With Friends Like These....Part VIII

[Robbie C.]

Castillo was waiting by the coffee pot when Sonny walked out. “Crockett. My office. If you’re not busy.”

Sonny nodded, pouring more of the dark liquid into his cup. “On my way, captain. You want Tubbs, too?”

“No. Just you.”

By the time he’d topped off his cup Castillo was in his chair. Waiting. Sonny hadn’t seen him more, but there he was. Then he remembered how the man had moved going into the hospital after the kill squad Menton had sent after Trudy. Nothing Castillo might do surprised him after seeing that. “What’s up, captain?”

“I want your honest assessment. How did Gina do while she was here?”

Sonny sipped his coffee. He’d been expecting this, and had gone over a number of answers in his head. But in the end it came down to one thing. You had to tell Martin Castillo the truth as you saw it. He always new when you weren’t. Always. “She did good, Marty. You could tell she’d been off the streets for almost two years, though. Not that she doesn’t go in the field now, but…”

“I know what you mean. The edge wasn’t there.”

“Exactly. She was solid, worked well with everyone, and really tried. But…it’s different out there now. I didn’t realize that until I saw her trying to keep up. We’ve changed. All of us. And she missed out on that process.”

“What about the marshals?”

“Dave never stopped calling her ma’am, and Randy did too half the time. They supported her and worked well with her, but there was always this…I don’t know…feeling she didn’t belong.” Sonny leaned back in the chair, pushing his mind back to a time he’d until recently done his best to bury. “She was like a cherry in a unit back in Nam. No one wanted to get too close because they didn’t know what she’d do under fire.” He opened his eyes. “Why? Does she want to come back?”

“No. I’m writing up a recommendation for her file. I wanted to know what you saw.”

“She’s a good cop. I’d say she’s a better one now. She’s tempered her impulsive streak, and she’s a damned hard worker. In OCB she’d be their top detective.”

“But here she’s a cherry.” Castillo nodded. “Thank you. I don’t disagree with anything you said. She’ll get a strong recommendation for promotion from me, and if you and Tubbs would be willing to sign letters of endorsement it will help a great deal. But I won’t try to bring her back.”

“I don’t think she’d want that anyway, Marty. She told me as much before she left. She’s always willing to help, but…”

“What we do takes a special kind of cop. A special kind of person. I have more respect for someone who admits they aren’t that person than someone who pretends to be but isn’t. And what does takes an equally special kind of person, but in different ways.”

“I know. Hell, I couldn’t do what she does. I’d be up on charges inside of a week for shooting pimps or pushers.”

“I’ll have draft letters for the two of you by tomorrow morning. Make any changes you like and get them back to me as soon as you can. I’d like to get this package on the chief’s desk by the end of the week if we can.”

“You got it, Marty.” Sonny started to stand, but paused. “Why ask me?”

“You were close to her once. You’d be the first to see any changes, and the first one aside from Stan she’d confide in. And I trust your judgement.”

Back in the office Rico shot him a quizzical look. “What did Marty want?”

“To ask me about Gina.” He filled Rico in. “So we should have letters to sign by the end of the day. He won’t let it sit until tomorrow.”

“She deserves it. No question. That office is better with her there.”

Sonny nodded, knowing what Rico left unsaid. And we’re better with her there. Who would have thought? But things change. We change. Shit, I should know that better than anyone.

Rico seemed to sense his thoughts. “How’s Caitlin’s House coming?”

“Good. Jenny’s finalizing the lease on her boat to the foundation today, and from what Angie was saying they should be able to start the first wave of hires in the next week or two. Gina’s involved there, so she’ll be busy screening applicants and making sure the right people get in the right places. Angie wants me involved, but I don’t know…”

“You got to, but behind the scenes. Hell, Caitlin would be pissed as hell if you didn’t.”

“So would Jenny.” Sonny wasn’t sure what to say next, so he just blurted it out. “You know she talks to their headstones?”

