by Robin Mahle
She nodded.
“What other choice is there? I live with it or I die with it. It never goes away. It changes you daily. Talking to others who’ve been through similar situations helps, of course. I have some very good friends from my time in the military that I keep in close contact with. And then there are my new friends here, at the Academy, like you.” Will paused for a moment. “You know, most of us know what you’ve been through based on what we read in the papers or heard on the vine, but until I watched you speak about it during that presentation with Agent Scarborough, I never really understood what happened. And then of course…” Will trailed off and gave her the look she’d seen in others so many times before.
She already knew what he wanted to say and although she’d gotten to the point where she could speak about it, the desire to was not there. Especially not now when her emotions were so raw. Kate was growing tired of wearing her heart on her sleeve and letting the vultures, the evil in this world, tear away at it, piece by piece. So maybe it was time to put it way, for good. “It’s okay, Will. You don’t have to tiptoe around me. Like you say, you have to live with it because there is no other choice.” Kate peered out the window and watched a young woman, not unlike herself, walk by. She turned back to Will. “I suppose I could consider the silver lining.”
“What’s that?”
Kate smiled. “There’s nothing left for anyone to take from me anymore. That makes me invincible, right?”
Will seemed to study Kate for a time and was beginning to feel awkward. “I suppose it does.”
“Right.” Kate crumpled the napkin she’d been twisting between her hands. “I’d better get going.” She pushed her chair back.
“Where’re you headed? Home?”
“Not yet. I’ve got to run by the field office and help Agent Jameson with some paperwork.” As she stood up to leave, Kate looked to Will again. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ll see you tomorrow?” She smiled and continued on her way out of the coffee shop. As she walked past the window, she noticed Will watching her. She raised a hand with a final goodbye and headed back to her room.
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The dormitory was already growing quieter on this late Friday afternoon. Her class, along with two others, had already progressed far enough into the program that they were allowed to travel home on the weekends. Now, only the newbies remained, or those who didn’t have another home to stay.
The weekender bag sat opened on her bed and Kate pulled the elastic band from her hair and let it drop to her shoulders. She opened her dresser drawer and began tossing items inside the bag. Didn’t matter what, just a few things. She would be back here for half the day tomorrow anyway, but after last night, she wanted nothing more than to sleep in her own bed, surrounded by her own things. Here, in the dorm room she now shared with no one, was only a reminder of those who had failed the program, either due to physical ineptitude or from pressures at home. Kate wasn’t going to be one of the failures.
The bag zipped with ease as only a few items were inside. She tossed it over her shoulder and looked at the empty bed next to hers where her roommate had been. Kate knew her to have been an intelligent woman with a background in law enforcement, but she let the pressures of her husband and family get to her and, in the end, it cost her the dream of becoming an agent.
Kate had no such pressures, not anymore. It was solely on her shoulders, her success or failure in the program. There would be no one to blame, no one’s shoulder to cry on if she did not succeed. It was better that way.
On her arrival to the WFO, Kate parked in the garage and stepped out to strap her belt back onto her waist. It was a strange thing to get used to, wearing a weapon at all times. But it was beginning to feel a part of her, like wearing a ring, and being without it made her feel as though she’d forgotten something.
Kate reached for the necklace and felt for the engagement ring she still wore around her neck. It too had already become a part of her.
The doors to the elevator parted on the fourth floor where she would find Agent Jameson at one of the workstations and Scarborough, who would probably be in his office. There were no set hours here and so she expected to find a fair few agents still working and as she stepped out into the office, she was not wrong on that count.
In only a matter of weeks, Kate would find herself among these people. The best and brightest the Bureau had to offer, as far as she was concerned. She’d thrown herself into her work before and would do the same now.
“Agent Jameson,” Kate started as she approached him with a raised hand.
“Kate, glad to see you. What are you doing here? I figured you’d be heading for home right about now.”
“Agent Scarborough asked me to stop by and assist with the reports from last night. I guess there’s some paperwork I need to fill out as well.” Kate pulled up a chair next to Jameson.
“Right, of course. Let me get a few things wrapped up here and I’ll get you logged in and we can file the reports together.”
“Okay, sure. Um, what should I do in the meantime?” She looked around as if searching for someone.
“Agent Scarborough’s in his office. Maybe just check in with him first?”
“Okay.” Kate rose from the brief moment in the chair and began heading towards Nick’s office.
“Hey, Kate,” Jameson said.
“Yeah?” She stopped and turned on her heel.
“You okay?”
A thin, white-lipped smile briefly showed on her face. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking, Dwight.” She didn’t often call him that, although he frequently insisted. But this felt like an occasion to address him in a more personal manner. He’d been there last night too and probably knew exactly how she was feeling.
Kate continued on towards Scarborough’s office and knocked on the frame of his opened door. “Agent Scarborough?”
Nick looked away from his computer screen. “Hi Kate, please come in.” He gestured for her to have a seat. “You look a little tired.”
