Dangerous Mine: Chapter 15:
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-/-
"Jonathan Siegrest," Chris said the man's name aloud even as he pulled the man's file up on the projector. It had taken longer than he'd have liked to procure a warrant, not that he didn't understand why. Hunter had more or less IDed the back of the man's head, and the way he moved. It was pretty much an impossible sell to even the most charitable of DA's. But that, coupled with the purchase of the spy outlet, and what Josiah had managed to gather on the man's background had been enough, barely.
Nathan, Josiah, Ezra and Vanessa sat around the conference table in rapt attention. They'd all traded their civilian clothes for TAC gear. "He's got a record. Enlisted in the army out of high school, completed his tour of duty and was honorably discharged. Since then he's had a sheet for petty theft and assault. Spent two years in Lompoc. Warden there said Siegrest 'found religion' and became a new man."
"Ah yes a new man that's risen from larceny to murder in the name of that newfound salvation," Ezra said dryly.
"Frankly the warden seemed surprised he was involved," Chris went on, ignoring the southerner's interruption.
"Saints and sinners are chasing the same thing," Josiah put in. "Fulfillment. What's different is the vehicle in which they do the chasing. This man feels he walks the line, he may be perpetrating these atrocities even to make up for his own sin. He may have even started, far before he came onto our radar. with good intentions."
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions Mr. Sanchez," Ezra pointed out.
"I felt for the tormented whirlwinds, damned for their cardinal sins. Committed when they let their passions rule their reason."
"Corinthians?" Nathan asked the burly profiler.
"Dante," Josiah responded.
Ezra let out a laugh and he leaned back in his chair. "Your pearls in regards to the divine are ever timely and hysterical. Let's hope as we embark we are not entering the seventh circle."
"Focus gentlemen," Chris growled from the front of the room. He didn't mind, not really. They were about to go hard at a suspect that had killed two people and injured three others. This was the Team's way of letting off pressure. He understood it, just couldn't let it build. "Coordinating with Denver PD we got his LKA and they're sitting on his house. He's got a job at a local mechanic's in Arvada, but he hasn't been to work in a couple of days. Make no mistake people, PD is there to back us up, but we're taking point on this so I expect you all to keep your heads on a swivel. We know he's got weapons and a penchant for blowing things up. Understood?"
"Yes sir," they all barked back. Larabee smiled grimly. Joking aside, these men were utter professionals. He just wished Buck, JD and Vin would be along too.
"All right. Let's mount up." Chairs scraped on the linoleum as they all rose quickly. The energy level in the room spiked. This was it. Into the belly of the beast.
As they filed out of the room, Ezra caught Vanessa's eye. She looked nervous. He wasn't sure how many raids she'd been on as a police officer, but this would be her first with the ATF. "Stick close to me," he ordered. "No heroics."
"Wasn't planning on it," she said, breathless. "I'm glad I have you watching my back."
"Well, let's just hope our offender recognizes he's outnumbered and outgunned, and doesn't do anything stupid, like blow himself and us to smithereens." He double checked the straps of his bulletproof vest as they all headed to the elevator. With any luck, this would all be over in a matter of hours.
-/-
Vin's jaw tightened as he glanced at the clock on his microwave for the tenth time in half as many minutes. He swung himself forward a few paces on his crutches, turned, crutched back, and looked again. His hands wrung at the rubber grips on the crutches.
"They'll call," Sam assured from her seat on the couch.
"I should be with 'em," the Texan said tightly.
"They'll call," Sam said again. "You're really not very good at this staying behind thing."
"Because you are?" He asked, giving her a withering look. Sam glanced down; she held a manila folder in her lap. It was Siegrest's file. It had not been among those they'd originally gathered from Josiah's profile. She had the mostly blank first page in her hand; she'd shredded the top third into tiny ribbons. A flush stole up her neck.
"Okay so we're both terrible at it," she admitted, slapping the file folder shut. She sat on the couch for a long moment, quiet. She cracked her thumbs nervously. If she said it, there was no taking it back. But she needed to, it had been eating at her for the past couple days. "Hey Vin."
"Yeah?" the sharpshooter paused, glanced at the clock again.
"Something's been bugging me."
"Coulda guessed," Vin said, "you ain't been sleeping much." He'd woken up more than once to the sounds of her puttering in the night. A couple times when she had been asleep too. With those dreams, it was no wonder she only slept when absolutely necessary.
"Sorry," she mumbled, blushing. She'd never been the best sleeper, but after being abducted it had gotten really bad. At least At Ezra's she'd had her own room. Vin didn't have that particular luxury.
