GOTU - A Robin Marlette Novel (17 page)

“Damn, that's as bad as it can get.”

“Ever since the shooting, they won't let me see or talk to my husband. I tried and tried, but they wouldn't let me see him. They have him and the other agent in administrative quarantine.”

“I don't think they can do that.”

“They have us over a barrel because they are still paying his salary.”

“Ahh, I see. Have you considered hiring an attorney?”

“They have not charged my husband with anything, so I am waiting. I raised so much hell, they transferred me here and told me if I didn't take the transfer, they would fire me for insubordination.” Angie took a deep breath. “Rob, I have been so torn up inside, and so lonely. I love my husband--I miss him terribly.”

Robin looked into Angie's eyes. He felt engulfed by their sadness. He gently stroked Angie's forehead. “Angie, there is nothing I can say or do to take this pain away from you,” Robin said softly. “But I want you to know I am here for you. If you need to talk or just need a hug, I'm here.”

Angie rose to her knees and looked at Robin. Her brown eyes were still so sad, but so beautiful. She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. She hesitated there, and Robin felt her mouth begin to open. He very gently pushed her back as a searing flash of desire shot through his body. He slowly got up and then helped Angie to her feet.

“Angie, you're a beautiful woman and I have become fond of you since we have been working together, but you love your husband, and I certainly love my wife. As much as I am tempted, it simply isn't in me to turn our relationship into a romantic one. I don't think it is really in you, either.”

Angie looked at Robin. She then kissed him gently again. “You're a good man, Robin Marlette. Thank you for your understanding tonight.”

“I'm here for you, Angie. You know I'll keep our conversations to myself.”

“I know. Thank you.”

“I'd better get going. Call me in the morning if there is a problem with the application.”

Robin walked out the door to his van. Conflicting thoughts, guilt, and jumbled emotions cascaded through his mind and heart. He took a very deep breath. Emotionally drained, he needed to go home and hold Karen.

NINETEEN

The next afternoon, Mark Warren watched Walton and the guy named Trinidad through the periscope in the surveillance van. The suspects were sitting in Walton's car in the parking lot of the Central Plaza Shopping Center. He snapped pictures through the scope.

“I hope these guys move soon. We're running out of ice for the auxiliary cooler,” Doug Auriel observed.

“We may just have to get hot. We're not turning the engine on around these assholes. Come look at these two guys who came with Trinidad. This is the first time he has brought anyone with him,” Mark said. The agents changed positions.

“Damn! Those are some hard-looking hombres,” Doug commented.

“You got that right.” Mark thought for a moment. “Doug, do you think we ought to take these guys down now? We're getting warrants for Walton and Trinidad. It's not like we don't have probable cause—and these two guys with Trinidad concern me.”

“I don't know, Mark. You know Robin. He has a plan.”

“I know, I know, but he also always tells us to use initiative when we feel we should take action.”

“Well just look at it from a tactical point of view. You know Trinidad and his boys are armed. Walton may be, too. There are only two other guys besides us out here today. That's even odds. Tactical principles say we should get the odds in our favor and have a plan. I say we hold off for now. We'll be taking these guys down soon enough.”

“I guess you're right, partner.”

Doug swung the periscope back to Walton's car just in time to see Walton slam his hand against his steering wheel. “Walton is pissed again.”

“That guy is crazy. From the looks of Trinidad, Walton won't be around long if he keeps that up.”

“Mr. T is leaving now. Think we should follow him and his two goons?”

“As much as I would like to, we don't have air assets today. Mr. T would probably burn us, especially with four more eyes in the car. Robin wouldn't like that—especially when we're so close to busting these guys. Let's just stick with Walton. He always provides us with an interesting day.”

“Roger that, partner. Let's get rolling.”

With his usual calm and calculating composure completely gone, Walton shook with rage.
I can't believe Miguel is not only going to kill Marlette, but is actually serious about killing his family. Why doesn't that idiot see he would cause law enforcement to pull out all of the stops to get the people behind it and send the public into a frenzy? This is not good. All of my contacts will panic and he thinks it will only make them more afraid of him and make him more powerful. What an idiot. What a crazy fool.

