168 (28)

Jebediah ground his knee into Michelle’s back. “That’s good, but I think you can to better” he said, as he pulled the knife out of the wall, only to jab it back in even closer to Michelle’s face. He wrenched her arm even tighter as she screamed even louder, in defiance of the pain her throat was starting to feel.

***

Jeremiah stood behind Phil, and Phil violently shook around in his chair. The rope was starting to wear through his shirt, and where it met his bare arms the burns had already begun. Each scream seemed to make him more frantic. Jeremiah simply stood there, occasionally quipping “Anything you want to say, this is the time.”

***

Mokoto heard the screams, but they weren’t registering with her mind. She was lost in a long kiss with Bob, and her hands were caressing his head and back, even trying to slip under the ropes. Bob heard the screams, and he knew what was happening was wrong, really wrong. At the same time, he was in no position to stop, and his willingness to stop was in question.

***

A red Pontiac had pulled up behind the abandoned pawn shop.  As lightning flashed in the distance, the man behind the wheel kept typing.  He smiled and looked outside.  His diligent hacking into Aberdeen’s power grid had paid off, as the lights went out for blocks around.  He didn’t have much time, so he folded the computer closed, and exited the car so quietly the sound of distant thunder and the increasing wind were enough to keep even a trained ear from hearing the man, even as he pulled a gun out of his jacket.

***

The pawn shop was cast into a sudden blackness, as all the lights died. Jebediah lifted his knee from Michelle’s back, and took two steps backward. “Stay here…do not move…”

***

Jeremiah’s world went totally black, and with a swift kick he tipped over Phil’s chair. Phil landed head first, and as the chair tipped onto its side, he heard Jeremiah open the door and slam it behind him.

***

The darkness excited Mokoto for a moment, but then the reality of the situation set in. She stood up and grabbed her jacket. As she pulled it on, she heard commotion from the main room of the shop, along with a door quickly opening, then nothing. “Stay here” she said, as she slowly opened the door and closed it behind her.

“Not like I’m going anywhere” Bob muttered.

Mokoto slowly crouched low to the ground.  She knew she had to see what was going on, but she moved slowly towards the exit and stopped for a moment.

***

The back door of the shop swung open. The sights of the gun lined up on the female figure heading out the backdoor. The trigger pulled back, and soon the body slumped over. The leather jacket didn’t have the usual high collar. “Mokoto, your fashion sense is changing” a voice said.  The man walked past the crumpled female form, which was now atop two crumpled male bodies.

***

Bob heard the door open, and then just one set of footsteps. The footsteps got closer and closer, until the footsteps were behind him. “Is this where you give up and kill me?” he asked. He heard nothing, but he felt a tugging at the ropes holding him to the chair. Then, the ropes simply gave way. Bob rubbed his wrists and heard someone leave the room. Bob’s first instinct was to run for the door, but something told him he couldn’t just leave.  Of course Bob thought as he felt for a wall, then felt around the room until he found the shelves, and then his jacket and lucky sunglasses.  After all this, I’m not going to lose them Bob thought as he felt for the door.  His eyes were adjusting to the darkness, but there wasn’t much to see.  He knew he had to find Phil, and soon.  He felt around the wall he was near, and followed it until it disappeared, and Bob about fell face first onto the floor.  With no warning, the lights came back on.  Bob saw a man wearing night vision goggles working on Phil’s ropes.  Phil had tears running down his face, and his head was against the wall.  “What the hell is going on here?” Bob said, dropping his jacket.  He raised his hands as if to fight, but the man in goggles straightened up as the ropes around Phil cascaded down to the floor.  The man reached up and pulled off his goggles.

“Just relax…I can explain everything…” came a familiar voice.

Bob’s jaw dropped, along with his arms.  “Jer?”

159 (19)

Dean Palluck didn’t want to take the call, but he was in charge of the raid, so it was his call to take. He sat on the empty bed and put his hear to the phone. “This is Palluck, who am I speaking to?”

“This is Captain Hale of the Sioux Falls Police Department.”

“Captain Hale? Sioux Falls?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No…just…the way my men have been passing the phone…I was guessing you were the feds.”

“I’m most certainly not a fed, I can assure you of that. What did the feds tell you?”

