Chapter Seven #2
“I’m aware. But three bodies dropped to play a game, or one person killed so I have time to find him…trust me when I say I don’t like playing it that way, but I have to keep as many people safe as I can. People will die, and that’s on me. It’s just a matter of how many. That’s also on me.”
He said nothing.
Kate clued them in.
“The Hunters are going to get this shit handled. The Director has backup coming. We need to just stay ahead of him for a little while. Elizabeth is the utmost expert on serial killers. If she says this will throw him off, it will throw him off.”
On top of Ivan murdering them, Winn knew Ethan was also going to kick his ass.
“I have rules.”
She waited.
“If you feel off, you grab the Director, and you get your ass back in here. Because I’m not going to have to tell Azriel and Ariel, HER Archangels, that we thought it was a good idea to dangle the new director in front of a killer.”
She nodded.
“Deal, but no one knows she’s the boss yet. We have the element of surprise.”
He hated that she was smart.
And that he’d not thought about that.
“Two, you keep it to under ten minutes,” he said. “Then, I want you back inside. If you think there’s any chance it’s going sideways, signal me. I’m coming out to get you and the director.”
From not far away, Ariel and Azriel, the two Archangels who were protecting Kate were standing there.
It was clear they’d heard what he’d said, because they moved closer.
“We will be out there,” Azriel stated. “Trust and believe.”
That’s when Kate showed Elizabeth how much she trusted the woman.
“No, you won’t. We’ll announce I’m now the director, and I’ll stand by Elizabeth.”
Ariel went to protest.
“Ma’am.”
She stopped him.
“I’m fine,” she stated. “It’s literally day one. The deputy director and I will make a stand together. That’s an order,” she offered.
Oh, and they didn’t look happy.
Who were they glaring at?
Raphael.
Well, that went about as well as he expected. Apparently, the truce was over, and they were now back to the shit list.
It had been nice while it lasted.
When Gunny radioed Raphael, she heard him say he was in position.
That meant they were ready for the show to begin.
She knew they were going out on the Pennsylvania Avenue side, so backup was eight floors up.
“We’ve got this. I need you to trust me.”
Raphael hoped so, as did Johnny and Uriel.
As for himself, Raphael did trust her.
That was the ONLY reason she was getting her way on this.
“Good luck,” he said. “And signal me if you need me.”
Oh, she would.
Glancing over, she focused on Kate.
“Thank you for that,” she said, as they began moving toward the doors. Through the glass, they could both see that the media was all over the sidewalk and parking area.
She shrugged.
“You’d do it for me. We’re a team, remember? I wasn’t blowing smoke up your ass when I said that. Besties, remember?” she stated.
Elizabeth laughed.
“You really want to be my best friend? Are you out of your goddamn mind? You know what I’m like. You just saw the shit I stir up on a bad day. It’s worse on a good one.”
Kate smiled.
“Crazy is as crazy does. No one wants to run this shitshow but a lunatic. That should answer that for you. Besides, you were my idol. I’m in my fangirl era.”
Oh, lordy.
She’d better not drop that ball, or it would go all kinds of bad for all of them.
As they hit the doors, the media went WILD.
It was clear they recognized Kate, and that meant they likely believed this was an update on the kiddie porn case she’d been working.
Oh, they were in for a surprise.
The agents that they’d sent out to be ready for this little funfest were out there holding them back, and already, they were shouting at Elizabeth.
There were SO many questions.
They ranged from who was she here chasing to when was she coming back. They also peppered it with questions for Kate regarding the senators who had been arrested.
Instead of answering, they took their spots on the stairs and focused on the media.
When they went silent, and only then, she began her press conference. Oh, and she was in her boots, jeans, and a blazer. Elizabeth purposely stayed in street attire while Kate was dressed to the nines.
They were definite opposites, but they both meant business.
Now, it was time to shake that can of soda and pop the top. They’d she’d see if this plan played well in the media.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for showing up for this little impromptu press junket.”
When they started talking, she gave them the look, and that shut them right up.
Never let it be said that you couldn’t train old dogs to go back to their old habits. She hadn’t been gone that long that they would forget how she rolled.
Yeah, they knew better.
When they recalled their manners, she continued.
“I’d like to introduce you to someone who you’re going to want to know,” she said. “First, before we talk about my case, be respectful to Katherine Natalia, my boss, the new Director of the FBI.”
The second she said it, the media went crazy.
Like batshit insane.
