Chameleons
Alfred Stone
Copyright Alfred Stone 2012
Published by Black Rose Writing, Publishing at Smashwords
Black Rose Writing
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© 2012 by Alfred Stone
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.
The final approval for this literary material is granted by the author.
First digital version
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Print ISBN: 978-1-61296-084-5
PUBLISHED BY BLACK ROSE WRITING
Print edition produced in the United States of America
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To the real Zane Tomlins of our world—to all officers and agents that work undercover in very dangerous situations to help stop crime and terrorism. Your courageous service is appreciated.
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For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
—Romans 13:4 NKJV
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
—Galatians 6:7 NKJV
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Prologue
Friday, September 23, 2005 – Six P.M.
ZANE WAS EXCITED as he got ready to drive over to Irene’s place east of Elk Grove. Irene Hargis, his fiancée, owned and operated a veterinary clinic and horse facility there. It was just a short drive from Zane’s place in Rancho Cordova, a suburb of Sacramento in California.
They were meeting that night to plan a short vacation to a remote resort in the mountains of Idaho. Both of them had worked tirelessly at their demanding professions for the past few years with little time off. So they needed the R&R, but they also wanted to spend the time alone planning their upcoming wedding.
Irene had established her veterinary clinic three years ago, but soon after found herself swamped with horses and others animals to treat and board. A year later she took on a partner, Larry Dumont D.V.M., to help her carry the busy workload of clients. He, like Irene, specialized in horse care, but they treated any animal that needed veterinary care.
Zane Tomlin (aka Chameleon) had been working for the FBI specializing in covert investigations and doing deep-undercover work for the last four years. He had been assigned to infiltrate various gangs and crime organizations to gather information against them. The job was risky and dangerous but Zane loved his work.
He was, however, ready for some time off. He had just finished getting dressed and groomed. He took a final glance in his bathroom mirror. He was six feet tall, had brown hair and eyes, and had kept himself very physically fit. “A good mate for the very beautiful Irene Hargis”, he said to himself. He couldn’t wait to see her that night.
He left the bathroom and was anxiously making his way to the front door when his cell phone rang…
Chapter 1
“HELLO ZANE, sorry to bother you,” said Phil Zabranski; Zane’s boss at the Bureau.
“Hey Phil, what’s up? No bother at all.”
“It’s about your partner, Toby Perez; his house was just destroyed by a bomb, a little while ago.”
“Damn, I can’t believe it! Is he ok?”
“He has a broken arm and some scrapes and bruises, from what the paramedics and Sacramento PD reported so far.”
“How about his girlfriend, is she alright?”
“Toby told the paramedics and Sacramento PD that he was alone in the house. Lucy was gone shopping.”
“Well Phil, I’d like to go see him at the hospital. Toby’s a good friend as well as a great partner.”
“Why don’t you go see him tomorrow or Sunday, but ok it with the hospital first. I’m keeping him guarded for awhile to keep him safe from attack. I had just assigned him to be in charge of your cases, to do some of your workload while you’re on vacation.”
“Looks like he’s not able to handle it now that he’s injured.”
“Right, I’m afraid you’ll have to postpone your vacation for now. We’ve got to find out who did this to Toby? We need your help.”
“Ok Phil. It could be that Toby and I pissed off some of the mobsters we’ve been spying on in Vegas lately.”
“It’s sure possible Zane. I doubt it’s a coincidence that this happened to Toby right now. Someone wanted him dead.”
“We’re damned sure going to find that someone Phil, whoever it is!”
“I’m going to Toby’s place now. Crime Scene Investigation is there. Come see me Monday morning at headquarters. I’ll assign you another partner to help you on this case.”
“Ok Phil, see you Monday morning.”
“Oh Zane, one last thing—when you see Toby, ask him what he meant when he mumbled to the paramedics, 'that bitch saved my life!'”
“Ok Phil. I doubt he would talk about Lucy like that. He adores her and says she’s too good to be true. She did save him from his wild partying days though. Anyway, I’ll see you Monday Phil. We’ll find out who tried to kill Toby and nail the bastard. Bye.”
Zane hung up and dialed the hospital immediately. They approved him to visit Toby the next day—Saturday afternoon.
He then went into his garage and got into his Ford Extended Cab Pickup. He used it for personal trips most of the time. The old black Trans-Am he used in his work traveling. The Bureau also provides him with other vehicles when special undercover needs arise. He backed his truck out of the garage, and then closed the door with the remote. He was finally on his way to Irene’s place. He was anxious to see her, but he dreaded telling her the bad news about Toby, and that their vacation would have to wait.
Zane was starting to wonder if he should get out of this undercover work. The hours could be demanding, but mostly he hated the thought of Irene worrying about his safety. It could have been him in the hospital now, instead of Toby Perez. He would discuss it with Irene sometime this weekend.
He turned his radio on and listened to country music as he drove through the heavy traffic, heading out of town. When Zane parked in front of Irene’s vet clinic it was dusk. He saw a beautiful red-orange sun disappearing on the horizon to the west. Looking east, he saw a silhouette of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains looming above the foothills. He inhaled the fresh air, detecting the smell of fresh-cut alfalfa from the nearby hay fields.
He went into the clinic and found Larry Dumont behind the counter in the reception/pharmacy area:
“Hello Larry, is Irene here? I saw her truck out front.”
“Hi Zane. Yeah, she’s in the back, by the horse stalls.” Larry pointed down the hall toward the back of the building.
“Thanks, Larry,” Zane said and headed down the hall.
Irene was as glad to see him, as he was to see her, but she was busy with a quarter horse mare she owned. She had shoulder-length plastic OB gloves on her arms. Her right arm was deep inside the big bay mare’s uterus. The mare was in a narrow chute to prevent her from moving around much.
“Hi Babe,” Irene said, smiling at Zane. “This old girl is having trouble here. The foal’s head is coming, but its front legs are bent back under its body. I’ve got to push its head back some so I can get its front legs coming out, then it will come out ok.”
