Black Ops Brotherhood: Tightrope Part 13

Gavin carefully formulated his next question. "Are you sure, Deputy James, that this statement is an accurate account of what happened with Agent Jensen, and you're prepared to stand by it?"

"He's standing by that statement," James's attorney said.

"All right, I'm arresting you." PJ didn't move a muscle, and looked a little green around the edges.

"For what?" the lawyer demanded.

"Conspiracy to kidnap a federal law enforcement agent; kidnapping said agent for the express purpose of turning her over to known members of a foreign drug cartel," Gavin said.

"You can't do that. What kind of proof do you have to substantiate that charge?" James's lawyer asked.

"Yes, Mr. Blair, I can. This statement you've provided me is false, and that I can prove. The reason I'm here is because there's a cartel involved in aiding and abetting the illegal transport of terrorists into the United States. We believe it's the same cartel that Agent Jensen and her team have severely impacted." Gavin pulled out another folder and handed it to James's lawyer. "This is a warrant, giving me the authority to arrest the people involved with the kidnapping of a federal agent. And since this involves known terrorists, you will be held as an enemy combatant on US soil. Do you still want to stick by your statement?"

The pair sitting in front of Gavin blinked in astonishment. He lifted his hand and waved in CBP agents McKay and LeFevre who had been waiting outside the room. Paul James glanced around nervously.

"Arrest him," Gavin said.

"Wait!" James shouted.

"Yes?" Gavin asked.

"I need a word with my client," Blair said, recovering his composure.

"He doesn't have that right anymore. He's an enemy combatant on US soil. His lawyer gets appointed by a military court. So you're done here, sir," he said, addressing the lawyer.

"That's not right!" Blair shouted as the agents handcuffed Deputy James.

"Mr. Blair, do something!" James said.

"Get him out of here," Gavin said in disgust.

"Wait!" James shouted, fending off the agents. One of the agents wrestled PJ to the table while the other snapped the handcuffs around his wrists. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know!"

Gavin leaned in close to James's face. "You'd better tell me everything I want to know, and it had better be the truth because I'm not doing this drill twice." James's face told Gavin all he needed to know. His wide fearful eyes and thin layer of sweat forming on his brow told him this man was about to crack. "Let him sit."

"What about the handcuffs?" James questioned with a shaky voice.

"No. You've already lied to me once. If at any time, I get an inkling that you're lying to me again, I'll stop this interview and have you taken to Tucson. There, you will go before a federal judge, who will formally charge you with kidnapping and conspiring with terrorists. They will send you to a federal prison where you will await your trial before a military tribunal. Do you understand?" James nodded. "Now quit s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around with me, and tell me the truth."

"Agent Walsh, can I please have a word with my client alone?" Blair asked.

"I'll give you two minutes to get his story straight, then I'm coming back in here and your client will tell me everything I want to know."

Gavin left the room and joined McKay and LaFevre in the observation room.

"What the h.e.l.l's he doing now?" LaFevre asked, glancing at the one-way mirror into the room where James and his lawyer were huddled together.

"He'd better be getting his d.a.m.n story straight," Gavin said.

In exactly two minutes, Gavin returned to the interrogation room and sat across from Paul James.

"Let's try again, Mr. James, and I want the truth this time," he said.

"If he tells you what he knows, will you let him go free?"

"No. He's involved in kidnapping a federal law enforcement agent who you handed over to a foreign organized crime syndicate. Then he gave me a false statement regarding that crime. As his lawyer and him a law enforcement officer, you two should know how serious this is," Gavin said, looking at James.

"It was a joke!" James yelled. "She was supposed to be taken to Jax's old bunk house on his ranch."

"Say what?" Gavin asked, disbelieving.

"I got scared when I heard she went missing. It was a joke. We played a joke on her so she and Jax could work things out. That's it. I didn't turn her over to any cartel. A couple of Jax's ranch hands helped me, and they were supposed to take her there."

"Work things out? Who's Jax?"

"Jax Macey. He's her boyfriend."

"As you can see, Agent Walsh, this was all a terrible misunderstanding," Blair said, attempting to minimize the damage.

"How did she end up in Douglas, fifty yards away from the Mexican border?"

"I don't know," James said.

"When you kidnapped Agent Jensen why did you drug her with Rohypnol, restrain her, and stick her in a 125-degree attic? As a law enforcement officer, you should know that's kidnapping and attempted murder of a federal agent and at least two other serious felonies."

"What? No! I didn't know she was drugged!"

"Why did you tamper with the dash camera in your patrol vehicle? That would also be a felony, destruction of evidence in a federal investigation."

"I don't know what you're talking about! You've got to believe me!" He was getting desperate.

Gavin held up his hand to silence James and shook his head. "Wait a minute. You're responsible for the kidnapping of a federal law enforcement officer. She wasn't in any bunkhouse. She was in a stash house owned by a high-ranking member of the Montenegro cartel by the name of Juan Mora. They drugged her almost to the point of coma, stuffed her inside an attic where she almost died. No one's laughing at your little joke."

Paul James sat up and looked at him, now completely bewildered. Someone had played a joke all right, and the joke had been played on James. He really had no idea what the h.e.l.l had just happened to his world. Gavin continued.

"After she was taken, you tampered with the onboard dash camera in your patrol vehicle. Let me add another felony, the attempted murder of a federal K-9 officer during that incident."

"That dog tried to bite me!"

"I don't give a d.a.m.n if that dog thought you were a milk bone. That dog is federal property and was in pursuit of criminals. Now, one more time, from the top, and don't f.u.c.k with me! I want the truth. Who's your contact in the Montenegro cartel?" Gavin snapped.

