The Protectors: Vigilante Justice (Vigilante Cops Book 1)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  This pronouncement set Julie off again with Ellie joining her in laughter at Connor’s expense.

  “Can I go check?” Julie asked, evoking another bout of hilarity.

  “Let’s both inspect his rude behavior,” Ellie answered, pulling Julie to her feet.

  “If I’m approached, I throw breakfast right in the garbage,” Connor warned. He spread sliced cheese on one side of the egg omelet and flipped the bare half over to cover the cheese. Connor placed the lid back on, all the while attempting to command his body into a relaxed state without success.

  “How hungry are you Jules?”

  “I can get by with just coffee.”

  The women walked up on each side of Connor. They each placed a hand on his shoulder while leaning into him like erotic bookends. Their other hands groped toward Connor’s pant’s front where he had pressed himself against the stove.

  “Holy Guacamole, Batman!” Ellie blurted out, hearing Julie’s sharp intake of breath from Connor’s other side. “We should have noticed this on New Year’s Eve. What the hell do you do with this, tape it to the side of your leg? No wonder Whiney always has that idiot grin on her face when she’s around you.”

  Connor sighed, his hands spread palm down on the counters bordering the stove. “If you two are all done with your examination I have rye toast to butter. It always amazes me how one way our sexual harassment laws are. If I ever did anything like this, you’d be Macing me El and the Doc would be screaming rape.”

  “Hummmmmm… you could put your theory to the test.” Ellie pressed more tightly against Connor, stunned by how turned on she was.

  “I…I wouldn’t object,” Julie added. “Turnabout is fair play.”

  “Go sit down!” Connor ordered, bumping Julie to gain access to the toast and margarine.

  The two women exchanged glances around Connor with Ellie mouthing the words ‘after breakfast’. Julie nodded in agreement but added a two handed pantomime with mouth open, mimicking an act of fellatio that immediately had Ellie roaring with laughter until tears were streaming down her cheeks. Connor growled without turning and the women returned to their seats.

  “Oh Jules… that was… hilarious.”

  “Nearly getting killed several times has altered my view of things.”

  Connor brought over plates with omelet and toast, setting them down in front of each woman while ignoring the giggles at his still obviously heightened state. A moment later he sat down in his seat with fresh coffee and his own plate.

  “I could use a refill.” Ellie held up her coffee cup.

  “Me too.” Julie held up hers.

  “Show’s over, girls - get your own damn coffee.”

  Julie laughed and went over to get the pot. She refilled Ellie’s cup and then her own. They ate their breakfast in silence with Ellie and Julie glancing at Connor every few moments expecting him to say something. When he remained quiet, Ellie began reaching over to try and stroke Connor’s pant’s front again. He caught her hand by the wrist.

  “What’s this all about, El?”

  “We’re playing around after cheating death. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing… I guess, but I thought we were going to stick with the partnership for a while, unencumbered with relationship problems.”

  “I have Jules here to help us out on that.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t fall on your head?”

  “It could work, Connor,” Julie said. “There is less jealousy when three people having an affair are attracted to each other rather than competing for attention.”

  “Says who, studies? I don’t know how far the psycho babble can stretch to cover this, Doc. I think you’ve gone around the bend.”

  Chapter 22

  New Deal

  Julie’s doorbell rang and all three of them jumped. Connor leaped out of his chair toward the counter cabinet near the sink. He opened the cabinet door. His .45 automatic lay just inside the door. Connor grabbed it as the two women stood up too.

  “I have closed circuit at the doorway, Connor. The monitor is in my viewing room in the cabinet opposite the TV.”

  “You two check out the monitor. I’m getting my piece.”

  Ellie ran upstairs while Julie showed Connor the security monitor. Guzman and Fulton stood on Julie’s doorstep. Ellie showed up next to them a moment later with Glock in hand. She took one look at the monitor and started laughing.

  “This shit never ends. We can’t get a couple hours to ourselves, even after three gun battles. I say we ignore them. They should have called first.”

