SIUBlues11

“I’m certain of it, Joe,” Harvey told him. “It won’t be difficult to set up. We can have everything ready by tomorrow afternoon.”

Joe nodded. It was a simple plan. “It could work,” he approved. “That will be one hell of a catch to. Okay, get everything ready. Fill Rachel in as soon as she gets back.”

“Dominguez.” Captain Kellam interrupted, but didn’t pause to talk as he walked through the SIU with two men following. Joe watched them file passed, giving Harvey a confused look. It wasn’t like Kellam at all to show up there unannounced. Out of curiosity, both of them followed the trio back to interrogation.

Kellam barely gave Harvey a passing glance before gestured to the two other men with him. “Special Agents Truitt and Ogden, DEA, Inspector Joe Dominguez,” he said in introduction. “He’s Bridges’ partner and second in command here at the SIU.”

The introduction piqued Joe’s interest even more. “What’s going on Hayden?” he asked suspiciously as he eyed both men.

“Have you ever seen this woman before?” Kellam asked as he took a photograph from one of the agents to hand to him.

Joe only needed a glance. “Yeah, Nash and I met her a couple of nights ago,” he returned. “Victoria Castle. She a night club owner over in Pacifica. Why the interest?”

“Your partner has developed quite a relationship with her,” Special Agent Ogden said flippantly as he handed over several more photographs for Joe’s inspection.

Joe flipped through the pictures quickly, knowing instinctively that Nash was going to explode when he found out that he was under surveillance. Pictures of Nash and Victoria dancing at the night club, pictures of them driving through town, pictures of the couple on a boat. Something wasn’t adding up. “Why would DEA care about who an SFPD captain was seeing?” he asked, tossing the photographs onto the table between them.

“Because your partner’s new girlfriend is working for the drug cartel,” Truitt revealed as the final snapshot was handed over.

“The guy in the picture is Dax Saum,” Ogden informed him. “He’s Tristan Greco's right hand man.”

“Tristan Greco?” Harvey repeated, then pursed his lips in a silent whistle as he looked over at Joe. Major drug dealers were becoming a dime a dozen in San Francisco.

“It looks like Miss Castle is playing with some really heavy hitters,” Kellam commented dispassionately. This was the part of his job that he hated the most. Every time he was forced into that position, retirement sounded better and better.

“Saum isn’t the only one we’ve seen her with,” Truitt continued. “We have her photographed with Greco, Karakas, Corday, Ammerman and Voiles. Her address book reads like a who’s who of the drug world with one San Francisco Police Captain thrown into the mix.”

It wasn’t difficult to figure out where the conversation was heading. “Wait a minute,” Joe interrupted. “You don’t seriously think that Nash is involved with these drug dealers?” When they remained silent, he looked over at Harvey and they both laughed out loud. “Boy do you have the wrong guy.”

“All that we’re saying is that looks pretty suspicious,” Ogden remarked. “We can’t get a man next to her, but your partner is suddenly all chummy with her. What’s that about?”

“What’s that about is that she’s a beautiful woman,” Joe argued. “It’s not that hard to figure out why Nash is interested in her.” He folded his arms across his chest. He couldn’t believe that the DEA had Nash under investigation when they had agents like Bixby actively hunting people. “Don’t you guys have enough problems keeping your own people in line?”

“We need to know what her connection is to all these smugglers,” Truitt continued. “All of our plants have been cut out within minutes of meeting Castle. From what we can tell, there aren’t any drugs passing through her night club, but it almost seems like these men are seeking her out. Usually, within forty-eight hours of a meeting with Victoria Castle, you can count on a major deal going down.”

Joe looked back at Harvey. “That’s a bit too coincidental,” he said softly.

“Nash is not going to be happy about this man,” Harvey whispered in return.

“Bridges isn’t going to have any choice in the matter,” Kellam informed them. “It has come down from the chief. He now has orders to infiltrate. If Victoria Castle can get in contact with all these men in the drug cartel, it’s too good an opportunity to pass up. We actually have the chance to really do something about drug trafficking.”

