Death Toll by Russ Linton

Death Toll by Russ Linton

Author:Russ Linton [Linton, Russ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-30T16:00:00+00:00


24

Walking into a federal facility was something Kade had avoided his entire professional career. But once he’d been promoted to Team Leader, visits to the closest field office became unavoidable. As much as possible, he’d get his tasking alone and brief his team elsewhere.

Kade felt like a chaperone on those rare occasions an assignment required the presence of the full team in the office. They were all adults. Just not very well-behaved adults.

Agents and supervisors often didn’t recognize them. They assumed the rough-around-the-edges group was a visiting agency. DEA or CIA. The type who lived in the field and skirted the Bureau’s normal professional standards of hygiene and dress.

Not every squad utilized his team’s particular expertise. Some didn’t need it, preferring to gather their evidence in bits and bytes and dollar signs. Others had heard of the team’s messy reputation and found other methods.

Kade never bothered to change those agents’ minds. No need for marketing. His team had a full plate. And the ones who understood their value knew they’d get the job done. They also knew to spare him a trip to the office if possible.

In his private life, Kade’s interactions with the post office amounted to drive-bys of their little blue parking lot boxes, often in the middle of a rolling surveillance. He barely kept up with his own mail. Bills on autopay. Utilities regularly shut off in the Foggy Bottom apartment he rarely saw.

He worried the tiny Delaware Water Gap post office might not be the last federal facility he’d need to visit. There was the matter of an Army Depot. If he couldn’t make his way into the post office of a town boasting a population around 700 people, he wasn’t going to be able to infiltrate a secure military installation.

It was a weekday, so Mia had work to do. She’d left to check in with the NPS. Government facilities at every turn.

Despite his aversion, the inside of the post office was depressingly familiar. The easily recognizable layout a feature, he supposed. Post office boxes in the lobby. A glass door into the service area. A row of counters seldom fully staffed.

Darla was busy behind the only open one. Her face lit up when she saw Bran. Cute. Young love.

Kade kept his hat low. Sunglasses on. Totally suspicious vibe. The cameras weren’t as dated as the municipal office and they were powered up. Best he could do was limit his exposure.

“Got a break room we can talk in?” he asked.

The blunt question interrupted the budding romance. Darla flashed Bran an alarmed glance.

“We’ve got a few questions,” Bran said, his tone serious. “I wonder if we could see your...” his voice dropped to a whisper, “surveillance video from this date.”

He fished out a piece of paper. A copy of a receipt from the Crafted Cup. It’d taken him a little while to find it, but he swore it was the right one. Customer paid cash. Black tea. A note about being served in a cup with a saucer.



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