P. Stormcrow

The entire office remained a hive of activity as agents worked to unpack once more. Finn hurried alongside Jackson with Olivia in tow, only to come to a half as Dr. Laurent stepped in their path. 

“Agent Reed.” He was calm, lacing his fingers in front of himself, planting his feet shoulder-width apart, and leveled her with an expectant stare. “Are you good?”

She wanted to brush him off, to say anything, just to get him out of the way. But there was something about how he studied her, in the tone he asked. He would accept her answer at face value, and she didn’t want to betray that trust. “For now, yeah I think so.” It was the best she could offer.

The doctor nodded and stepped aside. “We’ll talk more when you return.” 

“Thanks, Doc!” Jackson waved, and they were off once more.

As soon as they entered into the parking lot, Jackson headed toward his car until Finn reached out to pull him back.

“Wait, perhaps we should take another vehicle, considering it doesn’t have a tube installed?” The idea of being in the same proximity as the complicated system that had almost exploded the base made her more than a wee bit nervous.

“You have a point.”

“Not mine.” Olivia shrugged. “I ride a bike.”

Finn cringed, but let out a sigh. “I guess my car wins by default.” She led them to the tiny two door, and they crammed in with Olivia climbing over the flipped down passenger seat to squeeze into the back. She didn’t know if she felt worse for her or for Jackson with his long legs. Was there actual magic that made the inside bigger than the outside like the TARDIS in Doctor Who? Because she could use some of that right now.

“So, what’s the game plan?” Olivia piped up as soon as they settled. “And our cover? Who’s playing good and who’s playing bad cop? Oh dibs on the bad one. I can get pretty mean.”

She studied the excitable girl on pretense of adjusting her rearview mirror, but it was Jackson that spoke.

“Woah, easy there.” He chuckled. “This isn’t an interrogation.”

“It isn’t?” Olivia looked surprised, with her mouth hanging open.

“No, it’s too early to treat her as a suspect,” Finn explained, and tore her gaze off the fascinating reflection. Eyes on the road.

“I guess.” 

The mumbled words drifted from the back up to Finn and she wondered if she had ever been that eager.

“And we are going just as we are. Friendly neighbors that had received their wrongly delivered package by mistake.*

Jackson was good at this. Finn let herself smile a smidge, though she held at bay the enthusiasm the other two seemed to possess. “And maybe she could tell us more about this SIDD delivery service they used.”

“Exactly, partner.” Jackson winked at her as they pulled out of the lot and into the street.

It turned out Olivia was much more prepared than either of them as she twisted and maneuvered to rummage through her bag and pull out her book of maps. From the back, she called out directions until they arrived in a new area with low rises and large old trees that provided serene shade.

Then there was the empty lot.

Jackson rubbed his face and let out a long breath of air. “Of course it couldn’t be that straightforward, could it?” 

“I’ve got the correct address, right?” Finn shuffled in the driver’s seat to look over her shoulder.

Still trapped in the back, Olivia checked the package, the map, then out the window. “Yups.” A moment of uncomfortable silence descended until she dared to break it again. “So what? They mailed to the wrong place?”

“That could explain why it ended up in our tube system,” Finn ventured. 

But Jackson shook his head. In fact, he looked as though he was ready to pull his hair out. Not once, even when they were preparing to confront Phillips Weeds, had he been that flustered. Then again, she hadn’t known him that long. Finn made a note to ask him the next time they went out for a drink. And also to not indulge that much the next time as well.

“Okay, reset. Can we track down where Stacy Jones lives?”

Her partner reached forward toward the console but paused and curled his fingers into a fist with a sigh. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

Olivia bounced and grinned. “To Satellite?”

“Yeah, to Satellite.”

***

“Olivia, why don’t you go on ahead,” Jackson suggested as they pulled into a campus with a glistening tower of windows for a building. The FBI building. Finn parked in one of the visitor spots before she slumped back into the seat.

Her mouth dried as she stared at it out through the windshield. Her brain had ceased to function, overcrowded with questions that formed then dissipated, crowded out by others, faster than she could process. 

“Reed? Reed? Finn!” Jackson shook her shoulders, snapping her out of it.

She rubbed her face and pressed her lips together in a thin line. Although she knew the Aberrant Control Division was part of the FBI, they were so far removed from any other department she had ever known that subconsciously, she had written off dissociated her new job from any semblance of her former life.

“This is Satellite?” she asked at last and winced at how shrill her own voice was.

“It is,” he confirmed, but there was no amusement in his tone. 

Thank God. Because she would have had to smack him if there were any.

“Well, technically the broom closet in the fourth level basement that Agent Olsen worked out of is the Satellite.”

