Nothing Special V, page 26
part #5 of Nothing Special Series
He heard the door open and turned to look towards it, expecting to see God, but it was Hart and his lieutenant. They were in full-on SWAT gear. Either they were getting ready to go on a bust or were just coming back from one. The man knew how to fill out that uniform. His head was shaved bald, but he had a well-groomed full beard with at least five to six inches of bushy lengthy under his chin. It looked hot on him. He looked scary and dangerous, especially geared up in all black. If Day were just walking down the sidewalk, he’d move out of the guy’s way. But if you knew Hart, you’d know he was all teddy bear… as long as you stayed on the right side of the law.
“You guys aren’t superstars enough; you had to have Prescott Vaughan cooling his heels in here?” Hart’s laugh was husky like he smoked too much, but Day knew the man didn’t put anything toxic in his system.
Day stood up and introduced the huge SWAT captain properly. “Pres, this is Ivan Hart. Captain of the SWAT team in this precinct. Hart, this is my longtime friend, Prescott and his partners, Blair McKenzie and Dr. Ric Edwards.”
“It’s a real honor. I heard you guys were here. You know how fast news travels around this place. Got all the girls running around applying lipstick and shit.” Hart laughed again, slapping Day so hard on his back he practically fell against the table.
Day looked out into the bullpen, noticing it was buzzing with way more activity than usual; every few seconds heads would turn to look his way. Day shook his head. “Didn’t these girls get the memo?” Day looked at Pres.
“I didn’t come for an autograph, my lieutenant did, though. And some of them out there want to know if Mr. Vaughan would come out there and take a few pictures,” Hart asked.
“How’d you let them talk you into asking that?” Syn smiled up at Hart.
“You know I’ll do anything if I’m asked nicely enough.” Hart shrugged. “Which is another reason I’m here. I wanted to tell God I’m moving his witnesses today.”
Syn frowned. “I thought it was tomorrow morning.”
Hart gave Syn his patented captain’s glare. “I know. I changed it. No one knows they’re moving now, except my team and you. I’ll notify the DA of the change when I get there, but he won’t even know the new location.”
“That’s why I trust you, brother,” God said gruffly, coming through the door with a slim file in his hand. God clamped his hand around Hart’s huge one and pulled him in for a shoulder bump. “Thanks for the transport, Hart. I appreciate it. I wouldn’t entrust this responsibility to anyone else.”
“Yeah, yeah. Kiss my ass when we don’t have an audience, Godfrey.” Hart chuckled with a crooked smile.
Pres stood up. “I’m going to go take a couple pictures, Leo.”
“That might not be a good idea. Word could get out that you have police assistance,” Syn noted.
“Everyone knows I have a best friend in the Atlanta PD and so does you know who, if he’s behind this. This is normal activity for me. Anytime I’m in Atlanta or close to it, I stop in and see Leo. It’ll look like I’m going about my regular routine.” Pres took Blair’s hand and walked out of the office. Ric stood there watching them go, a look of uneasiness still masking him.
“You don’t want to go with them?” Day asked.
“No.” Ric grimaced and sat back down. “I don’t do the pictures and fan thing. That’s all Pres and Blair. They were made for the camera.”
“What’s going on? Why does he want to look like he’s not doing anything differently?” Hart questioned.
God spoke first. “Someone’s been issuing threats. Last night a man broke in his condo and took a shot at him. Ric tussled with him before he took off. We believe he’ll keep trying until he succeeds.”
“You got any leads?” Hart frowned.
“I’m pretty sure we got a good one, and a solid plan. We found the one who’s been breaking in, tracked him backward from his hack into Pres’ security system. We’re gonna pick him up as soon as we get a ping from Tech’s system.”
“Alright, God. I’ll be back by seven, at the latest. I’ll accompany you to get him.”
God opened his mouth, but Hart snapped his huge arm up, cutting him off. “Not a word. Unless we get a call for my team to go out, we’re there with you.”
“Thanks, Hart. I appreciate it.” Day nodded.
“So do I.” Ric stood and shook Hart’s hand again.
