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YESTERDAY'S DREAMS

Chapter Four

In the days that followed, Flores' team worked day and night to acquire the necessary permission they needed from the United States military to go ahead and open the large metal box in their possession at headquarters in Dallas. So far, all the cooperation they had received was a "Please wait ten days for your request to be processed" and a "Contact Admiral so-and-so's office to complete your requisition" along with a "You may be required to turn over your findings to the military police for further investigation."

All of these responses had Flores feeling gloomy and quite put out. All his life he had worked hard to make a big discovery. Everything inside of him told him this was it. And despite the uncomplimentary company he was forced to keep within his organization, Flores would not let the recognition he deserved slip away because some high and mighty bureaucratic system disallowed his own discovery.

Mulling over these thoughts at his desk in their large bullpen style headquarters in an office suite on the thirteenth floor of Renaissance Tower, Flores looked up lethargically over the scene before him. Far into the right corner of the room sat Murphy hard at work typing up a piece for a local paper regarding another discovery they had made in Fort Worth last month. Murphy was the resident writer of them all. He already had published two sub-par novels that had managed to fill in the gaps in his paycheck that this firm had seen fit to carve out.

Sitting at another desk to Murphy's left by the massive window was Rivera whose claim to fame was not getting arrested in at least two years. It was quite an accomplishment for the former burger-flipper turned investigator whose dreams were to travel the Bermuda Triangle someday and live to tell about it. Meanwhile, he was subjected to find excitement in each new discovery of the Flores firm by keeping their supplies and morale in good stock.

On Murphy's other side was Collins. Collins was the genius of the group. His diploma from Harvard was not without hard work. But he didn't need a computer to figure out complicated math problems. And his status as the nerd of the group was an endless source of ridicule for the five-foot-four brains of the herd.

Lee was the farthest from Flores at the moment, taking up space at a desk near the entrance. He currently had his forehead down on the surface of the desk, groaning over the lack of action this day had brought them.

Reed, the last and most quiet of the entire group, leaned over towards Flores from his spot on the boss' left snuggled up against a wall. There was more space between them than Reed thought but not enough in Flores' opinion. Reed nearly dropped his soil sample from Korea as he looked up at Flores. "Sir? When do you think we'll get to open the box? Everyone is so tired of waiting. Surely the finder's keepers rule applies somehow."

Flores breathed in a rather large portion of the room's air. "As much as I'd like to agree with you, son, it just can't happen until the military gives their approval. It's been confirmed that it is military property. So we have to play by the military's rules."

"And…what if they take it away before we even know what's in it? I mean, surely you'd want to know what's in it even if you can't keep it."

Flores shook his head. "No. Better to have never seen the glitter of gold than have your claim jerked from underneath your ass." He scoffed. "We'll wait."

Suddenly, Lee jerked up out of his zombie state and yanked up his phone on the first earth-shaking ring. "Flores and Company. Ike Lee speaking." He covered the mouthpiece a moment later and called out to Flores, "Boss, it's the military dude you've been waiting to hear from."

"Patch him over to me," Flores instructed.

Lee punched a few buttons and hung up as soon as Flores had answered the phone himself.

"Flores speaking. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I see. Uh-huh. You bet. Uh-huh. First thing. Be there with bells on."

By now all eyes were focused on Flores, waiting to hear any hints as to what was going to become of their little Korean treasure.

Flores stared at them all for a moment before they started grumbling. "Alright! Impatient goonies. Now, here's the deal. We will be able to get a look at what's in that box."

"Alright! Best news all day, boss!" Murphy started high-fiving his neighbors.

"Not so fast. We have to have one military personnel present. And it has to be opened on the base. And we have to be there in a couple of hours. This fella worked us in for thirty minutes in his busy schedule. What's more, we have to have a licensed private investigator present."

"Well, isn't that what we are?" Reed questioned innocently. "Although we've never actually been certified," he chuckled dryly.

"No, Reed," Flores sighed. "We are explorers, free spirits, and archaeologists of sorts with a little investigating skill. It takes that. We can look at the stuff for thirty minutes before the military claims it all. Or we can hire a private investigator to take temporary custody of the things if we want to investigate them further."

"But that's impossible!" Murphy indignantly piped up. "We can't possibly find a trustworthy PI in less than a day and run a background check and whatever else necessary to prove we can trust them."

"Well," Flores surrendered. "We don't have much choice. I guess if things go south we'll have to trust military justice then. God, I need a coffee." He stood to make his way out of the room. "Murphy, find a good PI and let me know when we have a meeting. Remember to mention it's urgent and kinda time-sensitive."

"Right away, boss. You got it."

"So, we have another shift at the warehouse tomorrow," Carlos offered gently as he slipped his arm around Katheryn, drawing her closer to him on the sofa in his apartment.

Katheryn snuggled into him before realizing she had left her drink in the kitchen. When she returned, Kath snuggled again and watched as the afternoon sunlight began to slowly slip away from them over the city.

Carlos noticed how quiet Katheryn was and tightened his hold gently. "You alright?"

"Mm," Kath mumbled into a yawn. "Yeah. Things were pretty busy today at the center. Alex went with Trent over to Sarah's house to see how they're doing."

"And?"

"Not so good I'm afraid. She's having a hard time getting over it."

"That's terrible."

"Yeah. Alex said she had a break down and wasn't ready to talk about it. They aren't going to give up on her though."

