Franks stood up. “Keep pushing and find out…”

“Stricken is who got Myers demoted. Right?”

Franks stepped over the body and began walking to the garage.

“Franks, wait.” Luckily, he paused, because I probably couldn’t have stopped him if I’d wanted to. “Myers is a scumbag, but we both know that everything he did, no matter how stupid or ineffectual it was, was to defend this country. This new guy, I don’t know what his deal is. All I know is something strange is going on. Not just in this particular case, but all over the world. Myers knew that. He could see the pattern. I know you can, too. Now you’ve got a puppet for a boss and a shady character calling the shots. We’ve both been to the other side. We know what’s out there. I don’t want them—”

“Do you ever get to the point?”

I suppose by Franks’ taciturn standards I’d just given a speech. “Okay, fine. I’m offering my help.”

Franks seemed to think about it at least. “Noted…” Then the big agent simply left the room. The two agents that had been waiting a polite distance away returned to take their photographs.

So much for trying to be nice. Not that I particularly wanted to throw my lot in with Franks, but this whole situation was making me uneasy. Change was in the air, and not in a good way. Distracted by thoughts of the day’s odd revelations and new questions, I walked down the road in the dark, making my way to where the rest of MHI was parked at the police barricade. It was time to go home; well, Vegas was close enough to home for now. At least it was warmer there. After the stomach-churning ride up here, I was happy to volunteer to drive a car home. Hell, I’d walk.

The sound of shouting stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t fearful or surprised shouting, which were the sorts that Hunters tuned into the fastest because it usually meant that something was coming to eat you, but rather this was officious and angry shouting, which wasn’t as dangerous, but nearly as interesting. I stopped to listen, and when I couldn’t hear exactly what was being said, I put in my electronic hearing protection and cranked the volume all the way up.

Two figures were standing next to the garage under the few remaining lights of the elevated sign. I was standing in the center of a dark road, so I could see them a bit, but they couldn’t see me at all. The hulking one in all the body armor was obviously Agent Franks. The thinner man in the trench coat was unfamiliar, but he was the one doing the shouting.