Page 34 of Flash and Bang
“How about we don’t ever talk about him again and let me take you to bed and take advantage of you.”
“Okay,” Thayne said, smiling at him. “Once I’ve had a little sleep, I may just take advantage of you too.”
Jarrett smiled. All he wanted to do was sleep. Thayne gave him another half smile and took his hand, letting him lead them into the bedroom where they stripped and slid between the thousand-count sheets. Jarrett barely had the time to pull Thayne against his body before he fell into a deep sleep. Ithadbeen a hell of a day.
Chapter Eight
“What the heck, guys?” Sarah said, hugging Thayne and then gripping Jarrett’s hand. They’d just walked into the LA office, heading to SAC Stanger’s office to debrief, when they stopped at her desk the following day.
Thayne shook his head. “It sucked big time, Sarah, we’re just glad to be home in one piece.”
“Even though someone wanted us in pieces,” Jarrett said. He still had a tiny white bandage covering the bullet graze at his temple. His eyes twinkled; his snarky personality seemed to have returned since Thayne acquiesced and let him drive their rental car back up to LA, listening to whatever music he favored, which was usually old-school Country or Blue Grass, something Thayne found horrific. At least the music seemed to put Jarrett in this happy-go-lucky mood so Thayne tolerated it, even though banjos made him want to wail and rend his garments. He realized that just watching Jarrett’s expression light up when he was happy was worth any tiny sacrifice Thayne had to make. It made Thayne’s heart flutter just a little bit every time Jarrett’s dimples appeared. At least he had the excuse of a damaged eardrum so Jarrett kept the music low, humming along with Buck Owens and the Buckaroos.
“Evans! Wolfe! Get in here!” Stanger barked.
Thayne turned back to Sarah. “No rest for the wicked.” He rolled his eyes.
She grinned at him. “Go on then.”
“Connor, will ya check for that autopsy report?” Jarrett asked.
“Sure. Now go before you get your asses handed to you… again,” she said.
Thayne nodded and grabbed his partner’s sleeve. “Come on.”
They walked into the SAC’s office and sank down into the chairs in front of it. Stanger looked them both over with a critical eye and then turned toward Thayne. “You okay? First of all, did the doctor clear both of you?”
Thayne pulled out the discharge papers they’d gotten from the hospital and handed both of them to their boss. “We’re both cleared for regular duty.” That was pretty much the truth. Jarrett still complained of a headache but that was to be expected. The doctor had emphasized that Thayne would have ringing in his ears for a couple of weeks and that he was supposed to stay away from loud noises because they could cause permanent hearing loss if he wasn’t careful. He could hear just fine now,but every once in a while the ringing came back and conversations around him sounded like a low buzz if he didn’t focus on them. His right leg felt like it had an extremely bad sunburn but for the most part, he felt good. Besides that, he wanted to get back to work and figure out what happened out at the Marine Corps base. They both had the niggling suspicion they had a religious fanatic on their hands and Thayne was bound and determined to find out if the Chinatown explosion was linked to it in some manner.
Stanger sat and read the hospital discharge papers and then put them in a folder on his desk before looking back up at them. “I’ll put these in your files.” He tapped the folder and crossed his arms, sitting back in his chair, looking them both over. “Now, tell me what the hell happened down there and make me believe it. I know you told me some of it over the phone but I want the whole story. I want to know what you wouldn’t put in your official report.” He eyeballed them both, pointing his finger at each of them. “Don’t lie to me because I’ll know it. If you tell me this was a one-time incident, I can go back to finding you an assignment that won’t get you killed, but if there’s something more, I want to know it. Clear?”
Thayne exchanged a gaze with Jarrett. When Jarrett opened his mouth to speak, Stanger held up ahand, stopping him.
“Don’t speak, Evans. Half of what comes out of your mouth is horseshit.” He turned to glare at Thayne. “You. Tell me what happened and don’t embellish. You’re beginning to take on your partner’s habits of bending the truth.” He frowned at Jarrett who slumped back in his chair and crossed his arms defensively.
Thayne flushed with embarrassment as Jarrett clapped his mouth closed. The truth was, Thayne knew Jarrett would have probably told the boss everything they’d discovered but it wasn’t easy trying to get a straight story out of him. In fact, it was one of the things Thayne found the most fascinating about his partner. He took a deep breath and looked over to Stanger, starting by telling him what they’d found out, beginning with their tour of the blast site at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, their subsequent visit to the coroner’s office, and what they found when examining the note that had been mailed to the base operations office.
“So, you think this is a religious nutjob?” Stanger concluded.
Thayne nodded. “We think it’s possible. What other reason could he have for sending a note quoting scripture?”
“If that’s even what it is,” Stanger said. “It wasn’t a complete bible verse so it could be something he remembers from his childhood or for that matter, something he saw on the History Channel.” He shook his head. “The evidence pointing to him being on a religious mission is thin.”
“Which is why we hope to find out more when we interview Investigator Chang about the Chinatown accident which happened back in February,” Jarrett added. “The police investigation concluded it was an accident and Chang agreed with that. We just think it deserves another look, that’s all.”
“Okay,” Stanger said with a purse of his lips. “Now, tell me what the hell happened during that raid. This should be fun.” He sat back as if he was prepared to be entertained.
Thayne launched into the story of what had happened when they joined the FBI, Homeland, and their operation, leaving out Jarrett’s reckless run into the burning barn without backup. Thayne knew Stanger would probably suspend his partner if he thought he did one more stupid thing and he was pretty sure that one ranked high on the list of reckless things Jarrett did. He explained how the CIA had been involved with intelligence gathering inSouth America and Mexico and even how Mossad had an operative there, hoping to find a bomb-making terrorist among the militia. Finally, he told the boss about what had happened with Jarrett’s Jeep and then sat back waiting to see what he would say.
Stanger finally looked up. “Well, it sounds like you two stepped into it down there. If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you either have a magnet which draws killers to you or you have a death wish, Evans.”
“I find that I do some of my best work while paralyzed with intense terror, sir.” The look on Jarrett’s face was so innocent, Thayne wanted to laugh. Instead, he just gaped at him, shaking his head.
“So I’ve noticed,” Stanger growled. “Iamrather pissed that we have a homegrown domestic terrorist cell so close to home,” he said, ignoring Jarrett’s statement for the moment. “Do you think they had ties to the fireworks explosion at the Marine Corps base?”
“They might, sir. A lot of it is going to depend on what we find when we get that autopsy report. If Greg Mason was knocked out prior to the explosion, it narrows the field of suspects,” Jarrett said. “The only people close to the display before, during, andafter it was set up, were the Mason’s themselves and two others in their employ. It’s unlikely anyone else had access. Sarah has been looking into all of it but so far, nothing stands out.”
“Okay. Go interview Chang and put the Chinatown fireworks explosion to bed.” Stanger turned to frown at Jarrett. “I’m not generally this much of a micromanager, Evans,” Stanger said, almost apologetically. “Wolfe knows that. But when my agent’s cars are being sabotaged and they are getting shot at, something’s wrong and I want to be kept in the loop,” Stanger said. “Now go do your thing and don’t get blown up again.”