Stuff Of Legend

Chapter 17

"Absolutely not!" Caldwell exclaimed. Piper and Charlie were sitting in the two chairs in front of his desk. Remus and Don were standing back towards the door, along with Brannon. Charlie had spoken to Caldwell about Piper going to interrogate Ondine earlier this morning. Piper knew she could get through to her, if only Caldwell would let her.

"But why?" Piper pleaded.

"Why?" Brannon spoke from behind, "Why? Because I high doubt that sending an ex criminal to interrogate a slave seller would prove helpful to anyone."

"That's enough, Franco," Caldwell said firmly.

"But that's exactly why I should do it," Piper said. Everyone in the room didn't understand her response. "Of course Ondine would never tell you all anything. You're ATLAS. You're all so official and so high and mighty; above the likes of Ondine Albert. She has no reason to talk to you. She knows my rep, she'll speak more clearly to me."

"I don't think sending in an untrained agent to deal with a matter as serious as this is a wise decision," Don spoke aloud, "but I do see the positive side to it. Ondine may be more open with someone of her own stature."

Caldwell pondered this for a while, rubbing his chin, starring at his desk in deep thought. His whole bald scalp moved as he puckered up his face in concentration. "Remus, you are technically the legal guardian to her. You've been in the field the most. I wanted to hear your opinion on this matter."

Remus was quiet at first but then spoke gingerly. "I'll admit it's a long shot. But I do think that Piper could reach out, much more than we can."

His words hung in the air. Everyone turned and waited to hear the directors answer. Slowly, he shared his thoughts. "I will call up the DC unit and let them know that we will be resuming interrogations."

And with that and an hour later, Piper found herself in the capital once more. Don was driving her, Remus, and Brannon to the DC headquarters. It's a much bigger space than Piper realized her first time around. They had buildings dedicated to labs, to holding cells, to conference rooms; it was essentially a college campus converted to the use of a government task force. The whole atmosphere is so much busier than back in King's Valley.

The car pulled in and parked in front of a low and small red brick building. Two armed guards stood out in front of it. Don, Remus, and Brannon flashed their badges and informed them that Piper was a part of their group. Not having a badge made Piper question if she was even considered an ATLAS agent, or was Caldwell keeping distance to see if she would eventually cause the team problems. If Piper didn't have a badge, whatever damage she would cause couldn't be linked back. At least, not officially.

As soon as they stepped into the building, an old man with large rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose greeted them. He was carrying a clipboard and a ring of keys. He held out his hand for Don to shake.

"Roger Hoy, keeper of keys here at the holding cells of the DC ATLAS headquarters." He proclaimed. His voice was old and weak, but his eyes were big and strong.

"Don Glaser," Don shook the old man's hand, "we are here to interrogate Mrs. Ondine Albert."

"Yes, they told me you were coming. This way if you please." Roger Hoy's walk was a shaky one. Piper could imagine him slipping, falling, and dying at any instant.

They didn't walk that far, but because of the key keeper's slowness, it felt like a million hours. Piper kept in step next to Brannon. She could feel his tense feelings about this. He clearly did not want Piper doing this, for whatever reason, she couldn't decipher. They eventually came to a stop in front of one of the solid metal doors. Hoy began to go through every key on the ring. After examining twenty plus keys, he eventually stuck one in the keyhole and opened the door.