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fatalezr · 4 years

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A form of justice - part 7

“You need bigger boobs”

Rebecca gave Kate a disapproving look. “What did you say?”

“You need bigger boobs Becca. Something to get a bit more cleavage. You’re very pretty, just need a bit more to really distract the boys”. She smirked at her colleague.

Rebecca frowned and returned to the changing room. It was a Saturday daytime and her and Kate were shopping for outfits that would be appropriate for Mulvaney’s sex party they planned to hijack next Friday. Selwick had been very clear - they needed to look like high class escorts and Kate had suggested a trip to Covent Garden to find new clothing.

“Money is no issue” she had told Rebecca when they met.

“On our salaries? Come on Kate, let’s be reasonable”.

“Well, I think this qualifies as a bonus”. She had opened her bag and showed Rebecca a roll of twenty pound notes.

“Kate, is that...”

“From when we robbed Hanlon’s place? Yes” she confided, “look I knew we’d need supplies at some point. This is dirty money, but we’re using it to make things right again”.

Rebecca had sighed and agreed and now the two found themselves in the changing room of Agent Provocateur. Kate had advised Rebecca with a lot of enthusiasm and was clearly enjoying herself a lot. For Rebecca, this was a new experience. She had some sexy underwear at home but going shopping for lingerie with Kate was a whole different thing. Her colleague had an eye for detail. When Rebecca had asked if this truly mattered, she had simply smiled and told her that there was no reason not to find something she really liked. It just had to be practical enough for them to conceal their weaponry when they entered the party.

Rebecca returned to the changing room and shut the curtain over. She looked at herself in the mirror. She liked what she saw - Kate was right, she maybe could have a bit more cleavage on show but she felt elegant and sexy in the black sheer set she was wearing. She removed it and tried on a more colourful pink set with orange straps and detailing. The satin was nice against her skin and the bra certainly gave her a lot more ‘distraction’ she thought. This felt right. She found the suspender sat snug on her hips. She looked incredible she thought. Maybe Kate was right - it was OK to enjoy herself despite the high stakes they were playing with. She opened the curtain to get her opinion.

“Oh very nice, yes!” Kate said, nodding. “Much better, much more interesting. Becca, you look hot”.

“Thanks” she replied, smiling. It was nice to get Kate’s approval.

“Yeah, that’s the one for you. Right, my turn”. She turned decisively and went to the changing room with several sets for herself.

Rebecca went into the changing room. That was typical Kate. Find solution, feel happy, then on to the next thing. She had an incredible energy in what she did that Rebecca liked. She changed into her regular long skirt and t-shirt and then watched as Kate paraded a series of erotic outfits in front of her. Whilst Rebecca was satisfied with her one set, Kate found three that she liked. “Don’t worry, im sure I’ll find an excuse to use them” she had assured Rebecca.

They paid and left the shop. Kate suggested they grab a coffee together and they walked towards Covent Garden marketplace. They had only gone a block when a black Mercedes pulled up alongside them, the passenger window pulling down. They recognised the occupant from his pinstriped suit.

“Why Katherine and Rebecca, what a pleasure to see you” said the charming and annunciated voice of George Digby-Wright.

Kate and Rebecca exchanged a quick look. George was not the kind of man to pull up alongside you in the street unless he was looking for something. At the same time, both knew he was responsible for keeping Patrick Hanlon safe in an MI5 property and his influence in the security services made him a good ally.

“George, any time our paths cross, the pleasure is always mine” said Kate, her face plastered with a smile but with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“You are too kind Katherine. Please, would you care to join me?”

Rebecca wondered what would happen if they refused. Would George release Hanlon on to the streets? She decided to be polite and take charge of the situation. “We’d be delighted” she said, and opened the back door of the car for her and Kate.

“Excellent” said George as they climbed in. A spot of afternoon tea seems right. To the Ritz” he added to the driver. The car set off, winding through the streets towards Piccadilly.

“How have you been George?” asked Rebecca genuinely.

“I have been very busy Rebecca, but thank you for asking. Several pressing affairs of state to attend to, but such is my calling in this life”.

“Anything you want to share with us?” enquired Kate.

“Many things Katherine, many things. Nothing to be digested on an empty stomach though. Let us have tea first. I imagine you are tired yourself from your shopping trip”. He gestured to their bags. “A success?”

“We’ll let you know once someone has seen it” Kate replied mischievously.

George clapped his hand and laughed. “Yes, indeed! I am sure they will be most entertained”.

They arrived at The Ritz and the doorman showed them to a table already set for three in the dining room. George spent several minutes deciding his order of rooibos tea during which time Kate had already necked her glass of champagne. Rebecca sipped her own glass and ordered a pot of Assam.

“Why are we here George?” asked Kate.

“Can a gentleman not simply wish to treat two of his lovely friends to tea?”

Kate smiled. “Have you ever actually done that?”

George laughed and met her eyes. “No but i am reliably informed there are lesser men who do such things”.

Kate sighed and looked at Rebecca. “Ok then. Let’s get down to business”.

George paused as the waiter served them their three tiered selection of sandwiches, scones and cakes. “Very well. You are aware last weekend of the favour I pulled off at very short notice”.

Rebecca decided to speak before Kate could make a sarcastic remark. “We are, and we’re very thankful”.

“Unfortunately such favours are not cheap and they are not easy...”

“...which is why Rebecca also did a favour at her own personal risk and at very short notice” interjected Kate. “That should be adequate payment”.

“Oh yes, a job performed remarkably” George said, nodding at Rebecca, “but not a job that can fulfil payment indefinitely”.

“This is immoral”

“Over the past eight days the two of you have killed more people than Jack the Ripper. Should we really spend our time discussing morality?”. George sat back and ate a sandwich. Rebecca considered his words. It was true, they had racked up quite a lot of bodies recently, with herself responsible for most of the killing. She sipped her tea before asking George a question on her mind.

“George are we doing the right thing?”

He gave her a hard stare. “What is the right thing, one wonders? I am a pragmatist Rebecca. I look at all options and I consider this, is our society better without certain individuals in it and I can only conclude yes. Now”, he picked up his tea, “will you join me in thinking pragmatically about this situation?”

“Im not sure saying no is an option” Rebecca answered.

“And you are indeed correct” George replied. He sipped on his tea and silence passed between them. Eventually he put down his cup and leaned closer to the two women. “There is a certain flat in Islington. Very discreet location, very nondescript. It is owned by the FSB and is used to house certain persons of interest from time to time”. He paused and sipped more tea before continuing. “It has come to our attention from our American cousins that an FSB analyst will be staying there this weekend. This analyst has a laptop our cousins believe could be useful to them and to us. I want you to steal it tonight”.

“And how the bloody hell do you expect us to get access to an FSB safe house George?” Kate asked.

“I am sure you will be creative in your thinking” he answered and sat back.

“Fuck sake” Kate said under her breath, shaking her head, “and I presume there’s no help you can offer?”

“Sadly Katherine it would be improper for the British state to be seen to be stealing from the FSB, especially if there were to be...accidents...for any persons in the house along the way. Two thiefs chancing their luck is well, somewhat less suspicious”.

“So to be clear George you’re expecting us to find our way into a Russian safe house, steal a bloody laptop from under their noses and maybe kill an agent or two along the way”. Kate did not look happy. Rebecca also felt sick inside. They could not be in a more dangerous situation and yet she knew George had the leverage over them. She tried to keep calm and work things through logically in her mind.

“Say we do this” she asked, “what’s in it for us?”

