SIUBlues14

Victoria’s fingernails tapped against her coffee cup erratically as she stared at her television set. She had abandoned her ritualistic breakfast on the patio in the hopes of discovering what had happened the previous night. The leading story on the local news that morning had been of an explosion at an abandoned storage facility and she had been riveted to the television ever since. She was certain that the report had something to do with the meeting between Teddy and Tristan. An explosion was Tristan’s favorite signature card. Unfortunately, she hadn’t heard anything noteworthy since the broadcasters announced that five people were dead on the scene. She was growing anxious just waiting.

Thanks to an attack of conscious, she had only managed a few hours of fitful sleep. Her thoughts were wandering recklessly from Russell to Teddy. She owed her loyalty to the former, but she couldn’t help wondering what she was losing with the latter. She knew that she had sent Teddy and Rico into an extremely dangerous situation with hardly any warning and she tried to justify it to herself.

In one moment of guilt, she told herself that she would do anything that she could for Russell. He needed to be her first priority. She justified that with the knowledge that Teddy wasn’t a first time buyer. He knew what he was getting into. Teddy had even asked for the meeting.

She sighed heavily. There was no way that she couldn’t convince herself that Teddy brought his fate on himself. She was going to feel guilty no matter what happened. She even broke her own rule of not getting involved by telling what little she knew about Tristan Greco. No matter what argument she used with herself, she knew that she would be the one responsible if anything happened to Teddy. As surely as if she had pulled the trigger.

So much was at stake. Every detail had been thought out carefully, but she was afraid that it wasn’t going to be enough. Even as things began falling into place, it merely reinforced her doubts instead of alleviating them. She was reluctant to let go of what little control she had, but she had to trust someone. It was becoming difficult for her to hold onto the charade. She had been playing the game for so long that she wasn’t sure if she could stop now. Something had to give somewhere and she was afraid that it was going to be her own sound mind.

She tried to tell herself that someone else would come along eventually if Teddy failed, but that only unsettled her more. She tried to tell herself that her concern was for Russell alone, but she kept hearing the newscaster’s practiced voice saying five dead on the scene. Five dead. The details of the report were so sketchy that the viewer could only conclude that the people were killed in the explosion, but Victoria had a feeling that the deaths had more to do with bullets than blazes.

“This just in,” the broadcaster said as he dutifully scanned the sheet of paper that he had been discretely given. “A name of one of the victims from the explosion has been released.”

Victoria felt her heart still as the announcer took a dramatic pause before bringing his eyes up to the camera once more. “Shipping mogul Tristan Greco was apparently killed in the explosion. His son, Duncan Greco, is expected to make a statement later this afternoon. No details have been given as yet to the cause of last night’s fire at the abandoned storage facility or why Tristan Greco had been on the premises, but sources intimated that Greco was inspecting the site for expansion of his shipping lines. Greco was best known for his generous contributions to the preservation of the wetlands in Florida. Once again, Tristan Greco was killed in the...”

“Generous contributions,” Victoria scoffed as she clicked down the volume with her remote, then rubbed her fingertips against her temple. “He wasn’t protecting the wetlands, he was protecting his trafficking routes.” Her eyes dropped to the cooling contents of her coffee cup as her mind continued to race.

Why wasn’t there any mention of a drug deal? she asked herself. Would Tristan have shown up empty handed? She didn’t think so. The law enforcement couldn’t have gotten on the scene so quickly to tidy up before the press arrived unless they were already there waiting. But why wouldn’t the local or federal authorities take credit for such a large bust? “They’re covering up,” she whispered softly to herself. “But why?”

* * *

Rachel could almost smell the lilacs off in the distance. That spot on the beach was her favorite. The ocean waves roared in and the lilacs grew in profusion beside a white gazebo on the gray cliffs. The scenery was perfect, but the lilacs held her gaze. She had never been able to smell them before at that distance.

Rachel jerked awake to see a cloud of tiny white flowers beside her bed. It took her a moment to realize that they were white lilacs. They were beautiful.

An involuntary groan escaped her when she started to roll onto her back. She had managed to turn onto her side in her sleep and her body ached to be flat again. Her right hand covered the wound at the lower left side of her chest to keep from pulling at it when she moved.

