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Oct-28-2008 02:14


...

“He’s just gone!”

“What do you mean gone?”

“I mean gone, detective, disappeared without a trace.”

“Barry Grant? Gone?”

“…”

“And what do you expect out of me?”

“What should I expect out of you?”

Nov-6-2008 07:19


***

Clift gathered his evidence and equipment. It was time to leave.

He had spent a good week sorting through the remnants of Barry's old articles and documentation: He did not come out of it with a clear direction of where to go next, but he now knew very clearly where Barry came from and how he started.

It was time to go.

The journey back to New York would be a long one, but Clift had so much reading he needed to do and so much information he had to sift through.

Clift looked back over his shoulders at Barry's first ever office. He smiled. "It was nice meeting your office Mr. Grant, perhaps one day I will have the pleasure of meeting you... perhaps not... In either case, no one will ever be able to say that I didn't try my hardest."

Nov-6-2008 12:27

Several days later, Clift's ship landed safely back home in New York. He scarcely took the time to unpack before he headed to his favorite spot for reflection, the Cacophony Conservatory. Angela cast a smile his way as he settled in his corner, opened his file of all the info he had on Barry when he first started out, and began examining it.

Clift came down the front steps of the Conservatory several hours later to find two extremely large men blocking his path. The badge one man flashed said, "F.B.I.", on it, and looked genuine, and the gun peeking under the guy's left arm as he replaced it in his vest pocket certainly looked real enough.

The man smiled slightly, "Mr. Garrett. Nicholas Henderson, F.B.I. We need you to come with us."

Clift stared at him, "I don't understand. I haven't done anything wrong."

The agent waved a hand at a black Ford, his smile turning insistent, "If you'd be so kind, Mr. Garrett. This won't take long at all."

A few minutes later, Clift and the two agents were standing in front of a tall skyscraper that looked just like the rest of the buildings on the block. Only the sign in front was unusual, "U.S. War Department--New York Division--Operations Center." The agents guided Clift into the building, then across the Lobby and into an elevator. Several floors up, they stepped out to a floor of people busily scuttling about. The two men guided Clift through the chaos to an office on the far side of the floor.

Agent Henderson knocked twice softly, then opened the door on the summons within. The man standing behind the desk talking on the phone was an older man, tall and thin, dressed in a standard grey three-piece-suit, with regulation short sandy-blond hair. It was currently mussed as the man ran his hand through it worriedly.

“Yeah, okay, Charlie, lemme know when you’ve located her. Thanks. Talk to you soon.” He hung up and turned piercing blue eyes onto Clift, studying him intensely.

Nov-6-2008 12:34

“Sir, here’s Mr. Garrett,” Agent Henderson told the man.

“That’s great, boys!” he exclaimed, “Tell Ollie I owe him one. You boys’ve been a big help. Thanks.” He dismissed them, leaving Clift alone with the man.

Clift extended his hand to the stranger, “I’m Clift Garrett, Private Investigator….”

“Brigadier General Doctor David Adams, U.S. War Department,” the man replied, “You’ve been looking for Barry Grant.”

Clift felt his mouth open slightly in surprise, “How…how did you know that?” he asked.

The man sat in his desk chair, not bothering to wave Clift to a visitor’s chair. He sat anyway. “Inspector Mulligan says you’ve got a bug in yer craw ‘bout finding Grant. Mind if I ask why?”

“Barry’s sister has hired me to find him. He’s been missing for more than a year.”

“Eighteen months and two weeks, to be precise,” the man replied.
Clift’s mouth opened in surprise again, “How’d you know that?” he asked alarmedly.

The doctor sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly, “Cause I know a lot about lots of things. The Inspector said you had some questions of me?” he asked.

Clift reached for his notebook, swiftly scanning his notes, “I’m trying to locate the whereabouts of several people. Perhaps you might be able to help me with that?”

Adams grimaced slightly, then nodded, “Possibly, yes. Who d’you wanna know about?”

Clift flipped a notebook page over, “Apparently Mr. Grant had several girlfriends? I’ve found a Mrs. Rebecca Franks, a Ms. Andrea X, a Miss Violet Parr, and a Miss Sahira Quadir? Would you know any of their whereabouts?”

Nov-6-2008 12:36

Dave snorted softly, “Apparently, Mr. Garrett, your info’s a bit flawed. Rebecca Franks was a former girlfriend who tried to reclaim her former beau; AndreaX was Mr. Grant’s current interest at the time of his disappearance, Miss Quadir was a woman assigned to protect Mr. Grant when he was seriously injured, and Miss Parr was a British citizen also trying to help Mr. Grant. Neither she nor Miss Quadir had any romantic affiliation with him.