“The thanks of her majesty’s government, of course” George said as he smiled. Rebecca gave him a hard stare and said nothing. “We will keep Hanlon safe for the next two months, continue to overlook your moonlighting activities. What more can I offer?”

Rebecca continued to stare at him. “We need help locating a kidnapped person. Stefan Horst”.

George frowned. “And who is this Stefan Horst?”

Rebecca smiled. “Just a friend of a friend George”.

“I can promise to give my best endeavours in finding what I can”.

“We also know there’s a property in Stratford that Mulvaney uses to run parties. Invites local businessmen and politicians. Ever heard of it?”

George looked quizzical. “I must say I have not. Why does it interest you?”

Rebecca shook her head. “Just wondering, following up a rumour.” She concluded it was best to not tell George every detail of their plans. “Tell us more about this safe house then”. George proceeded to give them details on the location and the occupants in the property. He was expecting two people to be present. A regular FSB officer and the analyst. It was unlikely they would be expecting anything major to happen but spies were always naturally cautious. They discussed timings of the job whilst eating scones and sandwiches and George suggested later that evening would be a good time to hit, after a 9pm shift change.

“Any questions?” George concluded.

“Only one” said Kate. She picked up her empty champagne glass. “Can I get a refill?”

—————

“At some point, we should spend a Saturday doing normal things"

Rebecca smiled at Kate. Her partner was right. The last two weekends had been very strange and again she found herself moonlighting for MI5 on a Saturday night. At least this week she had Kate with her to help guide her. "What do you do that's normal?" she asked her.

"I don't know, go for a run, take a ride somewhere, go to the pub, dinner, drinks, karaoke".

"Karaoke?"

"Yeah. Karaoke".

"You sing?"

"Of course I sing Becca. I'm a former member of the choir at my school and can recite every word of Wicked from scratch".

Strangely enough, Rebecca couldn't imagine Kate as a young choirgirl. It seemed a long way from the hardened and fiery detective she had come to know. She enjoyed her company immensely and resolved that when their pursuit of Mulvaney ended, they would remain close friends. Another thought hit her - she thought of when the pursuit would end, but was it actually if they caught Mulvaney? What would happen if they didn't? She pushed the thoughts from her mind. "So what do you normally sing?"

Kate grinned. "Tell you what, let's finish this job then I'll call a couple of my mates and we can find out".

They were walking towards the apartment in Islington from Angel station. After tea with George, they had continued shopping, finding a matching pair of black v-neck tops, leggings and navy blue baseball caps. Kate had suggested they pose as delivery girls in order to gain entry to the apartment complex. She had gone into a local takeaway near the station and flirted her way into getting two empty boxes she now carried. Rebecca had a cheap black backpack with their guns inside. Both grew more quiet as they approached the block where the apartment was on the second floor of a four floor converted house.

"You ready?" Kate asked.

"To storm an apartment of Russian agents in an unsanctioned action of the British state?" replied Rebecca. "Sure". She remembered the bodyguard she had killed the week previous, the feeling of satisfaction as she saw him crumple to the floor. This felt more dangerous but that just heightened her senses. She wondered how she would react tonight. The Russians were known for employing criminal characters and she reasoned that one or two less of them in the world could never be a bad thing.

"Let's do this", said Kate. They stopped and hid behind a nearby bush whilst they retrieved their suppressed Glock 17's from the backpack. Kate placed hers in an empty pizza box, whilst Rebecca tucked hers into her leggings, flinching a little as the cold metal of the suppressor touched her skin. Their tops were deliberately small and tight against them ("that split second when they're looking at your cleavage can be all you need" Kate had reasoned) but the dark of the night made her confident no-one would see the bulge. She took off the backpack and carried it by her side as they approached the house, Kate studying the windows and seeing which ones had lights on. Kate took a deep breath and buzzed the number 4 on the wall panel by the door. They waited a few seconds before they heard the intercom click and a deep voice answered.

"Yes?"

"Pizza delivery for Flat 3" she answered cheerfully.

"This is number 4"

"Yes, they didn't answer. Any chance you could buzz me in? I'll leave it there?"

There was a few seconds pause and then the voice replied "Fine". The door buzzed and Kate opened it. Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. They were at least in the right house. Flat 3 was on the second floor of the house near the FSB apartment at number 4. From the layout George had given them, she had seen no lights in the windows so it was a good alibi to use.

They walked up the stairs, Kate adjusting her top a little more so that her red bra strap and the top of her cups were on display. They approached a blue door with a silver 4 on it and stopped. Kate beckoned for Rebecca to go to her side and she stood flat against the wall to the left of the door, drawing her gun as she did so and slowly pulling the slide back to chamber a round. Kate knocked on the door and placed her hand inside the box on the top pizza. They heard the faint sound of a television in the flat and then a couple of footsteps approaching the door. Rebecca heard the door open and the same voice with a Russian accent that had been on the intercom.

"No, this is not right apartment"

"Oh but there's been a mistake. Nobody's in at number 3" Kate said innocently whilst Rebecca stayed out of sight. "Would you like it? No charge obviously".

There was another pause. "Fine" he answered.

"Lovely" said Kate, "just need you to sign this thing". She stepped back and a tall older man emerged from the apartment door wearing blue jeans and a stained navy t-shirt. As he came into view, Rebecca raised her gun to his temple.

"On your knees" she whispered. The FSB man turned towards her but she kept her nerve and her gun trained on his head. He stared at her, fury in his eyes as he dropped to his knees slowly. Kate had pulled her gun out of the box and swept into the apartment with it raised. There was silence for a few seconds. Rebecca tried to keep her focus on the man in front but was listening to every sound, unsure whether she would hear a shot or a voice or anything that would give her a clue of how Kate was doing in killing the analyst and retrieving the laptop. The FSB agent in front of her smirked. His dark hair was very short and balding in the middle and there was a small scar to the left of his brown eyes that he kept fixed on Rebecca. Her finger was ready to strike if he moved.

After 20 seconds, Kate emerged from the door behind him and shook her head. The laptop and the analyst were not inside. Rebecca tried to show no emotion. "Stand up and go inside" she said to the man. He got to his feet and Kate put her gun into his back. She grabbed the top of his t-shirt and marched him into the apartment.

They were inside a small corridor with blue walls. The first door on the right led to a small sitting room with two black leather sofas. Kate pushed the agent towards the sofa. "Sit" she commanded. He did so, still smirking. "Where's the analyst? Where's the laptop?" she asked.

"There is no analyst" he said in his deep Russian accent. "There is no laptop".

Kate cocked her gun. "Don't play games" she said, "there's no way out of this". Rebecca stood in the doorway to the living room. What had happened? Why wasn't the analyst in the apartment like George had said? And what on earth would they do now?

The agent laughed but was interrupted by a pinging noise like a notification on his phone. Rebecca put her hand in his pocket to retrieve it. "Hey" he shouted she took it from his pocket and held it towards his face to unlock it. He seemed concerned. "You are dead bitches, you hear me" he growled. Rebecca saw what the notification was from Uber. A taxi would be dropping someone off at the house. She saw where the trip originated - Heathrow Airport. It must be the analyst! "No!" shouted the agent and he lunged towards Rebecca, knocking her gun and the phone to the floor. "Vasili! Get out o-" Pfft. His cries were interrupted by Kate's shot as her bullet hit him in the chest. Pfft-pfft. She fired twice more and he collapsed on top of Rebecca, who rolled herself from under him and grabbed her own gun from the floor. Pfft-pfft-pfft. She fired three shots into him.