Dean pushed his hat back and rubbed his temples. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that. They told us to move in and hold the two men until their agents got here, and that’s all I’m required to tell you.”

“There was more?”

Palluck thought back to the instructions he’d received from the C.I.A. He wanted to tell Hale about the rest, but he didn’t trust the phone lines. Dale wasn’t even sure he what he would tell Hale if they were in the same room. “Again, I’m not at liberty to discuss what may or may not have been said.”

“Dammit, I want to talk to your supervisor!”

“Right now, in this town, I’m the supervisor, and when mine gets back from his weekend trip to the Black Hills he’ll tell you the same thing. We are not at liberty to discuss anything involved with the apprehension of Phillip Anderton or Robert Fulton.”

“I want those men! They might know something about an officer of ours who was gunned down!”

Palluck sighed. “Look, if it was up to me, I’d bag and tag these two and send them your way. The point is moot anyway. They aren’t here, and one of my men is at the Millstone restaurant. One of the hotel workers thought they saw them heading across the street and walking towards it. If anyone at the Millstone spotted them, I’ll let you know. I am authorized to let you know when we have them, but after that you’ll have to call the C.I.A., or their field agents with the N.R.O. or the N.G.A.”

“You’re damn right I will.” Hale hung up, and Dean slowly closed the phone.

“What was that about?”

Dean looked at the other officer in the room. “Just some friends in Sioux Falls who aren’t happy with us at the moment.”

“Are we really not supposed to tell them about handing those two over to the feds for questioning?”

“They know that. They just don’t want SooFoo to know about the plane waiting at the airport that’s going to take them to D.C.”

***

Elaine slid another handful of cigarettes into the rack. The door made a familiar noise, but she didn’t turn around. She took another handful as she heard footsteps walk to the cooler, and then towards the register. She stepped down from the step-ladder and saw a woman with black pants, a black tank top, and large cell-phone looking device. “Gas on three” she said, not taking her eyes off her phone, or MP3 player, or whatever it was.

“Anything else?” Elaine was trying to get a look at the device, but she couldn’t see the screen.

“Just the gas and the Coke. Say, what can you tell me about Aberdeen?”

Elaine wasn’t sure what to make of the question. It wasn’t often somebody popped into Groton and displayed no knowledge of the larger city to the West. “What do you want to know” Elaine asked as she started making change for the cash that the woman had tossed on the counter.

“Anything and everything.”

155 (15)

[a quick non-story note-the summary isn't quite done, and neither is the character profile.  I hope to have them done before the end of part six.  The story will continue after part six, but there might be some changes.  I haven't decided yet, but I'll decide before part 168]

“You don’t think the feds are looking for Bob and Phil?”  Julio took a long drink of his coffee after letting Mabel’s comment sink in.

“The men…who came to their apartment…were not feds.  I can’t believe that.”

“Why not?”  Old man B asked, in a very agitated tone.

“They pulled guns and told me they’d come back if I told the police.  Does that sound like how our government behaves?”  Mabel was getting more stressed and her voice carried a lot more than Julio or B would have cared it to.  Julio took a long drink while B got up.

“I’m going to the bathroom…get some coffee…” he muttered as he walked away, his age suddenly asserting itself more than Mabel had seen all night.  Julio watched him and sighed lightly.

“Poor guy.”

“Him?” Mabel said, with a quick, sharp turn of her head.  “I’m the one who was held at gunpoint.”

“I’ve seen it before with railroad men I’ve known.  I’ve worked railroad security long enough with enough vets to spot it.  I thought I saw it before when I caught him in the rail yard, and now you talking about the government seems to have set him off.”

“Seen what, exactly?”

“I’d say he did something he’d just as soon forget, that he can’t.  Some kind of post-traumatic stress.  Some can move on and live their lives.  Some can’t.  Some exist in between…almost like they’re haunted.  They push the memories back far enough, but certain things set them off.”

“I set him off?”

“You said yourself, ‘does that sound like how our government behaves?’  I’d say he knows how our government has behaved, and he was a part of it.  His face turned white and he shuffled away like he was 90.”  Julio got up and chugged the last of his coffee.  “Keep an eye on him tonight.  Here’s my card.  If you two want to talk more about those two guys from your apartment, and not to the police, just give me a call.  I”m not going to turn either of you in, but I need to turn myself in to some sleep or else I’m going to pass out right here.”

