Session 09 (Agent Jude)

Tuesday, 9am.

Sitting in the car with Charlie, our eyes fixed on the front door of the house down the block, reports of heavy traffic through related to local sources.  Our conversations were pointless, I couldn’t tell her what was on my mind, Jasper, still recovering, the week I took on advanced first aid to make sure I wouldn’t leave my team mates at the mercy of the butchers known as doctors.

I woke Screaming, my hands gripping the wheel until my knuckles were white, looking around me, Charlie was staring at me, an expression of pure terror in her face.  I hadn’t even realised I had dozed off, only an hour, 10am, trying to remember the dream, that sound, that blood curdling, bone crushing sound, like thunder, shaking my body to its foundations, something was wrong.

Charlie demanded an explanation, I couldn’t give one, I didn’t know.  She ordered me to drive, not far down the road she asked me again, I fumbled for a pathetic answer before she got out of the car, walking.  I circled the block to pick her back up, she refused as she held her phone to her ear.  I wasn’t long before mine rang, my supervisor ordering back to the field office.

He was waiting for me outside when I arrived, he also asked for answers, I was stuck, clutching my chest I blamed it on my chest wounds.  Pushing myself to hard.  He looked at me and arranged transport to the medical centre.

Speaking to the doc, I took the pain meds he offered before glancing my watch as 11am rolled around.  M pager buzzed, incoming email.

The email was simple, another invitation to the opera, 3pm, Chicago, I was going to have to rush.  Calling my supervisor, explaining the doc had told me 48 hours, no troubles there, he had seen my chest, he knew the damage.

I jumped the first plane to Chicago.  I was a mess, no kit, just what I was wearing, boots, jeans, polo shirt and jacket, sidearm, cuffs, phone and ID, bare essentials.

I had to get to the 5th floor of 125 West Ohio St, a good 20 minutes by taxi.  It was going to be tight, but I was going to get there.

The taxi pulled up at 2.47pm, no signs on anyone here, just a lost tourist hovering outside.  I knew that if Jason was still out of action, I was the next in line, there was no way Jasper was going to be fit for whatever this was.  I moved through the doors, across the foyer to the elevator, the concierge smiled as I threw a wink her way as the elevator doors closed.  The fifth floor was empty, another small foyer revealing a construction site that had been taped off with yellow and black tape.  Listening, there were no signs coming from anywhere, something wasn’t right, or I was just early.

Moving to the wall to the left of the elevator, I squatted on my haunches, waiting to see who would be the next to arrive.

As the elevator came to life again, the doors opening to reveal the strange tourist from outside, rising as he walked out, my left hand instinctively moving to my holster.  He clocked my movement, holding his hands where I could see them, a smart tourist.  He seemed strange, mid 40’s maybe, educated, glasses, well dressed, what I would have expected Jason to be when I first met a team leader.

He asked who I was, slowly pulling his phone from his pocket, the same phone I had been given by the group.  He rattled off all our names, Jagger, Jason, Jasper and Jude, my grip eased as I introduced myself as Jude, his response of Joshua took me by surprise.  I asked his involvement with J-Cell, he had been present on the last opera, only leaving the investigation before my arrival.  He gave me a brief run-down of the previous events, I gave him an overview of the latter, he seemed glad to have missed it.

Jason

It wasn’t long before the elevator opened again, this time to reveal Jason, looking like he hadn’t showered or shaved in weeks, his appearance, far from the suit wearing, somewhat clean cut, now in jeans, a jacket, his eyes sunken into his skull more than usual.

I started the conversation regarding his recovery, it seemed clear that his mind was intact, more to the point, he seemed almost too calm given what he had experienced.  He goes right to the point, asking if anyone was inside the taped off door, shaking my head, he asked me to take the lead.  I didn’t hesitate, Joshua wasn’t sticking his hand up and Jason was, well, Jason.

Inspector David Hua

Moving through the door, the site was bare, fallen building debris all over the place, wiring hanging from columns and beams.  Moving through, my sidearm out of the holster but still remaining by my side, something didn’t feel right, we had received no information on this opera, nothing at all.  Ahead of me as a moved passed a damaged column from ceiling to floor, a shadow in the distance, a man’s shadow.  I advanced on him, gun raised, calling for him to identify himself.  The man stepped into the light, shaking, holding a briefcase and a phone.  He was rattled in seeing me advance on him, my pistol levelled at his face, he identified himself through his trembling and chattering teeth as David Hua, Department of Energy.  As Jason and Joshua joined me, David explained that he also did work for the group, purely as a consultant, lowering my sidearm, it was Joshua who stepped up, watching him talk to David, it was clear he knew what he was doing.  Within a minute, David was calm, and the sound of high heels filled the air.Turning around to see a woman walking towards us, mid to late 40’s, greying blonde hair, carrying a folder.  Identifying herself as Eve, she greeted all of us by name, including Inspector David Hua from the DOE. 

She handed Jason the folder she carried, explaining that the operation was to infiltrate the newly developed Olympia Holobeam Array, a privately funded scientific research project with oversight from the Department of Energy.

We all had question, David was our way in, he was a legitimate Inspector for the DOE, the rest of us were going in as fellow inspectors regarding the first day of operation of the new device.  The group was after data and technology, we were tasked with securing several documents, military in nature.  It sounded like a fire sale, the way an embassy would be cleared of all sensitive documentation prior to going offline.  Two vehicles had been secured for us downstairs, a van and a sedan, equipment would be found in the trunk of the car.

