Chapter 17 #2
“Booker said one of his jobs came straight from the big guy. He called him Vic—”
A shot rang out. Michael grabbed Dani and sheltered her behind him as the crowd screamed and scattered.
But it was too late for Colter, who lay dead on the steps.
Colter was dead.
The tea Finn had given Dani had grown cold in her hands. She barely sipped it.
Captain Ree and ASAC Kumar stood at Captain Salvador’s desk at the South Eagle precinct as the three superiors had it out.
The glass window of the office gave them all a show—many of the officers in the bullpen sneaked glances as they worked—but Dani couldn’t hear what they were saying.
No doubt her name and all the chaos associated with it were a big part of the “discussion.”
Michael came and draped a warm jacket over her shoulders. It didn’t touch the cold, shadowy places inside though.
“What do we do now?” she asked him while staring into her cup.
“We need to get to that fundraising event now more than ever.” Steel resolve laced his words.
“What does the event have to do with this?” Dani looked at him.
“Because I want to see if Victor Bellmont is the boss Colter was talking about.”
“You heard that too?”
Michael nodded. “I’ve been going through it all in my head, and it makes sense.
He’s got the money, the power. He knows all the movers and shakers in Renegade, probably the whole state.
They have cops on their payroll, and they use people like Colter McCord and Booker Wilson to do the dirty work while they stay squeaky clean in their mansions.
Donner might have been on his payroll, but I’m betting they extorted him.
Not that we have any proof, but I want to meet him.
I want to look him in the eye and see what kind of man he is. And then find a way to take him down.”
They sat together for a quiet moment. Dani dipped her tea bag up and down, watching the ripples in her cup. She wasn’t going to drink anymore. She should find a garbage—wait. “Maybe there is proof that it’s Bellmont.”
“Where?”
“The money and the means of transportation.”
Michael’s brows furrowed. “How do we find proof?”
“Colter. Booker Wilson. That Angelo guy. Where did they all work?”
“Renegade Waste.”
“And Colter said he delivered stuff. What if the garbage and recycling deliveries and pickups are how they’re transporting illegal goods around the city?
And they could be using all the transportation companies of Continental Transportation to move what they need across the country and worldwide.
Whoever masterminded all this planted people at RWM, probably at SL too.
Why else would someone there try to kill me when I was in the shop that night?
A night when there was an oil-drum delivery well after working hours.
A truck door that happened to be left open. ”
Michael puffed out his cheeks and released the air. “This could be something huge.”
Dani nodded. “You can look into the connections at RWM. Figure out the routes or delivery system. I can keep tracing the funds at SL Trucking. The nonprofits and shell corporations. There’s got to be proof that leads back to Continental.
” Dani looked over at the office. Ree must’ve left, but Kumar and Salvador were still at it. “That is, if I still have a job.”
“They’d be stupid to fire you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Colter is dead. That’s wrong.”
“Wrong, but not your fault. And don’t forget that eight other people are alive because you convinced him to turn himself in.” Michael tucked her into his arms and held her close. “Sounds pretty heroic to me.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
“It usually doesn’t when it comes at such a high cost.”
The words soaked in and took root in her raw heart. She’d taken this job to make a difference. Maybe she was doing that. She just hadn’t realized the toll the losses would take too.
Don’t do it for the glory. The real heroes are in it to serve others, not to prove anything.
She’d have to thank Macy for that wisdom. It sounded a lot like a memory verse from her childhood.
Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
In seeking a life of meaning, she might’ve forgotten this ancient truth.
But if it was true—and she believed it was—she could be a hero and do this job whether she was in Renegade, Colorado, doing accounting, or in Miami going undercover.
She didn’t need to be so tied up by the flashy big cities and big assignments.
She didn’t have to go undercover like the movies she loved so much.
That wasn’t what being a federal agent was about.
She was here to serve. To fight the darkness and evil in the world.
Even if it was right here in her hometown.
It was as important as any other place. Maybe even more so, considering how many people she loved called Renegade home.
Salvador’s office door flew open, and Kumar stepped out. Dani jumped to her feet.
“Kim, with me.” She tipped her head toward the vending machines. Once they had space, Kumar stared her down with her arms firmly crossed in front of her.
Dani braced for impact and kept quiet.
“You and Martinelli an item?”
Huh? Didn’t think that’s where this conversation was headed, but…
“We are.”
“You’ve only been here a few weeks.”
“But I’ve known him all my life. We grew up together.”
Kumar seemed to take that in. “That’s satisfactory. And he seems to be a decent cop. I actually worked with his mother before she died. I never believed the rumors about her going corrupt.”
Dani didn’t know how to respond to that, so she didn’t. Surely this wasn’t over yet.
“I should berate you for going against my orders and getting involved in cases not assigned to you.”
Should? “Yes, ma’am.”
“But Captain Salvador and Captain Ree are in there singing your praises.”
It hadn’t looked like singing, but she’d take it. “I didn’t mean to jump into a hostage negotiation. It was only because I knew Colter personally that I got roped into it. He wouldn’t talk to anyone, and I didn’t think to call you. I just reacted. I’ll work on that—”
Kumar held up her hand. “Stop.”
Dani’s lips clamped shut.
“I gave you this assignment because it was a safe way to start you here in Renegade. You’re a rookie.
I don’t trust rookies to think for themselves on ops until I know them and how they operate.
Yes, you’re impulsive. I can’t say I like your methods, but”—she relaxed her shoulders—“the results have spoken for themselves. The families in that apartment building are alive because you jumped in.”
Dani choked up at her boss’s words. Kumar’s tone suggested they didn’t come lightly.
After swallowing past the tightness in her throat, Dani licked her lips. “So what happens now?”
ASAC Kumar’s grim expression didn’t change much except for a slight glint in her eyes. “You missed your shot at bringing down Norman Prince out in Baltimore. But I think you’re ready to go undercover and bring down a kingpin in Renegade. Victor Bellmont.”