Си Паради - Dancing With Shadows

After gently kissing her lover, she said, "If we’re really lucky, the sting will work tonight, and Braxton will order us to move in on the money launderers over the weekend."

Megan relaxed against her partner, the contact lifting her spirits. She smiled at Tony’s attempt to make her feel better. Looking up at her lover, she said, "You’re a real dreamer, too," in an attempt at levity.

"Me?" Tony said, winking at her partner, happy to see the smile on her face. "Not really."

Megan hugged Tony, and said, "Well, I hope you’re right." Reluctantly releasing the tall woman, she said, "You ready?"

"Yeah."

When Tony returned from taking Megan to work, the phone was ringing. Walking into the kitchen, she picked it up and said, "Hello."

A familiar voice asked, "Are you busy?"

Tony smiled grimly. This was a simple code they’d set up indicating she should go to a secure phone.

"Yes. Can I get back to you later?"

"Sure," Huey said, standing in his office looking out the window.

Hanging up, Tony carried the phone into the bedroom and attached the scrambling device. She knew it would be a lot easier to use the portable phone but they were notorious for being intercepted and the scrambler might not be totally effective.

After dialing Huey’s number, she waited patiently for him to come to the phone.

When he answered, she asked, "What’s up?"

"Your record has been accessed and it’s not clear who pulled it or why. It may just be a coincidence. I am still checking things out at this end,"

Huey said.

Tony's eyes narrowed and anger briefly flickered across her face. "I don’t think it’s a coincidence. So I’m going to go on the assumption that it’s another agent, or someone from the inside hired a mercenary."

There wasn’t much Huey could say. He happened to agree with her. "Be careful, Tony. I’ll call you when I know more."

Hanging up the phone, Tony was glad that she had decided not to include any of her FBI coworkers, because she had no way of knowing if they were connected to the attacks on her.

After taking a shower, Tony retrieved her gun and placed it on the night stand. Getting into bed, she fell into a light sleep, her subconscious mind tuned to wake her at any odd sound. Velcro and Huggy joined her a short time later.

Megan sat at her desk unable to concentrate on the lab reports she was looking at. Setting them down, her thoughts turned to the sting operation planned for that night. There was so much being left to chance and she was very worried about Tony’s safety.

When the phone rang, she welcomed the interruption.

"Dr. Donnovan."

"Hi. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. With the deadline for people who filed extensions drawing near, work has been unreal,"

Ashley said.

Megan smiled, glad to hear from her sister, "No problem. I figured you were just busy."

"Any chance you can get away for lunch today? Two appointments I had scheduled canceled and I’ve finally got a little free time." Ashley said, hoping Megan would be able to get away. It seemed like ages since she had seen her younger sister.

Glad for the diversion, and wanting to see Ashley, Megan smiled and said, "I’d love to. Where?"

"How about the Boarding House at 11:30?" Ashley chose a place close to where Megan worked figuring they would be able to take a little longer lunch that way.

"That’ll work. See you then," Megan said, looking forward to lunch

Tony set the bag of Chinese food on the table. Megan was changing clothes. Neither of them had wanted to cook tonight, so they had stopped at their favorite take out place.

Her thoughts turned briefly to their plans for tonight. She wasn’t supposed to make an appearance until 9pm even though Brian and the others would be there earlier to get in place.

Kris was going to pick up Megan at 8pm. Brian thought very highly of the policewoman, and she had not come to the apartment for the meeting, so her identity, if they had been observed, would be unknown to Tony’s antagonist.

Tony planned to leave around 8:30pm. She would be driving her Jeep, it would be easy to spot. Her thoughts turned dark and she smiled grimly, thinking, and then let the game begin.

John was casually leaning against the building near the mouth of the alley. He was hidden from the casual observer, but his position allowed him an unobstructed view of the sienna Jeep in the parking lot across the street. Should anyone see him, he looked every bit the part of someone waiting for a friend, and he added to the illusion by occasionally raising his wrist to peer at his watch.

All the volunteers knew that the chance of a successful conclusion to this operation was small. It had not deterred any of them, though. Every officer involved in the sting considered Tony one of their own. The fact that she was an FBI agent no longer mattered. She had earned her place among them and they would do their best to protect her. They had all been at their posts for over an hour and John knew that the likelihood of their target showing up now was slim.

John shifted his weight to his other foot and suddenly felt a blinding pain crash through his head before everything went dark.

Sherman put the blackjack back in his pocket and smiled, satisfied that his first objective had been reached. He pulled a roll of duct tape out of his cargo pocket. The cop shouldn't wake up for a couple of minutes and when he did, Sherman wanted to make sure he couldn't give an alarm. If everything went according to plan, he would be leaving the area by the time he woke up anyway, but he would leave no room for error.

Tearing off a strip of the duct tape, he laid the roll on the ground next to him and slapped the tape over the unconscious man's mouth, making sure it was tightly adhered to the skin. Rolling the cop over, he began securing the man's hands behind him by winding the tape around his wrists. Satisfied that he would not be able to get loose, he tore the tape and moved down to his feet, quickly and efficiently binding his ankles together in the same manner. Standing he put the duct tape back in one of his cargo pockets the whole procedure taking less than two minutes.

Grabbing a hold of the cop under his arms, Sherman dragged him further back into the alley behind a dumpster. He had already ascertained that they were on radio silence so he shouldn't be missed anytime soon. Completing his task, Sherman melted back into the shadows intent on seeking out his next target.

Sherman had been in place since early afternoon and had waited for the police to arrive. Their operation had been organized and planned well. The cops were strategically placed in and around the restaurant, and were well hidden. The officers inside the restaurant and the adjoining buildings would not hinder his effort. He would only concern himself with the cops stationed outside because of the potential for interference.

Tony sat in her car, all senses tuned to her surroundings. Brian and two other officers were in commandeered second floor locations on both sides of the street watching everyone who approached her car. If anyone got too close or looked suspicious, they were to key the radio once.

There had already been three false alarms.

Sherman sauntered down the street toward the Shopper’s Mart with his hands in his pockets. Entering the parking lot from the street, he casually ambled across the blacktop in the general direction of the Jeep. Noting nothing out of the ordinary, he moved up to the blind spot on the vehicle, just standing there nonchalantly looking around. Satisfied that no one was watching him, Sherman began moving silently up the side of the vehicle. He was pleased to note that Viglioni had her eyes trained on the restaurant across the street.