Chapter 4

"I know you're not happy about this," Pearce said to Em, who was staring out the window at the tree line.

"I'm an analyst," she said. "This wasn't in the job description, but we all have to be willing to do what we can."

"I was disappointed in Lawson when he suggested it, but he's right. Jep is an unknown quantity for us right now. Think of it as a mission if it helps. When we put our teams together, we choose from the strengths we know we have. Right now, we need someone who can have a calming effect on the scenario. But don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Do you expect to need to protect me from this guy?"

"There's no reason to think so."

"That's not very comforting."

Pearce laughed. "I have been in this task force for a couple years now, and comforting is not something I've ever tried to be."

"Not in your job description?" She grinned. "But what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. What if he does go for you?"

"I can handle myself, but I doubt he'd try anything. He and Lawson obviously don't like each other much, but he doesn't have any reason not to like me. We didn't cross paths much. He left not long after I turned up."

"Can you remember if he got along with anyone?"

"It was all or nothing with that guy. You either loved him or hated him."

"So, not everyone wanted him gone?"

"Some of us respected that he got the job done, even if we didn't agree with his methods. But mostly he rubbed people the wrong way. "

"Especially Lawson."

"Exactly."

"Are you allowed to tell me what he did that got him…removed?"

"It was a lot of things. He wasn't great at following orders. He dressed differently from everyone else. He said whatever was on his mind. And that's just what I saw."

"There had to be more. Lawson wouldn't hate him for that."

"There was something between them, but you'll have to ask them."

"He obviously likes women." Em squirmed in her seat. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here as window dressing."

Pearce grimaced. "How about if you stay in the car?"

"No. I can handle it. I'm here. I may as well let him see me."

"Don't worry, he'll see you. The first thing he'll do is check who else I brought with me. He'll be curious at the very least."

"And what happens if he agrees to return?"

"I'll try to get him to come back to the office right away. There are formalities we'll need to address to reinstate him. But you won't have to do anything else. Once we get back to the office, you can retreat to your desk and get back to work."

They pulled onto a dirt driveway that opened up into a wide parking lot with broken-down cars littering the yard. Pearce parked toward the back of the lot.

"This is the place?" Em said when Pearce turned off the car. "It's a dump."

"It could use a little spruce up."

She looked at him. "If you're not careful, that roof could cave in on you. You were hoping he'd be better with time, but I'd say there's a good chance he's let himself go. We've profiled guys like this. The kind who don't work well with authority and don't like following the rules. I'd say he held a grudge when he left, and he's waiting for an opportunity to blow a fuse."

"It will be okay. I'll feel him out. If I don't think he's cut out to come back, we'll leave him here."

"And then what?"

"Then my idea blows up in my face, and we have the drive back to the office to come up with another plan."

"Another plan that Truman will go for."

"Let's hope the outside of this place doesn't reflect what's inside."

She said, "Good luck" as Pearce got out of the car, but silently, she was praying.

God, all I ask is that this works out Your way. If this task force is meant to continue, then I pray Mr. Booth is agreeable. If not, give Pearce wisdom. Give us all wisdom.

She chewed on her nail as Pearce walked toward the building. She wavered between hoping Jep was crazy and hoping he wasn't. Thankfully, she wasn't the one who had to make the decision. She would sacrifice her comfort if Jep could really be an asset to the team, but she'd be one of the lucky few who wouldn't need to have much interaction with him.

And don't let this end in a fight. I don't want Pearce to get hurt. If Jep didn't play by the rules and he was mentally unstable, it was impossible to guess what might happen.

Jep ran his hand along the front fender of a black Camaro.

"Not bad," he said.

"Not bad?" Slate slammed his hands onto his hips. "That's as good as the Mona Lisa."

"You plan on hanging it in a museum?"

"You know what I mean."

Jep grinned. "It is good. You've got a talent for this. And you're getting the work done in good time. Your future customers are going to love that."

"You bet they will."

"But can I give you a tip?"

"Sure."

"Customers don't like cocky."

"It's called confidence."

"You want to know the difference between cocky and confident?"

"Not really."

"Too bad. I'm going to tell you anyway."

Slate rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

"Confidence can keep to itself. Cocky has to make sure everyone knows."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I'm serious."

"I know. I got it. You don't want me to show off."

"Let your work speak for itself, because I can tell you right now. It does."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Jep continued around the car, looking for defects.

"So…," Slate began, tucking his hands into the pockets of his overalls. "I was thinking."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Moses was telling me how he'd had a job fitting car stereos."

"On cars he'd stolen?"

"You're the one who taught me not to ask questions I don't want the answers to."

"Ah, so you are listening. "

"I always listen. Anyway, I thought maybe we could diversify."

"Moses hasn't come back."

"He will."

Jep kept a rein on his grin. If he looked too pleased, Slate would clam up. "How do you know that?"

"I talked to him."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. He's visiting his sister, then he said he'd be back."

"He hasn't spoken to me about this."

"I told him I'd let you know."

Jep nodded slowly. "It's nice to know you guys are finding a way to get along."

"Yeah, well…" He cleared his throat. "I feel bad about your black eye. It's kind of my fault. I'm not proud of what I said to Moses…so…I apologized."

"Did it hurt?"

"It's about the worst thing ever. But you don't have any trouble saying it, so I thought I'd give it a shot."

"It gets easier."

"What would be easier is not having to apologize in the first place."

"Being perfect is a whole lot harder than being humble." He rested a hand on Slate's shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

Slate shrugged it off. "It's nothin'."

"Hey, Boss." A thirteen-year-old kid with a buzz cut ran inside, his two-sizes-too-big Nikes thumping across the floor as he came. "There's some dude in a suit outside."