Joe looked at Kellam suspiciously. “What do you mean he’s not going to have a choice?” he asked.

The captain’s eyes were unwavering. “Bridges is already under suspicion for collusion. This is the only way he’s got to clear himself.”

“What?” Joe said incredulously.

Harvey chuckled. “Oh man have you guys totally lost it or what?”

“That’s why the police chief called me in on this,” Kellam explained. “He wants me to oversee the operation.”

“You can’t be serious?” Harvey asked.

Joe rubbed his eyes. It was the first time in a long time that he had seen Nash so interested in a lady and she turns out to be a participant in a drug ring. “This is just getting worse and worse.”

“You’re already established yourselves as Malone and Hernandez with her, correct?” Kellam saw Joe’s nod and understood his hesitation. Nash wasn’t only his captain, he was his best friend.

“Are you in contact with Bridges?” Truitt asked, wanting to proceed with the investigation as soon as possible.

Joe looked at the agent with disgust. “I’m not his keeper, man. He doesn’t punch a clock with me.” He looked back at his Kellam once more. Somehow, he knew that he would be better off working with the vice captain than with the DEA agents. “Nash is due back sometime tomorrow. I want to be the one to tell him.”

Kellam looked at him in silence for a long moment. “Do whatever it takes to make sure that Nash is onboard. I don’t need to tell you that it’s not only his career on the line here.”

* * *

“It looks like I’m still not going to make it through the front door,” Nash complained as Victoria turned into his arms on the stoop of her home.

She chuckled softly. “This time it can’t be helped. I trust Steve, but it is my club. I do hate to see this day end, though. It has been so wonderful.”

“A lady who likes to be in control,” he commented as he sighed. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll run back to the hotel and get rid of this bait cologne, then I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour.” He gave her a shrug. “We’ll go to the club together. That way, our day won’t have to be over quite yet and I’ll get the chance to see you in action.”

She smiled up at him as she slipped her arms around his neck. It was so nice to be with a man who understood that her work was just as important to her as his work was to him. Against her better judgment, she was starting to enjoy having Teddy Malone in her life. “Then I promise not to be more than a couple of hours,” she said as she snuggled close.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he warned her.

Her fingers toyed with his windblown hair. “I’m counting on it.”

He smiled down at her, then leaned in to give her a soft, deep kiss that held promises of his own.

When they arrived at the club an hour and a half later, Victoria immediately slipped into her roll as hostess and chatted with several of the patrons before she even made it to the bar to find out from Steve that there had been a problem with their liquor shipment that afternoon. As Nash watched her walk off with her bartender, he caught a glimpse of someone stepping up beside him from the corner of his eye and turned to see one of the local detectives that he had worked with in the past.

“How’s it going Nash?” he asked as he held out his hand. “Or should I say Teddy?”

Nash shook it firmly. “Teddy for the moment,” he said with a smile, then gestured to the pop club that they were in. “What are you doing here? This is a bit of a step up from your usual street cover, isn’t it?”

“I just had to see for myself when I heard you were hanging out here,” Carl returned jokingly, not realizing that his friend was completely oblivious to the events involving Victoria.

“Are they broadcasting my social calendar at the station now?” he asked in jest, unsure of how to take his comment. “I had no idea my reputation was that ominous.”

“Ominous?” he returned in confusion. “You’ve impressed the hell out of the entire staff.” Carl didn’t see the confused glance from Nash as he turned to look off in the direction in which Victoria had disappeared. “Did I really see you walking in here with Victoria Castle?”

Now Nash was more disconcerted than before and he was starting to become slightly agitated. “Yeah, we spent the day together. What of it?”

Carl chuckled softly at his convincing modesty as he clapped his hand against Nash’s shoulder. “That’s what makes you special, Teddy. You can adapt to any given situation. Just make sure you keep your head down when the bullets start flying,” he said, then disappeared into the crowd.

Nash tried to sort through their conversation in his mind as he shook his head. He felt like he had come in on the middle of a movie. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he looked up just in time to see Carl’s parting wave.

