Billy’s Case Files
by Ermintrude
See part one for disclaimers
Part 22
Reach for the Sky November 11, 1985
Billy stood at the opened safe in Allen Agheny’s study.
He held the die with the single spot on all six faces. Cyclops. It had been years, but he had to track them down. They had beaten him in the past and he wasn’t going to allow them to do it again. Most of the intelligence community didn’t believe in Cyclops—but Billy knew better. He had tangled with them in the past—and if Allen thought they were involved—he’d do whatever it took to root them out.
He looked back at the body of his ex-colleague—and friend. Billy and Allen had worked together overseas on several cases. They worked for different intelligence services—different countries—but they had managed to forge a sound friendship and a good working relationship. Now Allen was dead. Billy owed it to him to try to avenge his death.
Billy went to the nearest pay phone and dialed a special number. The one that bypassed the switchboard and rang in the director’s office.
“Go ahead.” Dr. Smyth answered.
“This is Melrose—I need to go back into the field. I have a line on an international banking crime—it concerns a bank the Agency has funds in.”
“What bank?”
“The International Bank of New Hebron.”
“I know it—what is the threat?”
“I’m not sure yet—I have a line on a possible theft involving computers and satellites—but I don’t have the details yet. I need to track down some leads. They killed the president—Allen Agheny—made it look like suicide. I need to prove that it’s murder.”
“Melrose—you’re a damned good administrator. Come back in and we can see what your unit can manage.”
“No—I need to do this myself. I know about the possible perpetrators. I have the experience. Nobody else in my unit does.”
“Come back in—I cannot sanction any field work for you.”
“Then I’ll go out on my own. But I will follow up on these leads I have.”
“You will be going rogue—I can have you fired for this.”
“I need to do this—with or without your sanction.”
“If you go rogue, I can’t help you. I’ll have to try to yank you back in to sanitize you. Think long and hard about this.”
“I’m following up on these leads. I will tell you that Allen Agheny’s death was not suicide—despite the evidence. Melrose out.”
Billy knew better than to go back to his house—Dr. Smyth would have people watching out for him there. He made another call—this time to his home.
“Jeannie?”
“William—you’re working late again.”
“I have to be away for a while. I’m following up on a few things. Don’t worry. I’ll call when I can.”
He heard his wife sigh. “Is this like the old days?”
He smiled. Jeannie understood him so well. He was lucky to have her. “I love you, Jeannie. Kiss the girls for me and let them know I’ll be home in a couple of days.”
“I love you too. Be careful, and come home to us.”
He hung up the phone, and thought about where he’d spend the next few days. He had contacts the Agency didn’t know about—he’d look up some musicians he’d played with back in the day. He’d camp out with them and follow up on the leads Allan had left for him.
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The next morning, Billy had staked out the International Bank of New Hebron in a telephone repair truck he had borrowed from another old contact. It was good to have contacts that he kept in touch with. Even after all these years they came in handy now and again. He saw Zorbelle come into work, and move around inside the bank. Apparently Agheny’s suicide was causing some consternation among the employees. Billy figured it was Zorbelle who killed the man—the information Allen had left pointed to the man.
Then he spotted a couple entering the bank—sure enough—it was Scarecrow and his partner. Damn! Smyth must have put Lee on the case—hoping he’d find Billy and bring him back in. He didn’t need that—he needed to be free to follow up and find Cyclops. He watched Lee and Amanda play bank examiners and leave with a thick sheaf of printouts. Then Zorbelle left, and Lee and Amanda followed him. Billy stayed at his post. He figured the action would be at the bank. If he needed to move—now wasn’t the time.
After almost an hour—Zorbelle returned to the bank, and went about his business. Billy figured the man would be occupied there for the rest of the day—so he decided to go to his place and see what he could find there.
Billy entered Zorbelle’s townhouse from the rear—the place was very heavily wired for security, but Billy had no trouble defeating the system. He cautiously opened the study door and looked around before entering. He spotted the security camera, and had the electrical tape ready to cover the lens. The man might know someone had broken in—but Billy would make sure he couldn’t discover who.
He went through the desk and found a bank ledger—with many coded number entries. He figured they were computer codes that could be used in bank transfers. Somehow they’d use those with satellite wire transfers to steal a billion dollars from several international banks. The question was—how?
He quickly photographed all the pages and replaced the ledger. Then he re-locked the desk. Best to leave things as undisturbed as he could. He heard a noise: someone was coming in to the house. He hid behind the curtains and waited to see who it was.
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“Stay the hell out of this, Scarecrow.” He told his agent as Zorbelle ushered him outside. Hopefully Lee would obey—but he thought probably not. The man wouldn’t give up—he didn’t care about Allen or Cyclops—he just wanted to see Billy safe and back in the Agency.
As Billy rode with Zorbelle—he asked about their crime. Zorbelle wasn’t forthcoming, but Billy was getting a better picture of the operation. He was grateful the man had left Lee alive. Apparently Allen’s death had raised more questions than they wanted—so they were being careful about leaving any more bodies. At least Scarecrow had a fighting chance.
Billy knew he might be risking a lot to allow himself to be taken—but he would also be brought into the center of Cyclops operation. It was a big risk—but one he was willing to take. Allen deserved his best efforts. He owed it to the man. And he’d repay the debt—no matter what it cost him.