Rico nodded. “Doesn’t surprise me a bit. That girl is deep, Sonny. And I mean deep. The kind your grandma went to see in the middle of the night if there was some problem she couldn’t fix on her own. You talk to them, too, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“No big thing, man. Trust me. Sometimes…sometimes it’s all we got. You know? I keep my brother’s badge close by. Some nights I’ll just say hey and let him know how things are. Maybe it’s silly, but it makes me feel better.” He snorted. “And half the people who say you’re crazy are sittin’ there in front of the TV giving their money to preachers like that Bill Bob character.”

“I wonder what the hell ever happened to him and that pill-poppin’ wife of his?”

“They’re either rich or in jail. Hell, maybe both. Like that Limey cat Stan tangled with over the game show.”

Sonny laughed. “Phil. Yeah. Stan told me he saw him on late night TV one time pretending to be some kind of faith healer. Said he even had the dealer’s girl with him. What was his damned name?”

“Rivers. That was one wired-up dude.”

“And here we are now trying to pin down a couple who might be Bolivian and are running coke. Some things never change.”

“Only the faces, partner. You wanna grab a bite? Then maybe go shake a tree and see if Moreno falls out. I feel like we been lettin’ that freak run around unsupervised for too long.”

“Maybe we should just let the little freak make his living.” Sonny looked up from his coffee. The thought had been rolling in his head for some time, and he finally just said it. “After all the times we damned near got him killed runnin’ down some lead or another.”

“Are you serious?”

“Sure. Why not? Izzy’s a weird little shit. I ain’t gonna argue that. But maybe he’s paid his dues by now. And the way things are getting now…I don’t want to get the call he’s dead and have to live with that, too.”

“Yeah, you may be right. Besides, the little chump always calls if he’s got something. Maybe the game’s passing him by these days.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me. All the players are new.” Sonny grinned. “But I could use some chow. We got nothing but time until we get some more intel on our players.”

All food did was make Sonny tired, and he was slumped in his chair fighting to stay awake when Trudy came in with a smile. “We got a hit on the guy. They’re still working the girl. Seems she’s harder to pin down. But his name’s Francisco Karl Hoffmann. And Dave was almost right. His mother was SS. One of the guards at Ravensbruck, the only concentration camp for women. His father was some kind of Nazi Party hack in Berlin. They both made it out through Italy somehow and ended up in Bolivia. Running, get this, a ‘coffee plantation’ up in prime growing country.”

Sonny blinked the gathering sleep from his eyes. “So he’s just tending the family business?”

“Could be. DEA’s got nothing on the family directly, but the region is known for producing high-quality cocaine. And the Hoffmann plantation is more like a fortified camp. Lots of guards and dogs. They’re sending the file over.”

Rico nodded. “And you said nothing on the girl?”

“Not yet. Sorry, Rico. And he’s got no sisters. The other brother minds the family farm. Looks like he made colonel in the Bolivian national police at the age of thirty and then ‘resigned’ to look after his ‘sick parents.’ At least that’s the story.”

“Thanks Trudy. Keep us posted if anything else comes in. And you and Mindy get first crack at that file when it comes in. I want to know what you think of the operation. How much it can produce, where they’re tied in. A full workup.”

“You got it, Sonny.” She smiled and headed back to her office.

“Talk about a blast from the past.” Rico shook his head. “Who knew those cats were still around?”

“We’d better run the name through Interpol and see if anything pops up.” Sonny started to reach for the phone, then stopped himself. “But that will tip the FBI. Unless…” Getting to his feet, he headed for the door. “Trudy? Have DEA run that name through Interpol. Just a routine query. It’ll take more time, but I’d rather have it go under the radar.”

Rico looked up from his notes with a snort. “How long we gonna coddle those damned chumps and their cheap suits?”

“Until Captain Castillo tells us otherwise.” Sonny shrugged and sat down. “I’d rather walk out there and slug ‘em myself. But that would just create headaches for Pete and Marty.” He sat for a moment, his thoughts racing. And then he smiled. “I’m gonna go talk to Marty and then maybe we can do something about those bozos.”

Castillo stared at his papers until Sonny was finished talking. “There is risk,” he said after a time.

“There always is, Marty. Hell, I’m the first one to admit that now. But this way we’ll know for sure. And if we do it right they won’t know that we know. I’d rather have them off somewhere else instead of just waiting to get in the way. You saw the DEA report. This kid’s the son of Nazis and connected up the ass back in Bolivia. The girl we don’t know yet, but if she’s in charge like Gina things she’s gonna be even more wired in. We can’t take the chance.”