David was nervous, he wasn’t sure what he was doing, or who we were other than his “team” of inspectors.  Joshua did his best to calm him down, keeping him in a clear state of mind.

I looked over the list of staff, 10 on the books, 4 security, 3 researchers, 2 engineers, Janitor.  Security were going to be an issue, looking at our team, it was clear that David and Joshua to a lesser extent, may not be comfortable if this turned violent, which I had every expectation it would.

Eve handed Jason a phone before she departed, her number the only one saved also handing each of us our ID’s for the operation, Inspector Paul Wade, nice, I didn’t think I looked like a Paul.  Eve’s final words to us, these were the ID’s of retired and deceased DOE staff, they will not hold up under close inspection.  Great, with 4 security checking us, it is going to get bloody, I know it will.

We headed down the elevator to the garage, at the far end, a sedan and a van were parked on their own, branded DOE, that was us.  We popped the trunk to find bare essentials required, suits and badges, as well as four government issue Smith and Wesson 39-2,

S&W 39-2, 40cal

40 calibre pistols with holsters and spare magazines, papers and permits to match.  We each took turns changing into the suits in the van, strapping the pistols to our sides, all except for David, who handed me his and asked me to carry it for him, my suit, slightly oversized, feeling like a businessman who had lost 40 pounds, made only slightly better by the room required to look two holsters to my waist, one at my side, the other at my back, the jacket concealing both easily.

Joshua and I took the van, Jason and David in the lead car, the plan was to drive to the closest gas station and work out what to do once we were closer, it was a clearly time sensitive mission.  During the drive, I got to get a better understanding of Joshua, it was clear he was smart, very smart, his answers to the simplest questions involving moments of thought and carefully crafted answers, honest, yet cautious, much better than the usual distant denials that were as watertight as a bucket full of holes that I usually get from Jason.  My guess, he was a doctor of some kind, not medical or surgical, but a head doc or something like that.  Although having the feeling that he was constantly analysing me, I didn’t care, we were all fucked up here, that’s how we got the gig.

Stopping at the gas station, we reviewed the folder again given to us by Eve, 10am the Array had gone online, 10am, the same time I woke screaming in my car.  Joshua, Jason, David, all the same, something had hit us all at 10am, something was very wrong.

David made a phone call and several trips inside the gas station, cash in hand, he came back with a set of blueprints for the facility, I guess being a real inspector for the DOE had its perks.

Located in the centre of a man-planted Pine forest, it was clear that the facility was meant to be secluded, the Array and main building at the centre, a large circular wall around the main complex, a security station inside and out, this was going to be interesting.

We approached the main gate at about 5pm, a single security guard wearing a Stetson hat met us, Joshua getting out of the car with David to meet and greet.  Joshua was ballsy, talking to everyone, it was clear he was a talker, a very good talker.  The Security guard never breaking his smile, taking our ID’s for inspection he returned to his booth, ‘now the fun begins’.  I kept my hand on my holster, ready in case the ID’s given to us were so thin that the mention of our aliases caused guns to be drawn.  Breckenridge Security, a private firm, great, most likely ex-military private contractors, shoot first, ask questions later, wonderful.

After a minute or two, we were waved through, approaching the main building along the gravel road that led to a small parking lot.

Dr Campbell

Parking the van, we moved towards the main building where an African American lady stood waiting, early 50’s, short greying hair, a slight smile on her face, flanked by a second security guard, a woman wearing the same uniform as the man at the front gate.  David took the lead, as we walked I could hear Jason whisper to him, if there is any trouble that he was to get behind me, ‘thanks boss, not only is this guy completely useless in a firefight, but I’m the human shield!’

Introducing ourselves, the lady waiting, Dr Campbell, lead researcher and director of the project.  Another ID check, the security woman took our ID’s again, disappearing into the smaller booth filled with monitors for a few moments as David and Jason made the pleasantries with Dr Campbell.  I could feel my hand rubbing the small of my back, above where my second pistol was, waiting and watching the security woman for signs of alarm through the glass.  She returned, all clear.

As we entered the main building, I remained David’s shadow, close enough to grab and protect, but not too close to be walking on top of him, Jason threw me a nod as he knew what I was doing.

We entered Dr Campbell’s office, meeting in the hallway a round bearded man known as Dr Scott, the junior researcher, still being in his 40’s junior must have meant something important.  Joshua again, the only one of us wanting to meet and greet with a friendly smile and handshake.  Jason was giving a slight grin, immediately asking for the bathroom, Dr Campbell, annoyed to say the least allowed it, Joshua followed his lead, also going to the amenities.  Campbell was pissed, getting really angry, we were in her way, we all knew it, I couldn’t help but chuckle, Jason was doing this on purpose, subtle, but understandable, he is old after all, maybe he does have a child’s bladder?

After several minutes, both men returned, Dr Campbell already acting defensive, the argument was speed, yet our team was wasting time.  Jason played it, he loved the conflict, he loved seeing people get nervous.  Joshua was trying to defuse the situation, he was a master, however he was not as masterful as Jason at making it blow up again.  Poor bastard.

