Sorry for not correcting my page breaks in the first two chapters... tacky, I know. I promise to clean up the print on the next chapters. I hope you are enjoying this read and please feel free to review it if you do!

CHAPTER THREE

Callen sits back in the corner booth of this dingy little trucker's bar to survey the customers. His hand rests casually around the base of his beer bottle as he eyes the rough and rugged truckers bellied up to the bar discussing their latest routes. A three-piece country band croons out old cowboy tunes in the far corner, but the patrons are more interested in keeping a steady flow of alcohol coming from the bartender.

A sudden bright light fills part of the room as the outside door opens and a tall, wide shouldered man steps in. Silhouetted by the light, he has the body of a football player with hard muscles and lean hips. Ben Schultz, takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light and then elbows his way through the crowd towards the bar for a beer. As he is waiting for the bartender to fill his order, his eyes scan the room. He sees Callen seated in the corner booth and catches his eye through the maze of people. Callen nods with only a slight movement and Ben returns the gesture; he understands. Ben grabs the beer that is thrust across the bar at him and tosses three dollars up to pay for it. He now makes his way towards the corner booth.

"You Callen?"

"You. Schultz?"

"Yea, Ben Schultz. They told me I'd find you here."

"Your boss said you're working inside… as a trucker."

"Yea, with Riley's outfit."

"You got anything?"

"The hijacking cargo thing… is a big zero so far. Either they're real smart or I'm just plain dumb… or maybe this outfit just isn't involved at all."

"What about the other stuff?"

"What? The hooker business? I think Lipton blew a lot of it out of proportion."

"What do you mean?"

"He was taking Riley on about it… that part is true. But the honeymoon teams… it's not exactly organized prostitution. None of the guys force the girls to go on a run with them… they want to go. And, hey, if both sides benefit... no one is complaining."

Callen digests this information as he twirls his beer around between his fingers; wondering if this guy was including himself in that statement. It isn't encouraging, but he has to believe Ben Schultz, being a former cop and a licensed private investigator, has a handle on what's going on inside the company. Schultz has been working undercover for the Union's state office on the Navy supply thefts for almost a year now.

"You ever hear of a Jenny Burke? She hustle?"

Ben sips his beer before he answers. "I doubt it… word is she's a real ratchet-jaw."

"A what?"

"A trouble maker."

Just then Callen's attention is diverted to the door opening again. Kenzi enters the bar and eyes her co-worker, then makes her way to the bar as men step back like the parting of the Red Sea. Benn turns to see who has attracted his attention. When he sees Kenzi's shapely behind lined up among the truckers he smiles and takes a long moment to appraise her from head to foot.

He whistles long and low, "Now that's one I'd invite for a long haul. " He grins, but stops short as his eyes come back to Callen's. Realizing he may have said the wrong thing, he quickly amends his statement, "Hey, man… You know her? I meant no disrespect if she belongs to you, you know?"

"Yea, she's our insider, but she's working this from a different angle." Kenzi ignores them at first as she is quickly surrounded by other men who all want to chat and buy her drinks. Callen has no doubt she can hold her own as she takes a long swig of her beer and leans back against the bar. He turns his attention back to the man who is still ogling the best looking woman this bar has seen in a long time.

"What can you get me?"

He drags his eyes back to the man across from him. "What do you need?"

"I need to know the inner workings of Riley's outfit. Number of drivers, trucks, routes... all of it."

"No problem, Callen..." His head swivels to take in Kenzi as she now stands beside their table, tapping her fingernail on her beer bottle.

"Mind if I join you?" Without waiting for an answer, she slides into the booth beside Callen and gives the man across from her an appraising once over. This was probably the best looking informant she'd ever had the pleasure to work with... and it would be a pleasure. "So, you're our ringer at Bishop?"

"Yes, I am. Ben Schultz." He gives her a little wink which has a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

They spend a few minutes discussing the two cases and then Schultz drains his beer and reluctantly stands up to go. Callen and Kenzi stay put, waiting until they are sure he is gone before they discuss their new contact. Surprisingly, they both agree that something seems off about Schultz and he can't be trusted with too much information... at least not yet, anyway.

Callen then remembers why Kenzi stepped outside the bar just before Schultz's arrival. "So what was the phone call about?"