Mabel looked at the card, then back up at Julio as he walked away.  “Thanks” she said, just loud enough for Julio to hear it, and nod his head in return as he walked out the door.

***

And they put you in the ground
when the angels hung around.
And the angels hung around
as they carried me away.

Jenny Lewis’ voice kept going as one ear bud fell to the table.  A Nokia rushed up to take the place of the bud, while another hand sat a glass down.  “Yeah.  Are you there?  Good.  I’ll try to meet you there soon.  I know.  You’re right.  Look, all this time I know what I should have done, but…we had to…there wasn’t enough…yes, yes.  I know.  I realize the problem.  I know.  I know.  You’re right of course, but I’d point out that you being right doesn’t change anything.  I still need to do this.  You have the backup, but we might need the other one, and even if we don’t , we can’t take the chance the weatherman will get it.  Don’t worry.  I’ll find it.”  The phone closed, and soon it was swapped inside a jacket pocket for car keys.  The other hand removed the other ear bud and tucked them both in the other jacket pocket.  The hand pulled out two twenty dollar bills and sat them at the table.  A waitress came by a minute later, and as she watched a car leave Shenanigan’s, she had to assume the $13.33 was her change.

150 (10)

“Hold still” Garrett said as he pulled out his pocket knife.  He started hacking through the zip strips keeping Dale Roberts tied to a mile marker.

Lewis was rapidly buttoning her pantsuit back up all the way, and fixing her hair.  She kept checking the mirror but no matter how she did it, it looked like sex hair.  Finally she just gave up and opened the car door, only to leave it open while she continued to work with her combative hair.

Dale was rubbing his raw wrists, which Garrett had uncuffed right away.  The patrol car was still burning in a few spots, but it had mostly burnt itself out.  Dale felt the last strip give way, and he slowly stood up, with Garrett watching the whole time.  “Are you going to be okay?  You’ve got a few holes in your pants that look like they were burnt in.”

“I’m fine…just some debris from the car” Dale was looking around, and saw his badge, gun, belt and ticket book in a neat pile just a yard behind the sign, just out of his sight.  “I owe you one mister…”

“Garrett.  Agent Raymond Garrett, N.G.A.”  Garrett handed him his ID.

“Pardon me Agent Garrett, but I’ve never heard of the N.G.A.”

“We don’t get a lot of press, and we don’t get to South Dakota too often.”

“So, you guys fight terrorists like Jack Bauer?”

“Not exactly.  N.G.A. stands for National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.”

Dale’s face went blank.  “So…what do you do?”

“We work with the F.B.I. and C.I.A. on geographical data from airplanes and satellites.”

“Oh…what about her?”  Garrett looked over as Lewis walked towards the pair, her hair hurriedly pinned back in several spots.

“She’s N.R.O.  They handle satellite intelligence.  Now, what happened here?”

“I…I was pulling over…I mean…somebody…they tasered me…I woke up a bit ago…”

“So, you were tasered, tied up and somebody set your car on fire, left your badge and gun behind you?”

“More or less…”

“Did you get a good look at them?’

Dale swallowed and looked around at the dark prairie, the smoldering car, then back to the faces of Garrett and Lewis.  “No…I…I don’t remember.  It all happened so fast.”  Dale sunk down and sat back on the ground.

Garrett turned to Lewis.  “Call Aberdeen and tell them to move in.  We’re not leaving the scene until the help gets here.”

***

Risa kept doodling on her notepad, even though she could feel Amber watching her.  “Did you make the eyes big enough?”

“They’re doodle of a Japanese cartoon I like.  The eyes have to be big.”

“They look bigger than normal.”

“I’m trying a chibi style in my doodling today.  How was your shift at Kmart?”

“Mostly boring, but a cute guy came through today.  He said he was looking at one of our big-screen TVs.”

“Amber, do you fall for every guy who’s not butt-ugly and has money to burn?”

“No, just most.  Any cute guys check in today?”

“Just one…Eli Elson.  I should have known though.”

“Known what?”