"It's fine."
Sam nodded absently once, then drew in a deep breath. Just do it. Rip the band aid off. "How did he know which bottle of liquor to dose with the ketamine?" There it was. The question that wouldn't leave her alone. One of a few really. "Ezra had like, half a dozen bottles, maybe more. Three bottles of bourbon. So how'd he know to dose that one?"
"I mean he did have a camera in the place for months," the sharpshooter pointed out, only half paying attention.
"Yeah, maybe," she conceded. "But you saw the video. The camera was aimed at the living room, you could barely see the kitchen from that vantage point."
"Maybe there was more than one camera," Vin offered. His focus shifted from the clock to his friend. Hell, even he didn't really believe that.
"You'd think the arson guys would have found it, after JD told them what to look for. And according to the Home Depot receipt he only bought one." She rose and began her own pacing. "And it can't have had the ketamine in it that long right? That's been his drink of choice lately, feel like Ez would probably take notice if he woke up face down in his carpet more than once."
"I mean Nathan's been going through security footage from Ezra's building, and so far, nothing," the sharpshooter mused. Then Vin frowned as suspicion rose in his gut. "Get where you're going with this Sammy."
"I mean, it didn't necessarily have to be the guy right? You all have been batting around the idea he has an accomplice."
"Sam," Vin said, the warning dripping from his tone. He could see the way the train was steering her thoughts, and it wasn't good.
"Vin she said it. She said it the other night. She got to the hospital right after you and I left. That would have been 4:30, 5:00 in the morning?"
"Look Sam, I know you're not her biggest fan. Hell neither am I, but you can't just go accusin' someone like that. Not with her record. It don't have a blemish on it."
Sam fixed her stare on the other man, her face stone serious. "Who called her Vin? At 4:00 in the morning, who called her? You and i are the only two that know that they're even a thing, and I sure as hell didn't call her." Vin didn't say anything. She could see the gears in his head turning. "And why go after Ez direct? He hasn't done that before. He grabbed Ashley because of her connection to Buck, Lucia because of her friendship with JD, Hannah with Josiah. Hell he grabbed me because of my connection to all of you. But not her? After literal months of watching them… whatever? He goes after women Vin, but not her?" The more she spoke, the truer the words felt.
"Damn Sam you said it yourself, she and Ezra been shacking up for months. That don't make no sense." Vin argued the point because it needed to be argued, but he had to admit that Sam had a point. Their killer's MO had him attacking women connected to the 7, his own particular incidence aside. "Why sleep with him for all that time?"
"I don't know!" Sam yelled, throwing her arms out. "Money? Blackmail? Something else? That she's a sadistic crazy person? I mean she wouldn't be the first black widow I've ever heard of."
Vin sighed. "Look Sammy, not to put too fine a point on it, but you sure you're not trying to make her some kind of big bad cuz of… well…" He let the thought trail. He didn't need to say it outright anyway, she knew.
"Oh don't you dare do that," Sam snapped. "Don't you dismiss this outright as some kind of jealousy thing because she replaced me on the Team."
Vin bit down on the inside of his cheek to stop the bemusement from playing on his face. That, was not what he had meant. And she damn well knew it. But fine, let Sam have it. "I'm not dismissin' you Sam. As far as theories go I don't think it's that out there. Something about her has always hit me wrong. But bottom line is you ain't got no proof."
"Which is why I'm only saying this to you." Sam grabbed one of the throw pillows off the couch, twisting it in her hands like she might try to rip it apart. "Because I've. Got. No. Proof." She plopped back down on the couch, hugging the pillow to her midsection, a balloon with all the air let out of it.
"Good," Vin nodded. "Cuz with what you got right now? Chris'd be likely run you right out of the office. Plus you couldn't say anything without outing their relationship. Which I don't think either of them would take too kindly for."
"Uh yeah, definitely not." She leaned back on the couch and groaned. "I just had to throw it out there into the ether. Was bugging me too much to not."
"Well now it's out, and you got me thinking on it too. Thanks for that." He glanced again at the clock on the microwave. "Especially since they're all relying on her to have their backs…."
-/-
The officers in the unmarked car informed Chris that Siegrest had been home all morning and hadn't left. Wasn't much of a place, a one story brick cottage in one of the seedier parts of Denver. A chain link fence surrounded the property and iron bars girded every window. Old cars lined the street on either side.
