A/N: Apparently I'm making such a very good progress on wrapping this story up, so updates come a bit more frequent. Good for you. Just FYI, I just fiinished chapter 37 and assume I'll make it a neat and even 40 chapters. Also - and I hardly ever talk about other stories I'm writing/posting, so feel free to ignore and sorry - but everyone who read and liked/loved/commented on 'Villains' be warned that this was the only chapter I had written and have so far no idea, no concept and not even a clue of possible story lines, so you'll need to be patient with me :)
I had planned on staying in Denver just until the end of the week, making my absence from the Trenton HQ about a week long and my idea was of getting back to Trenton some point during early afternoon. All was going smoothly and I got a really interesting look into the Denver office when a problem occurred. Well, an issue was the more appropriate word, but it would slightly screw with my timeline nevertheless.
"Boss, we got a problem," one of the Denver guys said, while walking into Christopher's office, not even knocking and interrupting our conversation midway. I found it a bit odd and looking at Christopher's face, so did he and was about to call his man on it when the guy kept speaking.
"The Houston office just called and said they lost touch with one of their men who was chasing down a lead on an FTA who was going all cross-country. A few moments ago we also got a call from the Feds that they apparently spotted said FTA in our close vicinity."
"How does the FBI know that as quickly as they did? Where they keeping tabs on the guy as well?"
"They try to know where someone is all time but obviously run out of resources quickly, especially in this part of the country where the offices and manpower becomes smaller and smaller until you hit Las Vegas or the coast again," Christopher explained to me and turned to his man a moment later. "When was last contact between the Houston office and their guy?"
"Yesterday afternoon. They said, all seemed normal and he usually checked in once a day."
"Do we have a file for the FTA the Houston office was looking for?"
A moment later he held a file in his hand and didn't look ecstatic or too excited. But than again, I knew the FTAs RangeMan went after and while the guys I used to go after were mildly amusing on a good day RangeMan FTAs were a whole different and dangerous league.
"Can I see?" I asked and was handed the file a moment later and what I saw was not something to be happy about. The guy seemed to have crossed paths with the law in every possible way one way or another. As a matter of fact, he must have been arrested and prosecuted for almost every single offence there was in the criminal justice system.
"It says here he was arrested for rape, drug distribution, second-degree murder, grand larceny and tax evasion. A bit of an odd combination. Also… how is that guy possibly out on bail?"
"A technicality."
"So, the Houston office is basically one guy down and the Feds are presumably breathing down your neck now to get Houston's job done?" I asked.
Instead of a reply I only saw Christopher reach for his phone and hit a key for some speed dial extension. A moment later I heard the voice of Houston's leader coming through the speaker.
"I heard you are missing a guy…" Christopher said without much of an introduction.
"Don't tell me about it. I have no clue what happened or how Jerkins managed to get the better of one of our own."
"Is there a reason you guys never made an arrest?" I asked and heard an odd sound a moment later.
"Stephanie?" I heard through the speaker and realized that the other offices might not know about my travels.
"Um, yeah, I was visiting the Denver office the past few days and happened to be around when your FTA landed on their desks."
"I… to be honest, making an arrest had so far turned out to be complicated. The guy is very mobile, moving from one place to the next constantly, never returning to the same city again and not having any known associates so far. He doesn't follow any pattern and Ephrem never really saw an opening of taking charge and being able to arrest him. He had instructions to stay back and just…watch basically until we were able to work out a pattern or had a chance to get enough manpower from us or the Feds in place to make the arrest."
"Is there anything you learned? Anything at all?"
"Nothing really, as I said, he doesn't follow a pattern."
"Did you learn where he stays? If he doesn't have associates, he must be staying someplace else…"
"To be honest, no idea. By the time we actually managed to track him down he was long gone and the bar girls usually told us that he had picked up a girl and went home with her."
"Wait… your guy lost visual on him and then managed to find him again? Just like that? How is that possible?"
"Honestly? No idea. I'd say pure luck. But then again Jacobson is incredibly smart and I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to find a pattern that none of us are able to see."
