Officer Travis Bucholz took a deep breath, and reached for his radio. Julio Perez was looking him over as he turned around. Travis pulled his radio out halfway, then slid it back into place. He dug in his pocket for a cell phone. He found Detective Hetfield’s number on a scrap of paper and punched in the numbers. Travis thought about using the radio after the first three rings.

“Hetfield. Who is this?” Travis hesitated for a moment, as he was already reaching for his radio with his free hand.

“Detective, this is officer Travis Bucholz. I’m here at the rail yard with Julio Perez.”

“Who?”

“Julio Perez.”

“I heard the name Bucholz, who the hell is he?”

“He’s…he’s from railroad security. The captain wanted you to interview him about a lead.”

“What? When?”

“Officer Black told me to call. She said the Captain called you.”

“Black? Robby Black? I thought he transferred out.”

“Is Robby a girl?”

“What?”

“I mean, the officer Black I talked to was female.”

“Look, I have a lead here at the airport. Tell the railroad rent a cop I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Travis opened his mouth to protest, but Hetfield had hung up. He turned to Julio, who was staring at him with his arms folded, and an angry posture. “Detective Hetfield has a new lead, so he’s a bit hung up, but he’ll be here as soon as he can.”

Julio nodded and walked towards the wall. He pulled out a cell phone of his own as Travis paced nervously.

***

“Do you really think I’d pull Michelle into this?” Phil was angry now, and Bob was back on his heels.

“Whoa, wait. I was just making sure.” Bob was using hand gestures, and that told Phil that Bob was lying.

“Just making sure of what? That I wasn’t going to go scouring a town of 30,000 while the police and some nutball assassin are looking for us? Then what?” Phil was yelling louder with each passing word as Bob backed away. “YOU HONESTLY THINK I WOULD DRAG HER INTO THIS MESS YOU’VE GOTTEN US INTO?” Bob raised his hands up, almost as if to stop Phil from getting to close. Phil spun around and slapped his hands on the side of his head. He walked towards the door and looked out at the farms, fields and cars flying by. The houses and cars seemed to be appearing with greater frequency now. Phil briefly thought about jumping out. He could still remember the day he came home. He could see the empty drawers. The words on the note she left behind jumped out in his mind. Phil wanted to scream, cry, and punch Bob all at the same time. He heard Bob pacing behind him, and he rocked his body forward slightly. He thought he could survive jumping out of the train, but he just couldn’t do it. Maybe Bob was right about Phil’s motivation to jump out in Aberdeen. Phil had done his best to bury his feelings for Michelle, but he could feel them clawing out of his stomach the closer the train rolled to Aberdeen. He lowered his hands as Bob crouched beside him.

“I’m sorry” Bob said.

Marie crumpled up the paper she was writing on.  She turned to another blank page in the notebook she’d bought when she came in to work.  She had a wastebasket filled with half written notes to her ex boyfriend.  Half of the notes were about getting back together, while the other half were final goodbyes after a few months with their relationship in a gray area.  She wasn’t sure how this one should go.  She wouldn’t be deciding yet, as the door of the E-Z Stop swung open.  A woman with short blond hair walked in.  Her glasses shifted from dark to clear as she walked to the beverage case.  She was wearing tight black dress pants and a colorful shirt that didn’t reveal much skin, but it was hugging her body almost as tightly as her pants.  Marie started thinking not about her last boyfriend, but her last girlfriend.  This woman reminded her of a cross between her ex girlfriend and the woman who she caught cheating with one of her old boyfriends.  She had seen her here before, usually getting gas.  She walked up to the counter with a pack of Orbit and a Diet Sunkist.  Marie picked up the gum to scan it in.  “Howdy.  Did you have gas?”

“Nope, just the gum and soda.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“I’ve seen you come in a lot, but I never caught your name.”

The girl smiled a bit.  “Are you trying to build a better rapport with your customers?”

“It never hurts.”

The woman smiled.  “Michelle.  I’m taking some classes at the college and working as an assistant manager at Herberger’s.  Would you like my hobbies and interests?”

Maire started laughing.  “Sure, why not?  I just…you look like someone I used to know.”

“Good way or bad way?”

“Actually, two people I used to know, one of each.”

“Well, I’ll try to strive to be the good one.”

Marie laughed some more.  “Good call.  Three-oh-three is your total.”  Michelle took out three dollars and then took three pennies from the give a penny dish. 

