by Matt Lincoln
“Why don’t you just go away?” Georgia shouted as she pushed the man roughly away. Clara was beginning to get nervous. This guy wasn’t taking no for an answer, and even though it was four against one, she didn’t know if the guy had a knife or a gun on him.
Melanie and Georgia’s yelling had drawn the attention of some other people on the strip, and as she looked around, Clara noticed several people looking their way. No one stepped in, however, and Clara felt irritated at all the onlookers just standing around watching the scene without bothering to help.
“Let’s just go,” Clara insisted. There were tons of crowded restaurants and stores just steps away. If they could just get into one, she was sure the guy would go away.
The man reached forward again in an attempt to grab Melanie, but before he could, a man appeared seemingly out of nowhere and punched him square in the face.
“What the hell?” the sleazy guy yelled as she reached up to touch his bloodied nose. The unidentified man punched him again, so hard that the sleazy guy fell to the ground.
Clara’s initial reaction was relief. This kind man had suddenly appeared to rescue them from a complete creep. However, her relief quickly morphed into trepidation as the unidentified man continued to pummel the creep even after he was bloody and unresponsive on the ground.
“Hey, I think you can stop!” she called nervously. “He’s not moving. We should call the cops now.”
By this point, even more people had gathered around to watch the scene unfold. Clara fished her phone out of her purse to call the police, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the man. Now that she took a closer look, the man seemed very out of place. He was wearing what looked like a bathrobe and didn’t have any shoes on, despite being in the middle of the Las Vegas strip. Suddenly, he ceased his relentless attack on the unconscious man and slowly straightened back up. Clara felt her blood run cold as she observed the man’s odd behavior.
The man turned around to face them, and Clara could see that his eyes were glazed and unfocused.
“Are you okay?” Melanie asked loudly. “You don’t look so good. Maybe you should sit down.”
The man’s eyes snapped toward her the moment she spoke. Without warning, he lunged at her and slammed her to the ground. Yolanda screamed as he began to punch Melanie in the face, and it seemed like her horrified cries broke whatever trance the crowd was in. Several people started shouting, and two men even rushed forward in an attempt to stop the crazed man’s attack. He threw them off easily and even bit one of the men’s hands when he attempted to pull him off her.
Clara’s phone was still clutched tightly in her hand, and she couldn’t pull her eyes away from the scene in front of her for long enough to call for help.
“We’re on the strip!” she heard Georgia shouting behind her. “I’m not sure exactly where. In front of this restaurant called Sally’s. Please send someone fast! He’s killing her!”
Clara could hear Yolanda shrieking somewhere to her right. In front of her, the man was alternating between slamming Melanie’s head onto the hard concrete beneath her and viciously biting at her neck and face.
“Stop!” a deep voice suddenly shouted from a few feet away. The deep timbre snapped Clara back to reality, and she snapped her head up to find the source. A police officer was standing nearby, his gun raised and trained at the man currently murdering her friend. “Everyone move away!”
The officer fired a bullet at the man and struck him in the shoulder. He immediately stopped his assault but didn’t cry out in pain or fall to the ground. On the contrary, he slowly turned to look at the officer.
Clara watched in horror as the man dropped Melanie’s limp body and staggered to his feet. The officer’s eyes were blown wide in shock.
“Get on the ground, now!” he yelled, though Clara could hear the tremble in his voice. “Hands behind your head!”
The man didn’t obey and instead began to trudge toward the officer, who fired again and hit the man directly in the chest. The crazed man stumbled but didn’t go down and suddenly took off at a run toward the officer.
The officer let out a guttural yell that sounded equal parts scared and angry before firing at the suspect. The second bullet hit his head, and finally, the crazed man collapsed to the ground. Despite the large crowd of people that had gathered by that point, the entire street fell silent as the man finally stopped moving. Clara sank to her knees and stared at the broken and battered form of her friend, too dazed to process what she was seeing.
“This has to be a nightmare,” she muttered to herself as the street broke into pandemonium a moment later. “This can’t be real.”
2
Charlie
I let out a deep breath and loosened my tie as I left the interview room. I’d never liked wearing suits, but it was necessary for today. Our agency had gotten into some hot water during our last big case, and honestly, it was mostly my fault. Sure, Junior had helped by throwing himself into the middle of a hostage negotiation, and Naomi hadn’t helped matters by threatening to throw a suspect into general population after spreading unkind rumors about him, but I had done the most damage by assaulting a suspect while he was in our custody, and handcuffed no less.
It had been a particularly trying case, one that involved children, which would have been bad enough on its own had it not been for the fact that my own niece had become involved as well when she was kidnapped by one of the perpetrators. It had become all too personal for all of us, and we’d wound up breaking protocol one too many times.
As a result, a formal hearing had been held to determine what should be done about our agency. One agent misbehaving would have been a simpler matter to deal with, but apparently, the top brass wasn’t impressed with the fact that half of our agents had acted against protocol in such a short time.