“Work with Switek and the others. Draw up a plan and bring it to me. It will be on my order in case there is any blowback.” Castillo allowed himself a thin smile. “And I do like the idea, Sonny.”

Leaving the office, Sonny shouted “Huddle in the conference room! All hands!” Once they were assembled, he leaned forward, putting his hands palm-down on the table. “Listen up, ladies and gents. We’re gonna cook up a plan to fuck with the Feebs. The captain will approve it, but we need to give him the best product we can.”

“What’s the objective?” Dave’s dark eyes glittered as he leaned forward.

“To get those bozos, their cheap suits, and their tan Fords as far away from us as possible. And maybe have them do some good at the same time. I know they ain’t used to that, so it might be a bit of a shock to their systems.”

Smiling, Sonny turned to Mindy and Trudy. “First thing we need is a target analysis. What’s the best bang for the buck here? I want to send the Feebs after something that will keep them tied up for at least a week. But it’s gotta be good. Stan, can you and Lester work up some of those audio tricks of yours? I want them to ‘hear’ us making plans on the outside line. Randy, Dave. You’ll be our bait, along with me and Rico. We’ll be doing overwatch and surveillance. But badly. Just pretend you’re them.”

Dave snorted. “I might have to get blind drunk first to be that bad, but it’s worth it if it leaves them holdin’ their dicks in the middle of the street.”

“With any luck we can get a target that will actually do some good. For Miami if not for them.”

Trudy looked at Mindy and nodded. “We’ll get right on it. We were starting the normal threat assessment anyhow, so we’ll pull this from that product.”

Rico raised his hand. “See if you can anything good relating to crack. It’s lookin’ to be the next big thing and I’d like to see my tax dollars actually accomplish something.”

Trudy smiled. “I’ll see what we can come up with. The problem with crack is it’s easy to make and easy to move. Even the FBI could clean up the street corners in a couple of days. Maybe I’ll get in touch with that friend of yours from Narcotics, Sonny. On one of the clean lines.”

“He’d appreciate the help. Even if he has to give up credit to the Feebs.” Sonny chuckled. “I might let him in on the deal over a beer. At least part of it, anyhow.”

“So what do we do while they’re working on that?”

“Make a few calls, Rico. Nothing big, but enough to make them think we’re starting in on something.” Turning, Sonny reached out and picked up the DEA file on Hoffmann. “There’s gotta be something in there that’ll lead us to the girl. Whoever the hell she is, she’s a bigger threat than he is.”

“No doubt. Especially if they figure out the rules to the game. If he’s really running daddy’s product, he’s got what could be a limitless supply of top-grade coke. And maybe other stuff if they branch out.”

“Yeah, and you still need coke to make crack.” Sonny glared at the picture on the front of the folder, seeing the poster boy with the blonde crew cut in his mind’s eye. “I’m gonna love taking a chunk out of him as Burnett.”

“Solid. I’ll make a couple of chump calls to Metro-Dade’s property room asking about crack seizures. Give the men from Auntie something to wonder about.” He paused. “You really think old J. Edgar wore a dress?”

“Rico, there are some things in life I just don’t wanna know. And that happens to be one of them.” Sonny grinned. “Head on in when you’re done yanking their chains. Maybe you’ll see something I miss.”

Two hours later Sonny tossed the folder on the desk and sighed. “He’s been in and out of the country more times than Izzy’s ripped off the old guys down at the Biltmore, but DEA’s never gotten him for anything. Just a few rumors and suspicions. I think they were watching him because of what his daddy grows.”

“Yeah, but the chump’s clearly been up to something. Lots of short hops in the islands and then Miami. Lauderdale mostly, if the Customs stuff is right.”

“We’ll know when their file gets here. Yeah, I ain’t sayin’ the kid’s clean. He’s not. But I can’t for the life of me tell what he’s been getting dirty with.” He pointed to one of the grainy surveillance photos. “And there she is. With him every step of the way.”

Rico grabbed the photo and peered at it. Then he dug in his desk and pulled out a magnifying glass. As Sonny watched he focused in on her, then pulled out a newer photo and did the same thing. “Shit!” He dropped the glass  on the desk. “And double shit!”

