Stepping up to what used to be the doorway of 'Suzie's Diner', Ron Wagnor searched in the pockets of his FBI regulation water proof for his I.D. Before he had a chance to show it, Tanis Archer had pushed past him. Closing her black umbrella she flashed a smile at the young officer who waved her on her way. The same young man firmly prevented the FBI agent from following. Ron rolled his eyes – the disadvantage of being from out of state was that nobody, not even the lowest rookie would give you a break.
'It's okay Jawalski, he's with me' Steve said tiredly, running a hand through his sopping wet hair 'so do me a favour and stop with the games alright'. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to fend off the inevitable headache and wished, although he'd never admit it out loud, that he'd stayed in bed this morning.
'Thanks' Ron said, as the young officer, blushing from Steve's rebuff, waved them through.
Steve shrugged 'Don't thank me yet. I'm still not sure I want you here myself'.
'Hey' Ron said 'I'm just doing my job'. He let out a low whistle as he surveyed the devastation around him 'And someone sure did a hell of a job on this place.'
Steve let out a breath. The feeling of unease at their 'lucky escape' had returned with a vengeance now that he had, had the chance to see the full extent of the damage. The air was still thick with the acrid stench of burning matter. The table he and Tanis had so recently shared had been blown to smithereens, the remnants of their meal splattered across what remained of the floor and walls. There was still blood pooled on the floor to his left. Steve swallowed hard, Ed Callaghan, who had been seated at the table behind them, had died in the ER last night.
'You know I'm sure I've seen this M.O. before' Ron said thoughtfully 'it's possible that some splinter group from a well known terrorist organisation …'
'It's gotta be Jack Tandy' Tanis said as she strode purposefully towards the two men. Her blonde hair was scrapped neatly back into a pony tail and her black turtle neck complimented the short leather jacket and dark pants. There was no question she meant business.
'Jack Tandy?' Steve said raising his eyebrows questioningly 'Who the hell is Jack Tandy?'
'He's the guy that stands to take over if I go down' said a familiar voice behind them, 'so why don't you and sweet cheeks stop with the yapping and actually do something about putting away the clown who trashed my joint'.
Steve closed his eyes wearily, not bothering to turn 'You know if you want our help you're gonna have to ask nicely'.
'Whoah! Hold it right there' the man said. He flashed the three cops an arrogant grin and pointed theatrically at his own chest 'Remember boys and .. ' he looked disarmingly at Tanis 'girl, I'm the injured party here'.
'Who's this guy?' said Ron, giving the dark haired guy in the flash suit a look of disdain.
Steve sighed 'Ron Wagnor meet Ross Cainen'.
'Ross Cainen? So you're the owner of this joint?' Ron said
Cainen grinned jauntily 'Oh he's good' he said sarcastically 'I can see why you got this guy on the case'.
Ron started towards the mobster, but Steve put a restraining hand on his arm.
Cainen laughed, but his voice when he spoke was low, menacing 'I wanna know who lit up this place like a fire cracker and I wanna know now. It's about time you bums did something useful for a change. He looked around, indicating the debris with a casual wave of his hand 'That jackass played havoc with my décor – lucky I got insurance, that's all I can say'.
'And just maybe that's what this' Tanis said dryly 'You been scamming for insurance fraud again Cainen?'
'Hey' he raised his hands nonchalantly and popped his gum at her 'ya know sweetheart it's a good job I'm a forgiving kinda guy, cause if I wanted to I could sue your ass for that slur against my good name'.
Tanis shrugged 'Great idea, why don't we go do that down at the station right now'. Stepping forward she grabbed him by the collar and began to hoist him bodily to the door.
'I knew she couldn't keep her hands off me' Cainen said smugly over his shoulder to Steve and Ron. He turned back to Tanis and blew her a kiss 'You just want me all to yourself don't ya sweet cheeks?'
Tanis groaned 'Move it scumball' she said 'Now'
Cainen smirked 'I love it when ya talk dirty'.
As they watched the two leave, Steve and Ron exchanged glances 'Shame he wasn't in this place when it blew' Ron said
Steve sighed and ushered the FBI agent away from the uniforms and forensic team 'Ron' he said quietly 'there's something about Ross Cainen you need to know'. He paused 'and I'm guessing you're not gonna like it'.
At Parker Central, Tanis Archer and Ross Cainen were seated across from each other in one of the stark interrogation rooms. Each of them was nursing a Styrofoam cup of coffee, but neither was drinking.
'So I heard that you two got caught in the blast' Cainen said. His concern was evident; his earlier arrogant demeanour had evaporated.
