SIUBlues13

Harvey paced the small area at the foot of Rachel’s bed. The nurse’s timing couldn’t have been worse. She had walked into the room just after Rachel’s bombshell confession and ushered Harvey out. The doctor had been called to the room shortly after that leaving Harvey waiting impatiently with more questions than answers. By the time he was allowed back into the room, Rachel had drifted off to sleep once more.

As the minutes ticked by, Harvey had convinced himself that she had merely been delusional when she said that Samuel Chon was her son. It was the drugs that she was given; she had complications from the surgery; she was dreaming. He used any excuse to justify her words because he knew they simply couldn’t be true. It was impossible. After all the years they had known each other, she had never mentioned having a child. It simply could not be true.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He had to decide if he should tell Nash. He had hoped that Rachel would come to for a few more minutes to give him some answers, but he was beginning to feel the weight of the passing time. They were getting no where with Rachel’s case so, even if the confession turned out to be drug induced, it would open up an area of investigation that they hadn’t considered before. No one really knew for certain who Samuel’s parents were. That fact in itself was the main reason why he didn’t dismiss Rachel’s words out of hand. Many even speculated that Samuel was Yong Cha’s illegitimate son, but no one had ever really dared to ask.

Harvey debated for some time. Rachel’s personal life was no one’s business except her own, but if it was going to get her shot, then Nash needed to know. Decision made, he walked out of her room already dialing his cell phone. “Nash man, you’re not going to believe this one,” he said when his boss answered at the other end. “Hell, I’m not sure I believe it.”

“What’s going on Harv?” Nash prompted.

He sighed heavily. “Rachel woke up a few minutes ago.”

“Hey Harv, that’s great news! Did she remember anything from the other day?”

He hesitated for a second. “That’s the part I’m trying to figure out. She was being pretty evasive at first, then she blurted out something and I’m not sure if it was the drugs or the head injury or if she was really serious.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Nash, Rachel told me that Samuel Chon was her son.” There was dead silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. “That was my reaction too. Before I could say another word, the nurse kicked me out of the room.”

“I can understand your confusion, bubba. Hang in there and we’ll see what we can do to verify that.”

“I’m not feeling real good about this, boss. I feel like I’m prying in her private life.”

“Then stay out of it,” Nash said simply. “Just take care of your lady. See if she’s willing to talk, but leave the investigation to us. Joe and I will check into it as soon as we get back to the SIU and don’t worry. This will stay between us. We’re going to be staying here until we hear from Greco so keep us updated.” Nash gave Joe a look as he hung up his cell phone.

“What is it, Nash man?” Joe asked.

“You’re not going to believe this one,” he began just as Harvey had. It was stunning news. “Rachel said that Samuel Chon is her son.”

“What?” Joe asked incredulously. “It’s got to be the drugs.”

Nash was inclined to agree with his partner, but he wasn’t ready to dismiss the idea entirely. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions there bubba. You know, truth is stranger than fiction.”

“Yeah, but that’s just weird. Rachel has been with us for years and she never mentioned having a kid.”

“I know, bubba, but there are a lot of reasons why she might not have mentioned it. Like if she put the kid up for adoption or maybe it was simply the fact of having a kid with Hyun Chon. I can see her keeping her mouth shut if she had a kid with the son of one of Asia’s suspected drug lords. She’s a cop. How would that look?”

“What makes you think it’s Hyun’s kid and not Yong Cha’s?”

Nash gave him a strange look for what he was thinking. “Because they’re closer in age. For Samuel to be her son, she probably had him when she was a teenager. My bet is that they were seeing each other until Daddy Yong put a stop to it.”

Joe nodded at the logic, then started to shake his head. “I still don’t buy it. I think that would have been something that would have come out eventually.”

Nash glanced over at him out of the corner of his eye. “Think about it, bubba. It sure would explain why she’s so hot and heavy into missing persons. She was probably looking for her kid.”

“What are you saying now? That Hyun kidnapped their son?”

