| |
THE DIGITAL CLOCK OVER the city train station read 12:25 a.m. when Mitch and Cory exited the movie theatre with the handful of other moviegoers. The action movie was entertaining, but for all the hype, it wasn’t that great. The boys were walking down the block to where their cars were parked when Mitch noticed a police squad car drive through the intersection in front of them. The driver looked familiar.
“Hey, I think that’s my dad.” Mitch watched as the squad car slowed and pulled over to the curb half a block down. He glanced at his friend. “I’m going to go say hi. You want to come along?”
“Naw, I gotta get home. I promised my parents I’d help them out tomorrow.”
“Okay, but I’ll see you at school on Monday, right?”
“You betcha.” Cory gave him a thumbs-up and continued on to his car.
Mitch glanced both ways and hurried across the street, jogging to catch up with the police car. As he got closer, he saw that it was his father, sitting in the driver’s seat and writing something in a notebook. Mitch leaned down to the passenger window and tapped on the glass.
Harvey tapped the button to lower the window, and his face lit up when he saw his son.
“Taking a break officer?” Mitch grinned at him.
“Hey Mitch, what are you doing down here this time of night?” He unlocked the car doors and Mitch pulled open the passenger door to get in.
“Cory and I went to that big theatre a couple blocks down to see a movie. We caught the late showing.”
“Was it any good?” Harvey flipped his notebook closed.
Mitch climbed into the passenger seat. “I’ve seen better. So what’s on the agenda for tonight?”
Harvey put the car into gear and pulled away from the curb. “Not much, but you know the drill. Not a word to anyone that you were in this car, and if I’m on the radio, you’re quiet.”
Mitch drew his forefinger and thumb across his lips, mimicking pulling a zipper closed. Dad never let him ride along before he turned sixteen, but when he finally reached that age and was allowed to ride along on his dad’s route, neither of them mentioned this fact to Mitch’s mom. It was easier that way. Besides, the risk of danger was minimal.
Harvey pulled down the street and turned left, heading for the edge of town.
“You gotta see this,” he said.
He turned right into a largely abandoned industrial park, and then left into a dark back alley. Shutting off the squad car’s lights, he rolled the car along slowly until they could see light at the end of the alley where the buildings ended. He drove just far enough until they could see what was going on beyond the warehouses and office buildings. Harvey shut off the car. Before them was a massive construction site, lit up at all angles by large floodlights. Work was going on, even in the middle of the night, as they could see bulldozers and backhoes breaking up the dirt and loading it into over-sized dump trucks. One massive demolition machine was tearing up the remains of an old warehouse, picking up the debris and dropping it into another huge dump truck. No signs or company logos could be seen anywhere, nothing that would indicate the outcome of the project.
“What are they doing here?” Mitch whispered, even though there was no way anyone in the construction site could hear them.
“We don’t know. We only get close enough to get an idea of what they are doing. They just showed up a couple weeks ago and started tearing down buildings.” Harvey paused then pointed off to the right. “Look over there. Can you see them?”
Mitch narrowed his eyes, squinting in the direction his father indicated, before he saw them. Even with the floodlights, it was hard to pick them out in the shadows. “Armed guards? For a demolition site? That doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t. The police have been told nothing about this project. They haven’t asked us to keep an eye on things, and as far as we know, no one has filed any permits for the work. All we know is that six months ago, a private buyer bought up all these buildings for three times what they were worth. They paid cash, so we don’t know who they are. This is completely outside of the city’s control.”
Father and son watched in silence for a few moments, and Mitch shuddered with a sudden chill that raced down his spine. “Why are there no jobs in this town, if this huge construction project is happening?”
“Yeah, that’s the question. Also, why are farms being sold off or abandoned? If a big company is moving something into this town, then we shouldn’t be in such dire straits.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Mitch saw a pickup truck pull up to a group of men wearing hard hats. That wasn’t what caught his eye, though. It was the logo on the door of the truck.
“These people are from the federal government,” he murmured under his breath. “This isn’t a company. This is a government operation.”
Harvey looked where Mitch indicated, then picked up a small pair of binoculars on the dashboard to study the truck closer. “You’re right.”
“Maybe that explains the armed guards.”
“But why guard the demolition? You can see them all around the perimeter. See over on that side? And over here, just past that end building. They are stationed to watch anyone entering or exiting the site, but not visible enough to see them at first glance.”
“So it’s a highly sensitive government operation?”
Harvey tossed the binoculars back on the dashboard. “Could be. The odd piece of this puzzle is the involvement of the private buyer. Why is the federal government involved, if this is a private contract? ”
“Maybe to cover up what they are doing. If the government doesn’t technically own the property, then they can work around regulations or manipulate the records. I’d guess it gives them another layer of protection.”
Harvey turned and smiled briefly at his son. “You’re good at this. You’ve noticed things I didn’t. Too bad you don’t want to be a cop.”
“Yeah, could you imagine mom’s reaction if I did? I wouldn’t want to be around to witness that.”
Harvey chuckled and started the car. Shifting into reverse, he inched the car backwards, staying in the shadows. When they were clear of the alley, he turned on his headlights and drove the squad car back to town. They didn’t speak again until they were under the streetlights of the main drag through town.
“Wow, that’s crazy,” Mitch finally spoke, breaking the silence. “Who else knows?”
“The Captain, some of the other guys I work with. We’ve spoken to the mayor in private and he agrees we need to keep this under wraps for the time being. Just until we know a bit more about what’s going on. Maybe the government will come forward and fill us all in on their plans when they get a little further along. At any rate, you’re not to say a word to anyone, do you understand? Not to Mom, not even to Cory or Kendra. We don’t know what’s up so we need to just sit on this for a bit. Got it?”
“Got it.”
At that moment, Harvey’s radio crackled to life.
“Unit One-Nine, we have a possible robbery or break-in at Pelman’s Pharmacy at fourteenth and sixth east. Can you do a drive by and assess the situation?”
Harvey picked up the radio receiver and clicked it on. “I’m not too far. I’m on my way over.”
“Acknowledged. Call for back up if you need it.”
“Will do. I’ll radio in as soon as I’m on the scene.” He switched off his receiver and glanced over at Mitch. “Where’s your car, son?”
Mitch pointed. “A couple blocks that way. Not too far from the theatre.”
“Okay, I’ll drop you on my way. Can’t have you on a call, you understand.”
“That I do. Not a problem.”
Harvey stopped the cruiser at the curb close to Mitch’s car, and he opened the door to get out.
“Just be careful, okay,” he told his dad. “You know I worry about you, too.”
“I know. Probably the same way I worry about you, your mom and your sister. Now get going. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Mitch grinned and got out of the car.
“Just remember,” Harvey called out. “Not a word about anything to anyone, right?”
“Right. Have a good night, Dad.”
Harvey raised his hand and sped away as soon as Mitch slammed the door shut.
Mitch watched his father pull away and turn right at the next intersection. Shaking his head, he pulled out his keys and made his way to his car. When he turned the ignition, the digital clock on the dashboard blinked on. The time was 1:15 a.m. It had been less than an hour since he hopped in his father’s squad car. The surreal quality of the realization left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Why did it feel as if many hours had passed? Perhaps the sudden knowledge that there was something going on in the city. An unknown. Mitch couldn’t help but feel that this unknown was going to shift the balance of things somehow.
The government had plans for their small city. Plans that were going to change everything.