Page 39 of Justice for Aleta

“Thanks. I needed to hear that. Anything else?”

“Stay strong, brother. It’s gonna be okay. And listen, your brother, Amos? He’s worried sick about you and the Culp woman. Stay in touch with him. He needs to hear from you daily to know you’re all right.”

“I’ll call him. Thanks, Cruz. I appreciate everything.”

“You’re welcome. Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but the goal here is to get both of you through this safely, and this is the best way to do it. I’ll be in touch. Later, Kentucky.” With that, the call ended and Jack sat there, trying to figure out if he should be grateful or totally pissed off. He opted for grateful. It was out of his hands anyway.

“I thought you were making breakfast,” a sleepy voice said.

“I was, but I got a phone call.” He tried to break an egg into the bowl but wound up crushing the shell into a million pieces that all landed in the egg white.

“I don’t want to know, do I?” Aleta asked, making her way to the coffee pot and starting the process of brewing their morning elixir.

“No. You do not.” Jack got out more eggs and started again. If that was the way the day was going to start, he was sure the rest of it would be craptastic.

* * *

“Jack!”Aleta’s panicked voice through the bathroom door startled him and he dropped his bottle of body wash. “Jack! There’s somebody at the door! Jack! Please!”

“Got it, babe! I’m on my way!” Hair still full of shampoo that dripped into his face and stung his eyes, Jack grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his midsection. His Glock lay on the countertop in the bathroom, so he snatched it up. Aleta was standing outside the bathroom door, trembling. “Go back in the bedroom. Close and lock the door and get down behind the bed. Do NOT come out until I tell you to, got it?” She nodded. “Go! Now!” He waited until she’d scurried away and he heard the bedroom door’s lockclickbefore he proceeded through the house.

Sliding along the wall, gun in one hand and the other clutching his towel, he made his way to the front of the house. When he could finally see out the sidelight, he let out a huge sigh of relief, shut off the security system, and opened the door. “What the fuck? Did you guys give any thought to calling ahead? You scared the shit out of me, and Aleta’s sitting on the floor behind the bed, shaking.”

“You’re expected in the conference room of PostFour in thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, well, you’re just gonna have to wait. I’ve obviously got to finish my shower, but first, I’ve got to go calm her down.” He turned from the two men, pissed as hell. Fucking FBI. They just did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. To hell with anybody else. He knew they were there to transport them safely, but he really didn’t care. “There’s hot coffee in the pot. Help yourselves.”

“Thanks,” one of the guys said and moved that direction.

“Wait. You know who we are. Who are you?”

“I’m AgentCollins and that’s AgentBraxton,” the taller of the two men answered.

“Collins and Braxton. I’m sure it’ll be a pleasure to meet you once the shock and awe has worn off. I’ll be back.” Stomping off toward the back of the house, Jack knocked on the bedroom door. “It’s okay. They’re FBI. You can open the door.”

A frightened, pale face greeted him in the partially-opened doorway. “What do they want?”

“They’re taking us to my office in a little while. Apparently there’s a strategy meeting or some shit that we’re expected to attend. Well,I’mexpected to attend. You have to go because you can’t stay here alone.”

“Great. Good thing I’m already showered, huh?” she groused and stormed away.

Well, good fucking morning to us, Jack thought as he climbed back into the shower and rinsed the shampoo from his hair. If they’d wanted to make a statement, they’d succeeded.

Fifteen minutes later, they were escorted to the big black Escalade the men were driving. As he walked along behind the one in front, Jack noted his simple black slacks and dark gray polo shirt. These weren’t regular agents. They looked more like SecretService or something, Jack thought. The ride to the post was almost silent, with Aleta whispering questions to him from time to time and him answering as best he could.

But the biggest shock came when he stepped through the back door of the post. There were loud voices?unusually loud voices?coming from up the hallway in the direction of the conference room. When the agent escorting him opened the door and swept a hand that direction, all eyes turned to Jack.

He was dumbfounded. There were FBI agents, DEA agents, U.S.Marshals, KDCI agents, KSP regional people, and, of course, Morgan looking none too happy. “Glad you could see your way clear to joining us, TrooperFletcher,” one of the FBI agents announced. Jack didn’t like his tone one bit.

“Don’t see that I had a lot of choice.” He wanted to add,Somebody want to tell me what the fuck’s going on?but he didn’t dare. He figured that would be made clear in the next couple of minutes.

“You did not. I’m AgentDover, FBI’s Frankfort office. Guys, please introduce yourselves to TrooperFletcher.” It took five minutes to get through everybody in the room. “Okay, guys, let’s get back to work. Who’s got intel on Menendez?” Another agent jumped in instantly, and Jack watched as all the KDCI and KSP people made notes. The U.S.Marshals looked like they were already up to speed. In a couple of minutes, the DEA guys contributed some information. None of it really seemed relevant, except to explain what Menendez and Ortiz had been up to for the last six months. It was enlightening, yes, but not necessarily useful, at least not to the current investigation. They went on like that for another ten minutes, and then the door opened. When the man stepped into the room, Jack almost fell out of his chair.

It was ColonelWallace, Kentucky State Police Commissioner.

Holy shit, this is serious, his brain whispered, and he tried to pay attention. If ColonelWallace was involved, there was some component there that he didn’t know about, something no one had told him. When the DEA agent speaking stopped, AgentDover said, “Welcome, ColonelWallace. Would you like for us to bring you up to speed?”

“No. Not necessary. CaptainSeitzer, TrooperFletcher, and our guys from the Frankfort office are here. I have complete faith in them to be able to handle the situation.” Jack’s respect for the man soared, and he understood Morgan’s trust in his men. Wallace fostered it from the very top, and that went miles toward having people who would risk their lives to do their jobs.

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