Solving for Myself

Chapter 10: Inching Closer

Over the next couple of weeks, Carson and Stella watch the satellites and the drone footage from the cult and catch some shocking footage. It is also in this time that they fully learn to work together and their partnership begins to grow into something more as the days of working in close quarters, come and go. They identify the mayor and the governor entering the church multiple times as well as the priest and several members from here in town. The FBI suggested an immediate raid and arrest of key members but in the interest of verifying all parties involved, they agreed to hold off until the standard procedures were followed as long as another murder didn't pop up. This left Stella and Carson under intense pressure to complete the case before the FBI's patience ran down.

To call this case closed, they needed to find a motive, if there were groups involved elsewhere, and concrete evidence of at least one person committing a murder. Normally this would take months but now they had just a month and a half to accomplish all this while at the same time being hunted. They needed the cult eliminated from this area completely while the FBI was more so concerned about recovering assets and arresting all who relieved and knowingly took part in the embezzlement of government assets.

However, thanks to the footage collected, Stella and Carson were able to pinpoint a person of interest. This person was a high-ranking member as indicated by his uniform, his name was Damon and he was also visually impaired and required a guide dog. He was of interest due to the fact that nearly half of the victims had been seen at the specific clinic where he worked as a Janitor; it almost felt like more than a coincidence. Upon further digging it was found that his wife worked in records keeping but she was not clocked as being a member or taking part in the cult's activities. Short on time and a need for boots on the ground, forced Carson to make a decision he really didn't want to make.

Carson picks up his phone and dials the chief on a secure line, which is immediately answered. The chief says "What do you need?" Carson scratches the back of his head and says"We need eyes on and boots on the ground...me and Stella are requesting to be put back in town". The Chief says"Um that's a hard sale...I don't know if you're aware but they are out to kill both of you on sight". Carson said, "I'm well aware but my hope is to get them before they get us...I just need 2 weeks at the most...I'm sending the details right now". The chief checked his computer and quickly scanned through the proposal before saying"This is insanity and under normal circumstances, I'd say no but I'm gonna go ahead and approve this since we're short on time".

Carson said "Thank you, sir," The chief said"But you two are on your own, if shit goes sideways the department can't protect you, you two are supposed to be gone and we can't risk tipping them off. I'll arrange transport tonight and you two will be here for 2 weeks at the maximum and that's it". Carson said"alright, I'll get everything ready on our end, see you soon". Carson hung up the phone before turning to Stella and saying"we're going back but in disguise...we can only use the equipment from the FBI and the police department told us to go fuck ourselves".

He walked over to the laptop, pulled up a floor plan and said"Thanks to Damon's cameras I've created a floor plan of his home. The first and second floors are nothing special, just your average home but below in his basement is where he appears to be hiding things as the door is padlocked and there are zero cameras. Since we're doing this the covert way, we won't touch the basement and instead, we'll dig through his hard drive Via remote access to his computer and WiFi network. Since this security system is high grade, one of us will have to stay on it to keep it from restarting or triggering an alert, while the other enters the house and physically bugs his computer and his dog's special collar".

Stella said, "I'll handle the security system and you handle the dog's clothes and the hard drive; after all, you are the best at this". Carson nodded and said"We're sneaking back into town in the dead of night and breaking into his house around 9 AM. We need this done ASAP so we can go back into the shadows and leave down by tomorrow night and Analyze the data back here". Stella nodded and said"Well what do we do until then? everything's done" Carson smiled and said, "Soldiers normally rest and have a hearty meal before a huge operation so...let's do the same...get some rest, unwind, and let's get ready to go back into the lion's den".

Carson smiled and said, "You look hungry, How about I make something for us to eat; from scratch, just name it". She blushed and said"Y-you can cook?" he frowned and said, "Yeah...I did make you breakfast when we first met but you didn't want any". She said, "Fine, how about you surprise me; don't forget I'm a French girl so you're gonna have to top that type of cooking".Carson just grinned and said"You leave it to me ma'am" In about an hour, Carson had prepared a wonderfully smelling dinner of shrimp scampi Alfredo with garlic bread and a side of broccoli.

He fixed two plates and brought them over to the coffee table in the living room as Stella continued to watch the movie. He walked back into the kitchen to get the wine before sitting down next to Stella and pausing the movie. He smiled and said" Bon' appetite" as she picked up her plate in reluctance and took a bite. Once she did, her eyes lit up wide and she said"damn that's good" before tearing into her plate. Once she was finished, Carson chuckled and said"I made plenty more so help yourself". After hearing that, she immediately got up and went for some more before sitting back down and watching the movie.

The movie was an overly dramatic detective movie that Stella had put on to make her laugh since it was extremely outlandish. What she didn't expect was that Carson found it funny and was laughing his butt off as well. By the time the movie ended an hour later, both the detectives were full and tired. As Stella got up, she kissed his cheek and said"Thanks for tonight...I promise when this is over we'll sort out the case of the missing feelings". Her code talk was horrible but he understood what she meant and it made him happy and more than excited to finish this and experience something new.