Chapter 1 – Recovery
2 Years later...
"Ugh we've been out here for like what an hour and a half? Where the hell is this guy?"
"Just be patient Linc. He'll show, eventually."
"Whatever Dave. All I know is I am bored off my ass here and I want to go home. I have things to do you know."
"I'm Sure you do."
Today marked Dave's 3 month anniversary since joining The Unit. He was making remarkable progress in his recovery since his downward spiral over the death of his former FBI partner Roger Carrigan. He'd stopped drinking and was attending regular sessions with an in-house therapist at the dollhouse for grief counseling. He was settling into his newfound position pretty well. Life was becoming bearable for him again, even enjoyable at times. He owed much of that to his partner Lincoln Burrios. Lincoln was there every step of the way during Dave's hard recovery. He convinced him to see an in-house therapist as well as checked up on him daily; after all they did work closely together. Dave appreciated everything that Lincoln had been doing for him. After a while he considered the younger man to be his best friend and inspiration for getting better.
Dave and Lincoln were sitting in Dave's black SUV outside of a ramshackle tavern deep in the Los Angeles metro area. They were waiting for a shady informant to show up. The man's name was Dusty Vincent Monroe. He was a recent parolee who claimed to have information about the death of a stripper in Sacramento. The suspect was a man named Pete Halliwell. The police couldn't find him after he went into hiding in Los Angeles so they employed the FBI to track him. Monroe claims to know the whereabouts of Pete and was willing to give him up for a modest fee.
It was about 6:34PM when they arrived at the bar. Dave was used to working overtime when he was with the Bureau so this didn't bother him much. Besides any excuse to hang out with Lincoln was worth it. Dave didn't know when or why but he knew he was falling for the younger man. He almost saw it as love at first sight, but not quite. Everything about Lincoln intrigued him, the way he laughed, smiled, smelled, his voice, everything. Although Dave knew Lincoln was gay he couldn't make a move. Lincoln was involved in a relationship with someone, someone Dave wasn't particularly fond of.
"So Dave..." Lincoln began.
"Yes Linc?"
"You and John..."
"Ugh not this again." Dave said shaking his head and chuckling. It had been months since Lincoln first learned that Dave and his boyfriend Agent John Cena had some sort of past they both were keeping mum about. The curious psychic was eager to find out what that past was and why they didn't want to talk about it, but to no avail. Neither man was speaking. This was very frustrating for Lincoln. Dave however was glad that John was following suit and not divulging any information about their past, although he was surprised that the slightly younger agent wouldn't take this opportunity to make Dave look bad. They had a very tense relationship. They seemed to remain cordial around Lincoln, although there certainly were heated moments that the younger man didn't seem to notice between the two men.
"Oh c'mon Dave. Tell me. What is this big secret that you two have? Why won't you tell me?"
"Look Linc it's nothing, I swear. John and I just worked together back at the Bureau that's all. There's nothing more."
"I don't believe you. There's more to it than that. I know there is. You two always tense up when you're around each other. I find that to be very odd."
"Believe what you want to buddy."
"I will." Lincoln said defiantly. He crossed his arms and stared out the window.
Dave smiled and focused his attention at the dashboard. He glanced over occasionally at the excited man sitting next to him. He could tell Lincoln was growing restless and impatient. He wasn't sure how many informant meetings Lincoln had been on before but they usually require you wait a good deal of time. He wasn't sure if Lincoln was being anxious over that or Dave's refusal to talk about him and John.
"So were you two partners or something? Like FBI partners, not sex partners."
"No Linc we weren't."
"Did you ever work together on a case?"
"Stop it."
"So that's a yes then? Thank you."
Dave grunted and returned to looking at the dashboard.
'Where the hell is this guy?'
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
They waited another half-hour before a man walked gingerly towards their vehicle from behind. Dave spotted the man in the rear view mirror. He seemed suspicious so Dave slowly reached for his gun and placed his hand on the handle.
"Linc..."
Lincoln quickly turned towards Dave.
"What?"
"I think he's here. Stay in the car."
Dave got out of the SUV and saw the man. The stranger stopped dead in his tracks and started to back away slowly before turning around and running.
"HEY!" Dave yelled as he followed suit.
The man led Dave on a 15 second chase before the larger man caught up to him and speared him, sending him crashing on the ground.
"FBI."
"DAMMIT GET OFF ME! I'M THE INFORMANT!"
Dave stood up and brushed himself off. He offered a hand to the informant, to which he coldly rejected it.
"Why the hell did you run?" Dave asked frustrated. He hated it when people made him give chase.
"I got scared OK." Monroe replied. He stood up and dusted his jacket off before giving Dave an angry look. "You didn't tell me you'd have company."
"He's my partner, there's nothing to worry about. Now let's get down to business. What information do you have to give me?"
"No sir. That's wasn't the deal. The deal was I get a modest 'Informant's fee' before I start talking."
"Talk first then you'll get what's coming to you."
"But—"
"SPEAK!" Dave growled. Monroe quivered and sighed.
