Carlos asked, “So, it was hushed up. But, there had to be a complaint, right? What does this guy Masterson say?”
“There was no complaint,” said Rafe. “Jerry checked and there’s no crime report or complaint or anything. The police at that parking garage were providing security and traffic control but don’t know what happened; they were only following orders. But, Jerry did learn one of the cops was pretty sure he recognized Marco. He spotted him being put into an unmarked van. Just like the two other unmarked vans that were there that night. Jerry says it has to have been the Feds grabbing our guys.”
Carlos said, “Yeah, okay, that makes sense. And those guys -- aren't they now talking to the Feds? We figure they’re in witness protection, right? But, not with the cops? So, it has to be the Feds that have them. That explains why the police don’t know shit; the Feds were in charge that night.” Then, Carlos asked, “Why would this girl not file a complaint, if they attacked her in that parking garage?”
“What I don’t get is what the hell was she doing earlier, that day with Frank?” Rafe had gone over everything and a lot of things just didn’t add up. “I went to see Frank yesterday and asked him that. That’s where I was when you tried calling me. I didn’t have my phone with me while I was in seeing Frank.”
“So, what did he say?” asked Carlos.
“Nothing. He told me to go fuck myself. But, her name definitely registered with him. Whatever she has on him, he’s still worried about it. I don’t think he’s worried about the cops the way he’s worried about her. Ramon ratting him out, maybe getting him charged with murder? Not a concern. Missy McCrae being messed with? Big concern. He’s still worried. I asked around about exactly what he told everyone and it’s not just her. Nobody’s supposed to mess with anyone in her family either. How do you figure that?”
“Let me see that folder on her. Are there any photos?”
“Sure, here take a look. She’s a knockout. Some of these show a pretty girl that looks all sweet and innocent, right? Then, look at this one someone took last month at her senior prom? Gorgeous and all grown up. Long red hair, black gown, incredible body. But this one? Right after she won some martial arts trophy in New York? I even found video clips on the internet showing the championship match for that, which she won easily. Look at her body in that photo. And, her face. That’s the face of someone I can see taking down a guy like Ramon.”
“Wow.” Carlos was studying the photo and noticed all the scars on her shoulder. “How’d she get those scars? That almost looks like she was mauled by some wild animal.”
“I don’t see anything written up about how she got those. She sure has a lot of articles that were written about her, though, when you do a search. Athletic events, karate tournaments, lots of stuff. Oh, and look at this article. Missing teen returns home. Hey, get this? She disappeared from soccer camp and then, two years later, she just shows up. That was three years ago.” Rafe was sifting through his folder, glancing from one article to the next. He’d had two of his guys pull everything together and hadn’t gone through it all himself yet.
Carlos was staring at him and the expression on his face changed several times. “It’s her! It has to be. That girl must be the werecat we’re trying to find, Rafe. Don’t you see? She suddenly turns into a cat when she reaches puberty, then goes off somewhere for two years? Even those scars; she probably did get mauled. And, that explains why there’s no complaint about that parking garage attack. When those assholes tried to grab her, she turned into a wild mountain lion. Surprise!” He began chuckling.
Rafe nodded his head. “Yeah, I can see that, now that you’re putting it that way. But … she must be getting help, right? There’s nothing in the paper about any wild animal attacking anyone in that parking garage. And, if the Feds have those guys? They’re helping her. Does the US government know about werecats, Carlos?”
Chapter Fifteen
Jun 2018
“Robert, I’ll be okay. He only wants to meet me, one time, and then he’s leaving. He and his buddies are really going back to South America. He says I’ve actually helped him out. He had no idea the Feds were watching him so closely. And, he wants no part of the US government grabbing him, identifying him as a werecat … maybe experimenting on him in some lab. Same thing I was worried about, remember?” Missy was once again sitting across from Robert at their favorite coffee shop.
“He called you and said all that? And, you believed him?” Robert was worried and not at all happy at this latest turn of events. He thought Missy might be getting in over her head and was being way too trusting.
