Rogue Alliance (12 page)

             
“Victor wa
s on the phone when I got there,” Shyla said, not missing a beat,
“
I don’t know who he was talking to, but before I left,
he took
another phone call. He stepped
out of the room but I could
make out part of his side of the conversation. He said he’d meet whoever he was talking to at noon
the
Saturday
after next - the fourteenth. That t
hey’d
take
the
Shannon out for the afternoon and work out details.”

             
“
The
Shannon?” Hal asked.

             
“It’s his boat. He keeps her docked in San Francisco Bay. He stays
on the boat
when he’s in town for business. He
does a lot of sailing. I
t
’
s another one of his
‘
passions
’,” Shyla said, hooking her fingers in quotes,
“a
nyway, I have no doubt
a deal will go down that day
.
I’d like to work my way into an invitation.”

             
Jason straigh
tened in his chair.

             
“That’s the weekend after next
. How’re you going to finagle your way to a weekend away in less than two weeks?”

             
Shyla shrugged and gave a casual grin.

             
“I have my ways. T
he first date went pretty well and when I asked about his traveling south, he hinted that maybe he’d invite me along sometime, so it’s not a far-fetched idea.

             
“
Also, h
e invited me for a drive up to Shasta Lake this Friday
evening
. We’
re going to have a picnic. I’m sure it will be very romantic. Who knows
             
- maybe he’ll invite me
to spend the
night at his place, after that. I
t’ll just be a matter of time before he takes me with him on one of his trips, maybe even this next one.
”

             
“Moving pretty fast, if you ask me,” Shawn quipped.

             
Shyla’s head whipped around.

             
“What is it about this mission that you’re not getting, Shawn?
” she snapped,
“
I’m here to work. What the hell are you contributing?”

             
“Seriously, Shawn,” Hal said, “i
f you have a problem, then say it. Otherwise, shut up and do your damn job.
”

             
“
I wan
t more info on this Brennan guy,” Shyla pressed on, “t
here’s gotta be something out there on him. Meanwhile,
Jason,
I want you to get
surveillance
equipment together. If I’m
going to be at
Victor’s house again, I want
to tap his phones.
I want you
guys
to find
out any information you can on the place he docks his boat
. Get the registration and name it
’
s under in case it
’
s in
an alias. Find out who
runs the port and if they’re in any of the circles we’re familiar with.
”

             
She look
ed to Hal. He nodded .

             
“
Tapping his
phone is definitely a priority,” he added, “a
nd
,
if you get the chance
,
make yourself available for this trip
that’s coming up
. I t
hink it would be productive. But
of course, above all else, be careful.

             
“
Our goal is to start building a solid case against Victor and link him to the activities he’s in with hard evidence, which has
eluded
the system for a very long time because he has friends in high places. With someone on the inside, chances of getting something that will hold up in court are much better. What
we aren’t willing to sacrifice, Shyla,
is you. So be on alert and watch your back.
”

             
Shyla nodded, h
er head bent, as if scribbling down notes.

             
“Yes, Sir,
”
she said.
When she looked up, Hal and Jason were staring at Shawn, wai
ting for his response
.
He remained silent.

             
“You’re excused,” Hal said,
“
w
e’ll keep each other in the loo
p as things progress.”

             
Chairs scraped
linoleum as
the three of them left Hal’s office. Shyla was three steps ahead of Shawn and Jason as she moved toward her desk. She heard Shawn mumble under his breath. Though she couldn’t make it out, she knew it was directed toward her.

             
She turned on her heel.

             
“I’m sorry
,
Shawn, what was that?
”

             
She kept her voice low to prevent eavesdropping and
making a scene. But her sharp tone was to remind hi
m of who was really in charge of the
team.
She answered to Hal, but everyone knew who was taking the lead on the case.

             
Shawn hesitated then gave a pretentious grin.

             
“I didn’t say anything,” he said, “y
ou must have been hearing things, Shyla. Have a nice day.”

             
He turned and walked to the back of the station.

             
Jason pursed his lips. He looked torn between whether he should follow his partner or not.

             
When Shyla turned toward her desk, she heard his approach. He stood at her left shoulder and
pointed at her notepad, as if
addressing a matter during their meeting. He was making sure to keep their interaction formal for anyone
who might be watching.

