Mystery: Family Ties: Mystery and Suspense (2 page)

“Agent Smith is divorced and has no children, while agent Holliday has a fiancé and a mother at home,” the other woman answered, for the first time that morning showing some human emotions. “I want to find out what happened to them as soon as possible.”

“I understand,” agent Clark agreed. “I will go through the files today and will head to Montana in the evening. I will keep in touch and inform you about any new lead.”

“Okay, agent Clark, I know that you are an excellent FBI agent, and I have to congratulate you about your successfully closed case. Now, you will have to prove yourself again by solving a case that involves two of our own.”

“I understand the importance of the case, Deputy Director,” Clark said. “And I will do my best to find the two agents alive and if that is impossible, I will find the people responsible for their deaths.”

“That is the spirit I was expecting from you, Clark. Here are the files you will need and you can always contact me, even on my private phone, if you need something during the run of the case.”

Agent Clark took the files and walked out of the office after a few more questions. She had been working as a FBI agent for a few years now and nothing really surprised her, but when children and other FBI agents were involved, she really worked hard to solve the case.

Asa’s plane touched down in Kalispell, Montana’s regional airport late the next morning. It had taken her longer than expected to go through the files, so instead of traveling in the evening she had taken the plane in the morning. The flight had been a relaxing one for Asa, who really needed the time to rest a bit.

She was traveling light, so she didn’t have to wait long for her luggage. On her way out, she looked for her liaison, but nobody seemed to have come to meet her. Agent Clark wasn’t very pleased with the situation, but without making any fuss, she walked out of the airport and entered the first taxi that came her way.

The town of Kalispell was small, very small in agent Clark’s opinion and she kind of looked at the surroundings with a mix of apathy and disgust. Everything looked strange to her, from the small houses, to the people, who walked on the streets, as if they had nowhere to be right now. That was surely something new to see. Even the taxi driver was talking to her about some local fair, where there were going to be racing and cattle pageants. Asa was really confused.

“Here we are,” the taxi driver announced happily, stopping the car in front of the Kalispell FBI field office. “And don’t forget about the fair, it promises to be amazing.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Asa muttered, while climbing out of the car.

The FBI building was also small and somehow lost in the middle of the other buildings, making it look even smaller. Agent Clark entered the building and was surprised, when everyone greeted her with a good morning or with at least a smile. That was also something you didn’t see often in the big cities.

Agent Clark walked to the front desk and asked the middle aged woman behind it about the office of agent Todd Gibson. “He should be waiting for me,” she said, taking down her glasses. “I am Agent Asa Clark.”

“Agent Clark?” The woman wondered. “I have nothing here about you, but I can ask Todd if he can see you.”

Asa waited impatiently, wondering what she had gotten herself into and walking to one of the chairs in the waiting area to sit down and wait. At 29 she was an attractive
woman, although not in the obvious way that turn girls into top models. She was five foot six and preferred to look professional, dressing in suits and conservative clothes.

Asa had always dreamed of becoming an FBI agent, so as soon as she had graduated from college, she joined the FBI Academy and graduated among the first. Her degree in sociology and her analytical intelligence helped her to solve cases, which other agents found impossible to deal with.

Asa Clark was one of the few FBI agents with Native American ethnic backgrounds, as her mother was from the Salish tribe and her father was with Irish lineage. Being bi-racial was part of who she was and Asa was proud of it. There were people, who looked down on her, but the young woman never let it bring her down. Actually, she had grown up in one of the western American cities and was as much American as the president of the USA.

Asa Clark was one of those people, who never backed down and was always ready to fight for what they thought was right. Her fear of failure was helping to make her look up and forward, without becoming too presumptuous. And yet, agent Clark could ride a bull, enjoyed greatly line dances and sometimes drank too much. All these contradictions in her character made people see her as too young, too assertive, and sometimes even as too attractive.

Right now, Asa Clark was a young FBI agent at the top of her game. She had solved a number of high profile cases and was always thorough in her investigations, something that her colleagues saw as over-achieving. All that had gained the attention of her superiors, who showed signs of being eager to move her up the chain of command.

Therefore, Asa wasn’t surprised by the fact that the case of the two missing field agents was assigned to her. She had roots in the Native American culture there, something she could use as a tool during her investigation.

“Agent Clark?!” The woman behind the desk called at her. “Agent Todd Gibson can see you now.” Asa stood up and the other woman continued. “His office is the one on the left. You will find it easily, as his name is on the door.”

“Thank you,” Clark muttered and followed her directions. As she was told, agent Todd Gibson’s office was easy to find and she proceeded to knock on his door. “Agent
Gibson, my name is Agent Asa Clark. I am here for the case of the two missing FBI agents.”

“Ah, Agent Clark, you finally arrived,” the man sitting behind the desk said sarcastically, making Asa feel small and insignificant. “Come in, come in, we have a lot to discuss.”

“Agent Gibson,” Clark said calmly. “I was assigned the case and was told that you will be helping me with the case.”

“Why not, right? What better things do we have to do in here?” Gibson continued with the same sarcastic tone. “Anyway, I suppose you are just one of the many Jennifer Shepherd’s feminist cronies. Don’t worry, we are going to assist you with the case.”

“I was sent here by Deputy Director Jennifer Shepherd, but I can assure you that means nothing to me,” Clark didn’t let the man intimidate her.

“So, you are not here to shake up our small town branch?” The man asked ironically.

“No, I am here to solve the case of two missing FBI agents.” The woman returned. “Can you give me their reports on the case they were working on?” She demanded immediately after that, deciding that it was of little use to argue with the man.