Tanis sighed 'Yeah. We were lucky we weren't killed'.
She shuddered and instinctively he reached forward, placing his hand on her shoulder.
'You okay?' he asked softly.
She shifted awkwardly, unused to feeling vulnerable, unused to this sudden show of concern from a man she barely knew 'I'm fine' she said brusquely, standing suddenly, so that his hand slipped sideways.
'Okay' he said gruffly, also embarrassed at the exchange 'So let's get down to business.'
Pacing the length of the table Tanis chewed her lip thoughtfully 'Besides Jack Tandy there has to be at least twenty guys who could benefit from having you killed' she said.
Cainen shrugged tiredly 'Don't I know it. Ever since I took over the control of the Ganza organisation I've been constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for something like this to happen'.
Tanis smiled wryly 'I can imagine'
'No you can't' he said grimly 'You have no idea what this last year has been like for me. I'm in deep. My life has been on the line every single day. I can't eat, can't sleep. Every time I turn the key in the ignition to start my car I'm worried it's gonna be the last'.
She looked at him then, really looked and she saw the haggard gauntness of his face, the dark circles under his eyes. This was a man living life on the edge.
'You could pull out' she said simply 'Go back to being a normal cop'.
He stood up angrily, eyes challenging hers 'I can't break my cover now and you know it. This is the best chance the Task Force has ever had to crack organised crime. If I pull out now, the last three years of my life have been for nothing.'
Tanis sighed, he was right and they both knew it. If Cainen walked now they would lose their inside track, would lose the intimate knowledge of LA's organised crime, knowledge that had been painstaking achieved from three years of intensive under cover detail. They would have to start again from scratch, put another man in place. It was highly unlikely that another agent could get as far as Cainen had. To have a cop as the head of organised crime in LA was an opportunity that they couldn't relinquish, no matter what the risks.
This time Tanis reached out for his hand, suddenly feeling the need to offer comfort 'We'll find out who's after you' she said 'and we'll put 'em away I promise'.
'Yeah? And what about the next guy and the next?' He pulled away from her touch 'You have no idea, nobody does, not even the Chief'.
Turning his back on her, he leaned tiredly against the wall and closed his eyes. Tanis looked at him worriedly, he was close to breaking and she couldn't blame him. Her role in the Task Force was tough enough, but his? He'd given up his life, assumed a whole new identity. He spent his days and nights with men who were pure evil, who thought nothing of killing in the pursuit of power. Could she do what he did? She didn't even wanna think about it. And yet without men like Ross Cainen they'd never be able to combat organised crime. Tanis sighed – may be Steve was right, may be the task force was a little too shady.
As he hunched over to examine the latest forensics report, brought to him by a flush faced sergeant, Steve became aware of the insistent ringing of his cell. He grunted as he tried to free it from his jacket pocket and felt the expected twinge in his side.
'Sloan here' he croaked, his voice suddenly unwilling to co-operate.
'Still nursing that cold huh son?' Mark said sympathetically
'Dad I'm fine' Steve said irritably. Spotting the smirk on the face of the Sergeant to his left, he turned his back and lowered his voice 'yes I took the pills you left on the kitchen table and yes I'll make sure to change out of my wet clothes'. He was sure he could hear a guffaw of laughter from the sergeant at this point 'Look Dad I've gotta go okay' he said hastily 'I'll see you at home'.
Switching off the phone he turned to meet the amused eyes of Ron Wagnor. The FBI agent had somehow crept up on him. From the look on his face, Steve had no doubt that Ron had heard the entire conversation.
'Don't you even think about it' Steve said fixedly, pushing past Ron.
Ron grinned amiably, following the Lieutenant 'Hey I was just gonna say that if you need help blowing your nose, you just make sure and let me know.'
Steve pulled a face 'Very funny. You'd better be coming over here with some good news' he said grimly.
Ron smirked 'Actually I came to tell you that forensics have identified that the chess piece was hand carved from ivory. It's an original design, not mass produced'.
'That's it?' Steve groaned 'That's all we got?'
Ron shifted uncomfortably 'Well they're currently running a search on all registered wood carving and carpentry outlets in the LA district.' he said.
'Let me guess, there's hundreds right?' Steve said morosely.
'Try five hundred' Ron said, shrugging his broad shoulders 'but still it's a start, right?'
Steve sighed 'Right now it's the only lead we've got'.
He paused and looked at Ron, his blue eyes intense 'and I've got a really bad feeling that it's not gonna be long before this guy strikes again'.
TO BE CONTINUED …….