The Manifest

Chapter 44

     The day had been full of surprises. The raid on Willis' hideout was hardly surprising, but he was again impressed by how fast the new location was discovered. Fortunate the investigator wasn't there when they came crashing in for the second time in a row. No such luck for his forensic nerd and Ms. Johnson, who were apprehended. Sir Norsberg had pulled many strings to find out what facility they had been transferred to, but everything led to dead ends. It was like they dropped off the face of the planet, much to the shock of his law enforcement and congressional contacts. No one had been able to give the old man a satisfactory answer and this led him to believe the worst had happened. They had been taken by the enemy.

     Norsberg didn't like the idea that people were being kidnapped and/or murdered to hide a secret that he had hired Edgar Willis to expose. This bloodshed was not unexpected, he just didn't expect it to occur this soon before he could properly prepare himself. It was something he'd have to get over in his own time, but right now the old man had something bigger to chew on ever since he spoke with Edgar Willis. The PI had given some big news and it was something that had been nagging him throughout the day. Like the violence, he never expected Edgar to produce results so quickly. The old man sat at his desk and was a still as a statue as many thoughts were bouncing around his sun burned brain. Did he really find the person he had been looking for? He hasn't spoken to Edgar since that afternoon and was hoping Edgar wouldn't take his time verifying the woman's identity. He was eager to find out whether the person they had was the person Edgar claimed she was. The sheer thought of having this person in custody offered so many possibilities. She would be able to answer the questions everyone had been asking but thus far had only fallen on deaf ears.

     There are so many people, victims and citizens who have a right to know what happened. Norsberg fully understood how they felt, and he had the means and the opportunity to expose the whole story for the pack of lies that it was and would do it in grand fashion. Earlier that day, he had contacted several major reporters who were on his payroll. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and several other major papers were ready to print what he wanted, when he wanted. All he had to do was meet their price and the press was his. All hail the first amendment.

     After Mrs. Johnson is exposed to the world, he would contact the politicians that were in his pocket, and even the ones he had dirt on, and force them to push for a formal investigation. People would be exposed and then pushed under the bus to save those higher up on the political food chain. He doubted anything would save them, but he didn't care. The biggest and most important goal of all this was to find his daughter. He was working on a plan that was no doubt bring her home to not only him but to a family that he was no longer a part of. While he was thinking about it, the phone at his desk rang. He quickly tapped a button.

     "What is it?" he called out to his people.

     "I apologize for the interruption, Sir Norsberg." the voice responded, "But I have your stock broker on the line. From what I gather, whatever he wants to talk to you about sounds rather urgent."

     "Put him through." Norsberg quickly replied. He was well aware what this was about, "Jeffery, it's so nice to hear from you. I assume you got my message?"

     "I was calling in to make sure this was a hoax." the broker angrily snarled back, "Do you have any idea how much money you'll lose if you sell all these stocks?"

     "Fully." Norsberg responded, "But the request stands. Sell them all, every single one of them."

     "Even your own company?" the broker squealed, not believing what he was hearing.

     "Especially sell the shares in my own company." Norsberg barked back, "I want every single share or stock with my name on it cashed out by the time the bell rings out tomorrow. Is that understood?"