Avenged (7 page)

CARLY COULD TELL
by Nick’s face that he had news. “What?” she asked after she dropped her kit and stepped into his arms for a hug that lasted a fraction of the time she wanted.

“ATF was able to raise a couple of serial numbers.” His eyes were bright with anticipation. Finding information about the guns was huge, bringing them a step closer to finding the supplier.

“This soon?” Carly sat on the couch. She noticed Nick’s kit by the door; it was the one he used when serving warrants and kicking in doors.

He sat on the coffee table facing her, fidgeting with excitement. “The amount and type of guns we found set off an alert. They’ve been looking for a batch of guns stolen from
an Army reserve base in Arizona about six months ago. A guard was killed.”

Carly’s brow creased. She was tired and this news was difficult to process. “A theft like that from the Army? How?”

“One of the agents here told me it was well planned and executed. They thought a Mexican drug cartel was behind it, at least with financing. The crooks had night-vision goggles and everything. But it wasn’t just guns that disappeared. A quantity of plastic explosive went missing as well.”

“Plastic explosive?” Carly sat back, her eyes wide.

Nick nodded. “Enough plastic explosive to take down a large building. The feds now fear that the thieves were domestic terrorists. Since the guns have turned up here, they think the explosives are here as well.”

“But why Las Playas? What high-value target would there be for domestic terrorists . . . ?” She stopped when she remembered Oceans First.

Nick read her mind. “Yeah, they think Oceans First might be involved.”

“But they aren’t big enough—or bright enough, for that matter—to rip off an Army base. And what would they blow up? What would they gain?”

“There are multiple targets in the harbor. They could also pick the new marina. Or it might not even be Las Playas. They could be here because of the close proximity to the Los Angeles harbor. Maybe they just want to make a point.” He shrugged, and Carly knew he had as many doubts as she had. But he needed to be positive Oceans First wasn’t involved
before he crossed the group off the list. “This wouldn’t be the first time some radical environmentalists went too far. Remember that guy a couple years ago who was setting fires to SUVs?”

Carly nodded. He’d burned two Hummers in Las Playas and a whole bunch more in San Diego, protesting gas guzzlers.

Nick continued. “Mickey and I have been teamed up with a couple of ATF agents. We’re going to be serving warrants and checking out every spot in the harbor here and in LA that might be a target. And tentatively, we’ll be flying to Arizona to review things at the base. Fernando is in charge while I’m working with the feds. ATF is also adding agents to help with the gang situation here. They’re hot to find out who gave the guns to Trey and to speak to any gangster who will talk.” He gripped both of her hands in his. “I made arrangements for Cooper to cover my weaponless defense classes. I may not be around much this weekend.”

Carly’s disappointment bit deep. But seeing the excitement in the deep blue of her husband’s eyes made her think before she spoke. Squeezing his hands, she said, “Will you be here for church Sunday?”

“I’ll do my best, and I’ll call you whenever I have a chance.” He leaned forward and kissed her.

She wanted to grab him and hold on. When the kiss ended, he stroked her cheek and smiled. “You know I’ll pop in when I can, but this is big, babe. We have to find the explosives. We’ll be saving lives.”

“I know.” She threw her arms around his neck. “You just be careful, Sergeant Anderson,” she whispered in his ear. “That’s an order.” She felt him smile and pulled back to look into his eyes.

“Yes, boss.” He kissed her one more time, picked up his equipment duffel, and was gone.

•••

Carly bit back a yawn as she stood in the sand, contemplating the surf, Maddie sitting at her feet. Nick’s car was pulling out of the driveway before she’d realized she hadn’t told him about the offending blog posts or Wiley’s second visit. It was just as well. She wanted him focused on his job and his safety, not her complaints or dilemmas.

Dropping her towel, she told Maddie to stay and headed into the waves. In spite of the fact she wasn’t training for anything in particular, she swam hard. As she churned out the first mile, it occurred to her that she should decide on something to train for, some goal to work toward. She rarely let a lot of time go between competitions, but her last big race had been the Maui Channel Swim months ago while on her honeymoon. The 9.5-mile swim had been a wonderful challenge, and she had finished with a respectable time. But it had also taken a lot out of her. The current had been tough, and she was stung numerous times by jellyfish. She’d felt sick and swollen for two days after the race.

Nick suggested she just enjoy swimming for fun for a while before thinking about the next race, the next challenge.
He’d also tossed out the idea of training for a triathlon, and then they could do a lot more training together.

Carly gave that some thought. She liked to run and had no doubt she could train for a triathlon, but her bottom had an expiration time when it came to sitting on a bike, so she wasn’t sure a fifty-plus-mile bike ride was in the realm of possibility. Still, it might be fun to train at all three sports with Nick. Talk about together time.

