Agent of Time by Nathan Van Coops

Author:Nathan Van Coops [Coops, Nathan Van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skylighter Press
Published: 2020-04-29T22:00:00+00:00

11 Ultimatum

When Stella checked out of the motel in the morning, the manager barely said a word. The woman rasped out something about long distance phone charges and looked like she might be expecting an argument, but Stella merely signed the credit card receipt and left.

She might be leaving, but she wasn’t done with St. Petersburg yet.

After she climbed into the Crown Victoria and started the engine, she reached into her jacket pocket and extracted the sheet of paper she had taken from Danny Briggs’s house—the note containing the address for a Mr. Robert Cameron.

She studied the address one more time, then shifted into gear.

In less than fifteen minutes, Stella had located the old Spanish-style house and parked out front, taking a few minutes to size up the home. It was an unassuming neighborhood and quiet. Not the type of place one would expect to find members of a shadowy underworld conspiracy. But Stella had been wrong before.

She crossed the street and approached the house, lingering briefly on the porch. She knocked on the door and took a step back.

A dog barked.

Somewhere on the other side of the door, her knock had stirred up a commotion. The dog continued to bark and Stella heard several squawks that might be from birds. Finally a person opened the door, prying it open cautiously so as not to let the dog out. The red-haired man that greeted her was familiar. Carson.

“Uh, hi,” he said when he finally extricated himself from the door and shut it behind him. He glanced down and caught sight of the pistol at her hip. “What’s going on?”

Stella moved her jacket to cover the gun and pulled her badge from her pocket. “I’m Special Agent Stella York with the FBI. We met a few nights ago, do you remember?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Carson replied. “Stella. Lover of mysteries. I’m sorry we didn’t get to enjoy that beer together longer.” He smiled at her. “FBI, huh? That’s badass.”

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Maybe you need a Mulder to your Scully,” Carson said.

Stella cocked her head. Sometimes it was like this group was speaking their own language. Carson seemed to sense her confusion.

“Sorry. Just a joke. You’ll think it’s funny in another ten years or so.”

“Because it’s a joke from the future?” Stella asked.

Carson crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “I’m just messing around. What’s going on?”

“I came here looking for your friend,” Stella said. “Ben? The one you were singing with the other night? I was hoping to talk to him about some unusual circumstances he’s been involved in.”

“Yeah. I’m sure he’d love to help but you missed him. He left a few minutes ago.”

“Will he be back later today?”

“Uh, no. They actually took off on a trip. Going to, um, can’t quite remember the first stop. Boston maybe? But they won’t be back for a while.”

Stella frowned. “Is there a way I can contact him? Perhaps a phone number of somewhere he’s staying?”

Carson chewed his lip. “Yeah, they won’t be near a phone for a while either.

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