"Don't call me a bitch, you fucker" she hissed, and she placed a final bullet -pfft- into his head. She turned towards Kate. "Seriously, what is it with men calling us bitches?"

"Tell me about it" her partner said sympathetically. Rebecca turned her attention towards the phone. It looked like the Uber had stopped outside the apartment. They heard a ringing from the corridor. It was the door buzzer. Rebecca ran to the intercom and pressed the button with a key next to it. She guessed it would unlock the door to the outside.

"What's our plan?" she asked.

"Simple" said Kate, removing her top. "You get the bag and check the laptop. I'll distract him". She tucked her gun into the back of her leggings and wandered into the hallway with her attractive red bra on show. She leaned against a wall seductively. Rebecca rolled her eyes and removed her own top, revealing her own black lace bra.

She held her gun behind her back and opened the door as a young man walked to the front door of the apartment. He was attractive, with black hair and designer stubble. His leather jacket opened to reveal a white t-shirt that hugged his toned chest. Rebecca noted he had a laptop bag thrown over his shoulder. Rebecca smiled at him as he approached. "Vasili?" she asked.

"Yes?" he said. Rebecca stood aside to let him enter. He walked in cautiously, looking at her and then Kate in turn. "Where is my friend?"

"He's out right now" answered Kate, "but he thought you might like some company". Her hand moved over her breast. Vasili smiled.

"Can I get you a drink?" whispered Rebecca into his ear. "We hear you've had a long day".

"Why not take off your coat and we can relax?" added Kate.

If Vasili was surprised or confused by the two women, he wasn't going to show it. He nodded and slipped the bag off his back and took off his jacket. Rebecca saw Kate smile at his muscular arms and believed that part of her reaction to be genuine. Kate beckoned him towards her as she backed towards the bedroom. Vasili followed her. He looked back briefly at Rebecca, who kept smiling at him. She picked up his coat and bag. It felt heavy. As Vasili disappeared with Kate, she quickly opened it to see the laptop inside. It was silver and black, just as George had described to them. She clenched her fist in triumph. They had it!

"Why dont you lie down and take off your shirt?" she heard Kate ask from the bedroom.

"Only if you join me" he said back, his accent smooth and calm.

"Oh I will" Kate said. Rebecca approached the bedroom and saw Kate had backed her way to the far wall. Vasili had clambered on to the bed and was slowly removing his t-shirt. Kate caught her eye and subtly winked at her. Rebecca nodded back. She drew her gun and stood in the bedroom doorway.

"Vasili" she said, "don't you dare move". The analyst turned and looked at her first in surprise, then in anger as he comprehended the situation in front of him.

"Damn you bi-"

"Don't say it" said Kate, drawing her own gun and pointing the suppressed barrel at his head. "Don't you fucking say it or I swear to God it'll be the last word you say". She kept the gun trained on him as she met Rebecca at the foot of the bed. The shirtless Vasili lay there, staring at them.

"So what now?" he asked.

"Now I'm going to tie you up and leave you here" said Kate, "but only if you're a good boy, and no more dirty language about women".

Vasili laughed at her. "Fucking whore bitch, you pi-"

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft. Rebecca and Kate both fired two shots into his torso. He bounced back and Rebecca felt a wave of adrenaline and excitement. She fired four more times pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, moaning after the final shot as she saw the toned body now ridden with their bullets. Kate patted her on the back. "Better?"

Rebecca nodded. It was better. George was right. Less scumbags in the world was a good thing. She could not deny that she and Kate enjoyed killing them and right now that was all that mattered to her. She watched as Kate nonchalantly leaned forward and put a final bullet -pfft- into Vasili's head. Without saying anything they walked out of the bedroom and got dressed. Rebecca picked up the laptop bag and slung it over her shoulder. They disassembled the suppressors from their guns and placed them in the backpack.

George had arranged to pick up the laptop in a local pub, so they walked five minutes through the back streets towards it. They ditched their baseball caps in hedges and arrived at the pub, which was lively with a lot of people. They both sat at the bar and Kate ordered them both two double gin and tonics with a shot of tequila. They opened a tab and laughed and joked as they drank together. When their first round was finished, they repeated the order and Rebecca felt herself getting a little tipsy after another shot of tequila. They were joking and laughing about some of Kate's stories from her time in counter-terror when George arrived, still dressed in a pinstriped suit albeit he had removed his tie. He walked to them at the bar.

"Well I see the two of you are evidently having a small celebration" he said.

"Well I see you are good at stating the obvious Georgie-Porgie" Kate said. She and Rebecca laughed.

"Please do not call me that Katherine"

"Please do not call me Katherine, Georgie". Her and Rebecca laughed again.

"Very well....Kate, Rebecca. I trust we will be in touch soon?" He picked up the laptop bag and made to leave.

"Actually George, one more thing" said Kate, lightly grabbing his arm to stop him from going.

"Which is?"

Kate gave him the bill for the drinks. "Love you mate" she told him, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. George chuckled to himself and duly got out his wallet to pay the bill.

"Until our next encounter" he said, nodding to the two of them and walking out of the pub. Rebecca watched him go and wondered when that next encounter would be. She had a horrible feeling that it may not be too long...

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veryruinswombat · 4 years

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KNOW WHO IS WITH OR AGAINST YOUR HUMANRIGHTS

Info from: https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/

NOMINEES

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights opposed the following Trump nominees:

Confirmed:

Alex Acosta, Secretary of Labor (no longer serving)

Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services

J. Campbell Barker, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

William Barr, U.S. Attorney General

Joseph Bianco, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Andrew Brasher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Michael Brennan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Daniel Bress, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Jeffrey Brown, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Brian Buescher, U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska

Patrick Bumatay, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

John Bush, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Daniel Collins, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education

Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Department of Justice

Stuart Kyle Duncan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Allison Eid, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Charles Goodwin, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

Neil Gorsuch, U.S. Supreme Court

Britt Grant, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Leonard Steven Grasz, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Ryan Holte, U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Matthew Kacsmaryk, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

Marvin Kaplan, National Labor Relations Board

Gregory Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court

Jonathan Kobes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Kathy Kraninger, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Joan Larsen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Kenneth Lee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Ken Marcus, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education

Paul Matey, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Steven Menashi, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Eric Miller, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury

Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Eric Murphy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

John Nalbandian, U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Ryan Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Howard Nielson, U.S. District Court for the District of Utah

Mark Norris, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

Andrew Oldham, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Michael Park, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Peter Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Sarah Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Patrick Pizzella, Deputy Secretary of Labor

Michael Pompeo, Secretary of State

David Porter, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services (no longer serving)

Neomi Rao, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Chad Readler, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Lee Rudofsky, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas

Allison Rushing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Eugene Scalia, Secretary of Labor

Jeff Sessions, Attorney General (no longer serving)

Brantley Starr, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

David Stras, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Holly Teeter, U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

Michael Truncale, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Lawrence VanDyke, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Wendy Vitter, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Justin Walker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Don Willett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Allen Winsor, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida

Patrick Wyrick, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

Withdrawn:

Ryan Bounds, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Mark Green, Secretary of the Army

Jeff Mateer, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Matthew Petersen, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor

Brett Talley, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama

Pending:

Stephen Schwartz, U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Stephen Vaden, U.S. Court of International Trade

Cory Wilson, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

Returned to the president, not re-nominated:

Thomas Farr, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

Gordon Giampietro, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Halil Ozerden, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Damien Schiff, U.S. Court of Federal Claims

On May 13, 2019, The Leadership Conference announced opposition to judicial nominees who have refused to state unequivocally that the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision was correctly decided. Read our letter.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights expressed serious concerns about the following nominations/appointments:

Stephanos Bibas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Janet Dhillon, Chair, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Kurt Engelhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Daniel Gade, Member, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

James Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Candice Jackson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education

Roger Severino, Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services

Amul Thapar, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

#the justice system #justice system #educate #educate yourself #civil rights #human rights #black rights are human rights #court of law #rule of law #law #department of health #department of education #department of housing #nojusticenopeace #systemic injustice #systemic racism

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npr · 5 years

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California Chef Aims To Help Restaurant Workers Prevent Suicide

At six-foot-three, Patrick Mulvaney is a commanding force in his busy kitchen at B&L in the Midtown neighborhood of Sacramento. As staff prepare for a large dinner crowd, the chef strides through the restaurant's narrow back hallways, where the scent of roasted chicken wafts over dishwasher steam and clanking cookware. His gravelly speech is peppered with curse words, and he's quick to make adjustments to a tray of hors d'oeuvres or a specialty cocktail.

But even when it's busy, he says the servers, cooks and bartenders treat each other like family. And as "captain of the pirate ship," as he calls himself, he says it's his job to make sure they're staying afloat in the chaos.

The chef has made a name for himself on the local and national culinary scenes, both for his widely praised farm-to-fork menus and for his leadership on causes such as homelessness and domestic violence. Now, he's channeling some of his energy into suicide prevention.

Continue reading about Patrick Mulvaney

Photos by Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

#restaurant #suicide prevention #capital public radio #NPR #news

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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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Supreme Court says Trump can proceed with plan to spend military funds for border wall construction

https://wapo.st/2GyCk1I

Supreme Court says Trump can proceed with plan to spend military funds for border wall construction (ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES)

By Robert Barnes | Published July 26 at 6:37 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted July 26, 2019 8:18 PM ET |

The Supreme Court Friday night on a 5 to 4 vote revived the Trump administration’s plan to use $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds to build part of the wall project along the southern border.

The court’s conservatives set aside a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruling for the Sierra Club and a coalition of border communities that said a reallocation of the Defense Department money would violate federal law.

The unsigned ruling by the Supreme Court said the government “made a sufficient showing at this stage” the groups did not have proper standing to challenge transfer of money.

In a 2-to-1 decision earlier this month, the 9th Circuit majority noted that a stalemate between Congress and President Trump over the issue prompted the longest government shutdown in history. The judges reasoned that Congress made its intentions clear by allocating only about $1.4 billion for enhanced border protection.

The lower court said the public interest was “best served by respecting the Constitution’s assignment of the power of the purse to Congress, and by deferring to Congress’s understanding of the public interest as reflected in its repeated denial of more funding for border barrier construction.”

After Congress’s decision earlier this year, Trump announced plans to use more than $6 billion allocated for other purposes to fund the wall, which was the signature promise of his presidential campaign

Environmentalists and the Southern Border Communities Coalition immediately filed suit to block the transfer of funds. Democrats in the House of Representatives filed a brief supporting them.

U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco told the Supreme Court that the 9th Circuit ruling was wrong. “The sole basis for the injunction — that the Acting Secretary exceeded his statutory authority in transferring the funds — rests on a misreading of the statutory text,” Francisco wrote. He was referring to Patrick M. Shanahan, who was acting secretary at the time.

Francisco said that the challengers did not have proper legal standing to challenge the transfer of funds. He added that even if they did, their “interests in hiking, birdwatching, and fishing in designated drug-smuggling corridors do not outweigh the harm to the public from halting the government’s efforts to construct barriers to stanch the flow of illegal narcotics across the southern border.”

The money was transferred from DOD personnel funds in response to a request from the Department of Homeland Security. Federal law allows such transfers for “unforeseen” reasons and for expenditures not previously “denied by the Congress.”

The administration contends that Congress did not reject the specific expenditures at issue, which would fund projects in California, New Mexico and Arizona.

The challengers said Congress was clear.

“Congress recently considered, and rejected, the same argument defendants [the government] make here: that a border wall is urgently needed to combat drugs,” said the brief from lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the groups.

“If defendants were nonetheless permitted to obligate taxpayer funds and commence construction, the status quo would be radically and irrevocably altered.”

The brief from the U.S. House of Representatives agreed.

“The administration refuses to accept this limitation on its authority, as clearly demonstrated by Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney’s statement that President Trump’s border wall ‘is going to get built with or without Congress,’ ” House General Counsel Douglas N. Letter wrote. “Under our constitutional scheme, an immense wall along our border simply cannot be constructed without funds appropriated by Congress for that purpose.”

And Letter said that the administration’s view of who is within the “zone of interest” to have standing to sue is “in reality, an argument that no one can challenge the conduct at issue here.”

Francisco moved quickly after the 9th Circuit’s July 3 ruling to ask the Supreme Court to dissolve the lower court’s injunction. It asked the justices to rule before July 26, so the Defense Department would have time to finalize construction contracts before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

Otherwise, he said, “the remaining unobligated funds will become unavailable.”

The challengers said the money already was unavailable.

The brief filed by the House said the money would not be lost, but would simply go back into the treasury, where the administration would again be free to make its request to Congress.

It noted there was no rush. “The administration has apparently completed only 1.7 of the 95 miles of border fencing Congress approved and appropriated funds for in fiscal year 2018,” it said.

The case is Trump v. Sierra Club, et al.

#u.s. news #politics #donald trump #politics and government #trump administration #us: news #legal issues #immigration #borderwall #world news #democracy #elections #impeachthemf #read the mueller report #border security #supreme court #u.s. supreme court #democratic party #democrats

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machet-t-omniversal · 4 years

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https://www.politicususa.com/2019/11/20/eric-swalwell-laura-cooper.html/amp?__twitter_impression=true

... Laura Cooper has been an unexpectedly devastating witness to Trump’s impeachment defense. Cooper has testified that Trump’s motivation couldn’t have been corruption because he put the hold on the military aid to Ukraine months after it had cleared a congressionally mandated corruption review.

Trump froze the aid because he believes the Russian conspiracy that it was really Ukraine who interfered in the 2016 election for Hillary Clinton, and he was trying to get Ukraine to announce an investigation into Joe Biden.

Trump was trying to create more corruption in Ukraine that he could use in the 2020 election.

Rep. Swalwell was right. Donald Trump’s impeachment defense, which was never strong, to begin with, has been reduced to a flaming pile of rubble.

Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Jason Easley @politicususa

Mr. Easley is the founder/managing editor and Senior White House and Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA.Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements. Awards and Professional Memberships Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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Trump’s Ukraine Corruption Defense Was Just Destroyed By Impeachment Witness Laura Cooper

Impeachment Breaks Trump As White House Claims Sondland Exonerated Him

Mike Pompeo Plans To Resign Because Impeachment Is Hurting Him

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Trump’s Ukraine Corruption Defense Was Just Destroyed By Impeachment Witness Laura Cooper

Impeachment Breaks Trump As White House Claims Sondland Exonerated Him

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney Warns Mulvaney And Pompeo That Their Day Is Coming

Mike Pompeo Plans To Resign Because Impeachment Is Hurting Him

Trump Falls Apart And Stages a Re-Enactment of His Sondland Conversation

Doom Arrives For Trump Cult As They Are Told That Impeachment Is Coming

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#things to which we are accustomed are more diction and fiction than fact #corporatocracy #complicitcorruptgop #traitorous trump

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meetnategreen · 5 years

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Here are some senior figures who have been fired, quit or otherwise changed roles in the administration.

