“Such a loss.” Myers nearly smiled. “And the information that you need?”
“How to defeat this monster and save my friends. Preferably today. I want to talk to Dr. Blish.”
“You are remarkably well informed.” Myers glanced around theatrically. “Are there gnomes here that I don’t know about?”
“I hope not. Little bastards give me the creeps. You help me and in exchange I give you an audio recording of Stricken being all plotty and nefarious.”
“What good does that evidence do me? I’m more than aware of Stricken’s nature, and he’s not the sort of man that you can touch with things like the truth.”
“Like you’d know the truth if it bit you in the ass,” Mosh muttered.
“Compliments will get you nowhere, Mr. Pitt.”
Holly shook her head. “I don’t care if you use it to hold a congressional hearing or stick it on YouTube. Personally, I planned on just playing it for Franks and letting that murder machine sort things out. I’m straightforward like that.”
“Agent Franks is currently indisposed,” Myers said. Holly began to ask another question, but Myers held up one hand to silence her. “I’ll level with you, Ms. Newcastle. When I arrived, I attempted to speak with the scientist, Blish, but was ordered out of the area. I’m supposed to be on a plane to Washington right now. Direct command of my strike force was taken over by Director Stark. He is in total operational control.”
“Sounds like you’re not a fan of the guy.” As Holly said that, Jefferson had to suppress a laugh.
“Cutting to the chase? He’s a puppet. Doug Stark has been a quisling searching for a boot to lick for a very long time. With him in control of the Bureau, I fear for America’s safety. Luckily for us, the men that I’ve trained are intelligent and loyal to the MCB’s primary mission. Despite your organization’s feelings about mine, we are first and foremost professionals, and will do what we must to keep this nation safe. Once I found out what was going on, I sent Franks to procure some items that I feel will be necessary to defeat this being. There’s an MCB storage facility here in Nevada—”
“Area 51?” Holly asked excitedly.
“Don’t be absurd.”
“Seriously. It’s Area 51, isn’t it?” But Myers’ deadpan expression didn’t change. “Okay, okay, never mind. Franks’s picking up a secret weapon; go on.”
“I’ve gleaned a small amount of information, but some of what I’ve learned has been conflicting. I want this situation resolved just as quickly as you do. If, in the process, embarrassing facts surface that are damaging to my replacement and his pink-eyed handler, I would be a very happy man.”
“And in the process maybe get your old job back…Yeah, I know, you don’t care about that, but we both know the MCB needs strong leadership in these troubling times.” Holly grinned. “You’ve been remarkably forthcoming, Agent Myers. I’m impressed. Now, as for our deal—”
“I’ve already heard your recording. It was downloaded on your phone. I listened to it after my men confiscated it from you. I have no need of a deal.”
“You prick!” Mosh exclaimed. “I should—”
“Chill out, Mosh,” Holly ordered.
“Yes, chill out, Mosh,” Myers said. “Really, I never thought I would say this, but you’re making your brother seem rational and level-headed in comparison.”
Holly seemed completely unperturbed at losing her ace in the hole. “If Myers was just going to screw us over, he wouldn’t bother to brief us with a bunch of sensitive intel first. He’s a busy guy. Am I right, director?”
“Correct, Ms. Newcastle. There are a few policy disagreements. I am one side of the battle and Stricken is on the other. In this battle, information is power. Stricken has one of the original scientists, and thus, he is keeping that information from me. What I do need is more information, and to achieve that now I need resources with plausible deniability. My loyal men are known. If we are caught attempting to speak to the scientist, then there will be repercussions. Stricken can’t know that we are aware of his plans. However, nobody would be surprised if a member of MHI was caught trying to speak to the good doctor. You have a reputation for being meddlesome.”
“We do work at it.”
“Go with Agent Jefferson. He’ll provide a way in, you get what you need, and in return you report back to my men.”
“You’re on,” Holly answered without hesitation.
But Mosh was still suspicious of the slimy bureaucrat. “Aren’t you worried about us talking if we get caught?”
“Absolutely not. Because if it comes to that, they will more than likely shoot you on sight. Though very capable in their own right, STFU’s greatest weakness is its relatively small number of staff, which is the only way something so shrouded in secrecy can exist. In operations like this, they depend on us or other government agencies to provide security and firepower. In our current situation, Stricken, knowing he’s in a power struggle, won’t endanger his secrets by leaving their protection in the hands of men that may be loyal to me. So he hired some outside contractors on short notice and put them under the supervision of one of his pets seeking a PUFF exemption. They strike me as the shoot first and ask questions later type. If by some miracle you are taken alive, by the time they confirm the information that they torture out of you, I personally will be on the way to Costa Rica to live out my days under a new identity. Thus, I would strongly recommend not being caught.”
Torture? It wouldn’t come to that. Mosh knew that he would gladly blab Myers’ name the second they got caught.
“You know, Myers, I like you a lot better as a subversive terrorist. Super villainy really works for you,” Holly said with forced cheer. “We’re in. Let’s go for it.”
Mosh glanced nervously at the MCB agents. The ones with visible faces looked as nervous as he felt. This whole sinister inter-governmental rivalry thing was way over his head. He despised the MCB for everything they stood for, but Holly seemed to think that they were a whole lot better than the alternative. That was really saying something about the alternative.
The ghost of Mordechai chuckled inside his head. “Boy, these policemen are not your friends. They are liars who hide monsters and threaten poor survivors. They do terrible, misguided things, but they are so much better than the pale one. Him, you avoid. I have seen with my own eyes what happens when his kind becomes in control. Now go. Next part may become…difficult. Hurry. Time is short.”
If I live through this, I want you the hell out of my head, old man. No wonder Owen had gotten to be so nuts. This talking to dead people business was a bad trip. “So what’s next?”
Agent Myers slid out from the booth, carefully adjusted his tie, and said, “Try not to get shot.”