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He found her at the end of the corridor in a heated phone exchange.
As he walked up, she said vehemently, “I’m sorry, sir, but this is pure bullshit, and you know it.” She listened for a short time, shaking her head. “But, sir, he’s killed three people, and one of them was a little girl. He’s got to pay for that, sir.” She fell silent again, then began pacing furiously back and forth. Finally, she clenched her jaw, muscles bunching as she spat out, “Yes, sir!”, and ended the call.
She looked at Cal and said in a low, furious voice, “Son of a bitch! They want to turn him as an informant. If what he gives is good enough, he’ll get full witness protection. Dammit! It’s just not right, Cal!”
“No, it’s not. That’s not justice at all. What exactly were you told?”
“It’s already been set up. You and I are going to take him to a safe house, where we’ll interrogate him. We need to talk to his doc this morning and find out when he’s going to be released.”
Call nodded. Vic was obviously very upset. He’d stick close and see what he could do to help.
***
Vic ground her teeth, her jaw clenched so hard the muscles felt like iron balls. She silently seethed with a frustration that threatened to overflow and, God forbid, bring her to tears. How could her bosses be so callous? She’d always known that she worked for an uncaring, political system, but the fact hadneverbeen brought home like this.
But she’d protested as much as she could. Any more and she might lose her job—or worse, get sent to some end-of-the-earth posting. She wanted neither of those outcomes. No, she had to keep her mouth shut, no matter how powerless and angry that made her feel.
But, God, capitulating like this left a bitter taste in her mouth. And how the hell could she go into that room and offer the bastard a deal like WITSEC? She felt about two inches tall. The asshole would know that he’d pulled one over on her. Her hands clenched into fists.
Dammit, she had to contain her rage so she didn’t make the situation any worse. Was this outcome her fault? If only she’d been more persuasive on the phone just now. Maybe she could have changed their minds. Maybe then Azul would have gotten justice.
She felt a touch on her shoulder.
“Shall we ask at the nurses’ station for his doctor, Vic?”
She took a deep breath and nodded, following Cal down the hall.
As they approached the desk, Cal said, “We need to speak with room 114’s doctor. Immediately, if at all possible.”
The nurse looked at the shooter’s chart and came back. “The doctor makes his rounds between ten and twelve. You can wait or come back then.”
“Would you please give us his name and phone number?” Cal said.
After a brief hesitation, the nurse looked the information up and wrote it on a sticky note.
“Thanks.” Cal turned to Vic. “Why don’t we go get a quick breakfast while we wait for rounds?”
No way would her stomach tolerate food. “I could use some coffee. Let’s go.”
“Ride with me, why don’t you?” Cal offered as they exited the building.
“Sure. Thanks.” Her mind was still spinning, trying to process the awful situation. She blindly followed him to his truck. He opened her door for her, and she thanked him quietly, barely taking note of his good manners.
It was a silent ride to the pancake house. She was thankful that he didn’t try small talk. He seemed to know her much better than their limited acquaintance warranted.
Once they were seated and had menus, he said, “I’m sorry this is happening, Vic. It’s a raw deal. But he only gets protection if he gives us the goods. Right now, he’s not giving us anything.”
That was true. Maybe he’d be a tough nut and wouldn’t crack. She could only hope. Then he’d go to prison.
One thing was fairly certain. He knew the location of at least one tunnel. And he knew another drug connection—the place where he was delivering his load.
But she felt certain that this guy knew much more than that. And her job and Cal’s would be to get that information out of him.
“Right. I say our strategy is to emphasize the three murder charges. Let him know that we can make those go away if he agrees to turn state’s evidence—or, if what he has is really good—turn state’s witness. Offer him WITSEC depending on what he has. If he balks for long, we tell him that we’ll put the word out that he’s been arrested and that he’s cooperating with us.”
Cal whistled. “You play hardball. I like it.”
She gave him a lopsided smile. “I’d like to do a lot worse to the guy.” It was funny, but being here with Cal and talking it over gave her a sense of calm that she hadn’t had since she’d first heard her bosses’ voices.