“I’m not saying anything. I just said that it would explain a few things.” When Joe waved off the conversation, Nash added, “I think we should keep this between us for now. We don’t need to start any rumors around the SIU. If Samuel Chon actually turns out to be her son, she’s going to have plenty to worry about without people whispering behind her back.”

* * *

“These came in over the fax for you while you were gone,” Cassidy told Sarah as she handed her a thin file folder marked with her name when she walked into the office.

She glanced down at the file, then back at her as she kept moving toward her desk. “Any word from Nash or Joe yet?” she asked offhandedly.

“Not yet,” Cassidy returned just as distractedly as she worked on a file at her desk.

“We heard from some of our guys down in Mexico,” Roger informed his team mates as he stepped up to his desk. “There was an unscheduled arrival of one of Greco’s planes this afternoon.”

Sarah pulled out her chair as she looked over at him. They were keeping up with the SIU investigation into Tristan Greco as well as conducting their own. “Greco moves fast,” he commented. “Any guesses on when it’s suppose to take off again?”

“They’re not even sure why it landed in the first place. Greco’s not suppose to have any facilities on the island,” Roger returned with a sarcastic edge.

She gave him a doubtful look, then turned back to the file that Cassidy had given her. “It sounds like someone has slipped up,” she said as her eyes skimmed the papers.

“They’re going to let us know when it’s airborne again,” he said, but Sarah was completely oblivious.

“They found the end of the line,” Sarah said softly, her eyes intent on the faxes as she began to shift through them quickly.

“What?” Roger asked as he watched Sarah rise out of her chair slowly and move toward him. Roger stood so that he could look over her shoulder.

“The pipeline theory we’ve been working on,” Sarah explained as he handed the first fax to him. “They were able to track the trucks all the way up into the Dakotas.”

Roger skimmed over the paper quickly, then took the next and began reading. “Who has that kind of power to move his own merchandise all the way up through the United States?”

Sarah looked up at him swiftly. Merely the discovery of a drug smuggling pipeline wasn’t enough. They needed to know who the source was. “I can only think of a handful of men that would have the kind of resources necessary to pull off an operation of this size,” she said softly as Roger continued to read through to the final paper. “One in particular.”

Roger’s eyes rose to hers. “Montipinia,” he said with confidence. They hesitated a moment longer, then both of them marched toward Captain Kellam’s office.

“We finally got confirmation of our pipeline theory,” Roger stated as they stood across from their superior’s desk. He handed Kellam the faxes that they were just reading.

“We’re just one step away from finding the seller,” Sarah added. “We can track the shipments all the way up into Rapid City, South Dakota and a dozen other cities along the way. It’s not just a theory any more. It’s a fact,” she said, thumping his finger against the edge of the desk in emphasis.

“Any ideas about who’s heading it?” he asked dispassionately.

“There’s not many to choose from unless we have a new dealer,” Roger returned. “Cruz Montipinia is our first choice.”

Kellam’s eyes rose from the faxes and locked on Roger. It was the first possible lead they had to Montipinia in years. It was ironic since the SIU had just started working their way into Montipinia’s organization. He looked out through his office door and saw Cassidy hard at work at her desk. He had heard rumors of the Bridges luck. Perhaps it encompassed the daughter as well. With both vice and the SIU working opposite ends, it was just possible that they would be able to make a firm case against Cruz Montipinia for the first time. “Stay on it,” he ordered as he handed the papers back. “See if you can get any of the drivers to talk. We’ve heard from our contact down in Mexico,” the captain informed him, switching topics without blinking an eye. “Greco’s plane just left.”

* * *

“Our man will arrive at your hotel at precisely nine o’clock. If you are not standing outside, the driver has instructions not to wait. If anyone other than Teddy Malone is with you, the driver will not stop. If you do not have the money with you, the driver will not stop. If there is any evidence of police or federal agents in the area, the driver will not stop.”