After a good 10 minutes of shit flying in all directions, Joshua prevailed, one of the engineers of the facility, Mr Kozak entered to be our guide around the facility.  A power surge was recorded at 3.30pm, something that we needed to investigate with the help of someone who knew their way around.  Kozak, shuffling constantly and clicking his fingers to a beat no one else could hear, I approached closely, looking him in the eyes at close range, inspecting for pupil dilation and signs of substance abuse.  Nothing, possibly just a geek of the highest degree.

Evan Kozak

Walking towards the workshop, not allowing us to separate at any time, Kozak seemed very genuine in his conversations, he was excited to be working here, “Dee” the super computer that was on site was where the action was, decoding all data that had been gathered since the machine went online at 10am.  Looking around the workshop, portable clean rooms, industrial machinery, everything I would expect from a lab of this size, it was not really taking my interest though, my priority was David, keeping him safe, watching for any signs of alarm.  All the way through the facility, inside and out, I had been clocking the cameras, some visible, some hidden, every inch of this place was being watched, not your standard research facility, this felt like something else, the kind of place conspiracy theories are born.

Joshua was leading the conversation, his methods sly and accurate, he had figured Kozak out, he knew how to ask the right questions, peak the interest, peel back the curtain slightly.

Moving away from the workshop towards the engineering office, Jason made us stop in the kitchen, he needed coffee, Kozak was happy to stop, he himself seemed to be running on minimal sleep, still clicking and bobbing as he went.

After a brief chat with Kozak, we hit the engineering office, to our surprise, Dr Takagawa, the head engineer was passed out on a couch.  Asking about him, Kozak spoke of finding him out by the Array at 3.30pm, the same time as the power surge, they brought him in here and followed their protocols.  I moved over to Takagawa, my first aid training still clear in my mind, his pulse was faint, opening his eyes with my fingers, he was out of it, no movement, no reaction to light, nothing, he was there, but not there.  I insisted on an ambulance.

As the voices grew louder, Campbell came storming into the office, Jason was ready to combat her, protocols be damned, causing a scene to distract her as David slipped out of the room, across the corridor into Campbell’s office.

Another wonderfully constructed confrontation from Jason gave us plenty of time to plan our next move, Kozak mentioned a woman named Tsang, she was the IT specialist, she was the one with the computer “Dee”, we needed to find her.  Everything here was wrong, a man passed out and semi catatonic, another who doesn’t realise he is physically moving, not allowing us as inspectors to actually inspect, something was off, way off.

Something hit me, a wave of Vertigo, something washing over me, forcing me from my feet to sit next to Takagawa to steady myself, a dream, I can see myself hitting a large button, looking up I can see Jason and the others, all running to the main gate, so many faces, some unknown, all running for the gate.

The scene before me passing, Takagawa stirred and rose from the couch, sitting up and asking me who I was, Joshua responded, pushing me out of the way.  Rising from the couch, Kozak was still here, Jason was walking with Campbell to her office, David was, somewhere.  What had just happened?

Dr Takagawa

Takagawa needed to piss, he also needed help, Joshua and I taking his arms to help him walk, Kozak tried to clear out but grabbing him by the collar, he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

Entering the bathroom, we stood Takagawa at the urinal and gave him some space.  Looking back to make sure he was still standing, Takagawa was making strange sounds, looking at the urinal, his piss was blue, florescent blue!  Joshua and I were both dumbfounded, watching as Takagawa recoiled and fell to the floor, not only his piss, but his eyes and mouth now emitting the same blue light as he screamed.

Dr’s Black and Campbell came rushing in to see what the commotion was about, Jason in tow, that was it, Jason had seen enough.  Pulling me aside, Jason and I were on the same page, get everyone together, including security, take them down and begin the search for whatever was happening here.

Springing into argumentative action, Jason went at Campbell again, demanding everyone into Campbell’s office, including security as a matter of containment, engineers to remain in the bathroom as the ambulance was on its way.

As we all stood in Campbell’s office, she began making calls to different departments, furious as she was, she still complied for the moment.  Tsang, the computer genius, Black the researcher.  Jason was in search of everyone, the Janitor was not in, only two security on a rotation, pushing for more calls to be made, Jason confirmed the whereabouts of everyone, no surprises.  Only one missing, the other researcher, Ms Klinger.  Black had been looking for her with no success, calls to security came back with no visual on any of their monitors, something was off.

As all the arguing continued, Joshua approached me, his theory of contamination seeming more and more relevant, radiation warnings were everywhere, I hadn’t noticed the two Giger counters in the DOE car, he had been checking everyone, Takagawa was ripe, he was setting it off.

Jason also caught my eye, meeting him in the corner of the room, explaining that we needed to get over security, he would handle the woman, I was to hit the front gate.

David was also hovering, inspecting bunches of recently crumpled then smoothed out papers, pouring over them as if it was a puzzle needing to be solved, either way, he was a genius apparently, if he was struggling, we were in trouble.

As Jason continued the argument with Campbell, all eyes were busy, too busy to watch me slip away across the hall into the kitchen, waiting for my chance to move to the guard at the gate.  Footsteps down the hall, the Guard, Henson, the woman was heading to the office.  Jason’s voice was clear, demanding to go and check the monitors for Klinger, after a few moments, Henson was escorting Jason to the guard hut outside the main building, following at a distance, I would have to wait for Jason to move before I do anything.

