Page 7 of Instinct & New Identity

“Stay still, dumbass,”Itold him, breathing heavily from running so much to chase this guy down.

I reached around and grabbed my wrist ties, pushing him down onto the pavement with my knee on his thighs.

OnceIhad him secured,Ieased off him a little but stayed close in case he tried to jump up.Ilifted my cell to callDiego.

“Got him,”Isaid. “I’mat the end of the alley onPeachtreeStreetby the pawn shop.”

“Be there in a sec,” he replied.

Diego andIhad gone after this high-bond skip together, but once he took off,Ipursued on foot andDiegowent to get the vehicle.Ilooked up to seeDiegohad pulled down the alley and hopped out, soIleaned down to help my skip up from the ground.

“You’re a dead man,” he grunted at me.

“Is that a threat?IthinkIheard a threat,”Diegoannounced as he walked up to help me grab the man who was trying everything to get away from us and likely run again. “Oklahoma, you threatening the man who captured you isn’t gonna help your sentence any.”

Yes,Oklahomawas the man’s name, or at least his street name.He’djust gotten out of prison for robbery and dealing heroin, and failed to check in with his parole officer.Whenthe officer showed up at his buddy’s house where he was supposedly staying, they found a bunch of drugs, which, in addition to being a crime on its own, were also a violation of his parole.

The guy was good.I’dgive him that.Ittook me almost three days to find him.ButI’dlearned from the best.Myold man had retired from bounty hunting a few months ago, and he’d taught me everythingIknew about tracking and hunting skips.Peoplestill reached out to my dad about jobs, but now he passed them along to either me or another buddy of his who was still in the business.

I’d started up a private security and investigations business with my formerArmyRangerbuddies, and my cousinArchera year ago, and it had really taken off.Archerhad been a cop inLasVegasand was looking to get out.Sickof the bureaucratic red tape, he’d wanted to get more into private investigations stuff.I’dmentioned it toWade, my staff sergeant at the time, andJackwho was in my squadron, as we were sitting around shooting the shit overseas on a mission waiting for our next task.Thatwas howRangerShieldSecuritywas born.

Since our security business had taken off,Ididn’t do too many bounty retrievals anymore.Onlythe easy onesIcould do in a day or two and brought in good money for the business.AndOklahomawas one of those.

Oklahoma was a couple of inches shy of 6 feet, maybe 180 pounds, with tattoo sleeves on both arms, hands, and most fingers.Healso had a huge red snake tattoo that wrapped around his neck—a sign that he was a member of theCrimsonVipersdrug cartel.Hehad close-cropped dark hair, a small mustache, and a scar just above his right eyebrow.

“Hold the hell still,”Diegoclipped atOklahomaas we loaded him into the car and secured him for the ride.

Since our business first opened, we’ve hired a few extra guys to keep up with the increased demand.DiegoMartinwas also former military and had been part ofRangerShieldfor a few months.

Diego andIdroveOklahomato the police station, where he was happily received, not only because he broke his parole agreement, but he also had two new arrest warrants.

After dropping him off at the station,DiegoandIdrove back to our headquarters and parked the company vehicle and walked into the front office where our receptionist,Ruthie, was sitting.

RangerShieldSecuritywas located in a mixed-use multi-story building northwest ofAtlanta.Thefirst floor of the building was split with the front lobby and reception for the security business on the left side and a pub-slash-restaurant calledTheWateringHoleon the right.Theentire second floor was the inner workings of the security-side of the business, including our control room, tech space, storage for our guns and gadgets, and private offices.

The third floor was made up of two one-bedroom apartments.Jackcurrently lived in one, andWadelived in the other.Technically,Wadelived there with his fiancé,Ellie, who happened to beJack’ssister.Thathad been fun to watch unfold, especially sinceWadegot involved withElliewhileJackwas overseas, still finishing up his last tour.

Wade managed the pub, which his uncle previously owned but sold it to us, along with the entire building, when he retired nearly two years ago.Thepub had provided us with an initial source of income while we set upRangerShield, and now it provided us with a great location to scout future employees.Thepub was also a hot spot for current and former military, since it was right down the street fromDobbingtonAirReserveBase.WhileDobbingtonwas the 22ndAirForceheadquarters, it was also home toNavyoperations support,ArmyReserve,MarineReserve, andGeorgiaNationalGuard, which meant there were a lot of military-trained personnel to recruit from, which was exactly how we foundDiego.

“Did you catch your guy?”Ruthieasked as we walked in.

“Yes, though he was slipperier thanIinitially gave him credit for,”Itold her.

“Which means now is your favorite part.”Ruthiegrinned at me. “Hereyou go.Paperworktime!”

“Ruthie, what ifIjust told you what happened, and then you write it all down for me?”Iasked her with the sweetest smileIcould muster.

She laughed right in my face, turning her chair to face me. “Nope.Ihave tasks to do, and you can’t even pawn this off onDiegosinceArchersaid he needs him for some recon thing upstairs.”

“Sorry, not sorry,”Diegoall but yelled as he practically bolted from the office, scanned his badge quickly to access the stairs, and ran up them.

I sighed loudly now thatIrealized the paperwork would be all mine.Ihated paperwork.Itwas the worst part of my job.ButIloved my job, soIwould suck it up.Ireached forward to grab the paperwork offRuthie’sdesk, when something on her computer screen caught my eye.

A website with a cat logo on it.Avery particular cat.OneIhad seen before.

“Ruthie, what is this?”Iasked.

She looked back at her screen. “What’swhat?”

---