“It took you nearly two years to bring down the Hardshaw Group, between infiltrating them and working with them?” I said.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Yep.”
“We don’t have nearly two years.”
“I know,” he said, sounding exhausted.
“Okay, best case scenario,” I said. “In your opinion, what do we need to take this operation out?”
“Best case?” He seemed to consider my request for a long moment. “Solid evidence to tie this to all the key people involved.”
“And then we turn it over to your handler?”
He was quiet again before he said, “I’ll tell them what I’ve got, then see how they want it handled.”
I couldn’t believe he was finally admitting to working with the Feds. “You said they were giving you a lot of leeway on how to do things.”
“True, but I learned from the first go-around with the Feds that you have to read between the lines.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I don’t trust them worth shit, so I’ll make a moment-by-moment call.”
“What kind of evidence are you looking for?”
“Guess we’ll know it when we see it,” he said solemnly.
“So we’re shooting in the dark?”
“I’m a pretty good shot. Even in the dark.” He gave me a pointed look. “So are you.”
While I was sure the latter part was in reference to my shoot-out last week, I suspected it had a double meaning. James couldn’t have gotten to the level he’d reached without trusting his instincts, and we were following those at the moment.
Because, right now, that was all we had.
Chapter 14
All American Autobody had a couple of beat-up looking cars in the parking lot, and several more behind a four-foot chain link fence. James shut off the engine and reached for the door handle.
“Do we have a plan?” I asked.
“Nope. We’ll just wing it and see how it goes.”
“Okay.”
He gave me a questioning look.
“You gave me full leeway with my contacts,” I said. “I’ll do the same with yours.”
He gave me a slight smile, then opened the door.
When we walked through the entrance, a twenty-something guy greeted us from behind the counter. “Hey, guys. You got an appointment?”
“We need to talk to Miguel,” James said in an ominous tone.
The employee’s eyes widened, and he glanced between James and me. “What about?”
“That’s between me and Miguel.”
