Lives Change

Chapter 29 - The Plan

Asher's P.O.V.

Derek's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

I take a deep breath. "We give them Raya."

"What?!" Derek looks about ready to punch me, but I keep going.

"Just hear me out."

Derek doesn't relax at all, but he doesn't move either.

I continue, "I'll tell Richie I found her, that I know where you live. We'll find a different place to give him so he doesn't know your real address, and I'll convince Richie that the best thing to do is go in at night and grab Raya silently and hold her hostage. I'll say something like it'll cause you more pain to wake up and find her missing, plus, he can bargain with the FBI, that'll get him to say yes. That way, Raya stays alive and we'll have an excuse to bring you into the warehouse."

Terra pipes up, "Wait, I'm still confused. Why haven't you guys arrested The Shadows yet? You both know what they're doing, don't you have evidence by now?"

Derek's jaw is clenched and he's shooting daggers out his eyes, clearly not impressed with my plan. He turns to Terra though, relaxing a bit to answer her question.

"We have more than enough to take Richie down, but one of the other members would just take his place. Some of the guys don't even steal the cars, they just work on them. They even have licenses and work documents. The warehouse is disguised as a normal shop, and sure, we could bust in and arrest the thieves, but we have no tangible evidence that implicates the workers. Asher and I have both seen enough to know that they're in on it, but Richie's smart. He's set it up so that if he goes to jail, the gang will continue. We have to find a way to take them all down."

I nod and add, "Derek didn't even know about the drugs, and I only knew a little. I never knew when drugs came in or when they were shipped out. Richie randomized which cars held drugs and which ones didn't. If we'd tried to do a drug bust, we might've chosen the wrong day and then they would've know there was a mole. The reason Derek and I didn't know about each other must've been because of how delicate this case is."

Terra scrunches her nose, "But it's just a gang of 11 members, that can't be near as important as other cases the FBI and DEA have."

Derek nods, "If it was that simple, you'd be right, Terra. But the FBI has reason to believe that Richie is working with a terrorist cell called Gloria. The chop shop is just a front to make money and gain Intel working in the U.S."

"But he doesn't even have a real job, all he does is steal cars, strip them, put them back together, and randomly store drugs while he's at it." Terra says.

Derek nods again, "But he's gotten to know Senator Grant Connors very well, and that connection is very useful to a terrorist cell to say the least."

Terra swallows and looks down at her hands crossed in her lap. "Oh. Yikes."

I sigh, "Richie is the most important one to take down, but we have to fully destroy this group and any trace of it. There's no telling if Richie turned anyone else into a terrorist."

Terra looks up again, nodding. "Okay, I get it. But will Raya be safe? If Richie is as bad as you say he is, what's guaranteeing that he won't kill Raya?"

Derek steels his eyes, "I am."

Terra looks at him, worried, "But you won't be there right away. You'll have to pretend to be asleep while they take her. Richie's probably going to want to tie you up or drug you or something!"

Derek's face goes pale as he realizes she's right. 

Luke Bryan's "Play It Again" sounded from Derek's phone.