One down, two assholes to go.
“I think you have a vendetta against me, and that’s tainted your perspective,” he stated calmly.
Oh, he was right on that.
“Well, that’s neither here nor there,” she stated. “You have another issue. Carl is coming for you, and when he gets you, you’re a dead man.”
He laughed.
“I’m hidden. How is he going to find me?”
She pulled up the pictures that Chris had copied her on from the other ME’s investigation, and she slid her phone toward him.
“Recognize her?”
He looked at the ‘C’ on her torso, and he looked at the knife wound on the back of her neck. It wasn’t until he saw her face that he looked scared.
“Who is she to you?” Elizabeth asked.
“She’s on my mail route,” he muttered. “I deliver to her office building.”
And there it was.
The pieces were all falling into place. Carl was stalking this man, and he was going to eventually get him.
It was hard to want to protect him, but she had no choice. Damn the FBI and breaking the law. Had they done this the right way, she could sit back and let nature take its course.
“You look scared.”
Yeah, she could see it in his eyes.
This whole thing was Carl’s way of telling him that he was on to him. There was no doubt in her mind that the man before her was in some serious shit.
“You have to stop him!” he blurted, shoving the phone back at her.
She laughed.
Yeah, she was aware, but let him sweat it.
Why not?
He deserved it.
“You put me here. You took my power away, and now I can’t defend myself. If anyone finds out I’m alive, they’ll kill me! I made enemies!”
“You don’t say?” Callen stated. “I can’t imagine why. You’re so damn charming.”
He glared at him.
“You have to protect me!”
Unfortunately, they did have to do that. Since Gabe and the other legal entities of the government opted to do this wrong, she was going to have to clean up the mess.
Yippee.
She was so excited to do it too.
Well, now that she’d terrorized O’Banion, it was time to get down to the job at hand.
The shitty.
Disgusting.
Beneath her—job at hand.
“What can you tell me about that woman?” she asked, wanting to know everything he knew. Something he saw, said, or did might have triggered this.
He put his coffee cup down and did what she asked.
“I think her name was Bev. I’d deliver mail and pick up packages from her. She was friendly. I didn’t talk to her much. I’m just a postal worker now. Before, she would have noticed me. All women noticed me…”
Yeah, someone was bitter.
In a way, she felt bad for him. All assholes deserved their day in court. While Gabe thought he was doing the right thing, this made it harder. Now she had to defend this murdering scumbag.
Great.
She loved her job.
“Where would Carl go if he were hunting you?”
“I have no freaking idea. All I know is I’m not comfortable with all of this. You have to find him.”
Oh, she was aware.
“I’m trying to do just that. That is exactly why I’m sitting here with you, and not out on the streets doing my damn job. How about you focus and do yours?”
“MINE? I was being me. This is your mess, so you can head into see your boss and tell him he fucked up. What he did to me was wrong, and if Carl murders me, which he likely will since he’s a ruthless killer, then the FBI will have to explain why I was really alive.”
“We’ll just tell everyone you rolled on your mob buddies and have been feeding us intel for years,” she said, smiling. “See how easy that was?”
His face said it all.
“I hate you all.”
That made her laugh. “Well, now my day is shot to shit. You hate me. Oh, poor me. How will I ever go home to my big ol’ house, and my private security, and my wealth?” she asked.
Callen laughed.
He found that last part funny. She hated his money and the prestige. Now she finally found a way to acclimate to it.
She was going to rub it in O’Banion’s face.
Nice.
The man looked pissed.
“Yes, I’ve seen you on the television,” he said. “All those fine clothes, the parties, and your prestige. I hope you choke on it,” he muttered.
She laughed.
“Oh, the irony. I have your life,” she said. “Well, minus the killing and illegal deeds. That’s funny. You wanted me to be yours, so I could have money and power, and here, I managed to find it all on my own. No offense, my love,” she said, not even looking up at Callen.
He dropped a kiss onto the top of her head.
“None was taken, angel.”
He growled.
“I really hate you,” he admitted.
“You’re a dead man walking, Mikey.”
The man regained his composure.
“My name is Howard Flint, and I suggest you stop tossing my real name around. I want to live!”
She found that amusing.
“We don’t know how Carl and Joey knew you were alive,” she stated. “Did you tell anyone, HOWARD?”
He glared at her.
“You think I’m proud of this?” he asked, pointing at himself. “I was the mob king in Boston. I was the one who made shit happen. Now I’m delivering magazines about cats to old ladies.”
She laughed.
She couldn’t help it.
“I’m glad you find this funny. I find you insufferably intolerable.”
She was glad.
He deserved it.
“Did you call the hit on Detective Max Bronson?” she asked.
“I have no clue who that is.”
She could tell he was lying.
His mouth was moving.
“He’s the cop that your thug shot in the head when he went to arrest him all those years ago. I was right behind him. Bullet wounds suck,” she stated, touching her arm where one had grazed her.