“He was trouble.  The police have called to ask about him at least three times.  They haven’t called in a while, and now he’s out.”

“Where did he go?”

“I think he and some other g-”  Risa stopped talking as four police officers walked in.

“Ma’am, we have a warrant to search room 133, where one Eli Elson is staying.”

147 (7)

“Why are you doing this?”

Julio Perez took a long, slow sip from his Styrofoam coffee cup.  He closed his eyes, choosing to enjoy the gas station coffee’s bitter flavor rather than the bitter barbs of a crazy old man.  He sipped for a good ten seconds, then lowered the cup.  The old man’s face was still a portrait of anger, while his female friend was a look of concern and confusion.  “Because” Julio said, as he rested his elbows on the table of the small booth, “I’m looking for answers as much as you are, and I know the S.F.P.D. is looking for your friend, if she’s the one who screamed at the station.”

“You don’t have to answer that Mabel.  He’s railroad security…a rent-a-cop of the rails.”  B’s hand was in front of her face, but she reached up to lower it slowly. 

“Calm down.  I think he just wants answers, and yes, I am the woman who screamed” Mabel said quickly, before she could change her mind.

“Your friends are in Aberdeen” Julio said, before taking another long drink of coffee.

“They aren’t…how did you know that?”

“I was at the station helping with their investigation.”

“So why come here, if you knew where they wound up?”

Julio took another drink of coffee, and his cup was almost empty.  “I just need to know how much BNSF is going to get in the news because of your crazy idea of shoving two people into a boxcar.  Two people that have the police station buzzing like a nest of angry hornets.”

“There are men looking for them” Mabel said with a blank stare on her face.

“I know, the feds” Julio said as he started to get up for more coffee.

“No” Mabel said quietly, almost as if she thought the walls had ears.

***

“BOB!”  Bob looked up as something hit him in the face.  It surprised him more than anything, and he watched it fall to the floor.  Bob recognized the item as a matchbook that was in his pocket.  The matchbook had several phone numbers written on it.  “Is that your little black book?”

“Just a couple go to numbers for luck.”  Bob watched as Jeremiah started removing all the cards and things from his wallet.  Once he was done, Jeremiah held up Bob’s sunglasses.

“These aren’t bad.  Where’d you get them?”

“They were a gift.  They bring me luck.”

“I’d recommend a new pair” Jeremiah said, as he sat the glasses on a small table.  “Now, again, tell me where you met Gerrard, or Jer as you called him.”

“It was a poker tournament at Nutty’s.”

“Was he good?”

“Not good enough.  We tied for second.”

“How is that even possible?”

“We both had the same two pair with the same kicker.  The other guy had three of a kind.”

“You know, we were four of a kind at one point.”

“Excuse me?”

“Gerrard, Mokoto, Jebediah and I.  We worked together.”

“Get out…”

“No, I’m very serious…” Jeremiah said, as he stood up.  “…but we didn’t part on the best of terms.  Since he’s not here for me to air my grievences…that leaves you.”  Jeremiah started walking towards Bob, who was struggling harder than ever against the ropes holding him in place.

115 (3)

*KREESH*

Glass tumbled to the floor from the shattered patio door. Laura Black walked into the apartment and collapsed onto the couch. She was finally back in her apartment, but the journey was not one she’d duplicate willingly. She had a bump on her head from falling backwards when the police station shook from an explosion that she was assuming was courtesy of Jeremiah and Jebediah. Her left shoulder ached from ramming into Clayton’s midsection when he opened the door to see what had happened. There were blood streaks from her upper arms where she had cut her skin while hooking her shirt sleeves on broken glass and a chain link fence. Knees and ankles were sore from her jump out of a second floor window. Her shirt was ripped across the front where she had ripped her badge off with her teeth. Slowly, she slouched forward and slowly stood up. She walked to her bedroom door which was closed. She opened it with a kick, and proceeded to walk to her nightstand. Her face winced as she dropped to her knees and turned herself around. She bent forward as her handcuffed arms dug in the drawer for her spare handcuff keys. After what seemed like thirty minutes as opposed to thirty seconds, she had found the key and was soon finally able to free her wrists, which were now bruised and bloodied from her four hour trek back here, and her difficult journey to her second floor balcony. At least it will be easier to leave she thought to herself as she tossed the cuffs into the garbage. She tore off what remained of her police uniform and started debating whether or not she should shower before going in search of Jeremiah and Jebediah.

