"Louie, this is something I have to do. Maybe Tex is just fine, and if he isn't, maybe someone else could get him out of trouble. But I just can't trust that someone else enough to bring my man home, ya know? Knowing what I know now, I just have to take this into my own hands. Thank you so much for your concern and for the information. I'll see you when I get back."
"I've heard that twice now and I'm still waiting. Better not disappoint me, Chelsee."
"I won't." I gave him the biggest smile I could muster and walked away.
I got into my speeder and headed toward my apartment. I planned to leave for Australia as soon as I could, but I had to get some things from home before I could leave. I also needed a few more hours of sleep; I had pretty much used up all the sleep I got the day before.
The parking lot to my apartment was on the roof; I parked there and locked up my speeder. As I was walking toward the roof's access door, I heard a voice behind me.
"Ms. Bando?" I stopped and looked in the direction of the voice. It was a woman in a black suit standing next to a man of similar attire. "I need you to come with us."
This didn't look good. I looked again at the door, trying to mentally judge how far it would be if I ran for it. Then I heard the familiar cocking of a pistol that made me rethink my plans.
"I need you to come with us now, Ms. Bando. Please step inside the vehicle."
They weren't the police, and they weren't punks. And it didn't look as though I had a choice. So I went along with it. What's the worst that could happen? They shoot me? Heck, I already survived that once. I wasn't too worried.
The man got into the driver's seat and the woman got into the backseat with me. She put her gun away once we were inside. I heard the door lock next to me, so I knew any escape attempts would be futile. She addressed me first. "Sorry for the display of force. We couldn't afford to lose any time through miscommunication. I'm agent Downing and this is agent Adams with the FBI. We were contacted by Dalton, whom I believe you met earlier this evening."
I knew that would come back to haunt me. She went on. "I understand your connection to the case--having your boyfriend and brother go undercover is not easy to endure. Especially having to go through the grief of their staged deaths. We're sorry we've had to put you through all this, but we had no other choice, or you would be attending their real funerals by now."
"What do you want?"
"You've impressed us, Ms. Bando. Your investigative skills have got you some information you were never intended to know. Do you plan to go to Australia and follow them?"
"Yes, I do."
"Do you have any idea of where to start?"
"I know where they're located. I have an address."
She raised an eyebrow at this. "Well, I guess that saves us some time. You know about the Australian Resistance and how Murphy and Bando are connected with it, correct?"
"Yes."
"Good. Since you're planning on paying them a visit anyhow, you're going to do it right. Here's all the information you'll need on the Australian Resistance," she said, handing me a folder, "and a suitcase containing everything you'll need for your trip. You can change when you land in Australia. Agent Adams is headed for the airport as we speak. If you feel the need to back out at any time, now is the time to say so." She paused, awaiting my answer.
"I'm in this for good."
She smiled and continued. "We already have an elaborate set-up in the making. You will have no influence in the carrying out of the plans. Your only duty will be to serve as a back-up, and intervene only when necessary. This project was hastily created because of the lack of time allowed, so adequate back-ups were not avaliable to take the assignment. When we discovered your interest in the case, we decided to use that to our advantage, and yours, as well."
"Excuse me, not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but why would you want to use someone like me who has no experience with anything like this?"
"The circumstances of the assignment do not allow us to use experienced agents. This is a youth gang, so only the inexperienced, young, and willing are able to go undercover. We can only use people who are already involved with the organization. Our three main undercover agents working there now consist of an ex-member of the gang, a decent P.I., and a college grad. And now, you. We have some people down there, but I'm afraid they won't be able to intervene in timeif they were needed."
She stopped and looked out the window. "We're almost here. Everything else you need is in the folder, which you will destroy immediatel upon landing. It's a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Bando."
(Go on to 20.)