“Yeah, I get it. But if you think I’m going to...” Joe began, but wasn’t able to finish when the line went dead. He looked over at Nash leaning against the wall near the door. “That was Dax Saum. It’s going down tonight at nine,” he said as he dropped the receiver back onto the cradle.

“Did they give you a place?” Nash asked.

“He didn’t even give me a chance to ask. He just said to be out in front of the hotel with the money alone. No feds. No cops.”

Nash shook his head. “It would be nice if we knew where to set up shop.”

“Kellam has his people working on it. Sarah and Cassidy are working the streets trying to come up with something, but everyone is tight lipped.” There was a light tap on the door. “That’s probably Metro with our tracking devices. They were suppose to be here an hour ago.”

Nash pushed himself from the wall and turned to open the door slightly. When he saw who was on the other side, he pulled it open the rest of the way. “Tory,” he whispered softly, then stepped back to let her enter.

Joe slowly started toward the door himself as his eyes darted between the pair. “I’ll clear out of here so the two of you can talk.”

“Please don’t leave on my account, Mr. Hernandez,” Victoria said quickly as she smoothed her hands over her burgundy slacks. “What I have to say involves you too.” She could feel Nash’s gaze burning into her cheeks and she dared to look into them for a fleeting second before dropping her eyes to the floor. “I wanted to tell you,” she began, then swallowed hard. “I wanted to warn you who you’re up against,” she said, then hesitated.

“I think we have a pretty good idea,” Joe said when the silence lengthened.

“He may try to double cross you,” she returned swiftly as she looked up at Joe. “He likes to think that he can outsmart everyone. Don’t take any other transportation out other than the vehicle you arrived in even if you see it moving before you get in. Greco has a sick fetish for explosions, especially car bombs. And be prepared to wait. He likes to watch people sweat.”

“I thought you didn’t know Greco,” Nash said softly.

Victoria’s eyes met his with confidence this time. “I never said that I didn’t know anything about him, but he’s merely an acquaintance. Nothing more.”

“You seemed real chummy with him last night,” he commented coarsely, then regretted it immediately. Did he actually see hurt in her eyes?

“So where did you get your information?” Joe inserted before anyone said something that they might regret.

“The news, Mr. Hernandez,” she answered succinctly, turning away from Nash’s cold stare and focusing on his partner. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened when a bunch of bodies show up after a big deal goes down. Greco is ruthless. He doesn’t care who he steps on. I don’t know what kind of deal you have with Greco, but I hope that you said something about doing business in the future. It’s usually the one time buyer that he eliminates.”

Joe and Nash exchanged a long look. “And you got all this from the news?” Joe asked doubtfully.

“I run a night club, Mr. Hernandez,” she reminded him. “Sometimes people get talkative when they drink. I listen, but I keep my mouth shut.”

“If you’re so concerned about getting your own hands dirty, why are you helping us?” Nash asked point blank and her eyes turned back to his.

“Because I don’t want to see you get hurt,” she said softly. She saw a moment of surprise on his face, then she turned and walked back out the door. She had done what she came to do. She gave them a slight edge, something to watch out for. Now all she could do was wait to see if Teddy would come back alive.

“She didn’t have to do that, you know,” Joe commented to Nash when they were alone again.

“I know,” he returned as he replayed the last few seconds in his mind. “Something doesn’t feel right,” he said almost to himself.

“What do you mean?” Joe asked. “The lady cares about you. What’s wrong with that?”

He shook his head in confusion. “I don’t know, Joe. Maybe it’s just the age old mystery of women, but I feel like we’re getting set up for something.”

“Wait a minute. You were certain last night that Victoria Castle wasn’t involved. Are you saying that you’ve changed your mind?”

He tried to focus in on the full picture, but he still felt like he was missing a piece. “I don’t know what I’m saying.” He finally brushed it away when he couldn’t come up with a solution.

“We still have time to blow this off if you think it’s a trap,” Joe suggested. When his partner didn’t respond, he began to worry. “Talk to me Nash. Are you thinking with your head or your libido?”

