Officer Felix Moore sighed. He was the captain’s go to guy for any and all info about anyone and everyone, but right now he didn’t have a thing to offer. N.R.O. agent Raymond Garrett’s record was fairly easy to find, but there was nothing in it that Felix could find that would trip any alarms. N.G.A. agent Allison Lewis also had a record that wasn’t hard to acquire, but like Garrett’s it was clean and in order. Felix put the records side by side. They’re both too perfect. Something isn’t quite kosher here. Felix maneuvered his mouse and clicked on a record of his newest target, officer Laura Black. She had been on the force for six months, and had done nothing to warrant suspicion. She had arrived fresh from the city police of Tacoma, Washington. Her records were in complete order, but something didn’t match up. Felix looked for a long time, then switched back to the records of Mabel Gravley and Bartholomew McGillcuddy. He then looked at the records on his desk for Phillp Anderton, Robert Fulton, and Gerrard Dinkley. Somehow these records were all converging in a way Felix couldn’t explain. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate. It was a text from the captain:
DO SEARCH F.B.I. CLAYTON IRON-HORSE ASAP
Felix sighed and flipped his screen again. “I’ll count myself lucky if I don’t get busted by some governmental organization today” he muttered to himself. I hope Laura is late for our lunch date.
***
“My phone? Don’t you have a phone?” Phil crossed his arms and backed away.
“Mine is dead. The battery life is awful. C’mon, give it.”
“You’re going to call the cops?”
“Phil, we have to. This girl is someone’s daughter, maybe somebody’s sister.”
“It is just a bike. We don’t even know if it is the right pink bike. How many pink bikes can there be in this town?”
“Phil, I can’t believe you’re hesitating. You’re the one who wanted to go to the police before. Won’t this be something on our side? If we show we’re not bad people?”
“Look, I know we aren’t bad people. I’m just worried about going in here. I mean, how big is the police force here? It’s a long ways back to Sioux Falls…a lot can happen…”
“Jeez, are you still worried about the assassin thing? There’s no way she’d be here. Now give me the phone and let me call.”
Phil took a few steps back. “Let’s use the pay phone in the store. That way we won’t have to give names and it can’t be traced.”
Bob stared at Phil, dumbfounded. He was really surprised that Phil was being this way. “Well, I suppose we could do that. That actually seems like a nice compromise.”
“Good. I could get used to winning these arguments.” Phil turned and started walking. After a few steps, he realized Bob wasn’t with him. He turned around and saw Bob walking towards the dumpsters. “Bob, what are you doing?”
“I just want to make sure we’re reporting just a bike.”
