Stand Down

Getting out, he walked past a vending machine with the latest issue in it—the cover story was about the latest round of crop subsidies being voted on in the state legislature. Stepping through the front door of the A-frame building, Bolan walked up to a long counter with a plump, young, bottle-blonde woman behind it. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, I was wondering if you had your back issues on computer file or microfilm?”

“The library would be more likely to help you with those kinds of records. May I ask what you’re looking for?”

“Sure, my name’s Matt Cooper, I’m a freelance stringer for the Capitol Journal. I’d heard there was a double homicide here in town recently, and decided to come out and see if I could get the story.”

While he talked, the receptionist’s face went from curiosity to confusion to concern. “Would you wait here for a moment? I’m going to get someone to help you.”

“All right.” Bolan cooled his heels in the reception area for less than a minute. The receptionist hustled back out with an attractive brunette woman in her mid-to late-thirties.

“This is the gentleman I told you about.”

The older woman held out her hand. “Casey Hinder, editor-in-chief.”

Bolan introduced himself again using the Cooper alias. “Perhaps there’s somewhere we can talk more privately?”

“Absolutely, why don’t you come back into my office?” She led him behind the counter, past a cluster of fabric-walled cubicles, some empty, others occupied by employees. At the back of the large room was a row of offices. Casey ushered Bolan into the corner one, which was slightly larger than the others.

“Have a seat.” Bolan did so while Casey closed the door and crossed around the back of the desk, sitting in an old wooden-backed chair. “Okay, buddy, who the hell are you really?”

Bolan frowned. “I told you, I’m—”

She held up her hands. “Save it, there’s no way you’re a stringer for the Topeka CJ. Mainly because this ‘story’ hasn’t even gone out over the wire, so there’s no way you’re from that paper, as they don’t even know about it yet. Then I get a call about a dark-haired man resembling your general description who goes toe-to-toe with Everado De Cavallos this afternoon and walks away in one piece.”

Bolan smiled. “Deputy Quintanar had something to do with that.”

The journalist shook her head. “Whatever. Look, my source—who knows what they’re talking about—says it looked like you were about to mop the floor with them. I may be the editor-in-chief, but I had my share of bylines before I reached this desk, and it doesn’t take much to figure this one out.”

“I don’t think your source saw the same conversation I had with Everado.” Bolan leaned back in his chair. “All right, I’ll level with you. I’m a freelance journalist on my way back from a convention in Las Vegas. I stopped in for lunch at the diner, heard about the double homicide and thought I might be able to get a story out of it.”

Casey’s slim eyebrow rose. “A freelance journalist?”

Bolan nodded.

“Driving a brand-new Cadillac?”

“Rental. You wouldn’t believe how many frequent flyer points I’ve racked up on my credit cards.”

“Pardon my bluntness, but you look way too fit to be a stringer.”

Bolan smiled again. “Thanks for noticing—I try to keep fit.”

His implication hit the editor after a moment, and she colored slightly. “Hmph.” She studied him for a long minute. Bolan returned her frank, green-eyed gaze with his own pair of vibrant blues, not saying a word. “You got some kind of press pass, online clippings, website, anything?”

Bolan shook his head. “Not anything recent. Website got hacked by the Chinese in retaliation for a piece I did on the tongs last year. Even I can’t access it without getting spammed with a thousand pop-ups for ‘enhancement’ products. Even passed out all my business cards in Vegas.”

“Yes, how convenient.” Casey rested her elbows on the desk. “All right, I’ll give you what I know, on one condition—you give me twenty-four hours to break the story first, all right?”

“Sure, I’d have to sell it first anyway, so no problem.”

Blinking in surprise at having won so easily, Casey recovered and leaned back in her chair. “The decedents are Jack and Sandra Bitterman. Jack was basically the town lawyer. He handled just about everyone’s business here. He also was the main factor behind Cristobal locating their first North American laboratory here. Once they arrived, he served as legal counsel for the company in its dealings with the township.”

“Yeah, I’ve been researching them since I got here. Seems like an unusual place to locate a state-of-the-art facility, don’t you think?”

