by Desiree Holt
“That would be correct. My status is a little unofficial.”
Riddick actually smiled. “Sometimes that’s the best way.”
“What we have to do now,” Burns put in, “is set up a sting to trap Bostic that will then allow us to use this information to nail him good.” He looked at his boss. “Am I correct on this?”
“You are.” Riddick sat back and raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell any of you this will have to be done with great delicacy. We can’t just march into a powerful senator’s office or his house and execute a search warrant. He’s got too much juice.”
“So, then what can we do?” Grey bit back his frustration. He’d agreed to this meeting because he thought these men would have the answers he needed.
Riddick looked at Burns then at Grey and then Athena. “I think the best way to do this is to set up a sting operation. One we can make attractive enough so he’ll bite. We’ve been working to put one together for some time now, but we were lacking a lot of information. Grey, what you brought me is the last piece of the puzzle.”
Riddick leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.
“Once we have him red-handed,” Burns added, “we can use what you’ve got to solidify things and tie him up nice and tight for court.”
“Like what?” Athena asked when no one else spoke. “He’s bound to be suspicious of something just popping up out of the blue. So, exactly how will you do this?”
“The same way we have in situations with other big fish,” Riddick answered her. “We’re going to send him a message from one of the buyers we’ve identified as a regular customer.”
Grey grunted. “Like that’s going to happen. You just plan to call him up and say you need him to trap this guy?”
Riddick, Burns, and Adam all exchanged looks.
“This guy is a middleman for both terrorist groups and cartels. They work through him so their hands are clean. We just need him to set up a situation with himself, Bostic, and a supplier.”
Grey shook his head. “There are so many loose threads here. How do you get these guys to agree to it?”
Again the men exchanged glances.
“The last deal he did for a cartel went south,” Adam answered. “They’ve put a man on his family and threatened him with their lives if he screws up again. We have a team ready to put in place to extract them.”
“In exchange, of course,” Burns said, “for his cooperation.”
“And the supplier?” Athena asked.
“We’ll make the deal a big one, so big there’s only one supplier he’ll feel safe contacting.”
“And that helps us how?”
“That man already knows he’s in trouble. We managed to get the goods on him in another operation, so he’ll be anxious to buy himself some goodwill.”
“Don’t you think we’re widening the circle too much?” Grey objected. “I see so many places this could go wrong, and we’d lose the opportunity.”
Riddick shook his head. “This is what we do, Holden. We have men who can do this in their sleep. We’ve smoothed out the rough edges, at least as much as we can. And we have a very good success rate.”
“I just hope we’re on the plus side of success here,” Grey said in a tight voice, “and not the minus.”
“So exactly how do we catch him doing this?” Athena asked. “He’s very careful not to put himself in a bad position where he’s actually caught doing something. He can always say recordings and documents were faked.”
“Agreed. But twice before this my arms dealer has insisted Bostic meet with him to make the deal. They had one go south, badly, that was arranged electronically and he’s been skittish ever since.”
“I have a question,” Adam put in. “How do we know he’ll agree to leave the safety of familiar ground to do this? Leave his office or his house to go to this guy’s place. Won’t he be suspicious?”
“Not with the amount of money involved,” Burns assured hm. “Bostic’s a greedy son of a bitch. This will tempt him enough.”
“And we’ll be there waiting? Ready for him?” Grey asked.
“Of course.” He scanned all their faces again. “Bostic will have his usual bodyguards with him and so will the arms dealer. No one trusts anyone in this business.”
Grey snorted. “Big surprise.”
“I’ll have a team in place, set up early enough that they’ll be ready.” He held up his hand as Grey opened his mouth. “And that will include both of you. I have no intention of trying to cut you out.” His lips twisted in a wry smile. “I have the distinct feeling that would only backfire on me.”
Grey nodded. “Damn straight. You might orchestrate the physical takedown, but we’ve got the hard goods to back it up.”
“And I’m sure what you gave me isn’t the entire set of files.” He gave Grey a hard look. “You do know at the end of this I’ll need everything.”
This time it was Athena who answered. “When Bostic is in custody with visual proof of what he’s doing, we’ll give you whatever you need.”
“So, now what?” Grey asked.
“Now I go home and put this little scenario into motion.”
“Not your office?” Athena asked.
Riddick shook his head. “The fewer people who know the nitty-gritty the better. Give me your cell numbers. Adam will keep you in the loop, but I’ll contact you myself when we’re ready to go.”
“I just hope we get him this time,” Adam put in. “He’s a slippery fucker. We’ve lost him before.”
From what he’d learned, Grey knew that all too well.
“We will,” Burns assured him. “This time we’ll be better prepared and have all of the information these people”—he gestured to Grey and Athena—“gathered to seal the case.” He pushed back from the table. “Time to leave. Grey, Athena, I’ll be in touch very soon. Adam can keep you up to date.”
Adam looked from his boss to them. “Then I guess we’re done here.”