I thought about what might happen to me now as I sank heavily into one of the overstuffed chairs in the main atrium of the Clark County FBI office. I’d already received two weeks suspension, and the woman who’d interviewed me had seemed sympathetic when she’d heard the circumstances surrounding my outburst, but it was hard to tell whenever government agencies were involved.
“I can’t stand all this bureaucratic nonsense,” Naomi huffed as she took a seat next to me.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” I chuckled. “But we did technically break the rules.”
“We did,” Naomi nodded. “And if he hadn’t, the outcome might have been much worse. Children’s lives were at risk, for goodness’ sake! Including the family member of one of our own. They can’t possibly expect us to act like emotionless robots in that kind of situation. It’s just not human. It’s ridiculous how far the higher-ups will go to protect criminals when they should be focused on the health and safety of the victims.”
It was rare to see Naomi this riled up, and I imagined that her interview must not have gone well for her to be so upset.
“You didn’t get in trouble for intimidating that guy into confessing?” I asked.
“Hardly.” She shrugged. “They gave me some spiel about conducting myself accordingly as a federal agent. Honestly, they seemed more concerned about the media finding out and potential accusations of entrapment than they did about my actual conduct. Typical administrative malarky.”
Honestly, I could understand the brass’s concerns. Naomi had threatened to throw one of our suspects to the wolves after spreading a rumor that he was a child abuser to get him to talk. Technically, it wouldn’t have been a lie, but everyone knew that even criminals didn’t look kindly upon those that hurt children, and it wasn’t a good look for a decorated federal agent to attempt to weaponize a prison community.
Fiona joined us just a few moments after Naomi appeared.
“That was quick,” I commented. She’d been called in to speak to the same woman right after I’d been dismissed.
“I’m not the one under scrutiny here,” Fiona shrugged. “So I didn’t have much to say. As far as I’
m concerned, all of my coworkers acted in good faith and with the best interest of the victims in mind.” She spoke as if she’d rehearsed what to say a hundred times, and I chuckled at her vehemence.
“Didn’t you illegally hack into the kidnapper’s phone?” I muttered so that only she’d be able to hear.
“No idea what you’re talking about,” Fiona shrugged. “As I said, I’m not the one under scrutiny here. Wallace never brought it up, so I’m assuming they don’t know about it either.”
“We can thank our lucky stars for that,” Naomi teased. “If the top brass knew about everything you’d done, they’d shut the branch down without bothering with a hearing.”
“By all means,” Fiona hissed, “let’s keep discussing this at the FBI headquarters!”
“Sorry,” Naomi smirked.
I couldn’t help but smile. My fellow agents had all really gone out on a limb, all for the sake of rescuing my niece, Amber. Criminal or not, what Fiona had done had been highly illegal. She’d even agreed to resign afterward if she had to, all so we’d be able to track down the man who had snatched Amber from her grandfather Harry’s home.
There was a weird atmosphere around us. We were all worried about the outcome of the hearing, but at the same time, we couldn’t help cracking jokes and poking fun at each other. Maybe injecting humor into the situation was the only way we were able to stay calm about it.
“I’m concerned about Junior,” Fiona frowned. “He really messed up when he rushed into that gas station, even if he did keep everyone involved from getting hurt in the end. And Miranda’s going to be questioned as a direct witness.”
“She might not cooperate.” Naomi raised an eyebrow. “You know how impetuous she can be, and loyal to a fault. She won’t speak badly of him.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Fiona grumbled. “If she refuses to tell the truth, don’t you think it might make the situation even worse?”
I furrowed my brows together as I thought about what she’d said. I could easily see Miranda dodging the interviewer’s questions and brushing everything off as a joke. Fiona had a point about how that might reflect poorly on Junior.
His actions had been noble, but we didn’t know if the higher-ups would see it that way. He’d rushed into an active hostage situation to defuse what had been seconds away from becoming a bloodbath between the police and the so-called parents of one of the victims of our last case. Like the other children, the little girl had been kidnapped from her real home. The couple she’d been staying with had panicked when the police showed up to retrieve the child, and if Junior hadn’t stepped in, there was no telling what might have happened.
Of course, he had acted against protocol in a pretty flagrant way, and now he was paying the consequences of his selfless action.
We moved onto lighter topics of conversation then as we waited for the rest of our team to finish their interviews.
“We might be getting a new coworker soon,” Naomi suddenly commented. “I heard Nelson speaking to someone on the phone in his office. I didn’t stick around long enough to eavesdrop, but it sounded like he was asking whoever it was about their work history.”
“That would be nice,” Fiona sighed. “I was relieved when Charlie and Junior joined because I thought we wouldn’t be stretched so thin then, but it feels like we’re still shorthanded. We all had to pitch in during our last big case.”
“That would be helpful,” I agreed.
“What would be helpful?” Miranda asked as she suddenly plopped down into one of the armchairs sideways so that her legs were dangling over the armrests.
“Having more people working at MBLIS,” Fiona replied. “How’d your interview go?”
“Fine,” Miranda shrugged. “Really boring. I’m ready to go home.”
“What did you say?” Fiona asked anxiously.