She gritted her teeth and counted to ten. He waited for her, and when her breathing grew steadier, he spoke once more. “We need intelligence, just like any other agency, and there’s still no better way to get it than using technology. Yes, there’s divination, dowsing and other methods but nothing is going to be as accurate as an internet search.”

“But tech doesn’t mix with magic,” Finn echoed again. Theme of the case.

“Exactly. So we set up a satellite office here with access to all the databases. Problem is, Satellite only takes in requests through CB radio—”

“Which this car does not have.” She understood what he said. After all, his reasoning followed sound logic. Still, every glance at the building produced a storm of mixed emotions inside.

He didn’t confirm her conclusion, but he didn’t need to. Instead, he ducked to catch her gaze. “Look, I don’t know what your past work history is nor how you ended up a Stranger, but it makes no difference to me. It may feel like you are being punished by being sent here as a field agent, but I’ll tell you that Ms. Callaghan does not take just anyone. You’re smart. You’re resourceful. And you make one hell of a partner so no matter what, you walk in there and you hold your head up high because you are damn good at what you do, do you understand?”

She squirmed and looked away, her cheeks flushing with heat. “I’m fine. You can quit being so cheesy now,” she muttered and straightened her clothes. He hardly knew her, so she shouldn’t be taking his comments as anything other than buttering up. But it was the pep talk she didn’t know she needed, and the building no longer seemed as intimidating. She cleared her throat. “Let’s get going.”

Despite it being another regional office, the check in procedure still held notes of familiarity enough that waves of melancholy hit her. But she pushed through it as they entered the elevator, and Jackson pressed the button.

They stood in silence, but she stole a peek at the partner she didn’t expect to have. He was loyal, considerate, and had proved himself more than capable. There was no ring on his finger, but she found herself back wondering if he had a girlfriend. He was already so damn popular with the ladies in the office…

“See something you like?” Jackson teased.

Was he flirting with her? Finn flushed, but rolled her eyes. “Nothing I haven’t seen before,” she retorted.

“Ouch.” He pressed a hand on his chest and looked as though he wanted to say more, but the door opened and they stepped out into a corridor lit bright with fluorescent tubes overhead.

“This way.” Jackson led, seeming unfazed. 

Not another soul was in sight as they marched down the hall. Finn glimpsed some signs on doors and realized most rooms were used as storage.

On the third turn, sounds of giggles drifted to them. Jackson’s lips curved into a bemused smile as. They rounded one more corner and came upon an open door. There stood Olivia, her cheeks pink as she straightened and cleared her throat.

“Oh! Agent Jackson!” A man rose from behind the desk. His skin, though a few shades darker, showed a blush beneath as well. He pushed his glasses up and tugged at his shirt. 

“Hello Agent Olsen,” his partner greeted.

He startled in surprise when Finn also stepped into the room and wiped his hand on his pants with haste before extending it out to her. “Agent Reed, right?”

Olivia must have told him earlier, judging by the excited light in her eyes. Finn shook with him over the tall counter. “Hi.”

“It’s so nice to see peop—I mean, it’s so nice to meet you.”

Finn got the distinct impression that Agent Olsen didn’t get many visitors. Poor guy. But wasn’t it interesting that both Olivia and he were red as apples?

“As much as I enjoy socializing, we do need some information.”

“Right! Olivia told me.” Agent Olsen spun around, gathering sheathes of paper from the printer. 

Envy shot through Finn as she glimpsed the trio of monitors winking with friendly light. Olsen had quite the set up here and not for the first time, she wished she had something similar back at their base instead of that accursed typewriter she kept making typos on.

“So the conclusion is, there are five Stacy Jones across the city but none with addresses past or present that are close to the one that was on the label. Two of the Stacy’s are below the age of ten too.”

Jackson grimaced as he accepted the files and handed half the pile to Finn. She opened the first and cringed at the social media post along with the photo of a four-year-old. People just didn’t understand or didn’t care how to lock down their content or how it could be used.

“But… I figured what you guys would be more interested in is this.” Olsen extended another folder to them, beaming with pride. “This SIDD company seems like the new kid on the block but they have a central address listed.”

SIDDelivery. That was the literal name of the business. She tried a few words to puzzle out the acronym, but it left her twitchy instead. 

Olivia swung around to peer over their shoulders and gasped. “No…” she muttered.

“What is it?” Finn asked, trying to keep her voice gentled. She looked spooked enough already.

“They can’t be that obvious.” Olivia shook her head, and now Jackson turned to look at her in concern as well.

“Olivia?”

“This.” She pointed at the title of the business again. “SIDDelivery. The only thing I could think of that fits is Sub-InterDimensional Delivery.”

What?