Shadows of Arkwright Knights of the Night Chapter 1: The Glimmers in Darkness The trains head light cut through the inky blackness of the rural area as effortlessly as the train’s body sliced through the air as it rapidly approached its destination. Inside, the attendants made their way down the aisle to wake the sleeping and help those in needs as the intercom announced that they would arrive at Arkwright in five minutes. The workers knew from experience that it would take at least five minutes for some of the patrons to be able to stand after such a train ride. They thanked their luck stars that there were very few of those cases at this junction and continued to diligently check people stubs on the overhead compartments. The thick condensation form the warm water of the shower had just began to dissipate as the wolf pulled over his shirt and checked himself over in the closet mirror. He was satisfied at what he saw and made his way over to the almost empty beer bottle on the table and took the final swig before disposing of the container in one of the recycling bins before looking around the room for one final time. He had never traveled in a sleeper car before now and he had to say it was a much more pleasant experience then the more traditional way for traveling by train. He knew that that was like saying a burger at a privet resort was more well put together then one at a fast food place, but he did have to say something to Aryen for the experience that he insisted on him having. ‘I take care of my friends’, as he put it. The train began its deceleration as the wolf threw on his black P jacket and picked up his luggage that he had already taken out of the closet and lined up at the connecting door. He expected the personal attendant to come a knocking any moment and he was not disappointed as there was soon a sharp tapping on the door to which he immediately answered to the shock of the man behind it but soon regained his composure and asked the wolf if he was in need of any assistance to which the man answered negatively before leaving him to his devices. The man stared out the window as the city lights and the healthy nightlife like Holiday lights on a decaying evergreen; something that he was sure a good friend of his had gotten very acquainted with over the two years of her being there. He smiled when he thought about what she had learned from him, Aryen and all the rest and she was putting it into good use from the rumours and fact that he had put together. The sharp hiss of the hydraulic doors ushered the wolf through the threshold form the heated steel cocoon to the bustling constant that was, ‘Iron Faith Station’, Arkwright City’s first of four stations. It was also by far the grandest with sprawling vistas of polished floors dotted with immaculate gardens flanked with well-polished lamp posts, expertly caved park benches and tables that some people were in the process of using to enjoy their late dinner or snack. Gazing upward, the man took time to appreciate the intricate patterns of glass and steel that pleased the eye and made it wander to the main attraction of the piece; the sculpted bust of an angel poised over the Train entrance blowing its gold trumpet heralding the newest arrivals to the city. The exit had just as much attention to it with a bust of an angel holding sword incrusted with shimmering stained glass that had been able to unfold their luster thanks to the countless LED lights that lined the steel of the roof; a gesture of safe travel and return. “Marvelous isn’t it”, a man from behind said causing the wolf to turn around and smile when he saw the familiar white Alsatian, “Just can’t fault them for calling it the eighth wonder of the world.” “And easy to believe that the founders of the city didn’t want this Arkwright to end up like the old one”, he said as he outstretch his free hand, “How you been man?” “Can’t do much complaining”, he said as he shook the man’s hand, “How’s you, Sabastian”, he continued, “Still getting used to being a Warrant?” “Army life is still army life”, he said with a shrug, “Doesn’t matter what position you are or what people you command.” The men began there walk to the parking lot with Aryen taking the time to show him a little around the station area which was very much appreciated by Sabastian’s senses that had been subjected to the quickly staled sights and sound so the train car that which the only escape from was the window showing the darkness pierced by the fleeting lights of houses and distant factories that that sat in their shining auras in a blackened sea drowning out the Canadian wilderness. There were many reasons that the original Arkwright became little more than a ghost town but the main reason was the fact that a railway line had not been built anywhere near it and the founders of this city clearly had this at the forefront of their minds when they began construction. “Pity you didn’t get a good look at it coming in”, Aryen said as he motioned to a pair of ornate double doors of finely lacquered wood and polished metal sculpted