Page 7 of Deadly Target
He hated to do it, but he had to ask. “Any chance the person was after you? Or trying to terrorize you like before?”
She didn’t miss a beat, her past always a shadow over her. A Mexican drug cartel leader had sought revenge on her at one time, hurting, and even killing several people close to her. “I thought of that, but since I’ve been a forensic photographer, I work behind the scenes, now. I don’t go undercover, nor arrest people anymore, so the likelihood is very low.”
Victor figured as much. “I put in a call to Mitch to come help.” Mitch Holden was a national security expert who handled top secret, and very hush-hush, intelligence gathering. In the past several years, he’d worked with the taskforce on several assignments, but mostly was a stay-at-home dad these days with his wife and new baby. “We’ll put out a net to trap this scumbag before he gets too far.”
Mitch was married to a forensic psychiatrist who’d had great success using animal therapy to help juvenile delinquents. “I’ll see if Emma can come too, and I want you to sit down with her and talk. Tell her what happened. This can bring up a lot of old stuff for you. Emma can help you deal with it.”
He’d witnessed plenty of shootings in the line of duty, unfortunately, and seen the scars they left on those involved, whether they’d taken the bullet or watched a loved one or friend take it. Celina was going to need therapy, regardless of how resilient she was.
“I’ll be fine. I have to be strong for both Cooper and our little girl.”
“This is a direct order, Agent Davenport.” He put a hand on her shoulder to soften his pulling rank. “You’re tough as nails, Celina, but I also know how valuable you are to your family and my taskforce. Emma is your friend, as well as a top-notch psychiatrist, and you need both in order to help Cooper and Via process this.”
His newest sidekick backed him up. “You are their rock,” Liv said to her. “In order to be that rock, you need to accept support from your friends. Besides, Emma’s going to want to know all the details anyway, and with your help, she’ll be able to build a profile of the shooter for us.”
“I don’t know how.” Celina sighed, the puff of air blowing up her bangs. “I didn’t see anybody. All I know is what direction the shot came from.”
Liv smiled. “From what I know about Dr. Collins, she’s worked with less and still managed to help law enforcement catch their man.”
Celina smiled back ruefully. “You’re right. She has an amazing ability. It’s almost like she digs into your mind and sees the scene herself, picking up on all the little things you didn’t register in your consciousness.”
Victor hugged her again. “Do you need anything before Thomas and I leave?”
Ronni stepped forward and took Celina’s hand. Celina looked at her, relaxing slightly, and then back to Victor. “Just catch this bastard, Director. You can’t let him get away with this.”
“You think of anything, no matter who, what, or how insignificant it seems, you get in touch with me.”
“I will.”
He patted her shoulder again. “Take care of our boy. Thomas and I will keep you updated on anything we find. When Cooper comes to, tell him I’ll be back, and if he doesn’t stay in that hospital bed and listen to you and the doctors, I will kick him into it.”
“Thank you,” she said, giving him a hug. “I’m so glad you came.”
That was what he did. Made people feel safe by protecting them, and when he couldn’t protect them, he made sure justice was found. Emma Collins would tell him it stemmed from taking care of his four younger sisters after their mother was injured in a car accident and could no longer work. His father had been killed when Victor was only ten years old. Too young to have so much responsibility riding on his shoulders, but that was life. All of that for his family had groomed him to be the man he was. He stood up for the weak, protected the vulnerable, squashed evil.
“Call us if you need anything,” Thomas said to Celina and Ronni.
Ronni nodded, her dark afro longer than Victor had seen in a while. “We will.”
Steering Liv and Taz to the door, Victor stuffed down the burning desire to punch the wall as he left a very vulnerable part of his Taskforce behind.
* * *
Outside the hospital,Olivia followed Victor to their cars. His jaw was tight, a muscle jumping in his cheek, and she knew he was holding back his emotions with great restraint. Thomas was parked in a different lot and they’d agreed to meet up at the secret office the taskforce kept downtown. Taz jogged beside her, both of them having to move quickly to keep up with Victor’s long strides.
The sun was setting and a soft orange glow came from the west, the parking lot in shadow from the multiple story hospital. When they got to the cars, Victor said nothing, reaching for her and pulling her into his arms.
“What can I do to help?” she asked.
He released her and patted the top of Taz’s head. “It means a lot to me that you came, but there’s really not much you can do. Maybe put out some feelers with any of the lowlifes you know. Thomas and I will be working with the locals and checking through our recent cases that might involve someone wanting to strike at Cooper. Roman has his team checking the web for chatter concerning this to see if anyone is taking credit or knows anything.”
Dr. Roman Walsh, Homeland Security. She’d heard of him, but never had the opportunity to work with him and his Domestic Terrorism Taskforce.
Her earlier conversation with Alfonso niggled at the back of her brain. “Did Cooper’s team ever have any cases involving the Fifty-seven Gang?”
He gave her a curious look. “That rings a bell, but they’re not an active case. Why?”
“One of my informants is feeding me information about a couple mafia bosses here in California tied to the Chicago Fifty-seven Gang syndicate. DeStefano is the leader’s name. My CI told me something big is in the wind and it involves targeting law enforcement. That’s what my call at your house was about. My source doesn’t have details yet, but I’ll stay on him, just in case.”
