It didn’t take John long to reach his own conclusions here. With this internal power grab, Stroud and friends stood to take at least some level of control over manipulating the Vice arena, assisting any possible White Collar associates, and of course last but not least fucking him over as well. What a deviously ingenious plan.
“Good morning gentlemen.” Surprisingly the lovely Agent Brown rose first to speak. “I am very excited about the opportunity we now have to come together and support each other, on a more personal level. I do believe that together we can have a very successful relationship. Please, I don’t want you gentleman to think of this as a dominant relationship, but rather a partnership. We will be working alongside each other in order to achieve the important goals of each of your divisions.”
Damn. Was this the part of the show where Ms. Brown was going to start stripping down? She sure was playing up that sexy voice along with her um, lovely features. John didn’t raise his attention too far from the table, not wanting to fall into her trap of entrancing the audience. As she went on expanding on Ryst’s speech of how the FDC was bringing bullshit harmony and unity to his department, John was already expanding his thoughts on different angles the FDC could actually be playing up here. Finally, Agent Brown took her seat, and Agent Stroud stood over him once more.
“Today we are here to issue you policy and procedure manuals, and we will be returning tomorrow so that you can become acquainted with your assisting agents. At that time, you will be meeting together, to begin the plan for helping our agents integrate into your divisions. Once the action plan is fully understood by all parties, you can meet with your people to discuss the policies and procedures of this important joint task force operation. We hope to be getting settled into our offices this week, and should begin working with you fully in your divisions the following week. If you have any questions, your partner agents will try to assist you, or if they are not available at that particular time, you may of course bring these questions to your Captain’s attention. We of course look forward to meeting with you tomorrow, gentlemen.”
“Thank you Agents Stroud, Brown, and Dodd for meeting with us today. I expect our Lieutenants will have gone through your manuals before tomorrow’s longer sessions of meetings, and we can hold questions until that time. Lieutenants, that will be all for today’s short informational meeting; you are now dismissed.”
As Lieutenants Dyson and Akers rose to exit the room, Lieutenant Akers secretly seemed to shoot John a “what the hell expression.” John then climbed out of his chair as Dyson and Akers made their way towards the door.
“Ah, Lieutenant Goldman, I would like to speak with you please,” Stroud quietly announced as he blocked John’s path to the door. “I would like for you to meet Agent Brown here,” Stroud spoke, as he summoned Agent Brown over.
“Lieutenant Goldman, I am very pleased to meet you. I have heard so much about you and your talents,” Agent Brown quietly spoke, with a soft smile upon her lips.
“I’m sure,” John returned.
“I thought that you should know that Agent Brown and I will be working with you Lieutenant,” Stroud spoke with a slight smile of his own. “I also wanted to tell you that I was very sorry to hear about your injuries and the ordeal that your family has had to suffer through. Due to the lack of clarity on your case, I am moving to take an active part in the investigation on your alleged attack. Seeing as how attacks on officers of the law and/or their family members can be brought into the realm of federal investigative assistance, I plan to offer that assistance for you and your family. As spoken today, I believe that it is important for the FDC to support local law enforcement, especially in cases of this magnitude.”
“Agent Brown, forgive me, but could you excuse us for just a moment, please,” John then spoke in as calm of a voice as he could muster.
“But of course,” Agent Brown replied before exiting the door, leaving only John and Stroud remaining.
John then looked at the man in front of him; he wanted to lash out and in one move rip Stroud’s throat out and hand it right back to him. He knew if he did that though that they would win, and he couldn’t let that happen. So he stared into Stroud’s eyes and then spoke to him somewhat blatantly.
“I don’t need your damned assistance, unless of course you’re going to share with me, Stroud, what you already know.”
“You know John; I look forward to meeting with you tomorrow. That is if the fucking shrink clears you. With your history of delusions, I don’t think I would.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
John sensed Agent Brown glancing over at him from the passenger seat as he pulled up to the stoplight. It seemed that he was now stuck with her presence on somewhat of a partner level. It was definitely better than being stuck riding around with Stroud, however it was still a bit awkward to say the least. John was used to going it solo or having one of his own people assisting him. Now he had to do his job with this unknown variable, Agent Brown, taking notes.
“I noticed your impressive ability at closing down your district’s cases, John.”
“So why are you here, I mean if you deem me so successful and all.”
“Hmm, I like your sense of humor, John; maybe I can learn something from you.”
“Not likely,” John responded, getting that formality out of the way.
“Do I make you nervous, John? I’m sorry; I do have that effect on some men.”
Oh, shit… If this um, beautiful bitch thought that she was going to intimidate him, well she was wrong. He didn’t trust this woman, and he certainly wasn’t going to give her any advantages. He just needed to keep his shields up, and dodge her maneuvers.
“I didn’t figure you for the quiet guy you’re flaunting, from what I’ve heard anyway.”