It was clear that Gabe had kept this hush-hush for a while. The questions began, and Elizabeth shut that down.
“Yes, you heard me right. Director Axelle Maverick has resigned, and Katherine is taking over.”
Kate stood there, and she knew they were well aware of who she was. Most of them had been up in her face over the last few months as she built her case to take down some dirty senators who were pedophiles.
She’d made a stand in DC.
Pedophiles had no place in her city, and she would make sure they went to jail.
Elizabeth continued.
“We aren’t addressing that but instead discussing a bigger issue.”
They paused and waited.
“Next, we’ll talk about why I asked you here today. As some of you know, thanks to the media, I’m working on a big case.”
Someone shouted from the audience.
“The one that got away?” he asked.
Well, never say they weren’t blunt. Honestly, she preferred it that way.
The enemy you knew…
Elizabeth nodded.
“Yeah, him. The perp’s name is Devon Slater,” she said, purposely not saying ‘alleged’.
She had him dead to rights, and he wouldn’t be seeing a judge or a jury.
Only the executioner.
Calling out the Russians to hurt Jet had been a bridge too far, and she was burning it to the ground.
She continued.
“You might know him as a businessman, and real estate guy who plays philanthropist.”
The media was making notes, and the cameras were not only recording, but flashing.
Good.
Devon was about to get his ass handed to him by the woman who was putting him down like the rabid fucking dog he was.
“I’m currently chasing him. He left three dead women in Corpus Christi,” she said. “Sister Mary Cramer, Debbie Lewston, and Tammy Bisset. He brutally murdered them, mutilating their bodies.”
The media was taking it all in, like she hoped they would. They were eating it up, and she couldn’t wait to drop the nuke on this asshole.
Yeah, it was that big.
“He calls himself The Grave Robber. What he likes is to dig up female victims, sexually assault their corpses, and take their eyes.”
There was a gasp from the media.
“Yeah, he’s a sicko,” she stated. “Well, he’s done it again. Here, he left two victims he’d dug up. A male and female.”
A reporter raised his hand.
“Is this really the same guy who donated so much money in DC?”
She nodded.
“Yes, it is. He has a hospital wing named after his mother, one after his father, and he played philanthropist. Trust me when I say he’s not. His father was a piece of garbage who also killed people. We’re currently working on finding all of his victims, and bringing the family crimes to light.”
They listened.
“So, I’ve come here today to do two things.”
They waited.
“I’m going to ask that all companies who have named buildings or places that he made legacy donations in his father’s name, remove them.
You don’t want to be known as companies who support rapists and killers.
There are far better people out there who deserve it, and do you really want to be tied to a murderer? ”
The media was enthralled.
She knew who wouldn’t be.
Slater, and all of those companies who were being blindsided. Oh, they’d take the names down, and that would fuck the dead man’s legacy.
That was punch one, in the one-two punch.
Here came the next one.
The knockout.
“Next, I’m asking the public for its help. This broadcast will be spread over the internet and to every news station in the US. I want everyone to be on the lookout for this man.”
Kate handed her a file.
In it, Elizabeth pulled out pictures they’d printed out. They showed Devon smiling, mingling with people, and they’d used MATE to alter his face enough that if he went to a plastic surgeon at any time, he still wouldn’t be able to hide.
Checkmate, asshole.
“He’s out there, and we know he’s in the US. We’ve tagged his passports, and we are currently working with Interpol, and MIS to make sure he doesn’t leave the US.”
The media was chomping at the bit.
“What else, Director?” one reporter asked.
She went there.
“As of ten minutes ago, we froze assets by having the president authorize the power to do so. Devon Slater is now wanted by every single country in the world. His face is being spread everywhere, and he’s public enemy number one of the United States of America.”
Yeah, Devon.
Suck.
On.
That.
That was the kind of power she had, and exactly how she was going to wield it.
She stared into the camera.
“Devon, you’re not getting out of this mess. Turn yourself in.”
The one reporter was curious.
“And if he doesn’t?”
It was as if she knew how the reporters questioned things, and she’d been ready for this. Not only was he on all the watch lists, and couldn’t leave, she had a little something-something for him.
A clusterfuck.
Kate handed her something else.
Elizabeth took the paper and held it up. It was a cashier’s check.
“I am offering a reward outside of the FBI for information leading to the capture and arrest of Devon Slater. The amount? One million dollars.”
As soon as she said it, there was an audible gasp.