Page 50 of Operation: Sharp Angel

The movie was just starting. “I’m looking forward to it,” Tessman said.

“Carter, it really was thoughtful of you to pick up the wine for me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. She’d already turned her head back to view the television. She didn’t see the grin on his face.

***

The movie didn’t disappoint. Becca found it as funny as always and it kept her awake when otherwise she surely would have fallen asleep. Tessman found it humorous as well. He didn’t kick back and do nothing often, but he did find the evening relaxing.

Becca held her empty glass up as the credits rolled. “Can you refill please?” The bottle was placed in the refrigerator after he’d poured their first glasses.

“Sure,” he said, getting up from the very comfortable position he’d been sitting in. He retrieved the bottle, filled her glass, and then put it back in the fridge.

“You’re not having another glass?”

“No, it’s all for you.”

“Suit yourself,” she said. She began scrolling through movie choices on the menu. “Let’s find something else to watch until Briana calls.”

Tessman had just sat back down on the bed beside her when an alert came from his phone that he knew well. He jumped up and pulled the phone from his pocket and silenced the alert and hit the‘Will Respond’button. “I’ll be back later. Just stay here and call Ops if you need anything,” he said as he viewed the screen for the location of the panic alert. He stepped to the door.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I’ll explain when I get back. One of our team members is in trouble.” Without further explanation, he left the room and hurried down the flights of stairs to the second sub-basement level where his car was parked.

Madison exited the elevator around the same time he burst through the stairwell door. “Ops hasn’t gotten Dahlia on the phone yet,” she said. “Bubbles is deployed with the PGP Team. Looks like Jackson, Flores, and Robinson are responding as well. That’s it for assets in town.”

“Roger that,” Tessman said as he opened his car door.

“See you there,” Madison said as she climbed into her own SUV.

On the drive to the condo where Michael ‘Bubbles’ Cooper and his fiancé, Dahlia, lived, Tessman mentally prepared himself for what he may encounter. As he pulled up in front of the unit just behind Madison’s vehicle, he saw a large man on the front porch pounding on the door and screaming obscenities.

Tessman and Madison hurried up the sidewalk towards the door. “Hey, stop!” he yelled as he ran.

The man turned and viewed the two of them. They both had their handguns out, pointed at him.

“FBI! Hands up!” Madison said.

“Mind your own fucking business!” he screamed, his words slurred into one long word. He went back to beating on the door. “Open the door, bitch! I’ll knock the fucking thing down!”

They both realized right away he was either drunk or high. “Shit, this isn’t going to be good,” Tessman murmured to Madison.

Through comms, Yvette’s voice came. “I’ve got Dahlia on the phone. She said she sees you through the window.”

Tessman’s eyes shifted to the window. He saw the curtain was slightly parted. “Yeah, Xena and I are onsite. Any ETA on Jax?” He really didn’t want to try to take this guy down without Jackson on site as well.

“Less than five minutes,” Yvette replied.

“Tell Dahlia to stay in the house with the doors locked for now. It looks like just a drunk, but we’ll verify there is no real threat,” Madison replied.

“Roger,” Yvette acknowledged.

“I wish I had a taser on me,” Madison said to Tessman.

“Yeah, that’s probably about the only thing that will bring him down,” Tessman agreed. “What do you think? Meth? Crack?”

The man continued to batter the door. He wasn’t tiring out. Something had him super-charged.

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