Page 39 of Operation: Sharp Angel

“Thanks,” she said before she left the kitchen, followed out by Angel.

Becca had finished her meal. She rose from the table and began putting the food back into the refrigerator. Michaela finished eating and tossed her plate by the time Becca had it all put away.

“I’m going to go to my office and take that nap,” Michaela said. “I wasn’t joking about that.”

“Yeah, I better get back to work,” Becca said. “It was nice talking with you. Best wishes for the baby.”

“Thanks,” Michaela said. She headed left when she exited the conference room, Becca turned right.

Angel and the other woman were not near Angel’s desk. Becca passed by it and returned to the rec room where she’d been working. This time, the door within that room that had been closed all morning, and had the name placard J. Cooper, was open. As Becca approached, she heard Angel and the other woman’s voices. She stopped before she reached the doorway, not intending to listen but after hearing the first few exchanges, she couldn’t pull herself away.

“I mean, I know Shepherd is right. I’m just frustrated,” Briana said.

“Hon, you haven’t been with us that long. It’s only natural you’d feel frustrated not working your missions your way.”

“I knew when I agreed to come under the Shepherd Security umbrella that I’d have to change how I operated, especially when it came to women with children, and this is the first referralsince then that involves children. I just can’t sit back and wait, knowing that my client could be killed by her husband at any time. It was easier to just pull new identities for them and make them disappear.”

“How long does he want you to wait?” Angel asked.

“Until we can plant cameras and mics in the house and get proof that will stand up in court that this guy is an abusive asshat. I want this guy more than arrested. I want him convicted and sent away for a long time, certainly until those kids are over eighteen. I’ve seen the legal system screw over the abused and let these monsters out and even order visitation with their minor children. Just divorcing someone who is this abusive isn’t enough.”

“And what are your concerns with doing it Shepherd’s way?” Angel asked.

“That he’ll kill her before we have other evidence. And if he finds out about the cameras in the house, he’ll kill her someplace else. I even asked Shepherd to let me be there with our client as a houseguest who she’s given permission to stay at the house, so I can protect her.”

“That sounds like it could put you in danger,” Angel said.

“I can protect myself. If this guy or anyone else ever laid a hand on me, it would be the last thing they ever did.”

“You could ask Shepherd to assign one of the guys to go with you,” Angel suggested. “One with a badge, given that you haven’t earned your FBI creds yet.”

“Ugh!” Briana moaned. “I know it’s going to take maybe six more months to get them. And I’m really okay with whoever Shepherd assigns to work my cases with me. Everyone’s been great. I’m just frustrated I can’t move fast enough to help this woman legally.”

Becca took a step past the open door. She gave them a small, guilty grin. “I guess it was my turn to eavesdrop. I couldn’t helpbut overhear your conversation. There are a lot of legal avenues available to help women in abusive relationships. And Colonel Shepherd is right, cameras and mics, that one of the residents of the house agrees to have installed, that capture the abuse is one of the best ways to prosecute the abuser. But that has to be combined with an order of protection filed immediately at the time of their arrest in conjunction with divorce papers being served. It’s a highly coordinated effort. And then the obvious continuation of the campaign is to have protection in place to catch the accused in the act of violating the protection order. That is the ideal situation that most abused women can’t do because they can’t find someone to provide that protection, and the cost involved.”

“Straight from a lawyer’s mouth!” Angel said.

“I’ve done a little family law. I’m not an expert by any means,” Becca said.

“I bet you could be with a little more experience,” Angel said. “By the way, Becca, this is Briana Woods, one of our new Operatives.”

“Hi, Becca. Nice to meet you and thank you for that legal advice. You and I should talk with Shepherd together. With your help, we could revamp our protection program for our domestic violence cases,” Briana said.

“I like it!” Angel said. “You have a little time for the foreseeable future, don’t you Becca?”

“I’m flattered, and yes, I do have some time, maybe permanently if the partners accept my resignation, but I’m not really sure family law is something I want to dive deeper into. It’ so messy.”

“Maybe you could work with me on a limited basis, to research legal ways to get past the obstacles I’m facing so we can get down a process that we’ll use moving forward,” Briana suggested.

Becca nodded. “Yes, I could probably do that.”

“I’ll see what time I can get you two into a meeting today with Shepherd,” Angel said.

Kilo

“That was a waste of time,” Tessman groused after he’d closed the car door.

Jackson turned the engine over. “They were lying.”

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