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Roth was ecstatic that Shepherd approved their participation in the raid. A plan was made that Madison and Jackson, dressed as wait staff, would fake a lovers' quarrel in front of the security room, which was near the kitchen. Garcia would intercept one of the security personnel and they’d gain entry to the security room. There, they would take control of the security room and allow the remainder of the raid team to enter the casino without anyone being alerted. The lead FBI agent, Agent Farmer, accompanied them into the casino.
Roth, Cooper, Farmer and several other agents boarded one of the elevators after intercepting a guest getting off one of the out of service elevators, which they knew serviced the illegal casino. Inside the elevator, as it descended, the six men pulled their badges and weapons to be ready. They had come into the casino with jackets that covered their FBI bullet-proof vests. They removed those coats and left them in a pile in the corner of the elevator.
When the doors opened on sub-basement level two, Cooper and Farmer led the others out. Roth was the third out of the elevator. It only took a second for them to be seen coming into the foyer and then the gambling floor. A hush came over those assembled as they were seen. It washed over the crowd, beginning as a ripple and cresting like a tsunami. The hush then morphed into pandemonium.
A dozen other agents entered through the rear, near the restrooms. Though a few of the employees darted towards the back stairs, where Madison and one of the agents waited to intercept them, no one else tried to flee. They had the room locked down in a matter of minutes.
The warrant was served, the establishment shut down. The owner was located at his Michigan City estate in a gated neighborhood. The AG proclaimed the raid a success and filed official charges. It was just after zero one hundred when the Shepherd Security Team was clear from the scene. A storm was blowing across Lake Michigan and would have the area shut down by morning. With this case successfully closed, the team decided to make the three-hour drive home rather than potentially being stranded in New Buffalo the next day.
Roth sacked-out on the couch in his office after they arrived back at HQ and unloaded their vehicles. The couch was very comfortable, and he slept there often when he was in town. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure why he even had an apartment. He was rarely there.
When he woke, it was nearly noon. He went to the basement gym to get in a good workout. The team wasn’t due to meet with Shepherd for the post-mission briefing until sixteen hundred. He’d written his mission report during the drive back from Michigan. He was glad it was filed, and he had the next few hours to do what he wanted.
When he arrived at the gym and during the first hour he was there, he had it to himself. He popped in his earbuds, blasted his favorite heavy metal music, and put himself through a grueling workout. His bad knee complained under the pressure, but he never let that stop him. His muscles screamed with that marvelous burn that only came from pushing himself as hard as he could.
That was one thing he was proud of, his physical state, despite his Teams-ending injury. Even when working on the PGP installs, he always hit the gym daily or went for a long run. Basic training and his SEAL training had not physically been that hard on him. He was fit and strong his entire life, always playing a couple of sports at a time through high school and complementing his sports with weight training.
As he was wrapping up some intense cardio, Garcia entered in his workout clothes. Roth paused his music and greeted him. Garcia was lean and strong, probably as close to zero percent body fat as a man could get. “Good, glad you’re here. Can you spot me?” Garcia asked as he headed to a weight bench.
Roth downed some water and then joined him as he stacked the weights on the barbell for chest presses. Roth got into position as Garcia reclined on the bench.
“I’m glad we drove back when we did. Looks like the area up there got hammered with snow overnight,” Garcia said. Then he pressed the heavy bar up.
Roth hadn’t checked the weather for Michigan since they’d left it in their rearview mirror. “I’m sure Sienna and Little T were glad you made it back early,” Roth said.
After Garcia finished his set, he answered. “Yeah, Sienna is always happy when I get home early, but I’m the one who really appreciates it. Family. Man, I never thought it was important until I had Sienna in my life. And after Little T was born, I can’t even describe how that brought into focus the importance of having a home with people I love waiting for me when a mission is finished.”
Roth was struck by his honest and open statements. By the time he was recruited onto the team, Garcia was already married to Sienna. He never knew him as a single man, but he’d heard about how dark Garcia had been before Sienna came into his life. And he’d seen Garcia operate. He was a totally different person when he was working. No one would guess this man was a family man when he was working undercover. It was one of the many traits about him that Roth respected.
“You’re a lucky man,” Roth said. “And Sienna must be a saint,” he added with a laugh.
“That she is,” Garcia said, his gravelly voice sounding unusually soft. “And yes, I’m a very lucky man. I’m going to give you some unsolicited advice. Don’t think the job is all you need. And don’t buy into the bullshit that you can’t live in both worlds. You can.” He grabbed the bar and did another set of lifts.
Roth watched him strain under the heavy weight he’d loaded onto the barbell as he considered his words. By the time Garcia finished his set, Roth still couldn’t think of what his reply should be. He opted for, “Thanks, I’ll remember that.”
“We’ll probably have a few days off until the next rotation of missions. What are you going to do with the time?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet,” Roth said honestly as Garcia began another set of lifts. “I’ll probably see if there’s anything here at HQ I can help out with.”
Garcia finished the set and then stood. “Do you want me to spot you?”
“No, I did the machines already.” He followed Garcia to the next station and continued to spot him as he performed military presses.
“I’ll let you know if Alpha Team is getting together for the game on Sunday. Plan to join us if you’re free,” Garcia said.
“Sounds good,” Roth said. He wasn’t sure what teams were playing this week, but he’d be going for the camaraderie of the team rather than the football.
After Garcia was done with his weight circuit, Roth left him to his cardio, and he returned to the locker room to shower. After, he killed time in his office reviewing the news stories that Shepherd had flagged for the team as potential threats to keep their attention on. At just before sixteen hundred, he descended the stairs to the fifth floor for the post-Op briefing.
“Thank you for coming in for this meeting,” Shepherd began. “I won’t keep you for long.”
Roth always smiled when Shepherd acknowledged expected conformity to orders. But that was one of the things that made him a class act. He wished he’d served with him on active duty. From what Roth had heard about him, he’d earned the respect that everyone had for him with boots on the ground courage and unrivaled integrity.
“The discovery of and shutting down of the illegal casino was good work. Shepherd Security has proven we can handle a wide variety of cases, well beyond military conflicts or rescues of Americans. This is important as we transition into more domestic cases that either do not neatly fit into the role of one of our regular intelligence agencies or involve scenarios they aren’t permitted to handle.”
“Our next case falls into the latter category,” Cooper said.
“Yes,” Shepherd agreed. “Before we get to that, any takeaways to discuss from the New Buffalo Op?”
