Chase my life.
Agent James pulls out a small packet of antacid tab-lets, pops four in his mouth and chews them slowly. He rubs his stomach. “So, are you in or out?” He flicks the half-smoked cigarette into the waves of the lake and looks me squarely in the eyes.
The current takes hold of the butt and carries it farther away. I feel as though I’m about to be carried away from all that I care for and hold valuable, but I can’t bear the thought of someone harming Chase. What will Sierra say? I know she will lose it when she finds out that Chase and I spent the night together, even if I didn’t make love to her. She will not want me on the case. Am I truly doing this for the right reason? I can’t forget my partner, Vernon. His reaction to me going on this case alone will be just short of a heart attack. We have been through a lot together and I’m sure he will question my loyalty, but I don’t want him getting hurt because of my debt to Chase. I feel bad about my hesitation, Chase would risk her life for me; shit, she already has.
“I’m in.”
Agent James pulls a folder and a bulky envelope from his trousers—they’d been hidden under his pullover sweatshirt. “Joe, several officers in the four-state area and agents have come up dead. I’m sure you’ve heard of the car fires lately? We’ve kept it under wraps—and the press doesn’t know—that the victims have all been law-enforcement officers.”
I nod. “The media has put out reports that the car fires are gang-related. They’ve reported some kind of retalia-28
Black Rain
tion for gangbangers disrespecting each others’ turf.
Are all the victims on the take?”
With a half smile Agent James opens the folder.
“That’s the bullshit we’ve been feeding the press. The media loves gang hype. They bite every time we fish that story to them. Ghetto paranoia sells! The truth of the matter is every one of the victims has been in law enforcement. They have been professional hits. We can’t arrest a soul because there isn’t enough evidence to pin it on anyone.”
“That’s some heavy shit. How can the departments let something like this spread to different states? Either the guys running this dirty outfit are smart as hell or they’re getting direction from someone higher up the food chain who’s keeping them abreast of the operation procedures. It looks like you got someone on the inside of the department keeping their eyes and ears open for the bad guys. This stinks to high heaven,” I state.
James moves the folder into the rays of the overhead lamppost that lights the dock and pulls out photos of bodies burned so badly that they are unrecognizable. In some instances the gold chains, clothes and jewelry are burned right into the flesh.
One picture is a montage of black, brown and red burned flesh. The heat was so intense that it burned deep enough to expose bone matter.
“After doing research into each officer killed, we found bank accounts, cars, homes and boats that the poor bastards couldn’t afford if they worked for the department for ten years. All were crooked as a monkey’s ass. We know this is internal, but we don’t know how high up it goes. That’s where you come in.
Vincent Alexandria
29
“Joe, the stuff doesn’t stop there. We have the exact same situation going on in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa. We feel they’re all connected.”
I rub my head and the back of my neck from the stress that’s moving into them. “So, you think the same guy is running all of this?”
“Yes. In these states, there are federal injunctions on state and local law-enforcement agencies, allowing any money seized from drug-related activity to be kept by the state and department that makes the bust. In other states this money goes directly to the federal government and the department that made the bust gets a percentage from a pool of money that is set up to help all departments stay up to date with computer equipment,
Agent James pulls out a small packet of antacid tab-lets, pops four in his mouth and chews them slowly. He rubs his stomach. “So, are you in or out?” He flicks the half-smoked cigarette into the waves of the lake and looks me squarely in the eyes.
The current takes hold of the butt and carries it farther away. I feel as though I’m about to be carried away from all that I care for and hold valuable, but I can’t bear the thought of someone harming Chase. What will Sierra say? I know she will lose it when she finds out that Chase and I spent the night together, even if I didn’t make love to her. She will not want me on the case. Am I truly doing this for the right reason? I can’t forget my partner, Vernon. His reaction to me going on this case alone will be just short of a heart attack. We have been through a lot together and I’m sure he will question my loyalty, but I don’t want him getting hurt because of my debt to Chase. I feel bad about my hesitation, Chase would risk her life for me; shit, she already has.
“I’m in.”
Agent James pulls a folder and a bulky envelope from his trousers—they’d been hidden under his pullover sweatshirt. “Joe, several officers in the four-state area and agents have come up dead. I’m sure you’ve heard of the car fires lately? We’ve kept it under wraps—and the press doesn’t know—that the victims have all been law-enforcement officers.”
I nod. “The media has put out reports that the car fires are gang-related. They’ve reported some kind of retalia-28
Black Rain
tion for gangbangers disrespecting each others’ turf.
Are all the victims on the take?”
With a half smile Agent James opens the folder.
“That’s the bullshit we’ve been feeding the press. The media loves gang hype. They bite every time we fish that story to them. Ghetto paranoia sells! The truth of the matter is every one of the victims has been in law enforcement. They have been professional hits. We can’t arrest a soul because there isn’t enough evidence to pin it on anyone.”
“That’s some heavy shit. How can the departments let something like this spread to different states? Either the guys running this dirty outfit are smart as hell or they’re getting direction from someone higher up the food chain who’s keeping them abreast of the operation procedures. It looks like you got someone on the inside of the department keeping their eyes and ears open for the bad guys. This stinks to high heaven,” I state.
James moves the folder into the rays of the overhead lamppost that lights the dock and pulls out photos of bodies burned so badly that they are unrecognizable. In some instances the gold chains, clothes and jewelry are burned right into the flesh.
One picture is a montage of black, brown and red burned flesh. The heat was so intense that it burned deep enough to expose bone matter.
“After doing research into each officer killed, we found bank accounts, cars, homes and boats that the poor bastards couldn’t afford if they worked for the department for ten years. All were crooked as a monkey’s ass. We know this is internal, but we don’t know how high up it goes. That’s where you come in.
Vincent Alexandria
29
“Joe, the stuff doesn’t stop there. We have the exact same situation going on in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa. We feel they’re all connected.”
I rub my head and the back of my neck from the stress that’s moving into them. “So, you think the same guy is running all of this?”
“Yes. In these states, there are federal injunctions on state and local law-enforcement agencies, allowing any money seized from drug-related activity to be kept by the state and department that makes the bust. In other states this money goes directly to the federal government and the department that made the bust gets a percentage from a pool of money that is set up to help all departments stay up to date with computer equipment,
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