by Margaret Kay
“Are you kidding me?” Bobby exclaimed. “I’m not going to go nowhere.”
“I have to follow the law, Bobby. Now get back into this car.”
“Fucking jagoff,” Bobby murmured below his breath as he got back into the passenger seat.
Sherman heard him, but let it go. He looked away, his lips curving into a grin.
Ten minutes later, Brielle rejoined them, a large bag in her hand. Bobby opened the door, intending to fold his seat forward for her to get into the back, but she climbed over the side of the car and dropped herself into the backseat. She slid in gracefully, Sherman thought.
Sherman wasn’t even on the highway yet when Sloan called. “Brielle had a tail. I got a picture of him taking pictures of you guys. He didn’t follow after you pulled away from the curb. I’m eight cars back. No one’s following you that I can see. Unless they’re further back and have a tracker on your car.”
“Thanks,” Sherman said.
“Remind me to tell you about our adventures in Cleveland. The two hitmen that killed Melody showed up, arrested their asses. They planted a tracker on my rental car when we were in her parent’s house, followed us to my nephew’s football game.”
“Damn,” Sherman swore. “Yeah, after we are in the air you and I will have to chat.”
Sherman drove to Louis Armstrong International Airport to the private jet hangars that were far from the main passenger terminal. Sloan pulled up beside Sherman’s rental car in the parking area in front of the hangar. They all got out of the vehicles and grabbed their bags.
“This is my brother, Bobby. Bobby, my partner and best friend, Gary Sloan, known him since BUDS, were deployed to the Sandbox together.”
Sloan presented his hand. “Nice to meet you, Bobby, heard a lot about you.”
“Just believe the good,” Bobby said as he shook Sloan’s hand.
The four of them passed through the front door and into the hangar. There was an armed guard at a desk in the small front office. “Credentials, please,” he said.
Both Sloan and Sherman pulled their ATF badges.
The guard checked them carefully and then handed them back. “I was told you would have two rental cars that need to be returned. May I have the keys?”
They both handed the keys to him. He waved them through the door behind him. As they passed him, they noticed the display on the computer screen in front of him. There were a dozen camera feeds queued up of all angles outside of the building and many interior shots, including several that showed their plane.
They passed through the door that the guard unlocked electronically and into the large hangar. The Shepherd Security Lear was the only aircraft within. Another armed guard stood by the stairs that led into their aircraft.
“What is this place?” Brielle whispered to Brian. “What kind of facility is this?”
“It’s a government hangar,” Sherman said. “Most major airports have them.”
“How come nobody knows about them?” Brielle asked.
“Those of us who use them know and we’re the only ones who need to know. Civilians don’t need to know what kinds of facilities the government and military use.” His voice held warning.
Brielle’s eyes flashed to Bobby. He looked equally as in shock as she was as they approached the private jet. “Who owns this jet?” She asked.
Sherman glanced at her. “The agency we work for. Look, Brielle, you’re going to have a lot of questions. I won’t have answers for all of them. A lot of what we do is classified.”
They reached the guard at the foot of the stairs into the plane. “Credentials please,” he prompted.
Brielle couldn’t help but stare at the assault rifle he held in his hands, but she did see that both Brian and Gary flashed their badges at him too. Certainly, he knew the man in the office would have asked. He nodded and relaxed his posture after inspecting their credentials.
“Is the pilot and female passenger on board?” Sloan asked the guard.
“Yes, sir,” he acknowledged.
“Thanks,” Sloan replied and then went up the stairs first.
Sherman waved Brielle to board ahead of him, and then Bobby. He boarded last and closed the door behind himself. He stuck his head into the cockpit. Two pilots were on board. “We’re good to go whenever we have clearance.”
“We’ve got a takeoff window open at the top of the hour. You’re all going to want to settle in fast.”
“Great. I’ll make sure we do.” Sherman closed the cockpit door and headed aft. Sloan was already introducing Brielle and Bobby to Kaylee. He smiled, watching the scene as he approached. Kaylee was showing off her engagement ring already. Yeah, she looked pretty damned happy. “Kaylee, congrats!” He gave her a big hug.
“Thanks, Brian. I was so surprised.” She presented her hand.
“It looks good on you. I saw it when Sloan bought it. It’s been sitting in his locker for a while.”
Her eyes went to Sloan. “You did?” She slapped his shoulder. “You’re such a sneak.”
Sloan laughed and gave her an affectionate hug.
“We better all take our seats and buckle in. The pilot says our takeoff window is coming up fast.”
Just then the engines engaged. Sherman let Brielle and Bobby sit across from Kaylee and Sloan. He knew Kaylee needed to hold his hand during the takeoff and landing. He wondered how Brielle handled flying. She’d have Bobby beside her if needed, which kind of pissed him off. He’d like to be there for her. He shook that thought off and seated himself by the computer equipment. He always liked to check the weather forecast for wherever they were headed, especially when heading north from a warmer climate.
