A meeting was called at Sparta Headquarters and Virgil ran through a pile of papers with Bill, while Parker and Luann pulled up the data logs form The Fairview Inn, and the intel given to them by Hinds P.D. OPS wasn't told about this meeting; they would be coming in later that afternoon for debriefing. There were too many questions regarding leaks around that unit, too many things that didn't add up, and with Lonnie in the hospital, Virgil and Bill were adamant that just Sparta P.D. run over this first. That was one of their own laying in the ICU at Gulfport Medical, and they collectively would be damned if they were going to allow any bullshit to interfere with their investigation.

"I wanna take a look at that house on Privet" Bubba said, "Since when is there asbestosis in a remodeled home?" Bill and Virgil lifted their eyebrows.

Bill was surprised. "I had no idea it had been remodeled – haven't been down that way in a while. When Rizonou was in here I didn't even think to ask such a question."

"Me neither" Virgil added "But maybe he was counting on that." Bubba nodded "If there is something to this hunch Lonnie had about Rizonou, keeping us away from that house makes sense. Sweet - Lonnie said he was the only one who knew Frankie and him were going away and where'd they be right?" Sweet agreed "So I'm going to offer several sicario's: One: Rizonou is playing both sides. Why? Usually money or revenge. Two: All the houses are bugged. By whom? Kaczynski's people? U.S. Marshal's?. Maybe. If Rizonou is working with someone, maybe the Marshal's are on to him and this-" Virgil made a sweep with his arm "-This is a set up to nail him, the entire Sparta thing. Three: It's not Rizonou at all, but someone else within the OPS unit. Maybe Rizonou knows and is waiting to catch them in the act, hoping to flush them out." Virgil took a deep breath and continued. "I don't really think it matters so much right now why someone did what they did. For the safety of every person in Sparta, lets focus on catching whoever is responsible, and asking that question later. Can we all agree?" Unanimous 'Yes' form around the room.

Virgil pointed at Bubba. "Bubba, take a look at the Privet house, then the rest if accessible. Take Dee and Sweet with you. Bring respirators just in case you happen to find yourselves alone there at Privet." Virgil gave Bubba a look and he smirked "Gottcha. Come on – Dee, Sweet."

"Luann, you and Parker stay with the logs, data and see the APB's have turned up that Caddy – remember the ones at the crime scene weren't the one that took Lonnie, his prints weren't in it, neither were Frankies. See if there's any online activity with the other counties regarding this case. Parker, call Hind's, Madison and Rankin Counties and do a follow up and cross reference there data to ours and the other counties. The rest of you stay here, work the phones and carry on with your day as if nothing is going on, and all is as it should be. There can be no suspicion from OPS that we've started an investigation into their unit.

"Virgil" Bill began "Let's come up with something interesting to talk to OPS about – like, oh I don't know, we need help putting together the puzzle with this David character and Frankie. Maybe they have something to say about that." Bill raised his brows and Virgil smiled "You might be on to something there Chief. Let's do just that." The two men busied themselves preparing for the meeting with OPS in the afternoon, and Parker put on the third pot of coffee before noon.


Frankie sat by Lonnie's bedside at Gulfport Memorial, sipping her shitty coffee and picking at the skin at the side of her thumb with her nail. Every beep or noise the machines made, Frankie would jump up and check him. She ran her hand down his face and moved some hair that had fallen there.

She was terrified of losing him. 'How the fuck is this even fair. I paid my dues tenfold' She thought, her eyes brimming with tears. 'I find him and…this…' She wiped her face with the back of her hand and held his with the other. She pulled up the blankets and tucked him in, it was cool in the room and she didn't want him to be cold.

Lonnie hadn't spoken since he passed out right before the paramedics arrived, and has been unconscious since then, and that was two days ago. The surgery went well, and they removed the bullets with no complications. They tore his abdominal muscle badly, and they had to reconstruct parts of it. The doctor said he had 'horse shoes' as the bullets missed his large intestine completely; which was amazing, according to him.

The machinery wheezed awfully. IV's shot out of both arms and the equipment pumped and fizzed almost to the ticking of the clock on the wall. She sat back down and fiddled with her hair.

"Hey" a quiet voice came from behind her "I heard y'all got stuck in here too." Reba wheeled herself closer to Frankie, and Frankie smiled in relief when she saw her. She held Reba's hand and hugged her gently, then took Lonnie's hand again and looked up to see if there was any change, adjusting the blanket again.

"How's he doin'? You're man – I knew, with you two…"

She smiled "The doctor says good considering, apparently he has a strong constitution…" Frankie's eyes welled up and Reba put her hand on her's.

"I can't do this shit anymore Rebs, seriously; You, Marty - him…" She trailed off. "All the others…we paid our dues with everything that was ever precious to us, it's time – time to let us go. We deserve a life…"

"Darlin', I get it. Roach and I were talking about this very thing not two nights ago. We aren't getting any younger honey, and I want babies while my eggs are not in the geriatric state." She smiled and grabbed her phone before it slid off the blanket on her lap. Frankie laughed a bit, rubbing small tears from her cheeks.

