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Inside, she saw three FBI agents that she vaguely recognized, mainly because they were big shot muckity-mucks from so high up in the Bureau that she’d only seen pictures of them. With them, was a fourth man she didn’t recognize at all.
One of the men spoke once the door clicked shut behind her.
“Good morning, Special Agent Marino,” he said. “I’m Deputy Director Kendrick.”
Piper nodded. “I recognize you from your picture, sir.”
“Well, I’d rather not waste a lot of time,” he said. “Let’s get right down to it. This is quite a mess, Agent Marino.”
“That is one way to describe it, sir.”
“A decorated, veteran supervisory agent of the FBI, taking bribes and doing God only knows what for Navarro’s cartel. Including, setting up another FBI agent for assassination.”
“That’s correct.”
“And another agent, getting involved in an unauthorized sexual relationship with a member of the criminal organization she was tasked to infiltrate.”
I was unaware there was such a thing as an authorized sexual relationship, she wanted to say, but what she said was, “That’s correct as well.”
“We’ve got a shootout with some bank robbers, car chases, and a pair of cartel members left handcuffed in a motel for the local police, one of whom had what was described as a knife wound in his cheek.”
“That wasn’t a knife wound, it was a… never mind. Doesn’t matter,” Piper said. The last thing she wanted to add to thisconversation was an explanation of her sister throwing ninja stars around.
“It’s a potential PR nightmare for the Bureau, to say the least.”
Piper thought she might see an opportunity. PR nightmare. That was the first thing Kendrick had mentioned. Not any potential criminal activity, not breach of protocol, but what image this fiasco might make in the public eye. Maybe she could work with that.
“Not necessarily, sir,” she said.
“Really?” Kendrick said, leaning back in his chair. “How do you figure?”
“Well, Agent Harris’s involvement with Navarro’s cartel isn’t exactly common knowledge. That part can be kept pretty quiet.”
Kendrick looked at the other three men sitting around the conference table. They all traded looks, but none of them spoke, so Piper continued after a moment.
“And as for me… well, an undercover agent taking the fight to the cartel, captures a few, chases some more out of town… that’s not a bad view from a PR standpoint.”
Kendrick seemed to think that over. “We’d have to keep your name out of it, of course. There wouldn’t be any commendations for your file.”
Commendations? Shit, I thought I was either going to jail or getting fired, here, she thought, but kept her lips together.
When she did speak, she said, “The fight against the cartel is the priority.”
“Agreed. And unfortunately, we’ve hit another brick wall with that.”
Piper frowned in confusion. “From what Agent Harris claimed to me, his testimony and intel should be more than sufficient to…”
“Agent Harris is dead.”
Piper blinked.“What?”
“Killed in custody,” Kendrick said. “Along with the Philadelphia police officer he bribed to set up your sister. Apparently those two cartelsicariosyou left handcuffed at the motel managed to get to the two of them in prison.”
Piper’s mind began whirling. “Harris’s statement to the local police…”
“Relax, Marino. You’re still in the clear. Legally.”
“And Carly?”
