Chapter 2: Caught in the Act
Vin couldn't have been more wrong,. Almost two weeks later, Chris Larabee's men didn't know anymore than they had the day of the murder.
"We got to find something!" Chris growled. "Travis is starting to breath down my neck for answers. City Hall is in an uproar. People are demanding to know what happened."
"You really want to find the killer?" Vin asked. He had been looking at the gun from the crime scene. It had been re-released to them after no fingerprints were found on it."
"Hell, no," Chris answered, but it's not worth losing my job over."
"Papers are all saying it's the work of the Red Glove," Josiah said.
"I wouldn't put it past them," Buck said. "They always did have a flair for the theatrics. They definitely stole the show this time."
"That rifle isn't cheap or easy to come by," Vin answered. "They aren't just a group of street kids. There's some serious money and organization going on. It's amazing how they've always managed to cover their tracks."
"They are still criminals and criminals usually slip up somewhere.," Chris stated. His watch beeped the hour. "Let's call it a night, guys. We aren't going to get any more work done tonight."
"Chris, you are a saint!" Buck exclaimed.
"Big plans tonight, Buck?" Vin asked.
"I'm taking Kari out for supper. I'm telling you that she's something special. I really think she might be the one."
"You said the same thing last week about Becky last week," Josiah stated.
"And Kara the week before" Vin added.
"Weren't you shopping for a ring for Missy a month ago?" Chris finished.
Buck stood up and grabbed his coat. "I don't have to take this shit from any of you. All of you will be laughing when I'm walking down the aisle with the most beautiful girl in Denver."
I thought Molly was the most beautiful girl in Denver," Vin laughed as the office door slammed shut.
Twenty minutes later, Chris was driving back the office.
"Idiot! I can't believe I forget my damn house key," he swore as he opened the office door. He opened the door, feeling for the light switch. He flipped it on, and dropped his car keys. He knew that his mouth had dropped open.
There was a familiar person holding a gun.
"Umm, Ms. Davis, what are you doing here?" Chris stuttered.
"I was looking for the case file on the Chavez case," She answered. "It was due two days ago. I thought I would just come and see if it was on any of your desks," She answered.
"Damn, Buck probably left it on the printer. I'll get in for you," he told her. He was about to walk over to the printer, when a thought occurred to him. He looked at the girl holding the gun. The scene on the stairs rushed back to his memory.
It was you!" He stated, not believing what he was saying. The girl's face clouded over and she made a dash for the exit. She was quick, but Chris had the advantage of being closer to the door. He grabbed the girl around the waist, as she tried to escape.
"Let go of me!" she yelled.
"Not until you answer some questions," Chris answered. He was quickly losing his grip. In a split second, he reached out his hand and got the pressure point on her neck. She crumpled into his arms.
"You are telling me that cute little girl in there is a cold blooded killer?" Buck asked, shaking his head. "I don't believe it." He looked through the window where Josiah and Chris were questioning the girl.
"Awful shame to get hauled away from your date."
"Hell, Vin, guess she wasn't the one for me," Buck sighed.
"What, the waitress catch your eye?" Vin laughed as Buck punched him in the shoulder. "Chris seems to think that it was her. Think about it, Buck, you did see her walking down the steps."
"That pretty head isn't capable of such bad thoughts."
"Well, she's certainly giving Chris a run for his money. They've been in there for almost four hours now, and it doesn't look like he's getting much out of her." Both men chuckled as they watched their leader slam his hand onto the table.
"Now listen, Davis, I'm the only person that can protect you," Chris growled. "The second I get on that phone and hand you over to the city, you won't see anything but a jail cell for the rest of your life. City doesn't take to kindly when people decide to kill their heroes."
"Cortez earned his ride to Hell, but I still don't have to tell you a thing." She spat back. "You can't prove I was up on that roof."
"I will find a way, unless you start talking!" Chris yelled.
"Like I said, I don't have to tell you anything," she answered. "And you yelling at me sure isn't helping."
Chris's eyes turned into narrow slits.
