Warrumbungle Mountain Range
Coonabarabran
600km North of Sydney
Australia
Clay's image came immediately to the screen, sitting on the bed in his hotel room holding his cell phone looking dejected and alone until someone knocked at the door.
He answered it and Casey walked in.
Traci watched with a lump in her throat as in the next part of the tape Clay pulled Casey into his arms and kissed her.
The video tape panned to them sitting on a sofa, Clay with his arms around Casey as they drank cognac from balloon glasses and laughed.
Traci felt the hurt go through her like lightning.
She knew it was Palmer's way of getting to her, making her hate her partner.
There was no audio on the tape, just the visual images on continuous reel, the same scenes going over and over.
Missy sat on the cot in the corner, she knew her brother better than she knew herself.
She knew that what they were seeing was taken out of context but it didn't stop the devastated look from appearing on Traci's face.
"Traci?"
"Yeah.." her voice was husky from tears.
"This isn't real...it's a trick Palmer's using to make you feel like Clay isn't looking for us. The video has been spliced to make it look like a single sequence but it can't be."
"I know...but seeing Clay with Casey that way..." Missy nodded.
"You really love him don't you?" she asked
Traci looked at her, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
"Yeah...I guess I do."
Missy walked across the room to where Traci stood and hugged her tight.
"He's coming for us Traci...I know he is."
Traci nodded.
From behind the glass Palmer watched Traci's devastation with a gaze that was not dispassionate. He hated to cause her pain, but it was the only way to get her to join him.
He watched as Webb's brat sister hugged Traci.
He would hate to have to kill Missy she had been a worthy adversary, giving him as much trouble as she could.
But ...he couldn't very well have her reminding his Traci of all the things Webb still meant to her.
So she would have to die.
And Traci would be the one to kill her.
The video played long into the night, the flickering images imprinting themselves irreversibly on Traci's brain.
Palmer sat up all night, watching Traci as she sat and stared at the TV screen, tears running down her face.
He watched as hour by hour the tears slowed, then stopped, replaced instead with a hard, cold look. He knew then, that his Traci was ready....
Palmer entered the cell earlier than usual that morning, Traci had finally fallen asleep some time around 5am, but her sleep was fitful and she was plagued by dreams of Clay.
Palmer stood beside her cot watching her.
"What do you want Palmer?" she bit out angrily.
"I'm sorry, Traci, sorry he hurt you like that." Palmer said sympathetically.
Traci stared at him.
"Who? Webb?" Palmer nodded.
"Agent Clayton Webb means nothing to me, the Webb I knew is dead as far as I'm concerned." she growled.
Palmer leaned over and brushed a lock of blonde hair out of Traci's eyes.
"He never deserved a partner like you..."
Traci:
She stared back at him.
He was momentarily shocked at how much hatred he saw there.
"He never had me as a partner," she hissed.She cocked her head slightly.
"So, what did you have in mind?"
Passing a glance towards a sleeping Missy, he took Traci's hand and led her out the door stopping in the hallway.
"I have a proposition for you."
"I'm listening."
"What Webb did to you was uncalled for." Palmer lightly traced her jaw line. "He hurt you in ways you never should have been hurt. I will never do that to you."
"Is that what this is all about?" she laughed. "You want a date with me?"
"I want a partner," he replied matter-of-factly. "And I think you would be a perfect match for me."
"Is this for business or pleasure?"
"Business." He stopped, sinking deeper into her blue eyes. "But who knows what may happen down the line."
Visions of Webb in Casey's arms, kissing Casey, flashed through her mind once more.
She reached out her hand.
"Congratulations, Palmer, you have yourself a new partner."
He took her petite hand in his rough one and they shook on the deal.
"What about Missy?" Traci asked.
"I'll take care of her, don't worry."
As much as she hated Webb right now, Missy was still like a sister to her.... even more so than some of her own sisters.