“And what exactly is it that you’ve heard?” John questioned her as he put the car in motion once more.
“Well, to tell you the truth, I just recently came down here from up north. I was told coming in to this job with you that you were good at getting things done, just that you liked going your own way about it however. A bit of a trouble maker, though you seem harmless to me.”
“And what if I said your boss is a trouble maker?” John questioned.
“Hmm, he said that you might say something like that.”
“And how long has he been your boss?”
“Oh, not long; only since I arrived down here. A month or so ago now I guess, an odd man I’d have to say.”
“And do you intimidate him?” John asked with a slight grin.
“Ha, I don’t think anyone can intimidate that man.”
John shook his head annoyed at her perception of Stroud. Hell she could have been working with Stroud for years now for all he knew. That was one more thing he planned on asking Derek about tomorrow. He was supposed to be available for a call in or visit anyway. John would rather not even speak to the man again, but as they say beggars can’t be choosers; and it seemed like he was stuck with Derek as his pain in the ass assistance. Well, maybe with Derek and all his little foot soldiers working together to help him, John might just make it through this. It seemed like a long shot from where he was standing though.
The most important thing was to keep Caroline and his children safe. Damn, the twins were due soon, just a couple more months probably. He had to get this figured out, and keep them all safe. John felt sure that Stroud had something to do with the attempted murder of his son, and the idea of Stroud attempting to take any position in the investigation process of that attack would automatically lead to a cover-up. John needed to get proof on Stroud’s criminal activities and expose them well enough to ensure his downfall. Although killing Stroud was constantly on John’s mind, he knew if he did that that he would be taken in by the FDC unable to protect his family from Stroud’s associates, whoever they may be.
“Well, I’m glad that we will be able to begin working together in the field more next week, now that I am settled into my office. It mig
ht not look like it, but I like getting my hands dirty so to speak,” Brown commented, changing topics. “It was nice of you to agree to show me around the city a bit today. I’ll need your help you know, getting more used to the area, John.”
“Well maybe you should invest in a map, Agent Brown.”
“Ah, maybe you’re right. I’m kind of getting hungry John; where are you taking me for lunch today?”
“You know, I should probably get back to the station, I got a lot of work to do. For a Friday things are moving pretty slow; I should take advantage of it,” John commented, hoping to get away from Agent Brown for at least part of this dreary day.
“Alright I suppose I could take a rain check. Perhaps I’ll take you to lunch next week.”
“Heh, no I don’t think so; I’d rather do the driving myself.”
“You men and your need for control, you afraid of having a woman taking the wheel, John?”
Great, all John needed was a conceited feminist attempting flirtatious head games in his direction. This woman’s tactics were really starting to annoy him.
“No comment,” John decided was his answer for that line of questioning.
“Hmm, well I just thought that I could learn my way around better if you let me get us where we’re going, John.”
“No need.”
“Well, I….”
“Goldman, come in, John.”
“Yeah,” John answered as a call came blaring in through the radio.
“We had a call come in, shots fired down on the corner of Jefferson Ave. and Jackson, at least one dead, possibly gang related. Can you get down there to help assess the situation?”
John glanced at Brown. “Yeah, we’re on our way.”
“10-4.”
“Well you wanted to get your hands dirty, Agent Brown. Here’s your chance,” John said while turning down a side street.
“Please John, call me Kayla.”
“Alright, Kayla, are you ready for this?”
“I am highly trained, John. Don’t worry I have your back as they say.”
Shit, that was a scary thought, John decided. He didn’t like backup he couldn’t trust, but at the moment he didn’t have much of a choice.
John stopped the car one block over and climbed out quietly. Kayla followed him as he made his way around one of the buildings that was cited as a possible exit route for the now multiple suspects believed to be involved in the earlier shootout. John had an uneasy feeling as he came around to the corner of the old building that had been recently closed down not a year before and still remained abandoned. He came to a stop at an old rusted out dumpster that gave him a decent view of oncoming traffic so to speak. He called in his position as Kayla came up beside him, gun drawn.
“So what now?” She asked, turning to meet John’s gaze.
“We’re going to wait here, see if any of them head this way. It seems to be a popular place now, since they closed this warehouse down. You know squatters, junkies, a gangbanger or two.”
“I see, I guess every city has their gang problems. Has your department considered adding a gang unit to its ranks?”
“Tell you what, you fork over the dough, and I’ll bring it up at our next city council meeting.”
“You have a lot of gang problems in your city, John?”
“Enough,” John replied, “enough where a gang unit would sure as hell come in handy.”
John kept his eyes on the path alongside the old warehouse. He had seen a lot of people try to escape into or through these buildings, where they sometimes had backup waiting for them. He wasn’t about to scan the insides of the building right now with the outside being a priority, but he had been sure to tell Kayla it was better to expect that the building wasn’t ever vacant inside. No matter how many times or ways they had tried to close it up in the months before, the wrong people had always found a way in.
