WildCats Version 3.0 #11

Issue Details

Synopsis

"The Night the Lights Went Out in Garfield" Sam Garfield continues his unsatisfied work at the Accounting Firm of Harper & Brody before leaving to see his father, the original owner of Garfield and Dolby's firm who sold it. Garfield shares his disgust with his father for selling out their firm without even telling his own son about it beforehand and that he was following his duty to run the firm as a family business. The elder Garfield, unconcernedly, justifies his sale as a favor for them as the firm was not doing well - as aforementioned by Jack Marlowe - under his son's direction. Also, he tells Garfield that the reason he fails to run their firm is due to not advising his clients. Garfield, however, is frustrated in hearing what his father said to him and blames him for ruining his life. At Halo, Marlowe is briefed on his upcoming meeting with Belljar's stockholders all of whom are very upset of his acquisition. After adjourning his office meeting, Marlowe sees to Cole Cash with Agent Orange. Marlowe has a plan on giving Orange back to the FBI. Meanwhile, Garfield is stuck in a rush hour traffic while trying to make a phone call to Dolby. While undergoing a case of road rage, Garfield is cut off by another driver and attempts to drive him off the road. This forces the agitated driver to come out of his car with a crowbar and proceeds to smash Garfield's car. Garfield grabs his pistol from his dashboard and shoots the driver fatally through the neck, killing him. Garfield is surprised by what he did and drives away in fear. That night Garfield goes to Dolby's home for a place to hide and tells his friend what happened. A knock is heard on Dolby's door in which Garfield fears to be the police and he flees down the fire escape before Dolby can do anything to stop him. Garfield is at a bar where he sees a televised news of his shooting and learns that eyewitnesses have identified his license plate. A somber Garfield, realizing his life is going downhill, drives back to his father's empty shore beach home. He then walks to the shore in an attempt to drown himself but is interrupted by the appearance of Marlowe. He explains to Garfield that he knows of his shooting and managed to rectify the situation: he erased all of Garfield's connection to the shooting. Marlowe states that he did this not only to protect Halo's interests but the man Garfield killed was a crooked undercover police officer who had murdered his partner. In which Marlowe sees this a reconcilable judgment for Garfield to killing a murderer, and if the details of this incident were to go public, the LAPD would undoubtedly suffer a degree of embarrassment they apparently cannot afford, and has pinned the crime on a new suspect now in custody. Marlowe continues that Garfield is indebted to him and hereby makes Garfield the following offer: Garfield's place at Harper & Brody was for a specific reason. The firm was a CIA front company. The commissions collected are filtered through other companies that, in turn, fund covert intelligence activities both here and abroad. Even its employees are trained field agents. Marlowe acquired the firm with full knowledge of its function in which the CIA is unaware of, and he needs Garfield there as his mole within the company in order to have Marlowe's interests in the upper hand. Marlowe shares his respects to Garfield as a man of great passions, but realizing he cannot just force him to act on this endeavor despite Marlowe's actions on Garfield's behalf. He gives this as a choice for Garfield to decide to whether to serve the idea of a better world or not. The next day, Garfield accepts Marlowe's offer and returns to the Harper & Brody firm with some level of confidence. At Halo, Marlowe is abruptly met by Jesse Baker, a crew chief for the Halo stock car team. Baker has come to tell Marlowe that he and his team have been doing several trials on the stock car and have discovered that it has been exceeding way past its mileage, and even depleting its gas tank, and found out the cause being the vehicle is being directly powered by its Halo brand car battery.