Donovan was the first in that morning. Usually Monica and Cody were there before hand, but for some reason they were late. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down to read his email. Another assignment. He pushed the mug to the side as he leaned forward, eyebrows puckering.
"What the..."
"Boss?" It was Monica in the doorway. She had a Starbuck's cup in hand. "What's wrong?"
"Our new assignment. Get everyone in here A.S.A.P."
-----
Twenty minutes later everyone was in the main room. Donovan was pacing in front of the main screen, deep in thought.
"We've got a new assignment. Cyrus Morhoff." He proceeded to give the particulars about Morhoff - a reputed arms dealer with a nasty personality.
"Jake, you're going to go in. So are you Alex. I'll need both of you in the outfit."
As he spoke, everyone's eyebrows shot up in surprise. It wasn't every day that two agents went in cover. Usually one did while the other one filled in details here and there.
"Uh, Boss. Why two of us? He can't be that bad... and besides, it'll make waves to have two new rookies in their outfit." Jake was right and Donovan knew it.
"One will get Morhoff... the other is going to help with a sort of 'hostage' extraction. Monica, I'll need you to profile a Private Detective Frankie Battles for me. Find out everything you can about this person. I received notice this morning that things are getting bad for Battles. He's apparently gotten into hot water and the Director feels it'd be best to get him out. Alex, this is your part - find Frankie. Jake, you get to tackle Morhoff. Good luck to you both."
****
Monica and Cody had been studying their files for hours. Both were crabby and sniping at Jake and Alex. Donovan had to chuckle as he listened to the hissing and spitting downstairs.
"BOSS!! GET JAKE OUT OF MY WAY!!" it was Alex's voice. Apparently she was having to sidestep both Cody and Jake.
"Boss."
"Yes Monica?"
"Just who is the Frank Battles we're helping pull out? Cody can't anything to give me, just 'tall, black hair, grey eyes'. Nothing else. Not a picture, not a personnel file, nothing." She almost threw the file on his desk as she sat down.
"Calm down. Private detectives are odd ducks. They technically don't exist except to their informants and those who hire them. What I need from you is the best guess. Once Jake and Alex get inside, then that is when you're going to work your magic."
"Sure. IF Alex and Jake don't kill each other."
There was a loud crash and Cody's voice began yelling.
"Or before Cody kills them both..." Donovan said with a wry grin.
****
Jake was tired. He'd been on the hustle for the last two weeks and still he wasn't that well integrated enough into Morhoff's outfit to be let in on some of the details. Alex, on the other hand, had snagged Morhoff's eye and been given carte blanche to come and go as she pleased.
Of course, the lovely piece of eyecandy that he'd seen around today and the day before made things a bit easier to swallow. If only she wasn't so tall... When he asked Harv about her, all he got was a grunt and a brusque "She ain't none of yer business."
"Yeah. She's a real biscuit too. Legs longer than my speeding ticket record. Boss, I gotta tell you, this assignment is proving to be a pain."
"Jake," Donovan's voice crackled a bit on the cellphone. "Be patient. Not all assignments are over as quickly as Quito or Sonny. The prison bit lasted two months."
"Yeah, and we all know how that turned out. Has Alex turned anything up on this Frankie?"
"No. Like you and your 'biscuit', she keeps getting told it's none of her business. Jake..."
"yeah Boss?"
"Just what is a biscuit in definition of a woman?"
"Nevermind Boss. Leave it at if you were to see her, even YOU would probably have heart palpitations."
"Ah-ha. Very funny Jake."
****
After that, Jake hadn't seen much of the woman. Once or twice, here and there. Most of the time it was a brief meeting with Morhoff and then she was on her way. Several times he tried to introduce himself to her and she just half-smiled and hurried off.
Except this morning. Jake had gotten to be decent enough friends with Harv and Finch. They sort of 'took him under their wings' and taught him how things were in Morhoff's outfit. But this morning, everything was tense when Jake showed up.
"What's up?"
"Frankie's pissed off the Boss."
"Frankie?"
"Yeah, Frankie. Boss' got himself a pet project, information source on the police and all that. Apparently Frankie ain't remembered her place in the scheme of things. And now, we get to go remind her. You're coming with us."