Nash looked up at him from the corner of his eye and smiled. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really on your mind?” he teased lightly, some of his usual humor returning. “All I’m saying is that we’re missing something,” he explained. “We’ve got no reason to believe that this deal won’t go down as planned.”

“And what if Victoria is right?” he asked. “What if Greco is planning a double cross?”

“As soon as we know the drugs are there, everyone will move in and we’ll have Tristan Greco on a spit with an apple shoved in his mouth before he has a chance to do anything.”

“Yeah. All neat and tidy,” Joe commented sarcastically. Somehow, he wasn’t as confident as his partner.

* * *

Rachel was awake for several minutes before she had managed to open her eyes. Everything seemed like such an effort. She wasn’t sure if her weakness was from the drugs or from laying in bed for three days. When her eyes finally focused, she began to look around for Harvey. She didn’t need to look far. He was sitting next to her, his head resting on the bed beside her.

Letting her hand slide off of her stomach rather than try to lift it, she reached out to lightly toy with the curls at the side of Harvey’s head. She wondered how long he had been asleep and was just glancing around the room for a clock when he moved. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay,” he told her, kissing the palm of her hand as it slid across his face, then he took her hand into his. “You look a little better.”

“I definitely don’t feel better, but I guess I’m lucky to be feeling anything at all.”

The memory of her getting knocked off of her feet as she took one in the chest filled his mind and he shook it off quickly. “The doctors all say that you’re doing okay. There’s no infection and everything appears to be healing the way it should.”

Rachel looked at him curiously. She knew that he was tired, but he sounded so disjointed somehow. As if his body was there, but his heart was somewhere else. “Are you okay?” she asked tentatively.

He gave her half a smile. “I’ve got a few things on my mind,” he said evasively.

Rachel didn’t like the sound of that. “You know, I am doing better. You should go home and get some sleep.”

He let out a small burst of air that sufficed for a response, then his gaze dropped to their joined hands. Other than dozing periodically, he was beyond sleep at that point. His mind wouldn’t slow down long enough for him to sleep until his body forced it to. Then it was only for a few minutes. “We need to talk about Samuel Chon.”

Rachel’s heart jumped erratically. What did he know about Samuel? And why would he need to ask her? Did he know? Could he know? “What about him?” she asked tentatively.

Harvey looked up at her with frustration. He couldn’t believe that she would act as if she hadn’t said a thing to him. “Well, we could talk about his parents for starters.” The rapid increase of the heart monitor next to the bed drew his attention.

“What do you know?” she asked warily.

His eyes narrowed as he stared into hers. Did she really not remember telling him? “Just what you told me.”

“Oh God,” she whispered, then clutched at her side as she tried to catch her breath. What had she said? How many people knew? How could she have let it out? She had to calm down. Even with the drugs, breathing was painful. She had to slow it down or she was going to pass out. “I thought that I had dreamed it,” she confessed, then held her breath for a long moment before expending it slowly, trying to get it under control.

“I’m getting the nurse,” Harvey told her after seeing her struggle, but her hand tightened around his when he tried to stand.

“No, please,” she insisted. “Just give me a minute.” She knew that there was no point in putting off the conversation that they needed to have. There was no telling what ideas had already crossed his mind and she wanted him to hear her side of the story before he drew any conclusions. “There’s no way to know for sure unless we take a blood test, but I’m fairly certain that Samuel Chon is my son.”

Harvey was quiet for a long moment. “I’m not even sure where to begin with the questions,” he admitted.

She gave him half a smile. “That’s understandable,” she said, then took mercy on him and told her story. “There isn’t much to tell, actually. I was fifteen at the time and Hyun was eighteen. He was my first love,” she told him honestly. “I thought that the sun rose and set on him. Of course, being teenagers, our hormones were raging out of control. One thing lead to another and I ended up pregnant.” She stopped there, her mind drifting back to the most painful time in her young life. “By the time I had reached five months, our dad’s found out and Yong Cha hit the roof. Hyun was out of the country before the day was over.” She swallowed hard passed the lump in her throat. “I never saw him again,” she said softly.

