“Thanks.”
The group quickly moved to the back of the van. Lexie could hear the dogs barking inside. Tim opened the rear doors on the van so he, Nick, Haley, and Lexie could reach the crates.
“Let’s go inside and see how many crates we’re gonna need,” Tim ordered.
They crept up and tried the door. It was locked. Nick reached into the bag that he was carrying and pulled out a crowbar. “Step back.”
The three moved out of the way, and Nick pried open the door to the Quonset hut–style building. The dogs were going nuts inside.
“I wish they would stop barking,” Lexie whispered to Haley.
“They always go crazy. Wait until you see them. They’re always so happy to escape these places.”
The door slung open and the group entered the building. Nick and Tim shined their flashlights around the large building. The noise from the barking was deafening. Lexie was shocked by the living conditions of the dogs. They were stuffed in metal cages and walking around in their own excrement. Tears filled her eyes. She was trying to shake off the shock when she heard Tim say, “There are more than we expected.”
“Let’s get started,” Nick ordered.
The activists ran back to the van and carried in two empty crates. Nick and Lexie worked together grabbing beagle puppies and loading them into their crate.
“They’re so cute,” Lexie said.
“I know. I don’t know how those fucking monsters can experiment on these cute little guys,” Nick said.
“Looks like our crate is full,” Lexie said.
“Ready to lift?” Nick asked.
“Yep.”
“On three. One . . . two . . . three.”
They lifted the heavy crate and hauled it to the van. The beagles were barking and trying to lick Lexie through the bars on the cages.
As Nick and Lexie were on their way back inside with an empty crate, Tim and Haley were coming out with their full one.
“Are we going to have enough crates?” Haley asked Nick.
“I hope so. They might be a little jammed in tonight, but it’s a small price to pay for freedom.”
They loaded more than fifty beagles into the van. Once the group was finished with the dogs, Nick reached into his bag and pulled out cans of red spray paint. He tossed a can to Lexie. “Go crazy, girl.”
Lexie caught the can in midair. “You got it,” she said.
She ran over to a blank wall and in large block letters wrote, FUCK YOU AND YOUR EXPERIMENTS. WE’RE FREE. —THE ANIMALS!
Nick found another blank wall and wrote, ALF WAS HERE! IF YOU CONTINUE, WE WILL RETURN!
While Nick and Lexie spray-painted, Tim and Haley trashed the cages that had imprisoned the beagles.
“At least they’ll have to buy new cages,” Haley said.
Lexie was surprised that the dogs were quiet once they were moved into the van. It was as if they knew they were being rescued.
“Can I take one home with me?” Lexie asked Nick.
“You want to adopt one?”
“Yes. They’re adorable.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged. Let the vet examine them, and then you can pick one out.”
The four conspirators were about to jump into the van to leave when the unimaginable happened. The place lit up like a Christmas tree. Lexie was blinded when a light shined in her eyes.
“FBI. Get your hands up.”
No, this can’t be happening, Lexie thought. I didn’t hit the emergency signal. This wasn’t the plan. We need to save these dogs.
Lexie thought about running, but someone grabbed her and slammed her to the ground. The side of her face was ground into the dirt. She was lying on her stomach next to Nick, who was being handcuffed.
Nick looked at Lexie with shock and disbelief. “You fucking snitch!”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Alexis
Lexie, Nick, Haley, and Tim were handcuffed, separated, and put in vehicles for transport to the FBI office. Lexie was thrown into the backseat of a black SUV where Kate was waiting. Lexie was so angry she could barely process what had just happened. “What the fuck, Kate?”
“Calm down, Lexie. I’ll explain everything.”
“Explain what? How you guys just fucked me over royally? We were on our way to meet a second cell. We’ll never get that information now.”
Lexie was on the verge of hyperventilating. After she was able to catch her breath, she continued in a more controlled manner. “Why? Why now? I didn’t hit the emergency signal. Everything was under control. We were taking the dogs to a second activist group. What will happen to those poor dogs? Did you see the conditions they were living in?”
“The owner of the kennel was notified. He and his manager are on their way out to help with the dogs,” Kate stated.
“So those poor animals are going to be returned to the assholes who abused them? We can’t allow that to happen. The owner is a monster.”
“Lexie, listen to what you’re saying. You sound like the targets.”
“Fuck you, Kate. I’m just making an observation. The dogs were being abused. Rescuing them would have been the best thing for them. Sometimes these activists perform illegal acts for the right reason. This is one of those times.”
Kate rubbed her temples.
“What? Did I give you a headache, Kate?”
“You need to calm down and listen to me. You can’t let Adam or anyone else in the FBI hear you talking like this. I understand where you’re coming from, but they won’t be quite so understanding. You can vent to me, but only me. Trust me, if you want to stay in the undercover program, then you’ll shut up and listen to me.”
Lexie slammed her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes. She was seething.