Chris gathered his agents, a few houses down and out of line of sight of Siegrest's place. "PD has officers posted on all surrounding streets. We go careful. This guy has already exploded one building as a means of escape, not to mention Hunter's apartment, so I'm not gonna put it past him to do it again. Nathan, Josiah and I are going to take the front, we've got a couple bomb squad guys in EODs to breach, just in case. Ezra, you and Vanessa go around back, cover the exit there. When we breach, he may come running. Stay sharp."
"As a razor," Ezra told him with a nod. "We'll stay out of sight till you give word that you're making your move." With a jerk of his chin. he motioned for Vanessa to follow him. There would be no grandeur today, no clever maneuvering with words to extract information. This man was a killer, a psychopath that delighted in torturing women. He'd nearly killed Vin. The southerner was uncharacteristically quiet as he led Vanessa through a narrow alleyway between two homes that led to the rutted gravel street that ran behind each of the houses backyards. The street that allowed access to the few homes with detached garages located at the back of the property.
Ezra moved swiftly from one place of concealment to the next, Vanessa close on his heels. He paused and withdrew his gun two houses away from Siegrest's. "Ninety seconds from position Mr. Larabee. Then we'll hold and wait on your word."
The small earpiece chirped back at him. "Copy."
Ezra glanced back over his shoulder, "You ready?" Tight lipped, Vanessa simply nodded. "You cover the back door from this side, I will cross to the North side and cover from there. Keep out of sight until Chris gives the word." Another tight nod.
Hedges lined the short chain link fence that surrounded the property. Easy enough to stay low and out of sight behind them, but for the twelve or so feet of open air of the dirt driveway. The yard was ill kept, bindweed covering the ground rather than grass, save for the three raised garden beds at the center of the yard. They looked lovingly built and new, housing many young plants that looked healthy and well tended. Ezra hovered for a moment, his eyes peering keenly at the house as he looked for motion. Nothing. He moved, quickly covering the open ground between the two hedges. And then, when he was scant feet from the other side of the driveway, the back door creaked open and Jonathan Siegrest emerged, watering can in hand. Ezra froze. So did Siegrest.
Green and brown eyes met across the dry, sparse lawn, and held. Siegrest's eyes flicked to the gun still in Ezra's hand. Neither moved. Ezra barely dared breathe.
"Federal agents! Freeze!" Vanessa's voice boomed with authority from over Ezra's shoulder. Siegrest's head whipped in that direction, then he threw the watering can toward Ezra and bolted. "Damn it," Ezra swore lowly. The man was fast, sprinting to the edge of his yard before vaulting the fence into the next. The southerner was a sprinter off the blocks a beat slow.
"What's going on Ezra?" Chris's voice chirped in his ear.
"Suspect exited the rear of the domicile and is fleeing on foot Northbound," Ezra said as he ran. "In pursuit." Still at full run, Ezra grabbed the top of the chain link fence with his left hand and sprang over it. He wasn't letting this guy get away, not this time, not after what he did to Vin. He raced after Siegrest, eyes locked on his back, neither gaining nor losing ground on the other man. He followed him through two more yards and over two more short chain link fences. Ezra noted with grim satisfaction, the man was soon going to run straight into the waiting arms of the Denver PD.
But in the third yard, Siegrest cut left, back toward the access road and away from the stationed police officers. "Suspect turned West onto access road," Ezra gritted out between breaths. He didn't know where Chris, Josiah and Nathan were exactly, only that they were coming, and he was the closest. God, but there was a time he wouldn't have even considered any acts of heroics. As Siegrest cut out of the yard in front of him, Ezra lost visual contact. He slowed out of his sprint, raised his gun and made himself take deep, even breaths. "Lost visual of the suspect," he muttered quietly, knowing Chris and the others could still hear. Siegrest had disappeared around the corner of a small, freestanding shed. Ezra paused at its corner, listening intently. Nothing.
Cautiously and with weapon raised, Ezra came around the corner of the shed. The access road continued for another fifty yards or so, before dead ending in a small cul de sac. Three cars lined the road, one dumpster and a garage across the way all offered good hiding spots for Siegrest. Ezra's heart beat harder in his chest, his blood rushed. "Talk to me Ezra," the voice in his ear insisted. But Ezra didn't respond. Noise would give away his position just as surely as it would for Siegrest. He approached the first car. Nothing. The second. Nothing. His hand had started to sweat. He readjusted his grip on the stock of his gun. He moved on cats paws toward the garage. Movement by the dumpster caught his peripheral vision. Siegrest.
"Ezra, down!" Between the barked warning and seeing Siegrest appear over his shoulder, Ezra didn't need any more prompting. Self preservation had never been one of his weaknesses. He threw himself backward, hitting the ground behind the bumper of the second car he'd cleared on his bad shoulder. The jolt of the impact drained the color from his face, but thankfully it didn't dislocate. Two shots reverberated in the air. Vanessa darted past him, gun raised, even as Ezra picked himself up off the ground.
