by Kelly Shade
“Jane is not trained either!” Evans burst out.
“Huh, Evans are you kidding me?” Jane laughed at Victoria and looked at Sheffield “I’ll do it.”
The team wasn’t happy with Jane’s decision but had no choice but to help. They were going to cooperate with the narcotics team for the big bust they were hoping to make.
Blake went to meet the narcotics team in their office on the next floor. Sheffield and Hunt were the one who accompanied her because the others of the homicide division had a murder case to solve.
Jane walked in and with surprise saw that their office was almost identical to the homicide one. The only difference was that they had more desks and older chairs.
“Welcome, Miss Blake!” a short, muscular, man with black hair and sharp facial features reached for a handshake. “I’m Derek Hammington.”
“Please call me Jane.” Blake shook his hand and turned to the next man waiting for a handshake.
“Charles Dehart.” Said the tall dark-haired agent with a nice suit.
“Felipe Sanders,” said the last one in line which was the youngest of them, maybe in his thirties, with dark brown curly hair, a jutting chin, eyes like olives and dimples which appeared when he smiled.
“Nice to meet you!” Jane said politely but she looked around searching for her future partner.
Another man walked in and greeted Hunt and Sheffield at the door. He was tall, well put, with dirty blonde hair, green-brown eyes and short, light beard. When he exchanged a few words with his superior, Sheffield, and the chief, Hunt, he turned to Jane.
“Kyle Collins.” He said with deep voice and reached his hand “You must be Jane Blake. Thank you for deciding to help!”
“Yes.” Jane nodded awkwardly.
“If you please, come with me on my desk. I want to walk you through my operation and my role in the cartel. There are many details you need to know. I hope we have enough time.” He said and welcomed her with hand gesture.
“I believe you will take it from here.” Hunt said to Collins and turned to Jane “Blake, if you need something…” Hunt made a ‘call me’ gesture with his fingers and went out of the office.
Blake sat at Collin’s desk, he next to her.
“You should play my girlfriend; I hope you don’t mind!” Kyle smiled and looked down as if he was asking her for real.
“I’ve played a lot of roles. It won’t be a problem.” Jane said without realizing how weird that sounded.
They both laughed and then got to work.
For the six months Kyle spent undercover, he had a lot of details to share with Jane. They had to spend the night at the Station. Until the morning came they were exhausted.
“Wanna grab a coffee somewhere out of this office?” offered Kyle.
“Yeah, that would be great.” Jane said sleepily.
They walked out to the nearby cafe and sat outside. The morning was a bit cold, but the October sun was still warm and comforting. Jane chose a table with the most sunshine and she and Kyle sat there to drink their coffees and clear their heads.
“I’ve never met a person with that good memory! How do you do that?” Collins asked eagerly. Through the night Jane had memorized all the cartel members’ names, history, place at the cartel’s hierarchy, drugs they were selling, places they were selling at and basically all the intel Kyle had about them.
“It is a force of a habit. Sort of a trick. Everyone can do it.” Jane answered.
“Don’t underestimate yourself, Jane, you are really good!” Kyle said with a smile.
“I didn’t say it was an easy trick.” Jane winked at him.
They spent an hour talking and laughing. They were a lot alike, Jane noticed that Kyle was a professional and as eager for the truth as her. He was sharing his time with the cartel and Jane thought he would be an amazingly good con artist if he wanted to. The only thing which was keeping him on the right side of the law was that he needed a good legal reason to deceive people.
“I can’t wait seeing you as Dan Peterson!” said Jane excitedly. This was the name Kyle used when he was undercover.
“Tonight you will be able to!” he said with a smile.
After the coffee break they got back to the office where they set the final details and were dismissed for the rest of the day. They both needed to rest.
At nine thirty pm, Jane went to meet the homicide and narcotics team. They waited at a van two blocks away from the Alvaradoz’s night club. Nick, Ian and Ryan insisted to be part of the backup team and Hunt had no choice but to allow them.