Right now, one of her days off was spent volunteering at the local YMCA, teaching swim lessons to disadvantaged children. Carly liked the kids and loved teaching. If she decided to train for something competitive, she’d have to give that up.

She’d have to give that up and probably a lot more training time if she joined the task force. Carly pounded the water harder to clear her mind.

Once finished, she sat on her towel letting the sun dry her off. The water had worked its magic and the prick of Masters’s blog had lessened to a tiny annoyance. She prayed again, asking for perspective and wisdom about both Masters and Dean Barton.

She prayed for Nick, too, a niggling fear still in the back of her mind. Oceans First was annoying and vocal, but they had never physically hurt anyone. Guns and explosives just didn’t fit that equation.

CARLY SLEPT
for about six hours and then met Andrea for dinner. She declared the subject of Ginny Masters off-limits, leaning on an academy training principle that officers were targets, but they were to react professionally to taunts and name-calling. She’d faced angry crowds before and heard many aspersions tossed her way. This was no different, and she’d have to leave Ginny Masters—and Dean Barton, for that matter—in the locker room with her uniform.
Don’t take it personally.

“Agent Wiley came to talk to you twice in person?” Andrea raised an eyebrow and looked at Carly. “He wants you on that task force.”

“Well, the second time he came to ask about Trey and the guns.”

“Still.”

“It would be a great opportunity, an exciting gig, but . . .”

“Nick.”

“Don’t say it that way. I already feel like I don’t get enough time with him. Especially with him being on gangs now. And he’s adjusted his weaponless defense schedule not to interfere with our time together. How can I take a job that will take me away from him more often?”

“It wouldn’t be forever. Has he said he doesn’t want you to take it?”

“No, but we’ve only had a short time to sit and talk about it. The truth is, I don’t know what I want—much less what he wants. I would have been happy to work with Joe in a black-and-white forever.” Carly drained her coffee and then refilled it from the carafe on the table.

“You have time. You don’t have to decide right now.”

“That’s true. By the way, when do you think Alex will be home?” she asked as the waitress set dessert in front of them. They were at Ruby’s on the end of the Huntington Beach pier. Every so often, the floor shuddered as an ocean swell rolled beneath them.

Andrea gave a long-suffering sigh. “I hope soon. I miss him. But his dad is really having a difficult time coping with the loss. Alex is afraid he’ll hurt himself the first chance he gets.”

“Has he thought about moving his dad down here?”

“Briefly, but he’s never been close to his dad, so—” she shrugged—“he’s just at a loss.”

Carly smiled.

“What?”

“You really like him, don’t you?”

Andrea did something Carly couldn’t remember ever seeing her do: she blushed. “I do; I do. I never, ever thought I could like any guy this much.” She put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “There’s never any games with Alex. He says what he thinks. I never have to guess with him or . . .” Her voice trailed off.

Carly finished for her. “Play games yourself?”

Andi laughed. “You know me too well. Guys used to be a game for me, just a way to pass the time.” The smile faded. “I don’t want to toy with Alex, and it’s scary.”

“Don’t worry,” Carly said with a wave of her hand. “If he hurts you, I’ll just shoot him, and he knows that.”

They both burst out laughing and then finished their meal.

•••

Carly saw Nick briefly on Friday, when he came home around 3 a.m., slept for a couple of hours, then showered and left again. They’d discovered that besides offices on the coast, Oceans First also had an office in Arizona, so his trip to Arizona was confirmed. The ATF was set to serve warrants on the Phoenix office, and he was going along for the ride. He wouldn’t be back until late Saturday but planned to be at church on Sunday.

There was movement on the protestor front as well. An
appeals court judge had ruled for the city and given the okay to evict them from the park. The city and the PD were now working to determine how to evict them in a manner that would lessen the chance of violent confrontation. Carly and her shift had been given notice that they might be called in on overtime to assist.

“Things have been quiet in Las Playas as far as the gang stuff is concerned,” Nick said over coffee before he left Friday.

Carly had been listening to her radio and had come to that conclusion herself. She was glad Nick agreed.

“But Harris told me that the coroner has released Rojo and D.’s bodies for burial. One funeral is set for Sunday, the other for sometime next week, so we may have problems then. Jacobs has canceled all holidays and unscheduled vacation, anticipating needing extra hands for both the eviction and the funeral. Have you thought any more about your next career move?”

Carly shook her head. “No, I’ve been trying not to think about work this weekend.” She told him about Wiley’s second visit.

“They want you,” he said with a tilt of his head. “You should be flattered.”

