Jason’s Justice (Broken Wheel Ranch #13)

Chapter 1

Jason Black pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed out in frustration.

He was about to enter the office of the President of the United States with a request that would either break him, which would get him fired and blackballed to ever step foot in Washington DC ever again.

Or this meeting, and the results would make a name for himself and the sky would be the limit and he would be touted the hero.

He was called into the meeting, and didn’t come out of the Oval Office for two hours.

Instead of returning to his office, he went directly home, sat in his office with a small glass of whiskey, and realized he still had a lot of work to do.

During his meeting with the President, he had laid out the entire case and what he knew and asked permission to be assigned as the prosecutor to take on the FBI.

It wasn’t until Jason showed the results of the trial for Katherine Miller, where she was found not guilty on all counts, and then the trial where Michael Babcock had been found guilty for not only attempted murder, but murder, and also perjury, that the President agreed that someone had to get to the bottom of things.

Now Jason was officially on a leave of absence from his job, and just before leaving the White House, the President told Jason to mete out the justice that was needed to take down the corrupt members of the FBI.

It was a large task to complete and he wanted to take it on.

His next step was to go to Seattle, Washington to look for Ilsa Miller and get with her so they could compare notes.

He had the file, but he felt there was something missing, and he knew that Mrs. Miller had what he needed.

He cleaned up his home office, shredding what he didn’t need, and made sure other files were put under lock and key.

Since he had a cleaning lady that came in three times a week, he didn’t have to worry about cleaning the house.

As a thought struck, he made a phone call to the woman.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Hastings?”

“Yes, who’s this, please?”

“Jason Black.”

“Oh, Mr. Black, what can I do for you?”

“I have to go out of town for an undisclosed period of time. That means I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I was wondering if you would still continue to clean for me, however, you won’t have to cook a meal for me, or stock my freezer. I won’t be here to eat them.”

“When are you leaving, Sir?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Okay, I can continue to clean for you. If you don’t mind, would you want me to clean out your refrigerator and freezer?”

“Please. I’m sure the condiments can stay, but I’m not sure about the produce and other things.”

“I’ll take care of it, Mr. Black.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hastings. I’ll leave the envelope in the same place as always.”

“Thank you, Mr. Black. I hope your trip is fruitful.”

“So do I, Mrs. Hastings, so do I. Oh, before I forget. My car will be left in the garage, not that it should bother you, but because I don’t know when I’ll be returning, I’ll take a cab to the airport.”

“Mr. Black, if I may speak out of line.”

“About?”

“You’re not on the run are you?”

“No, but I am starting a very sensitive case that if I am successful it will piss off a lot of people. Heads will roll, and it won’t be pretty.

I’m leaving tomorrow to gather more information.

It shouldn’t happen, but if something happens to my home, notify me immediately.

I don’t care what time it is, and again, if anything happens, then I don’t want you to return. Keep yourself safe.”

“Oh my.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, but I’m dealing with some potentially bad people, and I don’t know if it will blow back on me by them coming after me, thinking I’m working from home.”

“How about this, Sir?”

“What?”

“What if I go in tomorrow, like my normal day, do an extra hard cleaning. I’ll empty the refrigerator and freezer, then instead of coming in three times a week, I go in and dust every two weeks.”

“That might be better. I’m sorry for giving such short notice.”

“Don’t worry about it. If you want me to keep safe, then I would feel better cleaning everything out, and doing it thoroughly, then I’ll stay away.”

“Thank you for understanding. I have no clue if something will happen or not.”

“But you have the gut instinct to warn me. I’ll take that warning, Mr. Black. I wish you well in whatever you face, and you will be in my prayers.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hastings.” They hung up, and he gathered the items for leaving her pay in the usual spot.

He threw in an extra couple hundreds of dollars to ease the burden of not cleaning for a while, and once it was left on the usual table, he went upstairs to the master bedroom to pack.

It took him almost two hours because he didn’t know what to actually pack.

Did he pack his thousand dollar suits, the ones he wore to the office every day, or casual clothes?

On a sigh, he stood in his walk-in closet and studied his clothes with a critical eye.

