Rebirth

  **********

  Special Agent Formby`s team had had little success, but he himself had fared better. Percival Wallace had provided him with a clue. Formby had gone to Wallace`s flat with one of his junior agents, and together they had climbed the five flights of stairs, for the lift was not working, and by the time that he had reached the top floor Formby was gasping for breath.

  "My god Jones I really don`t need this."

  "You should join a gym Sir, it keeps me in shape." Jones replied.

  "Are trying to kill me Jones? You are not after my job already are you, my god you have only been with the department for a short time."

  After taking a much needed moment to catch his breath, he motioned to Jones for him to open the door with the key that they had obtained from the caretaker, and together they searched the flat until both men were certain that there was nothing to be found there. It was as Formby closed the door to the flat that he noticed that there was a caretaker`s cupboard on the same floor.

  "Before we cede defeat Jones, let`s look in there, maybe Wallace had a bit more imagination than the normal criminal." The two men walked over to the cupboard and looked inside. Inside were the usual cleaning materials; brooms, mops, detergent, but above all these was an entrance to the loft, in fact it was the only entrance to the loft.

  "Up you go Jones; I`m too old and senior in rank to climb around up there.

  Jones was a new addition to Formby`s team, only twenty-five years of age. He was newly out of university, and quite intelligent. Formby had formed a good opinion of him in the short time that Jones had been working for him, and he was happy to let the lad clamber up into the loft and search for any case winning clues.

  "There isn`t much up here Sir apart from dust; the caretaker must keep it clear of clutter so that he can move around easily."

  "I am not interested in the caretaker`s ways, Jones; maybe you would like to check to see if there is anything up there that may be of interest to me?"

  Jones`s blond head appeared through the hole.

  "Well Sir, there is this, I found it tucked beneath a loose floorboard." Jones had an attach? case in his hand.

  "Good work Jones, pass it down." Formby ordered.

  Jones arm stretched down. "Here you are Sir." He said, and then deposited the case into Formby`s waiting hands. "I will be with you in just a moment."

  "Will you indeed Jones, how nice for me." Formby said with a straight face and a show of his renowned flippancy.

  "Now let`s see if my pocket knife will open this up."

  By the time that Jones`s dust covered six-foot, slim body was back down from the loft, Formby had indeed opened it. Inside were fifty thousand Republican Dollars and a letter of some kind, written in some unintelligible foreign language that was unknown to either agent?

  "Well we have earned some of our pay today Jones."

  "Yes we have indeed Sir, well some of yours anyway." Jones replied having picked up some of Formby`s ways. Formby smiled at his young officer and led the way down stairs.

  Back at the office, the computer told them that it was a copy of a letter to a Mr Tirana, and that it was in the Aldebran language. It gave him instructions on how he was to send a message back to his headquarters on the planet of Aldebra, if an emergency arose or when his mission was completed.

  "Our technician isn`t Mr Tirana, because our technician photographed the original letter and then printed it out, why do you think he did that Jones?" Formby asked his junior agent.

  "I can see two reasons Sir; one of course is our old friend blackmail, and the other reason is that maybe he took it as insurance, but maybe he didn`t mention that he had it, as unfortunately he didn`t realise that his life was in danger. That or he threatened Mr Tirana with it who killed him anyway because he thought we wouldn`t be able to identify him, Sir.

  "Good man Jones, you and I are thinking along similar lines, although I tend to think your second reason is the correct one. Your next course of action is to second ten men and take them back to the area that the technician has his flat and have a word with the neighbours, see if anyone saw our Percival with any visitors, you are unlikely to meet with any success, but you never can tell Jones." Formby ordered.

  "What, now Sir, its half past nine Sir!" Jones complained.

  "Yes and our President wants answers Jones, what do I tell him when he calls, and he will, Oh sorry Mr President, Sir, but agent Jones is home tucked in bed with his cocoa?" Formby replied.

  "Right Sir, I am on my way." Jones was already moving towards the door, he knew when he was fighting a losing battle.

  "Good, then I will phone President Michaels and tell him of the letter from Aldebra, of its contents and of all the late hours that you are putting in."

  President Michaels listened with interest to Formby`s report.

  "Have that letter taken over to Tom Parkinson immediately, Formby, Oh and good work; I knew you wouldn`t let me down."

  Formby was thinking about President Michaels` last remark as he walked around the corner to the offices of the Interstellar Investigations Bureau, 'sure he wouldn`t let a bunch of aliens come here to Earth and start killing its citizens, but he wouldn`t have worried for even a second about letting President Michaels down.'