Alexis Rodgers
Chapter 29
Jordan tried to stay away from windows but she wanted a peek and saw nothing. "Talk to me."
"He's in the back, about two trees into the tree line. Looks like a ROCK SOPMOD M14 with a AN/PEQ-2/5 bipod. No scope seen," was the answer Jordan got.
"So he has to get in close or simply spray if he has enough ammunition on him. Verify just the one target." Jordan wanted to make sure he wasn't a decoy for the real killer. She went to the front of the house to take a peek. Was he the lone killer or was he the decoy for a larger force from somewhere else?
Jordan knew one of her men had a McMillan TAC-50 with a suppressor and a scope so he was probably the one that had spotted this guy. She also knew her guy could take him right now if she ordered it.
"The front looks clean to me." Jordan kept looking for anything especially movement. Any movement.
"Target is still holding. Two trees inside the tree line. Might be waiting for someone or waiting for darkness."
Both options were all too viable in her mind. In either case this guy was waiting. "Leg shot?" If they could get him alive they had yet another person to question.
"Negative, no shot," was the reply.
"Damn it!" Jordan left the front and went to the kitchen. "You have a weapon?" She looked at Roy.
"Master bedroom upstairs." He had nothing downstairs. Though he did have one out in the garage that was also part barn.
"Get it. Stay low, crawl if you have to, and get back here the same way," Jordan told him and watched him crawl like a baby out of the kitchen.
"How much trouble are we in?" Evelyn had married a police officer so she wasn't that scared.
"Just the one so far. Automatic weapon, close range. That far out suggests he's waiting for nightfall. We really need to talk. First a burglary and now this. Something isn't adding up." Jordan was missing a piece to this puzzle and she hated that.
Roy was back eventually and showed her his weapon of choice. It was a revolver, good-sized one but it only had six rounds.
"Stay here and don't move. If the girls come down, you keep them here. I may be gone a little while." Jordan moved back to the back of the house and looked out.
"Binoculars, telescope, anything?" Jordan asked.
"Negative. No change."
"So he's waiting for dark. …Chest shot?" Alive was better, dead was almost as good.
"Affirmative." That left Jordan with a decision to make. A life and death one as usual in this business.
"Take the shot." Too much was at risk here to mess around and try and get cute.
It only took a moment and Jordan and everyone else wearing an ear piece heard, "Target is down." That had Jordan up and running to the front door, then outside and around the house. Her sniper stayed where he was while the other two went collect their man.
###V##][##V###
Evelyn was upstairs with the girls. Jordan was with Roy in the garage with their dead guy while the other two maintained surveillance.
"Recognize him?" Jordan asked Roy.
Roy nodded; he knew who he was. "Hal Lockwood. Hired killer. Very good. Ruthless, cares nothing about anyone's life but his own and barely that."
"I think it's time we had our talk. Then you and your family are going to pack a bag with clothes. One each and you and your family are coming with me. You've been found and you can't stay here. At first it was information, now someone wants you all dead," Jordan told Roy grimly.
###V##][##V###
Jordan had watched him dig something up that he had buried in the barn and covered it over with dirt, a sheet of rotted plywood, leaves, and even poop.
"This is what I have. I sent a copy to someone I trust but I kept the original. It's been my security net for years. To keep my family safe." Apparently it wasn't doing its job any longer.
###V##][##V###
It had been a tight squeeze in the SUV that Jordan and her team had rented and driven all the way out there in. Seven people and a dead man wrapped up in what Roy had in the barn or garage.
It was almost an equally tight fit on the jet. It only seated six people so Roy was lying on his back on the floor looking up at the ceiling and trying to avoid Evelyn's eyes.
Hal Lockwood was still bound up in what they could find and was way in the back, as far away from Evelyn and the girls as he could get. Jordan and her two men were between the two.
He had felt bad even coming out here, now he felt even worse. He had done all he could to try and keep his family safe, but he had failed miserably. He was also pretty sure he was going to end up in prison for a really long time after this.
###V##][##V###
"Where are we?" Roy and the others got off the plane and saw it was a small airport with no tower. And there were three black SUVs waiting for them.
"It's better you don't know. You and your family are going to be taken to an FBI safe house. Even I've barely heard of this one. There's a four man team to protect you. You and your family will do everything they say when they say it.
"No cell phones, no tablets, no contact with anyone. You can cook, watch TV, read books or magazines. Ask the team for what you want. If it's within the rules they'll get it for you. No one, and I repeat no one, is to go outside for any reason.
"Do I make myself clear?" Jordan looked at Roy followed by Evelyn and even the girls. "I'm really sorry, but it's for your safety. I wish I could say for how long but I don't know."
Jordan watched them being driven away and retreated with her team to the jet. From there they would make a hop to Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina and fuel up for the trip to Pittsburgh where they would fuel up again even though they didn't need it. Only she and her team knew they were way outside of Charlotte, North Carolina that first time.
If anyone was trying to keep track of where their little plane went they would have to start guessing where Roy and the others actually were.
However for the entire flight she and her two men poured over everything Roy had given her. Looking for anything and everything.