"A suit?" Slate said. "I thought Jep told you to stop drinking or you couldn't hang around anymore."

"I'm not drinking. Go see for yourself." His voice cracked at the end.

"Did he give you a name?" Jep said.

"Yeah." The kid leaned in and lowered his voice. "Called himself Agent Geoffrey Pearce."

Slate balked. "Agent? What, you mean like a travel agent?"

Jep's cheek twitched. "Not that kind of agent. You're sure he said his name was Pearce?"

"Yeah, he made me repeat it back ta him like he's some important dude and I'm an idiot. It's probably a scam. That's what my gramma says. Everyone's tryin' ta scam everybody these days."

"I'll go talk to him," Jep said. He could remember the name but not the face.

His nonchalant walk through to the main workshop and then to the front of the building hid the fact that this news had him wound up tight.

He wiped his hands on the rag he was carrying when he spotted Pearce, and the face came back. They hadn't had much to do with each other in the short time they'd both worked on the task force. He would prefer going into this conversation knowing why the agent was here, but he couldn't even begin to guess.

"Agent Pearce," he said, almost looking his visitor up and down in an act of intimidation, but he held back. He'd only appear aggressive if necessary. Lawson had been good to his word about leaving him alone. Until now. Jep would hide his strength in case he needed it as a surprise. "This is unexpected."

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Booth."

"Call me Jep."

"Jep. I would have called, but I didn't know your number."

Jep shook Pearce's offered hand, then stepped back and looked at the car. "Don't know my number, just my address?" Someone was in the passenger seat, but the interior was too dark to see who it was.

"How've you been?" Pearce pointed toward his face. "You get in a fight?"

"I got in the middle of one."

Pearce looked around the overgrown block. "Nice place you've got here."

"No, it's not. Why are you here?"

"I remember you always being straight to the point."

"Do you?"

"I'm not here looking for a fight."

"That's good."

"My visit is…I was going to say positive, but the circumstances aren't the best. There's been an incident."

"An incident?"

"Yes."

Jep narrowed his eyes. "That wouldn't happen to be related to the gas leak that leveled a city block last week?" He laughed when Pearce flinched. "You can keep the media in the dark, but anyone with half a brain can read between the lines. Did you lose anyone?" The smile slid off his face at Pearce's frown.

"We lost four," Pearce said. "Two more are in the hospital. We think they'll make it."

"Who'd you lose?"

"Nicholson, Gonzalez, Murati, and Gill."

He knew Murati and Gill. Gill had been a good friend. "Did you come here to give your condolences?"

"No." Pearce paused. "I came to ask for your help."

"You looking for someone to pin this on?"

"Of course not."

"There is no way you came here to get my help for the agency." Jep took a step closer. "Tell me why you're really here."

Pearce didn't back down as Jep moved in. "We both know you didn't do yourself any favors while you were an agent."

"I did my job."

Jep's eyes shifted when he saw the car door open, but he was surprised to see a blonde get out. She was fair-skinned and delicate looking. Her silk blouse pressed against her body in the breeze as she stepped from behind the door. She was a strange figure here amongst the tall weeds and rusted metal. A flower growing in the middle of a junkyard. An odd choice to bring for backup.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"Emery Chapman."

"Not Agent Chapman?"

"She's an analyst."

"Why is she here?" When Pearce didn't answer, Jep chuckled. "I get it. Now it all makes sense."

"What does?"

"She's pretty. I can see why you chose her."

"She happens to be an excellent analyst."

"But that's not why she's here. Does she know why you brought her? To soften the blow? You expected me to erupt? I should after the way I was treated."

"I'm not here to fight with you."

"I hope not. I'd hate for her to see you covered in blood. Has she ever seen blood before? My guess is no."

Pearce's hand moved to his gun and rested there. "I don't want things to get ugly, but I'll do what I have to if you're going to get aggressive."

"Isn't that what you were expecting? That's why she's here."

Pearce looked at Emery and waved her back into the car.

Her lips pursed. She didn't like being dismissed. Jep was disappointed when she obeyed. The type of worker bee who always did what they were told. That was everyone's problem with him. He was the exact opposite.

"Is this her first time in the field?" Jep said. "She would have been better off staying back at the office with the cozy blue carpet. Is it still blue? I liked that carpet. Not always practical, but it felt nice. Intimate."

"Maybe this was a mistake."

"Most likely."

Pearce sighed and dropped his hand away from his gun. "The problem is, I don't have many options."

"Options for what?"

"The task force. We're in a difficult situation, and we'd like you to consider coming back."

Jep struggled to make sense of what Pearce had said. "Is this a joke? You came all this way to make a joke?"

"I'm not kidding. We need you."

Jep ran his hand over his head and rubbed it hard. Pearce had been right to bring Emery Chapman with him, but not for the reason she was there. Her presence was so outlandish Pearce had to be telling the truth.

"What do you think?" Pearce said when Jep couldn't find a fitting response.

"Whose idea was it? Because I know for certain it wasn't the assistant director's."

"Actually, it was mine. Truman wants to shut down the task force."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You're the leverage to keep it going. We bring you in, and Truman gives us more time."

"Truman wants me back? Man, you guys must be in trouble."

"I was around long enough to know you did your job very well. I thought maybe you could do that again."

"What does Lawson have to say about it?"

"He's the one who sent me to get you."

"But Lawson doesn't want me?"

"He has agreed. I told you, he sent?—"

"I'm going to have to hear it from his own mouth."

"If you come back, you'll see him at the office."

Jep had strong reasons that tugged him firmly one way, then the other. It wasn't the workshop he was worried about. He had a friend who could come in and look after the shop and the boys while he was away. But as much as it had felt like a prison, he knew where he stood with these boys. If he returned with Pearce, he'd be entering unknown and probably hostile territory.