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Authors: Vernon Rush

Tags: #Mystery, #Thriller, #Detective, #Hard-Boiled

Skill Set (9 page)

BOOK: Skill Set
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“Someon
e mention my name?
” Dr. Everett Mason reappeared in the anteroom from the lab where he had taken the tumbler. He sat down where he had been earlier and crossed his legs. “
No, don
’t look at me so expectantly. These things take time and we won’t know a damned thing for several hours. . .”

“I was just telling Foxhound. . .”

“Yes, I got the gist of it, there at the end. You may be correct, young man…
we
’ll know soon enough…”

Foxhound stood up and sighed .
“Okay, there’s nothing more we can do right now, but wait. I, for one, would like some bacon and eggs. If you two would like to join me, fine. If not, fine. I’ll meet you back here in an hour. . .”

 

 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER
14

The three gentlemen talked softly among themselves as they made their way into the elevator, then through the lobby and out the heavy front doors into the eerie pre-dawn morning. The sound of their shoes on the terrazzo hall floors then on the concrete walk outside was strangely noticeable with no other pedestrians around. They turned to the right when they reached the street and walked about half a block to the bright neon sign announcing an all-night diner.

“This is my favorite breakfast place, my friends. . .” The M.E. held the door for the other two men. “Otto is the cook, and the owner. . .and I might add he makes a mean waffle.”

They were the only customers at that hour, perhaps the first for the day, and all three ordered waffles with bacon and nodded
“yes” to the question of whether or not they wanted coffee while they waited. Foxhound glanced sideways at his best agent, Isaac Rose, who was slumped over and had grown unexpectedly quiet.

“What’s got your tongue, Rose? I didn’t see any cats around here. . .”

“It’s nothing, sir, nothing. Probably just the aftermath of a lot of tension and the suspense of waiting. . .”

“I’ll buy that. . .” The M.E., on the right-hand stool, nodded solemnly. “I get that disease waiting for every autopsy result. . .you get used to it, after a while. Sort of. Then an important case pops up and everything gets iffy again.”

Otto served their waffles and bacon and all three realized they were ravenous. The tension of the past few hours had awakened their forgotten appetites. Nobody said much after that, other than asking for more coffee, and it wasn
’t long before they were relaxed and chipper, more like their real selves again.

Foxhound glanced at his watch.
“I think the lab work on that glass might be just about done by now. . .so let’s get back to it and hope for a solution. . .”

By the time the trio got back to the M.E.
’s office, one of the technicians was awaiting their return, holding a manila folder. He handed it to Dr. Mason then quietly left them to their devices and returned to the lab.

Isaac waited quietly, his hands folded on the desk top, watching the faces of the two older men as they concentrated on the details of the toxicology report. Finally, the M.E. looked up, his expression serious.

“It looks like your hunches and suspicions were right on, Mister Rose. . .This report leaves no doubt that the contents of this glass held enough Ricin to equal the killing power of a pair of cobras. Ricin comes from the castor bean and is colorless, tasteless, odorless, and as lethal as the worst kind of poisons. There is no cure and there is no way to trace it. We did find one smeared thumb print and it looks like it came from a digit larger than that of Emma Soto’s would be. We’re still working on refining that print so we might have something to go on but it’s not going to be easy. I’m very sorry, Isaac. . .we should’ve caught this earlier but there simply were no clues that we knew about. Now we have to notify the CIA and the FBI and get all the sensitive information obliterated ASAP and changed. That, in itself, is going to be a gigantic task. . .”

Foxhound cleared his throat and looked at Isaac over the rims of his glasses, his eyes piercing the space between the two men.
“And how would you like to manage the clean-up crews, Mister Rose, or should I say, ‘Chaos’?”

Isaac
’s mouth fell open and he was so startled he couldn’t speak. “Ah. . .sir?”

“You heard me. . .you missed this once, then you kicked over the biggest clue, then you stirred us up instead of pretending you didn’t know we had been buffaloed again…so I think you deserve to run the show and clean it up. . .for a reasonable compensation, of course!”

Isaac tried to swallow and couldn
’t work up enough saliva to make his mouth work.

“Well? What do you think, Isaac? Are you man enough to drive this ship? After all, it would take me at least a week to brief someone new and you already know it all. . .so it’s your baby, if you want it.”

Dr. Mason looked from one to the other, an almost-smile playing around his bristly whiskers.
“Yes, sir…I mean, hell yes, sir! I can do this! Thank you, thank you! I’ll get those bastards and faster than you could possibly imagine…” Isaac stood up so abruptly, he knocked his chair over backward and didn’t seem to notice. He grinned from ear to ear and kept shaking the hands of the M.E. and his unit boss, Foxhound. “Uh. .I’ve got things to do, so if you gentlemen will excuse me?”

Without waiting for an answer, Isaac Rose left the quiet building moving in a slow run, his mind bursting with details he needed to remember and contacts he wanted to renew and others he needed to make.
The killers were as good as caught, as far as he was concerned. Months later he did what he was sent out to do, he strategized a clever plan , catching them totally off guard, destroying their very existence and operation, to there demise and his rise of prominence in the secret organization , Isaac had finally Rose.

 

 

 

 

THE END

 

 

Isaac Rose will be back

Acknowledgments

 

I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who saw me through this book; to all those who provided support, talked things over, read, wrote, offered comments, allowed me to quote their remarks and assisted in the editing, proofreading.

 

About the Author

 

A new indie, strong-willed author with a passion for telling a good story, I like to bring life to each of my characters. My stories are fun, exciting, and unique.

 

I'm a veteran who is a native Washingtonian, now residing in southwest Florida, with a passion for storytelling. I love to keep my readers enthralled in my stories.

 

You might ask, Where do you get your inspiration from?

 

"People relaxing and enjoying one of my books, whether it's on a bus, plane, train, vacation time, or in the comforts of their home in their leisure time," Vernon says.

 

I invite you to get a copy of my books and allow my stories to captivate your imagination and take you on an unforgettable journey.

BOOK: Skill Set
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