour. Here, have some Ritalin and come back in a week for another fifty-buck session.

He sighed, thinking back to the night before, trying again to work out what had been going on. Who'd have figured him for gay? That had shaken his beliefs; he really thought that he didn't show it. But the more he thought on it, the more he realized that nobody fit that stereotypical mold perfectly.

He looked up from his book; well, that was a thought that made him uncomfortable. He hadn't really considered if he fit the mold, it had always been something no one talked about. Even his sister, who last night had confessed that she knew, didn't actually say anything to him.

She was just like that, though; she was always careful not to force her views on him, unlike his tyrannical parents who had set ideas of where he should be. He glanced around the 7/11; yeah, so much for that.

He set the book down and walked round to straighten one of the magazine racks. Thinking of Peter, the tuxedo and the shy smile, he couldn't help but smile. Peter had always been a little different, even back in high school; that had been a few years ago it was true, but it seemed little had changed for Peter going to college. Peter had been one of the few brave guys to actually be out in high school. He and his boyfriend West had gone to the Prom together, a bold move on both their parts, something that Tyler had respected; but back then Tyler had been deep in denial, he'd have never had the guts to do what those two had...

Had he blown it last night? Done something to scare Peter away? Peter had been a timid young man in high school, picked on by everyone for the fact that he was so painfully shy. Hell, Tyler had picked on him way back when they had been in the same class in seventh grade.

Maybe he had picked on Peter back then because he was confused then as he was now? Wow, that was a revelation. It was ironic, though, that he finally realized he was attracted to Peter only to have Peter give him exactly what he deserved in leaving him waiting.

Tyler sighed and moved back behind the counter as a couple entered the store.

"Evening," he greeted to the broad-shouldered man in the leather jacket, not really looking up at him too closely.

"You Tyler?" the guy asked, fishing out a black leather badge case and flipping it open.

Tyler nodded as he looked down at the blue and white crest with its maple leaf and crown; it didn't look like a police badge, but the man was acting like a cop.

"What's that?" Tyler asked, nodding to the crest.

"I'm an intelligence officer with CSIS," Andrew stated, standing comfortably as he tucked the ID back into his pocket. "I need to ask you a few questions."

"Sure, what gives?" Tyler asked nervously; he couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong that would bring a bunch of secret agents down on him.

"You were having drinks with this guy last night," Andrew fished out a picture of Peter McCormick.

"Jesus!" Tyler said in open shock. "You guys really do know everything, don't you?"

The woman, who up until this point had been silent, smiled wolfishly, "Everything."

Tyler went pale, stammering a bit, "Look, I just had a couple of drinks with him; it was my sister's idea, I've never been to a place like that before..."

Andrew kept the stony expression on his face as he studied the nervous young man, "I need to know what time he left the bar, and if he left alone."

Tyler shrugged, "I don't know; they said they were going to the washroom and they just didn't come back. They... him and Becky... Becky Hesston."

"That confirms they're probably still together," Jane commented, glancing at Andrew.

"Is everything okay, have they done something wrong?" Tyler asked worriedly.

"They went missing last night," Andrew stated flatly, "and from all accounts you were the last person to see them before they disappeared." He gave Tyler a meaningful look, "Whatever you remember is important."

Tyler blinked as he struggled to remember;"The bar was pretty crowded, though there was a couple of guys that followed them downstairs..."

"Yes?" Andrew pressed, locking his cold blue eyes onto Tyler's and Tyler felt as though he was being gauged for the truth.

"Yeah, they were both Middle Eastern..." Tyler shrugged trying to think.

"Could you describe them?" Jane pressed, taking over and glancing at Andrew.

Tyler shook his head blankly, "One was big, looked really uncomfortable, and the other guy was smaller but didn't fit there either. That's all I can remember..."

"If I showed you a photo lineup, could you recognize them?" Jane asked.

Andrew looked over at her; that would take forever, and they'd literally be all night going through the CSIS photo database. Everything was too carefully vague, but the boy was the only solid lead they had.

"Call your boss," Andrew said, reaching his decision. "Tell him you have to go identify a criminal and get him to cover the rest of your shift."

* * *

Andrew had buried his head into his arms; he was spread across his desk staring at the computer screen, a mug of burnt coffee clutched into one of his hands.

"You need to get some rest," the Director-General said from behind him, his gruff voice soft and compassionate.

Andrew yawned tiredly as he sat up and turned to face his boss, "I can't, not yet..."

"When was the last time you slept?" the Director pressed, staring at him. "And I don't mean a couple of hours in the front seat of a car."

Andrew winced, Jane had said something. It was her job, of course; she was just worried about him.

"Two days," he said, knowing that the Director-General already knew.