with a floral and vine pattern respectfully that was not out of place surrounded by the rest of the grand space, “The hotel is really a sight to behold. “Grand Line Hotel’, Sabastian said as the two walked passed the doors and into one of the station’s many pathways, to which this one sported a cedar bridge over a babbling stream feed by a small waterfall flanked by two arcade areas that were currently not in use but the flashing lights and sounds of the machines beckoned anyone with even passing interest, “Was formally were all the builders and their families stayed when the city was founded and they kept in around, right?” “The term, ‘location, location, location’, was definitely not lost on those men and women”, Aryen said as he looked over the bridge and took a moment to admire the fish and other sea creature s that called one of the small pond connected to the stream home. “Speaking of”, Sabastian said, “How is the new location of your main office coming along.” “It makes sense to have it in Petawawa”, Aryen said as the two men continued their trek to the underground parking lot, “Even though that is not where I will be staying for the time being,” “As if people like you don’t have ways around a little things like distance”, Sabastian said and received a smear from the man. The two men continued their way through the station that had all the conveniences of a mall fused with it. Ayren actually gave Sabastian a list of the food items and whatnot that he had stocked in the house he had prepared for him. “I can think of a few things”, Sabastian said as he read the list over, “How close is…” Aryen cleared his throat and pointed in front of him. Sabastian was astonished at the sight, but not surprised based on past experience so far. The sliding glass doors of the grocery store were in constant motion as people made their way to and from the area that the spacious windowed wall made clear that it had plenty for all. One group of patrons quickly mae their way past the two and the smell of fresh cooked chicken wafted into Sabastian’s nose. “Regardless”, Sabastian said as his stomach sounded its need, “One should not shop for food when hungry so I’ll pick some things up tomorrow.” “Sounds good”, Aryen said, “I actually know a great place we can go to.” The two found it a bit surprising of the emptiness of the underground parking lot but it was probably the simple matter of people parking somewhere else. Even getting a warm, dry rout to your car was not enough for some people to pay the ticket cost but that was the least of Aryen’s concern and he intended to take full advantage of the comfort. “I see that you are still getting by ok”, Sabastian said as he was lead to a lone Bugatti in the middle of the back wall. “Sorry”, Aryen said as he unlocked the doors and the two quickly got in, “The nice one’s in the shop.” Sabastian let out a laugh as Areyn started up the car and quickly made his way out of the near empty lot and into the rain soaked night as the streets were now starting to clog from the majority of the nightshift leaving for home. Sabastian took this time to admire the dazzling city lights that cut through the gloom descending from the sky. “Hard to believe the state the city is in just by looking at it, eh Aryen?” “Getting flashbacks of South America”, Aryen asked as he increased the speed of the windshield wipers, “because I can say that from what I’ve seen, the only difference is you are not likely to run into a guy that just speaks Portuguese.” “That reminds me, for whatever reason”, Sabastian said as he tore his glace from the passing city scape to Aryen, “Should we call Sam and crew to see if they would want to join us?’ “No”, Aryen said, “From what I heard on the news, those three had another late night”, before adding, “Besides, I think it would be more fun to surprise them at her work place.” Sabastian nodded in agreement and resumed his city gazing. The car’s speed made it so that his eyes were constantly treated to new and interesting things from the vibrant vista yet he was always left wanted to see more of the fleeting scenery. The sights would have made him even happier if he had been blissfully ignorant of the seething flame of crime that plumed out ether sporadically or systematically from the pressure that constantly threatened to tear the city asunder. “So”, Aryen said breaking the silence, “How long is your contract for?” “I’m going to be here for a month at the very least’, Sabastian said, “I would have rather taken some of the police combat instructors so we can train them at the studio but the chief made it quite clear that he wanted his officers to learn, ‘Danzig Combatives’, as quickly as possible.” “Still planning on taking some of the instructors back for additional training?” “And make them pass our version of an instructor’s course if I have anything to say about it.” The duo pulled into the parking lot of the eatery that Aryen had selected and Sabastian had to raise an eyebrow. It had been said that you could tell a lot about the place by the name the owners had selected; “Lip