33
"So, how's married life?"
"Incredible. I never realized how much I was missing."
"It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?"
"It's like we've fallen into this blissful domestic routine. Mary's an amazing cook, she keeps the house beautiful, she even picks up my dry cleaning for me."
Ed frowned at Danny's description, "So you basically got yourself a really hot maid?"
"NO! I didn't say that…I don't know how to explain it, Ed. The stuff she does for me…it just…it makes me feel special."
Ed still had a disapproving look on his face and Danny couldn't quite tell if the older man thought he was a Neanderthal or a sissy. He decided to cover all his bases. "I know that sounds silly, but I don't know how else to describe it. And I promise I'm not taking it for granted either. I do things for her too …and I make sure she knows how much I love her every single day."
"Yeah, well, just pick up your socks every once in awhile because I'm telling you right now the cutesy, lovey-dovey, cleaning up your crap thing gets old real fast and the next thing you know she's screaming at you in the middle of Starbucks about how you don't appreciate her and about how you think she's fat and how you hate her mother…"
It was obvious that Ed was speaking from past experience and the thought made Danny a little nervous. "Well, um, okay, I'll definitely keep all that in mind."
"Good. It's a serious thing, Danny. I mean one minute they're normal and the next minute their head starts spinning around and…and…,"
Finally, Danny caught on, "You and Jillian having problems?"
"What? No, of course not. What makes you think that?"
"Nothing. You just seem a little…worked up is all."
Ed sighed, "Jillian's been giving me grief about my health and my lifestyle. She says that because I don't take better care of myself it means I don't love her enough."
"She's got a point, Ed."
"Watch it, McCoy. I'm still your boss."
"I'm just saying…I've had this same discussion with Mary and I can see her point of view. I mean, put yourself in Jillian's shoes. If she was doing something that was dangerous how would you feel?"
"The most danger Jillian gets into is the tag sale at Neiman's."
"Be serious, Ed. You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I do. So, what about you, Dr. Phil? You're out here with me and you've got a new wife and a baby on the way."
"And that thought is never far from the front of my mind, Ed," Danny interrupted. "But this is something I've got to do. I know she doesn't like it, but Mary understands. As soon as these guys are caught things will be different."
"Until the next time…," Ed said somberly, remembering how many times he'd made that promise to his family.
"No…no next time. If that means that I have to find a different line of work then that's what I'll do, but nothing is ever going to be more important to me than being with my family, Ed. Nothing."
Danny noticed Ed looking at him as he pulled into the parking lot next to the concrete, two-story building that housed the offices of Dynacomp Industries. He hoped he didn't sound like he was passing judgment on Ed's choices, but it was a decision he needed his boss to know. Relief finally flooded Danny as Ed gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before nodding his head towards the door.
They'd already discussed in detail the best course of action for dealing with these guys. For starters, Danny would go in alone and ask to speak with both of them while Ed lingered outside in case either one of them decided to make a run for it.
"Hey…Sherry," Danny glanced at her nameplate and laid on the charm, "I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for Fred Hinojosa and Eric Myers. I'm an old friend of theirs and I wanted to stop by and say hello." As usual, the flirting produced the desired results and the young girl at the receptionist desk flushed under Danny's gaze.
"Um, sure…," she glanced down at her employee roster and then back at Danny. "Um, Eric's out today, but Fred's here. Can I have your name?" The girl batted her eyelashes, but before Danny could answer she called out to someone behind him, "Hey, Fred…this gentleman is here to see you."
Danny turned around and came face to face with Fred Hinojosa. The shocked look on the younger man's face gave him away and it was obvious that he knew exactly who Danny was. Hinojosa took off for the side door and Danny followed just a few seconds behind. He looked back at Danny as he ran full speed through the lot only to have the wind knocked out of him by a swift punch to the abdomen. He doubled over in pain as Ed hauled him up and tossed him inside the back of the rental car. It only took Danny a moment to climb in as well and push Hinojosa down into the floor board while Ed slid into the driver's seat and headed towards the mountains.
When they reached the small state park just outside of Denver, Ed pulled the car down an abandoned mining road and turned off the engine. Danny roughly jerked the Fred from the car and handcuffed him to the side mirror.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"Don't play dumb, Fred. You know exactly who we are and we just want to have a little chat."
"I know my rights. I wanna talk to a lawyer." Fred pulled violently on his restraints, still not ready to believe the fact that he had been caught.
"Now, Fred, I know you already know this, but …we're not the cops so we don't have to play by the same rules," Ed told him menacingly.
"Last time I checked assault was still against the law."
"So is kidnapping and murder," Danny spat incredulously as he delivered a swift kick to Fred's leg–sending him crashing to the ground.
"Settle down, Danny. The kid's right. We're probably going to get in trouble for this." Ed kneeled down next to Fred, "When my friends with the FBI show up they're probably going to give us a stern 'talking to'…the question is…how many fingers will you have left by the time they get here?" Ed grabbed his hand and twisted his pinkie finger until it popped, causing Hinojosa to scream out in pain.