Her mouth dropped open as her gaze took in the room around her. Balloons and flowers filled every open bit of table space, windows and even parts of the floor. It was absolutely magical. The only thing that was missing was her partner.

As if on cue, Harvey walked into the room carrying an assortment of flowers. “Hey beautiful,” he said in greeting. “Aren’t these great?” he asked, holding up the bouquet for her inspection. “They’re from the uni’s at the SIU.”

“Did you do all of this?” she asked incredulously as she watched him position the flowers just so on a table near the windows. She shook her head at him as he leaned back, then turned the flowers a bit more. She would forget about his passion for Martha Stewart until he made a move like that, then she just wanted to laugh.

“Are you kidding?” he said in return. “You’ve got people from all over that love you, woman.” He smiled at her as he gestured to several items around the room and told her who they were from. “They had so much stuff waiting to get in here that the staff was complaining to the doctors to take you off the restricted list.”

“And what about these?” she asked, gesturing to a second bouquet of lilacs.

“You know I can’t stand to be outdone,” he joked as he stepped over to her side and took her hand gently into his. “By the way. I think our little secret is out. The entire city of San Francisco knows that I’m crazy about you.”

She looked away suddenly. She couldn’t believe her luck at having found such a wonderful guy. “I’m surprised you’re even talking to me everything that has happened.”

Harvey leaned over the bed, bringing his face within inches of hers so that she would have no trouble looking into his eyes. “I’m not denying that we’ve got a lot of stuff that we need to talk over, but that doesn’t change the way I feel about you. I’m not walking away just because something from your past pops up. Lord only knows that I’ve had that happen to me a few times too.”

“You know what?” she asked as she looked back into his baby blues. “I think I’ve just fallen in love with you all over again.” When he began to chuckle, she insisted. “I’m telling you, Harv, you’re the perfect guy. I’m surprised I’m not beating off half the women in America just to have you in my life.” Her voice trailed off as the seriousness of her words hit home with her. She was the luckiest woman in the world.

“I don’t need half the women in America,” he returned, then thought about it for a moment. “Although two or three at the same time wouldn’t be bad.” He laughed when she gave him a playful slap on the arm. He leaned in closer still and brushed his nose against hers. “I just need you, babe,” he said softly, then gave her a gentle kiss. “Now we really need to talk about this thing you have with getting shot lately.”

* * *

“It’s not going to happen,” Nash stated firmly, then turned his back on everyone in the room. He thought that it would be over when Tristan Greco was killed. He should have known better. He had chosen his job over his personal life, as usual, and he was ready to move on with the cold comfort of knowing that he had done his what was expected of him. He had not anticipated that the head of the intelligence division of the Drug Enforcement Agency would take a personal interest. “If we continue to use her, then she’s going to end up being a target herself. Besides, she has told us repeatedly that she doesn’t know anything.”

“That wasn’t the way it sounded when she came to your room before you met with Greco last night,” Agent Miller returned smugly as he leaned back against the door jam with his arms folded casually in front of him.

Nash spun on his heel to glare at him. “You have me under surveillance?” he asked in astonishment.

“When one of our people is involved with a known organized crime figure, we always have surveillance on them,” he stated.

“That’s a load of bull and you know it!” Nash returned as he stood toe to toe with Special Agent In Charge Miller. “She’s not involved with any of these lowlifes. How could she have known that her club would become a hub for these jokers? She’s a night club owner. That’s all. She’s not involved,” he said slowly as if Miller had a hearing problem.

“How can you be so certain, Captain Bridges?” he asked as he straightened his tie, his arrogant air still in tact. “Don’t tell me that you’re personally involved with our suspect.”

“Oh for the love of...” he began, but didn’t finish as he turned away once more, then his eyes meet with Captain Kellam’s. “Did you know about this?” he asked as he hitched his thumb back at Miller. When Kellam remained silent, he had his answer and Nash walked across the room in frustration. They had planned to do this all along.

“It’s standard procedure,” Kellam explained unnecessarily. He hated what was happening. He had only worked with Nash occasionally over the years, but he had developed a healthy respect for the SIU Captain.

