Page 26 of Alistair

“These boys are here… Um, they’re here to, what are you here for again?” he asked Sor. The younger man smiled at him, gripping his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Andy. It’s been a long day. I’m Sor. This is Alistair. We’d like to speak with you about the raid in West Virginia. We found Juarez’s body last night.”

“We heard it was pretty gruesome,” said one of the men.

“It wasn’t something I want to see again,” said Sor. “We’re investigating why someone is trying to kill the Marines and Marine pilot who were there. Do you remember seeing anything or anyone that was out of place?”

They all looked at each other, trying to recall everything from that night.

“No. The Marines are good at what they do. They know they’re shit, and when it comes to first contact and takedown, we let them rule the road. After that, it’s up to us to get the drugs. That’s what we did. It was dark for the first twenty minutes. Then, once we had everything under control, we used the floodlights. It was either dead or wounded bodies at that point.”

“Anything strange happening with any of you? Someone following you? Maybe messing with your car or home?” asked Alistair.

“Nothing that I know of,” said one of the agents. “We’re all pretty careful about that and check twice.”

“That’s smart,” said Alistair. “Listen, if you think of anything at all, please give us a call. This is the number to our information line.”

“I know this number,” frowned one of the guys. “You’re with VG.”

“We are,” nodded Alistair.

“Why are you guys investigating this?”

“The chopper pilot is my fiancée,” smiled Alistair. “I’d like to keep her alive for another sixty years or so.”

“She was great, brother. Knew her shit all the way and didn’t get distracted by the noise from the guys we were cuffing and loading. She’s a keeper for sure.”

“I think so,” said Alistair. “Thanks for your help.” The men looked around Alistair and Sor, then whispered.

“Andy’s gone now. What do you guys think about him? I mean, I know you just met him. He’s been around forever, and I damn sure don’t want to make an old guy quit, but shit. He’s not right anymore.”

“I think he has some medical reasons to take leave,” said Sor. “He’s obviously been a great agent with the different agencies before coming to the DEA, but it might be time for him to retire. Someone should have seen this and caught it sooner. It doesn’t make it right, and it doesn’t make it his fault. I don’t think he knows or understands fully what’s happening to him. If your supervisor asks you about him, be honest, but be respectful. He deserves that and a fuck lot more.”

“Thanks,” nodded one of the guys. “I promise we’ll be honest about it. We should have said something sooner, but it’s because we respect him that we didn’t.”

When they left the building, Kev, Matt, and Garr stared at the others.

“They’re making the old man resign due to medical reasons. He’s so confused. Today is a really bad day for him. What pisses me off is that someone saw that and didn’t confront him sooner. I thought everyone had to go through yearly evaluations. Don’t they still make all of them take the yearly tests?”

“They do, Garr, but sometimes the old guys are able to slip through the cracks. They schedule it and come up with some reason why they can’t make the appointment, and there’s no one there to ensure that they do. Doesn’t make it right, but it is what it is,” said Alistair. “We’re looking for a fucking ghost. No one saw him or her. No one remembers anything suspicious. But whoever was out there believes that Clark and the other Marines saw something or someone that they can’t reveal.”

“Maybe we find our rednecks who made bail. If they’re desperate for the drugs or desperate for money, they might be willing to sell someone out,” said Sor. “Put some extra pressure on them and see what happens.” Alistair smiled at him, nodding.

“Now that sounds like fun.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Clark sat on the edge of the x-ray table as Doc and Riley looked at her wrist. They had removed the cast, and the hope was they could use a temporary cast that she could remove at night and just let her wrist breathe.

“It’s healing well,” said Doc. “Looks like the pond helped it along significantly. Did you break it before this?”

“Oh, yes,” she smiled. “I punched Petey Thompson in second grade because he made fun of my name.”

“You go, girl,” smirked Riley.

“I got in a lot of trouble for that one. I learned to ignore the ribbing about my name. Didn’t make it easier, but it saved me a lot of broken bones.”

“Well, you’re doing fine. How is everything else? I see that you’re on birth control and have been for a while. Is that still working for you?” asked Riley.

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