“Sit down. Tell me what happened.”
“It was horrible, Lexie. I confronted Haley about going through my stuff.”
“Did she deny it?”
“She did at first. I kept pushing her, and she finally admitted she searched my room.”
“Did she say why?”
“She said she was worried about me and worried that I might be working for the cops.”
“Oh God, what did you say?”
“I screamed at her and told her that I wasn’t.”
“Did she say anything about the text message?” Lexie asked.
“I told her that it was intended for Nick because I wanted his advice. Then I told her that I wanted to keep it between us. I think she bought it, but sometimes it’s hard to tell with Haley. She’s so damn suspicious.”
Savannah dug through her backpack and pulled out the key chain recorder. She gave the recorder to Lexie. “It’s all recorded. At least I hope it is.”
“Did she talk about the fire?” Lexie asked.
“She did more than that. She told me about another fire she was involved in a few years back.”
“Are you kidding me?” Lexie asked, leaning in closer to Savannah.
“Nope. She thought it would help me manage my feelings. She told me she set a small fire to make a statement, but it got out of control. Apparently it burned down some apartment complex. I didn’t want to ask too many questions and make her suspicious. If that thing worked, it’s all recorded,” Savannah said, motioning toward the key chain recorder. Her eyes were shiny as tears formed.
Lexie reached over and took Savannah’s hand. “Are you all right?”
Savannah jerked her hand away from Lexie. “No, I’m not all right. In the past two weeks, I found out my best friend is an undercover FBI agent who betrayed me. Then I turned around and betrayed my boyfriend and my roommate. So no, Lexie . . . I’m not all right. I’m far from all right.” Trying to fight back tears, Savannah took a sip of her latte.
She continued, “I shouldn’t have cooperated. I threw the people I love under the bus to save myself. I’m a terrible person.” She started weeping.
“You’re not a terrible person,” Lexie said in a soft voice.
“How can you say that after what I’ve done? I’m a coward.”
“You’re not a coward. Far from it. What you’re doing takes a great deal of courage.”
“They trusted me. Nick and Haley trusted me, and I’m sealing their fates. They’re going to go to prison because of me.”
“You’re in this position because of them, Savannah. They were the ones who dragged you into this lifestyle. You should be having a normal freshmen year, going to frat parties and eating junk food, but because of them, you ended up in FBI custody. Now you’re doing what you have to do to get yourself out of the mess.”
“I know, but I feel like shit.”
Lexie shifted in her seat. She picked up her latte and swirled it around. “I understand that emotion.”
Savannah looked up at her and managed a smile. “I’ve been so mad at you that I haven’t taken the time to tell you thank you.”
“For what?”
“For talking to the US attorney for me. I know that if it weren’t for you, I would have ended up in prison. I do appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Now if you’ll explain everything to my parents, we’ll be square for you betraying me.”
Lexie looked at Savannah to see if she was joking.
Savannah laughed.
“I’m only kidding.”
“I’ll talk to your parents for you when you’re ready.”
“I’m going to take you up on that offer. If you’re with me, they can’t kill me.”
“Not until I leave, anyway,” Lexie joked.
Savannah looked terrified as she discussed her parents. Lexie wanted to make her feel better but didn’t know how. “Hey, you wanna go to the movies?” she asked.
Savannah thought about it a moment.
“I’d love to, but I have a two o’clock class. I’m barely going to pass this semester. I can’t afford to miss any more classes. Rain check?”
“Sure.”
Savannah finished her latte and gathered her things to leave. “Thanks for the talk.”
“Anytime. Why don’t we go hiking this weekend? Might take your mind off things for a few hours.”
“That’s a good idea. Should I invite Haley and Nick?”
“I’ll leave that up to you. You can, but if you need to get away from them, it can just be us.”
Savannah’s strained expression smoothed a bit. “That sounds better. Just the two of us.”
“It’s a date. Now go to class, young lady.”
Lexie waited until Savannah was gone before she called Kate. “Let’s meet. Our girl did good. Let’s just hope the recorder worked.”
“Great!” said Kate. “You may have just justified keeping this case open.”
“I hope so. I’m not ready to go back to New Orleans yet.”
“I told you that you’d fall in love with California,” Kate said.
CHAPTER FORTY
Alexis
Lexie was stretched out on the couch, watching TV, when her phone alerted her to a text message. She picked it up and checked the message from an unknown number.
Half hour at the end of the Venice Beach Pier. I know you’re home, so don’t be late.
Lexie checked her watch; it was nine at night.
She texted back Okay, grabbed her hoodie with the recorder in it, and called Kate. “Please go to voice mail . . . please go to voice mail,” she muttered to herself. Kate answered. Shit, Lexie thought.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Kate. Don’t panic, but I just got a text message to meet someone at the end of the Venice Beach Pier in half an hour. I’m going. I have a recorder. I’ll call you when I’m done. Whoever sent it knows I’m home. Please, Kate, don’t make a big deal of this. I’ll be safe. I won’t go tripping with anyone that I don’t know.”
