The Answer

Chapter 15

David brisk walked into the darkness and turned to watch his friends leave. He watched from the shadows as they heaved the boat into the water, climbed in and began paddling as the waves picked up. He wasn't sure if letting them go by themselves was such a great idea, but it would do nobody any good if all three of them got compromised in case this mission failed.

Once they were out of sight, he turned and cautiously made his way to his car. He checked if he had been followed and breathed a sigh of relief when he couldn't see another soul. He got closer to his car and stopped in his tracks, he nimbly made his way back to the shadows undetected. He glanced at his car and confirmed his fear- someone was sitting in the front seat, waiting for him.

He drew his gun, hoping against hope he wouldn't have to use it. He fished around his other pocket and equipped it with a silencer; God, he really hoped he didn't have to use it. He slowly made his way down the opposite sidewalk, staking out his intruder. He sat still, as if trying not to be seen. He didn't seem to be looking in the direction David came from, perhaps he wasn't sure where David had gone.

He internally hoped that was true, because if this guy knew where David was headed it was likely that Gerard and Travis were screwed. It came around to the same side of the road as the car walking in the shadows towards it. He removed the safety and got ready to point it at the intruder in his car, as he got closer. On closer inspection, the intruder appeared to be speaking with earphones in his ears. On closer inspection David deduced he was lip syncing, gently bobbing his head to the beat.

David was confident it was a man, the body structure concurred with his suspicion. However it did seem like he wasn't ready for the kill, so David drew his gun to the window and knocked on the door. The intruder turned and a muffled high pitched scream came from the inside of David's car.

"Captain! It's me, please don't shoot!" Philip whaled, jumping out of his skin. David jumped back, as Philip stumbled out of the car absolutely livid. "What the hell, Philip? How did you find my car?"

Philip, now panting and trying to calm down, held up his hand gesturing for David to give him a minute. David tolled his eyes and got into the car.

"Get in, we'll talk on the way."

Philip nodded, seating himself in the front while hugging himself. David made with haste and sped out of the area, once they were a few blocks away he eased up and turned to Philip.

"Well? How'd you find me?"

Philip smiles sheepishly, "I've been following you and Gerard, I have an interesting development in my assignment."

David grimaced. Were they really that easy to follow? He hoped against hope Philip was really good at his job and this wasn't a shot mission. "I see. And?"

"Turns out the name Doctor George Wallis does check out, however there's also a sliver of data attaching him to another name- Samuel Otis."

David nodded, "And what's the deal with Samuel Otis?"

Philip sat up, pulling out a large file from his satchel. "Oh, he's a registered sex offender. Kicked out of college for beating up a few girls who refused him. He also was a math major, with an interesting thesis that got the Russian Intelligence's attention."

"I see. So Samuel Otis goes to college, studies Math and makes a thesis. The Russians like it, he gots nuts and gets kicked out for attacking women?"

"Exactly. The Russians attempted to contact him in his time at the university, however I can't be sure if he responded." Philip said.

David nodded thoughtfully, "What else?"

"Oh there's also some evidence that shows that Samuel Otis, now George Wallis, spent some time in captivity with the Russians after he was arrested by the SFPD."

David frowned, it seemed that the more information they found the less clear things seemed. "So it's possible he's been in cahoots with the Russians since his Samuel Otis days."

Philip nodded, "That would explain how he managed to get a new identity so easily; he family wasn't all that financially good."

"Do you have the thesis?"

Philip fished in his bag again, "Yeah, I found in deep in the worthless section of the web. I read some, it just seems like some nonsense about how the answer of the universe isn't 42 but rather 7."

David's eyes widened and he pulled up to the side, "You mean like the answer to the riddle he sent us to diffuse that bomb?"

Philip froze, that part had slipped out of his mind. "Shoot, exactly!"

"But his entire thesis is very loosely tied to facts and reality. He talks a lot about aliens and how they puppet our existence."

David gave him a weird look, "Okay, that bit may be far fetched but the thesis and connection between these two identities is a good place to begin our investigation."

"What can I do to help?" Philip bobbed in his seat.

"Find out anything else you can, hopefully more facts that tie this narrative together." David replied, unlocking the door. "I'll see you at the precinct."

Philip opened his mouth to protest, but took a quick analysis of David's expression and left without a word. He was starting to get the feeling all his superiors never failed to leave him dumbfounded.

David watched him leave, checking to see nobody followed Philip. While nothing about the case itself became clearer, one thing was- the Doctor wasn't someone to be messed with and everyone crossing him was in great potential danger. He rushed home and reached just in time for the kids to wake up. Sophie, his wife, was sleepily packing two lunches and checking her clock for the time repeatedly.

David walked in softly and gave her a tight hug, "Sorry I was out late, this case isn't anywhere near solved."

She returned the hug, concerned "How's Gerard taking it?"

"He's doing his best, I think the hope that his son is still alive keeps him going." David replied, taking over the kitchen duties gently.

Sophie turned on the coffee machine and got two cups, "Is it safe to stay?"

"Sadly, no. The only thing we keep finding out is our prime suspect is dangerous as hell," David sighed, looking at her with worry in his eyes.

"I'll take the kids to my parent's house," Sophie said, determined. "You be careful." She hugged him tighter, kissing his cheek.

David took a moment to linger in the tight embrace, "I'll get the kids ready, you pack?"

Sophie smiled, "Yup, they're your runts now."

David chuckled, "I guess I'll go wake the little beasts then."

An hour later, David was waving his family goodbye as they pulled out of the driveway. His song and daughter waved excitedly, ecstatic to be missing school and even more so to be going to see their grandparents. David hoped this gamble they were taking was worth it, he face was riddled with worry.

He could only hope Travis and Gerard pulled it off.