She's My Kind of Rain (Sue Thomas FBEye)

Chapter Five

Two days later. Temporary FBI field office in Billings.

Myles read Jack's debriefing. The account preceding their abandonment in the mine was identical to what Jack had told him, while the rest was vague.

Upon waking up from the drug they injected us, Ms. Thomas and I attempted to retrace our blind journey through the tunnels. When we ran out of water, we drank from the dribble trickling along the walls. Weak and sick, we'd lost track of time and place when we ran into Agent Leland. We're not sure exactly where we were, but we ended up in his truck shortly after our rescue.

Jack had included a short physical description of his kidnappers. Coincidentally, their size, height, and clothing matched the description Myles had given, as Carson, of Jerry and Garth, the two men who'd sent him for a cold dip.

"Those guys should have changed shirts," Myles muttered under his breath. They had Jerry and Garth in custody for pointing a weapon and uttering death threats against him—as Carson—and he couldn't wait for Jack to come and question the two cronies.

Sue's debriefing supported Jack, but with less details. More sick than Jack, she'd followed him, recalling very little of their journey until she ended up in his truck.

Myles smiled. They hadn't included their interlude in lovers cave—not even mentioning the cave—and they had omitted Storm.

The lead agent in Billings, a tall burly fellow named Morton, knocked on the doorframe.

"Come in," Myles invited.

"You do realize this is supposed to be my office," Morton laughed.

"You did suggest that I make myself at home."

"I was simply trying it be polite, Leland." Morton sat on the chair opposite Myles' and put his feet up on his desk. "I just talked to Russell, your colleagues are on their way."

Russell was the agent in charge of their protection at the hotel.

"Good."

"You know, Leland, if we revealed you were an undercover agent, we could add more charges against Jerry and Garth."

Myles leaned in his chair, adopting a similar pose than Morton. "I'm not ready to play that card just yet. If they think Carson was just a regular guy, they may not clam up completely. Trust me on that one, Morton."

"Fine," he shrugged. "You're the advisor on the case, so I'll go along with you, but I want old Earl Cluster. I'm not letting him slip through my fingers."

They had raided Royal's Automotive and seized the stolen vehicles before they were delivered to Cluster Enterprise. In the trunks and under the seats, they had retrieved pirated DVDs and video games. Proving that Cluster knew the provenance of the vehicles or that he was aware of the merchandise smuggled inside was another matter—a matter Myles was glad to leave in Morton's capable hands. They had apprehended Roy, along with his four employees, and charges were pending against the five men who weren't talking at the moment.

"Cluster is all yours," Myles conceded. "Any lead on the whereabouts of the video store owner?"

They'd discovered a high-tech recording room in the cellar of the video store. The owner, a guy named Lewis, who'd conveniently been missing since the previous day, operated in conjunction with a Canadian accomplice named Paul. Myles had personally contacted the RCMP and they had made an arrest. Paul had confessed encrypting satellite signals and attaching them to legit transmissions which Lewis intercepted. While agents had just started reviewing the contents of the DVDs, it seemed the disks included a variety of themes, from Canadian Mystery Series not broadcasted in the States, to sport events and homemade movies starring unwilling participants. On the other hand, the origin of the video games still remained to be determined since the copyright versions hadn't been released to the public yet.