The Manifest

Chapter 11

     "What kind of opposition?" Devon asked.

     "The kind that might shoot at us." Edgar quickly responded, "This is why we want you and your team involved in this. We think your methods would be best so that we can snatch the person in question without alerting those watching her until it's too late."

     "This is a very strange case." Devon confirmed as he stroked his long beard and thought it over.

     "That's why the payoff is so big." Tuck quickly recovered, again pounding Devon over the head with Uncle Ben. It was a successful tactic.

     Devon stood up, "I have to talk this over with my team. I'm going to recommend we take the job but as always we put it up to a vote. I appreciate you being honest with me and letting me know how risky this one is. How soon do you need an answer?"

     "What time is it now?" Edgar asked sarcastically.

     "Yesterday." Tuck answered, "We are going to begin immediately. There are people in the office already working on it."

     "Alright, we'll get back to you in short time." Devon opened the door and strolled out with his usual, I can kick your ass any time I want, macho swagger all the way to the elevator.

     As they watched the big man disappear into the elevator, Tuck turned to Edgar, "Do you really think it's necessary to hire this guy and his team?"

     "I hope not." Edgar said with a sigh, "But if this case turns out to be something besides a goose hunt, we might need the back up. Especially if any of conspiracy boy's theories turns out to be true."

     "Speaking of him, what's he doing in the lobby?" Tuck asked suddenly noticing Jerome was out there.

     "I managed to pry him away from the force." Edgar said, with a smile.

     "Oh did we?" Tuck said, surprised by the acquisition. "Shouldn't I get a chance to approve new hires?"

     "Norsberg told us to expand our staff," Edgar reminded him, "And Conspiracy Boy is going to our little expert in many fields, especially when it comes to all things conspiracy theories. And after this case is done, we can use the old man's money to keep him here to do a lot of technical grunt work for future cases. The guy has a wealth of forensic and data collection expertise."

     "That's a good point too," Tuck said somewhat impressed with his partner's recruiting abilities, "He'll be a valuable asset to the business and I can only imagine how much fun he'll be to work with on this case. I'm sure that's the one thing that tore him away from the force."

     "That is true," Edgar confirmed, "And the fact that he was being grossly underused by his superiors at the station."

     "So, when do we start?" Tuck asked, not really sure himself.

     "In about an hour or so." Edgar said as he consulted his watch, "When Ms. Johnson comes in to give us all the information we need to start this hunt, then the real fun will begin. We're going to use the conference room to go over everything."

     "You know, it's still not too late." Tuck said, somewhat hesitant, "We can still give back Norsberg his money and walk away." He slipped the receipt of the transfer over to Edgar just to show him the money was in.

     He didn't look at the receipt and tossed it aside, "Fraid not, we're already underway. I already told Jessica that I had a change of heart and would be taking the case out of the goodness of our hearts. To turn back now would devastate her and make us look like the more insensitive than we already were."

     "Alright, but I have a suggestion." Tuck said as he pulled out the newspaper with a few parts of the classified ads circled, "I need you to have a look at these and tell me what you think."

     Edgar looked at them and then back at Tuck, "You're thinking of moving the business?"

     "No." Tuck said with a grin, "Just the base of operations for this case. If we do it here, you might as well just paint a bull's eye in the middle of the lobby. If there really is this massive conspiracy as Jerome said, then to have a separate HQ for it elsewhere would be best. Because if they watch or try to bug this place... all they'll be looking and listening to is business as usual."

     "So you're suggesting we use the old man's money to make a secret hideout specifically for this case?" Edgar thought about as he repeated it out loud. He'd never thought of it but Tuck was right. If they were going to run a case like this, it would be best to work away from the office. He thought about it again for a moment, "How about next door. I know they have some space available. That way we can walk in through the front door here and the sneak through the back to the other building where no one is looking. That way it looks like I'm still showing up for work and none will be the wiser."

     Tuck thought it over for a moment, "I thought about it but I'd rather have a little distance. The new place needs a cover, not just something that we can sneak into next door."

     "Alright, let me have a look." he took the paper and had a look at the places he had circled, "Right here, there's a restaurant underneath it. I'm not the biggest fan of that kind of cuisine but I'll develop a taste for it. That will make for a good cover."

     Tuck took a look at it, "That's perfect."

     Edgar passed the paper back, "Call their agency tomorrow but rent it out of one of our dummy corporations so the paper work doesn't lead back to us. We'll pay the rent in cash and I'll have Jerome run that office whenever I'm not there. This sounds better the more I think about it. Let's get this thing started. I'm going to prepare Jerome for his interview of Jessica when she gets back here."

     Tuck watched as Edgar left his office and then led Jerome to his own. He pulled out a small bottle of whiskey from his desk and didn't bother with a glass as he just took a swig straight from the bottle. He was a tad nervous about the job at hand, but had to put his faith in Edgar and that the man knew what he was getting into. He took another swig from the bottle before putting it away and starting to do some online searches for some numbers for possible replacements in case Devon turned them down.