-1Obsession
Disclaimer : See Prologue
A/N: I appreciate your reviews and I'd like to say a special "thank-you" to my parents who have become my greatest fans.
Sun-Tsu The Art of War
Force is the control of the balance of power
Chapter 7
It was after two o'clock by the time Don had his team ready to leave for the warehouse. They had downloaded the files that Agent Hendricks had given them and reviewed the details of the narcotics bust and although they had studied them in great detail, none of the agents recognized any of the names or the photos of the men that had been involved in the raid.
Don flicked on his right turn signal and left the major thoroughfare pulling onto the winding and narrow streets that would take them to Monterey Hills. He steered up and down the dusty streets, past shops and businesses that sat side-by-side with single family residences . The streets were crowded with people forcing Don and David to maneuver they're vehicles carefully around them. Children moved slowly out of the way at the sound of his horn , while the teenage boys stood on the street corners eyeing them suspiciously, smoking and showing their gang colors. Many of the older residents could be seen working in their backyards, where gardens and the occasional chicken coop could be seen.
"Is that one of the latino gangs that I've read about?" O"Connell had been so quiet during the ride that Don had almost forgotten that he was in the back seat.
Don glanced in the rear view mirror. "No, they're gang "wanna be's. Too young to join the gangs and too old to play with the younger kids."
"It's a shame really." The pretty agent commented. "They'll drop out of school and poverty will drive them to join the gangs and from their point of view becoming a gang member will be a step up for them." She eyed another small group as the vehicle passed them by. "A lot of them will be dead before they are twenty."
Don flicked on his left signal light and turned onto Lancaster street. The East Los Angeles Projects soon came into view. They passed several beautiful murals that had been painted on the sides of buildings and here and there an occasional rose bush was blooming giving some beauty to an otherwise drab and colorless scene. But the area was also shrouded with graffiti and litter which distracted the eye, and soon the murals and roses were forgotten.
East LA has a high concentration of Hispanic residents, most of them of Mexican descent and they were headed for one of the poorest sections in the area. Don turned down another narrow road and here the street was lined with houses and businesses that had been abandoned for many years. Gangland graffiti was prevalent on all of the buildings that lined both sides of this street but not a single person could be found anywhere.
"Heads up people." Don warned everyone through his radio mike. Agent Hendricks had said the site was secure but he wasn't going to take any chances. All of them were wearing their FBI windbreakers and even O'Connell had been given one. The gang's around the area were ruthless but even they would think twice before attacking five Federal Agents.
The warehouse loomed up ahead, squeezed in between two abandoned houses. It was a large plain brick building with many windows in the front of the structure, most of which were either broken or cracked. The ones that remained unbroken were so dust covered that it was hard to see through them. Numerous loading docks dotted both sides of the building and most of the doors were still intact but a few stood open, the doors having been torn off a long time ago.
There was a police cruiser parked in front of the building and an officer was leaning against the passenger side with his arms crossed. He turned toward them at the sound of the vehicles and straightened up with his feet apart and his hands resting lightly on his hips.
Don parked his SUV next to the patrol car and turned off the ignition as David pulled alongside of him and parked. He straightened his jacket as he closed the car door and out of habit checked to see if his gun was firmly clipped to his belt. The agent strolled to the front of the police car and was soon joined by the rest of his team.
"Everything secure?" Don asked the young officer as he flashed his badge and introduced himself.
"Yes, sir. Agent Eppes. Agent Hendricks called and told us to expect you."
"Us?' the agent asked looking around the area.
"My partner's checking out the back." he said, motioning toward the rear of the building with his hand. "I don't know what you expect to find; between the narcotics and forensics teams, there isn't much left to look over."
"Uh huh." Don said as he removed his sunglasses and slid them into his pocket.
"What time did the forensics guys leave?"
"About an hour ago." The officer pressed a button on the radio attached to his shirt.
"Sam, the Fed's are here."
The agents heard static and then an answering voice. "Roger that, Jay. I'm starting my way back. Over."
Don and his team headed for the door but O'Connell stopped them before they opened it.
