Love Will Make it Better
Chapter One


Brooke Hudson drew her gun and crouched behind a thick bush, grateful for the tropical climate of Brownsville, Texas. She pressed her face so close to the ground that she could smell the musty odor of the rotting leaves that covered this section of land.

The footsteps that caused her to take cover came closer. Birds scattered from the ground into the air announcing the path of the person approaching her. The steps were slow, but the person didn't try to keep quiet. Brooke frowned.

Even illegal intruders who got lost knew to move quietly. She shifted softly until she faced the sound. Unless they were armed and didn't care if they encountered anybody.

She thought of a week ago when an officer's body was found thirty miles north of where she was now. She pulled her mind back to the sounds, eased behind a vine-covered tree, and waited.

When the noise was almost on top of her, she stood with her back against a tree and aimed her gun at the direction of the sound coming through the brush. She waited and watched. A final thrashing through a thick clump in front of her sent a ground squirrel scampering across the tiny clearing and brought the person almost out of cover.

"Dente! Halt! No te mueve! Don't move!" Brooke ordered just as a young woman stepped into view. "Are you alone?" she asked in Spanish as she scanned the area surrounding the woman. Then Brooke looked back at her and frowned. This wasn't a woman. This was a girl not yet in her teens.

Brooke scanned the surrounding area; slowly this time. Mexico was only a few hundred yards on the other side of the road, but nobody this young would cross alone. Somebody was with her. How many? And where were they?

She drew in a deep breath, then released it slowly. Next she went to the girl, quickly secured her hands behind her back, then stepped away from her, again using the tree to protect her from behind.

From that position, she threw questions at the girl in Spanish and in rapid succession, but slowed her interrogation when the girl's eyes filled with fear as she kept her gaze glued to Brooke's gun.

Brooke tried again. No matter how she worded the questions, the answers were the same. The girl had gotten separated from her family when they heard somebody coming as soon as they came through the opening in the fence separating the countries. Her mother and father told her to run across the road and she did. Then she couldn't find them and her little sister and brother. The girl sobbed and Brooke controlled the twinge that poked at her.

She had her prisoner sit on the ground while she once again stood with her back against a tree. No unusual sounds reached her. She waited a little while longer. After being satisfied that they were alone, Brooke moved the girl to the road. Once there she scanned the area again. Then she called for pick-up as per procedure. They were too far from her vehicle for her to chance moving that distance through the brush with a prisoner; even a young prisoner. Brush could provide cover for others just as it did for her. Moving along the road could be even more dangerous.

She had the girl sit beside a bush. As Brooke waited, she tried to ignore the soft sobs of the girl. The quiet woods did nothing to hide the sound, but Brooke felt as if she would have heard it in the middle of Fourth of July fireworks. She wished the patrol car would hurry. She wished the girl were older. She wished somebody else had caught this prisoner. It was only her imagination at work that made the waiting time seem like hours.

Once the car came, the girl's crying got louder. It only took a few minutes to put her in the backseat and for Brooke to get into the front with the driver, but time seemed to crawl. It continued moving in slow motion during the ride back to where Brooke had parked her car. during the ride, she avoided looking at the girl. She wished she was parked a few feet away rather than several miles from where they were picked up.

She drove to headquarters, reported for debriefing as was standard procedure, filed her detailed report, then went to get cleaned up. During it all the image of the girl's face stayed with her.

Forty minutes after she reached headquarters, Brooke sat on a bench in the empty locker room. The agents coming on duty for the second shift had reported to their assignments long ago. Those going off duty as she was, were gone, too. Still she sat.

Maybe I've been doing this too long, she thought. Maybe I've just burned out. A pair of large brown eyes, haunted look deep within, came back to her mind. She shook her head. I've only been at this for six years, but today it seems like thirty. She leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. Then she leaned her head down. Maybe even forty. The door opened behind her, but she didn't look up.

She drove to headquarters, reported for debriefing as was standard procedure, filed her detailed report, then went to get cleaned up. Through it all, the girl's image stayed with her.

Forty minutes after she reached headquarters, Brooke sat on a bench in the empty locker room. The agents coming on duty for the second shift had reported long ago. The others going off duty were gone, too. Still she sat.

Maybe I've been doing this too long, she thought. Maybe I've just burned out. A pair of large brown eyes, haunted look deep within, came back to her mind. She shook her head. I've only been at this for six years, but today it seems like thirty. She leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. Then she leaned her head down. Maybe even forty. The door opened behind her, but she didn't look up.