“Yes, he called me and that really freaked me out. He could tell that, too, and he laughed. He said freaking me out was payback for my stealing his car and everything. By the way, did you get anything useful from it? He didn’t seem very worried about that.” Missy hadn’t talked to Robert since letting him know where she’d abandoned the car. It had only been a few days and Robert actually had thought this meeting she’d asked for was to discuss that.
“Nothing really of much use in the car and the gun was clean. Not much in the wallet but some cash and credit cards; they’re still reviewing the contents. But, I hear the phone has some interesting stuff; contacts and addresses and maybe even some codes or passwords. I haven’t heard any details yet. I gave the wallet and phone to Armando since it’s his team working to make a case. We’ve already talked about why “P” Branch doesn’t go after organized crime; that’s for the FBI.” Robert had tried explaining all the politics involved. He knew Missy still wasn’t happy they hadn’t simply grabbed Carlos for her.
“By the way,” Robert added. “Armando still wants me to convince you to forget West Point so he can recruit you. When I told him you were the one who stole the phone from Carlos, he got a big kick out of that. And, no, he insists he definitely does not want to know any details. Just like last time, with your other FBI Freebies? He’s fine now with getting whatever stuff you can get for him, without knowing details. Since it’s only information and not actual evidence, he definitely doesn’t want to know details.”
“Yeah, I know, I know. He’s making sure there’ll never be any scandal for his team regarding informants.” Missy knew Robert had been asked by Armando to be her contact, rather than having anyone from the FBI’s Organized Crime Division do that, since he’d worked her kidnapping case and wasn’t actually on Armando’s team at all. That was after getting all the info on Tony Gonzales that she’d brought them. Not to mention the ten million dollars, her earlier FBI Freebie.
“Tell him sorry, though. I’m still going to West Point. What about Lisa and Marie? How are they working out?” Lisa and Marie were at the same university as Heather and, like Heather, would graduate in one more year from the five year, co-op program their university specialized in. Lisa was studying criminology and came from a family with several members already on the police force. Marie’s specialty was computer science. The girls were also beautiful models which had paid well enough so they didn’t have any school loans.
Robert said, “They’re doing fantastic and Armando thanks you for insisting he give them co-op assignments, which have been going great. He’s bragging how they both will be joining the FBI after graduation a year from now. Then, once they finish the FBI Academy, they’ve agreed to join his team. Marie is actually the one who hacked into Carlos’s phone. She’s been telling Armando some of the ways they can mess with emails, all without anything tracing back to his team. Those email addresses Carlos had? Even though the account was closed she …”
Missy interrupted him by bursting out laughing. “Oh, you don’t have to explain, Robert. I know all about what Marie can do, messing with emails. I just think it’s too funny she’ll end up doing it for the FBI.” She had helped Lisa and Marie over a year ago by breaking into the apartment of a guy named Jonathan Baxter who had sold videos of them to a porn site.
Jonathan had managed to install spy cameras in their Boston apartment, which t
hey had alternated using with Heather, whenever attending school rather than doing co-op work assignments. Missy had tracked him by his scent and had dropped down a rope from the roof, getting into his apartment through a window. She then had let Lisa and Marie come in and that had ended his days selling stuff to porn sites. They had accessed his computer, had learned all his codes, passwords and personal information, and then had turned on file sharing.
Leaving the way they’d each come in, so he never knew they’d been there, they went home and accessed his computer remotely. Marie installed her own software on his system and stole his identity. Missy was amazed at all the different ways the two girls had then messed with his life, sending emails out from his account, wiping out his bank accounts, destroying his records at school and ruining any chances he had to get hired anywhere.
They also had learned which porn sites he’d contacted, allowing them to get everything showing the two of them deleted. They were together as a couple, having met on a photo shoot back in high school. It didn’t matter that they were lesbians but their modeling would definitely have suffered, having videos on the internet showing how wild and uninhibited their sexual activities had been. Fortunately, they’d not suffered any further embarrassment, after one of their friends had alerted them about the problem in the first place. They felt indebted to Missy for enabling the quick actions that saved them from what might have been disastrous.
