Stand Down. Don Pendleton

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СКАЧАТЬ you around.” He pushed the door open, holding it for Bolan to follow him out, then headed for his cruiser. Bolan watched him leave before getting into his own car and hitting the speed-dial for Stony Man Farm.

      “Hey, Striker, looks like I win my bet with Hal.” The cheerful voice of Aaron “the Bear” Kurtzman sounded in his ear. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to go more than twelve hours before checking in.”

      “I was thinking the same thing about you guys,” Bolan said dryly.

      “So how’s the road trip going?”

      “Funny you should ask. I’ve run into a bit of a detour in a town called Quincyville, in Kansas.”

      “What’s going on out there?”

      “I’m not quite sure yet. If you’re only tackling the usual three or four things at the moment, can you check the national law-enforcement databases for information on a double homicide involving an attorney named Jack Bitterman?”

      “He the vic?”

      “Yeah, apparently he and his wife were both killed sometime yesterday.”

      “Okay, just a sec.” Bolan heard Kurtzman’s fingers flying over his keyboard. Stony Man Farm intelligence-gathering apparatus was unrivaled by any other organization in the world, and Kurtzman was the brains behind making it all work. After a few seconds, the analyst spoke up. “I got nothing on local, state or regional DBs. No bulletins or anything. You didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?”

      “No, but the local sheriff’s department is keeping it on the QT, which seems really strange. Do me a favor and have Akira place a cover file for Matt Cooper setting him up as an ex-field employee of Blackwater, let go in the recent past under questionable circumstances. Tag any inquiries originating from Quincyville ISPs and trace them back to their source host.”

      “We’re on it. You looking for a good or bad jacket?”

      “Make it gray—charges brought but nothing proved. Prioritize that one. I have a feeling someone’s going to be checking out my background very quickly. That reminds me, ‘Matt Cooper’s’ last mission was as a DOJ agent. Delete that file. I don’t want this guy stumbling across that jacket while searching for my other fake identity. If anyone needs to check my DOJ affiliation, I’ll have them make a call.”

      “I’m on it. Anything else?”

      “Yeah, do a search on cell phone records for a Kelly Bitterman. That’s their daughter, who’s been missing since yesterday, and hasn’t been found yet. Two more things. First, get me a jacket on a deputy out here named Quintanar.” Bolan spelled the name as he recalled it from the deputy’s nameplate. “First name Rojas.”

      Kurtzman’s fingers sounded like they were moving so fast, Bolan could have sworn he smelled plastic melting. “Got it. What’s the second?”

      “There’s a company in town named Cristobal Pharmaceuticals. They seem to be a big player here. What can you tell me about them?”

      Bolan heard more tapping. “I can send you their most recent quarterly statement if you’d like. Let’s see… Founded in 1987 in Veracruz. Originally known as a health-food company, selling herbal supplements and the like. Bought out in 2004 by Cristobal Enterprises out of Maracaibo, Venezuela, which renamed itself the Cristobal Pharmaceutical Company. They built their U.S. headquarters in 2006 in Quincyville, Kansas. No initial ties to criminal organizations that I can find, however, it seems Cristobal, no matter how it’s been reinvented, has a rather tangled past. It’s been passed around several South American holding companies like a hot potato. Want me to keep digging?”

      “Absolutely. And let me know when you’ve accessed Kelly’s phone records. I want to know if she’s contacted anyone in the past twelve hours.”

      “You got it. Hey, if Hal calls for you, what should I tell him?”

      Bolan’s mouth quirked up in a half smile. “Tell him I’m doing a little house hunting in Kansas.”

      3

      Deputy Rojas Quintanar didn’t waste any time calling his superiors once he left Matt Cooper at the newspaper. But he wasn’t reporting in to the sheriff. Instead, he speed-dialed a number that connected him to the Cristobal complex. “De Cavallos.”

      “This is Rojas. We may have a problem.” He quickly outlined the confrontation with Everado outside the restaurant, and his subsequent conversation with Matt Cooper at the Gazette building. “If this guy is who he claims to be, it’s pretty coincidental that an ex-PMC guy just happened to wander into our town for lunch.”

      “What’s your take on him?”

      “Definitely ex-military—he’s got the bearing. He may be who he says he is, but he could be government too, possibly trying to insert as deep cover. He seemed pretty interested in finding work, so perhaps we can reel him in that way, and take care of him on our turf if necessary.”

      “I’ll run a check on him, see what comes up. Find out where he’s staying and make sure someone’s keeping tabs on him,” De Cavallos said.

      “All right. Also, please keep Everado from doing anything loco. We don’t need him attracting any more attention than he already has.”

      “You concentrate on doing your job, Rojas, and let me worry about my son, understand? How are you doing finding the girl?”

      “We’ve been combing the entire town and are watching the house—”

      “Wait a minute, you think she’d actually go back to the homestead where her parents died?”

      “We’re covering all the bases, just in case. We’re also monitoring her friends’ homes and their cells in case she contacts anyone, but so far she hasn’t popped up anywhere.”

      “Damn it, you need to find her, and quick. If she saw anything last night and talks to anyone, you’re screwed.”

      “Don’t worry about it. The second she appears, we’ll be all over her.”

      “You better be. I’d hate to have to lose such a good deputy over this.”

      Quintanar swallowed hard. He knew De Cavallos didn’t mean he’d be facing criminal charges. If he was lucky, he’d end up in a shallow grave somewhere on the prairie. If De Cavallos was really pissed, there was always the microwave oven… The deputy shuddered at the thought. “Like I said, we’re on it. Besides, where’s she gonna go?”

      “Who knows? She’s a kid who just saw her parents get killed. Did you check on other family?”

      Quintanar frowned, letting a bit of annoyance creep into his tone. “Of course. She’s got grandparents in Lincoln, Oregon, but she hasn’t contacted them yet. If she does, we’ll triangulate the call and go get her.”

      “Let’s hope that’s exactly what happens. You let me know the moment you have a lead on her. And be sure to tell those brothers of yours that I want her alive. We’ll need to know she hadn’t told anyone anything before we take care of her.”

      “Yes, Mr. De Cavallos.” Quintanar disconnected the СКАЧАТЬ