P. Stormcrow

“How much can we trust what Sunny’s saying?” Allen asked from the back seat as they pulled into the parking lot. It was an odd question coming from him, considering he was the bullshit detector.

“Well, he has no reason to lie, not if he wants that job,” Finn spit balled.

“He wasn’t. That desperation was genuine enough,” Allen verified.

“Still, what he gave us was a rumor. We can’t know for sure if the research itself is magical.” Jackson spoke each word, chewing on the thought himself.

The CB radio sparked to life, drawing all their attention away from the conversation at hand. They all waited until static bursts subsided, then restarted in the same pattern.

Finn reached across to pick up the receiver. “Um. Receiving.” She released the talk switch and paused in a moment of silence before adding with haste. “Over.” Shit. Right. She held the button down again and repeated. “Over.”

“Oh good. Satellite here..” Even distorted, she recognized Olivia’s voice. “Signaling potential nine-nine-nine. I repeat, potential nine-nine-nine. Delta-Echo-Hotel-Sierra. Over.”

Despite all her studying, Olivia’s words might as well still be a foreign language. “Copy. Over.” That said, she hung up the receiver, dug into her bag to take out the decoder tube and slumped back to stare at the entire device in bewilderment. There were days when she wondered just how the hell she ended up here.

This was one of those days.

“Cheer up. Looks like we got an ID on our kidnappers.” Jackson grinned. Right, that’s what a nine-nine-nine stood for. Highly dangerous magic-using perps, but at least they were still human.

“And they’re calling us in,” Allen added, waving his own device. He decided much faster than her. Understandable, as he was an old hat at this.

But Finn only groaned and rubbed her face with both hands as if trying to jolt herself from this dream. Because the absurdity of communicating with the rest of her department over CB Radio in code as FBI field agents was over the top. Oh, it happened in other departments, but this still felt like some old time spy movie instead. Or maybe this just all seemed a figment of her imagination because, since she started, they’ve dealt with a malevolent ghost, random exploding tech and creepy dolls gone rogue. She tried to imagine telling her dad this. Giggles bubbled from her lips.

Of course, it had to be the CB Radio accompanying the little metal tube that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Or was it hysteria from exhaustion?

You laugh or you cry.

“Um… how much time has your partner had to adjust to all of this?” Allen shifted to lean forward, directing his question to Jackson at the wheel in a stage whisper.

Finn glanced at the rear view mirror to meet Allen’s eyes and snapped her fingers. “Hey, I’m right here.”

Rather than get embarrassed, he chuckled. “Okay, how much time have you had to adjust to this?”

She groaned and slid lower in her seat.

“I seem to recall it took about a year before you stopped muttering that it couldn’t be real,” Jackson shot back, curving his lips into a smug smile. He pulled the car into a spot and put it into park before shifting to pat Finn on her shoulder. “Come on. I’ll make you some coffee.”

Finn perked up. Okay, at least there was one positive thing about this new job.

“Can I get some too?” Allen asked with a smirk of his own.

Jackson rolled his eyes but didn’t answer as he exited the car. Finn followed suit and together they walked into the warehouse.

Another agent joined them as soon as they entered. Tall with silver threads shooting through dark hair, she was second in height only to Jackson, unbent by age despite the crow’s feet around the corner of her eyes. She dipped her head in greeting towards Finn and Jackson, but turned her attention to Allen right away. “Got anything?”

“We think the research stolen is magic in nature. Inguz Tech is not contacting us only because the perps were wearing rune gloves.”

The woman only nodded again, but didn’t show an ounce of surprise. “So for now, we will have to assume the stolen goods are some kind of potion, given they said it’s a chemical.” She paused as they came to a stop close to their desks. “Debrief is in five. They’ll want us both to summarize.”

“Got it.” Allen gave them a brief smile. “I’ll see you guys later?”

“Sure.” Jackson waved him off, but he was already walking away.

“Was that Allen’s partner?” Finn asked, watching the pair head towards the director’s office to fill her in first.

“Yeah. Agent Koo’s one of the most seasoned veterans around here. She was responsible for training Allen up.”

And who taught you? Who was Maya’s dad? Finn wanted to know more but understood the need to give him space. Let him tell her when he was ready. After all, he had afforded her the same courtesy. She could do no less.

“Come on. Let’s go get that cup of coffee.”

If the beverage was not up to the usual standards as Jackson kept muttering about, Finn hardly noticed. What she noted as she stood with the others, a mug in hand, this time with the white bearded wizard Gandalf on it, was how different this debriefing was compared to what happened in the other FBI department.

For one, the crowd that gathered was much larger and there was a greater amount of chatter. And when Ms. Callaghan descended from the stairs with Allen and Koo in tow, everyone fell silent.

“This is officially a kidnapping case and as you’re aware, the first forty-eight hours are the most crucial. However, Inguz Tech has also asked that we remain on a low profile, which means we won’t able to canvas the public for help so we must gain intelligence in other ways. Allen and Koo are on lead and will detail the next steps.” She dipped her head towards the two and Koo straightened.

“We lucked out though, thanks to Agent Reed spotting the rune gloves in the surveillance feed and have identified three potential suspects. The details witnesses have provided also match with their known modus operandi from past cases.” Koo nodded in her direction.

Surprised by the recognition, Finn flushed, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Luckily, the folders everyone started receiving seemed to have distracted them from turning around to look at her. When she accepted her own copy from an agent she hadn’t met yet in front, she opened the file right away and flipped through the sheets, scanning the details.

Oh my God. This is like some heist out of the movies.

Mercenaries for hire. The tech. The muscle. The leader. It was all there, minus the scout and sniper. She shook her head and fought against the urge to laugh again. What was wrong with her?

Exhaustion. There was no other reason, right? Must. Drink. More. Caffeine. Finn almost inhaled half the cup before reminding herself to slow down and enjoy the actual beverage. It would be criminal to down the premium coffee without enjoying it. She swore to herself never to take it for granted.

“What we ask for in support. They’ve either stolen this research on behalf of a buyer or they will be looking for a buyer. A transaction of this size will stir the community up. Contact your sources, see what rumors of movement are circulating in the underground market. We find the buyer, we find our vic.” Agent Koo scanned the room.

“We have also reached out to other departments to ask for any news of exchanges, but we have reasons to suspect that the stolen goods may be magical, which means if anything turns up, our sources will most likely hear of it first.”

“Thank you Agent Koo, Agent Allen.” Ms. Callaghan took one step forward. “All hands on deck. Go turn over every rock. Let’s bring our victim home.”

It was a clear dismissal and everyone interpreted it as such as they all sprung to action. Most jumped on phones, others readied to head out. However, before Finn could ask Jackson anything, Olivia appeared at their sides.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Finn did a double take. “You mean me?”

“Uh huh.” Olivia grinned. “I was hoping you could come back to Satellite with me to do some sleuthing online, given your background.”

Of course. If there were any advertising of sales, the dark web would be a place for it. She glanced over at Jackson, uncertain about leaving him alone. This entire case was turning into a painful trip down memory lane for him, and she didn’t know him well enough to be sure he was going to be okay.

“Go on ahead. I have a few people I should hit up in the meantime, then we can meet back here in a couple hours.”

When she kept studying him, he chuckled and patted her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Tell you what. I’ll even carry my cell.”

“What? I didn’t know you had one!” Olivia exclaimed.

Jackson shrugged. “It’s new. Who do you think nagged me until I got one?”

Finn forced her shoulders to relax with a sigh. “The things I have to put up with. At least we can reach you now even when you’re not in your car.” She straightened and cleared her throat. “Okay, let’s go surf the dark web.”