“You don’t have to tell me that.”
“Politically, this will give him a bump. Right when he needs it the most—he officially announced his candidacy for governor last month. We need to take him down before the election.”
“Matt, you’re not telling me anything I don’t know. D.C. is breathing down my neck, but I haven’t been able to connect Hart to Sergei Rykov. Not directly. And I don’t have enough evidence to take Hart down on corruption charges. The donations Rykov gave to his campaign were perfectly legal. If I make a run at Rykov too soon, I’ll lose him completely.”
“I’m just—just frustrated.”
Dean didn’t say anything for a moment, then said, “Matt, do you think that Alex Morgan would be open to working with us on this?”
Alex. He couldn’t see anything good coming from drawing her back into their operation. She’d been burned before, he wouldn’t do it to her again.
“No,” he said immediately. “She lost everything when she agreed to keep quiet about the FBI investigation. Did you know she was at the hotel today because of a job interview? Hotel security?”
“I offered her a job in D.C.”
“Her family is here,” Matt said.
“I would have moved her back once the case is over,” Dean said. “Look, her cover isn’t blown. Sergei has no idea she was working for me, he still believes she didn’t care that her partner was taking kickbacks until he crossed the line and started screwed around with Sergei’s underage prostitutes.”
“She won’t be able to get back onto the force,” Matt said. “Even after you nail Ryvok. And if she was able to go back now, it would take her months—longer—to get back into a position to gather intel. It’s far too dangerous.”
“I was thinking along the lines of deeper cover.”
“They’ll kill her if they even get a hint that she’s reporting to the FBI. And you’re forgetting about Judge Morgan.”
“Shit,” Dean mumbled. “You’re right, it won’t fly. However, she might be in the perfect position to get in with Hart.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Travis Hart may not be running organized crime in Sacramento, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous. Worse in some ways because he was both charming and cunning.
“She’s good on her feet. Smart. Hart will reach out to her at some point, probably make a media splash with it, give her public thanks for saving his life. She can work him. Try to get inside his network. Has her father endorsed anyone for governor yet?”
“Not as far as I know.” Matt didn’t like Dean’s unstated plan, but he immediately saw the benefits. Judge Morgan was a powerful name in the law enforcement community. He didn’t often endorse, but when he did it carried weight.
“Can you talk to him? See if he’ll be willing to pretend he’s considering an endorsement of Hart?”
“Yes, but I still don’t see how Alex is going to learn anything by putting Judge Morgan together with Hart.”
“Hart will probably invite her to his office to give her a state resolution commending her bravery and heroism. Might even have a press conference. He’ll want to publicly thank her, not just for the political points, but because it’s expected. Then, she can use that to put her father together with Hart for a meeting. Find a reason to be there, to get involved.”
“I don’t know,” Matt said. He stared out his window but didn’t really see the street below. “I don’t see how it’ll play out.”
“Alex will figure it out as she goes. If she’s the liaison between the Judge and Hart, that gives her access. She can work that into something more, volunteering for his campaign for example. Matt, I don’t have anyone in Hart’s organization. He’s paranoid. My informant in Russian organized crime can’t get the evidence I need for an indictment on Rykov or Hart. We were so close last July...”
That comment irritated Matt, and he snapped, “And what exactly was she supposed to do? Turn her back on her partner screwing a fourteen year old?”
“No, of course not.”