Session 07 (Agent Jason)

Sunday, 17^th March 1996, 7pm

Jason pocketed the Agency cellphone and lit a cigarette. He inhaled deeply as he looked sideways to where the van was parked. Jasper was there, taking a nap in the back of the van, while Yarrow and Sinclair were having a chat. Elizabeth was standing aside a bit, clearly not fully at ease. Unlike Yarrow, she had done well. Exceedingly well. She had done her homework on the info Jason had given her and returned with intel that they could act upon. To be fair, her help had led him to the book, and as far as he could tell it was the most helpful information they had found so far.

He watched the Friendlies, as the wind picked up a bit and blew some debris across the parking lot. An old newspaper made a rustling noise as it flew towards him like a crippled bird. He checked the phone. No messages. Buttoning up his coat, he wandered over to the abandoned little playground. Just a few swings, a slide and a roundabout that make creaking noises as it moved in the wind.

It was dark now, and the only light was a flickering streetlamp at the entrance to the car park. He lit another cigarette, closed his eyes and went over the recent developments. When that piano had stopped, the parameters had changed altogether.

Friday, 15^th March 1996, near Midnight

He whispered to Jasper 
“Whatever gets done here, one of us needs to stay outside, to keep a clear head, as the house fucks around with your mind. And it must be one of us, rather than one of them.” 

He tilted his head to Yarrow and Sinclair behind them. Jasper nodded and looked back inside. Jason put his hand on Jasper’s shoulder.
“You have the lead on entry here, it’s your call to continue or abort.”

Jasper nodded and climbed through the window. Jason had the impression Jasper felt forced, like he didn’t want to lose face. Perhaps because of Yarrow and Sinclair?

Jason was about to climb in too, when he felt the window coming down. He frowned and pushed back. As he did, there seemed to be a larger force pushing the window down and it took all his strength to stop it from closing or breaking his hand. He whispered Jasper’s name, who noticed what was going on and made a hasty retreat. Back outside, they heard a phone calling from somewhere inside.

Going over the Rules of Ranging, Jason made a decision. Don’t go in if they expect you. 
He doubted there would be a lot of danger outside the house, intel showed that people killed themselves while inside, so it should be safe to have a look from where they are. 

“Change of plan. Recce only, let’s check the windows on this side of the house. Jasper, you lead. John, Emil, stay behind me.”

As he turned around, he noticed Yarrow talking, describing for the benefit of the mic on the camera what he was seeing. Fucking tourist… no doubt all their faces would show up on the tape at one moment or another.

They made their way to the next window, Jason covering Jasper as he lead the way, then taking a position from where he could have an overview of the garden. He nodded to Yarrow to bring the camera up to the window.

“Jason, can you see a kid in front of you?” hissed Jasper, something in his voice giving away that something was wrong. Jason looked again, not seeing anything.

“All clear”

“Fuck…”

After another few moments of Yarrow and Sinclair trying to get a decent reading on their equipment, they moved on to the next window, this time of the bedroom where Agent Garret had died. Jason kept his mouth shut but had the impression all of the lugging around of equipment might be a waste of time. IF it was registering anything, it was going haywire at the moment. Either the whole til was a heap of bull, or there was too much going on in the vicinity, and as a consequence, making the reading chaotic.

Jasper opened it the same way he had opened the other window and pulled the curtain aside. Once he had checked the room and found it empty, he moved aside slightly so Yarrow and Sinclair could do their thing. They were talking back and forth, spewing a lot of pseudo-scientific stuff, and ended up rolling a coin inside. This got them all excited, disturbed even. From what Sinclair said, the coin had rolled towards the mirror… and through it.

Jason kept an eye on all this. The Friendlies seemed eager, like kids on a school trip that’s about to turn into a disaster. “We don’t know enough to go in”, he muttered as they moved their equipment back to the porch again. Sinclair was insisting on trying something. He wanted to make contact with Garrett. Jason thought it over. He really didn’t want to get Sinclair to go in. The Group still insisted on trying to reel him in as a full-blown Agent. He still hadn’t made his mind up on what kind of review he would give the guy, but that would all be moot if he went in there now and got ripped open from throat to crotch by an “Interdimensional Astral Walker”…

“Ok, John, go in, and we’ll do what you suggested, tie a rope around you. Stay in the Den, so we can see you. If we feel something goes wrong, we’re pulling you out.”