Jane stepped into the van full of high tech gadgets, which she had no idea what were for. After a long lecture for safety measures from both teams, at last Jane was able to go do her job. Kyle was waiting her in front of the ‘Diablo Gato’ night club.
Jane, dressed with a short denim skirt, sneakers, a yellow shirt and black jacket, went towards Kyle with a drunk-like walk. Their role was to be a white trash couple addicted to all kinds of drugs. Kyle, or Dan Peterson, was with a torn baggy jeans and a wide white tank top, spiky hair with a lot of wax, and a golden like chain on his neck with a skull pendant.
“Ready?” Kyle whispered in her ear when she came closer and hugged him.
“Mhm.” Jane hummed.
“I may act like a douchebag; it is nothing personal…” Kyle hurried to apologize in advance.
“…it is part of the act, I know!” Jane finished his sentence.
He looked at her apologetically for a second; then his whole face changed in an ugly grimace typical for a drugged jerk. He was a good actor.
Jane also went into the role of a woman with no self-respect interested only in the next dose.
They walked in the ‘Diablo Gato’ night club holding hands. Jane took a gum and started chewing loudly and making big bubbles.
The place itself was something between a strip club, bar and a casino. There were several cages hanging off the ceiling with dancing, almost naked women. Three poker tables, a roulette and slot machines were placed around the massive round bar in the middle. The huge dancefloor was full with drunk half-naked dancing people. The atmosphere was typical- dim pink lights around the cages, the bar was lit in smoky blue LED lights. The heavy smell of marijuana, cigarettes, alcohol and heavy perfume was getting in Jane’s lungs and it was difficult for her to breathe properly. The casino-like side of the club was occupied with wealthy looking customers with their trophy wives and bodyguards.
Kyle led Jane through the tables, then they had to cut though the dancing crowd on the dancefloor and finally they were in front of a dark blue curtains which separated the main part of the club from the VIP zone. The security there was tight, several heavily armed men were keeping the entrance safe. When Kyle and Jane attempted to walk behind the curtains, one of the guards stopped them and searched them for weapons. It was an unpleasant feeling for Jane, the guard was rude and his touching hands had no boundaries. After he finished with the extensive check, Jane and Kyle were allowed to go in.
Kyle walked first, demonstrating a total disrespect for Jane. She ran after him into the fancy back room. There was a small swimming pool, two jacuzzis occupied with naked women, several rattan couches and a bar situated on the length of the opposite wall.
Blake looked around - a second was enough for her to distinguish the boss. A sixty plus old man, with white hair, his beard made into a fashionable style, sunglasses, an earring on his left ear, expensive watch on the wrist and a huge diamond ring on his pinky finger. He was in the middle of the bigger jacuzzi, holding a glass of champagne with strawberries, surrounded by women half his age.
Kyle walked towards him, kneeled and tapped Alvaradoz on the shoulder with the words “Boss, my girlfriend is here as you wished.”
“Oh, Dan, my boy!” Alvaradoz turned around with a fake smile which showed the amazing dental work he had. Then he slowly walked out of the water and a beautiful woman popped up from nowhere holding a satin robe. She helped him put on t
he robe, then refilled his glass with champagne and walked away.
Alvaradoz gestured Jane and Kyle to sit on the couch near the bar and when they made themselves comfortable and were with beers in their hands, Alvaradoz started talking with a sleazy voice.
“Now I understand why Dan hid you from me, you are gorgeous!” he gently kissed her hand and added “Lucco Alvaradoz, it is a pleasure to meet you!”
“Monica Hugh, the pleasure is all mine!” said Jane and pretended to be intrigued by the man.
Alvaradoz’s cold black eyes glowed when he saw Jane’s interest. Now Blake knew why the narcotics team wanted her to join the operation- Alvaradoz’s soft spot was simply beautiful women.
“Boss, I need to talk to you.” Kyle said “Business, not for her ears!” he pointed at Jane.
“Okay, Dan, I can give you a minute of my time!” said Alvaradoz pompously.
