Love or Justice

by Rachel Mannino

  “Does it fit? I was going to have it re-sized.”

  “It’s a little loose, but I have a feeling I’m going to be gaining some weight soon anyway.” Laurie beamed at him.

  She kissed him, circling his tongue with hers in a kiss that was both sweet and a promise of more to come. They gradually became aware of clapping and whistling in the background. They had caught the attention of their fellow passengers in the tiny plane. When they broke off the kiss, they smiled at the people around them. The people on board began congratulating them. Embarrassed, they both sat quietly as everyone who walked past smiled or winked at them for the entire flight.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-THREE

  Dante

  Several hours later, Dante and Laurie emerged from the plane. After flying for almost half a day, they both felt cramped. The warm Hawaiian winter was shocking. When they were finally able to take off their heavy winter coats, they had to peel them from their body like a second skin. The sky was overcast, and the humidity made their clothes cling to them as they exited the airport, taking their bags out to a waiting rental car.

  Since they had flown west, chasing the sun, it was now the early evening. Dante thought about where he wanted to take Laurie for dinner—a nice dinner. They would have to go into the Marshals headquarters on Monday morning, but tonight and tomorrow were their own. He had made hotel reservations at a hotel in Waikiki, overlooking the ocean. They could spend two romantic evenings together and put Monday right out of their minds.

  They walked on the beach, ate ice cream, and swam in the hotel pool. They acted like a honeymooning couple on the islands, and no one spared them a second glance. On their last night, Dante picked up some takeout food. He drove Laurie to his favorite lookout point. They picnicked there, as the sun sank into the ocean, and night descended on the city. They made love on the picnic blanket, underneath the stars. They were at peace as they lay in each other’s arms. They both thought it was the most perfect day they ever had in their entire lives.

  The next morning, they silently went down to breakfast. They moved with deliberate care, as if a quick movement would shatter their pretense. They packed everything up, put everything in the car, and checked-out. Dante made some excuse about wanting to miss rush hour, so they walked on the beach one last time, but they both knew the truth.

  In the late morning, Dante parked their rental car outside the federal building. He took Laurie’s hand as they walked toward the front entrance. As he opened the door to step inside the building, Dante saw several of the security guards he knew. They stared at him in wide-eyed shock. They said nothing as Laurie passed through the metal detector. Dante pulled out his gun and his badge. He placed them on top of the x-ray machine. He nodded to one of the security guards as he stepped through the metal detector. He went to reach for his gun, when Jacob, an elderly guard Dante had known for years, spoke.

  “I’m not supposed to let you have that.” Jacob nodded to the gun.

  Jacob looked at Dante, fidgeting with his belt loops and flushing bright red.

  “I’m sorry, Dante. But they told us…” Jacob looked away.

  “That’s okay.” Dante put up his hand. He took his badge out of the tray. “Just make sure it gets back to Rick and no one else.”

  Jacob nodded, as his shoulders relaxed.

  Dante gave him a half-hearted smile. He put his hand on the small of Laurie’s back. He led her down the hall to a wooden door. The frosted glass on the door had the Marshals logo emblazoned on it. Dante looked down at Laurie.

  “Ready?” He took a deep breath. She nodded, forcing a gulp of air down. Dante turned the handle.

  The receptionist was at the right of the door. She looked up as they entered the room. She froze. Her mouth dropped open. She made several inaudible sounds. Her eyes just kept moving from Laurie to Dante and back again.

  “Hi, Janice,” Dante said after a few minutes. “Is Rick in?”

  Her jaw moved back and forth several times, and then:

  “Rick!” she called, not even looking over her shoulder. “Rick, there’s someone here for you!”

  “Janice, I’m in a meeting!” Rick exclaimed. “Tell them to come back later.”

  “Rick, you really need to come out here!” Janice said.

  “What the hell could possibly—” Rick began, yanking open his door, and storming out of his office.

  He stopped cold, as he saw Dante and Laurie standing before him. A tall gentleman in a suit appeared behind him. Dante recognized him as the District Attorney, one of the few men that wore a tie on the islands. It occurred to Dante that he and Laurie had probably just interrupted a meeting about themselves.

