The Control Freak: A Kip and Ezra Novel

14.

I leaned back in my chair and massaged my temples. A knock on my door forced me to speak.

    "Come in."

    "Sir... are you alright?"

I sat up realizing my head was still bowed.

    "Yes. Do you have something for me, Jayden?" I asked the young officer.

    "We have a hit on a long black sedan parked in front of Gary's. An auto shop."

I took the tablet from him and looked over the security footage and nodded.

    "That's Fox's car. Gather the troops. Let's go."

Jayden ran out of the room and I grabbed my gun from my desk and glanced at the files underneath it as I swallowed.

Either this case was gonna teach me something... or it was going to kill me.

We pulled up to Gary's Auto Shop in a tizzy. Some workers came out to see what the fuss was about. One of them was Gary Vasquez, the owner. I walked up to him, recognizing him from a picture.

"Hi, Mr. Vasquez. I'm Special Agent Gordon Kip from the FBI," I flashed my badge and then put it back in my jacket pocket. "We're looking for this man. He'll probably be traveling with this man as well."

I motioned Jayden forward and he held Fox's picture and the tablet with the footage of Estes in front of him. Vasquez studied the pictures for a long moment as Jayden and I exchanged glances.

    "Mr. Vasquez?"

    "No, I'm sorry, Agent. I haven't seen him."

A loud crash followed by a low whine stopped me from replying. My hand immediately went to my side as my other hand went to my lips and I motioned some officers to take Vasquez into our custody. I had five other officers follow me and I took the front of the building with two and the other three went around the back. I counted down as the officer next to me held the ram. I nodded as he rammed it into the door and I went in, my gun raised in a close grasp as the officers followed me.

    "Gordon Kip. I was wondering when you would come," A low voice sounded from somewhere in the room.

I waved my gun as my eyes darted to try to find the voice. There was something about it... I felt kind of... dizzy.

    "Who are you?" I managed to say amidst my fog.

    "You already know who I am," The voice replied.

I adjusted my grip on my gun as I felt it slipping. I blinked rapidly... I was suddenly... so tired.

    "Gordon. You okay?" Regent asked me, coming to my side.

    "I'm fine. Estes, show yourself! We know what you need and we're not about to let you get it," I replied back, my smooth parlance punctuated with sharp edges as I felt myself losing control.

Somehow...

I moved forward, telling the other officers to back off. I still felt Regent and Jayden lingering though... I didn't question it. Amazing they had my back and they barely knew me. I stepped forward as the shadow in front of me moved and I pointed my gun at it. Estes stepped out of the darkness and I got my first real good look at him. My gun handle slipped again and I grunted under my breath as it became... so... amazingly... heavy.

What was going on?

    "You look just like your father. Just... like I remember," Estes said as my eyes narrowed.