“Monica, go get a drink!” ordered Kyle to Jane.
“But…” Jane murmured.
“Out! Now!” Kyle raised his voice and looked at her with irritation.
Jane stood up, pretending to be offended, and walked away. For her, this was a chance to walk around and gather more intel. She went to the bar and ordered a martini.
“So you are Dan’s girl, huh?” asked the bartender while giving her the martini glass.
“For now!” Jane said with an annoyed expression.
“Why is that?” the bartender leaned on the bar so he could be closer to Jane.
“I’m getting bored of him!” Jane said with a giggle.
“If you look for adventures, I can take you to my place tonight!” whispered the man and winked.
“I wouldn’t say no to a journey, but not in your pants!” Jane leaned forwards, whispered in his ear and looked at Alvaradoz meaningfully.
“Oh!” sighted the bartender with a nasty smile “You are aiming high!”
“Do I have a chance?” Jane made another bubble with the pink gum in her mouth.
“Lose the gum, put a dress and you’re in!” advised the bartender.
“Give me more tips. What does he like?” Jane asked eagerly.
“Parties, champagne, women…” said he while cleaning a glass.
“Something else I should know?” Jane inclined her head and smiled.
“Well, I shouldn’t tell you that, but you should know he has an eighteen-year-old daughter. She must approve you but she is not easy!” said the bartender quietly.
“You are not allowed to talk about his daughter?” Jane wrinkled her eyebrows.
“He keeps her a secret from most of the people. You know, safety reasons!” the bartender winked.
“Thank you for sharing!” Jane smiled.
“Well, you don’t look like a person who would harm her or … I don’t know!” he said.
“You can be sure of that!” Jane lied and looked at Alvaradoz again.
Kyle waved her to join them. Blake stood up and gracefully walked towards them, trying to make an impression.
“Are you done talking business, boys?” Jane asked with a sweet voice.
Instead of an answer, Kyle pulled her rudely and she fell in his lap. He kissed her on the cheek and put his hand around her waist. He was acting as if she was his property.
“We did, pumpkin!” Kyle said and squeezed her leg. Even his voice was different - rude, disrespectful.
“Dan and I have a proposal for you.” Started Lucco “Would you like to be part of Alvaradoz’s family?” he asked with arms wide open.
“I’d love to!” said Jane with a smile and looked from Kyle to Alvaradoz pretending to be impatiently waiting for the offer.
“I want you to deliver an important message to a customer.” Alvaradoz said and handed her a piece of paper. “Can you do that for me?”
“Of course! Where should I go?” Jane imitated excitement.
“My boy, Dan, will explain the details.” Alvaradoz padded Kyle on the shoulder and stood up. “Tomorrow, after the job is done, I want you two at my party. There is a dress code, choose something stylish!” added Lucco and looked at Kyle haughtily.
Jane and Kyle got out of the ‘Diablo Gato’ and headed to the van.
“Well?” Ryan jumped up when he saw Jane opening the van door.
“Did you hear everything?” Blake asked.
“Yeah, the bug in your phone works perfectly!” Ryan said happily.
“What bug?” asked Collins with surprise.
“The one I installed in Jane’s phone. Why?” Gray said casually as if it was nothing.
“Blake, you and your boyfriend risked my whole operation with that bug!” Kyle shouted at Jane.
“He-is-not-my-boyfriend!” Jane answered annoyed "And nobody found it because it is untraceable! It’s Gray’s invention! It was not a risk at all!”
“Oh! Well, you should have started with that!” mumbled Kyle.
Blake shared the information she got about Alvaradoz’s daughter, then showed the tam the piece of paper that Alvaradoz gave her and after they discussed what should they do next, she got out of the van. Kyle and Ryan ran after her.
“Where are you going?” asked Ryan.
“Home. Why?” Jane continued walking. She was exhausted.
“If you want…” Ryan started but Kyle interrupted.
“I need to talk to you. Can we walk together?”
“Sure.” Agreed Jane and Gray turned around and headed back to the van, showing his huge dislike to Collins.
