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Chapter Four
FBI Special Agent Kate Devine was a woman on the hunt. A pissed off woman on the hunt. Since Angel double crossed her a month ago she hadn’t felt anything other than rage. A steely determination was driving her on, pushing her to seek revenge, to make her former lover suffer with as much pain and humiliation as she could possibly inflict on that rock hard body. It seemed only fair, at least in her mind. He had promised her Uncle, assured her that she would have all the contacts in the underworld that she needed to make the arrests that would send her career skyrocketing. In the end the only thing he had given her was one crack pot politician and a fucking mess to clean up that spanned three counties. They might not have ever been close on a personal level and she knew that most time Angel didn’t even like her, but she had at least assumed that he respected her. They had shared plenty of steamy, sex-filled nights together. Didn’t that count for something? Snorting out loud and not giving a flying fig what her fellow agents thought of her, she walked through the main lobby of the Los Angeles FBI office and toward the elevator. She kept her face clear of all the rioting emotions that were brewing inside. She had learned how to do that a long time ago, compliments of a father that was heavy fisted and not much on the sensitive side when it came to crying little girls. She didn’t dwell on that part of her life. She was not that helpless little girl anymore. She had made her way in a man’s world with the force of a thousand angry bulls. She had stampeded over the weaker and conquered the stronger. She was not about to be set down by a man who thought he was above the law, someone who had the balls to assume that he could control her. No man controlled her and it was about time she proved that to one egotistical Irishman. The elevator pinged and the doors slid open. She stepped inside walking into one of the women secretaries that hated her guts. The woman frowned at her and mumbled under her breath then briskly walked out. Kate smirked at her retreating back just as the door closed. She could care less what the other woman thought of her; actually she didn’t care what anyone thought of her anymore. She did once but since the moment Angel crossed her she thought only of revenge. She didn’t care if she ever made Supervisor or not. She had one purpose now, one goal, and that was to bring Angelus O’Rourke and his little crew of righteous criminals down. And the way to go about that was as simple as one, two, three. A man in love was, in all reality, a weak
and potentially vulnerable man. A blind man could have seen the love in
Angel’s eyes when he had looked at Buffy Summers. It was disgusting
really to think that a cold hearted well disciplined killer like Angelus had
fell victim to that pathetic emotion. History was littered with
intelligent powerful men that fell in one way or another and all because of a
pretty face, Angel was no different. It would be a shame to see a man like him follow in history’s tracks but he brought that unto himself the moment he fell in love with that shallow little swimsuit model. He also made Kate’s goal that much easier to achieve because Buffy Summers was now Kate’s target, her bull’s-eye for a triumphant payback. The model could also be her redemption because Kate’s instincts were telling her that there was more to that woman than just a photographic face, and Kate’s instincts never steered her wrong before. At the time she had pushed it aside because she had trusted that Angel would do the right thing. Now it was all she thought about. The only problem was getting information on one Buffy Summers was not as easy as it should have been, a telling sign that the woman’s closet was rattling with skeletons, and that put a smile on Kate’s face. That smile remained intact when the doors to the elevator opened to the tenth floor and she stepped out, turned left and walked down the hall to her office. Buffy’s past was not so different from Angel’s really and that confirmed Kate’s suspicions. Buffy was born in New York and went to school there until she dropped out at the age of sixteen. The only other information she could find was a marriage license between her and some biker named Parker. But Kate knew better than anyone that people with secrets knew how to hide them, and when you were the old lady of the Vice President of a gang like The Brotherhood who had more ties to the Mayor than a corset, hiding secrets was as easy as taking a breath. It was just a matter of shoveling through the bullshit that they wanted you to see to reveal the dirty truth that lay underneath. Kate didn’t get to where she was today by being naïve or a push over. It wouldn’t be long before she discovered exactly why Buffy’s past was so secretive and that would be the moment she would strike. “Devine!” “Yes sir.” Turning she faced the voice of Supervisor Dillinger, her smile gone, her emotions once more in check. “My office, now!” Kate scowled as she walked back down the hall, avoiding the eyes of the agents that watched her with open curiosity and a little bit of fear. By now the disastrous end to her attempt to bring down Quentin Travers was common knowledge in the agency. You couldn’t have stopped the stories, especially when it was