Linda Kay Silva - Delta Stevens 3 - Weathering the Storm (35 page)

The bustle, the noise, and the excitement silenced as they looked into each other’s eyes. Thousands of miles would soon separate them; Delta could only hope the distance wouldn’t create a void too big to cross. She knew she couldn’t hold Megan back, but she wanted to. She wanted to cry out that Megan couldn’t go. Stay here! Stay here and fight through this with me! But she knew it was useless. Megan needed to go as much as Delta needed to be on the streets.

“I love you so much,” Delta said, taking Megan in her arms. “Please come back to me.”

Hugging Delta back, Megan lightly kissed her cheek. “There isn’t a question that I’m coming back to you. Delta, you and your love pulled me out of a very deep, very dark valley. I can’t imagine loving someone else as much as I love you. And when I come home, I’ll come back knowing who Megan Osbourne really is now. And no matter who that is, she’ll love you to the depths of her soul.”

“And you’ll give me an answer about the union?”

Megan looked around the airport before kissing Delta on the lips. “The moment I step off the plane.”

The final boarding call boomed over the intercom. Megan bent over, picked up her carryon luggage and gave Delta a look that said `here goes.’”

“Meg—”

“Shh. Delta Stevens, you’ve never doubted yourself before. Don’t start now. You are and always will be the love of my life. Stay safe for me.”

“I will. I swear.”

“You’d better, because I want someone to come home to.”

“I’ll be here with bells on. Nothing else. Just bells.”

Megan smiled warmly. “God, I love you.” Embracing Delta one last time, Megan kissed her neck before pulling back. “No matter where I go, my love, I’ll carry your love with me.”

“I love you, Megan. Be careful.”

“You, too.” Blowing Delta a kiss, Megan started down the runway. Just before she turned the corner, she stopped, turned back toward Delta and waved. “Stay true to me, Delta Stevens.”

Delta waved back and tried to keep the remaining tears from breaking the flood gates as she watched Megan disappear around the corner. A part of her waited to see if Megan might change her mind at the last minute, but a bigger part of her knew better. Megan was gone.

Walking over to the window and watching the planes taxi in and out, Delta’s heart felt like someone had just taken out a Grand Canyon-sized chunk. She never realized how painful it would be to watch Megan leave, and she shuddered to think how painful it would feel if Megan ever left for good.

Leaning into the passenger seat, Delta toyed with the new clip-on radios they’d been assigned after muster. “At last, our department enters the twenty-first century.”

Tony acted like he didn’t hear. “You hear that the feds are closing in on the guys that burned you?”

Delta nodded as she folded her long legs into the car. “Yeah, but did you hear how they were able to get so close?”

“Nope. I just know what I heard from the guys.”

Delta grinned. “Do you remember when Connie and you went into the hotel and dusted for prints?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember Connie picking up a notepad?”

Tony thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t remember.”

“Well, she did, and we sent it to the lab to get the notes from the previous pages lifted from it.”

“I remember you mentioning it at Connie’s house, but I had forgotten all about it. Were we able to pick something up?”

Delta grinned. “Were we ever. We came up with an address, a date, and a flight number.”

“They’re booking out of here, huh?”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight? Are the feds gonna be able to stop them?”

“I hope so.”

Tony turned on her. “What do you mean, `hope?’Why don’t we go after them ourselves?”

Sighing heavily, Delta stared out her window. “Because we would all lose our jobs if anyone found out how deeply we’ve been in this case. Do you have any idea how much information we’ve withheld from the Federal Bureau of Investigation? You wouldn’t have to worry about saving your job, Carducci. It would be unsalvagable.” Delta looked back at Tony. “While they’ve been waiting out the big gun, we’ve run circles around them. Don’t think they wouldn’t have our heads on paper plates if they suspected we’ve been holding out on them.”

“So why not just give them the rest of the information and let them handle it?”

His naivete was disarming. “Carducci, let me spell this out for you in plain English. We’ve broken the law. We have withheld information pertinent to the investigation, we have obstructed justice, and worse yet, we’ve killed two suspects in the case. It wouldn’t be wise for us to run to them showing them all of the evidence we have. Not if we value our freedom.”

Tony whistled. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“I know. Which is why I’m telling you. What happened that night in the desert and the night the house was set on fire can never leak out. Only you, me, Sal’s bunch, and Connie know the truth about those two nights and the events leading up to them. It’s got to stay that way forever. You understand me?”

Tony nodded, a look of fear glazing over his eyes.

“Don’t be scared, Carducci. If worse comes to worse, it’s the perps’ word against ours. Nothing need ever be revealed.”

“What’s the use of breaking the rules if we can’t keep something awful from happening? They’re still going to get away. ”

Delta stared out the window a moment before returning her gaze to Tony. “Not exactly.”

“You mean we
are
going after them?”

Delta nodded. “Not just us. The feds and everybody else are going to be on this one.”

“But how? I thought you said—”

“Connie is a genius. Nothing gets by her. When we finally got the pad back from our pals at the lab, we knew we had to get the information to the feds and we had to force them to act on it.”

“So what did you do?”

Delta’s heart raced at the thought. This was one plan that had really come together. “When the press was getting all excited about me saving those kids, someone said something about the power of the press. That’s when we realized that we could use that power to our advantage. Connie concocted a note, supposedly from one of the perps, saying that he wanted out but didn’t know how to get immunity. Then she wrote that if the feds couldn’t get him out before they got to the airport, he would go to the press and see if they couldn’t help with the immunity.”

Tony whistled again. “She forged this note and sent it to the FBI? And I thought I had balls of steel.”