Zane eased over and kissed her cheek, even though her gloved arms looked gross—with slimy mucus on them. Irene wore her usual work attire; blue jeans, a western blouse and boots. She looked great to Zane in any attire and even better without attire.
They would be later than planned to their dining date. Zane took this in stride, since he was raised on a cattle and horse ranch out in central New Mexico. He was well aware of the various problems that arise with livestock in labor. He had helped a few mares and scores of cows to give birth when they’d had complications. These things happen.
Irene strained awhile at getting the front legs out from under the foal. She pushed the head back up the birth canal and then she brought the front feet up over the pelvic bone of the mare. The nose then appeared as she pulled on the front legs. She then had her assistant, Jeff, help her pull on the foal’s legs each time the mare strained to expel it. After the shoulders were out, the foal slipped out fast. Jeff caught the foal’s neck and chest to prevent a hard landing. The colt was immediately shaking his head and blowing his nostrils free of mucus. His eyes were blinking, he saw his new world. Jeff and Irene lifted the foal, carried him to the middle of the adjacent stall and set him down. It was a stud colt; he was a nice bay color, much like his dam.
The colt was trying to get up within a few minutes; he lost his balance and fell back down. After a few more tries the colt was up on his feet, but he was wobbling to keep balanced.
Irene released the mare, letting her in with her colt. The mare nuzzled him and was licking him clean of fluid and mucus, while the colt was searching for her udder. He went to the mare’s flank, he ducked his head under her and soon found a teat. He suckled the life-sustaining milk.
“Wow, the little shit sure didn’t waste anytime finding a meal,” Irene said. “You know, I’ve witnessed hundreds of animal births but it still seems like a miracle to me.”
Jeff agreed with her. “It is a miracle Doc. Say, I’ll be glad to clean up and put the instruments away if you need to go.”
“Yes I do. Thanks Jeff. Zane and I are going out to eat, I need to go to the house and get ready.”
Irene and Zane went into the office of the clinic long enough to tell Larry about the new stud colt.
“I’m glad the colt and mare are ok,” Larry said. “I’m about done with the paper work. I’ll lock up when Jeff and I leave.”
“Alright Larry,” Irene said. “See you tomorrow. I’ll be here on call Sunday so take off and don’t worry about anything.”
“Sounds good. You two enjoy your night.”
Zane and Irene went outside got into their vehicles, and then Zane followed her up the driveway to her house behind the clinic. When they entered her house, Irene headed toward her bedroom. “I’m going to shower real quick Zane, and I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“Alright honey, before we leave I need to talk to you.” Zane went into the kitchen, fixed himself a glass of ice tea, and then went to Irene’s bedroom to wait for her. He sat down on the bed.
Irene came into the her room after drying off, she had a towel wrapped around herself, which she pulled off and tossed, playfully at Zane, she stood there naked as a jaybird.
He caught the towel; his eyes explored her lean, beautiful body. He saw a very attractive woman; five feet eight inches tall, long light-brown hair and large blue eyes.
The sight of her got his heart pounding.
Irene read his thoughts and smiled, “Now Zane get that off your mind, and you know we’re already running late. Of course after we get back home”… She left the sentence unfinished.
Irene got dressed quickly, as Zane drained his tea glass to cool himself off.
After she was fully dressed, she sat down beside him on the edge of the bed. She hugged him and they shared a long passionate kiss.
“What is it you wanted to talk about babe?” she asked when the kiss was over.
“I’m afraid I’ve got bad news. Toby Perez’ house was bombed today, someone tried to kill him.”
“Oh no! Is he ok?”
“Yeah, he has a broken arm and some bruises is all. He’s lucky, because the house is destroyed; the way Phil described it to me.” He wants me to postpone our vacation now!”
“We’ve waited so long to get away together, but I guess we’ll just have to wait some more!”
“I’m glad you’re not too upset about it. Maybe it won’t take too long. Phil needs my help to find out who did this.”
“I know you want to get away together as much as I do. It’s not your fault; I just hope no one tries to get you, like they’ve done to Toby. I worry about you a lot!”
“Yeah Honey, that’s the bad part of my job, its high risk.”
“I hate that part,” she said and stood up. “We’ve been over this before though. We’re both in the careers that we’re talented to do. We may just have to accept that… and be careful of course. I’ll finish getting ready, so we can go.”
Zane wondered if that was the answer to his recent turmoil. She seemed so strong and calm about his dangerous job, but she did worry. She’s said she worried. He would give it a lot more thought… and some prayer. That’s what his parents always told him to do when faced with deciding a big issue.
They drove to Sacramento and had a nice meal of steak and seafood. Irene was in good spirits in spite of learning that their vacation was on hold. Zane told her he would visit Toby the next day in the hospital. He then brought up the subject of their wedding plans.
“We should get our wedding date settled soon, so our families can arrange to come.”
“We’ve talked about setting it up for Saturday, March eleventh, which seems like the best day to me,” she said. “I talked to my parents about it. They said it would work for them.”
“I think the eleventh will be fine then, my parents and my brother are flexible. They have a good neighbor to check on the ranch while they’re here. They have hired hands that can handle the ranch work. My sister Alisa said she can get time off from her nursing job, I just have to let her know the date so she can tell the hospital when she needs off.”
“Let’s plan on the eleventh then, we can let them know soon.”
Zane nodded in agreement. “Now we just have all the other details of the wedding to decide.” He then finished the last of his dessert that the waitress had brought out.
“My mom can help us with some of the details, she helped my sister last year with her wedding,” Irene said.
“We can use her help, there are a lot of details to cover that I don’t know much about.” Zane patted his stuffed belly.
“That was a great meal Babe,” Irene said as she pushed her empty dessert dish away from herself. “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
“I enjoyed it too, excellent.” Zane picked up the check. “Let’s go.”
