Chapter Nine
Marshall was not awake, but was okay to move. They moved him to a location unknown to us yet. It was getting late and everyone was tired, so Agent Munoz asked us to go home for the night and we would meet back here at eight in the morning. Fine with me, shooting someone for information took more out of me nowadays.
The next morning Mac and I were at the office by seven, having a coffee and a bagel. A few minutes later, James walked in with the same. We sat there in silence for about twenty minutes. The first morning coffee should be taken in silence, we all got that. However, Mac had had enough. “So what about Agent Munoz?”
“He’s a good guy. Mostly by the book, but from what I have seen, he cares about his people and the law. He has only been the SAC for less than a year and I have not had many dealings with him until you guys got into the picture,” James said with a grin.
Mac grinned back. “Anything we can do to help.”
“Well, you are not helping. I don’t need this kind of attention. I don’t want to be known as the agent that goes rogue every time my friends call,” James said. “I really appreciate your help getting me this job, but just because you did that and everything else doesn’t mean I will bend just because you ask.”
“James, I am grateful for your help and the last thing I want is to get you in trouble, but she’s just twenty. And someone had to help.”
“Why is this one more important that all the rest? What is so special about this girl? Why not the other girls? I don’t get it,” James said.
I thought Mac was a little more passionate about this than he needed to be, so I was wondering the same thing. I mean, I knew why I was more involved with this case than usual, but it wasn’t like Mac to act like this.
“It’s simple: Sam is a gay man who took all the Navy could give him without losing his faith that what he was doing was right. Maybe they are more accepted now than before; you could not even act gay. He never said that he was outright, but when you are with someone for a while, you can just tell. Do you know what kind of strength it takes to keep your head up while taking all that crap?” James shook his head. “Of course not, you are living a life that is considered normal. We had to see his misery upfront. After dealing with all that and fighting for his country, he comes to us looking for help. That could not have been easy for him. So as far as I’m concerned, if Sam says he needs help I don’t ask why, I just do what I can.”
James looked like a deer in headlights. I probably did also. I have known Mac for more than twenty years and there are still times when he surprises me. But then again, we have always tried to keep each other on their toes.
A few minutes later agent Munoz walked in with his entourage. “What, no coffee for me?” he asked.
“Should have got here a little earlier like the rest of us,” I said.
“If I would have known,” Agent Munoz said.
James chimed in. “An hour early.”
“Sorry?”
“They have a standing rule. Someone says to be some place at a certain time, and they get there an hour early,” James explained.
Agent Munoz thought about it for a second. “Pretty good idea. I like it.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the agent behind Agent Munoz close his eyes. It was more than a blink, so I was guessing he was not so crazy about this idea, at least as far as it concerned his boss. Probably meant more hours of his time as well. What can you do, everyone has to pay their dues. That is exactly why I got out of government work. They give you a lot of skills and then you stand around waiting to use them. Maybe once in a while you will be able to, unless you are on a special team that does that kind of work all the time. He probably spends most of his time wishing he could be on a real team.
“If you would like a cup of coffee, we could at least do that,” I said.
“I will take that, if you don’t mind.”
Mac got up to get it. “How do you take it?”
“This office is full of tough guys, don’t you all just put the grounds in your mouth with a hot water back?”
“Only when we have to, but when we have a chance we act civilized.”
“Oh in that case, cream and sugar, please.”
We sat for another ten minutes talking about nothing of relevance. Then we headed for our vehicles. I rode with Mac again. We had no idea where we were going, but you never know when something might come up and we have to take off. We try to always ride apart from anyone else. James was riding with his boss. After about ten minutes of riding, Mac said. “Call James and tell him we have a tail.
I grabbed my phone and when he answered, I told him. “We have a tail and we are going to make sure they are after us or the group. Do not react to our crazy movements. We’ll figure what they want and call you back.” I hung up without waiting for an answer. I grabbed the handle above the door and Mac turned hard to the right so we were racing to the next exit a lot closer and faster than normal. I just waited, Mac would fill me in when he thought he could. We got to the end of the ramp and he took a hard right and at the next light a U-turn. I saw an older Ford Taurus. Somewhere around 1998. “Is that them?” I asked.
“Yep, but they had company on highway 400 so we are going back on to make sure we can take care of this,” Mac said.
Back on highway 400 Mac floored it. Not that is mattered. If you have ever been on that highway in the morning during the week, you know it’s more like moving through a mall parking lot at Christmas. However, thanks to that we were able to spot the vehicle quickly. Getting into it would be another story. The Taurus was four cars behind us. “Which was the other car?” I asked Mac as I picked up my phone to call James again. Mac told me as I relayed it to James. I hung up. “He already noticed.”
“I knew he would,” Mac said.
“Two cars, two people in each. Someone thought this out,” I said.
“Yeah, maybe a little too well.”
“Could just be they were just watching us. We gave them plenty of time to setup this morning,” I said.
“Let us hope that is what it was.”
