by T S Paul
"Ana is coming along? Wow. She never told me!" Chuck piped up.
"She was under orders. This unit is a bit of an experiment for the Bureau. It will be manned entirely by Paranormals except for Agent Maxwell. But he's not the Agent in Charge."
"Who is in charge?" Both Cat and Chuck said it at the same time.
"I'm surprised you haven't guessed already. I would have thought that she would have called you by now."
"It's Agatha isn't it?" Surprised, Cat turned to look at Chuck.
"And you say you aren't investigation material. Yes, it is. Agatha is here as well. The Marines are giving her some trouble out at her lab, but she should be here soon."
"Is she OK?" Cat peered at the Director.
"She called me a little while ago and said she'd be here soon."
~~~~~~
I spotted the new-looking second Magical Crimes RV as I pulled into the parking lot. It was a class A and much bigger than the one I drove. Jack's older one slid in nicely right next to it. Grabbing Fergus, I stepped out.
"This thing is huge," I spoke to myself more than Fergus. Class As could get very expensive, and this one looked to have all the bells and whistles. Satellite dish, extra air conditioners, storage out the wazoo, as well as all-weather tires. Looking at the older rig, I couldn't believe they went to this much trouble. My phone suddenly rang.
"Hello?"
"Do you like my new rig?" I stared at the phone for a moment. The voice sounded very familiar.
"Uh, who is this?"
"Anastasia of course. You need to get your hearing checked, Agatha."
"Sorry. Aren't you supposed to be asleep about now?" That was why I didn't recognize the voice. Most Vampires should be asleep.
"My rig has special protections on it. I know Chuck told you about it." He did, but I never told anyone that fact. I racked my brain to remember what Grams had taught me about Vampires and their powers.
"That's right he did. Are you a part of the new team?"
"I am. Why don't you come inside and we can talk for a moment?" Anastasia sounded more seductive than usual. The lizard part of my brain began screaming.
"Sure. That sounds great. I want to check the rig out anyway. Let me go grab Fergus. Gimme a minute." I slapped my hand over Fergus's pocket and hung up the phone. I didn't allow him to say anything until we were safely back inside.
"What the hell was that for?" Fergus peeked out of my pocket.
"Sorry, bud. Something is off about Ana right now."
"Yeah. Vampire! I told you they were nothing but trouble." He pulled his head back inside my pocket.
"That's what you say about cats too."
A muffled "same thing" came from my pocket.
I held up my bracelet and spoke to it. "Do you have a spell to protect your wearer from Vampires and their mind control?"
There was a faint shimmer followed by a tingling that went up my whole arm. I was beginning to think that was how it said 'yes' to any question. There was a spell that could do the same thing, but I didn't have all day to cast it. I would have to take a chance.
"Do me a favor and activate that spell if I'm in any touchy situation with strange Paranormals. Better safe than sorry." The same tingling began. Great, we were communicating!
"Fergus, behave yourself in Ana's RV," I warned my familiar as we stepped back out.
"Think of me as not even here."
I ran my hand down the side of the new RV. It might belong to a Vampire, but it was a nice rig. The door opened automatically at my touch. Grabbing the bar by the door, I pulled myself inside.
"Welcome to my world, Agatha." It was pitch black inside the rig. As Ana spoke the lights slowly came up. This RV was laid out similar to the old forensics truck where I first met her.
"This is a nice RV. You said it was yours?" The seats looked to be leather, and real wood lined the walls.
"I had it built specially for me. When I heard about this assignment coming up, I volunteered to join the team." I could see her sitting in the darkness at the rear of the vehicle.
"You volunteered? I thought you were a supervisor?" My bracelet tingled as a shield snapped into being around me. This one was different than the others it had produced, more subtle.
"I am a supervisor, but I am allowed to pick my own assignments. It was part of the deal I made with J. Edgar Hoover in 1945 when I joined the FBI. I rarely contest where they send me."
"I don't understand. If you are a supervisor why submit to my orders?"
"Because you are different. I liked working with Jack. I thought we could have the same relationship." Ana stepped out of the shadows into the light. She appearance had changed since the last time I had seen her.
"Step closer Agatha, I need to show you something." Her words echoed in my ears and kept repeating themselves. If I had been human or unprotected, I might not have been able to resist her.
"I think not. I would prefer to keep our relationship one of work only, Ana." She stopped abruptly and pulled her head back from me like an animal scenting danger.
"Please, Agatha. I only want to tell you something." I felt my hand begin to grow warm. Her allure and attempts at persuasion were triggering my defenses.
"No. Please stop, Anastasia. I value your friendship, but I won't hesitate." I held up my hand, and a fireball quickly formed inside it.