  “Dante?” Rick took a step forward.

  “Rick.” He nodded to the DA in the background. “It’s been awhile. I think we need to talk.”

  “Yes. Yes, we do.” His eyes finally took in Laurie, who stood clutching Dante’s elbow. “God, I’m glad to see you, son.”

  “It’s good to see you too, Rick.” Dante gave him half a smile.

  “Come in to my office.” Rick stood aside to let them in. “Danny, I think maybe you’ll want to come back in about an hour or so?”

  Danny nodded. He walked around the receptionist’s desk on his way out the door.

  “Yeah, I think I do.” Danny said, smiling. “I’m Danny Escobar, by the way. The District Attorney.”

  He extended his hand to Laurie. Laurie’s eyes flickered between the DA’s coal black eyes and his hand for a few moments. He was a young DA, maybe ten years older than Laurie. His beaming smile emanated eagerness. Laurie reached out, giving his hand a cautionary shake.

  “Hi.” Laurie shifted back, closer to Dante.

  “You don’t know how many people are very, very glad to see you, Ms. Shelton. Very glad.” His smile grew brighter.

  “Thank you.” Laurie responded with a watery smile.

  “Very glad,” Danny said again, as he left the office.

  “Janice, can you get them something to drink? What would you like, dear? Water, soda?” Rick gestured to Laurie.

  “Just water,” Laurie responded, as they all filed into Rick’s office.

  Rick sat down at his desk. The heavy wooden beast took up half the space in the room. Shelves lined both sides of the walls, filled with binder after binder, of all shapes and sizes. Pieces of loose papers poked out from the sides. There was an old, dusty computer at Rick’s side, with a large, bulbous monitor. A coffee mug sat beside it, with several even taller Styrofoam coffee cups lined up behind the mug. Papers, notepads, and folders were scattered all across the desk. At the very corner, a small plastic inbox peeked out from the weight of fifty folders.

  Dante and Laurie sat down across from Rick. Dante’s knees bumped against the desk. The heavy, mismatched leather chairs had several tears. The wood creaked as Laurie fidgeted, trying to get comfortable.

  Rick sat staring at them in wonder.

  Dante broke the awkward silence.

  “I owe you an apology, Rick.” Dante leaned forward in his chair. “I know I should have told you what I was going to do. It was clear that someone inside the Marshals Service was feeding Kaimi information. In fact, I suspected it might be you. I had to do what I did to protect Laurie.”

  “Me?” Rick shook his head in shock.

  “Yes, I overheard a conversation in which Kaimi himself said his mole in the Marshals Service was running the annual training, and of course that means you.” Dante gestured to Rick, watching him intently.

  Rick nodded.

  “I couldn’t do it this year,” Rick replied with a hint of sorrow. “I had a mild heart attack the week before. I had just gotten out of the hospital. So I asked Cheyn to lead it for me.”

  Dante felt relieved as he studied Rick’s expression. There was no hint of deception there. Rick didn’t have a shred of tension around his mouth or eyes. His response was quick and open, with only a hint of embarrassment. Rick also looked worn down—he had
bags under his eyes and his complexion was dull and waxy.

  “You gave us quite a scare.” Rick looked up at Dante. “I didn’t know quite what to make of it for a long time. Most everyone thought the worst of you. But I just kept hoping it wasn’t true.”

  “It wasn’t.” Dante shook his head.

  “I know, believe me.” Rick swallowed. “I saw the tape. I guess you sent it to me?”

  “Yes.” Dante nodded.

  Rick paused for a few minutes, looking away.

  “It was hard to watch.” Rick’s eyes slid back to Dante.

  Dante nodded. He didn’t want to tell Rick it was even harder to do. Nor did he want to say that the look of terror etched on Cheyn’s face as he lay dying was burned in Dante’s memory. Dante looked away from Rick, staring down at his hands.

  “Now, there’s no doubt you had to do what you did.” Rick held up a hand, then both hands. “He went for his gun. I saw it. But still it was, well, tough to watch.”