Traffic started moving slowly and the more it broke up, the closer each tail car got. Probably figured everyone knew they were there, so why try to be stealthy any longer? Or they were so desperate to not lose us they didn’t care if they were caught. Soon the traffic flowed like a dam breaking and the cars were on our back bumpers. My phone rang. “Yes?” I asked.
It was James again. “We have some county cops coming on the next exit to pick up these cars. They will arrest them and take them to our building for holding. We hope to keep it quiet, but I guess we’ll see.”
He was right. As we passed the next exit, a handful of Fulton County Sheriff’s cars pulled on the highway and boxed in our tails. Not sure if they noticed, but there were cars surrounding us just in case they tried to flee. Which of course, one of them did, but was reeled in pretty quick. Next thing we saw, all the cops and bad guys on the side of the highway.
“They swept that up quick and quiet,” Mac said.
“Yeah, good work from the sheriff’s department. Makes me feel a little better about living out here,” I said.
“Dude, you would be comfortable living in your car. Your girls, on the other hand, might be another story,” he chuckled.
We finally arrived at a warehouse in North Atlanta. It looked run down, but I figured it was an illusion. I was right, inside it was like a small hospital. Doctors, nurses, and staff walking around with purpose. When Agent Munoz walked in, everyone sort of stood at attention. He didn’t pay much notice to it. Funny the things you can get used to. One of the reasons I was no longer in the Navy or a cop; I never had a desire to move up to a place where a bunch of people looked at me with fear like that. I have always been more of a team player than a team leader. Now I get to pick the team I am on and it seems to be working for us, except for when we are thrown in with other teams that don’t like our rules.
We finally
made it to Marshall’s room. A nurse was talking to him and when the door slid open, he looked over at us and looked startled. Then he looked at Agent Munoz and said, “I said I would help as long as they are not involved.”
“Yeah, I heard that, but I didn’t think you really meant it. Since I’m the guy in charge, I will decide who is involved with what. If you don’t like the deal, we can just charge you with everything and I can go home and be with my family. Then I will let these guys go about their business and find out whatever they need, however they need to, and tell everyone they find along the way you were the one that sent them in the direction they are going,” Agent Munoz said almost smiling.
Marshall looked over at the nurse, but she knew what to do in a case like this. She was looking at the floor; I was thinking she might want to be someplace else right now. He just kept looking at her I would guess just looking her way and not waiting for her to respond.
Agent Munoz was losing his patience. He looked at her, “Joyce, it is okay. You can leave if you prefer.”
She looked a little relieved as she walked out of the room.
Marshall never looked away from where he was looking. I was right, he was somewhere else. Agent Munoz said. “What’s it going to be?”
Agent Munoz never changed his expression during the whole exchange. Made me think a little better of him. I glanced over at Mac, nothing on his face either.
Marshall took in some air, “What choice have you left me? I guess I’ll have to work with them.”
Agent Munoz stepped a little closer to Marshall. “Be happy, I really wouldn’t mind just cutting them loose on you again for your part in this whole thing.” Agent Munoz turned around and walked out. Marshall turned his glare from Agent Munoz to us. I grinned and left, but Mac stood there a few more beats just staring at Marshall, until Marshall started to look nervous. Then Mac left also.
We followed Agent Munoz to a conference room. As we walked in, he gestured us to some seats. We took them. Everyone that had been in the room already left as we sat, except for the four of us. The door closed and Agent Munoz said, “I have to admit, guys, I’m a little concerned about what happened on the way here. Is there anything you guys want to share?” We just sat there silent. “No one has anything to say?”
James looked at me, I shrugged. “Is there something you are asking us?”
Agent Munoz sighed, “Yeah, did any of you let someone know where we were going?”
Again, we were silent, not even James made a move on this statement. The silence lasted longer than James could handle. “Sir, why would they do that?”
“I wasn’t just asking them, I’m asking you also.”
“Agent Munoz,” Mac said calmly. “Out of all the people in this room, you are the only outsider. The three men you are asking wouldn’t do this and I’m sure you would not either. Maybe it’s time to move on.”
“You are right, but how did they know?”
I took over, “Well, we are not shy and we told Marshall and his goon Freddie who we are. They were probably waiting for us at the office. We were there for some time before we left. We gave them plenty of time to setup if they needed.”
“Why would they do that? I mean, we’re the FBI.”
“But Marshall’s not. They just wanted to shut him up,” I said.
“Okay, so we’re on the right track.”
“Yes, but now we might actually have to watch his back until this is over.”
Agent Munoz said, “I know it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but sometimes this is the course we must take.”
“Oh, well this isn’t the first time we have had to protect someone we don’t care for. Unless he stops helping us, he will survive,” I said.
“Good, because I was thinking I would let you guys stay with him while we put our plan in motion.” He could tell we didn’t like the idea. “I know it’s not what you would like, but I think it’s the best way for you to help and stay in the middle of this.
I looked at Mac, not sure why. He never cares.
“You guys don’t look like agents, and you are already involved. I don’t have to brief someone new.”
“Fine, we’ll do it, but we need to stay informed of any other news.”
“Agreed,” Agent Munoz said.
“So do you have a plan?” I asked.
