Road Trip
Two vehicles, five people, two rest stops, some sleeping, some dreaming, one non-rest stop with a police officer thwarted by government business, and one near collision with a deer.

Jahck was able to read a little of the documentation assigned to him. It seemed like pretty standard stuff. Some of it was remarkably similar to the stuff they threw in movies, but most was what you would expect about protocol and the like. Agent Jennifer Showalter explained that some of that would be a little different given the nature of the operatives, but adhere as close as possible. Holding his hands apart and trying to concentrate, Jahck tried to make electricity. Repeatedly and often with no avail. Once while he was trying a deer leapt towards the road and Agent Short swerved. Jahck fell asleep halfway through Pennsylvania. While he slept he dreamed.

He was standing at the entrance of the caverns he had been a tour guide for for years. A storm raged overhead, clouds swirled. An ancient looking Justin Kase was inside the cavern looking out, He was digging through souvenirs looking for the right one, but no one could help him. Agent Showalter with bleeding eyes was held by the quicksilver looking Brice who nearly vibrated with energy. Suddenly Leon and Eli and Carrie appeared behind Brice and pushed him into a hole in the ground. Lightning struck the hole and it disappeared. Snow started to fall and Leon and Eli were gone. Thunder boomed overhead and it woke Jahck from his dream. Thunder and lightning boomed again. Agent Short who was driving the truck for a bit looked over, "We've run into a bit of weather. Seems to have followed us all this way and it's just now caught up to us." Rain pelted the vehicle suddenly and Agent Short turned on the windshield wipers and slowed.

Justin, in the car ahead, inadvertently fell asleep while staring at the passing landscape. He dreamed he was old beyond compare in some dark cave searching through junk. Blocking his exit was the cave was a man watching something going on outside. Lights flashed making the man nothing more than a silhouette and a cold breeze flowed from deeper in the cave. Justin picked up a stuffed animal of a blind cave fish and tossed it aside. A Christian children's book of Jonah and the Whale was moved next. A handful of necklaces of carved stones and small cheap metal koi that were fashioned in such a way to move a little as overlapping plates allowed some side to side play. There was a pool of water below the junk and in it he saw a man he'd never seen before. The man was in a warm place watching children play soccer. The man suddenly turned into a fish and swam in circles in the pool of water. A loud crash of thunder and the squeak of windshield wipers woke him, and seemingly Brice as well.

Brice had fallen asleep after Agent Showalter yelled at him. Brice had turned himself into Metal and it caused her to swerve as the weight distribution in the vehicle pulled the car momentarily to the side. After he switched back and then to a silvery metal which was only slightly lighter, she threatened to boot him from the car so he could try his substance shifting on the side of the road. Brice was holding the eyeless body of Agent Showalter in which silvery form. He had been running, from where he didn't know, but Jahck barred him from going any farther. Jahck looked up and so did Brice. A storm raged over head, threatening to become a twister or worse. Agent Showalter mouthed something Brice couldn't hear and suddenly a force from behind pushed him into a hole. He started to fall and water suddenly swirled around him. A woman with eyes of a cat and a man of Gold took Agent Showalter from Brice and a peal of thunder woke him.

"If you two are done resting," Agent Showalter said, "Then Justin can take the wheel for a while and keep an eye on the GPS while I catch some Z's myself. We'll refuel at the gas station at the next exit."

Jahck looked around getting his bearings straight and looked back and forth between the other passengers then looked up at the sky and let out a little "Huh..." contemplating the dream and it's possible implications. "Sure I will take next driving shift," Jahck said just as Agent Showalter's words finally clicked in his head.

"Sure thing SAS, lucky thing we've got you with us, Wouldn't want to see what happens if we chance upon a Local Constabulary who asked for my ID. Considering how I look at the moment." Justin commented as the vehicle came to a halt, Quickly he slipped from the back seat opening Showalters door stepping back to allow her to exit the car. Have a pleasant rest, hope you don't have one like I just, which I think we all should hear when we get to Boston. Not sure what it was about, but since things haven't been what you call normal it may have some impact on what we're up to."

