CHAPTER ONE: OUTSMARTED
"God Damnit," Chris Larabee rushed into the parking lot next to the Denver courthouse. He swore as he punched his hand into the side of his truck. He withdrew it, wincing at the stab of pain spread through his whole arm.
"Easy there, Pard. I'm in no mood to bring you in for stiches today." Buck Wilmington said, patting him on the shoulder. Chris turned to look at his friend, and realized his whole team was standing behind him.
"Almost three years of hard work and that fucking murderer goes free!" . He reached up his hand to punch something again, but another hand grabbed onto his wrist. He turned to look at the courthouse. The mob had yet to emerge.
Chris, it's not worth it," Vin Tanner replied, letting go of his friend's arm. Chris let it fall to his side in resignation.
"Try telling that to the people he killed and the all the families that he destroyed," Chris answered.
"They will always know that he was guilty, Chris. There is no denying that fact, despite what the defense lawyer said. You made sure they did. We all knew from the beginning that he would probably get off, a man like him doesn't answer to the same criminal justice system that we do," Josiah Sanchez told him. Chris looked at the three men standing behind him.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he answered, but it didn't make him feel any better.
"Chris," a female voice called. The agent turned to see a pretty blond woman walking towards him.
"Mary," he nodded his head, as she stopped near him. "Mary, I'm sorry. I got Stephen involved in this. If I hadn't suggested that he publish that article about in the paper…"
The woman grabbed a hold of Chris's hand and put a finger on his lips.
"We've been over this before Chris. Stephen's murder was not your fault. Reporting was in my husband's blood. If you hadn't given him the evidence to write the story, he would have found another way to get it. He's managed to piss off a lot of people in this city. If Cortez hadn't ordered the hit, somebody else would have. I…" She choked on her last words as the tears starting falling freely from her eyes.
Chris let go of her hand and pulled the woman close.
"I won't try and tell you that its okay," he whispered in her ear, "because it's not. This country is fucked up when bastards like Cortez can get away with what he did, but you have to be strong for Billy. He's too young to know what the real world is like." He grabbed onto her chin. "And know that I will find a way to get to Cortez. I don't care what I have to do, but I will make him suffer."
"Mrs. Travis, we are about ready to start filming. Cortez and his lawyer are about to exit," a man near a white news station van called. Mary smiled and pulled away.
"Thank you Chris," She answered quietly. "All of you," She said to the other three men.
"Take care Mary," Buck said. "If you need anything, remember that we're all only a phone call away."
She nodded her head and walked towards the television van. A look of pure determination crossed her face. The four men watched in amazement as the grieving widow transformed in a split second to one of the best TV reporters in the state.
"That's one hell of a woman," Vin said, as he watched her speak into the video camera.
"She sure is," Chris answered with a sigh. His attention was diverted when the courtroom doors flung open and a mass of people swarmed out. Cameras began flashing and reporters surged into the crowd to get interviews.
In the middle of the pack, walked an impeccably dressed and attractive olive skinned man. He smiled, revealing a shinny pair of white teeth. Chris wanted more than anything to shoot Marcus Cortez right there. The Assistant DA had been accused of raping and murdering five teenage girls, all daughters of the poorer custodian workers at City Hall. Chris had spent three years tracking down evidence and reports proving that the lawyer guilty. He had even asked Stephen Travis from the Times to write an article revealing to everyone what had happened. Of course in this day and age, neither the story nor the evidence mattered. The only thing that did was money and power. Cortez was rich in both. He was the city's golden boy. His story was that of the typical rags to riches story that the public ate right up.. The men wanted to be just like him and the woman swooned when he cast that charismatic smile their way. Nobody gave a damn about what he did to poor little minority girls. In the end, Cortez had gottenoff scot-free and a loving husband and father devoted to the truth was dead.
Chris felt a hand grab onto his arm, and pull his hand away from his gun. He hadn't even realized what he was doing. He stared into the cold eyes of Josiah.
"Not a wise idea," his friend said.
