Page 2 of Red, White, and BearCat Blue

“’E’s gone,” I breathed into the coms.

“Repeat that, Mars,” Candy barked.

“He’s dead, boss,” Alain said. “Chase ended.”

“I see you on GPS. You’re at the corner of Cahuenga and Holycrest Drive?”

I searched for a street sign and nodded to myself. “That’s right, boss.” I glanced over at Alain; he looked peaky. All the blood had drained from his pale, aristocratic face.

“See you two in a minute,” Candy said.

“Righto, boss.”

“Hell’s…bloody…bells!” Alain exclaimed.

I nodded jerkily. “Ya can say that again, mate.”

Chapter One

MARS

The next morning, I stood in the car park at the office, staring at my poor car.

“Sorry that happened, Clifford,” Candy said, laying a sympathetic hand on my shoulder as we surveyed the damage my gorgeous Camaro had suffered the night before. “Snow’s team was sure they’d scooped up everyone. Never expected that house to be occupied. Put in a repair request. The Bureau will pay for the repairs since it happened while you were on duty.”

I ran a hand through my hair as I took in the long line of scratches and dents that marred the entire length of the passenger side. They stood out starkly against what was left of the black paint. “Just wish I would’ve known there was a basement.”

“It ended up okay anyway.” Candy patted my shoulder. “Just…sorry about the damage. At least it looks repairable.”

“Thanks, Candy. I ‘onestly don’t know if it’s worth fixing. I was planning on taking Mickey with me to Vegas to trade it in this weekend anyway.”

Candy cleared his throat. He seemed nervous, but the captain wasn’t the nervous type. He was always so sure of himself, which was one of the reasons we all respected him so much. “I…ah…actually came down here to tell you about the Bureau paying for the damage, but there is something else.”

“What?” I asked hesitantly.

“Well, this morning, when I briefed Lincoln on the takedown last night, he said when his team was interrogating the ringleader, he found out that in fact, he wasn’t the ringleader after all.”

I had a sneaky suspicion I would hate whatever he was about to say. “’Oo was he then, boss?”

“He actually answers to the big guy who apparently—” He looked down at his feet before shaking his head.

“Boss? You’re killing me ‘ere.”

He looked up. “The operation is run in Las Vegas, not LA like Lincoln thought.”

Ah…shite. Everything he didn’t want to say suddenly became painfully clear. “Vegas?”

“Yes, and I know this is your weekend off, but we think the head honcho is definitely in Vegas, just in case you ran into him,” he finished quickly.

My eyebrows elevated. “Ran into ‘im? Like over me prawn cocktail, or something? I’m there for the vehicle auction, that’s all.” I waited as he just stared at me. “What? Are you saying ‘e goes to the Vegas auctions?”

Candy set his hands on his hips and looked away before turning back to me. “Lincoln’s team uncovered a sizeable garage near the port which they thought was a warehouse for his drug network. Instead, they were surprised to find it filled with vehicles…lots of vehicles.”

It finally dawned on me what he was talking about. “Oh, I get it. ‘E bought them from the Vegas auction?”

Candy nodded slowly. “Some of them, yes.”

“The big auction they ‘old once a month?” I didn’t really have to ask. He wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise.