Page 2 of Special Agent Joseph

Once Joe settled behind the wheel, Joseph started a conversation. “So… what’s your name?”

Joe grinned at his new acquaintance. “Same as yours. I’m Joe… actually Joseph Wyatt but everyone calls me Joe.”

Joseph’s head swiveled to look Joe’s way. Weirdly, his voice hardened, and he basically spit words toward him. “Never callmeJoe. My name is Joseph. My dad’s name was Joe, and he was a son of a bitchin’ asshole who I hated from the first time he beat me. Well… till I laughed at his bedside when he took his last stinking, cancerous breath.”

“Jesus. Sorry, man. Then Joseph it is.” Settling in to drive, Joe hoped the bitter-talking, hard-assed stranger would take a nap.

He didn’t. Instead he changed the subject. And his next comment surprised Joe. ‘You don’t have any tattoos. I thought all servicemen went nuts over body ink.”

“Not all.”

“Okay. Guess there are weenies who don’t like needles.”

Laughing at the remark, Joe turned only to see that Joseph was serious. That’s when the comment stopped being humorous and became damn rude. “What about you? You scared of needles too?”

“Hell, no. I just hate to mark up perfection.”

Scoffing, Joe turned away but not before he saw Joseph send him a strange nasty glance, his mouth pursed rudely.Christ the idiot was serious.

“Can I see your dog tags?”

Not understanding why the man asked to see the chain hanging around his neck, he nevertheless handed them over… after all, the dude had picked him up. “Sure.”

Joseph put them over his own head and looked at himself in the mirror. “They’re kind of cool, lets the women know you were a soldier. Bet these fuckers’ll get you laid.”

Even more uncomfortable with the way the conversation was heading, Joe changed the subject. “Do you work in Vegas?”

“For about a year now. Don’t like the people, but I sure love the city. There’s activity going on around the clock that keeps a cop on his toes. A man can make a lot of contacts in a place like this. Know what I mean?”

Not having a clue as to the agent’s inuendoes, he nevertheless nodded. “Guess that’s important in your job.”

“What about you?”

“Figured I needed a clean start after the three tours abroad. My sister moved here once her divorce became final. She likes the place and texted me to come and see her.”

“Do you have a photo of her?”

Not sure why the man wanted to see a picture of a stranger, nonetheless, Joe nodded. One-handedly, he took out his phone, clicked in his password, found Nadine on his first page of pictures, and handed it over “This is the latest one. From this photo, Nadine’s a lot different than I remember. Her hair’s longer plus dyed blonde, and she’s lost a lot of weight. Looking forward to seeing her again.”

“I bet. I like studying pictures. Weird, I know.” Joseph kept scrolling through image after image, making Joe wonder about the guy’s bad manners in searching through someone else’sbusiness. Guessing the snoopiness came with him being a cop, he let it slide for a few minutes.

Just as he reached out as a hint to get his property back, he heard Joseph yell. Turning quickly, from the corner of his eyes, Joe saw an out-of-control semi-trailer plunging through the barrier and heading straight for them. Instinctively, he hit the brake and swung the wheel. As they swerved dangerously, their truck’s front tire blew and after that, all hell broke loose.

Shrieking tires, fracturing metal sounds, and Joseph’s screams hurt Joe’s ears. Crushed behind the wheel while flipping wildly through the air, broken glass flying everywhere, the last thing he remembered was the scene changing from sky to earth to sky...

He never felt the landing.

Chapter Two

Joe’s head hurt so bad that opening his eyes couldn’t be born. And yet he had no choice. He needed to know if he were truly alive. Seeing an overhead light, he guessed he was.

The next time he surfaced, he heard the sounds of machines beeping all around his bed. He forced his eyes to open again and made out the many tubes connected to him. He tried to clear his mouth but something in his throat made it impossible.

In seconds, the nurses removed the horrible intubation tube and slowly shifted the bed to be upright, helping him through the subsequent coughing spell. The older, gray-haired nurse added supplementary oxygen to assist with his breathing. Eventually, she helped him take in a bit of water, staying close and watching him carefully.

Suddenly, a male voice nearby made sense… and yet it didn’t. “Agent Marcus. Hello. Joe. Can you hear me? I’m Doctor Whittaker. Do you know where you are?”

“I – I – no. I’m… no.”

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