Her? Frankie was a woman? 'Holy Shit!' Jake thought 'No wonder Alex hasn't been able to get anywhere on finding Frankie.' All this time they'd been looking for a man.
While they were on the way to Frankie's place, Harv and Finch filled him in.
"Yeah, a while back, this pretty little thing turns up some dirt on the Boss. When she went to the police about it, word spread quickly, Boss has people on the inside you see... anyway, he made Frankie a deal she couldn't refuse. He dances her like a puppet. Too bad she's off limits to people like you and me, right?"
"yeah... right." Jake wasn't liking this at all. If Frankie was a woman, what was it that Morhoff was holding over her to get her to do what he wanted?
"We're here. C'mon Jake."
All three of them entered the building. That sick feeling in the pit of his stomach grew by leaps and bounds. The apartment building wasn't too bad looking, decent neighborhood. They stopped at the fifth floor, apartment A. Harv knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" It sounded like a child's voice.
"Open up Eric. We're here to see Frankie."
"No! Frankie isn't here. Go Away!"
"Be a good boy Eric and open up. If you don't, you'll make us really mad!"
There was a dead silence before the door opened up a crack, the security chain stopping the door. In the doorway was a younger male who looked to be about mid-twenties. "If I let you in, will you promise not to hurt me?"
"Of course." With that, Harv kicked the door in. Eric scampered backwards and tripped over the sofa. Finch and Jake followed him in.
"See, we haven't hurt you yet. Where is that pretty little sister of yours?"
"not here." Eric had stood up and was pacing back and forth, holding one hand up to the side of his head. "not here. Frankie not here. Jake looked around, half listening to Harv and Finch as they started taunting Eric. The apartment wasn't exactly luxurious, but it was about the same as Alex's place. Definitely a woman's place. He made a quick clear of the place, checking the rooms for the mysterious Frankie.
"no one else is here guys."
Harv and Finch looked up. Eric was sitting in a chair, his hands balled up into fists held between his knees as he rocked back and forth. Fresh tears were streaming down his face.
"remember what we said Eric. Tell that sister of yours to mind her manners and remember who she is... or else she gets hurt."
At that threat, Eric put both hands over his ears and started sobbing. Harv and Finch looked smugly satisfied as they headed down to the car.
"ahhh. Our work here is done. Let's go Jake."
"I think I'll stick around, make sure Frankie gets the message."
"Not the way it works Jake. We deliver it, she gets it. Anything for her baby brother."
"Fine. Then I'm going for a walk."
"Suit yourself." They got into the car and drove off, leaving a sick Jake behind. How could people honestly what they did to a person like Eric and feel good about themselves. He shook his head and went back inside.
Knocking softly on the door even as he heard Eric's crying.
"Eric. My name is Jake. I was just here." The door was unlocked, so he let himself in. Eric was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, still sobbing.
"Go... away. You... want to hurt Frankie."
Jake felt so sorry for the poor guy. He went into the bathroom and got a cool wet washcloth. After returning, he bent down and handed it to Eric.
"No, I want to help Frankie."
Eric looked at Jake suspiciously for a moment, then reached for the washcloth.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Jake jumped up, Eric screeched and curled up even as 6' of livid brunette came racing in through the door and backhanded Jake across the room.
"Don't you bastards EVER give up? What is it going to take? Killing one of you to make you understand that Eric is off-limits to your sick jokes?" The banshee screaming at Jake was the brunette 'biscuit' he'd drooled over for weeks now. And she was pissed.
"Now wait just a minute! I haven't done anything to him! I was trying to help him!" Jake stood up slowly, expecting her to knock him flat on his butt again. But she backed up and knelt down, putting her arms around Eric's shoulders, rocking him gently.
"It's alright. I'm here Eric."
"They... they said they'd h..hurt you if you... did-didn't behave."
Frankie glared daggers at Jake who just stood silently by.
"did they hurt you?"
"No... just.. just kicked the door in. two like before... and him. He's nice. He wants to help you."
Frankie eyed Jake again. "Like hell he does."
"Frankie. My name is Jake Shaw. I'm a Federal Agent. I can help you if you'll let me."
She watched him pull out his ID and badge. As she inspected it closer, Jake pulled out his cell phone and dialed Donovan.
