‘I suspect the DIA has their work cut out for them right now,’ Ethan surmised as he flopped down into a chair. ‘Whoever went up against us represents a huge threat if they can operate with impunity from the government. Jarvis won’t want to face them in open battle again without further investigating just who the hell they are.’
Lopez winced as she leafed through a case file. ‘Jarvis doesn’t face anybody in open battle, Ethan. He just sends us in to do the shooting for him.’
‘He’s in his sixties, Nicola,’ Ethan pointed out. ‘Hardly an age for crashing through doors.’
Lopez shrugged, munching on a donut as she read from the file of an alleged Mickey Cobras killer by the deceptively impressive name of John Valiant, who had skipped bail out of Cook County a month earlier. Like most members of the Cobras gang, Valiant was an African American operating out of the Fuller Park area of the city, the gang’s collective operations involving drug trafficking, extortion, robbery and murder. Arrested for the homicide of an enforcer from the rival group Gangster Disciples during a drugs dispute that turned into a gunfight on the corner of West 35th Street, Valiant had been sprung on bail and vanished.
‘He could be anywhere,’ Ethan pointed out as he observed the file. ‘The Cobras have enough cash behind them to tuck him away anywhere around the country.’
Although smaller in number than most of their rival gangs, the Cobras were successful enough to command the title of super — gang according to the US Attorney.
‘You said to start with the highest value target,’ Lopez pointed out.
‘Highest profit is what I meant,’ Ethan replied. ‘There’s not much point in us tracking Valiant down if it takes us two months to do so.’
Lopez dropped the file as if it had vanished from existence as she looked across her desk at him.
‘Then you should say what you mean,’ she informed him. ‘This is why I’m in charge now.’
Lopez popped the last morsel of donut into her mouth and smiled as she ate.
‘Okay then, go for your life,’ Ethan suggested. ‘What’s our next target?’
Lopez was about to reply when a new voice interjected.
‘Missouri.’
Ethan turned in his seat to see Doug Jarvis standing in the office doorway, his hands in the pockets of his neatly pressed pants as he leaned against the jam.
Lopez almost coughed out her donut as she shot to her feet.
‘Change of leadership,’ she said hotly. ‘You’re dealing with me, now.’
Jarvis raised an eyebrow at Lopez as he glanced questioningly at Ethan.
‘She’s the boss,’ Ethan explained with an airy wave in Lopez’s direction. ‘Humor her, for both our sakes.’
‘It’s not about humor,’ Lopez insisted. ‘This business gets things done when I’m at the helm, and I’ll decide what cases we’ll be taking on.’
Lopez stepped out from behind her desk and perched on the edge of it as she folded her arms and raised an enquiring eyebrow at Jarvis. ‘And how can we help you?’
Jarvis, his elderly features sparkling with bemusement, moved across to a spare seat and sighed as he sat down.
‘The DIA has detected an anomaly out in forest country in south Missouri, and wants us to check it out.’
‘You mean,’ Lopez corrected him, ‘you want us to check it out for you.’
Jarvis glanced at Ethan again. ‘How long’s this been going on?’
‘It feels like years already.’
‘Hey, grandpa!’ Lopez snapped as she clicked her fingers in Jarvis’s face. ‘I’m standing right here, so state your case or take a walk.’
Jarvis was unable to prevent his mirth from spilling over and he laughed. ‘Ownership of business deeds doesn’t a drill sergeant make, Nicola. Take it easy.’
Lopez smiled without warmth. ‘I’ll take it easy when I’m happy that any work we take on for you benefits the people concerned, and not just you or the government.’
Jarvis inclined his head in agreement as he replied.
‘Five days ago, three hundred people vanished without a trace from a town called Clearwater. The town now looks as though nobody has set foot in it for fifty years. I want the both of you to go down there and find out what the hell happened.’
Lopez’s studied indignance vanished almost immediately as she digested what Jarvis had said.
‘How is that possible? Did some sort of time warp just whisk them away or something?’
‘Intelligence resources detected a powerful energy emission in the area and a very bright light, but other than that we have absolutely nothing to go on.’
‘Why us and not DIA agents or paramilitary troops?’
‘DIA boots have already been on the ground at Clearwater, two agents sent down to take a look at the scene. They didn’t find anything significant but my boss doesn’t want to expose our awareness that anything untoward has occurred there, in case … ’
‘Majestic Twelve,’ Ethan finished the sentence for Jarvis. ‘You guys think they’re involved.’
‘Nellis can’t be sure but similar events in other countries mean that this could be an MJ–12 job, and he doesn’t want to let them know that we’re onto them. He wants you two to go and take a look and figure this thing out.’ Jarvis glanced at Lopez. ‘That’s if you’re not too busy, of course.’
Lopez studied her fingertips for a moment.
‘We may have the time to take a quick look,’ she replied. ‘How come the media’s not all over this story already? They’d have a field day.’
‘Nobody knows, as far as we can make out,’ Jarvis replied. ‘There are ghost towns all over Missouri state and many others, a legacy of the gold rush and mining towns long abandoned. It seems like a cover up, but what we don’t understand is why they’ve decided to shut this town down, what they’ve done with the residents, and how come it is that if they’re still alive they’re not talking to anybody about what happened to them.’
Ethan looked across at Lopez, who in turn stood up and offered Jarvis a mild grin.
‘We’ll take the case,’ she said. ‘How are we getting down there?’
‘That, I’m afraid, is up to you,’ Jarvis replied. ‘Unless the case develops enough for Nellis to prioritize it, the days of military jet flights on commandeered aircraft are long over, although you can still bill the office for gas use — after all, you’ve only got to travel one state over. Have a nice day.’
IV
‘It’s at times like this I actually miss that battered old Catalina airplane your friend owns.’
The sky above them was a crisp, clear blue, the horizon bright with the glow of a new dawn as Ethan drove south through the small town of Piedmont, the streetlights still glowing and most cars still parked in their drives awaiting the dawn commuter rush.
‘Arnie?’ Ethan asked, and chuckled despite his weariness from the long drive down from Illinois. ‘The last thing he said to us after Argentina was that if he ever saw us again he’d shoot us, and if he missed, he’d shoot himself.’
Lopez was sitting in the passenger seat with her boots up on the dashboard, shades pulled down over her eyes and her arms folded across her chest. She had slept like that for the last few hours, after taking the first stint as driver out of Chicago. Ethan, significantly taller than his partner, had spent an uncomfortable few hours curled up on the back seat before taking over somewhere outside of Springfield, Illinois.
‘I kind of liked him,’ Lopez replied, ‘mostly because he didn’t like you.’