'Tanya.'
The thought of who he saw in the picture stung him slightly. Pained him a little and yet he kept a cool demeanor. He knew it was her. Despite not having seen her for seven years, he would know her anywhere. Her hair, her eyes, those freckles, and that necklace. The same necklace he had given her all those years ago. She still wore it.
"It's a simple mission: bring in the asset for questioning," Chief Smith said nonchalantly which caused Caleb to perk up.
"Sir, with all due respect…for a simple extraction, why not have other agents carry out the task?" Caleb questioned.
Chief Smith gave Caleb a sharp look, "If you rather your pay for this mission go to someone else, feel free to leave the room. For a highly skilled operative as yourself, I would think you would want something easy for once, unless you don't have the skills to bring in the target" he said coldly.
Caleb clenched his jaw slightly. He didn't like being questioned about his skills one bit. Caleb knew that Chief Smith was baiting him and testing his patience, sometimes abusing his authority. "No sir, I'll take on the task," he said with his own bite but still managed a calm tone.
Chief Smith only nodded, though Caleb had a sense that the chief was slightly disappointed. "Objective is to be carried out within two weeks. Less than one week preference. The rest of your specs are in your folders. Mission starts now boys, head out. A helicopter will be waiting for you both."
"Yes sir," Manny said getting up and leaving with his folder.
Caleb looked down at his folder once again, studying the photo. There wasn't much else of the contents other than her basic info and her current location. Closing his folder, he left the room, and followed after Manny.
"Fuck…so much for a break," Manny mumbled.
Caleb shrugged, "Should be done in no time."
Manny nodded and smirked, "Damn you and the chief got some issues. Shit, I'm surprised you ain't been reprimanded each time."
"He knows better. That cocky SOB can't get away with anything around me and just because his daddy used to be director, he thinks he's the boss."
Manny snickered, "You got a point ace. Come on, let's get our gear and get out of here," he said heading off to his room to pack a few things.
Caleb nodded and headed to his room to do the same. Grabbing a duffel bag, he tossed it on his bed. He wasn't going to pack much with the intent to carry out the mission swiftly and with no problems. He pulled his gun out of its holster and checked to see if it was loaded. Check. Magazines loaded. Check.
He placed them back in their respective holsters and rummaged around for some clean shirts, some underwear and a pair of jeans. He changed out of his current uniform and into more casual clothing to look more like your everyday citizen. He placed his uniform and all contents into his duffel bag, with a few toiletries and zipped it up.
Before he left, something caught his eye, an envelope just laying on his desk and a rather old one at that. He walked over and picked it up. His name was on it but it was unopened. Tanya's letter to him when he had given her that necklace. Seven years and not opening it up. Why? He didn't quite know. So many times he looked at it but there it went unopened and just withering away on his desk.
Caleb glanced down at his desk a picture of the two of them together at his graduation from the police academy was underneath. He let out a sigh and placed the letter back on his desk where he found it over the photo. There was no time to be bothered by the past, or to let the quality of his work suffer because of personal reasons.
Grabbing his duffel, he headed out a met up with Manny on the roof where the helicopter was.
They headed for an open field, a distance away from the city they needed to be in to find their target. Exiting the helicopter with their items, and the keys to a car that would be waiting for them not too far from where they were, they walked with a slightly hurried pace but Caleb stalled a little bit to watch the helicopter leave and then disappear.
"Hey come on ace, time's wasting away!" Manny shouted out but his voice was more faint being how far apart they were.
Caleb caught up and got into the car with a little bit of a somber attitude, but an indifferent expression for his exterior. What did they want Tanya for exactly? He wasn't one to question his mission all too often, but why did they want her…
It was strange to be passing through his the area he grew up in but he kept that indifferent look with him. "Pull up to that hotel right there," Caleb pointed out. Manny nodded and pulled into the parking lot. After purchasing two separate rooms, they grabbed their things and went to respective quarters. Glancing out the window of his room, he watched the steady flow of cars traveling the roads. The city seemed busier nowadays.
Throwing his duffel onto the bed, he locked up and knocked on the door for Manny's room, "I'm off for an hour. Rendezvous back here and we'll head out for our prelims."
Walking the streets, Caleb couldn't help but feel some memories creep back up on him. So often him and Tanya would stroll the streets. Sometimes for fun, sometimes out of boredom, or sometimes because they needed to. Shaking his head he knew he had to focus.
There were some new places, business, and stores. Some old things replaced with new things. Caleb glanced to the other side of the street at the people walking to and fro. He wouldn't have been surprised if knew some of them. Not everyone left and just stuck around.