2019

Randolph "Tex" Alles -- the head of the U.S. Secret Service -- left in May as part of a broader shake-up of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The White House tapped James Murray, a career Secret Service agent, to take over.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. She resigned in April amid Trump's rising anger at a surge in migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Kevin McAleenan, who had led the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, was chosen as acting DHS secretary.

Linda McMahon - The Republican fundraiser was one of Trump's first Cabinet picks. She served as director of the Small Business Administration until March, when she resigned to join Trump's re-election campaign. Trump nominated U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza to the position in April.

Clete Willems - A key figure in trade talks with China and a deputy to Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, Willems said in March he wanted to spend more time with his family.

Heather Wilson - The U.S. Air Force secretary, once considered a top candidate to become defense secretary, decided to return to academia.

Bill Shine - Eight months after being hired as the White House communications director, he resigned to work on Trump's re-election campaign. A source close to Trump said the president had lost confidence in the former Fox News executive.

2018

Jim Mattis - In a candid resignation letter that laid bare his growing divide with Trump over Syria and Afghanistan policies, the defense secretary abruptly quit, shocking allies and Congress. Trump named Mattis' deputy, Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, to the role in an acting capacity soon afterward.

Ryan Zinke - Trump's first interior secretary left at the end of 2018 amid investigations into his use of security details, chartered flights and a real estate deal.

John Kelly - A retired Marine Corps general, Kelly was hired as White House chief of staff to bring order to the chaotic Trump White House, but ultimately fell out with his boss. Trump named his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, to the job on an acting basis on Dec. 14.

Jeff Sessions - The Republican former U.S. senator from Alabama was finally forced out as attorney general on Nov. 7 after months of being attacked and ridiculed by the president for recusing himself from a special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He was replaced briefly by Matthew Whitaker until William Barr was confirmed to the job.

Nikki Haley - The former South Carolina governor stepped down at the end of 2018 as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump first put forward State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as her successor, but she later withdrew. Trump has since nominated Republican donor and U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft for the position.

Don McGahn - Trump said in August the White House counsel would leave, amid strains between the two over the Russia probe.

Scott Pruitt - The Environmental Protection Agency chief quit in July under fire over a series of ethics controversies.

David Shulkin - White House officials said in March that the Veterans Affairs secretary would resign.

H.R. McMaster - The national security adviser was replaced in March by John Bolton.

Rex Tillerson - The secretary of state was fired by Trump in March after long-standing tension between them.

Gary Cohn - The National Economic Council director and former Goldman Sachs president said in March he would resign. Trump picked Larry Kudlow to replace him.

Hope Hicks - The White House communications director, a long-serving and trusted Trump aide, resigned on Feb. 28.

Rob Porter - The White House staff secretary resigned in February after accusations of domestic abuse from former wives.

2017

Omarosa Manigault Newman - The former reality TV star was fired as assistant to the president in December.

Tom Price - The Health and Human Services secretary quit under pressure from Trump on Sept. 29 over travel practices.

Stephen Bannon - Trump's chief strategist was fired by Trump in mid-August after clashing with White House moderates.

Anthony Scaramucci - The White House communications director was fired by Trump in July after 10 days on the job.

Reince Priebus - Replaced as chief of staff by Kelly, Priebus lost Trump's confidence after setbacks in Congress.

Sean Spicer - Resigned as White House press secretary in July, ending a turbulent tenure.

Michael Dubke - Resigned as White House communications director in May.

James Comey - The FBI director, who led the Russia probe before the special counsel was appointed, was fired by Trump in May.

Michael Flynn - Resigned in February as Trump's national security adviser. Flynn later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Sally Yates - Fired in January by Trump as acting attorney general.

(Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, and Alistair Bell)

All of the appointees of President Putin’s Apprentice share certain things in common; They’re either Corrupt, Incompetent or BOTH.

They may think they’re the smart ones for jumping of his sinking garbage barge, but all of them will be tainted with his foul stink for the rest of their wasted and unredeemable lives.

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alexmotamots · 3 years

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Nous étions les Mulvaney - Joyce Carol OATES

Nous étions les Mulvaney de Joyce Carol OATES : les mots que l'on ne dit pas

Dans la famille Mulvaney, je demande le père : entrepreneur prospère jusqu’au drame. Je demande la mère, Corinne : plutôt fantasque, entourée de ses enfants et de ses animaux. Aime chiner mais ne vend jamais son bric-à-brac. Le fils aîné Mike, champion de football américain au lycée, travaille un temps avec le père, puis disparaît. Le second, Patrick, surnommé Pinch, hyper intelligent qui ira à…

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#vie de famille

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softlyslippingpearls · 6 years

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The terrifying possibility came to Patrick: our lives are not our own but in possession of others, our parents. Our lives are defined by the whims, caprices, cruelties of others. Their genetic web, the ties of blood. It was the oldest curse, older than God. Am I loved? Am I wanted? Who will want me, if my parents don't?

We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates

#currently reading #this super sad book #quotes #joyce carol oates

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go-redgirl · 4 years

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Exclusive — Republicans Mull Ethics Charges Against Schiff Ally as Democrats Turn Back to Failed Russia Strategy

House GOP leaders are considering pursuing ethics charges against Democrat Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) for alleged misconduct he engaged in against Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) at an Intelligence Committee meeting on Wednesday morning.

“He was very rude,” Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) told Breitbart News on Wednesday evening of Maloney’s behavior towards Nunes and others during the committee meeting earlier in the day. “Members don’t question other members in hearings. This wasn’t on the agenda for the meeting. It was really inappropriate in my opinion, and pretty childish.”

Others familiar with the incident told Breitbart News that when a transcript of the incident—with the exact words of Maloney’s accusations and questions of Nunes during the meeting—becomes available, House GOP leadership lawyers familiar with parliamentary rules will consider bringing formal ethics charges against Maloney for his alleged misconduct toward Nunes during the meeting.

The standing rules of the House of Representatives make it such that one member cannot accuse another member of lying, and also cannot hurl insults at them. Depending on the exact wording of what Maloney said, when the transcript becomes available in the coming days, GOP lawyers may seek formal action against him by the House Ethics Committee.

The background of what led up to the Maloney incident is as follows: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is gearing up yet again to try to level more baseless accusations against allies of President Donald Trump, this time over packages that were sent to a number of Trump allies inside and outside of Congress during the lead-up to the House impeachment of Trump last year.

What’s more, the Democrats appear to have leaked classified information to Politico in order to weaponize the narrative to the media and are now engaged in over-the-top tactics that may be in violation of House ethics rules to boot.

In reality, however, the broader picture here—Nunes told Breitbart News–is that Schiff is doing the Russians’ bidding.

“They’re clearly conducting election interference right now, either wittingly or unwittingly on behalf of Vladimir Putin,” Nunes said in an interview on Wednesday evening. “Putin doesn’t have to do anything. He doesn’t have to run one real op. But they just run around ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ all the time. Well, they’re the ones doing it. They’re the ones who went to Russia to get information. Not Republicans. Republicans never went to Russia to get anything. Democrats did. Four years of disinformation, and they’ve been proven wrong all the time, and they’ve turned the committee into a dungeon of conspiracy theories. They don’t even do real work on Intel.”