Delta grinned. “In the note, she wrote the address of their new hideout and the time they would be leaving. Both of which the lab was able to lift from the notepad in the hotel.”

“Incredible. I’m totally impressed.”

Delta nodded. “You should be. T h e r e ’s nobody better than Consuela Rivera. Anyway, tonight, the feds will have the house surrounded. With any luck, they’ll bag a few bad guys and be able to save face.”

“Is saving face that important?”

“In our government? It’s everything. That’s why it’s so important for us to help them be successful. If they win, we win.”

“And if they lose?”

“You don’t want to know. More than likely, they’ll be looking for a scapegoat. And...well, there is someone we all know and love who would make the perfect mark.”

Tony stared out the window, but said nothing. Delta knew what was at stake, and there was no minimizing the importance of allowing the feds to make the bust. If she upstaged them again, she might as well just turn in her badge.”

“When’s this all going down?” Tony asked.

Delta looked at her watch. “Oh, in about half-an-hour.”

Tony came out of his seat. “Half-an-hour? Are you kidding?”

“Relax, Carducci. Our only purpose tonight will be to act as perimeter.”

“You mean we’re really not going to do anything?” Delta patted his arm. “Nope, I’m afraid we’re going to have to watch this one from the sidelines. Let’s see how the big boys do it.”

Suddenly, the radio crackled and sputtered their number before Delta could respond to anymore questions.

“S1012, this is C1919, over.”

C1919 was Captain Henry. Delta and Tony exchanged knowing looks. If the captain was on the street, it could only mean one thing: the feds were getting ready to make their move. Picking up the mike, Delta grabbed her Cross pen with her left hand. “This is S1012, over.”

“S1012, we have a 10-96 and will need to establish a perimeter extending from Hemingway and Thirty-third to Longfellow and Nineteenth. Be advised that you and all other responding units are to maintain the perimeter. Do not, I repeat, do not enter the red zone unless advised to do so.”

“S1012, copy.” Delta glanced over at Tony, whose expression had changed. “A10-96 is an undercover surveillance. Looks like the show’s about to start.”

The radio came to life again and Delta knew by the amount of radio activity that the raid on the porno perps was getting ready to go down.

“All units involved in maintaining perimeter—we are assisting in the capture of possible 1-87 suspects. Again, do not enter the red zone unless directed to do so. Suspects are armed and very dangerous. Leave this station clear for this traffic only. All other radio communication should be on channel one-four.”

Delta mentally surveyed the stretch of area they were to maintain. “They’ve given us the direct route to the freeway access,” she explained as Tony maneuvered the patrol car through a U-turn. “If they get by us, we’re screwed.”

“Then let’s not let them get past us.”

Delta nodded. “Agreed.”

“You think the feds know what they’re doing?”

“Hard to say. They’re calling the shots. It’s our job to keep the balls on the felt.” Picking up the mike, Delta asked Henry to switch channels.

“What is it, Stevens?” came the captain’s taut and impatient voice.

“I just wanted to know what street they believe the suspects to be on, sir.”

“Didn’t you hear my orders? You’re not to go near there. You’ve been given a post and I expect you to man that post until called off. Do you understand?”

“I understand all of that, Captain,” she replied with equal impatience. “It’s just that if they’re on Pope or Keats streets, those houses have—”

“Stevens, I believe we have everything covered.”

“Yes, sir. S1012 out.” Turning the channel back to one-nine, Delta exhaled loudly. “I hope they know what they’re doing.”

Tony looked over at Delta. “What do you mean?”

Delta pointed to a cluster of houses sitting on Keats. “That’s a weird area over there. Those houses were built by some architect who tried something original. The houses are set one in front, one in back, with two driveways exiting on two different streets. McAvoy’s been on that beat for two months now, and is having a hell of a time getting to calls on time. It’s a very confusing stretch of houses. You can’t tell the front from the back. No doubt, our perps picked it for that reason.”

“Just like they picked the Super Seven?”

“Exactly. These guys haven’t been caught because they think about things like escape routes.”

“What makes this street a good escape route?”

“There are a group of houses on Keats whose houses have the same front and back. They have a garage door at both ends of the garage and a front door on either side of the house. Even the lighting is done so you can’t tell the front from the back. The builders thought it was a great idea because of the nature of one way streets. This way, they can drive out either way without having to make U-turns around islands that are half a mile out of their way. Unless they’ve got both sides of every garage covered, our bad boys could come screaming out of one.”

“I thought you got the address.”

Delta shrugged. “We got two of the three numbers. The feds are going to have to cover the entire street. That’s why they’re using us as the perimeter.”

“Sounds like some developer in the sixties was on acid when he thought it up.”

Delta grinned. “True story. Anyway, I’m sure none of this is news to anybody. I just wanted to see if the captain would give me any specifics.”

“So now what?”

Delta shrugged. “Now we maintain the perimeter like we were told to do.”

Tony slowed the car. “Man, that sucks.”

Delta grinned. A small part of her was glad she had saved him from meter maid school. He was itching to be a part of a forbidden bust, and this made her like him.

“Yeah, it does, but you and I are on a short leash, my compassless friend. If we get out of line this time and something big goes down, we’re history.”

“That’s never stopped you before.”

Delta turned fully toward Tony. “Are you trying to get fired? I mean, you heard the captain. Didn’t that mean anything to you?”

Tony shrugged. “I just don’t believe that you’re okay with sitting on the sidelines during this one. Come on, Delta, they almost burned you and those kids alive, and you’re willing to play waterboy to the fed’s quarterback?”