***

“MESSAGE THREE”

“Mabel, this is officer Bucholz from the Sioux Falls police department. We’d like to ask you some questions about earlier this afternoon. We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for a few hours now, so could call us as soon as possible please? Thanks for your time.”

B shook his head, and Mabel closed his phone. “You don’t want me to go back to the station?”

“You heard the news. It’s not safe there. What with cars blowing up and stuff.”

“Seriously, you think that the police station is unsafe?”

“You tell me. You went there to be safe, and saw the two men who had you at gunpoint.”

“What are we going to do?”

B looked down the street. He looked down and saw how tightly he was gripping the wheel of his Pacer. He looked back up as he started the car back up. “We’re going to keep a low profile for now. I have no idea where Bob and Phil got whisked off to. I don’t know how to find them. I…I honestly don’t know what to do Mabel. I don’t know why I’m keeping you out on some damn attempt to be useful again.” B slowed the car as they came to a stoplight, and Mabel put her hand on his shoulder.

“You are a much more complicated man that I gave you credit for Bartholomew, if I may call you that.”

B glanced over at Mabel. “You may, but don’t do it often. Say, would you be up for a short jaunt to Canton?”

113 (1)

“Good evening, I’m Don Jorgensen for KELO Land news at six.”

“Authorities are still not commenting any further on an explosion that occurred earlier today near the Sioux Falls police station. There have been unconfirmed reports that a car exploded near the station, but so far we have not been able to confirm this. There have also been unconfirmed reports that at least one officer is in critical condition at Avera-McKennan. Sioux Falls’ Police Chief would not address the situation, other than saying no one was killed, and it was not an act of terrorism.”

“The explosion comes on the heels of another tragedy, the death of police officer Jeff Stevens sometime yesterday. While his death has not been listed as a homicide, Sioux Falls police are still looking for two men for questioning. Those men are Phillip Anderton and Robert Fulton, both of Sioux Falls. Anderton is a native of Mitchell, and Fulton is originally from Spearfish. Authorities are expanding their search to those areas, and to areas North and South of Sioux Falls. It is still unclear whether those men are being sought for information about the death of officer Stevens, or the multi-car pile-up on interstate 229 Friday evening. Amazingly, no one was killed in the accident, but two people remain in critical condition, including one unnamed member of the South Dakota Highway Patrol. “

“As if Sioux Falls police weren’t busy enough, they are also seeking this woman. Authorities do no know her name, but she is known by the alias Laura Black. She was being held by police earlier today, but escaped during the confusion after the explosion near the police station. Sioux Falls police have an officer named Laura Black on staff, but it is not known at this time if the two Lauras are one in the same.”

“Let’s turn things over to Jay Trobec in the KELO-land storm center, where he’s tracking a storm front moving into South Dakota at this hour.”

“Well, this one is an unstable front that’s moving in, and we could see a lot of atmospheric turb-”

CLICK

Phil’s face was frozen in shock. Bob hung his head after turning off the television. Bob’s mind was all over the place, and now he knew his family would be calling his cell phone non-stop until he got ahold of them. Phil swallowed a mouthful of Pepsi, then spoke. “So…I’m thinking we should turn ourselves in now.”

“Phil, I have no doubt that explosion near the police station has something to do with all this. If they can get a bomb right outside the police station, I don’t feel safe there, and especially at a station in a town like Aberdeen.”

“So…what do we do? Do we keep running? We can’t afford to just run from town to town like this.”

“I don’t know. I really should call my family somehow. My parents are going to worry all night.”

“Well, my mom might get worried” Phil said as he stood up, “but my dad won’t notice for a few days. I think he’s in Vegas for some kind of business seminar. He tends to forget his cell phone.”

“Let’s go get a bite to eat…we’ll decide what we do next after some food.”

