From: magsrose@comcast.net   
      
   Chapter 2   
      
      
      
   I got to meet two FBI agents. They came to ask my dad and his   
   coworkers for help on an important case they were working on. These   
   FBI agents are their friends and frequently ask them to find   
   information for them.   
      
      
      
      
   Emma was out shooting baskets in the alley when a dark blue sedan   
   pulled up and parked in Jimmy's spot. He was off visiting friends in   
   New York and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. Emma caught the   
   ball, holding it against her chest.   
      
   She watched as an intense looking man with blue eyes and brown hair a   
   lot like Jimmy's got out of the car on the driver's side. He was   
   wearing a dark gray suit. He stood looking at Emma with a bit of a   
   scowl on his face. She stood frozen in place. She wasn't sure whether   
   to be afraid of him or to introduce herself. She figured he had come   
   to see the Gunmen but he just stood there waiting for something. He   
   turned to look back at the car. Emma noticed that there was a woman   
   still in the front seat.   
      
   The woman opened her door and got out. She had brown hair that came   
   just below her shoulders. She was dressed in a white shirt and dark   
   pants. She smiled at Emma. Emma liked her already but she still wasn't   
   sure about the man. He continued to scowl at her.   
      
   Emma directed her question to the woman. "Can I help you?"   
      
   "We're here to see the Lone Gunmen," the woman told her.   
      
   "They're inside."   
      
   "Thanks." Then, "Can I ask you something?"   
      
   "I guess." Emma didn't want to be too chatty. They were strangers   
   after all.   
      
   "Do you live around here?"   
      
   "Sometimes."   
      
   The woman looked puzzled by that answer.   
      
   The man spoke for the first time, "Come on, Monica. We don't have a   
   lot of time."   
      
   With that Emma figured out who they were. She took a step toward them,   
   once again addressing the woman. "Are you Agent Reyes?"   
      
   "Yes, I am. But how did you know that?"   
      
   "My dad told me about you but he didn't say that you were coming here   
   today."   
      
   She turned to the man. "You must be Agent Doggett. My name is Emma   
   MacKenzie." Emma moved closer to them but stopped when the scowl on   
   Doggett's face grew deeper.   
      
   Emma wondered if she had said something to offend him.   
      
   "Your dad?" Agent Doggett asked.   
      
   "Yes, Melvin Frohike is my dad."   
      
   Both agents turned to look at each other. This was news to them.   
      
   "Come on. I'll tell them you're here." They followed Emma down the   
   stairs. She rang the buzzer to get someone to let them in.   
      
   Langly opened the door, "Well, if it isn't the G-man and the G-woman."   
   Emma ducked around the three of them and scurried upstairs to put the   
   basketball away. She didn't want to miss anything and she always   
   caught hell for leaving things, like the basketball, lying around and   
   having to put them away later. She ran back down the stairs to hear   
   what was going on.   
      
   They all stopped talking when she came up to join them. Her dad took   
   her aside. "You need to go back upstairs and wait there until someone   
   comes to get you."   
      
   "But why?" Emma wanted to know what the FBI agents had come to talk to   
   her dad and the guys about.   
      
   "Don't argue with me about this." He took her arm and started walking   
   her toward the stairs.   
      
   "Why can't I stay and listen? I won't say anything. I'll stay out of   
   the way."   
      
   Frohike was firm. "No. Just do as I ask. We'll talk about it later."   
      
   Emma started to say something else but Frohike stopped her. "Not   
   another word or you'll go sit in your room for a while."   
      
   Emma stomped up the stairs. It wasn't fair. How exciting was it to   
   have two honest-to-god FBI agents hanging around and she couldn't even   
   talk to them. And her dad had threatened to confine her to her room.   
   It just wasn't fair! She decided to go sit in her room anyway out of   
   spite. She flopped down on the bed and lay there contemplating the   
   injustices of the world that 12 year olds had to put up with.   
      
   What were they afraid of? She wasn't a little kid. She knew how to be   
   quiet when it was important. How come they always treated her like a   
   baby? Her mom would never have done this to her. Her mom had always   
   treated her like an adult. Well, kind of. But she never treated her   
   like a baby!   
      
   What could the agents want anyway? Her dad and the guys were just   
   journalists. They published a newspaper. That was all. Maybe the   
   agents were some of the confidential sources that were talked about in   
   their articles. Yeah, that would make sense. Man, she wanted to hear   
   what they were talking about! She was learning to help with the paper.   
   How could she ever learn if she got sent to her room when things just   
   got interesting?   
      
      
   Downstairs Langly was helping Doggett by hacking into the computer   
   system at a medical research facility. Monica watched them for a while   
   but decided that she could be of no real assistance. She turned her   
   mind to the second most interesting subject of the day.   
      
   "So, Frohike, you're a father? How did you keep this a secret for so   
   long?"   
      
   "I wasn't the one who chose to keep it a secret."   
      
   "How so?" Reyes had gotten to know the Gunmen better over the last few   
   months and now felt more comfortable around them.   
      
   "Her mother neglected to tell me about her until a few months ago when   
   she came to say that she was dying and did I want to know my daughter."   
      
   "That's too bad about her mother but I find it hard to believe that a   
   man of your intelligence in these days of HIV could find himself in   
   such a situation."   
      
   "Well, Emma wasn't born yesterday. We had HIV tests and all that but   
   her mother assured me that birth control was not a problem."   
      
   "It seems that it was a problem."   
      
   "No, not in her mind. She wanted to get pregnant. She was looking for   
   a `donor'."   
      
   "No offense but, she chose you?"   
      
   "Her decision. I guess she just couldn't resist the old Frohike charm."   
      
   "I guess not. It is difficult at times." She reached over and ran her   
   fingers through his hair. He knew she was teasing him but he didn't mind.   
      
   "Listen, Monica, can you do me a favor?"   
      
      
   While the others were engaged with various projects and conversations,   
   Byers went upstairs to talk to Emma. He felt bad that she'd been so   
   quickly dismissed with no explanation. She was a good kid, just   
   intelligent, which made her very curious. He found her in her room.   
   She was lying with her back to the open door. He knocked.   
      
   "What?" She didn't turn around to see who it was.   
      
   "Emma? Are you okay?" She sat up when she realized it was John and not   
   her father. It was her dad that she was really mad at.   
      
   "Yeah, I'm fine," she said but her voice and her body language told a   
   different story. He came and sat next to her on the bed. They sat that   
   way for a minute or so.   
      
   Emma played with the end of one braid while Byers waited for her to   
   say something. She decided to let go of some of her anger and leaned   
   against Byers, resting her head on his upper arm. He put his arm   
   around her drawing her closer.   
      
   Emma broke the silence. "I don't understand why I couldn't stay and   
   talk to the FBI agents."   
      
   "They came here to ask for our help with a case they are working on.   
   They don't have much time or we would've explained why you need to   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)