Last week, Politico reported leaked details—including citing what it said was classified information, which is illegal to leak—about supposed packets of information sent to congressional allies of Trump last year to hurt presumptive Democrat nominee former Vice President Joe Biden.

“Top congressional Democrats are sounding the alarm about a series of packets mailed to prominent allies of President Donald Trump — material they say is part of a foreign disinformation plot to damage former vice president Joe Biden, according to new details from a letter the lawmakers delivered to the FBI last week,” Politico’s Natasha Bertrand, Kyle Cheney, and Andrew Desiderio wrote.

In the second paragraph of the article, the Politico scribes revealed what they said was classified information. Politico wrote:

The packets, described to Politico by two people who have seen the classified portion of the Democrats’ letter, were sent late last year to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and then-White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. The packets were sent amid a Democratic push to impeach Trump over his effort to pressure Ukraine’s president to investigate Biden and his son Hunter the sources said. Graham and Grassley denied having received the material, and Mulvaney and Nunes declined repeated requests for comment. One person familiar with the matter said the information was not turned over to the FBI. The FBI declined to comment.

Members of Congress, especially those on the Intelligence Committee, are regularly sent stuff from overseas powers. There exist a number of protocols, whereby staffers send such materials to the proper authorities for vetting.

“If you’re a Republican and you get on the Intelligence Committee, anything you get from a foreign country, it gets sent off to the proper authorities, and likely you would never even touch it or see it because the people who get the mail do that for us,” one member told Breitbart News. “That’s at the committee and your personal office and your district offices, and for sure your home.”

So while the latest attacks from Schiff seem like an interesting narrative or storyline from the establishment media, it is in reality fairly meaningless and mundane.

But all of a sudden Schiff called a committee meeting behind closed doors on Wednesday morning. There, a party-line vote was held to reveal certain pieces of the information about these packages to the whole Congress. But then things got ugly when Maloney began verbally accosting Nunes—the GOP ranking member—and hurling insults at him and at Republicans in general.

While Maloney’s office has not replied to a request for comment telling his side of the story, Republicans like Crawford were quick to come out and point out how out of line they think the top Democrat ally of Schiff was behaving during this exchange.

“He just kind of kept on the issue of these alleged items being sent to the committee,” Crawford told Breitbart News. “So obviously Devin Nunes didn’t comment on that. Here’s the thing: it’s standard practice that if you get a package from unknown source in a foreign country, it’s probably a good idea to call the FBI and let them handle it and not handle those packages and don’t open them and go, ‘Hey I wonder what this is? I guess it’s Christmas came early this year.’ No, you follow the protocol, which is you turn that over to the FBI. That’s what happened.”

Crawford added that Maloney seemed to be, at Schiff’s direction, trying to “goad” Nunes and Republicans into some kind of response that would then be weaponized and leaked. “It was mostly trying to goad … particularly Ranking Member Nunes, but also our side writ large, trying to goad us into making a comment,” Crawford said. “The thing is you don’t want to engage. It’s like trolls on social media. They want the attention and so you don’t want to give it to them.”

Then, if they said something, Schiff’s team would turn around and leak it to the press before it came out when the transcript of the meeting would eventually be made public.

“That’s the whole point, and that’s what this committee has devolved into under Schiff’s leadership—or lack of leadership would be the better term,” Crawford said. “It’s purely turned into an oppo research arm for the DCCC and more. This is an important committee, and it has a long history of acting in a bipartisan way, but Schiff has broken that.”

Crawford added that Schiff and his allies like Maloney behaving like this on the committee means that HPSCI, which is supposed to focus on intelligence threats to the United States, is now a laughingstock shell of its former glory.

“We’ve got a lot of threats, a very diverse threat matrix that exists around the world, and what have we been able to do in this committee under his leadership?” Crawford said. “Virtually nothing, and that’s because he’s been so focused on political advances and trying to position himself and take down Trump that they haven’t done anything even remotely related to intelligence and everything we’re charged with in that committee. It’s a mockery, it’s a complete travesty, and this is why the American people need to know this is how bad his tenure has been – would continue to be – if he were allowed to continue in that position.”

The Federalist’s Sean Davis on Wednesday published a deep dive debunking this latest scandal. His piece goes into depth about it all. But asked in a brief interview on Wednesday evening about the whole thing, Nunes told Breitbart News this is just the latest example of Schiff and his allies cooking up more nonsense within 100 days of the election.

“They never stop,” Nunes said. “The Democrats never stop with conspiracy theories and politicization of intelligence. They just read through intelligence reports to decide what they can leak to tie something back to Russia. The irony of this is they’re the ones who colluded with Russians. It wasn’t us. In 2016, they’re the ones who did it. You can’t even make this up. It’s so wacko. They just continue to push conspiracy theories that are nothing more, nothing less than that. How many times do they have to get busted on this? We have receipts of them doing it. We have court documents of them doing it. We have plenty of declassified information now from Horowitz and everywhere else that they were the ones doing this. They won’t give up trying to cover up what they were doing in 2016—and they’re doing it right now.”

Nunes added he believes the Democrat playbook will fail again, just like it did in 2016.

“They’re doing the same thing again,” Nunes said. “They’re running the same playbook as they did in 2016 over again. It’s pretty obvious. But we’re onto them this time. But all we can do is talk to people like you and say, ‘Hey just go back and look at the last four years. They were the ones colluding with Russia, not us.’”

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fatalezr · 4 years

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A form of justice - part five

“I think this is the nicest Hollandaise I’ve ever had”

Kate gave Rebecca a satisfied look. She continued to eat the Eggs Benedict in front of her. Rebecca was enjoying some smoked salmon too but wanted Kate to answer her original question.

“No Kate, I mean what do you think about the case?”

“Oh that” Kate continued to chew on her food. Rebecca had woken at Claridge’s to a text from Kate accepting her offer of breakfast. She had been in the office with the team until midnight chasing down identification on the dead bodies in the flat in Ealing that Patrick Hanlon had been staying in. They had managed to find some details on one so far, and Sullivan eventually tired and told the team to pick up enquiries again on Monday. “Look at it like this. We know there’s a mole somewhere within the Met. We know about the trafficking ring. We’ve made progress. Has it been easy? No. Has it been dangerous? At times. Are we still alive and in a better place than we were a month ago? Yes. Are we better dressed...?” She gestured at the new summer dress Rebecca was wearing

Rebecca could not argue with her logic. Kate had an ability to rationalise like no one else she knew, and she had to admit she liked the clothes MI5 had bought her as part of her reward for the hit she had performed. There was one other question she had for her partner. “Ok. No judgement here, but your closet.” Rebecca had found a multitude of weapons and ammunition in Kate’s spare room and wanted to better understand how she had assembled them.

“I need to introduce you to my friends one day” she replied. “Paula and Marcus. They’re SO19. We met in training and well, we’ve borrowed some items over the last couple of years”. She cut another slice of egg and muffin and chewed it.

“They must be good friends” Rebecca commented.

Kate winked at her. “You have no idea!”. They both laughed and enjoyed the remainder of their breakfast.

—————

“Sod it, I’m off. Don’t work late”.