"Jenny Burke. She's got a load to Barstow. She wants me to go along as relief driver."

"When?"

"I've got to meet her at the warehouse on Danbury Street in two hours. I'll call to give you the route if I can."

"Kenzi, call. I want to keep you covered. I think she's in the middle of all this somehow, I just don't know how yet."

Kenzi just nods and they finish off their beers before they leave; walking out arm in arm to keep up her image. They need to meet with Sam, get his car and get Kenzi over to the warehouse to meet Jenny.

This stretch of highway winding through the desert brush of the inland California hills doesn't offer much in the way of a view as Jenny's old Mack truck lumbers under its heavy load. Inside the cab Jenny is driving, hunched over with her arms resting on the huge wheel as she watches the barren road ahead of them. Kenzi sits in the passenger seat, casually picking at her fingernails as she waits for Jenny to break the silence between them.

"You had a rough time back east?"

"It's no picnic out here either."

"We're all up against the macho myth, I guess." She deepens her voice to imitate a man. "'Truckin' is a man's job… you gotta have muscles and hair on your chest.' Hell, I got more muscle than most of them."

"Yea… you said your sister got a steady job. How'd she make it work?" Kenzi asked the question casually, but the worried look that suddenly crosses over Jenny's face tells her this is a very touchy subject with her.

She debates whether to say anything about it to Kenzi. She glances over at her and finally sighs. "There's this outfit… Bishop Trucking. They hire women drivers... more than most other outfits do."

"Yea? Who runs it?"

"Chip Riley. That's his set up… but it's a funny set up. The women he hires… well, they're all young… and flashy. Don't think he hires 'em for their driving skills if you know what I mean."

"Your sister? Is she young and flashy?"

"How'd you like to walk the rest of the way to Barstow?!" Jenny's sudden flare of anger takes

Kenzi by surprise.

Kenzi's hands come up in surrender, "Hey, no offense… you said she got a job there so I just

assumed."

"A lot of people jump to that conclusion… and they're wrong! Like Lipton… and the union… they wanted to kick her out. They accused her of hustling for Bishop. I told Lipton off the other night and…" Kenzi sits tensely, letting her ramble on as she opens up about her sister, the union, Lipton and her possible involvement in his death. Jenny is no longer angry, but she is agitated as she continues to speak. "Anyway… my kid sister… I practically raised her. She lived with me and ever since she moved out I've been nervous. I mean, she's a little on the… mixed up side."

Jenny sighs in frustration and then glances down at the watch on her wrist. "She's on a run tonight, just like us. Let's see what she's doing… Mamma Mack calling Blue Bell… you got your ears on?"

In the cab of another truck on another lonely highway, a younger version of Jenny sits in the passenger seat beside her male driving partner. She is about fifteen years younger, more voluptuous and her hair is dyed white blonde. She hears the familiar voice come over the radio and reaches up for the mike as the man smirks at her.

She ignores him and speaks into the mike, "Ten-four, I got you Mamma Mack. How you doin' sis?"

"Great, sis. Everything okay with you?"

"You got it, shiny side up."

"You stopping at Colton tonight?"

Before Susie can answer her, the driver grabs the mike from her and brings it to his mouth. "No time for that tonight… my wife wants me home early tonight."

He grins and tosses the mike back to Susie, who looks away, not liking his implication. She finally turns her attention back to the conversation with her sister as she hears Jenny warning her, "You get home early too, Susie, you hear? Now keep it between the lines and have a good run… out."

Jenny replaces the mike in its hook and then turns to Kenzi. She is worried and tries to convince herself everything is all right. "She's fine. Just a short turn around run. So how did you ever get a name like Frosty? That isn't your real name, is it?"

"No, it's a nickname I picked up in high school. Let's just say I got experience putting guys in their place too."

Both women laugh and the tension between them eases and they resume their comfortable drive to Barstow. Nothing of interest happened on the road and all in all Kenzi was tired and stiff by the time they dropped their load in Barstow as the sun came up the next morning.

Their only excitement comes when they stop for a bite to eat at a small truck stop off the main highway before heading home. Jenny pulls her old, beat up rig into a space and shuts it down. It makes a few shutters and groans before the engine dies. Just then a brand new, shiny red Kenworth rig pulls up a few spaces away and Jenny is awestruck by the brand new rig.

