Trixie Belden eagerly scanned the information on her monitor, her mood matching the buzzing energy of her workplace. Rows of desks filled the room to capacity, but she thrived on the electric hum created by her co-workers at their computers.

“Hey, Belden!”

Trixie looked up from her monitor and saw the familiar face of a long-time co-worker.

“Ready for lunch?” Max asked.

She blinked. Where had the morning gone? Before she could respond, her phone rang. “Better go without me,” she warned. Max nodded, and continued past her.

Trixie answered the phone crisply and efficiently, but within seconds her body was stiff with tension. After a short conversation, she replaced the phone on its base and looked to the man at the next desk.

“That was Norma.” Trixie paused and chewed her bottom lip. “Bill is asking for me.”

Daniel Mangan nodded and swept his keys off the desk. He idly fingered them for a few seconds before stating the obvious, “I’ll drive.”

Distracted, Trixie threw open her desk drawer and searched for her purse. After several moments of fruitless rummaging through papers, a stapler, several books, and an apple, she finally slammed the drawer in exasperation and retrieved her purse from where she had left it tucked underneath her desk. Tugging her suit jacket into place, Trixie thrust her chair back and began walking briskly. Avoiding eye contact with her fellow co-workers, she wove through the maze of desks and fought to maintain her mask of composure.

Sliding into the wine red interior of Dan’s Thunderbird convertable, Trixie closed her eyes and tried to steel herself for whatever would happen when they reached their destination. She ignored the tears pricking at her eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply. Gently unclasping the hands that were choking the life out of her purse, she tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

Keeping her voice as even as possible, she asked quietly, “Do you think he’ll still remember who we are by the time we get there?”

Dan tightened his grip on the steering wheel and glanced at Trixie out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head. “I wish I knew, Trix.”

Trixie nodded and went back to manhandling her purse. Ten minutes later, they pulled up in front of a comfortable two story white house. Taking a deep breath, Trixie rang the doorbell and waited beside a large flowerpot full of fragrant blossoms.

The door was opened by a woman in her early fifties. Her trim beige slacks, matching sweater set, and carefully made-up appearance did little to hide the creased brow and dark circles under her eyes.

“I’m sorry for bothering you at work, Trixie, Dan, but I didn’t know what else to do. Bill’s been terribly upset all day. He keeps saying he has to see you right away; that it’s ‘a matter of vital importance’. I can’t imagine what he thinks he has to tell you that is so important, but he was so agitated that I promised him I would call you.” She raised a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. Brushing her hair away from her eyes, she smiled apologetically. “Thank you for coming. I appreciate it. I only hope Bill still remembers what he wanted to talk to you about.”

Trixie placed an arm around the woman and squeezed. “You know that you can call us anytime, Norma. It’s no trouble,” she asserted.

Dan kissed Norma’s cheek and echoed Trixie’s sentiments. “Bill’s been a good friend to us. All you have to do is ask.”

Norma dabbed at her eyes and gestured to the stairs. “He’s in the attic. I’ll leave you to talk in private. If you need anything, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Trixie and Dan ascended the stairs and paused at the top of the staircase. It was eerily quiet.

“Bill, are you up here?” Trixie called hesitantly.

The answering voice came from the far corner of the attic. “I’m right here, kids. Turn left at the chest of drawers and you’ll see me.”

Relief washed over Trixie and a smile spread across her face. “Kids?” she questioned. She scrunched her nose. “I think he’s talking to you,” she whispered audibly to Dan.

Dan grinned back and poked her in the ribs to get her moving. They manoeuvred past old furniture and boxes until they came upon the middle-aged man. Trixie smiled sympathetically as she observed the mess he had created. Several boxes had been opened, their contents strewn carelessly. Bill was seated with his back to a window, using the natural light to read what looked like files. He looked up from the papers, and motioned for them to make themselves comfortable. Trixie immediately plopped down opposite him and allowed the curiosity that had been suppressed by worry to surface. Her eyes sparkled and her blonde curls bounced against her shoulders as she fidgeted, waiting for Bill to speak. Dan leaned against an old wardrobe and chuckled as he watched the familiar interaction between the former novice and her mentor.

Bill shuffled some of the papers and finally faced his two guests somewhat sheepishly. “Well, kids, this is a good example of, ‘Do as I say, not as I do’.” He paused and looked down at the papers he held. “Back in the day before computers and back-up systems, I was always worried about important papers being lost, so I developed the habit of making my own copies of important information.”

