The Cure

IT HAD TAKEN AGENT DEACON THE better part of half a day to discover and locate the agents he wanted to work with. There were a few moments where Tony had to threaten to go to the director if some departments refused to release the agent he wanted. Thankfully it was bluff that he didn’t have to use, as Tony herded his new crew back to his office. As they were making the trek back, Tony took a quick moment to run by the cafeteria to grab some lunch for everyone. He grabbed a box that had just been emptied by the kitchen staff and then filled it with various sandwiches in plastic containers, salads, and a few cans of soda. With the nature of this case, it was best to steer clear of anything with sauce or gravy or some of the new members of his team might lose their lunch all over his office carpet during the first briefing. After paying for the crew’s lunch, Tony took the box of grub down a few halls to his office where several people were waiting for his arrival. Wilson was still working on a decent and very detailed board of detailed information from the file that the director had left on Tony’s desk. It was already quite impressive, as he had a map with details of where Carter had been sighted, where his victims had been found and other essential information. Once Tony walked into the room, he placed the food on the table and ordered everyone to help themselves. Everyone took a salad, a sandwich and drink each. Even though Tony had picked up a few extras, the choices he had made were based on his first impressions of his members and they were spot on. After he took his own selection and placed it on his desk to veg, he called over to Wilson.

“We almost ready to go Wilson?” he asked.

“Just about D.” Wilson called back, “So, who are the newbs?”

“I hardly qualify as a ‘newbie’ there, young man.” One of the agents replied. She looked to be in her mid-forties but was in good shape, but still mildly offended by the comment.

“Don’t mind him,” Tony said, walking up to the board and took control of the room. “You won’t have to put up with him much in person. He’s going to be staying here at HQ for most if not all the manhunt.”

“You’re assigning us to a manhunt?” one of the other agents at the back of the room replied. He seemed a little surprised, “Don’t get me wrong D… I know that’s your specialty, but I assumed they’d give you a break before tossing you back out into the field, that’s all.”

“No offense taken,” Tony said with a cocky grin as he grabbed and held up what was left of the case file. “But when you’re this good, you get assignment by request. This case requires the bureau’s immediate attention. You are about to be briefed on the case that will be elevated to the top ten as of the next update.”

“I’m not qualified to participate in a manhunt. That’s not my specialty.” The lady responded. The third new member was saying nothing. She wanted to hear more before tossing in her two cents.

“Before we get into specifics,” Tony started to explain, “I will explain why each of you was selected to be a part of this case. Think of it as a way to get to know one another. As you know I am Special Agent Anthony Deacon, but you can call me Tony. This is my worldwide eyes and ears, Agent Arthur Wilson.

“Arthur?” the guy at the back of the room said with a snicker.

“Wilson will be fine.” Wilson shot back, unhappy Tony let that cat out of the bag, humbling him in front of his new teammates so soon.

“Settle down.” Tony snapped back, “While we’re out on the field, Wilson will be our tech and information seeker right here in the bureau database. If you need information on a suspect or someone who you think might be associated with our suspect, just call him up and he will give you anything you need in real time. If you’re in pursuit of a suspect and need directions in the middle of a city you’re not familiar with, call this man up and he will load up a map and be your guide. Stuff like this is what gives us the advantage on the field. Use him as often as possible and we will win this hunt sooner than later, believe me.”

He pointed over to only other agent who hadn’t said a word and smiled to her. “This lovely lady is Special Agent Lisa Davis, the only person who might be almost as good as I am when it comes to hunting down and catching bad guys. In case our team is split into pairs during our hunt, she will be co-commander on this hunt. Despite our differences in the past, I know she’s good at what she does, and this case is too urgent to let egos get in the way.”

He then motions to the older lady that already had her doubts about the case, “And this charming lady is Agent Melissa Jackson. Like Wilson, most of her work has always been done from here as she is an expert in medical investigations.”

“My point exactly, Mr. Deacon.” Melissa responded, “So why am I being assigned to this case?”

“Our fugitive is a doctor,” Tony said as walked past her. “He’s been on the run for a little over three years, and this smart cookie has been able to avoid authorities while doing something that we were not able to uncover until now. Something that I have no doubt we will require your opinion on.”

“I see.” Melissa said, “Torture?”

“It could be something much worse, take a look.” Tony walked over with one of the photos, and used the magnifying glass to help her see what he wanted her to see. In the background of the photo behind the body was what looked like an advanced chemistry set, something a person could use to create some element or substance. Test tubes and other various mixing or boiling apparatuses could be seen, and Melissa looked back up at Tony with a look of shock on her face.