“Oh, yes, you will have the reports, but don’t you think even for a minute, that we will let you command us.”

“I never expected that of you, sir,” Clark answered and went outside to wait for the files. A desk was assigned to her for the time she was going to be in Montana and one of the secretaries brought her the reports, showing her around and pointing towards the coffee machine.

The rest of the day, Asa Clark spent in reviewing the paperwork of the missing agents. Slowly, she started to understand what the case was all about. Smith and Holliday had been investigating the possible existence of a terrorist organization, founded in the family circles of Montana. The agents' reports were all about the right-wing demographic in the area, as well as the investigation of cells of domestic terrorists in the same area.

As Asa had already noticed there wasn’t much cyber chatter or cameras in this remote area of the country, so Smith and Holliday had to conduct many interviews around the region. “Shit,” agent Clark muttered. As most modern people, she was counting on the modern technology to help her with the investigation, but it seemed that this time around that would not be possible.

She went through the files again and again, until the words in them became familiar to her. It wasn’t obvious at first to her. The accidents seemed random, as if they were just a series of unfortunate events in rural Montana, which had more cattle than people. All the events were noted by the agents and categorized by date and geographical position. The connections between them was so subtle that it was a miracle that someone noticed the connection between them at all. Or at least no one, who wasn’t looking for that precise connection.

Smith and Holliday had red flagged a few small towns and ranches in the area, after connecting the points and finding the elusive connection. That had been how the two agents started their trip around Montana, doing research and asking a lot of questions. However, after months of doing just that, they still had nothing solid or at least a person to call a suspect.

The small terrorist acts hadn’t been picked up on at first. The lack of obvious connection between them effectively throwing the local police off the scent, but then the FBI had started the investigation. They acted carefully, never letting people know that they were interested in the case. Whoever was behind the terrorist acts wouldn’t expect anyone to look into the case, and the FBI agent had managed to keep it that way.

The secretary, Ann Shrump, had tried to help her with the file and Asa used her as a listening device. “Here we have a list of small fires started near government buildings,” Asa said to her. “All the fires can pass as accidents, except for the fact that there is a distinct pattern that speak of a plan.”

“Tom, ugh, I mean agent Smith, thought that each person in the organization, if there was one, was doing his or her part. For example, the same person started all the fires and another does the braking of the cars, a third one shoots against the police…”

“Yeah, that sounds logical,” Asa agreed. “But, how do we find those people? They seem to be going all over the state.”

“Someone around here has to have some idea of what is going on, you know,” Ann added, pointing at the notes on the table.

“I bet Agent Smith thought the same,” Asa pointed.

Ann left shortly after that, leaving Asa alone to deal with the reports. She stretched her arms slowly upwards and sighed in relief as her body seemed to relax. Her legs were hurting from sitting for so long in the same position, but Asa was ready to stay the whole night if needed. She had already found a hotel nearby and made a reservation. Her luggage was waiting for her by the front desk and Ann had assured her that she could call a taxi at any hour of the night.

Around four in the evening, Asa decided to take a break and went to the hotel to take a shower and eat something. The day had proved to be filled with too many surprised and unanswered questions for her taste. Even away from the FBI office, Agent Clark couldn’t stop thinking about the case, wishing she had found something to start with.

She had taken her luggage to the room and quickly changed into something more comfortable. She didn’t think she could face wearing the usual suit after a whole day spent in the plane and the office. The office was only a few blocks away and on her way back, Asa decided to walk, instead of take a taxi. It felt good to stretch her legs and get some fresh air.

Back at the office, she was greeted by the kindly lady behind the front desk, who was surprised to see her back so soon and recommended she take the rest of the day off.
Asa smiled at her genuine concern, but assured her that she was okay and that there was work to be done.

Unsurprisingly, almost everyone in the office had left by that point, leaving behind only the night shift, agent Gibson and herself. Within ten minutes of reading through the files, Asa realized that there was nothing more to be learned from them. Right at that moment, someone cleared his throat behind her and Asa jerked her head up. Agent Gibson was walking in her direction, putting on his jacket and looking ready to go home.

“Isn’t it time to wrap it up for the day?” Gibson asked her.

“Yes, you are probably right,” Asa agreed. “But, what do you think about the fact that most of the information in these files is collected from people, whose names are not even mentioned?”

“Oh, you know how small towns work. Here people are always in each other’s pockets. In here you run the risk of everyone ganging up on you if you say the wrong thing to the wrong person. Smith and Holliday were aware of that fact and acted accordingly.”

“I understand,” Asa agreed. After retracing all the data, Asa Clark was convinced that the case wasn’t going to be as simple as it seemed to her at the beginning. Agent Gibson, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying her discomfort too much and that only angered her more.

“Come on, let’s go eat something,” Gibson offered, as a way to placate her. “I know the perfect place, where you can both eat and drink.”

Agent Gibson took Asa to a country bar and grill in the area, and they arrived not long after the place had almost filled with customers. Gibson seemed to be known to everyone and the two of them had to stop at more than one table to answer questions and greet people. Once again, Asa saw one of the perks of the small towns, and smiled at the way people welcomed her in the town.

The bar seemed like a fun place for the local people, and the two FBI agents chose a table in the back of the bar, where they were away from the big crowd. The bar was divided into two sections – one for the families, where people could take their children, and another for grown ups, where you could drink and have some fun. Everything was innocent enough and Asa examined the menu with interest, choosing a steak and some baked potatoes. Gibson ordered the same and asked for a bottle of red wine.