Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye Fan Fiction: "Fame" - Part 1

"Fame" is published in three parts:
Part 1 - You are here.
Part 2
Part 3 (Conclusion)

*** What was I thinking? Musings on my foray into fan fiction. Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye was created by Dave Alan Johnson and Gary R. Johnson. ***

"Fame," by B.A. Rogers

SCENE 1 - In the bullpen.

It's the start of a workday. Tara is at her computer and Lucy and Sue are looking over Tara's shoulder at the computer screen. They are laughing at what they see.

Lucy: (to Tara, about what's on her screen) He's going to freak!

Cut to Dimitrius walking into the bullpen, with his morning coffee in hand.

Dimitrius: (to Lucy) No, I'm not.

Cut to Bobby striding into the bullpen, followed closely behind by Jack.

Bobby: So, we begin anew.

Jack: It's Monday. And I'm not . . . in the Middle East.

Sue is walking to her desk.

Sue: And I'm not in Helsinki.

Cut to Myles walking into the bullpen, with a message in his hand.

Myles: (grumpy) And I'm not----

Tara: --- In Guadalajara or Kuala Lumpur ---

Dimitrius: (to Tara) --- You know, you have him down---

Myles: --- in the mood.

Lucy watches Myles walk by.

Lucy: So. Who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Myles throws the message down on his desk and walks around and plops down.

Myles: Protocol (indicating the message).

Bobby: Did they catch you using the wrong fork at lunch yesterday?

Dimitrius: Myles wouldn't use the wrong fork.

Myles: I was so busy working on the Allister case, I completely forgot about that little garden party I'm supposed to go to at the Commandant's quarters.

Bobby: Well, speaking of parties . . .

Bobby takes a wrapped package out of his desk and tosses it to Jack.

Jack: (tossing the package to Dimitrius) Isn't it birthday party time?

Dimitirus: I believe it is (tossing the package to Myles).

Myles is surprised by the package, but still catches it.

Myles: Oh, no, you don't. (tossing the package up in the air and catching it a few times) I'm not falling for your juvenile pranks. Forget about it.

Bobby: Well, that's good, because it's not your birthday.

Lucy: So we don't need to rehash how you were the FBI's shortest serving Assistant Press Secretary.

Dimitrius: Or, (officiously) "I'm from the Department of Transportation, and you just got taken for a ride."

Jack: It's Tara's birthday.

Myles: Oh. Yes. My birthday is next . . . Never mind. (tossing the package to Jack)

Tara and Lucy point at Sue who is holding a large tote bag open in front of her. They are all three cheering Jack on to shoot at the tote bag, so Sue can catch the package with it.

Jack does a palm shot with the package, aimed perfectly at the tote bag.

Bobby: He shoots! He scorrr---

Just as the package is about to go in the tote bag, Sue moves the bag away and the package falls on the floor. Everyone groans.

Bobby: Pity.

Sue: (signing, with subtitles) Did I do that?

Lucy picks up the package and hands it to Tara, who begins to open it.

Myles: (to Sue) That was funny the first time it happened to that little round-headed kid. (to Tara) Now you know how I feel. Juvenile pranks. And, by the way, I want you to know up front that I was not on the gift committee.

Lucy: Myles.

Myles: A t-shirt?

Tara is looking at the front of the t-shirt that was in the package.

Tara: I think it's wonderful. I will cherish it. Almost too good to wear.

Sue: Don't ever wash it.

Tara: No.

Jack: Come on, Tara. Show it off.

Tara turns the t-shirt around and holds it up in front of her. (It's not a crewneck shirt, but one with a slightly scooped neckline.) In bold letters, the t-shirt says, "Yes, I have an address for that."

Myles rolls his eyes.

Bobby: (to Tara) And don't forget. Cheese fries and cupcakes later.

THEME SONG and OPENING CREDITS

SCENE 2 - In a wooded area.

It's night and very dark. It's still, except for the sounds of the woods -- insects, the occasional bird, wind in the trees. The camera pans slowly over the ground. We see the black boots of two men crouching. Then we see that the men are Jack and Bobby. They are in all black clothes, including black stocking caps. They are wearing shoulder holsters, communication equipment, and Jack is using a monocular night vision device. Each man has a shoulder against a large tree, waiting. Jack is looking out into the darkness.

