Steele Trying to Get it Right Part 7
Date: Monday, November 11, 2002

Krebbie <Krebbie@krebsfiles.com>

Sorry this has taken so long- but no one wanted to volunteer for the
next part...

Steele Trying to Get it Right Part 7

By Nancy Eddy

NOTE: This story is not a part of Debra Talley's "Brendan Universe"
series of RS fic.

As Remington spoke, a knock at the door brought his attention to Agent
Lawton. The FBI agent's eyes moved from Remington and then to Laura
before he motioned toward the telephone. Lawton nodded to one of his
men, sending him toward the door as Remington forced himself to speak
into the telephone.

"Hello?" His eyes widened as he saw who was entering the apartment,
being searched by Lawton's men.

Suddenly all of Remington's attention was focused on the telephone as
someone spoke to him. "If you want to see your son again, Steele," the
caller warned, "get rid of the cops- and the phone tap. I'll call back
in an hour." *Click!* Remington glanced at the officer who had been
attempting the trace, frowning as the man shook his head.

"Sorry, Mr. Steele, it wasn't long enough."

Tony Roselli's chin dimple deepened as he smiled a bit nervously.
"Something goin' on?" he asked Laura.

"Tony," Laura sighed, sounding relieved.

Uncertain of his reason, Remington moved to place a protective arm
around his wife's shoulders. "Not to sound inhospitable, Antony, but-
what are you doing here?"

Tony smiled again as he shrugged. "I was in the area, thought I'd drop
by, see how things were going."

Lawton stood nearby, frowning. "I take it you know this man, Mr.
Steele?" he questioned in his no-nonsense tone.

"Oh, we've known Antony for- some time," Remington admitted.

"Antony?" Lawton prompted.

Tony extended his hand. "Tony Roselli," he said.

"I'm sorry," Laura told them. "Tony, this is Special Agent Lawton from
the FBI. He's in charge of the investigation-"

Tony shook Lawton's hand, and then asked, "Investigation?"

Remington's hold on Laura tightened. "Someone kidnapped our son from the
hospital this morning," he explained.

The look of surprise in Tony's eyes would have given Remington reason to
smile under other circumstances. "Your son? I guess I'm a bit out of
the loop, huh?"

Lawton turned his attention to Remington. "What did the caller say, Mr.
Steele?"

"That he wants you and your telephone tap out of here before he calls
back in an hour," Remington said.

"How did he know there was a tap?" Laura wondered.

Lawton sighed. "There's a device that will tell, Mrs. Steele,"
explained. "But it's not something most people would have access to."

"That narrows the search, doesn't it, Agent Lawton?" Laura asked.

"Possibly. It's your call, Mr. and Mrs. Steele, do we go or stay?"

Remington looked down at Laura's worried face, and saw the answer to the
question. "You're sure?" he asked her. "We're talking about Brendan's
life-"

"I'm sure Agent Lawton and his men can stay close without being too
close," she nodded, sounding a bit more like the Laura of old. There
was a determination in her tone now that had been missing when she'd
first gotten the news about the kidnapping. "And a tap might not even
do any good if they're using a telephone booth," she pointed out.

Lawton nodded slowly. "Okay. But we'll be close by- just in case.
Let's go, men. Clean it up."

"Nice meeting you, Agent Lawton," Tony said.

"Same here, Mr. Roselli," Lawton replied, and Remington wondered if he
imagined the assessing look that the agent sent Antony's way. "Mr.
Steele- could I have a word with you? Privately?"

"Of course," Remington said, reluctantly leaving Laura with Antony- and
Lawton's men.

He followed Lawton out into the hallway. "How well do you know Tony
Roselli, Mr. Steele?" Lawton asked, glancing behind Remington through
the open doorway.

"We met him in Mexico on our honeymoon," Remington volunteered, "and
then again in London and Ireland."

"I thought the name was familiar," Lawton nodded. "You're aware that he
left the CIA?"

"No, I wasn't aware of that. We haven't seen him in almost two years.
Not since Ireland."