He reached for a file folder on his desk, “Currently, Ms. X is semi-retired as a detective, living on a small estate in Surrey, England. I doubt she’s willing to receive many visitors these days. Miss Parr, similarly, has retired, and moved to Bombay, India with her family. Mrs. Franks, however, seems to have had a downturn of her luck. She was arrested in China shortly after Mr. Grant disappeared, extradited to England, and charged with various larceny, theft, and forgery charges, and two counts of assault against an Officer of the Realm. She’s currently serving a fifteen-year sentence in Aylesbury women’s prison in Buckinghamshire, England. Feel free to have a chat with Mrs. Franks there, and do send her my regards.”

Clift looked up from writing his notes at the doctor’s sarcastic tone, “Something wrong, Doctor?”

“Absolutely nothing, now,” he replied, “Let’s just say I wasn’t impressed with Mrs. Franks. Especially since she jeopardized the lives of my people, and my family numerous times.”

He went on, “As for Miss Quadir, she’s currently in New York. Still doing protective detail. I doubt she’ll have anything relevant about Grant.”

“Any idea where, exactly, I can find her in the city?” Clift asked him.

Dave glanced at his watch, “Oh, bout this time, she and Breit are prob’ly hitting Macy’s by now. I’m guessing they’ve been through Babcock’s and Bloomie’s by now.”

“Breit? As in Breitkat Pfeiffer? I had wanted to speak to her about her articles on Mr. Grant that she did for the Herald.”

Nov-6-2008 12:38

Dr. Adams’ eyes turned a shade icier, “Breit happens to be my wife, Mr. Garrett. She and the people at her agency spent more than a year looking for Mr. Grant. Anything you need to know about their investigation, you can ask me. You don’t need to bother Breit or Sahira.”

Clift gulped slightly at the icy anger in the man’s eyes, then summoned up his courage, “Very well, Doctor. Can you tell me where your investigation has led?”

Dave studied Clift again, then calmed somewhat. His voice was low, with an edge of pain to it, “How much do you know about a group called HYDRA, Mr. Garrett?”

Clift blinked, then admitted he didn’t know much about it.

Dave nodded, “HYDRA’s an ultraviolent faction of the Irish Republican Army, a terrorist group of unparalleled brutality. Mr. Grant was working for us trying to get information about HYDRA when he disappeared. His colleagues, both at his own agency and his former group, the Closers, were thoroughly vetted.”

“We know where Mr. Grant’s last whereabouts were,” Dave continued, “We’ve conducted extensive searches of the area, and interviews of the residents. We’ve found nothing.”

Clift leaned forward in his chair excitedly, “You know where Mr. Grant was last seen?”

Dave nodded.

“How d’you know this?” Clift demanded.

Adams leaned back in his chair, watching the younger man thoughtfully, “Because I was the one who sent him there.”

Clift gulped, “’Scuse me?”

Adams stared at him evenly, “You heard me. I was the one who sent him off on his last mission.”

“But!! But!! But why didn’t you tell me this?” Clift said angrily, “Do you have ANY idea how much time I’ve wasted?”

Nov-6-2008 12:43

Adams leaned forward over his desk, nailing Clift with his stare, “Did YOU stop to think you might be delving into territory that’s better left alone?” Dave looked away, studying a map on the wall for a moment. He continued quietly, “Grant’s mission was Classified. Top Secret. Need to know status.” He turned back to Clift, “And you didn’t need to know!” He rubbed his jaw wearily, “Now you’ve gone and lit up half the city’s underworld with your hunt about Grant.” He turned back to Clift, staring at him morosely, “Just what we didn’t need. Thank you so much.”

Adams sighed softly, seeing the determination in the other man’s eyes, “You wanna know where Grant was last seen? Simple. I sent him to Shangri-la. He hasn’t been seen alive since.”

Clift stared at the doctor, digesting what he’d just been told. Shangri-la. He’d heard about the place, but knew very little about it. He was told it was a strange, mysterious place, but why had Barry Grant been lost there? Was he still alive, or had he met up with foul play? He knew he had no choice but to go there and conduct an inquiry.

He rose slowly from his chair, grudgingly thanking the doctor for his time. He turned and left, lost in thought, contemplating all he’d been told.

Dave watched the young man leave, studying him thoughtfully. Several moments after he’d left, he nodded at the man who knocked quietly at his door, “Come.”

Adam Adami, one of his agents, peeked his head through, “Hey, Boss. You want us to stay on this guy?”

Nov-6-2008 12:44

Dave looked at him and nodded, “Twenty-four, seven, Adam. Don’t let the guy outta yer sight.” He saw Adam and Nicholas and several other agents head for the stairs, all ready to take turns surveilling Mr. Garrett. He reached for a bottle of bourbon and a glass he kept in a bottom drawer of his desk, pouring a not-so-small glass. He turned and stared out the office window at the city beyond. He wondered how long it would take Garrett before he continued his hunt for Grant. He’d seemed an earnest, yet somewhat unworldly young man. The guy was prob’ly dogged enough to keep looking ‘til he came up with a body. No telling whose it’d be....

