Reckless

Chapter 5

Toni sat on a barstool, sipping her club soda and lime as she waited for Carla Birch to arrive. The lights inside the seedy border town bar were dim, not that it did anything to mask the rash of illegal behavior that was happening in and around the place. Since she arrived, Toni witnessed two blatant drug transactions. Another man picked up a prostitute from the other side of the bar and took her into the men's bathroom. As if letting a dirty stranger creampie your face wasn't bad enough, doing it in what was certainly a piss stinking bathroom was just plain foul. Toni took another sip of her drink and tried not to think about it.

This was hardly the first time Toni had gone undercover. Being of Hispanic descent herself allowed her to blend into environments where her white male colleagues couldn't. Over the years, Toni perfected her undercover persona. She even had a separate wardrobe of clothes she kept for the times when she needed to show up as Daniela, coyote and drug runner extraordinaire, instead of herself.

It was the little details that made her character believable. Toni never washed Daniela's jeans. The boots were an old pair she picked up at a second hand store in Dallas. She usually favored a long sleeve black t-shirt under her youngest brother's old leather jacket. But on this particular occasion, Toni made the last minute decision to rip the lower portion of the shirt off. She told herself the sliver of her exposed midriff would help to distract Earl Everton and make him easier to apprehend. But really, it was more about the fact that she knew a certain behavior analyst's eyes were going to be on her.

"Hola darlin'."

Toni glanced to her right, wrinkling up her nose. She smelled the man as he approached. And that was really saying something, because the entire place stunk. He must have just hot boxed himself in his car out in the parking lot because he positively reeked of marijuana. It was like a skunk crawled straight up his ass and died. Toni felt like just having him in her personal space was giving her a contact high.

"Fuck off," she replied, reaching for her drink and taking a casual sip.

"No need to be rude," the sweaty bar patron huffed. "I've got money to pay for pussy."

Toni turned, swiping her jacket back far enough to reveal the glock 9mm she had strapped to her ribs. "I said fuck off," she repeated.

The man hesitated for a moment, his eyes focused on her exposed cleavage before he made what was probably the smartest decision he'd made all day and walked away. Toni was getting restless. But thankfully, after the pot stinker shuffled off in search of easier prey, Carla Birch showed up. The woman looked slightly disheveled. Her hair was falling forward into her face, half covering her bruised and swollen eye. She immediately began chattering at Toni in broken and badly accented Spanish with a speed that indicated she was under the influence of some sort of drug. If Toni had to wager a guess, she'd say it was probably meth. Great, she thought. Now I'm not going out into the desert with two known murderers, I'm going with two tweaked out murderers that have probably been awake for three days straight.

"I told you lady," Toni snipped. "I'm from Texas. I speak English." She gestured to the barstool next to her. "Why don't you sit down and have a drink."

Carla looked at her like she'd gone completely crazy. Toni had no idea where she had Everton stashed. But she could only guess that he didn't like to be kept waiting. "I don't have time for this shit," Carla barked. "Do you have what I fucking came here for, or not?"

"I don't know," Toni replied, matching the woman's rude tone. "Do you have my fucking money?" She made Carla give her five hundred dollars as a down payment for procuring two sets of identity papers. The other two thousand was due on delivery. For the papers. And for safe transport into Mexico via the underground tunnel where half a dozen federal agents were waiting.

"It's outside," Carla promised. Toni wasn't sure if the money was really there or not. If it was, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know how or where it came from.

Toni swallowed down the last bit of her drink and followed Carla Birch outside. She wasn't surprised when the woman led her over to the darkest corner of the gravel lot. Two cars down, the bumper of a rusted out Ford was bobbing up and down as two of the bar patrons got their rocks off in the backseat.

"Where's the shit you promised me?," Carla demanded. "I want to see it before I pay you the rest of the money."

Toni nodded as she reached under her jacket. Everything two people needed to set up a new life as different people was inside the small manilla envelope. Carla pawed through the items until she was satisfied. Then she pulled her car keys out of her pocket and stuck them into the trunk latch.

"Your money's in the trunk," she announced. Toni wasn't sure what the fuck was in that trunk. But given the shifty way Carla Birch was acting, she very much doubted it was a bag full of cash. Toni slipped her hand back and unclipped her gun. She almost drew it and fired when Everton popped out of the trunk with a shotgun in his hands. But her plan was to take him alive. Preferably out at the capture sight where there was less of a chance of anyone else getting hurt. Toni had no desire to get into a shootout with a methed out lunatic in the parking lot of a crowded dive bar.

"The fuck is this shit," Toni cursed. Everton approached her, jerking her leather jacket half off her shoulders. Toni reminded herself that the place was swarming with border agents and local police as Everton took her gun and stuck it in the back of his pants.

"Take us where we need to go," Everton ordered. "...and maybe you'll get it back."

"I told your girl there you could follow me in your car," Toni countered.

"Fuck that," Everton huffed. He prodded at her with the business end of his shotgun, pushing her towards the passenger side of his stolen car. "Get in."

"Alright," Toni agreed. Everton kept his gun trained on her as she climbed into the front passenger seat of the car. The floor was littered with beer bottles and fast food wrappers. It smelled like burnt plastic, confirming Toni's suspicions about the drugs they'd been doing. Everton climbed into the backseat as Carla Birch slid behind the wheel. Toni didn't like being alone in the car with them. But she was wearing a tracking device in her boot. If Everton decided to go off course, her team would know exactly where he took her. But it seemed that wasn't in his plans. Because Carla followed Toni's directions, driving all three of them smack dab right into the middle of the capture site.