Everyone shook hands before they left the room. But as they drove out of the hotel lot heading back to the airport, Grey wished that little finger of unease didn’t keep trying to travel up his spine. He’d have to take his own precautions.
Chapter Nine
She was quiet as they headed back to the house, but then, so was Grey. It had been a very long, very full day, with a lot of tense moments and many new things to chew over. She knew the silence had more to do with each of them running thoughts through their minds, analyzing the conversations they’d had today, looking for loopholes. She was sure that he, like her, was turning over and over in his mind today’s conversations. She’d love to get his reaction to the two men, but even though she’d barely known him for forty-eight hours, she knew he’d tell her when he was ready. Asking would get her nothing.
She sensed, however, Grey wasn’t quite as sold on Adam as she was and neither of them knew Ezra Burns. They had to rely on Adam’s assurances his boss could be trusted, not always the best situation. Grey would have to make his own decision on her friend, but she hoped she could help him feel better about it.
Since he chose to ride in silence, she occupied herself with her own thoughts, trying to look for all the drawbacks in the plan Ezra Burns proposed. Okay, in her mind there were a lot of them, and she and Grey were basically at their mercy, the odd men out. But she trusted Grey to control their personal situation and make this work. All three men involved had more experience at it than she did, but she’d been on takedowns before as a detective, twice as part of an undercover sting, so she wasn’t exactly a novice at this.
The little knot in her stomach muscles told her she wasn’t quite as happy with the situation as she’d like to be. Still, what other option did they have? Neither of them had other people they could tap for this, and they couldn’t do it by themselves. They’d discussed taking the story to a reporter, but then there was always the chance of a cover-up. Bostic was a slippery bastard.
A
s soon as they were inside the house, Grey headed for the receiver he’d set up to capture the feed from the bugs.
“I’m going to see if we’re getting anything worthwhile,” he told her. “Be sure to thank your friend for placing the bugs for us. The feeds were coming in loud and clear when I tested them. At this hour, I think I’ll check the house first.”
“Okay. I’ll fix us some coffee.”
She filled two mugs from the single-serving machine and carried them to the big workstation where he had everything set up.
“Thanks,” he told her.
He flipped some switches on the very complicated piece of machinery in front of him, a setup he’d explained received the feed from the listening devices planted in Bostic’s house and office. He could either listen in real time or, if he was out, capture it for playback. He toggled a switch and sipped the hot liquid as he waited for sound to feed into the speakers.
“This is from his house,” Grey repeated. “I want to find out if anything’s live right now. If not, I’ll go back and check whatever’s been recorded and hope it’s something we can use. I’ll do his office last.”
“You really think he’d incriminate himself like this?” Athena was skeptical.
“Remember,” Grey reminded her, “he thinks he’s thrown enough money around to protect himself. He’s gotten away with it so far, right?”
“Be sure you spend plenty of time at the awards dinner.” The male voice was husky, like that of a smoker, with the words clearly enunciated.
“I think this is one of two men that he’s hardly ever without,” Grey explained. “During the time I tracked him, before you and I bumped into each other, I took enough pictures of him that I could pinpoint who were his regulars and who weren’t.”
“Do you have any idea of his name?” Athena asked. “You’ve managed to identify them, right?”
He looked at her as if to say, Are you kidding?
“The one we just heard is Chandler Harris. The two are asshole buddies. I have no idea what the guy’s actual title is, but he’s always with Bostic, wherever he is, whatever he’s doing.” He pointed at the speakers. “Let’s listen.”
“Those things are beginning to bore the shit out of me.” Bostic’s voice. Athena knew it well from all the times she’d heard him speak in public.
“Better bored than in jail.”
“I have no intention of going to jail.” There was a hard edge to Bostic’s voice. “That’s what I pay you for, to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“Then take my advice. Be visible for a long time. And be sure to get your picture taken. A lot.”
There was a little more back and forth in the same vein then the voices faded until the sound disappeared completely.
Grey fiddled with the switches, watching the dials, stopping now and then to check for any recorded conversation. Athena saw him tense when the devices picked up a new conversation.
In the background, a door slammed shut.
“Move the money again.” Bostic’s voice came in loud and clear.
“You’ve moved it twice already, Drake. Keep shuffling it and someone will get suspicious.”
“I’ll do it ten times if I have to,” Bostic growled. “I didn’t get where I am and stay out of prison by not being triple and maybe quadruple careful.”
“Maybe it’s time to take a step back for a while.” Another voice, a little gruffer than the first. “When is enough money enough? Ask yourself that.”
“It isn’t just the money.” Bostic. “It’s about the control. About pulling the strings for the situation and making money on top of it.”
“They aren’t really saying anything incriminating,” Athena whispered.
“I know,” Grey mouthed. “Hold on.”
The voices faded for a moment then Bostic’s came back.
“Get this, okay? As long as there are people buying arms, I’ll be selling them.”
“To terrorists,” the unknown man put in, not sounding any too happy about it.
“You’re free to walk away any time you want,” Bostic told him.