“What makes you so sure that Victoria is involved?” Joe asked as he watched Miller carefully. He was never comfortable when someone from the so-called intelligence department tried to move in on their territory. They thought that a file folder of facts and figures was enough to bring down some of the most notorious men in the world, but it simply didn’t work that way. Getting on the inside was difficult even with a stack of intelligence papers. They simply could not bring in drug smugglers as efficiently as the intelligence division put out data.

“We could write a book on Victoria Castle,” Miller replied. “It would be a veritable who’s who of the underworld.”

“And you could pull up the same kind of evidence on Malone and Hernandez or any one of us here if you looked in the right places,” Nash bit out scornfully.

“We don’t know what her purpose is where these crime figures are concerned,” Miller continued, ignoring Nash’s comment. “But we know that she plays an active part and she doesn’t always make contact at the club. She’s been to dinner with some, to parties and has even been invited into their private homes.”

“Oh, well, I stand corrected. We should definitely bust her for going to social events,” he returned sarcastically.

“Do you have anything substantial on her?” Joe pressed, not only to help defuse his partner’s growing anger, but he had a feeling that Agent Miller was holding something back. “Is she dealing at the club or storing the merchandise there?” he asked, then waited. “Is she getting paid to be a mule or a middleman?” Again he tried, but Miller wouldn’t even make eye contact. “Is her liquor license expired?” he asked sarcastically and Nash let out an amused burst of air.

“Victoria Castle is in contact with at least a dozen different organized crime figures, almost half of which are on our most wanted list,” Miller finally conceded. “Are you telling me that you wouldn’t pursue this line of investigation yourself if your partner wasn’t bedding her?”

Kellam stepped up in front of Miller quickly, holding his hand up to stop Nash’s rapid advance. “That’s enough,” he ordered in his authoritative yet quiet voice. He could see the rage in Nash’s eyes, but Miller had a point even if he was lacking in the politically correct way of presenting it. Kellam turned his head slightly so that he could see Miller from the corner of his eye. “I have your report. I’ll let you know what we decide.”

Agent Miller knew that he was being dismissed, but he was reluctant to be the one to break the intense eye contact with Nash. It wasn’t the first time that he had locked horns with the SIU Captain and he was sure that it wouldn’t be the last. He never liked Nash and he didn’t do anything to hide that fact.

However, that was neither the time or the place to vent old arguments. Miller forced a mocking smile, then started out of the room. He had to be satisfied with the fact that he had been the one to give the news to Nash that his girlfriend was under investigation. For now.

Once Miller was gone, Kellam dropped his hand and stuffed it into his pocket. “If Victoria Castle is willing to work with us on this, we could take down more smugglers in a month than we have in the last two years,” he said softly.

Nash’s mouth dropped open slightly as he looked at the vice captain in stunned disbelief. “You can’t be serious?” he asked in return.

Kellam tighten his jaw, wanting to bite back the words, but knowing that Nash would find out eventually. “Miller is pushing for conspiracy charges against Castle.”

Nash’s fists clenched in fury as his teeth ground together. He knew that there was more that wasn’t being said. So many thoughts screamed in his head that he couldn’t bring even one to the surface. He turned away in frustration as he paced the small office. No matter which side of the law it came from, blackmail was blackmail.

“He wants her cooperation at any cost,” Kellam continued. “If it’s not you, then it will be someone else,” he insisted, hoping that Nash would concede. “You’ll be there to protect her and I will do my best to make sure that you have complete control of the operation.” He saw Nash pause and knew that logic was slowly starting to replace the rage. “Even if Miller couldn’t make the conspiracy charges stick, he would be signing her death warrant. None of the families would hesitate to eliminate her if they suspected her of collaboration.”

Nash stared at the captain from across the room. He knew that he was offering him a chance to back out, but he knew that the only chance Victoria had was if he was there to protect her. Miller wouldn’t. “Do or die. Is that it?” he asked softly.

Kellam let out a long breath. He didn’t like the situation any better than Nash. “You’re already on the inside. No one else in the department has been able to get as close as you have and we have doubts that anyone else could. It’s your choice.”

“Some choice,” he returned.

* * *

Harvey leaned against the wall as he watched the nurse take Rachel’s vital statistics. His decision to set aside the situation that landed them there and concentrate on the fact that Rachel was still alive had been the right one. It had put his focus where it needed to be, on her recovery. As a result, the previous 24 hours had seen rapid improvement in Rachel’s condition. The surgeon had been astonished at how quickly she was healing from the surgery and taunted her with the possibility of releasing her soon.