They had opened the door, and John has carefully walked in. He looked around and said something. Jason didn’t clearly hear it, but it sounded like “I’m here, Arthur”. Next thing, the door started closing. They were able to keep it open, and John quickly made his way out. As the door closed, they heard a phone ringing. Enough.

“We’re going. We need more intel before we can do anything here.” 

The rest, even Yarrow, agreed with this. The equipment got loaded back into the van, while some of the others were having a peak through the front windows. He got the others to sit up front while he stayed in the back with the equipment. As soon as they drove off, the first thing he did was to remove the tape from the camera. He needed words with Yarrow.

They made their way back to the hotel, and Jasper ditched the van a street away. As soon as they got to their room, Yarrow hooked the camera up. Jason dug the tape out of his pocket and held it out to him. As Emil tried to take the tape, Jason held on to it, looking him hard in the eye

“This is not a study trip for university, Yarrow. Nothing of what you tape is to be viewed by anyone. You’re here for the benefit of the Group, nothing else. If I catch you sneaking any information in whatever shape or form away from this Opera, you will regret not getting your car breaks fixed last time it was in for maintenance…”

Emil’s eyes widened. “Are you threatening me?”

Jason locked his eyes on him for a few seconds, then let go of the tape. The man didn’t say anything but was clearly shaken. Good. Jason hoped this sorted the Ghostbuster out.

After that he could barely keep his eyes open. Jasper was already snoring, and Sinclair and Yarrow were engrossed by what they saw on the screen. Jason observed Sinclair for a bit. He was hard to form an opinion on. It was clear that he was used to getting his way. He didn’t say much, but Jason felt that Sinclair had issues with the dynamics, probably even with his leadership. Control-freak? Possibly. Or perhaps so confident in his abilities that felt that everyone else was inferior or less able to sort this out. He could relate to that. But the man would have to learn how things worked in the Group. Not a popularity contest, not a fucking democracy. And thinking back on how things were when he started, he thought he was still pretty easy going on the FNGs. Compared to Norman at least… He would have had a ball with these two…

Saturday, 16^th March, 9am

During breakfast they quickly went over who would do what for the rest of the day. Sinclair had received a call from the local police and was supposed to meet them. He wasn’t sure what they wanted, but it would relate to Garrett. Jason sent Jasper off to work on a van, make it look like a Cleaning Service, as well as getting them suitable outfits to fit in as cleaners. If anyone noticed them or the van, they would realize what they were doing inside. And no one wanted to dwell to long on that…

Jason would go to the County Seat with Yarrow and dig in deeper. They parted ways and he rang Elizabeth Tucker, to see if she had been able to find anything. She had located three pieces of furniture, two in Meadowbrook and one in Pittsburg. They agreed to meet the next day, she would take the lead in any talks to the owners, and Jason would be there as her assistant or a magazines photographer.

Jason was able to get Yarrow to part with some money before they went in to the County Seat. The kid behind the counter, Anthony, greeted them, and when introduced, he pointed out they closed at noon. The cash should come in handy in a few hours.

They started digging through the files, looking into the names that Sinclair and Jasper had dug up the previous day. They had done a good job, and it didn’t take long before their search unveiled more information. Around noon, Sinclair contacted them. Apparently, things were not OK. Jasper had been around to Brian’s mum, and back to the garage. People had been scared and they had called the cops. Somewhere, Sinclair’s car had been seen. John had been able to satisfy the cops questions, but it was sloppy. Jason called Jasper, filled him in and told him to stay out of sight, or put on some kind of disguise.