“Is something wrong?” Victoria asked as she stepped up to Nash’s side.

He leisurely turned toward her, still trying to sort things out in his mind. “Do you ever get the feeling that everyone gets the punch line to a joke except you?”

“What?” she asked in confusion.

“Never mind.” He dismissed it casually, then took a sip from his glass of beer. “Did you get your supply problem worked out?”

“It just took a phone call,” she admitted. “I really need to put Steve in a position of authority instead of just behind the bar. He knows this club almost as well as I do and he could have handled the problem himself, but the vendor wouldn’t listen.” She shook her head, then took his glass from him so that she could have a sip of his drink.

“Since Steve is going to be getting his well deserved promotion, does that mean that you’ll have a little more free time on your hands?” he asked hopefully, taking his glass back from her as he leaned up against the edge of the bar.

She smiled, placing her hand against his chest as she swayed toward him. “I knew that you had ulterior motives.”

“Always,” he returned with a smile of his own.

“Mr. Malone?” Steve said to gain his attention as he brought over the cordless phone from behind the bar. “A call for you,” he announced as he handed over the receiver.

Nash straightened as he took the phone. “Malone,” he said brusquely.

“We need to talk,” Joe told him without preamble.

Nash’s brows drew together. That night seemed to be filled with surprises. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” he informed him. “We can talk then.”

“You know that I wouldn’t be calling you if it wasn’t important,” Joe argued. “I’ll be in Pacifica within the hour. What hotel are you staying at?”

Nash sighed heavily. That was the one thing about being in the SFPD that he didn’t enjoy. Even when he took a few days off, he was still on call. “I’m at the Hyatt. Room two seventeen.”

“I’ll meet you there,” Joe said, then clicked off.

Nash leaned over the bar to put the phone back, then he turned to look apologetically at Victoria. “Now it’s my turn to take care of some business.”

She gave him a disappointed look. “You have to go?”

“Rico is coming in. I’m meeting him back at the hotel.”

“Oh?” she returned a little surprised. She had assumed that he had been called out of town. “Well, let me finish up here real quick and I’ll go with you.”

“And have you accusing me later that my work takes precedence over yours?” he asked jokingly. “You’re not going to set me up for that one.”

She laughed as she reached up to brush her fingers against his cheek. “Give me a call later. Maybe your partner won’t keep you too long.”

“Believe me, I’ll be throwing him out the door at the first opportunity.” He brought her hand up to his lips and lightly kissed her fingers. “I’ve got time for one more dance before I go,” he suggested and received a warm smile in return.

* * *

“This had better be good,” Nash said sternly as he opened his hotel room door for Joe to enter. “I put a high class lady on hold and I don’t want to keep her waiting,” he informed him as he walked back to the bed to retrieve his jacket which he had discarded earlier. He wasn’t going to waste one minute in getting back to Victoria.

Joe hesitated by the door, then closed it behind him. “That high class lady is why I’m here,” he returned cryptically.

Nash suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The same feeling he had when he was speaking to Carl. “What are you talking about?”

Joe stuffed his hands in his pants pockets as he stared at the floor. He hated to be the one to tell Nash, but he had to know. “Well, I can’t think of an easy way to put this, so I’ll just come right out with it. Victoria Castle is working for the drug cartel,” he said bluntly.

“What?” Nash asked in confusion, then chuckled as he straightened the collar of his jacket. “You’re delusional bubba. You know as well as I do that Tory makes a point of keeping drugs out of her club.”

“She’s under surveillance, Nash. I’ve seen the pictures myself. The DEA has had her watched for the last several months, but they can’t get anyone on the inside.”

“Pictures?” he asked, focusing on that one word. “What pictures?”

“Shots of Victoria at Flash with half a dozen known drug smugglers,” Joe answered with a touch of sympathy in his voice. He knew that this wasn’t going to be easy for his partner. “Some of them are among DEA’s most wanted.”

Nash laughed again as he checked his reflection in the mirror. “You could probably find pictures of Tory with half the city.” He looked back at his partner, certain that Joe was mistaken. “She works the room, Joe. She talks to almost everyone there at one time or another during the night. It’s her job. It’s what she does.”