He smiled when Rachel rolled her eyes at something the nurse had said. If nothing else, the past few days had brought into focus his feelings for her. No matter what came in the past or waited for them in the future, he wanted her beside him to face it. He was certain of that. She was one of the most incredible women he had ever met. So why did someone want to kill her?

His mood darkened quickly as his wondered how the investigation of Rachel’s shooting was going. He knew that Nash had the DEA sniffing around for blood, but he had no idea what had become of the situation. Now that he was certain of Rachel’s recovery, he was anxious to return to work. He felt disconnected.

He couldn’t deny having an interest in the Yong Cha Chon case as well. Rachel’s history with the Chon’s only intensified his curiosity. He knew that he had been ordered to stay away from that case, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t follow what was happening or encourage investigations in different areas.

The bottom line was, now that he knew that Rachel was going to be alright, he was anxious to get back to work. Rachel once called everyone at the SIU workaholics and he knew that she had nailed it with one word. Each of them were driven by different reasons, but they all had a love for the job. Passion described it best, or even obsession. There were times when none of them could be pulled away from the task at hand. He knew that the attack on Rachel would be one of those times. Everyone would be pulling extra shifts trying to get some answers concerning her shooting. If he could lend a hand, even if it was from the sidelines, he knew that he could help.

“You’re thinking about work, aren’t you?” Rachel asked him, tossing a final wave to the nurse as she was leaving.

“How did you know that?” he asked in amazement.

“Because you get this glazed look in the eyes,” she teased, then smiled. She was so grateful to Harvey. He was there for her every second. He had waken her from her nightmares and talked with her endlessly when she couldn’t sleep. “It’s okay, you know,” she told him as he pushed off of the wall and stepped back over to her bedside. “Actually, I’m kind of surprised you lasted this long without an SIU IV, you work junky.”

“Guilty as charged,” he admitted as he took her hand into his. As much as he wanted to get back to work, he was going to miss this quiet time with Rachel. “You know that I will be here in a heart beat if you need anything,” he stressed the last word. “Even if it’s just to hold your hand.” He brought her hand up and lightly kissed her fingers.

“Then we have a definite problem,” she told him with a concerned look on her face. “Because I will always need you to hold my hand.”

Harvey shook his head as he leaned over the bed. “And I was hoping that there were a few other things that you might be in need of as well.”

“Oh definitely,” she returned, then happily received his kiss.

* * *

“Three of Greco’s men were killed,” Steve informed Victoria over the phone. “They can’t identify the fifth guy. Apparently, he was in the car when it exploded. Are you worried that it might be Malone?” he asked without hesitation. He had suspected as much when she had called that morning to ask him to look into the deaths.

Victoria felt a shock pulsate though her body at the suggestion. She would not allow herself to consider that possibility. “Thanks for getting back to me so quickly,” she returned without even acknowledging his question. “I can always count on your sources to be more informative than the news.” As she pulled out a pair of shoes from her closet that matched the ivory pantsuit she wore, her doorbell began to chime. “I’ve got to run, Steve. I’ll see you at the club tonight.”

She was grateful for the distraction as she clicked off the cordless phone and carried it along with her shoes as she padded down the stairs, the bell chiming a second time. “Coming,” she called out as she deposited the phone on a table against the wall in the foyer, but she obviously wasn’t heard when the bells rang a third time.

Dropping her shoes to the floor instead of slipping them on, she marched over to her front door prepared to give a sermon on patience to the person on the other side. But, when she jerked the door open, her speech was forgotten. “Teddy.” She whispered his name softly as her heart bounced from her stomach, to her throat, then back again. “Thank God you’re all right.”

When she suddenly wrapped her arms around him, Nash hesitated for a moment, then pulled her close. He never quite knew what to expect each time he saw Victoria, but it felt good to have her in his arms again especially when he had been prepared for her to slam the door in his face. “I take it you heard about the explosion?” he asked, figuring that was as good a place as any to start.

“It was on the news this morning,” she confirmed as she looked up at him.

“You know, my partner and I are in your debt,” he said as he smiled down at her. “Greco wanted us to take that truck and we probably would have if you hadn’t warned us about it.”