"Hey, girlfriend, you still here? What's up?" Leah Delaney sat on the bench beside Brooke and nudged her.

"Hi, Leah," Brooke glanced at her friend. "You're late." She tried to smile, but didn't quite manage it.

"We got bogged down in the field. Do I need a note from home? Hey, what's the matter?"

"Did you ever have one of those days?"

"You mean like today, yesterday, last week's entire shift, the week before that…." She frowned. "Where you going with this?" "Do you sometimes wonder if we're doing the right thing?"

"About what?"

"Sending people back."

"No. We have to. We have no idea why they're trying to get in. That's why we have procedures in place. Think of the many times the patrol caught drug-smugglers."

"Yeah."

"And I know you remember the three terrorist they caught four months ago." She stared at Brooke.

"None of that applies to today."

"What happened?"

"I caught a twelve year-old girl. At least she said she was twelve. She didn't even look that old. She got separated from the rest of her family." Brooke frowned. "I doubt if they were bringing in drugs." She sighed. "I was so tempted to let her go…." Brooke shook her head and sighed. "There was something in her eyes…." She shook her head again. "I never saw such sadness before."

"Go where? You were tempted to let her go where? She was alone. I know she didn't have a map because those ‘coyotes' who arrange the crossings; and charge big bucks I might add; only give one to a group if they give that; and her parents probably had it. And I don't have to tell you how inaccurate those things are, anyway."

"We got bogged down in the field. Do I need a note from home? What's the matter?"

"Did you ever have one of those days?"

"You mean like today, yesterday, last week's entire shift, the week before that…." She frowned. "Where you going with this?"

"Do you sometimes wonder if we're doing the right thing?"

"About what?"

"Sending people back."

"We have to. We have no idea why they're trying to get in. That's why we have procedures in place. Think of the many times the patrol caught drug-smugglers."

"Yeah."

"And I know you remember the three terrorist they caught four months ago." She stared at Brooke.

"None of that applies to what happened to me today."

"What happened?"

"I caught a twelve year-old girl. At least she said she was twelve. She didn't even look that old. She had gotten separated from the rest of her family." Brooke frowned. "I doubt if they were bringing in drugs." She sighed. "Thea, I was so tempted to let her go…." Brooke shook her head and sighed.

"There was something in her eyes…." She shook her head again. "I never saw such sadness before."

"Go where? You were tempted to let her go where? She was alone. I know she didn't have a map because those ‘coyotes' who arrange the crossings; and charge big bucks I might add; only give one to a group if they give that; and her parents probably had it. And I don't have to tell you how inaccurate those things are, anyway."

"I know. I've seen quite a few of those so-called maps. Still…."

"Let's take this further. If she had a map and, by some miracle, managed to reach somebody who wasn't an agent, what do you think would happen to her? You know what the chances are that she'd be forced into prostitution. We've heard the statistics." Lethiah frowned. "Coming in contact with one of those situations is unsettling." Her voice lowered. "And I've helped stop more than one prostitution ring."

"My head knows your right. My heart is another thing."

Thea stared at the gray lockers facing her, but she wasn't seeing them. For a little while the only sounds in the room were those drifting from the hall as people passed by. Finally she spoke again. "You know how, on airplane, they go through the emergency procedures?"

"Yeah?"

"You know they tell passengers that, if they are traveling with kids, they should put their own masks on first. Right?"

"Yeah?"

"That's because if they don't take care of themselves first they can't take care of anybody else."

"Where are you going with this?"

"If we don't take care of our citizens first, make sure they have jobs and the economy is good, how can we help other countries. Right?"

"I guess so. Yeah."

"You know so. I'll bet the girl didn't even have a water bottle. Right? I know she didn't have any food, right?"

"Yeah."

"Brooke, you saved her life. She won't be another body somebody finds north of here nor a kid messed up by pimps." Lethiah patted Brooke's shoulder. "You did the right thing." She stood. "Enough of this. We're the good guys. Remember that. Let's go get some dinner. I'm starving."

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in Ida's Soul Food Restaurant. By unspoken agreement, their conversation during the meal didn't touch on the shift they had just finished working. That didn't stop Brooke's mind from drifting there, though. No matter how she tried, she couldn't erase the image of that young girl's eyes. She continued to force herself to eat.

"Wow. You must have been hungry," Thea said half an hour later.

"Huh?"

"You really worked up an appetite today, didn't you?" she pointed to Brooke's plate.

Brooke looked at it and frowned. Not a crumb was left and she hadn't tasted any of it. She set her napkin beside her plate. "I guess so."