Walton pulled into his slot in the parking garage of his office building. He put the car in park and turned off the ignition. His head slowly sank to his chest.
It's over. Everything I've worked for will be gone.
He sat still. Then his head shot up.
I must disappear. I need to get as much money as I can out of my accounts and holdings and leave the country. I'll have to transfer what cash I get to my secret Swiss accounts. I must get started now.

On foot in Walton's parking garage, Mark watched Walton from behind a concrete pillar. He saw Walton quickly get out of his Mercedes and walk to the elevator. Walton's behavior was totally foreign when compared to the Walton Mark had watched for almost a month now. Something new had changed him, and he definitely did not like it. Mark needed to brief Robin as soon as possible.

TWENTY

Robin sat in his office at the wire room early the next morning, on the phone with Jim Adams.

“Rob, all of the arrest warrants are ready.”

“Good. The follow-up search warrants would be signed today, but coordinating the numerous arrests and raids across four states and D.C. is a definite pain in the ass. I'm just grateful for how everyone is working and cooperating, even DEA.”

“That
is
outstanding!”

“Yes it is. I'm excited about bringing this investigation to the next level.”

“Let's do it!”

“We're on it. Talk to you later.”

Robin hung the phone and leaned back in his chair. Mark Warren came in to his office.

“Did you see my report on Walton's activities yesterday?” Mark said.

“I did. Something is definitely up—I don't like the looks of it. As a precautionary measure, I put out a memo to all members of the task force advising them to be extra careful when out and about. I told the wire room staff to keep a lookout and be careful when coming or going. We asked Phoenix PD to increase their frequent patrols of the area. I don't know if they are going to get violent, but there's no sense in taking chances.”

“Well, Sarge, we've had intelligence about hit contracts on one or more members of the squad on a regular basis.”

“Many police officers go through it, but a hit rarely ever occurs. But it does happen. So, that's why we aren't taking any chances.”

“I'm with you, Sarge.” Mark waved and went back to working on search warrants.

Robin spent the next five hours with Angie tying up loose ends on the arrest plan. Their relationship remained friendly.

Angie looked at Rob and spoke in a low whisper. “Thanks again for being a good man, Rob. I appreciate your restraint and recognizing I'm in a very vulnerable state.”

Robin smiled, “I'm just glad we can be friends, Angie. You've been a very valuable team player in this operation. I appreciate all of your hard work and I'm still here for you.”

Angie reached over and touched Robin's hand. “Thank you.”

Emmett stuck his head in the office doorway. “Hey, boss, Mike, John and I finished the follow-up search warrant affidavit and the accompanying warrants. We're heading over to federal court to get them signed.”

“Good work. We'll see you when you get back.” Emmett saluted and left.

“The next few days are going to be non-stop. I have a few more things to do, but I'm going home for the afternoon to spend time with the family. I'll be back in the evening.”

“Okay.”

Robin gathered up some papers when the phone rang. He looked at it with a thought of not answering it for a moment, but sighed and picked it up.

“Sergeant Marlette.”

“Hi Rob, it's Mary. I have a call for you. I think it's Chucky.”

“Oh, great, okay, Mary, put him through.”

“Here it comes.”

Robin heard a click. “Sergeant Marlette.”

“Robin, ol' boy, it's Chucky.”

“What's up, Chucky?”

“Hey, I've stumbled on some serious shit, man. I got info that will make me your favorite informant!”

“You already are, Chucky. Whaddya got.”

“Military explosives.”

“What did you say?!”

“I bought some military explosives off some soldiers from the Flagstaff Army Depot. They stole them from there.”

“Where are you?”

“I'm down at 24th Street and Camelback.”

“Can you meet me at the parking lot of the shopping center in Ahwatukee on Elliot Road in about thirty minutes?”

“I can.”

“See you there.”

Robin picked up his briefcase, jumped in his van, and drove to Ahwatukee. He parked his van in an empty corner of the lot and watched for Chucky's clunker. He noticed a new Mercedes cruising the parking lot. It meandered for a minute and then headed towards Robin's van. His head cocked with surprise and suspicion when he saw Chucky driving it. Chucky parked next to Robin and got into the passenger seat of Robin's van.