Missy decided she could let Robert know a bit more. “Lisa and Marie are the ones who helped me set up my surveillance system, checking on Billy and Donny.”
Robert laughed and said, “Ah, I’d wondered about that. Your system, using that FBI software you had me provide you with? From what I’ve learned, now that Les and Marsha have taken it over … it’s rather complicated and sophisticated, even for you. By the way, you’ll be glad to know all the batteries were replaced. It wasn’t easy. The guys we had do the break-ins for that weren’t cat burglars … just normal humans.”
Missy laughed and said, “Please, stop with the cat jokes! And, since we’re back to talking about cats, can I give Carlos some assurances that he’s asking for?”
“It’s never easy with you, is it? I guess I’m not surprised. So, he wants more than just this meeting with you … you know … so he can kiss you goodbye? What else does he want?” Robert was shaking his head, not sure he wanted to hear whatever terms Carlos might want.
“Well, he knew the Feds were watching him in Miami. That’s why he came up here and only brought guys with him he could trust. He thought he could avoid them here, easily enough. When he figured out who I was, which was probably inevitable … that’s why you guys decided to break with all your super secrecy crap and actually tell me about him in the first place, remember? Well, he knew I had not handled his five guys in that parking garage all by myself. Not with the guys just disappearing, no complaints being filed about any attack, and even the police being on the scene. Then, too, the police were all in the dark as to what had happened there. Once the FBI started digging up bodies and arresting more guys?”
“Then, he figured you must be working with the FBI or some government agency, and that they had to know you were a werecat.” Robert was connecting the dots, just as Carlos obviously had. “I suppose if we’d never helped you with Marco, making guys disappear who then obviously were talking to the FBI …”
“Exactly. That, and I clearly had some great resources no high school girl would have. I found him, thanks to you. But, I don’t regret my calling him and challenging him. You should be happy. He’s leaving. He only wants assurances the US government will let him go and not chase after him. Or, identify him as a werecat to any other governments or countries. I can tell him that, right?”
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Missy drove into the huge mall parking lot in her Toyota and cruised around until she found the spot Carlos had designated. She’d agreed to his picking the place and to her coming there alone. She even had agreed he could search her for any wire, provided he used electronic equipment and didn’t try actually touching her. He’d laughed and explained how they’d watched the video and knew what Ramon had done. No, he said his guy Rafe didn’t want to end up like Ramon and had no intention of making any inappropriate moves whatsoever.
She got out of her car and waited. After only a minute, a big Cadillac limo pulled up. She’d seen their photos so she recognized the two guys who got out. Carlos and Rafe. It was a beautiful June day, hot and a little humid, but there was no shade where they were, out in this parking lot. She came up to them and smiled. She was wearing white shorts and a simple sleeveless tee shirt, also white. She wasn’t showing any cleavage or exposing any part of her breasts but there was no disguising what a great figure she had; she looked great. She had a pair of strappy white sandals on with no socks. Her hair was up in a high pony tail, similar to how she’d worn it that time she’d visited Frank. She somehow knew they’d appreciate the irony of that. She sent a mental message to Mike, who was not far away, but parked at the other end of the mall. They’re here now. So far, so good.
Carlos said, “Missy McCrea. Very nice to meet you. This is Rafe. He knows what we are so you can talk freely.” He studied her and was definitely impressed. “You’re a very beautiful young lady. In your cat form, you’re also very impressive. Okay if he checks you with this wand?”
Missy smiled and said, “Sure, go ahead. Did you go out and buy that special, just for me?” She recalled how she’d asked Ramon if he was going to use a wand to check her just prior to their entering Frank’s office. Ramon had liked fondling her instead and she knew they had seen all that on the video tape. She raised both arms and watched as Rafe came forward, slowly and carefully. After he checked her, not touching her at all, he stepped back.