"God, I don't deserve friends like these," he thought. When his wife and son had been killed almost eight years ago, he had thought his life was over. He had been the star detective on the Denver police force. Rumors flew around the various departments that there wasn't a case he couldn't solve. While he had been on the path to stardom, his list of enemies was increasing, something he chose to ignore. His stupidity had destroyed his family and his life. The car bomb that had killed his wife and little boy was completely unexpected. Since then, he had been on a path of destruction that had gotten him fired from his job at the Denver PD. Buck Wilmington had stuck it out with him through it all. Chris cringed inwardly when he thought about all the punches Buck had taken in an effort to control his drunken friend. Worse, all the hurtful things he had said to his old Navy buddy. No matter what Chris did to shake him, Wilmington would not let go Buck had left Denver for a while, but Chris knew
Buck had always been keeping tabs on him.. Buck said that friendship meant more than sticking by a man through just the good couldn't have imagined what would have happened if he hadn't.
Eventually Buck's sideline supervision paid off. Chris had gotten his life together enough to gain to attention of FBI Assistant Director Orrin Travis, an old friend of the Larabee family. He had gotten Chris a job stationed in Denver and had made him a special agent. Chris couldn't even escape Buck then. Travis had made sure that his guardian angel would always be close, meaning the next desk over. Of course, his life hadn't been perfect after that. There was stretch of time when he had botched almost every case he had worked on.
Travis said that he would give Chris one last shot to prove that he could handle the job. With the help of Buck, Chris was able to get his life on track once again. This time though, the responsibility did not fall completely on Buck's shoulder. He had literally run into Josiah Sanchez when the criminologist turned FBI agent was visiting the office from WashingtonDC. The coffee stain on his favorite shirt and bruised ribs has been worth it. Josiah was not only an invaluable member of his FBI Team, but a friend that he couldn't imagine what he would do without.
The three men became some of the most successful agents in the country. Some might have questioned the legality and morality of their methods, but nobody could deny their effectiveness. Chris had been content to finish his career with his two new friends, but Lady Fate had other ideas.
Almost two years ago, Chris was being chased through Purgatorio, a slum of the city, by some drug kingpin He had run into an open apartment to discover it was inhabited by a long haired Texan. Even today he couldn't explain why he immediately felt connected to Vin Tanner. .
As the former army ranger stood watch at the window, Chris Larabee found himself pouring out his life story. Surprisingly, the young man was a good listener and contributed tidbits of his own story. He had learned that Vin was just out of the army, and looking for a job. He wanted a job as a cop, but no one was willing to hire an unruly dyslexic soldier. As soon as the drug lord disappeared, Chris was on the phone with Travis, pushing his boss to give Tanner a trial run as an agent.
Neither Travis nor Larabee had a reason to regret their decision. Tanner's contract was drawn even before the six month trial period was over. Travis knew a good agent when he saw one, good education or not. Tanner had a natural instinct that no agent could learn from a book. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way. Many more qualified agents had tried to get into Larabee's office and had promptly been rejected. Larabee and Travis had taken a lot of crap for playing favorites, and Vin had taken the brunt of it. Chris swore if he saw one more hotshot agent trying to rough Tanner, he would shoot him no questions asked. Not that his friend couldn't hold his own. Vin had some techniques that went beyond roughing up his assailants. Of course, none of them left a traceable mark. .
"Come on, let's get out of here," Chris sighed. "We don't need to see this."
"Sounds like a plan," Buck said, patting Chris on the shoulder. "I could sure use a drink."
Chris was about to open the car door, when a gunshot made the street shake. His neck snapped around so fast, he almost got whiplash. In a flash, the agents had their guns drawn and turned to the crowd. There was a loud scream, and Cortez crumpled to the ground.
"Everybody, get down," Chris roared. A few people listened, but most just stood there screaming. Many were too terrified to move.
"Get these people under control and call a damn ambulance!" Buck hollered over the distressed mob. The security guards were trying their best to heed Buck's orders. The agents were scanning the area to see where the shooter was located.
"He's got to be up on that building," Vin said pointing to the Wells Fargo bank building across the street.
"You're sure?" Chris asked.
"Only way a shot like that could have been made," Vin answered. Chris didn't question Tanner's logic.
"Let's go," he motioned for his team to follow him. "Keep your eyes and ears open, we don't know if he's planning on shooting again," he stated. The agents ran into the building.
"There might a sniper on top of the building," Josiah yelled as they reached the lobby. "Everybody stay down and don't move until we tell you!" The people in the bank were much more obedient than the crowd outside.
"Vin, you and Josiah take the back steps," Chris ordered. The men nodded their heads. Buck followed Chris into the front stairwell. Both men were so full of adrenaline and set on their purpose that neither noticed the girl coming down the steps. Chris ran right into her and knocked her over.
