Martin closed the folder and looked
back up at the picture on the big screen behind the Director. The man looked
like someone who’d never gotten into a lick of trouble his entire life. In
other words, he didn’t fit the typical terrorist profile. The large majority of
terrorists always seemed to have something off about them, but from this man,
Joseph Cooper, Martin was getting no such vibes. Was it the perfect disguise,
or was there something he was missing?
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking,
why am I being assigned this mission instead of Homeland Security or another
agent who specializes in taking out terrorists?” Martin asked, eyeing the
Director. He was looking for a change in expression that never happened.
“Not
to say I don’t appreciate the honour of being assigned such a high-profile
case, but though my abilities do fall in line with some aspects of this case…
terrorists are not something I’ve handled before.” The Director didn’t seem to
even miss a beat.
“This case was thoroughly discussed
before it was assigned to you. High profile cases are distributed as soon as
possible because depending on what’s on the line, they can take a long time to
process and solve. However, this was handled differently. The higher ups wanted
an agent skilled in detection and this case has a lot of detective work.
You need to find this man- his
whereabouts are currently unknown. Hell, for all we know, he might not even be
on American soil. And since it involves a matter of high national security it
was agreed that we need to first locate the man and then move into action. So, it was decided to put an individual with
the skills necessary to solve on their own. Moreover, don't think you are alone
in the real sense. An army of surveillance specialists are scanning the land
with drones, satellites and supercomputers searching for that man. You are our
Eyes, ears and brain on the ground.
You’re not lacking anything that
will make this any harder for you. You’ve got a good mind, and you know how to
use it. This is a sensitive case, Martin, and with your specific set of skills,
we expect you to find this man faster than anybody else. Since it’s believed he
has many dangerous contacts… well, I’m sure you get the point,” the Director
said. “Regardless, that is all you should need to know. Everything else is in
the file. You and I both have work to do, now, do we not?”
Martin stood up and saluted the
Director, moving towards the door, but he heard the Director clear his throat.
“One last thing, if you don’t mind.
All the higher ups have agreed that Joseph Cooper is to be caught at any cost.
Bring him to us dead or alive, whatever it takes to end his threat.”
He said nothing else, and Martin
took his leave, intending to walk to his office and contemplate the situation. During
The entire walk back, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t
right. Neither could he decide whether that feeling stemmed from the case
itself, or just the man he was faced with capturing. It was one thing to catch
a man, and it was something else to do so without any attempt to preserve their
life. Martin would brood over these feelings for the remainder of the day.
(To Be Continued Tomorrow…..)
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