Peak Oil Read Online Free PDF Page B

reality. He grinned and leaned forward. “Come to daddy.”  
    She grabbed his shoulder and pulled back, slamming his head into the bars. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
    “I shoulda’ warned you, James, she’s a feisty one.” She looked around at a guy in the cell to her left. He had a large, red welt on his forehead, having met a similar fate.
    Alexa swung around as she heard keys jingle in the lock. A female officer unlocked the door and entered the holding area. The name on her badge said, “Sergeant Evelyn Thompson”. She cast an indifferent glance at the man on the floor and arched an eyebrow toward Alexa.  
    Alexa shrugged.
    Officer Thompson unlocked the cell door. “Your bail has been paid; you’re free to go.” She slid it open with a clank.
    “At last,” Alexa said and picked up her jacket from the floor. “I was running out of playmates.”

Neil lay back in his car seat. He had parked in front of the police station and waited impatiently for the minutes to tick by as the air conditioner blew noisily. He flicked through the e-mails on his phone. Laiveaux had sent them the latest Interpol update on Anderson Fitch.  
    Fitch had been awarded the Texas Businessman of the Year award. Refatex stocks had risen by thirty basis points. The Texan Daily featured an exclusive with Andy Fitch on the front cover. The man winked, smiling charismatically. He wore a black suit and a bolo necktie, holding his Stetson in one hand and saluting a victory sign with the other.  
    Neil glanced at his watch. The two hours were up. He climbed out of the car and walked toward the entrance.
    The doors sucked closed behind him as he was blasted by the frigid air. It felt as if he was entering a walk-in refrigeration unit. An old guy wearing a thick sweater manned the reception desk. Neil greeted the guy who introduced himself as Tony.  
    “I’d like to speak to Deputy Harvey, please.”
    Tony picked up a phone, punched in a number, and mumbled a couple of words into the receiver. Clouds of vapor came from his mouth as he spoke.  
    He put the phone down and pointed to the waiting area. “Please have a seat.”
    A minute later a red-faced Harvey tottered from behind the counter. He motioned Tony over. “Tony, all the paperwork has been processed on Miss Guerra. Get Jenkins to bring her to my office.”
    Tony nodded and shuffled away. Harvey studied Neil, fidgeting with the side seam of his pants. “Please come to my office,” he said, his eyelids fluttering.
    Deputy Harvey opened a flap at the side of the reception desk and allowed Neil to duck underneath. Neil followed him down a short passage to his office. It looked large and comfortable, unlike any deputy’s office that Neil had laid eyes on before. An elegant mahogany desk had been positioned on top of a plush terra-cotta-colored carpet. At the edge of the room, Neil noticed that the carpet covered drab linoleum tiles.  
    A framed photo of Obama hung on the wall above an upholstered leather chair behind the desk. Ranks of standard, government-issued, metal filing cabinets stood against the wall.
    Harvey motioned to a chair, and Neil took a seat. The deputy paced around the office for a while, his thumbs hooked into the loops on his belt. He paid Neil no attention. A minute later, Alexa was brought in by a female officer.
    Harvey waved the officer away and heaved his heavy frame down into his chair with a sigh. He closed his eyes and steepled his fingers in front of him, resting his elbows on an ample stomach.  
    “Whom do you represent, officially ?” He opened his eyes and looked at them with a humorless grin.
    Alexa frowned. “What do you mean?”
    Harvey leaned forward, his chair creaking beneath his hefty frame. “Your fingerprints were classified. I need to subpoena the FBI to get them.” He blinked twice. “So whom do you represent? FBI? CIA?”
    Alexa slipped an ID badge from her purse and handed it to the man. “Interpol.”
    He examined it