The Case of the Mad Scientist novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Meeting with the Company

Although I am usually not fond of early morning hours, a nine sharp I was walking into the office building at the address given me. It was a plain office building, four stories, housing a dozen or so small businesses. Suite 3B had a sign on the door reading “Brooks Financial Investments,” which I didn’t believe at all. In the few dealings I had with anything like the CIA, the first rule you learned was that things were never as they seemed, and everyone lies.

I was led to a small conference room. Apparently I was the last one to arrive because everyone looked up at me when I entered, and the man standing at the end of the table cleared his throat and said, “Now we can begin.”

“First, I’ll introduce you all. I am Calvin Grudge. I am a section chief with the CIA. Going around the table, this is Blaze Lane, a field agent.”

The dame he nodded to looked like one of the sorority chicks I worked with a while ago: very pretty, filled out her blouse nicely, long black hair, and the softest blue eyes. Didn’t look like she had much in the way of smarts, but with a body like that, who cares?

“This is Stella Walters, whom many of you may have seen on TV or in one of her shows. She is a professional escape artist.”

This one was a really eye-grabber. Long golden blonde hair, an oval face with bright blue eyes and very kissable lips. The body would have looked good in any centerfold. So this was the body I was to guard. This was going to be a fun case, I figured. I smiled at her. Her lips twisted in what might have been the beginning of smile. Which was for the better. If her full smile was as sexy as the rest of her, it probably would have melted every man in the room.

“And her assistant, Tara.”

That one was not a real match for Blaze or Stella, but still I wouldn’t have kicked her out of bed. Unless we needed more room on the floor. She had red hair, a really cute turned up nose, and sort of looked like Kathy Wilson, the girl next door that I had a crush on in the seventh grade.

“This is Sled Speed, a private investigator who will be providing security on this case.”

I looked around and noticed that there were three gorgeous dames and only one man: little old me. I smiled at them all. This was going to be a fun case.

“I want you all to understand that this is a CIA operation and everything I tell you is classified. You are to repeat nothing of what you hear or see to anyone else. Understood?”

He made a really quick glance around the table at each of us, obviously waiting to see if anyone objected.

“Our mission goal is to find and extract a scientist who worked for Swanson Labs in DNA research, and who has gone missing. He left the country and took with him important data and research results that we want back.”

He paused to press a button on a remote control, and the face of a man appeared on the screen behind him. It was your typical scientist: older, wearing glasses, unkempt gray hair, and a confused look in his eyes, as if he was not sure why someone was taking his picture.

“Dr. William Sorren. Age 56, PhD from University of Illinois, one of the foremost researchers in the field of DNA coding. He was last seen boarding a plane for Japan. There was another possible sighting in the Tokyo area.

“This team’s cover will be a benefit show put on by Miss Walters in Tokyo. The show will be for real and all proceeds will go to earthquake and tsunami victims. Two shows have been scheduled a week apart, which should allow you time to search for Dr. Sorren.

“Blaze will be in charge of the mission. Mr. Speed will provide, as he likes to call it, ‘muscle’, in the event that things do not go smoothly. We do not know if Dr. Sorren took off on his own or if some other country is behind his disappearance. There may be competition in the field also looking for the doctor. Or there may be someone protecting him.

“Your plane will leave at 1:30 pm today. If any of you have last minute tasks to attend to, I advise you get them done. Much of Miss Walters’ props have already been delivered to Japan. The four of you will fly commercial to Hawaii where you will board a military flight to Japan.

“Here are folders with the information you will need, including a rundown on Dr. Sorren. Inside are the hotel confirmations and other documents you will also need.”