`*`CHASE`*` {A-K} Chp 14/2!!!pg. 152 ❤️ - Page 110

THE GAME WAS ON.

A team of FBI agents swarmed into Des Moines to prepare the trap. ACP Pradhimanyu (CID) their section leader, set up his commanand post in a spacious, well-appointed cabin owned by the Bose and located just eight blocks south of the town on the tip of Shadow Lake. ACP, a Princeton graduate with a masters in abnormal psychology, was rumored to become Josh Sharma's replacement if and when Pradhi completed his doctorate, and if and when Josh retired—rumors most of the other agents believed had been started by ACP himself. He was a by-the-book, hard-nosed. Pain-in-the-a** boss, surprisingly arrogant given the fact that the agents under his direction had far more experience in the field than he did.

Kabir and Azaan Khan, one of a field agents from Omaha, Nebraska, the other an electronic surveillance specialist from Quantico, were sent into town ahead of the other to scout Kripa's neighborhood and secure the premises. Both had been ordered to treat the property as a crime scene. They knew they were going to have trouble blending in. The two agents didn't want to stand out like a pair of red shoes in a funeral procession. They had been told that there were other strangers in town working at the abbey on the restoration and so both of the agents dressed in work clothes. Kabir wore a baseball cap and carried a black duffel bag. Azaan carried a toolbox.

No paid them the slightest attention. No one. While Agent Kabir slowly circled the perimeter of Kripa's two-story clapboard house, checking for possible hiding place, Agent Azaan carried his bag up the front steps. He crossed the porch and paused at the door to put on a pair of gloves. An expert at getting in and out without leaving a trace, he used a very simple tool, his American Express car—he never left home without it—to open the door. It took him less than five seconds.

Sheriff Abhimanyu Singh showed up five minutes later and burst in on Azaan.

Azaan was more concerned about the sheriff messing up his crime scene than the gun the man was waving about.

Abhi, scratching his balding head and still brandishing his gun—which, the agent could plainly see, had the safety on—shouted, "You put your hands up, boy. I'm the law here and you'd best do what I say."

Kabir came inside the front door without making a sound. He walked up behind the sheriff and poked him in the back to get his attention. The sheriff mistakenly thought he had a gun. He dropped his weapon and put his hands up.

"I'm not resisting," he stammered, the bluster and hostility gone from his voice now. "You boys take whatever you want, but leave me the hell alone."

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Kabir moved to the side and waved his palms in front of the sheriff. Abhimanya realized he was unarmed and scrambled to get his gun off the floor.

"All right now," he began, pleased he was once again in charge. "What are you boys doing here? You're just plain stupid if you think you're going to steal anything of value. Look around you, and you can see Kripa don't have much at all worth taking. I know for a fact that she doesn't have a VCR, and her television set is at least ten years old. It can't be worth more than forty dollars, and that sure ain't worth going to jail for. As far as I can tell, she's as poor as a church mouse. She ain't got much in the bank, and she had to take out a loan to pay for her store."

"How do you know how old her television set is? Azaan asked, curious.

"Harry told me. That's Harry Seth." He explained. "He's my cousin. He tried to sell Kripa a brand-spanking-new television a while back. You know the kind with the picture inside the picture? She didn't want it, and she asked him to fix up an old television she bought at a garage sale instead. She was throwing good money away if you ask me. And that's how come I know how old her television is."

"And you've got a relative working at the bank too?" Azaan asked. "Is that how you know about the loan?"

"Something like that," Abhi answered. "I might remind you boys I'm the one with the gun here, and you're gonna start answering my questions. Are you robbing Kripa?"

"No," Kabir answered.

"Then what are you doing in her house? Are you foreigner relatives of hers from France?"

Azaan had been born and raised in the Bronx and hadn't been able to rid himself of his thick street accent He sounded like a thug in a bad gangster movie.

"That's right," he managed to say with a straight face. "We're from France."

The sheriff liked to be right. His chest puffed up like a peacock. Nodding as he put his gun away, he said, "I thought as much. You talk funny, so I figured you boys had to be foreigners."

