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Chapter Two
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DAY TWO:
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By ten the next morning, a multiagency group sat in a conference room inside LAPD headquarters. Representing the LAPD were Chiefs Pope and Taylor, Deputy Chief Howard, Captain Raydor, and Lieutenants Provenza and Flynn. The FBI sent its Los Angeles headquarters director, three special agents-in-charge, and a senior special agent. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was represented by the sheriff himself, his executive officer and two assistant sheriffs.
Chief Taylor started the meeting. "We all know what a huge mess we have here. And I'm usually the first one to start pointing fingers."
He paused.
"But this is not the time," he continued. "Phillip Stroh is a threat to everyone he meets. He has no regard for human life, and now he's desperate. Every missing person report and every random act of violence must be evaluated as potentially involving Stroh.
"The public will judge us as to how quickly we recapture Stroh, and they're not going to care which agency picked him up. Let's get him," Taylor finished.
FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Gabby Keene spoke to the room next. "Since yesterday afternoon, we've had special agents combing every bit of evidence you've shared about Stroh, including prison records, interviews, information about his private life and on and on. I won't surprise you with any new insights, because we've found what you've found. This dirt bag is ruthless, smart and has an uncanny ability to access information.
"If there's good news, it's that he's obsessive and predictable. He is obsessed with Rusty Beck, now 18, who was a homeless street kid when he survived an attempted murder by Stroh several years ago. By the way, Beck went on to live with Captain Sharon Raydor," she nodded at Sharon who waved her hand, "and he now attends Santa Monica City College. He is also Sharon's adopted son, and so this is, indeed, personal.
"Stroh is predictable. He lures an adult male—a stranger, another criminal, or a client—to set up a crime. Then Stroh murders the accomplice when he's finished with him. Stroh does everything he can to leave no witnesses behind which is why this scum is such a threat. But we'll take advantage of that.
"Any questions, so far?" Gabby asked. There were none. She nodded to her senior special agent who passed out small, wire-bound reports.
"Okay," she said, "this brings me to submit two plans for capturing Stroh. You are holding the first plan, Operation Predator. We'll divulge Predator across the agencies. It specifies security in particular places, including a uniformed officer in front of the Raydor residence at all times. While we will implement Predator, we do not expect it to catch Stroh. If it does, it's a bonus, but mainly it's a ruse."
One of the assistant sheriffs raised his hand. "I don't understand."
"Stroh is a genius in getting information he shouldn't be able to get," Taylor answered him, nodding at Gabby. "And he's a genius at spotting traps, so if we make Operation Predator convincing, he'll pick it apart, find its weaknesses and come after Rusty Beck and Captain Raydor on our terms."
"Exactly," Gabby smiled tensely. "The second plan is Operation Magnet, and it does not leave this room. Operation Magnet depends on Stroh's obsession with Rusty Beck and his predictability in luring accomplices.
"Captain Raydor," Gabby addressed her, "you will call out a number of service providers in an effort to tighten the security at your condo. The FBI has created identities for the agents who will be posing as locksmiths, security specialists, and more, and when Stroh checks their backgrounds, he will find two or three of them to be corruptible. When he decides to approach one, we take him down."
"Really?" Fritz Howard spoke up. "He'll be able to spot a setup from a mile away."
"This plan is simple. No setup. No SWAT. Just one agent versus Stroh. Our guys are trained in hand-to-hand combat, and they'll have weapons hidden inside their work vans and tool cases," Gabby said. "And, if the agent is somehow unable to apprehend Stroh at the first meeting, our second chance will be at the payoff where Stroh has traditionally murdered his accomplices.
"The agents will be under deep cover in order to convince Stroh of their authenticity. We are arranging for them to make dead drops around the city, and Captain, we need either you or one of your lieutenants to be at your condo for live drops."
Raydor, Provenza, and Flynn all nodded in agreement.
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Brulen Green, the FBI's LA Bureau director, addressed the group. "It will be very tempting to share Operation Magnet with others in your law enforcement family. Do not do it. You may feel it is okay to leak Operation Predator past your agency walls. Do not do it.
"We don't know how, but this scum bag seems to know us better than we know ourselves. Stroh will get the information on Predator, in his own way. Making it easy for him only compromises Magnet.
"We are all undercover agents for Magnet. None of us can outsmart Stroh. What we can do is allow him to fall into our trap."
"It'll be like taking candy from a psychopathic serial killer," Provenza mused sarcastically.
The group chuckled.
Andy voiced a thought that was on everyone's mind. "So," he asked, raising his hand, "are we shooting to kill? No prisoners? The freak's had more than his share of chances."
Chief Will Pope nodded and spoke up. "Lieutenant, I would never condone such an action in public," he stated, "even if I believed it to be right and even if it resulted in no more than a few days of paid, administrative leave."
"Yes, Chief," Flynn smiled to himself. Take out the dirt bag and go to Disneyland. Nice.
"I second what the Chief said," added the sheriff.
"Same goes for me," Brulen Green nodded. "I'll see the message gets down to my undercover operatives.
"Are there any questions?" he asked the room. Silence.
"Okay, then, be safe out there."
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