“If I need to re-gum, I’ll come back later.  Right now I’m off to pull a quick fill in shift.  See ya later.”  Michelle smiled as she walked out the door and to her car.  Marie took her pen in hand and started thinking again about what to write.  She heard Michelle’s Toyota leave the lot, and for a moment she was lost in thoughts about her.  Her thoughts were broken up by the sound of a bottle landing on her counter.  She turned and saw a woman with black hair and dark glasses who Marie didn’t remember coming into the store.  Her leather jacket looked very new, and she seemed almost annoyed with the fact she hadn’t been rung up yet. 

“Sorry…j-”

“Just the Dew and the V8.”

Marie scanned the bottles while the impatient woman started putting on a pair of biker gloves.  “Three tw-”

“Keep the change” the woman said, as she walked out the door.  She had left a five on the counter.  Marie just watched her down the Mountain Dew as she revved up her motorcycle.  Soon, the woman was gone, and Marie was wondering what to do with the change.  As she was counting it out, a man emerged from the video lottery casino.

“Hey, I think I have a winner.”

Marie looked at the print out.  Sure enough, the man had won well over fifty dollars.  “Good job.  I’ll need you to fill out the back and I’ll need some ID.”

Marie looked up and the man was already half out of the door.  “I forgot my ID, so call it a tip” he said as the door closed behind him.  Marie watched the man walk towards the Super 8.  She was up over fifty dollars on the last few minutes, but she still had no idea what to write her ex.

*TYLER, WHERE ARE YOU, OVER?*

Tyler grimaced as he pushed open the door. As he walked he reached up for his handset. “I’m in the can. Is there a rule today that every time I go to the little security officer’s room I get a call from you? Over!”

*TYLER, WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR PERSONS OF INTEREST, OVER*

“Look, they hauled a person of interest out on a stretcher, nearly dead. The F.B.I. guy is on the phone and the cop keeps asking people the same damn questions. Unless a plane is about to impact or Dick Cheney is making another trip to hunt and we need to polish our boots, I’ll be in the can. Over and OUT!” Tyler waited for his handset to bark more grief his way, but it remained silent. “Finally” Tyler said aloud as he walked towards the stalls. With the first two not looking too appealing, he swung open the door to the third. Sitting on the toilet was a man in his underwear and a t-shirt who looked dead to the world. Tyler reached towards him and put two fingers on his neck. “Good, you have a pulse. Sit tight.” Tyler backed up and closed the door, and then reopened it. “By the way, I’d avoid chili recipes from the internet.” Tyler closed the door on the unconscious man, and moved to the next stall. “I’d also be glad I was unconscious” Tyler mumbled to himself.

***

“It feels like we’re slowing down.” Bob walked to the door of the boxcar and closed it most of the way.

“What are you doing?” Phil closed his cell phone and put it back in his pocket. “Don’t we need to, you know, disembark?”

“If I’m not mistaken, there are a fair amount of railroad crossings in Aberdeen, so the fewer people to possibly see us, the better.”

“Good call.”

“Did you see anyone to call in town, or are we on our own?”

“I thought I had a cousin here, but I forgot that she moved to Valley City.”

“North Dakota? Well, if we stay on this train long enough, that might come in handy.”

“I thought we were getting off this train in Aberdeen?”

“I never said that.”

Phil looked out the opening. The sun was hitting the cars on the nearby highway, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. He looked back at Bob, then out the door again. “I really think we should get off here. Get some food, wait it out, then hop another train tonight.”

“See, I was thinking about that. I think we’re better off waiting. If this train keeps going, I say we keep going and wait until it stops. Maybe we’ll end up in North Dakota, or Minnesota, or heck, even Canada.”

“Canada? We don’t even have passports. Not only will we be jailed, we’ll have to be deported or who knows what. I say we get off in town, and get out under cover of darkness.”

Bob folded his arms and inhaled deeply. “Is this about Michelle?”

*click click click*

Felix Moore lifted his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and yelled. “Oh come ON!” After a quick look around the corners, he balled up his right hand into a fist. His arm swung back, and rushed forward with righteous anger.

*BAM*

*BAM BAM*

*BAM BAM BAM*

Felix took a step back. The Coke logo almost seemed to stare back at him. He swung his leg back, then stopped it. He dug into his left front pocket and found two more quarters. I must be crazy kept repeating in his mind as he went through the same steps he had gone through before.