Hovering inside the main entrance, just able to see Jason making a fool of himself on the consoles of the security station before Henson took over only to find the barrel of Jason’s pistol in her neck.  That was my que, I ran, running in my oversized suit towards the front gate, nodding at Jason who nodded back at me.  As I approached the front gate, the man in the Stetson hat was on the phone, looking at me, I was ushering him to come towards me, medical emergency, we needed his help to move Takagawa.  He finally began to follow me, it was clear he wasn’t going to lead the way, he was going to stay behind me the whole way.

As we approached the security booth where Jason and Henson where, I could feel the man behind me, very close, close enough to catch off guard.  I knew I had seconds, it was going to be clear that Jason was in control of the booth, turning on my heel, this guy was fast, his holster already snapped, his hand on the grip of his sidearm.  Not fast enough, crunching my fist into his kidney, fuck! Kevlar.

He recoiled enough to raise his gun at me as my knuckles began to burn from the hit.  I raised my hands, I had missed my chance, he was fast, and I should have gone for the jaw.

Henson’s voice sounded on the small PA speaker, demanding he drop his weapon or she will be killed.  I looked at him, his face stern, however I knew that Jason wasn’t bluffing, he could see that, I was worried, and not about me.  He relaxed his arm and dropped his pistol to the ground.  Drawing my own, I removed the cable ties from his belt and cuffed him behind his back before taking up his Beretta 92, 9mm and escorting him towards the door.  Jason was doing the same with Henson, cuffed, disarmed and on the march.

Beretta 92 Series 9mm

Dr Campbell appeared at the main entrance followed by David, she had come to investigate and recoiled at the sight of her security being escorted towards her in cuffs.  David seemed to laugh, he seemed to have had enough of Campbell.  It was time to clean house, retraining Campbell, David and I continued our search for Klinger, opting to take control of the security hut and search the monitors.

Vertigo again, knocking me against the wall of the security hut, the sky is black, descending down all around, something suffocating about it, it is descending all around me, utter blackness.

Shaking my head, the security console returns to my view, searching the monitors, that was what I had to do.  David was staggering, he had felt something, as we watched the security feeds he spoke, he had seen me, firing an automatic weapon into the workshop.  I had seen the sky falling, he had seen me shooting at something, earlier I had seen me hitting a button to open the gate for the others to get out, were these premonitions, was I going to die here? Helping others could escape?

The hell I am!

The workshop monitor came to life, a blue flash of light was instantly replaced by the figure of a woman, screaming in silence before another blue flash made her vanish.  Both David and I froze for a moment, it was David who made the first move, heading back to Jason to report, following him without a word scanning the security hut for a firearms bigger than what I had, nothing, maybe this was all just nonsensical dreams.

Jason was standing in the hallway outside Campbell’s office when David caught him, telling him of what happened.  Jason turned to me for confirmation.  Calling Joshua to join us from the office we began moving towards the workshop.  Jason and I leading, weapons drawn.

The workshop was empty, deserted, scanning the room for anything at all, nothing.

Turning and moving back towards the office with the purpose of moving towards Dee, the computer, a blue flash hit, right in front of us in the hall.  A strange woman appeared, staring t us, screaming at us, screaming like thunder and lightning mixed into one unique sound.  Screaming for someone, anyone.

She explained that they had turned the experimental laser on at 10am, something had happened, something was making an incursion through the machine and the rifts it created, something we had to go and stop.

Interlude AGENT JUDE

Charlie

I was right, Charlie was pissed, she hasn’t spoken to me outside of work, and when she does, it’s only job related with the most pissed off tone she can manage.

I was distracted anyway, Jasper was down, I left him down, I don’t know what happened.  I made the usual anonymous calls to the hospital, stab wound victim dropped off without explanation.  Using fake names and numbers all I could find out is that after two days in hospital he disappeared.  I knew he was a Fed, he was FBI, but how do I find anything out without blowing his cover as to what he does outside of his regular beat.

Business has picked up too.  Two houses in two days, I guess it helps to be busy.  Enough paperwork to drown an elephant.  I should be grateful, although working with J-Cell has its perks, like no paperwork.

Hunting sounds good.  Maybe this weekend.  Just me, my rifle and something big.  I could use the peace and quiet of a good hunt.  I would ask Charlie to come, but I’m more afraid of her than anything in the woods.

Session 08 (Agent Jude)

The email came through in the evening, I was already half way to Charlie’s place when I got the page.  I turned around and sped back home, booting up the computer to see that my recovery had taken too long.  My team, J-Cell was already in the field.  Something must have gone wrong for A-Cell to be calling me in.  They knew I was still recovering.  I was to fly to Williamsport, Pennsylvania on a red-eye.  There I was to meet with K-Cell.  Fuck, something must have gone wrong; not only me going in, but another cell too. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was expecting to see the bodies of my cell rather than rendering aid in a situation.

Charlie was pissed, this would be a roses and chocolates job for sure. Hearing the words ‘whatever’ from a woman, never a pleasant experience.

The red eye was easy, flying wasn’t the problem, touching down in Williamsport. Waiting, that was the problem, but it didn’t take too long in the airport lounge before I realised I was being watched. Not what I was expecting, a tall, muscular, young African American. Trying not to be noticeably obvious, a little had when we were the only ones in here.

