The Case of the Mad Scientist

Chapter 7: Meeting with the Company

Chapter 7: Meeting with the Company

Although I am usually not fond of early morning hours, a nine sharp I was walking into the office building at the address given me. It was a plain office building, four stories, housing a dozen or so small businesses. Suite 3B had a sign on the door reading “Brooks Financial Investments,” which I didn’t believe at all. In the few dealings I had with anything like the CIA, the first rule you learned was that things were never as they seemed, and everyone lies.

I was led to a small conference room. Apparently I was the last one to arrive because everyone looked up at me when I entered, and the man standing at the end of the table cleared his throat and said, “Now we can begin.”

“First, I’ll introduce you all. I am Calvin Grudge. I am a section chief with the CIA. Going around the table, this is Blaze Lane, a field agent.”

The dame he nodded to looked like one of the sorority chicks I worked with a while ago: very pretty, filled out her blouse nicely, long black hair, and the softest blue eyes. Didn’t look like she had much in the way of smarts, but with a body like that, who cares?

“This is Stella Walters, whom many of you may have seen on TV or in one of her shows. She is a professional escape artist.”

This one was a really eye-grabber. Long golden blonde hair, an oval face with bright blue eyes and very kissable lips. The body would have looked good in any centerfold. So this was the body I was to guard. This was going to be a fun case, I figured. I smiled at her. Her lips twisted in what might have been the beginning of smile. Which was for the better. If her full smile was as sexy as the rest of her, it probably would have melted every man in the room.

“And her assistant, Tara.”

That one was not a real match for Blaze or Stella, but still I wouldn’t have kicked her out of bed. Unless we needed more room on the floor. She had red hair, a really cute turned up nose, and sort of looked like Kathy Wilson, the girl next door that I had a crush on in the seventh grade.

“This is Sled Speed, a private investigator who will be providing security on this case.”

I looked around and noticed that there were three gorgeous dames and only one man: little old me. I smiled at them all. This was going to be a fun case.

“I want you all to understand that this is a CIA operation and everything I tell you is classified. You are to repeat nothing of what you hear or see to anyone else. Understood?”

He made a really quick glance around the table at each of us, obviously waiting to see if anyone objected.

“Our mission goal is to find and extract a scientist who worked for Swanson Labs in DNA research, and who has gone missing. He left the country and took with him important data and research results that we want back.”

He paused to press a button on a remote control, and the face of a man appeared on the screen behind him. It was your typical scientist: older, wearing glasses, unkempt gray hair, and a confused look in his eyes, as if he was not sure why someone was taking his picture.

“Dr. William Sorren. Age 56, PhD from University of Illinois, one of the foremost researchers in the field of DNA coding. He was last seen boarding a plane for Japan. There was another possible sighting in the Tokyo area.

“This team’s cover will be a benefit show put on by Miss Walters in Tokyo. The show will be for real and all proceeds will go to earthquake and tsunami victims. Two shows have been scheduled a week apart, which should allow you time to search for Dr. Sorren.

“Blaze will be in charge of the mission. Mr. Speed will provide, as he likes to call it, ‘muscle’, in the event that things do not go smoothly. We do not know if Dr. Sorren took off on his own or if some other country is behind his disappearance. There may be competition in the field also looking for the doctor. Or there may be someone protecting him.

“Your plane will leave at 1:30 pm today. If any of you have last minute tasks to attend to, I advise you get them done. Much of Miss Walters’ props have already been delivered to Japan. The four of you will fly commercial to Hawaii where you will board a military flight to Japan.

“Here are folders with the information you will need, including a rundown on Dr. Sorren. Inside are the hotel confirmations and other documents you will also need.”

He paused to pass around file folders.

“Once you are on the mission, please direct any questions you have to Blaze. She will be in close contact with us back here. Any questions?” He looked around. I had a few, but held back. “Very good then. You have twelve days to insert into the country, find the doctor and bring him back. Or at least his research notes. His work is more valuable than he is. In fact…” he looked around, but seemed to be mostly directing his words to me, “in fact, if you cannot extract the doctor, it would not be advisable to leave him in any condition to be of use to any potential hostile power.”

It didn’t take a brick wall falling on me to understand that he was telling us to kill the bastard if we can’t get him back. And since I was the “muscle”, that would be my job. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve taken out a bad guy.

The three women stood and began exiting the room. It was a good chance for me to see what kind of legs they had. Nice show, I had to admit. That Blaze girl and Stella wore very short skirts and really, I mean really, had the legs for it. Tara wore jeans but still looked to be pretty good.

When they left, I went up to this Calvin fellow. What kind of parents would give a man the name Calvin? I opened my trench coat so he could see Wilma, my trusty little .50 caliber Desert Eagle automatic, in her shoulder holster. “Will I have any trouble getting this into Japan?” I asked him.

For a few seconds he just looked at Wilma. Then he swallowed, and told me, “No, not really. Keep it in your luggage on the commercial flight. Once you’re on the military flight, you won’t have to go through Japanese customs. We have a lot of military flights going in with supplies and such.”

He lifted one eyebrow and, with a slight shake of his head, added, “But once in Japan, you had better keep a low profile. Don’t fire that cannon off unless you have to.”

“I never do,” I told him. Then I asked another thing that was on my mind. “Isn’t that Blaze gal a little young to be heading a mission?”

“She had been highly effective on several recent missions. We have the highest confidence in her ability.”

One of the basic skills you learn as a Private Dick is when someone is lying to you. This guy was. There was a nervous little tick in the corner of his mouth that gave him away. But I couldn’t see any good coming from pressing him. So instead, I asked why they chose this Stella Walters.

“She has a type of act that the Japanese seem to be very attracted to. They are inordinately fond of female escape artists. It had been no problem getting official approval for her to put on a benefit show. She had proven herself in a prior mission with Blaze. And, she was in Japan recently.”

Again that little tick. He was not telling me all.

“She also worked with Blaze on a recent assignment where they stopped a flow of secrets out of the country.”

I pushed up the brim of my porkpie hat with one finger and told him, “Fine. I’ll take care of your gals.” I smiled at him. “Besides I’ve always liked Chow Mein.”

“That’s Chinese,” he said. From NôvelDrama.Org.

“Whatever. See you after we get back.”

I left. I had to get in touch with Susie, my little sister, and arrange for her to watch the business while I was gone. That would thrill her. She really wants to be a private dic… err, investigator. I just hoped that no case would come in while she was in charge.

* * * * *

After Sled closed the door, Calvin Grudge sighed and wiped is brow. “First Blaze and now this idiot. Lord help us,” he muttered sincerely.