Chapter 8

"Ah, Ms. Duncan, there you are." Peralta said, peeking his head into the break room.

Sabrina rolled her eyes into the back of her head and willed a pleased look on her face before she turned around to face him. Could she not simply make herself a cup of coffee without being harassed?

"Art. Hi, how are you?" she greeted him enthusiastically.

"Much better now." he said, looking her up and down appreciatively. Sabrina suppressed a groan.

"How does a quiet lunch for two sound, Ms. Duncan?" he asked, giving her his most charming smile.

Sabrina giggled shyly. "Well, that sounds like a date."

Peralta grinned at her. "Maybe it is. I'll be by to collect you around-" He pulled out a fancy gold pocketwatch from the inside of his suit. "-twelve thirty. How does that sound?"

"Wonderful." Sabrina said dreamily.

Peralta swelled noticeably with pride and blowing her a kiss, he stepped back out of the break room. Sabrina sighed in relief and angrily stirred a spoonful of sugar in her coffee.

"How does a quiet lunch for two sound?" she said mockingly. She grabbed her cup of coffee and spun around, sloshing some of the hot liquid out of the cup and onto her fingers. Who still used a pocketwatch?!

"Dammit!" she hissed in pain. She set the cup down on a nearby table and wiped her hand on her slacks. This fake job was starting to get to her. She froze in the middle of her tantrum when she hear a deep male chuckle behind her. Sabrina whirled around, horrified at being caught in her act by Peralta.

She was relieved to see that it was not Peralta who was laughing at her from the doorway, but another man that she hadn't met. He looked to be in his early thirties, tall, and slim with shaggy blonde hair and brown eyes. He was also a much more pleasant sight than Peralta was. Sabrina's relief quickly turned to embarrassment.

"Sorry, I spilled my coffee." she said, smiling awkwardly and jerking her thumb to her mug of coffee on the table.

The man laughed.

"Yeah, I see that." he said good naturedly. He extended his hand. "I'm Tom, by the way. Tom Kessler."

Sabrina shook it and smiled. "Sabrina Duncan."

"Pleasure." he said cheerfully.. He stepped over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. He held the pot up and raised his eyebrows. "Can I top you off?"

Sabrina laughed. "Sure, why not. Most of mine ended up on my pants."

He filled her cup and put the coffee pot away.

"So, was the boss man giving you a hard time?" he asked casually.

Sabrina sighed. "Yeah a little. He's a-" she paused briefly thinking of an appropriate word. "-very friendly guy." she finished.

Tom chuckled. "Well, not to me. But then again, I'm probably not his type."

"No, definitely not." Sabrina laughed. She looked him over and decided that if the situation was different, Tom Kessler might definitely be her type.

"So, what do you do here?" she asked him.

Tom took a sip of his coffee before answering. "I'm just a lowly sales rep. How about you?"

"I'm in the finance department. You know, boring penny pushers." she joked. If only he knew.

He smiled at her. "Are you new? I haven't seen you around before."

"Yeah, I started here a few weeks ago. Just graduated, this is my first real job." she lied convincingly.

Tom nodded his head in approval. "Congratulations, then."

Sabrina thanked him and decided that this was an opportunity to get some inside information about the other employees working for Peralta.

"So, what do you think of the people working here?" she asked him.

Tom looked thoughtful. "Well, people mostly keep to themselves around here I've noticed." He stopped and smiled at Sabrina. "Except maybe the boss. From what I've seen he doesn't keep to himself when there are women around."

"Don't I know it." Sabrina sighed, rolling her eyes.

"That and he has his entourage with him all the time." Tom laughed. "Us sales guys joke that he's in the mafia."

Sabrina forced a laugh. Tom had no idea how accurate his observation was. She needed to know more.

"Oh yeah? Who's in this entourage of his?" she asked casually, taking a sip of coffee.

Tom shrugged.

"I don't know, they don't work here. I've gone out to lunch places nearby and once in awhile I'll see him with some guys. Sometimes they hang around here. His fan club or something."

