Page 65 of Protecting Silver
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why don’t Jackie and I research this information Atwal gave us, give us forty-eight hours. We’ll work around the clock if we have to and get information on this adoption agency he consults with. Second, and I mean this with no disrespect, Sir, but I believe when we do the sting as Atwal suggested, we use him and Ms. Roundtree.”
“No.” Daniel didn’t waste any time shooting that idea down.
“I think you should,” Decker said. “No, hear us out. Babcock, why do you think we should use them?”
“Because, if Atwater and I went in, we wouldn’t be seen as a loving couple wanting to start a family. No offense, Sir, but I have too much respect for you to give you loving looks, or little touches like Silver and Patch did. It comes natural to them, and anyone can see they’re in love with each other. You and I could never portray that. We’re going to have to have people who are desperate for a child.”
“And we can’t pull that off, but what if Merrick recognizes Atwal? What will we do then?”
“That’s why we’re the FBI and can do disguises. I bet if you put a beard, or a few days growth on him, and give him colored contacts, it’ll change his appearance significantly. When was the last time Merrick saw him? When he was ten? According to him he’s thirty-seven, but according to the birth certificate, he’s thirty-five, so at least twenty-five years since they’ve seen each other.”
“And,” Decker grinned. “We can have wardrobe dress them up like a well-off couple. From my understanding, Atwal wears hospital scrubs all the time. Get him dressed in business clothes, and wire him. I think they can pull off the loving couple willing to pay anything for a child.”
“But what about their name? Surely Merrick would recognize the Atwal name, after all, he was probably the one to invent it.”
“So, use Roundtree. Mr. and Mrs. Roundtree.” Babcock looked at her boss with a grin, and knew when she and Decker had convinced him to use Patch and Silver as bait to catch Merrick in some illegal activities.
“Fine, Babcock, get Agent Mann to help you with some deeper research. I don’t have to tell you the significance of the privacy in this manner. As far as I’m concerned, until further notice, including Mann, we will be the only four people in this building that knows about this. Go ahead and go back to your floor and bring Mann back up here. Decker and I will move all this paperwork to the conference room.”
“Yes, Sir,” Tamara Babcock said as she rose and hurried to the door. It only took her three minutes to return to her regular work space.
“Where have you been?” Jackie Mann demanded as Tamara sat on the edge of her partner’s desk.
“Can you keep a secret?” Tamara whispered. She looked over both her shoulders, grabbed Jackie by her forearm, and pulled her out of the bullpen, down the hall, and into the supply closet.
“What the hell?”
“I just got a sensitive case, a very,verysensitive case, and you and I are to do some research on it. However, we’re not allowed to tell anyone what we’re working on, or where.”
“Where will we be working?” Jackie whispered as she leaned in and asked.
“The conference room attached to Atwater’s office.” When Jackie started to say something, Tamara laid her fingers over her partner’s lips. “Not here, let’s go back to Atwater’s office.”
“Okay,” Jackie said, intrigued to be working so closely with the boss. To her, it seemed like ever since they’d taken Freedman down, they were getting better cases. The two women went back to their office, grabbed their purses, and when someone asked where they were going, Tamara said, “Lunch.” Then, they left and went to the elevator. Instead of going down to the lobby, they went up to the top floor. Neither woman said a word until they entered the conference room. Luckily they could access it from the hallway and not have to go past Samantha to get to it.
As soon as they settled, Jackie turned on Tamara. “Spill, woman.”
Laughing, Tamara started making a cup of coffee and talked as she worked. “Remember, nothing leaves this room. Besides the two of us, and Atwater, there is another gentleman by the name of John Decker who will be working on this case with us.”
“Who is that?”
“Me,” Decker said as he entered the room with his arms loaded with files. He nodded to Jackie as she rushed forward to help him. Following closely behind was their boss.
“Please, call me Daniel while we’re working on this project. I’ll try to remember to call you ladies by your first names. Did Tamara get you up to speed yet, Jackie?”
“No, she was just doing that when you arrived.”
“Do you mind?” Daniel looked at Tamara.
“Go ahead.”
“Okay, I’m sure Tamara told you that anything discussed in this office is to stay here. Did you two bring your laptops?”
“We did,” they said as they pulled them from their purses. They had snuck them out of their office without their fellow employees noticing them. After setting them up, they fired them up and waited for their boss to continue.
“Right, this is hard for me to say.”