*click*

*rattle rattle*

*KA-THUNG*

Felix looked down and saw two cans of Vault. “Caffin-ation!” Within minutes he was back at his corner desk, with his desktop drive whirring his bidding. His laptops got less attention, but the two computers on either side were not forgotten. As he was finishing the first soda, an officer walked up behind him.

“Felix, do you have that list of…”

Felix cut off the officer by handing him the three pages of warrants and previous violations the officer needed. “Happy warrant-ing.”

Felix reached for his ear buds and popped them in, as he glanced from screen to screen. He started clicking through tabs on one laptop when another officer walked up.

“Felix, do you have any…”

With minimal flourish, he slid open a drawer and handed the officer a folder. “Ten great second honeymoon destinations on your budget. I like Niagra Falls myself.”

The officer thanked him as Felix cracked open his second Vault. He was connecting his buds to his iPod when another officer walked up. “Felix, any luck on finding…”

“…the Highway Patrol’s ticket records for I-29 last summer? Here’s May through September just to be on the safe side” Felix said, as he handed another folder out.

“Great!”

Felix connected the headphones, but then pulled out an ear bud as he saw his intercom blinking.

“Officer Moore, research, cybercrime and currently single.”

“Get serious for a moment Moore!”

Felix straightened in his chair immediately. “Sorry Captain. I thought you were Carol.”

“I’m using her phone. I told my fed friends that I had my morning constitution to take care of.”

“Ah, your charming side is coming out.”

“Shut it. Anything?”

“Everything I can find about your friends at the N.G.A. and the N.R.O. seems on the level. Granted, I need written authorization to, shall we say, dig further.”

“It’s on your desk, under that CD-R spindle.”

Felix lifted the spindle and looked over the form. “Consider my shovel at your disposal.”

“Good. Maybe I’ll keep looking the other way while you use our T3 line to download songs.” *click*

Felix hung up the phone. He put his right ear bud back in and flipped the screen to his second laptop, which was built, wired in, and officially off the record. He fired up a few programs, then flipped back to his regular computer to start printing off a few things he found about Mabel Gravley and Bartholomew McGillcuddy. He pressed play on his iPod, where his previously interrupted Rilo Kiley song began playing.

Under the blacklight
Out in the garden
Into the pale moon
I’ll be waiting

As Felix worked, he was oblivious to Laura Black, who had been watching him like a hawk for the last five minutes. He also didn’t see her smiling, as she began plans to ensnare all of her prey.

“What is that?”  Will was befuddled as he looked over the square that Clayton was holding with a pair of tweezers.

“This is a little bit of nastiness called a poison patch.  I took it off Richmond while you were talking to the security guard.  I told the EMTs what they’d need to do, but our odds are not good for getting anything out of Richmond.”

Will noticed the square bend a bit as Clayton held it.  “It looks like athletic tape or something similar.  How sticky is it?”  Will reached for it, but Clayton quickly yanked it away.

“What part of ‘poison patch’ don’t you get?  It’s poisonous.  If you touch it your odds of survival aren’t great, even with most of the substance in Richmond’s system now.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that.  It looks so thin.”

“That’s the great part of this thing.  It’s only a quarter of an inch on all sides, but the poison it delivers through the skin is effective over ninety per cent of the time.”

Will kept getting closer.  “Are you kidding me?  It looks thinner than paper.”  Clayton carefully took a small plastic bag out of his jacket and dropped the patch into the bag.

“The reason it’s so thin is that it has been in place for a while.  The patch dissolves in moisture, and one of the first symptoms of the poison is increased sweating.”

Will shook his head.  “That little square?  Plus it dissolves?  It sounds like the perfect tool for assassination.”

Clayton pulled out his phone.  “That’s the plan.  It was designed that way.”

“By who?  China?  Russia?  Al-Qaeda?”

Clayton sighed.  “I’m afraid this little number is a product of the United States.  I’ve heard about them but I’ve never seen one, and as far as I knew they weren’t being used.”

“Waitaminute” Will said as he moved in to whispering distance.  “Are you telling me we make these little death squares?”

“These little death squares are supposed to be under lock and key for our intelligence communities, and as far as I know they never got past the testing phase.  The symptoms and the square fit everything I know to a tee, so it looks like either somebody is using stolen U.S. tech, or…”

“Or what?”

