Stand Down

by Don Pendleton

  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 g
o 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.”

  3

  Deputy Rojas Quintanar didn’t waste any time calling his superiors once he left Matt Cooper at the newspaper. But he wasn’t reporting in to the sheriff. Instead, he speed-dialed a number that connected him to the Cristobal complex. “De Cavallos.”

  “This is Rojas. We may have a problem.” He quickly outlined the confrontation with Everado outside the restaurant, and his subsequent conversation with Matt Cooper at the Gazette building. “If this guy is who he claims to be, it’s pretty coincidental that an ex-PMC guy just happened to wander into our town for lunch.”

  “What’s your take on him?”

  “Definitely ex-military—he’s got the bearing. He may be who he says he is, but he could be government too, possibly trying to insert as deep cover. He seemed pretty interested in finding work, so perhaps we can reel him in that way, and take care of him on our turf if necessary.”

  “I’ll run a check on him, see what comes up. Find out where he’s staying and make sure someone’s keeping tabs on him,” De Cavallos said.

  “All right. Also, please keep Everado from doing anything loco. We don’t need him attracting any more attention than he already has.”

  “You concentrate on doing your job, Rojas, and let me worry about my son, understand? How are you doing finding the girl?”

  “We’ve been combing the entire town and are watching the house—”

  “Wait a minute, you think she’d actually go back to the homestead where her parents died?”

  “We’re covering all the bases, just in case. We’re also monitoring her friends’ homes and their cells in case she contacts anyone, but so far she hasn’t popped up anywhere.”

  “Damn it, you need to find her, and quick. If she saw anything last night and talks to anyone, you’re screwed.”

  “Don’t worry about it. The second she appears, we’ll be all over her.”

  “You better be. I’d hate to have to lose such a good deputy over this.”

  Quintanar swallowed hard. He knew De Cavallos didn’t mean he’d be facing criminal charges. If he was lucky, he’d end up in a shallow grave somewhere on the prairie. If De Cavallos was really pissed, there was always the microwave oven… The deputy shuddered at the thought. “Like I said, we’re on it. Besides, where’s she gonna go?”

  “Who knows? She’s a kid who just saw her parents get killed. Did you check on other family?”

  Quintanar frowned, letting a bit of annoyance creep into his tone. “Of course. She’s got grandparents in Lincoln, Oregon, but she hasn’t contacted them yet. If she does, we’ll triangulate the call and go get her.”

  “Let’s hope that’s exactly what happens. You let me know the moment you have a lead on her. And be sure to tell those brothers of yours that I want her alive. We’ll need to know she hadn’t told anyone anything before we take care of her.”

  “Yes, Mr. De Cavallos.” Quintanar disconnected the call, resisting the urge to slam the cell phone against the steering wheel. That girl was the only loose end in what had been a perfectly planned operation, and every hour she was missing was more time that she could be talking to someone about what she had seen. They had searched the house thoroughly, but found no trace of her. Maybe one of her friends might be able to get in touch with her. Hell, maybe one of her friends could get her to come out of hiding, he thought.

  Pulling back onto the road, he dialed Everado’s cell. “Hola, Everado. Yeah, well…if you hadn’t been acting so macho, I wouldn’t have had to shut you down like that. But I got a way for you to get out of this little mess with your old man…I’ll tell you, if you just shut up and listen for a minute…”

  CASEY TRIED TO KEEP her anger in check as she drove toward the newspaper building again. Glancing over at her daughter, she found Connie staring out the window, tinny music playing through the earbuds attached to her brand-new iPod Touch, which Casey hadn’t bought, and Connie didn’t have the money for. At a stop sign, she reached out and yanked the left one from the girl’s ear.

  “What is your problem?” Connie turned to glare at her mother, snatching the bud out of her hand.

  “What the hell do you think is my problem? Skipping school to hang out with that Everado boy? Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

  Connie rolled her eyes. “Gee, Mom, since you never tell me anything, no, I don’t have any idea. Why is seeing him dangerous? Is it because he’s a Mexican?”

  “No, that’s not it, but…” Casey stopped, wanting to tell her daughter of her suspicions about Cristobal, but knowing she couldn’t risk it. There was no way Connie would keep her mouth shut about it, and then they would be as dead as the rest of the town would be if the word ever got back to the heads of the company that someone was talking.

  Instead, she took the opposite tack. “Look, honey, I’m just concerned about you. Everado’s from a wealthy family—”

  “Yeah, and we’re poor white trash. Thanks for reminding me.” Connie crossed her arms and stared out the window again.

  Well, at least she included me in that assessment, Casey thought. “No, dear, that’s not what I was saying at all. I’m just worried that he might consider you a—” with no delicate way to say it, she plunged ahead “—just a way to pass the time here.”

  Connie’s head whipped toward her again. “Is that what you think—that I’m just some norteamericano slut to him?”

  “Absolutely not—”

  “You’re damn right! Everado loves me. He told me so himself!”

  Oh great, just what I want to trust—the word of a spoiled young man one step away from the drug trade, Casey thought. “All right, dear, I hear you, and no doubt he believes that as well—”

  “Of course he believes that, why wouldn’t he? I can’t
believe I’m hearing this!” Connie looked like she was about to jump out of the battered Ford Bronco at the next light. Casey reached over and put her hand over her daughter’s—not grabbing it, but simply getting her attention.

  “Sweetheart, listen to me. You and I have had this talk before, the time when Peter left, remember?”

  Her daughter’s face twisted in anger and hurt for a moment, then she smoothed over her pretty face and nodded.

  “And you remember what we told each other—that neither of us would lose sight of who we are for a man—any man. I just want you to keep that in mind, okay? You may find this hard to believe, but I know a thing or two about love, and what it can do.” Casey ignored her daughter’s eye roll and kept talking. “And I know how hard it is to keep in mind what’s real and what’s not.”

  Peter sure did a damn good job of blurring that line, she thought. “I want you to keep your eyes open in this relationship, okay?”

  Connie shook her head. “Don’t worry, Mom. I know what I’m doing. Everado is like any other guy—more concerned with his macho reputation than anything else. But I know he really cares for me, and I care about him too.”

  Oh, the certainty of the young, Casey mused, resisting shaking her head. The only thing to do now was to accept her daughter’s pronouncement as sincerely as she could. “Of course you do, honey. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I just want you to be careful in what you do with him. Can you promise me that?”

  Connie looked at her mother like Casey had just sprouted another head. “You aren’t going to do a reprise of the ‘birds and bees’ speech, are you?”

  Casey grinned. “No, once was enough. I trust that you’re smart to take the appropriate precautions. But you’re still in trouble for skipping school.”

  “Aw, Mom…”

  “No buts, young lady. I will not have you slinging hash here or working a checkout counter at the local dollar store because you didn’t finish high school. You are graduating, and you are getting out of here and going to college.”

  Casey felt Connie’s stare on her. “And what if Everado said no?”