“What?”

“You know how when the Ferrari gets a scratch you wet your pants and go runnin’ off to the paint and body shop? Well, that’s what this girl did. She had her damned nose changed. At least. The old picture’s too damned bad, but…”

Sonny grabbed the photos and the glass and repeated Rico’s curse. “I’ll let the intel twins know. Hopefully Customs has some Port of Entry photos from their early visits. We need to be running the old picture. Because…”

“You don’t change your face until someone knows who you are.” Rico finished the sentence and grinned.

“What the hell tipped you off?”

“Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Hell, you know I can’t do that.”

“Ok. The sun hat. She was wearing it down on her face like she was trying to hide something. That’s when I noticed her nose. Looks like she went a few rounds with Ali, don’t it? Then the next year, it’s all cute as a button and the hat’s gone.”

“I just figured she was ducking Customs’ cameras. But you always had better fashion sense than I do.” He looked at the picture again, and his eyes narrowed. Burnett wouldn’t miss that detail. Damn! Need to channel that better.

“Yeah, but when you slip into Burnett…that cat’s a sharp dresser.”

“Maybe you can give the Feebs some fashion advice when we leave them in the middle of the street…how did Dave put it…with their dicks in their hands.”

“No, man. You were the jock. You can get near the dudes on display. Not Rico Cooper. He’s got places to be and deals to make.”

Sonny grinned and headed for the office Trudy and Mindy shared. It was technically Trudy’s office, but since Mindy had started doing intel work it was sort of a shared brain zone. “When that Customs file comes in, can you see if they have any pictures of the girl dated before this one? Rico noticed it. She at least had a nose job between that date and their visit two years ago.”

Trudy nodded, making a note of the date on the scratch pad on her cluttered desk. “And Rico and you think she changed her face because she got picked up somewhere?”

“Yeah. If the nose bothered her that much, why wait so long to fix it?”

Thinking, Trudy chewed on the end of her pencil. “It makes sense. If they’ve been moving together the whole time. But why didn’t someone come up in his DEA file?”

“I think they were just watching him because of dear old dad. No one was looking too hard or too deep once they decided he wasn’t moving the family produce.” He smiled. “How’s your project coming?”

“Pretty good. I’ve been going through Metro-Dade’s intel database, and Mindy’s been hitting the marshal’s service and some DEA stuff, too. I think we’ve got a pretty good picture of what’s going on out there. We might have a couple of options for you before we close up tonight.” She smiled. “Unless it’s a rush.”

“Naw. Let’s do this right. If it’s not ready tonight, morning’s fine as far as I’m concerned. I want something that will do some good but doesn’t have too much margin for collateral damage. The Feebs aren’t always careful. Plus I’d feel kinda bad if some of them got shot.”

“Not sure I would.” Dave stuck his head around the office door. “Thought I might find you here, boss. Randy and I are gonna cut out for the range and get some twilight shooting in. And maybe draw off our friend outside.” He chuckled. “Got us a tan Ford with Government plates in the lot across the street. Don’t worry, boss. We’ll use our brown Ford so we fit in with the damned assholes.”

“Good. See if you can get a make on them, too.” Sonny smiled to hide his annoyance. He’d hoped they had a few days before the tails started, but it looked like they wouldn’t be that lucky. “I’ll let Captain Castillo know.”

 

Castillo stared at the folder on his desk, not trusting himself to look Sonny in the eye just yet. The arrogance of the FBI never ceased to amaze him. Even after he’d taken down some of their own, they never looked inward. Just projected their mess out at everyone around them. “Deputy Blair’s sure?”

“I’d say so, Marty. He hates the FBI with a passion, and if anyone in this office could make them it would be him.”

“And he just saw one?”

“Yeah, but they’re like Government cockroaches. Where there’s one…”

“There are more. We cannot let this interfere with our operation. And we will not let it blow any existing covers. Trudy and I will leave before you and Tubbs. See if we can draw more of them out. Have Switek start looking for their frequencies. They always have poor radio discipline.”

“I’ll do that, Marty.” He could sense Sonny’s question before he asked it. “What do we do if there are more out there?”