When Sinclair showed up, he was joined by Anthony, who had decided to help out in exchange for a few console games and the promise of more cash, if they were able to find all the information they needed. Around 4pm they felt they had found everything there was to find. They made their way back to the hotel, went for something to eat and compared noted on the way people had ended up being killed in the house. In the end, Jason felt more was to be found on Isabelle Wheeler. She and her husband had built the house, and apparently, she had died of a wasting disease. Not an accident, not a suicide.  After that, anyone buying the house ran a serious risk of being killed in it by… something. A recurring piece of information seemed to be that people killed themselves when they considered themselves "home" or when repairs to the house had been finished. The mirrors in the bedroom were mentioned a few times. Jason would make a point to focus the team's attention on them, when they had a chance. Outside of this information, Jason hoped to find something in the Wheeler furniture. 

Garrett had mentioned it. He never got around to checking it, it seems. And if there was any Wheeler furniture left inside the house, he would already have inspected that already and he would have mentioned something in his notes. A letter. A picture. An inscription. Anything that could shed a light on what was going on here. Because, regardless of the information they had right now, Jason did not feel they had any actionable intelligence.

The others agreed that they would go and visit the house during daytime, when it was safe. Jasper had organized boiler suits and masks, as well as bags to transport any equipment Yarrow needed. They would easily be able to make their way in without drawing any attention. Jasper had spent the day making stencils for the side of the van, even made a Kwik-Kleen logo, with a telephone number underneath it. Jason had passed it on to A-cell, asking if they could have someone answer it, in case locals or cops had any questions.

Sinclair was spending his night in the better hotel, as they thought the cops might keep an eye on him. Or at least check if he had spent the night there. Yarrow would take his room, and all agreed to have an early night.

Jason woke up with a start and grabbed his cellphone. Sinclair.

"What's wrong, John?"

"I just got a call from Yarrow. He's inside the house. But it sounded strange, like Garrett's calls."
"Stay on the line, John"

Jason got up, giving Jasper a nudge while he pulled his hoodie on and stuffed his pistol in the pocket.
Without saying a word Jasper did the same, clearly used to this kind of middle-of-the-night-shenanigans. They went out and  made their way to Yarrow's room. Jason banged on the door. No answer.

"John, I'll call you right back." He hung up and called Yarrow's phone. They could hear it ring inside. He looked at Jasper, and they were about to kick the door in as the phone stopped rining. Jason brought his cellphone back to his ear.

"H-h-hello...?"
"For fucksake, Yarrow, open the door!"

A few moments open, "Banshee" opened the door for them. 
"Everything ok, Yarrow? Why didn't you answer when we knocked on the door?"
Yarrow stared at him with a dazed and confused look, opening his hand to reveal some earplugs dotted with clumps of earwax.

"Christ... keep those out of your ears while you're on a Opera." Jason turned away with a look of disgust. 

He called John back, as he and Jasper made their way back to their room, wearing noting but boxer shorts, a hoodie and boots.
"All good John, Yarrow is here. Sounds like it gave up on the Garrett approach. We'll see you in the morning."

Sunday, 17^th March, 10am

Jason met Elizabeth Tucker at the diner. Friendly, nice looking, and professionally dressed, he let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps his luck had changed. They made their way to the piano shop. Earlier, he had seen the others off, after making clear that Agent Jasper had the lead now. Again, that feeling Sinclair was unhappy with his decision. Jason understood Sinclair was considering himself or Yarrow to be the ones who knew what they would be doing in the house, while Jasper was only muscle. But Jason felt that he needed a full Agent in charge there. Better yet, an Agent he was sure would have no issues to put those two down if need be. He had told Jasper he’d check in on a regular base, and if anything serious happened Jasper had to contact him right away.

Elizabeth drove them to the Jacob's Music. They spend about half an hour there, looking at the piano. They both felt there was nothing untoward with it. It was old, but in good working order. They had coffee, then headed over to the other place. An elderly lady owned the Wheeler’s end table.

Jason called Jasper, who said weird stuff was going on and they were looking into it. That was unexpected. They all had seemed to think that the place would be fine during the day. Apparently, it wasn’t. He told Jasper to be careful, and to vacate the house if things became dangerous.

