Chapter 27

5225, near Manassas, Virginia

October 26, 2012

Melody A. was getting more and more desperate. Her source was getting more and more uncooperative; or rather, he was more and more delusional. The psychotropic drugs were having their predictable long-term effects. Yes, they could and did prompt him to have wild dreams about the future. If she could wade through the bullshit she might find useful tidbits about things that were going to happen.

The drugs, however, were poisoning his liver. He would die within a few months. It didn't take a medical genius to know that.

The need to find a replacement overshadowed everything else for the 5225 organization and for Melody A. Peter Melthorne, her 'source, ' was semi-conscious these days, all day, 24/7. He mumbled things and so Melody had moved the microphones closer and turned up the volume.

She had recorded every word of his ramblings. There had been meaningless chatter for months now: cowboys and Indians, San Diego, a girl, Denver, a power station ... Nothing remotely cogent, nothing remotely actionable.

Since the fiasco in San Diego, which had cost Elroy L. his life, she had had to move Alpha team to Washington, and move Alpha One in-house. She needed someone who could reign in her flights of desperation in trying to 'recover' the Gold Target.

Was he Hispanic? No, probably not, though her source continued to say he was. Alpha One had seen him: not Hispanic.

Was he former Navy? Probably. He was a very good swimmer. She knew for a fact that he was good with guns: he had hit El L. with two shots at a fair distance. The first hitting him in the middle of his chest, knocking him backwards. The second had entered his body through the pelvis, causing massive bleeding. So, maybe a former SEAL?

She brought Alpha One in to listen to the latest batch of info from the source. Perhaps they could make something out of it. The girl, again, in danger, but not in danger. Now it was Rhode Island. Swimming off Bristol, Rhode Island. A big explosion. Something about coming out of the ocean with the rising sun behind him. Big storm.

That was enough for Alpha One. He was taking his team to Bristol. He was going to catch the Gold Target. They'd been chasing that bastard all over North America for six months. It was time to end it. Melody wanted it, and she signed the paychecks.

Edited By TeNderLoin