by Jet MacLeod
“I’ll deal with him. I promise. I’ll talk to him tomorrow if you want. I’ll call him or something. Probably more of something, I know that you will have to devise something for us to meet or a phone call or something. I am not stupid. I know that he probably just wants to make sure that I am okay and that I’m ready to testify. I am sure that Cole has already arranged for Jessica to see me tomorrow, hasn’t he?” Angie questioned.
“He has.”
“Then, get Burkholder to come with her.”
“I don’t think that’s wise.”
“Wise or not, he needs to know that you are the best thing to protect, Del, or he isn’t going to stop. You thought I was bad. He is twenty times worse when he latches on to something.”
“I’ll talk to Cole in the morning. You should go back to bed. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Promise?” Angie asked letting her go.
“Yes,” Del said quickly.
Angie looked at her. She could see the warring emotions in her eyes curtesy of the neon from the street below. Del wouldn’t be comfortable until everything fell into place and Burkholder was a piece that didn’t seem to have a home. Angie would have to make a space for him and hope that Del didn’t lose her mind and do something to him. They would have to work together because she knew that neither of them was going to back down when it came to her safety.
Del finally swallowed down her fear and went to the bedroom. She should have known that Angie would pick the room on the corner. The two walls of windows gave them a nice view of the City but it also bathed the room in neon light.
She dropped her pants and took off her shirt. She walked across the room and got into bed with Angie. She wasn’t surprised to find Angie not in much under the thin quilt and sheet. Angie looked at peace. Del didn’t know how long she’d waited, but Angie was fast asleep when she got in. Tomorrow would prove to be an interesting day. Del just hoped that it didn’t turn out for the worst. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it if something happened to Angie, but then again she knew that she would be okay if Angie left. It would hurt, but she would find a way to get over her while building her retirement retreat in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Del was right to be worried. She met Burkholder with Jessica the next afternoon. Court had gone into recess for the day and would resume in the morning at nine AM. Jessica knew that Angie was ready and that they didn’t have to prepare too much. She just wanted to prepare Angie for the defense. They’d done with each other before and with other victims, but this time, it was personal for them both.
The entire time that Jessica and Angie were talking by the front windows in the living room, Burkholder was eyeing Del in the kitchen. She watched Casey over her coffee mug, while watching the macho man’s body language in her periphery. He didn’t seem to be happy about being there and not leaving with Angie when they were done, but he wasn’t vocalizing it.
“How long you been in protective services?” he asked Del.
“Long enough,” Del answered evading his questions.
“I’ll take over for her at the court house,” he said.
“I am not leaving her side. I don’t know what you think that you can do that I haven’t already done, Burkholder, but this is out of your league. Why don’t you stick to catching the bad guys and let me worry about Angie? I think I have done a good enough job of it for the past few months.”
“She seems to be okay, but she’s changed.”
“Being on the run from drug cartels will do that to you.”
“She missed her mother’s funeral,” he stated.
“I know.”
“You could have brought her home.”
“I would have attempted something had she been in my care at the time, but she wasn’t.”
“You would have brought her back?”
“I would, but it would have been in secret and undercover. No one would have known. She wouldn’t have had any contact and no one would have known. We would have come for the funeral and been gone before her mother was in the ground. Then I would have spent the next few weeks trying to help her mourn while we moved on to a new place and a new identity.”
“You would have risked her life?”
“It wouldn’t have been a risk.”
“Why not?” he countered.
“Because she listens to me. She knows that I have her life in mind with everything that I do. Her life is more important than mine. My job is to make sure that she makes to her court appearance. I am not going to let anything interfere with that.”
“You seem sure of yourself,” he replied.
“Because I know what I can do.”
“I tried to run your credentials and I came up empty,” he stated.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Del added.”
“Care to tell me why?”
“Because I am a ghost, Detective Burkholder. I don’t exist on paper. There are no records of me. I do what the government asks of me. You should understand that being a former Marine.”
“You seem to know more about me, than I know about you.”
“It’s my job to know.”
“Then you’ll understand why I don’t like this,” he said.
“I get that you aren’t happy because you can’t control the situation. Just know that I don’t just report to the Marshalls or the FBI. I report to the Pentagon, DOJ, DOD, and the rest of the Alphabets. I was called in because I was needed,” Del told him. “And, I haven’t been relieved.”
“Well, we’ll see about that, Agent Montgomery.”
“I am not an agent, Detective. Besides, you don’t have authority to get me removed. There is only one person that can do that and severely doubt that she’ll tell me go,” Del told him.
“I’ll see you both tomorrow at court,” he said as Jessica and Angie came up to them.
“Just get some rest, Angie. You’re ready. This will be easy. You’ll come in, shock them all, testify and be gone before anyone knows what to do with you. Just keep your body guards close and everything will go smoothly,” Jessica told her.
“I plan to,” Angie replied.
“I’ll be at the courthouse with everyone else in the morning. We’ll come get you when it’s time. Paxton has arranged for you to be in another courtroom that isn’t in use until you’re called. Don’t worry about, March. We’ve got everything covered,” Burkholder told her.
