MAN FROM TOMORROW (EPISODE 14)

Martin’s focus returned to the Director, who was shuffling papers around at his desk. He opened the bottom drawer picking out the one he wanted; dropping it on the desk and sliding it toward Martin, who caught it at the edge of the desk and left it in front of him, waiting for an explanation.

"You'll find all the information you need for this job in that folder," his Director began. "But to give you an idea of what we’re looking at… Two nights ago, we put the bureau on high alert when a confirmed terrorist entered New York.” The screen behind him changed from the American flag to the mug shot of a man, the top edge of the photo’s border indicating that the man was known as Joseph Cooper.

“What’s he responsible for?” Martin asked. He pushed everything back from his mind, readying himself to let the facts simmer in his thoughts. He put a finger to his lips, examining the picture of the man, seeking to burn the image into his mind. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties with short dark hair and dark eyes. There were no defining features on his face, but Martin found himself interested in the way his cheek and jaw bones curved; he swore that their shape was unusual compared to the typical facial bone structure, but it could have been a trick of the light, though he’d never seen a good photograph used to apprehend someone.

“It’s believed that he conspired with a group responsible for bombings in Texas and New Mexico. In addition, it’s believed that he’s a contact for a variety of other organizations that seek to transport recruits for terrorist activities from the Middle East into America,” he said.

A question lingered in Martin’s mind. A something that made him believe something wasn’t right.

‘Why was this Joseph Cooper only just becoming high priority the moment he touched down in New York?’

But Martin kept his mouth shut. Likely his Director had nothing to do with it and wouldn’t be able to answer his question regardless.

“So he’s a bit of a big shot,” Martin mumbled, pulling the folder from the desk and starting to flip through it. He scanned through the provided information, getting a quick idea of what he was working with. There would be time to go over everything carefully when he was alone. Martin flipped to the page where Joseph’s photograph was paper clipped to, lifting the photo to view what was underneath and scan the rest of the page. Something else on the page caught his eye, and he lifted an eyebrow, looking back to his Director.

“He’s American?”

“Yes, but he’s supposed to have ties with many nations that consider themselves enemies of America. Removing him from the streets could be a leap toward world peace, or at least toward protecting the people within our own borders,” the Director said, folding his hands on the desk.

(To Be Continued Tomorrow…..)