a case that had been ongoing for years. It was also well known that she had not taken it well. She had been reprimanded twice since it happened for her ‘anger issues’ after she got a little out of hand with a fellow agent in the gym. Most of the other agents pretty much stayed out of her way now. Kate didn’t care. She knew her persistence in this case could and would hurt her career but her pride could not let it go. “Close the door Devine and sit down.” Kate sat down and looked at Senior Supervisor Dillinger, according him the respect that his position deserved, though in her opinion he didn’t deserve shit. If there was anyone in this department that should have stuck by her side, it was him. “Is there a problem sir?” “Devine how many times have I told you that the Travers case was closed?” Kate held the hard glare of her superior without any remorse and replied with an indifference that further angered the Supervisor. “I haven’t been keeping a count Sir.” Dillinger’s eyes flared as he leaned his palms against his desk. “No? Well I have and we’ve had this conversation more times in the past month than I’ve fucked my wife, and each and every fucking time they are more painful than sticking my dick in that bitch’s dry cunt.” Kate smirked with the crude comment that was just so typical of the Supervisor, a man who grew up on the streets of the Bronx and held nothing back. It was the one thing she admired about him. He told you exactly what he was feeling and thinking, and in ways that would make a hooker blanch. The fact that it was a completely vulgar comment about his wife was no surprise either. Everyone knew that Dillinger and the little misses were in couples counseling and heading straight for divorce lane. They even had a pool going. Kate herself had fifty bucks riding on that impending divorce taking place in less than a month. “I’m sorry to hear that sir.” “Stop fucking around Devine and wipe that fucking smile off your face. If you were a man and had a dick you wouldn’t be such a fucking god damn smart ass.” Standing up to his full six feet inches[WKF1] Dillinger crossed his arms over his chest and continued to pin her with a glare that would have made her nervous if she didn’t already know what was coming next. “I have repeatedly ordered you to stop your sleuthing into Travers and yet you and all your usual god damn stubbornness have continued to disobey my orders and do as you’re little scrawny ass pleases. Can you tell me why that is Devine? Why do you insist on being a bigger pain in my ass than the fucking hemorrhoid that I already have?” “Sir, I can’t close the case because I don’t think it’s closed.” “What you think doesn’t fucking matter anymore Devine. The fact that you can’t get that through your thick fucking skull is the problem. “ “With all due respect sir, the problem isn’t with me it’s with the agency’s refusal to see beyond what’s right in front of their faces. Travers is…” “Dead Special Agent, in fact they don’t get much deader than that bastard and with him went all his little secrets that you are just dying to uncover.” Kate surged to her feet, her anger controlling her actions now. “I don’t dispute the fact that Travers is dead sir, but a gas explosion. Jesus does it get any more cliché than that! Don’t you see that explosion was a smoke screen, a way to keep the agency off track and out of the hair of the man that’s running things now.” Dillinger took a breath and then slowly sat down in his chair. Before this case Kate Devine had all the potential of sitting in his chair one day but now she was obsessed with a case that for all intents and purposes was sealed tight by people that scared the crap out of even him, and he didn’t scare very easily. She was right of course and he knew that but there was no way he could tell her that. It would only fuel her fire and he had been instructed to shut her down or kick her out. Since he didn’t want to lose one of his best agents he had to find a way to make her stop. He had been instructed to keep her out of the loop but clearly he had no choice but to tell her the way it was. “Sit down Kate.” The calm voice surprised Kate and for a moment she stared at him blankly. Then on her own breath of defeat she sat. “Sir I know I’m right and I know that deep down inside you know I’m right. I just can’t let this go Sir.” “Kate, I know you have put a lot of time and effort into this case. I respect that and the agency is proud to have you as an agent, but unless you stop digging around you’re going to find yourself out of a job.” Kate snorted, “Fired for doing what’s right?” “No, canned because you’re disobeying a direct order from your superior, whose head by the way is also on the fucking line.” Leaning in his voice lowered but still held that note of legendary steel. “What you don’t seem to get Special Agent is that this goes beyond you and me, it goes higher up than the agency. There are…people that don’t want you’re pretty little nose sticking up their asses. Do you catch my meaning Devine?” “Maybe I don’t need the job to finish this. I have my own personal contacts. I don’t need the badge to get me what I need to know.” “That may be true but you can bet your ass you’ll need to still be breathing in order to do that.” “Are you threatening me sir?” Dillinger sighed. “I’m just telling you how it is Devine. Look, I don’t want to lose