Busted Flush Read Online Free PDF Page A

she said.
    I got a chair and dragged it next to her desk, then plopped down in it. The phone rang and she answered it.
    “Yes, this is the office of the director,” Ink said. “No . . . I’m sorry . . . He’s out for the rest of the day.”
    There was a pause.
    “Of course, I would be happy to answer any questions.”
    She stuck out her arm and I could see words scrolling across it:
There’s nothing more I would rather do this afternoon than talk to you. And your inane questions will ensure that I’ll never get this half hour of my life back.
    “Yes, the new director is wonderful to work for.”
    As long as you don’t mind a self-absorbed, narcissistic jackass with penis-size issues.
    “Of course, we’ll all miss Nephi Callendar. As Straight Arrow he was a force for good and as head of SCARE he looked out for the best interests of the American people.”
    She put her leg up on the desk so her skirt fell back a little, and I could see in Gothic lettering:
    Who was a decent human being, unlike this new guy, who has the IQ of warm milk. Of course, Nephi would have had a conniption fit if he had known that you and I were more than “best” girlfriends.
    “But the new director has some exciting plans for the department.”
    She lifted her shirt so just her stomach was bared. Written on it was:
When he isn’t working out or obsessively cleaning his office every hour. What a freak! And not in a good way.
    “Well, his plans are secret at the moment. It would be inappropriate for me to reveal them at such an early date. I’m certain that when he’s ready, he’ll be making an announcement to the press. Yes, of course. I was happy to help.”
    “I didn’t know that Callendar quit,” I said.
    “He didn’t quit. He retired. It happened while you were at BICC. He really did take a chance on me. After all, I’d only done PA work on
American Hero.
But he said that he needed all the aces he could get working for him and what I’d done on
AH
was just as hard as anything I’d do here. Crap, I am so depressed.”
    I stood up and went around her desk to hug her. “Don’t worry about it.If this doesn’t work out, I’m sure I can get you hooked up with the Committee.”
    “Let’s just get some dinner and go home,” she said, coming over and kissing me. Then she said, “I’m pretty sure I can think of a fun way to pass the evening.”
     

     
    I was walking through Behatu Camp. It must have been early morning because the heat hadn’t really hit yet. My footsteps made puffs of dust along the unpaved street. The mountains ringing the village were so close I thought I could smell snow. How many centuries had people been fighting over those indifferent Balkan peaks? All this dying—for what?
    Lying a few feet in front of me was a girl. She was only ten or so. It was hard to tell because she was so thin. I didn’t want to get any closer, but it was part of my job. I squatted down next to her and pushed the hair back from her face. There was a deep gash along her neck. Blood was pooled underneath.
    “I found another one,” I said loudly.
    “We’ll get there in a minute.” Was that Curveball? Or maybe Earth Witch?
    I touched the girl’s face. There were bruises and small cuts. Her lips were swollen. I didn’t need to see the rest of her body to know she’d been raped. That’s what happened here. Women, girls, grandmothers were all systematically raped and tortured. That’s why we were here. We were supposed to stop it.
    But we were too late for her.
    Her eyes snapped open. White, unseeing eyes. I jumped back and fell on my ass.
    “Murderer,” she said. “Killer.”
    Blood spurted from her mouth, covering me.
    “Wake up!”
    My eyes opened, but for a moment, I didn’t know where I was. Ink gave me a hard shake. “C’mon, Michelle. Wake up.”
    “I’m awake,” I said. But my mouth was dry and it came out as a croak.
    “Jesus, you scared the crap out of me.”
    “I’m sorry,” I said