  “I wish,” Connor replied. “You answer the door, Doc. We’ll be right behind you.”

  Julie walked out to the front entrance and opened the door. “Mulder… Scully.”

  “Lose the smartass mouth, Dr. Morrison.” Guzman’s features contorted into a grimace when she saw Bradwick and James smiling behind Morrison. “May we come in?”

  “Of course.” Julie stepped aside to let the two Homeland Security agents enter before closing the door behind them. “Would you like some coffee?”

  “Very much so,” Fulton answered gratefully, setting the briefcase he carried next to him on the floor.

  “What is this anyway, a pajama party?” Guzman asked as they entered the kitchen. “Imagine our surprise when Donaldson told us all three of you were in the same place. Here you all are in robes and slippers. Cozy.”

  “You’re welcome,” Ellie said without any show of anger. She sat down and took a sip of her coffee while Julie brought two more cups over to the table.

  “Lucky you. We had two cups left. I’m making more though.” Julie sat down again as did Connor.

  “Welcome for what?” Guzman could not resist asking as she and Fulton sat down at the kitchen table on the other end.

  “Saving your frackin’ lives you ungrateful Evita wannabe!”

  Connor held up a hand of warning as Guzman started out of her seat before Fulton could stop her. “Ellie’s right! Sit down or get out!”

  “This isn’t your house, Bradwick!”

  “It’s mine. Sit down or get out,” Julie repeated calmly.

  “We talked about this, ‘Nita.” Fulton gestured at the chair and waited until Guzman sat down reluctantly. “You’re right, Officer James, we owe you our lives. Unfortunately, we need more help.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shot my mouth off when we came in,” Guzman muttered with a shrug of her shoulders. “We’ve been up for nearly thirty-six hours. Instead of closing in on the end of this fiasco, we’re groping in the dark.”

  “That’s a start,” Ellie replied. “Obviously, the prisoners are somewhere safe, right?”

  “The cell members have been transferred to Washington under military guard,” Fulton answered. “They were flown by special hospital transport. We recorded every last detail the MS-13 gang members had. The three who met with us have agreed to help run a sting on Farrin Agassi. To put an exclamation point on this, Agassi is working out of the San Francisco office. She has her family along. Get this – they’re all booked to fly back to Washington in three weeks.”

  “How much more proof do you need besides the flash drive?” Connor leaned forward, wondering what an FBI sting on Agassi could possibly have to do with them.

  “We have Agassi for certain. The gang members have agreed to contact her. The lead one, Paulo Adelmo, told us the Terrorist Cell didn’t have all the shipments they need to assemble whatever it is they’re planning. He’s agreed to help us lure Agassi and the Cell leader into a trap. By using the fact the gang members were killed by the Terrorists, Adelmo believes he can demand a meeting with the leaders for two million dollars in return for the last shipment. The shipment is under 24/7 surveillance. It will go nowhere. We’ve agreed to let them keep the money and give them new identities if we get the Cell.”

  “Opie nearly killed the entire Cell single handed. What’s he get?”

  “More importantly, why are you talking to us ab
out this?” Connor asked.

  “Adelmo won’t go through with the sting unless you and James are with them undercover,” Guzman said.

  “They get two million. What the hell do we get besides the chance to have our asses blown off?” Ellie asked.

  “The thanks of a grateful nation… and this.” Fulton took a folder out of his briefcase. He slid it across the kitchen table.

  Connor opened the folder with some trepidation. His mouth tightened as he pushed it over to Ellie. Dr. Morrison moved quickly beside Ellie, reading over her shoulder. Ellie looked up after several moments in disbelief. Julie turned away from the table with her hands clenched into fists. She picked up the coffee pot with freshly brewed coffee and refilled their cups.

  Connor gestured at the folder. “So this is what your word means, huh? You hang me out to dry if I don’t go along with this caper.”

  “It sucks, Bradwick, but it was all we could do,” Guzman replied. “The justice department will grant you full immunity from any and all prosecution for any acts before, during or after, involving this sting operation. You will be reinstated into the department without prejudice.”

