Page 12 of Special Agent Joseph

Becoming more and more depressed with each new discovery into his past, it seemed simpler to play along with everyone who seemed to know him best, rather than fighting against his mind-blowing fog of ignorance. Therefore, he didn’t resist when two strange men accosted him when he stepped out to his driveway. He even went along as they frogmarched him toward a black van.

Riding quietly, he decided to play along with them and find out what in the Lord’s name was going on. Right from the beginning, back in the hospital, he’d sensed a disgust from Agent Kramer which made him uneasy. In his head, he constantly questioned the reason for this contempt with no answers in sight.

The queasy, unsettled feeling made him believe he’d never been subject to such insult before, and it ate away at him. Whathad he done to deserve this amount of disdain? Instinct told him that something in a man’s soul would admit if he were scum, right? The inability to look at oneself in the mirror would haunt him. Or acid would eat away at his stomach lining. And most certainly, contempt would claim one’s sleep.

Yet he felt none of these things. Since he’d thrown away the medication the doctor had given him, he slept like a baby. The aches his body still experienced periodically didn’t interfere with him getting around whatsoever. Looking at himself posed no problems other than his need to know the man who stared back. And his soul felt lost… not damned.

Although, promising a virtual stranger he’d break the law on his behalf didn’t sit right with him either. Something inside said he didn’t do such things, yet everything else indicated it had been his way of life before the accident.

“We were told to leave you where we found you.” The van pulled over and the two large specimens turned to look at Joe. “Get out.”

“Right. Nice riding with you fellows. Have a lovely day.”

“Yeah, fuck off.”

Back in his driveway, standing next to the Lexus with the bashed in fender he’d been planning to drive before getting hijacked, he watched the black vehicle drive away. Before he could decide what to do next, Agent Kramer stepped out from the pillar he’d been hiding behind. “Who were those guys?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“No.” Joe stood his ground. “Look, I was sent a message that the FBI expects me to show up today. I was on my way there before getting interrupted. You wanna maybe give me a lift and show me where they expect me to be?”

“Sure.” Kramer walked over to his mini van and got behind the wheel. “You know those men work for a crime lord called Vinnie Farina, right?”

“Do they? Didn’t know that. What do you think the FBI bosses want to see me about?”

“Seriously, dude? You’re on their payroll. Would it be so strange to think they might want you to return to work?”

“Not ifsaiddude knew what the fucksaiddude did as an agent.”

Unexpectedly, Kramer chuckled. “You know what Joseph, you really aren’t the same as before, are you?”

“Hell if I know. What I do know is the name Joseph still seems stranger to me than when the nurses began to call me plain Joe.”

“Well Plain Joe, you’re about to meet the Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge, Sheila Comer. This lady has balls of brass and the personality of the Cocaine Bear. So you know, she doesn’t much like people. Chances are she’ll still believe you to be the same guy as you were before the accident, so be on your best behavior.”

“Way to put a guy at ease.”

“I try.”

Within the hour, they were sitting in the office of the ASAC, Sheila Comer who gave off so much frost, Joe felt his legs going numb. “You’re telling me that you don’t remember this place at all? Even after Kramer showed you where you worked, and you met the others you mostly dealt with?”

“Nope. Sorry.”

“Then what good are you to us here? Probably best to get you out of the field and find you a desk job… well, until we can arrest you.”

“Doesn’t sound appealing either.” Joe knew inside that he wasn’t cut out for a nine to five behind a computer or a life behind bars.

“No doubt. Wanna resign?”

Joe angled his lips over to the right, a habit he’d noticed he did often when needing time to think. Then he shook his head. “Not really. Besides, I might have a reason for you to keep me working.”

“Go on.” Sheila’s look changed from a hard stare of dislike to one filled with sudden interest.

“I’m sure Kramer made a report about my drop-off friends from earlier. Men who work for Vinnie Farina.”

“Yes, he did.” The skinny woman glanced at Kramer before leaning back against her desk with her arms crossed.

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