Smack’en Fo’ Shizzle”, left Sabastian stumped in that regard. “Been here before”, Sabastian asked Aryen as they quickly began to make their way to the door of the bar and grill. “Don’t let the name fool you”, Aryen said, “The food here is amaz…” He was cut off when two EMT workers burst out of the door and nearly bowled the two men over. The paramedics skated around the two with expert speed and precision as they said their pardons before quickly making their way into their ambulance. The sirens screamed for attention as the engine roared to life and the two men watched as the vehicle sped from the parking lot and into the night. “Well”, Sabastian said as he reached for the door handle, “They weren’t bringing anyone out so your statement could still be true.” Aryen gave the wolf a light elbow to the ribs before they two made their way inside and put the incident behind them. Flanders Memorial Hospital; a place that had seen more than its fair share of death as well as redeeming itself a thousand fold for every life that it saved just as all hospitals did every single day. Today was no exception, but the staff did wish that it was a slower one. One of the precious few doctors flanked by several of the equally precious few nursing staff quickly made their way down to one of the triage centers seconds after the call had come in. A woman had been the victims of a gang initiation ritual as well as one that was the victim of a shakedown that resulted in her being injected with an unknown substance. They would be arriving at roughly the same time in two minutes and that the first one suffered from a fractured pelvis as well as three broken ribs. The crew was so caught up in arriving at their destination that they didn’t notice the Alsatian woman know running right behind them. The triage area was a flurry of ordered chaos as the doctor rapidly gave orders to the nurses who responded with equal efficiency. The hospital had been dangerously understaffed for close to three years now and the volunteers that seemed to be on call for longer hours than the actual staff put in half the time did little to lighten the load but the staff that was there had become experts in doing the work of three. This night was case in point as over half of the nurses assisting the doctor at the moment were in fact volunteers. The team had their work cut out for them as the women with the fractured bones was still on an adrenaline rush and was refusing the sedatives that the nurses were trying to administer. How she even survived the ambulance ride over was any ones guess. When asked, the paramedic said that she stopped when he said that he wouldn’t sedate her because he was afraid that she would rupture a dozen different things the way she was going and he really couldn’t retrain her any further in her condition. “Ma’am” the doctor said to the woman getting her attention, “are you in any pain?” The woman looked directly at the doctor and rose more than a few eyebrows when the answer to the question was a flat, ’no’. The crew looked at one another for a brief moment before the women whom joined them took out a pen and grasped one of the woman’s fingers. “Ma’am”, the nurse said as she pressed the shaft of the pen against the base of the woman’s fingernail, “Tell me when this feels uncomfortable.” The woman remembered what she said thirty seconds ago, but she also knew that the woman would have had to have been a Zen master in order for her to have not asked her to stop what she was doing. It was either that or the woman really did not feel anything and this bothered the personnel; adrenalin doesn’t help that much. It was at that point that the doctor ordered a blood test to see what was going on and for the others to prep the woman for x-rays. Before she could get far into it, the doctor pulled her aside and got out of earshot before he began talking to her. “Was this the reason you called in saying you were going to be late”, the doctor said as he indicated to the woman on the gurney. “One of them, Seth”, the woman said as she looked across the room to see a familiar looking fennec being attended to by a few nurses, “The other one is over there.” The man, a Dalmatian, looked over to the fennec. He knew that he had recognized her from somewhere but he just could not figure it out at the moment. He said as much to the woman before telling her to go an aid in her care. “You sure you don’t need me for the other woman”, she said, “She looked like she will be the bigger handful.” “Maybe”, Seth said as he looked at his note pad and went over what he had written down from what the paramedics had told him, “But I would say that that other woman needs more consoling form what you told Gwen over the phone.” The woman thought for a moment before nodding and going over to the fennec that was currently being fussed over by two nurses; attention that the woman made subtly but clear was not welcome. It was at about the third time that the nurses told her that she was not to get off the stretcher that she had had enough and was about to throw politeness out