“There’re your guys coming back.” Hart craned his thick neck to look through the glass. “Who’s that with them?”
Tech
“Free, this is the bullpen. Other detectives and officers work in this area. It’s usually not so full, but that’s Prescott and his partner over there taking pictures, so I’m sure that’s why. You can meet him when he comes back inside.”
“He’s more handsome in person,” Free said.
“He’s alright if you go for the Hollywood type. I’m more into the rugged look, myself.” Tech grinned, noticing Steele’s smile as he kept his eyes forward while they walked. “Downstairs are booking and holding cells and the basement level is the gym and locker rooms. Upstairs are other departments, homicide, robbery, cybercrimes, special victims, ya know.” Tech kept pointing as they moved through the large precinct. “That’s the captain’s office. He has an open-door policy and is always available. And straight ahead is our department.”
Free stopped so suddenly, Ruxs had to dodge him to avoid running into his back. Tech turned to look at his friend, wondering about the haunted look in his face. “Who’s that in there?” he whispered harshly, his voice sounding strained as if he had to struggle to say the words.
Tech looked closer, noticing God standing there with Day and… oh… Hart. Tech told Steele, Ruxs, and Green to go ahead. They looked confused but didn’t question him. When they were out of earshot, Tech stood there alone with Free since most everyone was crowding around the star in the room.
“That’s SWAT Captain Hart and his lieutenant, Roberts. I know he looks intimidating from here, especially in his gear, but he’s really a great guy. God and Day use his assistance when we have a big bust. There’s no reason to be nervous. He’s extremely sweet and surprisingly gentle. There are female officers who actually prefer to train with only him,” Tech said, rubbing Free’s arm.
“I’m sorry. I’m acting insane. I know we’re in a room full of cops, but you understand, right?”
“I know your dad was an asshole cop who abused his authority, but you won’t find that around God or Day.” Tech looked into Free’s eyes. “I wouldn’t’ve called you here if I wasn’t hundred percent sure you’d be safe. You’ve commented about my job before, how special it is. Well, here’s your chance to have that. You can do my job even better than me, but we won’t broadcast that.” Tech gave Free another sad smile. “Don’t let your dad continue to control your life. You’ve beaten him already, it’s time you moved forward, Free.”
Free closed his eyes and took a long breath and turned to head towards their department with his back straight and his eyes focused. Tech was proud of him already. He’d come a long way.
Tech moved around introducing him. The looks Free got were interesting. He was definitely a sight to see. Couple his trendy look with his fascinating mind and he was incredible. Tech moved him over to Hart. “Captain, this is a school buddy of mine from MIT. Lennox Freeman. Free, this is Hart.” Tech inched back to let them shake hands. Free had his hand out for an uncomfortable while before Hart finally snapped his mouth closed and clasped his hand. Tech didn’t miss his friend’s slight flinch at the contact, but when he spoke, his voice was strong.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hart.”
“Call me Ivan,” Hart said, more softly than Tech ever heard the man speak. Tech could see Hart’s grip wasn’t firm, either; he was just barely grasping Free’s hand. “I hear the accent. Where are you from?”
“Born in Baltimore. My father is from Peterborough, it’s ninety or so miles from London. I was raised there until I was eleven, then I came back to America,” Free answered, his eyes only having to lift a fraction to look into Hart’s ice blue ones. His body unlocked and his posture took on a relaxed stance within seconds. What was going on? The two interacted like there was no one else in the room with them.
“So, you thinking of working for God and Day, huh? You into action and adventure?” Hart smiled genuinely, staring down at Free.
“I wouldn’t say I’m into that. I’m more of a background player. But Tech called… so I answered. I’m willing to give it a shot if they’ll have me,” Free said cautiously, and finally took his eyes off Hart, only to turn his gaze right back.
Tech felt Steele lean against his back and murmur in his ear, “Um, what’s happening?”