I picked up my bag and made for the washroom, rounding the corner. I dropped my bag beside me as I started to take a piss, under my jacket, my hand gripping my .40 calibre and pointing it at the doorway from under my arm.  The big guy entered. The last time a guy like this came at me, it was with a shotgun in my back.  He entered one of the cubicles, stopping to glance at me first, once inside, he said it, something about a good night to be at the opera.  Who talks like that?

It was clear he was who I was waiting for. I could almost smell Fed on him, judging by his stance, and personal presentation, he didn’t seem like a typical field man, maybe an instructor, not your typical door kicker, but he was big and looked experienced.

He introduced himself as Agent Knight - who was I to ask questions, he seemed legit. It wasn’t like I could ask for ID.

I called Jason as I approached the hire car desk, he was in town. Jason, Jasper and a couple of Friendlies. No Jagger. I wanted to get more info, but all I got was an address.

I hired a car and got to talking with Knight. He seemed like a pretty decent guy, he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. I asked him about his cell - they all seemed to gel well - not like us. Jason, dictator, Jasper and I, the dog’s bodies, Jagger, the medic.  No one really had a great understanding of each other or how to work together properly. This K-Cell seemed OK - at least Knight did. more experience than us, that was obvious, I just didn't know how to read him, he was too quiet, a silent confidence about him, like this was all just a walk in the park.

I pulled up at the address Jason had given me, a hotel, checking in and dumping my bag, Knight did the same in the next room down.  Knocking on the door number Jason had given me, it creaked open to reveal Jason and Jasper, both looking tired and angry.  I asked them what I was doing here, only not as politely as I should have, Jason gave me the run down.

Investigating a house - 1206 Spooner Avenue.  Built in the early 1900’s but something about this house was wrong.  Jason found a book detailing that the occupants had begun rituals and sacrifices in the house, worshiping something known as the ‘Black Man”.  It was the sort of thing I had seen in bad horror movies, some sort of sacrifice is supposed to happen, someone gets cold feet and everyone ends up dead.  I was pretty close, however the house seemed to be what’s killing people, It has been burnt down, but apparently rebuilt by a man with no knowledge of how he came to build it.  The house was controlling people.  Even Jasper stated that when they went inside, they found him drinking 6-month-old coffee with cigarette buds in it, and he didn’t know why.  People had committed suicide in there, killed each other; all manner of evil.

Jason’s instructions were, don’t go in, especially armed. The house would most likely make us shoot each other, or ourselves.  He continued to fill us in on how to stop everything, it wasn’t good, Jason was going to make a sacrifice and cast out whatever was in there.

Great, just what we need, Jason going dark side. Again…

It was decided, Knight and I would find someone who fit the bill of dirt bag. Someone fucked up enough to warrant "taking one for the team". Jason was going to study how to do what he needed to do - Jasper, he looked like shit.  He needed sleep.  I took him aside for a minute before starting any plans with Knight.  Jasper was a wreck, he had been having trouble since he arrived in this town, his words were to the effect of "Don't drink the water". Every person he had run into in Meadowbrook was trouble, rattling off names of people. Brian, Yarrow and something to do with Brian’s mom.  I couldn’t help it - I slapped him on the back and told him that he was supposed to be a professional, shit happens and its our job to make it right. Simple.

I turned to Knight and we entered my room, discussing what we thought was appropriate. He wanted to take the time and find someone deserving of this sacrifice. We were on the same page, however time was against us. 48 hours - that was it.  After a lengthy discussion, we settled on a plan. Pimps were always good for removal - men who controlled women, children and drugs.  We decided to hit the streets, it was still early, only 1am.  All the girls would be working.  We took the car and headed into Williamsport, a good 20 miles from the hotel.  There they were as expected on the street corners and in the alleyways.

We canvassed together, approaching girl after girl, something was off, they weren’t talking. I wasn’t reading something right, something in the back of my mind, Jasper, everyone here is wrong, something is off.  No luck, no luck at all.

It was 3am when the low rider slowly cruised up the street we were on and parked a few meters behind our rental.  The occupants, four Hispanic males, one brandishing a baseball bat, the girls had made a call, we were not welcome.  As the four men got out of the car, they began throwing insults, I returned them in kind, my Spanish taking them by surprise.  They were aggressive, very aggressive, Knight got back in the car as I stumbled around acting drunk.  These were the types we were looking for, if one of them got personal, I could probably take at least two before they knew what hit them. I wasn’t sure about Knight, but he still had that calm expression on his face, intimidating enough, I'd hate to see him angry.

The baseball bad slammed into the window next to Knight’s head on the far side of the car as one of the Hispanics threw a wild hook at my head. Dodging it and tagging him back across the jaw was simple.  It was my peripheral vision that concerned me. Knight was out of the car, on the ground, he had taken a hit to the side of the face. As I threw another jab at my attacker, collecting him in the throat, gunfire rang out. Knight had pulled his piece and fired.

Everyone flinched, the Hispanics running back to their car. I pulled my Glock. Shit! This is my service weapon - my registered weapon.

The man in the front seat was reaching for something. Within seconds I was looking at a shiny revolver being raised and the burst of muzzle flash as he fired it. I fired once in return, my shot hitting the windshield just below the roof. Too high.  I fired again and the car began to pull into the road, making a b-line for Knight. Again my shot went wide, hitting the side mirror.  Fuck, what is wrong with me?