a closed window when she was interrupted by another sickeningly calm voice. “You all need help with something”, the newcomer said as she gave a smile to each of the women before looking at the fennec woman’s souring face, “I take it that the ambulance driver knew the closest distance between two points was a straight line and damn the potholes.” “She keeps going on that she needs to get home and that she has already been through enough”, one of the nurses said as she gave the woman an accusatory look, “Something about that Vigil Remedial giving her the clear.” She tensed a bit as the serval’s eyes bored holes into her and she looked back and forth between her and the fennec before she regained her composure and spoke up. “Maybe she wouldn’t feel so smothered if there was only one person talking to her and you two could help with the other woman that came in”, she said as she indicated over to the large group before she turned her attention to the fennec, “Is this alright with you miss?” The woman’s tongue would have curled and twisted in her mouth if the look the fennec gave her was any more bitter but the woman nodded at this and the two nursed turned to face the other fully. “Sure thing Sam”, the other nurse said as the two began to walk towards the other patent. The one nurse, at the very least, looked like she didn’t have a problem with the situation but Sam didn’t need two years of getting to know the serval to realize that she would have some explaining to do come break time. “Ok”, Sam said as she turned to the woman, “So what was this about being checked out?” The fennec thought for a moment of what she was about to say before she put her head in her hands and began to message her face. It was bad enough what happened to her in the parking lot, but now this was going to be the first impression that she was giving people in the hospital that she was supposed to start working at in two days. This was if she even had a job to go to when the faculty find out that she was sent her in order to get tested for drugs as even if it wasn’t voluntary, it could still spell the end of her career. She looked up when she felt the woman’s hand begin to gently rub her back and gave her a comforting smile. “Why don’t you tell me what happened that got you here”, Sam said as she got down to eye level with the woman. Rebeca slowly sat up strait as she kept constant eye contact with the nurse who in turn raised herself up to keep the two at eye level. Rebeca took a second to collect her thoughts before she recited to the nurse the horrifying events that happened to her and the reason that she was in as good of a state as she was. Other than the slight pause that Sam had insisted upon in order for her to check her neck for damages from the bear the nurse was quiet and listened intently. The fennec noticed the woman’s eyebrows rose when she told her about Remedial telling her what was in that syringe and she had expected as much. At least she just kept quiet and let her continue talking unlike that serval that cut her off at every sentence that she tried to form. “I wouldn’t even be here Miss”, the Fennec started and read the woman’s I.D, “Wainwright, if it wasn’t for the paramedics practically forcing me onto the ambulance.” “Well”, Sam started when she was sure that the fennec was waiting for a response, “It would be a good idea for you to get checked out for any trauma that you may have suffered”, she said before adding, “Or do you have any family or friends that you can stay with?” Rebeca shook her head and began to look around the room. It was bad enough that she was sent to the hospital that she was going to be working in; it would be even worse if her predecessor had gotten wind of the ordeal and came down to investigate the situation further. She was almost wishing that she hadn’t told the police of what that damn ape had done to her, but then again all it would take was one of the thugs to admit to it. If she thought she was stressed in her current situation, she just did not want to think about what would have happened if that one came into fruition. “Then I would say that it would be safest for you to stay here for the night”, Sam said as she looked at the notes that the EMTs had provided, “I really don’t think there is a crash team stationed where you live.” “I”, the woman began as she tried to come up with a counter for the nurse’s argument, before she finally got one, “What do the test results say about what those creeps injected me with?” “We’re still waiting on the lab work, but all the other test indicate that the syringe did just contain a, ‘Placebo hook’, as some of us have started to call it”, Sam said and cut the woman off before she could get a word in, “However, since the lab work has not come back yet and it was still a traumatic experience we think it would be best that you stay here for observation.” “And if the test results come back clean.” Sam knew what the fennec was getting at and had up until that point never been displeased to see a, ‘stat’, beside lab work orders. “You physically appear to