“You’re fucking shitting me.”
“No, sir. The cartel we’re tracking is targeting the children of illegal immigrants to the United States. They’re taking them right out of their homes in broad daylight, if the information I have is solid–”
“So, let me get this straight: I send you down to Tucson to follow up on a nationally-known high-publicity case. I ask you to prove your mettle as a fresh detective… I make it very clear what was on the line…”
The pit in my stomach deepened.
“…And you immediately bullshit off four hours away to El Paso, chasing after some wayward kids that aren’t even in the fucking system? Do you have any goddamned proof at all?”
My spirits crumbled into dust.
He wasn’t going to help me.
“Your silence is goddamned deafening, Detective,” Lieutenant Crabbe sneered the title as usual… only with a little more obvious disgust this time. “The case I gave you – your assignment – is four hours away from whatever fuckery you’re chasing at the moment. That’s one hell of a goddamn stretch.”
“But it lines up,” I tried to reason. “If they were heading this way… El Paso is directly on the border. They could have seen an opportunity and come back to reap the locals.”
“I don’t know if they teach you basic fucking geography in the Academy, but you’re out of your jurisdiction and out of your goddamned mind,” he growled. “Your little biker boyfriend has hocked you some goddamn bullshit, and you will not tie up resources in my precinct over fucking hearsay from a goddamn criminal, DO YOU HEAR ME?”
“Yes sir,” I hesitantly replied.
“That’s the first fucking thing you’ve said since picking up the goddamn phone that has been what I’ve wanted to hear,” the Lieutenant scowled. “I’m giving you tonight to get your damn head screwed on straight, and you should fucking thank me for it. Your orders are as follows: get back in your car tomorrow morning and drag your sorry ass back to Tucson. Hit the street. Get results. Abandon this little bullshit crusade of yours or you’ll be riding home in the back seat of a squad car. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
I gritted my teeth, sitting on the cusp of giving the lieutenant a piece of my fucking mind. This could be solid! He wasn’t even giving me the time to fucking follow up on the lead that was sitting right in front of me!
“Yes sir,” I answered.
Without a speck of acknowledgement, the line disconnected on the spot.
For the next few moments, I furiously beat my steering wheel with my fists; after a couple of more minutes to simmer in anger, I twisted the keys in the ignition and followed up towards the bar.
I glanced at the clock as I pulled up to the covert headquarters of the Devil’s Dragons MC. It was already half past midnight. Sitting alone in the car, I muttered, “Do we even have a chance tonight?”
With no answer coming from my empty cruiser, I released a heavy sigh and let myself out. My boots crunched against the gravel, bringing me towards the front door – and whatever other surprises lay in wait for the night.
The big one was when I let myself in.
I’d fully expected either a deserted bar, or a crowd of drunken, belligerent bikers. After all, the last time I’d see them they were given a free round on the house, with plenty of alcohol already flowing.
This was no longer the case.
The women who had been clinging to the bikers were nowhere in sight. There wasn’t a drop of alcohol to be seen that wasn’t in a bottle behind the counter.
I spotted eight, maybe nine bikers suiting up. Slapping on bulky bulletproof vests and checking a wide assortment of guns, the Devil’s Dragons MC was clearly ready for war.
Jesus. These guys are impressive, I thought to myself as I briefly studied them. Besides a couple of quick glances up, they were committed to the task.
“If they weren’t expecting you, you’d be staring at the wrong end of a barrel,” I heard Hunter’s voice amble from across the room.
He stepped out from a corridor and strolled my way, firmly clasping a few bikers on the shoulders. All heads glanced up at him in acknowledgement as he passed, offering curt nods or brief smiles.
I could clearly see a bulletproof vest over his tee, just like his men. This spontaneous midnight strike in the desert clearly came with some high stakes, and an expectation of definitive danger.
“What took you so long?” Hunter asked as he stopped in front of me, tilting his head.
“I couldn’t stop ignoring the Lieutenant’s calls,” I shrugged noncommittally. “When he wouldn’t let up, I had to pull over and update him on a few things. Such as explaining why I’m four hours from my specific assignment…”