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Chapter 13 - Dirty Dealings
The pitter patter of rain changed to become a bit denser. The three men of the HR association were on their way to the meeting that would hopefully change the future.
Terney had arrived to pick up Cal first before going over to pick up their back up. They weren't sure how this meeting was going to go and they weren't going to take any chances.
Along the way, Cal had a few choice words for Carl as he entered the back seat. He was still quite displeased at the fact that the job had not been completed and Carl continued to make quite a bit of excuses to not refund him the large sum of money that they agreed to. Cal once again asked about the man in the suit, whose identity he was still quite suspicious of. He still didn't believe in the story of the mystery guardian angel that had Carter's back, but she was still alive, so that may not have been as farfetched as he first thought.
After getting through that line of questioning, he then moved on to ask about the interrogation at the precinct, to which Carl just shrugged his shoulders as he was unsure what had happened himself. Cal was becoming a bit more frustrated at the situation. He made plans to deal with it tomorrow instead.
It was close to the meeting time when the men from HR arrived at the designated meeting place. They exited the car, being sure to pull out their umbrellas before doing so, and began to walk towards a spot where the light was shining. They then began looking at the area around them, looking for the men.
What they weren't aware of were two other people that managed to arrive at the nick of time.
After getting cleaned up, John and Joss left his loft and made their way to the address that Finch supplied them in his car. They arrived at short time later at a different part of the warehouse. Both of them knew that making their way through in the rain would provide good enough cover. They then moved through the shadows of the building, each with their preferred 9mm pistol at the ready.
They stayed close together, with Joss taking the lead while John watched her back in more ways than one. Despite the fact that this was supposed to be on an important and serious mission, both of them were just eager to get this done with and back into a nice warm bed, preferably with each other.
They checked each doorway and corner, being thorough as to avoid any sort of ambush. They both understood the importance knowing your surroundings from their time in the military. It would help in a fight to know where the safe spots were.
They continued to transverse the area at a lightning pace. Before long, they found a clearing that looked to be the entrance ahead of them with a bright light illuminating it. They saw some cover behind a stack of boxes and took position there.
As they watched the area, they waited as the rain continued to douse them. Joss was beginning to shiver from the cold, in a bit of a bad mood after being pulled away from bed. Taking her attention away from the area, she looked over at John, who continued to peek around his corner.
She wondered silently if he was as anxious as her. The fact that they had gotten this far in the investigation made her happy. She couldn't help but blame the anxiety on the fact that these were all men associated with HR. These guys quite possibly had run ins with the law in the past and managed to smooth talk their way out of jail time. She didn't want to screw this up, not with these guys. She tried to focus on the task at hand. If she panicked and made a mistake, her worse fears would come to light.
"Do you always get this nervous during stakeouts?" he asked, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. She had been in a world of her own for that brief moment.
Once she calmed down, she acknowledged his question. "I just don't want to screw things up, you know" she admitted. She knew that he understood as much as anyone how important this was, especially to her.
He maneuvered closer to her and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "Now that's not the homicide detective I know. What happened to the confident hardass?"
"She might still be a little shaken up over what's been going on the last couple of days."
"Hey" he raised her chin up so that she could look at him. "I'm here for you Joss. If you need anything, just talk to me." He gave her a small peck on the lips, hoping to make her feel better. When he pulled away and looked down at her, it seemed to do the job.
"I can't wait to put these guys behind bars" she said, her confidence growing again.
"Now that's what I like to hear" he said, glad that she stopped thinking about that night.
Once they got their bearings and reestablished their positions, they watched as a black Mercedes stopped just short of the light source. They heard the engine die then a short time later, they watched as three men exited the vehicle.
They approached the light and the duo could confirm that it was indeed Beecher, Carl, and Terney. It appears that they were the first to arrive which gave John an idea. He pushed his earpiece to place the call through to Finch. Joss watched the scene while listening to his conversation.
After only two rings, he answered. "Hello Mr. Reese, I see that you and the good detective have arrived at the meeting location.