"Yeah, it's Jake. I found Frankie."
"What the..."
"Boss?" It was Monica in the doorway. She had a Starbuck's cup in hand. "What's wrong?"
"Our new assignment. Get everyone in here A.S.A.P."
-----
Twenty minutes later everyone was in the main room. Donovan was pacing in front of the main screen, deep in thought.
"We've got a new assignment. Cyrus Morhoff." He proceeded to give the particulars about Morhoff - a reputed arms dealer with a nasty personality.
"Jake, you're going to go in. So are you Alex. I'll need both of you in the outfit."
As he spoke, everyone's eyebrows shot up in surprise. It wasn't every day that two agents went in cover. Usually one did while the other one filled in details here and there.
"Uh, Boss. Why two of us? He can't be that bad... and besides, it'll make waves to have two new rookies in their outfit." Jake was right and Donovan knew it.
"One will get Morhoff... the other is going to help with a sort of 'hostage' extraction. Monica, I'll need you to profile a Private Detective Frankie Battles for me. Find out everything you can about this person. I received notice this morning that things are getting bad for Battles. He's apparently gotten into hot water and the Director feels it'd be best to get him out. Alex, this is your part - find Frankie. Jake, you get to tackle Morhoff. Good luck to you both."
****
Monica and Cody had been studying their files for hours. Both were crabby and sniping at Jake and Alex. Donovan had to chuckle as he listened to the hissing and spitting downstairs.
"BOSS!! GET JAKE OUT OF MY WAY!!" it was Alex's voice. Apparently she was having to sidestep both Cody and Jake.
"Boss."
"Yes Monica?"
"Just who is the Frank Battles we're helping pull out? Cody can't anything to give me, just 'tall, black hair, grey eyes'. Nothing else. Not a picture, not a personnel file, nothing." She almost threw the file on his desk as she sat down.
"Calm down. Private detectives are odd ducks. They technically don't exist except to their informants and those who hire them. What I need from you is the best guess. Once Jake and Alex get inside, then that is when you're going to work your magic."
"Sure. IF Alex and Jake don't kill each other."
There was a loud crash and Cody's voice began yelling.
"Or before Cody kills them both..." Donovan said with a wry grin.
****
Jake was tired. He'd been on the hustle for the last two weeks and still he wasn't that well integrated enough into Morhoff's outfit to be let in on some of the details. Alex, on the other hand, had snagged Morhoff's eye and been given carte blanche to come and go as she pleased.
Of course, the lovely piece of eyecandy that he'd seen around today and the day before made things a bit easier to swallow. If only she wasn't so tall... When he asked Harv about her, all he got was a grunt and a brusque "She ain't none of yer business."
"Yeah. She's a real biscuit too. Legs longer than my speeding ticket record. Boss, I gotta tell you, this assignment is proving to be a pain."
"Jake," Donovan's voice crackled a bit on the cellphone. "Be patient. Not all assignments are over as quickly as Quito or Sonny. The prison bit lasted two months."
"Yeah, and we all know how that turned out. Has Alex turned anything up on this Frankie?"
"No. Like you and your 'biscuit', she keeps getting told it's none of her business. Jake..."
"yeah Boss?"
"Just what is a biscuit in definition of a woman?"
"Nevermind Boss. Leave it at if you were to see her, even YOU would probably have heart palpitations."
"Ah-ha. Very funny Jake."
****
After that, Jake hadn't seen much of the woman. Once or twice, here and there. Most of the time it was a brief meeting with Morhoff and then she was on her way. Several times he tried to introduce himself to her and she just half-smiled and hurried off.
Except this morning. Jake had gotten to be decent enough friends with Harv and Finch. They sort of 'took him under their wings' and taught him how things were in Morhoff's outfit. But this morning, everything was tense when Jake showed up.
"What's up?"
"Frankie's pissed off the Boss."
"Frankie?"
"Yeah, Frankie. Boss' got himself a pet project, information source on the police and all that. Apparently Frankie ain't remembered her place in the scheme of things. And now, we get to go remind her. You're coming with us."
Her? Frankie was a woman? 'Holy Shit!' Jake thought 'No wonder Alex hasn't been able to get anywhere on finding Frankie.' All this time they'd been looking for a man.
