Avenge Thy Brother

Chapter 2: Classified Information

            There was this part of me that felt somewhat disappointed because I'd failed to put all of the pieces together while talking with Gilmore. The man who played such a large role in causing me so much pain died in my arms while behind the walls of a prison that I put him in. I couldn't help but think of how I could have prevented both Gabe and Marlon's deaths had I trusted them in the moment. What could I have done differently? That one question seemed to follow me everywhere I went. For better or worse, it was the question that came to define me the moment I got sucked into all of the mess.

I spent my first weekend in my new home with Byron typing up my version of events from the prison infiltration and the following Monday, I turned the notes over to both the Deputy Attorney General and the Inspector General of the DOJ. When I came into work at the FBI afterwards, all eyes were on me in my department. I made my way through the crowd of onlookers and arrived at my desk to see there was a note sitting on my keyboard telling me to report to Chief Cunningham's office for a new assignment. Angrily, I sat my briefcase down at my desk and hurried over to his office.

"You're assigning me to a new case?" I asked the moment I barged into his office.

He looked up at me and started, "Rowell, it's not..."

"I know you're disappointed that I went around you but I had to follow protocol, sir. The information Gilmore gave me has to stay confidential and I had to go through the proper channels to make sure it remains confidential. This isn't personal, sir."

"Rowell, I was planning on reassigning you to this case had Gilmore not given you a smoking gun. He didn't give you one; therefore, I'm assigning you to a similar case."

"I don't want a similar case. I want to work the one I'm currently working. Those bastards who murdered Gilmore do not get to win. We can't let this case head into a dead end, Chief."

"The case isn't going dark. The moment we get a new lead, I will assign an undercover agent to gather intelligence. I myself will also be keeping an eye out for any new developments; but for now, there is a pending situation down in Atlanta that I need you to get on top of."

"Atlanta?"

He pulled a file from one of his desk drawers and handed it to me before explaining, "Four gay black men have been reported missing in the past three months and two local detectives down there believe the missing cases are connected. They have requested our resources."

I took a quick look through the file and then asked, "Do you think this is a part of the same network?"

"I'm not sure but that's what you and your new partner will find out."

"My new partner? Chief, I don't..."

"Her name is Karen Jeffries and she's a veteran special agent from our Los Angeles field office."

"Sir, I can handle this on my own. I don't need some partner that's going to get in my way."

"Rowell, her brother was a gay black man who was found mutilated five years ago. She won't stand in your way because she also believes her brother was a victim of the network. There are people down in Atlanta who are beginning to question the connections and we need to get on top of this before the network knows what we're doing. We set ourselves back by shutting down the fraternity at your alma mater. And this situation with Wesley Gilmore has set us back even more. I know you couldn't trust me with the sensitive information he gave you but since you do have that information, you're the only person that I can pair up with Jeffries. This Atlanta case needs to remain confidential."