Page 92 of Girl Between (Dana Gray FBI Mystery Thriller #5)

Jake popped his collar against the brisk chill in the damp Virginia air. He hadn’t expected to be back in D.C. until the start of Claire’s trial. But Agent Creed had taken pleasure in bursting that bubble.

After snatching the case with the gravitas of a spoiled toddler being handed yet another new toy, he unceremoniously handed Jake his walking papers, along with a coach ticket back to HQ.

Normally, Jake was filled with pride when he walked into the J. Edgar Hoover Building. Today, it was dread lining his stomach as he passed the Department of Justice emblem dignifying the lobby.

It used to mean something to him when he walked these hallowed halls.

He didn’t know when it happened, the change so gradual he’d missed it, but being here didn’t mean what it used to.

It was no longer a means to an end, a way to right past wrongs, while protecting the civil liberties he’d spent a lifetime defending.

Somewhere along the way things changed. Jake wasn’t sure if it was him or the world, or maybe just the new nearsighted leadership of the bureau. His money was on the latter as he walked into FBI Director Kenneth Nowak’s office.

To add insult to injury, Remy Jenkins’ name still hadn’t been removed from the office door. Instead, there was a large strip of duct tape covering the former director’s name.

Nowak’s magnetic name plaque hovered above the etching of his predecessor, commanding about as much respect as the green agent deserved.

The thirty-something politician didn’t deserve his title.

He hadn’t even served. Though military service wasn’t a bureau requirement, holding the position of director without it was a rarity.

Since the 1920s, the FBI Director had answered directly to the attorney general.

? Under the Omnibus Crime Control Act and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the director was appointed by the U.S.

President, confirmed by the Senate, and limited to a term of no longer than ten years. ??????????????????????????????

It wasn’t a seat easily come by, which made Jake wonder who’d been paid off to make the egregious mistake of putting this child in charge.

It wasn’t just that No-sack was out for Jake and every other GI Joe agent like him.

He understood the reasoning behind recruiting young blood.

But putting good agents out to pasture before their time did more to hurt the agency than help it.

There was a time and place for tech. But that didn’t mean the efforts of the infantry should be forgotten.

Jake knocked on the director’s door, doing his best to remove the chip from his shoulder as he breezed into the office that used to be his sanctuary.

This isn’t Jenks’ regime anymore, he reminded himself before greeting the director.

“Agent Shepard,” the young man said, not even standing to shake Jake’s hand. “I was hoping you’d heed my warning.”

“Warning, sir?”

“I assume Agent Creed passed along my message.”

“He said I was to report back to HQ immediately. So here I am.”

“Yes, here you are,” Nowak said, steepling slender fingers under a soft chin.

“The last we spoke you told me I had until Monday,” Jake pushed.

“That was before we had a team in place in New Orleans. ”

“Is there a pressing matter you need me here for?” Jake countered.

“This is the FBI, Agent Shepard. The need to defend your country is unyielding.”

Jake balled his hands into fists, resisting the urge to pummel the no-necked little twerp. “Agreed, sir.”

“Good,” Nowak said. “Glad you see it my way.”

“Defending my country is my highest priority, sir. It’s why I’m requesting to return to New Orleans, where I can be of assistance on the current threat they’re facing.”

“There’s plenty of capable agents on that case. Your orders are here.”

“Doing what, sir?”

“What I tell you,” Nowak said calmly.

Jake leashed his temper—a skill he’d perfected in the Army.

Instead of snapping No-sack’s neck, he envisioned it, which allowed him to calmly express himself.

“Sir, I’m merely offering my assistance in the ongoing investigation in New Orleans.

The team you’ve assembled is highly capable.

However, my partner has been invited onto the joint task force, and I feel it’s my duty to offer my assistance. ”

Nowak laughed. “Your days of traipsing all over the country with Dr. Gray are over, Agent Shepard.”

“Excuse me?” Jake said, his temper slipping.

“What don’t you understand?”

“To start with, why you would break up a team with a track record as impeccable as ours.”

“I assume you’re talking about the Reaper case,” Nowak said smugly.

He pulled a folder off the stack on his desk and flipped it open dramatically.

“Two officers shot, a body count of eight. A double amputee on trial, pleading insanity. If that’s what you call an impeccable track record, then you need to get yourself a new dictionary, Agent Shepard. ”

“If it were any other team on the Reaper case, the body count would’ve been double, and the killers would still be in the wind. The case is about to go to trial. It’ll be open and shut by the end of the month, tied up nice and neat for you. ”

Nowak shut the folder. “Yes, thank you for reminding me that your royal fuck up will drag this agency’s short comings front and center in the media once the Reaper case goes to trial.”

“That case almost cost me and my partner our lives.”

“Ah, yet here you are.” Thorn in his side implied. “Director Jenkins may have let you run amok, Agent Shepard. But I’m running a very different bureau. One that will require you to be amenable to a short leash.”

“And if I’m not?” Jake challenged.

“Then there’s the door. But I’ll warn you, if you walk through it, there’s no walking back in. I’ll make sure every door in every government agency is closed to you.”

Jake stared down the little man, and the gauntlet he’d offered. Jake was never one to back down from a challenge. Though this one had come sooner than he’d expected.