“Vice has been trying to get a guy undercover for weeks, but they’re shot down after two minutes in Victoria’s company. They can’t get passed her.”

“They can’t get passed her because there’s nothing there,” Nash argued, anger ebbing into his amusement. He couldn’t believe that he had to convince his partner of something that he knew instinctively. “Tory is not involved.”

“Kellam seems to think she is,” Joe countered and saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes. “He wants you to try to establish a buy with Greco through Victoria.”

“Kellam?” He shook his head once, then hesitated as he studied Joe’s face before shaking it again with more assurance. “You’re wrong about this one, Joe. Victoria may know who Greco is, but she’s not involved with him. I’d bet my life on it.”

“You’re doing just that by being with the woman,” he warned him. “Look Nash, you and I both know that you wouldn’t hesitate to check out Victoria’s story if you weren’t personally involved. You need to get your mind back on the business at hand, man.”

“But I am personally involved.” He came back at him, his anger evident in his words and in his actions as he began to pace. For one moment he had allowed himself to believe that he had found the right lady. Someone that he actually made him think of the future. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to spend with her. “You’re asking me to risk the best thing that has come into my life in a long time.”

“If she’s innocent, she’ll understand.”

“Don’t hand me that load of bull!” he ordered. “You and I both know that line is used on chumps who don’t have a clue what reality is really like. I know bubba. I know that people like Tory are used every day by people like us and it’s wrong.”

“I’m not going to stand here and debate the morals of our job with you, Nash. If she’s innocent, then you’re the only one that can prove that.” He could almost hear the wheels turning in his friend’s head. It was obvious to him that Nash really cared about Victoria, but that wasn’t going to stop him from doing his job.

“Great,” Nash returned sarcastically. “I get to set up Greco and cut my own throat at the same time.”

“That’s not the only problem we have,” Joe told him. “It seems that Rachel has decided to take on the Asian cartel all by herself.” He hesitated when Nash started to shake his head. He really felt for the guy. It was the first time he had taken a couple of days to himself in months and the roof was caving in around him. “Harvey confronted her when he found out that she was tailing Samuel Chon.”

“And what did she have to say?” Nash prompted him.

“She denied the whole thing, of course.” He looked over at his friend. “But that’s not all.”

“Of course not!” Nash shot back, then dropped down onto the edge of the bed. “This is why I never take time off,” he mumbled as he rubbed a hand over his face. “What’s going on now? Is Russia invading? Is downtown San Francisco being overrun by seals? Did the mayor lose his dog?”

“Harvey saw Bixby tailing Rachel,” he answered succinctly.

* * *

Victoria laughed happily as she slipped her key into the lock and swung the door open wide before turning back into Nash’s arms on the front stoop. “I see we’re making progress,” he teased as he attempted to look inside her home. “I can almost make out the living room from here.”

She giggled again and gave his waist a squeeze. “Then why don’t you come inside and get a better view,” she suggested. “I know there are some cold beers in the fridge and I should be able to scrounge us up something to eat.”

“I guess I can stand your company a little longer if you’re planning on feeding me.”

“So much for all the adoration,” she quipped as she proceeded him into the house.

“A man can’t worship properly without a full stomach,” he returned, following behind her slowly as he took a look around. Even though the living room was enormous, there was very little furniture, all of it antique. “You must go for Victorian minimalism,” he said as he ran a finger over a hand carved curio table and heard her laughter coming from the next room.

“You should have seen this house when I bought it,” she told him from the hallows of the kitchen. “I love antiques, but I’m very particular about the pieces I buy.” She heard his footsteps on the tile behind her and turned from her refrigerator with two bottles of beer in hand. “All I had when I moved in was my bed and that sofa in the living room.”

“What about that big screen TV?” he asked as he cast a glance over his shoulder at the object in question.