After a few minutes, Kate asked, “Want me to take those handcuffs off?
Lexie opened her eyes and slid around in the seat so Kate could reach the cuffs. “Please. These things hurt.”
“As we tell the bad guys, they’re not built for comfort,” Kate joked.
Lexie rubbed her wrists to try to get the circulation restored.
“Thanks.”
“Are you all right? You weren’t hurt in the takedown, were you?”
“No. I’m fine. Ate a little dirt, but that won’t kill me.”
“Adam told the person arresting you to make it look real.”
“From the amount of dirt in my mouth, he did.”
The driver of the SUV, a short, bald man, opened the front door and looked in the backseat.
“Are you two okay?” he asked.
“We’re fine,” Kate answered.
“We should be wrapping things up here in another fifteen minutes or so,” the bald guy said. “Do you need anything?”
Lexie gritted her teeth and stared straight ahead.
“No, but thanks, Craig,” Kate answered.
The agent shut the door to the SUV leaving Kate and Lexie alone.
“This is what happened, Lexie. I called Adam to let him know that you were on your way to the action, and then he called out the troops. The surveillance followed the GPS tracker, careful to stay out of sight. Adam contacted the unit chief at HQ to let him know what was happening.”
“Whoa, why did he do that?” Lexie asked. “Why not wait until after the action was done before calling those idiot HQ fucks?”
“I don’t know why he chose to do that but—”
“I know why,” Lexie interrupted. “He wanted to look like a big shot. The all-important case agent who’s looking for his next promotion.”
“Maybe. I don’t know why he called them. He was told by HQ to take down the action and arrest all subjects involved.”
“Did he even try to explain that we had security measures in place?”
“I’m not sure. I was in my car traveling toward the surveillance units when he informed me he was taking it down and making arrests.”
“Did you try to stop him?”
Kate looked uncomfortable, as if trying to figure out how much information to disclose. “We rendezvoused in a parking lot a few miles from here to coordinate. That’s when I realized he had the Operational Plan in hand. He wrote the Ops Plan right after Tim told you that someone would call and pick you up.”
“Are you telling me Adam knew the whole time he was going to arrest them the first time out, even without any kind of significant property damage or risk of life?”
“I don’t know, Lexie. It was at least a possibility, because he wrote and had the Ops Plan approved two days ago.”
Lexie’s face reddened. “That son of a bitch!”
“I’m not telling you this to upset you. I wanted to tell you when we were alone. I knew you would be upset and—”
“You think?” Lexie interrupted again.
“I wanted to make sure you had time to calm down before you were around any bureau personnel. I’m trying to protect you.”
Lexie sighed and buried her face in her hands.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take this out on you. I know you didn’t have any say in what happened.”
Kate sighed. “In the end, it was The HQ and Adam Show. They made the decision without my input. I pled your case to Mike, but he ultimately allowed Adam the final say.”
Lexie sat for a couple minutes processing the information.
“Thank you, Kate. It’s finally dawning on me that you saved my undercover career. If Adam or any other agent would have heard me siding with the targets, my undercover career would have been over. You’re a true friend.”
Kate smiled. “There are more important things in life than career advancement. Adam hasn’t figured that out yet. Do you think you can be around people without committing career suicide?”
“I’ll try.”
“Try hard. You have a lot of years left, and you’re a damn good undercover agent. I hope we can work together again.”
Lexie closed her eyes and hung her head.
“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.
“I just realized that the case is essentially over. I guess I’ll be leaving soon and returning to New Orleans. I’m going to miss working with you.”
By the time Lexie reached the FBI office, she had her emotions under control. The game plan was to put her within proximity of each of the prisoners to see if any of the three would make any damaging statements. Kate put the handcuffs back on Lexie and escorted her to the prisoner processing room. Nick was sitting handcuffed to a bar in the corner.
“What’s the snitch doing in here?” Nick yelled.
“No one talks, everyone walks,” Lexie yelled back.
“Shut your mouths,” a crotchety old agent operating the fingerprint system told them both.
The door opened again, and a female agent with a handcuffed Tim in tow entered the room. “Full house,” the female agent commented.
“Yep,” the old agent responded. “Can you take him to the interview room until I’m ready for him?”
Before the agent could haul Tim out of the room, Lexie decided to roll the dice. “What the fuck did you get me into?” she screamed at Tim.
“Me? I didn’t get you into anything. They must have been watching you.”
“I wasn’t on anyone’s radar until I started talking to you. This is your fault!”
“Fuck you, Lexie,” Tim yelled as he was pulled out of the room. He was still yelling at Lexie when the door closed.
Nick looked over at Lexie. “Nice try, but I know you’re the fucking snitch. I’ve had a bad feeling about you ever since Savannah dragged you home with her. I should have taken care of you a long time ago.”
The comment made a shiver go up Lexie’s spine.
“If you had such a bad feeling, why did you invite me along to this shindig?”
“I didn’t. Tim did. I voted no.”