"What… what about the bars the guy was at? Do they have a common theme? High end? Seedy?"
"They are more the seedy type, though I am not sure how that might help. There are usually dozens of these in close vicinity."
"Do you have contacts to bar owners?" I asked Christopher who looked uncertain at me.
"Yeah, we know a few of them, but… Steph, there are hundreds of seedy bars in Denver. Some of them might not even be registered or official and are just backalley bars, which are open today and closed tomorrow. We might have contacts to some bar owners, but…. It would be pure luck if our guy happens to walk one of the few, we could ask for help. The chances of him getting accidentally spotted on the street are higher than him actually walking into one of the few bars."
I looked at Christopher for a long moment until he asked confused "What?"
"You all said, you heard stories about me from Ranger and the guys," I said and heard an affirmative sound from the speakers and saw a nod from Christopher. "Then you should know one thing about me – Luck is always on my side. Call the few numbers you have and tell them to call you the moment they spot the guy. Also, call the Feds and make sure they know we might be able to make that arrest today and to be generally ready," I explained, before turning in my chair and looking at the open door. "Cal, Bones," I called and a second later both men were by the door.
"I need to go shopping," I simply announced.
"Um… okay?" Christopher said almost confused. "Bit of an odd moment…"
"I need to prepare for a distraction which might or might not take place."
"A what?" I heard two voices ask.
"A distraction is some sort of covert op in a way. Steph dresses up, hits on the FTA we need and gets him outside wherever they are and right into the waiting arms of… us and the Feds. No fuss, no problem, no issues. By the time the guys know what's going on and that they are not about to get lucky and laid, we have them in cuffs and handed over to whoever is responsible. Most often they are clean and easy. And something that was sort of invented from Ranger years ago. He used to use a female operative but things tended to escalate quickly or they came on to strong and often enough the operation was a bust. Bomber however has almost 100 % success rate," Cal explained, while I was already out of my seat and planning what I would need to get. I hadn't really packed for distractions and rather only for business, so I had literally nothing on me that I could use. Neither clothes, nor any flashy make-up I would most likely need in some way.
About two hours after we had left the Denver offices, we were back and my two guys were carrying an almost impressive display of bags. Not all of them were for tonight. A few of these things actually caught my eye in a more corporate way and it also had been way too long since I last had actually spoiled myself. I didn't go crazy, but was happy with all of my purchases and put them away in a conference room that hopefully wouldn't be occupied for a while.
"I called the few contacts we have," Christopher announced once I was back in his office. His voice told me he didn't have too much hope in regards of the success of my plan and I could only sit down and bid my time. There was no point in trying to argue my point in regards of luck, especially when there was a chance, he could of course be right and our FTA didn't show up one of the few places Christopher had called.
By the time I myself was about to give up hope and that luck was probably not on my side this time, we received a call. From a bar Christopher had called. Our suspect had just plopped himself down on one of their chairs. I was out of my chair, yelling at Christopher to get a team in place while I was getting into my outfit and did what I considered needed to be done make up wise to complete my look. I did what I couldn't do in the car or for what I needed more light and was ready within ten minutes and in a car a few moments later. On the very short drive over, Cal managed to mic me, while I applied the remainder of my make-up and worked on my shoes. We were both just getting ready when we pulled up at the joint.
"Everybody in place?" I asked Christopher who had been driving. He just nodded and I got out of the car and strode towards the entrance. I had seen a photo of our suspect and it took me just a few seconds to spot him and realize that almost by a miracle the seat next to him was empty. The entire place was packed to the brim, but that one spot was almost waiting for me? Odd. But again, just my luck.
I pushed my girls up a little and made sure strides towards my destination. Occasionally I caught the eye of someone I thought I recognized from the Denver office and it was a comforting thought I wasn't entirely by myself and despite their short time frame they had been able to set something in motion.
"This seat taken?" I asked when standing next to my target and pointed towards the empty chair.
"It is now," he replied, almost blinding me with his sort of crooked smile. Then he padded the seat and I placed my behind firmly on it, hoping somehow to get this over with quickly. He gave me the creeps and I had only been standing here for a few short moments.