“No loyal Dolphin fan could go without seeing a game for long,” she returned in jest, then handed him the beers. “There’s a bottle opener in the first drawer,” she informed him as she pointed to the counter, then turned back to the refrigerator. “I’ve got some pizza we can warm up in the microwave,” she suggested as she looked into the hollow shell where her food was suppose to be stored. “I don’t think it has any fuzzy things on it yet.”

“There’s an appetizing thought,” he returned as he snapped off the lids on the bottles. “Do you have any glasses around here?”

“Oh,” she started forgetfully. “There’s some frosted mugs in the freezer.”

He gave her a glance as she pulled the mugs out then crossed the kitchen to put several pieces of pizza into her microwave. “You know, I already think you’re perfect. You don’t have to keep proving yourself.”

She giggled softly as she set the timer, then she turned, leaning up against the counter to wait as she watched him pour their drinks. “Is there something on your mind, Teddy?” she asked after several seconds of silence.

He stopped pouring long enough to look over at her, then he turned his attention back to filling the second mug. “Is it that obvious?”

“You’ve just been a little quiet since you met with Rico,” she explained.

He thought about that for a moment as he topped off the mugs. Now was as good a time as any to ask her about Tristan Greco, but he was still reluctant. Leaving the bottles on the table, he picked up the mugs and walked over to hand her one, then stood next to her at the counter. “It’s business,” he told her evasively, then looked over at her. “You don’t want to hear about that.”

“I do if it’s going to distract you all night,” she returned. “What’s going on?”

“A big business deal fell through,” he lied with a shrug. “Rico and I have a buyer all lined up, but we lost our connection to the product.”

“So why is that a problem?” she asked, wary of that particular topic of conversation. She had a feeling that he was fishing for something, but she wanted to be sure. “There are other dealers out there.”

“None that can handle the load that we’re talking about,” he said smoothly as he took a sip from his mug. “The only guy that I’ve heard about with the kind of stock we need is Tristan Greco and he’s unreachable.”

Victoria pushed away from the counter after discarding her mug there and faced him. “Is that what this is all about?” she asked angrily, her tongue darting out to lick her lips in consternation. “You’re using me to get to Greco?”

“No, Tory, it’s nothing like that,” he defended himself quickly. This was exactly what he was afraid would happen. “You never said anything about knowing Greco. I didn’t ask you out to get to him.”

“But that’s why you’re here now, isn’t it?” she countered, then waited several seconds for him to deny it. “I don’t believe this,” she mumbled and started out of the kitchen when he didn’t respond.

Nash’s ground his teeth together as he swore under his breath. Sometimes he really hated his job. He dropped his mug onto the counter beside hers, then followed her out of the room. “Tory,” he called to her just before she reached the front door and she turned back to him abruptly.

“If you want an introduction to Greco, then I can provide that for you,” she said angrily. “He usually comes into the club on Wednesday nights so be there if you want to meet him, but all I can give you is an introduction. After that, you’re on your own.” She folded her arms across her chest as she reigned in her emotions and lowered her voice. “I told you before that I don’t want any drugs moved through my club. I hope you’ll respect that.”

She couldn’t believe that it was actually hurting her inside to see him standing in her hallway with his hands shoved deep into his pants pockets. Things were going exactly as she had expected they would, but she hadn’t meant to invest her heart as well.

“Tory,” he began again as he took a step toward her, but she cut him off brusquely.

“Good night Mr. Malone.” Her voice was cold, her eyes unwavering, but her hands were trembling as she hid them beneath her arms. She wasn’t suppose to be feeling like this.

It was one of the few moment in his life when Nash was at a complete loss for what to do next. He couldn’t brush off a deal that could pull millions of dollars worth of cocaine off of the street, not to mention jailing some major players, but he couldn’t make the deal without hurting Victoria.

Slowly, he started heading for the door, then stopped to look down at her once more when he was at her side. When she couldn’t bear to look into his eyes any longer, she turned her head away sharply. He couldn’t even offer up an apology or an explanation. He had made his choice and now he had to live with the consequences.

* * *

Joe pulled on a housecoat to answer the hard knock at his door and found Nash on the other side. “We meet with Greco tomorrow night,” Nash said without preamble as he stormed into his partner’s home.