As the plane rolled forward out of the hangar and travelled along the taxiway in front of all the cargo hangars, Sherman watched the four of them seated towards the rear of the plane. They continued to chat. He couldn’t hear what they were saying though. The Shepherd Security Lear lined up behind several other planes on the noncommercial waiting lane leading to the runway.
He saw Sloan take hold of Kaylee’s hand when their plane turned onto the active runway. Bobby and Brielle sat with their backs to him. He couldn’t see if Bobby held her hand or not. He wasn’t sure why he was so fixated on the thought, but he was.
After they reached cruising altitude and leveled off, Sloan got up and made his way forward. He took a seat beside Sherman. “Is Brielle Bobby’s girlfriend?” Sloan asked.
“No, just his gal-pal,” Sherman replied. “So, it turns out my little brother is gay.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why I never knew. It took that little brunette to tell me for me to know, kind of pisses me off.”
Sloan laughed. “Are you sure? They seem pretty cozy.”
“They lay in bed and snuggle all the time because it’s just a human need to have a physical closeness with another person, and nothing sexual ever takes place,” Sherman said in an animated tone.
“He must be gay,” Sloan concurred with a laugh.
“Yeah,” Sherman agreed. “So, tell me about Cleveland.”
Sloan ran his fingers through his hair. “Oh, man, I don’t want to see that look on Kaylee’s face ever again. She saw the two men who’d killed Melody and looked terrified, hid her face in my chest and whispered who they were.”
“You said they put a tracker on your rental car?”
“Yeah, while Kaylee and I were in her parent’s house, which went very well by the way. Phil Lewenski had been communicating with the two of them. Sent them back to Cleveland to watch the parent’s house. I guess after she paid Lewenski that little visit, he started to wonder if she was Melody or Kennedy. They’d been there staked out since Lewenski was let out of prison and on house arrest. When presented with a deal, they both rolled on all of those L.A. scumbags we busted. Lewenski’s back in jail where he belongs.”
“Damn,” Sherman swore. He’d been with Sloan since he’d gotten the phone call that his ex-fiancé was found murdered in her parent’s house, wa
s with him when he viewed the body and knew it wasn’t her. And he was with Sloan when they found her half dead in the attic above the funeral home. That seemed like it was ages ago, not just two-and-a-half months ago. “It went well, Kaylee seeing her parents?”
Sherman knew she hadn’t wanted to ever talk with them again. Kaylee, the name she chose to go by now instead of Kennedy, had also found out that she’d been adopted and that Melody, the girl who was killed, was in fact her twin sister. The whole situation had been pretty fucked up. He didn’t blame her for not wanting to talk to her parents, who had never told her the truth about her adoption.
“Yes. She broke down and cried as she hugged them. I’m glad she was forced to see them. She needed that. Now I feel we’re really free from everything from the past so we can move forward.”
“So, when’s the wedding?”
Sloan smiled wide. “We haven’t really decided. Both of our families will be invited, which will add complication. I guess whenever operationally it will work. We’re in no hurry. Everything is great the way it is. We’re back together and that’s all that matters.”
Sherman smiled and nodded. “I’m glad for you both.” His eyes went to the back of the plane and the back of Brielle’s head. Bobby’s words of not going there, if he wasn’t interested in a committed relationship, replayed through his head. Well, damn.
“So, Shepherd is pulling the rest of the team back. Garcia was already pulled from active surveillance on the DEA mission to help the digital team out. Between that partner mission with the DEA in New York, my excitement in Cleveland, and your shit down in the bayou, they needed the help. After we get dropped in Chicago, the pilots are flying into Teterboro to pick them up and bring them home tonight. We all have a briefing at zero six-hundred tomorrow at HQ.”
“Yeah, Shepherd texted me about it. He wants Brielle there too.”
“He was really pissed she hadn’t said anything about the Chinese to you before she did. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gave her the third degree about what else she might know but isn’t saying.”
Sherman shook his head. “She didn’t think their nationality was a big deal.” He smiled at that thought. “There aren’t many people out there who don’t see nationality or color when they look at people.”
“She’s getting to you?”
“How so?” Sherman asked, downplaying Sloan’s question.
Sloan smiled a knowing grin. “Yeah, that little brunette is getting to you. It’s a good thing she’s not Bobby’s girlfriend, huh?”
“I have no idea what you’re getting at,” Sherman said.
Sloan knew it was a bullshit comment. He knew his friend well enough to see that Sherman had a thing for her. He let it go though. “Before I forget.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “Here are the pics of the man who was taking pictures of Brielle with you and Bobby. I don’t know which of you he was following.” He brought the pictures up and handed his phone to Sherman.
Sherman viewed the pictures. It was a man in his late twenties to early thirties. He had longish blonde hair spiked up in the front, kind of messy looking, with dark roots. His face was narrow, his clothes trendy. And Sherman was sure he’d never seen him before. He shook his head. “I know I’d remember that hair. I am sure I haven’t seen this guy anywhere.”
