Got Your Six

Chapter 6

Calvin

"Okay, make sure this microphone doesn't get obstructed in any type of way. We're gonna want to hear everything that's said while you're in there," I instruct Cameron while securing the hidden wire underneath his shirt.
We've been monitoring Gavin's movements all day just waiting for the right time to have Cameron accidentally run into him in public. After the little meeting yesterday, Cameron began his leave of absence from his job and he's been hanging around here all day, waiting for this exact moment. Once I've got his microphone hidden and secured under his casual looking outfit, I take him out to the parking lot and we get in an unmarked police cruiser. Captain Bennett is tagging along for the ride. He had said that he's been waiting for the moment they finally get to take Gavin down for so long that he wanted to be there for every step of the process. I had thought it was a bit weird at first, he doesn't typically go out to such simple operations like this but I figure he must miss working out on the streets.
"Where's he at?" Cameron asks from the passenger seat.
I'm the one driving us but Captain Bennett speaks up from the backseat before I have a chance to answer his question.
"Our guys followed him to the mall. He was seen going in through the Target entrance. So, that's where we're sending you in," Captain Bennett tells him.
"So, I'm just supposed to walk around until I find him?" Cameron asks. "What if he's in a different part of the mall by now?"
This time I jump in before Captain Bennett has the chance to say anything. "Just make sure it looks like you're shopping around. We don't need you blowing the whole thing by making it look like you're seeking him out."
"I'm not going to blow it," Cameron says defensively.
"We don't think you will," Captain Bennett intervenes. "We've just got a lot riding on this. We've been trying to catch him for a while now."
The rest of the car ride goes by in a somewhat awkward silence. I didn't mean to come off rude with my reply to Cameron, I've just been on edge recently. Ever since he accepted the offer to help, I've been worrying about something going wrong. It's not that I don't want him to mess this up just so that we can catch this guy, it's that I don't want him to mess up and get himself hurt or killed. I know it was his decision to get involved with this but I'm the one that came to him and questioned him about the guy in the first place and then told my captain about it. That's why I can't help feeling a bit responsible and I don't want to let anything happen to him. I'd never be able to forgive myself.
I park the vehicle next to our other unmarked patrol vehicle, right in the middle of the parking lot. They've been keeping an eye on Gavin's vehicle to make sure he didn't leave before we got here.
"Okay, remember, act natural, make it look like you're just shopping and happen to run into him. Then, if all goes well, try to set up a buy with him," I instruct Cameron as he prepares to hop out of the vehicle. "We'll be able to hear everything that comes through your mic but we can't talk back to you. So, you remember the safe word right?"
"I remember. If I feel like things are going bad, just mention dog food," Cameron says as if we've gone over it a hundred times already. I admit we've gone over it an excessive amount of times but I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly.
"You say dog food and we'll be in there right away," I assure him.
"I know, I've got this," Cameron says, somewhat annoyed. Then he opens the door and slips out.
I watch as he walks towards the entrance, my heart racing in anticipation. Captain Bennett gets out of the vehicle and then slips right back in, this time sliding into the passenger seat next to me. He sets the receiver on the center console and flips it on for us to listen in on Cameron's first undercover mission.
Right away, we can hear the faint sounds of chatter in the background. Though, not enough to hear what's being said. The mic Cameron is wearing is made to pick up nearby voices, mainly for one on one conversations.
"Acting natural, just shopping around," Cameron's voice comes softly through the speaker.
I wish I had told him not to talk to us in the mic but I figure he's just mocking me at this point. I'm sure to everyone else it just looks like he's talking to himself. I had wanted to give him an earpiece so that we could communicate with him but with his short hair, an earpiece would've been too noticeable and would've given him away to Gavin immediately.
We listen for about ten minutes to the muffled background noises while Cameron walks around the store. Occasionally we hear him say things into the microphone like, "I'm not seeing him," and, "I'm still just shopping around." Without a way to talk to him and tell him to stop talking into the mic, we're forced to just listen to his annoying comments and let everyone else think he's some crazy guy talking to himself in the middle of a store.
