Don Pendleton - Death Minus Zero

“I can’t believe this is happening again,” Valens said.

“Is it the same?”

“Saul is missing. Work it out, Larry. The car didn’t crash. It was stopped. Steve Kessler took a bullet in the head and Saul Kaplan is missing.”

“So, who?”

“The original conspirators were all dealt with,” Valens said. “At home the threat vanished but...”

“The Chinese?”

“I don’t believe they’ve forgotten about Zero. The Chinese are good at playing the long game. Watching and waiting. They’ll know that Zero performs as it was designed to. And as long as it does, it presents them with a perceived threat. Let’s face it—what country wouldn’t like a piece of hardware like Zero? It would be a hell of a prize.”

“It’s not like they can just walk in and take over,” Brandon said. “Zero is an orbiting platform in space.”

“Saul Kaplan is not in space. And taking him would be something the Chinese could go for. And maybe even a hit against Zero Command. Cripple the nerve center. Do that and if they can gain control of Zero...” Valens shook her head. “Larry, do I sound like some gibbering conspiracy nut? Because that’s what I’m feeling like. Right now I’m having a nightmare in broad daylight.”

“After what happened last time, I couldn’t blame you.”

Brandon swung the car off the narrow road onto the side strip and pulled in beside a local police cruiser. The area was busy with cruisers and Air Force vehicles. Crime scene tape was strung out from tree to tree, and a collection of police and military personnel milled around.

“Great,” Brandon said. “The circus is in full swing.”

Valens had her ID out as she climbed from the car, clipping it to her belt.

“Agent Valens.”

Valens saw a broad-shouldered man approaching. He was average height, in his mid-forties, his receding hair peppered with gray. He was a local cop named Jerry Zeigler. He and Valens had met before. He wasn’t deliberately obstructive but harbored a slightly abrasive attitude toward the agencies that stepped in and took over, pushing the local PD aside. He didn’t take too kindly when it happened, so Valens tried to maintain a professional presence whenever she met Zeigler.

“Detective,” she said, offering her hand, which Zeigler took.

Zeigler glanced at Brandon. “You brought your backup, I see.”

Valens smiled. “Agent Brandon is my partner. And, yes, he has my back.”

A thin smile curled Zeigler’s lips. “I’ll refrain from making any inappropriate comments on that,” he said.

“What can you tell us?” Valens said. “Seeing as you’ve been here a while.”

“Only because the original call was made to us. But there’s not much more than you can see. One of your vehicles. Uniformed Air Force man shot dead. I was informed by your people there was a passenger. He’s missing. A preliminary search hasn’t turned up anything, so I guess the passenger has been removed from the area.”

Valens checked out the place. A spot off the road where trees and foliage helped to mask the site. A smooth operation could have been mounted and completed quickly on the quiet stretch before anyone was aware.

“They chose a good spot. Away from the main highway. Pretty quiet. Whoever it was, they were well prepared. All nicely worked out. Must have worked fast.”

Brandon had gone to talk to the investigative team near the Crown Victoria. Valens saw him check inside the car before he returned to where she was standing.

“It’s Steve Kessler,” he said. “Bullet to the back of his head. No sign of any struggle in the back.”

“Passenger some kind of VIP?” Zeigler asked.

“Yes,” Valens answered.

“That it?”

“I’m not at liberty to give out that information. Sorry.”

“Oh, I know,” Zeigler said. “Classified, huh?”

“If I was able, I’d tell you, Detective Zeigler...”

“It’s Jerry.”

“If I was able, I’d tell you, Jerry ...”

Zeigler glanced at Brandon. “Is she always this hard-nosed?”

“Actually, you’ve caught her on a good day,” Brandon said. “No fingers missing, are there?”

“I can believe she bites if provoked.”

Valens’s cell rang. She moved away to answer it, knowing it was Zero Command by the caller ID on the screen.

* * *

“FROM ALL THE bodies here,” Zeigler said, “I figure you people have a lot to deal with.”

“Nothing gets by you, Detective Zeigler,” Brandon said.

Zeigler grinned. “So smart, so young, so full of bullshit. Nothing you can tell me. Yeah, I know.”

Valens rejoined them.

“If anything comes up that I can tell you,” she said, “I will pass it on, Jerry. Right now I have a missing VIP and it’s my job to get him back. You have problems with that, you can talk to Colonel Corrigan at the base. Best I can do.”

Zeigler felt the frustration rising as he eyed Valens. She didn’t lose a beat and the cop knew she wouldn’t give anything away even if they stood there all day.

Goddamn it, he thought, all this need-to-know crap is killing me.

He let out the breath he’d been holding and managed a strained smile.

“Okay, Agent Valens, you win. Just remember I’m not one of the bad guys. Just doing—trying to do my job.” He turned and made his way to where his police cruiser sat waiting.

* * *

“I DON’T ENJOY freezing the local cops out,” Valens said. “Zeigler has it right. He just wants to do what he’s paid for. And all we do is put up a solid wall and stall him.”

“Your call? Anything important I should know about?”

“That was Colonel Corrigan on the phone. It appears we have a specialist team joining us back at base,” Valens said.

She noted Brandon’s frown. “What specialists?”

“An undercover group—and that’s all you need to know—from the covert agency involved when the original Zero problem occurred. Larry, we need all the help we can get on this. I don’t have any problem accepting that.”

“If you say so. You are the boss.”

“Yes, I am,” Valens said. “So no sulking over this.”

“ Moi ? Sulk? And here I thought you knew me better than that, Agent Valens.”

“I know you hate bullshit as much as I do. I prefer having stuff out in the open but we have to follow the ground rules. So let’s wind it up and get back to base. I don’t think we’ll be any use here any longer. Let the investigative team do their thing. Something tells me they’re not going to find anything.”

“Yeah. Hey, these covert operators don’t all wear tights and masks and fly around in invisible planes, by any chance?”

“Sometimes I wish we had some of those guys,” Valens said. “Might make our job a damn sight easier.”

“I wouldn’t look good in tights,” Brandon retorted. “You, on the other hand...”

“Do not go there, Larry.”

Walking ahead, Brandon grinned like a schoolboy.

* * *

BACK IN THE CAR, Brandon took the wheel while Valens made a call to their department chief. Brandon was not deliberately listening but couldn’t help picking up the reference she made to a Jui Kai. All Brandon knew about the young Chinese woman was that she was on a long-term undercover assignment in China. Valens took occasional messages from their chief but said little to him about it. Brandon, understanding she was not prepared to discuss the matter, didn’t question her.

Claire Valens was a determined woman with strong opinions about her work, and she held unshakable feelings, most notably the one that resurfaced every so often; Valens was convinced, as she had been for a long time, that the Chinese hadnot forgotten about Zero. It was as close to a conspiracy theory as any belief Valens held. It seemed to be there in the background, a vaporous image that Valens could not—perhaps would not— shake off. And the fact Jui Kai was working the China beat backed up Valens’s suspicions. Her assignment at Zero Command occupied her day-to-day business and this out-of-left-field move and the disappearance of Saul Kaplan would have been a blow to her pride. It would only strengthen her resolve to stay with her theory.