“Is he doing what I think you think he might be doing?” she asked him.

“It’s possible, because our fugitive used to be a licensed doctor.” Tony said as he took the photo back, “What he did with that MD is unknown. We’ve been unable to retrieve the records of what Carter did with that license before he went on the run. The corporation that employed Carter said that the records we want were in the building that Carter torched to start this whole mess.”

“That’s sound awfully convenient,” The man from the back called out.

“Yes, it does.” Tony called back as he felt the same, “Because I’m pretty sure these files might hold a vital clue to why he might be performing medical experiments on his victims.”

Lisa squirmed in her seat. “You suspect this torture could in fact be medical experiments?”

“Try to think of this as Dr. Frankenstein on the run.” Wilson answered.

“That would make sense,” Melissa said, as it was her suspicion as well. “Rouge doctors testing something on unwilling subjects away from the prying eyes of the FDA is not that uncommon. It could explain why he was dismissed from the company, and why he lashed out at them so violently. He must be obsessed with his research and is desperate to keep it going.”

“Now that does make sense,” Lisa chipped in. “If he believed that much in his work, then being dismissed would have been his trigger. He would be especially enraged if he thought they might try to continue and complete his work without him.”

“And possibly take credit for it as well.” Melissa added.

“So, there’s our motive,” Tony said as he stopped pacing, “If we could only find out what he was working on, that might assist us in finding him.”

“Can’t we trace the equipment and chemicals used to make whatever he’s doing?” Lisa quickly asked.

“That’s one way to go.” Wilson asked, “I’m sure a lot of the equipment he’s using is not only expensive, but he likely must order it from a medical company. Rare purchases like that can be traced.”

“It might not be that easy, but it’s worth a shot.” The man at the back of the room stated.

“Before we continue, our last member of the team is Agent Bruce Kern.” Tony said as he motioned to the young, athletic looking African American at the back of the room. “You are an essential part of any team that is trying to hunt down a fugitive.”

“How so?” Bruce asked, curious to why he was there.

“Well, besides your amazing work ethic and your ability to drive through a busy highway at incredible speeds,” Tony started, “You’re able to clock a hundred meters on foot in less than fourteen seconds. When it comes down to it, sometimes a manhunt can be decided by a foot race. You’re my go to guy on that front. When lives are at stake, I need someone who can outrun our fugitive who has thus far has managed to stay ahead of everyone else.”

“Do we have any idea what he’s testing?” Lisa asked.

Tony pointed in Melissa’s direction. “That’s where Agent Jackson comes in. Because of the medical nature of this case, I felt it was necessary to have a medical brain of our own on the field to track what he’s doing and try to figure out what exactly Carter is up to.”

“I see where you’re going,” Melissa said, “I don’t want this guy on the streets any more than the rest of the medical field does. If the media ever got their hands on these details, it would not be received well by the public.”

“That’s why this little intro powwow is over.” Tony said as he walked over to his desk and picked up some file folders, and he tossed several over to Melissa first. “Here are the medical files of each victim. We need to find correlations. What do they all have in common, and what makes them eligible to be part of this experiment?”

“Alright, I’m on it.” She said as she took the files and relocated herself to one of the empty tables at the other end of the room.

“Lisa,” Tony started, “I need you to hit up some of your contacts in New York. From what I am gathering, he managed to lay low down there for quite some time undetected in a major city. I want to know how he managed to accomplish that.”

As she left the room to go back to her own office, Tony turned to Wilson.

“Start looking at the photos,” Tony ordered, “Scan them and see if we can enlarge some of the equipment in the background. I want a brand name, something we can trace that he’ll have to order again.”

“I’m on it, D…” Wilson said as he went back to his desk.

“And Bruce,” Tony called as he walked up to him.

“What’s up?” he said as he stood up from his chair.

“We seem to be in agreement regarding the corporation that employed Carter.” Tony replied as he walked closer, “Having all the information about a medical experiment in the same building where it was taking place is not how any company works, especially a corporation this massive. You and I are going to pay them a visit and try to shake them for some valuable intel. Hopefully we’ll get an idea of what he was working on, as any clue would help at this point.”

“You need me for that?” Bruce asked.

“You never go into the field alone,” Tony sternly added, “Especially when you’re conducting a manhunt. Always have backup because you never know when you’re going to bump into your subject or into any hostile situation. If you ever leave this building to do anything related to this case, always have someone with you. Understood?”

“What if no one from the team is available?” Bruce inquired.

“Then you take an agent from another department and use them for backup.” Tony replied, “Never expose yourself like that. Always have backup. Now let’s roll.”