“Damn it, Lexie. Are you sure you can’t put them off?”
“Not if I’m going to get them to trust me. I have to do this. The case is at stake.”
“I don’t give two shits about the case. I care about your safety, and you know that I can’t get to Venice Beach in thirty minutes.”
“Get here when you can, and please don’t alert Adam. He’ll want a surveillance team in place, and there isn’t time.”
“You’re putting me in a horrible position. Adam is going to shit himself if I let you do this.”
“Then I didn’t tell you. I just did it. I’ll take the hit, but I have to go.”
Lexie could hear the discomfort in Kate’s voice and the shuffling of equipment being gathered on the other end of the phone. “Be careful. Don’t do anything stupid. Call or text me as soon as you can. I’m on my way to you.”
“Thanks, Kate.”
“Don’t thank me until this is over and you’re safe.”
Lexie tested her recorder and headed out the door. As she walked to the pier, she had the feeling someone was following her. She arrived at the pier five minutes ahead of schedule. Tim was waiting for her.
“What’s with all the cloak-and-dagger shit?” Lexie asked as she approached Tim.
“Had to be sure you didn’t have time to gather forces if you were a cop.”
“A cop? Please.” She waited a beat. “Did you have someone follow me from my apartment? Because I noticed them on my walk over, and I’m hoping it was one of your people and not some crazed psychopath.”
Tim grinned. “It’s one of my guys.”
“Why follow me?”
“Don’t you know?”
She didn’t say anything.
“I like y
ou, Lexie. You’re honest.”
She met his gaze but stayed silent, though the irony of his statement made her want to smile.
“Guess you’re wondering why I called you?”
“I’m hoping it’s to help with something.”
Tim laughed, showing real mirth for the first time. “Geez, you really are honest. How do you feel about doing something important and perhaps a little dangerous?”
“I would feel good about it.”
“Even though you don’t know anything about it yet?”
“You’ll tell me what I need to know when I need to know it, right?”
He eyed her closely as he spoke. “Have you ever done any direct action before, Lexie?”
“I wouldn’t tell you if I had.”
He grinned again. “Touché.”
* * * * *
Lexie called Kate from her apartment.
“I’m home.”
“Thank God. What happened?”
“Tim was waiting for me. He told me he needed help with a small mission. Someone will call me, give me fifteen minutes preparation time, and then pick me up at my apartment.”
“When?”
“He didn’t say. He just said that I wouldn’t have any notice. He told me to think of it as a tryout. If I was willing to put myself out there for a small mission, then down the road he might have something more interesting for me.”
“What else did he say?”
“He said to have clothes ready. Told me to wear all black with no identifiers on anything. He said all other tools would be provided.”
“Holy cow, Lexie.”
“I know! How are we going to sell this to Adam? He’s going to have a coronary.”
“You’re right about that. I’m going to call him on my way home. I’ll think of some way to smooth it over.”
“Kate, I don’t feel comfortable coming to the office anymore. If they’re watching my apartment, I don’t want to be tailed to the JTTF office.”
“I agree. I’m going to avoid meeting you at your apartment as well. We can meet at different places around town and exchange equipment in the bathrooms. I think we have to go on the assumption that someone is always watching you.”
“Speaking of that, I need to change out recorders with you.”
“I have an idea,” Kate said. “How about if you go to the Coffee Bean on the Santa Monica Promenade? After you finish your coffee, go to the public restroom behind the coffee shop. I’ll meet you in there at ten in the morning.”
“Good plan,” Lexie said.
“And Lexie?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t be late. I don’t want to hang out in a public toilet all morning.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Alexis
Lexie sat on the couch picking at a salad on a TV tray. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to talk to Adam. Her stomach was in knots. She had exchanged the equipment with Kate and was waiting for an update on the quality of the recording. The phone rang, and Adam’s name popped up on the screen. Here goes nothing, she thought.
“Hello,” Lexie said.
“Good morning, Lexie. I hear you had an interesting evening.”
“Don’t be mad, Adam. I did what I had to do.”
Adam sighed. “You didn’t have to do any such thing. It was reckless and stupid. What if something had happened to you? Kate should have stopped you.”
“Don’t blame Kate. I didn’t give her any choice.”
“Don’t ever do that again! You could’ve been killed. Who knows what these people are capable of?”
Lexie took a deep breath and responded, “I know these people better than any of you. I’ve been living with them for almost a year. My gut told me to go, and I relied on my instincts.”
“Your instincts could have gotten you killed, Lexie. We have a team of people in place to support and protect you. You can’t go running off doing your own thing any time you get the notion.”
“I’m sorry, but look how well things turned out. We need to concentrate on the next phase. They could call as early as tonight. What’s our game plan?”