112 (28)

In a small hole on the police station’s back lawn, a gopher popped his head out. He didn’t know anything about the case, the government, or any of the people involved. He only knew he was hungry. He ran out of his hole towards the dumpsters near the police station. He stopped for a moment and looked up. This gopher didn’t know a Cadillac from a Studebaker, but something about this car made his nose twitch. There was something different, and something he didn’t like. This gopher had only known hunger, but now he only knew dread. The gopher retreated, opting to find food elsewhere.

Tina Vig was not a gopher, but she knew a Cadillac, and she knew when one was parked in an odd place. “Will, this car is a mess. There are coffee cups in the backseat, there’s a pile of CDs in the back…wait. Look at this.” Will walked over and looked in the back window. He saw CDs, along with DVDs and game discs. He also noticed a hard drive or two in the back, including one that had been ripped out of a desktop PC. He pulled out his cell phone and started taking pictures. “What are you doing?”

“The way our luck has gone, somebody is going to drive this car off and we’ll lose any evidence again.”

“I say we wheel lock this son of a gun, then break out the windows. It is in a loading zone after all.”

Will clicked another picture and smiled. “I like the way you think officer Vig.”

Tina started walking away. “I’ll get some wheel locks. You keep an eye on the car.”

Will watched Tina walk away. He thought about what Clayton had said about telling her how he felt. His mind was far, far away from Sioux Falls, and the Cadillac behind him.

***

“About time!”

“Relax, would ya? I remember when you hadn’t showered for a week or three.”

“That was a rough patch. I think it took me five showers that day. Today might be two.”

Bob slid the key card into the door. “You’re in luck. I got extra shampoo and soap for you.” Bob opened the door. “I’m just happy I was able to talk our way in here.”

“Say what?”

“They wanted ID and a name and a credit card and everything. I had to make up some story about having my wallet stolen, and getting money from my friend who was on his way here.”

“She bought that?”

“I had to lay the charm on pretty thick.”

“What did you use for a name?”

“Oh, I figured I’d just use an old college friend’s name to sign in. Not a big deal.”

“Which friend?”

Bob plopped into the chair in the room, and tossed his lucky sunglasses onto the desk. “Eli Elson.”

***

Tina heard footsteps behind her as she was about to turn towards the front of the station. She saw Will running up to her. She was worried for a moment about the car, but then she was worried about what he might be saying.

“Tina listen…I…I realize this is a bad time…”

“No time like the present?” She arched her eyebrows and gave a half smirk.

“Listen…I…you…me…let me start over. Look, I don’t want to…I mean, we work together and get along, and…”

“Will” Tina said, as she moved closer. “Are you trying to ask me on a date instead of watching the car?”

Will reached out to Tina’s shoulders, and spun them both around. “There, now I can do both.”

***

Jebediah scrolled through his contacts. He got down to Z1, Z2, and Z3. “I really need to clear out the other two” he said.

“I’m going to miss that car.” Jeremiah turned the unmarked car into the airport.

Jebediah hit send. After three rings, he hung up. “It’s done.”

109 (25)

The door to interrogation room three opened very slowly.  Clayton Iron-Horse walked in, carrying only a notepad.  He kicked the door closed and took a look at Laura Black.  She was handcuffed, but she still had a killer’s look in her eyes.  Her black hair was tussled, messy and falling around her eyes.  She jutted her lower lip out, pursed her top lip on the center of the lower, and tried to blow some of her hair out of her eyes.  Clayton walked over to the seat across from her, and threw the notepad on the table.  He sat slowly, and didn’t take his eyes off of her.  She again tried to blow her hair out of her eyes.  She was still wearing her police uniform, badge and all.  A few buttons had popped off, and part of her undershirt was showing very clearly.  Clayton leaned back in his seat, and started staring at her.  Laura stared right back at him, taking breaks only to try to blow her hair up out of her face with an audible PFFFT.

“So, is Laura Black your real name?  At least Laura?”

PFFFT

“Why did that woman scream?”

PFFFT

“Who was in the elevator with you?”

PFFFT

“Do you have anything to say?”

“I could really use a hair tie.”

Clayton frowned.

***

Eli took a deep breath and walked into the police station.  Agent Garrett and agent Lewis were right behind him.  Captain Hale met them near the entrance.  “Who’s this?”

“Eli Elson.  We think he might know where Fulton might be.”  Eli rolled his eyes when he heard Garrett speak.