"What happens if he just can't find him?" I ask Captain Bennett, who's listening religiously to the speaker between us.
"If Gavin left, we'd just have to go in there and tell him it's over," he informs me.
Great, if Gavin leaves before Cameron finds him, then we get to go in there and look all over the place for Cameron. I hope it doesn't come to that. Two cops, searching the mall for some lunatic who won't stop talking to himself. How fun would that be?
"I see him," Cameron's voice comes through the speaker. "Drink department."
Captain Bennett and I both lean in close to the speaker, nearly bonking our heads together. Before another word comes through, he taps the button to begin the recording and turns the volume up to ensure every word comes through crystal clear. Now, all we can do is sit here and listen to their conversation play out.
"Gavin?" Cameron says loudly.
"Cameron, what's up?" Gavin says. His voice comes through the speaker softer than Cameron's but still clear enough to hear. I recognize his voice from the night I pulled him over and begin to think about how much more simple it would've been if I had been able to arrest him right then and there. Then there would be no need to be doing all this undercover work. No, he'd already be in jail and Cameron wouldn't have to be involved.
"Nothin' much man, what's up with you? What have you been up to?" Cameron replies.
Good, he's playing it easy so far.
"Nothing, I'm in-between jobs right now. Been looking, but not many places are hiring right now," Gavin replies.
"What happened at the foundry? I was surprised when I heard you were fired but I never heard what for. Just rumors but you know how reliable those are," Cameron says to him.
This I know is a lie because Cameron told me what he was fired for when I questioned him. I'll admit though, it's a smooth play on his part to get Gavin talking.
"Some bullshit, man. They said they fired me for calling in sick and coming in late too many times. Even after all the overtime I did for them," Gavin says. I can hear a hint of anger in his voice but at least it's not directed towards Cameron.
"That's shitty, funny how no matter how many hours you put in for them, they'll still let you go for something little like that," says Cameron.
I can tell Cameron is sugarcoating everything for Gavin's sake because I know how he really feels about people that call in too often. If he were the boss, I'm sure he'd be letting people go left and right.
"Right, what kind of rumors did you hear though?"Gavin asks intriguingly.
I can tell Cameron was just waiting for him to ask based on how he responds so quickly yet casually at the same time.
"I heard people saying some crazy shit. Like that you were going around asking people if they wanted to buy drugs and shit," Cameron says as if he never believed the rumors for a second.
"Man, I swear, people will make up whatever crazy shit just to have a good story to tell," Gavin says defensively.
"So, it's not true?" Cameron asks curiously.
"What?" Gavin asks, as if he didn't hear what Cameron just asked him.
Personally, I think he needs to be more careful, but maybe that's just my paranoia kicking in. I can't help but think Gavin is going to realize something's up and take it out on Cameron.
"I mean, I was kinda hoping it might be true because I've been looking for some shit to have a good time," Cameron says in a low voice.
"You're fucking with me," Gavin says, unimpressed.
"No bro, I'm serious. Look, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping an old buddy from work might be able to hook me up with the good shit," the words come out of Cameron's mouth so smoothly, I almost believe him myself. But I know my brother better than that. He's never so much as smoked a cigarette.
"You don't strike me as the type to do that kinda shit," Gavin says.
Through the speaker, it almost sounds like Gavin is challenging him. All I can hope for is that Cameron is able to convince him.
"Good, that's how I'd prefer to come off. You wouldn't want people looking at you and immediately suspecting you're a druggie, would you?" Cameron asks him.
"Fair enough," Gavin replies.
"So," Cameron says with a little pause. "Would you be able to hook up an old friend or were those rumors just that, rumors?"