"So, what's a lady like you doing in a joint like this?" he asked and waived the bartender to us for me to order. I figured ordering a bottled beer was the safest of options and the easiest way of pretending to drink when in fact I wasn't going to take one single drop. I almost laughed at his question, looking like I fit right in with my almost scandalous outfit that showed more skin than it covered. In other words, I fit right in and there was very little about me that would do the word lady justice.
"I came to drown my sorrows," I smiled at him, pretending to take a sip of my beer a moment later.
"What sorrows could a pretty little thing like you possibly have?" he asked and I knew I needed to play this smart.
"My guy left me. Turns out open relationship wasn't his thing after all," I said, rolling my eyes playfully at him and saw his eyes widen a moment later. Gottcha.
"What a shame. Guy didn't know what he is letting go," came as a reply. His words were accompanied with a leer and him gradually and slowly letting his gaze travel from my high heels, up my naked legs, the sorry excuse for a dress and stopped at my ample cleavage which was courtesy of Victoria's little secret.
"Thank you," I replied smiling and my voice raised several octaves to make it seem extra sweet. "So, what brings you here? Can't imagine a handsome guy like you having any issue with us ladies," I crooned, letting the index finger of my hand glide over his arm and leaning forward in a way that gave him a nice view of my cleavage.
"Heard to check this place out when I was around," he shrugged, before throwing me another of his smiles. "The scenery was supposed to be breath-taking. And looking at you right now, I can only agree."
The fact that he was only looking at my ample assets or my bare legs was not lost on me, but as long as it kept him seated next to me and glued to my lips – more or less – I didn't care. I really did not want to actually fight for his attention and drag this whole thing out longer than necessary.
"You not from around here?" I asked curious, knowing the answer fully well. He shook his head.
"Nope, just passing through on my way to better places."
"How long are you in town for?"
"Tonight only, or at least that was the plan. Looking at you, sweet thing, I'm starting to wonder whether I shouldn't extend my stay depending on my sleeping arrangements."
"Why? What's the problem with your arrangements? Hotel booked beyond tonight?" I asked curious, taking a big pretend-sip from my bottle.
"What hotel?" he asked almost sleazily and I laughed out loud, playing with a lock of my hair.
"I can offer my bed if sharing isn't a problem," I offered huskily, letting my finger trail down his chest.
"Sharing has never been a problem for me," he said, before throwing a few bills on the counter and almost dragging me out of my chair.
"Where's the rush, tiger?" I asked laughing, hoping secretly that the guys were ready for making their move the moment we stepped outside.
"Can't help it, I feel curious about your qualities as a host and how far your host services extend."
"Oh, it will shock you how far I'm willing to go for keeping up my quality service," I said and a moment later, we stepped through the door, his arm slung around my shoulders. We had made it a few steps away from the building and I had stirred him somewhat towards a less illuminated area of the parking space when I noticed two things. For one, his hands started wandering to all places I really, really, really did not want them to be. And the guys seemed to make their move.
Then everything else was rather quickly happening. I managed to loosen his arms from around my shoulders right before Cal and Bones were taking care of him, using his moment of surprise for their advantage. Assisted by a few of the Denver guys our FTA was in custody in no time and in the back of an SUV, handed over to the FBI within seconds. Before the FBI could cart him of however, we managed to find out what happened to Ephrem – and after a bit of resistance on his part it was discovered that he had managed to overpower Ephrem when he realized he was being followed and stashed in the trunk of his car. My fear that Ephrem was dead was uncalled for as it turned out, since our FTA had just stunned him and then drugged. He would probably be spending the next few days on bedrest and with one hell of a headache, but Ephrem would be okay. And I was finally able to return back to Trenton, now that this had been taken care of.
With a lot on my plate, plenty of impressions and a whole new set of faces I boarded the plane back to Trenton, going through several files and catching up on what needed to be taken care of before I made it to the office in the morning. And then there was still the issues I swore I'd look into in regards of transfers and the Helena staffing issue.
Looks like I brought back a whole new stack of work myself.