Knight wasn't having much luck either, despite his controlled breathing, stance and general professionalism in the situation, shots fired to no effect, as the car began thundering towards him.  Knight calmly stepped back out of the way, up onto the sidewalk, as the car sideswiped our vehicle and sped off. I took one more shot at the rear tyre, squeezing the trigger. I saw the ricochet off the chrome bumper. Jasper was right. This place is off.

The sound of sirens began to echo in the distance. I panicked. Shells! Pick up the brass.  I scrambled to collect our spent shell casings, three of mine and four of Knight’s, Government issue, .40cal, Glock 22.  I jumped into the driver’s seat and took off - it didn’t matter where we were going, just away from here.  We got back to the hotel, enough time for Knight to throw some ice on his face, he was clearly annoyed, he had suffered the same feelings, I could see he knew he should have done more at the time. I knocked on Jasper’s door, he was dozing, answering the door with a vacant look. I explained that he was right, this town is strange, we needed to go, a third man is always better. We also needed the bag of goodies.

I wrapped my personal stuff up again, placing it in the trunk of Jason’s car, the bag of guns collected from O-Cell and green boxes was here, Jason had brought it.  I knew what I wanted, Agent Oliver’s Colt Python, that will do, plus the trusty Glock 17, however the Python was going to be the main stay, no brass to pick up.

Armed and feeling a little better, Knight and Jasper climbed into the backseat, of the car, the front window shattered by the baseball bat.  I drove us back to the neighbourhood, it was 4am, everything was wrapping up.  Perfect timing for us to see a man slapping women before getting in a car and driving away, that was our guy.

Arriving at his house, we waited some 20 minutes before we decided to enter, hoods on, gloves, breach and extract, simple, Jasper and I in first, Knight on backup.  Jasper did the honours, kicking the door clean off the hinges, I turned right into a living area as Jasper made his way through the foyer of the two story house.  I ducked a swinging chair from a screaming, semi naked woman only to twist my elbow at her jaw, the short, fast jab landing perfectly, knocking her out cold.  From further in the house, I heard Jasper grunt. His favorite thing was there - a dog.  I cleared the room and turned back to the foyer to see Knight run past me low and fast, almost military in technique, I followed him to see Jasper on the floor in the kitchen, wrestling a Rottweiler.  Knight letting fly with a boot to it's head, Jasper punching it in the ribs - enough to send it clambering out the back screen door. Movement to the left!

A man on the staircase, a muzzle flash, a bullet punching a hole in the floor next to Jasper’s head. We all moved to cover, Jasper rolling out of sight of the stairs, Knight and I taking up positions where we could keep a line of sight - a second shot as Jasper called out for the man to surrender or the girl dies. Undeterred - a third shot.  I saw him, every shot exposing his shoulder, chest and thigh.  I squeezed the trigger of the Python, the 357 slamming into the mans chest, sending him backwards, bouncing off the wall.  No one hesitated, we all stormed the stairs, Jasper leaping over the man and clearing the rooms upstairs concealing two more naked women.

Knight disarmed the man quickly as I applied pressure to his chest wound. Fuck! I had been aiming for the shoulder!

Clean entry and exit wound, no bone, no obvious organ damage. How the hell did I hit him and miss everything vital?  Knight ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, returning with towels and cloth to apply pressure.  I called to Jasper to extract, the three of us hauling the babbling and bloody man out to the car, the neighborhood erupting around us.

As we sped off, Jasper was doing his best to interrogate the man but it was pointless. He offered us anything for a doctor - girls, drugs, guns, anything, it was purely survival motivated.  The tattoos on his chest and arms telling a similar story, this was a small fish, an evil fish in a small pond. Small pond Williamsport, but even a small fish can be terrifying.  He would have to do, if we could keep him alive for 24 hours.

Knight taped the man’s hands, feet and mouth. We shuffled him into my hotel room bathroom, dumping him in the bathtub, slicing off his clothes down to his underwear and wrapping him in towels and blankets. We patched the wound as best we could, packing the exit wound with gauze, taping the entry wound.  He was still trying to scream. I had to do it. I took a few of my pills from my pocket, shoved them in his mouth, gave him a gulp of water, then knocked him out hard with my left hand.

I was done for the night, we all were, the clock struck 5am when we all crashed out, I didn’t want to see anything else for a while, waking at 11am to the sound of Knight entering my room with a bag of greasy breakfast for me, some heart-smart omelette bagel for himself. I was still puzzled by him, he seem to be almost, looking after us, but he was no observer, in the house with the Pimp who currently resided in my bathroom, he was smooth, clean, trained.  More than I could say for half my team.
After a shower I joined Jasper at the entrance to Jason’s room, knocking on the door and entering, he was surrounded by strange and unnatural markings all over the floor, he looked like death.  Well he looked like that anyway, but more than usual. We explained we had his sacrifice, and looked at him for further instruction.

He handed Jasper a list of things he will need to get the job done, everything was collectable from any local hardware shop, leather straps, bootlaces, metal pins, easy.  We were to meet at Spooner Avenue tonight, as Darkness was starting to fall.  We needed cars, my rental was screwed, Knight and I needed new wheels.