"Fine!" he shouted. "You'll be serving life in prison before you can blink an eyelash. "Come on, 'Siah!" He stalked out of the office, slamming the door behind him. Josiah gave the girl a weak smile.
"I'd reconsider telling the truth," Josiah said, before following his boss.
"Bastards like Larabee don't deserve the truth, not after what he did to families." she answered, but Josiah didn't hear her. Chris slammed the door so hard, he didn't realize that it had bounced back open a crack.
"That little bitch!" Chris growled. "What the hell does she think she's trying to do? Keeping her mouth shut isn't going to do her any good."
"Admit it Chris, you don't want to turn her in," Buck smiled.
"Like hell," Chris shot back.
'Oh come on, everyone in this room wants her to go free. Well, maybe everyone, but you," Vin said, glaring at the older man.
"Vin, I've told you this before. I'm glad the son of a bitch is dead just as much as the next man, but we can't have people taking the law into their own hands. Vin, do you think you could…" Chris started to say.
"I'm not touching a hair on her head, boss. She don't deserve that kind of treatment."
"No, that's not what I meant…" Again, Chris was interrupted. There was a loud knock on the door.
"Go away!" Chris hollered at the door.
"Agent Larabee, this is Special Agent John Martin. I have an urgent matter to discuss with you.
"Come back later, I don't want to talk to now," Chris shouted at the closed door
"Get a hold of yourself Chris," Josiah said.
Chris sighed, and attempted to get himself under control.
"Come in, Agent Martin," he called. His voice was still laced with venom. So much so, that the door opened to reveal a quivering young man. He was dressed in a three piece suit with a slicked back mob of black hair.
"Umm, hello," the young man stuttered.
"Who did you say ya were?" Vin asked
"FBI Agent John Martin," the young man answered, gaining some of his composure back.
"Relax, kid, Chris Larabee just isn't usually the welcoming type," Buck informed him.
"I'm not a kid," Martin shot back. "I am a federal agent and deserve to be treated as such. Just cause I look young doesn't mean I'm not capable of doing my job. If you don't believe me, I can show you my badge." He started to reach into his pocket.
"Easy, Agent Martin," Josiah said. "We don't need to see your ID. What can we do you for?"
Chris was going to open his mouth to protest Josiah's trustfulness, but decided against it.
"Well, Director Travis just sent me over to take Natalie Davis into custody for the murder of Assistant DA Marcus Cortez."
"How do you know about her?" Chris turned on the young agent, hiis eyes shooting fire. The poor kid almost whimpered.
"Well, you see, Agent Larabee, we just discovered that Natalie Davis is an active member of the Red Glove. It was the terrorist organization that ordered the hit. Through various spies that we have placed inside the group, we have been told that she was the sniper on the rooftop that morning."
"Really?" Chris asked, in a dangerously sweet voice.
"Travis has ordered me to question her and if I find it necessary to bring her to the jailhouse to be placed under maximum security." He looked into three skeptical pairs of eyes. "He said that if you have any questions to give him a call."
"Think I'll do just that," Chris watched as the young agent began sweating. Something just didn't feel right. He reached down for the closest phone on Buck's desk. There was no dial tone. He tried his and the other member's phones, but none of them worked either.
"Damn phone line must be down," Chris said, "I'll have to go downstairs and call. Josiah, Vin, I need your help."
"Making a phone call?" Vin asked, not getting it.
"I'll explain when we get there, let's go" Josiah shrugged his shoulders at Vin's questioning look, and the two men followed their boss out the door.
"Buck, hold down the fort," Chris called, before slamming the door shut. He turned to agents.
"Anybody else feel that something is a little wrong here?" Chris asked.
"That kid seems awfully antsy, even more so than most people are," Tanner agreed.
"Vin, I want you to do a quick call and find out who this Agent John Martin is. I have a feeling that Travis didn't make the call. If he did, I will need help convincing him to keep Natalie Davis in our custody." He directed the comment towards Josiah, who nodded his head.
"So Agent Martin, how old are you?" Buck asked sitting down in his chair and putting his feet on his desk. He chuckled as the young man looked around nervously.