"Sorry, miss," He stated hurriedly. He was about to rush by when he realized that recognized the young woman.. She was short, not much over than five feet with an athletic build. Her long light brown hair hung down her shoulders.
"Miss Davis?" He questioned the young archives secretary.
"Agent Larabee, what is going on?" she asked, terrified.
"Somebody just shot Cortez," Buck answered. She gasped.
"Then don't let me keep you," she said moving aside. "I was just on the second floor checking about a loan on my house." She moved aside so the men could pass.
"If I was about ten years younger," Buck said shaking his head.
"You don't have a chance," Chris told him. "From what I hear no man does." They reached the door, Chris tried to open it up, but it was locked.
"Easy, cowboy, he might still be up there. We got the element of surprise so let's just…" Buck never got to finish his sentence. Chris raised his hand and shot off the lock.
"Yeah, element of surprise," Buck said, rolling his eyes. Both men walked cauciously onto the roof, guns drawn.
"It's all right, guys, there's nobody out here," Josiah said walking towards them. Chris sighed heavily and lowered his weapon. He hadn't really expected the shooter to hang around, but it would have made his job a lot easier. Hell, he probably would have shaken the man's hand.
"See anyone on the stairs?" Vin asked. Buck shook his head.
"No, just that Davis girl from archives. Poor thing picked a hell of day to look into a house loan."
"Hey guys, you might want to take a look at this," Josiah said. The big man was kneeling over something on the ground. The walked over and realized that Josiah was staring at a gun.
"That's an impressive gun," Vin whistled. "I haven't seen on those since I was the Army."
"Well, we've got the murder weapon," Buck stated. "Anyone got a pair of gloves?"
"Nope,"Vin answered. "We'll have to wait till the crime techies can get here." Chris walked to the edge of the steps and looked around at courthouse steps. The ambulance arrived. Vin went and stood by his shoulder.
"Think he could have survived?" Chris asked.
"With a shot that accurate and a weapon like that? Not a chance," Vin answered. "Why you so upset Larabee, thought you wanted the bastard dead."
"I still say good riddance to the son of a bitch, but we can't let people take the laws into their own hands like this Vin. The streets would turn into chaos."
"Seems like they are doing a better job than us," Vin mused.
"You say that next time you have to deal with the Red Glove," Chris answered.
"Think they're responsible?"
Y
The Red Glove was as mysterious as they were notorious. Nobody knew much about them other them. Messages they had sent has said they were fighting injustices that the government was too corrupted and weak to do anything. A few years ago, they had started with simple graffiti messages. In the last year, they had escalated to destroying tucks with shipments of drugs and harassing suspected corrupt businessmen. There crimes made them Denver PD's responsibility. If they were behind this assassination, they had now become Chris's problem.
"Hell, Vin, I don't want to think about anything right now. We better go down and make sure that everything's under control down there."
By the time they got back down to the courthouse, Cortez's body was being placed in the ambulance. A black man overseeing the loading waved at the agents. He walked over as the ambulance was driving away.
"Hey, Nathan," Chris greeted. Nathan Jackson was a doctor at Denver General, a damn good one. Chris couldn't count the times that that he had patched up him and his team.
"Agent Larabee," Nathan sighed heavily. "Awful business isn't it?"
"I call it divine intervention," Buck stated smiling at the religious Josiah. "God knew that bastard didn't deserve to live."
"They sending doctors with the EMT crews now?" Josiah asked.
"Hospital funding has been cut. They had to let go of some of the EMTS. They are sending the hospital staff to make up for it. I'm not technically a doctor yet, so I get bossed around quite a bit, although it would have its perks when it came to answering your calls. I could sedate you at the site and save myself and the nurses a lot of trouble." He laughed.
This comment made the agents look at their feet guiltily. None of them could deny that they were on the top ten list of the most hated patients at the hospital.
"I got to be getting back to the hospital," Nathan said. "You guys take care of yourselves." He paused than smiled. "Good luck catching the sniper."
"Take care, Nathan," Chris called as the man walked towards the awaiting ambulance.
"Did he just sound like his was mocking us?" Buck asked. "I mean about the whole catching the sniper thing?"
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"I don't know; it almost seemed like he knew something we didn't."
"Think you're imagining things, Pard," Vin answered. "If the Sniper's out there, we'll find him."