Prophet of Death

Chapter 14

     After Pete put the kids and his ex-wife literally in witness protection, he went back to the house to see if he could get any sleep. It was late, and he was pretty sure if something happened, Agent Avery would let him know about it. He also wanted to check on his own home and make sure it was still standing. He wasn't going to find anyone or do anything competently if he didn't get any shuteye and a shower first thing in the morning. While he was eating something recently warmed up in the microwave, Pete kept thinking about the leads they had and what could possibly come from them. He really liked the one Grozza and Brown were looking into with the SEC and hoped that was the right path. Greed was a much better motive than civil unrest, and he could see right through the Prophet's bullshit. If this man was shorting companies and cashing in, then he was no better than the greedy pieces of trash he was trying to take out. It made things much easier for everyone and if he was trying to work the system, they should be able to follow the money right back to him. It was only a matter of time now before Geronimo was behind bars where he belonged, hopefully with an impending date with a needle. Pete wasn't one to support capital punishment, but in the Prophet's case, he was willing to make an exception on the matter. He let it all go when it was time to hit the sack, putting his head down on the pillow for the first time in what seemed like days. Although he slept for several hours, when the phone rang on the nightstand it felt like less than a minute. He reached over and grabbed the cellphone, putting it up to his head.

     "What's going on?" Pete asked, slurring the words.

     "Get down to the exchange building," Agent Avery replied. "Now."

     "Is there another bomb?" Pete inquired as he was rolling out of bed.

     "No," Avery answered. "We just found out why Grozza and Special Agent Brown haven't checked in with us."

     Pete paused for a few moments to let the comment sink in. Grozza hadn't returned some calls, but he'd thought nothing of it. Something he was starting to learn was a mistake where the Prophet was concerned. "What happened?"

     "They were stabbed," Avery answered. "Both of them at the exchange building. Something tells me they got a little too close and our boy panicked."

     "That panic would explain the house fire, too," Pete said with a groan. "I'll be down there in a half hour."

     Pete couldn't believe it as he disconnected the line. He had no time to grieve his partner of over ten years. He hopped into the shower and skipped actually washing his hair, only using the water to wake up and recharge. After a few minutes, Pete got out of the shower, dried off and was dressed less than seven minutes after speaking to Avery. It took him less than fifteen minutes to get back down to the exchange building for the second time in as many days. He even parked in the same space he did previously, aware that the exchange was hours away from opening so he wasn't worried. As he hurried toward the crime scene that was a stairwell between floors, he could see officers looking over the scene and the captain drinking a coffee while supervising.

     "How long have they been down there?" Pete asked as he tried his best not to show emotion upon seeing the corpse of his friend.

     "At least twelve hours," Avery replied. "Usually these stairs are only used for emergencies, so it could have been longer. He must have caught them by surprise, because neither man was able to get off a shot."

     "Where are their guns?" Pete asked.

     "Gone," the captain answered. "Along with their badges and wallets. Without any ID, it took a few hours after the first call to realize that they were both on the job. He did that to stall us, knowing that an officer down would have had the whole force responding."