He finally decided to pack his less expensive dress clothes, and only two power suits with matching shirts and ties in case he would have to go to court.

Once everything was packed, he took the suitcases and garment bag down to the front door.

Back in his bedroom, he gathered his toiletries, and set them to the side.

There was room in one of the suitcases to stuff the smaller bag inside after his shower.

Earlier in the day, before his meeting with the President, he had been able to make a plane reservation.

He knew it was wrong to do before the meeting, but he had been convinced if he hadn’t been given permission to pursue this meeting, he was going to quit his job and go rogue.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to do that. Once he was sure he had everything, he returned downstairs and in the kitchen he opened the refrigerator and smiled at the fresh meal waiting for him.

The note attached said it was a lasagna that Mrs. Hastings had made that day.

The rest was in the freezer. As it warmed in the microwave, he sighed at all the food that would go to waste, but it warmed his heart that Mrs. Hastings would be taking it home with her.

As he ate, he made a list of things he thought he should pack, and as soon as some of the items were written down, he crossed them off as already packed.

After his dinner, he cleaned up, and even washed the dishes by hand, dried them, and put them away.

As he headed toward the stairs, he went to his office, stood there and turned in a circle several times trying to remember why he went in there to begin with.

He thought he was still young enough, at the age of fifty-two, not to be losing his mind.

With a shake of his head, he started to leave, then whipped around and turning in a circle again.

He looked at his watch, nodded, then ran up to his walk-in closet for a bag.

Back in his office, he gathered things that were important to him, or extremely expensive, and put them in the bag.

He made a mental note to leave earlier than he planned for the airport the next day in order to drop these items off at the bank in his safety deposit box.

At the last minute, he added certain files to the bag, and once satisfied, he took the bag to the front door.

When Jason settled in bed that night, he looked around and nodded.

“I’ll miss you,” he said to the room at large, and he had absolutely no idea why he said what he had, since he said it to a house.

After a restless night, he rose an hour before his alarm was to go off, and he went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, but found that it was already made, and he only had to turn it on before he went back up to shower.

Dressed, packed, and ready to go, he walked his house one last time, then pulled his phone and called for a cab.

He had his two suitcases, one garment bag, and his briefcase waiting outside when the cab arrived.

After putting the luggage in the back, he requested to be taken to the bank, then told the driver there would be a large tip if he would wait for him in the bank, then take him to the airport.

Once inside the bank, he was immediately ushered to the safety deposit boxes, and after he put the items inside, he decided to bring the empty carry-on with him, and he stopped at the teller and withdrew a large sum of cash.

Still not understanding why he would need it, but it felt right, and he had been known to go by his gut instincts for most of his life.

At the airport, he made good on his promise of giving the cabbie a large tip, he figured the hundred dollars he slipped him would make his day, and maybe help his family out a little.

He had no problems getting checked in, or through security.

He liked that he only had to wait thirty minutes before he boarded the plan.

Since he had booked first class tickets, he was one of the first ones to board.

The flight to Chicago was uneventful, no problems with the lay-over, and they left on time for Seattle.

After getting his bags at the claims area, Jason went to the car rental counter, and again, had no problem picking up his rental.

He liked that he was given a mid-sized SUV, and after tossing his luggage inside, he paused when his stomach began to growl.

He looked at his watch, then the clock on the dash and laughed at himself.

According to the time difference, his body was on the time that he had actually boarded his plane back in Washington, but he was physically three hours behind that time.

On his way to his destination, several miles from the airport, he saw a restaurant, pulled in, and went inside.

It didn’t take long to get service, nor to eat his meal.

With a full stomach, he went back out to his vehicle and programmed his first destination in the GPS and settled in for the drive.

When he arrived at his destination, he parked in the parking garage and walked to the police station.

As soon as he entered, memories of when he first started practicing law came rushing back to him, and he had to shake his head to clear it.

It had been a long, long time ago that he’d been hungry at the prosecutor’s office.

With hard work, determination, and grit, Jason had worked his way up the ladder, and was now one of the top prosecutors in the country.

He was about to ask for someone that would guide him in taking on one of the biggest police agencies, and he couldn’t wait to begin.