Page 35 of Operation: Valiant Angel

“Thanks,” Wilson replied sarcastically.

“Just saying, that could be enough to get you killed.” Garcia paused just long enough to laugh. “But don’t worry, we’ve got your back.”

“Make sure you stay on comms and broadcast a nine-one-one if you have even a feeling something isn’t right,” Madison added. “You too, Garcia. If this guy is into something, just remember he saw you with Wilson.”

Now Wilson chuckled while slapping Garcia on the back. “That’s right, they may want to fit you for a pair of cement shoes right along with me.”

“I think the expression is cement overshoes,” Madison posed. “And I don’t want either one of you wearing a pair.”

“Michael, you sat several desks away from Bianchi. What did you pick up regarding him?” Cooper asked his brother.

“Not much. He only got up from his desk three times the entire shift, once for lunch break and twice more to hit the head. And before you ask, yes, I kept him in sight the entire time. I used the stall next to him when he took a shit after lunch and stoodseveral urinals down when he took a piss in the morning. I washed my hands at the sink during his afternoon piss. From what I could see of his work area, his cell phone never came out, and he appeared to be diligently working the entire shift.”

“That jives with his computer activity. Bianchi was active in the company portal all day, closing out work forms left and right. And looking back over his history, he’s always been a top performer,” Garcia said. “The guy just pushes a massive amount of work through the system.”

“Did he send any overseas emails?” Cooper asked.

“Only about five an hour,” Garcia said with a laugh. “They were form letters he filled in info into specific fields. It all looked legit. Even the incoming emails he handled didn’t appear suspicious. And all phone calls are recorded for audit purposes. I listened to a few and heard nothing that sent up red flags.”

“Okay, so maybe it was something he did from a personal account out of work that flagged with the CIA,” Cooper said. “Maybe we need to have Madison make contact with him out of work.”

“From what the Digital Team dug up; he goes to that bar near his home every night he isn’t working,” Garcia reminded them.

“I’ll go starting tonight. Talk up the bartender, become a person they’re comfortable with over the next few nights,” Madison said. “Hopefully, the bartender will do the introductions when he comes in.”

“Sounds good,” Cooper agreed. “We’re going to need another car. Aiello saw the two of you together. I want Michael to steer clear of you both at work and when you’re traveling to and from the job.”

“Does that mean I get my own car?” Michael asked.

Cooper nodded. “Doc and I will go with Madison to the bar and run surveillance and back up for all of you from the car parked outside it.”

“Or we could just get me a car,” Madison said.

Yeah, Wilson knew that wasn’t going to happen. Cooper would not send her into an unknown situation without him being nearby for backup.

“Blondie, you know no one goes in without backup,” Cooper said.

Wilson knew the moment any of them assumed a case had no risk associated with it was when the danger would rear its ugly head. Even if it turned out that Bianchi was clean, there was still that business with the large handfuls of cash, which he had to believe was probably mafia related.

Indigo

That evening, Madison went into the Little Falcon, the neighborhood bar Bianchi frequented when he wasn’t working, while the three men working overnight with him reported to work. As planned, Cooper and Doc were set up in the car in the parking lot. It turned out Bianchi’s little home away from home was a cute little hole-in-the-wall gastropub and brewery, not a dive-bar as everyone had envisioned. The bartenders were quite engaging when Madison said she’d just moved to the neighborhood. They introduced her to all the regulars in the place.

The night at work for Wilson, Garcia, and Michael was uneventful. It was a long twelve hours of nothing suspicious. Aiello gave Wilson a wide berth after assigning him to work on a long project with his number two in charge. Wilson did not see Aiello or the three other men who had the cash during the previous shift until they all stood in line to clock out.

Through comms, Wilson heard Garcia gripe that there was nothing suspicious regarding Bianchi, and he’d looked through all the work the man touched. Michael, too, complained this was a non-case. Bianchi repeated the previous shift of only leaving his desk three times. He wasn’t overly friendly with any of his coworkers. He just focused and plowed through his work.

The third and final night Bianchi was scheduled to work before his three nights off went much the same until an hour before it was time to clock out. Wilson had been left on his own to complete the final job of the shift in one corner of the yard. Shipping containers were stacked high around him. He was scanning the labels and entering them into the system as pending customs inspection.

His senses tingled, alerting him that he was being watched. He caught sight of a reflection off of something shiny to his right. But when he glanced in that direction, he saw nothing. He kept at the task, but remained alert. Several moments later, he was rushed by four men, Aiello and the three others who had the cash that first shift.

“Whoa, Aiello, put the pig sticker away, dude,” he said, knowing it transmitted. “Hold fast there and tell me what the hell this is about.” The hold fast was for the team, so they’d give him time before busting this assault up.

Aiello held the switchblade knife to his throat. “How about you tell us who you really are? And your Hispanic carpool buddy from computer systems. You two are cops.”

Wilson decided instantly how to play this. “Try Feds, but we’re not here investigating you. You have nothing to do with our case. What you’re in to, I don’t know, and I don’t care. Put that knife away and step back. And by the way, I’m wearing a wire. If anything happens to me, my partner and boss know it was Aiello, Keeler, Darrow, and Kent who did it.”

The men all looked shocked as he recited their names.

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