“We are just going to put him in place like he was, but with audio and video watching him.”
“And you just want us to wait there until they contact him. That could take some time. I’m not sure we can be that patient.”
“From talking to Marshall it should be in the next day or so when they call him.”
“What about the company we had this morning? That is probably a sign the jig is up with Marshall.”
“Let’s go find out.” Agent Munoz turned to leave the room, we followed him. Right out of the conference room, left at the next hall, there were three doors on the right. He walked in the middle door. It was like a scene in a TV show. Glass on the right and left walls that look into the adjoining rooms. Each room had the people from each car. There were two agents in each room against the walls, looking like statues. Agent Munoz was holding the door as we walked in and once we were in, he turned to us and said, “Please stay in here for now.” Agent Munoz was holding the door as we walked in and once we were in, he turned to us and said, “Please stay in here for now.” He closed the door behind him. Next thing we saw was him walking into the room on the starboard side, and then James went into the other room.
As soon as the agents sat down, the suspects said they wanted lawyers and they weren’t talking. James took a deep breath. “That’s your right, but you can listen,” he said as he glanced at both guys. They didn’t seem to pay attention. James continued, “So, we can charge you guys with attempted assault of federal agents. In addition, if you choose not to help us out, we will add obstruction of justice. Now if we were regular cops, that might not mean much, but we’re Feds. That changes everything.” James sat there for a little just letting that set in. After a couple of minutes he stood up, “Okay, guys, I’m going to see what the other guys have to say.” He walked out of the room and came in with us.
I looked at him, “They asked for a lawyer also.”
He said, “We expected that. They were probably told someone would be along for them and not to say anything. Nevertheless, we are hoping us being feds might matter more to them. Most people know dealing with us means it’s a whole new game.”
We stood and watched Agent Munoz do the same thing. Except he waited for them to think about it.
Agent Munoz sat there for well over an hour. He just stared at them, moving from one to the other. They kept their eyes forward until another agent came in with bagels, cream cheese, and a cup of coffee for Agent Munoz. He glanced up and said, “Thanks so much, Agent.” The agent nodded and walked out.
Agent Munoz started fixing a bagel and in the middle, he looked up at those guys and said, “Hey, did you guys eat? You’re welcome to fix yourself some if you like.” They looked at each other for a second, and then back to the staring at the wall.
After about ten minutes of watching Agent Munoz eat, you could see their posture change. Like an officer leaving a room full of enlisted folks. Then the blond crew cut asked, “Can we really have some?”
Agent Munoz nodded his head vigorously, “Please.”
The guys looked at each other again. This time it was the brunette crew cut, “And it’s not a trade for information?”
“No, guys, tell me nothing; just eat. We are waiting for your lawyer anyway. You should not have even asked me that,” Agent Munoz said.
They looked at each other for another moment and then they reached for the food at the same time. As they ate, Agent Munoz got a call on his cell.
“Yes,” he said, “Alright, thanks.” Agent Munoz stood up. “Your lawyer is here, but I want you to remember you guys were following Federal agents with intend to do them harm. You are going to do h
ard time for that unless you find a way to help us really soon.”
Blonde crew cut said, “What do you mean real soon?”
“Shh,” Agent Munoz said as he walked out the door.
James turned off the speaker in the room. Then it seemed they started talking.
Mac asked, “What the hell, man? Turn on the speaker again.”
“Sorry, once they ask for a lawyer, we cannot listen to anything they say, especially when they are alone together. Anything they say cannot be used,” James explained.
“I don’t really care what they asked for—” Mac said, but I cut him off.
“It’s alright Mac,” I said as I put my hand on his shoulder.
He gave me a quick head turn as if to tell me to go to hell, but he saw the look on my face and that was enough for him. I turned to Agent Munoz, “Is there someplace Mac and I can talk?”
He looked at me for a second and then said, “James, let’s give them the room.”
I nodded to them in thanks. Agent Munoz walked out just shaking his head. As soon as they closed the door, I turned to Mac, and said louder than I need to, “What the hell is wrong with you?” as I moved to the switch for the speaker and flipped it on.
“Please do not talk to me like that here, don’t forget we are partners,” Mac said in the same tone.
The two in the room were just eating, which didn’t help our cause. Finally, they took a breath. Blonde crew cut said, “What the hell are we supposed to do. These are Feds; I am not ready to do Fed time for the little we are making.”
His partner took in some air, “I just don’t know, I am not crazy about the idea either. I heard Marshall is not doing well, so are we really ready to do time for someone who might not be around to help us out anyway?”
Crew cut said, “I know I am not going to if I don’t have to.” Then he noticed a folder under the box of bagels. He did what everyone does when they find something like that, he looked around to see if anyone was watching. Then he pulled it out and opened it. As he looked it over his eyes opened wider and wider.
His friend noticed and said, “What is it?”
“Do you know anything about sex trafficking?” Crew cut said.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“This says Marshall is being held for sex trafficking.” They looked at each other. After a second they started screaming for someone to come in.
I looked at Mac, “Very nice.”
Mac nodded.