Sonja and Sebastian quickly eliminated their first address as the place was a burned out shell so they headed for the second place on their list. It was a true testament to her patience that Sonja made it to a point where they were a mile away from the first stop before she gave into her curiosity. "So, what do you think of her?"
Taken unaware, Sebastian's only response was, "Of who?"
"LaSalle's friend. What do you think about her?"
"Oh, Annabeth, She's like a high octane Christopher. She has an incredibly intense sense of humor. I would imagine if Chris didn't have any reserves, that's what he'd be like."
Sonja was completely confused. "Are you saying LaSalle, well that he." She couldn't finish the sentence.
"Yep," Sebastian confirmed.
"Wow, just wow," Sonja said, amazed.
"Yep." Sebastian popped the "p".
They pulled up to the address before Sonja could add anything. The place looked like a typical middle income home, complete with the white picket fence. The residential suburbs of New Orleans wasn't the normal hang out for the criminal element.
"I have a feeling this place is going to be a bust," Sonja stated.
"I'm not so sure about that," Sebastian replied, motioning her to a non-visible area. He dropped his voice, "There's movement in the window."
"Watch the house, I'm gong to call Pride," Sonja ordered.
Sebastian found a spot where he wasn't visible but with decent sight lines. Percy dropped back to the car before dialing. Pride picked up on the third ring.
"Percy, make it quick, we're in the middle of something," Dwayne insisted.
"We've go someone at the residence. Obviously you do too. I'll call NOPD," she replied.
"We'll keep each other updated," Pride declared and dropped the call.
Sonja called NOPD for back up, stressing the need for silence, and made her way back to Sebastian. "We need to wait for police back up. Pride and Gregorio have a situation too."
Sebastian looked at her in disbelief. "You're not joking are you?"
"You wish," Percy snarked. "You stay here. I'm gonna drop back, wait for backup and coordinate them."
"I'll let you know if the situation changes," Sebastian replied.
They didn't have to wait before two squads pulled up to the scene. They coordinated the plan of approach and everyone was quickly in place. Sebastian and Percy took the front door with NOPD on the side and back. Percy announced their presence and everyone advanced.
What they found surprised them. The place was a crack house. The four occupants were cooking meth. By the time all the details were sorted out with the arrests made, Patton had the id's of the four but more importantly, he had their connection to Dawson. Each of the four was related to Dawson in some manner. Sonja eagerly handed off the three minions to local law while she appropriated the head man. They were taking him back to HQ.
Across town, a whole different scenario unfolded. Pride shook his head, trying very hard to take in what he and Gregorio found at their first address. There were so many avenues, even with his considerable experience he was finding it difficult it taking it all in.
Gregorio approached wearing a similar stunned expression. "This is, well it's, for lack of a better word, extensive."
"That it is. We have any idea how many felonies there's going on here?" Pride asked gesturing towards the house.
"I came up with ten but an officer went into the basement and added at least five more," Tammy replied.
"Has anyone checked the third floor or the out buildings?"
"Those are being investigated as we speak."
"So we can probably add to our total," Pride declared.
"Probably. We have at least sixteen people so far. Shouldn't be too hard to get at least one of them to flip on Dawson," Gregorio stated.
"We can only hope," Pride said. "Let's go see where we're at." His phone rang before they'd taken three steps. "Talk to me, Sebastian."
"We've got the ring leader of the crack house and we're taking him back to headquarters. You want us to wait for you before we interrogate?"
"Nah, I'm not sure how much longer we're going to be here. We need info so you two learn what you can as quick as you can. We'll call when we start back. We sent NOPD to the last addresses. Who knows what they're going to find."
"Is it bad that I hope they find two abandoned places?" Sebastian asked.
"Your mouth to God's ears. We've got enough at these two places to keep us going for a week. Let's hope one of these idiots gives up Dawson. You instruct NOPD?"
"Yeah. The guys we trust are going to interrogate those they take. Sonja and I think the main guy is just pissed enough to want to make a deal," Sebastian stated.
"Let's hope. We'll keep in touch," Pride promised before hanging up. He scanned the scene to find Gregorio. Spotting her, he made his way to where she stood next to a uniform. "We got something new?" he asked when she looked to him after a minute.
Tammy looked him in the eye. "Yeah. This and the other house, it's all too easy."
"What do you mean?"
Tammy motioned to the man standing next to her. "Taylor says they've been casing this place for months and getting nothing. Suddenly we're on the case and there's activity. Same with the other place."
"So you're thinking we've been set up," Pride stated.
"Yes, don't you?" Tammy replied.
"Call Percy. Tell her to send their guy straight to lock up. I'll make sure that everyone knows not to mention Dawson, Chris or Annabeth," Pride directed stalking off.
"I'll take that as a yes," Tammy muttered as she pulled out her phone.
Hours passed before Caleb received the first phone call. With each one that trickled in he became more and more enraged. By the last call, his blood sang through his veins, laced with white hot fury. He had severely underestimated LaSalle's new team. It was time to change tracks or rather targets. They would never know what hit them!