"OH, GOD, PLEASE. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. THEY'LL KILL ME!"
"Who?"
"Them."
"Who are the other members, Fred? Chester Ford? Eric Myers? Who else?"
"I'm so sorry," he cried. "I needed the money. I didn't know he was going to hurt them. I didn't know until it was too late."
"This sounds familiar. Doesn't it, Danny?"
"Yeah," Danny sighed. He yanked Fred by the collar until he was standing up.
"We can't help you if you don't talk to us, Fred. Tell us who else is involved…where they are," Ed spoke softly, hoping to get the answers they so desperately needed.
Fred sniffled a bit, regaining his composure. He was so tired…tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of lying. He just wanted it to be over. It had started off as a way to get money, but Chester had kept changing the rules–kept upping the stakes.
"I swear I didn't know he was killing them. We split up right after all the robberies so I didn't even know until later that people were ending up dead."
"But you knew before the job at the Montecito?" Danny grabbed him by the collar, shaking him with every ounce of anger that had built up since Mary's abduction.
"Yes," he cried. "You don't understand. Chester's crazy and he's got Paul and Eric convinced that he's God. He said if any of us went against him that he'd kill us…kill our families. I got a little boy… I couldn't take that chance."
Danny let go of him, reigning in his temper, "Paul who?"
"Paul Ford–Chester's younger brother. Not very smart, but he was the brute force of the operation."
"Where are they now?"
"I'm not sure. Chester went underground–took Paul with him. We haven't heard from them since Benton was killed."
"And Myers?"
"Virginia. He went to visit his girlfriend. I don't think he was coming back."
Convinced that they'd gotten all the information they were going to get out of Fred Hinojosa, Ed had called Agent Davis, arranging a location to meet with agents from the Denver Bureau office so that Hinojosa could be taken into federal custody.
"Would you do me a favor?" Fred asked Danny from the backseat. The three of them were currently sitting in the side lot of a Waffle House, waiting for the FBI to arrive. The dinner crowd had long since gone and the parking lot was beginning to fill with college students in need of a late-night snack.
"I really don't think I'm the right person to be doing you any favors."
"Yeah, I know, but you're a father, right?"
Danny didn't hesitate before answering in the affirmative with a nod of his head. Ed smiled to himself as he thought about how much Danny had changed in such a short period of time.
"Can you tell my little boy I did the right thing… in the end, I mean."
"You can tell him yourself, Fred." The words had barely left Danny's mouth when the quiet of the car was shattered by the sound of squealing tires and gunfire. On instinct, Danny leapt over the seat, trying desperately to protect the only person who could bring the rest of the Masquerade Group to justice. The noise was deafening as bullets pierced the interior of the car and then just as suddenly as it had begun there was nothing. No noise, no movement…nothing.
---
Mary wandered through the halls leading towards the security room. The party had long since fizzled out and the guests had either headed for other venues or retired to their suites. She had tried to do the same–even going so far as to change into her pajamas--but in only a week's time she'd discovered that falling asleep without Danny (or at least without knowing when he was going to be home) had become almost impossible.
After an hour of tossing and turning, she had changed back into jeans and a t-shirt and made her way downstairs in search of something to take her mind off of her husband. Of course, the security room was probably not the best place for that, but after learning that Mike was still on duty she decided to see if he had any new information.
"Hey, Mike. Working late?"
"Yeah," Mike replied wearily, "What are you doing? I thought the party was over a couple of hours ago."
"Can't sleep," Mary shrugged. "Any news?"
Danny and Ed had been gone since that afternoon and with the clock approaching 2:00 AM without a phone call, Mike was starting to get nervous, a fact he tried to hide from Mary.
"I'm sure they're just busy interrogating these guys. You know how those two get when they're in the zone. Then they'll have to wait for the FBI to get there and the feds never do anything in a hurry. Plus, he probably thinks you're already asleep and doesn't want to wake you. He doesn't realize that you've been sitting up half the night in his office WAITING FOR A DAMN PHONE CALL." Mike had become increasingly agitated as he spoke and Mary knew he was no longer talking about her.
"And they say pregnant women are crazy," Mary mumbled under her breath before addressing Mike, "Did anyone ever tell you…you suck at pep talks?"
"Sorry. I was just… you know what? I think we should give them a little more time before we start freaking out."
"Okay," Mary responded slowly as if she was talking to a small child. "You sure you're okay, though. You seemed like you were…freaking out."
"Yeah…fine," Mike was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. They both smiled as he reached to pick it up. "Well, it's about time, McCoy," seeing Danny's number on the caller ID, Mike spoke into the phone without giving the person on the other end a chance to respond, "Your wife has been worried sick about you."
Mary rolled her eyes and smiled, but when she caught sight of Mike again her heart jumped into her throat. Mike's face had fallen into a shocked expression and his breathing had become noticeably labored. Mary jumped from her position on the couch and ran to his side, but before she could grab the phone Mike ended the call with a whispered, "Okay."
"Mike? MIKE, what is it?"
"Something happened, Mary. We've got to get to Denver."