DCI Sullivan put on his jacket. It was 5pm but he was exhausted and Rebecca could tell it. She wished him a good evening and watched him walk dejected out of the office. Monday had been an interesting day in the office. The weekend of hot weather had led to dark skies and thunderstorms over London. There was the occasional crash or rumble outside the windows of their office at Scotland Yard. Rebecca was still in her position as Sullivan’s secretary and he had called her in to his office first thing to catch her up on the weekend’s activity. Rebecca feigned ignorance as he regaled the story of finding two dead assassins and one dead protection officer at the safe house, Hanlon going missing and the call from MI5 late Saturday to finally tell him that they had picked up Hanlon in time and now had him stashed away in a secret location. Rebecca listened to his exasperated story and then offered to help how she could. Sullivan had her work with the team to file reports on the weekends activity, as well as setting up a harrowing call to the family of the murdered officer. Rebecca had to listen to the call but did so standing, proud of the empathy and emotion with which Sullivan spoke to the young man’s mother. She felt emotional about his death, having witnessed it first hand. Unable to share this with anyone other than Kate, she vowed to pursue Mulvaney and help the team in any way she could.

The team had now identified the two assassins and their links to Mulvaney. Both had worked for companies that had ties to him, and they were searching for any extra payments into accounts or other financial ties they could use as proof that Mulvaney had paid them to kill Hanlon and the protection officer. They had no luck so far, and Kate had privately confided in Rebecca that they did not expect to be so lucky. When it came to his dirty business, Mulvaney paid in cash.

There was also the issue of how they had found the house in the first place. Rebecca had spent a lot of time putting together a list of who would have access to the files. It read as a list of all of the senior commissioners in the Met hierarchy as well as the Detectives she worked with. She didn’t know who to trust but formulated a plan to find out. With Sullivan now out of the office, she put it into motion. She saw Oli Afidi also stand and start packing his bag on his desk. He’d been soaked during a storm whilst getting lunch earlier and Kate suspected he wanted to get home and change his blue shirt. She stood and smoothed the red sleeveless dress that she was wearing. It was modest with a high neckline and came down to her knee but it was well-fitted. She walked to Afidi’s desk with a folder.

“Excuse me Oli, you heading off?”

“Soon” he replied, “but what can I do for you?” Afidi was in his late 20s and a generally jovial character. He had a glistening smile and was friendly to everyone in the office and outside. His parents had moved to the UK from Nigeria before he was born and whilst he had faced a lot of prejudice in his life, it seemed to make him more determined to excel.

“You’ve been working on some of the pawn shops right?” she asked him.

“Yeah that’s right”

“Well we just got the paperwork through to do a raid on a property in Hackney tomorrow. Local force want to shut it down. I need to get the authorisation done tonight for our involvement but now the guv has left could you sign it?”

“First I’m hearing of this” Afidi said, taking the folder. “Hackney want to move in now?”

“I think they’ve pulled some strings. You know how it can be”.

Afidi shook his head. “Yep, I do” he said. He signed the papers. “They’re a go tomorrow morning?”

“8am. Shall I say you want to join them?”

“Please. Thanks Rebecca”. He handed her back the folder and checked his phone. “Shit”, he said, “told the wife I’d be on the tube 5 minutes ago. If Hackney give you any more, will you let me know?”

“Sure” she said.

“Cheers Becca. Catch you tomorrow”. He gave a smile and left.

One down, thought Rebecca. She returned to her desk and prepared some more papers, keeping herself busy. At half past five, Kate bid everyone a good evening, loudly announcing she’d “had enough of this load of bollocks. We’ll finish this fucker tomorrow” and storming off. Rebecca took another file to Detective Inspector Tim Warren. He was at his computer reading intently and Rebecca had to pause by his desk for a few seconds whilst he finished before he acknowledged her existence.

“Good afternoon Rebecca” he said in his typically English voice. Inspector Warren was a Cambridge graduate with a keen mind and an eye for detail. He was often quiet but deliberate. Rebecca knew him least of the team as he was private and coy about his life away from the office. He had let slip that he had a boyfriend of several years and lived in Hampstead but that was about it. He always dressed professionally. Even in the heat of summer he was still wearing a floral tie and his white shirt was crisp and clean.

“Sorry to disturb Warren, but you’re the only one of the team left. Just had some papers faxed over from Waltham Forest. They’re going to be raiding a pawn shop in Leyton tomorrow. It has Mulvaney links”.

“What?” Warren snatched the papers from her hand and looked at them irritated. “When did these come through?”

“Just this second” she replied, “had they not told you?”

“They had not”. His face was red. “Does the DCI know?”

“I just contacted him, but Waltham are saying they need this signed ASAP. They’re hitting at 8am”.

“Communication!” he said, “this is very poor”. He looked at her and shook his head. “I apologise for my rudeness”.

“Not at all” she said, “it’s wrong they’ve dropped this on you last minute”.

Warren sighed but signed the document. “Thank you Rebecca, please let them know they can expect me in the morning”.

“I will, Inspector. Hope it’s a good night”. She took the documents and went back to her desk. She waited another 15 minutes for Warren to leave before logging off her computer and calling Kate.

“We’re a go”, she told her briefly. She used the bathrooms of Scotland Yard to change out of her dress and into black leggings and a tight black running top, looking as if she was heading to the gym. She left the office and walked towards Temple station. She had not gone far when Kate’s car pulled up alongside her and she quickly got in to the passenger side. It took them a while to navigate the streets of London and it was 7pm before they got to the first pawn shop in Hackney. It was on a main road but Kate found room on a side street where they could see it and parked up.

“Your favourite is in the glove box” Kate said. Rebecca opened it and found her trusted Glock 17 and it’s suppressor. She screwed it on to the gun and loaded it, also putting a couple of spare clips into the back of her leggings. “Getting good at that” Kate commented and Rebecca laughed. It was her third time holding a gun in three days and she was right, she had become more comfortable with the idea. She had dreamed of her kills again on Sunday night, waking up breathing heavily and aroused. She found herself hoping to not need to use the weapon but yet ready and wanting to.

Kate was preparing her own Glock. She had changed into a black tank top that sat just above her breasts, giving a hint of her black bra underneath and the black straps over her shoulders. She was also wearing leggings. When she finished, she handed Rebecca a set of car keys. Rebecca pressed the unlock button and saw the car in front of them flash its lights. It was an old Fiat and Rebecca knew it had been acquired from the local police lock up.

“I guess I’ll see you later” she said to Kate. She hugged her partner.

“Tenner says I’m right” Kate replied. She winked at Rebecca, who shook her head and got out of the car. Kate had bet that Warren would be the mole and insisted on staking out the Leyton property, leaving Rebecca to see if Afidi tipped off Mulvaney about Hackney. Their theory was that if one of the two detectives was the mole, Mulvaney would be told about the non-existent raid and make sure the property was empty by the morning. Now sat in the other car, Rebecca was strangely torn. She hoped that neither Detective would be involved and that their nights would pass without incident. But even if nothing happened tonight, would they be able to tell what that meant? It could be that the officers tipped off Mulvaney but he considered moving any money overnight too risky. Rebecca opened her bag, took out her headphones and settled into listening to an audiobook while she pondered these thoughts.

————

Rebecca looked at her phone. It was just after 11pm. She paused her audiobook as a chapter finished and looked out at the stillness around the pawn shop. There was no further update from Kate. The two had made sure to check in every hour via a text message and the most excitement Kate had reported on was when she saw a fox walk by her car. Rebecca dared to hope that maybe all would be ok, that neither detective would have tipped off Mulvaney because neither was working for him. She tried to keep her focus on the shop in case there was anything suspicious. The minutes ticked by.

