Ch 4 Command Center
"Hey Milt," Frank Harper greeted him as he entered the command center. "Where's your shadow?"
"Home doing chores. This the new setup Frank?", Milt observed as he glanced around. "You sure you can get what you need from so far away?"
"We've got one man very close, but very concealed. Just a small receiver and amplifier. That way we can be less conspicuous. You know, when vans start to hang around, even on the next block, these guys get suspicious."
"Who's on the receiver?"
"Sid Evers, don't worry, he'll keep the transmission going. We're gonna get Farnell this time, and his inner circle too."
"Sid's about ready to retire, I thought he was taking it easy these days?"
Frank spared him a surprised glance and shake of his head.
"You think you're the only one who wants to get Farnell?"
"I guess a guy like that would collect a lot of enemies."
"He always has someone else doing his dirty work, but he's the one in charge. It does get under your skin."
"So who's on the inside?" Milt commented, as he took in all the equipment and technicians already listening in to the conversations.
Frank smiled, "Dopson happened to be in the right place at the right time and saved Trish's life a few days ago. It was perfect, and then he accepted a job offer and has been working for her ever since."
"For her?" Hardcastle's hopes soared at the prospect of nailing the woman who had seduced McCormick. "Does she trust him?"
Frank nodded, "yeah, we think so."
"How did he save her life?"
"We arranged an accident, and he stepped in to do the honors."
Milt smiled, "great! He's wired? Did you get anything yet?"
"He's wired, but nothing yet. Just a lot of meaningless conversation. A lot about you actually... according to Trish, Farnell hates you Milt."
"Good."
"So, you think McCormick'll still be there when you get done?" Frank asked as they slipped on the headsets to listen in on any idle conversation.
"Course he will," Milt answered without hesitation.
Frank rolled his eyes and glanced at Mike Delaney, who shrugged. Neither of them could quite understand why Hardcastle thought he could trust the ex-con, especially after JJ Beale's escapades. They had discussed this many times, and each had wondered privately if Hardcastle might be starting to lose his grip on reality. They had both tried to convince the judge to give up on this scheme he'd worked out with McCormick, but it hadn't made any difference. Even though they'd brought in quite a few criminals over the past 4 months, neither he nor Mike trusted McCormick.
Frank shook his head and whispered "stubborn old coot," and then began to concentrate on the conversation. Even though it was being continuously monitored and recorded, he still wanted to listen in when he could, to hear the inflection in any speech to help him more clearly identify intent.
He motioned for Milt to put on the headphones too and they spent the next half hour just listening.
ooOoo
"This isn't getting anywhere Frank," Milt commented finally.
"Well, Dopson's got another bug he'll plant somewhere once he gets an idea about what's going on. We're hoping that'll help."
"Well, that's good, because this won't get us anywhere. Trish is keeping him too far away from the important players. Farnell's not even there."
"Yeah, apparently he had some sort of errand this afternoon, and he took 3 of his thugs with him."
"That doesn't sound good, now does it?" Milt answered. After a long pause, the judge continued in a grumble, "he must pay em a lot."
Frank sighed, "well, he is a millionaire, got a book and everything."
"It's gonna be a long day," Hardcastle sighed as he continued to listen in.