When they returned to Irene’s place, Irene went to her bedroom to put on something more comfortable.
Zane turned on the TV in the living room to catch the news. They showed a brief clip of Toby’s house. The front part of the house was nothing but rubble. The back half of the house was standing, but a lot of damage there too.
The reporter did not mention Toby’s name, but said, “This was the home of an FBI Special Agent. No suspects at this time in the bombing. More details, when made available.”
A clip about a Gulf Coast hurricane was then shown. It had destroyed several cities in the region. The death toll was assumed to be high—in the hundreds at least.
Irene had been standing next to Zane’s chair a few minutes when she touched his shoulder. “I’m going to bed now Babe.”
Zane clicked off the TV. “I’ll join you.” He went and brushed his teeth in the hall bath, then joined her.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on her elbows. Her silk robe was open in front showing her bare perky breasts. She stared at him, smiling, “Would you care for more dessert now sir?”
“Yes ma’am. The peach pie ala mode was great, but I want anything else you’d care to dish out.” He sat beside her on the bed and kissed her neck. He then slipped his hand over one bare breast, feeling her nipple with his fingertips, he did the same with her other breast, her nipples were firmer now. He then put his lips to her nipples and she sighed lightly as he did. She reached to unzip his pants. He helped her as they removed everything he was wearing. He stood in front of her naked and she moved her hands over his body and kissed him all over his body as well. She removed her robe and they lay down together on the bed. They enjoyed each other for quite some time. After they had been lost in passion and climaxed together, they relaxed and held each other until they fell asleep.
Chapter 2
ZANE OPENED HIS EYES at six-forty a.m. Irene was not there beside him. He smelled the nice aroma of bacon frying, so he got up and went to the kitchen. Irene had been up awhile, she was at the stove frying bacon and eggs. Mr. Coffee was sputtering on the counter. Zane went to Irene and hugged her from behind while she flipped the bacon over with a fork. He kissed her cheek, then whispered in her ear, “Good morning Honey.”
“Morning sleepy-head,” she said cheerfully. “Breakfast’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“Ok, I’m going to shower and get dressed real quick.”
“I’d shower with you but I’ve already showered, plus the bacon would burn up.” She winked at him and gave him a kiss.
“It sure is great to be here with you, especially since I’ve been away on assignments so much. I need to get moved over here, we’d see each other more that way.”
“Why don’t you go ahead and start moving things over as soon as you get time?”
“Sounds like a plan Dr. Hargis, I’ll do it as soon as possible.” He headed to the shower.
“Be right back,” he said over his shoulder when he was half-way across the room.
After breakfast they were sitting in the living room enjoying coffee and conversation when Zane’s cell phone rang:
“Hello Zane,” said Phil in his unique monotone voice.
“Hi Phil, how are you?”
“Fine, fine.”
“I’m planning to go look at Toby’s house shortly. Did you all find any helpful evidence there?”
“No, not really, Forensics found traces of plastic explosives, so we know what they used. They also found foot prints in the front yard, but they could be anyone’s. Doesn’t seem like much to go on so far.”
“I’ll go over there and look around this morning. I’ll also question the neighbors to see if they know anything. I guess the forensic people are done at the scene?”
“Yes, they’re done. The scene’s still taped off for now though. Lucy wants to go in there and see what she can salvage. I told her to wait another day, until we’re done for sure. She did get the dog out of the yard though.”
“Yeah, that’s old Zelda; Toby’s had her for years.”
“I’m going to help Toby and Lucy with some rent money for six months or so. The explosion must be related to Toby working for the Bureau, so it’s only right.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re going to help them, they’ll sure need it.”
“Beside that, I’ve also just decided to send Toby down to the Mexican border area for awhile. That’ll get him away from here, plus we’ve got some kidnappings to solve down there. Toby speaks Spanish that may help to investigate the cases.
He’ll be undercover of course too. Anyway Zane, that’s why I called. You’re going to visit him, so tell him about all this for me, please.”
“Alright Phil, thanks. I’ll see you Monday morning at headquarters.”
“Yes, see you then Phil, bye.” Zane hung up.
Zane told Irene, “I’ve got to go Honey. I’ve got to go by Toby’s place and also question his neighbors.”
“Alright Babe, are you coming back here later?”
“Yeah, I’ll be back this afternoon.”
“I’ve got to get moving myself. I’ve got to feed the horses and get the clinic opened up for business.”
They stood up and Zane hugged her and kissed her. “Bye Honey, love you.”
“I love you too, have a good day!”
Zane kissed her again. He then went on out the front door to his truck.
Zane went to Toby’s house. There wasn’t much left of it. The entire front half of the house was demolished. The back wall and some interior walls, and parts of the roof were all that remained. Yellow crime-scene tape was stretched all the way around the house. Zane couldn’t believe Toby had survived; the place was rubble. The explosives had obviously been placed at the northwest corner of the house, where Toby’s room used to be. Now there was a huge hole in the ground where that corner of the house had been.
It was hard for Zane to believe that someone had set the explosives in broad-daylight. But they must have, he thought, since the explosion was late in the afternoon.
Zane’s thoughts troubled him: this was a brazen, cold-blooded person, or persons that had done this. This kind of low-life needs to be behind bars as soon as possible. Zane was determined to find out who had done this. He examined the scene for quite sometime, not finding much. He saw only rubble, debris and dust all over the place. He did find where forensics had cast the footprints on the front lawn, in a damp area by the sidewalk. The prints looked like large work boots that had been worn by the person leaving the tracks. He’d find out more from CSI on this.
Toby’s house was in a cul-de-sac, in a nice middle-class neighborhood of Sacramento. As he looked around at the other homes in the large cul-de-sac, he saw an elderly woman in her front yard. She was pruning some hedges near the front door of the house. Zane decided to go ask her if she had seen anything the day before. As he walked up the driveway to approach her, a boy came out of the open garage door pushing a lawnmower. Zane showed his badge to the woman and introduced himself with one of his alias names; “Hello ma’am, I’m Agent Jackson with the F.B.I.”