"The food was exceptionally good today, wasn't it?" Thea shifted her slice of sweet potato pie in front of her.

"I'm thinking about asking for a town patrol assignment," Brooke said. She looked at her pie, but didn't pretend to eat it.

"You think that would be better for you?"

"It couldn't be worse."

"I hear it's kind of boring."

"After today, boring sounds kind of good."

"Why don't you wait a while? Wait until what happened today won't be so fresh in your mind."

"Even if I request it, you know it will be a while before something opens up. When it does, I'll still have the option of not taking it."

"That's true. Still, why not take a few days to think about it?"

"I wasn't planning to put in a request before Monday anyway." She looked at Thea. "But I doubt I'll change my mind about this." She frowned. "I've had this in the back on my mind for a while. I think now is a good time to make a change."

"Okay. Let me know what you decide." She stood, but she looked at Brooke's pie. "I know you're gonna take that with you."

"Absolutely." Brooke asked for a take-out container.

"Okay," Thea said as they waited for it. "If you request re-assignment, what shift will you ask for?"

"The first." Brooke smiled. "You and I will still be able to get together."

"Good. We can keep each other caught up on our love lives."

Despite her somber mood, Brooke laughed. "I can do that right now." She paused dramatically. "Okay. That's it for mine. Now it's your turn." This time they both laughed. It felt good.

"Unfortunately mine is the same as yours." Thea frowned. "We should have checked statistics more thoroughly to find out where the men are."

"They are probably some place where it's cold. Or maybe they're walking behind a plow on some farm."

"Have you ever seen the muscles on some of those farmers?" Thea released an exaggerated sigh.

"Down, girl."

"Hey, how about a man in the building trades? Muscles to die for. A friend once gave me a calendar with construction guys featured on each page." Lethiah pretended to fan herself. "Made me wish for more months in a year." She stared at Brooke. "That was three years ago, but the calendar still hangs on my closet door." She shrugged. "You never know. That year might come back. Even if it doesn't, eye candy is never out of style." They were laughing when the waitress brought the container.

"Okay, enough of this." Brooke slid her pie into the container and stood. "Let's go."

"Sure." Thea stood, too.

As they walked to the car Thea asked, "You got some exciting plans for the weekend? Maybe a hot date?"

"Oh yeah. I guess you could say that." Brooke nodded. "My washer won't be too hot, but the dryer probably will." They got in the car. "Oh. Let me continue to answer your question.

Don't leave out the vacuum cleaner and broom and mop and dust cloth…."

"Okay, enough," Lethiah said as she started the car. "That sounds too much like the kind of weekend facing me."

As they left the lot and went back to get Brooke's car, they continued to talk, but the focus was on the week-end. Neither mentioned anything work-related again.

She drove to headquarters, reported for debriefing as was standard procedure, filed her detailed report, then went to get cleaned up. Through it all, the girl's image stayed with her.

Forty minutes after she reached headquarters, Brooke sat on a bench in the empty locker room. The agents coming on duty for the second shift had reported long ago. The others going off duty were gone, too. Still she sat.

Maybe I've been doing this too long, she thought. Maybe I've just burned out. A pair of large brown eyes, haunted look deep within, came back to her mind. She shook her head. I've only been at this for six years, but today it seems like thirty. She leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. Then she leaned her head down. Maybe even forty. The door opened behind her, but she didn't look up.

"Hey, girlfriend, you still here? What's up?" Leah Delaney sat on the bench beside Brooke and nudged her.

"Hi, Leah," Brooke glanced at her friend. "You're late." She tried to smile, but didn't quite manage it.

"We got bogged down in the field. Do I need a note from home? Hey, what's the matter?"

"Did you ever have one of those days?"

"You mean like today, yesterday, last week's entire shift, the week before that…." She frowned. "Where you going with this?"

"Do you sometimes wonder if we're doing the right thing?"

"About what?"

"Sending people back."

"No. We have to. We have no idea why they're trying to get in. That's why we have procedures in place. Think of the many times the patrol caught drug-smugglers."

"Yeah."

"And I know you remember the three terrorist they caught four months ago." She stared at Brooke.

"None of that applies to today."

"What happened?"

"I caught a twelve year-old girl. At least she said she was twelve. She didn't even look that old. She got separated from the rest of her family." Brooke frowned. "I doubt if they were bringing in drugs." She sighed. "I was so tempted to let her go…." Brooke shook her head and sighed. "There was something in her eyes…." She shook her head again. "I never saw such sadness before."

