Title: Nothing's as it Seems… Chapter 7 - Into the Lions Den
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"What do you mean Mr. Ling shot himself? How in the hell did Jade get there that fast? Who else is helping her? I thought Matthews was the last?" Said an angry voice slamming his fist on the desk table while holding the phone in the other hand.
"I don't know, but we had better plug that leak and fast. Is everything else taken care of?" Asked the impatient male voice on the other end of the receiver.
"Everything is working according to plan. This one small setback will not deter our original goal." Said the sly voice after his anger had calmed down.
"And what about the other liability? Do we really have to go that far?" Asked the impatient voice into the phone.
"Losing your nerve already old boy?" He laughed a sinister slow laugh into the phone.
"No it's just that," the voice paused.
"It's just nothing! The NSA thinks they are the king of the world. Well let's see if they can still function without their top man at the helm!" He said slamming down the phone. "It should have been me!" He chanted over and over again while he lit his cigar and cursed the one man who still stood in his way of glory - Nickel Washington! "And soon it will be!" He said loudly and stared at the words framed on his desk:
'Tickle us do we not laugh, prick us do we not bleed - wrong us shall we not avenge'
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"That was great Steve. I didn't realize you could cook that good." Gushed Jade as she finished her pasta. It was her favourite and she proved it by having seconds.
"Glad you liked it my lady." He said making a mock bow. Jade laughed.
"Thanks Steve." She said resting her head on one hand.
"For what?" He asked looking up at her.
"For this, for all of this. Just being here with you. Thanks. It's been a long time since I have felt this good." She smiled warmly at him.
Steve didn't answer, but she could tell by the way he blushed, that he was pleased with her comment. "But wait you haven't tried dessert yet." He said mischievously.
"Oh and what exactly did you have in mind?" She asked playfully.
"Chocolate covered strawberries gutter mind. Do you think they will still measure up?" He laughed as he drew them out of the fridge.
"Very funny." She laughed as she popped one in her mouth. "mmm" was all she said as she let the sensation of the fruit and caffeine play with her brain. Steve ate a few as well.
"How is your shoulder?" He asked softly as he walked up to her and gently touched her arm.
"Not to bad. But I will not be doing chin-up's for some time to come." She laughed lightly.
"Yeah I guess not." He smiled back. "Shall we retire to the den and sit by the fire?" He motioned to the small room behind the kitchen.
"Sounds perfect." She said getting up to follow him.
Steve eased his long body into position in front of the fire on the floor. Jade spooned up in front of him and rested on his chest, smiling to herself. They both just lay in silence staring into the fire.
"So you've had quite the busy day." He said as he played with her hair, running his hands through it.
"Yes I guess it must have seemed that way. But truthfully it was quite plain compared to what Shane and I are used to. Trust me there were times in the past where we sometimes got only a few hours sleep between the two of us for weeks as time as we tracked Carmen. I think it was the atmosphere." She paused.
"The atmosphere? I don't understand." He said breaking in.
"Yeah the atmosphere of New York and Washington combined. It's just so busy there. People don't stop to take time to enjoy anything. You can literally do one million things in a New York minute. People are always on the go. And Shane and I were the same. Always on the go. I mean if I ever saw my father once a month it was a miracle. We not only did our jobs we lived them, that's all we were. But out here, work seems to be almost on par with if not secondary to enjoying the rest of your life. It's just so strange to be actually having a quiet night doing nothing." She sighed lazily.
"Nothing? Well we can change that right now if you like." He said as he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him, mindful of her injury. "See." He said softly. She just stared down at him and smiled. "I was…" was all she managed before he pulled her head down to his and their lips met for what turned out to be a long passionate kiss, that seemed to go on forever. "Yeah I was to." He smiled at her. Jade giggled at his comment and went back to kissing him. They rolled around on the floor in front of the fire for a bit before they stopped with Jade on top again.
"Steve." She said hesitatingly resting her arms on his chest.
"Yes?" He asked almost regretfully.
"I want this, I really really do." She said softly looking at him.
"But?"
"But I do have to go back to New York when this case is done." She said sadly, pulling herself to a sitting position on the floor. Steve drew himself up beside her and put his arm around her. She nestled into him. Steve knew that if he argued with her he would lose.
"So what's the matter?" He urged her to continue.
"The matter is, I don't just want a casual fling." She said pointedly.
"Neither do I." He countered.
She looked up at him. "Then what are we supposed to do?" She asked.
"Take it one step at a time." He said kissing her on the forehead. "Or should I say one kiss at a time." He laughed. "I'm sorry Steve. But please believe me Steve that when the time is right, there will be no hesitation, no questioning and nothing to stop us. Do you think it's worth waiting for?" She asked shyly.
"And then some." He replied. "And don't be sorry. I know it will come too. Because that's what we both want. We'll let the other stuff work itself out. Trust me these things always work out in the end." He smiled.
