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recruits new members, but even if they do, their recruiting efforts took a major hit tonight. We’ll keep the surveillance cameras in place at all of the parks to see if anyone else steps in to replace them, but unless we spot any other gang members over the next couple of weeks, I think this intervention is over. The police now have enough to watch the gang very closely, and hopefully they’ll be out of business soon.”

      Rick turned the video monitor on and shared the images of the police arriving and taking the targets into custody.

      “That was a nice touch, binding up their wounds,” Rick commented.

      “I didn’t want them to bleed out,” Jamie replied.

      “Don’t forget to wash your clothes thoroughly tonight,” Rick cautioned. “You’ve got blood and gunshot residue on them.”

      “I will,” Jamie promised.

      An hour later, the team left Rick’s house. Hunter walked Jamie to her car. “Hungry?” he asked.

      “Starving!”

      “Want me to pick up something and bring it by?”

      “Sure. We can eat while I’m washing these clothes. I want to wear them again tomorrow, and I don’t want to smell like gunpowder.”

      “Okay. I’ll meet you at your place.”

      “Thanks!”

      Hunter arrived at Jamie’s townhouse thirty minutes later with the familiar orange and white sacks filled with burgers and fries, along with two chocolate shakes.

      Jamie had purchased the three-bedroom townhouse just after she finished business school and began working at SignalCorps full-time. She had worked there part-time for two years while living at home and finishing her MBA, but she felt that it was time to move out of her parents’ house once she started her career. Her parents, Thomas Campbell Anderson and Emily McCafferty Anderson, hated to see her go, but they were proud of her, and they all got together often. Emily also saw Jamie at work, since she was still a senior executive at SignalCorps.

      Jamie had changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, with her wavy red hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Hunter took off his hoodie and sat at the small kitchen table across from Jamie as she took the food out of the sacks. She ate some fries and then unwrapped one of the burgers. She smiled when she checked inside the bun. It was just the way she liked it – mustard, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, cheese, and double bacon only. She hated tomatoes, onions, pickles, and mushrooms on her burgers.

      “You remembered,” she said, taking a bite.

      “Of course I did.” Hunter sipped his shake. “I’ve heard you order it enough times. Besides, it’s now how I order mine.”

      “Copycat.”

      Hunter smiled. “No, it’s just that I know a good thing when I see it.”

      “Really?” She drew out the word sarcastically.

      “Really.” He leaned across the table and kissed her. “And for the record, I love watching you kick ass, too.”

      “Is that all you love about me?” Jamie pretended to pout.

      Hunter grinned. “Can we finish eating first? I’m going to need my strength.”

      Jamie laughed and threw a fry at him. Gesturing at his drink, she said, “You’d better hydrate yourself, too. I don’t’ want you passing out on me.”

      Hunter took a long sip of his drink and then finished his burger. He and Jamie gazed at each other and smiled for the rest of the meal.

      Jamie had met Hunter on an intervention six months earlier. She wasn’t looking for a new relationship at the time. On her first intervention, more than three years earlier, she had met Steve MacLeod, a member of the Order from Texas. They started dating, but the strain of a long-distance relationship, coupled with her work and business school, became too much for both of them. They mutually agreed to call things off a couple of months before Hunter came along.

      At first, Jamie and Hunter were just friends, but things progressed quickly as Jamie saw and appreciated Hunter’s qualities. He was kind, caring, and one of the few men who could keep up with her. He was a martial arts student, an avid shooter, and he had a good job working for his father in the commercial real estate business.

      Two months after meeting, they began dating, but Jamie wanted to keep it quiet until she saw how things went. She wasn’t afraid or ashamed of letting anyone know that she was dating again, but she was cautious after breaking up with Steve.

      Hunter understood. Plus, with Jamie and Hunter both being part of the Order, and with Jamie’s father being the Grand Master, neither Jamie nor Hunter wanted their relationship to make intervention team leaders hesitant to pair them up on the same assignment. Even though the Order had no rules against people serving on teams together while dating or married, as Jamie’s parents had done, Jamie was concerned that it might be perceived as an unnecessary distraction or disruption. Jamie and Hunter thought that they made a good team, and they both wanted that to continue. Jamie adored Hunter, and she hoped that their relationship might grow into something more.

      They finished eating, and Hunter helped Jamie clean up. He followed her to the laundry room and helped her fold up the clothes that she had just washed. As she closed the dryer, he came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her ear and kissing her neck.

      Jamie pressed her arms against his. Then she turned and kissed him. “Can you stay?” she whispered.

      “All night.”

      She took his hand, and they went upstairs to her bedroom.

      “Don’t expect to get any sleep tonight,” she warned him as they reached the top of the stairs.

      “Funny,” he responded, squeezing her hand gently. “I was about to say the same thing to you.”

      2

      Wendy Mitchell couldn’t stand the thought of being cooped up in her apartment alone for another night. She hated going out by herself, but all of her friends had been busy that week. By Thursday evening, she decided that she’d rather go out solo than spend another night watching re-runs.

      Wendy was a tall, fit, leggy blonde twenty-four-year-old woman who stayed active and loved to dance. She looked through her closet and selected a mini-dress that showed off her body – especially her legs. She teased her hair to twice its normal volume, put on her clubbing make-up, and slipped into the dress, which shimmered in the light as she moved. A pair of earrings and high-heeled pumps completed the ensemble. She was ready to be noticed and to have a good time.

      She caught a cab outside her apartment building and headed for the nightclub district. Looking good and feeling good, she couldn’t wait to meet a few new dance partners. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even let one of them take me home.

      She paid the driver and got out when the cab stopped in front of a new nightclub that she had wanted to try out. Velvet ropes stretched across the entrance, but after one look at her and her outfit, the doorman unhooked the ropes and gestured for her to go inside.

      “Club Mingles” is the perfect name for this place. The club was obviously designed to be a place where singles, as well as cheaters, could go and meet new people. As soon as she stepped inside, two different guys asked her to dance. I’m going to have fun tonight!

      In a private office above the dance floor, a wall of video monitors displayed the feeds from dozens of cameras around the club.

      One of the technicians zoomed in on a new girl in a shimmering mini-dress. “Look at that one,” he said. “With those legs and that body, she has potential.” Swiveling in his chair, he added. “We could do well with her.”

      A voice came from the shadows. “Are you thinking about Dr. Black, or are you suggesting that we put her on

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