How interesting. Sabrina forced herself not to express her interest in these men who appeared to be meeting with Peralta periodically.

"You'll have to point them out to me sometime." she said lightly.

Tom laughed. "Sure thing." He looked at the big clock in the center of the room and sighed.

"Well, coffee break's over. It was nice meeting you, Sabrina. We'll probably run into each other again."

"We probably will." Sabrina answered back with a grin. At least she hoped they would.

Tom smiled and exited the break room with his cup of coffee. Sabrina sighed and looked around the room for something else to do. There wasn't really a whole lot she could do to keep herself occupied. A friend of Charlie's was doing her assignments for her, and all she had to do was pretend to do her job.

Pretending could get boring at times.

She decided to give Jill and Kelly a call to inform them of Peralta's strange companions. Sipping her coffee, she headed back to her office and closed the door. She quickly checked her entire office to be sure no one was inside spying on her, a leftover habit she had picked up growing up with her two snoopy brothers.

Satisfied that her conversation wouldn't be eavesdropped on, she picked up the phone and dialed Jill's car phone. It rang a few times before Jill picked up.

"Jill Munroe."

Sabrina smiled. It sounded like she was trying to talk normally through a mouthful of food.

"Jill, it's Sabrina. You busy?"

Jill swallowed audibly. "Nope, just having some breakfast. What's up?"

Sabrina shook her head and smiled to herself. The three of them had already eaten breakfast together earlier that morning.

"Again, Jill? Anyway, be on the lookout for a group of men hanging around my work. I heard that Peralta has consistently been meeting with the same group of guys. Might be worth checking out."

"Alright, Bri. I'm on it."

Sabrina had a thought.

"Hey, he's taking me to lunch today. Feel free to barge in on us." she said with a grin.

Jill laughed.

"And get in the way of your blossoming romance? What kind of friend would I be?"

"Thanks a lot." Sabrina sighed into the phone. "Is Kelly busy? She should be on the lookout for the Peralta posse too. Maybe one of them is someone she's been working with at night."

"I'll tell her when I get home. She was asleep on my couch when I left, the poor kid."

"Yeah, let her sleep. Ok, I need to get back to work here. Thanks Jill. You're the best."

"I know." came Jill's customary response.

Sabrina hung up the phone and looked at the clock.

11:45

Just fifteen more minutes until her lunch date with Peralta. She hoped she could keep her food down while she stared at him across the table.

Jill hung up her car phone and popped the last of her banana into her mouth. She was parked outside of the office building where Peralta and Sabrina were working. Be on the lookout for a group of shady men, she told herself.

She took a look around. Her gaze focused first on a group of scruffy looking homeless men loitering by a bus stop. She then noticed a group of young college age men leaning against a sports car in a neighboring parking lot. Another look around brought her attention to yet another group of men smoking by a dumpster. Everywhere she looked there seemed to be a strategically placed group of shady looking men, she noticed with a frown.

This was going to be a piece of cake, she thought to herself dryly.

A few minutes later, Peralta walked out with Sabrina on his arm. Jill bit back a laugh at Sabrina's stiff gait and forced smile. She had a feeling that her friend wasn't going to have a very enjoyable lunch. Jill considered following them for a moment, then decided that Sabrina could take care of herself.

Besides, this would make for an enjoyable story later on.

She laughed as she saw Sabrina make a face when Peralta wasn't looking. The two left in Peralta's expensive luxury car.

Jill leaned back in her seat and waited for something worth noticing.

Sabrina and Peralta returned a little after 1 p.m. Sabrina had a large red stain down the front of her blouse and was trying to cover it with her jacket. Jill grinned and wondered what had happened. Dinner conversation would prove to be excellent tonight. She watched them go inside and sat back to wait again.

A few hours later, restless and bored, she got out of the car to take a walk. She was wearing her comfortable tennis clothes, so she decided to jog around the perimeter of the building a few times. In her athletic wear, she decided that it wouldn't matter if she was seen because she would look like any other jogger out for a run, and at the same time, she could burn off some restless energy.

