Lexie bobbed her head up and down. Haley smiled and left the apartment.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Alexis
Lexie’s heart was racing. She turned off the recorder and sat down to call Kate, who answered on the first ring.
“What’s going on? You all right?” Kate asked.
“Yes, but you won’t believe who just stopped by uninvited.”
“Who?”
“Haley.”
“What did she want?”
“I’m fucking freaking, Kate. You won’t believe what happened.” Her heart pounded in her chest as she told Kate everything.“Can you believe that shit? I’m fucking in! They’re going to ask me to do something illegal. We got them, Kate.”
“My God, Lexie. That’s incredible. Did she say anything?”
“Nope, she just held her finger up to her lips for me to be quiet.”
“Then what?”
“I nodded yes to her. She smiled and left.”
“Wow. This is huge.”
“I know. I’m still in shock. I’m shaking like a leaf.”
“Do you think the camera picked up her showing you the note?”
“The camera captures the door, so it should be on there.”
“This is interesting. I wonder if they’re having doubts about Savannah, so they decided to recruit you for the underground movement?”
“She did ask me not to tell Savannah about her visit.”
“That gives even more credibility to the theory. If they’re going to move Savannah away from the direct action campaigns, they’ll need a replacement.”
“Guess we won’t know until I show up tomorrow.”
Lexie could hear Kate shuffling papers and assumed she was writing notes.
“At least it’s a public spot. We can get a few people on the pier early for surveillance,” Kate said. “We have a lot to do. Do you think it’s safe for me to come over to your place? I don’t want to come over if they’re watching your apartment.”
“Good question.” Lexie thought for a second. “Come over and bring carryout Thai food. You’re a friend coming for dinner.”
“Is that your way of getting me to buy you dinner?”
“Busted.”
“Thai actually sounds good. What do you want?”
“Pad thai with tofu.”
“You got it. I’ll be over in a couple of hours after I brief Adam.”
Four hours later, Kate arrived with a bag of Thai food. Lexie opened the door to greet her.
“A girl could starve to death waiting for you,” Lexie said.
“I’ve been in administrative hell since our last conversation.”
“Come in. How about a beer?”
“Yes, please.”
Lexie walked into the kitchen and returned with two plates, some utensils, and two cold beers balanced on top. They sat down at the tiny two-person table.
“Spill it,” Lexie said.
“I told Adam the good news about Haley’s visit. He had to tell Mike, who had to run to the SAC, who had to tell the chief legal counsel. I was bombarded with the most asinine questions. What is it with bureau lawyers? They have no common sense, and on top of that they’re sanctimonious assholes.” Kate took a sip from her bottle of beer. “They asked me if you could postpone the meeting to give them more time to prepare. Can you believe that bullshit? This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, and they want us to put the meet on hold.”
“Kate, please tell me you told them no.”
“Of course I did, but that didn’t stop the ridiculous questions from coming. How the fuck does the FBI ever get anything accomplished?”
“I have no idea. We get things done despite ourselves.”
“It took me two hours to talk some sense into them. They were one step away from having SWAT on standby.”
Lexie laughed.
“I’m serious, Lexie. I’m not exaggerating. This level of incompetence infuriates me.” Kate took another swig of her beer.
“I hate to ask, but how did you leave it? I don’t have to do anything weird tomorrow night, do I?” Lexie asked.
“No. I finally got through to Mike, and he was able to calm down the fools in the legal division. The knuckleheads were feeding off one another.”
Lexie exhaled. She took a sip of her beer and loaded the plates with food.
“We’ll have a surveillance team keep eyes on you. Depending on who shows up for the meet, we may not want you to leave with them.”
“I can live with that. Please make sure the surveillance team keeps its distance. I can handle myself, and it’s a public place.”
“I’ll do my best. Do you have all the recording equipment ready for me to take to the office?”
“Yep. It’s in a canvas bag in my bedroom. After Haley’s unexpected visit, I decided to keep that stuff out of sight.”
“Probably a wise move.”
Kate dug into her plate of food. “I went with your suggestion and ordered pad thai too. Glad I did, because this is good.”
“Thanks for picking up the food.”
“No problem. Let’s talk about the meet tomorrow,” Kate said. “What do you need as far as equipment?”
“I think I’ll wear a jacket with the recorder in the lining. I don’t want to spook them by carrying a purse or a backpack.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
“Kate, you have to make sure the surveillance team stays back. I fully expect the targets to do counter surveillance.”
“I’ll do my best. Are you nervous?”
Lexie thought about it a few seconds. “More excited than nervous.”
“This could be a game changer,” Kate said.