"So, you and Roach?"

"Yeah sugar, me and Roach. I don't give a good Goddamn if we aren't supposed to. We did. It's done! They can put that in their pipe and smoke it for all I care. I'm just taking my life back, so should you."

"How…?"

"Hell I don't know, just do it! Between you and me, I heard a rumor the new recruits are ready and heading this way…" Reba smiled and Frankie looked at her wide eyes with her mouth open.

"For real, no joke?"

"No joke."

"From who?"

"Rizonou."

"When?"

"He was here to see me, and Roach. He wanted me to stay a bit longer in the hospital just to make sure I was up to snuff; you know, liver and all…doctors were fine with it so here I still am. He brought some goodies too; chocolates, told us to eat 'em up…Roach sure has been.."

Frankie's lips curled up and Reba stared at her.

"What?" She knew something was up.

"Reba: Did he say where he was staying, or where he was coming from?"

"Said he was coming from Biloxi, then had a stop in Jackson for a meeting or something, then-"

"What meeting, did he say?"

"Nope, why? What's this about?"

"That was two days ago you think?"

"Yeah. Frankie what's going on?"

"Reba where's Roach?"

"In my room I would think, where else would he-"

"What number is it!?"

"521-what's wrong!?"

"Reba get a hold of Tog - 'code 02/29' on Rizonou!, Stay with Lonnie!"

Reba's face went sheet white. "Roach!" Frankie ran out of the room and down the hall to 521.

Roach was on the floor, white foam oozing from his lips. Frankie yelled down to the nurses station and they ran into the room; one calling emergency and the rest working on him at lightning speed. There were chocolate mudpies, and cookies strewn all over the floor.

"You have to leave Miss. Now." The nurse pushed Frankie out and closed the door.

Reba was wheeling the chair as fast as she could up the hall.

"Roach!" Frankie ran to her and stopped her. "They are in there now with him Reba, we can't go in. They got to him fast…" Reba's big brown eyes pooled with tears and she covered her face. "They got to him fast Rebs, I promise. Come back to Lonnie's room - wait with me." Reba nodded and rubbed the running snot from her nose on her arm as Frankie pushed her back to Lonnie's room. She hugged her friend, and they waited together, watching the nurses tend to Lonnie.


The officers working at reception kept an eye out for OPS as they tended to their duties, Bill and Virgil were in their office. They were finalizing their plan to get Rizonou to say something they could use as evidence. It wasn't going to be easy, or may not even work, but they were willing to give it a shot as a starting point to get to the bottom of this.

"We'll have to fudge the stuff about this David person, nothing came up" Virgil said aggravated.

"Okay, then that's what we'll do. Can't imagine it being too hard…we just need to hit a tender spot – a spot where he feels he'll be exposed and he'll take care of the rest for us." Bill sat on the edge of his desk with his hands crossed on his lap. "Now we wait."

There was a bang from the front and officers grabbed Tog and Six Pack and restrained them from running back to the office. Virgil and Bill ran out startled.

'Let them go, let them go…" Bill said, Corporal Louis Peake pointed his gun at them behind the Virgil and the Chief. "What's this about?"

"We don't have much time." Tog began. "We need to talk before Rizonou walks through that door. Is there a place?


The doctor pulled Reba and Frankie aside to a quiet place outside of Lonnie's room.

"Cyanide poisoning. That's what the toxicology report came back with." The doctor ran through her list with Reba. "There was a very high concentration in those sweets, he's lucky we got to him when we did. We had to call Harrison County in on this given the serious nature of the offence. They would like to speak with you." Reba nodded and the Doctor waved over an orderly to take her to the ground floor. "Officers from Gulfport P.D. are on their way up for watch duty over the young man."

"Frankie," Reba passed Frankie her phone "Tell them to get out of the houses if they're in there - Call Sparta and tell them to get them cops over to those homes of ours - Tell them everything Frankie…" She nodded "I will."

"They'll want to see you as well." The doctor said to her. "There will be watch officers at your room, what is the number here so I can direct them?"

"498. It's Lieutenant Jamison's room from Sparta P.D., I'm not going anywhere…"

"I'll let them know" The doctor smiled and walked down the hall, the orderly and her talking as they walked into the elevator with Reba, and Frankie began texting code 02/29. The OPS team made and memorized specific codes years ago in secret to protect themselves in case a Commander went rouge. This was the code for traitor.

She walked in the room to see nurses by Lonnie's bedside. She rushed over to see what was wrong, then stopped, and smiled big from ear to ear. He was awake, and the nurses were removing the last of the IV's and propping his back up with pillows. He looked at her and smiled.

"Hey" His voice was horse but it was music to Frankie's ears.

"Hi" She kissed his face all over. "How do you feel?"