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong, Mr. Steele," Lawton cautioned,
"but I had a friend at the CIA when Roselli came back after what
happened. He 'voluntarily' resigned- mostly to keep from being kicked
out for violating agency protocol by involving civilians in a case
without approval. Wasn't the first time it had happened. I'd just- keep
an eye on him, if I were you."

"Oh, don't worry, Agent Lawton," Remington said, glancing over his
shoulder and giving Laura and Antony a smile of reassurance, "I know
better than to take my eyes off of Antony Roselli."

Remington returned to the apartment as Lawton's men were leaving. He
was gratified when Laura came up to him and put her arms around him.
"How much longer before they call again?" she asked.

Glancing at this watch, Remington said, "Almost thirty minutes. Why
don't you go get some rest?" he suggested. "You're just out of
hospital-"

Laura shook her head. "I'm fine," she insisted, going into stubborn
mode.

"You were in the hospital?" Tony questioned, obviously concerned.

"Brendan was just born last night," Laura explained.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Tony apologized. "Must be rough. If there's anything
I can do to help, just let me know."

"Thank you," Laura told him, moving away from Remington and beginning to
pace toward the window.

"You have any leads?" Tony asked Remington.

"Nothing concrete," Remington responded, not sure he wanted to be fully
candid with the other man. "It's possibly a case that we worked on,
but-"

"Yeah. I guess you've made a few enemies over the years," Tony agreed.
"I'm sure he'll be okay, Laura," Tony told her.

"I hope so," she said, standing at the window, her arms folded across
her waist.

Remington went to her, pulling her into his arms. "He will be, love," he
said. "I promise. Whatever it takes, I'll get him home."

Tony spoke after a moment of silence. "Look, I've got some other stops
to make. I'll be in touch. I'm staying at the Hilton. Leave a message
there for me if there's anything-"

"Thanks," Remington said.

"I might even ask around, see what I can pick up. Might be something on
the street," he added, going to the door. "I'll call," he said before
leaving the apartment.

Remington's gaze locked on the closed door once Tony was gone, and
evidently Laura noticed, because she asked, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Just- curious about the timing of Antony's surprise visit," he told
her.

"You don't think that Tony-"

"Laura- the person that called you and warned you that Mildred and I
were walking into a trap at Hapgood's warehouse- did you recognize his
voice?"

She started to shake her head, then stopped. "It was familiar- but I
can't say that it was Tony's-"

"The person who called me at the office, told me to come back here? That
voice was familiar, too. And it *could* have been Antony, trying to
disguise his voice," Remington told her.

"And the third call?"

Remington sighed. "It was the same voice," he nodded, the wind going out
of his sails a bit.

"Which means that it couldn't have been Tony, because he was standing
*right here*," Laura pointed out. She shook her head. "I can't believe
that, even after two years, you're *still* jealous of him!" Laura
declared, moving across the room.

"I am *not* jealous of Antony Roselli," Remington returned. "I'm trying
to locate our son's whereabouts," he reminded her. "And anywhere that
man goes, trouble seems to follow."

"He's not the only one," Laura pointed out. "We seem to have that same
problem, remember? I knew having a baby was a mistake. How are we ever
going to keep him safe- if we *do* manage to find him?"

"We'll find him, Laura," Remington promised. "And when we do, we'll
take care of the rest," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Let's not
fight anymore, okay? It's tension. Pure, unadulterated tension, that's
all. Why don't we just sit down," he pulled her onto the sofa at his
side and tucked her neatly under his shoulder, "and rest until the next
call comes in, eh?"

He felt the tension ease from Laura's body and she seemed to relax
against him. "There are times, Remington, when it's nice letting you be
the strong one."

"Shh," Remington admonished gently. "Rest."

****

In Hapgood's office, Trevor hit the button on the tape recorder. "If
you want to see your son again, Steele, get rid of the cops- and the
phone tap. I'll call back in an hour," Tony Roselli's disguised voice
said.

Richard Hapgood grabbed the small recorder away from the boy. "Leave
that alone."

"I just don't understand why he did it. Why couldn't he have been here
to talk to Steele in person?"