"Don, if it's okay with you, I'd like to look around the outside of the building. I might spot something and I can check in with the officer in the back."
Don looked at him thoughtfully and then nodded his head. "Okay, it should be safe enough, just stay in touch." he said motioning to his radio.
The agents headed for the open door and gathered together a few feet inside the structure. Even though the sun was still shining brightly only a limited amount of light actually filtered into the interior of the building and there were many areas still lost in shadow. David looked around and found a small block of wood to pry underneath the door so that it would stay open and let in more light.
It looked like the warehouse had been abandoned for quite a while. Garbage lay in piles all around them . Old and filthy mattresses lay in several corners around the main entrance, sometimes covered with dirty blankets or sheets riddled with rips and holes.
"Not exactly the Ritz-Carlton, is it?" David sarcastically commented as he pulled a pair of plastic gloves from his pocket.
"You got that right.' his partner responded dryly, following David's example.
About fifty feet through the doorway they all stopped and checked out the chalk outline on the floor. Large spots of dried blood were scattered within the drawing. Don and the team had read Hendircks report so this wasn't a surprise. There had been a shoot-out, and two of the drug pushers had died at the scene; two more were in the hospital with minor wounds and another seven were in the lock up.
There were tables scattered about the room; some were still standing while many others lay on their sides, knocked over during the raid. Cubicles and rows of empty shelves lined the walls and in a corner they could see the chalk drawing of another outline.
"There's something moving around over there."
The hands of the agents automatically hovered over their guns as they turned in the direction that Colby was pointing to. Hidden in shadows they could barely make out the object that was moving.
Don squinted his eyes at the corner. "Yeah, looks like a rat." He relaxed his stance slightly as he glanced at the junior agent.
"Man, I hate rats." Colby mumbled.
Three pair of amused eyes turned toward the junior agent.
"What?" he shrugged. "I'm just saying."
David smirked at his partner. "Man up Colby, it's just a rat."
Megan rolled her eyes at him and patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay Granger, I'll protect you."
"Ha, ha Megan." The younger agent retorted as he pulled a flashlight from his pocket.
"Okay guys listen up. Megan and I will take the upstairs." Don said motioning toward a staircase to the left of them. "You two continue searching down here. The area's suppose to be cleared but let's keep alert. I gotta funny feeling that something else is going on here."
They parted ways and Don and Megan headed up the stairway. Using they're flashlights they slowly climbed the stairs. Graffiti lined the walls of the stairwell in various colors which seemed to somehow lighten the dingy , closed in space.
Finally getting Megan alone, Don began to question her as they climbed the stairs.
"Exactly when did Charlie tell Larry that he thought he was being watched?"
She sighed recognizing his tone of voice. "Shouldn't you ask Charlie about this?"
"I fully intend too, but until then, I want to know what you know."
"All right, just don't tell him that I told you." she grumbled but as they reached the second floor they fell into silence.
The second floor of the warehouse had more storage areas and more rooms than the floor below them. Doors hanging haphazardly made it a little difficult for them to maneuver around but they managed to get through them without knocking them the rest of the way down. Glass crunched under their shoes from the broken windows, and they found more mattresses lying on the floors of almost every room.
They had two more rooms to search when Don heard the first faint beep. He stopped, holding his hand up to halt Megan's progress.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered, his hand moving toward his gun holster.
"Hear what?" she asked just as quietly as her own hand moved toward the gun on her belt.
They stood still, heads tilted slightly, listening for any sound. There it was again, ever so faintly, and Don pointed to some broken crates under a window. Slowly, they stepped over the debris that was scattered around the room, careful not to dislodge anything until they could identify the noise. Finally, they made their way to the crate.
Don slowly bent down and lifted a cloth that was laying over the broken crate.
His eyes widened. "Oh, shit!" he exclaimed as he quickly dropped the cloth and straightened up. He grabbed Megan by the arm and pulled her with him as he turned toward the door.
"Run…run!" he shouted.
They ran, stumbling over some of the debris in their haste to get out. He grabbed the door and both agents jumped sideways, barely managing to avoid being hit by it as it tumbled to the floor. They had to scramble over it, losing precious time in the process, and broke into a sprint as the door to the stairway came into view.
