Don't Order Dog_ 1(167)
“Okay guys, let’s go.”
The men quickly stepped from the vehicles and rechecked their weapons. Alex cocked his sidearm and holstered it before addressing his three two-man teams.
“Team One has the west position one block from target location. Team Three has the back alley. Team Two, you’ll take the east position one block from target, but first, you’re going to help me get that idiot down from the utility pole.”
“Yes sir.”
As the two other teams moved into position, Alex and his two SOG agents crossed over to the north end of the street and jogged towards the utility pole. A half-block further, Alex paused and turned to one of his men.
“Get his attention.”
The agent nodded and raised his assault rifle, painting the shimmering red dot of the gun’s laser site on the suspended utility worker’s arm. Thirty feet above them, the man glanced curiously at his arm before looking around. He visibly recoiled in surprise at the sight of the three armed, plainly-clothed men beneath him. Alex gestured for the man to come down.
“Keep your gun on him,” Alex said to his agent as the utility worker quickly descended in front of them. It wasn’t until the man stepped from the utility pole onto the sidewalk that Alex got a true sense of the worker’s size. The man was enormous, standing at least a few inches taller than Alex. Even though he was wearing heavy coveralls, it was clear his broad frame was well-fitted with muscle. As he stepped forward, the two men exchanged tense looks and briefly sized each other up before Alex flashed his CIA credentials.
“Can I help you gentlemen?” the worker asked guardedly.
Alex reached out and removed the ID badge that was clipped to the man’s coveralls. “Your name is George Bissinger?” he asked, reading the ID badge.
“Yes.”
“You don’t notice much around you when you’re working, do you George?” Alex asked matter-of-factly, watching the man’s expression closely. “Like the policemen that were clearing this area about twenty minutes ago.”
The worker glanced nervously at the agent holding the assault rifle and shook his head. “No sir, I guess I don’t. There’s enough high voltage in those lines up there to kill a man a couple of hundred times over. I tend to stay focused when I’m working on ‘em.”
Alex held his stare for a moment before glancing up at the power lines.
“What seems to be the problem?”
The large man removed his hard hat and scratched at his short blonde hair.
“Pretty odd actually. Looks like someone tampered with the line and killed the power in this area. A bunch of lines were torn out of the transformer.”
“Kind of hard to do something like that without the right tools, wouldn’t you agree?” Alex asked suspiciously.
“Nah, not really. You’d be surprised. People screw with this stuff all the time. Mostly teenagers. Luckily, most of the time they don’t kill themselves in the process.”
“Is it fixed?”
“Almost,” the man replied. “I was just about to repair the last line when you guys pointed your guns at me.”
Alex nodded his head slowly. Despite the man’s enormous size, his instincts told him to believe the thick-headed utility worker standing in front of him. And yet something about the situation made him uneasy. He glanced over at the service van parked next to them. The back door of the van was open.
Alex gestured to the other SOG agent as he spoke.
“Mr. Bissinger, my agent is going to briefly search you and your vehicle as a precaution. Would you mind placing your hands on top of your head?”
The man shrugged and complied with Alex’s request as the agent quickly patted him down. A moment later the agent looked up and gave Alex a passing nod.
“Is there anything dangerous or illegal in the van that we need to know about before we begin our search?” Alex asked impatiently.
“No sir.”
“Very well.” Alex walked over to the vehicle with his agent while their colleague kept his assault rifle trained on the man. He clicked on his radio and spoke quietly into his headset. “This is Murstead. Lieutenant Mason, I have a question for you.”
“Yes sir,” the lieutenant replied earnestly.
“You said you called to confirm that a serviceman had been sent to this location.”
“Affirmative sir.”
“Did you get the serviceman’s name?”
“I…uh, no sir.”
“Lieutenant, you have exactly one minute to get me a name and physical description of the man who was sent down here,” Alex hissed. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes sir,” the lieutenant replied sharply. “Right away, sir.”