"Alright! Pete's been hiding out in this abandon warehouse down by the docks. He's scared shitless about getting caught. He says he didn't kill that whore but-"
"Give me specifics Monroe."
"The abandon warehouse near pier 32, just past the fish market. He's packing heat so watch out."
"OK thanks." Dave began to walk away when Monroe stopped him.
"HEY! Where's my money?"
"When we capture him, then you'll get your money. I'll keep in touch."
Dave continued to walk back to his vehicle. He saw that Lincoln was still waiting for him inside. He opened the driver side door and stepped back in.
"Well?"
"Abandon warehouse by the docks. Next to pier 32, past the fish market."
"Alright."
Lincoln grabbed his phone and texted the field agents the location of Pete Halliwell. After sending the text message, he put his phone back into his pocket.
"Now we play the waiting game." Dave said sarcastically.
"Oh no we don't. Now we go home. You can do whatever you want." Lincoln replied.
"How about we just go back to the Dollhouse and write up our reports then call it a day?"
"Fine. Hope it doesn't take long. I got plans."
"What kind of plans?" Dave asked intrigued.
"John and I are having dinner tonight at his place. He's cooking pasta."
"Oh..." Dave had hoped that he and Lincoln could spend the evening together but it looks like those plans will have to be postponed. Dave cranked the vehicle and both men headed back to base central.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
As they neared the Kelencine building, Dave slowed down. They reached the parking garage security checkpoint. Dave reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his standard issue security clearance card. He swiped it on the panel, which gained him entry into the garage. He found his usual parking spot under the flickering florescence light near the north wall and turned off the engine. Both men stepped out and walked over to the elevator. Dave placed his palm on the biometric scanner and waited.
IDENTITY CONFIRMED: DAVID MICHAEL BATISTA
The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Lincoln was busy texting someone while Dave thought about the task at hand. He didn't particularly like writing reports but it was a necessary component of the job. He'd rather get it done today as the case was still fresh on his mind.
They rode the elevator down about 5 floors before reaching their destination.
"Here we are, the Dollhouse."
The Dollhouse was a code name for the base of operations for The Unit, a secret division of the FBI charged with solving crimes of a paranormal and unusual nature. Dave was 3 months into his tenure at The Unit and was on a sort of 'probation period'. He and Lincoln were given basic cases, cast offs from the actual FBI, the typical cases until Dave could prove himself to be a quality agent. He didn't know when this period would end but didn't mind. Dave wasn't entirely sure he would be able to handle cases outside of the norm. Things like psychics, mutated monsters and other unexplainable phenomenon. He was still wrapping his head around the incident 3 months ago involving the Mayor of Los Angeles Mark Hanson and his ability to remote view.
They stepped out of the elevator and headed towards Dave's office. Lincoln followed closely behind Dave, who he occasionally bumped into as they walked, his attention focused primarily on his Blackberry.
As they reached Dave's office, he held the door open for Lincoln, a bold gentlemen's move. Lincoln walked in without acknowledging the gesture. Dave wondered who he was texting, John probably.
"Alright. Let's do this and then we can leave." Dave said exhaustedly.
"Sure."
Dave's office was small and petite, a huge contrast from his previous office at the Bureau. He didn't mind though. It suited him perfectly.
Dave booted up his computer and login to his secure account. He launched the word processing application and began typing away. Lincoln finally put his phone away moments later and reached in his bag to pull out his laptop. He too login to his account and started to type up his report.
"So who were you texting?" Dave asked casually. He kept his focus on this computer screen.
"Just John." Lincoln answered.
"I see."
"What's that suppose to mean Davey?" Lincoln asked playfully.
"Nothing. Just saying."
"OK..."
They spent 10 minutes on their computers when Dave's cell ranged.
"Agent Batista...great news. Thanks."
"They find Pete?"
"Yeah. Turns out Monroe was right."
"That's good. Maybe now we can actually work on cases we were meant to and not scraps from the Origs."
"The 'Origs'?" Dave asked confused.
"The original FBI. That's what we call them around here. Origs."
"How clever. Well I'm finished. How bout you?"
"I've been finished buddy. Ready to go."
Dave nodded.
"Well Dave I'm going home now. Gotta get ready for my date with John."
"Have fun." Dave said unenthusiastically.
"You have a therapy session tomorrow morning right?"
"Yeah. 8:00 AM sharp."
"OK. I'll just drive myself to work then. We'll carpool the rest of the week though OK?"
"Yeah that's fine."
"Bye Dave." Lincoln smiled, packed up his stuff and left the office.
"Ugh." Dave sighed and leaned back into his chair. He thought about his recent progress with his drinking issues. Even though he was desperately craving a glass of scotch right now he decided against it. He worked hard enough as it is to stay sober for months now. He wasn't going to give that up. He decided to head home and watch some classic movies on his flatscreen.
"One step at a time buddy." He told himself as he stood up from his chair. He grabbed his things, turned off the lights and headed home. Tomorrow would bring better things for him, he just knew it.
...