be fine”, Sam said, “So if you do have an exam and the test come back clean”, she continued before finally adding, “You can go if the doctor says you can.” Rachel just wanted to go home and she knew that getting the exam over with was the quickest way for her to do just that so it didn’t take her any time at all to agree to the terms set before her. She was glad that Sam was the nurse that assisted the doctor in the exam as she felt the most comfortable with her; not like she had experience with very many of the staff. It turned out that she had less experience with the staff then she realized as Sam was actually a volunteer nurse there and she actually was the owner of her own gym. She made a mental note of that as the experience that night told her that it would not hurt to hit that place, or at the very least try to, two or three times a week. The exam had been completed for about two minutes and Sam had been waiting for the doctor outside the door for the better part of those minutes eagerly waiting for the lab results. Normally, the doctor would just pull them up on the computer inside the office but he had sensed that she had wanted to speak to him about it. It was easy enough to say that that that computer was experiencing connectivity issues with the network so the doctor had to print out the results via the printer located in the office. It didn’t take any subtle hints for her to get her way as the doctor wanted to keep her there longer just in case the test was a misdiagnosis, unlikely as that was. The slight fluttering of pages caught the woman’s attention and the doctor issued her over farther away from the door so they could talk normally. Seth had read the results over during his walk back but he was in the mood to break the news to Sam himself. “And the winner is”, Seth said as he drew it out seconds longer just to see the look on Sam’s face, “Negative.” Sam was relieved at the news, but wished that it had not come in such a short time. She had tested the contents herself to give the woman peace of mind, but now she wanted some excuse to keep her at the hospital. Seth had picked up on this and decided that it was a good a time as any to call her out. “Not like you to keep someone cooped up”, Seth said as he slapped the pages in his hand, “What’s up?” Sam leaned against the wall and let out an exasperated sigh as she began. “I just think it would be safer for her here until the heat dies down.” ”In this city”, Seth said through a stifled laugh, “When is that and do I put you down for steak or fish at the party I throw?” Sam cracked a smile, but it was clear that there was barely humour in this. “I’m worried those gang members are going to go after her”, Sam said, “The security guard was actually one of them.” “Wouldn’t they be more concerned with you then her”, Seth said as he made a quick look around to see if anyone was listening, “Wait, you don’t think they turned that complex into a safe house do you?” “Safe house is a strong word now that the police are alerted to the situation”, she said shaking her head, “But they can’t get to me so who do you think the next best target would be?” The doctor thought this over for a moment as he looked back and forth between Sam and the results. “Sam I know what you are trying to do here”, Seth said, “But this is a hospital, not a safe house and I can’t hold up a bed for someone that does not need to be here and potentially deny someone that really does.” There was nothing that Sam could say to counter that. All evidence pointed to Rebeca not needing to be there and she was dead set on leaving. “Well”, Sam said as she started to walk down the hall, “I guess I’m going to be seeing a lot of that building.” “Good luck”, was all the doctor said as he made his way to the exam room and went in to tell Rebeca the good news. Chief Reinhold bursting into the office was never a good sign in any situation; him bursting into the firing range because he had already done so at your office meant that your desk was going to be stacked with papers and the taste of cellophane wrapped sandwiches, coffee and donuts was going to be the main stay on your taste buds for a while. Detective Leodhas Blackthorn and Salvador Fairburn had gotten calls nearly non-stop for assistance in the past week that ran down almost the complete list of what you would call them for and they knew full well that they were not about to get any sight of the end of it any time soon. The last two of his ten rapid shots sliced through the paper as Leodhas quickly exchanged the dry magazine for a fresh one before his view was suddenly obscured by the all too familiar sight of a case file before the chief let fall into his out stretched arms. Apparently the chief didn’t think his accuracy skills were as important as this and got his partner’s attention:; there was no way he was going to get a better score then him due to the chief’s outside interference. Blackthorn and Fairburn, a fox and coyote respectively looked over the information that the other officers had managed to dig up on the case that was quickly