Hollywood Quest by M.Z. Kelly

Author:M.Z. Kelly [Kelly, M.Z.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kingston Roads Press, LLC
Published: 2016-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-EIGHT

After surviving Nana’s high tea, I was grateful that I had Monday off for the Labor Day holiday. I’d never used marijuana before and still felt lethargic after getting out of the shower. My phone rang. It was Joe Dawson.

“Hey, Buttercup,” Joe said, using the nickname he’d given me when we worked our first case together. “How’s your day going?”

“Just getting up and thinking about coffee. How are you?”

“Headed your way. There’s something breaking with the Swarm in your neck of the woods that I thought you should know about.”

My anxiety spiked at the mention of the terrorist group, along with the pitch of my voice. “What’s going on?”

“Word has it the group has merged with that cult you’ve been looking into.”

My apprehension was now through the roof. “The Tauists?”

“Yeah. According to a CI, that woman who took over the group is now working with the Swarm. They’ve got a compound up in the hills near your area. We’re planning to raid the place this afternoon. I thought you might wanna check with your superiors, see if they’ll let you be involved.”

“I definitely want in. What time is this happening?”

“We’re scheduled to meet at FBI headquarters in Los Angeles at two, then head out from there.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

After ending the call, I got in touch with Lieutenant Grundy. After waiting over an hour, he got back to me. “Apparently, you’ve got some influence downtown. Chief Miles has authorized you to assist the feds because of your past work with them. She wants a full report after everything is settled.”

I made arrangements for my brother to watch Bernie, got something to eat, and then headed to FBI headquarters. I met up with Joe Dawson outside a conference room, where their taskforce was gathering.

“Sorry to ruin your day off,” Joe said.

My friend was tall, with sandy hair and the palest blue eyes I’d ever seen. Unlike most of his FBI colleagues, he was casually dressed in a sports coat and an open collar shirt.

“If we can take down both the Swarm and the Tauists, it will be the best day ever,” I said. “What do we know?”

“I only got the abridged version, so let’s wait for Greer to fill in the details.” His pale eyes held on me. “How was Ojai?”

I knew it was his way of asking if I was seeing someone. “Nice. Just had lunch with a friend and took a walk.”

One of the other agents called over to us, saying the meeting was about to start.

If Joe Dawson didn’t fit the conventional mold of an FBI agent, his boss did. John Greer was in his forties, with the trademark high and tight haircut and a dark suit. His serious demeanor left no doubt about his occupation. There were about thirty agents and profilers gathered around the table as Greer began with some history of the Swarm and then filled us in on their latest activities.

“We’ve had a confidential informant working the fringes of the group for several months.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.