He pulled her close again and kissed her hard. "Worth waiting for indeed." She breathed.
Both were so caught up in each other they didn't hear Mark silently enter and head for his room. He had heard them, but was not about to interrupt anything. He smiled as he closed the door to his room and whispered 'good night' to them both.
********
"Sleep well?" Amanda asked as she walked into Shane's room and spied him sitting up with a large smile on his face "Yes ma'am." He replied happily.
"And why is that might I ask?" She questioned him.
"Why today I get my walking papers. And nothing is going to stop me." He said triumphantly as he sat up fully.
"Well there are ways to detain you." She teased.
"And how is that?" He countered.
"Well I could always tie you to the bed." She teased again playfully.
"Oh don't make promises you don't intend to keep." He laughed and grabbed her hand. Amanda found herself blushing as she walked towards him. She fixed her gaze upon his jet-black wavy hair and piercing blue eyes, and found herself lost in them. I bet he says that to all the girls she sighed inwardly.
"And who says I don't…" was all she got out before Jade walked in. Amanda quickly pulled her hand away. Jade was quick to notice but slow to mention it. Whatever Shane did with his down time was his business.
"Have to finish my paperwork right now." She said aloud blushing. "Hi Jade."
"Hey Amanda. Shane giving you trouble again?" She laughed.
"More than you know." Amanda said with a wink to Jade. Shane just laughed.
"Yeah very funny. Mornin' Jade. Sleep well?" He asked happily.
"Not as good as you I take it. Why is he so happy this morning anyways? Or should I even go there?" She teased them both knowing full well the reason why. But his face turned red and that was the reaction she wanted. He was going to be released today, and she was just as happy as he was. It would be good to have her partner back in action with her.
"Because he is getting out of here today." Said Mark smiling as he joined them with papers in his hand.
"Yes! I'm a free man." Shane said getting up out of bed and standing before them in his blue hospital gown.
"Woo Hoo check out those legs." Jade wolf whistled, making Shane blush in front of Amanda. "Very funny." He said sarcastically. "Bring me some new clothes?" He asked Jade.
"Yes, I stole them from the emperor himself." She laughed and handed him the bag with his new clothes.
"Ha Ha." He said again sarcastically. "Now if you'll excuse me." He said grabbing the bag and heading for the bathroom. "I need to make myself beautiful." He drawled. The three of them just laughed.
"Where's Steve?" Asked Jade to Mark.
"He had to make a stop by the precinct before he came here. But I'm sure he'll be here soon." Mark smiled.
"Well I am almost finished the paperwork on the body you guys brought in yesterday. Do you want me to bring it to you when I am done so you can examine what I have found?" Amanda asked as she headed for the door.
"Sure we can just add it to the pile we already have on Judge Moore. At least there'll be no surprises with this body. But since I have to visit our FBI contact here, I'll get Shane to bring the file back to the hotel with him. Is that okay?" Jade asked Amanda knowing it was. She could tell the growing attraction between her partner and the doctor. Poor Amanda, little did she know that Shane had a girl in every port. Jade just sighed.
"Yes that is just fine." She said and was about to leave when the bathroom door opened and Shane walked out. Amanda felt herself go flush. Man he looks even better with clothes on. I better leave.
"Not bad." Jade mused as her partner came out wearing a dark denim shirt and a pair of black pants. "But you need a shave." She laughed.
"Tell me about it." He said rubbing his five o'clock shadow. "No wonder none of the nurses wanted to kiss me." He sighed. They all just laughed. "Be done in a flash." He said heading back to the bathroom but pausing as Amanda spoke to him.
"Well I, um, have to go now. But Shane you can come down and get the file when you are ready to leave." Amanda said with a smile and left the room. He nodded yes. I would have kissed him even if he had a beard, she heard herself say.
"What time are you meeting Mr. Block?" Asked Shane from the bathroom as Mark also excused himself and left the room.
"I left a message for him and am waiting for him to call me back to set up a meeting. " She said with a sigh and sat down on a near by chair and waited for him to shave.
"So what's up partner? I can tell something is bothering you." He asked walking back out of the bathroom, after he finished.
"I just can't figure out why Judge Moore was killed, especially execution style? He didn't figure prominently in this case. He only helped us in a minimal capacity. He wasn't even involved in the original case to begin with. I just can't figure it out. I even called my dad, but he was out. I left a message but as you know he'll take a million years to call back." She sighed again.
"Well he did give us our last minute warrants for her home and car in New York. He also gave us the wiretaps for her last two flings. And he even authorized your release from that Chinese prison you found yourself in when you went to China last year because you thought Carmen was suspected to have ties to the Chinese Secret Army. So maybe Carmen figures that anyone who has helped us at anytime is a threat." He said evenly.
