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“We believe they’re members of the Chinese mafia,” Shepherd said. “Most likely Liu was as well. That falls right in line with the number of DAs and defense attorneys we believe were compromised by West and Liu’s rape and blackmail scheme. And we know that there are direct links between China’s most powerful Triads and the Chinese Military, so all the dots are connecting. We know the Triads are running drugs and human trafficking through many cities in the US, so they need lenient district attorneys who won’t prosecute their people if arrested.”
“What about Geiger?” Garcia asked.
“His last known location was China. That fits as well,” Shepherd replied. “Garcia, what did you get from them before they were killed?”
“I’m sure you reviewed the recordings,” Garcia said. “We separated the three of them. I didn’t even bother with Geiger. With his training, it would have taken days of torture to get him to give anything up. West hid behind his badge, but I could tell the man was sweating it. He would have eaten his gun if given the chance. Liu was the one I would have liked more time with. If he was a high-ranking Triad member, he was a businessman and he would have negotiated if cornered. He brought the money, so he was in a position of power.”
“FBI is raiding his house. Whiting will keep me informed on what they find,” Shepherd said.
“They’ve been busy today,” Wilson said. “We could take some stress off them.”
“Negative. We’re pulling back. Our original mission has been accomplished. And quite frankly, unless they ask, I want our team distanced from the remainder of this Op. Any investigation into the Chinese mafia will be a long, drawn-out affair. I don’t want to commit our resources long term. We’re spread thin as it is until the end of the year when Bravo Team reintegrates into the agency. And even then, I’m not sure what additional training may be required to return them to operational readiness.”
“Can my family return home?” Laura Lee asked. “And do you think any danger to me or them remains?”
“Until we’re certain, they’ll remain in Florida. It shouldn’t take that long to figure a few things out. My guess is that someone in the FBI tipped off another arm of the Triad to know that three of their members were about to be busted. That’s all that makes sense as to why there was a shooter in position, a professional at that. He wasn’t there to keep those three men out of custody. Someone decided they were expendable. I’ll keep you informed,” Shepherd said.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“You’ll all remain there overnight and on call in case Whiting calls on us for any favors. Otherwise, the jet will pick you up at zero eight hundred tomorrow and return you to HQ. Delta Team just got back from their mission early this morning. We’ll shuffle resources and begin the next round of assignments on Monday morning. Handsome will remain in Florida guarding your family, Saxton. The Digital Team will be doing a lot of work on the laptops and cell phones you confiscated. Garcia, get me your staffing recommendations within the next hour.”
“Will do, Shepherd.”
“Okay, that’s it. Get your mission reports in before wheels-up tomorrow. Have a good dinner tonight, but no alcohol, in case you’re scrambled to help the FBI. I’ll see you tomorrow when you arrive back at HQ.”
“Okay, you heard him,” Garcia said after Shepherd left the chat. “Looks like we’re finding a nice steakhouse for dinner tonight. We’ll make it a late dinner. I’ll get us eight o’clock reservations and let you know where. I’m going to get to work on pulling the phone numbers from these phones until then.”
“I’ll help,” BT volunteered.
“First, you both are getting full medical evals,” Mike Rogers said. “You took rounds to your vests and you’re both still moving like you hurt. I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a few broken ribs.”
“Nah, just bruised,” Garcia said.
“Everyone out,” Rogers said. “You two, shirts off,” he said to Garcia and BT. “You know I have medical oversight.”
Garcia grumbled as he pulled his shirt over his head. Laura Lee saw the large, deep purple bruise his washboard abs sported. Not wanting to get caught gawking, she shifted her gaze and then followed the others as they filed out of the room.
Laura Lee went to her room, where she took a long hot shower. Even though she’d wiped the blood from her earlier, she felt she needed to scrub her body with a soapy washcloth. After, she sat propped up against her headboard and text messaged Brad. Her phone rang an incoming call from him a few seconds later. “Hello.”
“Hi,” he said in a groggy voice.
“I’m sorry. Did my text wake you?”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’d be getting up soon, anyway.”
She filled him in on the Op. “I wished you’d been in Ops when it was going on. I would have felt better hearing your voice during it.”
“I’m sure you did great,” he said. “How are you now, after hearing the shots and seeing everything go down? I know you said you didn’t want to see anyone you knew shot.”
“I’m really okay.” She was surprised by it.
“And when it happened?”
“When it happened, I wasn’t paralyzed with fear as I always assumed I would be,” she said.
“I’m sure a part of you wanted to just stay hunkered down.”
“Not really. After I saw Mike and Sebastian get up and rush to help, I just followed. I didn’t really think about it.”
