Field Agent (part II)

"We're here!"

We open the car doors and head to the place. Noble Avenue was surprisingly quiet for an avenue in the middle of downtown. That is, at least calm when it came to pedestrian traffic. The scenery was ugly just as in the rest of the center: thousands of closed shops with iron doors that were plundered, while the few open shops were in an even worse state.

It kinda reminded of the street where Gerald McMiller had been killed.

We heard the iron door go up and Chapman was inside, wearing his usual stinking jacket.

"Come in." He said. He didn't even make any silly joke. He looked worried.

Tell me about it. On the floor of that empty shed which had once been a ground floor shop lied none other than Alexander, the black sheep of the Sprohic family, who was in a knocked out state.

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"Is he alive?" Joey asked.

"How'd he get in here?" I asked.

"Hey! Calm down, gentlemen, one at a time!" Chapman said, "he's alive, according to my friend Jackson's diagnosis there. He's breathing slowly and his pulse is weak... He needs medical attention."

"Jackson? You're here?"

It was Jackson Heiser, from the head office.

"I came with him this morning to meet our contactor. But we found him here in the place."

"You have to call the medic block immediately."

"I already called the meds."

"The doctors? You were supposed to call the SAD infirmary! We can't afford to..."

"Geez, Lieutenant. I meant exactly that! I called the SAD infirmary. What do you peg me for? A mule?"

Alexander Sprohic lying on that cold ground didn't look good at all. I got closer to him to check his condition myself. His pulse was imperceptible and his body was quite cold.

"You the one who put him here?" I asked Chapman.

"He was like that when I arrived, Lieutenant. I didn't move a finger. I guess in that kind of situation it's better to wait for the experts, heh?"

"And who asked you to come... Was it the long-haired guy? Why don't you tell us everything from the beginning?"

"I got a voice mail from him on the phone that went something like, 'mr. officer...' - he called me mr. officer – 'I'm Eliott Solis, but you probably know me as the long-haired alien guilty of the Johnson murder. I don't blame you. After all, what do you think of the only paranormal being sighted at the scene of a crime that was clearly committed by an agent in such a condition?' Yeah... He spoke everything just like that, with all those pretty words and such."

"Proceed."

"Then he said something like, 'But now I have grown tired of hiding unfairly and I want to clarify what really happened that week. I would like to invite you to this address' and then he gave the address. It was something kind of strange and simple at the same time. But you will understand why I got intrigued.

"And you believed 'that'?"

"I believed there was something strange, so I came, Lieutenant."

"But the way you spoke on the phone, it sounded like you were sure it was the Johnson's suspect."

"But it is the Johnson's suspect! Check his pic:"

He showed me on his cell phone the photo next to the application contact, the profile picture of the user who had sent the message coincided with the face of who we saw jumping over the rooftops that day.

Normally I would have argued with Chapman that anyone could have put that face there and made a false profile, but come to think... Only the ones really involved would've known how was the face we saw on the day of the investigation. No... It's not anyone who could have sent that message. Either that was actually sent by him, or it was sent by someone who intentionally pretended to be, knowing the impact that would have on the SAD. Someone who pretending with a specific purpose in mind.

"Eliott Solis... Did you check it?"

"The data through the name? No... It was here the whole time. And Jackson and I are without the machinery. You" Chapman pointed with his head at Joey "could check for us..."

I nodded for Joey. I could drive back with the other two. And Joey could use that opportunity to take a swing at Sweet Oaks in Helmsley.

Joey nodded back, and after salutations, he took the car and left the scene.

"And this Solis bloke... Did he say anything about what he wanted? What 'truth' did he want to tell you?"

Chapman nodded negatively with a certain exaggeration and then added:

"Nada! All he said was that and then when I got here Sprohic was taking this continuous long nap."

Jackson for the first time interfered by addressing me:

"Sir... I wonder if I could suggest: perhaps this is a trap? If Solis is really working with the criminal who's come to... 'prevail' over Miss Crane and Detective Meyers last Friday. It's natural to think he'd want Sprohic dead, right?"

I had to think for a while to understand where Jackson was getting at.

"You mean a bomb? He brings us here and then we all die together with Sprohic? If that's the case, it'd be good to get out of here as soon as possible, wouldn't it?"

I could notice an innocent amazement on Jackson's face. Chapman remained impassive, I saw he wasn't intimidated.

"I don't think so, Jackson. How would Solis know the exact moment Meyers and I would enter the shed to trigger the bomb? Only if he was watching from somewhere."

And not one of the three of us: Me, Joey or Chapman, feel any ductu... It could be that a human being without ductu was responsible for the bomb, but if that were the case, he would have already triggered it. He wouldn't have Joey leave the scene before blowing the place up. I confess I was wrong not to have considered the possibility before entering, as Jackson did, but given the situation now as it was, the theory was disposable. That was actually a good thing that it was mentioned, because it was clear that Solis, whatever he wanted, was not aiming to silence the SAD investigators. Therefore he probably wasn't working with the trafficking. Therefore he was probably telling the truth.

But what did that nearly dead body laying on the ground mean? Why wasn't Solis there? That was hard to answer.

I got jumpscared!

The phone was loud and went off echoing its music through the shed, interrupting the serenity of the moment of reflection.

It was a known number.

"Lieutenant Dotson?" I answered.

"..."

"Who?"

I looked at Chapman and Jackson, who were staring at me. I decided to distance myself for more privacy.

It was Sarah.

" Sarah, you won't believer... We found..."

"Who's not gonna believe is you, Lieutenant Dotson. I have information from reliable sources that Arthur Cooper's invitation is being transported to the Arena. He's being transported along with an illegal cargo from Deluxes which is going to pass through Sproustown in about an hour and a half. And I need you there now!"

"What?"

"Exactly what you heard, Lieutenant Dotson. I need you to direct a team to Dalilah Transportations' old headquarters in South Gorem District, you know? The one that closed a few months ago... You want me to give you the address?"

"No... I know where it is. Where are you? Are you still in Silverbay?"

"I had to stay a few more days because I had to take care of some... 'pending matters...' here... But on the other hand I'm learning a lot about Cooper, the real one, and his relationship with the Arena. Apparently we're dealing with a drug lord who calls himself Verde, and he happens to be carrying the invitation just this afternoon. So... I need you to intercept."

"Roger that. I'll send someone there as soon as possible."

"I need it to be a thorough interceptation. I'll tell you why later, but it's very important that we get the invitation this time, Lieutenant Dotson..."

"Roger... I'll get there as soon as I can in person!"

"I'm counting on you."

"By the way, can you tell me whether the invitation that was stolen that day at the SAD was a fak..."

She hung in me.

I had a hypothesis about the nature of the invitation that had been carelessly left on Sarah's desk that Saturday and I needed to clear my doubts. Well... I was going to have to ask Sarah that personally when she got back.

"Verde." The name Sarah mentioned was the same name Bad Boy and Pierre reported in their deposition. One of the leaders of the Sproustown underworld traffic.

"Chapman..." I said, leaning my hand on his shoulder after the conversation was over.

"Lieutenant, sir?"

"Take care of the rest."

"Lieutenant, sir...?"

"I'll get the car. You guys can go with the medical team after they get here!" I yelled to them as I got out of there.