"Felt better when you were kissing me. I told ya, I ain't made of sugar." He grinned at her, and brought his hand to her face, and she kissed it, then brought her mouth to his; licking his lips and placing a hard wet kiss on them. He brought his hands to her hair and shoved her closer to him as his tongue found hers and he sighed and she moaned.

"I can't wait to have you again." He whispered, still kissing her, running his hand up her shirt, feeling the lace of her bra, and the soft skin beneath it. Frankie whimpered at his touch and he kissed her harder.

She broke the kiss, licking her lips and breathing hard, her hands on his thighs.

"Lonnie,…I have… to tell you-"

"It can wait-" He grabbed her again and kissed her hard and fast until he felt her body give into him, and he yanked her closer. Her breathy moans fueling his desire more.

She ran her finger tips around the top of his thighs, and down the crease where they met his pelvis, and down his leg, and he moaned as their mouths were on each other's. Her hand pressed hard on his inner thigh, then she gently ran it upward, circling around and just barely touching his hardness, then back down again. His hand twisted in her long hair and Lonnie pulled her face away from his, glaring at her with his intense eyes, full of arousal. His chest was heaving and his lips were parted; grunts escaping with every breath he took. She looked at him smirking, with one brow up, and he squeezed the clump of hair in his hands harder, making her moan out loud.

She wrapped her hand around his aching erection and moved it slowly up, and slowly back down. Lonnie's hand fell out of her hair and he closed his eyes. Every movement was ecstasy, and he grabbed the blanket on either side of him and squeezed. Frankie kissed his mouth, then moved her tongue slowly down his sharp jawline, to his neck, then back up to his full pouty lips. Lonnie groaned deeply as her hand moved faster. She kissed him again and he couldn't kiss her back, his mouth was parted and his eyes were closed; all he could do was moan and grunt at her movements. She clasped her hand around him hard one last time and he cursed out loud as he tensed, his body lifting off the pillows as he emptied himself down her hand.

Frankie watched him, studying his face as he came back to her, his gorgeous face…

She got up and walked to the bathroom for some paper towels. When she came out she smiled as she looked at Lonnie; his hands were resting behind his head on the pillows, his eyes were closed, smiling. She sat on the bed and he took her hand and held it, kissing her again, slow and deep.

"Lonnie, there's a lot has happened."

"Like who this David guy is?" He had to know, first and foremost.

"Yes, including that." Frankie cleared her throat. "I used to work for David's organization back in the day, so did Tog – money laundering, blackmail, things like that. It was on one of the money drops I was supposed to pick up is when I got nabbed. It was a set-up, the drop chick was a U.S. Marshal. Tog was busted a few days later doing the same thing. I can't really tell you why David thinks we had any kind of anything, other than he is completely insane. He tried, and I turned him down. At the time there was no fuss, it was what it was. I don't know what happened. When I was in jail he'd send love letters, try to call…I had to request not to allow access and to reject his mail. There was never anything between us." Lonnie believed her. David was batshit crazy.

"What else?"

"Reba and-" The phone on the side table rang.

"I should get, might be headquarters. Sorry…" He kissed her, and Frankie smiled, taking the phone off the table and placing it in his lap.

"Jamison here. Yes, thank you Chief, much better…what…" He listened, and his stone cold poker face returned with a vengeance. Frankie watched him – it wasn't good. They knew about Rizonou, Roach…what else did they know? Or, what else had happened that she didn't know…


Tog and Six Pack sat in the conference room talking to Detective Tibbs and The Chief. They were God smacked at what they heard.

They were told about what happened at Gulfport Medical with Roach, how they believed that the attack on Sparta P.D. that early morning was planned, everything with David, Frankie and Lonnie's abduction…it went on. The four men threw out scenarios, hypotheticals, what if's…but neither Tog nor Six Pack could answer the question: why?

"Whatever went down to bring this to fruition," Six Pack began "It was planned a long time ago. No one can execute this kind of campaign on the fly – especially given what we all do, and did formerly…"

"Agreed" Virgil said, pacing around "But I wonder if the Ports have anything to do with this as well. Is it just coincidence that all that is happening there right now and all this is happening here? Are they somehow connected? Is this just meant to be a distraction from something bigger? My guts tell me-"

Suddenly from out in reception Officers yelled in tandem "PUT YOUR HANDS UP. FACE THE WALL!" The clicking of safeties on pistols being released filled the conference room and the yelling continued back and forth. Virgil and the Chief bolted out the door, Tog and Six Pack right behind them. The four men drew their guns and pointed them straight ahead along with every officer in the station.

Silence.

The man standing at the front reception behind the long wooden desk clasped his large hands in front of his beige Armoni suit. The five men that stood in a row behind him were all in black; their legs slightly parted with one hand each on their gun.

"Gentleman," A heavy Polish accent began "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Andrzej Kaczynski. I believe we have some things to discuss."