“Yes, I wasn’t homeless. I was portrayed as a rich executive. I had to be at the Bureau at four in the morning so they could do my makeup with facial prosthetics.”
“Huh?”
“Cheek implants, strong chin, prominent forehead. Expensive business suit, Rolex, diamond cufflinks, you know, uber rich.”
“Ah, okay. Now, do you know how Royal was able to obtain the guns?”
“Yes, SSA Greg Olsen was my boss on this op. He’s the one that requested me to go undercover, he’s the one that made the plans, he only told me that everything was set up, and all I had to do was go along with it. He was the one that sent me and the other agent back with Royal with the guns and ammo. Oh, in case you didn’t know, they were assault rifles. At least three dozen of them, and enough ammo that each one had at least a thousand rounds per gun.”
“Holy shit,” Kevin said in shock. “This was to take Erin out?”
“Yes. Luckily, Clark and the men he had with him at the time camped out in the small scrub of woods about a mile from the property line. Royal had taken over Ducky’s home, but not until Ducky was safely moved over to Broken. See, Ryan was undercover working for Royal, that’s how Clark was able to get the information and plan for it.” He shook his head as he sipped his coffee and smirked. “It was done as a SEAL operation.”
“I understand,” Jason chuckled as he shook his head. “What can you tell us about Olsen?”
CHAPTER 14
“Not much,”Duane said after several minutes of silence. “I had never met him before, so when I found out he requested me, I questioned him. He only said he had heard I was good at undercover work, and he wanted the best for this operation.”
“Where in the Bureau did he work?” When Duane turned his head to the side with a confused frown, Jason elaborated. “With Grayson? In narcotics?”
“Oh, honestly, I don’t know. Before that particular assignment, I had never heard nor seen him before in my life.”
“Who introduced the two of you?” Ilsa asked. At Duane’s confusion again, she also elaborated. “Did Grayson introduce the two of you? Larry Mason? Did you see any credentials from him stating he was FBI?”
“Huh, Mason was the one that told me to get dressed for this undercover assignment, and to meet Olsen at a certain place at a certain time. I have no idea whether he was FBI or not, I assumed he was.”
“Did Olsen come to Colorado with you and the guns?”
“No, he told me part of the undercover was to stick with the guns.” Duane sat there in silence for several moments. “What do you think this all means? Oh, wait, I don’t know whether thisis important or not, but before we met with Royal for the first time, Olsen and I met at least four times, alone, before we met with Royal. But he told me to take the face prosthetics off before meeting Royal. You don’t think they were trying to set me up by allowing Royal to see my real face, do you?”
“I don’t know, is there any way you could draw a sketch of him?” Kevin asked. “We’re wondering if this Olsen person was one of the people associated with a gang that Grayson coerced into working with him, or if he really was an FBI agent.”
“Shit,” Duane said as he hung his head. “Let me think about it. I might be able to come up with something. It was almost two years ago, however, I’m pretty good with remembering faces. I have a program on my computer I can look up. I’ll first do a background check to see if there’s a driver’s license or something. If I see him, I’ll immediately recognize him.”
“Why do you say that?” Jason asked.
“I forget what it’s called, but he has one brown eye, and one green.”
“Heterochromia,” Ilsa said.
“Oh, whatever, but he did have two different colored eyes.” Duane shrugged, but also sighed heavily. “I don’t know whether it was natural, or if it was contacts to throw me off, you know, like I had disguised myself with the face prosthetics. I’ll look into it. Is there anything else?”
“Not at this time, and thank you, Duane. I know I don’t have to tell you this, but as far as I’m concerned you have nothing to worry about, you were doing your job. If somehow Grayson’s lawyer tries to tell everyone that you need to be arrested for helping Royal bring guns across state lines, you’re safe because you were an active employee of the FBI, and working a case to see where the guns would end up, and how they were going to be used. Don’t worry about it, but could you also come up with a list of the other agents that were with you on that mission?”
“Yes, I have all my notes over at my house.” He stood and shook his head slowly. “Don’t ask me why, but ever since I started undercover work, without revealing incriminating information, I always took notes of my cases when I got home.”
“Good for you. I won’t need them for now, because I don’t think they will be helpful in taking Grayson down, but maybe when it’s time to take on Royal. Erin asked me if we would be willing to be her attorney, since hers only does family law.” He looked at Ilsa with a raised brow.
“I have nothing to go back to in California,” Ilsa said. “Maybe when it comes time to take Grayson down, the three of us can stay in my house. Once the arrests are made, I may stay and downsize to put my house on the market.” She shook her head. “I know it won’t sit for long. I’m not bragging, but I live in a prominent neighborhood. Besides, Katherine’s here, and I don’t think she’s going back to California anytime soon. Not that I don’t blame her, but there’s nothing there for either of us.”
“Where would you go?” Duane asked out of curiosity.
“Probably back here, I’d ask Erin if she needed a permanent lawyer, then if I wasn’t doing law for her, maybe I could get in touch with her lawyer to see if he was hiring.”
“Or,” Jason said after a long silence.
“Or what?” Ilsa asked in confusion when he didn’t speak.
