Tied Up in Knots (Marshals 3)

“I get it,” I admitted. “You need the gun.”

“Fuck, yeah, I need the gun, and that’s where you come in.”

“How?” I could hear how icy and stilted I sounded, so no way Cochran was missing it.

“Chain of custody says it’s in your property room.”

“But?”

“But your boss says the gun’s not there.”

Now I was really lost. “Okay, wait. You’re telling me that you already questioned the chief deputy about the gun?”

“Barreto and I did, yeah.”

This finally felt like the gist of it. “And?”

“And like I said, he told us that it’s not there.”

“Then what the fuck, Norris? If he says it’s not there, it’s not there.”

“But I think it is, and I think he’s lying.”

“What?” My brain was ready to explode. “How dare you fucking—”

“Calm the fuck down!”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I roared, drilling two fingers into his collarbone. “You don’t know shit about Sam Kage because if you did you’d never—”

“I think your boss is purposely hiding the whereabouts of that gun,” he yelled over me.

“For what reason?” I shouted.

“I have no idea.”

“Does Sam Kage even know Andreo Fiore?”

“Not that we can tell. There’s nothing at all that links them.”

“Then why the hell would you think he would lose the gun?”

Cochran cleared his throat. “You know, back in the day, his partner was dirty, and guess where that guy went—into WITSEC,” he said offhandedly.

“What are you insinuating?” I asked, feeling my skin heat under my clothes, afraid of what I would do if the words actually came out of his mouth. Irritation, annoyance, all of it was gone, replaced solely by anger. How fucking dare he.

“Dirty partner… you understand.”

“I don’t think I do,” I said flatly, my vision tunneling down to him, lost on the edges, going black, my throat dry, my heart beating so fast I wondered how he couldn’t hear it.

“C’mon, Miro, don’t be stupid.”

“That was a long time before my boss was even a marshal,” I ground out.

“Whatever. It’s not right and you know it.”

“What isn’t?” He had to be clear. I couldn’t bury his career if he wasn’t.

“Your boss is fuckin’ dirty.”

It was worse than I thought it would be, hearing his words, having them out there, the accusation making my stomach churn.

“Did you hear me?”

The rage filled me up, made me see red, and fisted my hands at my sides. Only the thought of Kage, his disappointment if I surrendered to my base instincts, kept me still. “You don’t know him at all.” I bit off each word.

“Like I said, I know of him. I know his partner was dirty and he—”

“Well, I know him,” I spat out, my voice hoarse. “And he would never, ever, tamper with evidence, any evidence! If anyone is screwing with you, it’s your boss. Who the fuck transfers the wrong guns to the Justice Department?”

“Cortez signed a piece of paper to transfer a crapton of evidence, not just one gun! Do you have any idea how many cases and reports and everything else Justice is going through? It’ll take years for them to get through it all.”

“And then they can start looking into Homan Square,” I blasted.

“Fuck you, Miro!” he yelled, shoving at me hard but barely moving me, as I was prepared for his reaction. I knew Norris Cochran; his fuse was far shorter than mine. “You know I never—”

“I don’t give a shit that you never,” I roared, knocking him back several feet. “But don’t you dare come at me with some bullshit accusation about my boss covering up a crime by tampering with evidence. For all we know, the goddamn gun was never even there in the first place!”

He threw a wild roundhouse punch that I ducked easily, and I would have tagged him right in the jaw, but someone grabbed me from behind and got my arms pinned behind me.

As I struggled to free myself, Cochran caught me in the right eye, but I managed to twist hard enough to take the next one in the right shoulder instead of the side of the face, and the last one in the gut. He was ready to hit me again; I saw the fury all over him, knew he’d been waiting years, ever since we arrested Hartley the first time, to kick the shit out of me.

Then we both heard a bellow of outrage. I was released instantly, and before I hit the gravel, I was in Kowalski’s arms.

“You better fuckin’ run!” he thundered after them. “I’ll have both of your motherfucking badges for this!”

“For crissakes, Jones,” Kohn grumbled as he reached us. “We can’t leave you alone for a second? Why didn’t you yell for us?”

“I didn’t know he had backup. How is this my fault?” I railed.

“Jesus,” he moaned, “lookit your face, man. I think we’re gonna have to get you to the hospital.”