“I’m Mrs. Halverson,” she said as she smiled and wiped her forehead with the back of the cotton glove on her hand. “Glad to meet you, Mr. Jackson. This is my grandson Timmy.” She pointed to the kid with the mower.
Zane nodded a hello to Timmy, then turned back to face the woman, “I’d like to ask you a few questions about the explosion yesterday, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure Mr. Jackson,” she said. “But we were gone when it happened. We went to the fair yesterday. We came home near midnight. The bomb squad was just leaving the scene and they told us it was safe—no more explosives were found at all.”
“Have you noticed anything strange or suspicious around Mr. Perez’ house at all?”
“No, can’t say that I have.”
Timmy left the mower and joined them quickly. “I saw a cool car drive by there real slow a few days ago. It was a black Dodge Viper, real cool car! Is that suspicious? Excuse me for interrupting,” he said realizing he had.
“That’s ok,” Zane said. “It’s very important that I know anything that could help us find out who did this to Mr. Perez’ house. Did you see the driver of the car Timmy?”
“Not too good, the windows were real dark. It was a man driving, I could see that much.”
“When did you see the car?”
“It was Wednesday after school, about three-thirty in the afternoon. I was riding my bike home when I saw the car by Mr. Perez’ house, going real slow.”
“Is there anything else about the car that you remember?”
“Yeah, it didn’t have California plates on it. It had Nevada plates. I remember that for sure.”
Zane handed Mrs. Halverson a card for the F.B.I. headquarters. “Mrs. Halverson, please call us if you think of anything else that may help us. Is there anyone else in your family that may have seen anything helpful?”
“No, Tim and I live alone here,” she said. “My husband, my daughter, and my son-in-law were all killed in a terrible car wreck about five years ago. A big semi-truck ran a red light and hit their car at about seventy miles an hour: they all died instantly. The truck driver was hurt, but not seriously.”
Zane was shocked by this, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”
“You couldn’t have known,” she said choking back tears. “We still miss them of course, but we’re coping; Timmy and I. We take one day at a time.”
“Thanks for talking to me Mrs. Halverson, Timmy. You may be questioned by other agents or police. They’ll be questioning everyone in the neighborhood most likely. Well, take care, bye now.”
“It was nice meeting you sir,” said Mrs. Halverson. “I hope you find who did this to Mr. Perez. Be careful.”
“See ya Mr. Jackson, good luck catchin’ them,” Timmy said and then began checking the mower’s gas and oil.
Zane went back across the cul-de-sac and got into his truck. He sat there awhile thinking… trying to understand some of life’s ironies… why do some good people have such bad things happen to them, while some low-life terrible people seem to prosper and do well? The bad that happened here to Toby and Lucy, while the evil perp gets away. It’s not right. It’s not fair. Eventually though, he knew, each person will be rewarded justly for their deeds, good or bad. What goes around comes around. It just seems like it takes so long at times to get justice. He thought now of the speeding, careless truck driver that robbed Timmy and Mrs. Halverson of their loved ones, their family. Timmy was probably six or seven when he lost both parents, Zane figured, and had to go through his life without them.
Was the truck driver drunk or on drugs at the time? Did he get a short prison sentence? Was he maybe already out on parole, enjoying life and family, while Mrs. Halverson pined for her husband, daughter and son-in-law for the rest of her life? As he sat there thinking about all of these things, he became even more determined to find the person or people responsible for trying to kill Toby. His duty is to bring to justice these people that break the laws of the United States. He is part of the huge Justice System that stops people who harm others.
He thought now of the Viper with Nevada plates. He and Toby had been in Vegas investigating mob activities for quite awhile now. They had arrested a loan shark who was also making counterfeit currency bills. They had been undercover though, how could Toby’s identity be known? Zane thought it was about time to go back to Vegas; the Chameleon had work to do.
Zane got out of his truck again and went to several more homes nearby to question them.
No one seemed to have seen anything suspicious or helpful at all. The last person he questioned was an old man named Dominick Carpenter. He was still upset by the explosion; “Several families are staying away from their homes today Mr. Jackson. They’re terrified because of the explosion yesterday. I’m scared myself; this has always been such a quiet neighborhood too. This seems like a bad nightmare.”
Zane nodded in agreement, “It’s understandable that everyone’s shaken up under the circumstances, but the bomb squad has checked the whole neighborhood thoroughly and found nothing to worry about.”
“We’re just so shocked by the destruction. I never dreamed something like this would happen here.”
“I don’t believe you’re in any danger Mr. Carpenter. Toby’s place was their target. Someone tried to get rid of him, and he’s going to relocate somewhere else when he gets out of the hospital.”
As Zane was talking, a Sacramento Police car pulled up to the curb in front of Carpenter’s house and parked. Zane recognized the cop as he got out of the car and stood to his six-foot-eight-inch height. It was Sergeant Warren Andrews, a huge black man built like an NFL lineman.
“Hello Zane,” Warren said as he stepped up on the front porch and extended his right hand.
Zane shook his hand. “Hi Warren, this is Mr. Carpenter. We were just discussing the explosion.”
Warren shook hands with Carpenter. “Pleased to meet you Mr. Carpenter.”
“Nice meeting you officer.”
Warren turned back to Zane. “I saw your truck at Toby’s place and spotted you over here. I thought I’d come let you know that we’re keeping a close watch on the neighborhood—Lieutenant Fowler’s orders.”
“I’m glad to hear it Warren. Toby’s girlfriend may be over at the house tomorrow to start salvaging what she can of their belongings.”
“Ok Zane, I’ll be looking for her then. Well, I’d better get back to cruising. I just wanted to let you know we’re keeping a close watch on everything around here.”
“I need to get going too,” Zane said. “I’m going to visit Toby in the hospital today.”
“How is he doing?” Warren asked.