“And the baby?” Harvey prompted when she seemed lost in her memories.

“I was told that he died at birth.” She could feel the tears welling up inside of her and she willed it to stop. If she got on a crying jag, she would never be able to catch her breath. “It wasn’t until my father was killed six months later that I found out that dear old Dad had arranged for my child to be adopted. I couldn’t believe it when I saw my signature on the adoption papers. I must have been stoned out of my mind to sign them. I didn’t even remember doing it. I didn’t want to give him up. He was the only link I had with Hyun.” She drew a deep breath, then wished she hadn’t as her hand darted up to the pain in her chest. “Believe it or not, my dad was using the whereabouts of my son to blackmail Yong Cha. Dad actually threatening to have Hyun arrested for statutory rape.” She shook her head. “I guess he thought he was safe being the only one that knew where the baby was.”

“So, I take it you never found out who the adoptive parents were?”

“Oh no. We found out,” she told him. “We found out right after the bodies were discovered. The baby was no where to be found.”

“And you’ve been looking for him every since?”

She nodded as she closed her eyes. “I had hoped that Hyun had him, but I haven’t seen a trace of him in twenty years.” She couldn’t believe how much the conversation was taking out of her. Her head was starting to spin. “I beefed up the search when my kid turned eighteen. I knew that I would come across him sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.” She opened her eyes to study his profile as he ran his thumb along the length of her hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Harvey.”

He swallowed hard as his eyes rose to hers. There was so much that he wanted to say, but he held himself in check. He knew that Rachel was in no condition for an argument. “It’s okay Rach,” he said softly. When his hollow words were met with a skeptical look from her, he offered up a smile.

* * *

Cassidy twisted the strap of her rifle around her arm, then looked down through the scope at Joe and Nash’s back. They had been standing with the driver that Greco had sent at the end of an abandoned dock for thirty minutes without anyone approaching. Sarah kept a vigil from their vantage point on top of an old warehouse, but the water, the sky and the road remained empty. “Dad looks like he’s ready to blow a gasket,” Cassidy commented.

Sarah moved her search of the water over to the trio on the dock. “Patience isn’t exactly one of his virtues,” she returned. “But, at least the delay gave all of us a chance to set up.” She turned with her binoculars to view a rusted out tool shed where Ronnie and Roger were located near the dock. Then to a warehouse directly across from their rooftop position where the local law enforcement waited. And finally to a shallow cove where the tip of a Coast Guard boat could be seen before checking the water, then her eyes returned to the road. “Incoming.”

Cassidy glanced up at her to see where she was looking, then turned her scope to the road where a cloud of dust was being kicked up. “I can’t make out what’s coming.”

“It looks like there’s more than one,” Sarah returned when she caught a glimpse of the vehicles through the tall brush. She pulled her walkie-talkie from the clip at her belt as she squatted next to her partner to keep from being spotted herself. “We’ve got company,” she reported, then took up her vigil again.

Nash and Joe turned at the sound of a motor drawing near them across the water. “It’s about time,” Nash commented as they searched for any movement through the inky darkness. When the sound of vehicles coming along the road reached them, their eyes shifted between the water and the road to see which would arrive first. There still wasn’t any sign of the boat when two jeeps, a car and pickup truck came to a stop several yards away from them.

Nash and Joe exchanged a fleeting glance when Dax Saum stepped out of the car and several men armed with semi-automatics fanned out from the jeeps. “Where the hell is Greco?” Nash demanded of Dax when he walked over to them with his bodyguard.

Dax came to a halt, his hand idly smoothing his immaculate jacket as he looked over at the buyers. “He’ll be here soon enough.”

“He’d better be,” Nash said with barely constrained anger. “We don’t deal with the second string.”

Joe jerked away when a hand grasped his arm and fixed a glare on the driver that had brought them there. “Back off buddy. You’re lucky that you’re not a floater already.”

