Fallout
Chapter 23
John groans as he reaches for his cellphone. "Yeah. Nolan."
"Best friend, it's Randy," gleefully singsongs from the phone.
John squints at his watch on his bedside table. "Randy, it's midnight. You aren't chasing another bounty, are you?"
"No, Alicia had enough with the last one – until we spend the money. We were playing a video game."
"Good, you enjoy it while I go back to sleep before I wake Bailey. We both have to be at work early."
"No, John, you can't go back to sleep. Remember I told you I used a video game to track my bounty."
John rubs his arm across his eyes. "Yes. I remember you talking about it."
"Well, I just picked up something that you and my other best friend detective Harper need to know. Someone was using the game to pass a message. And part of it was the word cartel."
John sits straight up in bed and reaches for his notepad. "All right, Randy. Slowly, tell me the whole message."
"I didn't get all of it. But I got West, Bradford, Grey, taskforce, cartel."
"That's enough. Who sent it?" John demands.
"Must be one of those game names," Randy assumes. "Smitty."
"That's no game name. Look, Randy, I'll call Harper, and I have other calls to make. So, I need to get off now."
As Nolan hangs up without waiting for a response, he sees Bailey looking up at him. "What's going on, John?"
"I think Randy accidentally found the mole at the division."
"What are you going to do?"
"Wake up a lot of people. Then I may need to head out."
"This better be good, Nolan," Gray warns.
"And we are talking about Randy," Nyla adds.
"Randy may be crazy, but he's smart, Harper. You know that," Nolan insists. "He came through for both of us, and he and his girlfriend collected the bounty on the madam. He used games to accomplish that, and now he's picked up Smitty's messaging to the cartel. We have to get Smitty now before he can do any more damage."
"Or we could monitor him and let him lead us to the cartel," Harper suggests.
"Now that we know the cartel is using it, we could let our cyber techs plug into that game too," Gray suggests.
Percy West grits his teeth. "We'd be letting a dirty cop stay out there sending intel to the monsters who killed my son."
"It could be false intel," Bradford offers. "I could assign him back to the property room. He'll be sniffing around, but he won't hear anything that goes out on the secure channel to the shops. I can send the patrols anything they need to know about our operations against the cartel. And we leak some disinformation to Smitty."
"Are you talking about leading the cartel into a trap?" Gray questions.
"If we do it right," Bradford responds.
"Bradford has a point," Angela Lopez puts in. "Smitty could be the lure we need to draw Abril Rojas's troops in."
"All right. I say it's worth a try," Gray decides. "Commander?"
"As long as we don't let Smitty slip the net. He needs to get what's coming to him and show every cop on the force what happens when they turn on their brothers and sisters."
Gray turns to John. "Look, Nolan. Except for Thorsen, you're the most junior cop in the division. Normally you wouldn't be in on a plan like this. But you are. And you've got to keep it to yourself. Does anyone else know about Smitty?"
"Uh, Bailey. She was, uh, with me when Randy called. She might have heard some of my end of the conversation. But she knows how to keep her mouth shut. Sometimes too well," he mutters grimly. "No one else outside this room knows."
"OK, let's keep it that way," Gray responds. "We still have a few hours before the day shift starts. Get whatever rest you can and try to look awake at roll call tomorrow. All right, let's get out of here."
"Chris can make it as my date," Lucy announces as John drops into the chair next to her at roll call.
John rubs his eyes. "What?"
"Wake up, Nolan! Chris is going to be my date for your party on Saturday."
"Great!" Nolan replies. "I'm looking forward to it. Oh, looks like your boss is ready to start."
"He won't be on my back as much today. He said he has some business at the division. I'm with you," Lucy informs her temporary partner.
Tim Bradford takes the podium. "We have a full roster this morning, so Smitty, you're back in Property. We haven't picked up any suspects in the Gutierrez bombing. So Miller, Souther, you're doing extra patrols around her home. We'll be keeping up increased surveillance on gaming dens. You should also make as many rounds of the schools as you can.
"As far as we know, only one demonstration is planned for today. We'll alert you if you're needed for any spontaneous gatherings. That's all I have right now but be prepared to receive updates. Get out there and keep the city and yourselves safe."
As she climbs behind the wheel, Lucy glances at Nolan. " You feel OK, John? You're not even trying to protest that I'm driving your shop."
"Just tired. Something happened that had me up last night."
Lucy's eyebrows rise. "Bailey keep you busy?"
"I wouldn't complain about that. No, something else. But I don't want to talk about it."
"You know, Tim was tired this morning and said he didn't want to talk about it. No, actually, he said he couldn't talk about it," Lucy corrects. "You two aren't having a secret affair, are you?"
A smile breaks through on John's lips. "I don't think Ashley would like that, and I know Bailey wouldn't. Lucy, can we just get on the street and get through the day?"
Lucy shrugs. "Fine, John. But if you want to talk…."
"I know. But Tim was telling you the truth. We can't."
From the doorway of the property room, Smitty watches Gray leave his office. He gazes down the hallway to check if someone is coming but doesn't see anyone. Trying to look as casual as possible, he ambles toward Gray's office and glances through the glass door. Gray usually takes at least a few minutes in the men's room and even longer when getting a snack.
Smitty spies the stack of papers on Gray's desk. It's his chance to keep in Abril Rojas' good graces. He doesn't even want to think about what will happen if she decides he can't do anything for her anymore. Smitty's always been a slow reader, but he skims as quickly as he can through the pages. And there it is, the plan for going after the cartel.
With no way Smitty could memorize it all, even if he had hours, he pulls his phone out of his pocket to capture an image. He can't email or text it. Abril made that clear. But he can copy it bit by bit into the game, maybe a sentence at a time. He shoves his phone back into his pocket and checks the hall. Still empty. Relieved, he strolls back to Property.
From a stall in the restroom, Gray checks the feed from the hidden camera in his office. Smitty took the bait. Now all he has to do is wait for him to send out the disinformation – and for the cartel to react.