Outside In

Chapter 4-2

Deems had been against it at first. He’d put up good arguments against her.

“Why’d she say she called you again?” Deems asked, going back over the transcript of the tape of Cam’s original interview.

Craig and Wendell looked at the man with scraggly grey hair and thick glasses. “You heard her. She’s bored. And she knows that the life expectancy of an undercover cop is limited.”

“You believe her?”

“Yes, I do. Cam’s always been square with me.” Craig was definitely on her side.

“What about her lesbianism. Did she tell you about that when she was working for you before?”

“No. She knew we’d have to fire her. But she’s never tried to lie about it. She’s been real good about sidestepping the issue.”

“She have a lover now?”

“No.” Maggie smiled. “She really hasn’t had time. We’ve been working her too hard.”

“Doesn’t she…date?”

“No,” Maggie answered. “Not seriously. A night out with the girls every now and then. There’s been no one steady for the last four years.”

“Is there any way she’d let your conversations slip to anyone else? You know how pillow talk can be.”

“I highly doubt it,” Craig answered. “Cameron has always been very, very good about keeping things confidential. You know how we always plant things with new staff just to check. Nothing we ever told her got back. She had a top priority security clearance.”

“I don’t know. This is highly irregular. Totally against policy.” Richard C. Deems closed the file in front of him. Wendell and Craig exchanged glances.

“You really think she can do this?” Richard asked, looking at Maggie.

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “She works hard. I think she’d be very valuable. You read my report. And you know I wouldn’t recommend this if I had any doubts.”

“It’s a good idea,” Wendell interjected, “If we were trying to infiltrate a black neighborhood we wouldn’t send in a white man. We’ve tried a straight woman and look what happened, poor girl.” Wendell thought of the promising young agent who now sat staring into space in a mental hospital, her brain fried in a drug overdose.

“No saying that it won’t happen to this one, too.” Richard C. Deems didn’t want to be convinced.

“No, but she’s got a head start on the territory. She’ll better know how to handle herself there.” Craig offered, “Aside from that, I think this one’s a better agent.”

“She’s green.”

“No, she isn’t. I saw her work on that Baltimore bust. She was the front with Krakowski. Walked right up the dock like two star-struck lovers and got right into position to close up any back door escape. When everything busted loose, she kept her head, even when bullets were flying right around her. I saw a.48 hit the wall about two feet from her head and she didn’t even jump. She’s got a lot of street experience.”

Richard C. Deems still shook his head.

“It’s better than anything else we’ve ever come up with. It’s almost too good.” Wendell sat back.

Craig looked around the table. He knew that Wendell and Maggie were sold but this was, technically, Deems’ case. This was an internal, not an international, operation. This was the one flaw with the DEA: limbo land somewhere between the CIA and the FBI. Craig walked that line every day.

“Well,” Deems said slowly, pushing the files closer together. “If Maggie is for this and will agree to continue as counselor and control, I’ll go along. But,” he stopped, “the first thing I see that doesn’t fit, I pull the plug. Understood?”

Craig smiled. “Totally.”