“I’m sure you do, Burk.”
“Until tomorrow,” he told her as they left.
“Something wrong?” Angie asked after they were gone.
“I don’t know yet. I’m not sure that Burkholder likes me and that’s fine. He doesn’t need to as long as he does his job. Now, I think you wanted to see a show, right?”
“I did.”
“Well, it seems that Cole wanted to Wicked, so he got tickets for ten of us in a block. So go get ready. We’ve got time to get something to eat before we go.”
“You’re too good to me. I love you. We’ll make this work. Promise me that,” Angie demanded.
“I’ll always love you, Angie. And, tonight will work. Tomorrow will work. You’ll be okay,” Del answered knowing that isn’t what Angie meant, but she was glad when she didn’t push it.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“Want company?” Del asked with a smirk.
“Sure,” Angie replied as she strutted away down the hallway.
Chapter 58
As they approached the courthouse, Del got more and more nervous. She didn’t like the way that Burkholder had been talking and as soon as she saw him waiting outside the courthouse with Albrecht, she really wasn’t happy. When she saw the looks of surprise on Cole and Sanchez’s faces, it made her more wary of what was about to happen.
Angie looked up and saw Burkholder and some Marshalls heading towards the vehicle. She could tell that Del was getting antsy. She tried to wave Burkholder off, but he just kept coming. She recognized Albrecht and then she saw Gregor.
“Grego
r’s here, too,” Del said under her breath.
“What’s going on?” Cole asked as they parked at the curb.
“I don’t know. But, I am sure that we are about to find out. I also think that Burkholder had something to do with this. What is it about you, Angie, that has him so riled up?
“I don’t know, Del. I swear to you. I don’t know. He’s never been like this.”
They got out of the car. Immediately Sanchez, Cole, and Del took up positions around Angie to protect her. Albrecht and Gregor were just smiling at her. This made Del calm down somewhat, but not fully.
“Hey, Montgomery, Smith, Sanchez,” Gregor greeted them.
“Hello, Gregor, what’s this?” Del questioned.
“This is what the prosecutor has come up with. They have kicked everyone out of the courtroom for testimony. It was turning into a media circus. The court granted their request. Angie will be in court today the entire time. She will be allowed one guard and the locals will be guarding the courtroom itself. We’ve got the courthouse surrounded. There is no need for everyone to be in there with her. The FBI has the building and other key locations under surveillance. She’ll be fine,” Gregor told him.
“So, what you’re saying is, that I am the only one allowed to go in with her?” Del asked.
“Yes, because this is still your assignment.”
“And, my team?”
“Can wait here or the parking garage,” Gregor stated.
“Just a minute,” Del told him holding up a finger before turning to Cole.
“Go with her. We’ll look into this, Del. Just take protection with you,” Cole told her.
She turned back and looked at Gregor, not Burkholder, and asked, “Am I allowed to be armed?”
“Yes, you are still deputy of the court while Miss March is needed,” Albrecht answered before Burkholder could say anything.
Her eyes narrowed at the man. She knew that he had something to do with this and she’d be damned if she was going to allow Angie to go in there without her and without her being armed. She shot him a smug smile as Cole handed her a sidearm, which she checked right there in front of them on the courthouse steps. She secured it on her person and then took extra rounds.
“Can’t be too careful,” she told Burkholder as she took Angie’s hand.
“Ready?” Angie asked her.
“Yeah, let’s do this. The faster we get done, the faster I can get you out of here and back to safe ground. I am not lying when I say that I don’t like this situation,” Del told her just above a whisper, squeezing Angie’s hand for good measure.
“I got that. Let’s just go. I’ll deal with Burkholder later.”
Del nodded and followed her into the courthouse.
The testimony went quickly. But the entire time that Angie was on the stand, Del was on guard. She trusted Gregor only because he’d proven himself with the shit with Rudakov. Albrecht had been good to her when they had worked together on some CIA black ops. She had no reason not to trust him. It was Burkholder and the locals that bothered her. She didn’t know how she could trust them when they allowed Angie to be shot to begin with and have to go into hiding. And, Burkholder seemed to be pushing some sort of agenda. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she didn’t like it.
The random texts that she got from Cole kept her calm, but they didn’t make her happy. They hadn’t found any connection between Burkholder and the cartels, or any of the locals and the cartels. Burkholder seemed to be pushing something when it came to Angie. Maybe he just wanted her home, but Del just didn’t know and that was what scared her.
She trusted Angie. She knew that Angie would listen to her when she voiced her concerns. She would rationally think about everything that Del brought up before she made a decision. She didn’t fly off the handle and make rash decisions anymore, like Burkholder seemed prone to doing. No, Rudakov changed a lot between them and how Angie thought and saw things.
She looked up in time to see Angie staring at her. The sapphire eyes were burning into her and she couldn’t look away. She kept her eyes on Angie while studying everyone in the courtroom. Angie for the most part kept looking around and then she would focus on Del. She knew it was so Angie could keep herself grounded, but there seemed to be more behind it. It was like Angie was trying to comfort Del from the witness box, like she knew something that Del didn’t.
