“I'm afraid so,” Brenda nodded, staring at a yellow-bellied coward. “You're scared to do your job.”
“I'm not going to ruin my career on a useless chase, Agent Lawson. I have a son in law school and a wife who enjoys belonging to a very nice flower club. I'm not about to throw my life down the drain because our people are messing with him, is that clear?” Director Summers’s thin face turned red with anger.
“I'm afraid it is.”
“Oh, don't look at me like that,” Brent snapped, staring into Brenda’s disgusted face. “You're no saint, Brenda. I know your background. You're lucky to even be working for the FBI. And let me warn you, I would fire you in a second if I could. But that doesn't mean I'll stand by and let you turn Curanto into a hungry shark, is that clear?”
“What do you expect me to do, Director? Sit around and watch a drug lord suck the life out of innocent kids?”
“There's not an innocent kid in all of Brooklyn,” Brent barked. “The kids...teenagers… who walk these streets are nothing but future prison inmates.”
“We can change that and--”
“Stand down, Agent Lawson!” Brent yelled, aiming his finger at Brenda again. “I will pull you from your current assignment and get you reassigned to another field office if needed.”
“I don’t think that is possible, Director.”
“Keep to yourself or I'll fight whoever I must in order to get rid of you! Is that clear?” Brent's hand began to shake with anger. “We're suits, Agent Lawson, and nothing more. Our duty is to be pawns in a very powerful political game. They are powerful men. If you're smart, you'll get on the winning side!”
“Unlike you, Director, I actually look at myself in the mirror each morning,” Brenda spoke in a calm voice. “I may not like the woman I see staring back at me, but I can live with her.”
“And I can live with myself—” Brent slammed his mouth shut for a minute as he stared at Brenda. “Take the day off and think about where you stand, Agent Lawson. When you return to work I want you to focus on the sites I assign you and stay away from 'Dazed' and Joey Curanto. If you refuse to obey my orders, I will ensure that you are promptly transferred.”
“You can try,” Brenda assured Brent in a brave tone and snapped open the front door. “I'll see you tomorrow, Director.”
“Why do I even waste my time?” he huffed toward the front door. He paused just before stepping out into a dimly lit hallway. “Go ahead and make him mad. Go after Curanto and see how long you last.”
“And I'm sure you're going to tell Curanto that, right?”
“Take the day off and think about where you stand, Agent Lawson. When you return to work… If you get back on track, the FBI will stand behind you. If you veer off track, expect to crash. Goodbye.” Brent stepped out into the hallway.
Brenda watched Director Summers storm down the hallway. She rolled her eyes, closed and locked the front door, and walked back to the small kitchen just in time to hear her cell phone ringing.
“Yeah, Mack?”
“Bad news,” Mack informed Brenda.
Chapter 3
“Just got a call. A kid named Alonzo Guinn was found dead in an alley. Alonzo was a tough kid who hung out at the diner a lot. Saw him talking to Vincent Santoro a few times.”
“I know who Alonzo is. Saw him talking to a few kids yesterday on 'Dazed' before 'Underyournose' showed up and took him into a private chat.” Brenda felt her cheeks turn red. “Alonzo Guinn was only--”
“Seventeen years old,” Mack confirmed, preparing to leave his office. “The kid's old man is a low profile attorney that handles petty crimes. I doubt he'll make much of a fuss.”
Something in Mack’s voice stirred Brenda's anger. “Are you implying that—”
“If Curanto is to murder a seventeen year old kid,” Mack told Brenda in the hard voice, “then I'm going after him.”
“I can help,” Brenda reached for her coat.
“Meet behind the diner. That's where Alonzo's body was found.”
“I'm on my way.” Brenda ended the call, threw on her coat, checked to ensure that her Glock 17 was ready for action, and stepped out of her apartment.
Two men wearing black ski masks appear in the dimly lit hallway at the same time. The two men spotted Brenda and unleashed a barrage of bullets. Brenda lurched backwards, crashed down into her apartment, and kicked the front door closed.
“Didn't take him long to decide that I'm better off dead,” she whispered, crawling hurriedly into her kitchen.