Starts And Stops

The Cardinal and The Jack - Cambridge, MA

Eve was at her shop, winding down for the weekend. Melinda would run the rest of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. She was excited for some well-deserved peace and quiet. The week had been a bit of a bear due to staff illness.

While waiting for Allston to get home, her big plan included Netflix, wine, and bacon-wrapped scallops, one of her favorites.

Even Tango was gone, meaning a few solitary walks on the beach.

She believed this was one man and one dog short of being in Heaven.

Moving her life from Cambridge to the North Shore had its challenges, like the long 40-mile commute and the occasional bullet holes and break-ins, but overall, it was worth it.

She and Allston were becoming a solid couple. There was so much more they still needed to learn about each other, but Eve was sure she loved the man.

She had been with a few men, and toward the end of each relationship, she was blamed for causing the breakup.

Allston has an I don’t give a shit attitude about things that would drive other men crazy.

He recently told her, “I am always working my caseload, which means I’m thinking about next moves, motives, and how to get things done.”

“I don't have time for excessive baggage in a person, Eve, and you seem so well adjusted.”

Coming from Allston, Eve knew that this was a compliment.”

She always had self-sufficiency, especially after her mother died in a car accident. Taking care of her father was taking care of a man and she relished in the role.

She learned to cook at an early age. Her father protested, telling Eve, “You have bigger things ahead of you, Evie than to be a housemaid at this age." 

"You need to enjoy your life. We can afford a live-in housekeeper; I started interviewing candidates this week.”

At first, Eve was hurt, thinking she could handle it, but her Dad went on, “Your skills at home are awesome, but you need to go to school and kick ass in all your classes, which is important for anyone’s future. I’m sure this is what your mother would want for you. She saw great things in you, and we discussed how exciting your future could be.” 

“Your Grandfather thinks you are going to be a superstar.”

At first, the housekeeper, Maddie, would not shut up about “Her country,” which was Brazil, but after a while, Evie looked forward to hearing about Sao Paulo and Ipomena. Maddie was also well-versed in all the countries in South America. It was interesting.

She took on the chores and became a friend to the little broken family.

Eve had a boyfriend in high school with whom she learned to drink and have sex. Evie was crazy about him, but her father was not.

She never held anything back from her father, and the more he heard about Juan, the less he liked him.

One night, he told Eve, “Remember Evie, you will see more of the world than most people. That means leaving here to learn and get out in it.”

There’s a lot for you to do, and you won’t be doing it here.

He never mentioned Juan, but he didn’t have to. Evie knew what he was implying.

She thought of Juan, and she knew he had three kids now from two different wives, and he still lived back home.   

Then there was Tennessee. It was a great place to grow up, but by the end of high school, Eve began to understand that successful people take risks. 

She and Natalie had much in common, except Natalie went West and Eve went East.

Until she met Allston, Eve was never comfortable being happy living her life and wanting more for herself and her partner.

She thought again about Natalie Leuze and wondered if she was a threat to what Eve and Allston shared.

Eve was in deep thought when she saw Ben Mason enter the Cardinal.

Chelsea MA - NE Regional FBI Headquarters

Wallace Q. Hughes was cartoon thermometer-level pissed.  You know, in cartoons, when the temperature of heat or anger hits a certain point, and the thermometer pops its top?

“Tanaka, tell me again in your own words why I have to take you off Glazed Eye?”

Tanaka looked at Hughes and cooly said, “Because a target under the microscope is screwing my brains out.”

Hughes laughed inward at the punchline that formed in his head. That lucky guy would have to screw her to the sheets until the tenth of never to screw all her brains out. Tanaka was one of the smartest agents he had ever met.

“We ran into each other, and things happened.” “We live near each other.”

“Are you working him for information?”

“I am not Tanaka said. “I like him, and I believe he’s straight up.”

“I guess you would know if he was straight up,” Hughes said.

Tanaka laughed, relieved that this went smoother than she anticipated,

“Thank you for your honesty and always direct candor, Tanaka.” “You are refreshing.”

“I’ll keep you out of troubled water, but you keep mum with Mason about Glazed Eye.

“Yes, sir.”

Tanaka breathed a huge sigh when she left Wallace Q.’s office. She was always direct, and she had a habit of swearing like a sailor because she was one.

Commander Tanaka graduated from the Naval Academy and served ten years on active duty. She is now subject to recall as a reservist for the next two years.

Her ability as a linguist made her an ideal fit for the NSA, The CIA, or the FBI, and she chose the F.B.I., hoping it would keep things CONUS for her. (Continental United States)

She swam like a fish through the FBI Academy in Quantico and was assigned to the New England Region.

It took Lisa a year to shake off her dislike of the civilian world. In her opinion, civilians are lazy, unfocused, and weak-minded, and the service creates an us-versus-them dichotomy.

As screwed up as the military can be, it has a constant you can count on. It creates and nurtures good people. The bad ones do not last.

When she arrived in New England, she found a great place to live and then tacked an MBA on her “Love Me” wall.

The California girl was cooking on all cylinders and now comes along this guy to scramble her brains a bit.

Mason was above smart, that was for sure, but she was struck by how good-looking a “nerd” could be.

What a smile and such self-assurance. He was a darling of the tech world, and she had seen and heard him many times on the business channels.

In interviews, he always made her laugh.

The day she met him in his office sealed the deal in her mind.

Tanaka does not want - she takes. It’s the Navy Way.

Columbus, Ohio

Bradley and Steve Falter never hit New England in their trucking days. They found their sweet spot moving produce from Ohio to points west as far as Utah, sticking to one major highway.

They were good at keeping trucks roadworthy. They knew the best truck stops for food and where diesel fuel was less expensive. 

Whenever Brad and Steve did stop, it was quick. The waitresses in all the truck stops regarded them as annoying, smelly, and cheap. 

The Falter boys were not paying for any single mother’s baby food. They considered a buck to be well-earned.

The Cab Girls, Prostitutes, Lot Lizards, or Working Girls saw Brad and Steve differently.  The consensus of that tight community was that they were harmless, maybe wound up in a religious upbringing based on shame and guilt.

Everyone needs something; the Falter boys needed a rolling strip joint in the back of the truck's cab.

In their own Champagne Room they would crack a few beers and watch whichever girl they contracted dance a little in the tight quarters and then remove her clothes.

Darnelle, a working girl at a truck stop in Oklahoma, once told another girl, “I believe those boys have never touched a woman before.” The other girl agreed with her, having had a similar experience with the Falters.

“They get this stupid grin on their faces and look back and forth at each other.” "I'm not sure what’s going on there, but they are hard and ready, but they never go for the add-ons.” 

At that point, the girls didn't know that the boy's Rolling Champagne Room was like a gateway drug that would lead to something far worse.