Chapter four

You must use his testimony. This man, this agent, spent three years of his life undercover for this. He gave up everything to see Pedro fall.” “I don't have to do anything,” Anna insisted, pressing her palms flat on her desk and staring at Agent Jack. It's two days before the trial and you're telling me I can't even meet with this witness before he takes the stand.This is crazy.” she leaned back in her worn chair, the worn metal frame creaking. I'm many things, Agent Jack, but crazy isn't one of them. Unless you count how I've behaved in this bar in the past., weekend he added

in silence.

He moved to the edge of her chair, where he sat directly opposite her.They had argued for a good quarter of an hour. He had paced more times than a jumper. 'I told you,' 'it was a delicate operation, and although I'm in charge here, everyone on the task force agreed we should wait until the last minute. The longer Agent Sandro is inside, the less time he's a target and the more time we have to gather evidence."

She didn't like his explanation and sarcasm overlaid her reply."I am pleased that you and your task force agree. It would have been nice if you had involved our office.

His cell phone rang and he reached into his suit jacket and pulled it out. "I have to take this."

Anna nodded her head in understanding, glad of a brief respite. Agent Jack seemed determined and pushed hard on this witness. A small point of concern lit up at his absolute insistence. She had been assigned the co-chairman in this case, but her boss, Dean, the West Texas Attorney, had a wife with cancer and almost gave her the job of co-chairman. He was counting on her not to ruin it, and she didn't want to let him down. And while she knew firing a witness with critical information was a bad idea, she couldn't feel good about blindly trusting anyone's credibility.

She leaned back in her chair, which many others had used before her time, and looked around the room, taking in the cork bulletin board and steel filing cabinets.

Her office was not luxurious. her job wasn't either. miserable pay Long hours.Lots of yelling when something went wrong. Anna wouldn't change anything. She had seen the other side of things, money and power. And she had paid the price. Luckily,

Agent Jack put his cell phone and Anna was ready to end this conversation. "You can't just bring in a witness out of the blue and expect them to agree to that." She held up a finger to stop the argument she knew he would offer. "We're talking about putting the biggest drug dealer in the known world behind bars. I will do nothing to jeopardize that.I haven't even met your witness.

“The agent is your ticket to conviction. If you can't see that, maybe the US Attorney can.

That set her temper on fire. She didn't want Dean to get upset about it. He had enough to do at the moment. “Don't even go there because I promise you won't like the results. Dean doesn't like it when his people get angry.He will support me and take you out. The bottom line is this: we will not put a witness on the stand that we cannot meet before the trial. Either give me a meeting with your agent, or this discussion is over.

"It's too dangerous," he said through pursed lips and succinct words. "It's dangerous to go to court blindly," she said, getting up. A strand of blonde hair slipped out of her neat chignon and caught her eye.she shoved it over, gathered her things for court and stuffed them into her briefcase. She wasn't stupid enough to walk away from a witness who could help her case; She just had to validate his worth, which meant playing hard. "I have to go."

He stared at her, silent for too long. you need Him Anna.His voice was low.

I knew Agent Jack pretty well. He rarely called her by her first name, and she did not miss the request that was made. Torn by her decision, Anna questioned her own judgment, even though she normally wouldn't.she figured she had her weekend at that bar to thank.

She hadn't used her head then. And she didn't want to let Pedro get away by refusing a witness. Still, it was one thing to bet on an erotic encounter with a stranger. This case was too important to roll the dice and take unnecessary risks.Her resolve strengthened. Putting a witness on the stand under these circumstances would be unwise, and she had no doubt her boss would agree.

"I can't back down here," she repeated. "There's just too much at stake."

"Good," he said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "You can meet him."

She rearranged some things on her desk."I hear."

"I need to talk to Sandro, but he's not coming here, I know that. You will have to go to him.

That didn't sound good, neither was missing out on a chance to ensure a conviction. Where?

"I'll call you with the details," he said. "But tonight. I will make sure. But only for you. Nobody else."Sandro will be angry anyway.

“You will not be able to reach me. I won't be out of court until six.

He nodded. "Call me when you leave.Until then I have arranged everything. And don't tell anyone about it. It's very dangerous. Any leak could endanger his life. "I know how it works," she said, but a sinking feeling danced through hes nerve endings.Anna grabbed her briefcase and purse and headed for the door, not before giving him a stern look. "Don't make me regret that."

ANNA on the passenger side of a Buick sedan without a government-issued ID with a hostile US Marshal behind the wheel.Looking out the window, she noticed the sun setting below the horizon while a rainbow of colors filled the sky. She was told to stop at three payphones and then get out of her own vehicle. She didn't know why she had let herself be persuaded to go out into the middle of nowhere. But as soon as she asked the question, she knew the answer.

Pedro.It was as bad as it sounded, linked directly and indirectly to getting many children addicted to drugs. Children were very important to Anna. She'd grown up in Padre, ten minutes from Brownsville, a town on the Mexican border. A city that has drawn teenagers into drug use and drug dealing. She had seen them destroy too many people.she was about to ask how far they had to go when she spotted a small house hidden in a stand of trees, almost invisible except in the moonlight.

As they got closer she could see that it was more of a hut than a house. Vehicles parked outside were further confirmation that she was in the right place. The cabin was quite old, with a rusty tin roof and boards hanging from the porch.

The marshal pulled up next to a truck and turned off the ignition. She reached for her briefcase, but before she could turn, the door yanked open.Startled, she turned to the door and found a stranger there, another marshal she assumed. "What..." Her words were cut short by the hard expression on the man's face.

"get out".

A look at the driver's seat revealed the departure of the other marshal. She looked at the gruff man at her door."I just have to get my things." Anna paused. "My briefcase and purse." Something made her hesitate and wait for an answer. Perhaps it was size.The man was a monster. Bigger than big, with broad shoulders like a linebacker's, he had a menacing tone to his presence. A jagged scar adorned his right cheek, making him look even more sinister. She couldn't help but wonder how he got it.

"First you meet Sandro.It was an order. "If he trusts you, then I'll get your stuff."

Did he trust her? Hi? She was the one who had to decide whether to trust him.He opened his mouth to say that, but then quickly shut it again. Something about this guy said don't argue.

"Come on," he said, sounding like a guard talking to his prisoner. He moved closer to her as if to grab her arm. Dismayed, she jerked her shoulder away and glared at him"Don't you dare touch me."

Defiance gleamed in his eyes, but only for a second before he disappeared behind an indecipherable mask. He took a step back and gallantly saluted forward. "Women first."

Mumbling a few choice words, barely audible, she got out of the car.She tossed her hair over her shoulder with an angry flick of her wrist and walked on, wishing she'd left it loose. Her nerves were on edge, and her professional armor, which included her regular hairdo, would be welcome at this point.

Two men stood in front of the door of the hut, guarding the entrance and blocking their way forward. She looked at the man on the left, noting his suntanned skin and short brown hair. His counterpart on the right was the exact opposite in appearance.Blond hair and skin and shoulder length shaggy hair that gave him a wild look. Nobody seemed friendly.

They both looked as sullen as the man at their heels. "Great," she murmured as she climbed the porch steps. "They come in threes"