"Well if that's the case, then there could be a lot of people in trouble." She said.
"I know, but how can we warn them all? We wouldn't even know where to begin." He said. "Hey is there a computer around here we can use?" He suddenly asked.
"Why. What do you want to look up?" She asked curiously.
"Well Moore had a mistress here right? Maybe she can help us in some way." He said putting his things into the small duffel bag Jade brought him. "By the way what did the crime lab turn up in your hotel room? Anything yet?" He asked.
"Nothing other than Carmen's fingerprints. But they are still running the rest of prints they found. Seems it is a well used hotel room." She laughed. "Hey we can use Mark's computer. He has external access you can get into the FBI web through there. And the best part is no one can trace it back, because it's not on the trace list, so they won't be monitoring it." She said to him.
"Good idea. Lead the way." He said grabbing his bag in one hand and his jacket in the other. She grabbed her black suit jacket and walked out of the room.
********
"What are you waiting for?" Complained Carmen pacing back and forth, "can't you just set up the meeting and get this over with?"
"Patience I see was never a strong gene for you." He replied angrily. "This has to be timed perfectly. For if all goes well, we can take out Jade, Shane as well as her new friends." He smiled wickedly at the notes on his computer screen.
"Oh what a tangled web we weave." Carmen purred into his ear a wicked smile forming on her face.
"When we were born to deceive." He said looking directly at her and smiled a wicked smile rivalling her own.
********
"Hey Mark, can we borrow your computer for a bit?" Asked Jade as she walked into Mark's office.
"Why hello, of course you can. Need any help with it?" He smiled as they walked in. He cleared his desk and Shane sat down.
"Nope Shane is the big computer geek." Jade teased.
"Yup, just call me Bill." He said proudly as he sat down and started to type away.
"Bill Murray maybe." Jade laughed.
"Ha Ha, very funny." He said not looking up at her. Mark watched in amazement as Shane hacked his way expertly into the FBI's classified files.
"By the way Jade, I left a message for my FBI contact, is that okay?" Mark inquired.
"At this point I don't see how it can hurt, unless we have already crossed his path. Who is your contact?" She quickly asked.
"His name is Melvin Baker. Do you know of him? I believe he is just a regular Agent, although he could have higher clearance than I realize." Mark asked.
"No sorry, but the FBI is a big organization so it's hard to know everyone, and that is why we have stuck to only one contact so far. And so far he has steered us in the right direction." She explained.
"I understand." He smiled. "Can't be too cautious. But if you need another name, he has always proved reliable to me. But then again I have only ever-wanted simple stuff. I'm not even sure what position he has." Mark said.
"Thanks Mark, I'll keep that in mind. Your judgement is usually pretty good." She said turning back to Shane who had made a small comment when he finally accessed their classified files.
"Okay I'm in. So what do we want to know first?" Shane asked.
"Moore's mistress. What is her address? Check for Elise Donner, I believe that was the name." Jade asked as she remembered the conversation they had some months earlier with their contact Mr. White.
"Hey everyone." Steve said as he walked into the room. He got a bunch of hello's back and quick kiss from Jade as he went to stand beside her to see what everyone was looking at.
"Got it here. Do you know where this is Mark?" Shane asked.
"Yeah that's just on the outskirts of town. About a half and hour from here." He said. Steve nodded in agreement.
"What are we doing?" Asked Steve.
"Trying to get a lead on a mistress. We need to bring her in for questioning." Shane told him.
"Can I help in some way?" Steve offered.
"Yeah you can come with me to bring her in." Shane said.
"Where are you going?" Steve asked turning to Jade, a bit upset that he couldn't spend the day with her.
"I am going to meet Arthur Block. I need to see what help he can provide us, if any." She explained. He just nodded in understanding.
"Well, anyway I can assist is just fine with me." Steve said.
Mark who had been standing in the corner silently studying the calling card finally spoke up. "Do the initials RS mean anything to either of you?" Mark asked as it finally dawned on him.
"RS? Not really why?" Asked Jade curiously.
"Well I have been studying this calling card for the past day and, well, just go with me on what I think is a clue. Look at the note," he said placing it on the desk so they could all look at it, "look at the way it's written. Only the R in revenge and the S in sunday are capitalized." Mark said. "As if whomever wrote the note wanted to make sure they had some small part in the killings while not directly doing them."
"I never noticed that before. So you think that whomever Carmen is working with is either writing the notes for her or she is giving unmentionable credit to someone?" Jade said as she and Shane exchanged upset glances.
"Could be." Guessed Shane.
"How could I have missed that? We even had a team of forensic experts' go over every clue we have found. And they turned up nothing. Unless..." she paused as she looked at Shane, then continued, "unless someone on the team was working against us. That's probably how key evidence and clues was either dismissed or disappeared altogether." She finished angrily. "Thanks Mark." She said as Shane started the search for the names. How could we have missed this, she asked herself?