Joe watched his friend warily as he closed the door. “How did things go with Victoria?” he said cautiously.

“How do you think they went?” he shot back as he rubbed his fingers across his brow. “She threw me out of the house,” he said softly as the entire scene replayed in his head. He closed his eyes as he shook his head in an attempt to erase the image. “I can’t believe what I gave up just to get an introduction to that sleezoid.”

“So she admitted to knowing him then?” he asked.

“Yes, she knows him,” he fumed. “He’s a patron of her night club, but she doesn’t know anything beyond that.”

“She told you that?” Joe asked skeptically. “And you believe her?”

“Do you think I would be this upset if I didn’t?” he asked in return. “She knows what he does, but that’s it.” He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had just made the worst mistake of his life and it was eating him up inside. “Greco better be worth it,” he said icily as he started back out the door, but he knew that he wouldn’t be. There was no way he could be.

* * *

“There she is,” Nash said as he watched Rachel entering the park across the street.

“Everyone keep your eyes open,” Joe said into his walkie-talkie.

Harvey’s eyes went from one automobile to the next swiftly, but carefully checking out all of the drivers. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and we can nab this guy before he sees us coming.”

“I could do with a little luck right about now,” Nash returned.

Joe shifted a bit uncomfortably. “I don’t know why, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Harvey and Nash exchanged an exasperated look, then both of them turned to stare at Joe. His eyes shifted between both of them. “What?” Joe asked.

Harvey shook his head as he brought a pair of binoculars up to his eyes to inspect the vehicles lining the streets. That had been the last thing that he needed to hear. Rachel was risking her life by playing mouse to Bixby’s cat and Joe had a bad feeling. It only made matters worse when Rachel refused to talk with him since their argument the day before. Nothing seemed to be going right. “There’s our boy,” Harvey said quietly.

“Where?” Nash asked as he tried to follow Harvey’s line of vision.

“Green caddy,” Harvey returned, handing his binoculars off to a uniformed police officer waiting with them.

Nash picked up on it quickly. Bixby was facing the opposite direction. They had actually caught a break. “Nice spot, Harv. Let’s get moving. Joe?”

“I’m on it,” Joe returned, then started giving instructions to the other members of their team circling the small park as he followed Nash and Harvey out of the store.

Harvey glanced over to the park to see if Rachel noticed that they were on the move, but she had her back to them. He didn’t see Nash slowing and practically ran into him before looking back in the direction they were heading.

“What’s he doing?” Nash asked when he saw Bixby raising a rifle inside his car, but it wasn’t in the direction of Rachel.

All three men started searching in the direction that Bixby was aiming and were stunned when they saw a second car with a man inside pointing a rifle at Rachel. They had been caught completely off guard.

Harvey’s heart was in his throat as he immediately started out into the street. “No! Rachel!” But his warning had come too late.

Two shots rang out practically on top of each other, one from each car. Harvey watched in horror as Rachel flew back and hit the ground. The screeching of tires didn’t even register with him as he dashed out into the street and into the park. He was at Rachel’s side a moment later as she writhed on the ground.

Harvey’s panicked call had alerted Bixby to their presence and he had bolted before Nash and Joe could reach him. With weapons drawn, they approached the second car. The nose of his rifle was pointing out of the car window motionless. Nash had made it to the rear bumper when he saw the bullet wound in the side of the man’s head. He didn’t even bother checking for a pulse as he attention turned to Harvey and Rachel. “Call it in Joe,” he ordered, then hurried into the park.

Pushing his way through the small crowd that had started to gather, he clipped his gun into its holster as he knelt down next to Rachel. Harvey had stripped off his vest and was using it to apply pressure to Rachel’s chest. “I thought she was suppose to be wearing a vest,” he said sternly.

“She did,” Harvey returned. He couldn’t take her eyes from her face as he leaned over her. “Come on baby. Stay with me,” he told her. Her face had been contorting in pain when he first reached her, but now she looked as if she was falling asleep. “Don’t you leave me, McCabe!”

* * *