Rogue Alliance

EIGHT



Shyla wanted to take off her shoes and chuck them across the parking lot. They had only a one inch heel but still, they were pissing her off. She grumbled under her breath and swore a silent oath to wear flats the next day and all the days following. If she was going to play the secretary role she wasn’t going to break an ankle doing it.

She smoothed her beige skirt and entered the Redding Police Department, prepared to report for duty.

The pace of the building was slow compared to the hustle and bustle of LA. Men and women walked, rather than ran, from one point to another. And even the ones hunched over paperwork at their desks had a lackadaisical quality about them which made Shyla want to shout at them to sit up straight and get to work.

She held her chin up and made a beeline straight for the office in the left corner which was labeled Chief of Police, Hal Jorgenson. A few looked up from what they were doing and watched her determined stride. She felt the weight of their stares.

The door was open. As she raised her fist to give a knock on the door frame, the man sitting behind the desk glanced up.

“Well, hey there.”

He popped out of his chair and rounded his scuffed and worn desk. His hand was outstretched and his face was beaming with a welcoming expression.

“You must be my new assistant,” he said, “it’s so nice to meet you, Shyla.”

His enthusiasm was infectious and she returned his smile.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Sir.”

When she shook his hand she couldn’t help but notice that their hands were about the same size. Hal Jorgenson’s personality filled the room but his stature was what she considered vertically challenged. He was a good inch shorter than her at maybe five-four. Instead of a uniform, he wore business casual attire; slacks and a polo shirt. Though small, his frame was compact and strong. She guessed that he may have been a wrestler once upon a time and worked out to keep up his athletic build.

“Ah, to hell with this Sir nonsense, you call me Hal.”

“Sure. Hal it is.”

“Well, come on in. Sit down. We’ll go over some things,” he ushered her into his office and waited to speak until his door was closed and was behind his desk facing her, “Okay, Shyla. First, I just want to say that our department is pleased and grateful to have you. I will introduce you to everyone shortly. Shit, being as you’re from here, I wouldn’t be surprised if you went to school with a few of ‘em.”

Shyla kept her expression bland but cringed on the inside.

“Secondly,” he continued, “Jason and Shawn have been gathering as much info on Victor as possible over the last few weeks. They know his routine, his favorite hang-outs and hobbies. They can tell you where and when to find him and even what kind of wine he likes. They’ve been doing a good job of profiling without getting too close.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“We’re pretty sure he gets who they are and what they’re up to, but we’re expecting him to know they’re game. It’s you who he doesn’t see coming. I’ve seen your file. I know you do good work. Now, do you have any questions for me?”

Shyla was relieved and amazed that he hadn’t brought up her past. Maybe they were all going to ignore it. Or maybe they really wouldn’t put two and two together. That worked just fine for her.

“No, Sir…uh, sorry, Hal. I’m just eager to get to work. Obviously I’ll need to set up my desk and get to my secretarial responsibilities right away, but I was hoping to meet Jason and Shawn today if at all possible.”

Hal crossed his legs casually.

“You won’t have too much to worry about on that front, my dear,” he said, “I’ve been without a secretary for eight weeks now and do just fine. I’ll continue to do most of that work. I’ll offload just enough tasks and paperwork to keep up the appearance but mostly you’ll be able to focus on the case.

“Shawn and Jason are already out and about for the day, but I made arrangements for you to meet them off site later tonight. I figure my place is best. The wife is out of town with our girls at the State Fair. They show horses. Damn things eat up half my pay. Anyway, does that work for you?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Great. I’ll give you my address and directions later. Now let’s get you to your desk and start making introductions.”



*



Shyla knew very well what she was getting with Jason and Shawn. She’d requested all background information on the men who would be working with her as soon as she learned about the transfer.

They were young, barely out of the academy, used to the typical day to day routine of being small town cops; traffic stops, domestics, theft. Neither of them had ever seen a dead body on scene. They were green. They were inexperienced in comparison to most partners she’d worked with. And they were her responsibility now.

She arrived early and was sitting comfortably with Hal on his back porch sipping lemonade when Shawn and Jason joined them.

Both were tall and lanky, mid-twenties. The one with blondish hair gave her a curt nod and she could see the skepticism in his eyes. The red-head unabashedly scanned her from head to toe and gave an obvious nod of approval.

“Hey, boys,” Hal said, “glad to see you made it. Come on. Have a glass of lemonade with us. Or would you rather have a cold Hefewiezen?”

“Lemonade’s fine, Hal,” answered the blond, his eye still on her. The other nodded in agreement but looked like he would have rather had the beer.

Hal shook their hands.

“Shawn,” he said to the blond, “this is Shyla.”

Shyla stepped forward and gave a firm handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Shawn,” she said, not waiting for the next introduction. She turned to the red-head, “and you must be Jason. Good to meet you, too.”

Before Hal could speak again, she took the lead. She poured their lemonades as she spoke.

“I’ve been following the Victor Champlain case from a distance for two years now so there’s no need to give me his history. What I’m interested in right now is his day to day life since he’s moved to Redding. Hal says you’ve got his routine down fairly well, so let’s start there. We’ll find little gaps and holes where I can intercept his routine and make his acquaintance. Under-cover means more than just hidden. It means getting up close and personal. I need to meet him and hopefully befriend him or else we just won’t get far. We’ll be reduced to simply following him around and sniffing his trail. That approach is past tense. We want to be in the present. We want to be were he is when he is.”

Shawn clenched his jaw. Jason sipped his lemonade, his eyes wide and curious.

“We can give you his full schedule,” Shawn said, “it doesn’t vary a whole lot except on days when he leaves town, which he does every few weeks or so. He always leaves for two to three days at a time.

“The one thing he does without fail is skeet shooting. Every Saturday morning he meets three or four buddies at the range. They shoot and bullshit for about two hours. Then they call it a day and repeat the next Saturday. “

“That’s perfect,” Shyla said, “I can’t think of a better way to meet a man. I play dumb girl trying to shoot and he comes to the rescue. I couldn’t have asked for a better ploy opportunity.”

Once again, Shawn’s wary gaze met hers.

“Any man? Or just us stupid hicks who don’t know any better?”

There it was, Shyla thought, the defensiveness and insecurity she’d expected.

“It’s not a hick thing, Shawn. It’s basic human nature. It’s psychology 101. Don’t tell me you’ve never witnessed the basic damsel in distress scenario.”

She was challenging him. Hal and Jason squirmed but kept quiet.

Shawn narrowed his gaze but didn’t answer. She knew he was trying to grasp how he felt about her and their working situation. It would be awhile before he trusted her.

“There’s one other thing you should know,” Shawn offered, changing the subject, “Victor’s got a new bodyguard.”

“And?”

Shawn and Jason shared a quick glance.

“And,” Jason said, “it’s an odd development. All we’ve been able to find out about this guy is that his name is supposedly Brennan Miles. But we’ve yet to find any sort of background on him. And I don’t mean that he doesn’t have a record. I mean he flat out doesn’t exist according to our research. Nothing. No prints, no birth certificate, no social. Zilch.

“He just shows up one day last month and he’s been inseparable from Victor’s side ever since. Doesn’t make sense.”

Shyla sat back in the wicker chair and bit her thumbnail.

“Hmm, that is a bit odd. He’s had his identity swiped somehow. He’s definitely got friends in high places, then. That’s very suspicious. We’ll have to keep trying and dig up whatever we can on him. It could prove useful. It could be nothing. Either way, we need to know what we’re dealing with.”