* * * * *
Lexie parked her VW bug a few blocks from the pier and wandered over to meet her contact. Kate and Adam were waiting in a Starbucks a few blocks from the pier. Kate assured Lexie the surveillance team was properly briefed and would be discreet. Two agents were already staged at a window in the restaurant on the pier, giving them a birds-eye view of the meeting location. It was eight forty-five, so she grabbed a soy latte from the Coffee Bean. It served two purposes: she loved coffee, and having the cup to hold would keep her from making any nervous movements.
She walked to the end of the pier and waited for her contact to arrive. After the longest ten minutes of her life, a white male who looked about thirty years old approached her.
“It’s a lovely view from the end of this pier,” he said.
Lexie turned and looked at him. She didn’t recognize him. “It is. I love coming out here.”
“I’m Tim,” he said as he extended a hand to Lexie.
Lexie reached out and shook his hand. “Lexie.”
“Yes, I know.”
Tim had a short, military-style haircut and was covered with tattoos. He had Vegan tattooed on the side of his neck. His right eyebrow and lower lip were both pierced.
“Did it hurt when you pierced your lip?” Lexie asked.
Tim laughed. “A little.”
“Oh.”
Lexie was trying to think of something to say to Tim when she noticed XXX tattooed on his wrists. “Are you straight edge?” she asked, gesturing toward the tattoos.
“Yep. Straight edge for life.”
“Is it true that straight edge people don’t drink caffeine?”
“Depends. I don’t ingest any substance that alters my perception on life, including alcohol, nicotine, drugs, and caffeine. Some still drink coffee, but not me.”
“Wow. That’s awesome. How long have you been straight edge?”
“Since I was seventeen. I joined a punk band in high school, and our lead singer was straight edge. He taught us all about the lifestyle.”
“Very cool,” Lexie responded
.
“What about you? How did you get involved in animal rights?”
“I had a friend who was an activist. She gave me some leaflets and a vegetarian starter kit. I was vegetarian for a couple of years and then made the final jump to vegan.”
“How did you become an activist?” Tim asked.
“It seemed like the next step. I started out leafleting and going to meetings. Nothing ever seemed to change. I’ve become more and more angry over the years. I’m ready to make more of an impact in the movement.”
Tim turned around and looked behind them at the pier. Lexie turned around as well.
“Hypothetically, if you could become more involved, what would you be willing to do in furtherance of saving animals?”
Lexie thought about it, turned, looked Tim in the eyes, and said, “Anything. I’m willing to do anything to save innocent animals from torture and abuse.”
Tim looked at Lexie with a skeptical expression. “Many people have said those same words to me. Why should I believe you, Lexie? What have you done that would make me believe you?”
“I haven’t done anything. That’s the problem. Since moving to LA, I’ve met other like-minded individuals who are dedicated and unselfish. I want to be more like them. I need to do something with my life to help animals. I know that sounds cheesy.”
“It doesn’t sound cheesy, but you have to understand my reservations.”
“I do. And if I were standing in your shoes, I’d be asking me the same questions. I can’t tell you that I’ve participated in any large-scale underground actions. What I can tell you is that I am dedicated to the cause. I’m trustworthy and discreet. I understand the security culture, and I would never violate the rules.”
Tim nodded. “My friends and I are careful who we allow into our inner circle. There are many wannabes out there who like to talk the talk, but when it comes down to action, they’re limp dicks.”
“If you give me a chance, I promise I won’t let you down.”
Tim turned back around and faced the ocean. He pulled a cellphone from his jeans pocket and punched in a security code.
“I need your phone number and date of birth.”
“Sure. Why do you need my date of birth?”
“I do a little homework on every person before they’re allowed to meet the rest of my friends. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Nope. I’ve got nothing to hide.” Lexie provided Tim with her contact number and undercover date of birth.
The pair stood on the pier a few more minutes and discussed the straight edge subculture. Tim seemed happy to discuss his beliefs with Lexie.
“It was nice meeting you, Lexie,” Tim said as he turned to leave.
“Nice meeting you too, Tim. I hope to hear from you.”
“I think you will,” he said as he walked off.
Lexie smiled as she walked back to her car. After she pulled away from the area, she turned off the recorder and called Kate. She was afraid that she might be followed and didn’t want to be seen debriefing after the meeting.
“We saw you leave. How’d it go?”
“Good. I think. He asked me for my phone number and my date of birth. Guess he plans on having someone check my backstory.”
“That’s a good sign. Did he give you his name?”
“He said his name was Tim. I didn’t recognize him from any of my meetings. White male, late twenties or early thirties, about five eight, close-cropped blond hair, thin build, with numerous tattoos and piercings. He had straight edge tattoos on his wrists and the tops of his hands. He also had Vegan tattooed on his neck.”
“That’s great. I’ll see what I can come up with in our database.”
Lexie told Kate word for word what she could remember from the meeting. They made a game plan to meet for lunch the next day in Malibu. Lexie returned home and typed her lengthy FD-302. She had trouble falling asleep, so she watched several episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Alexis
Lexie’s phone rang the next morning earlier than she expected. She reached over and grabbed it off the nightstand.
