Day 8 - The Office

Both men knew that the lethargy they were feeling was normal after a big case. When the adrenaline stops flowing, there is a void that is not just physical, but mental. They both knew this but neither had the energy to do anything about it.

Rusty read the paper for the third time. Nothing new had occurred since the last time he had checked it.

Johnny tossed a stack of bills into the wire bin on the corner of the desk and leaned back, his feet on an open drawer and his head lolling against the back of the chair.

They sat that way for five, maybe ten minutes and the the doorbell rang.

Johnny answered the door and led the visitor down the hall to their office. The man introduced himself as Frank Crellin. He was the Treasury Department Agent in Charge of the Southeast region. He said it that way, with caps. "Agent-in-Charge."

Crellin was a tall, thin man. He wore the worries of his job etched on his face. "You boys did a tremendous job. The country owes you a huge debt of gratitude." He paused.

Rusty sensed a "but" coming and leaned forward in his chair.

"But the job isn't done yet. Most of the boxes in the warehouse had been altered. The top layers were still counterfeit cash but the rest of the bundles were plain paper. We think there is as much as a half-million missing."

"That explains why Noface was so anxious to blow it up," Johnny said. "He wanted to hide the fact that he had robbed the commies. But why are you coming here an' telling' us? That is your problem now."

"I, . . . We, are asking for your help to find it. You have a history with Noface. You know him better than any of us. If anyone can find it before it gets out in circulation, we think you can."

Johnny was shaking his head. "We already answered the call to duty and spent a coupla years in Hell because of it. Find yourself some other volunteers."

Crellin looked surprised. "I am not asking you to volunteer. We want to hire you." He pulled a thick envelope from his inside coat pocket and dropped it on the desk. "Here's a thousand dollars in advance against expenses. I can authorize a hundred dollars a day for five days. After that we will look at your progress."

"Two hundred a day," Johnny said. "That's a hundred each."

"One-fifty," Crellin countered. "And you start today."

Rusty scooped up the envelope, afraid Johnny might turn it down. "Done," he said. "We will need access to whatever your people found at the warehouse."

"Whatever you need. Here's my card." Crellin picked up his hat and turned to leave. "I don't need to tell you guys that it is critical that none of that fake stuff hits the street. It is urgent that you find it as quickly as possible."

When the door closed, Johnny bent down and pulled a whiskey bottle from the desk drawer along with two glasses. "After this, we only drink the good stuff." He poured and passed a glass to Rusty. "Where d'ya wanna start?"