you as an agent and I’d really hate to see you end up on my desk in some fucking dead Jane Doe case file, which is exactly what’s going to happen if you pursue this.” Sitting back he turned away from her and started rummaging through some of those files on his desk. “I’m putting you on two weeks leave.” Kate’s eyes flared and her mouth opened to protest but Dillinger held up his hand, piercing her with his dark gaze once again. “I don’t want to hear it. This is for your own good. Take some advice and use the time to relax and calm down. Go to the fucking beach, get fucking laid, I don’t give a shit what you do as long as you’re not working this case. Get your mind off of it and come back ready to commit yourself to a case that the agency really needs your skills on. By the end of the day I want you to hand over your cases to Davis and turn in your badge and gun. That’s all Agent.” Kate stood up and walked over to the door, rage seeping through every pore of her body, she opened it and made no pretense in showing just how pissed off she was as she slammed the door behind her as she walked out. Dillinger might be afraid of whoever was pulling his strings but she wasn’t, in fact, she was more determined now than she was before. Let them come for her, she didn’t give a shit. In the end she would best them and those same assholes who thought they could control everything would be sitting in a fucking cell and she would have their jobs. “I have to hand it to you Kate you give new meaning to the word stubborn. Good thing I know you so well or I wouldn’t have this crisp new hundred dollar bill in my pocket.” “Fuck you Davis.” Kate’s green eyes traveled throughout the office and all the sympathetic looks that were being thrown her way. “Jesus does everyone know already?” “Are you kidding? The bets started the day after they closed the case.” Kate snorted. “For what it’s worth I’m sorry.” “No you’re not. I’m not stupid Phil I know I haven’t exactly been on everyone’s A list this month.” “Maybe not, but the respect is still there. There are a lot of people that don’t think everything is so cut and dried.” “Yeah, well why don’t they grow a set of balls and stand by my side?” Kate asked as she walked into her office with Davis right behind her. “Because unlike you the majority of those balls come with 2.5 kids that need the paycheck.” Kate sat down at her desk feeling only
slightly dejected with what just happened. At ease with “I can’t believe he’s suspending me. I can’t believe he doesn’t trust me.” “It’s not about trust Kate and you know it. Dillinger has his hands tied. There are bigger fish in the pond than us kiddo and they are pulling the strings.” “No shit, doesn’t that bother you?” Davis turned around and headed toward the door. “I’m leaving early today the kid’s got a soccer match that I can’t miss. Just drop your open cases on my desk.” “Yeah, sure thing.” “Oh and by the way, while you were getting your ass reamed out an envelope was delivered for you. I put it on your desk.” Kate picked up the plain brown envelope, her eyes curiously taking in the tape that completely sealed the package. “Thanks Phil, for…everything. You’re a good friend.” Phil turned around and gave her a big cheeky smile. His light brown eyes glowed with health and vitality even though he was thirty pounds overweight and nearing fifty. “Don’t sweat it kiddo. Just take a nice long vacation and don’t think of anything but working on your tan lines.” The door closed behind Davis and Kate grabbed the scissors to open the sealed envelope. After a few frustrating seconds the seal was broken and she pulled out a manila folder and opened it. Her eyes quickly scanned the documents that were inside. The more she read, the more her heart pounded with excitement. This was the break she had been looking for. Everything she ever wanted to know about Buffy Summers was just handed to her. From who, she had no idea. It was definitely something she would look into but not yet. She pulled out the glossy eight by ten photo of the Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Model of the Year and her very loving and protective boyfriend, Kate smiled. First she had to bring down the beauty and her beast, and thanks to her anonymous informant she had what she needed to do just that. ************************ Across town in a mansion high atop the Hollywood Hills Hanken Mersum sat at a mahogany desk, his green eyes staring out the window and across the vast landscaping of his estate as he contemplated the next step of his plan. The first step was even now being played out. His long time friend and associate Ethan had balked when he explained what he planned to do. His friend wanted to let old dogs lie, but Hanken could not. After all these years he was still besieged with a fury that was as strong today as it was when it was first ignited. Nothing had changed for him. He might live in a different city and have a different name and face but those miniscule things did not soothe his anger nor did it take away the pain and humiliation that had been heaped upon him so long ago. His friend didn’t need to tell him just
how twisted that humiliation had turned his mind, though often times the look
in Ethan’s eyes said just that. He
might have lost some sense of stability but he was not that crazy. In fact he was as sharp as he ever had been