Casey had slipped on a pair of tortoiseshell glasses and regarded Bolan over the rims. “That question’s been asked many times before, and the heads of the facility say they wanted a place where it was peaceful and quiet. No doubt the tax break package Jack lined up with the state government had something to do with it as well.”

Bolan had been doing an internet search again, and held up his smart-phone. “This victims?” He’d located a picture of the family, a man, woman and teenage girl, who looking to be about seventeen years old, posing at some kind of county fair next to a blue-ribbon science project.

“Yeah, that’s Sandra, Jack and Kelly…” Casey’s voice trailed off.

Bolan asked the obvious question. “Where is the daughter now?”

Casey stared at him as if he’d just sprouted wings. “Oh my God, just fire me already… The sheriff’s department hasn’t mentioned a single word about her yet.”

“So she’s still out there somewhere, yet from what you just said, the sheriff hasn’t put out an Amber Alert for a missing teenager, or sent out any sort of BOLO announcement yet.”

Casey’s expression had gone from disgust for not seeing the connection to uncomfortable at Bolan’s comments. Before she could reply, her desk phone rang. “Excuse me, will you?”

She picked up the phone. “Hinder, editor’s desk…yes, Principal, how can I help you?…she was where?…Yes…I’ll be right over to discuss it with you…thank you.”

She slammed down the phone, then looked up with haunted eyes. “Do you have any children, Mr. Cooper?”

Bolan shook his head. “Haven’t found the right opportunity yet.”

“Well, if you ever decide to take that particular plunge, think long and hard about it before you do—they’re equal parts heaven and hell, but my daughter seems to be leaning toward the latter recently.”

“Let me guess—she was caught skipping school and brought there by a Deputy Quintanar, right?”

Casey had been rising from her chair while Bolan talked, but stopped halfway to the door, her mouth open. “How’d you know that?”

“She was at the diner when I ran into Everado. Matter of fact, she was with Everado—”

Casey cut Bolan off before he could finish. “Goddamn it all to hell! I told her to stay away from him! Nothing good’s gonna come from her hangin’ out with any of them. Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go.” She handed him a card. “If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”

“That I do. Thanks for your assistance, and good luck with your daughter.” Bolan rose and got the door for Casey.

“I’ll need more than luck to deal with her today.” They both walked into the bullpen to see Deputy Quintanar talking with the receptionist. He looked up to see Casey and Bolan together, and his brow furrowed in puzzlement before he smoothed his expression over while waiting for them to approach.

“Ms. Hinder, I was wondering if you had a few minutes.”

“Sorry, Rojas, but I got a problem I have to take care of first. Maybe we can catch up later this afternoon?”

“That would be fine. I’ll check in with you later.” He kept an eye on Bolan as Casey ran out of the building. “You’re certainly taking an interest in our little town, Mr. Cooper.”

Bolan nodded. “I’ve been looking for a place to settle down for the past few months, somewhere quiet, peaceful. I thought Quincyville might be just the town I’ve been looking for. I was asking Ms. Hinder about local businesses that might be hiring and properties available for rent or sale.”

The deputy digested this story for a moment. “Quincyville is always glad to have new folks settle down here. It’s a good place to raise a family. What line of work are you in?”

In for a penny, in for a pound, Bolan thought. “Private security. I used to work for Blackwater, but got out before the government stuck its nose in too far. Times have been a bit tight lately. That’s why I was looking into local businesses. Right now I’m into whoever can give me a steady paycheck.”

His reply seemed to relax the deputy somewhat. “Interesting. If you do decide to call Quincyville home, perhaps you and I should talk again. It’s possible I could recommend you to our company as a security specialist.”

Bolan frowned. “Our company? I thought you worked for the state?”

Quintanar’s frown matched his for a second, then he smiled. “That’s true, but all of us here in Quincyville are very proud of what Cristobal has done for the town. I hope you’ll excuse our possessiveness.”