“He’s ok, other than a broken arm. He should be out of the hospital in a few days.”
Zane shook Carpenter’s hand before leaving. “Mr. Carpenter, I think things will settle down and get back to normal soon. We’ll be seeing you.”
“Ok guys,” said Carpenter. “Thanks for coming by.”
Zane and Warren left the porch and walked to the curb. Warren leaned on his patrol car. “Lieutenant Fowler is doing all he can to investigate this explosion Zane. He figures Toby must have stepped on someone’s toes.”
“That’s what we think too Warren. Toby and I have been getting some goods on some Vegas mobsters. We’ve had a few of them arrested there too. I’ll be going back over there soon to see what I can find out.”
“Good luck to you when you go. I hope you find who did this. We’ll be doing all we can too.”
“I appreciate it, Warren. My boss is giving top priority to this case. We’ll get whoever did it, one way or another.”
Warren stood next to Zane and clapped his shoulder. “I’ll be seeing you Zane. I’ve got to get rolling again. Take care man.”
“Yeah, see you later Warren. Keep up the good work.”
Zane went to his truck when Warren drove off. He decided to go find a restaurant and have lunch. He had no desire to eat at a hospital cafeteria. He drove to a Mexican restaurant and dined on enchiladas.
After lunch, he drove to the hospital, parked and then entered the front lobby. He asked the blonde woman behind the desk for permission to go to Toby’s room. He showed her his badge and told her he had been approved to visit Toby.
“Yes, I see here you were approved yesterday.”
“What room is he in Ma’am?”
“Let me call his room and tell him you’re coming,” she said and picked up the phone. When she hung up she told him, “He said they’re expecting you. It’s on the third floor; room three-twenty-nine.”
“Thanks ma’am, I appreciate it,” Zane said, then walked to the elevator.
He found Toby’s room easily, by seeing the guard, Chris Weatherford, standing by the door. He was a man that Phil used often for security needs of the bureau.
Zane showed his badge as a formality. “Chris how are you doing?”
“I’m doing great Zane, how are you man?”
“I can’t complain Chris, but I hate what’s happened to Toby!”
“I heard that. Everyone at headquarters is upset right now too. Lyle York chewed my ass out when he sent me over here to guard Toby. He’s uptight as hell!”
“Well, that’s understandable, since someone tried to kill one of our men. He’s just doing his job to keep us alert and on the ball. I’m sure Phil’s on Lyle’s ass too,” Zane said as he stepped into Toby’s room.
“I’ll wait out here Zane. Have a good visit.”
“Alright Chris, I’ll be out in awhile.”
“Hey partner,” Zane said as he approached Toby’s bed. “Sounds like you had plenty of excitement yesterday.”
“Hi Zane, yes I did, but not the kind of excitement I like.”
“I understand that. I’m glad Lucy wasn’t home at the time, at least she didn’t get hurt.”
“Yeah she was gone shopping at the time, that saved her. She came by here just before lunch. She’s handling it all fairly well. She was real worried about me though.”
“Phil told me to let you know the Bureau is going to pay you to rent a house for six months to help get you up on your feet again financially.”
“That’s great Zane.” Toby’s eyes brightened. “Well have to get a place real soon. Lucy’s staying in a motel room for now, but we don’t want to stay there long.”
“Phil’s sure that your undercover work is the reason someone is out to destroy you. That’s why they’ll pay your rent for six months. Get this, Phil also told me to tell you he’s going to send your down near the Mexican border to work on kidnapping cases.”
“What the hell, Mexican border!”
“Yeah, he feels you’ll be a lot safer down there for now. He wants to see you at headquarters, after the hospital releases you. He’ll tell you all about it then.”
“I am getting kind of bored staying in bed, but damn, Mexican border? Phil’s crazy.”
“It’s a long way from here for sure. He wants to make sure you’re safe from whoever tried to kill you yesterday. They won’t find you down there.”
Toby shook his head, “I guess not.”
“I’ll be going back to Vegas Toby. I bet that’s where we pissed off someone, the fact that we’ve been infiltrating the mob like we have over there.”
“I’m sure that’s possible Zane, but why didn’t they attack me there in Vegas, if they knew I was spying on them?”
“Good question, can you think of anyone else that could be after you, or any other reason?”
“Not really, unless that biker gang figured out we were spying on them when we were hang-arounders in their gang. That was almost a year ago though, when we did that. I doubt it’s them.”
“I talked to several of your neighbors today. The only person that mentioned seeing anything at all is Mrs. Halverson’s grandson.”
“Oh yeah, Timmy, what did he see?”
“He said he saw a black Dodge Viper near your house with Nevada plates on it, Wednesday afternoon.”
“Hmm, Nevada plates huh? I wasn’t home until Thursday night though.”
“They could have been scoping your place out, or seeing if you were home or not.”
“We took down Victor Caproni last month in Vegas. Maybe it’s because of that; busting up their counterfeiting?”
“I don’t know Toby, but I need to get back to Vegas and check things out. Phil’s going to give me a new partner temporarily, to help me on this case. Phil’s awful upset about this explosion.”
“I’m not too friggin happy about it myself. If it wasn’t for Zelda I’d be dead right now! She saved my life that old dog did.”
“So that’s what you meant when you told the paramedics 'the bitch saved my life?'” Phil wanted me to ask you about that. What happened?”
“I was in bed sleeping. I was exhausted after our Vegas trip, plus Lucy and I had stayed up nearly all night. I was sleeping heavy Friday afternoon; old Zelda started barking like hell in the back yard. If I hadn’t got out of bed and went outside to check on her I would have been blown to pieces. The back porch roof fell and broke my arm. The whole front part of the house was blown to hell though.”
“Tell me about it, I was just there. Your bedroom is now just a big hole in the ground. That had to be where the explosives were placed. It could be that Zelda sensed trouble or smelled something. She sure saved your bacon alright—saved by a golden retriever.”
“I’m glad you’re ok Toby. Hope your arm heals alright?”