Trixie’s eyes grew wide. “Um, Bill, isn’t that kind of...” she paused, not wanting to use the word, ‘illegal’, “frowned upon?”

Bill chuckled. “Well, it’s certainly not behaviour that I would recommend for either of you. But as long as no one finds out, there won’t be any frowning.” His smile faded as he continued. “Unfortunately, I don’t seem to remember anything about these cases.” Bill looked down, and Trixie and Dan could see that it was difficult for him to continue. “This morning I realized that I had better hand these papers over to someone who can deal with them properly. Otherwise, one of these days I’ll make a mistake and Norma will have a huge mess and some ugly surprises on her hands. I can’t do that to her.”

With a sober nod, Trixie asked, “What would you like us to do, Bill?”

Bill sighed. “I think it would be best if I gave you everything. I would appreciate it if you took a look at the papers. The information is probably too old to be of any use, but I just don’t feel right about destroying it before someone studies it.” He began replacing the files in the box. Without looking up, he continued. “You’re good kids. I know I can trust you.”

Trixie again felt the prick of tears behind her eyes and blinked rapidly. Because she needed to be doing something, she helped Bill gather the papers strewn on the floor and placed them in the box.

“Well, that’s done. Any more surprises for us?”

Bill started to laugh, but stopped abruptly and patted his pockets. “There was something else. I’m supposed to give you something.” He closed his eyes and frowned. “I had Norma call you this morning because I need to give you something.”

The general uneasiness in the pit of Trixie's stomach returned as she questioned gently, “You gave us the files, Bill. Was that it?”

Bill waved an arm impatiently. “No, no. Not the files. Something else.” He opened his eyes, and Trixie involuntarily took a step backwards. Bill’s normally calm and friendly expression was replaced with one of anger and frustration.

“It’s important, darn it. I need to give you something.”

Dan gently took Bill by the arm. “Maybe it’s downstairs. We could ask Norma if she remembers what you wanted to give us.”

“No!” Bill snapped, and shook off Dan’s hand. “I had it with me.” Triumph filled his face as he pulled a closed hand from his pants pocket. Uncurling his fingers slowly, he revealed a simple gold cross on a strong chain. The light from the window caught it, turning the yellow gold to fire.

“That’s it! I found it!” Bill chuckled like a schoolboy. “I knew there was something I was supposed to give you,” he stated emphatically. He stopped and stared at the piece of jewellery in his hand. Lost in thought, he turned it over several times, and touched it reverently.

Intrigued, Dan leaned in to take a closer look. Eyes blazing, Bill snapped his fist closed and protectively moved his hand over his heart. Dan froze and his dark eyes narrowed as he studied Bill.

In an attempt to alleviate the tension, Trixie’s words came out in a rush. “It’s okay, Bill. It’s your cross. Dan wasn’t trying to take it. You don’t have to give it to us.”

The fury in Bill’s eyes slowly dwindled and he let his hand drop to his side. No longer animated by a sense of purpose in disclosing his papers, or frustration at his memory loss, Bill appeared a shell of his former self. For the first time, Trixie noticed his sunken cheeks and hollow eyes. She watched in morbid fascination as Bill slowly raised his shaking hand. Once again, he opened his fist carefully and studied the cross. With what appeared to be a supreme effort of will, he extended his hand and placed the cross and chain in Trixie’s hand.

Suddenly exhausted, Bill slumped and would have fallen without the aid of Dan’s sturdy arm. Dan and Trixie’s eyes met and they quickly moved to escort him down the stairs.

Norma was waiting for them in the kitchen doorway. Her breath caught as she observed the obvious assistance her husband required.

“It’s okay, Norma,” Dan hastened to reassure her. “I think he pushed himself a little too far today.”

Norma nodded distractedly and led Dan to the living room. When Bill had been made comfortable on the couch, Norma motioned for Dan and Trixie to join her in the kitchen.

Seated at the kitchen table, Trixie and Dan watched while Norma poured water in a kettle and organized tea supplies. When she turned to face them, they could see the poorly concealed signs of fresh tears. Trixie pushed back her chair and hurried to take the cream and sugar from her.

“It’s okay, Norma.”

“No,” she responded flatly. “It isn’t.” She sat down heavily on the polished wooden chair and brushed imaginary crumbs from the table. “Ever since Dr. Jones used the word, Alzheimer’s, Bill refuses to go back for more tests. I don’t know what to do. Some days he’s fine, and the next…”

Trixie and Dan nodded sympathetically. “We can try to talk to him, Norma,” Dan offered. “I don’t know if he’ll listen to a couple of ‘kids’, but it’s worth a try.”