"Bank account number." One of her men laid it on the table in front of her.
Jordan added one of her own. "New York Senator William H. Bracken." She tapped it with her finger. "Very quietly we need to learn all we can about him. If he's sitting on any Intelligence committees he may be getting updates directly from the FBI. That will doom all of us." Jordan almost couldn't think of anything worse.
To simply hand over intelligence that he could use to determine if the FBI was closing in on him. Plus as a sitting senator he had access to jets provided by the military to get him out of the country in a moment's notice. At tax payers expense, no less.
This case just might be the biggest in US history. One that could get them all killed.
###V##][##V###
Jordan had new names to add to her smart board. Both of them used to be detectives for the New York Police Department. Roy had been a rookie that had got caught up in what these two were doing.
Jordan paced as she spoke to her team. "Raglan and McCallister. Find them quietly and bring them in one at a time. They both have a lot to tell us. So what was Bracken doing at the time? Get everything you have on him. Who his parents are? What was his very first job? Who were his teachers? Who did he lose his virginity to, if he has? Is he married? Divorced? Find her if he is. If we can understand the man we can take him down."
She was watching as information was added to her board as they learned it. Then one of her team came in close. "Precinct is still clean," she was told.
"Good. That will likely change soon. We have what he wants and he's going to want to know what we know. Keep sweeping and don't ever stop.
"We need this Mr. Smith as well. Roy trusted him with what he had. How is this Mr. Smith going to help him or anyone else unless he has access to Bracken. So why would he have this kind of access?" Jordan needed so much information it was almost overwhelming.
###V##][##V###
Kate was cleaning up and called Eva into her office. "Yes, Captain?"
"Internal Affairs has finished with me and 1PP had made a determination. I'm suspended for one day without pay. Tomorrow, in this case. I'm also ordered to attend the next Academy class concerning when to ask for backup.
"You're in charge of the Homicide Division tomorrow since you have the experience and you have the superior authority above all the others. Call me if you have questions but realize I can't come into the precinct to actually help you."
"Yes, Captain. Sorry." At least it was only one day.
"It was my own stupidity," Kate shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about. I'll see you in two days." Kate left her and the 4th floor and headed home.
###V##][##V###
Alexis was thinking about what to make for supper tonight when her cell phone rang.
"Rodgers," Alexis answered and listened. "I understand and thank you." Alexis smiled wide and launched both hands into the air. Internal Affairs had decided her shooting was a good shooting and she and Ray could go back to work tomorrow.
"Okay, maybe I don't cook." Now she needed her laptop so she could have a meal delivered until she remembered to look at her bank account. Alexis sighed. "So I do cook."
That was one of the problems with having a job and having bills now. Kate was paying the HOA and insurance and she was paying for power, water, and garbage as well as her own cell phone bill. She needed to watch her money now even though her dad was still sending her an allowance. She needed to talk to him about that.
It gave her a new understanding on why her dad had moved.
Then Kate came up the stairs unexpectedly. "You're home early." Then Alexis noticed the look on her face. "What happened?" Alexis walked up to her and looked her in the eye.
"Internal Affairs has finished and 1PP has handed down punishment. I'm suspended for one day without pay and ordered to attend the next Academy class about requesting back-up," Kate explained.
"One day doesn't sound so bad and you could use a refresher course." Alexis ignored the glare Kate sent her way. "Well I was told today that Internal Affairs has cleared me and Ray. So I can go back to work tomorrow."
"At least one of us has good news. Oh and Jordan's back. She didn't share what she had learned," Kate added.
"Do they ever?" Alexis shrugged. "So what would you like to eat? Besides me." Alexis grinned wide and Kate smiled.
"Your choice since you're the one celebrating, or do you want me to cook?" Kate asked.
"No, I can start while you go shower and change clothes." Alexis watched Kate go upstairs to do just that. "I didn't even get a kiss," Alexis grumbled.
###V##][##V###
"So what did you do with your day off? Find more contraptions to put me into perhaps?" Kate inquired.
"Nope. I spent some time with Dad and watched him move out of the loft and into the house he bought on Staten Island. Oh and I walked through Central Park a little looking for that perfect spot. Didn't find it though so sex in a public place will just have to wait." Alexis would go look on her next day off.
"Pity." Kate grinned at her. "Any thoughts on a venue? Spring, summer, dead of winter? Indoors or out?" They needed to start somewhere.
"I don't know about your bank account but looking at mine says it needs to be inexpensive, if not free," Alexis answered.
"Yeah, the same for me too. Nothing extravagant. Something nice and simple. So what's nice and simple?" Kate queried.
"Drive-thru in Vegas," Alexis offered. Kate almost spat out what she was eating.
"Let's not." It was the last thing she wanted to do. "A simple package where they do all the work might be nice if it's within the budget."
"And since our budget is dirt cheap…" Alexis tried to think. "What about Dad's house in the Hamptons? You've been there. That big grassy area outside the back door or maybe just as you hit the beach."
"That space was nice," Kate admitted.
