Free Snake Eye by William C. Dietz

Damn it to hell…Why couldn’t Demont do his own dirty work? Because he didn’t want to that’s why . She leaned forward. “That isn’t true Christina…I don’t want you off the case. But, perhaps I should. For your sake as well as the team’s. Let’s be honest. You can’t buy a pair of socks without television crews following you to the store—not to mention your influence on the other agents.”
    Theel winced. He had warned Haxton not to go there and now she had. It was like launching a gob of spit into the wind. The whole mess was about to smack the ASAC in the face. “My ‘influence on other agents?’” Rossi demanded coldly. “What are you talking about?”
    Haxton looked at Theel. “John?”
    Theel looked down at his tasseled loafers and back up again. It required effort to turn and meet her eyes. “The Shooting Review Board is coming up in a couple of days. Kissler had to meet with the shrink. It turns out that he may have been trying to make an impression on you when he shot Brenner.”
    There was a moment of silence. Rossi broke it. Her voice had a steely quality. “Let me see if I understand. Kissler wants to get in my pants, so he shoots someone, and I get the boot.”
    “ No ” Haxton said emphatically, “it isn’t like that. A number of factors came into play and Kevin was one of them. This is a good opportunity, a case where they really need your help, and you can make a difference.”
    Theel nodded. His concern was plain to see. “Amy’s right, Christina. We need you on the case. You won’t be sorry.”
    Rossi looked from one superior to the other. “The case…what is it?
    “We call it SNAKE EYE,” Haxton answered.
    “Which refers to?”
    “Which refers to the people who specialize in bringing illegal aliens into the country from Asia,” Theel replied soberly. “A slimy bunch commonly referred to as snakeheads.”
    “Except that you’re going to be part of an interagency team going after the snakehead,” Haxton put in. “A naturalized citizen named Sam Chow.”
    Rossi frowned. “The guy who funds the big New Year’s Eve fireworks display every year?”
    “That’s the one,” Theel acknowledged. “He also owns a trucking line, a fishing fleet, and a lot of real estate. The problem is that his other business activities aren’t so pretty. Like human trafficking, extortion, and murder.”
    “Okay,” Rossi said as she came to her feet. “Is there anything else?”
    Theel looked at Haxton and back again. “No, I guess there isn’t. I’ll put you in touch with your team leader tomorrow morning.”
    “Understood,” Rossi said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    The other agents watched her leave. “So,” Haxton said brightly, “that went well, don’t you think?”
    Theel tried to come up with a tactful response and failed. He rose from the couch. “Amy, for an intelligent woman, you sure are stupid sometimes.” And with that he left the room.
    Rossi made her way to her cubicle, retrieved her things, and headed for the elevators. Other people were in the area but none of them yelled insults from the far side of the office or ran up to ask questions as they usually did. That was because word of Rossi’s reassignment had already spread, and being unsure of how she would react, her peers were laying low. The elevator bonged, the agent entered, and the door closed. And how am I going to react to the assignment ? Rossi asked herself as the car began to descend.
    In spite of Haxton and Theel’s best efforts to make the SNAKE EYE case sound important, it probably wasn’t. Not compared to ECODOOM. But so what? People received new assignments every day. Some of them were happy and some weren’t. They managed to deal with it and so would she.
    The agent continued to think about the situation as she entered the garage and got into her car. Here was the sort of thing that she and Ed would have spent hours discussing back whentheir relationship was intact. And that was what