While they were on the way to Frankie's place, Harv and Finch filled him in.
"Yeah, a while back, this pretty little thing turns up some dirt on the Boss. When she went to the police about it, word spread quickly, Boss has people on the inside you see... anyway, he made Frankie a deal she couldn't refuse. He dances her like a puppet. Too bad she's off limits to people like you and me, right?"
"yeah... right." Jake wasn't liking this at all. If Frankie was a woman, what was it that Morhoff was holding over her to get her to do what he wanted?
"We're here. C'mon Jake."
All three of them entered the building. That sick feeling in the pit of his stomach grew by leaps and bounds. The apartment building wasn't too bad looking, decent neighborhood. They stopped at the fifth floor, apartment A. Harv knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" It sounded like a child's voice.
"Open up Eric. We're here to see Frankie."
"No! Frankie isn't here. Go Away!"
"Be a good boy Eric and open up. If you don't, you'll make us really mad!"
There was a dead silence before the door opened up a crack, the security chain stopping the door. In the doorway was a younger male who looked to be about mid-twenties. "If I let you in, will you promise not to hurt me?"
"Of course." With that, Harv kicked the door in. Eric scampered backwards and tripped over the sofa. Finch and Jake followed him in.
"See, we haven't hurt you yet. Where is that pretty little sister of yours?"
"not here." Eric had stood up and was pacing back and forth, holding one hand up to the side of his head. "not here. Frankie not here. Jake looked around, half listening to Harv and Finch as they started taunting Eric. The apartment wasn't exactly luxurious, but it was about the same as Alex's place. Definitely a woman's place. He made a quick clear of the place, checking the rooms for the mysterious Frankie.
"no one else is here guys."
Harv and Finch looked up. Eric was sitting in a chair, his hands balled up into fists held between his knees as he rocked back and forth. Fresh tears were streaming down his face.
"remember what we said Eric. Tell that sister of yours to mind her manners and remember who she is... or else she gets hurt."
At that threat, Eric put both hands over his ears and started sobbing. Harv and Finch looked smugly satisfied as they headed down to the car.
"ahhh. Our work here is done. Let's go Jake."
"I think I'll stick around, make sure Frankie gets the message."
"Not the way it works Jake. We deliver it, she gets it. Anything for her baby brother."
"Fine. Then I'm going for a walk."
"Suit yourself." They got into the car and drove off, leaving a sick Jake behind. How could people honestly what they did to a person like Eric and feel good about themselves. He shook his head and went back inside.
Knocking softly on the door even as he heard Eric's crying.
"Eric. My name is Jake. I was just here." The door was unlocked, so he let himself in. Eric was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, still sobbing.
"Go... away. You... want to hurt Frankie."
Jake felt so sorry for the poor guy. He went into the bathroom and got a cool wet washcloth. After returning, he bent down and handed it to Eric.
"No, I want to help Frankie."
Eric looked at Jake suspiciously for a moment, then reached for the washcloth.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Jake jumped up, Eric screeched and curled up even as 6' of livid brunette came racing in through the door and backhanded Jake across the room.
"Don't you bastards EVER give up? What is it going to take? Killing one of you to make you understand that Eric is off-limits to your sick jokes?" The banshee screaming at Jake was the brunette 'biscuit' he'd drooled over for weeks now. And she was pissed.
"Now wait just a minute! I haven't done anything to him! I was trying to help him!" Jake stood up slowly, expecting her to knock him flat on his butt again. But she backed up and knelt down, putting her arms around Eric's shoulders, rocking him gently.
"It's alright. I'm here Eric."
"They... they said they'd h..hurt you if you... did-didn't behave."
Frankie glared daggers at Jake who just stood silently by.
"did they hurt you?"
"No... just.. just kicked the door in. two like before... and him. He's nice. He wants to help you."
Frankie eyed Jake again. "Like hell he does."
"Frankie. My name is Jake Shaw. I'm a Federal Agent. I can help you if you'll let me."
She watched him pull out his ID and badge. As she inspected it closer, Jake pulled out his cell phone and dialed Donovan.
"Yeah, it's Jake. I found Frankie."