We took off to the closest shopping centre, somewhere lots of cars, lots of confusion and lots of space.  Within a short time, we both drove out with old, yet running cars, mine belonging to someone much larger than me, there were more fast food wrappers inside than there was at a truck stop.

1206 Spooner Avenue, Jason laid it all out a block away, Knight and I were on perimeter duty, no one comes close to the house, cops, neighbours, no one, use force to stop them.  Jasper and Jason would enter the house, I would back the car with the pimp in it up to the garage, they would open the garage, take him in, I would return to perimeter and we wait for them to do what needs to be done and come out, Simple.

I pulled my car up to the garage as Knight sat across the street shotgun across his lap, watching closely as Jasper and Jason walked up the concrete bath to the front door, the garage was locked, they had to open it from inside.

They entered quickly to avoid suspicion, I sat patiently, this house was evil, apparently, it was surely going to offer resistance. Seven minutes, nothing, no garage door opening, so noise, just nothing.  I looked out my windscreen to see Knight already opening his door, I was in silent agreement, something was wrong.

I moved along the side of the house towards the front door, sounds of a struggle coming from within.  Fuck, who was killing who?

I called out to Jason with no response, I looked at Knight who clearly didn’t know what to do, both of us conversing with no words, go in, or stand by.  I leaned back and threw by boot into the door causing it to swing open with a crash, peeling back from the door, Knight took point with his shotgun, immediately shining light on the foyer, his finger sliding onto the trigger from the guard, ready to fire.  In front on me, Jason straddling a man I had never seen, bashing his brains in with his bare fists, a bloodied axe on the floor a few feet away, further away, Jasper, blood pooling around him, face down on the carpet.

I couldn’t afford to hesitate, I threw my pistol to Knight and screamed at him not to come in as I ran for Jasper, a large axe wound in his back, his head also sliced open, he was breathing, just.  I knelt on his back with one leg to apply as much pressure as I could to the wound on his back, looking around the dark room, a grabbed at a table cloth covered in stains hanging from a nearby sideboard, wrapping it up and pushing it into the gash in Jaspers back, taking my belt off and wrapping it around his Chest to hold the makeshift bandage in place.

Jasper was groaning, Jason soon stood over me, asking if Jasper was able to continue, to my surprise, he replied, wanting to get up and carry on.  Jason told me to get the man inside, again not hesitating I moved into the kitchen on my way to the garage, as I took my first step on the tiled floor, every hanging pot and pan fell to the tops of the marble counter, causing more noise than a shotgun blast.  I couldn’t stop, this was not good, but I knew I couldn’t stop.  Through the Kitchen to the garage, several old and dust covered pieces of furniture filled the space, along with an old fridge in the corner.  As I reached out for the garage door, the smell of burning meat filled my nostrils, I glanced at the fridge only to be met by the sight of a figure screaming silently as he glowed with electricity, a man being electrocuted to death, his flesh burning from his body, I recoiled slightly, closing my eyes tightly, feeling for the lock of the garage door.  I hit the latch and the door began to roll up, Knight was on the other side, heaving at the rollers to get the door up.  I opened my eyes to find no trace of the burning man, snapping myself out of it, I grabbed the bloodies pimp from the trunk and threw him into the garage, slamming the door behind me.

Knight threw my pistol across the car perfectly finding my hand as he took off to his own sedan across the road, I caught it and placed it on the passenger seat as I started the engine.  Driving back up the road to my position to cover from anyone getting to close.

More waiting, the sky seemed to dim slightly, then brighten, everything seemed to shift for a moment, the glass of my window seemingly taking on a purple tinge for a moment.  Take a pill, take a fucking pill.

Looking down, I pulled my bottle of pills from my pocket, sliding one under my tongue.  As I looked down to replace the cap on the bottle, a car in the rear-view mirror, a black sedan pulling into the driveway of 1206 Spooner Avenue.

I revved my engine, burning a 180 into the bitumen. Knight was on the front lawn, taking a knee and scanning the immediate surrounds with his shotgun, three others surrounding Jason, escorting him into the car from the garage.  I pulled across the driveway as I watched two men get in the back with Jason, the third, the driver glaring at me as I pointed my gun at his face from across the bonnet of my vehicle.  Knight called out a warning to me. Not wanting to back out of the stare down with this new threat, I finally relented and glanced at Knight who not only had the shotgun pointed at me with one arm, but an outstretched open hand also. In the split second it took to return my gaze to the driver, he was already in the car.  Knight was calling to me, calming me down - it was alright - this was K-Cell. Vaguely satisfied, I ran past the car and into the house as Knight moved to shift my car out of the way. I had to find Jasper, I hadn’t seen him come out.

In the main bedroom, the walls covered in ugly mirrors, I found him lying on the floor, breathing shallowly. He was still alive. I picked him up and began to walk him out as I heard a car speed off and Knight entering the house. He set about quickly collecting all of the evidence of what had happened, everything Jason had used, bagging it up and throwing it in his car before assisting me with Jasper.  Despite first ignoring Jasper, Knight knew the protocols, secure all the evidence first, he was slick.

I parted ways with Knight shortly after, he was to go and meet with his cell and Jason. I asked him for the professional courtesy of giving me an update, to which he agreed, it was clear he was a fed, his training, calmness under fire, even the way he moved, I don't know what it was, but we worked well, better than I expected.