“…or this case took a turn away from identity theft and onto a really dark path.  Will, we need to keep this on the QT.  I told the EMTs that I knew he had been poised earlier from his house.  They can’t know it was this square.  I need to call Washington and report this.  I won’t let them take me off the case, but before I hit send, I need you to promise something.”

“Promise something?”

“You’re a good and honest cop Will.  I need you to promise that if I tell you to forget all this and move on to the next case, you will.  You need to tell me you’ll step away and let us or some other feds handle this.  I’d hate to see you caught in the crossfire or in the wrong place.”

Will looked down, then back at Clayton.  “Okay.  Whatever you say.”

“Great.”  Clayton walked away to a corner of the terminal with a finger in one ear, and his phone pressed tightly against the other.  Will looked down at his right hand, where he had crossed two fingers.

“You can just call me Felix”

Laura Black looked over the young policeman. He was quite handsome, with perfect black hair and a glint in his eye that revealed mischief and attraction. Laura had been here for a few months, but he wasn’t an officer she’d seen before. This one she would have remembered.

“Officer…Black? Can I help you?” He was looking her over, and she then realized she should really respond to what he was saying.

“Yes officer Moore. I need…”

“Please, just call me Felix. Everyone just calls me Felix.” His smile was distracting, and while she was enjoying the distraction she needed to stay on target.

“Okay…Felix. I need more information on these two people that we’re questioning. Any angle you can find.” She handed Felix a list of her notes so far.

“Yes yes…Batholomew McGillcuddy and Mabel Gravley. How much longer are we holding them?”

“Mabel won’t be here much longer without causing us headaches, but we can hold B longer, since we brought him in on trespassing.”

“Excuse me, did you say ‘B’?”

“As long as we’re being informal…Mr. McGillcuddy seems to be known to most people as just B.”

“That sounds like an interesting mystery in itself.”

“Solve that on your own time Felix. I need info in fifteen minutes.”

“Certainly Ms. Black, or do you have a first name?”

“Laura” she said as she walked away. Felix watched her walk before punching in Mabel and B’s names into a search. While the search ran, he minimized the window and went back to trying to find more info on Ross Garrett and Kathy Lewis before Captain Hale had a chance to sneak away.

***

“So, we get out in Aberdeen. That’s the plan, right?” Phil said, as he scrolled through his phone contacts.

“We wait until the train has come to a complete stop at the rail yard an…HEY!” Bob shot up and walked over to Phil. He tried to snatch Phil’s cell phone away, but Phil recoiled back in plenty of time.

“What? I’m just looking up numbers.”

“What if they can track it while it’s just on?”

“No more Bond movie Saturdays on Spike for you.” Phil used one hand to keep Bob at bay while he held his phone behind his back.

“Dude, I’m serious.”

“Look, I wasn’t going to call anyone or check my mail. I was looking for any friends or relatives that I might have near the area. Once I find one, I’ll keep it handy and find a pay phone once we get there.”

Bob pulled away. “Look at us. Some cloak and dagger outfit we are. Heck, for all old man B knows the cell phone could turn into a robot.” Bob chuckled as he sat back down. He pulled out his cell phone and turned it on. His laughing suddenly stopped and he had a look of frustration. He closed the phone and put it back in his pocket. “Just my luck. I’d love to get some poker in, but I haven’t charged my phone in a few days.”

“I plug mine in every night” Phil said as he went back to looking at his display.

“Yeah yeah” Bob said as he started watching the fields roll by.

Phil stopped scrolling and just stared at one name in his contacts list:

Michelle Whiteman

Collin heard the snap behind him.  He didn’t even have to look to know what had happened.  His suitcase was laying flat, about a yard away from where he stood.  He lifted his arm and looked a the cheap metal handle that had popped out of his luggage.  He had only been in Sioux Falls for five minutes, and his trip was already careening towards disaster.  He was about to take a step towards the suitcase when he felt the presence of someone standing behind him.  He turned slowly around and looked up at a very large man looking down towards him.  The man was smiling, but it looked very forced.  The fluorescent lights reflected off the lenses of his sunglasses, which were balancing on his forehead. 

“Excuse me sir, it looks like you need some help.”  Collin turned around and watched as another man lifted up his suitcase.  He swung it onto his shoulder and smiled.  “Welcome to Sioux Falls” said the man who was now holding his suitcase.  “I’m going to go on a limb here and say your trip isn’t going as planned.”