Jill jogged briskly down the street, keeping an eye on the building she was guarding. She ran around it a few times, and feeling much better, was about to stop when she noticed Peralta exiting the building through a side door.

Jill quickly stepped behind some bushes and crouched to remain out of his sight. Peralta walked forward and looked at his watch. He was expecting someone. Jill remained hidden, panting from her run, and annoyed at herself for being out in the open.

A few minutes later, a red car pulled up on the side of the street and Peralta waved them down and got inside. The car drove off down the street.

Cursing herself for her horrible timing, Jill sprang from her hiding place and hurriedly sprinted the short distance to her car and jumped inside. She started it and quickly pulled out onto the street. She looked around frantically for a moment thinking she had blown her one opportunity to spy on Peralta.

She was relieved to see the red car turn right onto the next block and she pressed the accelerator down determinedly to catch up. Luck was on her side as the red car was stopped at the next traffic light.

Jill narrowly ran a red light and bypassed two stop signs to catch up. Ignoring the loud angry protests of all the vehicles she had just offended with her reckless driving, she pulled to a stop three cars behind her target.

Pleased with herself, Jill followed the car to a small café and watched the men go inside. She waited until she saw them seated from the café window and then followed.

The café was busy and she quickly squeezed into a booth behind the group of men. Hopefully they would talk loudly enough for her to overhear. To not look out of place, she ordered a cup of coffee and a sandwich.

No point in eavesdropping on an empty stomach.

The men had just started talking when a young man came over to her booth.

"Hi." he started shyly. "I noticed you sitting alone and was wondering if you would join me." he said, pointing to his table.

Jill frowned. Any other time, his attention would be greatly appreciated. However, now was not the time.

She gave him a pained look.

"Ok, but I warn you, I'm high maintenance, I want to be married before I'm twenty five, I'm extremely close to my mother, and I demand that anyone I date shop with me on a weekly basis." she said quickly. She gave him an inviting smile and gestured towards the empty seat in front of her.

The young man glanced around uncertainly and walked away without another word.

Jill breathed a sigh of relief and strained her ears to hear the men talk.

They spoke mostly in Italian, with a few smatterings of English every now and then. From what Jill could understand, it definitely sounded like these men were doing some kind of business together. Even if she didn't know exactly what was said, she was confident that she had found Peralta's posse. She jotted down the features of each man, to help her remember what they looked like. Half an hour later, the men left the café, throwing down a few twenty dollar bills to cover their tab. Jill waited until they had left the restaurant before paying her own tab and leaving. She followed the men back to the office building where they dropped Peralta off and left.

Jill picked up her car extension and dialed Sabrina with a grin. She knew her friend would be more than pleased to hear some evidence that would condemn her determined suitor.

That night, Kelly dragged herself to the abandoned storage facility in the shipyard where her crew was storing the massive amounts of cocaine. She felt tired and sluggish and wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl into bed. She had been spending most nights here in the shipyard and her days working on the case with Sabrina and Jill. Her busy schedule was starting to take its toll.

Ignoring her weariness, she made her way to the darkened building and knocked three times on the locked steel door.

A few moments later it opened and Fred gazed out at her, irritation obvious in his face.

"You're late." he spat at her as he opened the door to let her in.

Kelly walked past him. "No, I'm not. Check your watch again."

Fred glared at her as she passed him. He had been hoping for an apology or anything to make him feel like he had some kind of power over her. This kid was different from all the others.

He wasn't sure that he liked that.

"Hurry up, the others are already here." he growled at her.

She turned and glared at him.

"Don't rush me. If they're already here then that makes them early. And that's not my problem." she answered back defiantly.

Fred fought back the urge to slap her.

Kelly turned her back to him and walked over to where the small crowd of people were standing. She grinned to herself. Fred was nothing more than a bully and she enjoyed taking him down a peg.

The crowd of people greeted her without interest as she approached them.