Nov-7-2008 08:44


Clift was having a long overdue drink at the Tricky Mister Bar. The place was crowded with chatting locals, as always.

Cyrus Tibby, the Bartender, seemed to be having a rough day, and wasn't interested in chatting much. Clift was having his drink, quietly waiting for his good friend, Makensie Brewer.

Makensie had promised Clift a meet up for a drink or two upon his return to New York. Though she opted out of getting involved, Mak's actual interest in the Barry Grant case never ceased. She passionately and frequently sent Clift telegrams and letters asking about his well-being and the progress he achieved in the case.

Well... today Clift had a lot to share with the beautiful Ms. Brewer upon her arrival. His 'encounter' with Dr. David Adams, though answered all his questions, left him with many new ones.

Clift was at a loss.

He was making really good progress on the case, yet he was now lost. The information given to him by Dr. Adams had both enlightened and confused him. Many of his assumptions about the women in Barry's life turned out to be incorrect, and now it seemed there would be very little hope of Clift finding any trace of the people Barry loved the most, let alone Barry Grant himself.

Clift's face suddenly lit up: with her usual cheerful disposition and aura of positivity, Makensie Brewer entered the Tricky Mister.

Nov-7-2008 10:22

Makensie walked in, very frustrated already for her start of the day, but was glad for the break, before she really made the townspeople hate her.

Spotting Clift, she smiled, and waved, walking toward him to sit at the bar. Plopping a seat down beside him, she shrugged off her coat, ordered a Beer, and a shot of whiskey, and said, "Well, hello, Clift, we finally meet up to actually talk face to face" Clift smiles, and says, "Yes, I am very happy to finally be able to sit and chat" As Cyrus, put her beer, and shot in front of her, he says, "Well, my kind of woman. Beer AND shot" She chuckles, and says, "Normally, I dont drink whiskey but after the morning I've had, I need it" She took her shot, put it aside, and placed her beer in front of her.

"So, she said, looking at Clift, "How are things? I heard that things are getting a bit more serious for you, huh?" He nods, and continues to fill her in on everything up to date.

She cringed, and says, "Shangri-La, he was last seen? Not good. Very eerie, dangerous place" Clift nods, saying, "So, I hear. I just have so many questions now. It's making my head hurt just thinking about it"

She pats his arm, and says, "I know what you mean" He takes a sip of his drink, and says, "So, hows the treasure hunt going? Lets talk of something lighter" She chuckles, and says, "I wouldn't call that a light subject, seeing as how bad of luck I'm having. The townie I WANT doesnt want to give in to me. I must be losing my touch" She grins, and winks at him, as she takes a drink of her beer.

He laughs, and says, "You? Never. You still sticking around in NY?" She said, "Thankfully, I can go back to London today, after I leave here. No hurries though....I wont have any better luck there, than I had here" She shrugged, and chuckled.

Clift kind of brushes her arm, and says, "Keep your positive self. Them townies have to give in sometime, if you bug them enough." She nods, saying, "True, true" *more*

Nov-7-2008 10:32

Cyrus walks up, and says, "Mak, you starting another tab or what?" She says, "Are you kidding me? The last time I did that, it cost me a fortune. Someone really rang my tab up" He grins, saying, "Yeah, and her name is Makensie" She says, "No tab today. I will be just having this beer I have, then I have to scoot" Cyrus says, "Ok" She looks at Clift, then at Cyrus, and says, "Hey! On second though, get me another beer, and what my good friend here is drinking...it's on me"

Clift says, "You dont have to buy. A gentleman is supposed to buy for the lady" She waves her hand at him, and says, "Nonsense! I'm the one who suggested we have a drink here so, I will buy this time" She put some money up on the bar, and sat back, to enjoy the rest of her beer, before the second one came.

It was nice talking to her newest friend, Clift Garrett. As they talked, and laughed over their own little adventures, they could feel their days worries fading away.

( Hours later )

Makensie was laughing so hard, and having a good time, when she noticed the time. "Oh my goodness, I have to get going! I have to get back to London, and get to work or my boss will kick my butt", she says, getting up, grabbing her coat. Clift stood up with her, and says, "I should be going myself. Here, let me help you with your coat" She smiled, and thanked him, as he grabbed her coat, and held it open for her.

She gives him a friendly hug, and says, "It was so very nice having this talk with you. I needed that! Please keep in touch with me. Doesnt have to be just about your investigation, either" She smiles at him, and he says, "Thank you for the drinks, and for a nice, pleasant chat. WE definitely will be doing it again sometime" She nods, and says, "Definitely"

They both walk out into the rain, as Clift went one direction, and Makensie took off running in the other direction, calling for a cab.