Usual Disclaimer. Don't own. No disrespect intended. Just having some fun. And of course love reviews.
"Hey JT," Briggs called out as he entered the kitchen and snagged a coffee mug off the counter.
"Brah," came the reply around a mouthful of cereal and fruit.
Removing the coffee pot from the machine, Briggs filled his mug then settled on one of the kitchen stools. Taking a swig, he grimaced. "Who made the coffee?"
Noting Briggs' facial expression he said, "Charlie. But she seemed in kind of a hurry so..."
After taking another sip, Paul put the mug on the bar and pushed it aside. "Hurry huh. Hurry where?"
Johnny shrugged. "No clue and I wasn't asking. Last time I nearly got my head ripped off by Charlie and Jakes."
"For asking where she was going?" Briggs questioned rubbing his hand over his stubbly chin.
"Ah huh. I may look stupid but I'm not."
"No you are not. Seems like Charlie has been disappearing a lot these days," Briggs commented nonchalantly picking up a banana and peeling back the skin.
Johnny put his spoon down and leaned forward. "That's what I thought too. But when I asked her," he waved his hands thru the air, "Phew. Major stonewall. Then Jakes backs her up like totally."
"Mmm. Think he knows what is going on?"
"Nah. You know him. He just likes to be on the opposing side of everything."
Briggs took a bite of the banana and chewed it slowly while thinking. "So she just lit out of here this morning. After I told her last night I'd help her with Odin. Strange man."
Johnny shrugged again as he got up and put his empty bowl in the sink. "Unless you got a tracking device on her you are SOL."
Briggs rose from his stool and headed out of the kitchen, tossing the banana peel in the trash as he passed. "Thanks John-Boy."
"Later dude," Johnny called after him.
Briggs returned to his room, walked over to his computer and flipped open the lid. Johnny had no clue how on the money he was about tracking Charlie. The other day, after Johnny had told him about Charlie's suspicions regarding him and Odin, Briggs had 'borrowed' her phone and turned on the GPS tracker.
As he called up the tracking app on his laptop, he wondered if she had discovered and disabled it. However, a blinking dot showed up on his screen after a few minutes confirming it was still working. The dot was stationary so he zoomed down on the area to get the street name then switched to satellite view to take an actual look at the location as he was not familiar with the neighborhood. It appeared to be a somewhat remote motel; a place where a person stayed when they didn't want anyone else to know they were in town. Did Charlie have a new CI? Is that why she was out at the remote locale? Closing the lid on his laptop, he grabbed his keys and headed out the door to visit Charlie's little rendezvous spot and take a look around.
GRACELAND
Early afternoon found Charlie and Rafael sitting in the small restaurant attached to the motel sipping 'laced' coffee. As one would expect given its location adjacent to the somewhat seedy motel, the place was more a bar than restaurant and not particularly nice.
"Guess the Federale doesn't pay any better than the FBI," Charlie joked referring to the less than stellar locale.
"There are no bedbugs and everyone minds their own business which makes it better than some of the places I have stayed." Rafael raised his cup. "But at least the coffee is good when properly adjusted with sugar and," he tapped his pocket flask, "cream."
"Salute to 'cream'," Charlie said also raising her coffee cup.
Rafael took a sip of his doctored coffee before setting it on the none-too-clean table. "So have you made any more progress on finding Odin?"
Charlie related the story of Mike and Bello at the prison. "It had to be Odin that leaked the visit," she concluded.
"The phone records, no luck?"
Charlie ran a hand thru her long dark hair. "I figure the call had to come in after I made my appointment but before the next morning; there are a lot of calls in that period."
Rafael picked up his mug and took another sip. "What I can't figure out is how Odin would know you made the appointment to go see Mike. A leak… in the prison?"
"Yeah maybe," Charlie said vaguely.
Rafael stared at her intently. "But you do not think that hmm. You still think it is a rogue FBI agent?"
"Yeah I do."
"And are you any closer to having a name?"
Charlie paused, then sighed looking away.
"You do have a name," Rafael pushed gently.
"Let's just say I have a suspicion."
Briggs held his breath, struggling to hear as he slowly stocked the mini-fridges under the bar with beer. He had bribed the normal delivery man to let him make this distribution by spinning him a tail of a cheating girlfriend he wanted to spy on followed by a hefty cash bribe. The guy had been perfectly willing to let Paul stock the bar while he took a quick nap in the beer truck. The owner of the bar had been an easy sell too being satisfied with the story that Briggs was going to be taking over the route and this was a training run.
Getting in the bar had also been a breeze, Briggs had kept his head low, hat jammed over his forehead and used the box laden hand-truck as a shield to get into position; then it had just been a matter of keeping out of sight behind the bar and slowly stocking the merchandise while eavesdropping.
"But you do not want to share," Rafael said sadly. "I thought we were on the same team, at least when it came to catching Odin and Jangles."
"We are, but if Odin is one of our own..."
"You want to handle it internally. Understandable. So I will have to figure this out for myself."
"You did pretty well on the Bello arrest. And I never said it was a him ya know."
Rafael smiled. "You can't fault me for trying," he said with an apologetic grin.
"I suppose not. And to show there are no hard feelings I do think it is a guy," she returned with a slow smile of her own. "Actually, I always have thought as Odin as a guy. I can't see Bello getting in that deep with a woman, no disrespect to my gender."
"I do agree."
"I'll be right back. Have to hit the little girls' room," Charlie said sliding out of the booth and heading towards the back of the bar.