“Yeah?” The word sounded like a snort. “And find myself six feet under? We may be friends, Drake, but I am fully aware you never leave any loose ends.”
They heard the sound of a telephone ringing and someone speaking in a muffled voice.
“We need to go.” Chandler Harris. “Trouble.”
“Trouble?” Bostic’s sharp tone. “What kind?”
“Don’t know yet, but we need to meet Felix.”
“At this hour of the night?” Bostic’s voice was thick with displeasure.
“Drake.” Chandler’s exasperation came through. “For once, just don’t ask questions.”
The voices faded until there was no sound.
Athena looked at Grey. A muscle twitched in his cheek.
“Something’s up,” he said at last. “I just hope it doesn’t have anything to do with our little meeting today.”
“How could it? It’s only been a few hours. I’m sure Ezra Burns hasn’t had time to put his plan into action yet.”
“Maybe. And maybe he’s not the solid citizen your friend Adam thinks he is.”
Athena frowned, took a sip of her coffee. “Adam’s worked for him for a long time,” she reminded him. “I realize you don’t know Adam as well as I do, but I trust him. I like to think my instincts are good where people are concerned. If there was something a little off, I’d have sensed it while we were, um, seeing each other.”
Grey stared at her for a long moment. “You don’t think your feelings for him might have colored your judgment?”
Athena restrained herself from smacking him. “Why is it that men are convinced they can sleep with a woman and it never affects their judgment or decision-making, but the woman loses her brains?”
His lips quirked in a trace of a smile. “Oh, I don’t know. I think your brains are still pretty much intact after last night.”
Heat flashed over her as she remembered in very hot, vivid detail every single thing they had done. And that she wanted to do again.
Get it together, Athena. He’s focused on his mission, not sex.
But last night he’d certainly been focused plenty. Maybe tonight they could—
As if he knew what she was thinking, he looked up from what he was doing and gave her a look that seared her right to the soles of her feet. Then he cleared his throat.
“Sorry. You’re right. That was uncalled for. I accept that your prior relationship with Adam did not cloud your judgment where he was concerned. But that doesn’t give his boss a free pass.”
“It’s only been a couple of hours since we had the meeting,” Athena reminded him again. “He’d either have to be plugged right into Bostic or have the people he needed set and ready to go. I’m not sure which one would give me greater pause.”
“Either way, we’ll be on our toes,” Grey told her. “Let’s see if we got anything from the bug in Bostic’s office while we were gone. I want to check the recorder and see if we picked anything up.”
He toggled some switches again and turned some dials. Static crackled and hissed in the air for several minutes before they heard a man’s voice.
“More requests for you to speak at some major events, Senator Bostic.” A woman’s voice. Probably his admin. “You’re certainly a popular man.”
“That’s what keeps getting me elected.” The words were said in a joking manner but with a hard edge beneath them.
Grey let the recording play out a little more then skipped through the rest of it, stopping here and there to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
“I’ll bet one of those is the dinner Chandler What’s-his-name insisted he go to and be very visible,” Athena guessed.
“Probably.” He flipped a switch. “I wish I had been able to bug his car. I’d give my left nut to hear what he and his friend are discussing right this minute.” He sighed. “At least we got something.”
“M
y guess is even in what they consider extreme privacy these men aren’t going to discuss specifics. If I were them, I’d be paranoid about giving voice to what they’re doing.”
Grey nodded. “I agree. I’m surprised we got what we did.” He leaned back and stretched, obviously working out the kinks in his muscles.
“So, what can we do with this?” Athena decided one cup of coffee wasn’t going to do it and popped another pod in the single-serving coffeemaker.
“Don’t know. Adam told us they’ve got a trace on the man’s bank accounts, but as soon as they do, it makes the cash disappear.”
“Maybe if you let them know right away, they’ll have a better chance to drop a trace,” she pointed out.
She could see him struggle with the need to keep this information to himself and the very real need to have the ATF apparatus help him carry out his mission.
“Okay. Let’s call Adam. I think I trust him better than his boss.”
“Fine.” Athena nodded, relieved at his words. “Maybe he’ll have some idea of what prompted this. Something that has nothing to do with the plan we began today.”
Grey dialed the number Adam had given them, a different burner phone, and put his own cell on speaker so they could both hear.
“Impatient, much?” Adam gave a dry laugh when he answered. “We need a little time to put all the pieces together, using the info you gave us.”
“I understand,” Grey told him. “We’ve had something else come up, however.” He motioned for Athena to tell him.
“Please don’t ask us how we got this,” she began, “but we have a recording of Bostic with his right-hand man, Chandler Harris. Bostic is telling Harris he needs to move the money again, and Harris is resisting.” She paused a moment. “Do you have any idea what prompted this?”
There was a long moment of silence, what Athena might call a pregnant pause.
“Are you by any chance suggesting something might have come from us? From our meeting today?”
She bit her bottom lip, uncomfortable with this conversation but sharing Grey’s worries. “I don’t know, Adam. You tell me? I trust you, but Ezra Burns is an unknown quantity to me. To us.”