Brice got out of the car to stretch his legs.  The lead car had stopped and he watched as Agent Short stepped out.  The man had been driving a long time too.  "I should give Agent Short a break as well."  Then he heard what Justin said.

"Justin, um, I never took too much stock in dreams myself, or at least not the kind you have while you're sleeping anyway.  But mine were kind of weird as well."  As he started off towards the other car he pointed towards Jennifer.  "Just keep those eyes in your head, Agent Showalter."  Her response was a strange look.

He went over to Agent Short.  "Want to take a nap?  I can drive for a while."

Agent Short yawned in response and handed over the keys.  The remainder of the drive saw dawn breaking.  The GPS coordinates had Brice and Jahck meandering through Boston until they finally arrived at an apartment complex, a portion of which had been cordoned off.  Enough time had passed that only the yellow tape remained across the closed door of the victim's apartment.  Agents Short and Showalter were awake and checking messages and reports.

Once everyone was out of the vehicles at the apartment buildings, Showalter snapped her cell phone shut, "Well, the body is at the morgue, the case notes are sitting on someone's desk, and the detective on the case is at home with a head cold."  She shook her head.  Agent Short went to get the apartments manager.

The weather was cold and it started to drizzle.  Jahck had a feeling that it was just going to get worse throughout the day.  Agent Short came back with the manager and the door was opened to the group.

Before getting out of the car he sent a quick sms to Yolanda and his mum. Show time Justin thought, waiting until the others had entered the apartment. Stepping inside and closing the door behind him "Anyone got a recording device, it may come in handy" he prompted. After a cursory look he stood in the entry waiting and wondering if he'd get an image of what happened here.

Sgt. Jennings stood at the door and waited for Agent Showalter.  Her's was the power to show them what really happened. They could look at clues and scratch their heads all day but she would make quick work of it.

Agent Short and Showalter inspected the room while Justin and Brice stood wondering.  Justin was getting nothing and Brice only got a look, "Some good old fashioned detective work works just as well as these super powers that we all claim to have.  We still have to use our brains."

"There was no forced entry," Agent Short said.  "So the vic knew them."  Agent Short pointed to the  couch.  "And this is where the body was found, I was able to get that much from the officials.  Strangulation.  Part of this was interrupted otherwise we wouldn't have got the intercept alert from HQ."

Brice looked around as well.  "Do we have the identity of whoever interrupted them?"  He was hoping to experience that watery, clouded feeling again that Agent Showalter imparted with her gift.  He would have liked to experience or see what happened here.  "Has the place been dusted for prints?"  He asked as he walked around the room where the murder occurred.  He was looking at shelves and counter tops.  He was trying to find anything out of the ordinary.  Perhaps the victim secreted something away in a book or hid something in plain sight on a counter top as something else.

He turned back to Showalter.  She wanted an old-fashioned investigation?

"What do we know of the victim?  Family, Friends, Acquaintances, his job, where he hangs out, his hobbies?  Does he own a vehicle and where is it?  What about a computer?  Cell phone?  Do we have his phone records? an answering service? Emails? Texts? What about his neighbors?  Do they know him?  Is he sociable or a recluse? These are the directions we need to go when coming into an investigation so late.  If we are really going to do this, then those are the questions we have to start answering."

He regarded the AIC.  "Its like a puzzle, and we have not even started gathering the pieces.  Usually there are numerous investigators handling different aspects of an investigation like this.  Is there a chance you can pull in some outside resources?" 

"Like I don't know any of this," Showalter said.  She clicked open her laptop on the counter and pulled up a file.  The Victim's name and a photo of him, what looked like a Driver's license type photo where in an application that displayed case notes.  Some facts were bullet point style down the page.  This was not his listed address.  The information pointed to a life outside of Boston.  To a life in New York, one that was years out of date.  No computer was located in the apartment.  No cars were registered to his name.  No cell phone.  The phone records of the apartment were to a dominoes pizza that they passed on the way in. 