“At least Greco got what was coming to him this time,” she said, her voice turning to ice as she pulled away from him and walked back into the house.

Nash hesitated again before following her. “That sounds like you have personal reasons for wanting Greco dead,” he commented as he closed the door behind him and walked with her into the living room.

She glanced back over her shoulder at him as she made her way over to the sofa to take a seat. “Greco was scum. Everyone knew that. Some better than others.”

He wasn’t sure what to make of that statement so he simply let it pass. Stuffing his hands into his pants pockets, he wandered over to the sliding glass doors that lead out to the garden and took a moment to admire the view. “We need to talk, Tory,” he began, slowly turning toward her again as he tried to find the right words. He was dreading that conversation. “The meeting with Greco last night wasn’t a buy, it was a bust,” he said outright. The time for mincing words was over. “My name isn’t Teddy Malone, it’s Nash Bridges. I’m captain of the Special Investigations Unit of the San Francisco Police Department. Rico Hernandez is my partner, Joe Dominguez.”

He paused for a moment, waiting for her reaction, but he received none. She merely stared at him in silence as she tucked her legs up under her on the sofa. “The night I met you at Flash was just a fluke,” he explained further. “I had no idea that you had any connection with drug smugglers and I didn’t know until Joe came into town a couple of nights ago.”

“The night you asked me to set you up with Greco,” she stated rather than asked.

He nodded slightly, waiting for her to continue, but her statement merely clarified his. “Unfortunately, the bust went down so well that our department is being pressed into a repeat performance.”

“So well?” she repeated the words in confusion as she shook her head. “Five people were killed and you consider that a good bust?”

His eyes dropped from hers. “None of our people were lost and Greco won’t be dealing anymore. As far as the department heads are concerned, we did our jobs and now they want us to do it again.”

Her chin rose slightly in defiance. “In other words, you want me to introduce your friends to mine.”

Nash smiled as he tugged at his lower lip with his thumb and forefinger. “You definitely have a way of honing in on the fine print, Tory,” he complimented her. “The problem is that there’s no way that you can help us without implicating yourself with the dealers. I think you know as well as I do how terminal that association can be.”

Victoria nodded absently as she followed her own train of thought. “Am I to assume that the DEA has something on me to...ensure my cooperation?” she asked cautiously.

“You just assume that it’s the DEA?” he asked curiously.

She shrugged her shoulders. “You’re just a bit out of your jurisdiction here. It would have to be feds pulling the strings for you to be able to arrange the bust so quickly. DEA is the logical choice.”

Nash’s expression became a stone mask. He was impressed with her deductive skills and a little suspicious of them. He could understand why no other law enforcement officer had been able to get past her intuitiveness, but that left him with the question of why had he? “Guilt by association,” he said candidly. “Nothing really to hold or convict you with, but enough to cause some real problems for you with your associates.”

When she nodded again, but remained silent, he crossed the expanse of the room and knelt down in front of her. “I’m doing everything that I can to fight it, Tory, but it’s out of my control. This pond scum with the DEA is pushing the matter. He doesn’t care if you get caught in the middle or not.” His eyes darted back and forth between hers. “But I do,” he said softly.

A faint smile curved the corners of her lips. “It’s all right, Nash. I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen.”

“No, it’s not all right,” he fumed as he rose to his feet again and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s wrong no matter how you look at it. We use informants all the time in my line of work, but we don’t set them up for target practice and a target is precisely what you would be. The entire situation stinks.”

Victoria considered her limited options for a moment as she stared at his back. “Is there some sort of plan?” she asked and saw him shrug.

“Just what we did before. You introduce us to the dealers and we take them down. It all looks simple on the surface, but it’s not going to take anyone long to figure out that you’re helping us. After that, you’ll become a target for any bozo with a gun.”

Her head tilted to one side as she continued to watch him. Nash wasn’t trying to convince her to work with the Drug Enforcement Agency. He really was against the whole thing and it touched her deeply that he wanted to protect her. “From the time we first met, I knew that there was something special about you,” she said softly and he turned to face her once more. “Your cover was nearly flawless. For a brief time, I was actually disappointed that you were a player.” She searched his face, but could detect nothing of how he was feeling; what he was thinking. “You must really love your job because you’re extremely good at it. The kind of devotion that you have is so rare that it really threw me. I didn’t even suspect that you were anything other than a player until I heard about the drug bust on Antonio Corday.”