“The doctor says in about six weeks it’ll be as good as new. He said I might be able to leave here Monday.”
“Well, I’m going to let you get some more rest Toby. I’ve got to get back to Irene’s place.”
“Ok partner, thanks for coming by here to see me.”
“Take it easy Toby; call me if you need anything. I’ll see you later.”
“Alright Zane, see you.”
Zane left the room and found Chris in the hall outside the door. “See you later Chris. Be careful and take care of Toby.”
“Alright Tomlin. I’ll keep him closely guarded. Don’t worry.”
Zane went home to get his bags packed for is Vegas trip on Monday. He liked his house in Rancho Cordova. As he packed his things, he thought about times when he’d walked down to the American River from here. The river is less than a quarter of a mile south of his house, by way of a trail, through the trees, the trail is just wide enough for walking or bicycles.
He thought about times he had sat on the riverbank and watched the rippling water flow by, a quiet, peaceful place to sit and enjoy nature. He was thinking he would miss this place some, but he wanted to move in with Irene as soon as he could. He loved being around her as much as he could. After he’d gathered everything he needed and packed it, he loaded his bags into the Trans-Am and went back to Irene’s place.
Irene was riding a young sorrel horse when Zane pulled up by her house. She had closed the clinic at one pm, as she does every Saturday, if no emergency problems arise to prevent closing.
She rode up to the arena gate as Zane approached it. “Hey Babe, glad you made it back. How’s Toby?”
“He’s alright; he got a cast on his arm and a few bruises. The doctor told him he’ll be as good as new in about six weeks.”
“I’m trying to get this filly broke in good. She’s already sold to someone, but they wanted me to break her for them.”
“It’s about time you sold some of these suckers. How many do you have now?”
“Twenty-six, counting the one born yesterday. That’s a few more that I like to keep around. I do love my quarter horses though. Dad usually had about a hundred of them when I was in high school. Some of them belonged to friends of ours that boarded them there.”
“I don’t think my dad ever had more than twenty on our ranch. Of course cows are his main thing. He keeps about fifteen hundred cattle around the place.”
The filly became restless and started squirming and tossing her head some, as Irene held the reins.
“I’m going to put her back in her stall now Zane. Would you open the gate please?”
He opened the gate and Irene rode the filly to the tack room. Zane followed her, and then helped her unsaddle the horse. She brushed the filly before putting her back in the stall. They then fed all the horses. When the feeding was done, they went into the house.
After they went inside and washed up, they fixed themselves a nice supper of fajitas with all the trimmings. They enjoyed the meal together, sitting in the dining room.
After supper and cleaning up the kitchen, they made coffee and went to the living room to enjoy drinking it.
Zane informed her, “Irene, I’ll be going back to Vegas on Monday after I meet with Phil. He’s assigning me a new partner to help me on this case.”
Irene had a worried look on her face. “Just be careful whatever you do Babe.”
“I will, don’t worry. I’ll have new cover identity too, in case they have any idea who I am.”
They sat and watched TV and talked until eleven, then went to bed. They were both tired and soon fell asleep.
They spent Sunday morning riding and training several colts she’d been breaking to ride.
In the afternoon they decided to take Irene’s pickup and haul a load of Zane’s belongings from Zane’s house to her place. They would haul the rest of his stuff at a later date, when they had the time to do it. They enjoyed being together all that day and evening. Sunday night they enjoyed being together even more, in her bed.
Chapter 3
MONDAY MORNING Zane had a nice big breakfast that Irene fixed for them. He then called the hospital and asked for Toby’s room to be rang. Agent Birdwell, who was currently guarding Toby, answered the phone:
“Hello, Agent Birdwell speaking.”
“Hi Birdwell, Zane Tomlin here. I’m just checking on Toby. I came by there Saturday and saw him.”
“Toby’s fine, in fact he’s being released by the doctor today. I’m going to drive him to headquarters as soon as he’s ready.”
“I’ll come right over and see him now, if that’s alright?”
“Sure, we’ll be here awhile before he’s ready to go.”
“Ok, I’ll be there shortly then, bye.”
“Ok, bye Zane.” Birdwell hung up.
Zane went and grabbed his suitcase, then approached Irene in the kitchen. “Well Honey, I’ve got to go now. I’m going to see Toby, then go on the headquarters and then to Vegas.”
She hugged him firmly. “I’ll see you when you get back.”
Zane gave her a long passionate kiss, and then walked out to his car, with Irene following him. At the car they said goodbye. He kissed her again before he got into the car and left.
Zane found Toby in a good mood at the hospital. Toby was ready to go, but he was waiting for the paperwork to be completed for his release.
A nurse came to the room about half an hour after Zane arrived and announced, “You’re all set to go now Mr. Perez.”
Toby got up quickly. “Thanks ma’am, I’m ready to leave.” The nurse went back out of the room.
“Well let’s go Birdwell,” Toby said.
“I’m ready, let’s go,” Birdwell said.
“I guess I’ll follow you guys to headquarters Toby,” said Zane. “Unless you want to ride along with me.”
“Yeah, I’ll go with you, if it’s ok with Birdwell.”
“Fine by me,” Birdwell said. “We’re all going to headquarters anyway. I’ve got to see Lyle York about my next assignment.”
“Alright,” Zane said. “Let’s get out of here then.”
Birdwell walked with them to Zane’s car, and then he headed toward his own car. “I’ll see you guys at headquarters,” he said over his shoulder.
As Zane was backing the Trans-Am out of the parking space, he heard a loud boom! Birdwell’s black sedan exploded into a huge ball of flames.
“What the hell!” Zane killed his engine and jumped out of the car. Zane and Toby ran toward Birdwell’s car, but nothing much was left of it, or of Birdwell.
Two doctors came running out of the hospital, having heard the explosion and seeing the flames. They approached the remains of the car and soon realized there was nothing they could do. Birdwell had been blown to pieces, along with his car.