They brought the phone to the rear of the plane and showed the pictures to Bobby and Brielle. Neither of them had ever seen him before either. “His hair is dyed,” Bobby said. “Look at his dark eyebrows.”
“Yeah, I noticed that too,” Sherman said. “As well as his roots.”
“I’ve already sent the pics to HQ to see if they can get an ID on the guy,” Sloan said.
“So, you didn’t notice this guy before we pulled up?”
“No, but he didn’t follow Brielle out of the hotel. He was on the street, appeared from nowhere when you pulled up.”
“Well, blond-boy wasn’t trying to be inconspicuous, not with that hair,” Sherman said. He motioned Sloan forward and only spoke again when they were at the front of the plane. “It wouldn’t be a stretch that someone put a tracker on my rental car, just like yours in Cleveland. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to give Cooper and Madison a heads up, so they check their car over too.” He turned to the console in front of him and sent off a message to them both. Ops was automatically copied in as well.
Sloan shook his head, deep in thought. “You’ve got the Chinese, links to New Jersey, and the Sheriff of your Parish all tied together, unlikely alliances.”
“Let’s not forget the new mayor of Galliano too. He seems to have a role in this mess,” Sherman added. “Cancer research, very unlikely. I’d say more likely drugs or something to do with oil as close as that plant is to Port Fourchon and Galliano Airport. I hope we can figure this out sooner rather than later. I don’t think Miss Brielle Jarboe is going to want to sit on this story for too long.” And with that thought, he typed out a message to Shepherd.
Golf
The plane descended through the turbulent night sky into Chicago Executive Airport. The winds were blowing from the west at thirty miles per hour with occasional gusts up to forty. It was the bumpiest landing that Brielle had ever experienced. She guessed it was for Kaylee, as her hands gripped the armrests with white knuckles. She didn’t realize that her own hands did, too. Sweet Bobby had his hand on top of hers.
The plane taxied to the Shepherd Security Hangar. Both Sherman and Sloan took their phones off airplane mode. There were no new messages. That was a good sign to indicate that nothing had gone sideways while they were in the air.
Sherman popped the cabin door open and was immediately reminded he was back in Chicago. The air was cool, forty-five degrees, which felt like twenty-eight degrees with the wind that whipped through the open hangar door. He had a base-layer shirt in his backpack. It would have to do. Brielle already wore the black hoodie as she’d gotten cold on the flight. The hoodie would have to do it for her until they got to his place and he could loan her some warmer clothes.
Four of the Shepherd Security cars were parked in the hangar. They said goodbye to Sloan and Kaylee and watched them drive out first. Sherman secured the hangar door after the jet pulled back out on its continued flight into Teterboro. Then he joined Brielle and Bobby in the warmed-up SUV that sat idling beside the hangar.
Sherman drove straight to the rehab facility to check Bobby in. They met the evening manager in her office. She had everything ready. Sherman presented the court paperwork. The manager would be sure the court liaison received it first thing in the morning. Sherman mandated that Bobby may call only himself or Brielle.
“And I want to be notified right away if he receives any calls or visits from anyone, including other law enforcement.”
The manager nodded. She’d been advised this was a special case with special handling required. She assured Sherman his requests would be followed. “Last order of business, I need both your signatures.” She handed them the admission forms.
Sherman signed and then turned the clipboard to Bobby, who blew out a deep breath. His eyes went to Brielle. “Only for you.”
She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “I love you, Bobby.”
He signed his name and handed the clipboard back to the manager. He couldn’t believe he was back in a locked-down rehab facility.
Then the manager took them on a tour. It was a luxury facility with a pool, hot tub, full gym, and a lobby and dining room that looked like a five-star hotel. Everywhere there were comfortable couches and chairs, some with other residents sitting and quietly talking, reading, or just enjoying the quiet. There were plants and fountains everywhere. It was beautiful.
Then the manager took them to the hallway that was lined with doors. “This is the residence portion of the facility. Each room has its own bathroom.” She slid a cardkey through the lock on door number two-ten. “This is your room.” She swung the door wide to reveal a room that rivaled the best hotel rooms. It had a queen-sized bed,
nightstands, a wall-mounted television, desk, chair, and couch in calming shades of blue.
“Wow, this is nice,” Bobby said. He noticed the plush down comforter on the bed. Peeking into the bathroom, he noted it was equally luxurious. “This sure as hell isn’t the Jefferson Parish rehab center.”
“Told you,” Sherman said.
“It’s still court-mandated rehab,” Bobby said.
“Think of this as a vacation at a spa,” Sherman replied.
“Yeah, one I’m locked in at,” Bobby complained.
“As long as you remain in your room during room hours, your door won’t be locked. You have the key and can come and go throughout the facility as long as you obey the rules and participate in your scheduled sessions with the counsellors.” The manager handed him a folder. “All the rules, hours, and expectations are in this packet. You will need to read through it all this evening.”