Page 56 of Special Agent Joseph

“No problem. He gave me the gate code. We’ll go check it out.”

Once they arrived, Tom put in the correct numbers and they ran to the house, ringing the bell and even calling Joe’s name. “Either he’s not answering… or he’s not here.”

“His car was at Vinnie’s earlier, and it’s not back. Look… he wouldn’t ignore us unless there was a problem.”

Suddenly, Jack raced toward them, barking his welcome. “Son of a bitch. I forgot about you buddy.” Tom shook his head back and forth, his voice filled with conviction. “If there was something wrong inside, Jack wouldn’t be happy to see us or running around out here loose.”

“True.” Megan checked her watch. “Tom, we gotta go. Time’s running out.” They ran back to the SUV only to have the dog follow them.

“You can’t come with us this time, boy. Stay.” Tom pointed at the pushy animal.

Jack barked angrily, leaping at the door, signaling his determination to be with them. Knowing they couldn’t argue with him in this mood, Megan opened the door wider and the dog jumped inside, heading for the rear seat.

Relieved that they’d settled the argument, even if it meant Jack winning, Megan reached back to pet the monster. “You can help us, boy.” She looked toward Tom. “He’s back on the job now and knows what to do when it comes to finding drugs.”

“I have a feeling we’ll be needing all the help we can get.” They sped away from the mansion, their siren warning the other vehicles in their path to make way.

Once close to where the expected action would follow, they shut down the noise and eventually pulled up behind the other vehicles in the squad. Both Tom and Megan left the car and approached the ground team while they made preparations to enter the building in the distance.

“Ready?”

“As ever. The trucks have been there for about twenty minutes unloading. We figure they’re almost done.”

“Good. Let’s hold off until they drive away. You have another team waiting further up the road to pull them over, right?”

“That we do.”

Shortly after Tom and Megan arrived, they watched as the trucks followed each other down the road, taking the same route they came in on. That’s when the team leader turned to the officers waiting. “All set?”

Seeing the nods, he gave Megan and Tom the thumbs up.

“Excellent. Okay, ready when you are.” Before they moved, she held up her hand. “Wait. Jack’s making one hell of a racket. Does anyone have a leash I can use for him? He’s gonna hurt himself or rip the SUV apart if we leave him in there.”

Within a few minutes, Megan had a leash in her hands and opened the door to the SUV, blocking the opening from Jack being able to escape. The ferocious creature almost stampeded her, but she was able to get him secured before taking him with them.

“Jack, quiet.” Sneaking silently in a line, with her and Tom at the rear, they made their way inside to where the building opened into a large warehouse.

A dozen or so men were everywhere carrying boxes and placing them on the tables, the chatter muted but sociable.

“FBI. Stop where you are. Hands up.”

Surprisingly, no one ran for cover or tried to defend themselves. All the men did as they were told, and the chaos of the break-in settled into a dull roar. Agents went to the boxes, ripping them open to find harmless stacking dolls that when broken held nothing. The whole shit-show soon became a complete letdown. Megan’s heart dropped.Joe couldn’t have done it again. She’d never believe he’d deceived them on purpose… she just couldn’t.

Suddenly, Jack broke loose from her hold, trailing his leash behind him. He began barking hysterically, scratching at a wall in the far end of the room. Ignoring her order to come back, she went to him and gathered the leash to lead him away. Unable to move the hundred-pound maniac, she began to look at where he scratched, and sure enough, found a slight opening that when pushed, showed a crack in the wall, and then a hidden door.

Pressing against it, she almost fell down the stairs and only by releasing Jack could she stop her plunge. Tom, coming up behind her, pulled his gun signaling her to do the same. He gestured for them to follow the dog, and she nodded in agreement.

At the bottom of the stairs, they found another door slightly ajar. Waiting for them, Jack hovered, his frantic body trembling. Once opened, all hell broke loose.

Chapter Forty-two

Joe couldn’t believe his eyes. He knew that man, recognized him immediately. They were so close in looks, they could have been twins. Well, except for the sneer riding the other man’s swollen face.

Joseph rudely pushed past Vinnie. Before Joe had any inkling of what would happen, the lunatic growled, “You son of a bitch,” and punched him in the face.

Down on his knees now, Joe realized the game was up. Shaking his head to clear the fog helped. Immediately the truth hit him. They had been wrong… all of them. He wasn’t Special Agent Marcus. But then, who the hell was he? He stayed down, spitting out the blood and trying to make plans on how to get out of this mess.

Before he came up with any ideas, Vinnie stepped forward, stopping Joseph’s plans for more punishment. Aiming his question at Joe, he bellowed, “Who the fuck are you?”

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