Redemption

Chapter Forty-Seven

"What is Dessa doing back in DC?" Myles asked as he crossed his arms over his chest in thought. He was the last person the Harvard grad wanted to deal with in this case. Any other criminal who was out of his mind was fine, but Arif Dessa; that was an entirely different story.

"It looks like he's trying to finish what he started a couple of years ago," Bobby stated rather dryly before handing the conversation over to Jack who gave a nod and sparing a short glance over at DeMarco that no one noticed, except for Danni.

She gently chewed on the inside of her cheek in thought. She wondered how two members of her team could have gotten mixed up with a terrorist. It didn't fit into either one of their characters. Of course, Jeff could have been forced into it, which she wouldn't put past Dessa. She'd heard lots of stories about him and trickery definitely played a large part. She let her gaze rest upon her now second-in-command. He seemed to be taking all of this information in stride, not even shedding a bead of sweat. Either he was in willingly or he had become very good at hiding it.

But, he wasn't the sort of person to get mixed up in something like this and she knew that. Of course, she never expected Stern would have either. Still, perhaps there was more to his involvement than Bobby had revealed to her. Those sparkling clear-blue eyes of hers flickered to her boyfriend for a second. It was highly possible that he was hiding something from her. The question was whether or not she should take offense to it.

It took her a split second to think it over. Her conclusion was simple. He had every right to keep something like the answer to her theory from her, just like she had the right to keep things from him. She was sure that the truth would come out in due course, but that was only if her suspicion was correct.

The morning had gone in a flash as the two teams worked effortlessly together. They'd broken up into groups so they could address every side of the case imaginable. Just because Dessa was their prime suspect, didn't mean they knew everything they needed to. Splitting up was their best option. Only then would they be up to speed and on the right track. None of them expected it to be so lucrative for each individual.

Tara had teamed up with Arbor who was just as much of a computer genius as she was. He kind of reminded her of Stanley, but Max was so much surer of himself. While being the youngest of the Metro cops, he was also the most attractive; at least Tara thought so. His eyes were a deep green, his facial features chiseled like a Greek god. Of course, her mind could have been over-rationalizing and imagining it all. She wasn't though.

She considered him to be a "hot geek", which she'd only mentioned to Lucy and Sue. Of course, now that she was in such a close proximity with him, she couldn't help but let her blush take control. His cologne reached her nostrils in heavy wafts as he continuously leaned next to her to talk to her. That musky aroma made every hair on her body stand on end and a chill ran down her spine. She'd known this man for months, but she was beginning to see him in a new light.

Her heart had taken on a mind of its own and she had to strain to hear him above its rapid beating. Her poor heard hadn't responded to man like this in quite some time. It was about time that she found someone who'd made her body respond to such a close presence.

Their heads were lowered together in quiet conversation as they traded facts and computer secrets. They wanted to compile their information together before creating their report. Tara's mind, however, seemed to shut down at the mere rumble of his voice. More than once she had gotten lost in the conversation and come back into it without realizing what he was talking about. Of course, she did get the pleasure of him repeating what he'd said.

Myles and Price worked together, evaluating the information they'd gathered through family and friends of their victims. It still wasn't much to go on, but it was enough until they got something important that would scream out at them. Myles hated to admit it, but he found a good, mutual friendship in Evan Price. They were two men of the same world, yet they had never intersected on the road of the wealthy and obnoxious.

Price had grown up with money—his grandfather owned a chain of high-class hotels—but when his parents gave him a choice on the day he turned eighteen, he'd decided to become a police officer, rather than take over the family business. He wanted to make a difference and he certainly couldn't do that surrounded by all that wealth. It was that day that he gave up everything; all his money and power went to his younger brother who now controlled the empire.

He continuously looked back at that day, contemplating whether he had done the right thing. He could imagine what it would be like to be wealthy and everything that comes with having that power. He'd been raised around that and saw how his father treated others. He'd never wanted a life like that and, today, he still didn't. He would never regret the choice he had made.

DeMarco had teamed up with Jack, though no one was sure what they were working on. Their conversation had been hushed as they huddled together. Sue had tried to read their lips because she couldn't help but be curious. But she wasn't able to catch anything the two men had been talking about. Both had made sure to divert their mouths from her gaze, just in case she became curious. Jack had had a good reason, she was sure. It didn't make her any less inquisitive, though.

Danni and Bobby worked together, though on two different projects. While she was busy reviewing the coroner's reports, he was busy with her notes from the journal. They weren't sure how much the book would help them, but Bobby knew a little more than she did and if anyone could figure it out, he could.