Dax’s eyes narrowed as he watched the exchange. “You haven’t checked them for weapons yet?” he asked suspiciously of the driver, then sighed heavily when the man wouldn’t meet his gaze. “That’s most unfortunate.”

A single shot rang out and the driver was face down in the dirt in seconds. The bodyguard had instantly responded. Nash and Joe’s first instinct was to reach for their weapons, but they held the impulse in check, looking from the shooter back to Dax Saum as they air became still once more.

“I just hate inept people,” Dax commented casually. “Don’t you?”

Joe looked down at the body as every fiber in his being screamed for action, but he knew they couldn’t risk it. Not yet. There wasn’t anything that they could do for the driver now anyway. “You saved us the trouble,” he said just as casually as he watched two men drag off the body. Even though they had Dax Saum down as an accessory to murder, they were still forced to wait for his boss.

The sound of a boat powering down had everyone turning to the decaying dock that hung out over the water. The matte black finish on the vessel had hidden it from view until it was almost on top of them. As the pilot jumped out with the mooring lines, Tristan Greco struggled to pull his considerable weight up out of the craft as well.

Nash and Joe moved to the end of the short dock and waited for their supplier to waddle up to them, the heavy man sweating profusely from the slight effort. “Don’t tell me that we’ve lost another driver,” Tristan puffed as he pulled out a handkerchief to mop his brow.

When Dax merely shrugged, Joe shot him a glance. “Your men seem to have itchy trigger fingers,” Joe said to Tristan. “We’re here to do business. We don’t like getting caught up in your managerial disputes.”

“Managerial disputes,” Tristan repeated, then chuckled. “You have a unique way of looking at things, Hernandez.” Everyone stepped aside as Tristan moved towards the vehicles. “Since you’re here to do business, I won’t keep you waiting any longer. The merchandise is here, gentlemen.” He led the way to the hard-covered pickup truck, then gestured for one of the men to open up the back gate as he looked back at Joe. “You have the money?” he asked expectantly as he looked down at the large suitcase that he held.

Dax took the money from him and put it on the tailgate next to the long metal case of cocaine, doing a quick visual count while Nash inspected the quality of the product with a small chemical vial. Both men gave their associates a nod, then closed both cases.

Dax held out a set of keys and Nash looked at them suspiciously. “The keys to the truck, Mr. Malone,” Dax explained when he still wouldn’t take the keys.

Nash shot Joe a glance. “No offence, Greco, but we’d rather take our own transportation,” Nash said, then gave him a smile. “A guy can’t be too careful these days.”

Tristan had a bemused look on his face as he glanced around the abandoned storage yard. “But I don’t see any other transportation.”

Nash looked up to the sky as the wind grew strong. “There’s our ride now,” he grinned.

“SFPD!” Kellam’s voice rang out as he slipped onto the scene in a helicopter in whisper mode. “Drop your weapons and remain where you are.” He didn’t even get his words out before bullets started flying and everyone scattered like roaches caught in the light. Federal agents as well as local authorities only added to the madness as they joined the fray.

Cassidy let out a long steadying breath as she watched the scene below her, then squeezed the trigger. One of Tristan’s men had been circling around an abandoned boat toward Joe and she took him out of play with one to the hip. Just as she started scanning the scene again, a flash from the bushes caught her eye. One of Greco’s men had managed to hole up in the overgrowth and it gave him a fairly good vantage point. “But not as good as mine,” Cassidy whispered as she waited for her best shot, then took it.

Nash turned quickly when he heard several rapid reports from the overgrowth along the water. He was impressed with the shot. He knew that Kellam’s people were all on the rooftops, but the man had been taken out efficiently and it saved him the trouble. Turning back, he saw Joe in a firefight with one of Greco’s bodyguards, then the man flew out of his hiding place when he was struck. “Damn!” he muttered. “Somebody’s good.”

“Yes,” Cassidy whispered as she stared through her scope, rapidly moving from person to person. The report of gun fire had ended. What few men were left standing were surrendering to the officers on the scene. It was over.

* * *