becoming the talk of the station; a string of seemingly random kidnapping and murders had started up in Arkwright for the past month. The perpetrator at first had not been seen and the parents or friends did not realize that that person was gone until multiple minutes or hours after the kidnappings happened. All ended in the bodies being found hours or days later mangled, in some cases beyond recognition. Coroner reports suggest that it was a group of people or an Enhanced; the grounds being in all cases that the limbs and head had been torn off, they had been done so in one clean jerk. “As if we didn’t have enough on our plate”, Blackthorn said as he turned some pages and red some recent developments in the case which caused both he and his partner’s interest to perk up, “Seriously?” The was a breakthrough in the case, of a sort, as a person hand actually witnessed one of the current kidnappings taking place and, ‘saw’, the kidnapper. “Well alright then”, Fairburn said as he gazed at the sketch of the ‘perp’; a silvery, insectoid like creature. “And profilers wonder why people don’t take them seriously”, Blackthorn said as he looked at the drawing, “So when we bring him in does he appear before the court or the cryptid society?” Reinhold motioned for them to put their ear protection back on as he took out his gun and put it on his current station. Pressing a few buttons, a mechanical arm came down and retrieved a piece of target paper from the front of the cubicle before it backed up to the desired starting distance. “Thinking we need more practice chief”, Fairburn said as he readied his weapon and watched as a mechanical arm for his station mimicked the Chief’s own. “Think you can’t multitask”, Reinhold said with a passing glance as the Rottweiler made a final check of his weapon before placing it in his holster. The two placed their weapons inside their holster as the chief did before placing their hands behind there back. “Think you can still roll after all that time being a pencil pusher”, Blackthorn countered which earned him, the eye, before the man scoffed at it. “You just watch you own ass, junior”, the chief said before her placed his foot on the floor mounted activation switch, “Ok, on…” The chief’s foot pressed onto the switch and strobing light began to assault the group’s eyes as plumbs of smoke filled the room while the sound of a panicking crowed pumped in from speakers pounded against their ears. The respected targets started to make rapid movements across there designated zones before a siren rang out prompting the three to draw their weapons and engage. “The testimony and description came from a twelve year old that had woken up in the middle of the night because he heard some strange noises coming from his sister’s bedroom”, Reinhold said as he pumped three rounds into his target, “The family has also said that he has had an overactive imagination so yeah.” “Anything we can go on from what he saw”, Fairburn said as he let loose a barrage into the silhouette’s lower chest and solar plexus, “The two victims that were intact enough to run a toxicology report on showed that they had the same unknown substance in their system so maybe that his sister seemed drugged?” “Nothing that the brother couldn’t have imagined”, the chief said as he quickly put in a fresh magazine and made two rapid shots to the target’s head area, “And remember that the substance could only be found in two of the eight that we had tested even though the test was quick and dirty for those.” “Has anything else came up that would connect the people”, Blackthorn said as he quickly shifted his aim when, ‘pedestrians’, popped up in front of the target and the, ‘perp’, received three quick shots to the neck and head, “What have the dental records shown?” “That was actually one of the things that was just coming back today”, Reinhold said as he continued to give fire down range as the chaos continued to stack one thing onto the other, “Should be on your desk right now.” The three continued to rapidly engage their targets that were rapidly getting shredded by the projectiles as the three continued their casual conversation of the case before their magazines had finally ran dry. For a few moments the only sound that was heard was the clacking of the guns and magazines being set on the table and ear protectors being rested on their hooks before the metallic buzzing of the robotic arms sounded out as the targets were given to each of the men for review. Not one had a look of concern on their face. “They say that the record for solving this type of case is four weeks”, the chief said as he removed his target form the mechanical grip, “What do you think about that, gentlemen?” “Two point five”, Salvador said as he retrieved his target. “Two and you can buy us dinner”, Leodhas said as he folded up the target, “Steak sounds nice.” “It’ll be the finest breakfast sandwich the cooks at the 24 hour diner have ever made”, the chief said as he made his way through the door, “Those all day breakfast menu places are a God send don’t you