he was just a bit more obsessive about things that was all, and there was
nothing wrong with being obsessed, he truly liked the way he was now. So many less complications that way, no
remorse, no feelings of guilt or apprehension, he knew what he was about and
he knew that once his goal had been completed that he would feel immense satisfaction
with that accomplishment, and really that was what being alive was all
about. Being the best you can be and
getting it done without any setbacks or delays. He smirked, when he looked at it that
way, he wasn’t crazy or obsessed at all because that ethic was in his
DNA. He was just being who he was born
to be. Ethan didn’t understand that
because he didn’t share that particular ancestral trait but the others had
understood because they shared the royal blood of the ancients just like
him. A dark frown contorted his face as his
thoughts took him back to the moment when he realized how naïve he had been. He thought that blood connection would
exclude him and his former brothers from betraying each other but here he sat
an outcast from his own ancestral right, thrown out like a common lowlife
criminal and hunted like a dog by the very man that had defied that exclusion
and deceived him. No, he wasn’t crazy. He was fucking brilliant and in short order
they would all see that. They would
all feel the brunt of his sharp intellect as it sliced into their hearts like
the sharpest of blades. “I just had it sent over.” Hanken turned around to see Ethan sitting down on the sofa across the room. He had that look in his eye the one that Hanken had just been contemplating. It didn’t faze him because it didn’t matter if Ethan agreed with him or not, he had no choice but to do as he was told. “Good, then we’ll move forward. If
Special Agent Devine is all she’s cracked up to be, it won’t be long before
she makes her move.” Ethan studied Hanken and voiced the
opinion he had said many times over the course of so many years. Why his friend persisted in this he never
understood but he didn’t have to. Ethan thought it would all end when they
left Ireland but it hadn’t. He stayed because he owed Hanken his life and he
would do what the man asked of him, at least for now. He had been content with the lot he chose and
he had been well paid for his obedience.
To a bad egg like Ethan the immoral and completely unethical
situations that he had been in and created only sweetened the deal. Hanken and the others might have lived by
some stupid code of honor but Ethan lived his life by the old saying that
‘being bad was good’. Still, contentment did not always last
for him, and about eight years ago that sweet sensation slowly started to
fade. And it was all because of the
persistence of one man. It made Ethan
realize that while things had been great fun, good things never lasted long. He knew that one day – most likely sooner
then he thought – everything would change. Just how long could arrogance keep you blinded to the truth anyway? They were not toying with stupid drug cartels or petty thieves or even con artists for that matter. The men they were playing with were unlike any other men in the world. These men did not play at all and though Hanken believed he had everything under control and saw the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Ethan was not that presumptuous. He didn’t need a crystal ball to see just how bloody quickly this entire scheme could, and most likely would, back fire on them. It was a good thing that he was prepared for such an event. He was after all a man who had no problem escaping to save his own ass or switching sides if it suited his needs. While he would hate to do that to Hanken, if the need arose he would. “Are you sure you want to do this? Wouldn’t it be better to just lie low at least until the smoke clears? It’s only been two months since Uncle’s death.” “No, we can’t wait. Now is the time. “ “He’s getting closer to us. It’s been a bullock of a time keeping ahead of him. You know he’s a bloody tenacious dog, he won’t stop until he sees us dead.” “He’ll stop alright. Once everything is revealed he’ll be too busy dealing with it to track us anymore. I know him better then you. This is what’s most important to him.” “The Order is important to him. “ Hanken’s anger piqued with Ethan’s insistent pessimistic comments. “The Order is no longer his concern and hasn’t been for some time.” He reminded him. Ethan shrugged a shoulder. “What about Angelus then? He’s too much like Liam if you ask me. The boy’s intellect unnerves me.” That was true and it always had even when he was a small boy. “Don’t worry about Angelus, he’s ignorant about us and Ripper will be too busy to fill him in. Besides, a little birdie told me that Angelus will have plenty of other things on his mind to worry about us. No, we move forward. I won’t stop until I’ve paid Ripper back for what he did to me, nor will I let Liam’s offspring have everything that should have been mine. With Quentin’s last breath my silence ceased, remind me to thank Angelus for that by the way. He saved me the trouble of killing the bastard myself.” “Well that was the plan, was it not?” Ethan dryly commented. “Undoubtedly, still, I feel the need to
express my gratitude. If not in words, then at least in actions, and that my brother is what Special Agent Devine
will be doing for us.”
T.B.C… |
[WKF1]How many inches?