On the third floor of the Personnel Building, Lieutenant Hale held Captain Tanzer in a headlock. Tanzer had made the mistake of asserting his dominion where none existed. Several knees to the face and a broken pair of sunglasses later, he was feeling far more cooperative.

“Now that we’ve had a chance to establish who’s in charge, why don’t we have a little chat about your activities today, shall we?”

Hale released his grip and Tanzer sank to his knees, gasping for breath.

“Would you mind telling me just what you and Sergeant Harvey have been up to lately?”

“I’ve been in my office all day, making arrangements for the General’s visit tomorrow.”

“Can you prove that?”

“Check the logs. Or ask Sergeant Harvey. I had him pick up my dry cleaning earlier. He’s been running errands for me all day.”

“I wish we could ask Sergeant Harvey, but the tricky thing is: he’s mysteriously disappeared.”

“Really? I must have been so lost in my paperwork that I failed to notice.”

“It’s funny that you should say that, because I think I saw him earlier today when we lost power. Helping Joe Noone and Simon Lawrence escape their protective custody. Vanished down the stairwell. And then later, we found two dead scientists in an elevator.”

“I don’t know anything about that, Lieutenant. Why don’t you check with Mister Falcon? He’s the VP of Personnel.”

“How odd that you should mention that name. We’ve been trying to contact him, but he resigned this afternoon. Vanished. Strange coincidence, huh?”

The color drained from Tanzer’s cheeks. With Falcon out of the picture, who would cover for him? After a small cough, he ventured, “Maybe I could help you find them?”

“An excellent idea, Captain. Way to think on your feet! Why don’t you come along with us on our search tonight?”

“I think I have a window in my schedule. Sure.”

“Superlative. We’ll begin by retracing their steps. Get your things.”