Rogue Alliance Read Online Free

eyes.
                  “We’re not. Jesus, Shyla, let it go. I’m going to go have a talk with the farmer.”               He stomped off.
                  Shyla felt Quentin’s curiosity , as thick as the mud under her boots.
                  “Ricardo’s gang is our main focus. But let’s face it - h e’s small potatoes. I have a hard time believing he doesn’t answer to someone bigger. You and I both know that Champlain wouldn’t let just anyone deal in his territory. He has a whole fleet under him and I’m wi lling to bet Ricardo is one of the m.”
                  Quentin peered over the rim of his glasses.
                  “Well if you can draw that conclusion, then why hasn’t anyone else?” he asked.
                  “They have. Even Johnson,” Shyla said, averting her eyes, “ But everyone has their hands full. Champlain’s reach is far. And he has a lot of people in his pockets, if you know what I mean. I’m not sure it’s a case that’s meant to be solved. But little guys, like Ricardo, they are perfect fall guys. So they focus on them.”
                  “But not you. You want to n ail Champlain and use guys like Ricardo to do it.”
                  Shyla gave a rare sideways grin.
                  “Who , me?”

 
     
    THREE
     
                  Shyla’s eyes cro ssed with fatigue. She had been working up her reports for the better half of the morning. She start ed when there was a hard knock on her d oor and Johnson peered in.
                  “Hey, Ericson. Captain wants to see you.”
                  “Just me?”
                  “Yep . ”
                  “ Hey, have you heard anything about the Jane Doe found in the pig trough yet? ”
                  “No, but it’s been a few days. Give it a while longer. Besides, I don’t think that’s what the Captain wants to talk to you about.”
                  “Right.”
                  Johnson’s eyes met hers briefly, hinting that there was a question lurking in the back of his mind , but thought better of it.
                  “ Well, you’d better head on back, ” he said.
                  Sighing, Shyl a ran a hand over h er hair impatiently.
                  “Y eah, a ll right, a t least it gets me away from this damn desk for a while, ” s he said, flipping the file closed and popping it down into the cabinet under her desk.  
     
    *
     
                  “Sit do wn, Shyla,” said Eli Straton, the director of F.A.N.C. , as she entered the room. He’d been C aptain of L . A . P . D . before stepping into the role of director of the Federal agency. Everyone still called him Captain.
                  Eli was a calm, collected individual at all times. He was a g enerous and hard-working leader - the kind of boss everyone wanted to work fo r. Shyla looked up to him. T here were times , though, when his quiet demeanor took on a dangerous edge that could make anyone take heed. It was only a slight twitch of his lips, a sharp look in his eye. But it was enough to make even the toughest cops squirm.
                  Shyla swallowed hard.
                  “Yes, Sir.”
                  Straton sat in his chair, folded his hands on his desk and stared her down.
                  “ I wanted to talk to you about the Champlain case.”
                  Shyla sat up straight . She’d been hoping that’s what he wanted to talk about . It was the biggest case in the state. She wasn’t on the team assigned to it, but she’d been hoping to make her way there eventually.
                  “Great. Let’s talk. Champlain is exactly why I went down there yesterday. An anonymous tip indicated that