She shut her eyes briefly but then almost immediately opened them. A white van caught her eye as it pulled up outside the pawn shop. Rebecca studied it and noted the licence plate. It looked like two men were in the front wearing flat caps but she could see not make out their faces. The driver got out of the van and moved around the side so she could not see him but a brief orange glow told her he had likely sparked a cigarette. The passenger stepped out on the side closest to her. He was wearing a black shirt and brown jacket. As he opened his jacket, Rebecca saw something sticking out of the waistband of his jeans. It looked like the handle of a revolver and she sat upright, studying their movements closely. The passenger went to the back of the van and opened the door. A third man came out the van wearing a black jacket and jeans. Rebecca gasped to herself. They must be Mulvaney’s men - Afidi! He had told them! She watched as the third man exited the vehicle. He was gripping the arm and forcing out a young woman. She was wearing a short denim skirt and high boots along with a black strappy top that exposed her back and shoulders. Rebecca wondered if she was also part of the crew. The woman stumbled out of the van and the bald man gripping her arm slapped her with the back of his hand. Rebecca was confused. This didn’t make any sense for a crew stashing cash from the business. Maybe they weren’t there for that, but then what? What were they doing with the girl? She didn’t look to be safe. Should she intervene?

Rebecca processed the thoughts in her head as she saw all men disappear into an alleyway that led to the back of the shop, the woman being forcibly dragged and stumbling. The sight of her in distress made up Rebecca’s mind. She briefly thought of Kate but knew there was no time. Whatever was going on the woman needed help, and only she could provide it. She tucked her gun into her leggings and stepped out of the car. She crossed the street quickly and paused by the alleyway. Hearing no sound, she glanced quickly and saw no-one. She pulled out her gun and advanced, keeping the Glock supported in both hands and raised high, ready to strike. She paused at the end of the alley and flattened herself against the wall. She peaked her head round, trying to get a view of the back of the shop. She saw the back door was open and the driver of the van was keeping guard, his hands tucked in his pocket. There was a high-pitched scream from inside the building, muffled by its distance and he looked into the room that the door led to for a couple of seconds. Rebecca surmised that the woman was being attacked further inside the building, presumably by the other two men. The guard seemed disinterested in what was going on and Rebecca took her chance.

She swung her body around the corner, raising the gun as she did so. The guard had time to look at her but did not see the black of the gun initially until she fired pfft-pfft into his chest. He opened his mouth but Rebecca had already raised her aim higher and fired pfft into his head. He fell and was motionless. Rebecca covered his body with her gun as she moved towards him but she trusted her shots - he was surely dead and she had not made a sound. She briefly his jacket and found a large knife tucked inside and a blue Nokia cellphone. She pocketed the phone, then trained her eyes through the back door. It led to an unclean back office, where piles of cheap jewellery and mounds of paper sat around a poorly organised desk and chair. She tiptoed into the office and had a closer look. There was another wooden door in the far corner of the room that presumably led to the counter and one by its side that led to the front of the shop. There were some filing cabinets and what looked like a heavy safe, neither of which had been touched. Either the men were not here to clean the place out or had not got round to it yet. Rebecca heard another scream, then a crash and a harsh voice shouting “fucking bitch!” and focussed her mind on the task at hand. It sounded like the voices came from the door to her left, the one that led to the front of the shop. She placed her hand on the handle and raised the gun. She took a deep breath and opened the door wide.

The door opened to a wide shop floor with rows of jewellery and electronic goods in glass cabinets around the place. She saw the woman was being held down on top of one of the cabinets filled with watches, the passenger from the van holding her arms above her head whilst the man from the back grabbed at her legs. The woman was thrashing but Rebecca could see the men had her subdued. Her pants had been pulled down and were on the floor and there was a cut on her head. As she entered the room, both men looked up at her.

“The fuck?” said the one holding the woman’s arms as he saw Rebecca clad in black with her suppressed weapon. His hand reached inside his jacket towards the revolver and Rebecca turned her gun on him quickly. Pfft pfft pfft pfft. She fired rapidly to stop him reaching what he was grabbing for. She hit him in the chest and side and he staggered back, crashing into some shelves.

“Oh shit” said the other man. His belt was undone and as he turned to face Rebecca his trousers fell down, exposing his grey boxer shorts.

“Put your hands up” Rebecca commanded him and he did so. She quickly glanced at the other man on the floor. He was wheezing but not moving. The woman had stopped thrashing and was just staring at Rebecca, unsure of what happened. “It’s ok” Rebecca said to her, “Im not here to hurt you”. The woman said nothing but edged off the cabinet and away from the man. “Who the fuck are you?” she asked the man, keeping the gun pointed at his chest.

“Fuck off” he said.

“Who sent you here?” she asked. He said nothing. She lowered her guns aim to the man’s knee. “Answer me or the gun” she told him.

“Nobody sent us” he said. “I know the owner here. Just wanted a laugh”.

“I don’t believe you”.

“It’s true!” he protested, “this place is empty overnight”.

Rebecca rationalised what he saying. There were no bags or cases on any of the men. They had not made an attempt to get in to the safe. Perhaps it was poor timing after all. Did that clear Afidi? She could not say.

“So she’s just a laugh?” Rebecca asked him, nodding at the woman against the wall with her torn clothes and bleeding head. She felt fury towards the would-be rapist.

“She’s just a fucking whore” he spat back, “and so are you”. He lunged forward towards her but Rebecca took a step back and fired pfft-pfft into his chest before he could reach her. He fell to the floor on his back.

“Fuck you” she said as she stood over him. She aimed at his manhood and fired pfft. The man howled in pain as the bullet hit him, blood pouring and staining his boxer shorts. Rebecca watched him squirm and smiled. There would be one less rapist on London’s streets. That could only be a good thing. She put her foot on his chest and felt the endorphins flow through her. She let them linger for a second, then fired her remaining bullets into his chest in rapid succession pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft, each squeeze of the trigger bringing her enjoyable sensations. The slide on the gun stayed back and she ejected the clip, getting a new one from her leggings. She fired a nonchalant pfft into the mans head, then walked to her first victim in the room and did the same.

She turned to the woman in the strappy top. She put her hands up instinctively. “It’s ok”, said Rebecca, “but I think you need to get to hospital”. She had an idea and went to the body of one of the men. She found his wallet inside his pocket and 40 pounds in cash. “Take this”, she said, handing it to the woman, who lowered her hands. “Get a cab. You never saw me ok? There was a man here. He wore a mask and had a gun. That’s all you need to say”.

“Tha-thank you” the woman stammered. Rebecca smiled at her.

“Go, go now” she told her and the woman headed out of the office. Rebecca searched the remaining bodies and found an old iPhone in the pocket of the man she had shot in the balls. She surveyed her carnage and then left quickly, heading to the car she had been using. There was a chance someone would have heard the commotion and the police could arrive soon. She drove off, calling Kate on speaker as she did. The phone rang several times and Rebecca was starting to get concerned before Kate answered.

“Not a good time now” her colleague said.

“No Kate, I need to talk to you” she said hurriedly.

“Not now”.

Rebecca was annoyed. “Why not?” There was silence for a few seconds. “What’s going on?”

“I found the mole” Kate replied. “I’m with him now”.

“What?!” Rebecca exclaimed. She listened down the phone and heard Kate’s footsteps. She was evidently walking somewhere. She heard a chik-chak as a bullet was chambered and a man’s voice. It was well-mannered and deep.

“Kate! What are you doing here?”

Rebecca recognised the voice immediately. It was Warren.

#assassin #female assassin #femme fatale #silencer hitwoman #hitwoman

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