"Well lets try a search in our own organization and see if any red flags come up." Suggested Shane.
"Three names come up. First we have Robin Sayers, she is the director of the Covert Ops division, second we have Riley Smith, a first year agent in the Covert Ops division, and third we have Richard Schuler, who is the director of Field Operations." Shane stopped reading and stared at the screen. "So we are going to try to find information on these people and see if they are connected to Carmen in some way and try to find a link if they could be helping her in these killings. Right?" Shane asked almost in disbelief.
"Actually it makes sense. Carmen is not working alone, that much we already know. Now we can strike off Riley Smith, his access is limited for a first year agent. But both directors would have full clearance however. We need to do some more research on them. See who is the shadiest. But who can we ask for information? As with any director in this organization their files are top secret. Lots of closed doors and red tape." Jade pondered out loud.
"Do you know either director?" Steve asked.
"Yes as a matter of fact we do." Said Jade looking at him, "we report to both." She said as both Steve and Mark just exchanged amused glances.
Jade started to explain. "Any field agent like us of course reports to the director of Field Ops, however, since we are special agents we also fall under the Covert Ops director's office also. We also have dealings with the NSA, but that is a whole other ballgame. Back to the directors, we have met both, briefly, and have worked with them briefly. However, we don't take our direct orders from either them. They come down from them to a middle director who at present is our contact Mr. White. And that's how we get our directions. For such a sophisticated organization our internal processes leave a lot to be desired. That is why it's sometimes hard to find reliable sources and information. Especially internally. And that's why the NSA doesn't get involved. Too many middle men. It annoys the hell out of my dad." She said with a sigh.
"Well I think now would be a good time to call my contact and ask a few questions. Is that okay?" Asked Mark.
Jade and Shane both exchanged glances, "At this point why not? I guess it won't hurt." Jade said. "Perhaps an outside perspective from a different division is what we need right now." She sighed. "Besides I believe you to have pretty good judgement Mark. He might be able to tell us what we have been missing all along." She smiled.
"Thanks Jade. You guys keep working here I'll go and use the phone in the adjoining office. I'll let you guys know as soon as I find something." Mark said as he left his office and went into the adjoining room.
Shane and Jade continued to search for the next half-hour, until they finally were able to access both directors' personal file. "Not much here. Damn!" Cursed Shane.
"Try Mr. White and see if he can help us." Suggested Jade.
Both were so wrapped up in finding new information they had forgotten to fill Mark and Steve in on who Mr. White really was.
********
"Everything ready?" Asked Carmen impatiently.
"Don't rush an artist." Came the man's reply. "Timing is everything."
"So ready yet?" She asked again angrily.
"Yes." He replied heavily.
********
"Okay so I called Mr. White, but there is no answer." Shane said. "I didn't leave a message so I'll just try him later." He sighed.
"What about…" Jade started when her cell phone rang. "Agent Marshall." She answered. She listened for a bit and then closed her phone as the call ended.
"Who was that?" Asked Shane.
"Arthur Block. I am going to meet him in an hour." She said. "I hope he has better news for us." She sighed. "Well I better get going. I have to go back to the hotel and do a few things to do before I go to his office." She said grabbing her black suit jacket. "See you later tonight." She said giving Steve a kiss on the lips. "Count on it." He smiled as he watched her leave.
"Okay so where do we go?" Asked Steve turning back to a smiling Shane.
"Okay here is the address." Shane said as he wrote down the address. "We need to stop by and see Amanda before we leave, I need that file she prepared." Shane added as they headed out the door with Mark turning back to a beeping on his computer screen. "I'll catch up. The information I requested from my contact just came up." He said hurrying back to his desk.
"Hey Amanda, what have ya got for us?" Asked Shane as they walked into her office.
"Well try this on for size. Here are the two usual notes first the calling card and the piece of paper with the 217 was wound into a little ball in his inside pocket. But here is the best part, the hanging is not what killed him." She said.
"What?" Asked Shane in shock as he put down his bag and walked towards her. "He was killed execution style with a single gunshot to the back of the head. And he was killed several days ago." She announced.
"What?" He quickly asked. "This just keeps getting better and better." Shane sighed looking at the pictures Amanda took. And all of a sudden get started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He dialled Jade before Amanda could finish telling him what else she had discovered.
********
"Agent Marshall." Answered Jade into the speaker car phone.
"Jade, Judge Moore was executed. And he died a few days ago. Whoever killed him kept him on ice until they needed to plant him where we'd find him." Came Shane's desperate voice.
"What? How do you know?" She asked almost driving out of her lane.
"Amanda finished her autopsy. The hanging was just a cover up." He said.
"Shane, who would execute a Judge, keep his body and then dispose of it a few days later?" She asked in horror.