“Send Switek next. Then Franz. Maybe together. If that doesn’t work, Switek can jam their frequencies. They must not blow your cover. Or Tubbs.”

“Roger that, Marty. I’ll pass the word.”

Alone in his office, Castillo let his anger show on his face. He’d done a little digging during the afternoon, and if any man personified the ancient sin of hubris it was the SAC of the FBI’s Miami office. Other agencies only worked with him under protest, and he’d ruined at least six undercover operations run by other agencies in as many years chasing headlines. In at least one of those blown operations a CI had been killed.

He knew Pete wanted nothing more than to break the man, but he wondered if this would be enough. He had to have friends in Washington to have survived as long as he had with such a poor record. SAC Thomas Overton was a dangerous man, but to the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

Outside he could see the setting sun dying the scudding clouds red, and knew it was almost time to go. At least they’d taken the Ford in, so he didn’t have to worry about the FBI doing something stupid and damaging Trudy’s car. He stood, feeling the scar tissue pull around his lower ribs. The pain was mostly gone now, and rehab long done, but he still felt it some days. Along with his other scars, visible and invisible.

He found Trudy and Mindy going through the latest activity reports from Metro-Dade’s databases. “How close are you?” he asked from the doorway.

“Pretty close.” Trudy yawned. “I’d say we’ve got it down to two choices.”

Mindy nodded. “That’s fair. There’s some outliers, but they wouldn’t have the impact.”

“You can finish in the morning. Mindy, please leave after we do and be careful going to Tubbs’ apartment. Deputy Blair spotted some FBI vehicles outside and Trudy and I will try to draw them off. I don’t want Crockett or Tubbs to be compromised.”

“Should I make other arrangements?”

“No.” He saw the relief in her eyes. “I also will not let them disrupt my peoples’ lives. We’ll put some measures in place to help deal with them.” Turning, he walked the few feet to the Tech Room. Stan and Lester looked up, and he could guess from the equipment they’d been working on decoy tapes. “I know Crockett already spoke with you, but I’d like you to pinpoint the frequencies the FBI’s using. Gather what intel you can. I want to know how many of them are out there. If Trudy and I don’t draw them off…”

Stan nodded. “We can knock them off the air all day, captain. But if you don’t mind I’d like to make a suggestion.”

“Yes?”

“Let me monitor them. Get a fix on who they have on surveillance and where they are. We’v been scanning since Dave said something, and I think we’ve picked up a total of three vehicles and a control point somewhere close by. One of the cars went after Dave and Randy…”

Lester nodded. “We think another will go after you, and then the last one will follow the Roach Coach. What they don’t know is the Roach Coach has direction finding capability. We can pinpoint their surveillance control point with those roach antenna.”

“Do it. I want a solid picture of what they’re doing. Then we can counter it.”

Sonny came out of his office with Rico close behind. “I’d lay odds they already know about the boat, captain. Rico’s got a better chance of not being blown.”

“Still, take no chances. Don’t leave until Lester gives the all-clear. That goes for both of you. Mindy might want to wait, too. They will likely blanket us eventually, but I don’t want to make it easy for them.”

Trudy nodded, then caught Sonny’s eye. “I got a response from Customs on that picture, Sonny. They say they have at least three from the earlier period and they’ll send them over first thing in the morning. You guys were right. They were quick to cooperate.”

Castillo nodded. ‘Good. Tomorrow we go after both our problems.”

 

Trudy almost looked up, then caught herself. “Are they still back there?”

“Yes.” Castillo smiled. “They aren’t very good. If the point was to lose them it would have happened two miles back.” He reached down and touched her thigh. “We’ll be home soon. And will not tolerate them near our home.”

He heard her giggle. “That should be fun.”

“But we won’t find out.” He shot a glance in the side mirror. “They’re pulling off. They just wanted to make sure we were going home.”

“You think they’re watching the house?”

“From near the main road, maybe. But they won’t risk getting too close. Even the FBI isn’t that foolish.” He shook his head, correcting himself. “The field agents aren’t that foolish. Their SAC is a different matter, but he’s not going to be in the field.”

“Why are they doing this, Marty? We’re supposed to be on the same side.”