"I'm sure the neighbors have been questioned, but like I said, those files seem to be on some desk downtown.  We'll get those later this morning.  I just want to see the place.  Make my own assessments before looking in on someone else's thinking.  They can try and influence me after I've made my own opinions and not before.  Do you always buy all the shit they sell you in those reports, Sergeant Jennings?  I know I never did.  Good cops make judgments that are wrong also."

"You probably want her to use her powers," Agent Short said in a hushed tone.  "But you never know who is watching."

Justin meandered around the room examining items without touching anything. After several minutes of this he rested against the arm of the settee. Wondering what the others would be doing next as he considered the psyche of the people who had to deal with death so often, surely constant association would affect them he shuddered at the thought of so many having to deal with this daily cops, firefighters, paramedics, medico's, undertakers... he thought

"You are quite right about that, on both points."  Said Brice to Agent Short with a smile.  But then he continued with Agent Showalter.

"I used to be the very person writing those types of reports, Agent Showalter, before they promoted me to the level where I only reviewed them instead.  There are usually three types of interviewers.  There is the type that writes down the information as presented so that the investigators can get an unvarnished view.  Those are usually the younger officers, the newly trained.  There is the type that does the same but adds their interpretation of the information which, while adding their own perspective and insight does tend to color the information to some degree for the investigator. And then there is the type that does both but in different formats, perhaps different forms or documents, and are usually confidential and far more thought provoking.

"We train our officers to take the first approach but over time some officers begin to stain their reports with opinions.  But the third style provides insights into the character of both the interviewee and the interviewer and is far more instrumental to a successful investigation."

"All such reports provide some useful information, Agent Showalter.  They tell us which people were not home at the time the building was canvassed; what questions were asked, and which were not and to whom.  And if we are lucky we have attached confidential reports from the officers or detectives telling us whether they thought the person was lying outright, trying to hide something, or actually had a role in the incident."

"So, to answer your question after a fashion, Agent Showalter, If there is shit to buy in those reports then the investigating agency has some serious problems.  Since I have only dealt with my own agency over the years, I have not grown quite as jaded as you seem to be.  But I suppose dealing with agencies from every corner of the nation, each with different training and procedures, being able to deal with frustration and incompetent people needs to be in your job description.  I do not envy you that aspect of your job."

Brice had been walking around, viewing the room from different angles to see what it told him.  He looked in the various rooms as well.  He examined the kitchen area to see if it was used very often.  He checked to see if he could tell if the victim used the stove more often then the microwave.  He checked to see what types of foods he ate.  He checked the cupboards to see if he prepared his own food very often, what brands of food did he prefer and could he find a receipt or grocery bag anywhere that told him where he did his shopping.  The location might tell him whether he used a cab service very often or if he walked to the store.

He checked the refrigerator as well. Were there the types of food that one needs to prepare larger meals or were there only foods to prepare quick bites or instant meals?  Were there an abundance of take-out cartons, a Dominoes pizza box or two?  Did he frequent Indian or Thai restaurants and bring home dogie bags? He even checked the trash.

He checked the bathroom for the same reason.  How many tooth brushes were there?  Did he have a female guest stay here?  What did the medicine cabinet say about him?  Was he on some kind of medication?  

He checked the bedroom and the night stand and dresser.  Were there books there that he read?  Was there anything hidden there?  Under the drawers of the dresser or taped to the bottom?  He looked under the mattress and between the mattress and the box spring, and the pillows.  There was a lot more he thought needed to be done in the bedroom, but he had another idea.

He walked back into the living room to where Agent Showalter was using her laptop.  He walked behind her to see some of the information.  "Two quick questions.  Has the bedroom and living room couch been scanned with a UV light?  And is there basement storage for these apartments?  Often, in these types of buildings there are storage areas assigned to each tenant.  If he did not own a car he might have a bike or scooter there.  He might have other property there as well, such as a locked trunk or storage boxes."