Bolan nodded with what he hoped looked like relief. “Doesn’t matter much to me, as long as the pay’s steady. Any word you could put in would be great, although I wouldn’t expect you to have much trouble out here.”

“You’d be surprised. There are always problems that need attention in the pharmaceutical business—corporate espionage, product transfer security, even bodyguarding our senior officials when they travel outside the U.S. A man with the right experience could prove to be very useful.”

“I’d appreciate the opportunity to talk with your superiors if possible. Truth be told, except for that Caddy outside, my pockets are a bit on the light side at the moment. If I decide to stick around, I’ll be in touch.”

The deputy tipped his hat. “Hope you do. I’ll see you around.” He pushed the door open, holding it for Bolan to follow him out, then headed for his cruiser. Bolan watched him leave before getting into his own car and hitting the speed-dial for Stony Man Farm.

“Hey, Striker, looks like I win my bet with Hal.” The cheerful voice of Aaron “the Bear” Kurtzman sounded in his ear. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to go more than twelve hours before checking in.”

“I was thinking the same thing about you guys,” Bolan said dryly.

“So how’s the road trip going?”

“Funny you should ask. I’ve run into a bit of a detour in a town called Quincyville, in Kansas.”

“What’s going on out there?”

“I’m not quite sure yet. If you’re only tackling the usual three or four things at the moment, can you check the national law-enforcement databases for information on a double homicide involving an attorney named Jack Bitterman?”

“He the vic?”

“Yeah, apparently he and his wife were both killed sometime yesterday.”

“Okay, just a sec.” Bolan heard Kurtzman’s fingers flying over his keyboard. Stony Man Farm intelligence-gathering apparatus was unrivaled by any other organization in the world, and Kurtzman was the brains behind making it all work. After a few seconds, the analyst spoke up. “I got nothing on local, state or regional DBs. No bulletins or anything. You didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?”

“No, but the local sheriff’s department is keeping it on the QT, which seems really strange. Do me a favor and have Akira place a cover file for Matt Cooper setting him up as an ex-field employee of Blackwater, let go in the recent past under questionable circumstances. Tag any inquiries originating from Quincyville ISPs and trace them back to their source host.”

“We’re on it. You looking for a good or bad jacket?”

“Make it gray—charges brought but nothing proved. Prioritize that one. I have a feeling someone’s going to be checking out my background very quickly. That reminds me, ‘Matt Cooper’s’ last mission was as a DOJ agent. Delete that file. I don’t want this guy stumbling across that jacket while searching for my other fake identity. If anyone needs to check my DOJ affiliation, I’ll have them make a call.”

“I’m on it. Anything else?”

“Yeah, do a search on cell phone records for a Kelly Bitterman. That’s their daughter, who’s been missing since yesterday, and hasn’t been found yet. Two more things. First, get me a jacket on a deputy out here named Quintanar.” Bolan spelled the name as he recalled it from the deputy’s nameplate. “First name Rojas.”

Kurtzman’s fingers sounded like they were moving so fast, Bolan could have sworn he smelled plastic melting. “Got it. What’s the second?”

“There’s a company in town named Cristobal Pharmaceuticals. They seem to be a big player here. What can you tell me about them?”

Bolan heard more tapping. “I can send you their most recent quarterly statement if you’d like. Let’s see… Founded in 1987 in Veracruz. Originally known as a health-food company, selling herbal supplements and the like. Bought out in 2004 by Cristobal Enterprises out of Maracaibo, Venezuela, which renamed itself the Cristobal Pharmaceutical Company. They built their U.S. headquarters in 2006 in Quincyville, Kansas. No initial ties to criminal organizations that I can find, however, it seems Cristobal, no matter how it’s been reinvented, has a rather tangled past. It’s been passed around several South American holding companies like a hot potato. Want me to keep digging?”

“Absolutely. And let me know when you’ve accessed Kelly’s phone records. I want to know if she’s contacted anyone in the past twelve hours.”

“You got it. Hey, if Hal calls for you, what should I tell him?”

Bolan’s mouth quirked up in a half smile. “Tell him I’m doing a little house hunting in Kansas.”

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