It was always the same. Didn't matter how many times you went into a situation like this, your heart would pound. You were dealing with unknowns. Unknown number of perps behind the door. Unknown number of weapons trained on you as you take those all-important steps through the door. Charlie's math skills were no use here. Too many variables.
David nodded and Colby indicated to the SWAT boys – the crowbar wrenched the deadlock out of joint and the battering ram hammered the claws home, shattering the wood like a tooth under a hammer.
"FBI!"
The men burst in through the door, ready for anything.
But Colby wasn't ready for her…
The perps tried to react – after all, these were professionals and they weren't going to go down without a fight. The woman, long red hair pulled back in a plait that ran down her back like a second spine, was fast. Abnormally fast. She spat an expletive at the agents and without even blinking, double tapped the Browning, aiming just left of Colby's head. Deliberately missing.
There was that much confusion in the room that she almost got away. Colby stood, stunned, staring at her. For a second their eyes locked. She winked at him, spun and darted through the doorway. "One more step and I'll drop you! Freeze!" Don had heard the gunshot. He wasn't taking any chances. The woman froze, surrounded by the team and their backup SWAT unit. Slowly she raised her hands, letting the gun drop, spinning from her fingers. A lazy smile crept across her lips…
XXXXXXXXX
They'd loaded the last of the arm's dealers into the van and David slammed the door closed. He was doing mental backflips. What the hell had Colby been thinking? In all their time as partners, he had never frozen on him like that. Never. Not once. So what the hell?
"Colby? A word?" David motioned to his partner and they walked to a quiet spot. "Okay, wanna tell me what just happened?"
"I don't know."
"Don't know? C'mon, man! Don't give me that bullshit! You were like a goddamn deer in the headlights in there!"
"I…I just wasn't expecting her."
"What, the red-headed bitch who tried to blow your head off? You know her?"
"Yes."
"Am I gonna get any more than that outta you?"
Silence.
All the trust that David had tried to rebuild in his partner started to crack inside. It was the Chinese case all over again. "Colby…"
"She's Agency…"
XXXXXXXX
"So explain this to me again." Don ran his hand through his hair. Secrets time all over again. Just when he thought he was getting his team back to some semblance of normality. Just when he thought… "We've just busted an arms deal wide open and you're telling me that the woman is CIA?"
Colby nodded. "She's with the Company. Has been for about four years."
"Another one of your spy friends?" Don hadn't meant it. He'd spoken without thinking and he could see that the barb had stuck. Colby practically flinched. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"Trust me. She's no friend of mine."
"Okay. So let's see what the hell she was doing there, shall we?" He crooked a finger at Colby. "You're coming in with me. I have a feeling your presence may mean that we get closer to the truth. Even if she doesn't want to put out." He stood up, a look of dark determination on his face. Colby had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Just an ordinary field agent. That's all he'd wanted to be. Just get back to normal. Now this…
The woman sat serenely at the table, her eyes closed, a look of almost Zen-like peace on her face. She didn't move as the two agents entered the room. Colby took up station in the corner, his arms folded across his chest. Let Don take the lead. Just see where this goes…
"I'm Special Agent Don Eppes. This is my colleague…"
"Colby Granger. Yes. I know." She smiled and opened her eyes. Her head moved towards Colby and she nodded. "Hello, CJ. Good to see you're still fit and well. Nasty business with the Chinese, old son. Messy. Very, very messy."
Don looked surprised. The woman's accent was British; soft and low but with a clear hint of a London accent. He studied the woman. She was tall, powerfully built, with startlingly green eyes. A mischievous smile was itching to burst from the corners of her mouth. She was playing with them.
"Sorry about taking a pot-shot at you like that, CJ. Had to make it look convincing."
"You nearly blew his goddamn head off!"
"Don't be ridiculous. I missed, didn't I?"
Don opened his mouth to speak, but Colby interrupted him. "If she'd wanted to kill me, Don, I'd be dead. Perhaps I should introduce you." He pushed himself away from the wall and stood next to Don, his eyes never leaving hers. "This is Colonel Christine Dixon. British military intelligence. Seconded to the CIA what…" He looked to the woman for confirmation.
"Four years ago."
Colby glared at the woman. "Four years. Wanna tell us what you were doing in there, Colonel?"
"I would, but it's classified."
Don frowned. "Classified…"
"As in if I told you, I'd have to kill you." Christine let out a short laugh. "Gentlemen, you have just managed to royally screw up a case we've been working on for the past two years. Do you have any bloody idea how long it took me to build up my legend? How long it's taken me to get to that point before you and your gun-happy comrades came scissor-kicking their way through the fucking door?" The playful smile vanished in an instant and the green eyes darkened. "Just how much work has just gone spinning down the crapper because of your over-enthusiastic ineptitude?"
Don glanced at Colby who shrugged. "I think she's pissed at us."
Don re-directed his attention back at the woman. "You have any proof other than my colleague identifying you? Any ID?"