He paused when a building caught his eye. Allen Community Clinic. That wasn't there before. Something about it drew him to dwell on the sight of the building a little longer than he should have. 'Allen Community Clinic.' The thought lingered there. If he didn't know any better, he would have given a guess that Tanya was the owner of that clinic. He remembered a conversation they once had of her stating she wanted to become a doctor and open up her own private practice. A small smirk crossed his lips, at least she was an easy find. Sure the building name was listed in the folder under her current employer, but to see it in person was a little different.
Caleb headed back for the hotel, ready to initiate the stakeout for the next few days. They needed a few days to get the gist of her habits and routine. After getting that down, they'd look for the most opportune moment to grab her and go. Knocking on Manny's door, he rolled his eyes when he heard stifled laughter and giggles along with movement.
"Hey can't you read the sign buddy?! It says do not disturb!" came the angered shout from inside from Manny.
"I told you one hour Sauvain. It's time to go," Caleb responded back and crossed his arms while he waited. A few short moments later after a expletive coming from Manny, the door opened and Caleb stood aside to let a female pass by and leave.
"Damn can't catch a break…" Manny mumbled only to throw his hands up in mock surrender, "I'm just kidding ace, didn't realize time went by fast."
They drove toward the clinic but split up upon arrival. Manny headed inside the clinic to find out their hours while Caleb took a seat outside of a deli located right across from the clinic. He looked around, taking note of the surroundings from the menu laying across the table, the people passing by, and the people going in and out of buildings. Sure people watching might be a little odd, but for his job it was normal.
It wasn't too long after that Manny returned and took a seat at the table and picked up the menu, "They close nineteen hundred hours and open zero seven hundred hours. If you don't mind I'm gonna grab a bite," he said getting up and heading inside the deli when Caleb gave a nod.
Caleb glanced at his watch. Just a few more hours until the clinic closed. He looked up, eyes fixed on the front of the clinic. Suddenly he felt his heart rate quicken. There she was. He watched her intently as she got in the drivers seat of a car parked in front of the clinic and drive off.
"Shit…" he muttered. He glanced inside the deli to see Manny still waiting for whatever it was he got. Caleb was debating whether or not he should leave but he couldn't leave Manny behind just to tail Tanya. He exhaled sharply as he contemplated what to do. Perhaps going inside the clinic wouldn't be a bad start. Poking his head through the door, he whistled, granting him a few looks from several patrons of the deli. "Hey she left…I'm gonna go over and find out something," he said speaking directly to Manny who finally acknowledged him.
Walking over to the clinic, he steadied his breathing as he stood at the front entrance. He glanced at the clinic hours displayed on the window of the glass door. Right above that he noted several names but one in particular caught his interest: Tanya Allen, FNP. So she wasn't a doctor but a family nurse practitioner. Caleb gripped the handle and then walked into the clinic.
Looking around, it wasn't too busy. A few people were in the lobby waiting area reading magazines, chatting amongst each other or looking up at the television mounted to the wall with a local news broadcast currently the show of choice. A female behind the receptionist desk looked up to spot Caleb. With a warm smile, she tilted her head, "Can I help you sir?" she asked in a gentle tone, although there was a slight commanding tone.
Making eye contact with the young receptionist, he returned the smile yet he was feigning any sort of real emotion in it. "I was wondering if Miss Tanya Allen was in?" he asked the simple question as he stood in front of the desk.
Her smiled faded at his question, "Well I'm sorry sir, she left for the day. May I ask what business you have with her?"
"Just wanted to stop by and say hello to her. She's an old friend."
The receptionist nodded, "Okay, I'll let know you came in. Can I get your name and do you have a message you'd like to leave her?" she asked as she grabbed a nearby notepad and pen to jot down anything Caleb would say.
Caleb raised a brow and leaned forward and folded his arms across the top of the desk counter in a casual manner, "So forward. If I didn't know better maybe you were flirting with me…" he said a little quietly. Seeing her blush, he stayed in the position he was in. He knew what the receptionist had said wasn't exactly flirting but he was going to play on it to get what information he needed. When the receptionist leaned forward slightly, he knew he had her where he wanted her to be. "I know I shouldn't say this but usually days after she leaves early for the day, she stays after hours and into the dark the next day," the receptionist whispered with a slightly coy smile.
Caleb winked, "Thank you ma'am. Perhaps I'll come by next time and I'll be able to catch her before she leaves."
They both leaned back and straightened up, "Oh just call me Tina. And I will make sure to let her know you stopped by," she said smiling.
Caleb nodded and then left the clinic. He had to shake his head after he left. Tina sure was naive but then she was young and most likely not used to attention from men. That had to be the most easiest successful information extraction attempt he had experienced.
Heading back to the deli, something nagged at him in the back of his mind. There was something odd about the mission, he could feel it but then again people change over the years. But Tanya looked no different than she did before. That bothered him slightly. With no changes, what was the likelihood that her personality was any different? What had she gotten herself into that they would want her brought in for questioning?