“I’m not sure.” Tech noticed everyone was standing there watching the interaction with fascination. Tech was ninety-nine percent sure that Hart was straight. He’d been divorced from his wife for three years and he’d dated a couple other women, but Tech didn’t think it had amounted to much. The man was a dedicated officer, like many of them, which meant not much of a social life. All Tech ever saw was the man at work. Every blue moon, he’d accept one of their invitations to a game night, but rarely.
Prescott and Blair came back into the room, putting an end to Hart and Free’s extremely long introduction.
Hart cleared his throat. “Well, I got a transport to do. I’m making sure God’s witnesses stay safe. Good luck, Free. Hope to see you… umm… see you lat—… yeah, have a good day… evening.” Hart shook his head like he was confused and stepped around Free, leaving the office without saying goodbye to anyone else.
Free moved over to Tech’s station and sat down, awakening the computers like he already belonged there. The facial recognition software was still running, the progress bar only a quarter of the way through. God and Day moved a little closer but stayed quiet. All of them did. Free was looking around for his laptop bag when Green hurried and set it down by his feet. Free reached inside and pulled out a small electronic device that looked like an eight-by-five external hard drive. But Tech knew it wasn’t, it was something spectacular created by Free’s brilliant mind. He inserted the USB into Tech’s main system and watched the screens flicker a second before the progress bar on the facial recognition sped up times one hundred. Codes were running through so fast Tech had to squint to try to follow them. Seven seconds later a face appeared on the big screen.
All of them stared at the face of the man who’d been hacking Pres’ system.
“Do you recognize him?” Day asked Pres.
“No, I don’t. Not at all,” Pres answered.
Still working in silence, Free pulled his own laptop from his bag – it was about three inches thick and looked like it was old and outdated, but Tech knew it was specially made. Not available in any store, anywhere – and plugged it into Tech’s. The screens synched and Tech’s pulse raced as he watched Free do what he did. It’d been a long time, but he always got a rush anytime he saw the man work. Like watching a brain surgeon operate. Magnificent.
The systems whirred loudly in the room while Free’s powerful computer pushed Tech’s system to capacity. His hands danced across the keyboard, manipulating the screens and codes to show what he wanted to see and go where he needed to go. Another couple seconds passed and a red signal appeared on the screen to the far right, flashing on a map of the entire world. Free was showing them he could find damn near anyone. Tech’s printer spit out a couple pieces of paper. Free grabbed them and turned around, handing them to the closest man beside him… Day. “That’s your man. Robert James Mercer.” Free turned back to the computer. More screens were appearing and reappearing, Mr. Mercer’s life and personal information being hacked and reviewed while he was none the wiser. “He got a wire transfer of ten thousand dollars nine days ago. Unless he got one helluva bonus at his Cannon Systems technical assistance operator job, he was just paid off for doing something quite naughty.”
“That’s a helluva way to apply for a job,” Pres said, sounding shocked, still watching Free. Holding his chest, the star looked relieved, probably to be a few steps closer to figuring out all this mess. “I’d say you’re hired, but it’s not my decision. If God won’t hire you, I can use a man of your talents.”
“Too late. He already has a job… if he wants it,” Day spoke up before God could. “That was amazing. I see why Tech is so good. We’ll need to iron out some details, but the job is yours if you want it.”
“I don’t carry a gun and I won’t.” Free pointed at Tech’s hip.
“We need a technology specialist. You don’t have to be an officer of the law for that position. Tech chose to become a detective. You’d just have to be okay with the pay grade,” Day told him.
“To what? Pay for my summer home in the Hamptons? I’m sure the pay is sufficient to keep up my RV.”
“Enough shop talk. Great, he’s hired. Alright, go and arrest that guy – Mercer or another – and throw the book at him.” Ric glared at God like his command was about to be followed.
“Didn’t I already tell you I’ll handle this?” God gritted through a tightly clenched jaw. “We can’t just go and arrest someone. Most of the information he got was obtained illegally. We’ll need—”
“Then why bother doing it? Y’all flew this guy here just so he could show off and get a ton of inadmissible evidence!” Ric fired off, his big arms flailing with each word he yelled.