He stilled. “Wait a minute,” he said, shifting slightly on his feet. “You knew that I was a cop?”

She let out a slow, calming breath. It was her turn for the truth. “I never discovered that you were SIU,” she admitted, “but I suspected that you were a badge. I wasn’t certain until you took down Tristan.”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You set me up?”

“That’s the pot and kettle, isn’t it?” she asked in return. “No one knows about you,” she assured him. “Your cover is still in tact.”

Nash wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. He had felt guilty for involving Victoria in the beginning, but now he discovers that she had an agenda of her own. He wasn’t sure how to handle that. She had used him just as he had used her. But what he needed to know was what she intended to do next. “Apparently, we’re both good at what we do,” he admitted reluctantly. “I actually believed you when you said that you weren’t involved with the smugglers.”

“That was the truth,” she corrected him before he could draw the wrong conclusion. “I know a lot of the dealers because of the job that I do, but I know very little about them.”

“That brings up another point,” he said, trying to keep the conversation on a professional level. “Just what service do you provide for people like Greco?”

Victoria’s eyes narrowed a fraction. His question appeared innocent on the surface, but there was an edge to it. It almost sounded like he was accusing her of sleeping with Tristan Greco. A repulsive thought. “I have the same function as the K-9’s you use,” she said evasively at first. Even though the comparison wasn’t in the least flattering, she knew that she was only a tool; a pet kept by organized crime. “I have the unique ability to sniff out the cons and the cops. Some of the dealers found out about it and that’s when they started using my club for meetings with potential clients. In time, my reputation grew and people like Greco began frequenting my club whenever they were faced with a new buyer. I can make or break a deal with a single word.”

“It sounds like you wield a lot of power with the families,” he said suggestively. “I hope that you’re compensated generously.”

Victoria dropped her eyes from his. She knew that she wasn’t presenting a spotless image of herself, but her life wasn’t exactly picture perfect. “I don’t take any money for my services if that’s what you’re implying,” she returned. “My payment is that I’m left alone. Ironically, it’s my association with a variety of families that keeps me safe. No one crosses the line with me because they are worried about retribution. There are occasions when I’m expected to mingle with the dealers, but I stay out of it as much as possible.”

Nash wanted to believe her. Her explanation seemed so simple, so innocent, but he had been fooled by her once before. “You’ve got quite a setup for yourself,” he said, falling back on what he knew best, being a cop. “You can write your own ticket with these guys. Why should I believe that you’re being straight with me now? How do I know that you won’t turn me over to one of these guys protecting you?”

A flippant response was on the tip of her tongue, but she squelched it. She wanted to remind him that he was the one to seek her out, but she didn’t. She wanted to believe that she could handle things on her own, but she knew that she couldn’t. Nash was her only hope. “Because I need your help,” she said simply.

His brows rose again. She never stopped amazing him. “You need my help?” he asked in stunned disbelief. “It sounds to me like you’ve got all of your bases covered, lady, but I suppose that is expected from such a smooth operator. What could I possibly do for you?”

Even as her moment of deliverance was at hand, she still hesitated. It was difficult to accept that there could be a light at the end of the dark tunnel that she had traveled for so many years. “I’ll make you a counter offer,” she said with confidence. She knew that he wouldn’t refuse. “Instead of randomly pulling names out of the hat to make your busts, I’ll give you one. A man that you can’t touch. A man who’s organization is so tight that you don’t even know who’s working for him.”

“One isn’t much of an offer when we can have several,” he replied.

“Oh this one is worth ten times the rest,” she assured him. “Or, perhaps I can say that he’s you’re number one priority?” she hinted. “Not only can I get you on the inside, I can even hand you everything that you need to ensure that he will spend a very long time behind bars.”

“You paint a pretty picture, but I already know everyone that you’re associated with and not one of them is any more important than the rest.”

“Not even the man on the top of the DEA’s most wanted list?” she asked, then smiled slightly when she saw his startled reaction. “That’s right, Captain Bridges. I can hand you Cruz Montipinia on a silver platter.”

* * *