“Again, I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
“Patty O’Brien, he was one of yours, wasn’t he?” she asked. “He’s the detective who was working with Max Bronson, and later became captain of Homicide.”
He shrugged.
“Him I knew. He was a boot-licking, ass-kissing, ladder-climber. Are you going after him next?”
She flipped through her phone and found the picture.
Then showed him the sick marionette that Joey had made out of him. Yeah, he’d gotten his just desserts by way of the cuckoo express.
And it was coming for O’Banion next.
“Jesus!” he muttered.
“Yeah, his life didn’t end well. Joey ‘The Thug’ came looking for him by way of your paid reporter Alex O’Malley—his nephew. It seems you liked to keep it in the family. You had deep ties, HOWARD, and the last one is not exactly a fan of yours. I’d sleep with one eye open.”
He closed his mouth and swallowed again.
“I put down Joey, and now I hope I can catch Carl. It seems he really wants to find you.”
He lurched forward so fast that Ivan actually moved toward him. Only, the man didn’t touch her. Instead, he leaned across the table and stared into her eyes.
“You can’t let him kill me! I have rights. I’ve been on the up and up for the last decade and a half. I should be out in the world with my kids, being a citizen. Instead, I’m wearing a fake identity and playing by the FBI rules!”
She had bad news for him.
“One of your kids is dead,” she said. “One of them is dead and buried. That boat sailed, Daddy Dearest.”
Oh, she knew all about his shitty father behavior. One night, while watching Oracle, Jagger tol
d her everything about him. He’d corrupted the man’s life, chasing him from being a teacher and into the military.
O’Banion was an asshole.
“What?”
“I think you heard me,” she stated, as Ivan kept his hand on his gun.
That said it all.
He would shoot him if need be.
O’Banion sat back.
He actually looked concerned.
“Jaxon? Jagger? Who?”
“Jagger Armstrong, Captain in the US Marines, went down during an operation. His remains were placed in a grave in Arlington where he rests with his fellow soldiers. That boy, the one who wanted to grow up to be a teacher, had to go into the military and make amends for the man you were. He died for his country because you were a sick, worthless killer.”
There was no doubt how she felt about Jagger. He was one of her favorite people in the world, and she’d get him justice. While he was alive, and in hiding, she’d make sure that he had the justice he deserved.
This man made his life hell, and Jaxon’s too.
The man closed his eyes.
“He was always so strong-willed like his mother. Dianna made him like her. There was no changing that. I tried to get him to be what he was destined to be.”
Yeah, that was bullshit.
He wanted a hired thug who would take over. He wanted a perverse killer who had no moral code.
Only, Jagger had been better than that.
“And my daughter?” O’Banion asked.
“She’s fine.”
“Can you tell me about her? I miss her. She was my little girl until her mother died.”
Elizabeth shrugged.
“Please. Your FBI put me here. I’m asking that you don’t let me die. I know I can’t ever see her again, but can’t you give me something? I’ve paid penance for twelve years.”
Yes, he had.
“Jaxon is married, having a child, and happy. That’s all you get. I’m sorry, but you’re not privy to their lives. Jaxon doesn’t want to see you or know about you, and I knew your son personally. He was a fine Marine. You were the only blight on his life.”
He stood angrily, and Ivan knocked his ass back onto the couch with a hand to his chest.
“While she may not shoot you,” Ivan stated, “I will. I suggest you sit your ass down and listen. I’m a Marine, and I’ll put a damn bullet in you for your son.”
Elizabeth waited for the man to settle down. O’Banion looked like he might cry.
“I’m going to find Carl,” she stated. “Then the US Marshals will be putting you back under as someone else—if Carl doesn’t find you first.”
He looked worried.
“You have to stop him. He’s crazy.”
She found that all kinds of ironic.
“Oh, I’m going to find him, and before I take him in, I’m going to get him to tell me all about those eight victims. Then I’m going to make sure you pay for each of their lives, you sorry asshole.”
“The FBI…”
She stopped him.
“That was them. This is me. The FBI made its choice regarding you. I don’t have to agree with it. I’ll save you, but I’m going to make sure you suffer for what you’ve done. Period. Judgment day is coming, Mikey, and I’m the one holding the scale. It’s time to give justice her day in court.”
With that, she stood and headed for the door. Callen was behind her, and Ivan was following, walking backward. He didn’t want to turn his back on this man.
He’d read a lot about him.
He was bad during his reign of terror in Boston, and he didn’t trust him as far as he could toss his ass. Once you went bad, you never came back.
Ivan had seen it before.
At the door, she opened it and called in the US Marshal who was waiting outside for her interview to end.
“Take him back to his hole. Is his building secure?” she asked.
“It has six units, and we’ve watched it for years. He’s safe there. We see everyone in and out.”