“John, check your six!” The radio screamed out into John’s ear.
John swung his head around, alarming Kayla. As he turned to see the three uniformed officers moving in from behind them for back up, he heard the commotion coming from the front as well.
“You got three uniforms coming up behind you. I sent them to your position,” Seth called out into John’s ear, as John concentrated on what was now in front of him.
They seemed far enough away for John to pursue an offensive ambush from what he knew of possible entry positions into the building. There were two of them, and John recognized one as the gangbanging officer who had been in hiding for months, and was now wanted for questioning on a murder that took place while John had been recovering. John knew the man, “Rico”, would insist on going down fighting, like the cornered animal that he now was.
John motioned for two of the uniform officers to follow him and told Kayla to hold her position. He didn’t want all five of them showing themselves, deciding surprise would work better than an attempt to overpower the men by numbers. Numbers meant nothing to enraged men such as Rico, and Rico would reach out full force to take out as many numbers as he could before his number was up.
With backup secretly covering from the dumpster, John and his two officers lurched into an ambush as soon as the men crossed close enough to them. John called out for the two suspects to halt their progress, though doubted they would, and all hell broke loose when Rico pulled his automatic rifle out from underneath his jacket.
John and his men fled to the predetermined refuge of the small boxcar in the yard surrounding the warehouse. John knew that he and his two officers were more like a distraction, bait for the enemy’s attention. He only hoped that he could at least trust Kayla to now play her role in helping to take the men out.
John dove behind cover along with his backup, bullets now raining down on them. He said a short prayer that they weren’t of the armor piercing variety. He soon realized that they weren’t, however it was not as if the old boxcar offered complete coverage. It was old and rusted out the same as the dumpster, and had a random pattern of weak spots throughout. John looked across to see Kala now opening fire from his previous position. Almost immediately the younger suspect dropped to the ground carrying with him a fatal round now embedded in the torn flesh of his upper torso. John’s distraction had allowed Kayla a direct hit. However, that victory now brought direct fire in Kayla’s direction, and John and his men raced to lay down cover fire to scare off Rico’s redirected aggression towards her.
The next move on Rico’s part was very much unexpected however, one John had not prepared for in his mind. He heard Kala scream out the warning, almost not believing her words. John had just seconds to move and this time as he dove for cover he definitely felt the impact of his attacker. It seemed to John more like the ground dove towards him rather than the other way around. This was the first time he recalled dodging a grenade in the field, and as he tried to shake the fogginess from his head, he heard one of his back up men cry out.
“Fuck, son of a bitch!” Was all Officer Lane could manage to get out in his initial scream. John turned to see Lane’s leg now covered in blood with a piece of the boxcar’s metal embedded deep inside. The other officer immediately was at Lane’s side attempting to stop the bleeding while John surveyed their surroundings and called in the injury.
“Just go Goldman, go get that son of a bitch,” Lane called out in a now softer voice as he grabbed down at his leg.
“You sure you guys are alright?” John questioned his men.
“Yeah John, just go.”
John turned just in time to see Kayla coming his way.
“My God John, are you guys okay?” Kayla called out fearfully.
“Lane’s down, but we got medical help on the way, and Sanders is watching him. Which way did the damn suspect go?” John quickly returned.
“He laid down more fire and then just took off into the building,” Kayla quickly answered back.
“Alright, well then that’s where I’m headed.”
“John, you can’t be
serious. The man just threw a damn grenade at you, a grenade! We don’t know if he has any more in his possession, and you said yourself that building is probably not empty. We need to wait for some more backup.”
“I thought you had my back, or was that just all talk, Agent Brown?”
“Excuse me; I think I just assisted your backside to the best of my ability, John. I’m sorry if I left my grenades at home this morning.”
“Fair enough, but I’m still going in that building; come on Cody,” John beckoned the third officer to follow him towards the building.
“Oh no you don’t; if you’re going to insist on going in there, I’m not letting you go in with just one officer trailing behind you,” Kayla briskly returned.
Cody shot her a look of annoyance as if she doubted his abilities. John just continued forward keeping a steady eye on the building’s latest makeshift entryway. Kayla hurried to catch up with John, leaving Cody then bringing up the rear.
“Hey, you do have a cut on your head, are you sure that you’re alright, John,” Kayla asked softly. “Sure you’re thinking straight here?”
John shook his head yes, and slowed his pace a bit as they moved to enter into the building.
John moved slowly into the old warehouse building. Though it was only mid-day, the lingering, overcast skies seemed to steal away much of the sunlight, adding a dimness to John’s pathway once inside. His body was racing with pure adrenaline. He was pissed and determined to take that asshole out. He knew though that it would be hard to clear every area they were going through due to the sheer size of the building. John had been inside here before, and it was always tricky. He knew that there were some offices in the front of the building, and that those would need to be cleared while one of them kept an eye on the larger open area ahead.
Daze of Reality Page 9