"Damn it Agent Standish, report!" Chris bellowed in his ear. They'd heard the gunshots. Obviously.
The southerner winced at the assault on his eardrums. "All clear Mr. Larabee. Suspect is down." He trotted over to Vanessa, who was crouched over the body. As he loomed over her shoulder, she holstered her weapon. Two clean shots to the mid chest. Siegrest never had a chance.
The dark haired agent removed her hand from the man's neck. "He's dead," she told him, however unnecessarily. She pointed at the small, snub nosed revolver on the ground next to the body. "I'm really glad I was hot on your heels," she said.
Ezra's face pulled into a frown. "I didn't see a weapon," he muttered.
Vanessa shrugged from her position next to Siegrest. "Neither did I till he came out from around that dumpster. But these snub noses are so easy to conceal it doesn't surprise me we both missed it." Vanessa rose, turning her body into Ezra's, her fingers feathering over the back of his hand. "I'm just glad you're okay." Ezra managed a thin lipped smile but didn't reciprocate the touch.
Footsteps made Ezra take a few steps back. He holstered his weapon as Chris, Nathan and Josiah emerged from the bushes, all three agents dropping out of a quick jog. Nathan's eyes swept over the undercover agent furtively before turning his attention to the downed Siegrest. "He's dead," the former army medic confirmed. "Probably hit his aorta, judging by the entry wound and the amount of exsanguination."
Vanessa grimaced. "So good to know."
"First time engaging a suspect in the field?" Chris asked her.
She shook her head. "No. Once, when I was a cop. Didn't kill him though."
"Okay, well then you know the general gist anyway," Chris said. "Standard review. Need to get statements from both you and Ezra. Long as they corroborate one another you should be cleared in a few days. Desk duty till then."
She made a face. "Great."
Chris shrugged. "Price of saving the neck of your partner." He smiled then, and clapped her on the shoulder. "Good work." Vanessa blushed a little and unsuccessfully bit back a grin. "Josiah will take you back to the office and get your statement."
"I'm also available if you feel the need to talk about it," the burly profiler told her. "Now, or the next few days. Weeks."
Vanessa offered him a small smile. "Thanks Josiah. I appreciate it." With that, the two of them headed off.
Ezra watched them go without a word. He played the events back in his head. It bothered him he hadn't seen the gun. He noticed everything. It's what made him a good undercover. But he hadn't. He envisioned it in his minds eye. Siegrest exiting the house with the water can. Throwing it at him. Turning. Running. The jeans and T-shirt the man wore fit well. Even a small snub nosed revolver he would have seen. Should have seen. His jaw worked from side to side. Maybe Buck had been right. Maybe this case did have him on his ear and off his game. The last time he'd been off his game had been his last, disastrous undercover stint with the FBI. It had cost lives, nearly his own life, and definitely nearly cost him his career. He'd been lucky when Chris had shown up on his doorstep in Atlanta, nearly bodily dragging him out of his own self destructive, drunken stupor. And then he'd come to Denver, and screwed up, badly, and Chris and the others had given him a second chance.
Larabee had looked at him then like he was looking at him now. Like he knew there was more than Ezra was letting on, but trusting the southerner to come to him in his own due time. Trust. A word Ezra had never really associated with himself until teaming up with the Denver ATF Team 7. It wasn't something he took lightly. So he committed himself, in that moment, to allay himself of any personal distractions in regards to the case. Josiah had told him to decide. So he was going to do exactly that.
Chris regarded his undercover agent curiously. The man had been in more than a few tight scrapes in his tenure with Team 7, often times of his own making. But this was different. Ezra's face was blank, which was not so unusual, but something had shifted. He'd also either just ignored, or simply not heard Chris the two times he'd said Ezra's name in the past two minutes. "Ezra," Chris tried again. Green eyes blinked and the man's jaw loosened. He fixed his gaze on their team leader. "Anything you want to add?" Chris asked.
What? That he'd managed to miss the very obvious pistol in the man's possession before nearly getting his own head blown off? That the only reason he was still standing was because their rookie agent was a very good shot? No. He'd find a way to put it into the report that didn't make him seem quite so inept, but his mind was failing to come up with a good reason in the moment. "It was a good shooting. Agent Navarro acquitted herself admirably."
-/-
When Chris got off the elevator back at the office, he was greeted to the sight of his, should be still at home recovering, sharpshooter, crutching agitatedly around the bull pen. Cool blue eyes found Hunter perched on the corner of Buck's desk and shot her an accusatory glare.