"The Asian? Carmen? But why? And for what purpose?" He answered. "I'll call you when I get anything else. I'm going to keep digging on this end." He said as he phone clicked off.
"What the hell is going on?" She asked aloud.
********
"But there's more." Said Amanda eagerly. Shane interrupted her before she could continue.
"Steve can you go and get the Judge's mistress? We can't afford to lose this lead. I'll need to stay here. This is your warrant. Hurry back." Shane said handing the piece of paper to Steve.
"Right. Let my dad know where I went. Be back soon. This is not far away." He called as he headed out of the room.
"So what else have you got for me." Shane asked turning back to Amanda.
"Well I ran a trace on his fingerprints and it seems this person is not Judge Derek Moore." She said impatiently.
"What?" Cried Shane in disbelief. "Then who the hell is he?" Before she could answer Mark walked into the room.
"His name is Carl Matthews." Said Mark walking into the room. "Do you know him?" He asked holding up the paper that he had printed off his computer just seconds ago.
Shane's world began to spin and all of a sudden he felt short of breath, as he sat down in a nearby chair, causing both Mark and Amanda to share worried looks. "Yes I know him. And so do you. Well at least you have heard of him." Shane said looking up at Mark, "he is or should I say was our inside contact Mr. White. I have to call Jade." He said desperately as he dialled her number. "How did you find out?" Shane asked.
"I had my contact run his prints just to be sure." Mark said wearily. "And a match came up. He just sent me the information." He said holding up the folder grimly.
********
"Yes ma'am Arthur Block's office is on the second floor, third door on your right." Said the receptionist. "Is your cell phone turned off?" She said pointing to the reminder sign that said no outside cell phones or pagers are allowed to be turned on due to sensitive equipment.
"Yes, and thank you." Jade said and headed for the stairs.
********
"Dammit! Why don't you answer." Shane yelled into the phone knowing that FBI agent had to turn off their phones inside some government buildings, but he hoped he had caught her before she went in, he didn't. "How could this have happened? We just talked to him yesterday." He said sitting back down and running a hand through his dark hair. His first day back and already he felt like his world was about to collapse.
"Are you sure it was really him you were talking to?" Mark asked as he walked into the room to join them.
"What do you mean?" Shane asked looking up, "we dialled straight to his private line. No one else has that number." He added slowly, as the dreadful realization finally started to set in and a dark shadow crossed his face.
"Are you sure about that?" Mark asked. "What about RS? Who else could have known about Carl Matthews? Or about Judge Moore? Who gave you the wrong information?" Mark asked again.
"I can find out." Shane said picking up the phone again dialling Washington.
********
"867 Beaumont Drive. What a dump." Steve said out loud as he pulled his police car into the yard of the dilapidated house.
********
"Agent Marshall, pleasure to meet you." Said Arthur extending his hand to Jade.
"Likewise Agent Block. Thanks for taking the time to see me." She said sitting down. "I hope you can help me."
"Oh I'm sure I have exactly what you're looking for." He smiled.
********
"What do you mean Carl Matthews is on holidays? Who authorized his leave?" Shane half yelled at the secretary on the other end of the line in Washington.
"It was the Director himself sir." She said.
"As in the top director of the FBI, Director Rivers?" Shane asked referring to the FBI's top director.
"No it was the Director of Field Ops, Richard Schuler." She said.
Shane felt his heart stop beating for a second. Mark and Amanda just stared at one another. Their world was collapsing around them, and each was unable to stop it. Richard Schuler authorized the leave of a dead man, answered his phone and gave them the false lead. He felt a lump start to form in his throat. And he had a sinking feeling that it was the same Richard Schuler's initials on those calling cards of death that Carmen left with each victim she murdered. Probably under his direction.
"Can I please speak to Director Schuler." Shane said calming down.
"I'm sorry sir, but he is unavailable right now. Do you wish to leave a message?" She asked.
"No." Shane said slamming down the receiver.
"What does this mean?" Asked Amanda.
"It means that we are all in a world of trouble." Shane said angrily. He tried Jade again. "Damn it pick up your phone." He yelled into the receiver. He felt like interrupting the meeting, but now he didn't know how to trust. He'd just have to wait to talk to Jade in private.
********
Jade continued to listen to Agent Block's information he had on Carmen. Nothing they didn't know. But there was something about him she didn't like. Almost as if he was stalling for time or something. But why? For what purpose? And why is he always fidgeting? Like he nervous about something.
"So you mean to tell me that Carmen arranged the meeting with the Asian hitman and the Judge? For what purpose?" Asked Jade unaware of the events taking place around her.
"We think it was a blackmail job. It seems that the Judge was about to put away the Asian's brother for murder. But the Asian had well lets just say a home movie of the Judge and his lady friend, and was willing to pay top dollar for it. I'd say the Asian didn't like his terms." Said Arthur.