  Dante nodded again, staring at the pile of papers closest to him.

  Laurie reached over, squeezing his forearm. The warmth of her fingers brought him a small measure of comfort.

  “I just don’t understand why Cheyn would do that.” Rick sat back in his chair. “He loved this job. He was such a damn good Marshal. I just can’t wrap my head around it.”

  Rick shook his head in bewilderment.

  “I don’t know. I guess he just felt like it was either his job or his family.” Dante looked at the floor. He took a shaky breath.

  Laurie squeezed his arm again.

  Dante gave her a half-hearted smile as he covered her hand with his. He sat back in his chair to look at Rick again.

  “Well, what’s done is done. Danny is more than ready to take on Kaimi. With Ms. Shelton here, we have a case against him for murder. You went above and beyond the call of duty, son. I’m real proud.” Rick smiled.

  “Thank you.” Dante gave him a small smile in return.

  “There will still be a full investigation, of course. I have a lot of questions about how you found out it was Cheyn, and everything else that’s happened. I won’t be able to reinstate you right away. I’ll have to put you on desk duty or unscheduled leave for a while. But I’m sure we’ll have you back in the ranks in no time.” Rick waved his hand.

  “But who will protect me?” Laurie interrupted. “He’ll still be able to protect me, right?”

  “All of our agents are highly trained, Ms. Shelton. Your protection is my highest priority. I’ll check-in on you every day if I have to. I will have my best agents assigned to you, but no—Dante will not be able to continue on this assignment.” Rick shook his head.

  “But Dante is your best agent. You’ve said that to me before. And how many other agents are in Kaimi’s pocket? I don’t want anyone else protecting me.” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Shelton, but my hands are tied.” Rick’s smile turned apologetic. “Dante has to be put on administrative duty until the whole disappearance thing is sorted out.”

  “Well, then I’m not going to trial.” Laurie lifted her chin.

  Rick’s eyes grew round and huge as he took in a gulp of air.

  Dante could see Rick’s temper flickering to life. Dante squeezed Laurie’s hand in warning, but her heated stare locked onto Rick.

  “Ms. Shelton, I understand your request, but it’s not possible. Our protocols are quite clear.” Rick shuffled the papers in front of him.

  “I don’t care about your—” Laurie began.

  “Laurie, Laurie!” Dante stopped her. She turned her angry stare on him.

  “I don’t want anyone else protecting me,” she hissed. Her eyes glassed over.

  “I know, I know.” He stroked her arm. She shook him off. Laurie sank back in her chair, staring resolutely at the corner of Rick’s desk.

  Dante turned back to Rick, who watched them. Suspicion lurked behind his eyes. Rick hadn’t missed the familiar touches or the emotion in Laurie’s voice.

  Dante sighed.

  “Rick, there’s something else you should know.” Dante stared his mentor in the eye. “Laurie’s pregnant.”

  Rick blinked. Then his brow furrowed, looking at Laurie, who refused to look at anyone else.

  “I don’t remember that from your notes, or any of your reports.” Rick searched around on his desk for the right file.

  “She wasn’t pregnant when she entered protection.” He paused to build up his courage. “The baby’s mine.”

  Rick’s head snapped up from his desk to look at Dante. His eyes widened as he took in Dante’s serious stare.

  “Oh, Christ!” Rick exclaimed, propping his elbows on the desk and resting his head in his hands.

  “I’m sorry, Rick, but I had to tell you.” Dante winced. “That’s why Laurie wants me to be with her right now.”

  Rick was silent for a long time. Dante waited it out, tapping his thumb against his knee to keep himself calm. The minutes ticked by and no one spoke.

  “I’ve been doing this job for fifteen years. This case is the biggest disaster I’ve ever had to deal with.” Rick sighed.

  Dante stared at the floor. His shoulders slumped, and tension was beginning to creep up his neck into his head. He was a fool to think this would work. He only had one card left to play.

  “I’m sorry, Rick.” Dante shook his head. “Laurie and I we…we fell in love.”