"That's good." Carlos really didn't want to be disrespectful. But moments like this were rare in their line of work, and he was having a hard time resisting the urge to kiss his fiancée. After Carlos had remedied the situation, the glowing smile on Kath's face slowly transitioned away.

"What's the matter? Am I that bad of a kisser?"

"Nothing's wrong," Katheryn lied. "You're perfect. Believe me."

"Come on. I know you're bothered about something."

Katheryn hesitated as she looked over at the coffee table where Carlos had left his personal weapon. "I miss the action," she said lamely with a scoff. "I worry about you day and night. But here I am feeling sorry for myself because I haven't had an exciting time in several weeks."

"Well, I hear the toy drive at the church for Christmas is one to rival all toy drives. You should get in on that action while you can."

Kath punched Carlos in the side. "Very funny. I love doing that too. But it doesn't give off quite the same adrenaline rush though."

"Oh, I see." Carlos smiled and leaned in for another kiss. "I'm sure you'll be everyone's Wonder Woman no matter what you're doing. Especially when you're here with me."

A cheeky smile laced the young woman's lips while she playfully dodged Carlos and his straying kisses from her lips down to her neck. "Stop it," she resisted futilely with laughter echoing between them.

"You know, I commend you on holding on to your beliefs so strongly," Carlos attempted to confess. "But sometimes it's hard when I look into those gorgeous green eyes of yours."

"I know." Katheryn was the one reaching in for the kiss this time. "But you know what they say."

"What do they say?"

"Good things come to those who wait."

"Oh, I truly believe, future Mrs. Sandoval, that you give only the best. Even if I have to wait until the spring."

"We could always elope."

"You would," Carlos chuckled. "Actually, it doesn't sound half bad."

The moment would have ended perfectly following their passionate kisses had Carlos' phone not rang. They both interjected disappointed sighs as he answered the phone and whispered that it was Trent.

"Alright," Carlos replied moments later. "We'll be right there."

"What is it?" Kath quizzed as they prepared to leave.

Carlos gave her a solid wink. "Looks like you might get that wish for a case to work on after all."

"Thank you for meeting with us on such a short notice, Mr. Malloy."

"No problem, Mr. Flores. We're glad to help," Trent offered, leading their new client up to the loft area of Thunder Investigations.

"That's right," Carlos chimed in, claiming the sofa with Katheryn next to him. "What can we do for you, sir?"

Flores settled in the nearest chair and pulled out a document, handing it to Trent who was still standing nearby. "Well it's like this. I'm a retired military man myself. Marines. When I retired about a decade ago, I wanted to give back something to the world I had seen. So with the help of a ragtag group of wannabe detectives, I started a little firm that did little archaeological still work and discovery kind of stuff. But my main goal was to research some of the big wars and find out what no one ever knew. I mean the little stuff. Things about soldiers we never knew existed. Those types of things. But it was easier said than done. My men and I spent five futile years trying to access old war fields and camps, and when we did manage to gain access, we never found anything worth discovering.

"But recently our luck changed. We were granted access to dig on a little patch of the Korean War field where a medical unit was stationed. When we arrived, we worked night and day but didn't get anything. Our luck shifted again when our very own nerd of the group dug up a huge metal box. We can tell there's some good stuff inside but can't open without the military's say so. They've given us the greenlight. But that's where you guys come in. They've told us we can't investigate what we find without license private investigators at the helm."

"You mean," Kath glanced from Carlos, to Trent, to Mr. Flores. "You aren't licensed?"

"Not exactly. My company passed as an archaeological firm. The only thing we can do with what we find is take pictures and hand over the items to the military for safe keeping. But this matter is slightly different. We need to keep the item for a long period of time in order to figure out what it's all about. It's not some notebook with a date and name inside. Who knows! We may find ancient relics inside. The military won't take it lightly. And I won't either."

Trent's eyes narrowed, concentrating on the task at hand. "So what exactly do you want from us?"

"Well, I don't really know," Flores confessed. "Until we open the box then you're just placeholders to keep the military happy."

"But," Katheryn grinned. "You may need help tracing the items inside back to their rightful owners because you think you have a time capsule on your hands. Right?"

"By jove! This girl can read minds."

Carlos chuckled. "Yeah, she hangs around certain people too much."

"I don't mind one bit." Flores jovially handed over another piece of paper but to Katheryn this time. "I've been doing my research on the personnel that would have been stationed at this medical unit back during the war. It was MASH unit 4077. The only records I could get a hold of said that it was led by a Colonel Potter up until the end of the war. There were several acclaimed chief surgeons who were in and out of the unit. But Benjamin Pierce seems to have been there the longest. There was also the head nurse Margaret Houlihan. And you can read more about the unit on that paper there."

"So you think these items may have belonged to these people at some point?" Carlos quizzed the elder gentleman.

"Yes, son. I believe that is the case. I can't think of any other possible solution than a time capsule right now. And I have to say I want to kiss whoever in that unit thought up such a grand idea. I sure wish more people had respect for history like that. The Korean War was a damn shame. But the people there need to be remembered for what they gave to serve our country."

"I agree," Trent gave the man a smile and extended his hand for a handshake. "From one former military man to another."

Flores seemed to beam as he shook Trent's hand and thanked him. "I think I definitely have the right people for this job. Yes, sir. I believe that I do. Oh! And let's get a move on. The appointment with the military is in half an hour."