by Margaret Kay
Before they were out the door for the drive into the office, Cooper insisted she holster a backup weapon inside her boot. He always wore one. “Keep it there from now on,” he said after she complied. Then he pulled her to her feet and kissed her again putting everything he felt into it. She returned the kisses with just as much passion, making him finally pull away, dazed. “If we keep that up, we’ll never get to the office.”
She smiled provocatively and then kissed his lips with a quick peck. “You say that like it would be a bad thing. But you’re right. We need to go.” She kissed him again and then stepped away, gathering her gear. “Until tonight.”
He smiled and swatted her behind. “I can’t wait.”
Whiskey
Madison entered the diner twenty minutes before Diaz was due. Cooper confirmed his location, broadcasting through every team member’s comms. He sat in the back of the van monitoring the equipment and hated every second of it.
Madison passed Shepherd seated at a table near the booth the Birdman led her to. He was the undercover waiter. Her eyes met Garcia’s as she seated herself in the booth across from him.
“Leave your jacket across that seat and slide all the way in the booth with your back to me. Diaz will sit beside you, trust me on that,” Garcia said.
Cooper didn’t like this one bit, not that Madison would be seated so close to this scumbag and even more that he was out of sight, a remote backup. But Diaz had already seen him. He had to remain hidden.
Cooper announced Diaz’s arrival and made mention of the vehicle he drove. He’d get a tracker planted on it as soon as Diaz was in the booth beside Madison.
When Diaz slid in next to her, he planted a kiss on her lips, his hands holding her face in place. “This was a nice surprise, sweet-thing,” he drawled.
“Thank you for joining me,” she said tamping down her disgust from his kiss. “I didn’t even ask where you live, if this neighborhood is convenient for you or not.”
“No worries,” he replied without answering her question. He draped his arm around the back of the booth.
“Hello Maddie,” the Birdman greeted as he came up to the table. There were already two waters. His eyes flickered to Diaz, like a jealous schoolboy. “Can I get you anything besides water to drink?”
“You got beer?” Diaz asked.
“No, sorry, we don’t have our liquor license. Tea, soda pop, coffee?”
“Nah, water’s fine,” Diaz replied.
“Are you ready to order?”
“I ain’t even looked at the menu yet,” Diaz groused.
“Give us a minute, will you, Tim?” Madison asked nicely.
“You’re on a first name basis with the waiter?”
Madison gave a small laugh. She laid her hand to his shoulder. “I eat here often. Of course, I know his name. But I’m here with you today, aren’t I?”
Right on cue the owner passed by the table. “Afternoon, Maddie,” he said. He gave Diaz a polite smile.
“Good afternoon, Bob,” she replied with a smile, herself.
“So, what’s good here?” Diaz asked, finally picking up the menu.
“Everything. I’ll probably have a burger today.”
Diaz put the menu down. “I’ll do the same, though that waiter will probably spit on mine. He has a thing for you.”
Madison laughed. “I don’t think so.”
Diaz shook his head dismissively. “So, when will you let me take you out on a real date, where we have more time?”
“We’ll see. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be cryptic, but I have a lot of family stuff going on right now. I’d hate to make plans and then have to cancel. But I am glad lunch worked out,” she said.
She made small talk with him all through the hour and ten minutes she sat beside him. She did have to stop his hand from getting too friendly under the table, several times. She was relieved when her phone, which sat on the table, displayed the message from Cooper which said, “Called an ambulance. I need you.”
Madison faked surprise and panic. She held her phone in front of her face, angled so he could read the text as well. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”
Even though he was in the way, she slid over in an attempt to exit the booth. He complied and stood, letting her out. Diaz grabbed her jacket from the other side of the booth and held it up. He helped her put it on and then pulled her against himself, placing another kiss on her lips.
She pulled away mid-kiss. “I’m sorry. I have to go,” she repeated and then hurried away.
The remainder of the team followed him when he left after paying the bill. Jackson took the lead and followed Diaz into a store next to the diner. He watched him buy a burner phone. Doc was situated nearby. He watched Diaz in his car as he opened the burn phone package. Still seated in the booth in the diner, Garcia monitored the activity of the cloned phone.
“Shit, he just forwarded all calls and messages from the cloned phone. I’m not sure I can keep the cloned instance going.”
Diaz pulled the car from the parking spot and pulled up near a dumpster. He switched his original phone off and tossed it in. Then he pulled away. Doc retrieved the phone once he was out of sight. They’d bring it back to the lab and see what Garcia and Michaela could do with it.
The team, including Shepherd met for a debrief again in Shepherd’s office. Garcia was doubtful they would get any intel from Diaz’s phone, but he and Michaela would try. Shepherd also reported that the DEA notified him that they had lost Mendoza.
“Let me call him for that dinner date,” Madison begged.
“No fucking way,” Cooper replied before anyone else could.
