Stars and Stripes 2

The Overseas Distribution Manager for Standard Trades & Logistics, Inc let his ears slide back so he didn't look so surprised. "Again, let me remind you that Yankee Poodle is NOT associated with, nor employed by, the CIA. She operates within the United Species for the most part, and as you know the CIA charter does not allow us to operate with in the US border."

The DEA and FBI agents nodded knowingly. They had heard this disclaimer before. But the truth was, they had had these "informal meetings" before and a significant number of times Yankee Poodle had become peripherally involved in the issues discussed. Since the DEA and the FBI agents knew their end of things were extremely secure, they could only believe The Shop or The Company wing of the CIA had an intentional or unintended way of alerting at least one member of the Zoo Crew to minutes of the meeting.

The four of them would rather play poker without wild cards, but life was a game of Dealer's Choice. Not yours.

"Why Yankee Poodle?" the Director of Foreign Procurement for Prime Marketing LLC asked, with real curiosity.

"The boys in the lab say that her energy manipulation powers act as a Faraday Cage when she's moving along those 'stripes' of hers," Baldwin said. "Unless the gunner is on the same strip, the weapon's useless."

"Lead bullets, too." Norwood added helpfully. "But more importantly, if this Cartel faction was fallen in with a super-powered cult-leader, the Zoo Crew is better able to deal with them better than us Normal Furs."

"The PC term is People." Ritenhouse reminded Norwood, if only to have something to contribute.

"Right," Underwood added with a tint of sarcasm. "Would not want to exclude Throwbacks, Sports, Reptiles, and other Freaks of Nature from adding to this solution."

"Well, we don't have a solution," Ames chided her, and included the rest of the room with his serious look. "I have no committed sources within the Quintero, but in a few weeks, we may be able to insert someone."

"Nows the time to move," Baldwin said, "With Pig Iron going down last night with the oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, people are not going to be surprised to see any of the Zoo Crew looking for it all over Mexico."

Rittenhouse straighten up in her chair. "I saw the reports of an old oil platform going boom... the news reporters said the crew had just finished capping it off when terrorists attacked. No one said anything about Pig Iron being involved."

Baldwin nodded, "It will be leaked in a few hours, but the Porcine robot was apparently on a ship nearby when this terrorist, Tarkis, announced that he had taken over the oil platform and would blow the caps, killing everyone on-board, as well as creating an eco-disaster, if we didn't pay him 10 Million Dollars."

"The well was spent, but there still would have been a mess that would have made 10 million seem like chicken fee, so the oil company was willing to pay within a few hours."

"Tarkis?" Rittenhouse stopped and thought about that. "Are you show? Because he tends to have a very pro-environmental agenda... from what I remember reading about him."

"He doesn't usually endanger children, either," Baldwin nodded. "But he apparently brought a dozen or so to the oil rig and told them to hide from the Pig Iron. Pig Iron was able to get them off the boat into life boats along with one of the rig crew before the explosion."

"But the oil cap's all right?" Rittenhouse asked. Baldwin nodded. "So, everyone got out of there safely, except Tarkis and Pig Iron?"

"We don't know what happened to the remainder of the crew. There's at least ten unaccounted for. The Secretaría de Marina are conducting a search for them, as well as holding the children until they can be identified. Apparently they were incoherent with terror." Frankowski said. "The Coast Guard has joined in the search, so we could embed an agent with them, but it's not like Pig Iron is going to float to the surface."

"He'll have to walk across the bottom of the gulf." Rittenhouse said thoughtfully,

"If it survived the explosion and if the robot is water tight if it's not trapped beneath tons of twisted metal. I suppose the operator may walk it out... assuming whatever boat it was on can't lift him to the surface."

"Yeah..." Rittenhouse nodded, but her eyes seemed far away and worried. "Well, I think we are done here, unless you do want us to start prepping for potential WitSec subjects that might qualify for work with Prime Marketing or Standard Trades?"

Ames and Underwod just gave here contemptuous looks. Neither of their fronts wanted a known stoolie in their employ.

Baldwin smiled and unlocked the door.