"What a cherry screamin' diesel! … man, nothing can touch that! Makes your mouth water, don't it?!"

"Something tells me you wouldn't mind driving one."

"Frosty, I'm gonna own me one some day! Just gotta save the down payment."

She and Kenzi hop down from the old Mack truck and make their way across the lot towards the restaurant. Jenny keeps her eyes on the brand new truck the entire way. Kenzi isn't as taken by the big red truck, but eyes the two men inside who are staring back at her.

Inside they are seated in a booth as the waitress tosses a couple of menus on their table. Kenzi glances over the menu, but Jenny ignores hers as she continues her story. "No more driving for other people or putting up with all the hassles just to get some work." She looks up to see that the waitress has returned. "I'll have steak and eggs, over easy and black coffee."

"Cheese omelet and coffee for me."

The waitress is standing at the head of their table and neither woman sees the two men from the red truck enter the diner. They sit where they can watch the women in the booth. When the waitress leaves Kenzi turns to Jenny and asks, "You ever think about blowing off this whole deal, Jenny? You know, getting off the road?"

"When I'm behind the wheel… and I'm full-out on the open road… then I can breathe… then I'm livin'. Then I'm free!" Jenny leans forward in her seat, lowering her voice as she looks around. Kenzi realizes she is embarrassed to be talking of something so feminine and emotional. "There's a poem in there somewhere, isn't there? Sometimes I think I could be a real poet like Longfellow or one of them."

She doesn't get to finish her thought as the two men now appear at the edge of their table. Without waiting to be invited the taller man, Bob asks, "Mind if we join you?" Before they can object he and his buddy, Larry, have slid into the booth, trapping the two women in their seats.

Jenny gives them a cold glare anyway and answers, "Yea, we mind, Bob."

"You know… that pretty red rig you were drooling over belongs to us." His partner joins the conversation.

"What's a nice rig like that doing with a couple of losers like you, Larry?"

"That's real funny… ha, ha! Maybe your friend here would like to take a ride in it… you know, get it into high gear? How about it, sweetheart?"

As Bob speaks he is leaning in closer to Kenzi and rubs his shoulder suggestively against hers as he makes his proposition. Kenzi looks over to see Jenny give her a warning glance and very slightly shake her head. She turns to face the trucker beside her, not giving any sign that he is intimidating her.

"No thanks, 'Bubs'… red always reminds me of the roller coaster and that makes me sick."

Larry smirks at his partner's rebuke and leans in to Jenny to give her a try. "Aaww come on, Mamma… how about a little lovin'?"

"How about I break that arm if you don't get it off me… right now!"

Larry now sits back up straight; removing his arm from around Jenny's shoulders. They don't like being snubbed and Bob glares at Jenny, but she isn't intimidated as she leans forward to snarl, "You heard my partner here… we ain't interested… so get lost!"

The two truckers exchange a silent look before Bob's lip curls into a slow snarl and he stands up. They leave just as the waitress brings their food and both women make an attempt to eat, but as long as those two are sitting across the room they don't seem to have any appetite.

After calling Callen from the restroom to update him on the run in with the Bishop truckers, Kenzi and Jenny head off down the highway back to Los Angeles. Jenny's truck is laboring up a long, steady rise and the engine coughs and sputters in protest. There isn't a town for miles in any direction and Kenzi silently prays the truck won't break down on this desolate stretch of road. Jenny is kicked back in the passenger seat, allowing Kenzi to spell her on the driving for a while. She should be resting, but instead she has given Kenzi a nonstop commentary on her life story.

"…and that old road on the Tioga Pass… it was like following a drunken snake. Anyway, I'm just comin' over the mountain and startin' down the flip side. My Al… he's just come home on leave and I can tell you… I was anxious as hell to get home. Then… wham! There I am sitting on fifty thousand pounds of Swiss cheese with no brakes!"

"What did you... looks like we got company." Kenzi glances over at Jenny, but her gaze quickly goes to the side view mirror as she sees a flash of shiny red paint coming up behind them.

