Chasing Shadows (29 page)

"Heyya champ, Rose is looking for you.  Lucky's stuck here overnight, they want to monitor his heart."  He glanced over at KC's wound and pursed his lips in admiration.  "Nice one."  Hollywood met the glare KC sent his way without flinching.  "Hi, I'm Hollywood, I'm with him.  You must be Special Agent Zd—Zdzieba."  

He stuttered out KC's last name, and Chase realized Hollywood knew more about KC than he did.  She'd never told him her real name.  

Hollywood's gaze traveled down to glimpse KC's naked breasts.  Jealousy flared through Chase.

KC raised an eyebrow at Hollywood.  "This isn't a free show," she said in a ominous voice that made both men jump.

Chase grabbed Hollywood by the shoulders and propelled him toward the door.  

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Hollywood said as Chase shoved him out of the room.

KC rested her head on her arms.  "If you're not going to help me, then just get out," she told Chase.  "Go away, leave me alone, I'll take the heat for everything.  It was my op, it's my fault."

"I beg to differ, Special Agent Zdzieba."

Chase looked up to see Rose Prospero striding through the door, somehow looking starched and pressed in faded jeans and a Ravens' sweatshirt.  

Thank God, someone who could talk some sense into KC.  Go away?  She couldn't mean that.  He wasn't leaving her, not after everything they'd been through.  How could she even think that?

"Who are you?" KC asked, raising her head and looking at Rose with a gleam of interest.

"Rose Prospero.  I'm his boss."  She nodded at Chase.

"You in charge of the Brad Pitt lookalike as well?"

"So you've met Hollywood.  Yes, he's one of mine."

"What part of the alphabet soup are you people from?  CIA, NSA, ATF?  What's the story?  Maybe if you tell me what's going on I can help."

Rose smiled.  "Nice try.  You know it doesn't work that way.  I am curious why the FBI was in charge of an arms smuggling investigation.  And why your superiors have the mistaken impression that you're collecting evidence on a RICO case in Reading."

KC groaned and dropped her head once more.  Chase moved to her side, uncertain where to touch her without hurting her more, only knowing that he had to touch her.  He patted her head, then eased one of her hands out for him to hold.

"Rose, she's been through a lot.  Can't this wait?"

He almost wished he hadn't said anything when Rose cut a glare his way.  She seemed angry and surprised by his words.

"You of all people know it can't.  One of my people is lying in a bed next door and both of you could have been killed.  And, thanks to this debacle, we have no idea what The Crusade is planning."

He winced at the truth behind her words.   KC jerked her head up at the mention of The Crusade. 

"The Crusade?  I'm in."  KC swung her legs around and pushed herself to a sitting position.  She didn't seem to care that she was naked from the waist up.

Chase grabbed a hospital gown and draped it around her.  Her face had gone pale once more and a sheen of sweat showed on her upper lip.

"Lie back down, KC.  The doctor said—"

"The doctor said I'll be fine.  Get me my clothes."

"You're not going anywhere."

"Like hell I'm not.  Who are you to tell me what I can or can't do?  You don't know anything about me—"

"You're right, at least you know my name."  Chase heard the anger in his voice and tried to force it back.

"Hers is Konstantina Christabel Zdzieba," Rose said in a soft voice.  Damn, Chase had forgotten she was there.  "Chase, why don't you find Agent Zdzieba something to wear under her coat?"  She indicated the leather jacket that Chase still clung to.  "Give us a minute."  

Chase hesitated, but Rose had moved to stand beside KC, effectively cutting him out.

"How much do you know?" Rose asked KC.  Chase paused at the door, hoping to be invited to stay.

"Nothing.  He," KC jerked her head at Chase, "wouldn't tell me anything.  I thought he was working for Gianotti at first.  Imagine my surprise when I get dragged into things, and he's on the other side holding a gun on me."

"I told you to trust me.  It was need to know," Chase protested.

"I'll handle this," Rose said in her voice of command.  "Now, go."

Chase absorbed the icy glare KC threw at him and decided to exercise the better part of valor.  He retreated into the neutral territory of the hallway.

Billy Price looked up from his conversation with the two State Troopers who were trying to pump him for information about the corpse they'd found in the Westin house.  The one with the bullet hole in the middle of his forehead, his arms and legs bound by strapping tape.  Chase Westin stampeded down the hall toward him, a leather jacket clutched in his hand like it was the flag at Iwo Jima.