Obviously he was unaware the hitman was dead she reasoned to herself. Or was he?
********
"How can this be? How could we have been so stupid?" Shane said out loud angrily, "set up from the word go. Who knows how long they had him on ice? And all along the bad guy was feeding us false information, dead ends and bad leads. Damn! Carl is dead because of us." He said sadly. "But what is Schuler's connection to Carmen, if there is one?" He asked before Mark or Amanda could comfort him over the loss of his friend. Amanda walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. She didn't know what to say, but he seemed to ease under her touch.
"Why not ask my contact and see if he knows." Suggested Mark as he handed a piece of paper with the toll free number on it that Mark usually dialled. Shane agreed, what did they have to lose now.
"Agent Baker please, this is Special Agent Philips calling." Said Shane into the speakerphone.
"One moment please." Came his secretary's voice on the other end.
********
"Open up Miss Donner, this is the police. I just want to talk to you." Steve called as he banged on the door. "Miss Donner?" He called again.
"She's not here buddy! What do you want?" Said a male voice behind him. Steve spun around to see a large man block his path back to his car.
"Let me guess you're her bodyguard?" Steve mocked.
"Yeah sort of." He said as he laughed and lunged at Steve. Steve side-stepped him but his foot got tangled up in some nearby chairs and he stumbled as the large man landed with a thud on the patio floor. The attacker was slow to get up so Steve kicked him in the side. He cried out in pain and fell back down. Steve ran past him only to have his foot caught by the large man's hand and he landed face first on the patio floor. The large man was on top of him wrestling him but Steve had the upper hand. He punched him in the face, and while the large man held his bleeding nose, Steve hit him in the temple with the butt end of his gun and he was down. Then movement on the side of the house.
"What the?" He said getting up and seeing a woman run behind the back of the house, he pursued.
"Miss Donner, stop it's the police! I just want to talk to you." He called out as he ran after her. He cautiously rounded the corner of the house to the back yard, the woman was gone. It was quiet except for a few noises coming from the inside of the house. He made his way past by a small garden shed on his way to the back door. He grabbed his radio and was about to radio for backup when two sets of arms came out of nowhere and each set grabbed one of his arms and pulled him behind the shed causing his gun to fly one way and the radio the other. Steve continued to struggle as the two men held his arms behind his back while the large man from the front walked up to him laughing.
"Yeah nice try cop. Now you're the one who is in trouble." He said as he delivered a blow to Steve's stomach. Steve doubled over in pain but was held fast by his two attackers. The large man hit him again, this time in the face as he held his head by a handful of hair. Steve cried out as his lip burst and he felt a sharp crack along his jaw. The large man laughed and punched him again in the stomach. Steve went limp in their arms; his head just hung in front of him.
"Come on boys lets go." Said the large man, "lets get him inside and ready to go." He led the way and the other two dragged Steve with them into the waiting house. The woman who had been paid to act ran away before the fighting started.
********
"This is Melvin Baker how can I help you Special Agent Philips?" Asked Melvin Baker.
"Um, I am here with Mark Sloan, Agent Baker, and I really need your help." Shane sighed heavily into the phone.
********
"So then that means that Carmen might have been the one who made the movie and was blackmailing the judge also? Was she working with the Asian hitman?" Asked Jade somewhat nervously. Something was not right here. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew that this guy was either a very good liar or a very bad one. What is it about him? Something familiar? But what? She asked herself as she listened to his incoherent reply. Time to leave she thought. This is getting me no where.
Arthur could tell that Jade was getting anxious to leave. He had to make his move. And so he did.
********
"You mean to say that Director Schuler knew Carmen Parks from University?" Asked Shane in shock after they had talked to Melvin for some time.
"Yes apparently they started a group that was called," he paused to read the name, "oh man get this, the anti-American freedom fighters brigade." He laughed.
"What in the world does that mean?" Asked Amanda.
"It means," said Shane in a serious tone while looking up at Mark, "that Director Schuler was once a traitor to the United States, selling black-market arms to the highest bidder. And Carmen I'm betting was his right hand man." He said easing back into his chair. Amanda just stood with her mouth agape. "Wait'll Jade hears this." He sighed. "She's going to go ballistic. But at least we finally have the person who might be helping her on the inside." Just no hard evidence he thought.
"Yeah Steve will be amazed also." Sighed Mark.
"Speaking of Steve, he should have radioed in by now. All he had to do was bring in Ms. Donner." Said Shane.
"Donner?" Asked Melvin's chipper voice, "as in Elise Donner?"
"Yeah why you know her? The Judge's mistress?" Asked Shane.
"Of course I know her, her name shows up in the files from time to time, but she's not any Judge's Mistress," he said sarcastically, "she's Director Schuler's step daughter."
