P. Stormcrow

“Hey, morning! So how did it…” Olivia trailed off as she slowed in her tracks until she stopped in front of them and tilted her head to one side, her pink pigtails swinging with the motion. “Oh. That good, huh?” 

It was hard to miss the bubbly scientist, but the energy was albeit a little too much for Finn this morning.

“Something like that,” Finn muttered under her breath while Jackson grunted a response.

Both she and Jackson nursed large cups of coffee, attained from the closest cafe deemed acceptable by her partner’s standards. But no amount of caffeine could hide the redness of their eyes nor the bags under them. They had tried to take turns napping, but in the end, neither of them slept much. So, they busied themselves cleaning the mess the creature left behind.

If Olivia noticed their lack of enthusiastic response, she didn’t show it. Instead, she drew closer. “So what was it?”

“Demon—” Jackson shuddered and took a sip of his coffee “—of the red and horned variety.”

“You think—” Olivia started but didn’t get to finish the sentence.

“Jackson, Reed, in my office now.” The yell made all three of him cringe. 

Finn looked up in reflex to glimpse Ms. Callaghan with her knitted brows and darkened face before she marched back into her room.

Shit. She swallowed hard and exchanged an uneasy glance at Jackson who gave her a shrug to show he had no idea what this was about either.

Well, she had some guesses herself, given the last time they “talked”.

“Hey, I’ll take those and just… yeah…” Olivia reached out to retrieve the briefcases they both held, her voice holding an odd, nervous warble. “Come visit me later.” She scrambled off, leaving them to fend for themselves.

With the equipment returned, they didn’t bother dropping by their desk, but headed for the stairs right away. It was one of the unwritten rules of the division. Never keep Ms. Callaghan waiting.

“Ma’am,” Finn greeted, hoping she was presentable as they entered. At least she had the foresight last night to pack an extra work outfit before they went over to Jackson’s place. As they approached her desk, neither of them sat down. One did not sit in Callaghan’s office unless invited so.

“What the hell did you two think you were doing?”

Finn winced. Her boss rarely swore. Or at least, she didn’t start with swearing often. Yes, this was not a sitting kind of conversation, indeed.

When they both remained silent, Ms. Callaghan sighed and rubbed her forehead before she directed her glare more at Jackson. “I anticipate a certain amount of recklessness from Agent Reed who has yet to develop maturity in this field, but you, Agent Jackson? I expected better from you.”

Finn wasn’t sure if her boss’ speech offended her or if she should be relieved that Callaghan hadn’t aimed her full ire at her, at least not directly.

“Ma’am. There were no leads, and we needed to draw out—”

Callaghan made a cutting motion with her hand through the air. “By using yourself as bait? In what playbook of ours is that a recommended tactic? You know the safety of our agents is paramount. This job puts you all in enough danger without any of you painting a target on yourselves. I have half a mind to bench you and put you on desk work for a few months.”

She turned towards Finn at last. “And you. Your responsibility is to watch your partner’s back. But that doesn’t mean throwing yourself into the line of fire with him. Next time, report in and we will deal with it as a team. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” they both responded in unison.

“Agent Reed, you already have an appointment with Dr. Laurent next week. Make sure that you keep it. Jackson, you have one on Friday at o-nine-hundred. Do not be late.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” they echoed again.

“Go see what Olivia can do about that damn curse. Dismissed.”

They marched out of the office as quickly as they could without appearing as though they were running away, but as soon as they were out of earshot, Finn shivered. “You ever think that maybe she’s got some kind of omnipotent spell?”

Jackson chuckled as he shook his head. “She probably reviewed the list of checked out equipment and saw all the stuff under our name.” He winced, as if recalling something. “She must have raked Olivia over the coals. I’m going to bring her a treat of some sort.”

“Coffee?” she suggested as they resumed making their way back downstairs.

“Nah, she likes her sugars more. I’ll drop by her favorite bakery later.” 

They dropped the subject as they neared the lab. As they knocked and entered, Olivia looked up, excitement shining in her eyes.

“So, classic case of demon, right?” She waved them both in, but continued to talk at the same time. “I was doing some thinking while studying the residue magic left on the wards you brought back, and I couldn’t get the thought of a demon pact out of my head.”

“Okay, I’m following.” Finn nodded. It made logical sense. Deals with supernatural entities existed as a popular trope throughout folklore and religion, especially with demonology. “

“Right. So it got me thinking. Who had the most to gain from the only common thread these victims and you had? Why Agent Jackson and not Agent Reed?”

“Because she’s not a fan like me?” Jackson ventured.

“Exactly. You’re a fanboy and she isn’t. What if the fanbase is some kind of tribute? Like offering the fairest maiden of the village to the dragon?”

“Why—” Jackson pressed a hand on his chest—”what a wonderful compliment so early in the morning, Olivia.”

In return, the girl rolled her eyes and threw a crumpled ball of paper at him. Finn took a sip of her coffee, if only to hide her smirk, but her heart felt a little lighter.

“Anyhow,” Olivia continued, “Shawn tracked down everyone involved in the movie—”

“Shawn?” Finn interrupted.

“I meant Agent Olsen.” Olivia shook her head and blushed.

“Oh, so it’s Shawn now?” Damien teased. 

Finn elbowed him in the ribs. The poor girl did not need to feel any more embarrassed than she already was with the slip up. “Go on Olivia.”

Olivia cleared her throat. “Right. So, guess who’s in town?” In her excitement, she didn’t wait for either of them to make an attempt. “Both the director and the original writer!” She handed Jackson a piece of paper. “Here’s where they’re staying.”

“You think one of them made some sort of deal with the devil?” Finn considered the premise. It was as good a lead as any. 

“Demon,” both Jackson and Olivia corrected her at the same time.

“Okay, what’s the difference?”

“Well—”

“We’ll go check both out. Thanks, Olivia!” Jackson almost shoved her out in his hastiness to leave.

“What?” Finn looked over her shoulder, up at him, puzzled by his behavior.

“You do not want Olivia to start on one of those theological topics. We would never get out of here. Besides—” Jackson pretended to fling his imaginary long hair back and struck a pose—”we still have to break the curse on this tragic prince.”

She bursted out into giggles at the unexpected antics. “Are you a fair maiden or cursed prince? Make up your mind.”

“I can be both!” Jackson protested with chuckles of his own before he sobered. “Look, I’m sorry about all of this. It was dumb of me to use myself as bait and putting you in harm’s way. I’ll figure out how to make it up to you, I swear.”

Ugh, why did she want to kiss him for that? Instead, she shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. We’re partners, right?” 

Jackson clenched his fists. “It’s not that. Maya—” he started, then cut himself off.

Fuck, what did she know about his ex? Only that he always spoke about her in past tense.

“You don’t—”

“No. You have the right to know. Maya was helping me investigate a case. I lost her because I was being reckless. She has been missing all this time because of the decisions I made. I cannot repeat that mistake again.”

It was not the conversation she expected to have right now, especially not in the middle of the warehouse.

“Damien.” Finn reached out to take his arm. “I can’t speak for Maya, but you need to remember that this is my choice. Just like it was yours to come after me when I was stupid enough to get kidnapped by those mercs. It’s mine to back you up.”

“Still—”

“No.” She tightened her grip, then sighed and released him. “Tell you what? You can repay me with coffee for the next month. From your personal stash.”

He chuckled again, putting her more at ease. “Okay, fine. Now let’s drop by and visit Mr. Director.”