Answers

Carson taps his cigarette on the ashtray, processing Nate's line of questioning. "Yeah, I know about Texas. Never was assigned to it, but they almost sent me in a couple times. Right after we'd had Jim and he bailed on us, they were gonna send me in to get him back, but we realized the surveillance going on, and backed off."

He leans back in his chair. "I know of Dr. Medridge. Never met the bloke, but came close once when I'd killed someone I wasn't supposed to and they were gonna take me to him to decide if I should live or not. I managed to squirm out of that one. The guy's a lunatic though. I think he's truly got something wrong with his head, the way he deals with people. He sees everyone as lab rats to play with...he likes seeing how much they can take. He even has his own goons that pick on people that have nothing to do with the Agency, just to play."

Carson pauses, smoking and thinking. "The Agency started out to make money. I know you know about the adoption racket. When Medridge got involved years ago, he and his elite group had come up with some plans...something they stored on various computer chips. Medridge decided to take advantage of the adoption racket and dispersed the chips into kids with willing parents, or kids who hadn't been adopted yet, so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands." He scoffs. "Parents who approved worked within the Agency, but were clueless about all of the illegal activity. They thought they were doing something good - they were convinced it was a good cause. There were exceptions to the case when plans changed, or when others were used as carriers for chips. But all in all, Medridge got his secret tucked nicely away. About a year after his activities were in motion, his elite group of scientists and doctors suddenly had a tragic 'accident' on a ship off the coast. Everyone died. Funny, Medridge didn't show up at their funerals."

Carson bends forward to rest his elbows on the table, his eyes cold and hard, relaying the information without displaying emotion. "The Agency has tracked the gang in Texas mainly because of those computer chips. They've been haunted because of Medridge. He wanted to keep an eye on his cargo, but wanted to have fun at the same time. So he had people kidnapped, loved ones killed - the whole kit and kaboodle. He liked seeing reactions...he liked torturing people."

He lifts his eyes for a moment to look at Jason and Nate. He had felt that torture. He had felt the pain that Medridge liked to inflict. "So basically, yeah... it's just for the heck of it. Medridge keeps track of his precious cargo and has fun at the same time. If anyone looked like they would stumble onto the truth, he'd turn up the heat."

Jason holds up his hand to pause Carson. "Why was it dormant for so long? Why did things crop up again just recently?"

Carson shrugs. "The gang was dispersed...it wasn't as much fun. Medridge got sick too and was in the hospital for a long time, taken off duty and out of the picture for quite a while. During that time, the Agency just continued to run its underground rackets, stealing, illegal import and export, that sort of thing. Once Medridge returned, it was another story. On top of that, the ringleader, what's his name...Mick, started stirring things up when he started investigating with that chick Melanie. It was a long time before the Agency realized that the chips had been discovered, but obviously, they panicked, sending Jim in, and all that."

"Why has no one ever discovered the Agency? We go to police and they laugh in our faces."

Carson raises an eyebrow, grinning slightly. "Whoever heard of such a thing? So big? So controlling? Not only would the authorities feel stupid for missing such a thing, but they'd probably let it slide just so a war didn't start. The Agency is the biggest underground racket there is. And yes, there are bad cops in on it too, out for the money." He finishes his cigarette and puts it out. "The gang in Texas has been picked on, just because that's where it started. Their behavior and reactions are the most interesting. Medridge likes to see them fight back...he likes seeing how far they'll go...if the Texas gang started a war, Medridge would be delighted to see the action because one, he's sadistic, and two, he knows they couldn't win."

"What about the rest of us?" Jason intervenes again. "What about when I got taken? Or like Nate asked, about Con and Jamie? We're not part of the Texas gang."

"So? You got involved with them and Medridge saw fresh blood. Don't think Medridge didn't know your history, Jason. He knew kidnapping you would drive you up a wall, and scare the others too." Something strange flickers in Carson's eyes as he speaks of this topic and looks at Jason.

Jason looks at him with suspicion. "What did you have to do with that?"

"You don't want to know."

Jason's jaw tightens. "Yes, I do."

"Alright..." Carson hesitates, but finally shrugs, remaining casual. "You were so out of it, you couldn't have identified anyone if you'd been paid to. But you might have recognized me a couple days ago if I'd had a sledgehammer in my hand."

Jason's eyes widen, a new surge of anger coursing through his veins, and he stands up, ready for another fight. "You..."

Carson scoots his chair back so he's out of Jason's immediate reach, and holds up his hands. "Got a bone to pick with me, do it later. I was doing my job. Right now I'm trying to give you what you need to take the Agency down. You got a personal grudge against me, fine, I don't care. But you get back at me now, the information dies with me."

Jason's eyes burn with hatred for what he'd been through after being taken in Texas. The beatings, the interrogation, the damages to his knee. He'd imagined finding the men who did it one day, and what revenge he would have. And now Carson was just feet away, and he couldn't touch him. He looks to Nate, desperately trying to control his temper, and finally hooks his thumbs in his beltloops to pace the floor, unable to sit back down until he's cooled off. He switches gears in an attempt to temporarily cease his anger towards the one person who could help them. "What about Con and Jamie?"

Relieved he wasn't going to be attacked, Carson readily replies. "The Agency didn't know about TJY. But when you came back here to Nevada, then Con followed, it was obvious there was something we were missing. You'd already been picked on, so Medridge figured Con was a nice target. What would it be like to play with a tank. You probably thought his dosage of poison was an accident." Carson shakes his head. "It was meant to almost kill him but not quite. Not only just to play with him, but to send a warning about any investigations going on. When he came to, it had already been discovered that he and Jamie had a thing going on, so Medridge thought it would be fun to get at Con through that avenue. So they took her." He pauses, shaking his head. "I wasn't part of the kidnapping - they just called me in later to see if I could get her to talk. And not even I could do that."

He gives a little scoff. "The Agency isn't scared of TJY because it doesn't know about it. Oh, we've known there was something, but you guys have done just about as good a job as the Agency itself, staying underground. By now, they might know more, but for the moment, details of your activities are safe...at least that's the last I knew."

Carson pauses again, searching Nate and Jason's faces once more. "Medridge knows the computer chips were discovered though, and he wants them back. He doesn't go in guns blazing because he doesn't want the authorities involved, and personally, I think he's scared. He also doesn't want anything destroyed. So he's just picking away...slowly...trying to figure out the best plan of attack. ...He's not going to wait forever though. I've heard talk of something big, but I don't know what."

He shifts his weight a little, resuming a lean back in his chair. "I know some names of bad cops to avoid. I know where some eyes of the Agency are located. I know their tracking moves for about the next month. I know who they're keeping a closer eye on than others. I know they're hunting for Jim's wife and girl and think they might have a location."


Con glances out the front window at Jamie's sighing deeply. It was after lunch...Laura had been gone since earlier that morning...nothing significant had happened....which was a good thing, but it had left too much time for Con's mind to be at work. He just couldn't shake this depressive state he was sinking into, though he was desperately fighting it for the sake of those around him.

"Hey, Jamie...thought I'd go back to my place and check on things...pick up my mail...you want to stay here or come along?"