"Actually, Sheriff, we're both from the East, and that's why we have accents. My friend here was just joking when he said we're French. We're friends of Kripa's brother," he explained. "We were doing some work here and he asked us to stop by and fix her sink."

"It's clogged," Azaan added to the lie.

The sheriff noticed the black bag near the front door. "Are you boys planning on spending the night here?"

"Maybe," Azaan answered. "Depends on how much work the plumbing needs."

"She doesn't own the house. She's just renting. Where is Kripa?"

"She'll be here soon."

"And you think you boys are going to sleep here in the same house with her, and you're not related?"

Kabir's patience was wearing thin. "Quit calling me boy. I'm Thirty-two years old."

"Thirty-two, huh? Then answer me this. What's a grown man doing wearing braces? I never heard of such a thing."

The braces were the last step in the reconstruction of a shattered jaw Kabir had suffered four years ago during a raid that had gone sour, but the agent wasn't about to impart that information to a man he had already surmised to be a complete moron. Besides, no one was supposed to know the truth, that they were FBI agents.

"We do things different in the east."

"I reckon you do," he agreed. "But you still shouldn't be staying here."

"Why? Are you worried about Kripa's reputation? Kabir asked.

"No, everyone know Kripa's a good girl," the sheriff replied as he settled his broad rear end on the arm of the sofa.

"Then what's the problem?" Azaan asked. "Why does it bother you if we sleep here?"

"On, it won't bother me none at all, but it's going to bother someone else you boys don't want to be messing with. I'm warning you. You'd best find some other accommodations because he isn't going to like hearing that Kripa's got two men living with her, even if it's just for a couple of days. No, he won't like hearing it at all."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Yeah, who won't like it?" Azaan asked as he shut the door. The sheriff wasn't going to leave until they had an answer to that question.

"Never mind who. I'm going to have to tell him though. Why don't you boys go up to Motels? They've got rooms you can use for free if you tell them you're here because of Prithvi. He's well known in this area, and people respect him.

"I want to know who's going to be upset about us staying with Kripa," Azaan persisted. "And I also want to know why you think you have to tell him."

"Cause if he found out that I knew and I didn't tell him….."

"What?" Azaan demanded.

"He can get real mean," the sheriff said. "And I don't want to make him angry.

"Make who angry, sheriff?"

Abhimanyu pulled a stained handkerchief from his back pocket and mopped his brow. "It's close in here, isn't it? Kripa's got herself a window air conditioner, and I don't think she'd mind if you boys turned it on. The living room will be nice and cool by the time she gets home. She is coming here today, isn't she?"

"We're not sure," Kabir said.

Azaan wouldn't give up. "We're still curious to hear that name, Sheriff."

"I'm not giving it to you, and I can be right stubborn when I want to, and I'm feeling stubborn now. I wouldn't get myself worked up about it if I was you, because you're going to be meeting my friend real soon. He'll come over here lickety-split as soon as he hears you're here. I guarantee it. He's a powerful man around these parts, so if you know what's good for you, you'll be real respectful to him. I wouldn't make him mad, that's for sure. The law can only do so much."

"Meaning we're on our own?" Azaan asked.

The sheriff lowered his gaze. "Something like that." Shrugging, he added, "It's just the way things are around here. Progress comes with a price.

"And that means…..?" Azaan asked.

"Never you mind."

"You can tell your friend he has nothing to fear from us," Kabir said. "Neither one of us is romantically interested in Kripa."

Azaan guessed where Kabir was heading and immediately nodded. "That's right," he agreed.

"Well, now, that's good to hear because my friend is planning to marry Kripa real soon, and he always gets what he wants. Make no mistake about that."

"He's talking about marriage, huh? Kabir remarked.

"It ain't just talk. It's only a matter of time before she comes around to understanding that's the way it's going to be."

"Sounds like your friend thinks he owns Kripa," Azaan said.

"He does own her."

Kabir laughed.

"What in tarnation's so amusing?"

"Your friend," Kabir explained. "He's in for real disappointment."

"How's that?"

"When he finds out……." Azaan deliberately let the sentence trail off.