Tony answered the question himself from the doorway. "Because I wanted
to be at Steele's when the call came in to provide an alibi, that's why.
Not that it's any of your business," he said, motioning for Robbie to
get out of the chair in which he was sitting. Once Robbie vacated it,
Tony dropped heavily into the seat, making Hapgood wince.

"Does it mean I'm stupid if I don't understand?" Trevor asked.

"You're stupid anyway," Robbie declared, trying to sound as if
understanding Tony Roselli's statement was a no-brainer. "So it doesn't
matter."

"Take that back," Trevor ordered, confronting the other man.

"Com'on, Young Blood," Robbie said, "Think for a change."

A switchblade appeared in Trevor's thin hand, the business end pressed
against Robbie's wider girth. "Take that back," Trevor warned.

Tony sighed. "They always like this, Dick?" he asked. "No wonder you
messed it up and had to call me in."

"Trevor, you and Robbie take this outside," Hapgood ordered. "Go get
some coffee. Check on how Lexis is doing with the infant."

Both Robbie and Trevor shot angry looks at Tony Roselli as they left the
office.

Once they were alone, Hapgood stood up and dropped the tape recorder
into Tony's lap. "Now, why don't you explain that to *me*?" he
demanded.

Tony put the recorder on the desk, then lounged back, his fingers laced
behind his head. "You *do* want the map, don't you, Dick?"

Hapgood's narrow, beady eyes narrowed further. "I thought that was what
I hired *you* to do."

"And you'll have it. But on my terms."

"What do you mean?"

"Give the baby back to the Steeles."

"Are you out of your mind? This was your idea was to begin with!"
Hapgood shouted.

"I made a slight- error in my calculations," Tony explained, "Kidnapping
that baby would have gotten *you* want you wanted- but it won't get me
what *I* want."

"And what is that?" Hapgood asked.

Tony lifted his head, smiling. "To take Steele out of the picture-
completely," he explained.

***

When the telephone rang again, Remington barely waited for it to finish
before he grabbed the receiver. "Steele here."

"You'll find your baby in a laundry basket at the Laundromat at the
corner of 14th and Cheshire," the voice said quickly. "I'll be in
touch." *Click!*

"What did he say?" Laura asked, watching as he hung up the phone.

"Come with me," Remington said, pulling her toward the door.

"Where are we going?"

"To retrieve Brendan," he explained.

The ever-faithful Fred was waiting downstairs with the limo, and
Remington gave the driver the address as he assisted Laura into the back
of the long black vehicle. "And hurry, Fred."

***

14th and Cheshire was in a run-down part of the city, and Remington
noticed several eyes turning toward the expensive car as Fred parked it
on the curb. Glancing behind him, he noticed Agent Lawton's black,
non-descript car halfway down the block.

Laura was out of the car before Remington could open the door for her,
and he rushed to keep up with her as she entered the glass-fronted
laundry. It was deserted, except for a blue clothesbasket sitting on a
table. They exchanged a hopeful glance, and then approached the basket
together.

Inside, wrapped snugly in an apparently clean blanket, lay Brendan
Steele. "Oh," Laura cried, reaching into the basket to hold her son.
"Thank God," she sighed, relaxing against Remington.

Remington put an arm around Laura, and reached out to touch Brendan on
the cheek as the door open to admit Lawton and Jermain.

"Everything okay?" Jermain asked.

"He seems fine," Laura said.

"Be a good idea to have him looked at by a doctor anyway," Lawton
suggested. "What did they ask for to return him?"

"Nothing," Remington responded, his gaze still locked on Brendan in
Laura's arms.

"Nothing?" Lawton repeated in disbelief. "You mean they returned the
child out of the goodness of their heart?"

"At the moment, I don't really care why they did it, Agent Lawton,"
Laura declared, moving toward the doorway. "I'm just glad he's home."

***

Tony entered Hapgood's office as the older man looked up at him with
expectation. "Is it done?"

"They found him. I don't think they'll be asking too many questions
about things - for awhile, anyway."

"What now? What's this grand plan you have to get that map for me?"

"Let me worry about that, Dick," Tony said. "You'll have your map in
twenty four hours."

To Be Continued . . .
To Part 8

---

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