"I don't understand. How?"
"How what? How did I stop you? Not going to tell you. Is this why Jack is so messed up? Have you been putting the whammy on him?" I stepped closer to her. The darkness fleeing from my fireball.
"It's not like that. Jack is one of my oldest friends. He occasionally needed comfort."
"That's what his wife is for. How long Ana?" I stared at the woman I had thought was my friend.
"How long what?" She crept back to the shadowed area and sat down. I let my fireball die and reabsorbed the magic.
"How long have you been doing this? How many Agents and others have you 'helped' with their problems?"
She sighed. "Hundreds, thousands? I lost count years ago. It was a simple arrangement. Edgar knew I was doing it. He didn't care about my feeding habits or any of my powers. His goal was to make the FBI the best agency in the United States. I was the key to that. Remember your history lessons. Paranormals refused to work for any part of this Government until well into the 1960s when the Were reservations were dissolved. The FBI needed help in a major way."
"Did Jack know?"
"Maybe, maybe not. Jack's will was very strong and he was able to repress much. I would tell him to forget anything that disturbed him in our sessions. For him, it was the Fae. I let the higher-ups believe that they were the ones zapping him." She almost, but not quite sounded contrite.
"The higher-ups. Do they know about you? What you do to people?"
"I have no idea. Edgar once told me he put the information in his files and only his files. Since they have never been found, who knows? They may suspect."
I stared at her and played my ace card. "What do they suspect? That you are a Vampire Elder and day walker?"
A startled hiss escaped her lips. "How did you know? Agatha, please tell me how you know that!"
"I guessed. But you just now confirmed it. Does anyone know?"
"No, and I've taken deliberate steps to prevent anyone from guessing. You have to tell me, what gave it away?" She looked desperate.
"Chuck gave me a clue."
"Chuck? He never saw me do anything. I am even more careful with my people here in the RV."
"It was something he said. He told me you were awake. It was the middle of the day. My Grandmother educated me pretty well on the major races. The only Vampires that are awake in daylight were Elders. And not regular Elders, but only Ancient ones. There is only a handful of those in existence according to her."
"She's right about that. I know of four for sure that still exist. The rest were all lost in the Purge." Ana sounded remorseful.
"That was how I knew. Chuck c
laimed that you had an element built into the truck that allowed you to be awake. There is no such thing. If there were, Vampires would be everywhere by now. Only an Ancient Elder could be awake and functional at the time it was."
"That story has worked for over fifty years. Trust Witchcraft to catch me in a lie. Well, what do we do now?" She held up her hands in frustration.
"Now? We do nothing. You haven't hurt anyone except Jack. And he wasn't physically hurt. I want your promise that if you are to stay on this team, you will refrain from harming or affecting anyone else on it."
"That's it? You aren't going to report me or zap me or something?" Ana looked at me with wide eyes.
"You are one of my friends. I'm protected. What good will outing you do? I assume that the Vampire Nation doesn't know?"
"No. They don't. I qualify as an Elder having lived so long but they have no idea I'm an Ancient. In another life, I was an ambassador. When the Purge happened, I was in transit and outside the range of the spell. Luck was on my side. A name change, a new identity and poof no more Ancient. If they find out, I would be pressured to take over a nest and sitting on a throne all day is boring. I wanted adventure."
"Alright. Do we have a deal?"
"We do. Thank you, Agatha." She smiled at me flashing her fangs.
"Great. I assume you are staying here? I have a meeting to attend." I checked the time. "And I'm late."
I hopped out of the larger RV and fast walked over to the Administrative building.
Melissa must have been at lunch or something because she was absent. Nodding to the guards, I entered the building and walked down the long hallway to the Director's office. I thought over what Anastasia told me. The reason she gave for joining the FBI didn't ring true to me. There was another story to work out there. The rest? She was telling me the truth. It was good that my bracelet could protect me from her but sad that it had to do it in the first place. I wondered if she had tried swaying me in the past, but couldn't remember anything. That was both good and bad. She, like me, had secrets to keep. I would keep hers. For now.
The B's were absent too. I wondered if someone was having a luncheon or something somewhere. Curious, they almost never deserted the Director. I could hear voices from the inner office, so I knocked.
"Come on in." It was a man's voice which totally threw me for a loop.
"Director Mills?" I let the door open just a crack.
"Come in Agatha. Some friends of yours want to say hello." I opened the door all the way and was suddenly embraced by ninety pounds of blond-haired Cat!
"Cat, and Chuck!" I pried my best friend in the world, not counting Fergus, off me and embraced Chuck.
"What are you two doing here?" An older man I didn't know smiled at me from across the room.
"Agatha." The Director's voice brought me around to meet her eyes.