She'd come to realize that he and Jack were in on something together. They had revealed most of what they knew about Dessa and his plans, but there was more to what they'd said and no one pressed on it. She'd decided to follow their lead, yet she couldn't help but wonder about what they knew. She was sure she would find out in due course; especially when she informed them of her finding.

Of course, she wasn't sure what she had found, just yet. She had to take a closer look and even look up her theory on the computer. She was both pleased and frightened that she had been right. The groan that she'd let escape collected everyone's attention as their eyes all traveled to her.

She felt slightly uneasy, because she didn't want to come right out and say it, so she motioned for Jack to join her at her side of Bobby's desk. "You're a weapons expert, right?" He gave a puzzled expression but nodded as an answer. He wasn't used to being asked questions like that, but it was very rare when he worked with outside teams. Usually, his being a sniper and an ammunitions expert was pretty well known. "Did you take a close look at these pictures? Did you examine them from every angle?"

"Yeah, I did, Danni. What are you getting at? You've found something that I've missed?" He saw her uneasy shift in eyes and wondered what it was that she had found. He highly doubted she would avoid his gaze if it was something as simple as taking candy from a baby. This had to be serious.

She nodded. "I'm afraid so." She moved one picture closer to him so she could point out the multiple findings she had discovered. As she placed that one down, she placed a photo of the casing found on the ground alongside it. "This is the bullet that Stern was shot with." She didn't have to point to the etching of his name scrawled into it, but she did it just so what she was telling him would be clear. "Normally, the casings for regular bullets don't have this symbol printed on the bottom," she pointed to a tiny insignia used with the letters APA that hadn't been addressed by anyone who'd examined either piece of the ammunition.

Jack pulled the picture closer to his eyes so he could see what she was pointing at and was surprised that she had discovered it. The image was enhanced enough to show the lines and the number of the caliber, but the insignia was much smaller than anything else stamped onto the back. "How did you see this?" This certainly was serious. The insignia APA in the pictured format, the letters overlapping in a triangular shape, stood for Armor-Piercing Ammunition. Dessa and his men were using armor-piercing bullets. This spelled bad news for whoever crossed the terrorist's path.

"I almost missed it too. I thought it was just a smudge. But, it was too perfect to be just that." Her gaze became serious as she looked into Jack's eyes. "The thing I don't understand is that none of the victims were wearing vests. Why would he go to such an extreme?"

"It was a precaution," he stated simply. "He wanted to make sure he was taking them out with just one shot." His eyes closed with exasperation. This wasn't good. Dessa was either getting smarter or too vindictive for his own good and that worried him. If he was doing what they thought, it wouldn't just be him who was in danger.

His gaze moved to Sue who was busy working with Lucy on their own research. Dessa was going after those who had wronged him; those who had gone against him. Jack was on that list, he knew. But, that meant Sue was too. He had to have known that they hadn't been who they said they were when they went undercover. He would have discovered their true identities and that worried him. Jack would be able to fight back, but Sue would be defenseless. They had to stop him before either of them became the next victim.

The problem was that he didn't know where to go from here. He saw Sue raise her gaze to his after feeling eyes on her. She gave a smile, which he returned before turning back to Danni. "What do we do?" he asked under his breath, but never expecting Danni to answer.

The smile that crossed her lips was almost too surprising. There was no reason for her smile to be so wide. "I know it's a long shot, but I can talk to one of my snitches. He's an ammunitions expert and since these are very illegal, he'll know where to find them; especially if someone's selling them around DC."

"I could kiss you." The words had left his mouth before he realized, and that made Bobby look up at him in shock. "Er… but, I won't. That's not my job." He cleared his throat awkwardly as he tried to avoid the glare that Bobby was giving him. He hadn't really meant to say it, but it seemed kind of appropriate. "Right, you get on that as soon as possible." He returned to his chair, completely avoiding Bobby's gaze as he went back to his conversation with DeMarco.

Danni chuckled as she glanced at the man she was sharing the desk with. He didn't seem to appreciate the offer, even if he was his best friend. You don't just offer to kiss another man's girl in your presence. That certainly wasn't kosher. She rolled her eyes as she playfully nudged him with her shoulder to show that she hadn't taken the offer literally. She would happily give the offer to Sue who would be more than happy to accept it.

Bobby gave a smirk, but he couldn't help but spare a few glances between Jack and Danni for the next few minutes. It was when he heard her sigh exasperatedly in his ear that he gave a chuckle and returned to his work.