by Alton Reich
> "We have a new case. The folders are on your desk. It involves several > murders done by juveniles in a small town called Castle Rock, Montana. It's > small and very out of the way. Details so far are sketchy, but whatever's in > the folder is what we have to go on so far. We leave for Billings in 2 hours, > and it's going to be another 2 hour drive to Castle Rock. Look over the file > and meet you at the airport in an hour."
"What do we do about that?" Leo asked pointing to the TV.
"For the moment, nothing," Jordan replied, "There's a Sherrif in Castle Rock who is in way over his head, and we've got to bail him out."
"So we're just going to ignore him?" Vanessa asked, clearly upset.
Jordan couldn't tell what she was upset by, the thinly veiled threat from Thaddeus Cross, or the sense that the Crosses were going to get away with murder. "He's obviously trying to provoke a response from us. I'm sure he is aware of what Rebecca did to us, and he wants us to act rashly. Instead, we're going to Montana. We'll do what we need to there, and then we'll return to Washington. By then we'll have a plan for dealing with the Crosses. The worst thing we can do is rush in."
Jim nodded, "I agree. We need a plan to take the initiative. If we start reacting to the situation, rather than controlling it, we'll loose."
Jordan stood up, "Airport, one hour."
***
[Dulles Airport - about 1 hour later]
Jordan saw Zenya standing by the window looking out at the plane at their gate, and he walked over and said, "A 757, the new Boeing workhorse."
Zenya looked over at him and then back at the plane, "I don't really care what it is, I still hate to fly."
Jordan chuckled, "I don't think anyone really likes to fly. If god had intended it, we'd all have wings. Some people just tolerate it better than others."
Zenya looked at him an smiled, "I don't tolerate it very well, do I?"
"I've known people who are worse. At least it looks like we'll have good weather."
Leo walked over and stood beside Zenya on the other side. Jordan thought he saw a glance pass between them, but dismissed it quickly.
"A 757, they're great planes," Leo commented.
Zenya laughed, "You two can stop this. I'm getting on the plane, you don't have to talk me into it."
Jordan laughed, "Is that what you think I was trying to do?"
***
[On the plane, somewhere over Pennsylvania]
"Castle Rock Montana," Martin read out loud from the file, "population 1500. Principal economy is agriculture and manufacturing. What do they manufacture way out there?"
"Garade Corporation," Jordan replied, "They mold plastic parts for the automotive industry. They make door handles, and dashboard parts. The agriculture is mostly ranching."
"Mmm, cows. I bet you can smell the town before you can see it," Jim quipped.
"Local law enforcement is a full time Sheriff, one deputy, and two part-time patrollmen," Vanessa read, "Talk about a small town."
"The biggest case they cracked last year was four teens who represented the biggest shoplifting ring the town had ever seen," Leo said, "How far out in the boonies are we going here?"
"Far," Jordan replied, "The point here is that the Sheriff is in way over his head. He probably wouldn't know what to do about one murder, much less three."
"And the killers don't remember anything?" Zenya asked.
Jordan laughed, "This is what you get when you specialize in the odd."
NRPG:
More plane conversation is welcome folks. I want to thank Jeff for helping me out. My intention is to have each of you contribute a mission in the coming months. I think it'll be cool to see what kind of wierdness lurks within each of you.
I'm not, BTW, going to Detroit later today. That trip got cancled. The latest attempt at travel looks like a trip to Anaheim, California at the end of the month.