"Come on, kid, I'm not Chris Larabee. I won't bite your head off. You don't need to grab your gun like that…"
JD Dunne watched as the silver beam came down hard on Buck's skull. The man slid to the ground, unconscious. Larabee's prisoner was standing there looking disgusted.
"How long were you going to wait till get me out of here?" she asked. "The whole FBI agent was good. Did you think that one up by yourself?"
"Yeah," JD nodded. "But I almost blew it. God, I knew Larabee was bad, but he could give the devil a run for his money. How did you get out?"
"Dumb ass left the door open. I thought I'd give you a hand." She stated, dropping the bar on the ground. "Was the whole phone line thing yours too?"
"Yeah, but we've got to go now, Sidney. Who knows when they will be coming back." They rushed down the back steps and out of the side door. A green Jaguar almost ran into them on their way across the street. Both of them opened the door and got in.
"Mr. Dunne, your timing is impeccable," the driver said before stepping on the gas and driving away. Just as the sports car was turning on the highway, Larabee was storming into this office.
"You have some explaining to do Martin!" he growled. He soon realized that nobody was there to talk to him. He saw the door to the interrogation room open.
"Damn," Vin said, stopping directly behind him. "Looks like you were right, Chris."
"Aww, man," a voice groaned, from behind Buck's desk.
"Buck!" Chris was instantly by his friend's side. The agent was trying to get to his feet, but not being very successful. "What happened?" Chris demanded.
"Hold on a second, Pard," Buck said. "I feel like part of the sky just hit me in the head."
"Or a crowbar," Josiah said. He bent down and picked up the piece of metal laying on the ground
"Yeah, that, too," Buck said, pulling himself to his feet, and plopping down in his chair. "Let me guess, Travis had no idea what the hell was going on."
"Yup," Chris nodded his head. "Turns out that there is no Agent Martin stationed anywhere on the west side of the Mississippi. You okay?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute," Buck answered, rubbing his head. "You don't seem too upset about the little lady's escape."
"I'm concerned about you!" Chris stated, trying to act offended.
"You never let that stop you before," Buck chuckled. "Admit it, Chris, you're glad Miss Natalie Davis escaped."
Chris sighed knowing that he wasn't going to pull anything over his friend's eyes.
"It doesn't matter; I had to explain to Travis about everything. He already put a report out on Natalie and that friend of hers. They'll be back in custody before they can reach the city limits."
"That's never stopped the Red Glove before," Vin said. "Face it, Chris, she's long gone."
"Best clean up the office, this place is going to be full of officers in a little while," he stated. Of course he would never admit it out loud, but he hoped that he never had to see Natalie Davis again.
Twenty minutes later, Chris was filling in officers from various departments across the city. Orrin Travis was standing behind him, supervising the meeting. The phone on Chris's desk started to ring.
"Just let it go," he said to Vin, who had gotten out of his chair.
"But Chris…" Vin protested.
"If it's important, they'll leave a message." He growled.
"I think you should answer the phone, Mr. Larabee, it may be someone with information about Davis," Travis said. Chris went to his phone and picked it up. He could order Vin around when he had too, but not Orrin Travis. He was already in hot water.
"Hello, Agent Chris Larabee speaking," he answered, hoping this voice might scare the caller away.
"Don't talk, Agent Larabee," a familiar female voice answered. "I am willing to tell you everything if you are willing to do it on my terms. You should know by now that the Red Glove doesn't do anything they don't want to. Meet me in the alleyway between Ninth Street and Apprentice Ave.
Come alone, or you won't see me. If I see one of those idiots come with you, I'll disappear and you'll never get your answers."
Chris opened his mouth to say something, but the dial tone interrupted him. She had hung up on him. He fought the urge to throw the phone on the ground. He gently placed the phone back in its cradle and returned to the table of awaiting agents.
"Wrong number," he said, choosing to ignore the questioning gazes of his team. "All right, I want a patrol team at every major exit to the freeway…"
Travis watched Chris explain his plan.
"Awfully long time on the phone for a wrong number," the old man thought, wondering who had really been on the other line.