Don jerked the door open and pushed Megan through it, following right on her heels as they dashed back down the stairs.
"Guys….there's a…bomb." he gasped out as he ran. "Get out…get out of the building. There's …a….bomb….hurry!"
"Say again?"
"A…bomb…David….get out…now!"
"Where are you?" David's voice anxiously called back.
"On…our…way down!" Megan returned breathlessly.
"How long?" Colby asked.
"A minute." Don panted as he continued to run down the stairs. "Now…..get…the…hell out…of…here!"
They had reached the bottom of the stairwell and only paused for a moment as they gasped for breath.
"We're outside." Colby's concerned voice came over the radio. "Where are you guys?"
"Stairwell." Megan managed to gasp out as she reached for the handle to open the door.
"Hurry!" Don yelled behind her as they bolted through the doorway with a sudden adrenaline rush giving both of them a little more speed as they raced across the floor.
They could see the front door twenty feet ahead….fifteen….ten.
A deafening roar erupted around them just as they reached the opening and the force of the explosion picked them up and sent the agents flying through the open doorway.
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David and Colby had split up during the search of the main area. David started at the far end of the room and the plan was to meet in the middle.
"This place is disgusting." Colby called out as he gingerly lifted the lid of a box with his gloved hands.
"Yeah, well just don't pick up any rats while your at it." David chuckled as he called back.
"Everyone's a comedian." his partner grumbled which prompted another snort of laughter from David.
Still smiling David pressed his radio mike to check in with O'Connell.
"Patrick, this is David, come in please."
The Irishman responded immediately. "I'm here David. I haven't found the other officer yet but there is a large area to cover."
"Keep in touch."
"I'll check in again in ten minutes."
"Okay, Patrick. Over."
David was almost to the middle of the room when Don's voice crackled over the radio.
"Guys…there's a….bomb! Get out…get out of…the building…now!"
"Say again?" David asked as he made eye contact with Colby.
"A…bomb….David….get…out…now."
David started running and when he had caught up with Colby they both ran for the open door.
"Where…are you?" David asked worriedly as he ran.
"On…our…way…down." Megan's breathless voice echoed over the radio.
"How…long?" Colby wanted to know as he made it to the door.
"A…minute!" Don's voice yelled over the com. "Now…get…the…hell…out of…here!"
David and Colby raced through the open door and ran for cover, dragging the surprised officer along with them. They ducked down behind the cars and anxiously watched the open door for their friends.
Crouching behind the SUV, Colby called over the radio.
"Patrick, there's a bomb! Get away from the building! Do you read me?"
"Aye, I understand. How long do we have?"
"Less than a minute, hurry!"
"On my way!"
The LAPD officer leaned anxiously toward David. "Sam's not answering his radio."
"Just keep telling him about the bomb."
David pressed his radio button. "Don were outside. Where are you guys?" as he exchanged a worried glance with Colby.
"Stairwell." Megan's frantic voice responded.
The two agents heard Don shout "hurry" as they watched the doorway, desperately hoping the their friends would make it out before the blast.
"Come on…come on." David was shouting while the young officer was doing his best to keep them from re-entering the building.
A few seconds later however, relief was mixed with horror as they watched Don and Megan appear briefly in the doorway just as a deafening roar was heard and a ball of flame erupted throughout the building. Dark smoke billowed out of every opening and they lost sight of their friends as the smoke engulfed the whole area.
"Get down!" David yelled at Colby as bricks and debris came flying at them from all directions, hitting the cars with loud thuds and shattering the glass as it crashed through the windows.
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The residents of the East Los Angeles Projects and the bordering neighborhoods had grown accustomed to the sound of gunfire and the occasional explosion. However, an explosion of this magnitude had them all out in their yards or on their balconies pointing toward the huge, black billowing cloud of smoke and flame that was threatening to cover the sky.
Many residents gave the sign of the cross and bowed their heads in prayer for those people that might have been involved in such an explosion and many more joined them when twenty minutes later a multitude of fire engines, ambulances and police cars raced down their streets toward the ominous dark cloud of smoke.