"Damn! It's those Bishop assholes!" Jenny drops her feet to the floor and a worried frown creases her brow as she turns to Kenzi and orders, "Put the pedal to the metal, Frosty! We gotta get over the rise before they catch us!"

Kenzi pushes her foot down hard on the accelerator and the old Mack truck groans as it is forced to higher speeds. Both women ignore it, their eyes glued to the side view mirrors. Kenzi repeatedly glances ahead, with the old truck tapped for all its power they won't make the rise before the red truck overtakes them. The Mack truck seems to be moving in slow motion as the big red diesel comes screaming past them with a long blast of its horn. At first, Kenzi thinks they are just going to blow on by them, but she is proved wrong when Jenny suddenly screams, "Look out!"

Kenzi sees the big trailer swinging into her lane at the same time she hears Jenny's warning. She jerks the wheel to the right, forcing the Mack truck onto the shoulder. She fights to keep the old truck under control as gravel and dust fly up everywhere around them. She works the brakes, trying to keep them from flipping over in the ditch. When the old truck finally jerks to a stop the engine gives one final protest at this rough treatment as it dies. Both women are stunned into a dazed silence. Then the dust begins to clear and their fear is renewed as they see the big red diesel has pulled off the road just ahead of them.

Kenzi desperately tries to get the old Mack truck started again, but the engine just groans in response. Jenny's gaze is riveted on the two men who are now jumping down from the cab of their truck and walking back towards them. "Choke it, Frosty! Quick… we gotta get out of here!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying!"

Bob and Larry walk quickly towards them now, hearing their attempts to get the old rig started again. Kenzi gives up on the starter as she reaches up to grab the mike. She tosses it to Jenny as she quickly glances around for something to defend them with. "Call for help, Jen! We're gonna need it!"

"Ten-thirty-three! Ten-thirty-three! Emergency… this is Mamma Mack… we got big trouble out on highway fifty-eight… about mile marker one-fifteen! AAAHHH!"

Just then her door is ripped open and Larry vaults up to tear the mike from her hand. Before she can stop him, he grabs her by the wrist and hauls her out of the truck. She half falls, half climbs down, resisting all the way, but Larry is much stronger than she is. Kenzi feels Bob shaking her door, but she locked it a moment before he reached her.

She tries to reach for Jenny, but misses her as she calls out, "Jen!"

Kenzi knows she can't sit there and let these two creeps hurt Jenny so she takes a deep breath and unlocks her door. As Bob now yanks it open she surprises him by spinning in her seat to kick him in the face with both feet. He flies backwards, sprawling on his back in the gravel and Kenzi jumps down from the truck. Before he can regain his feet she jumps over him and turns to run help Jenny. She only manages to take two steps before a strong hand whips out to grab her ankle and send her sprawling to her hands and knees. Gravel tears at her hands, but before she can regain her footing Bob has jumped up and grabs her from behind. Wrapping his arms around her upper body in a bear hug as Kenzi fights to get free. She can hear Jenny screaming and struggling with Larry on the other side of the truck, but she can't get to her. Kenzi uses all her strength to get one arm free as she jerks it back into her assailant's nose. She hears him expel his breath on a painful gasp and his grip loosens enough for her to spin out of his grasp.

Bob is holding his bleeding nose and gasping for breath when they hear the sirens approaching. Bob is just reaching out to grab her again, but Kenzi plants her feet and delivers a well-aimed fist to his nose again. He gasps and staggers back as a highway patrol car comes screeching to a halt behind the old truck.

Kenzi glances at the patrol car, then back to see Larry racing towards the big red diesel. Bob is also turns to flee, but Kenzi thrusts her foot into his path and shoves him sprawling hard on the ground. One officer runs past to grab onto Larry, forcing him out of the truck. The other quickly handcuffs Bob where he is still lying in the dirt.

When both truckers are secured, the officers begin walking the two men back to their patrol car as the their prisoners angrily protest. "Officer, we weren't doing anything!" "Yea, we were just horsin' around with our friends … just ask them!"

The second officer, who is leading Larry, stops where Kenzi and Jenny are now seated on the step of the old Mack truck. They are both breathing heavily from the fight and scratched up from fighting for their lives. The officer looks them over for a moment and then catches Kenzi's eye. They have followed them all along. She also knows her team is somewhere back there out of sight, waiting to hear if everything is all right.