Cut to Myles and Dimitrius, in the same attire and gear, with weapons at the ready. They are in the same wooded area, in a similar posture. They are waiting.

Suddenly in the distance, a woman screams.

Cut to Jack and Bobby.

They are listening intently. In a minute, there is the sound of a car door slamming shut, then the wheels of the car throwing gravel as it roars off.

Jack suddenly puts his back fully against the tree. He claps his hand to his ear to help him speak into his headset.

Jack: (to Myles and Dimitrius) (urgently, quietly) Busted play. Repeat. Busted play. Move to north rendezvous point. If you can help it, don't run until after you cross the footbridge. Then run like hell. Go.

Jack and Bobby nod at each other, then move out.

Cut to Myles and Dimitrius.

They nod at each other, then move out.

Cut back and forth between the two groups of men moving stealthily, but quickly through the woods. We see Jack and Bobby get over the footbridge, then take off running through a small, less densely forested area. We see Myles and Dimitrius get over the footbridge, then take off running through the same area.

Cut to an area in front of the exterior wall of an old shed. There is an eave that overhangs the roof.

Jack and Bobby come running up to the shed, hit the ground with their backs against the wall, and sit there with their weapons resting in their laps. They are breathing very heavily.

In just a second, Myles and Dimitrius run up and also hit the ground. They move to put their backs up against the shed wall. They also are breathing very heavily.

Myles: (trying to catch his breath) I guess we lost out on the buried treasure show. For now. But at least we didn't lose this classified piece of equipment. (Myles picks up a piece of equipment he laid down next to him.) One of you guys will be happy to know I picked up your genuine, government-issued night vision device along the way.

Jack, also trying to catch his breath, looks at the equipment, but just shakes his head.

Myles: (breathing hard, waving his hand at Jack) One of you must dropped it while doing the forty yard dash.

Jack and Bobby look at each other with concern.

Jack looks back at Myles and shakes his head "no."

Jack, swallowing hard, still out of breath, pats his pocket where he has his night vision device.

Jack: NVD (he pats the equipment again).

Bobby: (just catching his breath) Right here. (He pats his night vision device.)

Dimitrius checks his night vision device.

Dimitrius: Got it.

Myles considers, then checks his NVD equipment and it's there.

Jack picks up the night vision device Myles found and looks at it for a minute. Then he looks at Bobby, Myles and Dimitrius with concern.

SCENE 3 - In the bullpen.

Tara is at her computer. Sue is at her desk working intently on some paperwork. Jack and Bobby are at their desks, on the phone. Dimitrius is pouring himself a cup of coffee. Myles is seated at his desk with his feet up. He is reading a thick report inside a file folder. As he reads, he is muttering to himself and making marks and notes on the paper.

Myles: (muttering to himself and marking the report as he reads) Ridiculous . . . Come on, people . . . Totally bogus . . . Oh, how about a little subject-verb agreement. Please.

Lucy walks in and passes Myles as he's muttering.

Lucy: (to Tara) What's with Grumpypants again?

Myles: (to Lucy) A long night in a wooded area. That, so far, didn't turn out too well. And I still have to go to a garden party at the Commandant's quarters.

Lucy rubs an imaginary tear away from under her eye.

Sue: Tara, this might be a good time to show Myles that email you got. It might cheer him up.

Myles: Absolutely not. I know what happens when you --- (pointing at Sue, Lucy and Tara in turn) --- take steps to "cheer me up."

Tara: (making some keystrokes) Check this out.

Tara, Sue and Lucy look up at the big screen behind Myles. Tara has put a photo from a newspaper. Jack, Bobby and Dimitrius come over to look at the photo, too. Myles turns around to see it.

The photo on the big screen shows Myles and a woman in front of a street vendor. They are each holding a bratwurst in a bun in a paper food tray. The woman is Asian and wearing large sunglasses. She has a big smile on her face as she looks up at Myles. With her free hand, she is reaching for a condiment squeeze bottle that Myles is handing her. Myles is fully facing the camera. The woman is shown in profile.

Myles: (surprised) Whoa!

Dimitrius: Looks like you, Myles. But what would your photo be doing in a New York newspaper?