James's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I swear I don't know anything about the cartel."

"Agent Walsh?" McKay said as he poked his head inside.

Gavin glared at James before he stood and walked outside.

"What is it?"

"Me and LeFevre were thinking maybe we should bring in Jax."

"Get ICE to bring him in and direct them to walk him past this room and put him in the next one over. Get a copy of that warrant for persons of interest from the conference room, and give it to them. Check out that bunkhouse, too."

"Okay. We'll get on it right now."

Being home with little to do made Rio crazy. She'd called the animal shelter where she volunteered on a regular basis and scheduled herself to work some hours. There was only so much lying around and TV watching she could do, so she asked Danny to drive her and Schotzie to the CBP station to pick up some paperwork. As they walked through the building, they pa.s.sed the war room Special Agent Walsh had set up. He noticed her, and immediately dropped the papers he had in his hands and rushed for the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm a little behind on some paperwork. I came by to pick it up so I can do it at home." Schotzie tugged on her leash and whined. She must've seen someone she knew. "Sit." Schotzie did as instructed, but remained tense and alert.

"Can we talk a little more about what happened?"

Danny squeezed her hand, making her glance at him. By the scowl he gave Agent Walsh, he'd made it clear he didn't like the idea.

"Sure, I'm fine," she said.

Gavin led her into the conference room and asked Danny to work with Terry on another piece of digital evidence they were deciphering. Danny gave her shoulder a quick squeeze for rea.s.surance and went to find Terry. They settled into two chairs at one end of the long table. Gavin got right to the point.

"Rio, what's your relationship with Jaxon Macey?"

"There is no relationship other than a longtime acquaintance. We grew up together."

"Have you ever been or are you now intimately involved with him?"

"What? No, why?"

"Knowing Paul James and Jaxon Macey as long as you have, could they be involved in criminal activity?"

"What's going on?"

"I think they're involved with the cartel. I haven't quite figured out how, and I think they went after you for something you know."

"Do you need help? I mean, a few of us here at the station grew up around here and know the locals pretty good."

"Help is always good, and no, I haven't really reached out like that."

Rio stood and walked to the door. The small cubicles and desks that the CBP agents used were just outside in a big open area. Scanning the area, she saw most of her team milling about.

"McKay! Who's on duty right now and in the building?"

"We've been shanghaied by this guy," he said, nodding toward Agent Walsh. "So it's me, LaFevre, Gonzales, and Salas, why?" Van asked.

"Perfect. Round them up, team meeting in five."

A large map covered part of a white board that she needed to use. "Can I move this?"

"Sure," Gavin said with a nod.

When her team entered the room they expressed their reservations at her coming back to work so soon. She thanked them for their concern, turned, and focused on her work. She had a feeling that something bigger could be going down, and her team would be ground zero. Her healing would be helped if she could find the people responsible for the nightmares that plagued her. This whole cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k had to be more than one of Jax's tantrums. So who pulled the strings and used him and his cronies to do their dirty work? The team settled in and got to work.

"We need to do some profiling and bring Special Agent Walsh up to speed on the players here in Bisbee." She noticed Gavin watching them like a hawk. "Van, bring me up to date on everything since the night I went missing," she said.

"You sure you want to know everything, Lil' bit?" Van asked hesitantly.

"Everything," she said, turning back to the whiteboard.

"Aren't you supposed to be home recovering?" Alan asked.

"I'm fine. Van?"

McKay filled her in on details as she furiously made notes on the timeline she constructed. Being a visual learner, diagrams and charts allowed her to problem solve easily. She could simply follow the lines and pictures to a conclusion.

"Today, we found out the initial motivation behind what happened and we brought Macey in for questioning. He was clueless, as usual. We also found three men murdered execution style at the bunkhouse where you were supposed to be taken. The scene is still being processed by the FBI," Van said.

"All right," Rio said, stepping away from her notes.

"There's one more thing you should know," Alan said as he and Van glanced at each other.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Eli Reyes was one of the guys who kidnapped you," Van said.

Reyes was a professional and one stone-cold son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h. Rio's knees got weak with the news, and she suddenly realized just how lucky she was to be alive. She'd arrested him for running weapons into the country, and he'd managed to get back to Mexico before they could make anything stick. She recalled with some uneasiness that he'd promised to come back for her and the way he'd said it had given her the creeps at the time.

While lots of people she'd taken into custody made threats before, Reyes had been the only one who now made good on his promise. For some reason, her mind drew an eerie comparison between Eli and Danny. They both liked to play head games and push her b.u.t.tons. But unlike Danny, Eli was cruel, and his games often involved someone dying in the end. It was no small wonder why she hadn't been able to get away; she'd been dealing with men who were trained military operatives. Why hadn't he killed her when he had the chance? What had he planned on doing with her? A shudder ran through her as she mentally ticked off all the things he could have planned for her.

"You okay, boss?" Salas asked.

"Let's try to connect the dots with Montenegro and Jax's gang. What do we know?" she asked, attempting to focus on something else.

"Jax, PJ, and Seth are dumba.s.ses who couldn't find their way out of a s.h.i.t house with a map to the exit," Alan said.

Rio smiled and looked at Gavin, who chuckled.

"Seriously," she said.

"Yeah, they're seriously dumba.s.ses," Salas agreed.

"Stop! Focus, guys. Could they be dirty? And how did they hook up with Reyes?" Rio asked, sobering the mood.

"That's a serious implication, boss," Gonzales said.

"Yes it is," Rio said.

"Anything's possible, Lil' bit, but why? What's the motivation? Jax and Reyes wouldn't be able to work together. Reyes would put a bullet in him and consider it his one good deed for mankind," Van said.