Hostile Takeover ❖ Jake Riley | ✓ [book 1]

10~ Resilience is to Thrive

"Get me close enough to him, I can lift any information you want. Literally," she said.

"What do you mean?" Lex asked.

Jake cleared his throat, "Could I have a word with you guys? Over there," he nodded off to the side. Lex glowered at him, but followed anyway, as did Vicki and the lieutenant.

"Jake, what the hell is she talking about?" Vicki asked.

Jake scratched the back of his neck, "Look, there's really no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to spit it out: Jenna's a pickpocket,"

Slater glared back at him, "You want to repeat that, Officer Riley?"

"She's a thief," Lex said.

"Petty thief,"

"Same difference,"

Jake huffed, "Sure, but she's not a bad person,"

"She's a criminal!" Vicki hissed, "And you allowed us to bring her in here?"

"Would you like me to slap her on the wrist, then?"

"This is not a joke!" Lex exclaimed, "She could compromise our entire investigation. How do we know she's not working with the Void Cult?"

"Because when I found her yesterday, she was being chased by two guys with big nasty guns. I seriously think she has nothing to do with this. If anything, she's an asset to us," he replied.

Slater pinched the bridge of his nose, "You expect me to just send her out there with no back up? We don't even know who this Estherman guy is or if he's even involved!" he said.

"I didn't see him at the shelter. And if interpol has him on their radar, it's better that we act than just stand here and argue about one girl," he said.

Lex huffed and turned to Vicki, "Do we have any alternative way to get at Estherman?" he asked. Vicki thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"Not without giving us away," she said.

"So if Jenna passes him, she can lift say -- his wallet -- and get it back to us," he said.

"And we can figure out what we're really dealing with," Jake said.

"It's your call, Lieutenant," Vicki said.

Slater was stuck, he reminisced for the days when he we still just a foot cop and doing patrols, only dangers he ever had to worry about what a bank robbery. Alas, things were always so much easier back then than today. So, there was a good chance that if the entire investigation went South, he'd be forced to resign. So, what did he really have to lose?

"Get me a form!"

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Minutes later, Jenna was sitting across from the lieutenant as he signed the bottom of a sheet of paper. Jenna's heels kept knocking together nervously, and Slater barely looked up at her while he wrote. Then he suddenly turned the paper around and put it before her.

"Sign on the dotted line," he handed her the pen, and Jenna wrote out her name, "And again here,"

When she was finished, he then slide the paper to Lex, "Witness' signature,"

Lex signed, and then gave it back to Slater. Slater took a stamp and pressed it down onto the top right corner, reading in big bold letters APPROVED.

"Alright. Jenna Desmond, you are now an official Atlanta PD informant. Congratulations," he didn't sound too thrilled with it.

"Yippee," she forced a smile, "Do I get a badge now?" she asked. Slater folded the letter and set it off to the side, not looking amused.