“You are exasperating, but what you accomplished was just short of amazing.” Adam continued, “I met with the tech agents this morning, and they gave me some equipment for you.”
“What kind of equipment?”
“A GPS tracker to put in your shoe so we can track your whereabouts. Kate is on her way back to Venice with it. Starting tonight, we’ll have a surveillance team in your area every evening. Team members will keep their distance, but we want them near when you activate the tracker. The tech agents are on their way out to install a pole camera so we can monitor your apartment and the street in front of your apartment building,”
“I can live with that.”
“That’s the point, Lexie. We want to make the case, but more importantly, we want to keep you alive.”
“Adam, I’m not scared of these people. They have good intentions but just go a little too far.”
“You should be scared of them. You don’t know who you’ll be getting in the car with. Don’t underestimate the danger factor.”
“I know. I just don’t think they’ll hurt me.”
“There’s a catch, Lexie.”
“Oh God. What?”
“If you find out they’re going to harm anyone or put anyone’s life in jeopardy, you have to contact us immediately. The tech agents installed an emergency extraction device in a belt buckle. If you think you’re in danger, or if the group is going to harm an individual or do significant property damage, you have to engage the device. It calls in the cavalry. We’ll immediately take down the operation. Do you understand?”
“What constitutes significant property damage?”
“That’s going to be a judgment call. If it’s just vandalism, follow through with the action, however if they’re planting incendiary devices, hit that button. We can’t take the chance on another arson.”
“Got it. So, gluing locks or spray painting a building is fine?”
“Yes. We have approval from HQ for property damage as long as it’s not significant. Just don’t go burning down any SUV dealerships.”
“Okay. Got it,” Lexie said, snickering. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”
“You’d better.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Alexis
Lexie waited, but two nights passed with no call or text from Tim. She was getting discouraged. She put on her pajamas, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and climbed into bed. Her phone beeped. Exhilarated, she read the screen.
Walk out front in fifteen minutes.
Lexie put on her black clothes as instructed, activated the GPS device in her shoe, and put on the belt with the emergency device embedded in the buckle. At the fourteen-minute mark, she walked out front. A few seconds later, a white panel van pulled up, stopped, and the door slid open.
“Get in,” a male voice said.
It took Lexie a few moments to realize that the voice belonged to Nick. She jumped into the back with him. A quick glance revealed Tim was driving and Haley was in the front passenger seat. The back of the van was piled high with crates.
“You didn’t bring a phone, did you?” Nick asked.
“Nope. I followed the instructions Tim gave me. No cell, no identification, just some money in my pocket.”
“Good girl,” Nick said.
Haley turned around and smiled at Lexie. “Hi, Lexie.”
“Hi, Haley. Great to see you.”
Tim merged onto the freeway traveling away from the city.
“Where are we going?” Lexie asked.
“To free some beagles,” Tim answered over his shoulder. “Is that okay with you?”
“I love beagles. Let’s
free them all.”
“This place breeds beagles for use in laboratory experiments. We’re going to rescue as many as we can,” Nick told her.
“That’s awesome. Where do we take them once we rescue them?”
“Our contact will meet us and take the dogs. She has a network of people working for her. The dogs will be examined by a vet and then placed in foster homes until permanent placements can be found for them.”
“Does this place have a security system?” Lexie asked.
Tim answered, “Not that we could see. We’ve done recon missions off and on for the past month to figure out the schedule. Our most recent visit was four nights ago, and we didn’t see any cameras. The last employee leaves at about ten at night, and the person who opens doesn’t arrive until seven o’clock.”
“That leaves us plenty of time,” Haley added.
They rode in silence for nearly an hour. Lexie wondered if her shoe GPS was working. She couldn’t see out the back of the van, but noticed Tim periodically checking his side mirror. They left the freeway and took a series of small streets. Lexie had no idea where they were but figured they must be getting close, because Nick was grabbing bags.
He handed a black duffle bag to Lexie. “Can you carry this?”
“Sure. Whatever you need.”
Lexie draped the strap over her shoulder and across her chest.
“We didn’t bring radios, because we shouldn’t be more that a few feet from each other. Let’s work in pairs to carry the crates. Lexie, you and I will work together.”
“Okay,” Lexie replied.
“Once we get in, let’s move quickly.”
Tim turned off the paved road onto a gravel road.
Lexie’s heart was pounding, and her hands were shaking.
“Nervous?” Nick asked.
“Excited,” Lexie responded.
“You’re a natural,” he said and smiled.
“We’re going in without lights from this point,” Tim announced. He slowed the van down, and they bounced the last hundred yards or so in the dark. He spun the van around and backed up. “We’re here.”
Nick nodded at Lexie to open the door. She slid the side door open and jumped out, hoping her eyes would soon adjust to the dark. Nick placed a flashlight in her hand.
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