“You two stop your jawing,” the cranky agent shouted. He went over and uncuffed Nick. “You’re first, Romeo.”
“That’s not my name.”
“You seem to have a way with the ladies. I figured you were a Romeo.”
“Fuck you, dude.”
“You have a prodigious vocabulary, young man. Do you know what that word means?”
“Fuck you, old man.”
The older agent chuckled as he rolled Nick’s fingerprints on the computerized system. He finished and called another agent to take Nick away. A few minutes later, Haley was brought to the room. Lexie decided to try a different strategy with Haley. Lexie sat handcuffed in the corner crying. A handcuffed Haley was plopped down in the chair next to Lexie.
“Are you okay?” Haley whispered.
“Not really. You?”
“I’m fine. Stay strong, Lexie. Remember: nobody talks and everybody walks.”
“What are you two muttering about over there?” the old, cranky agent asked.
“None of your fucking business,” Lexie yelled.
“Just for that, I’m going to leave you handcuffed to that bar,” he said to Lexie. “Teach you to be such a smart-ass.”
He turned to Haley and said, “Your lucky day, girl. You just moved to the head of the line for processing.”
“Oh, like that’s going to hurt me?” Lexie grumbled under her breath. She whispered to Haley, “Nick thinks I’m a snitch. I didn’t have anything to do with this. Hell, I didn’t even know where we were going.”
“Don’t say anything to anybody, Lexie.”
Haley was fingerprinted, photographed, and removed from the room.
The older agent came over and uncuffed Lexie. “Hope those weren’t too tight.”
“As someone told me earlier, they aren’t built for comfort.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Savannah
Savannah’s phone woke her up from a deep sleep. She picked it up and saw an unknown Los Angeles number.
“Hello,” she answered sleepily.
“Savannah?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Lexie. Sorry to wake you up.”
“Oh. Hello. I didn’t recognize the number.” Savannah sat up in bed trying to clear her head.
“I’m calling from Kate Summers’s cell phone,” Lexie said. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure. Should I come meet you?”
“There isn’t time. Listen closely. You may get a phone call in the next few hours from either Nick or Haley. This is the situation.”
Savannah was shocked to learn that Haley and Nick had asked Lexie to work with them.
“You can’t let them know I talked to you,” Lexie said. “I wanted to give you a heads up so you weren’t blindsided, but you need to act shocked and confused if one of them calls you. They may need you to bail them out of jail.”
“What should I do?” Savannah asked.
“Tell them you don’t have the money. See if they send you someplace to pick up money. If you hear from them, call Kate immediately. Did this number show up on your phone?”
“Yes.”
“Good. This is Kate’s undercover phone. Save the number and call her if you hear anything. Remember to act surprised over the arrests.”
“This is crazy. How come you didn’t tell me?” Savannah asked.
“I didn’t want you to have to keep more secrets. We know how hard all of this has been for you. This is almost over, Savannah.”
“I’ll be so glad when it’s over. I want my life back.”
Savannah laid her head back on the pillow. She was filled with fear and dread, but also hope.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Alexis
Adam stum
bled upon Lexie in the break room drinking a cup of coffee. “Guess you’re pretty angry with me.”
“Yep,” Lexie replied not looking at him.
“Can I explain?”
Lexie turned to face Adam. “I don’t know. Can you?”
Adam sat down at the table. “It wasn’t my call, Lexie.”
Lexie let out a short laugh. “You’re the case agent, Adam. Of course it was your call. You wanted to kiss someone’s ass at HQ. Are you vying for a promotion?”
“That’s not fair. You don’t understand the pressure I was getting from HQ. They want this case wrapped up and federal indictments on the lab arson.”
“At what cost? We were on our way to meet more people. Perhaps a whole second cell, but we’ll never know now. Oh, and I particularly liked the fact that you provided me with a GPS and an emergency extraction device supposedly for my safety. When, in fact, it was so you could track me.”
“That equipment was solely for your safety, Lexie.”
“You couldn’t give a rat’s ass about my safety. The GPS was so you could track me, make the arrests, and report back to HQ that you single handily apprehended the suspects.”
Adam ran his hands through his hair and interlocked his fingers behind his head. He blew out a deep breath and continued, “I took a risk, and I’d do it again.”
“I hope it works out for you,” Lexie said as she angrily pushed back her chair and snatched her coffee cup.
“Wait. Hear me out.”
She reluctantly sat back down. “I’m listening.”
“You did an outstanding job. This case would never have reached this level without you. We’re all proud of you.”
Lexie sat in silence.
“There will always be things that we second-guess ourselves on. Did I take the case down too soon? Should I have tried a different strategy? In the long run, you have to rely on your gut. Lexie, my gut told me it was time to end it. I know you want to believe I had some secret agenda by ending it like I did, but it came down to a gut call. I didn’t want you to get hurt, and I knew we could take the operation down safely.”
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