“No,” Sonia and Dean said simultaneously.
“We go in smart,” Dean said. “No mavericks in this. If we’re going to get a conviction we need to do it right.”
“What about the girls?” Charlie said. “You fucking Fibbies only care about your clearance rate. Do you even care about the fate of those China dolls?”
“Charlie!” Sonia said and crossed the room. “Don’t even go there. If we don’t catch the people responsible, they’ll keep doing it, and they’ll be smarter next time. The only reason we’re this close to nailing them is because ICE and the FBI are working together and sharing information. Something I know
“So you drank the Kool-Aid,” Charlie mumbled.
“I don’t know you,” Sonia whispered, deep sadness spreading through her chest.
Charlie looked stunned. “Sonia, I am trying to help, which is why I need to go in alone. I know that area. I’ve been on Rio Diablo land. Jones went up there every week. He’s tight with the three leaders of the tribe. There’re only a dozen people in the tribe, I didn’t think much of it, but what a scam. They’re building a casino, great location, too.”
“Even if I trusted you, you’re not going up there alone. But if you really want to help, go over to that map”- she pointed-“and identify where those girls are being held.”
He wanted to say something; she saw it in his face, in the way his mouth opened slightly, then snapped shut. He walked past her and she breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed her forehead.
When she looked up, Dean was watching her. He gave her a half-smile and nod, and her headache faded to the background. He held her gaze for a moment, then followed Charlie to the map.
“This is all pretty heavily forested,” Charlie said.
Sam stood next to him. “I know this area fairly well. Not Rio Diablo land, but the Sierra Nevadas. This was all mining country, from Nevada County up north, down to past Calaveras. Gold, silver, copper. There’re roads all over … here, here, here.” He highlighted them. “All those can handle a good-sized truck.”
“Where’s the casino going?” Charlie asked.
Dean pointed to a green pin. “It’s almost complete. Supposed to open next spring.”
“I don’t see planes coming in and out of here,” Charlie said. They don’t need much room, but it’s hard to see if there’s a flat enough area to build a runway.”
“Can they land on a road?” Sam asked. “Here’s a straight stretch on Salamander Gulch Road, and the road ends here.”
“Definitely possible, especially if the road is in good shape,” Charlie said. “Though they’ll land just about anywhere as long as they have the clearance.”
“International private plane travel is heavily restricted and regulated,” Sonia said.
Charlie dismissed her comment with a wave. “They cross the border any number of places-no way we can cover every mile of border twenty-four/seven. They’re damn geniuses when money is involved, and they take physical risks on land, air, and sea. Low-flying planes, commercial vehicles, boats of all sizes. Jones flew into Mexico last week and it was a snap. No questions.”
“How?” Dean asked sharply.
Charlie didn’t want to tell him, more out of spite than to keep a secret, but he relented. “He has two planes. They flew into a small private airstrip near the border in the middle of the desert, drove through showing fake I.D. and passports, and picked up a plane in Alicia.”
“What was he doing in Mexico?” Dean asked.
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
Charlie turned to the map and ignored Dean. Sonia put a hand on Dean’s arm, his muscles hard and tight. She squeezed.
Charlie said, “They need to be close. They won’t require much space, but they’ll need a place to wash.”
“Why?” Sam asked.
“Would you buy a woman who’d been sleeping in her clothes for a week and walking around in her own waste?”
“Charlie,” Sonia said sharply. “We’re on the same team right now, aren’t we?”
He glared at her, but lost his venom. Sonia was growing weary of the game.
“So water source,” Sonia said, “and shelter. Secure, so they don’t have any runners. Where no matter how loud the women were, no one would hear. Though they would be quiet, out of fear.”
Trace Anderson came into the room. “I got her in your interview room.” He stared at Charlie, stunned.
Sonia said simply, “He’s helping us.”
“I’ll be right there,” Dean said. To Sonia he said, “Do you want to interview Christopoulis with me?”
“Who?” Charlie interrupted.
“I don’t believe this is your business,” Dean said coolly.
“He said ‘her.’ There’s only one female Christopoulis. The queen bitch, Victoria.”
“You know her?” Sonia said.
“In my other identity as Chuck Angelo. Let me do this.”
“Hell no,” Dean said.
“I can bluff her. I know some of her dirty secrets-Jones shared them after I met her.” Charlie’s eyes widened in excitement and for a split second, Sonia saw the old Charlie, the younger, idealistic Charlie who had once been a good agent and a valuable mentor. “I’ll tell her Jones was turning state’s evidence. It’ll freak her out. She’ll turn. I promise, if you let me do it, she’ll turn.”
Sonia nodded to Dean and motioned to leave the room. She walked out with him and closed the door.
“I think he’s right. If she knows where they are, this will save us a lot of time. Let him go with you.”
“It’ll open us up in court-”
“Dean, you don’t even have to say who he is. It’s a bluff. She’ll think what we want her to think without either of you saying a word. He can lie. Hell, he can tell her we faked Jones’s death and he’s in witness protection as we speak. The only problem with that is if she was part of it.”
“I see your point.” Dean ran his thumbs down her face, across her lips, dropped his hand. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m good.”
“I don’t like him.”
“You don’t have to.”
Dean didn’t want to do this, but he understood the strategy and he could see it working. He rubbed the back of Sonia’s neck as they returned to the conference room. Cammarata was watching. “Sam, find out where the assistant U.S. attorney is-she’s someplace around here-and ask her to observe. Cammarata, you’re with me.”
Dean knew the interview would be a success from the minute they walked into the room. Victoria Christopoulis’s rigid back was to them and Dean walked around the table and introduced himself. “Ms. Christo poulis, I’m Assistant Director Dean Hooper with the FBI, and I think you’ve already met Charlie Cammarata-though you knew him as Chuck Angelo.”
Cammarata walked around and sat down across from the regal Greek matriarch of the Christopoulis clan. He leaned back and grinned, looking younger and confident while he pretended to be laid back. “Vicky! Good to see you again. I had a feeling I’d be seeing you in prison one of these days.”
The shock on the woman’s face was priceless. The shock was followed by disbelief. “I–I don’t understand. I don’t know why I’m here.” She gained confidence as she spoke. “I’ve been harassed by your government all day.”
“I’ll apologize for my partner, Agent Callahan,” Dean said. “He can be a bit tenacious.”
Victoria’s eyes kept going back to Cammarata. “I don’t understand what you’re doing here.”
“You don’t? You’re smarter than that, Vicky.”
“Victoria,” she snapped.
“Right. Tori. Got it. Well, I didn’t exactly advertise it, but I was working undercover. Xavier was a very naughty businessman. You heard about the FBI raid the other day.”