"Go where? You were tempted to let her go where? She was alone. I know she didn't have a map because those ‘coyotes' who arrange the crossings; and charge big bucks I might add; only give one to a group if they give that; and her parents probably had it. And I don't have to tell you how inaccurate those things are, anyway."

"I know. I've seen quite a few of those so-called maps. Still…."

"Let's take this further. If she had a map and managed to reach somebody who wasn't an agent, what do you think would happen to her? You know what the chances are that she'd be forced into prostitution. We've heard the statistics." Leah frowned. "Coming in contact with one of those situations is unsettling." Her voice lowered. "And I've helped stop more than one prostitution ring."

"My head knows your right. My heart is another thing."

Leah stared at the gray lockers facing her, but she wasn't seeing them. For a little while the only sounds in the room were those drifting from the hall as people passed by. Finally she spoke again.

"You know how, on airplane, they go through the emergency procedures?"

"Yeah?"

"You know they tell passengers that, if they're traveling with kids, they should put their own masks on first. Right?"

"Yeah?"

"That's because if they don't take care of themselves first they can't take care of anybody else."

"Where are you going with this?"

"If we don't take care of our citizens first, make sure they have jobs and the economy is good, how can we help other countries. Right?"

"I guess so. Yeah."

"You know so. I'll bet the girl didn't even have a water bottle. Right? I know she didn't have any food, right?"

"Yeah."

"Brooke, you saved her life. She won't be another body somebody finds north of here nor a kid messed up by pimps." Leah patted Brooke's shoulder.

"You did the right thing." She stood. "Enough of this. We're the good guys. Remember that. Let's go get some dinner. I'm starving." Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in Ida's Soul Food Restaurant. By unspoken agreement, their conversation during the meal didn't touch on the shift they had just finished working. That didn't stop Brooke's mind from drifting there, though. No matter how she tried, she couldn't erase the image of that young girl's eyes. She continued to force herself to eat.

"Wow. You must have been hungry," Leah said half an hour later.

"Huh?"

"You really worked up an appetite today, didn't you?" She pointed to Brooke's plate.

Brooke looked at it and frowned. Not a crumb was left and she hadn't tasted any of it. She set her napkin beside her plate. "I guess so."

"The food was exceptionally good today, wasn't it?" Leah shifted her slice of sweet potato pie in front of her.

"I'm thinking about asking for a town patrol assignment," Brooke said. She looked at her pie, but didn't pretend to eat.

"You think that would be better for you?"

"It couldn't be worse."

"I hear it's kind of boring."

"After today, boring sounds kind of good."

"Why don't you wait a while? Wait until what happened today won't be so fresh in your mind?"

"Even if I request it, you know it will be a while before something opens up. When it does, I'll still have the option of not taking it."

"True. Still, why not take a few days to think about it?"

Brooke looked at Leah. "I've had this in the back on my mind for a while. I think now's a good time to make a change. I have to pray on it. I really need The Lord's guidance on this."

"Let me know what you decide." She stood, but she looked at Brooke's pie. "I know you're gonna take that with you."

"Absolutely." Brooke asked for a take-out container.

"if you put in a transfer request, what shift will you ask for?"

"The first." Brooke smiled. "You and I will still be able to get together."

"Good. We can keep each other caught up on our exciting personal lives."

Despite her somber mood, Brooke laughed. "I can do that right now." She paused dramatically. "Okay. That's it for mine. Now it's your turn." This time they both laughed. It felt good.

"Unfortunately mine is the same as yours." Leah frowned. "I thought we would have found somebody by now. We should have checked statistics more thoroughly to find out where the single men are."

"They are probably some place where it's cold.' She paused. "You know, maybe we weren't supposed to get married. As my Aunt Hilda said, regardless of the old saying, there isn't a lid for every pot."

"I refuse to accept that."

"It would be nice to have somebody, but I can be okay with my own company."

"I'm not giving up the easily."

"No sense discussing this. What The Good Lord has in mind, will be." The waitress brought the container. Brooke slid her pie into the container and stood. "Let's go."

"Sure." Leah stood, too.

As they walked to the car she asked, "You got exciting plans for the weekend?"

"Oh yeah." Brooke nodded. "My laundry is waiting." They got in the car. "Oh. Let me continue to answer your question. Don't leave out the vacuum cleaner and broom and mop and dust cloth…."

"Enough," Leah said as she started the car. "That sounds too much like the kind of weekend facing me." As they left the lot and went to Brooke's car, they continued to talk, but neither mentioned anything work-related.






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