“Not exactly.  My wife just bought me that luggage.”  Collin was still a bit nervous, and very confused.  The men had Northwest wings on their jackets, but they weren’t as nicely dressed as most airport workers. 

“Well, we’re here to turn that frown upside down.  Let my associate Jebediah help you with your other bag.  We’ll get you to a cab.  Or, are you renting today?”

“A cab is fine.  I have a hotel downtown.”

“Splendid, right this way.”  The man started walking forward.  Collin was confused, but he also didn’t feel like carrying his own luggage.  He handed Jebediah his laptop bag and his garment bag.  “So, is this your first time in South Dakota?”

“Well, yes.  I’m in town for a meeting with Citigroup on a new ad campaign.”

“You’re from Los Angeles then?”

Collin smirked.  “Actually, San Franscisco, but I grew up in Los Angeles.”

“No kidding?  Same here.  Jeremiah Smith.”  Jeremiah extended his free hand for a handshake.  Collin heartily shook his hand back.

“No kidding?  How did you end up out here?”

“I came out for college, then decided I liked the slower pace and the friendly people.”

Collin looked at Jeremiah and smiled.  “Really?  I can’t imagine living anywhere but a big city.”

Jeremiah started laughing.  “My friend, you are in the largest city in either Dakota.  The town will do all it can to make you feel at home.”  Just as Jeremiah said that, a few of airport security people ran past them.  “Does that help?”

“A little” Collin said.  “I had a layover in Cleveland, and I found the town’s newspaper site.  There was some kind of highway pile up yesterday.  There was also a story about a policeman being gunned down, but the police weren’t releasing a lot of detail about it.  This isn’t a dangerous town, is it?”

Jeremiah smiled wide.  “No sir, you’ll find things like that are very rare.”  The trio walked out into the sunny Saturday afternoon.  Jebediah flagged down a cab within seconds, and soon Collin’s bags were loaded into the trunk. 

“Thanks a bunch guys” Collin quipped as he reached for his wallet.

“We don’t need a tip sir.  Please.  Just have a good day and enjoy your stay.”  Collin looked at Jebediah with some surprise, as Collin had began wondering if Jebediah ever spoke.  Collin shrugged.

“Well, thanks again.”  Collin hopped into the cab and shut the door.  After giving the driver the name of his hotel, he glanced behind him.  He saw Jeremiah and Jebediah walking away from the airport, into the parking lot, where they soon faded away.

 ”I’ve got it, we’ll call a lawyer first.”  Phil said, showing the first signs of a smile that Bob had seen in hours.

“A lawyer?  Why”

“Because, we’re obviously going to need one.  They’ll want somebody to take the fall for a fallen officer.  I’m sure Mojito or whatever her name was is long gone.”

“Mokoto.”

“Again, why are you correcting me?”

“We need to keep our stories straight and consistent.”  Bob looked at the passing scenery.  A grove of trees flew by as he heard Phil start to snicker.

“Admit it Bob, you’ve got a thing for her.”

“EXCUSE ME?  The woman who was stalking us, shot a cop and tried to shoot us.  Yeah, she’s way my type.”

“Hell, I agree, but I can’t argue that she’s well put together, and I’m not big into Asian girls.”

“And I am?”

“Let’s see” said Phil as he folded his legs and started counting on his hand.  “First off, you bought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon the day it came out, and you kept raving about how great Zhang Ziyi was in it.”

“IT WAS A GOOD MOVIE.”

“Second, every MySpace survey you fill out that has the question ‘favorite actress’ you put Lucy Liu.”

“I like Lucy Liu.  Is that a crime?”

“Finally, the first bookmark on your browser’s bookmarks toolbar is 3DBooru.”

Bob’s face turned red.  “Hey, how did you know that?”

Phil shook his head.  “A guy can only get called into a room for so many funny YouTube clips before he starts noticing things on that computer’s Firefox bar.”

Bob put his head on his hands, slouching in a way that reflected defeat and dejection.  Suddenly, his head popped up and looked at Phil.  “How do you know what 3DBooru is?”

Phil rolled his eyes.  “Maybe it was that time you emailed the link to me and said ‘check this site’ perhaps?”

Bob put his head back on his hands, and returned to his regularly scheduled dejection.