  “You can’t get away with this frame! Donaldson will never let Connor take the fall for any of what happened. Julie and I saw the whole thing from beginning to end. We also heard what you two shitheads told Connor - ‘weapons free’ as I recall.”

  “If it goes to court, they’ll hang us too,” Fulton admitted.

  “I’ll take the deal but Ellie’s out of it.”

  “The hell I am! If you’re going along with this boneheaded play, I’m in!”

  “There are a thousand ways this could go wrong, El, including the wrong people getting to your family. I can do this alone.”

  “That’s been true ever since I put on a badge. The whole idea smells. If you’re doing it so am I. What the hell is it we’ll be doing anyway?”

  “You and Bradwick would be Adelmo’s guarantee we’re not selling him and his friends out,” Guzman replied.

  “Like hostages?” Ellie pursued the point.

  “We prefer the term collateral.”

  “This is insane,” Julie whispered. “Don’t you expect to get some information out of the terrorists you already have in custody?”

  “We will get information but only after many interrogation sessions,” Fulton answered. “We hope you can be counted on to never repeat anything you hear at this table, Dr. Morrison.”

  “I won’t repeat anything. This Agassi woman will know right away something’s up when she sees Connor and Ellie with Adelmo.”

  “They will be dressed in appropriate attire as part of MS-13,” Fulton explained. “Bradwick and James will be our eyes and ears. Adelmo and his men will not be wearing a wire. Adelmo will pick the meeting place but will be turned down. Agassi will then give Adelmo an alternate site where we can set up surveillance.”

  Ellie gave out a short barking laugh. “So if Agassi detects a bug we’ll be giving Adelmo deniability? How thoughtful of you.”

  Connor stood up and walked to Julie’s kitchen window. A light rain began to fall leaving behind small droplets scaling down the glass. He could hear Ellie’s voice echoing the same question over and over again – ‘when will this shit end’? For a brief moment before the agents arrived with their deal, Connor had glimpsed a time ahead where normality would again be part of his life. Only Ellie’s warm hand on his arm jarred Connor out of his daydream.

  “We don’t have to do this, Connor.”

  Connor sighed, looking down at Ellie with a crooked grin. “Yeah we do, El. I’m sorry I tried to opt you out of it.”

  “Forget it. Do you think we’re being setup?”

  Connor glanced back at the FBI agents and shook his head in the negative. “Not by them but maybe from further up the chain. How their screening-”

  “We can hear you!” Guzman called out.

  “I’m not hiding anything.” Connor looked away from the window. “The view here’s better. I know the screening process isn’t perfect, especially for recruiting native speakers to fill interpreter positions, but do you think there might be a chance someone from above in HS may have placed Agassi?”

  As Connor turned from the window, Guzman began an angry rebuttal before biting it off with effort. She shrugged, looking at Fulton tiredly.

  “We don’t know, Connor,” Fulton admitted. “The people we’ll have with us on this will be handpicked by me.”

  “This isn’t just about the Cell or the shipment. Your boss thinks there may be communications during this gig between Agassi and someone higher up the food chain.”

  Fulton looked at Connor with grudging respect. He and Guzman had figured Bradwick would have jumped at the deal with no questions asked. “Unlimited money is a fearsome thing. This gig as you call it is about the Cell and the shipment. You’re right though, we’re fishing for someone higher.”

  “With Opie and me as bait.”

  “We’ll all be bait if we don’t stop the Cell from getting their final ingredient in whatever the hell they’re cooking up. ‘Nita and I played this wrong from the beginning, thinking we were up against crooked politicians, and gangbangers who may or may not be smuggling OTM’s into the country. Yesterday morning changed everything. We’ve been behind ever since. When Adelmo showed up at your door offering a trusted interpreter with HS, and a flash drive proving it, we’ve been officially swimming upstream. We are not setting you two up. I don’t know who to trust either and I don’t want our ignorance to end up making California glow in the dark for the next fifty thousand years.”

