"Am I ever glad to see you!" the man told him, and dismissed his escort.
"I figured the reason you called me was you have some urgent business for me to take care of."
"Well, it's more family matters than business, unfortunately."
"What do you mean, sir?" Mike asked.
"It's my son. He's a Major in The Marine Corps, you know. For the passed few months we've been having problems with equipment and supplies being stolen from our base in Florida. Five men have been sent there to find the cause of the problem, but he is the only one that has disappeared right off the face of the Earth. He checked in for his quarters all right, but after that....gone. My son was the last man sent down. He volunteered to investigate the disappearances. His last report was about something to do with a lead concerning a certain Col. Bristol, an officer at the base, being in on the thievery plot. Then, Chris was gone. I wanted to ask you if it is at all possible for you to go and search for my son. You told us if there was anything you could ever do to help us, just ask."
"I surely will help! Just tell me what I'll have to do."
"I have another agent stationed on base. He will be acting as a guard near the main gate." The General took five by seven photos of the young man in question out of his desk draw, handed them to Spirit Lad, and ordered someone in with a Marine uniform, which he also gave him. "Now I hope you have a good memory, because your code phrase that will identify you is 'The lad from Washington is here.' You are to make contact with our inside man as soon as possible, and he will give you any reports that have come in on our progress with this case, also the whereabouts to my son's quarters. After that you may do anything you legally can to find my son and return him to me, dead or alive. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" Mike nodded.
"Be very careful. We are almost certain that he is missing because he's discovered too much about the thieves. We don't want to lose you, too. You're our only hope!"
"Don't worry, I'll be careful!" Mike assured.
"Oh, before I forget," The General added, "the agent's assumed name for this assignment is Green."
"Thanks!"
"Good luck! I'm counting on you!" the older gentleman said with a glimmer of pride in his eyes.
With the folded uniform in a briefcase held tightly in his left hand, the form of Spirit Lad disappeared from the building leaving the General blinking in surprise from the flash that always accompanied the boy's vanishing. He sat at his desk and stared lovingly at his son's photograph for a moment, then left the room and headed back to work.