"I'm going to reach into my pocket," Toni announced. After the time she spent in the car with him, she was sure that Everton was as high as his girlfriend. He was jumpy, scratching at his neck and face. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small portable metal detector. Everton watched with interest as she moved it back and forth across the ground. Toni put the detector away before she pulled out a pair of leather gloves. Wrapping her gloved fingers around the chain, she pulled until the lid slid off the vertical tunnel that Everton believed would lead him across the border to start his new life.

"That tunnel will let you out on the other side of the border," Toni explained. "There's a town a few miles east. Go to the Motor Hotel and ask for Luis. He'll set you up with transportation south."

Everton moved menacingly close to her. "You're coming with us," he barked. Toni shook her head.
"That wasn't part of the deal," she argued. Everton pushed closer, fisting his hand into the hair on the back of her head and pressing the muzzle of his shotgun into her neck.

"You're coming," he hissed.
Toni put her hands up. With how twitchy and paranoid Everton was, she was starting to get worried that the crazy fuck might blow her head off purely by accident. "Okay, okay," she agreed. "I'll go. But only to the motor lodge. Then you're on your own." She would go alright, right down that ladder and behind half the task force and the BAU who were suited with bullet proof vests and very large semi automatic weapons.

Toni stepped forward towards the ladder. But Everton jerked her back. "You first," he ordered, gesturing to Carla Birch. She glanced at the deep dark hole with trepidation.

"I dunno Earl, It's dark down there," she whined.

"Use the light on your phone, you dumb fucking bitch," Everton barked.

Carla did as he ordered, turning on her phone's flashlight before she scrambled down the hole. Toni could see the light bouncing around as the woman struggled to keep it in her hands and grip the ladder at the same time.

Carla breathed a sigh of relief when her feet hit the hard packed dirt floor. Then she heard a voice behind her. "Don't make a sound." Carla turned, her eyes widening when she saw not just one but an entire team of government agents waiting just out of sight from the mouth of the tunnel.

"Everything's okay," Spencer hissed, his voice barely above a whisper. His heart was pounding in his chest. He didn't like the idea of Toni being alone with a known rapist and murderer. He needed to get this whole situation over with as quickly as he could, for her safety and his own peace of mind. "I don't want to have to shoot you. So tell him everything's okay," Spencer said, edging forward just far enough to snatch Carla's gun from her belt.

"Everything's okay," Carla repeated.

"Let's go," Toni suggested. She made another attempt to move towards the tunnel opening. But Everton refused to release his grip on her hair. He pulled her back, pressing his body against hers.

"I don't think I need you to go with us after all," he said. "Maybe I'll just have my way with you right here." Turning his head, Everton licked up the side of her neck. Toni fought back the urge to vomit. Then she threw her elbow into his ribs, feeling the satisfying crack when she connected. She spun, snatching the shotgun from his hands and smashing the butt of it into his face. He dropped to his knees, gasping for breath as she took her gun back and forced his hands behind his back.

"Roy Everton, you're under arrest," Toni declared. "You have the right to remain silent. And I suggest you do, unless you want your ass kicked."

Toni stepped back, scrubbing furiously at her neck with the palm of her hand as she watched the rest of the task force take Earl Everton and his accomplice into custody. She knew Spencer Reid was one of the agents waiting in the tunnel. But Toni did her best not to react when he climbed out and began walking in her direction.

"You're rubbing your neck raw," he observed.

"He fucking licked me," Toni explained, almost laughing at the look of absolute disgust that marred Spencer's features. She paused the motion of her hand as she watched Spencer fish around in his pocket. He pulled out a small disposable package of wet wipes, pulling one out and moving closer to her.

"Where did he get you?," Spencer asked. Toni pulled her hair out of the way, gathering it up and tossing it forward over her other shoulder. She tilted her head, giving him better access to the line of her neck. Spencer started just under her ear, making sure to clean off the entire span of her neck without applying too much pressure to her already raw skin.

"Why did you take him down yourself?," Spencer asked. He kept his voice down, not wanting the rest of the agents to think he was questioning her skills. His question came from a place of concern. "There are trained sharpshooters surrounding this whole area."

"Sometimes shooters miss," Toni replied, flashing him a small smile as she pulled her hair back down to cover her neck.

Before either of them could say anything else, Hotch approached. He had his phone in his hand and a look of serious concentration on his face. Reid turned, immediately asking him what was going on.

"They found a young man wandering on the edge of the Arizona desert earlier this afternoon. He was strapped into an arm spreader. There were letters carved into his stomach."

"Daniel Cullen," Toni exclaimed. Tracking down a whole group of escaped convicts was a nightmarishly dangerous job. Cullen was the reason she took it. She couldn't sleep at night while the Crimson King was out from behind bars. "The Crimson King. It's him. It's got to be."

"That's right, you worked his original case, didn't you?," Hotch asked. Toni nodded. She not only worked his case, she caught Cullen carving up her partner.

"I did," Toni confirmed. "I know everything about him. He's the reason I took on the manhunt for the missing fugitives."

"Good," Hotch replied. "Because we're going to need your help. Get your bag. Because the hunt for Daniel Cullen starts now. Wheels up in thirty."