             
“Don’t mind him, Shyla. He’s not used to working under a woman. He’s more the type to protect her. I’ve known him my whole life. He feels like he should be taking risks, not you. He just wants to make sure you’re safe. He’s actually a really nice guy.”

             
“I’m sure he is,” Shyla said, peering at him sideways, “b
ut he needs to get his shit together if he wants to remain on this team. If we are going to work together, we all need to be
on the same page. W
e do what it takes to take down Victor. Understand?”

             
“Yes, ma’am,
”
Jason nodded.
He stepped back.

             
“So I’ll get of copy of these minutes to you by the end of the day,” Shyla said
in a louder tone
.

             
“Sounds good, thanks.
”

             
Jason
turned and went after his partner.

THIRTEEN

             
Shyla woke to what sounded like a brawl just outside her second storey bedroom window. She glanced at the luminescent red digital numbers of her bedside clock. 12:30 AM. What was the deal? What was she going to have to do to get a solid night’s sleep?

At least this time she didn’t have a hangover. She’d made herself stay away from the liquor cabinet all evening,
just to prove that she could
. It was the first sober night she’d had since she found out she was relocating to Redding.

             
There was one solid
bang,
like something
solid
had been rammed into
metal. T
he rumble
of loud voices reached her ears. It sounded like a group of boys arguing.

             
Untangling
the sheets from
her legs
,
she
stumbled
out of bed. Peeking through the
shades,
she gave a few hard blinks and
tried to focus
her sleepy eyes.

             
There were four teenage boys surrounding a smaller form
near the garbage dumpsters
. She squinted and caught a brief glimpse
of their captor,
a girl with
mid-length
,
dark hair and thick legs poking out from a very short mini-skirt.
They were taunting and poking at her, grabbin
g her from both front and back.

             
Shit. I’d better get out there, she thought. Quickly pulling on a pair of jeans, she skipped shoes then rushed out the front door and down the flight of stairs.

             
“Hey,” she ca
lled out, “l
et her go.”

             
All four boys turned but
held their positions encircling
the girl.

             
As Shyla approached, her earlier suspicions were confirmed; the girl
they were harassing was the
very same one
she’d busted the other night at the Walgreens.
Figured.

Two of the boys looked startled, maybe a bit frightened and they took a step back as Shyla approached. One
boy seemed indifferent, as if this were just an everyday occurrence in his bo
ring life. But the fourth
, the
shortest one
who had a tight grip on the girl’s upper arm, gave an amused grin.

             
“
No,” he said simply.

             
Shyla wished she had her gun and badge. They often spoke louder than words.

             
“I said let her go. Now,” she warned.

             
The boy’s smirk faded.

             
“Fuck off, lady. Turn your ass around and go back up to your apartment or you’re gonna
get a little piece of us
, too.”

             
Shyla ignored his warning and stepped forward. She knew her action would cause his reaction. She was counting on it. When he let go of the girl, stepped forward and grabbed Shy
la’s t-shirt, she mirrored his movements
and grabbed him by the front of his thin jacket.
The sound of his nose breaking when she head-butted him in the face didn’t faze her. In the blink of an eye she, she had him on the ground face-down, blood gushing from his nose, his arm twisted behind his back.

             
His friends stood back, their faces
gripped in shock and awe. They hadn’t had the time or the wherewithal to react.

             
The girl looked half terrified
,
half delighted. She sto
od shaking with an odd grin on her face
and both hands to her cheeks.

             
Shyla sat on top of the boy, one knee digging in at the spot between his shoulder blades.

             
“I warned you, buddy,” she said, “n
ow are you going to bug this girl anymore
or are you just going to be smart and go home
?”

             
He struggled b
eneath her weight.

             
“Jesus, lady, w
e were just messing around. I’m going to call the cops and sue your ass. You broke my goddamn nose.”

             
Shyla dug her knee in a bit deeper.

             
“You know what? I don’t think that y
ou are going to call the cops, b
ecause my version of what was going on out here will be a lot more interesting to the authorities than you having a broken nose.”

             
She looked up at her audience.

             
“Don’t you think?”
she asked them.

             
They all stared at her like she was the anti-Christ. She looked back down at her captive.