"You know he has a police scanner right?" Hunter asked. "All we heard was that there were shots fired and a man was down. It was either drive him here, or he was gonna attempt it himself. Figured that was a bad plan considering he has one leg and it's a stick shift." She crossed her arms like she was waiting for him to argue with her. Vin didn't give him the chance.
The sharpshooter was getting quick on the crutches. He crossed the bullpen to Chris' side in a flash. "What the hell happened pard?"
Chris sighed. "Siegrest exited the rear of the building while Ezra and Vanessa were establishing the perimeter. He ran. They followed. He drew down on Ezra and Vanessa shot him. Siegrest is dead. It's over." A look passed between Vin and Hunter he couldn't quite read.
"Siegrest get a shot off?" Vin questioned before Chris could ponder it farther.
"No," Chris shook his head. "He came out into Ezra's blind spot. Must not have realized Vanessa was there. She got him before he could do anything."
"He have the house booby trapped?" Vin asked.
"Nah. Obviously this cat and mouse game he's been playing, didn't expect us to show up at his place. Didn't find anything there as far as other weapons or incendiary devices. Must have a secondary location, like the warehouse where he kept Hunter and killed Ashley."
The sharpshooter nodded, blue eyes thoughtful.. "Yep, reckon he must. Where's everyone else?"
"Josiah's playing union advocate while Ezra and Vanessa give their statements to PD. Imagine they'll be back soon. Nathan went with the body to the morgue." Chris sighed, a look of utter distaste crossing his face. "And I'm looking down the barrel at scores of paperwork. Though hopefully Travis will agree to reinstating Buck and JD."
"Well, jealous as that idea makes me, I won't hold you from it," Vin told his friend with a smirk.
"Thanks," Chris replied, seemingly unamused but for the quirk of his lip. Then his face sobered again quickly. "Lucia's memorial is tomorrow."
Vin nodded. "We'll be there. Might pop on down to the Saloon, check on Inez a spell."
"Right. See you tomorrow then." Chris nodded at Hunter and then strode toward his office.
Once he was inside, Sam hopped off of her perch on Buck's desk. "Okay, okay, I give," Sam lifted her hands in mock surrender. "I fully admit I'm an asshole. She saved his life, I get it. I will now shut up about my wild theories and Vanessa."
Grim faced, Vin started for the elevator and Sam had to trot to keep up with the sharpshooter's crutches. "Don't," he muttered. "Cuz I'm gettin' more and more convinced you're right."
"I'm sorry, come again?" She hurried till she was even with Vin's shoulder. He tapped the down button on the elevator panel. "Let me get this straight. She swoops in the the last second save of Ezra's ass and THAT makes you believe me? I'm either missing something or I hit my head… again," she amended with a rueful tilt of her chin.
"This thing with Siegrest's been bugging me since you all came up with his name. Guy's managed to keep his face off of every conceivable camera in the better part of the Denver Metro area for weeks but he's dumb enough to use a credit card to buy that damned spy outlet?" Vin shook his head, "don't sit right. Not to mention our guy has shown he has a thing for contingencies, generally in the form of blowing shit up. But his house is clear. None of it adds up."
"So you don't think our guy is Siegrest at all?" Sam's face paled. "Oh God, but I'm the one who IDed him on the video." She doubled over, leaning her hands on her knees. Vin's words were better than a punch to the gut. "I got the wrong guy. He's dead because I pointed at him." Her breaths came quick,
"Nah Sammy. That ain't how I mean it. I believe you know what you saw, you ain't the kind to go off half cocked on something like this. I mean that I don't think the man on that video footage is Jonathan Siegrest." The elevator pinged and the door slid open. Vin moved inside and Sam followed. Vin hit the button for the second floor, Sam noted, and not the basement access to the parking garage.
"You think Siegrest was a fall guy?" Sam asked.
"Something like that," he nodded. "And besides all that, Ezra woulda never walked into that situation in the alley if he thought Siegrest was carrying. Ez don't take stupid chances, odd hero moment or two aside. And Ezra wouldn't have missed a weapon. Which means Vanessa's lying."
"So where we going?"
"Archives. It's the same problem as before. Right now it's just a theory with no proof. I don't want to bring all this to Chris and the others till we have some. Sides, maybe we're wrong and we'd just be kicking up a hornet's nest don't need no kicking. But my gut tells me different. So w're getting copies of every video, every evidence report, and we're gonna start at the beginning, and we're gonna find us some proof."
-/-/
Chapter 15