Kyle and Jane walked slowly, both of them were tired. The night walk felt good, refreshing.
“I’m sorry about the way I acted at the club!” apologized Kyle. “And in the van!”
“For the club, it is okay.” Jane smiled at him “I’m impressed with your acting skills!”
“Huh, thanks! I’m impressed with yours!” Kyle returned the compliment.
They walked by a diner and Collins stopped in front of its entrance.
“Wanna grab a bite?” he offered.
“Yeah, I’m starving!” Jane said with a smile and they walked in the small empty diner.
Chapter 16
Venomous blood
The next day Jane spent in the narcotics’ team office going over the operation. The place she had to go was in a dangerous neighborhood, famous with its high crime. Gray checked the address and it turned out, that the customers Jane had to visit were another cartel, Alvaradoz’s competition. The message she had to deliver was details about the time and place of a product transfer. Alvaradoz was selling them part of the cocaine and heroin he owned because, apparently, Lucco’s sales were low and he had too much in his possession. The hard part for Jane was that she had to make the bargaining for the price. Alvaradoz wanted to get as much money as he could so he decided to change the agreed price in the last moment.
Ian, Nick, Ryan and Victoria were working on a murder case but they used every free second to visit Jane at the narcotics’ office.
Blake was nervous that day. She didn’t feel well even though Victoria had brought her three coffees in the length of four hours. Blake thought that the dizziness was because of the lack of sleep. The night before, after the pleasant dinner with Kyle, she had an uneasy sleep.
Maybe her face was giving her away because Collins asked worryingly “Are you sure you can do it?”
Jane nodded instead of a yes.
“These are dangerous people, Jane! If you don’t feel like it…” he continued.
“What will you tell Alvaradoz? I’m sick? Or I decided I don’t want to be a part of ‘his family’?” Jane interrupted with irritation.
“Well,” Kyle didn’t really know what was the way out of that without ruining his six-month work.
Blake was given an old car from the confiscated ones. She drove to the house she had to deliver the message.
She arrived at the location and hid the GPS navigation in the compartment of the car door. Jane didn’t want them to see the device because it was more expensive then the car.
The one story house with a small, white and broken fence was covered in graffiti, there were several bags of garbage in the yard and two huge Rottweiler dogs.
Blake walked carefully towards the house. The moment she touched the fence, both dogs started barking, jumping and trying to break the thick chains which were holding them.
A tattooed man walked out of the house and yelled angrily at the dogs to shut up. When the beasts saw their owner they sat down and went quiet.
“Who are you!” shouted he at Jane.
“I’m Monica.” Blake shouted back. “A friend of mine send me to you.”
“Who’s that friend?” the man went closer to her.
“Lucco Alvaradoz.”
“So you are the messenger!” laughed the man and waved her to go inside.
While Jane was passing by the dogs, a flash of memory dazzled her eyes. She remembered the two beasts which forced her down the cliff in Chile. Blake felt an overwhelming fear, she shivered by the cold sweat all over her body, her head was pounding in pain, her heart felt as if it was beating in her throat.
Blake couldn’t understand why was this happening to her. She didn’t have fear of dogs and even when she felt some kind of fear, the reaction was never that strong.
With a great effort Jane walked inside the house, where around ten men stared at her. Some were laying on an old couch, playing video games, others were sitting here and there, sniffing lines of white powder, cleaning their weapons or just staring with empty eyes.
Blake tried to come to her sensed and partially succeeded. The one who welcomed her in stood before her with a reaching hand.
“What?” Jane asked, realizing that until that moment she wasn’t listening. She didn’t hear anything and had no idea if they had spoken.
“Give me your phone.” Said the man, apparently for the second time.
“Why?” Jane asked.
“Give it now!” repeated the man, raising his voice.
Jane hesitated but she had no other choice but to hand her phone. She had to leave the only connection with the team. Blake didn’t dare to put wires or other listening devices on her but the phone was still with the bug Ryan had installed.