Agents of Change

by Guy Harrison

  Chapter Six

  With rush hour long gone, I make it to Franklin D. Roosevelt Park in less than twenty minutes. I admit, I flew down the interstate, pushing the limits of the old nine, you’re fine; ten, you’re mine proviso. The hardest part is finding the entrance to the Agency of Influence branch. Despite having just been here yesterday, I was too preoccupied with my surroundings to take a mental picture of its exact location. Once I finally find the entrance, I phone Jimenez to let me in.

  The gate opens and I feel like I’m driving into the Batcave. I drive down the long, steep two-way tunnel, my ears popping as I ride the brake the entire time. At the bottom of the tunnel, I reach the agency’s parking garage. Not as many cars are here as there were yesterday evening. As I get out of my car, the door leading to the main hallway swings open, Elena’s ever-serious expression greeting me.

  “You said there’s a potential suicide?” I say as we walk down the hall, side-by-side.

  “Yes. A teenage boy.”

  She opens the door to the Control Room where Agents Seville and Darling continue to sit at the table and face the monitors. They turn around, each greeting me with a nod and a smile, respectively.

  Jimenez’s eyes examine the monitors as she speaks. “Josh Jenner lost his mother in a boating accident last summer.”

  “How old is he?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “He’s always felt a little guilty about it,” Seville says, “but lately it’s gotten worse.”

  “You should see the awful things he writes in his notebooks,” Darling says.

  Jimenez grabs a yellow file folder off of the table and hands it to me. “This contains everything you’ll need to know for tomorrow.”

  I open the folder and find, among its contents, a schedule of Josh’s classes at Lincoln High School as well as a lanyard with a faded Lincoln High ID belonging to a blonde girl.

  “Who’s Jenny Cooper?” I say.

  “You. That’s the identity you’ll assume when you meet him at school tomorrow.”

  “Do I have to be a girl?”

  “Affirmative. It’s the only Lincoln High ID we have. You’ll need that to get in.”

  I examine the card. “Looks kind of old and beat up. You think it’ll pass?”

  Jimenez takes the card out of my hand and gives it a good inspection. “You’re right, it is a little worn. Where’d you guys find this?”

  “The ID collection,” Darling says, as though surprised Jimenez should have known.

  I turn to Elena with a confused expression. “What’s she talking about?”

  “We have a collection of documents and ID cards we’ve made over the years,” Jimenez tells me. “We keep them and use them for later cases. It’s safe to say someone mishandled this one.” She places the card back in the open folder.

  “If anyone says,” Seville adds, “just tell them you left it in your laundry.”

  “Good call,” I say.

  “You’ll be arriving at the school around lunch time,” Darling says. “You’ll meet Josh in the cafeteria.”

  “Just introduce yourself,” Jimenez says. “Suicide cases are relatively easy but they require the most patience.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “Any questions?”

  I shake my head.

  “Good. Read the manual section on suicides. I’ll pick you up at your place around ten. Don’t make me wait.”

  “I won’t.”

  She opens the door, motioning for me to let myself out of the branch. “I’ll see you then.”

  I hear Darling wish me luck just as I reenter the hallway and head back to my car.

  That was quick. Now I feel bad for leaving Ronni the way I did. I do, however, appreciate being given a full evening to sleep on things and devise a plan as to how to engage Josh. I enter the parking garage again and hop into my Kia, pondering the possibilities.