  “Fair enough.” Connor walked over to the table and held out his hand, shaking hands with first Fulton and then Guzman. “I hope to God it isn’t anyone higher up orchestrating this. These papers clearing me before, during, and after are legit, right?”

  “The Attorney General signed them. You and Officer James have garnered some very high up attention. The kidnapping case vaulted the two of you into the National limelight. I’m sure you’ve read or seen the parents’ interviews which cemented your hero status. The document factory bust with terrorist connections took luck out of the equation concerning your credentials. What’s happened since the Councilman was killed has drawn even more scrutiny to your records. They don’t believe in luck and they don’t think the two of you could have survived without skill. Our Boss thinks you both are on a roll and he wants to exploit it, even if it means blackmail.”

  “I just have one deal breaker. I want Dr. Morrison with the surveillance team.”

  “What?” Guzman yelped plaintively. “Are you nuts?”

  “Agreed,” Fulton stated, waving Guzman off. “If Dr. Morrison is agreeable, I’ll make it known to my superiors you and James won’t do it otherwise.”

  Fulton smiled, looking over at his partner. “Actually, it’s a hell of an idea, ‘Nita. With the speed this is going down, coupled with ramifications of either a bio or dirty bomb threat, we could use all the cover we can get. Will you do it, Doctor?”

  “Yes. I… I won’t be too near the action, will I?”

  “No,” Guzman answered emphatically. “You shouldn’t be in on this at all but if Drax can sell it to our Boss, you’ll be with the surveillance team away from any danger.”

  “When will this go down?” Connor asked, sitting down again.

  “Adelmo contacted Agassi already,” Fulton replied. “We wanted to make sure this was possible before trying to get you on board with it. We expect her to come up with a counter site to Adelmo’s proposal today if she takes the bait. I’m certain the last day and a half have been wild for her. If we figured this right, Agassi has surviving members of the Cell contacting her along with whoever may be pulling her strings. Unfortunately, Agassi may be staying in contact with them through an anonymous Internet site, throw away phone, or an actual drop site. We’re monitoring her every movement but there are limits to what we can do without tipping her off.”

  “We have to go, Drax,�
�� Guzman said, looking at her watch.

  Fulton nodded and both agents stood up. “Stay in place today. We’ll call you the moment we have a go.”

  After Julie escorted the agents to the door and locked up behind them, she returned to the kitchen where her two friends sat in silence.

  “You two don’t look so good.”

  Ellie grinned up at her. “Arresting a burglar is a little different than having untold thousands of lives depending on what we do.”

  “It’s like being on a thrill ride with no end in sight, Doc. I’m sorry I involved you without first getting a chance to talk it over with you.”

  “You didn’t have much choice considering how they presented this.” Julie sat down. “It already seems like a month ago we were playing sexual innuendo games at the table and eating breakfast.”

  “And the New Year’s Eve party a year ago,” Ellie added with a sigh.

  Connor sat up suddenly. He made shushing gestures at the two women. “Want some more coffee?”

  “Ah… sure, Opie, thanks.”

  “Doc, do you have a radio we can listen to the news on?”

  “Sure.” Julie walked over to the counter and turned the built in stereo receiver on at the side of the cabinet. She tuned it to an all news station.

  Connor nodded his head appreciatively. He stood and walked around the table to where Fulton and Guzman had been sitting. Kneeling down slowly and quietly, Connor ducked his head under the table. A moment later, he was over at the counter retrieving the coffee pot. He refilled all their cups, put the pot back in place and shut off the radio.

  “The hell with the news.” Connor pointed at the end of the table he had examined and then cupped his ear as if listening to something. “Why don’t we take our coffee into the viewing room and watch a movie. It’ll take our minds off things.”

  “Good idea,” Ellie agreed. “I’ll pick the movie though.”

  “Okay, but no horror movies. I didn’t like that one you picked out… ‘Underworld’ was it?”

  “You passed out fifteen minutes after it started, Jules. I doubt you saw enough to make any judgments. I know. Let’s see if we can find ‘Sweet Home Alabama’.”