"What?" Shane yelled as he stood up and ran to his cell phone and frantically dialled Steve's number. No answer! Another set-up. His world was quickly folding in on him. What had he done?
********
"What do we do with him Larry?" Asked one of the guys as he finished tying Steve's hands tightly in front of him, next his ankles. He then took a large scarf and gagged him. Steve started to stir.
"We wait for instructions stupid. Besides he ain't goin' anywhere." They laughed and looked at Steve who was tied up and lying on the floor in a semi-unconscious state before them.
Steve felt his head throbbing as his eye's started to focus. Where the hell am I, he asked himself. His eye's fully opened and he realized that he was lying on a floor in the middle of the old house tied up.
"You awake pig?" Laughed one of the men bending down to taunt him. "Well enjoy it while you can, cuz in a few short hours, you'll be lying in the shallow grave." He laughed and kicked Steve in the side.
Steve just yelled into the cloth gag in his mouth and laid his head back down on the old wooden floorboards in pain. How the hell am I going to get out of this one? He moaned inwardly.
********
"You know Agent Block I have to be going, but before I do, I would really like to at least know the name of your informant. We need all the help we can get to bring this killer to justice." Said Jade leaning forwards with a pleading expression.
"Well Special Agent Marshall I can do better than that, I can let you meet them in person." He said smiling.
"Perfect." She said not knowing that one word would seal her fate.
********
"Why won't Steve pick up? What's the matter now?" Shane asked out loud as he kept trying to get a hold of Steve. He then dialled another number on his cell and said, "this is FBI Special Agent Shane Philips, please send a car to 867 Beaumont Drive. Advise upon arriving; do not enter the premises without my permission. Just advise if there is a grey unmarked police car anywhere close by." Shane said into his cell phone to the office of the LAPD that Steve worked out of.
"And what about Carl Matthews?" Asked Amanda. "Why would they want to kill him?" She asked.
"Yeah that doesn't make sense. No one knew he was our informant. Unless he trusted the wrong person." Shane sighed, "sort of like us. He must have talked to Richard Schuler figuring that he could at least trust a man as high up in authority as Schuler, his boss. He obviously told him the wrong things and was then viewed as a threat and eventually a liability. But I wonder how long he had kept Schuler in the loop before Schuler had him killed? How much did he tell Schuler?" Shane asked sadly.
"Hey, Agent Baker, any idea how Carl Matthews figure in all of this?" Asked Shane.
"Maybe, I remember hearing about this case he was working on. To make a very long story short, his case leads were eventually traced back to the group that Richard Schuler and Carmen set up before. Seems they are still going strong even now. We lost quite a few men in the process." He said sadly into the phone. "You guys really need to get higher clearance." He sighed.
"Yeah well we had higher clearance until Schuler deemed it necessary for all field agent to have restricted access. Seems he felt that any outside contact could be viewed as an internal threat. He even got NSA agreement some way. We should have suspected then." Shane said. "I'm sorry Melvin, please continue."
Melvin waited until Shane had finished then continued, "and it was quite the task to bring the four of them down you know." He said heavily into the phone.
"Four? I thought you said it was Carmen and Richard Schuler?" Asked Shane dreading to hear the rest.
"Yes well we only knew of the two of them in the beginning. We turned to the NSA for help, but because it's domestic it's our problem. So did started to dig, and of course we only found circumstantial evidence against Schuler. I mean you just can't bring down one of the directors of the FBI without hard evidence. So since the university thing was our only hard clue it was shot down by him the minute it surfaced. Something about mistakes of the past and all that rot. The board agreed with him, so did the NSA, all except one, that is." Melvin paused.
"Let me guess? Nickel Washington?" Asked Shane.
"Yes, do you know him?" Asked Melvin.
"Yes, he is the director of the NSA afterall." Shane said knowing that Nickel was Jade's father, but he was not about to let anyone else know that.
"I see, well anyways he fought to have Schuler removed, but his lone vote against Schuler was outvoted by the rest of the board. Apparently they had quite the battle at one time. Seems Schuler always held the grudge against Washington for his being appointed the director instead of Schuler. He never forgave him for that. But then it seemed to settle down, and he must have met Carmen and started up their old group again. Then we started to find out things about Carmen. We were taken off the killings when you two were assigned. But we never let the files get closed. And when Carmen disappeared, the evidence against her also went missing and it was dismissed as a housekeeping error, we should have re-opened the case, but failed to."
Shane just sat and listened as Melvin Baker gave them the information. Should he believe him? Should he trust him? All the things he said so far made sense. But they also thought they could trust a director and were wrong on that. How does he know so much? What is his title and position? Shane made a mental note to ask Melvin later, but somehow later would never come for him. He turned his thoughts back to Melvin and listened.
