“It was brought to my attention yesterday that there’s going to be a big event happening Friday at Urban Fantasy. There will be hundreds of people lining up to see the show,” I begin but am quickly cut off.
“You mean your girlfriend is hosting an event. What does that have to do with us and warrant making us come in before our shift?” Monroe spits out with annoyance.
I notice Beckett winces at her snide comment and holds his breath as he too knows she's hovering over a thin line. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself. This is not the time to get in the fighting ring right now. And she will lose the fight in the end.
“Celeste is hosting an event, yes. She mentioned it and I tried to tell her it’s not a good time and should cancel it for a different day. She insisted that it could benefit us withthe investigation. She said this could draw him out and we might be able to catch him. She’ll add our names to the list and we can recruit some undercovers,” I explain
Damn, I was hoping my little bribe of food and coffee would shut her up for once.
“That’s actually not a bad idea. Although, do you think it’ll actually work? He might not fall for it and figure out it’s a trap.” Beckett leans in, intrigued.
He opens up his laptop and starts typing at some ungodly speed like he’s on some sort of tech mission. I walk over to stand behind him and watch as he types in codes and obtains the layout of the club. He highlights all the entrance and exit points so we’re prepared to station someone at each one. We’ll make it harder for him to escape.
“I will have to agree, it might give us a break that we need in this case. However, she shouldn’t know anything about the specifics. She’s too close to the case with Samantha's involvement. She might act before thinking and blow up the whole plan. I’m not trying to start shit this early this morning, Solace, but you and I both know it’s the truth,” Monroe concedes to the idea.
Her concerns are actually valid about Celeste. Oliver has someone she cares for and I wouldn’t put it past her to get involved more than she already is but we can’t pass on this, especially when we have no other options. Once we bring this to our director, he won’t hesitate to take her up on the offer, no matter the cost.
“She won’t be a problem. I’ll make sure of it. So we all agree to proceed with this plan?” They nod in agreement.
We take the next hour studying the layout that Beckett obtained and pick out the undercovers we’ll utilize. The three of us will also alter our appearances and attend as wealthy business owners ready to spend big money. Once we have ourplan set, I call Ava, the director's secretary, to see if he’s in office yet and available and if she can get hold of the head of the undercover team. She advised she would let him know to come to the conference room as an urgent matter.
About ten minutes later, Stevens walks into the room with the Head of Undercover, Lopez, and takes a seat at the table. We go over our strategic plan as well as where we’ll have everyone stationed. Handing over photos, we provide what the assailant looks like and his motives.
“How can you be sure that he’ll actually attend?” Director Stevens asks after taking a few moments of analyzing everything we’ve provided.
“Based on the patterns of the other victims, they were all sex workers. He believes that they’re committing a sin. With how big this event will be, he may become outraged with the excitement of the entertainment that will be on display. People are coming from all over to be there,” I assure him.
“He will no doubt be under disguise, as we will be, but we’ll watch for any ticks and reactions that a normal person would not make. We’ll also watch for any signs of outrage or disgust. He’ll more than likely try to hide it but a person like him can only take so much until he breaks. Solace and I will appear as a couple going out, looking for some fun to spice up our relationship and Beckett will be in a van monitoring,” Monroe adds and throws in another idea, that we did, in fact, not discuss.
I throw her daggers and she responds with an innocent smile. She knows that if Celeste sees her around my arm, she’s going to lose her absolute shit but I don’t argue as we need to appear as a team. Stevens will never let us go in if he thinks we aren’t in on this together and if we bicker back and forth. He would yank the case from us and give it to Nash’s team and I would rather burn in hell before those fuckers take my case.They’ve been after us for years now and we’ve proven time and again that we don’t fail, hence why we get the more profiled cases.
“That’s a good plan. Make sure that you dress to the nines. I’ll have Ava call in for a new suit and dress to match the clients that will attend. How will Beckett be monitoring from the van? Did we get permission from the owner to have access to the cameras?” Stevens asks while looking back at the blueprint.
Lopez is a man of very few words. He digests all the information and brainstorms where to place his men. By the looks of it, he too thinks this plan would get us one step closer to our target.
“There are cameras on the outside as well as inside of the club. I originally planned to hack into their systems, however to avoid a lawsuit, we’ll need to head over there to see if they will grant us access. If they don’t, then I have a warrant being processed to gain it,” Beckett responds
“Once we have access, I’ll have monitors set up in the can. A colleague and I will each observe different sections. I will also provide them earpieces that are discrete so we can stay in communication as well as a mini body cam. Monroe’s will be in the form of a necklace and I’ll replace a button on Solace’s suit,” he adds in to sweeten the pot.
Once we go over all the details, we provide Lopez with the images of the assailant, blueprint of the building, and any additional information that will be helpful for his men. He agrees to give us ten for the inside and several more that will appear as pedestrians on the outside. You will never know what or who they are unless you work for the department and, even then, there are some I’ve never seen by design.
Lopez and Stevens have left us to head over to the club to gain the access we need while they head to brief the team. We make our way to one of the department SUV’s. We’d allagreed that Beckett has to be the one to go in and drive separately as Oscar knows Monroe's and my identities. It would be too suspicious if we were spotted at the club a few days before the big event. Beckett doesn’t normally go in the field as he’s the brains behind the tech so we aren’t worried about him.
Once we arrive, we find a spot at a curb across the street. It was easy to blend in since this time of day is extremely busy with slow traffic and busy bodies hustling through the streets and sidewalk. No matter the amount of years I’ve been here, I’ll never get used to the madness of this city.
I grew up in a small town where the only thing we had to worry about was the town gossip and everyone knowing each other. Everyone treated each other like family and never had to worry about someone screaming at you to move your ass from the rolled down windows and make vulgar gestures.
I had plans after this case. I was going to request a transfer and go back home. But a little fiery Italian has me at a screeching halt. It was never supposed to be this way. Maybe a innocent flirt but the way her eyes have hypnotized me, I know I’m utterly fucked.
“Damn that's one huge-ass bouncer,” Monroe’s voice snaps me out of a trance. “Looks like they were expecting Beckett. That’s strange.”
“Well, he’s on the list for Friday, so she may have already filled in her staff. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” I reassure her.
We scan the surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary. For all we know, he could be watching the same as us. We turn on our radios so that way we can hear what's going on in there. We hear Beckett ask for Celeste but they explain that she’s not here but in a meeting elsewhere. Footsteps are heard and then a ding of an elevator.
“I’m so sorry, Celeste isn’t here to speak with you but my name is Melodie, the Manager of this club. What can I do for you?”
“Hello, I’m Fin Beckett. As you know, I work for the New York City FBI. We’re working with Celeste in regards to the events that will be occurring on Friday. To have better surveillance and provide the utmost security and safety of the club, we’re requesting access to the live surveillance to help monitor.”
