Chapter One

Russ had done his homework well. Five previously unconnected case files from the LAPD waited in a neat stack on the conference room table. Oscar, on his third cup of coffee, began digesting the information while his two best operatives shared breakfast in a back office, catching up after several months apart.

When it was time, Russ almost hated to interrupt them. "He's ready for you," he told them, backing out of the office with a quick, embarrassed smile.

Steve and Jaime reluctantly pulled apart, breaking what had been a warm, welcoming embrace. The lips were still tingling and their hearts were beating in rapid, perfect unison as they headed into the conference room. Oscar held a tiny circuit piece in his hand; he wasn't smiling.

"Late last year," he began grimly, "we launched a cooperative anti-surveilance project with NASA."

"Project Eclipse," Steve offered.

"That's right."

"I took the framework with me on my last trip to Skylab," Steve told Jaime. "The system will become operational when I go back up next month and insert the twelve reprogrammed circuits into the brain of the device."

"You might not be making that trip, Pal," Oscar informed him. "Rudy and his team just completed work on the 11th and 12th components; that's when he discovered the other ten are missing. They could have disappeared anytime within the last two weeks."

"But that doesn't make sense," Jaime protested. "Why wouldn't they wait and grab all 12? I mean, what good is a partial set?"

"They couldn't do much with a full set, either," Steve replied. "Rudy and I are the only ones who know how the whole system gets pieced together. Unless..."

Oscar nodded. "Unless they simply want to launch a surveilance satelite without our new system getting in the way."

"But...we have leads?" Jaime asked, noticing the stack of files.

"Maybe - maybe not," Oscar answered. "Within the last two weeks, five John Does - all apparently vagrants - have been found strangled in the LA area. The last one had a circuit in his pocket when he was found."

Jaime frowned. "Just one?"

"Just one."

"And you think all five men are connected to Project Eclipse?" Steve asked.

"Their manner of death and the fact that they are all unidentified and appeared to be homeless connect them to each other. That circuit piece places the whole case firmly within our jurisdiction."

"What do you need us to do?" Jaime offered.

"LA's homeless population is one of the largest in the country. Steve, you'll be infiltrating the ranks, living among them, to see if there's any sort of buzz about stolen government property or this project. And Jaime, you'll be posing as a social worker sent to help these men re-build their lives. Your ear may prove invaluable in discovering what the real story is. I need you to find out who John Doe #5 - and the four who died before him - might have been. Were they really vagrants, and what - if anything - ties them to Project Eclipse?"

Jaime and Steve both responded with silent, solemn nods. "It won't be easy and it certainly won't be pretty, but with the Pentagon, the Air Force and NASA all launching vital new top-secret projects we'll need Eclipse to secure the integrity of their programs. There is no Plan B. We need to recover the stolen circuits, find out who was behind this and prevent any further security breaches in this project. Russ has all of the cover information you'll need and these files contain copies of all the info we have on al five John Does - including photos, of course. Our handlers will help you with your appearances, and Jaime, they have a car ready for you to use. Steve -"

"Let me guess: I'm going on foot."

Oscar nodded. "Sorry, Pal, but it goes with the territory."

In a grey T-shirt (that had presumably once been white), scuffed and tattered jeans and shoes that were minus the laces, Steve certainly looked the part. As he made his way into the depths of one of the poorest sections of Los Angeles, he could literally feel the stares boring into his back from all the people who'd averted their eyes and pretended not to see him until they'd passed him by.

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