"I'm out, as of now.  Want it in writing?" Chase demanded as he came to a halt.  

The two troopers looked up, eyebrows raised, but Billy just chuckled and took Chase by the arm.

"Let's talk this over like reasonable men," he said, guiding Chase into an empty exam room.

"I almost lost everything today, so excuse me if I don't feel very reasonable.  Tell Rose I'm out, I quit, I'm done."

"You selfish bastard." Billy didn't hold back.  "You know what's at stake, you know Rose isn't asking anything of you that she wouldn't do herself."

"I can't do it anymore.  I can't lie to the people I love.  I almost lost my brother and KC because I couldn't tell them the truth.  It's not going to happen again."

"So you're choosing a woman over the needs of your country?  That doesn't sound like you, Westin."

Chase faltered, took a step back and Billy thought maybe he had him.  Then a look of wonder crossed the ex-Marine's face, like a kid opening the best Christmas present ever.

"Yeah," Chase blew out the syllable, nodding as if liking the sound of it.  "Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing."

"C'mon, Westin.  Think it over, you don't have to quit The Team."

"You know as well as I do that Rose doesn't like her people to have any attachments.  And I planned to be attached for hopefully a long, long time."

Billy looked up at that.  Chase Westin taking the plunge?  Walking away from the job for the love of a woman?  

Unbelievable, the man was a walking Marine recruitment poster—sacrifice all for Corps and Country.  

The blissful look on Chase's face told him everything he needed to know.  The guy had fallen, hard.  Looked like he might keep on falling for a long time to come.

"Let me talk to Rose," he told Chase.  

"Talk to her all you want, I'm not changing my mind."

Rose scrutinized the young FBI agent, noting how she handled the pain and the emotions of the day's events.  She'd read Zdzieba's file on the way here, knew the official story.  It was the unofficial story she was most interested in.  

For an agent so young, Zdzieba had an impressive record.  Rose understood her frustration over how this operation imploded, up until now every one of her assignments had ended in an arrest with no bloodshed.

"Why not the ATF?" she repeated her previous question, the one Zdzieba had so neatly dodged.

"Jay Westin didn't trust the local PD, he came to us.  We were after Gianotti for murder and racketeering, not arms dealing, so why complicate things?" the younger woman said nonchalantly, more relaxed now that Chase was gone.

Rose looked more closely.  Oh, this girl was good, very good—Chase definitely found himself a winner in Zdzieba.  She almost had Rose fooled.

"Try again.  The truth this time.  Why did no one in your office know what you were working on?"

Zdzieba met Rose's gaze with a look of innocence, but Rose didn't back down.  Finally Zdzieba shrugged, conceding the point.  

"A lot of undercover agents have been burned in the past year, not just FBI either.  There must be a leak somewhere.  I knew I could trust my team but that was all, so I switched the case numbers so no one would ask questions or insist on calling the ATF."

"By no one, you mean your superior, Special Agent in Charge Halstrom?"

Zdzieba rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue.  For a moment she looked exactly like the teenager she'd been playing in her undercover role.  

"Yeah, the guy's a weasel.  Look, I can give you a list of Gianotti's activities and contacts.  The Crusade might try one of them if they still want those weapons."

"They do."  The one thing Rose was certain of was that The Crusade wouldn't back down.  They might be more careful in the future, but they weren't going away anytime soon.  Not after being forced to sacrifice one of their own.  They had to be planning something big.  And she had the feeling that the clock was definitely ticking.

"Let me in on the action," Zdzieba continued.  "I know Gianotti's organization like the back of my hand.  I can help.  I'm good, my cover's solid.  Everyone who saw me at the meet is dead except Chase—" her voice trailed off, a frown furrowing her forehead.

"You can't send Chase back," Zdzieba said, her eyes meeting Rose's, pleading.

"Why not?  Everyone who knows he's not kosher is dead, just like you said."   

Chase was her sole remaining asset connected to The Crusade.  Rose couldn't bench him, not if she was going to stop The Crusade before they acted.

"They suspected Chase before the meet," Zdzieba told her.  "They swapped his ammo for blanks.  His cover is blown.  But no one connected with them ever saw me."