“Perfect. Take him back and let him go about his normal business. We’ll have one of our guys on the place too,” she said. “He’ll make sure Carl doesn’t sashay himself in there to cut a bitch while he sleeps.”
There was some strangled sound from O’Banion as he listened to her.
Good.
She hoped he was terrified. This was so damn serious, and he should be sleeping in a locked room with a baseball bat. Carl was no joking matter.
She turned and waved to him.
“Sleep with one eye open,” she stated. “How ironic is that? The hunter has become the hunted.”
She laughed as she headed out.
That was justice right there.
And he deserved it.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Morgue
Hoover Building
When she arrived there, the entire team was working on the case. Chris was studying the autopsy results on the big screen, Tony was working on the bones they’d recovered, Chrissy was running trace, and Blue and Jaxon were beginning to give the dead their faces back.
They were deep into it, and she couldn’t be prouder of her team. They might not have the first victim, but they could do it by proxy, and do it well.
If there was something to be found, they would definitely locate it.
This was a well-oiled machine, working like they always did. They were going to find justice for the eight bodies in the grave, and for the woman who had been minding her own business. Her only crime was being on Howard’s mail route.
In fact, they were so busy, that they missed her even walking into the room.
Ivan was behind her, and that was odd. He normally stayed outside the doors. He wasn’t a fan of smelling the chemicals they used to clean a morgue.
She really believed he was freaked out by the dead.
“Well, this always does my heart good,” she stated, looking around. “My team isn’t screwing around on this one.”
That had their attention.
Chris looked over to see her heading his way.
She gave him a kiss and made a shiny green apple appear for his snack.
“An apple a day, Doc…”
He grinned.
“Yes, so I hear. I will gladly take that apple and enjoy it as I take a break.”
The techs all glanced over at the use of that word.
Was Chris taking a break?
Really?
She ignored their looks.
Elizabeth was happy to see him sitting, he had a mug of tea beside him, and he looked calm.
“How’d it go?” she asked, keeping her voice low as she referred to his talk with Tony and Christina.
“It’s good to have a family,” he said, knowing she’d understand what he was saying.
And she did.
“I figured as much,” she said, giving him space when he stood. Immediately, she wrapped her arm around his waist like she always used to do.
“I missed you. How was the visit with our old enemy?” he asked.
Jaxon waddled over.
Elizabeth saw her coming. She had her attention.
“Hey, momma,” she said, ignoring Chris’s question for now. She wasn’t sure how Jaxon would take it.
This had to be hard on her.
“Hey,” Jaxon stated, as Elizabeth touched her baby belly. “I know. This child is spinning like a top,” she said when her friend smiled at the movement.
“What’s up, Jax?” she asked, pretty sure where this was going.
While they all knew Jaxon hated the man, she was still curious.
How could she not be?
For years, she’d thought he was dead. Now…she was faced with a new reality. Jaxon had to be wounded over this, and that upset Elizabeth.
“What was he like?” she asked, not needing to even say his name. “We heard you were going to meet with him.”
Yeah, she wasn’t surprised. Chris likely gave
Tony the heads-up, and Tony likely warned his wife.
She didn’t mind.
Jaxon had a right to know, as did Jagger. She’d handle that part on her own.
Now it was time to help her friend.
“He looks the same, but he’s scared. He doesn’t want Crazy Carl hunting him down.”
Jaxon rubbed her belly, and Tony appeared beside his wife to support her.
Emotionally and physically. He tucked her beneath his arm and let her lean on him.
“Is Jaxon safe from him?” he asked. “Please tell me he didn’t ask about her.”
“Well, he knows Jagger is dead,” she said, watching Jaxon’s eyes fill with tears, “and that she’s happy and starting a family.”
Elizabeth didn’t regret telling him.
At all.
Still, this woman was her concern, and she missed her brother. Jaxon was giving birth soon, and she wanted him there. Jaxon knew what they were facing with Oracle, and the hunt for his wife, but this was her brother, and that was a bond.
“I don’t like that,” Tony stated.
Jaxon gave him a kiss and held his hand. “I’m okay, Tony. He can’t hurt me.”
He hoped his wife was right.
Elizabeth reassured them.
“If I, at any time, suspect that Jax is in trouble, Tony, I’m going to do anything in my power to keep her safe. I promise. You can trust me.”
He did.
Tony knew she’d never risk her family, and that was exactly what they were.
Elizabeth continued, “Anyway, he’s not going to bother her or us, but he is tied to that woman’s death,” she stated, pointing at Beverly Sampson’s body on the screen. “He may not have done the deed, but he made the monster who did, so we will get her justice too.”
They were all good with that.
“Where are the agents and detective?” she asked. “They are supposed to be digging up dirt for me to use to track Carl.”
Chris pointed at the morgue office as he munched on his apple.
Well, that worked for her.
Elizabeth crossed the morgue and peeked her head inside to get their attention. They were sitting at the table as they worked.
“Did you find anything?” she asked.
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