Free was next to Tech as soon as Ric started up, inching behind him and Steele.
“Hey! If you got all the answers, then you go get him!” God snapped again. “Otherwise, stop trying to tell me how to do my job. One more insult to me or my team and it’s over! I don’t work this way!”
“No. No, please. He’s just scared.” Blair stepped in between Ric and God. Pres had dropped back into his chair, looking dejected. “God, Day, we’re going to do it your way. No more outbursts or demands. Right, Bear… Right?” Blair snapped at his partner, making the fury in his face melt to sorrow.
God didn’t wait for an apology from Ric; instead, he turned to Syn. “How long before Ro gets here?”
Syn checked his phone. “Maybe another fifteen minutes.”
“Okay. Ruxs, y’all go get this guy. We’ll have about an hour to make him talk before he lawyers up and we gotta let him go. All we have legally is that he was at the café at the time the address was hacked. It’s not enough. We need him to talk. Bring him in, show him who you guys really are. Maybe he’d rather take his chances in jail than ever see you three again.”
“We’d love to.” Ruxs clapped his hands together.
Tech watched them go. He was supposed to be shadowing, but right now, he needed to be here with Free and get him started on paperwork. Tech turned to his friend when the commotion had cooled down. His light caramel skin looked ashen and his eyes darted back and forth between God and Ric. “Are you sure about me being here, Techy?”
“I’m sure. You’re safe here. I swear it.” Tech smiled at his friend, excited to be with him, to have the great honor of working with one of the greatest hackers in the world. What Free had just done in a matter of minutes was nothing short of amazing.
Day walked up to Free and lightly tapped him on his shoulder and pulled out his raggedy cell phone with the cracked screen. “Hey, do you think you can fix this? And for some reason, it keeps dropping calls, too.”
“Jesus, lieutenant.” Tech looked at Day like he’d lost his mind. Asking Free to do that was like asking the President to get you out of a parking ticket.
Free just smiled and took the phone from Day, looking it over. “Sure. When my home arrives I’ll get it straight for you.”
Day pumped his fist like he’d just won the lottery.
“Really, Leo?” God stared at him.
“They wanted a one-hundred-dollar deductible to give me a new one.” Day looked at everyone like it all made perfect sense.
Day
Day and Pres were sitting outside talking privately while they waited for the Enforcers to come back. Day had reassured his best friend many times over that everything was going to work out. He could imagine how frightened he was. Day had been under the gun more times than he liked to remember, and it never got any less terrifying when you felt your life might end at any second.
“Where’s Ric?” Day asked, scanning the parking lot.
“He walked up the block with Blair.” Pres kicked at colorful leaves and twigs while they walked around the side of the building, dust and grime covering his expensive shoes, but he didn’t look like he cared. Day guessed shoes were pretty trivial right now. “I’m really sorry about how he’s been behaving and arguing with you guys.”
“Pres, the guy walked into a room and found a man pointing a gun at the men he loved. If he had been five seconds later, he’d be completely alone right now… planning a funeral. I think we can cut him some slack. I personally wanna kiss him. He saved you, Pres. I don’t blame him at all for wanting results.”
“You won’t blame him, but God probably won’t take much more. I mean, you guys are getting married in days. I’m sure he doesn’t want the added pressure.”
“This doesn’t stop anything. God will have this wrapped up in a day or two, tops. My gut is telling me it’s your business partner, too. Tech and his friend are still digging into his financial records. I’m really sorry if it comes down to arresting him, Pres.”
“He’s never been a friend. When I was blind and alone, he was perfectly okay with keeping our relationship professional, no personal calls or invites to his frequent parties. I was the name behind the business that he got paid well for. We actually spoke personally maybe once or twice a year. We corresponded through our secretaries and emails. If I saw him on the street, I’d probably walk right by him, not knowing it was him. He… he was a business partner, Leo. That’s it. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t difficult for him to get rid of me. If he goes to jail, I can’t say I’d be devastated. It’s depressing but more for him than me. What the hell made him think he could pull off a conspiracy to commit murder?”