I threw Jasper into the back of Jason’s car, there was no time, I had to dump him at a hospital, no ID’s, nothing, just a wounded man.  I sent a text to Jason, if he was to ever get it, his car would be parked at the storage units in Springfield, keys under the tyre well.

I dropped Jasper off at the closest hospital, disappearing out the door as the nurses and doctors took him away.  The drive took forever. I took another pill. What had happened in there? Nothing good. I’m just glad I wasn’t in that house any longer than I had to be.

I wonder if Charlie preferred red or white roses, chocolate or wine? I’ll think of something.

Epilogue Operation Iago (Agent Jason)

May 12th 1996, 11:39am

With a grunt Jason sat up on the lounge. Even though it was summer, it was chilly in the hunting lodge in White Mountain National Forest. As he got up, he stumbled over a few empty bottles and cursed. He looked around for his cane, finally finding it under the lounge. He limped over to the table, grabbed his cigarettes and lighter and hobbled over to the kitchen where he made coffee. 
He sniffed, smelling something off. It took him a moment to find the source, as the plates were stacked quite high in the sink. He didn't even remember leaving half a glass of milk in there, but, by the smell of it, it had been there for a while.
Annoyed by it, he limped towards the front porch, spilling coffee over his fingers as he picked up a bottle of Scotch along the way.
Sunlight, filtered through the dense canopy, greeted him as he opened the door to the lodge. He turned round, squinting to make out the time on his grandfathers clock inside. Almost noon. He took a deep breath, noticing the mess inside. Food, overflowing ashtrays, empty bottles, dirty clothes... a good thing his old man didn't visit the lodge much lately...
He put the cups on the oak table and sat down, hooking his cane over the back of a chair.

"I'm out of milk..."

Norman looked up from his chair, where he was cleaning a shotgun. On the table was a hunting rifle, taken apart. It looked like he was getting some of the parts mixed up, but Jason knew Norman would be able to easily separate the parts later on and get everything back in working order without any issues.

"That's OK, pal, I have mine like your soul. Black as pitch and bitter."

On the other side of the table, Nancy was leaning back, her head against the logs of the lodge. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be listening to the sound of the birds. She turned and smiled as he put her cup in front of her, looking at his stained singlet.

"You OK, Jason?"

"No." He sat down, unscrewing the top of the bottle, pouring a generous amount into his coffee. He raised an eyebrow at Nancy, who shook her head. "Norman? You want some?"

"Never before lunchtime"

Jason took a sip from the mug, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I can't shake it. It fucked me up. I feel empty. Drained. Like a sponge squeezed out and left in the sun. I just..."

He stopped and started to sob uncontrollably , his frame shaking.

"Fucking Christ, bawling like a fucking toddler. Unbelievable!" Norman threw the shotgun onto the table in front of Jason as he got up, chucking a handful of shells into Jason's face. "Here you go, pal, that will sort it all out. No more worries. No more Bad Men scaring you or sucking you empty or whatever the fuck bothers you today. No wonder the Group is in a sorry state. If this is all they have to work with..." 

Nancy moved over and put her arm around Jason's shoulders, sitting with him in silence. After a few minutes Jason took a deep breath, reached for the bottle and took a decent swig.

"It's going to be the end of me. I realize this now. There is no way we can ever win this fight. I saw that when i looked into the hood of the Black Man. I had done the ritual by the book, every step of the way. Jasper couldn't take it when He appeared. So I just poured myself into it, to dismiss him. And it just laughed. Like it didn't mean anything..."

He stopped for a moment, looking out into the forest. Norman stood with his back to him, smoking.


"I don't know what I expected. Fear? Panic? Anger? At most, it was annoyed. Annoyed when I refused to sign the Black Book. But it... it just let me finish the ritual. It just stood there, holding out its ebony matte hands, warning me not to do it. But it never tried to stop me, or attack me. And when I said the last words. It just laughed. Like it knew something I didn't." 

He let out a big sigh.

"Perhaps it knew someone else would summon him again, blinded by whatever promises or power they'd receive by doing so. Knowing that next time we wouldn't be there to stop it. Knowing it had an eternity of time..." 

He looked at Nancy, sitting there with that typical sad look on her face. 

"It's all we can do, Jason. We search it, fight it and try to stop it. Agents get killed. Agents kill themselves. But if we don't do this, who will?"

"I know, Nancy. It's all I can think about. Clearing my head, and getting back into it. It's all that matters. I don't give a shit about my job anymore. The only thing that matters is the next Opera. And the one after that. And the one after that. And so on. But first I need some time. Recover. Regain my strength. So I don't end up like Jasper or Jagger. I'll be alright if I just have a few more days."

Norman lit a second cigarette and handed it to Jason.

"Doubt it, pal... Now, tell me about that Agent Banshee and your punch-up... From what I heard it was a sight to see. Retard versus cripple, mano a mano, to the death!"

Jason whinced and finished his coffee, got up and headed to the door. He stopped for a moment before going in.

"You've heard the saying 'The darker the night, the brighter the stars'? I wonder if Dostoyevski ever considered when he wrote it that some... malevolent being...  might actually be looking down upon us from between them... Doesn't seem so hopeful and positive anymore, does it?"

He closed the door behind him, leaving them outside.