[4] Stalled Engine: Ghost Protocol
Chapter 4: Ghost Protocol
Jasper slowly stepped out of the office behind the bar. Had the world gone blurry, or just his eyes? The pattern was too perfect. There was a mystery that had involved the world’s biggest oil executives.
“How can they all be gone?” the bartender whispered, reaching for a bottle to refill her wine glass.
“What else did you find?” Jasper spoke in a hoarse whisper.
“That’s it.”
“That can’t be true. There has to be more than just a list.”
“I’m afraid that’s it.”
“Where did you find the card?”
“In a garbage can.”
“By itself?”
She let out a sharp curse. “There was an envelope. I hope it’s still there.”
She hopped over the bar and rushed towards the door. Jasper followed closely behind. They stumbled out into the grimy alley. The world looked the same as it did an hour ago, but there was a chill in the air which wasn’t related to the temperature.
The bartender kicked the trash can over, spilling its foul contents across the ground. She reached down into the muck and started separating its contents, throwing glass shards and rotten fruit away. Jasper stood by, watching carefully and avoiding her aim.
“Here, this is it,” she pulled it out from the trash like it was a sword pulled from the stone.
Jasper looked down at it and immediately recognized the stamp.
“This is the star-gazer’s cabin,” he whispered as he felt memories rush back to him.