She didn’t really listen to the questioning. She didn’t need to. It didn’t matter lo her. All that mattered was that Angie was protected and safe. She knew that she really didn’t need to worry about completely with the amount of agents, officers and operatives that were in the courtroom, but she did. Angie had become important to her and Del liked to take care of things that were important to her.
Del was startled late in the afternoon by the judge’s gavel. She hadn’t realized that she had zoned out some during Angie’s testimony. She looked up to see the courtroom almost empty.
She saw Angie with Burkholder and Captain Paxton. She stayed in her seal just watching. Occasionally, Angie would look over at her and smile, but she had a strange look in her eyes. It wasn’t bad, but Del just couldn’t place it. She seemed happier with them. She seemed to be...home. And, that was when it hit Del what was going on. Angie was back in her City with her people. She was home.
Del felt her heart start to break. She knew that the longer Angie was with her old friends the more she would pull away. She though that they would have more time. But, seeing her with them, in that courtroom, Del realized that staying in New York would be a mistake. She would need to leave. She would need to get away from Angie before she could permanently hurt her more than she already was.
She texted Cole. She needed to talk and she needed to do it away from Angie. They needed to be apart from each other for a little while... She hoped that it would work and that Angie would understand, but deep down in the back of her head, she knew that wouldn’t. Angie would be angry at her for leaving like this but, she needed a clean break.
Cole texted her back and told her in no uncertain terms to: “Calm the fuck down.” She looked at her screen. It was just something that Cole would say. He wasn’t in that courtroom with them. He didn’t see how happy Angie was in her element. Sure she wasn’t the one going after the bad guy, but she commanded the courtroom anyway. Del could see how good she was by how she presented herself in that room. When she talked, everyone listened. They knew she was important and she knew it too.
Angie finished her conversation with Burkholder and walked over to where Del was standing, waiting. She gave her the smile that would make Del putty in her hands. It was the exact moment that Del knew she’d lost the battle and she’d be leaving on the next flight out of New York.
“The boys want to go out and celebrate the fact that I am still alive.”
“I am sure that they do.”
“Are you okay?”
“As okay as I can be considering,” Del told her.
“Do you not want me to go?” Angie asked her.
“No, Angie, that isn’t it. They’re your friends. This is your life. You should be happy. Go out with them. Have fun. I’ll send Sanchez with you. I need to clear up some things with Albrecht, Gregor and Cole. I’ll send a team to follow, just in case,” Del told her.
“Are you sure?” Angie questioned sensing something besides tension from Liv.
“Yeah, go ahead. It’ll be fine. Besides, Sanchez and the team, you’ll have half of the NYPD there to protect. I doubt that anyone in the cartels would be that dumb. Go. Have fun.”
“You’re sure it’s okay?”
“Yes, Princess, I am sure,” Del lied.
“Thank you,” Angie told her, but Del heard the hidden “I love you” in it.
She also knew that it would be the last time that she saw Angie. If it was, she was happy that Angie was happy and that she was home. Del had completed her mission. She’d kept her alive and brought her back for her court dates. She would be leaving with a heavy heart
, but her conscience would be clear.
“Albrecht is in charge now,” Del muttered and wondered if Angie would get the point.
“Because we’re back?”
“Yeah, this is his rodeo. I’m just along for the ride and because I am the only one that you let guard you this long. He wasn’t going to tell me to go. I’ll be at the condo doing our briefings. It would be pointless for you to stay. Go Angie. You don’t need my permission anymore.”
Angie leaned over and kissed her. Unfortunately, she didn’t know that it was the last time that she would see her. She went back to Burkholder and the rest of the gang, smiling and happy to be home in her City. She didn’t see the look of pain on Del’s face as she left the courtroom and she wouldn’t because Del wasn’t going to give her the chance.
Del was about to board the plane when Cole grabbed her arm. He’d seen that look in her eyes before. He knew she was running, but there wasn’t a damn reason he could use against her to stop her. Angie would be the only one who could do that and Del made sure that she didn’t know.
“You’re just going to leave?”
“I have to go. The mission is over, Sarge. She doesn’t need me. She has all of them. We are both getting what we want. She’ll see it in time. She is better off here,” Del told her.
“That is horse shit.”
“Be what it may, you didn’t see her with them. I’m going back to Seattle until the house is finished up on the Point. If she wants to find me, I am sure she could try. I am done. I am free from the Alphabets. I’m retired officially now. Albrecht saw to it this afternoon.”
“You aren’t even going to tell her?”
“Tell her what? That the job is over. Welcome home and have fun?”
“Yeah,” Cole replied.
“I already did, earlier, this afternoon at court. I just don’t think she understood that it was goodbye. Don’t look at me like that, Cole. I told her plenty of times that we wouldn’t work out. I can’t be in this City. I’m over it. I have to go.”
“Final call for Flight 1013 to Seattle,” a voice said overhead.
“I’ve got to go. Thank you for all of your help old friend. I’ll call you once I land,” Del told him, grabbed her carry-on bag and walked towards the gate.