Shepherd shot him a scowl.
“If five days is his normal rotation on a burn phone before dumping it, we could get four days out of it, maybe all we’d need,” she argued.
“We’ve been watching this guy and don’t know squat yet,” Garcia piped up. “If we structure it right, we can pull it off with no risk to Madison.”
“And we do need to reacquire Mendoza,” Jackson spoke. “If Diaz is still in communication with him, we just may.”
“I’ll think on it overnight.” Shepherd’s eyes scanned the group. “I want a proposal on my desk by zero-eight-hundred with how we can control the situation, so Madison is not put in too much danger and our suspect is not tipped off by it. This guy isn’t going to get strung along by her much longer.”
Cooper didn’t like that it was even being considered.
“That’s all,” Shepherd dismissed them.
That evening at Cooper’s place the atmosphere was tense. Cooper wanted to flat out refuse to allow her to call Diaz for another meeting, but he knew her well enough to know that it would do nothing but piss her off. Madison tried to sidestep any conversation regarding it, insisting that unless Shepherd sanctioned the meeting, there was no reason to argue about it.
Madison snuggled in close after they’d made love, feeling anything but connected to him. She rolled it around in her head, fighting the tears that filled her eyes. She wondered if this was the beginning of the end of their relationship. Or was this the telltale sign that a relationship could not exist between them because of the work they do?
The Next Day
Madison’s heart pounded as she listened to the phone ring against her ear. She sat in the Ops Center, Garcia to her left, Cooper to her right. They both had earplugs in that allowed them to hear both sides of the conversation, well they would when Diaz picked up.
“Yeah, this is Diaz,” his voice with its unmistakable twang was heard when he finally answered.
Madison’s eyes swept between the two men beside her. “Hi, this is Maddie, Maddie Hayes.”
Instantly Diaz’s voice changed. “Is it really? You are the last person I thought I would hear from, sweet-thing.”
“Why is that?” Madison asked.
“The way you ran out on me after our lunch date. This old boy thought for sure you were running for the hills.”
&nbs
p; “I told you, I had a family emergency.”
“Uh-huh,” he mumbled. “Okay, I’ll tell you what, sweet-thing, you can make it up to me.”
They set a date for later that night. She’d meet him at the bar in the same strip mall as the diner at six-thirty.
“Okay, now make sure this plan goes off as it’s supposed to,” Madison said breathing out a heavy breath after she disconnected the call. Her eyes swept between Garcia and Cooper, neither of them wanted her to do this, she knew.
Cooper’s jaw was clenched so tight it twitched.
“No matter what, you don’t get in the same car with him,” Garcia warned. His voice was low and gravelly. “He’s not going to want to stay at that bar. The tracker has placed him in a notorious biker bar on the south side, too many times for my comfort. It’s the kind of place even the DEA won’t send anyone into.”
She nodded.
“And don’t turn your back on your drink for a second,” Cooper added.
“Yes, Dad, I know that.”
Cooper shook his head, his eyes silently reprimanding her.
She came to her feet. “I’ll be in my office.” She left the room.
Angel knocked on Madison's doorframe. “Hey, can I talk with you for a minute?”
Madison rose and motioned Angel in. “Of course.”
Angel closed the door behind herself after taking only one step into the room. By the door is where she stayed. “Listen, I don't want to overstep.”
Madison noticed how nervous she seemed. “You'd never overstep anything. What's up?”
“I heard you might be going under in a situation that could be dangerous,” she paused, rethinking how to say it. “Madison, I know dangerous is what you guys do, but I heard you were possibly going under in a situation that could lead to you either having to consent to have sex or get raped. And I'm here to tell you to not do it. Trust me, that's not a situation you ever want to be in. It’s not a situation you can control. And you don't want to have to get through it after.”
Madison was silent, considering what Angel said. Cooper's words regarding the sealed mission report to protect Angel's privacy came back to her. “I wouldn't put myself into any situation I didn't feel I could control.” Her voice was just above a whisper.
Angel shook her head. “You can't control it.” Tears filled her eyes.
Madison crossed the room and took hold of both of Angel’s trembling hands. Her eyes locked onto Angel’s pleading, big brown eyes. There was worry there as well as pain and honesty. Madison didn’t want to ask, didn’t want to put Angel through any explanations.
“Thank you, Angel. I’m honored you are worried about me.”
“You’re my friend Madison, and I don’t want you to go through anything like that. It took me six months, a lot of therapy with Lassiter, and all of Jackson’s love, patience, and understanding to get past what happened to me.” Her lips quivered as she spoke.
“You don’t need to tell me anything, Angel. I don’t know what happened. I would never invade your privacy, nor would I hurt you by asking.”
Angel wrapped her in a hug. “Please just think good and long about it and keep in mind that you absolutely cannot control what could happen. The guys are good, will most likely keep you safe, but you cannot be sure they could get to you in time and it can happen so fast.”