Rose considered that.  She would have Billy go over the ballistic reports.  But she couldn't risk The Crusade getting their hands on enough weapons to blow up Staten Island, not if there was the slightest chance of Chase stopping them.  "I'll take it under consideration."

Zdzieba shook her head.  "You can't risk it, it's too dangerous.  I know who you guys are, well, I can guess anyway.  There have been rumors of a covert group that gets called in when other counter-terrorist teams fail.  We call you guys the Justice League over at the Hoover Building.  You're like superheroes to the rest of us grunts."  

Rose had to smile at the enthusiasm in Zdzieba's voice.  Did the girl really think Rose didn't know a con job when she heard one?  Still, she rated an A for effort.  The kid was good.

"Point is, I'd like to join you guys.  Sign me up, I'll take Chase's place.  I'm tight with Gianotti's son, know his contacts, I can use that as my in with The Crusade."

Rose almost took her up on her offer.  The kid had talent, under other circumstances she might have invited her to join The Team.  But not now, when she was wounded, barely functional, and it was all too obvious she and Chase were involved.  Rose couldn't risk anything distracting her people from the job.

Chase returned before she could answer Zdzieba.  He handed Zdzieba a surgical scrub top and helped her on with it.  He winced when he looked upon Zdzieba's bullet wound, anguish crossing his face when a small painful noise escaped from the FBI agent.  

Damn it, had Chase picked now, in the middle of the biggest red flag op they had going, to fall in love?  

Her most steady operative.  She couldn't lose him, not now when they needed him the most.

"Did you check on Jay?" Zdzieba asked him as he hovered over her.

"Yeah, he's fine.  The Marshals are bringing him here."

"Chase, we have a lot of work to do."  Rose ignored the look of fury Zdzieba sent her way at her interruption.  "It was nice meeting you, Agent Zdzieba."  She shook Zdzieba's free hand and started to the door, then paused.  "I once knew a Konstantine Zdzieba, years ago in Razgravia."

The FBI agent straightened at that.  "My grandfather.  He went back to help the freedom fighters.  He died there."

Rose nodded.  She knew.  She had cradled Konstantine's head in her lap as he took his last breath.  

"Same man.  He knew my grandmother back in the old days.  Maybe when this is all over we can sit down, I'll tell you about it."  

She left them alone for their farewells.  "Five minutes, Chase."

Chase reached for KC's hand, drew close to her as he searched for the right words.  The sound of running footsteps echoed down the hall and the door burst open before he could find them.  

"KC, Chase said you'd been shot!" Jay said as he rushed into the exam room.  

Chase reluctantly pulled back from KC.  Damn, the kid had bad timing.  Jared Wright, one of the Marshals, followed close on Jay's heels.  

"Sorry, he got away from me," he said, his eyes cutting from KC to Chase, an eyebrow arched in question.  

"S'all right, Jared," KC said.  "Thanks for bringing him."

"Are you okay, KC?" Jay asked in a strained voice once the Marshal left.  Then he whirled on Chase.  "You let her get hurt!  How could you?"

"It looks worse than it is," KC told him.  "You and your brother saved my life."

"After she saved mine first," Chase put in, squeezing her hand in his.

The door opened, and Lucky walked in, tugging an IV pole and wearing a hospital gown that revealed more of his scrawny legs than Chase ever wanted to see.  

Jeez, this place was busier than Grand Central.  Couldn't anyone give them a few minutes alone?  He needed to talk with KC, needed to know how she felt about everything, about him.

"Can't treat me like I'm some kind of invalid," Lucky was saying to someone over his shoulder.  He grinned at KC.  "Hi again, remember me?  I just wanted to stop by, see what you're doing for the holidays—"

Chase threw Lucky a glare.  "She's busy."

Lucky looked to KC for confirmation, "Really?"  

KC gave Chase a full wattage smile.  Chase decided his new mission in life was to make her smile like that more often.  

"I guess so," she told Lucky, her gaze never leaving Chase.  Her talk with Rose seemed to have calmed her down.  That had to be a good thing, right?

Lucky turned to Jay.  "You must be Jay.  I'm Lucky, I work with your brother."

Jay looked over at the IV.  "Were you shot, too?" he asked with wonder in his voice.  

A shadow passed over Lucky's usually amiable face.  Hollywood had told Chase what the man called the Preacher did to Lucky.