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But on the devices belonging to two of the other young men, BT and Jimmy found evidence of connections to both the Chinese mafia and the Chinese Ministry of State Security. They too had been in the Chinese military, probably still were. And Micheal had found coded messages on the phone of one of the others. There was still a lot of work to be done.
Upon their arrival at HQ, after stowing their gear in the Team Room, they reported to Shepherd’s office.
“Good job, team,” Shepherd said, taking a seat at the conference table with them. “After we’ve extracted all the intel we can from the phones and computers confiscated from the house Jin Ma lived at, our involvement in this case will officially end. We’ll send the devices to the FBI as well. Garcia, you and your team will get one more week to work on it.”
Garcia nodded. “That should be enough time.”
“Although this was an important case for us to undertake, it has also caused us to be behind on our schedule for both the PGP Project as well as the next CIA Referral Case that we postponed. We have revamped the PGP schedule to allow team members a few days at HQ every two weeks,” Shepherd said.
Everyone knew it was to allow BT and Michael time with their fiancés. BT and Evie were not officially engaged, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time. And now it would enable Laura Lee to spend time with Brad too, which she appreciated.
“The Red Rock Plant in Pella, Iowa is the next PGP site. It shouldn’t take more than four engineers four days to complete it. You’ll drive there,” Shepherd continued. “We’ll leave Burke with Saxton’s family this week while we follow up on a few loose items regarding this case. Garcia has requested Saxton, BT, and Bubbles to be assigned to the Digital Team. That leaves the rest of you to do the Red Rock install.” His gaze focused on Jimmy Wilson. “Any issue with that?”
“None. We may even be able to wrap it up faster than four days,” Wilson said.
Shepherd nodded. “Whenever you complete it, your team will have off until the following Monday.”
Wilson smiled. His gaze swept over the three others who were assigned to the install. “What do you say, twelve-hour days and maybe we do it in three? I’d love a four-day weekend.”
The others agreed.
“Whatever your team decides is fine by me,” Shepherd said. “Delta Team deploys tomorrow to run the next CIA Referral with Cooper and Doc. Miller and Jackson will be assigned to HQ for a week. They will also assist the Digital Team as well as staff Ops.” He stood. “Okay, you all have the rest of the day off. Garcia, go home. You can get back to it tomorrow morning.”
Everyone chuckled, knowing Garcia would have stayed to work on the confiscated devices longer. Laura Lee glanced at her watch. She wasn’t sure if Brad was awake yet, as he’d worked overnight. What would she do for a few hours until she could go to his place?
“Saxton,” Shepherd called as she headed towards the door.
“Yes, sir?” She stopped and took a few steps back towards him.
“Stay and close the door.”
After everyone exited, she closed the door as ordered. Shepherd pointed towards the comfortable seating area as he stepped over to it. She took a seat opposite him, unsure what this could be about.
“You performed well on this Op. Both BT and Garcia filed complimentary evals on you. BT told me that you have now requested full Operator training. Is that correct?”
“Yes, it is. I don’t ever want to be in a situation I haven’t been trained to handle and I want to be a full member of the team. This case proved that you never know what’s going to come.”
Shepherd nodded. “That is true. Lassiter will have to clear you for it, given he has restricted you from Ops. I’ll assume you no longer have issues that will cause you problems?”
“That’s correct. This case has put all my old demons to rest. I am very sorry I wasn’t honest about everything. I can only say I felt trapped in my past and afraid to tell anyone.”
“I wish you had earlier to save yourself some grief, but you did when it mattered. You were responsible for stopping West and exposing this network that can now be dismantled.”
“I’m very proud of the work we did on this. And I do enjoy the work the Digital Team does. Thank you for assigning me to work with Garcia this week.”
“To receive full Operator training, we’ll keep you at HQ for the next month. Cooper, Garcia, Lambchop, and Jackson will provide you with that training after Doc has given you a full medical release.”
She smiled, pleased with the plan. “Thank you, sir.”
“One last thing,” Shepherd said. “I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Miller and Cooper, Lambchop and Michaela, and Dupont. Keep it professional at the office and don’t let your relationship interfere with agency business. Keep it separate and we won’t have any problems. If problems arise, someone is leaving the agency.”
Laura Lee sat shocked. How did Shepherd already know about her and Brad? She was mortified that he was addressing it with her. “Yes, sir,” she forced out.
He nodded to the door. “Okay. Close it on your way out, please.”
She rose and left the room without another word. She took the elevator to nine as her abdomen still felt a little sore from the run the previous day. No, she hadn’t had either medic take a look at it. She went to the apartment to gather a few of her things that she had left there that she would need overnight at Brad’s place. She still felt shellshocked that Shepherd had talked to her about her relationship with Brad. Then she realized that he’d also talked to Brad. When had he done that and why hadn’t he mentioned it when they’d talked the night before?
Her phone chimed a text message. It was BT asking if she wanted a ride to Dupont’s place. He was getting ready to go home and knew she had no car of her own. She hit dial. “Hi, thanks. I’m not sure of my plans yet. I know he worked overnight, so he’s probably sleeping. I haven’t talked with him yet about when I should come over.” She wouldn’t tell BT that technically Brad had invited her to come over for dinner, not lunch.