“Is he under arrest?”

“No” Lewis said.  “He…agreed to come here and answer some questions willingly.”

“We need an interrogation room.”

“Listen Garrett, if he’s here of his own free will, I don’t think an interrogation room is a good idea.  We can process him anywhere.”

“I have to insist.  We need to question him in private.”

Hale looked over to one of the nearby officers.  Take our guest to room four.  Get him something to drink.”

“Thank you.  We’ll be with him shortly.  We both need to check in with our people.”

“You can use my office.”  Garrett and Lewis started walking towards the stairs.  “By the way, F.B.I. agent Clayton Iron-Horse is interrogating our fake officer right now.  He’s in room three.”

“Thank you captain” Lewis said, offering a slight smile before turning and heading up the stairs again.  Hale shook his head and walked towards the elevator.

“Captain Hale?  I think you want to take line three.”

Hale stopped and walked to a nearby desk.  “This is captain Hale.”

“Captain, my name is Julio Perez, I work security for the rail yard here in Sioux Falls.”

“Yes Mr. Perez.  I’m sorry that you had to wait this morning.  I’ve spoken with my detective about that.”

“I’m not calling because I had to wait, I’m calling because I think I found your boxcar.”

“Come again?”

“One of our trains stopped in Ortonville, Minnesota because a boxcar had a wide open door.  There’s a lot of evidence to suggest it was occupied by at least two men, and the train left Sioux Falls last night.”

“Julio, I realize you’ve had a long night, but could you come down to the station?  This could be the break we’ve been looking for.”

106 (22)

Felix sat at his desk, clutching a styrofoam cup.  He was sipping water, even with a half-can of Vault on his desk.  Every time an officer walked by, Felix got a pat on the shoulder.  A few sips later, Felix heard someone come up behind him, but he didn’t get a pat.  “Clayton Iron-Horse?”

“Good guess.  How are you doing?”

“I’ve been better.”  Felix sipped some more water.

“I take it getting shot at isn’t something you’re terribly used to?”

Felix sipped some more water.  “Honestly, if it wasn’t for my computer skills I don’t think I could handle this job.  Most of my co-workers either like or tolerate being out there.  I’m most comfortable here, doing what I can to help from the safety of these four walls.”

Clayton walked around to the side of his desk.  “So, why be a policeman at all?  I’m sure with your skills you could get a nice job involving computers?”

“I could, but I like to think I help people.  I want to serve and protect the citizens, as corny as that sounds.  As long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a cop.  My dad was a cop, and so was his dad.  It’s what I always wanted.”  Felix finished the water and sat the cup on his desk.  He grabbed the Vault can and chugged what was left.  “I just kinda suck at it…police work anyway.  The captain keeps me around for what I can do in research and digging on-line.”

“Do you still need to put on the full uniform then?”

Felix looked down at his uniform.  He reached up to his badge and fumbled with it for a second.  “No, not really.”

“Listen Felix, I need anything you have so far that the Captain wanted you to find.  I know he probably asked you to find it on the QT, but anything you can spare about these other agents on this case I can use.”

“That?  Oh, that’s no problem.”  Felix double-clicked his scroll lock and the screen flickered.  He moused over to a few open windows and maximized them.  “Agent Garrett is with the N.R.O., and agent Lewis is with the N.G.A., and they’ve both worked for the C.I.A.”

Felix bent down and looked closely.  “Typically, the N.R.O. and N.G.A. don’t send out agents to harass local law enforcement.  This must be a C.I.A. matter.”  Clayton pulled out his phone and pressed three.

“Agent Iron-Horse, do you need anything else?”

Clayton looked down at his phone, then at Felix.  He looked so young, and his enthusiasm told Clayton the world hadn’t ground its heel into his spirit yet, and he didn’t want this case to be the cause.  “Not right now.  Just keep doing what you’re doing.  Hale is lucky to have someone like you on the force.”  Clayton started to walk away, but turned around after a few steps.  “By the way, I don’t say sorry for ending hostage situations, but I am sorry if I did you any undue harm.”  Clayton started walking away again.  Felix shook his head and resumed another search.

What secrets are you hiding Mr. Iron-Horse?