***

The slow creaking of a door was last heard a minute ago.  There was no sound of running water, no noise from the stalls, and no zipping or unzipping.  Geoff was still breathing heavily, but he was keeping it as quiet as he could.  He was in a locked stall, in a catcher’s crouch while he kept dialing numbers in his phone that Jer might pick up.  Geoff dialed number after number, only to hear the familiar “mailbox full” refrain.  Geoff then started focusing on the cell numbers in his list of contacts.  Jer had at least two of those, and a few more Geoff knew he used to have.  His fingers started typing hastily and in all caps:

R U ALIVE?  J AND J KNOW YOU MIGHT BE.  WE NEED 2 TALK.  WHERE TH F R U?

Geoff hit send on the last number, when he heard the door open again.  He froze in place as he heard the footsteps of someone wearing boots walk in.  Geoff waited while he heard the familiar zipping noise.  What heard next was something he hadn’t heard yet.

“TYLER, WHERE ARE YOU, OVER” came the voice from a handset, the kind security kept attached to their shoulder.

“I’m in the bathroom, over”

“YOU CAN’T LEAVE YOUR POST LIKE THAT, OVER.”

“Relax, I have Thompson covering for me.  Besides, Mr. F.B.I. and that prick from the S.F.P.D. can handle things now, over.”

“TYLER, GET BACK TO YOUR POST.  WE HAVE IMAGES OF A PERSON OF INTEREST WHO MIGHT STILL BE AT THE AIRPORT.  ONE GEOFF PRYBLINSKI, OVER.”

“Roger, over and out.”  There was a quick zipping noise and the sounds of those same booted feet running out the door while the auto-flush kicked in.  Geoff knew that the police would be on his trail eventually, but he didn’t know they’d be after him already.  Geoff didn’t want to race both Jeremiah and Jebediah, along with the Sioux Falls police.  Plus, now that he knew the F.B.I. was in town, his margin of error was suddenly a negative number.  I wish I’d studied the airport layout better he thought as he got down from the toilet.  He exited the stall and began washing his hands, ignoring the sound of the door opening.  

********** has signed in

**********: Can you talk?

agent3477: This isn’t a good time.  I’m in the office.

**********: Captain Hale?

agent3477: That’s right.

**********: How is the investigation going?

agent3477: Things would be smoother if one of the local cops hadn’t been shot.

**********: Shot?  Fatal?

agent3477: Twice in the head fatal.

**********: That does complicate matters to some extent.  Was Gerrard’s body recovered?

agent3477: The body hasn’t been located.

**********: Excuse me?  Not located?

agent3477: That is correct.  A death certificate was filed, but the body is missing.

agent3477: Of course.  The body was signed for by the city’s head medical examiner.

 **********: That seems odd.  Did you check into him?

agent3477: He’s missing and his home was robbed.

**********: Robbed?

agent3477: So far there have been about six robberies with the same M.O.

**********: Missing data storage?

agent3477: That’s correct.

**********: Is anyone in custody?

agent3477:One Bartholomew McGillcuddy, who was caught trespassing at a rail yard.  He knows other people of interest.

**********: By other people of interest, you mean Phillip Anderton and Robert Fulton?

agent3477: Yes.

**********: Is there anything on those two?

agent3477: Neither is answering their cell phones, and they haven’t returned to their apartment.

**********: Their car?

agent3477: Nothing of note.

**********: What about the local investigation?

agent3477: Detective Hetfield is on the case.  He has some hard feelings toward the C.I.A., as you may know…

agent3477: It sounds like somebody from the F.B.I. is here as well.

**********: I’m aware that Gerrard was being investigated for an identity theft ring.

agent3477: Is it legit?

**********: Does that really matter?

agent3477: So, is there an agent in town?

**********: Clayton Iron-Horse is his name.  He’s good.  Very good.

agent3477: I think he should be recalled.

**********: Why?

agent3477: He could get in our way.  This is too important and secret for the F.B.I. to get involved in.

**********: I intend on Iron-Horse helping lead us to the data, and possibly our missing people.

agent3477: You mean Anderton and Fulton?

**********: Perhaps Gerrard as well.

agent3477: So, the assumption is that he is alive now?

**********: Assume nothing.

agent3477: I’m not, I just need to know if we’re in search or recovery.