There were two teenage boys under Fred's employment. Dean and Christian were two high school thugs eager to make a quick buck. They were neutral towards Kelly, torn between her attractiveness and her biting attitude The other three were grown men ranging from their early thirties to their mid forties.

The men were much more business like and treated Kelly and the boys as their underlings. Kelly narrowed her eyes as she watched them. Jill had informed her that Sabrina suspected these men were Peralta's informants. Sabrina had given her a description of the three men she had seen Peralta with and according to her description, these men seemed to be it.

It was all circumstantial evidence though. They needed something more concrete.

They needed Peralta to show his face here.

Kelly leaned against the back wall and waited for instructions. The latest shipment of cocaine was due to arrive any minute now. She had so far discovered that whoever was in charge had connections in Bogota, Columbia. The contact was smuggling out the drugs in hidden crates in the departing cargo ships. Once the ships arrived in California, the crates were again smuggled out and delivered up the coast to Los Angeles by speedboat. It was a well planned and smooth operation.

So far.

She, Sabrina and Jill couldn't wait to ruin it for them.

Kelly yawned and leaned her head back. She felt herself drifting off and forced herself to stand straight.

Finally, the sputtering sound of a speed boat engine came to her attention. The crowd of people moved towards the back door and out onto the railing that overlooked the dock. The speedboat was docking itself along the pier about fifteen feet below them. The crew walked down the rickety staircase and towards the boat. The driver finished tying off the speedboat and jumped back inside to start handing off the crates.

It took an hour for the group to haul out all of the heavy crates. As the only woman there, Kelly was by far the least amount of help and her companions made no effort to show their contempt for having to help her carry the cumbersome merchandise. Kelly, however, was enjoying herself and pretended to be much weaker than she was, letting her male companions support most of the weight as they carried their cargo up the steep staircase.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with being passive aggressive.

Once inside, the group pried open the crates and carefully measured out packages of the fine white powder. Once measured, the drugs were bagged, sealed and carefully stored for later purpose. In just a few more days, the last shipment would be arriving, and the group would wait for dealers to come and buy it, much like an underground, illegal auction. There would be enormous amounts of profit for Peralta, if he was indeed the man in charge.

When they had finished storing the last of the cocaine, Kelly rose from her work station and sighed in relief. She couldn't wait to get out of here and go to sleep.

"Hey, you three don't go just yet. I need you to deliver something for me." Fred called out, as the tired group began to dissipate.

Kelly muttered under her breath. Now what? She walked over to where Dean and Christian had gathered in front of Fred and waited impatiently for instructions. Hopefully, this wouldn't take long.

Fred handed Dean a map. "Here, there's a little shack that we use every now and then about forty five minutes north of here. Take three of these crates over there. That'll be our own personal stash."

Kelly fought the urge to ask why she was needed for this delivery. This would take at least two more hours.

She reluctantly followed the two teens to Christian's car and loaded the selected crates into the back. They drove in exhausted silence to the cabin, following the map that Fred had provided. It proved to be accurate and they pulled up to the seemingly abandoned little shack forty five minutes later, just as Fred had told them. Kelly wearily climbed out of the car. They had to hide the crates inside and then drive all the way back to the shipyard before she could go home and get some sleep.

Apparently, the average drug dealer had no need for sleep.

As dawn began to streak its way across the early morning sky, Kelly wearily trudged back to her car. Her back was aching from having to bend over a work table for hours and her eyes stung from lack of sleep. She keyed the engine and drove away from the desolate shipyard. Her house was the farthest away from the shipyard and she found herself staying over more and more at either Sabrina or Jill' as she became too tired to make the thirty minute drive back to her place. She drummed her fingers on the wheel as she tried to figure out where to go. She had stayed with Sabrina the past few nights, so she decided to go to Jill's.

It was nearly six in the morning, but Jill was an early riser. She would probably be getting up soon.

Also, Kelly was fairly sure that Jill would be making breakfast.

And breakfast sounded good.