She studied him, still not able to read him. “I am, I guess. But that makes it hard to say no.”

“Are you sure you want to say no? I’ve been thinking a lot about it. Since I’m working with the feds on an impromptu task force, I’m getting a small taste of what they’re offering you.”

Carly raised her eyebrows. “Do you want me to take it?”

Now she saw conflicted emotions cross his face. “I still need to read the information. At first, I would have said no because it would mean a lot of time away from home. But if the shoe were on the other foot, I’d jump at the opportunity. Everything you do with them will be cutting-edge. It won’t be a permanent gig in any event. Bottom line, I want my wife to be happy and certain that she’s where God wants her.”

“Aw . . .” She grabbed him in a hug, loving the feel of his strong arms around her. “I don’t know what I want. Thanks for reminding me to pray for what God wants. I did pick up some flyers for detective division openings.”

“Really?” His face registered surprise. “So that’s something you’re considering as well?”

“Yeah, my incredibly intelligent and good-looking husband made the suggestion, and after I considered it, I decided it was a good one.”

He took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her palm. “Whatever you choose, it’s time. You need a change. Which openings are you looking at?”

“I picked up three flyers. We can talk about it on Sunday.”

He nodded and looked at his watch. “Sorry to be leaving again, but I am learning so much from the feds. This experience has been very illuminating.”

“Since you like it so much, are you thinking of going federal?” Carly asked.

“No, I love working in Las Playas. But I will take the next
lieutenant test when it comes around. I like the idea of running the whole show. I think I could do a good job.”

“I know you could.”

He smiled the smile that always melted her heart. “Walk me out?”

Together they walked to the front door, arms around one another. At the door they shared a tight hug, and then Nick prayed for both of them and the investigation. Carly added prayers for safety and wisdom.

“I love you,” Nick whispered in her ear.

Carly watched his car until it disappeared from view, feeling his warm breath on her ear for the rest of the day.

•••

Friday was Carly’s swim class day at the Y. She was a little apprehensive this particular Friday because the eight ten-year-olds in her class were from gang neighborhoods. They were almost entirely divided between Ninjas and Playboyz.

But thankfully the ten-year-olds were more interested in the water than in any gang disputes. And she had unexpected help: Londy showed up in his bathing suit. He was talking to Mary Ellen when Carly arrived. She was used to seeing Mary Ellen at the Y; the girl was required to do a certain number of hours of supervised community service as part of her conditions of probation and fulfilled some of them by helping with a senior citizens’ water class. But Londy was a surprise—welcome, but a surprise nonetheless.

The children were doing well. They could float, swim
one lap across the pool, hold their breath underwater, and do reasonable dives from one knee. Most important to Carly, they were all having fun and they weren’t afraid of the water. The boys respected Londy, and his help and encouragement brought some big smiles. When they were finished, Carly decided to thank him with lunch, and she asked Mary Ellen to join them.

“Thanks, Officer Edwards,” Londy said as they hopped into Carly’s car for the trip to Taco Surf. No matter what Carly said, she couldn’t get Londy to call her anything but
officer
.

“Thank you for showing up today. Those kids loved your help.”

“I like kids. That was fun. I’m trying to get Victor, Crusher’s little brother, to come learn to swim.” He looked out the window.

Carly could tell something else was on his mind, but she’d learned that Londy usually had to work up to what he had to say. He was always thoughtful, always thorough. She figured chips and salsa would loosen his tongue.

“I like helping at the Y,” Mary Ellen said. “It’s the best part of my community service. It’s not work; it’s fun.”

Once they were seated and eating their tacos and chips, Carly nudged Londy. “So what’s on your mind? You worried about the funerals? Crusher?”

He gave a small smile. “You can tell I’m worried?”

“Sure, I’m a trained observer. What’s up?”

“I am worried about the funerals. I don’t want to see
anyone else get hurt. And Crusher . . .well, he’s doing better.” He looked at Mary Ellen.

She smiled. “They did surgery to stop the bleeding in his head and it worked. He’s getting better, and they hope he’ll wake up.”

“Really? That’s good news.” Carly felt a little guilty that she’d been so busy she hadn’t taken the time to check up on Crusher, and she was surprised to hear good news. At least she hoped it was good news. Crusher would never be the same, no matter what.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Londy said. “I’ve been talking to Victor a lot. I figure the little brother would know what Crusher was up to more than the mama would, you know?”

Carly nodded, remembering her encounter with the ten-year-old. “I met Victor.”

“Here’s the thing: he wants to be a Ninja. Always wearing the colors. I tell him it’s bad, but he don’t listen. He claims he knows who shot Crusher and he’s gonna kill ’em.”