Carlos was still studying her and she saw him take some deep breaths, clearly enjoying her scent. Then, he raised his eyebrows and said, “You’re already mated? I can smell him on you, deeply embedded, and no one else. Ahh, but you are so young. Such a shame for all the other men. Does he know about you?”
Missy actually relaxed and laughed. “Oh, yes! He knows all about me. Can we talk about you leaving? That’s why we’re here, right?
Carlos smiled and nodded his head. “Yes, but let’s go inside, where it’s cool. And, I promised that you could get something to eat. There’s no need to be out here, baking in the sun.” He waved for her to go ahead of him, and she turned and led the way. He loved watching the way she moved. To distract himself from how lovely her rear end looked in those shorts, he said, “Those scars … did that happen up in those mountains? I read how you disappeared for two years. I can’t imagine what that experience must have been like.”
Missy turned to look back at him and answered, “Yes! I was thirteen then and not quite as wise about how to handle things. Today, I’d probably avoid fighting that bear … he only wanted what was left from a deer I’d only half eaten … from the day before. It was mine, though, and I warned him to leave. He wouldn’t leave, at first.”
“So, you fought him. How did that go? Those scars look like he badly mauled you before you gave up. Was he very big, this bear?” Carlos was enjoying everything about this amazing girl, walking in front of him. He could see the play and definition of all her muscles, yet she was as feminine and curvy as anyone he’d ever met.
“Oh, I wasn’t the one who gave up, Carlos. He was an average size black bear, maybe two hundred pounds … probably just about your size. I was much smaller four years ago, of course. I’ve maybe put on about thirty five pounds since then.” Missy smiled at him. “I did let him slink away, once he gave up … he saw I wasn’t going to let him have what he wanted.” Missy knew Carlos was getting all her double meanings. They weren’t just talking about how she fought that bear.
“Missy, you don’t have to keep warning me. I’m going.” Carlos looked at Rafe and shook his head. “Maybe under different circumstances, it would have been interesting to stay here. But, you now have those g
overnment friends up here. They know about you and yet, here you are, free and acting all pissy with me. Tell me about your friends.”
“No, sorry, I’m not sharing information like that. I agreed to meet with you. And, I have obtained those assurances you wanted. I hope you’ll take my word for that since there’s really nothing else I can give you.” Missy was not really sure why Carlos had insisted on meeting her.
They’d arrived at the mall entrance and went in, but then walked to where a restaurant was located not far inside the mall. They eventually were seated, off in a corner booth where they had some privacy. Missy ordered a huge steak, rare, which Carlos had agreed to pay for when first setting up the meeting. Then, she made them wait. No more serious conversation until she’d been served her food. They’d asked for this meeting and had picked the place, right? Carlos actually got a big kick out of this. He just wasn’t used to watching girls eat the way she did.
After watching her devour half her steak, Carlos said, “How you can you eat so much and yet look so fantastic, Missy … is it because you run so much as a cat?”
She decided to allow this question. “No, it’s because I train so hard as a human. But, I love being a cat whenever I can. Don’t you?” She wanted him to be the one to provide information.
“No, I don’t like having to Shift. It’s always a problem for me but I have no choice. I am surprised to hear that you love being a cat.” When she didn’t say anything, he then asked, “Why do you train so hard?”
Missy decided to share some things and see if he then would explain himself more to her. She really only knew what her own dual nature was like. Perhaps other werecats were different? “When I first Shifted, I didn’t know if I would ever be human again. It took me a long time but I accepted what I was and I became a cat, only I was an enhanced cat … plus, of course, I still had my human mind. Finally, I Changed back. But, now I am an enhanced human because I am a werecat. I have two natures which I have melded into one. I have special needs and I train to satisfy those. Don’t you have special abilities and instincts, Carlos? Why is being a cat a problem for you?”
Missy Goes to West Point Page 15