Christine frowned. "Wow. They still don't trust you, do they CJ? Damn, that's gotta smart. And no, Agent Eppes, I'm not in the habit of carrying my ID when I'm working undercover. It's not a particularly bright thing to do. But I should imagine that the phone call your director is taking…" she glanced at her watch, "oh, right about, now, will probably confirm what I've told you. I suggest you go and consult with him. Or her. Or whatever. But either way, prepare yourself for an arse-chewing of biblical proportions if I were you." She fell silent. Don could feel the knot of frustration in his stomach, the same knot he felt every time he had to deal with spook central and the cloak and dagger brigade. It wasn't his world. He understood the criminal underbelly of Los Angeles. That was tangible, it was real. This? It was all smoke and mirrors. Lies, double-lies and deceit. Colby's world…
He spun on his heels and walked out of the room, slamming the door, not waiting for Colby to follow him. Colby stared at the door and back at the woman. She smiled half-heartedly. "I really am sorry about taking that shot at you. But you understand…"
"You had to make it convincing, yeah. Sure. I'm convinced, okay?"
"It wasn't for your benefit. It was for theirs. If they had the slightest inclination that I was Agency, a lot of people would begin dying in the next twenty-four hours, me included. This way they still think I'm on the level. Mind you, it's going to be a bit of a roulette game for a while." She shrugged. "So, anyway. How ya been, CJ?"
Colby could have snapped. He could have raged at the woman, all the frustration and paranoia of the last two years, all the torture, the agony of lying to his friends, the tearing down of the relationships he had worked so hard to build – all of that rage suddenly focused on this smart-mouthed English bitch. He bit his lip hard, turned and walked out of the room. Before he had a chance to tear her head from her shoulders…
Megan watched through the one way glass as Colby walked silently out of the room. You didn't need Spidy-senses to detect the waves of emotion coming from Colby. Even David could see it. "She sure knows how to press buttons," he growled. "Can't we just bust her ass out and hand her over to emigration as an illegal or something?"
"That would be nice, wouldn't it? Probably not do-able though." Megan studied the woman. "Psychotic."
"That's your professional opinion?" David chuckled.
"No. My professional opinion is that she's batshit crazy!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Don wanted to slam the door as he walked out of the director's office, but he kept his emotions in check. The phonecall had happened exactly as the woman had said it would. The ass-chewing was right on cue. Immediate release. No further questions. And hope to God that the Agency didn't insist on an internal enquiry. He walked towards the elevator and pressed the button, leaning on the wall as he waited for the doors to open. "Damn it!" The doors pinged, opening slowly. He glanced up. Colby stood in the lift. "Don't say a word, okay?" Don walked into the elevator and punched the button.
They travelled down in silence for a few seconds. Colby spoke quietly. "She was negotiating a shipment with a group known to the NSA and the Agency. They've been working on this for months, Don. We've really screwed up this time…"
Don suddenly hit the stop button and spun around, angrily facing Colby. "We've screwed up? WE'VE screwed up? They were the ones that decided to do a major shakedown without telling us what the fuck was going on! Them, Colby, not us! Perhaps you should remember who you work for now, huh?" A stony silence filled the elevator. Colby's jaw twitched.
"You gonna throw that in my face every damn time, Don? Because if you are…"
Don held his hand up in submission. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"
"Second time today, Don. Getting old, ya know? If you don't trust me, then why the hell did you keep me on the team? Maybe I should've taken that job in DC after all, huh?" Colby's eyes were filled with pain. Don knew he'd hurt the man deeply.
"Colby, look. This spy shit makes me nervous. Okay? It's…it's just not my world. The thought of it makes me…I dunno. Look, I promise you. I'll never use that as a weapon against you again. You have my word on that. And god help anyone else who throws it at you as well. They'll have me to answer to. Okay? Are we good? I mean, are we okay here?" The silence flooded back. Colby nodded curtly and slowly, deliberately pressed the start button. The elevator jolted back to life and they travelled down the rest of the way in silence…
XXXXXXXX
The two men were waiting for Don and Colby as they walked into the office. Megan threw Don a "Where the HELL have you been!" look and Don stopped, eyeing up the two men. "Let me guess. Reader's Digest…"
"Agent Eppes…"
"Special Agent Eppes." Don put emphasis on the title.
"Hey, whatever makes you feel good about yourself." The man flickered a smile at him. "Special Agent Eppes? I believe you have a woman by the name of Christine Dixon in custody."
"I'm guessing not any more." Don put his hands on his hips, his body language confrontational. The two men flipped open their ID's and Don raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "CIA, huh? Wow, you get those fake ID's with the sunglasses?"
"You're a funny man, Agent Eppes." The deliberate omission of his full title was purely to antagonise Don. It worked. "Miss Dixon?"
"Colonel Dixon is in interview room two. Colby? David? Would you be so kind as to show these two gentlemen where they can pick up their colleague and then escort them off the premises? And I mean, right off? Thank you." He turned away, pointedly ignoring the two spooks.
A look passed between David and Colby. David decided to let Colby take the lead on this one. These bums gave him the creeps…
Five minutes later, the four men and one woman emerged from the front of the building. "Thank you agents, we can take it from here. Your co-operation has been appreciated."
David smirked. "Seriously? You people actually say that?"
One spook looked at Colby. "That job in DC is still open, Agent Granger. Think about it, would you?" Colby's hands balled into fists and David laid a restraining hand on his friend's shoulder. The spook smiled and slipped his sunglasses on. "Good day, gentle…"
A puff of cement dust at his feet was the first clue. The second was the spot of red that appeared in the middle of his crisp, white shirt. He looked surprised and his legs buckled. Colby shoved David hard towards a low wall as chaos suddenly erupted around them…
"SNIPER!"
TBC…