Full Disclosure (Nice Guys 2)

“Oh yeah, but right now he’s using his power for good, not evil.” Mitch looked up, catching Kreed’s disbelieving stare reflected in the mirror, and gave him a wink.

“How’d you meet him?”

“Online. We play State of Decay together sometimes. I kick his ass and then he manipulates the system and cheats, but I still win,” Mitch said, leaning back against the sink next to Kreed while he dried his hands. Connors finally caught up and came through the door.

“I’d stick with him, Knox. This is some serious explosives. We need all the help we can get. Have you been to the site?” Kreed asked.

“No. We were headed there next.” He glanced over at Connors and got a nod from the guy.

“I’d like to see it for myself, see if I can pick up anything that might have been missed. Can I hitch a ride with you?” Kreed asked.

“All right, you can ride with us. But I need to warn you, the fed gets carsick. You’re in the back,” Mitch advised Kreed. “Hey, did you happen to bring me a change of clothes?”

“Yeah, I just brought you some of mine. They’re in my trunk,” Kreed tossed him the keys and he headed out the door as Connors ran the degreasing soap over his hands for the third time.

Chapter 14

Mitch stayed back, forcing Connors to do the same in order to give Kreed time to do his thing. Every time Connors tried to speak, Mitch silenced him. This was the agent’s second trip here in the last twenty-four hours. Connors had information Kreed needed, but Mitch didn’t want to taint Kreed’s gut instinct, because there wasn’t anything more reliable than those odd feelings his partner got. So he stood in the hot Kentucky sun, keeping a metaphorical hand held over Connors’s mouth even though they’d had this conversation in the car.

“Where was his body found?” Kreed called out.

“Roughly sixty meters east.” Mitch looked at Connors for confirmation and got a nod.

“Show me,” Kreed said. Thankfully Connors just did as he was asked without the long-winded commentary.

“Who cleaned up the site?” Kreed asked.

“Our guys,” Connors answered, moving back toward Mitch.

“The locals or ATF didn’t try?” Kreed asked, continuing to scan the seared earth.

“We took precedence because of Knox’s work and the Greyson kid,” Connors explained. Kreed shook his head and looked over at him. Mitch gave him his not-worth-it-just-shrug-it-off look.

“His legs were tied,” Kreed announced, following the visible tracks.

“His hands, too. The assumption was he was in the trunk of the car, prior to the explosion,” Connor supplied.

“So he got out by pulling the safety latch?” Kreed questioned. Mitch watched as his friend bent down and ran his fingers over the ground, then brought them to his nose.

“Probably, that’s our best guess,” Connors finally spoke up again, keeping his eyes on Kreed.

“Guaranteed he faked unconsciousness,” Kreed added.

“He’s a smart kid,” Mitch affirmed, following along beside Kreed, examining the tracks left by Elliot Greyson.

“He hasn’t been questioned?” Kreed asked, staring at the ground.

“No. He’s been in a coma since he was found,” Mitch supplied

“Are the same agents with him that lost him?” Kreed asked.

“Not as of tonight,” Mitch said, already palming his phone. “They’re real big on him ducking out.”

“You better have a good reason and something solid to back it up when you make that call,” Connors cautioned Mitch. He ignored him, but got the feeling Connors was finally on board with the possibility the Secret Service might be involved. At this point, they couldn’t rule anything out. Could this really be an inside job? A Secret Service agent would absolutely have the ability and know the importance of keeping things quiet. They could hide.

In mid-call, Mitch changed his mind and decided to wait. For now, the kid had extra protection and Mitch needed to think. Connors had some good points about this internal department issue they now faced. He needed time to process everything they’d learned. This could quite possibly be the first real lead he had, and for some reason, the case kept getting worse with every bit of new information found.

Kreed wrapped his end up, and Mitch drove them back to the impound lot where Kreed’s rental was parked and their driver had remained after much coaxing on Mitch’s part. Between Mitch, Kreed, and Connors, they all agreed they wouldn’t act until they could dig a little deeper. As Connors conceded, so did Mitch. He needed evidence before he could cast stones at the Secret Service.

~~~

Mitch sat on the edge of the bed in hotel room and waited. A knock came from the adjoining room door, one Mitch hadn’t opened and debated now whether to leave closed. Kreed hadn’t had enough time to do his thing, and he didn’t want Connors in here rambling on and on about how the FBI handled matters such as these.

With the turn of events over the last couple of hours, paranoia began to run deep. Once they were assigned a room, Mitch immediately asked for two new ones. Now he just sat in the extreme quiet of the hotel room, waiting.

On the second knock, Mitch finally decided to let Connors in, but stood in the adjoining doorway, lifting a finger to his lips. That confused Connors a little, but he finally got the point and gave a quick nod. They just stood there, staring at each other.

“We need to ask more questions, do some leg-work. Maybe someone saw something. They had to get into town someway.” Connors broke the silence, saying the words very clearly and professionally. Mitch made a mental note that the agent sucked at acting casual in complicated situations.

Finally the knock he’d been waiting for came. Mitch looked through the peep hole and there stood Kreed.

“Hey, man, thanks for coming,” Mitch said.

“Nice digs. The Marshals Service doesn’t usually pay for the Hilton,” Kreed teased and handed one of two small handheld devices over to Mitch. They both began scanning the room. Connors stood back and watched before moving aside, letting them go over his room with the same diligence they’d surveyed the first. No part of either room remained untouched. During the sweep, Mitch noticed Connors had completely unpacked. Toiletries in their right spot, each drawer had neatly folded socks, underwear, and an undershirt. His suit was hung properly in the closet.