He drove to the old lady’s place, and they were met by her and introduced to her friends, one with a long-suffering husband in tow. Jason exchanged some pleasantries, and Elizabeth took over, asking to see the end table. As soon as he saw the table, Jason felt they might be on to something. The top had an inlaid Triskelion pattern, which features in a number of folklores and occult traditions. Closer inspection revealed a number of dancing figures around the edge of the table, seemingly led by a larger black figure. This design had an oriental feel to it. Jason looked back at the sitting room, and Elizabeth took his meaning without anything being said, and made her way there, distracting the old lady. Clever girl.

Jason looked at the top again. He noticed a minute asymmetry in the top. It was made of three parts and was just ever so slightly unaligned. Carefully, he slid his knife behind the panel and slowly twisted. The panels aligned and there was a soft click. The top opened, revealing a few items inside. Jason put Elizabeth’s briefcase on the end table and carefully transferred the items from the table to the briefcase. There was an ancient looking bowl, with the triskelion design in it, as well as a very old knife and a black, leather-bound diary. A quick glance showed it to be old, but not ancient. It was written by Isabelle Wheeler. He closed the briefcase and the end table and made his way to the sitting room. After saying their goodbyes and reassuring the old lady he would send her a copy of the American Antiques magazine which would feature her end table, the left the house.

As soon as they were on their way he rang Jasper. Things were getting really weird  apparently and Jason told him to get ready to leave. Ten minutes later Elizabeth and Jason drove past the house, just in time to see Jasper, Sinclair and Yarrow leave. Jason could tell they were shaken, some unexplainable things must have happened inside. He told them to make their way to the parking lot at the playground in the park to discuss further.

They had done so and filled Jason in on their inexplicable experiences. Disconnected phones ringing, Jasper drinking old, filthy coffee, with a cockroach in it, as if it was the best thing he had ever tasted, cries of a cat that couldn’t be found. Sinclair had spoken to a woman on the phone, who had been asking for a number of the deceased owners by name. When he called her Isabelle, things took on a darker, more threatening tone. Other things had been going on, all of them explainable.

Jason filled them in on what he and Elizabeth had found and started read out the full 80 pages of her diary to everyone present. This took a while, and Elizabeth was able to translate the phonetic Italian into English. There it was. Isabelle and the Crone had been doing rituals and magic over a period of 30 years in the house. But when push came to shove, she had turned away from what she was doing, and her illness returned and claimed her life. The Black Man which was summoned, still had a hold over the house, and whatever that thing or power was, Jason felt sure it was responsible for all the suicides and 'accidents' in the last forty years.

The diary also held a ritual to summon as well as dismiss the "Uomo Nero". It involved blood sacrifices. Hypergeometry and medieval metaphysics. Jason closed the book and put it in his pocket. Everyone was a bit quiet after that. He walked away from the van and dialed the number for A-Cell. After a few ring someone picked up and answered with a distorted voice.

"Yes, Agent Jason?"

He filled them in on what had happened over the last 48 hours, the activity at the house, what they had found at the County Seat, and eventually what was found inside Isabelle's end table.  

"It looks like this has been going on ever since Isabelle refused to go all the way with this ritual, Sir. And the diary does hold a "ritual of dismissal" as it is called in there. Metaphysics, requiring blood sacrifice. From what I've read, the summoning can be done over a period of 13 new moons, by making sacrificing animals. Or, it can be done quicker, human sacrifice is guaranteed to work immediately. For the dismissal however, human sacrifice is necessary, as it 'brings forth the Black Man'. I fear the only way to eliminate the danger the house poses is to..."

"Stand by, Agent Jason". A sharp click ended the conversation. 

Sunday, 17^th March 1996, 7:10pm

Jason stared into the dark sky, smoking another cigarette. The noise of the cellphone notifying Jason that he had a message snapped him out of it. His hand reached inside his pocket, automatically pressing the buttons to open the message. He looked back at the van, then to his phone. Even before he looked at the screen, he knew what the message said.

"ELIMINATE THE THREAT"