“If Spencer was still as paranoid as he once was, he could have had something,” Liam said. “A safety or bobby pin he could break off to inscribe the image with. If they’d mentioned why they were there, I know he would have done everything he could to escape, or at the very least, help us piece this shit together if he couldn’t.”
“And the Blackmore Clan just let this go unnoticed?” Kyle asked, sounding skeptical of Liam’s theory. “Come on!”
“How big is it?” Liam asked Mick.
“About an inch in diameter.”
“He was careful, you see? They’d hardly notice that…or even think about it among all these other injuries. Hell, he’s lucky they didn’t tear this with the rest of what they did.”
Kyle appeared more convinced.
Damn, Liam was smart. It was kind of amazing seeing him at work, in what seemed to be his element.
“The markings are strikingly similar to their emblem,” Tara noted.
“At this point, I think it’s safe to assume that either Spencer put this on himself,” Liam added, “or someone wants us looking at the Blackmore Clan for some other reason.”
“Mick, what do we have on Blackmore?” Tara asked.
Mick got to work, and the images on the screen switched to a photo of what appeared to be a birthday or New Year’s party. Several participants stood together, smiling for the photo.
“Ivan Blackmore is second to the left,” Mick said.
The guy was dressed in a white suit, and his nearly jet-black hair fell down to his shoulders as he flashed a set of pearly white teeth. The image shifted to him in a pool with several others, sporting a much shorter haircut as he hit his hand against a volleyball.
“The operation was carried out in 1997 by F5, under Agent Spencer Ryan’s leadership,” Mick said. “Blackmore was one of the members involved in the Thornton Project.”
Liam must’ve noticed my confusion, or felt this warranted an explanation, because he said, “CIA operative Maxwell Thornton engaged in a set of human experiments, much like what we were talking about with MKUltra.”
Kyle shook his head. “Only far more fucked up.”
“Human experimentation,” Mick clarified. “Thornton had a sincere scientific interest in understanding the human mind, but to fully understand it, he believed he needed to go further than MKUltra, and began working to obtain human subjects through a major human-trafficking operation known as the Body Network.”
“What the fuck?” I asked. How could anyone have thought something like that was okay? Especially when they were going through something called the fucking Body Network.
“This is what happens when you give people too much power and too little oversight,” Liam remarked. “And when they aren’t bothered by issues like ethics or morality. He believed his discovery would aid the CIA in torturing our enemies, Geneva convention aside, of course. Thornton was too powerful and too good at keeping his operation under wraps, so when the FBI got wind of it, we were hired to go in and break it up. This was before my time at IPB, but afterward, the agency went after those connected to the larger trafficking operation, where one of the biggest players was Ivan Blackmore. Serial rapist, serial killer, serial piece of shit.”
“With guys like Blackmore and Thornton in the world,” Kyle added, “aliens are the least of your worries, kid.”
It reminded me of what a privileged life I’d lived. Certainly, I knew fucked-up shit went on in the world. I’d seen plenty of documentaries and TV series that chronicled the messed-up people in the world and what they did to their fellow man, but until Liam McKinney, I never could have dreamed that something so fucked up would have been operating and in some ways sanctioned by people within our own government.
“Fortunately, guys like Blackmore are easiest to crack once they’re found,” Liam continued. “He’s the bastard who led us to a lot of other key members of the Body Network.”
“So this Blackmore Clan is who you’re after?” I asked.
“It’s a solid lead,” Tara replied. “Mick, what do you have on Blackmore?”
“Ivan had three kids. His eldest, Ivan Blackmore Jr., is now leading the clan in his father’s place. Six of his own children, through what appears to be three women he lives with. According to follow-ups, looks like he’s dabbling in the same sort of shady enterprises.”
“Sounds like his kid’s looking for revenge,” Kyle said.
“They’re headquartered in Austin, Texas, but a major portion of their business is through Del Rio,” Mick went on. “Heavy connections to drugs and arms.”
“What are you thinking, Liam?” Tara asked, and as I turned, I knew why she’d asked for his thoughts. He donned a particularly serious expression, apparently thinking very hard about something.
“It fits the guys who jumped us. They were sloppy yet clever enough to try to conceal who was responsible for the agents’ deaths. I think at this point it’s safe to assume that either Blackmore is involved, or someone’s trying to pin it on him. So we need to get our asses to Texas and get to work to bust his kid’s ass. Considering someone in the IPB leaked our names, we can’t tell any of them we’re onto this lead, or we risk Blackmore Jr. getting tipped off.”
“Yes, that sounds about right,” Tara responded. “And if we jump on this now, no worries about IPB interference. Hell, they’ll still be waiting for tox to come back before they pursue an investigation.”