There's a brief moment of silence and my mind immediately goes to the worse case scenario. Gavin pulling him in close, lifting his shirt to reveal the wire, and then pummeling him right in the middle of the store. At least then we'd have something to arrest him for. But that's not what we need right now. I need Cameron to make it out of this unharmed.
Finally, Gavin speaks, "I could probably hook you up with some bud."
"Come on, I was hoping you could get me something better than that," Cameron says.
I look up and lock eyes with Captain Bennett, confusion and worry written across my face. Why is Cameron pushing it? He should've just taken what he can get, set up the meet, and then get the hell out of there. Instead it seems like he's seeing just how much he can get Gavin to spill, which is not the job we sent him in there for. Captain Bennett puts his hand up as if telling me to calm down, that there's nothing to worry about. But in reality, my younger brother is in there with the towns biggest drug dealer, pushing him to see how much he can get him to admit.
"What are you looking for? Xannies? Shrooms?" Gavin asks, sounding surprised he was asking for anything more than marijuana.
"How about fentanyl?" Cameron asks.
I know Cameron remembers me telling him just how dangerous that stuff is, and now here he is asking a drug dealer for it. I know he won't ever have to handle it, but I still think he should've just stopped at the 'bud' as Gavin called it.
"Damn," Gavin says, surprised. "Uhh, yeah, I could get you some of that if that's what you really want. You wanna meet up later tonight?"
"No, I don't need it until this weekend. How about I get your number and we can set something up for later," Cameron suggests.
Immediately, I find myself questioning Cameron's tactics again. Why would he push out the meeting even further when Gavin had just suggested they do it tonight? We could just get it over with already but for some reason, Cameron seems to be dragging things out. First, he asks him for something stronger than marijuana, fentanyl of all things. And now he's pushing the meetup to this weekend instead of getting it over with tonight, something doesn't feel right with me.
There's a moment of silence while, I assume, they exchange phone numbers. Then I hear Gavin's voice again, "Well, hit me up when you want it. I'll catch you later."
"All right, man. See ya later," Cameron says loudly.
Nothing else comes through the speaker besides random background noises for the next several minutes. I'm the first one to notice Cameron walking out of the building towards the car and I signal to Captain Bennett who responds by ending the recording on the speaker.
"Good work," Captain Bennett says to Cameron as soon as he slides into the back seat and closes the door.
"Thanks," Cameron replies. "I gotta get this microphone off. This thing is not comfortable at all."
I look in the rearview mirror to see Cameron lifting his shirt and pulling at the tape on his chest, removing the microphone from its hiding place.
"Why'd you have to push him so much?" I ask him bluntly.
"What are you talking about?" Cameron asks innocently, looking back and forth between Captain Bennett and myself from the backseat.
"Well, first of all, he offered you marijuana. Why didn't you just accept his offer?" I ask, wanting clarification on his supposed methods.
"I thought you guys wanted to catch him selling fentanyl. The more serious the drug, the more serious the crime, right?" Cameron asks.
He's not wrong, but we could've just made do with what he was offering. If anything we could've gotten a warrant to search his house after the bust to find the fentanyl he's selling.
"Okay, but what about the meet up? He asked if you wanted to do it tonight. So, why didn't you just set it up for tonight? We could've gotten this all over with already," I tell him, getting impatient. All I want is for this whole mission to be over with so Cameron can go home safe and sound, and I can finally stop worrying.
"I figured it would give us more time to prepare. You know, to make sure everything goes smoothly, just the way we want it?" Cameron talks to me as if we've all gone over this a thousand times.
Annoyed, I shift the vehicle into reverse and back out of the parking spot. No one says anything during the whole ride as I navigate the us all back to the station. When we get back inside, Cameron returns the microphone and Captain Bennett gives me the recording to upload to the computer.
"That's all we've got for you today, be back tomorrow afternoon for us to continue," Captain Bennett says to Cameron. Just before Cameron reaches the door, Captain Bennett calls out to him. "And hey, good job today," he says with a smile.