"This is your new team!" She spread her arms to encompass the room.
My eyes opened wide, and my jaw dropped at the same time. Chuck, Cat, and Anastasia? Together on my team?
I held out my hand to the older man. "I'm sorry. We haven't been introduced. I'm Special Agent in Charge Agatha Blackmore."
"William Maxwell. You can call me Bill." I clasped Bill's hand and shook it.
"Bill is your liaison with Washington. He will help with dealing with the local police and the press. Trust him. He's one of the good ones.
"Then it's good to meet you, Bill. Welcome to the team." Bill was an older, sturdy looking Agent. He had a grandfatherly air about him.
"Anastasia will be with you too. Her RV is supposed to be outside." The Director drew my attention away from Bill.
I nodded. "I spoke with her already. She called when I parked next to her rig."
"Good. I hate to rush you, but the case we are sending you on is a real nasty one. Cat is to be your second-in-command. She has all the files and is ready to start the brief. Cat?"
Cat blew out a long breath and looked over at me. "This is a real nasty one, Agatha. It started, as you know, with the body of a child found in the woods. We have some evidence that leads to a case of slavery. Someone is enslaving Were children and forcing them to attack others."
Chapter 6
Slavery in the twenty-first century? Paranormal trafficking was a reality. The local FBI office stumbled across this completely by accident. A dismembered child's body was discovered in a wooded area in rural Arkansas. It touched off a firestorm of accusations that ended with the FBI getting involved. Stephen Jaeger, was the youngest son of the local Were Pack Alpha. According to his father, he was out walking in the woods when he was attacked by a neighboring Pack and killed. The story was entirely believable except for one fact. The local police who discovered the body had Weres and they didn't smell anyone local except for Stephen.
Accusations between the Packs flew back and forth, and negotiations fell apart. The FBI was called in to mediate the dispute. They discovered that Stephen was somewhat of a progressive. He cultivated friends among the exiled and the shunned. Children in that community come up missing all the time and no one, not even the police, investigate them. When the extremely alarming statistics came to light, the locals all clammed up.
"Cat, what do we know about the local Alpha?" We were no longer in Director Mills' office, but for now, were setting up in Anastasia's RV.
"Not enough. The Arkansas Packs are complete unknowns to me. I was about to call my father and ask." She motioned to the phone, and I nodded.
Cat dialed. "Hello, Dad?"
"Catherine! How is life back at Quantico?"
"It's OK. I'm working with Magical Crimes now and had a question for you."
"With your friend Agatha? That is excellent Cat! What can I do for you?" Robert Moore was the Beta of his Pack. His brother, Cat's uncle, was Alpha.
"I've got you on speaker. What do you know about Arkansas? We have a case concerning the Packs there?" Cat tried to be tactful with her father and not give away too much of the case.
There was a rustling sound like someone sitting down. "Which Pack? There are four in that State."
"Four? FBI records state there are only two in that area." I broke into the conversation.
"Agatha! Congratulations on your promotion! You will do a good job." Robert had a booming voice.
"Uh, how do you know about that? I just found out myself yesterday?"
"That I cannot speak of. Sorry. About your earlier question, there are four recognized Packs in Arkansas. Jaeger, Petrov, and Pepin are the most predominant. The fourth is the Austin Pack. They are an offshoot of the larger Texas Pack. Started by a second son, I believe. They moved to that area around fifty years ago or so."
"Excuse me, recognized by whom?" This was from Bill, our team liaison.
"May I ask who is speaking?" Robert paused for a moment.
"Robert, this is Bill Maxwell. He's our new liaison and media specialist." I did the introductions.
"Among the Packs, there is an association of sorts. We track Pack mergers, acquisitions, and migrations. The group also monitors for rogue activity as well as lobbies with Washington for legal matters concerning Weres."
Both Cat and Chuck had shocked looks on their faces. "I had no idea. Robert, what do you know about Were slavery?"
There was silence for a long moment. "Agatha, which Pack is being implicated?"
"Truthfully, we don't know. There is an investigation, and because it involves Weres, we are now involved. Do you know something that can help us?"
"There have been ...whispers. For several years, rumors have circulated about Packs that farm out younglings for be trained to fight and incite violence among our communities. Before you jump in, you must understand some things. The Were community is much more civilized than it was hundred or even a fifty years ago. Before our exposure after the war, Packs and Pack Alphas as a matter of daily business committed many sorts of atrocities. Violence is the only way to keep some Packs in line. Even today that is the norm. We are trying to stop it,
but tradition gets in the way. Our best hope is in the younger generation like Cat and Chuck."
I stared at the phone, digesting what he was telling us. "So when you say farm them out you really mean..."