Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:07:53 -0600
From: Paul Tolbert <jatonblue@gmail.com>
Subject: The Unit: Dream Catcher 2

Chapter 1 – Recovery

2 Years later...

"Ugh we've been out here for like what an hour and a half? Where the hell
is this guy?"

"Just be patient Linc. He'll show, eventually."

"Whatever Dave. All I know is I am bored off my ass here and I want to go
home. I have things to do you know."

"I'm Sure you do."

Today marked Dave's 3 month anniversary since joining The Unit. He was
making remarkable progress in his recovery since his downward spiral over
the death of his former FBI partner Roger Carrigan. He'd stopped drinking
and was attending regular sessions with an in-house therapist at the
dollhouse for grief counseling. He was settling into his newfound position
pretty well. Life was becoming bearable for him again, even enjoyable at
times. He owed much of that to his partner Lincoln Burrios. Lincoln was
there every step of the way during Dave's hard recovery. He convinced him
to see an in-house therapist as well as checked up on him daily; after all
they did work closely together. Dave appreciated everything that Lincoln
had been doing for him. After a while he considered the younger man to be
his best friend and inspiration for getting better.

Dave and Lincoln were sitting in Dave's black SUV outside of a ramshackle
tavern deep in the Los Angeles metro area. They were waiting for a shady
informant to show up. The man's name was Dusty Vincent Monroe. He was a
recent parolee who claimed to have information about the death of a
stripper in Sacramento. The suspect was a man named Pete Halliwell. The
police couldn't find him after he went into hiding in Los Angeles so they
employed the FBI to track him. Monroe claims to know the whereabouts of
Pete and was willing to give him up for a modest fee.

It was about 6:34PM when they arrived at the bar. Dave was used to working
overtime when he was with the Bureau so this didn't bother him
much. Besides any excuse to hang out with Lincoln was worth it. Dave didn't
know when or why but he knew he was falling for the younger man. He almost
saw it as love at first sight, but not quite. Everything about Lincoln
intrigued him, the way he laughed, smiled, smelled, his voice,
everything. Although Dave knew Lincoln was gay he couldn't make a
move. Lincoln was involved in a relationship with someone, someone Dave
wasn't particularly fond of.

"So Dave..." Lincoln began.

"Yes Linc?"

"You and John..."

"Ugh not this again." Dave said shaking his head and chuckling. It had been
months since Lincoln first learned that Dave and his boyfriend Agent John
Cena had some sort of past they both were keeping mum about. The curious
psychic was eager to find out what that past was and why they didn't want
to talk about it, but to no avail. Neither man was speaking. This was very
frustrating for Lincoln. Dave however was glad that John was following suit
and not divulging any information about their past, although he was
surprised that the slightly younger agent wouldn't take this opportunity to
make Dave look bad. They had a very tense relationship. They seemed to
remain cordial around Lincoln, although there certainly were heated moments
that the younger man didn't seem to notice between the two men.

"Oh c'mon Dave. Tell me. What is this big secret that you two have? Why
won't you tell me?"

"Look Linc it's nothing, I swear. John and I just worked together back at
the Bureau that's all. There's nothing more."

"I don't believe you. There's more to it than that. I know there is. You
two always tense up when you're around each other. I find that to be very
odd."

"Believe what you want to buddy."

"I will." Lincoln said defiantly. He crossed his arms and stared out the
window.

Dave smiled and focused his attention at the dashboard. He glanced over
occasionally at the excited man sitting next to him. He could tell Lincoln
was growing restless and impatient. He wasn't sure how many informant
meetings Lincoln had been on before but they usually require you wait a
good deal of time. He wasn't sure if Lincoln was being anxious over that or
Dave's refusal to talk about him and John.

"So were you two partners or something? Like FBI partners, not sex
partners."

"No Linc we weren't."

"Did you ever work together on a case?"

"Stop it."

"So that's a yes then? Thank you."

Dave grunted and returned to looking at the dashboard.

'Where the hell is this guy?'

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

They waited another half-hour before a man walked gingerly towards their
vehicle from behind. Dave spotted the man in the rear view mirror. He
seemed suspicious so Dave slowly reached for his gun and placed his hand on
the handle.

"Linc..."

Lincoln quickly turned towards Dave.

"What?"

"I think he's here. Stay in the car."

Dave got out of the SUV and saw the man. The stranger stopped dead in his
tracks and started to back away slowly before turning around and running.

"HEY!" Dave yelled as he followed suit.

The man led Dave on a 15 second chase before the larger man caught up to
him and speared him, sending him crashing on the ground.

"FBI."

"DAMMIT GET OFF ME! I'M THE INFORMANT!"

Dave stood up and brushed himself off. He offered a hand to the informant,
to which he coldly rejected it.

"Why the hell did you run?" Dave asked frustrated. He hated it when people
made him give chase.

"I got scared OK." Monroe replied. He stood up and dusted his jacket off
before giving Dave an angry look. "You didn't tell me you'd have company."

"He's my partner, there's nothing to worry about. Now let's get down to
business. What information do you have to give me?"

"No sir. That's wasn't the deal. The deal was I get a modest 'Informant's
fee' before I start talking."

"Talk first then you'll get what's coming to you."

