Alliance – Chapter 4

Special Agent Jackson Caldwell sat down in the conference room at FBI headquarters in downtown Dallas to await a case and partner assignment.  Again.  Apparently, financial crimes were at an all-time low in the area.

Or his new Special Agent in Charge was just a dick who liked tormenting his new agents.

Considering the fact that he’d been buried under mountains of pointless paperwork since his transfer to the Dallas Financial Crimes Unit at the end of last year, he imagined his impression of Hargrove was fairly accurate. Any other SAC would have been salivating at the prospect of getting a new agent with six years experience with the Bureau. Instead, it was all sexual harassment seminars and training videos.

Under ordinary circumstances, Jackson might have welcomed the light workload.  His last case ended almost six months ago and it was the most difficult he’d ever faced.  Innocent people lost their lives – his partner included – before he’d been able to take down the would-be terrorist.  Knowing that if he had put together the pieces a little sooner or if he’d gotten to the scene a little faster or if he’d been honest with the woman he loved even once…Of course, it was easy to second-guess decisions in retrospect.

Jackson frowned at his watch.  He had already been there for over an hour, waiting for a case to sink his teeth into.  God knows, he needed a distraction from the current pathetic state of his life.  It was sad, that he spent most nights alone.  It didn’t bother him in DC, but being back here…

He felt every lonely night.

Jackson was fully aware of the fact he was handsome.  With his black hair, crystal blue eyes, and body kept in peak condition by a rigorous workout schedule, he could have his pick of women.  In his younger days, he would have filled his time with just that.  Then again, having a failed marriage on his romantic resume by the time he was 33 had taken its toll on his ego.  Now, there just seemed to be something unseemly about prowling around in clubs, looking for one-nighters.

Besides, there was only one woman he wanted in his bed and she was currently not returning his calls. Again.

The opening conference room door interrupted Jackson’s thoughts.  A man who he judged to be in his early forties stepped inside and closed the door behind him.  Must be the new partner. He had the efficient movements of a paperwork-pushing agent who’d spent his career working white collar crimes.

He was about six foot in height, salt-and-pepper brown hair, soft green eyes, and a body that was fit enough, save the soft midsection that was apparently party to one too many donuts.  Evaluating the man in front of him, Jackson guessed he probably did ok with the ladies.  At the very least, he probably didn’t spend his Saturday nights waiting for a woman to return his call.

“Agent Caldwell, I’m Agent Brandon Dinsley.  It appears we’ll be working together.”

Jackson stood and accepted the agent’s extended hand.

“It’s good to meet you.  Do you know what case we’ve been assigned to work?” He knew his voice had an edge to it.  He was aching to get back into the field.

Agent Dinsley nodded and set a small stack of file folders on the table.

“Our bank robber is known as Raptor.  He committed dozens of bank robberies in the area, but during his last heist an innocent man was killed.  That was two years ago.”

“Two years ago,” Jackson snapped.  “Why the hell are we working a case that’s two years old?”

“Because it was never solved and you’re the new guy.”

“Figures. What did you do to get stuck with it?” Jackson asked.

“I asked for it.”

“A cold case. Why?”

“I have my reasons, Caldwell.  Why don’t I get you acquainted with this case?”

Dinsley didn’t wait for Jackson to respond before continuing.

“On December 12, five masked men entered First Alliance Bank and Trust.  They were well organized and took over the bank lobby.  Within minutes, they had all of the staff on the ground and called the bank president out of his office to open the vault.  It wasn’t until they had almost eight million dollars loaded into black gym bags and were on their way out of the building that Raptor realized there was an unnoticed customer in the president’s office.  The man was on his cell phone with the police and Raptor fatally shot him.

“Once the shot was fired, a customer by the name of Parker Ramsey stood up and started yelling at Raptor as they all fled the building.  That man, along with the rest of Raptor’s crew, showed up dead within the next six months.  We have no proof that it was Raptor, but we can assume it was not a mere coincidence.”

“Do we have any leads,” Jackson asked.

“Our last real lead dried up over a year ago, but I have a source who’s told me Raptor may be about to make a move,” Dinsley replied.

“Do you have any details?”

“Not really, but I know how Raptor operates.  He always has an inside man.  In his last heist, Ramsey opened an account and established a relationship with the bank employees.  After the robbery, they all said they liked Ramsey and they were shocked by his involvement.  Apparently, he was able to get close enough to several of the employees to find out when would be the best time of day to strike, as well as when the largest amount of cash would be on the premises.  He spent over two months staking the place out for Raptor.”

Jackson mulled over what his new partner had said for a moment.  He was annoyed to get a case full of dead ends, but was determined to crack this case and prove himself to his new superiors.

“Is your source reliable?”

“Probably not, but I am certain Raptor will need someone to be on the inside just as Ramsey was,” Dinsley answered.  After a brief pause he added, “He may already have someone.”

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