Suzie’s House 156: Drew in New Mexico

This meeting could go either way.

Drew stared out the window of the local FBI headquarters. Local for New Mexico, that is. The skies in Albuquerque were a darker blue than those in Wisconsin, and the heat waves something he wouldn’t expect there. Not to mention all the earth tone buildings – sandy beige, rust, and gunpowder blue done in stucco or adobe, the wilting cactus and white chip gravel in place of Wisconsin’s emerald green lawns, the lilt of Spanish and dusky skin everywhere he looked… he couldn’t have face more culture shock had he sought it

“Well.” The SAC, Special Agent in Charge, closed a file, then leaned into the desk. He was a heavy set man with gray hair cut very short and the kind of tan that could double as ground-in dirt. There was an unpleasant body odor about him. “You don’t play well with others, do you, Agent Banks.”

Drew kept his mouth closed. He considered himself to be very much a team player.

“You missed the first five meetings regarding the Ramirez operation.”

“I had not been assigned to the case yet. I attended my first meeting directly from the airport.”

The SAC flipped the file open again. “Ah. I see.” He flipped it closed. “You requested transfer immediately after your arrival.”

“I requested transfer from the Internet Traffic and Analysis division to a local office in Wisconsin before I left Wisconsin.” Drew kept his voice carefully neutral, though the longer they talked, the less he liked Agent Jaimen.

“Why is that?”

“Personal reasons.”

The SAC let the silence stretch, but even a Navajo couldn’t out wait Drew. Agent Jaimen flipped through the file again. Closed it again. Glared at Drew over the battered old desk.

“What were you doing in the field in the first place? I thought you only do computer work.”

“Agent Johnson ordered me into the field. I was the one who contacted Ramirez through their chat room connections. He has my picture.”

“I’ll bet he does,” Agent Jaimen muttered. “At least we were able to keep you out of the press. Still, if he saw what you did…”

Drew shrugged. “We have to assume my cover has been compromised.”

“Why oh why did you have to open the car door? It had nothing to do with the case.”

“Not that case, no,” Drew said thoughtfully. He couldn’t regret having put an end to a killing streak that had run to fifty bodies and still counting.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

The man was serious? “I opened the door because the sounds coming from the car were wrong. Knowing a killer with an MO of killing women in Lover’s Lane might be present, I thought it best to check.”

“You’re no better than a beat cop.”

Drew flinched, but kept his opinions to himself.

“Sometimes you have to overlook one crime to stop another.”

Drew didn’t mention that the serial killers case took precedence over the marijuana smugglers, or that he’d already received accolades straight from Washington.

“Agent Johnson thinks your cover will hold. For now, you’re still on the case.”

“Yes sir.” Drew nodded. He hoped as soon as this case closed, his transfer would go through.

“I’ll tell you straight. I don’t like you, but we’re short handed. This case has dragged on for five years already, and won’t go away. They tell me you’re the man for it. I don’t see it, but I’m not about to argue. I’d love to recommend you for Timbuktu or anywhere else you want to go. But I can’t let you go, so we will both have to make the best of it.”

He glared at Drew and Drew glared back. Just how long was it going to take for him to get back to Wisconsin?

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