"Back to their group, we learned that there was also an Asian runner they had with them. He was the one who ran the weapons back and forth between China and the US, or so we suspected. He turned out to be a black ops agent with the DEA division. We dug until we finally had something on him to go to the director with, but as soon as we presented it for review, it too disappeared. Again they said it was a clerical error. If I or any member of my team weren't kept so busy looking in the other direction then we would have questioned harder, dug deeper. However, that is one mistake we still regret! And of course there was Carmen's half brother. He was the fourth member of the team. Let me see if I can find his name." He paused looking through his files. "Oh yes here it is," he said into the phone.
********
"You mean your informant is right here and now in this building?" Asked Jade almost to eagerly.
"Yes, in fact," he pushed a button on his phone, the door opened behind Jade, "here she is now." Jade turned and her heart stopped as Carmen walked through the door.
"Welcome to my parlour," she purred as Jade felt the color drain from her face.
********
"Her brother's name is Arthur Block, same mother's just different fathers. Do you know him?" Asked Melvin.
Shane felt his heart stop. Mark and Amanda both caught their breath.
"As in Agent Block?" Shane cried in horror.
"Agent Block?" Asked Melvin in horror also. "Hold on I am doing a search now." He paused, "oh wait here is something interesting. There is a listing for a field agent block, with the initial A. But his file is marked classified and has NSA security protection on it. That's odd." Said Melvin.
"What?" Asked Shane in a panic.
"Well I remember doing some inquiries into Carmen's past, but his name was never mentioned. His file must have been locked even back then. I wonder who could have done that?" Melvin asked out loud.
"Our trusted informant. Thanks for your help. I have to go now!" Shane called as he pushed the release button as Melvin was saying, "wait." He never heard what he said next.
"Damn!" He said with a panic in his voice as he picked up the phone and threw it to the wall. "Jade walked into their trap! We have to warn her, before it's too late." Shane said as he bent to pick it up and re-connect it and then dialled the numbers in a panic. He had to interrupt that meeting now.
"Number for the FBI office here in LA please." He demanded directory assistance, "please connect me. I don't care what the charge is."
********
"Why sister dear, you look as though you've seen a ghost." She laughed. Jade's hand went quickly for her gun, but Arthur was right behind her and hit her square in the kidneys with his gun. She cried out in pain as she hit the floor. He kicked her again in the ribs. She didn't get up.
"Get her gun. And put these on." Carmen said tossing a pair of handcuffs to Arthur.
"My pleasure sister." He laughed as he forced Jade's wrists into the cuffs in front of her and snapped then shut. Then he roughly brought her to a sitting position in a chair facing Carmen. Carmen backhanded the left side of her face and Jade tried her best to hold her head in place, but it swayed none the less as she felt the bruise on her left eye explode. She turned back and defiantly faced Carmen with blood seeping down her face.
"You'll never get away with anything Carmen." Spat Jade.
"Really? Well let's see first I got Steve, and now I have you, and next will be your partner. Yes three was always my favourite number." She purred into Jade's ear. Jade hated her now more than ever. If she got free she would kill her, "as God is my witness Carmen I will kill you." She vowed in an angry tone. She didn't care about the consequences now, she didn't care what the future repercussions would be, and she didn't care if it meant her life as well. It was only pure hatred driving her now. This would end with her.
"Yeah like you tried before? Don't be so mad, I thought you would want to spend your last moments alive with Steve. Till death do you part, isn't that how it goes?" She laughed. "Ready to take a little trip? Call our boys and lets get moving!" She commanded Arthur. Arthur made the call to the guys holding Steve. Carmen grabbed Jade by the forearm and forced her to get up. Jade noticed that Carmen was wearing the same black pants suit with white blouse as she was. Just what did she have in mind her mind raced in a panic. She thought about Steve? Could Carmen set it up so that Steve killed her instead of Carmen? How could Steve live with that guilt? Maybe that was Carmen's sick game. Or maybe she just wanted to psyche her out before she was killed by Carmen? She would see soon enough.
"Just let it ring." Carmen said with a smile as Arthur's phone rang with community general's number appearing on the call display.
********
"The boss says its time to leave."
"Time's up pig." Said the large man as he picked up Steve and threw him over his shoulder and headed for the door. Steve tried to struggle out of his grasp but the men just laughed and walked towards the large waiting SUV.
********
"FBI Los Angeles how may I direct your call please?"
"This is Special Agent Philips, do you have a number for Agent Block or Director Schuler?" Came Shane's desperate plea.
"Well Agent Block is a field agent, and therefore does not have a fixed local or office. However, he has in the past few months being using Director Schuler's office." She said as Shane felt the blood drain from his face as he stared at Mark and Amanda who were just as speechless.
"Does the Director's office have a direct line then?" Shane asked.
"Yes, his local is '217'. Shall I connect you?" She asked.
Shane's world came to a dead stand still.
"Sir? Sir?"
*Dear readers, I hope you are enjoying the progression. Please let me know*