"Right," the director said stepping back. "The kid's going to be awhile with that photo lineup, and there's a couch in my office. Get some sleep, and if anything comes up I'll wake you."

Andrew nodded, getting up slowly, realizing he looked a wreck. He hadn't changed in about two days, hadn't showered in about that long. He could feel the stubble on his chin and knew the Director was right, he needed rest.

"Thanks," he murmured, heading to the office, yawning again for emphasis.

* * *

Will arrived back at his house in Ottawa early the next morning with a small entourage following behind him. Lisa had insisted on staying with him; in her mind they needed to co-ordinate with the press and with the way they had taken to ambushing Members of Parliament at random, she needed to be with him ready to handle anything they threw at them.

Alicia was coordinating the phones, trying to find out as much information as she could. Typically organized and in control, she managed his life better than he ever could. He loved her for it, she went above and beyond the call of duty for him time and time again. It was a relationship that went above boss-employee and was closer than simple friendship. She hadn't seemed the type when he had first met her, but then he hadn't seemed the type to run for politics back then, either.

West brought up the rear, hauling a couple of bags as he hovered close. Will knew well the closeness that Peter and West had shared, and understood West's desire to stay close, that sense of loyalty, and Will wasn't about to deny the man his chance to help. It was appreciated.

Worry had been replaced with a grim sense of determination in the MP; he wasn't about to be pulled under by the events of the past two days. He had a responsibility to show leadership and to stay in control especially when people were depending on him. Peter was depending on him.

His long coat hung open, his hands in its outer pockets cutting sheer lines of contrasting colours and textures with the layers he wore under it. His face was drawn, and his eyes hard as he walked into his house, his eyes glancing around as he looked for Marc.

The younger man was sitting on the couch running through his latest batch of prints, and blinked as he looked up at his boyfriend who wasn't due home for a few days. "Hey," he said standing up, still holding the photographs.

"Hey." Will softened a bit as he stepped into the living room.

"What's wrong?" Marc asked, dropping his photos and taking a worried step forward.

Lisa came through from the kitchen. "I have the coffee on," she said. "Alicia's on the phone to the RCMP, trying to get the latest."

"Right," Will said, turning. "I want you to get to the office, find out what's going on with the Prime Minister, I need a heads-up there while I deal with this." He glanced upstairs, "I'm also going to change, make sure I have everything we might need, it's going to be a long day." He marched off upstairs as Lisa turned to return to the kitchen.

Marc looked up after Will, contemplating going after him, before he looked over at the soldier standing uncertainly in the hall. "What's going on?" Marc asked with an up nod towards Will.

West blinked and glanced up the stairs. "Peter's missing," he explained absently.

"Missing?" Marc fumbled through the photos. "No he's not, I saw him the other night..." He pulled out the photograph he had taken the night he and Blake had gone looking for him, finding it and holding it up, "See?"

West took the photo, his eyes sweeping over the two Arabic men who were pushing a familiar blond man into the back of a minivan. He glanced over at the licence plate number clear as day on the back of the photo, and he sprinted upstairs.

* * *

Will had changed into a simple dark turtleneck and was going through a collection of photo-albums to find an up-to-date picture of Peter as West cleared his throat from the doorway, causing Will to look up at him.

"Yes?" Will asked, looking up questioningly.

"The guy downstairs took this the other night." West came into the room and extended the photograph.

Will accepted it, his hazel eyes sweeping over the scene, and his jaw setting firmly as he grabbed his heavy woollen coat and marched back downstairs sweeping it on, pausing a moment to look at a confused Marc sitting on the couch looking up at him.

"Thank you..." Will said sincerely.

Marc shrugged and shook his head, "I didn't do anything..."

Will smiled and nodded, already heading for the door, looking through into the kitchen at Alicia, "Come on, we have to get to the police station." He glanced over at Captain Harding, still looking uncertain. "West?" he asked, fishing out a set of keys and tossing them across to the young man.

West caught them neatly, and looked up, realizing that was Will's way of inviting him along. He nodded his gratitude on being included as he hurried out to start the Jeep.

Will stood still a moment, watching the people around him carry out their parts--West warming up the Jeep, Lisa coordinating with his office, while Alicia made arrangements with the police, finding out where they were supposed to be. He folded his arms and looked back towards Marc, sitting on the couch, looking worried and he took a moment to smile at him again.

Marc glancing up, smiled back, equally worried about the young man who was like family to the both of them.

Will nodded a final time and set out for the Jeep, climbing up into the passenger seat after allowing Alicia to climb into the back; she clicked her phone off and leaned forward on the seat.

"We're heading to the station on Elgin Street," she said with a nod.

West didn't hesitate; he shifted the Jeep into gear and the three set off towards the city.