agree?” Reinhold didn’t what for an answer and quickly disappeared through the passage into the hall heading straight back to his office leaving the two detectives to their work. “Jokes on him”, Salvador said as he patted his partner’s shoulder and headed for the door, “Our patronage is so good there it probably will be the finest.” Blackthorn stifled a laugh at this and followed his partner back to their office with file in hand. Thumbing through the pages, his eyes inevitably fell once again on the victims and what remained of them to which he quickly snapped the folder shut and got his mind off of it with the first thing that popped into his head. “Heard about what happened at Willow Fort?” “Bits and pieces here and there”, Fairburn said as he turned towards Leodhas, “Remedial took the group down right?” Blackthorn nodded as they made their way out of the hallway into the stairwell and proceeded up from the second basement to their office. “Those Scorpions have not even been around for two weeks and already seem to have a good foothold in that area”, he said, “The Drug Unit must be having puppies right about now.” “Least we won’t be bored”, he said giving two quick taps on the folder, “See lots of fun times ahead.” “Yeah”, Blackthorn said through a laugh, “Might even get our own web series out of it.” He proceeded to place his hands in front of him as a director would in framing a shot. “Coming up next”, Leodhas said, “Can our heroes stop Big Foot’s B&A rampage of basketball player’s houses in pursuit of a comfortable pair of shoes”, he continued through Salvador’s laughing, “Find out this and much more on, ‘Crypto Capers’!” Salvador bust out laughing that was soon joined by Leodhas as the two continued up the stairs until they reached the second floor and opened the door to be greeted by the familiar sights and sounds office work coming from most of the desks dotting the area as the fellow officers worked feverishly on each’s latest case. It was a scene experienced hundreds of time which made it foolish for them to pay it any mind and the two were soon in front of their office. An air of hop and dread intermingled from the room generously given by the people frequenting the area that only the demolition of the building would purify. Offerings of trust in the form of candies as well as coffee and other beverages coupled with personal triumphs flanking and adorning the two’s desks was all one could expect from them in order clear the air. “Ok then”, Blackthorn said as he tossed the file onto his desk and went to sit down only to pause at the sight of the flashing red light on his phone and motioned for Fairburn to come over when he read the name, “Must be about the file that the chief told use about.” Salvador didn’t see any other file on the other man’s desk and was greeted with the desired item when he looked upon his. He had just opened it when Leodhas finished dialing and put it on speaker. The two didn’t have to wait long before a man on the other end picked up and they caught the tail end of the man clearing his throat before they received the more welcome, ‘hello’, that you would expect. “Hey Dave”, Leodhas said as Salvador read the file, “You called us?” “Actually, the boss did”, Dave said, “But he told me everything, so do you have the report?” “Reading it right now”, Salvador said as he handed over to Leodhas, “Lot a big words”, he continued before adding, “Something about contaminated blood?” “Yeah, uh, that’s the thing”, Dave said as he shuffled through some papers that mimicked Leodhas’ own motion, “It’s not a contamination”, he continued, “It’s a binding agent.” “Binding”, Leodhas said as he looked the file over, “What kind?” “For blood, apparently”, Dave said that caused the men to exchange glances, “Under the bonding agent, it seems two incompatible blood types can be in the same person”, he said, “In theory, I mean, we’ve never seen anything like this.” The two men didn’t say anything, the only sound being that of Dave shuffling the papers and Salvador drumming his fingers on the desk in thought. “Anything else”, Blackthorn said as he put the out of date file aside. “Saturations of norepinephrine and cortisol on the substance”, Dave said, “Not entirely sure why adrenaline was never found on the samples that we collected but Jake is running some test in the lab.” “Could it be supressing the adrenaline”, Salvador said as he picked up the file the chief gave them and turned to the pictures, “Victim’s bodies started up the backup fight or flight responses.” “All the victims we tested showed normal signs of adrenaline in their blood, but I’ll run that by the lab”, the man said, “I’ll do it on my way back from sending you the updated file.” “See you in a few then”, Blackthorn said and hung up the phone after Dave acknowledged him and looked to his partner, “You were right”, he said, “Bored is definitely the last thing I am going to feel for a while.” “Look at this this way”, Salvador said as he placed the file down, “It looks like, ‘Crypto Capers’, promises to already be slated for a second season.”