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Billy swam up to consciousness. They had drugged him and tried to question him. He’d just retreated into his mantra. Theoretically he could keep it up for days—but he also needed to try to escape. And during the times they left him alone—he managed to gather his thoughts enough to try to get free. The chair they had him strapped in was too strong and secure. Still—he had to try. Maybe he could overhear something that would prove useful. He refused to give in to despair. He had come through many tight spots in the years he had operated out in the field—more often alone, though he had partners now and again. He hoped this wasn’t the end of the road for him. He refused to give up. He was sorry his friend had died, and he still hoped he could do something to make that death mean something. He retreated back into his mantra as he heard them coming back to question him some more.
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He fought his way back to consciousness—he heard a noise—the air was thick and tasted foul. Some sort of gas. He tried to get loose—but it was no good. Then he heard gunfire—Scarecrow and Amanda were there—they got him loose—he rested heavily on Amanda as the three of them caught their breath in the hallway.
“Amanda help him. Stay put and out of trouble.” Lee told his partner.
“I think we’ll stay with you it’s the best way to stay out of trouble.” Amanda replied quickly, countering his order.
“All right.” Lee sounded a bit exasperated—but he didn’t argue about it. Interestingly they were very in tune in the field. Billy’s mind was fuzzy and he concentrated on keeping up with the pair.
They made their way down to the hall to the board room—and it was empty—but for a die with a single dot on each of its six sides. Cyclops calling card.
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They quickly searched the whole floor, but except for the dead guard—the place was empty. Cyclops had vanished.
Lee went back and got his clothes and changed out of the guard’s uniform. He and Amanda searched the place—but they found nothing that would connect anything to Cyclops. They did collect the medical waste from Billy’s interrogation. Otherwise they came up empty.
They stayed in the empty suite—trading theories and exchanging data. Amanda’s research tying Charles Caanan to the building would help show some connection to Cyclops—but they had no new information or ideas about the crime they were planning. Billy’s head cleared slowly, but after a couple of hours he was good enough to operate in the field.
By now it was daylight and they left the penthouse and went back down to the street and Amanda’s car. They split up—Billy and Amanda covering the street and Lee flying in the Agency chopper overhead—trying to spot the criminals with their satellite disk overpowering the legitimate microwave signals.
Billy watched Lee and Amanda work together and it was fascinating. They were very in tune with each other. They didn’t argue much in the field—they were direct and got the job done. He noticed each was careful to watch out for the other—make sure their partner was safe.
Finally they tracked down the criminals—and managed to thwart the crime. Billy shot two of them, and Lee and Amanda managed to stop the other two. Billy was impressed how Amanda was able to knock out their female assassin with her car door. It would need repairs from the dent the woman had made—but that was a minor price to pay for successfully wrapping up the case.
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Back at the Agency, Billy was up in Dr. Smyth’s office after his secret debriefing.
“Well, Melrose. You managed to prove Cyclops exists—bag the leaders and stop their robbery. Not bad work for an old rogue elephant.”
Billy stayed silent. He knew there was more to come.
“I won’t fire you—this time. You took a big chance—but as you came up roses—you get to work here another day.”
“Thank you sir.” Billy decided brevity was his best choice.
“You’re off the roster for the rest of the day. We told your unit you had the flu—and I think you will have it another day before you manage to recover enough to return to work. It gives you a day to get checked out by our doctors and make sure all the drugs have passed out of your system. You’re suspended from the time you went rogue until tomorrow when you return to work. Be grateful that’s all you get. I’m not putting anything permanent in your file—you closed the case.”
Billy nodded. Smyth waved him off and he left.
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Back at home, Billy greeted his wife and daughters. It was good to be home. It was good to have a job, but it was best to have closed down Cyclops and avenged his friend’s death.
Billy thought about Lee and Amanda’s help. Without them he would have ended up dead. That gas was lethal. And even if he had been able to escape—without them he wouldn’t have been able to capture the leaders of Cyclops. He knew he shouldn’t have favorites among his people—but he had always thought of Lee as a son—and from the start it seemed Amanda was like a daughter to him as well. And they seemed to hold him in a similar regard. Friends in the business were rare—and he had more than any person could hope for.
Billy had noticed the close camaraderie Lee and Amanda enjoyed in the field. They held hands, and put their arms around each other. They never acted like that in the office. Apparently they felt more comfortable with each other when on their cases. And they were very close. It was almost like they could read each others minds. He could see how they managed to solve their cases—they were a well-oiled team. Amanda had related to him how they managed to break in to the penthouse while he was driving around DC in her station wagon. He marveled at the teamwork—Amanda confusing the guard and Lee knocking him out. They had devised the plan together—and it blended their skills beautifully. She related how she had been distressed when Lee had shot and killed the guard—she hated to see anyone killed—even the bad guys—but she also acknowledged Lee had no choice. Billy saw she was conflicted about it. She admired the man—and relied on his physical skills to keep them both safe—but she also deplored the necessity of using guns and killing.
Billy knew it was just a matter of time before those two decided to act upon their feelings for each other. He briefly worried about the possible consequences—but then he realized it was part of what made them such a good team. And if they could keep it under the radar—he would do all he could to run interference for them. People in their line of business rarely had a chance at true happiness—and he knew those two were destined to be together. So he’d stay alert, and do what he could to facilitate their possible relationship. He’d keep current with the rumors and do what he could to protect them from the higher-ups who didn’t understand what the life of a field agent was like. He owed them at least that much.
And he had to re-schedule Amanda’s test. She wasn’t going to give up on becoming a full agent—and neither would he.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.