**********: Whatever the good people of Sioux Falls believe, go with it.

agent3477: ?

**********: We don’t want any more attention drawn to you than we need to.  Don’t push them too hard.

agent3477: What about the recovery?  I thought that was more important than anything.

**********: We want to do the recovering.  We don’t want local authorities, the F.B.I., or especially Anderton and Fulton stumbling into what’s missing.

agent3477: I still don’t understand.

**********: Trust me.  Fading into a crowd right now serves us better than running around, flashing badges and flinging acronyms that most people don’t know.

agent3477: You’re in charge.

**********: I’m glad we agree on that.

agent3477: What about Captain Hale?

**********: Keep on him until this afternoon, in hopes we get some news.  After that, do some checking on your own.  Start monitoring for credit card transactions, security feeds, anything.  We need to find Anderton and Fulton and check them out.

agent3477: The credit card tracker is already running.  Hold on.

**********: What is it?

agent3477: The chief medical examiner was just taken to a hospital from the airport.  He’s in bad shape.

**********: Things are happening.  Check it out, and call me when you’re alone.

SKREEEEE

Will Hetfield didn’t even know if his car was in park, but he was out of it and running for the door with his badge in hand.  He glanced back for a fleeting second, and he was quite relieved to see his car not moving.  The doors opened up and he ran through the lobby of the airport.  Before he could talk, he saw a medic heading towards the departure gates.  He slowed to a stop and looked all around.  He didn’t see anyone that matched the description of Franklin Richmond, nor of Geoff Pryblinski.  Will ran towards a security officer, who put one arm towards him and one hand to his hip. 

“Relax, I’m with Sioux Falls PD.  I need to stop a flight to Vegas.  There’s a person of interest on that flight.”

“Sir, I can’t let you in right now.  We’ve had an incident and I don’t have any authorization to let S.F.P.D. in right now.”  The security guard didn’t move, and Will took a few breaths before he squinted his eyes.  He looked the guard over, and prepared to give him a dressing down.

“You there.  Agent Iron-Horse, F.B.I.”  Clayton was suddenly standing by will, holding his credentials in the guard’s face.  The guard lowered his hands.

“Go ahead Mr. Iron-Horse.  Your clearance came through a minute ago.”  The guard glared at Will, but moved aside for Clayton. 

“Hetfield is working with me.  I’ll clear him.”

“Very good sir.”

Will stood for a minute looking dumbfounded.  Clayton turned around and gestured towards him.  “What, you didn’t call ahead?  You just ran into an airport waving your badge around?”

“Hey, I don’t get to the airport very often.”  Will’s face was turning a bright red.

“C’mon.  I’ll tell you some more F.B.I. tricks on our way up.”

***

“Sorry…zoned out for a second…what were you saying?”

Phil stood up and slid the door until it was almost closed.  “I said, why don’t you close the door before we get to Aberdeen?  I have a hunch they’ll be looking for freight hoppers at some point.  The Sioux Falls P.D. isn’t some Roscoe P. Coltrane outfit.”

“Right right.  Sorry.”  Bob walked over to the door, and sat at the left of the foot long opening.  “I was just thinking about how hungry I was.”

“Oh, don’t even go there!”  Phil plopped down to the right of the opening.  “I skipped a run through Taco John’s because usually Friday means pizza.”

“I can top that, I didn’t eat lunch on Friday.”  Bob was rocking back and forth, clutching his stomach.

“How much cash to you have?  We should get a motel room, at least to shower and maybe call a lawyer.”

“If we’re going to call a lawyer, we could just as well use a credit card.”

“True.  We should have planned ahead to be outlaws.  We can probably get a motel for one night with our cash, then we’re in trouble.”

“We could hit an ATM before we skipped town.”

Phil started laughing.  “Just how long do you think we’ll be on the lam?”

Bob laughed but didn’t answer.

“Yeah” Phil said, “I don’t know either.”

***

“You’re sure?” Will asked.  The security guard’s face didn’t move.

“I’m positive.  As he collapsed, he seemed to gesture towards those seats, but when I looked, there was no one there.”  Will shook his head and looked around.  The medics were lifting Richmond onto a gurney, and he knew the ambulance was waiting.

“Dammit, we need him alive.  Otherwise it’s a dead end.”

“Maybe not” Clayton remarked as he watched Richmond’s gurney being wheeled away.  “I found something rather peculiar.”