“I feel a little tired. I just stopped and talked to Agent Jameson. He said he’s got a few things to finish up and then he’d help me with the reports.”
Nick continued to hold her gaze and Kate was growing weary of those around her constantly analyzing her. It was beginning to make her feel less worthy of wearing the badge as if somehow, she was simply too delicate to handle what happened to her last night. Still, she tried not to be offended. “So, is there anything I can do in the meantime?” she continued, discounting his sympathetic stare.
This seemed to shake him out of it as he began to look at his desk in search of something. “Uh, yeah, actually.” He retrieved a flash drive from the edge of his desk. “These are the forensics photos from last night. Can you get these uploaded into the case file for me?”
“I can do that.” Kate reached for the small stick. “Which workstation should I use?”
“I think Agent Vasquez is still here. Why don’t you track her down and she can get you set up?”
“Sounds good. Thanks.” Kate stood up to leave.
“Hey,” Nick said before she could step out of his office.
Kate, with her back already turned, closed her eyes, fearing he was going to have a talk with her that she really had no desire to hear. “Yes?” She turned back to him.
“Corbett’s attorney wants to work a plea deal with the federal prosecutor.”
This sparked her interest. “So, he testifies against Mercer and Corbett goes free?” Sometimes the justice system and, in particular, plea-bargaining, allowed too many criminals to manipulate the system. Kate believed this was what Corbett was trying to do now and after what happened to Nicola’s family, she was feeling nauseated by the idea.
“Not free, likely a reduced charge, but he’s agreed to tell us where the remaining runners are and where they plan to take their next victims. Just because we have these men in custody, doesn’t mean this is over, Kate. We believe there are still several operatives out t
here kidnapping and selling these women to the highest bidder. Mercer won’t talk for obvious reasons, but if we can get Corbett to cut a deal, we stand a better chance of finding those women before they end up like Madlena.”
Kate began to walk back toward Nick and rested her hands on the back of the guest chair. “Is this the way it always works? They scratch our backs and we scratch theirs? Does anybody ever see the justice that’s coming to them?”
“You want the truth? Somewhere in the range of 90 percent of federal cases go through plea-bargaining. It’s just the way it is. Right or wrong. But in this case, I’d say since it’s likely to save lives, then we do what we need to do.”
She understood his reasoning, but despised it just the same. “Okay, so what do we do from here then?”
“Both Kovac and Mercer are currently being transported here for federal holding. Corbett’s still in the hospital. Once they arrive, I’ll be meeting with the prosecutor and Corbett’s attorney to get the terms of the deal. Kovac won’t get a deal; we don’t need him. We’ve got him on murder charges and with the trafficking on top of that, he won’t see the light of day for a very long time. Once we know where the drops are going to be, we’ll coordinate with the agencies involved and get our guys in place to assist.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes. Start with uploading those photos and get with Jameson. I’ll contact you on my return and fill you in. However, I’m not sure how much more you’ll be able to do. My suggestion would be to stay here, work with Vasquez and Jameson on the coordination efforts. The field teams will handle their end of things.”
“You don’t want me back out there, do you?” This was her punishment for disobeying his order. She wasn’t going back out in the field most likely until she graduated.
“This has got nothing to do with what happened last night. I brought you in on an operation, it went bad, and it certainly wasn’t because of you. You stopped Corbett from firing on us and that was your job.” Nick inhaled a deep breath. “I’ll take my lumps for having you out there when I shouldn’t have. ASAC Campbell wasn’t happy that you were there at all. It wasn’t protocol.”
Kate regretted her earlier irritation with Nick. “I’ll do what I can to help here, then.”
“Good.” Nick returned to his monitor and began typing, signaling the meeting was over.
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As the hours grew later, Kate realized nothing would be happening tonight. Nick hadn’t returned from meeting with Corbett’s lawyer and the likelihood of coordinating multiple law enforcement jurisdictions in the span of a couple of hours was slim and none. The problem with that was if any drops were scheduled for tonight, they wouldn’t be stopped and more women would fall prey to the coyotes. That was what she remembered them being called back in San Diego. Because of the proximity to Mexico, human trafficking was all too prevalent and so were drop houses. A slightly different scenario than this, but Katie likened the criminals to the same as the coyotes.
“Thank you for helping me get my reports finished,” Kate said.
“Hey, no problem at all. That’s why I’m here,” Dwight replied. “You ready to get home?” He glanced at the time on his phone. “It’s getting late.”
“What’s going to happen to Nicola and her mother?” Kate’s preoccupation with the girl finally revealed itself.
“I’m not sure exactly. I haven’t talked to Agent Scarborough to find out. Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering if they were going to be deported. Nicola told me her mother wanted to take her home, back to Croatia, but will they suffer any repercussions because they were here illegally?”
“So it’s not the fact that you took down one of the bad guys that’s bothering you, is it? It’s the girl.” Dwight seemed to understand and had been the only one to notice her behavior.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s both.” Kate felt resigned to the idea. Perhaps it was exhaustion, but there was something else too. “I know we’ve never talked about this before, not really, but you were there when Marshall decided to go to Shalot’s place and search for evidence.”
