Jim Reaper had screamed home in the Ducati, hardly dropping below 100 mph. He was home within minutes and he and his bike took the freight elevator to his attic flat. It was as he had left it. He put the bike in the corner of the large room and went to the kitchen area. He prepared himself a huge vegetarian meal, with almost every conceivable veggie. He stir fried the dish in a wok, with extra virgin olive oil and a blend of Soy and other sauces. With bean sprouts and boiled rice too, it made a huge meal all of which was consumed by Reaper with barely a pause for breath.
After blasting himself clean in the power shower, he put on his CD of Mozart, which no one would believe HE owned, and relaxed into a hot tub with a couple of aromatic oils. This would not have done his "hard man" image any good, but he liked to relax sometimes and this was an easy way to put him in a good mood. He poured himself a Jack Daniels upon leaving and lay back on the sofa, listening to the music.
Waking with a start, Jim realised he must have fallen asleep and panicked a little, until he saw it was only his usual getting up time - 0530 on the nose. Rising, he got out of his robe and had an invigorating workout on the bags before unwinding with a Tai Chi sequence. The cold shower woke him up fully, revitalised and refreshed. Although he didn't have to leave for another hour - it was only 0615 - he decided to go for a drive and also get to the office a bit early.
He drove round Capitol Beltway, which was very quiet at that time of the morning, and felt the power of the bike and the wind buffeting his leathers. Finally, he turned of the ring road and went towards the office.
When he got there at 0645, Jenny was just arranging herself at her desk.
"Damn, you get up early Jenny!" he said.
"Ah! Oh, sorry Agent Reaper, you gave me a start! So do you, there's usually no one around when I come in."
"Well, I'm an early riser - what can I say!"
"Would you like a coffee, Agent Reaper?"
"If you've got de-caf Jenny, I'd love some. Don't worry, though. I'll make it."
Before she could close her 'fallen open with shock' mouth, Jim was already brewing a pot of regular and de-caf.
"Just don't let the others know and I'll make you coffee everyday," he smiled. "I wouldn't want to spoil their illusions.
With a laugh, Jenny finally shooed him into his office, telling him she would bring him a cup when it was ready. She was a good woman and it shone through. They were definitely lucky to have her.
With coffee in hand, Reaper set about checking his e-mail and the various newsgroups he monitored regularly - alt.ufo.reports and alt.aliens.they-are-here, to name but two. Just the usual wakko "there was a real ... bright ... light" kind of stuff. Nothing of interest. alt.hacking had a few neat algorithms. He saved and encrypted the messages using PGP ( not really approved of by Old US Gov he thought, smiling ). He hadn't really noticed the time getting on.
Jordan had arrived and said "Hello!". After returning the greeting, the team leader asked if he was nervous.
"Curious, but not really nervous. Just a little" he smiled.
"Didn't think you'd ever feel nervous or scared!" Jordan teased.
"Someone with no fear is dangerous to himself and others. Fear shows the consequences have been fully considered and dangers realised. The reaction to the fear is what counts."
Jordan sat at his desk, feeling at ease with his Tactical Ops man.
Soon, everyone else arrived and the meeting time came. They all went along to the UD's office.
NRPG: see previous post Mission Brief
"Jenny," Stern said, "We need to get to Santa Fe." He glanced at his watch, "No earlier than noon, since we all need to pack...Thanks."
Stern turned back to the table, "Ok, people, thoughts?"
"I suggest that we go and talk to the police, and the victim's family. We may be able to find out alot too by talking to her family. " Jones suggested.
"Don't forget the Denver police. There might be some things that they did not write down but was remembered. After all, no one forgot a bizaare case like this easily, even if it occurred 20 years ago. " Reaper added.
Stern nodded his head in agreement.
"When is the funeral?" SA Gorky asked.
"The body was released to the family yesterday. The funeral will be this afternoon. "
"The time and place? I would like to attend it if possible. There are alot of things one can find just by attending a funeral. It would be a starting point for us too. " Gorky stated.
"Will we be able to obtain a copy of the autopsy?" Vanessa asked.
"That should not be a problem. The police are generally quite cooperated with the FBI."
Just then, the phone rang.
Jordan answered it. "Yes? 12 o'clock? Yes. That is great. Thanks, Jenny. "
After he put down the phone, he informed the rest of the group.
"Jenny had tickets for us, leaving 12 o'clock sharp. Accomodations and transport had all been arranged. "
The group silently marvelled at Jenny's efficiency.
They made arrangements to meet at 11.10am at the airport, and then parted, with Stern taking the report.
Jim made his way home and got together his duffle. In it, he put all the necessary essentials and he had a special carrier for his suits and shirts. It was the one part of the job he didn't like much but a uniform was a uniform and he simply accepted it, even the tie. He made his way to the local coffee shop and got himself his 'usual' breakfast with veggie sausages, hash browns, pancakes, poached eggs, beans and a side order of fruit and a coffee. The first time he had ordered this, a few comments were made. They were soon stopped, but that was another story.
He made his way to the airport and met the group just before 1100. Only Vanessa was still to arrive.
Day 1 1100
Vanessa arrived at the airport, and was not surprised to see that almost all of the agents had arrived. She had packed light, and was glad to see that the rest of them had done so too. Stern turned up five minutes later, with copies of the reports which he distributed. All of them were stamped with the big, blue work "COPY".
"Don't lost them," he advised. "They might be copies, but each of you are responsible of these reports, and will have to account for it if you lost them. "
They nodded their heads.
After that was done, the group of five checked in. Being FBI agents, they did have a little bit of privilge, and the fact that all of them were armed were not met with stares from the airport check-in guards. Jordan noticed all of them had their guns by their side, which he approved of silently. A X agent should regard his gun as a part of him in all circumstances. This was a dangerous world to live in.
At 12 o'clock sharp, the plane lifted off for their destination.
NRPG:
On my WWW site at http://home.totem.co.uk/PeterS/homepage.htm I have an RPG page which leads to my character BIO's. I found pics of both Reaper's gun - the SIG-Sauer P226 - and the bike - Ducati Monster 900. Very nice.
Peter. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FCO Ensign Olivier Patru, USS ORION NCC-1997, Starfleet. Special Agent Jim Reaper, X-Files Division, FBI. Private Eoin McDonald, Ranger/Engineer, RAGNAROK. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------