  “Well, love isn’t in the Marshals handbook,” Rick snapped, as he sat back. “It says protect the witness, not fall in love with them.”

  “We didn’t mean for this to happen.” Laurie sat forward in her chair. “I can understand that you might see this as an imposition or an employment mistake, but for us it’s the best thing that’s ever happened. This baby is the best thing that’s ever happened. I want my fiancé with me during my pregnancy.”

  “Fiancé?” Rick looked at Dante.

  Dante nodded, reaching over to rub Laurie’s back, to soothe both her and himself. He needed to keep her calm long enough for Rick to start thinking clearly. It was their only hope.

  “I love her.” Dante shrugged.

  Rick’s head sank back into his hands. They all sat for a long while in silence again, as Dante just let Rick think things through. Rick finally sat back in his chair and began tapping the edge of his desk with a pencil.

  Dante felt Laurie’s muscles tense with every tap, so he kneaded her back more with his hand. Finally, Rick’s gaze settled back on them.

  “Dante, if this were any other circumstance—and I mean any other circumstance—I would be congratulating you right now. I mean, no one deserves to fall in love and start a family more than you. On one hand I’m happy for you. I really am.” Rick laid a hand on his desk. “But on the other hand, I have to make sure that Ms. Shelton makes it to the trial. I just can’t have you on her protective detail. I’m sorry.”

  “Why?” Laurie coiled like a snake ready to strike.

  Dante put his arm around her to keep her still.

  “Because, Ms. Shelton, a man will do anything to protect the woman he loves. That includes putting everything else at risk. Dante has already shown he’s more than able and willing to disappear with you into an untraceable existence. If you hadn’t walked into this office today, we never would have found either of you. I’m afraid the Marshals Service just can’t take that risk.” Rick pinned her with a stare.

  Laurie glared at him across the desk.

  “Can I come with her, Rick? Not as an agent, but as a family member. Unarmed, of course.” Dante lifted his eyes to Rick’s.

  Rick shook his head.

  “I’m sorry, son. The same reason applies. You’re too good. Wouldn’t matter if you were armed or unarmed. I doubt any of these men would refuse your orders. You would be running the operation even as a family member. You and I both know how dangerous that could be.” Rick clasped his hands together.

  Dante nodded, swallowing hard against t
he burning sensation in his throat. His worst fear came true. They would separate them.

  “But after the trial,” Rick continued. “We’ll make sure you’re re-united again. If you both want to join the witness protection program, or if you need to relocate, we’ll take care of it. I would hate to see you leave, Dante, but if you choose to go in order to protect your future wife, I’ll understand.”

  “How long…” Laurie began, her voice wavering. She stopped to clear her throat before continuing. “How long will it be until the trial?”

  “Probably just a few months. I’m sure after Danny talks to you, he’ll want to have the trial date expedited. We won’t keep you any longer than we have to, Ms. Shelton. We know how difficult this ordeal has been.” Rick sat back in his chair.

  “A few months?” Panic flicked across her features. Rick nodded.

  Laurie sat back in her chair. Her hands rested limply in her lap.

  “I know it’s not what either of you want to hear, but it’s for the best. Dante, I won’t be able to tell you where she is, and we’ll have to take her out of Hawaii. But I will update you as often as I can.” Rick nodded to him.

  Dante started to speak, but his voice gave out on him. He cleared his throat and tried again.

  “I have Laurie’s belongings in our rental car.” He gestured to the door. “Her new doctor records. They’ll need to make sure they get an OB/GYN to take care of her. She has vitamins she has to take for the baby. I’ll, um, take her out to the car and get her things.”

  “Why don’t I go get Jason. Jason can get her things for you. You met Jason already. He’s become one of my best agents.” Rick rose.

  Dante smiled a sad smile and said, “Afraid I’ll leave with her already?”

  Rick smiled ruefully back at him.

  “Can’t be too careful.”

  Rick began chuckling.

  “Besides, I’m sure you two need a few minutes to say goodbye before Danny comes back.” Rick strode to the door. He pulled it open, bellowing for Jason to come to his office. Jason’s profile soon appeared.