Operation Report: Handle With Care Part 2: Resisting Arrest

 Las Vegas, Nevada. March 17, 2005.

Agent JACK and Dr. Fincher head to Munroe's office for their meeting. The office is on the third floor of a small building next to Munroe's casino, the Sonora, an over-the-top cowboy themed establishment filled to the brim with plastic cacti and tumbleweeds. The two enter the office and are welcomed by Munroe. The collector is vaguely familiar with Gardner (Agent JACK), being competitors in the same business.

JACK claims to have brought Fincher along as an 'expert in the matter', hoping that the two could help Munroe get his stuff back in exchange for information. The agents say they have some leads on Munroe's missing items, and can help him find them if given leads as to who may have organized the robbery. Initially, Munroe doesn’t take them seriously, but JACK convinces him he may know something about the theft without letting too much slip. The collector agrees to share some information about the other parties involved in the auction, as well as his suspicions. 'A question for a question, an answer for an answer'.

Meanwhile, Agent JACE sees the Hermanos driving away from their hiding place and informs JACKAL. After a few minutes, JACE searches the house, finding a pile of charred paper and wood and smashed, bent brass. He concludes that the gang members got rid of all items but one: a book, though he cannot tell which from the ashen remains. JACE also finds almost 2kg of assorted illegal drugs, mostly cocaine, hidden in the drywall. He prepares to join JACKAL in his pursuit of the gang.

Munroe tells JACK and Dr. Fincher that several other bidders were interested in the six items he bought: Onishi Nori, a Japanese businessmen currently based in San Francisco; Jean-Luc Rochat, a French-Swiss art critic and collector; Vanessa Casavecchia, an heiress currently living between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and Graziano Henke, a Canadian writer and pseudo-archaeologist. 
Both parties are dissatisfied by the exchange, and Munroe tells the Agents they will hear from him again. At that point, JACK receives a call from dr. Pinner, who he had previously put up to finding more information about the 'red-veiled woman', saying that she has found some interesting occult precedents for the apparition.

Meanwhile, JACKAL watches from a distance as the Hermanos gang members wait silently in a dimly lit parking lot. After about an hour, a man walks up to the lot, wearing a leather jacket and a trilby hat pulled down slightly to hid his face. He takes a small parcel from the men and hands over a small briefcase. He walks away and the Hermanos drive off in their stolen van. JACKAL waits for a moment, then gets out of his vehicle and trails the man on foot to a sleazy motel about a mile from the lot. The man checks into a room and JACKAL calls JACE to tell him what he saw, staying posted outside the motel while he waits for his colleague to arrive. Once the two Agents are together, they make sure the lights are down before they head to room 13 and break open the door.

Pinner meets the other two Agents at JACK's office in the Crimson Reef casino. She says she found some interesting figures matching the veiled apparition. Out of all the folkloric and mythological stories she goes over, one in particular interests the Agents: the roman goddess Fortuna. Early representations from the Kingdom of Rome had her as a feminine veiled figure, with the cloth covering her entire body, perhaps taking after the iconography of Nurthia, Etruscan goddess of Fate, witchcraft and Fortune. Both were commonly served by female priestesses and referred to as "the Blind Goddess". Additionally, Servius Tullius, Etruscan warrior and sixth King of Rome, was said to have built 26 temples to the Goddess in the city as advised by the Queen Regent Tanaquil, a worshiper of Nurthia. Later on, Fortuna was assimilated with deities of fate, fertility or abundance from Rome and other cultures, like Juno, Isis and Cybelle.

"Hello boys". The man is relaxed, leaning back in his chair and playing around with an antique coin as he speaks to the Agents. He proposes an exchange: he knows the Agents want the artefact he acquired, and is willing to part with it and betray his employer's trust, for a price. JACE offers the Hermanos' drug shipment, and the man counters by also demanding the Agents make sure the gang is 'silenced'.
The Agents step away for a moment to discuss the deal, quickly coming to the conclusion that it's better to appease the man for now, hoping he might eventually lead back to his mysterious employers. JACKAL watches over the man while JACE recovers the shipment. "Every deal is laid on a foundation of trust. It's only fair we exchange names now, wouldn't you agree? I'm Billy" the man extends a hand. Norman Hackett (JACKAL) gives his real first name. JACE does not. They allow Billy to leave, and he hands over the 1403 translation of the De Mulieribus Claris. 

The two groups of Agents meet up at the Crimson Reef casino and exchange information. JACE speculates that among the other prospective buyers of Munroe's collection, Vanessa Casavecchia is the most likely to be involved. He takes JACK aside and asks him to consult his contacts and study the contents of this version of the De Mulieribus. JACKAL cashes in a few favors to have the core members of the Hermanos who were present at the robbery and at the exchange die while 'resisting arrest'. JACE reports to agent BERNARD, who advises him to conduct surveillance on the Casavecchia estate in Vegas. Operation JOYRIDE is officially concluded.

 Image Credits

1-Public Domain photo