When Briggs was sure she was out of sight, he maneuvered to get a better look at the man in the booth. With Charlie temporarily gone, he felt it was worth the risk. He rose just in time to see the man at the table slip something into Charlie's remaining coffee.
Briggs could not let Charlie drink that coffee. Praying Charlie took her time in the ladies room, he grabbed a bottle of beer, strolled out from behind the bar and over to the table.
"Excuse me but my distributor is thinking about offering this new brand of beer for sale and I wondered if you would be interested in trying it and telling me if you'd buy it." Briggs reached over the table to hand the bottle to Rafael and 'accidentally' knocked over Charlie's coffee mug spilling the drugged contents all over the table.
Rafael jumped to his feet cursing in Spanish, as the coffee ran across the table and onto his pants. Angry, he took a good look at the idiot who had knocked over the coffee. He was surprised when he saw the man's face and had to quickly school his expression to one of neutrality. He could not believe it; the FBI agent he had tortured and addicted to heroin a few years ago was standing here in front of him with a stupid story about beer. He must have been spying on him and Charlie, had seen what he'd done to Charlie's coffee and been forced out of hiding to do something. Rafael also concluded the agent did not recognize him so he acted rapidly, pulling out his gun and ramming it into Paul's side. "Let's take this quietly outside shall we," he hissed in Briggs ear.
Paul was confused by the turn of events but he obeyed especially since there was a loaded gun being held against his body. He slowly moved towards the door and exited the building. Once outside, Rafael motioned him towards a sedan in the parking lot and the two men walked until they were standing behind the car's trunk. At that point Rafael told his captive to place his hands on the trunk. He patted down his prisoner, removed Briggs' gun and took it in his left hand; now he was dually armed.
Charlie returned from the ladies room to discover the spilled coffee on the table and no sign of Rafael. She figured he must have gotten coffee on him and went to the men's room to clean up. She looked around for a waiter to clean swipe down the table. Her eyes glanced out the front window of the restaurant and she spotted Rafael outside, behind a car, with another man. She silently walked towards the door to get a better view. She could not id the second man since his back was to her so she decided to go outside and see what was going on. The door creaked when she opened it and Rafael momentarily looked in her direction.
"Don't move. Don't turn around or you die," he whispered to Paul. "This man," he addressed Charlie as she walked toward him, "I think he is who we have been looking for."
A look of confusion crossed Charlie's face as she moved closer to the two men. "Odin or Jangles?"
"Odin. I think he has been stalking us even as we stalk him."
Charlie was nearly abreast of the men when Rafael suddenly raised the second gun and pointed it directly at Charlie chest. "Stop right there. I suggest you do as I say because I am an equally good shot with either hand."
Charlie halted and stood very still. Paul didn't move a muscle either; he couldn't take a chance on getting Charlie shot.
"Agent DeMarco. Please place your weapon slowly on the ground."
After Charlie did as instructed, Rafael took a quick step and kicked the gun across the parking lot. Gesturing to Paul he commanded, "Slowly. On the ground. Face first." Paul dropped to his knees then lay down. Charlie still could not see the face of the second man.
"Agent DeMarco. On your knees."
Charlie did as requested, sinking to her knees.
Rafael placed the gun, from his left hand, in his pocket and using his now free hand opened the trunk of the sedan. Rafael reached into the trunk and pulled out two sets of older style metal handcuffs. "Stand," he commanded Charlie. When she was back on her feet, Rafael tossed her a set of handcuffs which she neatly caught.
"Secure his hands behind his back, tightly."
She crouched down and did as directed; the man on the ground cooperated by moving his hands into the correct position for her to cuff. When she was done she stood up, moved off to one side and waited, glaring at Rafael.
"Slowly, on your knees," Rafael commanded Paul. Once the agent was in the requested position, Rafael struck him in the side of the head causing Paul to crumble, unconscious, to the ground. He landed sideways when he fell and Charlie was finally able to see his face. She swallowed her reaction and kept a straight face but Rafael wasn't fooled.
"Please Agent DeMarco. There is no need to pretend. I know he is a federal agent and I bet you know him too."
Charlie remained silent.
"Could this perhaps be who you thought is Odin?" He paused but Charlie stayed silent. "Nothing to say. No matter. Perhaps I know more about this man then you do. But now is not the time or place to swap tales." He gestured with his gun. "The rules remain the same. You cooperate and maybe you both live."
Charlie said nothing and continued to glower at Rafael.
"Turn around and put your hands behind your back."
With defiance radiating from every pore in her being, Charlie did as told and Rafael secured her hands with the handcuffs.
"Move. By the trunk," he ordered gesturing with the gun. Charlie walked over to the open trunk. "Climb in." It was a bit awkward with her hands behind her back but Charlie got in and lay on her side.
Rafael reached in and removed a duffle bag. Keeping the gun trained her he rummaged in the bag and pulled out a couple of loaded syringes. Charlie had no idea what was in them but she knew it could not be good. Rafael reached in and jabbed her in the neck with the needle. "You bastard," was all she got out before the lights went out.
"Perhaps I am," Rafael said philosophically as he walked over to where Paul lay on the ground. "My mother never really said." He injected the second needle into the unconscious agent to ensure he stayed that way for the ride.
Holstering his gun now that his captives were incapacitated, Rafael was able to pick up Briggs and sling in him the trunk along side of Charlie. American cars had such spacious trunks, he mused as he slammed it closed. Scanning the parking lot he was pleased to see no one had witnessed this little episode. He climbed behind the wheel and drove away towards Tecates, Mexico. He knew as a police man he could cross the border with no fuss. He was very pleased with how this had turned out and he bet Caza would be too.