Myles: (staring at the photo, puzzled) It is me. When I went to that meeting in New York City last week. I stopped at the corner and got a bratwurst. That woman was there, we exchanged pleasantries . . . Wait a minute, where did you get this?

Tara: Ben, from the New York field office. He got it from --- (indicating with her head to look back at the screen) --- (key stroking to zoom out, showing the photo in its page layout) --- the New York Post.

Lucy: Looks like "Page Six" to me.

Sue: Yes. The gossip column.

Myles: The New York Post? Gossip? (straining to read the page; then standing up to get closer) Tara, zoom in on that caption.

Tara zooms in.

Myles: (reading slowly) "Ariel Lin shares a hot dog with her boyfriend at Broadway and Worth." Can't these journalists get anything right? It wasn't a hot dog, it was a bratwurst. And it wasn't very good, either. Wait a minute, what am I saying? Who's Ariel Lin?

Bobby: You should know. You're her boyfriend.

Dimitrius: Myles. Notice the title of the column.

Tara zooms back out to show the photo as it is in the page layout.

Myles: (looking back, reading it out loud) "Celebrity Sightings."

Dimitrius: You're not a celebrity.

Myles: So . . . Ariel Lin is.

Jack: Right.

Tara: Ariel Lin was voted "Prettiest Subway Girl ."

Myles: Well, she was gorgeous.

Tara: She's a TV star.

Myles: She was charming, no doubt about it.

Tara: And she's a pop singer. "E Zuo Ju"?

Myles: Um, no. But I can tell you she had a beautiful voice.

Lucy: You heard her sing?

Myles: She asked me to pass her the dill pickle relish.

Sue: Myles, you're famous.

Myles begins to take a shine to the idea of being famous.

Tara: Last time I checked . . . (pointing at the photo) . . . Viral . . . Almost two million hits in Asia alone.

Myles: (astonished) Two million hits. Really.

Tara: (aside to Lucy) I was only joking about the hits.

Lucy waves Tara off.

Cut to Jack at his desk. He is hanging up from a phone call.

Jack: Initial reports are back on our "extra" night vision device.

SCENE 4 - Cut to the bullpen.

Jack, Bobby, Dimitrius, Myles, Sue, Tara and Lucy are present.

Jack: Turns out the night vision device is FBI-specific, down to the serial number. It had been issued to Special Agent Roger Kenzie.

Dimitrius: That agent that just got kidnapped---

Myles: Or possibly murdered---

Dimitrius: ---In an ambush down near the border? El Paso?

Jack: That's him. Somehow, a few days after he goes down, his NVD ends up in a remote area of a park in Maryland.

Dimitrius: Whoa.

Bobby: Does Kenzie have any connection with this area?

Tara: Funny you should ask. He used to be a Training Officer at Quantico, specialized in night operations. And his wife, Rachel, at one time worked for IRR Industries. That's apparently how they met.

Jack: IRR is the manufacturer of these particular night vision devices.

Myles: This could be a nightmare.

Bobby: Where's his wife now?

Tara: As far as we know, she's in El Paso. She and Roger moved there when he got transferred. But her parents still live in the area. In Silver Spring, Maryland.

Myles: (to Tara) Do you---

Tara: (unbuttons her jacket and opens it to show she has on the t-shirt they gave her) Yes. I have an address for that.

Myles rolls his eyes.

Bobby: (to Myles, as he's walking past him) Gotcha.

SCENE 5 - At the home of Rachel Kenzie's parents.

Jack and Sue are standing outside the front door of the home. Jack knocks. Rachel's mother, an older lady, who looks very worried, opens the door.

Mother: (somewhat hopefully) You're from the FBI.

Jack nods "yes," a little surprised.

Mother: Have you found Roger?

Rachel walks up behind her mother and opens the door further. Rachel is wearing an apron and wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.

Rachel: (to her mother, kindly) Ma, let me take care of this. They'll let us know as soon as they find out anything about Roger. Now, I've already got Dad set up at the table, so why don't you go and get your lunch and then . . .

Mother nods and goes into the kitchen. Rachel's father is at the kitchen table. He is in a wheelchair and is using an oxygen tank. Lunch for two has been set at the table.