“Yes.” He appeared reluctant to answer.
“But he didn’t tell you where he was going?”
Dwight shook his head. “I was tending to the woman who’d injured herself.”
She looked at him and wondered if Dwight was telling her the truth, or was he shielding her from something. “Why would he do that? Marshall was highly experienced. Why do you think he would go alone like that? Especially given what had just happened with that woman.” Kate didn’t like to recall the names of those involved the day Marshall died. It would be like an admission of Marshall’s culpability for taking matters into his own hands. She didn’t want to remember it that way.
“Kate, you don’t want to relive that right now, do you?”
“I want to know, Dwight. Please, tell me why he would do such a thing?”
He hesitated and looked away for a moment, appearing to gather his words. “He was afraid—for you, Kate. He was afraid Shalot was going to come for you and I truly don’t believe he thought Shalot would return to the apartment before he’d had a chance to find what he was looking for.”
“It just worked out that way.” She finished the thought for him.
“Yes.”
Kate stood up. “Thank you, Dwight. I suppose there’s not much more for me here tonight. I’m going to head home. I’ve got to be back on campus at eight a.m.”
“Of course. I’m sure Agent Scarborough will be in touch when he returns. Good night, Kate.”
“Good night.”
TWENTY-THREE
The SUV flashed its lights when Nick pressed the remote and unlocked the doors. Stepping inside, he immediately turned the engine and flipped on the air conditioner. The night air was sticky as hell and he was already sweating just from the walk to his car.
It didn’t help that he’d been overheated too from the marathon negotiating session with Corbett’s lawyer and the federal prosecutor. He knew the unnecessarily long wait cost him the ability to set up the operation for tonight. And according to Corbett, he wasn’t aware of any drops scheduled until tomorrow anyway, but Corbett couldn’t be trusted. He could have made sure some of his buddies would be made aware of the situation so they had the time to make the necessary adjustments. Whatever the reason, Nick was pissed about the delay and was taking it out on the gas pedal and spinning the tires as he roared onto the streets.
Georgia was waiting for him at her apartment. She was closer to the field office and had texted him earlier that she’d arrived home. Nick wanted to see her; needed to see her. He’d already faced so much flack for letting Kate come along last night. It was only because of what happened. If it had gone to plan, ASAC Campbell wouldn’t have said a goddam thing about it. Now he was dealing with this son of a bitch who knew if he gave up the right amount of information, he’d be off in a matter of a few years instead of a few decades, if at all.
They’d gotten what they’d wanted in the end. Corbett gave up one of the operatives working in Alexandria, not far from the man’s former residence. He began to think about what Kate said. The plea-bargaining chip. She was right about it benefiting the bad guys, but he had to protect the victims here. That was what was important. They’d already involved Inspector Montrose and informed him of the arrest of Richard Mercer. Now Montrose would have the authority to search the man’s residence, place of business, everything. That would surely reveal even more members of the trafficking ring.
Nick still didn’t know how big this was, although he suspected it was larger than anything he’d worked on before. He was used to national investigations, but international was something new.
Georgia’s place was just ahead. He’d started to cool down both physically and mentally. Once inside her parking garage, Nick turned off the engine and closed his eyes for a moment. He didn’t want any of what he’d been through today spilling over and burde
ning Georgia. The woman had enough on her plate. Nick reached for his cell, which rested in the center console and double checked for any messages. One last check before putting the day behind him.
He considered for a moment that he should reach out to Kate. He had told her he’d be in contact after the meeting, but it was so late. She was probably asleep after having had none the night before. No point in disturbing her. She’d been through enough in the past twenty-four hours and it could wait until tomorrow.
Nick stepped outside, back into the sauna-like air, and locked his car, tossing his suit jacket over his shoulder. Her apartment was near the top of the building and he stepped inside the air-conditioned elevator, pressing the button to the tenth floor.
The cool, dry hallway towards her unit set his mind even more at ease. Perhaps it had just been the heat. That was what he wanted to believe. A gentle knock on her door and only a moment later, there she was. Just as beautiful as always. He loved it when she wore her hair down. “Hi.” He stepped inside and pulled her close, kissing her lips.
“Hi, come on in.” She closed the door behind him. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”
“I know it’s late. It’s been a hell of a past few hours, I’ll tell you that.” Nick placed his jacket over the back of the dining chair and pulled off his tie. “You got anything to drink?”
Georgia had already returned with two cocktails in her hand. “Here you are.”
“You read my mind.”
Nick was hesitant to discuss work. It would only serve to agitate him and, right now, the smooth flow of bourbon down his throat was the best thing to happen to him all day. He parked himself on the corner of the sofa sectional and kicked off his shoes, crossing his long legs, which stretched the better part of the length of the couch.
Georgia sashayed toward him, setting her drink on the coffee table. She began to climb over him, her body pressing against his. She unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it from the waist of his pants, and pushed it off his chest, exposing his still too-warm skin.