Toby and Zane directed the small crowd of people that were coming out to look, to stay back at a safe distance from the scene.
A nurse yelled out from the crowd, “I’ve called 911 already, fire trucks are on the way.”
“Thanks,” Zane yelled back to her. He then called Phil with his cell phone:
“Phil we’re in the hospital parking lot, Birdwell’s been killed! His car exploded when he started it!”
“Damn, what the hell’s going on!” Phil exclaimed. “First Toby’s house, now this!”
“I’ll get over there as fast as I can Zane.”
“Alright Phil, you may want to get forensics here too.”
“Right, I’ll send them. Keep everyone away from the scene, we don’t want it tainted. See you shortly,” Phil hung up.
Within a few minutes a fire truck arrived and put out the flames that were melting the cars remains.
Phil then pulled up near the scene. He got out of his car and approached Zane and Toby. “I can’t believe this shit. This must have been aimed at you again Toby. Are you alright?”
“Yeah I’m ok Phil, but it’s only because I was in Zane’s car and not Birdwell’s. Zane asked me to ride in his car. I could’ve been dead now.”
“I’m glad you’re safe Toby. Someone’s watching you close. They must have seen Birdwell here and figured he was picking you up.”
Zane added, “They had the place staked out.”
“I know I’m not standing for anymore of this,” Phil said. “You two take some back streets and get to headquarters quick. I’ll call your makeup people to get you guys disguised immediately.”
“Alright Phil,” Zane said. “We’ll see you later.” Zane and Toby went to the car and left.
As Zane was leaving the parking lot he said, “Toby maybe you should stay down out of sight. I think they’re watching you real close.”
“Good idea, Zane.” Toby got down in the seat.
Zane had a duffel bag on the front seat, that he took nearly everywhere he went. The bag held things needed for quick disguises: clothes, wigs, glasses, sunglasses and makeup. He grabbed a blonde wig and sunglasses and put them on. He didn’t know if anyone was after him or not, but he’d decided to be on the safe side. He drove on toward headquarters.
They arrived safely at headquarters and went inside.
Zane was taking off the wig when Lyle York approached them inside the building.
“Are you guys ok?” Lyle asked. “I just heard about Birdwell.”
“Yeah Lyle, we’re fine.” Zane said. “Phil told us to come in and get disguised, then wait here for him.”
“Good, I’m glad you’re ok. Sorry about your arm and your house Toby. I can’t believe Birdwell is dead. He was going to come see me this morning.”
“I was supposed to have been in the car with him,” Toby said. “I got in Zane’s car, and that saved my life.”
“What a nightmare this is,” Lyle said. “Well, I’ve got to go men, Phil just called and asked me to go by and tell Birdwell’s wife the bad news. I’m going to the hospital after that, to see how Phil’s doing at the scene. Phil and I will meet you here later. We’ve all got to get our heads together on this bombing situation.”
“Ok Lyle,” Zane said. “We’ll be waiting here for you when you get back.”
Lyle left them and went out the door.
“I need to call Lucy right quick, Zane,” Toby said. “Then we’ll get our extreme makeovers.”
“Ok Toby, I’m going to the lounge to get us some coffee while you call her.”
After calling Lucy, Toby came to the small lounge and Zane handed him a cup of coffee. “Lucy’s going to look at rental houses today. I told her I can’t join her, at least until this evening. I asked her to buy me some new clothes, since our clothes were destroyed.” Toby sipped his coffee. “Ah, that’s good.”
“You’ll be lucky if Phil doesn’t send you off to the border today. Phil’s worried like hell about these bombings aimed at you.”
“Shit, me too. I’d just like to help her decide on a house to live in before I go down south. Nobody will recognize me after we get our new identities today.”
“Phil might let you do that, but I doubt it. You staying alive is more important than what house to rent.”
Toby finished his coffee. “You got a good point there. Well, we better get on back to the makeup room.”
When they walked into the makeup room, Mr. and Mrs. Van Kirk were sitting there waiting for them. The Van Kirks had worked in Hollywood Studios for almost thirty years doing makeup on actors and actresses. They are now retained by the F.B.I. and C.I.A. to serve undercover needs of their deep undercover agents in the region.
“I see you two made it in,” Mr. Van Kirk said. “Phil asked us to come and get you fixed up.”
“Have a seat guys,” Mrs. Van Kirk said as he got up from the barber’s chair she was sitting in. “What the heck happened to your arm Toby?”
Toby told her about it, after sitting down.
Zane sat in the other chair, where Mr. Van Kirk was prepared to work on him.
Mr. Van Kirk shrugged his shoulders. “Phil wants me to disguise you as you as a biker again Zane.”
“That works for me,” Zane said. “I hope you don’t have to shave my head again though.”
“No, you’ll have a wig this time, long hair.”
“What does Phil want me to look like Mrs. Van Kirk?” Toby asked.
“Not a biker, that’s for sure. You can’t ride a Harley with that arm broke. You’re still going to be an FBI agent, but a much older one.”
“Alright, let’s do it then,” Toby said.
Zane was soon transformed into a tough-looking, long-haired biker. He looked at himself in the mirror. “That should about do it huh?”
“Not quite Zane, Phil told me to sleeve you with tattoos. They’ll be temporary tattoos; they can be removed with certain solvents. They look permanent though.”
Zane removed his shirt and sat back down in the chair. “Phil’s the boss, let’s get on with it.”
Mr. Van Kirk put the tattoos on his arms, and then completed the make over by putting contacts in Zane’s eyes. He now had blue eyes instead of brown. Zane was done.
Emma Van Kirk finished her work on Toby by graying his black hair to give it a salt and pepper look. She then handed Toby a pair of wire-frame glasses.
Toby put the glasses on, and then looked into the mirror. “Great, I look twenty-five years older now.”
He nodded his head and gave Emma a thumbs-up gesture.
“Glad you like it Toby, but most people want to look younger, not older.”
