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“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Teagan said. “Richardson and Peters mentioned the militia has ties to police departments around the state. While most of the detectives in your unit have strong opinions about Seth and Noah, none of them were as aggressive, cold, and calculating as these two. Now, I’m wondering if they had their own agenda or if The Brotherhood lit a fire and fanned the flames.”
He sighed. “I was afraid of that. Seth, what do you want to do? Proceed with the plan or back off? This is the fed’s problem, not ours. I don’t want to lose five of my best detectives to a half-baked plan by the feds. We know how anything they have their hands in turns out.”
Seth shook his head. “I owe it to Pico to arrest the people who killed him.”
“Not at the expense of your life and your woman’s.” Burnett held up his hand to hold off Seth’s protest. “But I understand why you feel the need to do this. If at any time you want to back out, you have my permission to pull the plug on this operation. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Yes, sir.”
He pulled out a small notebook and a pen. “Let me take your statements, since you’ll be out of town starting tomorrow.”
“You’re planning to charge the detectives?” Teagan asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m throwing the book at them. These additional charges will add to the assault charge that’s pending for both of them.”
“You’ll be shorthanded, sir.”
“I’ve already talked to the commanders of the other detective squads around the city. We’ve worked out the logistics of having other detectives fill in for a while.” His expression grew grim.“Guess I’ll be checking everybody’s records and cleaning house while you’re gone.”
“If you need help, contact Fortress,” Teagan said. “Our tech geeks are the best in the business. Also, we have several operatives who were cops. Of the ones I’m thinking about, one was an FBI agent, and two were homicide detectives. If they’re not out on missions, they can lend a hand if you need it.”
Burnett looked thoughtful. “Interesting suggestion. I’ll contact Maddox if my plan doesn’t work. Now, let’s get your statements so I can take care of Wilson and Kepler. Their lieutenant will handle Chastain and Carter. Hopefully, by the time we finish cleaning house, we can go back to protecting the people of Ardmore instead of looking for true dirty cops in our own houses.”
An hour later, the statements were finished, and Burnett rose. Seth walked him to the door. He turned. “Watch your back, Seth. The members of The Brotherhood won’t think twice about killing you and your team and dumping your bodies where no one will find them. No chances. You hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
He glanced at Teagan and her teammates. “Same goes for you, ladies. Do not take chances. I’d rather let the feds get the glory than lose any of you as well.”
“We’ll be careful,” Iona said.
Burnett left the house, climbed into his SUV, and headed for the station.
Rayne looked at the others. “So much for helping you get a good night’s rest. Sorry, guys.”
“Are you kidding?” Seth grinned. “I enjoyed watching you ladies in action. No wonder Maddox is planning to train another group of women for a black ops team. To their detriment, people don’t see the danger right in front of them.”
Iona lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Most people around Fortress don’t know who we are. They’re convinced the rumors of an all-female team are exaggerated.”
“They’re idiots, then. Just watching Teagan when we ran, I knew she had special training. I just didn’t know how much. Watching her take down Wilson was a pure pleasure.”
Rayne smile. “Although you wanted a hand in it yourself.”
“Oh, you know it. I want to make him pay for putting his hands on my woman.”
Teagan patted his knee. “Don’t worry. He has more trouble now than he knows how to handle.”
“Not enough,” he muttered. “He deserves everything he has coming to him and more. He and Kepler both deserve to rot in prison for what they did.”
“You want to get more sleep?” Iona asked.
“That ship has sailed.” Teagan stood. “Too much adrenaline to sleep now. Seth?”
“Same.”
“Then we should prepare your house for an extended absence. You know, toss food that will spoil soon, take out the trash, that kind of thing.”
“Good plan. What about breakfast? I know it’s early, but the diner is open. I’ll be glad to pick up a meal for all of us and for Noah and his group, too.”