"Yeah, HR is here first. Finch I was wondering if you could do something."
"What would you like?"
"Remember how you managed to bluejack multiple phones as long as they were turned on and close to each other? Well I want you to use Carl's phone to do just that so that we can listen in on the conversations that all these men have in the future."
"Also if you don't mind, could you keep audio recordings on their conversations from here on out? I don't doubt that I could get some good evidence" Joss requested.
"That will be quite easy to do and I will be sure to keep an archive for you to use as you will Detective."
"Thanks Finch" he said before hanging up the phone. As the couple looked on, they saw the phone perform its magic before John received confirmation of the multi jack. He then adjusted the settings so that they could listen in on whatever was going on through the microphone. They just sat back and waited for now while eavesdropping.
So when the hell are these guys going to show up? I only came because you told me that this would be quick Terney.
Calm down Cal, they'll be around soon enough. I would just do my best not to piss these guys off again. It took a lot of work just to get them to agree to meet.
It wouldn't be such a problem if Carl had gotten rid of the bitch like I paid him to do. She has to go because there is no doubt that she's going to try to get these guys back behind bars.
With what evidence?
That's the thing Terney, she doesn't have shit but she walks around all cocky like she knows something she shouldn't. It seems like she's got this chip on her shoulder.
Probably because of that guy that ambushed me.
Carl don't even worry about it. It's just that I would like to not have to deal with her anymore and just get HR back up and running.
Same here, wait here they come.
John and Joss heard the roar of another engine and turned their attention to the car that approached. Its make and model was obscured by the rain. They watched as the engine was cut before two men left. As they approached the light, the couple recognized them as the brothers. They continued to listen in through the microphone as they stepped into the light.
Well well, good to know that at least you keep your end of the bargain after all.
My godfather is very insistent on doing business with you and your group. We are sorry for the inconvenience of Detective Szymanski's interference.
Well it is clear that he is taken care of as our case was thrown out. I do believe that we can do business together Detective Beecher.
That's good to hear.
As they watched Cal step up and shook the older brother's hand, they decided that now was to take action. John was the first to strike, shooting out the light to give them the element of surprise before Joss yelled.
"NYPD Drop your weapons!"
Each side reacted swiftly, with Cal and the other men immediately hopped back into their car and took off while the brothers stayed and fought. A gunfight ensued as Joss and John took cover from the Uzi fire that developed, each popping out to take pot shots when the other side died down temporarily.
Just as Joss poked out to take more shots, she felt a burning sensation on her face that caused her to take cover again. As she reached up, she felt for the wound, pulling back and seeing a trickle of blood. John continued cover fire as she collected her bearings. When the time was right, they began to move into together. As the brothers tried to reload their weapons, the team each fired a single round from their pistols and knocked the weapons from both of their hands.
The brothers screeched and fell back in pain as John and Joss inched closer. Before they could make another attempt, Joss stepped on the weapon.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you. Put your hands behind your head" she said menacingly before doing her job. As she reached over to put the cuffs on the guy, John noticed the wound. He grew upset that one of these guys managed to hurt her, but he would wait until they got back to the safety of his loft.
While she went to arrest the other man, John put another call through.
"Finch, it looks like with done here but HR managed to get away."
"What about the other party?"
"Detective Carter is putting them in cuffs as we speak. Can you tell Fusco that I left him a present here?"
"John, you're going to make Fusco get a swell head" Joss commented as she slapped the cuffs and left the men face down.
"I will attend to that right away. What will you be doing in the meantime?"
"We'll be heading back to the apartment for now and think of our next move" he said before hanging up. "I will also clean up that cut that you have" he added.
She couldn't help but notice the tender look in his eyes, quite different from that of the trained soldier that just managed all of this. She found it quite endearing and was quite anxious to get back as well.
"Well later boys, enjoy your stay in jail again" she said while waving goodbye and heading back with John to the car.
A/N: Only a few more chapters to go everyone. I hope that you are all still enjoying everything and thanks for the like the billionth time SWWoman with the constructive edits. I hope that the change in that one park works better.