She hands him her license and then lowers her eyes and the officer then looks to Jenny as he asks, "Ma'am, do you know these two guys?"

"Those two sons-of-bitches were trying to rape us! They ran us off the road and attacked us!" Jenny hands him her license and glares daggers at the man sulking beside the officer in handcuffs.

"All right, buddy, come on… you're under arrest."

He leads Larry back to the patrol car where Bob is already seated in the rear. While the officers are busy with the two suspects, Kenzi and Jenny sit on the step watching.

"I never thought I'd say this… but, man was I glad to see the cops."

"Yea, they must have been set up on a speed trap somewhere close."

"Funny, we've pushed the hammer down the whole way… I wonder why we never saw them?"

"Beats me."

"So now what are we gonna do? My rig's had it… and we're a whole lot a miles from anywhere."

Kenzi doesn't answer her right away as she turns back to study the red diesel truck. A plan is forming in her head and a smile crosses her lips as she motions to the truck. "You said those two creeps were Bishop boys, right? So we can assume they're hauling Bishop cargo, right?"

"Yea, we can check their log."

Both women now walk towards the red truck's cab. Jenny climbs up and quickly locates the manifest which states the cargo is feather pillows. She leans out of the cab to look back at the trailer before she hands the manifest to Kenzi.

"This rig is sitting awfully low on the axles for a load of feather pillows… don't you think?"

"Unless they're stone pillows. Or contraband with a fake manifest. Let's take a look."

Jenny searches the cab for a moment then produces a set of keys to the padlocks on the rear doors. Pausing momentarily to make sure the officers are still busy with their prisoners before they flip the latch and unlock the rear doors on the trailer. Kenzi swings one door open while Jenny gets the other and they are amazed to see the trailer is full of boxes. The labels on the boxes indicate they contain pillows, but Kenzi jumps up to tear back one corner. They are full of Navy GPS devices with federal stamps on them.

When Kenzi holds one up, Jenny lets out a low whistle as they realize the trailer is full of stolen Navy contraband. After a moment Kenzi jumps down and pushes her door closed. "Close it up. If those cops see all this they'll seize it for sure."

"You got another idea, Frosty?"

"I sure do. I'm gonna take this rig and drive it right down Chip Riley's throat. That'll teach his thugs to mess with us."

Just then one of the officers approaches them and hands their licenses back to them. "Ladies, we'll be taking those two back to Barstow to be booked. Their rig will be impounded and…"

"Officer… I think I can save you a lot of trouble."

"How so?"

"Well, those two creeps work for the same company as us. We may not like them, but we don't want to lose our jobs when the boss finds out we let his truck get impounded. Why don't you just let us drive it back to LA.?"

"Yea, my truck ain't exactly running the best right now. I'd sure like my partner to follow along behind me… just to make sure we both get back to town all right... without any more problems."

He catches Kenzi's eye and agrees. "It'll save me having to sit here until a tow truck can get out here." He once again turns and heads back to his car. He updates his partner and then they wave and drive off with the two prisoners.

"So now what?"

"Now we drive back to LA... and I make an introduction to Mr. Riley. From there… he and I just negotiate the price of my finder's fee for returning his precious cargo."

"Well, my rig is dead. I'm not going anywhere until I get under that hood and see what's wrong. If you want to drive that rig back to Riley... you're on your own."

When Kenzi is ready to leave she asks Jenny if she will be all right out here. Jenny assures her she'll be fine so Kenzi climbs up into the cab of the red truck and shifts it into gear as she waves good-bye. She only intends to drive a few miles down the road before pulling off to make contact with her team. She quickly dials her partner's number and puts the phone to her ear.

"This is Little red riding hood… calling the big, bad wolf."

"Very funny… where are you?"

"About ten miles closer to Los Angeles. I left Jenny on the side of the road with her rig down for repairs. I'm driving the Bishop rig… and its full of stolen Navy contraband."

"You're what!? Pull over and stand by until we catch up with you."

"I'll be at the rest stop." She replaces the phone and changes lanes to pull off into a rest area ahead. She eases the big rig into a parking space near the end where she won't be disturbed and tilts her seat back to rest until Deeks and the others gets there.