Moth(7)

“Sir, with all due respect, I know this isn’t the best of times, but my brother is dead. I, at least, need to go home for the funeral. I’m asking for two days. As soon as he’s buried I’ll be back to work. I won’t stop until we get this son of a bitch. As far as the kids, well we made a promise to their mother. I won’t go back on that. There are families looking to adopt on waiting lists. I’m sure there is someone out there who would take them. Don’t send them back. They have no one to care for them.”

He jots something down on a file. “The kids are the easy part.” When he looks up at me he seems to have simmered down a bit. “And what about Alizar knowing your identity? Maybe it’s time we let a set of fresh eyes review the case. There has to be something we missed. Is it possible your brother was murdered?”

I’m stricken with worry, but don’t allow it to show. “No. It was some kind of accident, probably vehicle related.”

“Find out. We need to think outside of the box. If he knows you, there’s no telling what else he’s dug up. We have to remain on high alert. He’s made this personal.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I’m clenching the chair arms to prevent from losing my temper. I’m not about to hand over the reigns to my operation, but I know I need a couple days to deal with family matters. I have no choice but to do what is best for the agency. “Do what you have to do. I’m sure my team would enjoy a little time off. In the meantime, I need to book a flight. Are we done here?”

“No. We’re not done here. It’s a clusterf*ck!”

“Look, I get you’re frustrated. I know the orders to move in came from above, but I did things by the book. We obviously underestimated how deep Alizar’s pockets are. If he knows who I am, he’s gotten to me from inside. There’s no other solution. Someone told him where we’d be. They informed him of our surveillance platform.”

“You haven’t been fraternizing with anyone? What about the rest of your team? Renner? House?”

I understand he’s curious. That’s all it is. There’s no way he knows I’ve been hooking up with Ali. I haven’t told anyone about her, not even House. I’m sure he suspects, but I tend to keep my personal matters to myself. It’s safer that way. “No.”

“For your sake, I hope you’re telling me the truth.”

I nod. Renner better not be f*cking around with someone Alizar has in his pocket, but I wouldn’t put it past him. We’re men. * is like a breath of fresh air when you’re in the middle of a drug war. We need it to stay on our game, though it’s no excuse to get sloppy. “I’m sure.”

“You have three days. In the meantime I’ll have all the files transferred to a new mobile server. We’ll be moving your surveillance platform to a new undisclosed location. For the safety of the agency you won’t know until you arrive. If we’re going to find the leak we need to start over and pay closer attention.”

I stand and place both palms on his desk, staring him dead in the eyes. “When I get back I’ll end this. I’ll find the damn leak myself and make sure they’re persecuted. You have my word, sir.”

He waves his hands up in the air. “Moth, I’m sorry to be a dick. When the shit hits the fan it trickles down the chain. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

“Three days. Look into the death of your brother and be sure. I need to know if he’s attacking civilians. If it’s personal we’re going to have a problem with you staying on the case. I’m going to have a ton more paperwork, not to mention having to notify the FBI, and we both know those son’s of bitches like getting their noses in whatever they can. The less we have to involve them, the better.”

I know he’s right. I’ve invested two years of my life into this criminal operation and for us to lose everything is a disaster.

“I’ll take care of it. I’ll let you know what I find out. I’ll have my cell if anyone needs to reach me.”

“Three days,” he reiterates. “I need you back here to clean up this mess.”




It’s been a while since I’ve been able to spend time at my apartment. When I arrive I feel like it’s no longer mine. In the past couple of years I’ve probably spent less than a month here. Since I’m not going to need all my gear, I unpack my bag, only to fill it with clothes appropriate for the next three days. My suit is hung in the closet and still in the plastic from God knows when I last had it cleaned. I think it was for House’s wedding, and now he’s divorced, so it’s been a while. At any rate, I take it by the hanger and roll it to fit in my bag so I’m not carrying it around the airport like a douche. It’s funny, I could have sworn I had dress shoes, but there’s nothing in my closet except for two pairs of Chuck Taylors, Doc Marten boots, and three pairs of the standard grade military boots I wear for work. I snicker to myself knowing how pissed my father will be if I show up in any of these. Since I enjoy making his skin crawl, I choose the black Chucks.

Now that I’m packed, I get on my phone and book the first flight to Virginia. It’s only about three hours long, so I’ll be there by midnight. I don’t expect the old man to pick me up. I’ll take a cab or rent a car and hope the key I hid years ago is still in the same place.