“Chucky, tell me you didn't steal the Mercedes.”

“C'mon, Rob, I haven't done anything like since I got out of prison.”

“Okay, where did you get the money for a Mercedes?”

“I've made amends with my family.”

“Oh, so you've been accepted back into Long Island society?”

“Not quite, but my family finally believes I'm not a career criminal.”

“Just how did you convince them of that?”

“I told them I worked with law enforcement.”

Robin gave Chucky a hard look. “Exactly what did you tell them, Chucky? And don't bullshit me, because I know what a con man you are.”

“I told them you and I were friends and I decided to spend my time helping you fight crime.” Robin gave Chucky a dubious look. “Don't worry, I told them I wasn't a cop.”

“If you're really going straight, why don't you just get a real job and become a productive member of society?”

Chucky looked out the window. “Rob, I can't do that. It's too boring. I need excitement in my life. In my younger and stupid days I thought I needed to pull scams and get away with it to put excitement in my life. Then you came along and put me in prison, thank you very much. I had plenty of time to think there. I knew you were an honest cop, so I decided to help you get bad guys. Besides, I don't need to work. Daddy is giving me stipend.”

“I hope it's enough to live on.”

Chucky laughed. “Rob, you really don't know much about rich people, do you?”

“Never been one.”

“Well, let's just say my stipend is about triple your salary.”

“Must be nice.”

“It isn't bad.”

“Okay, let's get down to business. Who are these guys you bought the ordinance from?”

Chucky handed Robin a slip of paper. “Those are the names of the guys. I only got the last name of one of them. The other two only gave me their first names. They're all pretty young, and one of them is definitely a gang banger.”

“Yeah, military recruiting is going to hell lately. You got the stuff?”

“It's in my trunk.”

“What did they charge you?”

“A hundred bucks an item.”

“Let's take a look.” The men climbed out of the van and went to the back of the Mercedes. Chucky popped the trunk and opened a large duffel. Robin counted six satchel charges and eight grenades.

Robin zipped up the bag, carried it to the van, and put it in the back. He reached into his briefcase and pulled out an envelope containing confidential investigation funds. He took out twenty-four one hundred dollar bills and handed them to Chucky.

“What's the extra thousand for?”

“Just because you've rejoined the wealthy doesn't mean I'm not going to pay you for your work. This is a good haul, Chucky. We need to get these guys.”

“When do you want me to set up the next meet?”

“We're tied up all next week, so call me in about ten days.”

“Why so long?”

“Read the paper in about two days.”

“Okay, Rob. See ya in about ten days.”

“Adios, Chucky.”

Andy Jackson had talked Cathy into going to the Pima Air Museum. While Cathy did like to go to the museum, she didn't particularly want to go in the summer time. Many of the aircraft were outside, and she didn't like standing in the heat just to look at airplanes. She would rather be spending this Saturday morning swimming or hiking up on Mt. Lemmon. Andy even insisted on riding with the top down in his Jaguar on I-10.

“Andy, slow down, honey.”

“Aw come on, Cathy. This is a Jaguar. It's born to go fast.”

“If we get stopped by one of my Dad's friends again, I will never talk to you…
again
.”

Andy slowed down. “That's a little drastic, isn't it?”

“Probably.” Cathy smiled at him.

Andy took the Valencia Road exit and stopped at the light. Two cars, each filled with several Hispanic men, stopped behind them. Another car pulled up next to the Jaguar on the right side. They gave the Jaguar a hard look. Cathy saw them.

“Andy, don't look now, but the guys next to us don't look very nice.”

“There's a bunch behind us who don't look so nice either.”

The light turned green. Andy thought about his .357 S&W revolver in the console. As he started to turn left, he opened the console. Suddenly, the car on the right accelerated ahead of the Jaguar and cut in front of it, under the overpass.

“GO! GO! GO! ANDY!” Cathy screamed.

Andy jerked the wheel to the left and jammed his foot onto the accelerator. The Jaguar surged, but one of the cars behind them slammed into the front left side. The Jaguar crashed into the car that cut in front, wedging the Jaguar between the two cars and blocking it from the rear by the third.