“Just the truth,” Miranda replied as she shifted around to sit correctly. “I told them that Junior wanted to de-escalate the conflict with minimal injuries to all parties involved and that he was able to do so with his rapid decision-making. Something like that, anyway. You would have been proud of me. I was as eloquent as Naomi in there.”
“I highly doubt that,” Naomi teased. Miranda stuck her tongue out at her, and Fiona looked relieved to hear Miranda hadn’t done anything crazy.
“I wonder how much longer they’ll be,” Miranda mused aloud as she glanced toward the door that led to the back offices where we’d been interviewed. “I’m surprised you got out so fast, Charlie, considering you’re the one that went nuts on a suspect.”
“I think the interviewer felt sorry for me,” I responded.
“Or she thought you were cute,” Miranda smirked.
I frowned in response, not sure what to say to that. Miranda was a flirt and doled out compliments to pretty much every man she met, but I’d been a little unsure how to act around her ever since we’d stopped seeing each other. Our relationship had never been that serious, so it had eventually fizzled out without any hard feelings from either side. Still, it felt a little awkward every time she made a flirty comment as though nothing had happened.
“Miranda’s right,” Fiona hummed. “Honestly, I’m kind of surprised you don’t use that more to your advantage during investigations. Don’t you have a different girlfriend every month?”
“That’s not true,” I protested, though she wasn’t that far off the mark. I’d never had any issues attracting women, and to be honest, I did enjoy dating around. Regardless, I didn’t particularly enjoy having my love life be a topic of conversation.
“There’s nothing wrong with using sex appeal as a means to garner information,” Naomi shrugged. “I’m not above flirting if doing so will benefit my mission.”
“What kind of conversation is this?” a voice suddenly interjected. I looked up to see Junior standing just behind us, a look of bewilderment on his face.
“Hey,” Fiona smiled and scooted over in her seat to make room for him. “How did it go?”
“Fine, I think,” Junior replied as he sat down next to her. “They kept asking me the same questions over and over, like they were waiting for my answer to change.”
“That’s a common interrogation tactic,” Naomi remarked. “I’m certain we’ve all done something similar.”
“Well, I didn’t really like being treated like a criminal,” Junior grumbled. Fiona frowned sympathetically and rubbed her hand over his shoulder soothingly.
“Don’t let it bother you,” Miranda huffed. “We all know you’re not a criminal. Heck, you’re the most straightedge one of us here. I’m sure everything will be okay.”
“I passed Wallace on my way here,” Junior sighed. “He said he just needed to finish speaking with someone, and he’d join us in a minute.”
Almost as if on cue, Wallace strode over to where we were sitting just a moment later, accompanied by Nelson.
“Good news,” he said without preamble. “There are still a few kinks to work out, but it seems like we’re in the clear.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and noticed that my fellow agents all seemed to have similar reactions to the news.
“You got a response that quickly?” Junior asked skeptically.
“Well, I wouldn’t say we’re completely out of the woods,” Wallace replied. “But for now, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be receiving any more disciplinary measures. We are on thin ice, though, so I’m going to have to implore that you all play everything by the book for the time being.”
“That’s a relief,” Fiona sighed.
“Indeed,” Nelson nodded. “In any case, I don’t see much point in heading to the office now. I’d recommend you all go home and get some rest so we can start fresh early tomorrow.”
“Sounds good to me,” Miranda said as she hopped out of her chair. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
We bade our goodbyes and filed out of the building. Once I was in my car, I quickly shucked my tie and
the jacket of my suit. The clock on my dash revealed that it was just a little past six in the evening. It was a bit early to be heading to the bar, but I felt like I could use a drink after the stressful day.
The bar I headed to wasn’t that far from my apartment. It wasn’t the nicest place, but it was close enough for me to be able to walk home if I had a little too much to drive. The bar was dark and smoky, and there was a line of televisions above the bartending area playing different sports games. It was early enough that the bar was still relatively empty, so I didn’t have any issues getting a drink.
I took a seat at a small table in the corner of the bar and watched as more people began to trickle in as the sun went down. I was just finishing off my second drink when a tall blond woman in a dark green dress entered and headed straight for the bar. The dress hugged her curves tightly, and I snickered as several heads turned to look at her as she moved past. Her dress and heels were definitely nicer than what most of the other people in the bar were wearing, and I deduced that she was probably a businesswoman stopping by for a drink after work.
One of the men who’d turned to look at her got up from his seat and went to stand next to her at the bar. I watched as he whispered something in her ear. She raised an eyebrow at him before muttering something back, and I felt a pang of sympathy for the man as she shuffled away awkwardly. He’d clearly been rejected.
She turned to watch the man leave, and her eyes met mine. She smiled slyly before turning back to her drink. I remembered how my female coworkers had teased me about how the interviewer must have been attracted to me. I finished off my drink and headed up to the bar.
“I didn’t think I’d see a woman like you here tonight,” I muttered as I leaned against the bar.
“A woman like me?” she repeated, sounding a little affronted. “What do you mean by that?”
“Most of the people here are a little rougher around the edges.” I shrugged. “You’re wearing designer shoes and a nice dress. That, and you’re by far the most gorgeous woman in here.”