“Yea, but the FBI is both proud and insecure. They want all of the credit when things go well, and none of the blame when it doesn’t. We’ve made them look bad simply by doing our jobs without them.” Turning onto the gravel driveway, he followed his own routine and shut off the headlights, letting the big car coast into its parking spot. “And I think there’s some history between the SAC and Chief Deputy Washington we don’t know about.”

“And maybe us, too. We did make them look bad a few times when we were still with OCB.”

“Very true.” Shutting off the car, he listened to the engine tick as it cooled. It also gave the various birds and insects on the property a chance to resume their chorus. If they didn’t, he knew someone else was in the area.

“Mindy and I have some good…”

He raised his hand. “What’s our first rule?”

She smiled and kissed his upraised fingers. “Work stays at work, my love.”

“As much as we can make it.” He smiled and ran his fingers along her cheek. “We must guard our time, for we never know how much we have.”

“Is that another of your Hmong sayings?”

“No. I got that one from an old drunk I met when I was doing relief work with Father Wajda. Before Vietnam came into my life.”

“He sounds like some of the guys who used to sit on the stoops in my old neighborhood. Talking shit and wisdom in about equal measure.” She sighed. “They’re all dead now, most likely.”

“We never know.” He smiled again, touching her leg. “Now let’s go in. I have some ideas for dinner. And you can play your suite again. I’d love to hear it.”

Later they sat on the deck looking out over the water. The sun had finished its final dive, and they could only hear the waves crashing and sliding across the white sand. Trudy sat partly curled up on his lap, her arms around his neck. She kissed him. “Do you think Jess is out there tonight?”

“It sounds like good water. I’m sure his spirt is close by.” Martin smiled. After she learned he still listened to the waves like his dead teammate had, they talked about Jess almost every night. And she’d started opening up about her brother, Andre. Gunned down in Overton for no reason anyone could ever determine.

“Do you ever think of walking away from it all?”

The question wasn’t unexpected. “More now than before. Do you?”

“I never really did until I got shot. That…” She paused, and her arm moved so she could touch the scar. “Things changed.”

“They always do, my love. I thought about it after Maynard shot me. And when the KGB came for Gretzky. And…” He paused. “More times than I care to remember.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I still feel like there are things I need to do.” He kissed the top of her head, feeling her hair tickle his nose. “Not as much now. The team is so strong. But that feeling…”

“I know. The one that keeps whispering you’re not done yet.” She smiled and turned her head so she could kiss him and look into his eyes. “I still get it at night. I see Andre, and he’s always telling me it ain’t done yet. Not as much now, but it’s still there.”

“We’ll know when it’s time, my love. And when it is we’ll walk away.”

“Together.”

“Yes.” He pulled her close, feeling her warmth through his clothes. “Always together.”

[vicegirl85]

25 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

“She’s a good cop. I’d say she’s a better one now. She’s tempered her impulsive streak, and she’s a damned hard worker. In OCB she’d be their top detective.”

“But here she’s a cherry.” Castillo nodded. “Thank you. I don’t disagree with anything you said. She’ll get a strong recommendation for promotion from me, and if you and Tubbs would be willing to sign letters of endorsement it will help a great deal.

I'm glad this conversation occurred!  Gina did have room to grow (on the show) and as much as I like her character, I think her part in this story showed that she did grow, and is in a place more suited to her personality now.

44 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

“We’ll know when it’s time, my love. And when it is we’ll walk away.”

“Together.”

I love this.  But it also makes my spidey-senses tingle!  

[Robbie C.]

2 minutes ago, vicegirl85 said:

I'm glad this conversation occurred!  Gina did have room to grow (on the show) and as much as I like her character, I think her part in this story showed that she did grow, and is in a place more suited to her personality now.

That was my intent. Gina needed a space of her own, and one that's more suited to the caring side of her we saw on the show. Castillo know it, so he used his influence to create that position for her. But he felt he still owed her a shot on the TF, so he let her see.

[mjcmmv]

Loved the references to Bill Boy and Phil! And the comment about Hoover wearing a dress and Sonny saying that was something he didn't want to know about was hysterical! Very moving when Sonny and Castillo were talking about Gina and how she belonged in the job Castillo created for her. Great segment!.