Peter glanced at Sean and then at the road, "You look nervous. I would have thought you'd be used to this."
Sean stared at Peter, "You're wrong, I'm not nervous… but I am anxious to find Julie."
For the third time that night Sean tried to call Julie, but for the third time, he got the same message, "Your party is not available or is outside the range."
"That stupid message again. Where is she?" He jammed the phone back into his pocket.
"Calm down, Sean; we'll be there shortly."
"I hate waiting. Every bone in my body tells me we're headed for trouble!"
"Maybe you should call for backup?"
"Not a bad idea. I doubt they'll be able to do anything for hours, but it gives me the opportunity to check with headquarters." Sean called Washington and the night agent answered.
"This is Agent Perkins; who am I speaking to?"
"This is Agent Sean Ryan. I need backup, and I need it NOW."
"Look Ryan, it's three o'clock in the morning here. What do you expect me to do?"
"Look Perkins, I think Julie is in danger and I'm going after her. You tell Mrs. Gutierrez that we think the toxic chemicals are distributed from Opetrol and we… er… I mean I'm headed there now. Just make sure she gets the message as soon as she gets into the office. No better yet, call her, wake her up, and tell her Julie… er… Juliana could be dead if she doesn't act fast. Got that?" Sean hung up, shook his head, looked over at Peter, and asked, "What about contacting the local police?"
"Only if you want to get us both killed. If we're lucky they'll ignore us and tell us we have no proof, but it's more likely they would tip off Big Eagle. You know they have informants." Peter shook his head at Sean. "I'm disappointed in you."
"It's late, I'm tired and I want to know where my partner is."
"Maybe your partner is more than a partner."
"Let's take one thing at a time."
Sean made another phone call, this one to FBI temporary headquarters at the hotel in Juneau. He loathed talking to Martinez and was not sure he could trust him, but he had no options.
"Deputy Assistant Director Martinez please. This is Sean Ryan."
"Martinez has gone to his room," the FBI agent on duty told Sean.
"Find him! It's important that I talk to him now!"
"OK, I'll connect you," and the agent paused, "But I am warning you, it better be good!"
The phone rang and Martinez got more annoyed at each ring. By the third ring he was able to coordinate his hand and eyes to pick up the phone. "Who is this, I thought I said hold all calls!"
"This is Sean Ryan."
"Aren't you in the hospital, Sean?"