Madison held her tightly. Anger that anyone had hurt Angel like that washed over her. She thought about Jackson and how much he loved her. She was sure he would have felt much rage towards whoever had attacked her. Cooper would be the same, she was sure. “I’m sorry you went through anything that hurt you. I promise, I’ll think about it very hard.”
Angel gave her another tight squeeze and then pulled away. “Thank you for listening. I know you’ll make a wise choice.”
“You are a good friend, of course I will always listen. And Angel, thank you.”
Angel passed Cooper in the hallway. Madison shot him a scowl when he entered her office, closing the door behind himself.
“Did you send Angel to talk with me?”
He met her determined and outraged stare. He nodded. “Yes, I did.” There was no apology in his eyes or in his voice.
“How dare you? John, I can handle myself.”
“You’re good, but I don’t want to risk you going through what Angel did. And I swear to God, I would hunt down and kill any fucker that hurts you. I’d take on the whole Juarez Cartel if I had to.” The expression on his face was hard and unyielding.
“I'll be in and out before anything can happen,” she argued. “If it were Garcia, you'd put him in, in a heartbeat, and you know it.”
“Damn it, Madison, this is dangerous!”
“Am I or am I not an Operator?”
Cooper pulled her into his arms. “Damn it, Madison, yes, you’re an Operator, but you are also my woman and I don’t share, especially with drug-dealing scumbags. I can’t let anything happen to you. I don’t doubt your ability as an Operator for a second, but I also want to protect you because you’re special to me.” He shook his head and then pressed kisses to her lips. “If anything, ever happened to you that I could prevent but didn’t, I don’t know what I’d do. Please. We’ll find another way to get his phone cloned.”
“I kind of like being called your woman.” Olive branch offered.
Cooper’s lips tipped in a grin. “I already talked with Garcia and Jackson. We’ll send them in. Jackson will try to distract Diaz while Garcia clones his phone. We’ll have you send a text that you’re running late. I’m sure he’ll wait at least fifteen minutes for you to show.”
Madison nodded. She had already decided not to go through with the plan after talking with Angel. “Okay, and I’m sorry, Cooper. I do understand how you feel. I don’t want to fight with you. Hopefully, that’ll work.”
“If it doesn’t, we’ll find another way.”
She nodded. Then she pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “How about I make you dinner? We’re at your place tonight, right?”
Cooper nodded. “Thank you.” His lips gently brushed over hers again. “I’ll go set Plan B in motion. Don’t answer your decoy line, no matter what. Send that text to him right at eighteen-thirty hours. I’ll meet you at my place when the Op is finished.”
Madison gifted him with another kiss. “That was our first fight. You know what that means, don’t you?”
Cooper gave her a blank stare. His mind was already on executing Plan B.
“Makeup sex tonight.” She smiled wide.
“I’m looking forward to it, Blondie.” He gave her another kiss and then left.
Xray
Madison did a quick run through the nearest grocery store to get the items for dinner. She bought a premade salad to accompany the mushroom ravioli with cream truffle sauce main course kit from the freezer section. She also picked up a bottle of wine. She wanted a nice night with Cooper that didn’t involve spending too long cooking or cleaning up after. She did feel bad about their fight, but her mind was already focused on the makeup sex they would enjoy.
She grabbed her laptop bag, backpack, and the two grocery bags from her car. She walked through the empty parking garage to the door into the residences, aware that her hands were both occupied. For some reason the thought crossed her mind that if she had to reach for her gun under her coat, she’d have to drop all the bags.
As she approached the door, it opened, another resident leaving. He held the door for her. She was alone as she walked through the hallway on Cooper’s level. She reached his door and shuffled the bags to one hand, so she could enter the lock code.
That was when a shadow was cast on the door in front of her. At that same moment, her hair was grabbed from behind, her head snapped back, and a sharp point was pressed into her neck. Her breath caught in her chest, and she felt her heart beat double in that second.
“It looks to me like you are bailing on our dinner date,” Diaz’s familiar twang spoke in her ear. “Inside.” She allowed h
im to press her through the threshold. He closed the door behind them. The alarm system panel blinked with urgency. “Enter your code and don’t try anything,” he told her.
She dropped all the bags to the floor. Her hand shook as she entered one-two-three-four. The lights on the alarm panel went off. “Okay, it’s disarmed. What are you doing here?” She breathed deeply to calm herself. Ops had been alerted. Help was on the way.
“I think that is what I’m supposed to ask you. This isn’t that bar next to the diner.”
“I know. I owe you and explanation,” she said. “Why don’t you put that knife away and we can talk.” She was at a disadvantage with that knife at her throat. If he would take the knife away from her neck, she could strike. If not, she knew she just had to stall him a little while and the team would come from the panic code being entered into the alarm system.