"Where's Shay?" Alex demanded as she strode into the nest and straddled a chair at the briefing table.
Frankie looked up sharply and gave Alex a cold glare. She and Jake had arrived just moments before Alex. "You just missed her. She was going to meet her dad at the airport."
"What is it, Alex?" Frank demanded gruffly as he excited the bathroom. His hair was still damp from his shower and he paused while straightening his sweater to fix Alex with an icy stare.
"I just have some questions for Shay. Like where she disappeared to downtown while your car was in the shop. And where she was when that bullet took out your computer upstairs." Alex did not like being the bad guy, but there were questions that needed answers and like it or not, she was going to get those answers.
Jake slammed his fist on the table hard enough to cause both Frankie and Alex to jump slightly. "Damn it, Alex...you're looking for something that's not there."
"Maybe, maybe not," Alex replied coolly. "But I'm doing my job. Like it or not."
"Not," Frankie stated plainly. "Look. Jake and I've done some checking. There's a rumor flying around that there's an A-Number-One assassin in town and it's big news to the locals. I have a meeting with a snitch later today that promises some good intel. Cross your fingers boys and girls...and we might have our shooter before the day's out."
"I'm going with you," Frank insisted, sitting down next to Alex.
"Nope. Not gonna happen, Donovan," Frankie insisted. "Kip won't talk with unfamiliars. If you want this information, you'll let me handle this."
"Fine," he practically growled. He was tired of all the waiting. Waiting for answers, waiting for leads, waiting for the next attempt on his life.
"We know this is tough, Frank..." Jake began.
"You have no idea." On one hand he had two people who wanted nothing but to find the hitter. On the other hand he had one agent who was bound and determined to prove his wife was up to no good.
"Besides," Cody interjected. "You have that meeting in a couple hours. Budgets and all that."
"Sonofabitch," he ground out. He had forgotten all about that. As Shay was fond of saying, Yippee for me. The annoying chirp of his cell phone interrupted his self-pitying thoughts; he flipped it open quickly, "Donovan."
Jake, Frankie, Alex, and Cody could not help but notice the crestfallen look that appeared on his face as he listened to the caller. The only words he spoke were, "Fine. I'll be there."
Frank closed his phone slowly and slid it back into his pocket before locking eyes with Alex. "That was my father-in-law. He asked if I would pick him and the kids up at the airport in two hours."
"What?" Jake gasped, astounded. Frankie's eyes had widened and her mouth gaped slightly, but she could not speak.
"I'm sorry, Frank," Alex whispered.
"It can't be," Cody stammered.
Frank nodded and looked around at the faces of his friends and co-workers. Slowly, deliberately he voiced the thoughts that cluttered his mind. "I do NOT believe my wife is trying to kill me. Let that be first and foremost. That she has not been telling the truth and hiding things behind my back, that has come to be a bit painfully obvious." He rubbed a hand across his mouth trying to compose himself. What was Shay up to? Why was she lying to not only him but also her friends? What was she hiding? "Alex...find out what she's up to. Jake, Frankie...find that shooter."
"What about me?" Cody asked, feeling a bit left out.
"Help me with my budget notes, or there will be no SOG to worry about," he growled as he left the room.
************
Frankie warned Jake not to press hard on her snitch and to let her handle things. Kip was a homeless street kid, who kept his ear to the ground and always managed to come up with helpful information whenever she was caught between a rock and a hard place.
"There he is," Frankie motioned toward the corner bus stop.
As they neared, Jake could see the "kid" was maybe seventeen years old. Life on the streets, and his unkempt appearance, made him look older than his actual years.
Kip smiled warily at Frankie Shaw and the man who walked at her side. A quick introduction later, he discovered the man was her husband. Funny, he never expected Frankie's husband to be so...short.
"Hey, Shaw...got something for me?" Kip asked, pushing his long, wiry brown hair from his eyes.
"You know the drill, Kip. If I like what I hear, you get paid." Frankie watched his hazel eyes travel from her to Jake and back again while he made up his mind whether or not to speak in front of the stranger. "He's cool, Kip. I wouldn't have married him otherwise."
Jake grimaced while Kip laughed at the offhanded joke. "Okay, Frankie...you know the warehouse I usually crash at?"
"Sure do."
Kip nodded. "A couple weeks ago, I heard someone nosing around the place. I checked it out and stumbled across someone unpacking a crate."
Frankie raised a brow. "And you want me to pay you for that?" she asked sarcastically.
"No! Listen...whoever it was...they were unpacking weapons. I caught sight of a couple rifles...then I took off."
Frankie looked at Jake who nodded. This could be the hitter. "Alright, Kip...here's your money." She handed over a wad of bills. "And you know...if you're jerkin' my chain, I'll be back for my change."
Kip gulped at the threat and knew she was serious. He nodded before disappearing into the nearby alley.
************
to be continued...