Page 40 of Justice for Aleta

Dover started again. “But I thought you’d?”

“Not necessary. I only came by to say one thing.” Jack watched the man, who wasn’t especially tall or imposing, pull himself to his total five feet and some-odd inches tall height and fold his arms across his chest. “You arenottaking this investigation away from TrooperFletcher and PostFour. They’ve worked hard on this, and TrooperFletcher has put himself in danger in a most precarious way to see that the witness is kept safe and to facilitate the recovery of the kidnapping victim.”

“Sir, I?” Dover started again.

“No.” Wallace bent down and planted both hands firmly on the tabletop. “You don’t seem to understand, AgentDover. This is Kentucky. It’s my turf andIsay what happens here. The governor will back me, and if he does, the president will back the governor. You may be FBI field office, but I run the show around here. We’re grateful for your help, but I don’t see a single member of the KSPSRT here.” The Special Response Team was the most elite of the KSP’s officers, and Jack had wondered why no one was there representing them. “You need firepower and I know you’re going to turn to them, but you’ve left them out of the loop. That stopsnow.” Wallace’s eyes swept the room and when they landed on Jack, the trooper swallowed hard. “TrooperFletcher?” he barked.

“Yes, Commissioner.”

“You know exactly what’s going on here, am I correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You were paid a visit by someone who put a gun to your neck last night, am I right?”

“Yes, sir.” From the corner of his eye, Jack saw some of the other men in the office squirm.

“And you knew who at least one of those men was, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where do you see this investigation standing right now?”

Holy shit, Jack’s brain screamed. He was on the hot seat. Whatever he said in that moment could very well shape the rest of his career as a trooper. “Because of intel from the FBI’s SanAntonio office, I knew that would happen, and I knew I was in no danger unless I didn’t comply, which I did. As of this moment, the Menendez cartel has a photograph of BlakeMoss, aka Poser, the man who fired the shot that led to the deaths of FrankieMcIntosh, JoshuaCulp, and JorieCulp. He’s also responsible for the kidnapping of KennedieStone. When news of the photo’s receipt by Menendez hits Ortiz’s organization, my witness and I will be in the crosshairs of Moss, who’ll want to eliminate the only remaining witness other than Stone. And we still don’t know where the girl is, or if she’s even alive. Before any action is taken by law enforcement, we need to know where Stone is and how to get to Moss. Otherwise, this whole operation unravels. If we do this correctly, we can take down Moss, Ortiz, and Menendez’s operation, and recover the kidnapping victim. If we screw it up, Stone is doomed, my witness is doomed, and we either assist Menendez’s organization in their growth as an unfortunate byproduct, or we unleash Ortiz. I understand the volume of product Menendez injects into society through his organization and its impact but, frankly, from where I sit, Ortiz is a much greater threat to the general public, because he’s got a name to make for himself and he has Moss. And that guy? He’s a loose cannon.”

“TrooperFletcher,” Wallace began, and Jack steeled himself for whatever was coming. “I’d say you have a better grasp of what’s going on than any of these individual agencies do. You just summed up the situation while DEA is worrying about the drugs and the FBI is worrying about Stone. We’veALLgot to work together on this. I want to know what’s going on every step of the way. I want the SRT inserted into this investigation to provide firepower. Your men on protective duty can stand down, Dover. The SRT will be on detail for TrooperFletcher and Mrs.Culp’s security. AgentDavidson,” Wallace said, turning to the KDCI agents, “I want an agent assigned to TrooperFletcher’s case. Their job will be to make sure the trooper and his witness have anything they need, and I do meananything.” Wallace stood up straight and folded his arms across his chest. “Are we all on the same pagenow?”

“Sir, I’m just following orders, sir, and?” Dover said, trying again.

“Your orders are about to be changed. I’m calling the field office and I’m sure they’ll back me. Anybody else got any ideas about coming into our house and destroying everything TrooperFletcher and his Texas contacts have put together?”

Dover closed his notebook and made a big production of slamming it into his messenger bag. “No, Commissioner. We do not.”

“Good. Carry on. And you,” he said, wheeling in the doorway and pointing at Jack, “well done, trooper. You exemplify everything we ask for out of our personnel. Stay safe and let these guys take care of you.”

“Yes, sir, Commissioner. Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome.” With that, the commissioner left the room and everyone sat in stunned silence for a full minute.

It was Cappy who finally broke the silence. “Braxton and Collins?” The two FBI agents stiffened. “Return TrooperFletcher and Mrs.Culp to his home. Morton?” One of the DEA agents sat up straight. “We will facilitate your continuing investigation into the drug activity, but that isnotthe focus of this investigation, so do not try to make it so. Harvey?” A U.S.Marshal nodded. “You will be expected to do transportation of any criminal or victim to wherever they need to go, under your full protection.” The man nodded in agreement. “Wexler?” A KDCI agent Jack knew in passing popped up.

“Yes, sir?”

“Assign AgentFletcher to his brother’s case. I want him to be the person they contact for groceries, beverages, clothing, any needs they have. If TrooperFletcher has a bill to pay or an errand to run, it will be AgentFletcher’s responsibility. Got that?”

“Yes, sir,” Wexler answered, and Jack wanted to laugh right out loud. Amos was going to be his errand boy. How awesome was that?

“Gentlemen, I think we all know our roles now. Dover, you’ll get with the commander of the SRT and brief him on everything that’s going on. FBI and SRT will coordinate for any encounters that might have to happen. Everybody, back to work. We’ve got bad guys to catch and lives to save. As TrooperFletcher said, we can’t afford to mess this up.” One by one, the men from the various agencies stood and made their way out of the room.

When only Jack, Braxton, and Collins were left, Cappy looked up at the two FBI agents. “Out in the hallway. I need to talk to my trooper in private.” The heavy wooden door of the conference room closed behind the two men and Cappy turned to Jack. “You okay?”

Jack chuckled just a little. “I am now.”

“Good. You knew that guy last night was undercover?”

“When I felt that gun barrel against my neck, I thought about Dax’s text and knew what was going on. At that point, I knew our fate was sealed if I handed him that picture, but I had no choice, for my own safety and for his. I can see now it was going that direction anyway. No point in trying to slow down the train with one hand.”

Cappy nodded. “Correct assessment. Mrs.Culp doing okay?”

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