"Come on, I have a lot to show you," he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders and leading her down the hallway.
Maritime Grand Hotel
Sydney City
Australia.
"This is my sister, AJ. And Mac's sister, my partner. Palmer's got them."
Webb paced around the room while Casey sat talking to a local contact she knew.
"AJ, please. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't need your help."
"Webb, how many times have you dragged my people into your schemes?" AJ barked.
"I know." He paused for a moment. "You're right. I shouldn't have called. I'll find another way."
Now it was Admiral Chegwidden's turn to feel bad.
Of all the crazy things Webb had dragged him, Mac, and Commander Rabb into, this one was hitting Webb hard.
"Webb, wait, I'll see what I can do. Just let me know what you need."
"Thank you."
"Just be sure to bring Traci and Missy back alive."
"I hope to," he whispered and closed the cell phone.
He passed a glance at Casey as she wrote down notes from her conversation.
A thin smile spread across his lips as he thought of Traci sitting in various hotel rooms doing the same thing.
How she would fight with her long hair as it fell in her face.
How she would stare off into space, deep in thought until he would scare her into the present.
How he often wished...
"Clay?"
He shook the thoughts from his head and stared at Casey as she stood before him.
"What did you find out?"
Casey turned and nervously pushed her hair back as she took her seat again.
"The, um, satellite photos were faked somehow. They think Palmer has managed to hook up via the satellite and transposed the images." She looked up at Webb. "I'm sorry."
She watched as his jaw tensed.
He walked over to the window, staring up at the stars.
"I want every bit of information we can get on Palmer. There's got to be a reason he's focusing in on me, or Missy, or Traci."
"Clay, you are the one who worked with him. Wouldn't the CIA Database have all that?"
He sighed.
"Case, I'm running out of ideas."
"Why don't you sit down. There's got to be something you're forgetting. Something that will break this wide open."
Sinking into the chair opposite her, he buried his face in his hands.
"Alright, was he ever up for a promotion that you got instead?"
Webb looked up and laughed.
"What kind of question is that Case?"
Casey shrugged and grinned.
"A start?"
"You might as well ask me if we fought over the same girl in high school."
"Did you?"
He glared at her, then something seemed to click.
"Wait a minute."
"What?"
"Pull up his CIA personnel file on the computer."
He got up and stood beside her as she typed in the necessary information.
"What are you hoping to find?"
"Verification of a hunch."
She arched an eyebrow at him.
"You? Clayton Webb playing on a hunch?"
She almost laughed, but stopped, afraid of the seriousness in his eyes.
"Here it comes." Casey's eyes grew wide as the picture downloaded. "Oh my... that's Traci,"
She said, staring at the picture of Clark Palmer with his wife and young son.
Webb shook his head.
"It's not our Traci. Her name was Tracey as well, but they are nothing alike."
"Does Palmer know that?"
"He should. His Tracey died years ago, and he?' blamed me ever since. His son was in a coma for years after that."
"After what?"
Webb began to pace.
"We had sent Palmer out on a mission to Central America.
He had asked that we keep an eye on his family since he had been receiving threats.
We tried to, but it was a crazy time then.
They were not our first priority.
Anyway, a terrorist group got hold of them, taking them to one of the islands. I led the rescue mission.We tried everything to keep them safe. I guess they were prepared for us. Tracey was the first to go." He closed his eyes. "I can still see it as if it were yesterday. They held her at the doorway and just shot her in the head."
Casey merely watched as he continued to pace.
"She was a sweet girl. She didn't deserve to die." He paused before continuing. "They managed to kill two more hostages before we got in. Dylan was too young to realize what was going on, and he started to cry. One of the animals threw him against the wall to get him to be quiet. He remained in a coma for 4 years after that. Last I had heard he was in an institution with severe brain damage."
"Clay, you can't blame yourself. You had no way of knowing."
"That's why he wants Traci. Not only does she look like his wife, she's the one way to get even with me."