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“I’ve already deployed Charlie Team to surveil West. Moe’s the only one with FBI creds who should be recognizable to West, so he’ll hang back and coordinate. Dupont, you’ll work closely with him. You’re lead in Ops for this case,” Shepherd said.
“Not Garcia?” Dupont asked.
“No, I’m Saxton’s new partner in the field. We have a dozen women to go interview based on your findings,” he said, his eyes focused on Laura Lee.
“No offense, but wouldn’t Madison be a better partner to talk with women who’ve potentially been raped?” Laura Lee asked.
“She and Cooper will be team two in the field. We have too many women to talk to within three weeks for you and I to do it alone,” Garcia said. “Smith will track and collate all information acquired.”
Caleb Smith smiled and nodded.
“My gut is telling me there’s more to this than just West being a serial rapist,” Shepherd said. “I analyzed the potential victims and came up with a profile that was disturbing. He targeted ROTC candidates who had already signed their intent to serve. Thus, he targeted military officers. He also targeted criminal justice majors with interest in careers as prosecutors and district attorneys. He even targeted legal and political science majors, who are a group that seeks elected office. I couldn’t ignore the blackmail component of his rapes. Talking with his potential rape victims may not yield the results we’re looking for if he is blackmailing them in their current positions. Keep that angle in mind. Smith and Dupont will also look into that.”
“That’s why we start by talking with his two most recent victims. They’re not in positions yet that could benefit West with intel or actions that he directs,” Garcia said. “This afternoon, while Saxton and Smith were looking into his potential victims, I looked hard at West’s finances. I found some irregularities. I’ll keep looking, even as Saxton and I conduct our interviews.”
Shepherd nodded. “Cooper and Miller are in the air, headed towards the west coast where two potential victims are located, an Army officer and a district attorney. Saxton, I know you’re on limited duty because of your surgery, but Doc assures me you should be okay to travel and conduct these interviews. Do you physically feel up for it?”
“Yes sir,” she said. At this point, no one and nothing could hold her back.
Doctor Lassiter slid a sheet of paper across the table to her. “You’re going to make that call after you’ve read through this and are ready. This is every scenario we can predict on how the call will go.”
Laura Lee glanced at it. It was a basic step-action chart. If he said this, she would respond with that.
“Above all, you project confidence and an ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude. Remember, he can’t hurt you at this point. This agency is in your corner,” Lassiter said.
“He’s going to suspect you’re black ops. It won’t hurt to come off as though you’re exactly that,” Garcia added. “Use the term in response to any questions about your assignment that it’s above his pay grade. That’ll piss him off that you have some superiority.”
“I’m almost jealous that I’m not the one making the call,” Smith chimed in. “Playing mind games with him is going to be fun.”
Laura Lee returned his smile. She wished she shared his enthusiasm.
“And if he comes back with something so far in left field we haven’t thought about it, ask him to repeat what he said to buy time and then I’ll write out a quick response,” Lassiter said. “I’m sitting beside you so I can help point to the correct answer. You’ll just have to make it sound convincing that you’re reacting to him and not reading it.”
“Okay,” Laura Lee said. She took a few minutes and read through each of the scenarios Lassiter had detailed out. He had headings on each to make the reply she would want easy to find on the sheet of paper. By the time she read through them all, she didn’t think that West could say anything they hadn’t predicted.
“Are you ready?” Lassiter asked when she again made eye contact with him.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“So, remember, the first thing you want to do is make him think you barely remember him. You certainly didn’t recognize his voice. If he answers, you wait for him to identify himself and then you act as though the name means nothing to you. He’ll most likely identify himself as your old college professor at that point and he’ll most likely say something to the effect of, don’t you remember? He’ll expect you to be quaking in your boots after he identifies himself.” Lassiter paused and pointed at his first scripted response.
Laura Lee re-read the response. Her lips pulled into a grin.
“The bastard won’t know what hit him,” Garcia said.
“You’re a black ops operator currently in West Africa. You’re a badass that he shouldn’t want to fuck with based on how you handle yourself,” Lassiter said.
“Now sell it,” Shepherd said. He lifted his comms from the table and inserted them in his left ear. The others at the table followed suit.
“I have each of our comms configured to listen in on your call. They’re all muted and West won’t know anyone is listening,” Garcia said.
Laura Lee nodded her understanding.
Lassiter pretended to be Harrison West, identifying himself. Laura Lee replied to him with attitude, reading the line from the page without it sounding like she was reading it. “I guess my high school drama classes have come in handy.”
“You’re ready,” Lassiter said. “Now remember, you are the one running this show. Display that attitude if he answers or if the call goes to voicemail.”
Laura Lee hit redial on her phone. It rang three times. She expected it to go to voicemail and was surprised when Harrison West’s voice answered.