“Hello,” she said in a not-so-chipper tone.
“Lexie, it’s Adam. Can you meet us at the office this morning?”
“Does that mean lunch in Malibu is canceled?”
“Yes. It would be better if you came to the office. Bring your equipment for download, and make sure you’re not followed.”
“Okay. What time?”
“As soon as you can get here. Watch your rearview mirror. We don’t want one of the targets following you to the office.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Just get here.”
Adam hung up without saying goodbye. That was rude, Lexie thought.
Lexie rolled out of bed, threw on clean clothes, grabbed a travel mug full of coffee, and called Kate en route.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” Kate asked.
“Not much. I was pretty wired. Ended up watching TV till all hours of the night. By the way, who pissed in Adam’s Wheaties this morning?”
“What do you mean?”
“He called and was kind of rude. Very un–Adam-like.”
Kate chuckled. “You have a unique way of putting things, Lexie.”
“He abruptly changed our meeting. Pretty much ordered me to the JTTF.”
A long silence followed. “Kate, what’s up?”
“Adam is getting headaches from HQ again. That and we have some bad news.”
“Oh no, what happened?”
“We’ll discuss it when you get here.”
“You can’t leave me hanging like this. What happened?”
Lexie heard Kate exhale. “Savannah’s recorder didn’t work.”
Lexie’s throat closed up. She couldn’t breathe.
“Are you all right?” Kate asked.
“No! That conversation was critical.”
“I know. We’ll find a way to recover.”
“Will we? I’m not sure we will. Savannah is extremely fragile. How are we . . . how am I supposed to tell her that we failed her?”
“We didn’t fail her, Lexie. The equipment failed. It happens.”
“Are you sure that the conversation can’t be recovered?”
“The tech tried everything. It appears that the recorder was activated, and then almost immediately turned off. He sent the recorder to HQ to have another expert examine it, but he’s ninety-nine percent sure there’s nothing on it. I need to prepare you for one more thing. I don’t want you to get blindsided.”
“What else could there possibly be?”
“I want you to be ready for questions regarding Savannah’s loyalty.”
“What? Does Adam think that Savannah deliberately turned off the recorder?”
“He has to consider all options. I didn’t want you to be surprised.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the heads up. Traffic isn’t terrible, I should be there in about thirty minutes.”
The office was in chaos when Lexie arrived. Analysts were running all over, pulling files. Adam was on the warpath over something.
“What’s up?” Lexie asked Kate.
“HQ is asking for status reports. They’re trying to shut down the case. Adam has been on the phone all morning trying to appease them.”
“Why?”
“Our case is no longer the flavor of the month. Plus, they’re getting pressure from the director to make an arrest for the lab arson.”
“The director? Why does he even know about this case?”
“When the security guard was killed, it escalated our case value. HQ wanted daily status reports. Adam didn’t want to tell you because he didn’t want to put any undue pressure on you.”
“Wow, that�
��s terrible! No wonder he’s been in such a foul mood.”
“He’s been dealing with something different almost every day.”
“Do they know about the meeting I had last night?”
“He briefed them on it this morning. They can’t see the forest for the trees.”
About that time, Adam came rushing through with a giant stack of files.
“Hello, Lexie. Sorry to change plans on you.”
Adam had dark rings under his eyes. His normally snug-fitting dress shirt hung loose and baggy. Lexie felt guilty for thinking he was a dick.
“No problem. How can I help?”
“Let’s sit down in the conference room. I’m not sure if Kate told you, but we have two problems. HQ is trying to shut us down, and the conversation between Savannah and the other subjects wasn’t recorded.”
“I heard.”
The three sat down at one end of the sizable conference table.
“I’m going to cut to the chase, Lexie, do you think Savannah purposely turned off her recorder?”
Lexie concentrated on staying calm. “No, I don’t. Savannah was a nervous wreck. She knew she only had one shot at getting the conversation, so she would never jeopardize her cooperation agreement.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time a cooperator played both sides,” Adam said.
“I know. But I also know Savannah, and she wouldn’t do it. She’s trying her best to get out from under this case.”
“Maybe she’s scared of one of them,” Adam offered.
“I think she’s more scared of Nick than she wants to admit, but that’s all the more reason for her to get this over with. I’m telling you, Adam, she didn’t turn off the recorder. She must have bumped up against something and turned it off. Or maybe the batteries were bad.”
“The batteries were new when you gave her the equipment.”
“That doesn’t mean anything; they still could be bad. I’ve had equipment fail on me in the past.”
“How do you think she’s going to take the news?” Kate asked.
“Not well. I can promise you that.”
“If you want, Adam and I can meet with her to explain the situation.”
“No. I think she’ll take the news better coming from me.”
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