Black 01 - Black Rain Read Free

see another day and do some good. We caught the bad guys and they’ll be off the street. That’s a good thing.” Chase kissed me on the cheek as we heard the helicopter and sirens approached.
    At that moment I knew that if it weren’t for my wife and family, Chase would have been one hell of a woman to have in my life. I felt the natural attraction that we had for each other, the kind that stirs your emotions. I shook the feelings and jumped off the big rock.
    “C’mon Chase, let’s get these scumbags down the hill so we can get out of this heat. These mosquitoes are starting to eat me alive.”
    Chase slid down the rock and stood next to me. I said,
    “Chase, I’ll never forget the friendship we have. I trust you and I got your back for life.” She nodded in agreement and punched me in the shoulder. We got the bad guys to their feet and marched them through the thick woods to the dirt road over the hill.
    I put down the ice cream-filled spoon and immedi-Vincent Alexandria
    23
    ately dial the number of the one person who can explain the project Chase is working. It’s after midnight and a queasiness of fear builds in my gut. I don’t like what I am feeling. I’m fearing the unknown, feeling that circumstances are about to be out of my control, that dues are about to be paid, but it is a call I must make.
    The ringing phone rouses Agent Royal James from a deep sleep. He reaches for the phone at once, his senses sharp and focused.
    “Hello,” Agent James answers gruffly. He sits up in bed, and his eyes take in his surroundings. His bedroom is as austere in nature as he is. His windows are covered with white horizontal blinds and the only other furniture in the room are a matching wooden dresser and nightstand.
    Agent James is a lead officer in charge, which is the equivalent of captain of a police department. He is also Agent Chase’s direct report. If any one knows where Chase is and what case she’s working, he does.
    “Royal, Johnson here. I got a message from Chase.
    She says she’s in need of help and is working deep undercover. I need to know what case she’s working, the circumstances of the mission and the players involved.
    I’ve never known her to sound the way she did. She sounded desperate.”
    After what seems like a long silence, Agent James blurts, “Joe, we can’t talk over the phone. Let’s meet in thirty minutes at the place where we had lunch the last time we were together.” I hear the click on the other end of the phone. Agent James has hung up, leaving me no choice but to meet him. I hate it when people do that. I 24
    Black Rain
    can imagine the ugly frown on his long walnut-brown face. He always looks that way when things upset him.
    The last place I met Agent James for lunch was at the Longview Lake Marina. There’s a popular hotdog vendor named Jeffrey Bradley, whose cart always draws a long line. Vernon and I caught Jeffrey several times trying to pickpocket people on days when his assistant worked the cart. Once, he even tried to pickpocket Vernon, which was the last straw. After Vernon slapped him around a bit, he decided to work for us. He was terrified of going to jail, but he knew what every other lowlife on the street was up to. So now, he doubles as a snitch and gives us great information, as well as discounts on the food. We pay him pretty well, since the info has always led to arrests.
    Longview Lake is about twenty minutes from my home. I frequent the lake, riding fifteen miles a day in summer on the park bike trail.
    I go upstairs and throw on some jeans, sneakers and an old Baker University T-shirt I bought after graduate school, and I leave a note on the nightstand for Sierra in case she wakes. She can reach me on my cell phone anytime. I grab my ankle holster and .25 automatic pistol, take the keys to my black 300 Nissan convertible, and head for Longview Lake.
    The marina is isolated. I sit in the car listening to the autumn leaves rustling in the night wind. The