“I just wanted to look different. I don’t want to give whoever’s out to kill me another chance at it. The third time could be a charm.”
“Nobody will recognize you now that you look a generation older.”
“Thanks Emma, you did a great job. You’ve got to be the world’s greatest make-up artist.”
Mr. Van Kirk pointed his right thumb at his own chest and smiled, “She’s tied with me for world greatest. That’s it guys, you’re all done now.”
Zane and Toby left the Van Kirks to go see if Phil and Lyle had returned. They hadn’t, so they went to their lockers in the locker room. They found some more clothes that would fit their new identities. After packing the clothes into duffel bags, they went to get another cup of coffee in the break room. They found Agent Justin Click in the break room.
Justin didn’t recognize them with their new covers at first. “Hi gentlemen how are you doing?”
They showed Justin their badges. “We’re ok Justin. How are you?” they said.
Justin chuckled at the two men he knew so well, and then said, “I’m fine. Have some doughnuts you guys. I bought a dozen on my way in this morning.” He pointed to the box on the counter.
“Thanks Justin,” Toby said and reached for one.
“I’ve been eating hospital food, these look great!”
Zane declined the offer, “No thanks Justin, I had a big breakfast at Irene’s this morning.”
“Still watching your figure huh?” Justin joked.
“I’ve got to stay in top shape in my type of work— I infiltrate the enemy. I might have to run like hell one of these days.”
Toby turned toward Justin after inhaling the doughnut. “It’s not only his work Justin, Zane’s also got his wedding and honeymoon to be in shape for this spring.”
Justin rolled his eyes. “It’s not like him and Irene hasn’t done some honeymoon activities already.”
Zane pointed at Justin. “Don’t even go there, Click!”
Toby became serious. “Guess you heard about Birdwell, huh Justin?”
“Yes, I’m sorry to hear we lost him. Why would anyone kill him?”
“They were after me again, it appears,” Toby said. “They thought I would be in the car too, but I wasn’t.”
As they talked about Birdwell, Special Agent Vince Preston entered the room. He was third in command at the Bureau; after Phil and Lyle York.
“Good morning men,” said Preston as he approached them.
They all greeted Preston, “Good morning Vince.”
“Phil and Lyle just came back in guys,” Vince said.
“They want to see you men in Phil’s office right away. They want to go over your new assignments. Click, you’re Zane’s new partner, that’s why you need to be there.”
“Ok Vince, we’re on our way,” said Click.
They left the break room, taking their coffee and doughnuts with them.
They found Phil and Lyle seated at a large oak table in Phil’s office. “Vince said you wanted to see us now,” Zane said as they enter the room.
“Yes,” said Phil. “Please have a seat men.”
The three agents sat down at the table.
Phil had a nauseated look on his face. “The medical examiner’s office now has what little of Birdwell’s body that was found at his car. Forensics is still there searching for any evidence or clues that could help us.
Lyle York looked as shook up as Phil did. “What’s left of Agent Birdwell’s body will be cremated later. Mrs. Birdwell went into hysterics when I told her about him. I called her daughter and suggested she stay with her mother as much as possible for awhile.”
“Will she do it?” Toby asked.
“She said she will, but she’s awful distraught too. I think they’ll comfort each other somehow though.”
Zane stood up and slapped his palms on the table. “Damn, I can’t wait to find the bastards doing this! I’d bet it’s those Vegas racketeers that we spied on behind this, we don’t have much proof though.” Zane told them all about the Dodge Viper with Nevada plates, seen by Toby’s house.
Phil held his hands up toward Zane to calm Zane down. “Hold up Zane, I have some more news that may concern those mobsters!”
“What’s that Phil?” Zane asked.
“I’ve been talking to agents and prosecutors over in Vegas about the mob situation. A federal prosecutor told me about a man they have in jail there. He’s a trucker charged with hauling guns and counterfeit money in his rig last week.”
“That’s interesting, we know the mob’s still doing some counterfeiting around there,” Zane said.
“Right, listen to this guys, the prosecutor says the trucker gets real scared and nervous when they ask where he got the goods he was hauling. He won’t talk. The D.A. suggested sending in an agent incognito, to see if he’ll talk to a fellow inmate about it. What do you think?”
Zane sat down again, giving Phil a puzzled look. “What I think is that I know why you had Mr. Van Kirk put these tattoos on me.” Zane nodded his head up and down. “You’re sending me to jail, right?”
Phil cleared his throat. “That’s what I want to do, if you’re willing. It may help us get more on the Mob. No one will recognize you as an inmate.”
“I’ll do it Phil; it may help us get more of these guys we’ve been after. We got Victor Caproni last month and he had some counterfeit bills when we took down his loan sharking joint.”
“Alright then Zane, I’ll call the prosecutor and the jail officials and tell them you’ll do it.” Phil made the call right then, telling them Zane would be there to do the mission.
Zane got up again and paced the floor. Justin had listened to everything Phil had said. He was a little worried about what he was getting into by becoming Zane’s partner.
He thought this Vegas trip might get real interesting. He finished his coffee and set the cup down. “Toby, I don’t know about this business of being Zane’s partner.”
Toby chuckled and said, “Oh you’re in for a real riot Justin, no doubt.”
Justin shrugged his shoulders, “At least it’s only temporary.”
“Phil’s assigning me to work around the Texas-Mexico border Justin, I hope I won’t be down there too long, but I don’t know for sure.”
“I hope you get back soon,” Justin said.
Phil hung up the phone, “Ok Zane, it’s all set. You’ll be in jail tonight. Justin will pose as your lawyer, so he can come talk to you once a day without raising any suspicion.”
“Ok Phil,” Zane said. “I’ll try to get the guy to talk to me.”
Phil handed Zane a note, “Here’s the prosecutor’s name and number. Call Mr. Poweledge when you get to Vegas. He’ll meet you and fill you in on all the details. The inmate’s name is Frank Vela.”