"We could get married in bikinis and everyone hits the beach afterwards." Alexis grinned at her.
"You've seen me naked. Why the interest in seeing me in a bikini?" Kate asked her.
"It's sexy. What I can't see of you is alluring. Makes me want you even more." Alexis smiled at her.
"Well that means we're definitely not doing that. I'm not getting arrested for sex on the beach in the middle of the day." Kate glared at her.
"Who says it's the middle of the day? We had sex on beach already, if you'll remember." Alexis kept grinning at her. "We could get married at night."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Kate grumbled.
"Yep. We still might be able to use the house in the Hamptons though. Just need to ask dad for permission." Alexis stopped teasing her and kept the suggestion.
"If you think you can talk him into it." Kate nodded approvingly. "Now we need to work on who to invite so we know how many to plan for."
"We could still go to Vegas. …Or not." Alexis saw the look Kate was giving her.
That had both of them writing after cleaning up from dinner.
Kate's List
Lanie
Javi
Kevin
Ann
Roz
Roy and Evelyn
Eva
Jordan Shaw and her husband and little girl
Alexis's List
Paige and her parents
Grams
Jordan Shaw and her husband
Javi
Kevin
Lanie
Ray and his wife
Bob the Mayor of New York City and his wife
Eva
Kate compared their lists. "Looks like it's going to be a small wedding."
"I could invite people I know but aren't close to, I suppose," Alexis offered.
"I like nice and small and intimate weddings." Kate didn't see the need.
###V##][##V###
In the end they went to bed and performed a 69 and then Scissors while making love to the other and went to sleep all wrapped up in the other after a number of soft kisses.
###V##][##V###
Kate drove Alexis into work the next day and then drove to her dad's place after making sure he was home. She needed to tell him in person that she was getting married and to who.
"Hi, Dad." Kate stepped inside.
"You sounded urgent. You have the day off?" She should be at work.
"I was suspended for one day without pay and am required to take a class at the Academy as a refresher. I did something stupid." Kate plopped down on his sofa.
"I'll get the coffee." He knew she lived on the stuff, not that he was all that far behind her himself.
"Looks like you have something else to tell me." Seeing a black band on her wedding finger was his first hint.
"I almost screwed it all up, Dad. Really bad." Kate proceeded to tell him what she had done and what Alexis had done after she had found out. Including throwing a comforter and pillow down the stairs, informing her that she was sleeping on the sofa until Alexis moved out.
Jim raised his eyebrows. "I presume it all worked out since you're still wearing the ring."
"Yeah, I got Castle to find me a jewelry store in the middle of the night and bought Alexis a ring. Since she wasn't going to ask me again I asked her. She didn't exactly say yes immediately but she did eventually."
"Damn, there goes my ten bucks." Jim had lost one of the pools.
"Ten bucks! Are you in on one of the pools at the precinct too? And you bet against me?" Kate was shocked on both counts.
"I know you, Katie. The only way you would get married is if someone proposed and maybe not even then. You proposing never even entered my mind," Jim admitted.
"Thanks a lot, Dad." Kate was rather put out. She was capable of getting married and doing the asking, thank you very much.
"Well at least you both said yes, it sounds like." Jim was happy for her.
"Yeah, we did. Alexis has a plan to get married at Castle's house in the Hamptons. Out on this large green grass space between the house and the beach. So it sounds like summer, I guess. Alexis still has to get Castle's permission.
"We kinda need to keep the costs down so I'm not even sure there is going to be food. At least our list is a little small at the moment." They hadn't even bothered to count how many yet.
"So I get to walk my little girl down the aisle and hand her off to someone else. I'll admit I really thought it would be a guy, but Alexis is a good choice." Jim liked her too.
"Think you're up to it?" Kate teased him.
"Cry during my daughters wedding? I think I can handle that with no problem," Jim replied.
"Yeah, me too. Know any good photographers that don't cost much? We still need everything. Flowers, invitations, music, food. More things that I like to think about. God, I need a dress!" Those didn't come cheap for anything that was any good.
"Hold that thought." Jim got up and went to his bedroom. He was back a moment later, carrying a dress bag that was all zipped up.
"This is your mother's wedding dress. I already know that she was planning to ask if you wanted to wear it for your wedding. You might need to have it altered just a bit. You two are similar in size but not a perfect match." Jim held it out to her.
Kate got up and ran her hand down the bag. Her mother's wedding dress. She didn't need to wait for her wedding to start shedding tears. She was already blinking them back.
"Thank you, Dad!" Kate took the bag and what she wanted to do was crush it in her arms but that would ruin it so she held it like it was made of crystal and might shatter for little to no reason.
"I might even have something blue for you to wear. If I can find it." He had seen it recently. Now just where had that been?
They left the dress behind and went out to lunch. Kate then drove herself and her wedding dress home. Now she needed a computer to find someone who could alter her mother's wedding dress to fit her. Followed by hiding it where Alexis wouldn't find it.
Hanging it on the back of her office door came to mind. Alexis nor anyone else would think to look there. Her office door hadn't been closed that she could remember.