Rachel: (to Jack and Sue) (somewhat nervously) I'm Rachel Kenzie. Roger Kenzie's wife.

Jack and Sue shoot glances at each other. They are surprised that Agent Kenzie's wife is in Maryland.

Rachel: Come in.

Rachel shuts the front door. Jack and Sue are waiting where they stepped into the house.

Rachel: (knowingly) You're not from the Family Assistance Team, are you.

Jack shakes his head "no."

Rachel: They were here yesterday.

Jack: I'm Jack Hudson. (indicating Sue) Sue Thomas.

Rachel shakes hands with them both.

Rachel: Nice to meet you.

Sue: Are you living here now?

Rachel: Oh, no. My father just had a stroke and I'm here for a few weeks to help out with taking care of him, while they figure out their new reality. . . . I want to be home in El Paso so badly, but then I think . . . I don't know what I can do there and I'm needed here, too.

Jack: We're really sorry about your husband's situation.

Rachel: Thank you. I know the FBI is doing everything possible to find him.

Jack: Well. We're here because---

Rachel: (checking out her parents first) (urgently) ---I really need to tell you something.

Cut to Jack, Sue and Rachel sitting in the living room.

Rachel: Roger said they had no choice but to call the manufacturer --- IRR --- and have a service rep come out and look at it. He was mad because they sent Kathy Rivera, who used to have the account. Before she got promoted to the ITAR division, about a year ago.

Sue looks at Jack, questioningly.

Jack: ITAR. International Traffic in Arms Regulation. Making sure good stuff doesn't end up with bad people.

Sue nods.

Rachel: Kathy's from the El Paso area, and apparently she told her boss she needed to see her sick mother, so could she please make the service call this time. I guess her boss let her. But Roger was really miffed that Kathy showed up instead of their usual service rep.

Sue: Why did that make your husband mad?

Rachel: As long as Roger has known Kathy, all the way back to when he was a Training Officer at Quantico --- he used to have to work with her sometimes on equipment demonstrations and stuff like that. He . . . He's never trusted her. I don't know all the details. But I know Roger --- how can I say this? --- he doesn't think highly of Kathy's character. When I was still working at IRR, he told me, stay away from her. She's going to get into something.

Jack: Any idea what?

Rachel shakes her head "no."

Rachel: So, when this happened with Roger . . . Your husband is kidnapped or maybe murdered. You know, your mind just explodes; it goes all over the place. And since Kathy had just been out to El Paso, to work with Roger on this equipment problem . . . I don't know. I gave her a call. To see if she could tell me anything . . . Just anything about Roger. And she lied to me. She told me she'd been in Phoenix, and that she'd just stopped "briefly" in El Paso to see her mother --- that she hadn't seen Roger at all while she was there. That's a lie.

Sue: I'm sure that was upsetting.

Rachel: (looking over her shoulder to check her parents eating lunch in the kitchen) (distressed) Look. I need to talk to you someplace that's not here.

SCENE 6 - On a sidewalk near the FBI Building.

Myles sees Lucy walking up ahead. He walks quickly and catches up to her.

Myles: Um, Luce.

Lucy stops to face Myles as he talks to her. She raises her eyebrows and gives Myles a poker face.

Myles: In addition to forgetting about the party . . .

Lucy makes a face at Myles, but says nothing.

Myles: I also forgot to ask you . . .

Lucy makes another face at Myles, waiting.

Myles: Okay. I'm asking you to go with me.

Lucy sighs and rolls her eyes.

Myles: I know it's short notice, and I apologize profusely for that, but . . . You know how good you are at these things.

Lucy: Are you saying you're not?

Myles: (puzzled) Of course not.

Lucy looks at him.

Myles looks back at her, pleading.

Lucy: Myles. Among other things --- major other things --- I don't have anything to wear to a party at the quarters of the Commandant of the Marine Corps---

Myles: A garden party, at the home of a retired Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Lucy: --- given in honor of the Ambassador from---

Myles: The Commandant's life-long, personal friend, the former Ambassador---

Lucy: Which brings me back to my original point. Dress. Short notice.

Myles: Luce. . . . What about that blue dress? You always look beautiful in --- (Myles catches himself.) . . .

Continue reading at Part 2 . . .