Norma nodded as her gaze drifted to the living room. “Not today. He’ll spend most of the afternoon napping. When he wakes up, he probably won’t remember that you were here.”

Trixie stood up. “Call us anytime, Norma. Remember, all you have to do is ask.”

Norma rose shakily and hugged Trixie. “Thank you, Trixie. I don’t know what made Bill decide to bring you home for supper all those years ago, but I sure am glad he did. You two have been good for him.” She smiled slightly. “And for me, too.”

The three walked towards the front door and paused at the doorway to the living room. Bill lay on the couch with his eyes closed, and Norma smiled at the peaceful expression on her husband’s face. All traces of anger and frustration had disappeared. In sleep, he was restored to his former self.

“It was good of you to come. I’m so sorry for dragging you away from work…” Norma stopped talking as Bill moved slightly.

The voice drifted out to them, past the back of the couch. “We all have our crosses to bear, Norma. The kids know what they’re doing.” Bill shifted again, and they smiled as gentle snoring filled the room.

Dan snapped his fingers. “We almost forgot why we came.” Dan turned to Norma and explained. “Bill found some old papers from work. He asked us to take care of them.”

Dan soon returned with the box, and he and Trixie took their leave. Stepping out the front door, they were struck with the humid heat of August. Trixie shivered at the contrast from the cool, air-conditioned house to the sweltering stickiness of summer in Virginia. Marvelling at her uncharacteristic tolerance of the heat, Trixie realized that she was cold on the inside, and that no amount of external heat could warm her. As Dan pulled away from the house and increased his speed, she closed her eyes and let the hot wind whip her hair and soothe her spirit.

Trixie opened her eyes when she felt the car stop, and was surprised to find that they were at a gas station.

“I’m running on empty,” Dan explained as he hopped out to fill the tank. “Do you want anything?”

Trixie shook her head and stared unseeing at her surroundings. By shoving thoughts of Bill to the back of her mind, all she accomplished was numbing herself to the inevitable pain of life. But what else could she do? As always, Trixie struggled most with the situations over which she had the least control.

Trixie jumped as Dan hopped back into the car and handed her a bottle of Cherry Coke. At her surprised expression, he ordered, “Drink it, Friday. You’re in serious need of both caffeine and sugar.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Danno.”

She slowly uncapped the bottle and took a sip. The sugary drink did hit the spot, and she found that Dan’s gesture did more to warm her than the heat of the day.

“It’s all wrong, you know.” Trixie looked up as Dan’s voice penetrated her consciousness. “It’s not supposed to be this way.”

Dan expertly weaved between two cars whose leisurely pace was slowing traffic. “Death is bad enough, but a slow, lingering death that takes you from the people you love before you’re actually dead...”

Trixie looked closely at his guarded eyes and knew that he wasn’t just talking about Bill. Dan stopped at a red light and turned to face her.

“It’s going to be okay, though. Even death can’t cheat us of the time we did have with the people we love.”

Trixie looked at him thoughtfully. “And we did have some good times, didn’t we?”

Dan smiled his first genuine smile since the phone call that had disrupted their afternoon. “Nah, we had some great times.” He suddenly smacked the steering wheel, remembering a different phone call from earlier in the day. “I totally forgot. Grayson wants to meet with us today. Something about following up on our assignment in Minsk.”

Trixie’s eyes brightened. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Travel is good for the soul, right?”

Dan shook his head. “For you, Friday, excitement is good for the soul. Wouldn’t you say?”

Trixie laughed and waited impatiently for Dan to back into the parking spot in the underground complex adjacent to their work. Eagerly, she hopped out and then waited for him to set the security device before heading for the stairs. Stopping abruptly, she felt Dan do some fancy footwork to avoid crashing into her.

“You do think the box is safe in the trunk, don’t you?”

Dan shrugged. “Well, I don’t think we should take it upstairs, if that’s what you’re thinking. No need to start the men upstairs frowning. And if the security around here doesn’t deter thieves, I don’t know what will. Short of taking it back to the apartment, this is the safest place for it.”

Trixie nodded and opened the door to the stairs. If the papers weren’t safe in the parking lot of the Central Intelligence Agency, they wouldn’t be safe anywhere.