"But—"

"SPEAK!" Dave growled. Monroe quivered and sighed.

"Alright! Pete's been hiding out in this abandon warehouse down by the
docks. He's scared shitless about getting caught. He says he didn't kill
that whore but-"

"Give me specifics Monroe."

"The abandon warehouse near pier 32, just past the fish market. He's
packing heat so watch out."

"OK thanks." Dave began to walk away when Monroe stopped him.

"HEY! Where's my money?"

"When we capture him, then you'll get your money. I'll keep in touch."

Dave continued to walk back to his vehicle. He saw that Lincoln was still
waiting for him inside. He opened the driver side door and stepped back in.

"Well?"

"Abandon warehouse by the docks. Next to pier 32, past the fish market."

"Alright."

Lincoln grabbed his phone and texted the field agents the location of Pete
Halliwell. After sending the text message, he put his phone back into his
pocket.

"Now we play the waiting game." Dave said sarcastically.

"Oh no we don't. Now we go home. You can do whatever you want." Lincoln
replied.

"How about we just go back to the Dollhouse and write up our reports then
call it a day?"

"Fine. Hope it doesn't take long. I got plans."

"What kind of plans?" Dave asked intrigued.

"John and I are having dinner tonight at his place. He's cooking pasta."

"Oh..." Dave had hoped that he and Lincoln could spend the evening together
but it looks like those plans will have to be postponed. Dave cranked the
vehicle and both men headed back to base central.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

As they neared the Kelencine building, Dave slowed down. They reached the
parking garage security checkpoint. Dave reached into his coat pocket and
pulled out his standard issue security clearance card. He swiped it on the
panel, which gained him entry into the garage. He found his usual parking
spot under the flickering florescence light near the north wall and turned
off the engine. Both men stepped out and walked over to the elevator. Dave
placed his palm on the biometric scanner and waited.

IDENTITY CONFIRMED: DAVID MICHAEL BATISTA

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Lincoln was busy texting
someone while Dave thought about the task at hand. He didn't particularly
like writing reports but it was a necessary component of the job. He'd
rather get it done today as the case was still fresh on his mind.

They rode the elevator down about 5 floors before reaching their
destination.

"Here we are, the Dollhouse."

The Dollhouse was a code name for the base of operations for The Unit, a
secret division of the FBI charged with solving crimes of a paranormal and
unusual nature. Dave was 3 months into his tenure at The Unit and was on a
sort of 'probation period'. He and Lincoln were given basic cases, cast
offs from the actual FBI, the typical cases until Dave could prove himself
to be a quality agent. He didn't know when this period would end but didn't
mind. Dave wasn't entirely sure he would be able to handle cases outside of
the norm. Things like psychics, mutated monsters and other unexplainable
phenomenon. He was still wrapping his head around the incident 3 months ago
involving the Mayor of Los Angeles Mark Hanson and his ability to remote
view.

They stepped out of the elevator and headed towards Dave's office. Lincoln
followed closely behind Dave, who he occasionally bumped into as they
walked, his attention focused primarily on his Blackberry.

As they reached Dave's office, he held the door open for Lincoln, a bold
gentlemen's move. Lincoln walked in without acknowledging the gesture. Dave
wondered who he was texting, John probably.

"Alright. Let's do this and then we can leave." Dave said exhaustedly.

"Sure."

Dave's office was small and petite, a huge contrast from his previous
office at the Bureau. He didn't mind though. It suited him perfectly.

Dave booted up his computer and login to his secure account. He launched
the word processing application and began typing away. Lincoln finally put
his phone away moments later and reached in his bag to pull out his
laptop. He too login to his account and started to type up his report.

"So who were you texting?" Dave asked casually. He kept his focus on this
computer screen.

"Just John." Lincoln answered.

"I see."

"What's that suppose to mean Davey?" Lincoln asked playfully.

"Nothing. Just saying."

"OK..."

They spent 10 minutes on their computers when Dave's cell ranged.

"Agent Batista...great news. Thanks."

"They find Pete?"

"Yeah. Turns out Monroe was right."

"That's good. Maybe now we can actually work on cases we were meant to and
not scraps from the Origs."

"The 'Origs'?" Dave asked confused.

"The original FBI. That's what we call them around here. Origs."

"How clever. Well I'm finished. How bout you?"

"I've been finished buddy. Ready to go."

Dave nodded.

"Well Dave I'm going home now. Gotta get ready for my date with John."

"Have fun." Dave said unenthusiastically.

"You have a therapy session tomorrow morning right?"

"Yeah. 8:00 AM sharp."

"OK. I'll just drive myself to work then. We'll carpool the rest of the
week though OK?"

"Yeah that's fine."

"Bye Dave." Lincoln smiled, packed up his stuff and left the office.

"Ugh." Dave sighed and leaned back into his chair. He thought about his
recent progress with his drinking issues. Even though he was desperately
craving a glass of scotch right now he decided against it. He worked hard
enough as it is to stay sober for months now. He wasn't going to give that
up. He decided to head home and watch some classic movies on his
flatscreen.

"One step at a time buddy." He told himself as he stood up from his chair.
He grabbed his things, turned off the lights and headed home. Tomorrow
would bring better things for him, he just knew it.

...