Something about the information on her screen also caught his eye.  "Sorry, more questions.  How long has he lived here and do we have a copy of his lease agreement?  Usually there are previous addresses listed there so the rental office can do at least a preliminary background check." 

"Like I said, the initial report has not been filed yet.  Every station does it differently, some more lax than others.  You may think highly of your own, but likely you've just grown accustomed yourself of the styles of those reports.  The more you see the more jaded you become.  To answer questions for which out search is unimpeded.  There is no basement storage anywhere here.  And it seems that our vic doesn't leave a paper trail, even with the main office.  Cash Cash Cash.  Where does he keep it and if it is no longer here, then where did it go?"  Agent Showalter said from behind the laptop screen.

Brice's search through the apartment didn't turn up anything specific.  The guy only stuck to name brands, Uncle Ben's, Kellogs, Hershey's, etc.  A Google search through the laptop turns up that the items could be bought at any number of stores in the local vicinity, any of which could be reached within walking distance depending on how motivated the walker was.

"It's still early yet," Agent Short said.  I'll stop by the main office and hit a couple of the local grocery stores.  The locals may not have bothered to ask around.  Also I should go by the local Morgue and look up the vic.  Justin?  You ready for that?"

With all of his internal conjecture and walking around, Brice had entirely forgotten their real ace in the hole:  Justin.  It may be that they actually did not have a victim after all.  What happens when the person killed is resurrected?  This was a whole new world.

He looked over at Justin for the answer.  After he came back from visiting his family he had aged quite a bit.  He could only think that it was the result of bringing that rabbit back to life.  He had been shocked when Agent Showalter had told them. And he had avoided talking to Justin about it.  If there were not such drastic and personal consequences then he would be the most valuable, most sought-after person on the planet.

He tried to guess Justin's Age, strictly based upon his appearance.  Had he changed in the many hours since he had rejoined them?

So far he hadn't got a clue about the... the vic. Sure he'd watched those CSI and Cop soaps but they were mostly hype, glossing over the methods with cut frames, fades and jumpto's. Justin smiled "Yep. ready and willing, mind I'm not sure what'll happen, still getting used to this stuff, or what you want me to do. " he prompted.

"Good," Agent Short said and led Justin toward the main office to inquire of whatever records they might have.  Brice watched Justin, guessing that he was mid forties perhaps, or older.  No change had occurred in the time that they had been back together, and based on the report, he was about to go age again.

Agent Showalter signaled Jahck and Brice to vacate as well, "We'll be back, The evidence that we can collect won't disappear as quickly over time.  We'll just need to be sure that prying eyes are not looking over the place.  Until then, Brice, if you could head to the local station and deal with them to get those reports.  I'll be available on cell if you need any kind of authoritative backup.  I'll take Jahck around the complex and we'll see what we can see."

"Sounds good to me," Jahck spoke up. He was just chilling in the background waiting to be useful so he was jumping at any chance to get some stuff done.

Brice was a little stymied that there was no computer.   Most people used them.  He also thought about the fact that the victim, as Agent Showalter said, seemed to live only by using cash alone.  He was probably hiding from someone.

"Ok, I will call if I find anything useful.  See you all soon."

So, Agent Short was with Justin again and Agent Showalter was with Jahck.

Brice pulled out his phone and walked out of the apartment building to stand on the sidewalk.  He pulled up the Mapquest app on his Iphone and told it to use his current location.  He then looked for the nearest police station to see if it was within walking distance or if he needed to call a cab.

Although they had two cars, they had decided to split up three ways.  And he had already returned Agent Short's car keys to him anyway.  They will need the car to go to the morgue. 


Justin remained silent as the others discussed the next step then split up. He gave Agent Short a speculative look "Agent Short do you think we should initiate some form of recording, with whats  happening to me using Specialist Doctors or such, just to be on the safe side. I was also thinking it might be helpful to get ne Id's etc after all I do't exactly look like I'm 17 anymore."