Fantasy The Albert Branch (Urban fantasy/Secret organisation RP)

[jones573]

“Yeah, well- Don’t be such a freak at school and maybe the other kids wouldn’t be so mean to you,” Daniel advised over the phone, taking a hearty gulp of his coffee. Even by his low standards, it was terrible coffee. At least the muffin had been better.



He was late for the 7 am meeting, which was to be expected. He often got called out of the office to go look at suspicious things- Mostly, a waste of time, as far as he was concerned, but at least it gave him an excuse not to have to attend things like 7 am meetings. He’d even texted this time, to let Bóideach know that traffic was hell and he wasn’t going to make it.



“Well, if Miss Josie says you have to go to school, I don’t think you have a choice, bud,” he reminded the kid on the other end of the call. “You know what she does to people who break the rules, yeah? Mmhmm, good choice. All right, you’re walking yourself home this afternoon, but I’ll see you for dinner, okay?”



He ended the call with a sigh- He’d actually called to speak with the aforementioned Miss Josie to make sure everything was still in place to pick up that American vampire from the airport later today, but his nephew had decided that he was no longer going to be attending school. Which was, admittedly, a near daily occurrence.



“Bóideach,” he greeted, catching Oliver on his way out of the meeting. “The murder outside of Killyleagh doesn’t seem like one of ours- Just a normal, human monster, I reckon. But I gave the investigators my card if anything strange comes up.”



It was gruesome enough that it warranted checking out- Possibly a vampire or werewolf gone feral. But they didn’t have any indication that individuals of either species were in the area, and more importantly, Daniel hadn’t gotten any suspicious feelings when he’d been at the crime scene. It was the rare feral creature that had enough presence of mind to disguise their presence while out being rapid.



There was still a few people in the meeting room, and Daniel grunted a greeting before flipping skimming the information. Tempest and Fletcher on point, he saw.



“Good luck,” he told Tempest gruffly, partially about the case and partially about having to work it with Fletcher. Daniel thought the kid could stand to dial down the dramatics considerably, and was glad Bóideach hadn’t made a habit of pairing them together.



“I’d guess curse,” he offered his two cents, wanted or not. He was probably going to be staying at the office and catching up on reports unless they needed significant backup, but he couldn't resist the urge to speculate. “But if it’s something material- Dementia wards are usually passcode locked. You have to know the date to get through the door.”



He gave a grim smile, and downed the rest of his coffee.

 

[LindsMagee]

“Hopefully I won’t need it”, Tempest responded to Daniel as he entered the room. She knew he was referring to Oliver assigning her with Fletcher on this particular case. Though there were some agents Tempest had a particular distaste for, she always tried to remain as professional as possible with her coworkers. She also made a mental not of the information Daniel offered regarding the dementia wards. As the meeting came to a close, Tempest grabbed her tablet and swiftly walked to her office. Shutting the door, Tempest made sure to grab her necessary documents, hide her weapons inconspicuously on her body, and switch out her leather jacket for a fitted blazer in a matter of seconds. Taking a deep breath, she chugged the rest of her latte and tossed in in the trash bin by her desk. Might as well get all of the energy she could get dealing with this case.

Tempest slid into the backseat as she saw Aziza as up front, wondering if she would be entering the nursing home with them or staying in the car. After all, she didn’t always get to hear the specific orders Oliver gave to the others, she only knew she had to follow those designated to her. While in the car, Tempest yet again began to scan the other case files given to her. She was looking for any patterns to this case, but had no luck so far. Tempest, ever the perfectionist, was irritated that she had no idea what she was walking into, that she didn’t yet have a solution to this mystery.

jones573 Eliasdagood Foster The Mad Queen



Elysian sauntered through the doors of the nursing home, “Charming little thing isn’t it?” He said, though he wasn't expecting a response from the two men flanking either side of him. Hearing of this incident worried him. Just after things were beginning to look calm in the supernatural world, another suspicious mortal death occurred. Elysian wondered just when the Branch would catch wind of it, and when they would be sending their agents to investigate. Getting into the home and past the secretary was a piece of cake, he didn’t have to use a drop of magic. All it took was a bit of flirty banter with the woman at the front desk, a facetious tale about being the grandson of one of the patients admitted here, and he was in. Elysian didn’t like when things were out of his control, didn’t appreciate when supernaturals did erratic things to mess up the balance of things. That is precisely why he came to investigate this incident himself, he halted his usual business in order to deal with it. His influence has a wide and powerful grasp on most of the supernatural world, with many creatures understanding that if they violated the rules set forth for them, they would be punished accordingly whether it be by his hand or another one of the governing entities in their community.

As he and his entourage approached the room, Elysian turned to the duo and stated “Aleksander, patrol the entrance to the facility. Emilio, scan the surrounding hallways and report if you find anything out of place.” As the pair quickly walked away, Elysian delicately removed the caution tape on the door and slipped inside, curious as to if there would be any evidence whatsoever.
​

 

[The Mad Queen]

Chloe sat back and let the others do the talking while the officer took notes and followed behind Fletcher as they headed to the garage. Along the way she took some of her gear from the armoury, signing off on it and making her way into a bathroom to change into the uniform of a PSNI officer. As she slipped the stab vest on, she felt a bit of calm wash over her. The uniform was a cocoon of reassurance, reminding Chloe of simpler times and she felt at home wearing it. After that, she made her way to the garage where she passed by Agent Walker and removed her cap out of respect.

"Sir." She nodded "Will you be joining us? I know Fletcher and Tempest are taking point but if you aren't busy I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind if you tagged along." Her tone was calm, almost monotone but beneath her armour Chloe was slightly excited. Walker had been with the branch for six years, and she'd heard a few stories about his exploits.
The chance to work alongside him would be an opportunity to learn, to better herself on the job and she was going to grab that chance by the throat.

As Tempest was carefully checking her notes, she would notice that the deceased resident had been staying at the home for three weeks, but outside of having a grandson who was convicted for drug trafficking seven years ago her entire history was as clean as a whistle. He had died of a heroin overdose shortly after leaving prison, six months ago.

Eliasdagood LindsMagee Foster jones573

The inside of the bedroom was covered in crime scene markers, going from the bed and making their way towards the door. Baked beans on toast had been Margret Cotton's last meal and they were cold, sitting on a bedside table next to a messy bed. The sheets were covered in residue from the deceased, bits of her hair and dead skin as well as body sweat. What appeared to be soil lay on the floor next to the bed, marked by a tag.

The hallways were not empty, filled instead with care assistants who tried to redirect other residents away from the crime scene. Many were still in their beds and the tired eyes of nightshift staff, close to the end of their watch turned away from the hallway, doing their best to avoid it. Something else would catch Elysian's attention: the window was open.

The windows were like any nursing home though, much too small for a person to fit inside or out and they would only open halfway to allow air in. There was however, soil on the windowsill; for a room on the first floor, at least a good few feet above the ground.
Cotton's bedroom was large, enough to fit in a solid oak wardrobe and a chest of drawers with an en-suite bathroom not too far away from the bed for easy access.
Her room was decorated with family photographs, showing four young men and one woman with her eyes and a black and white photo of a younger woman with light hair in a white dress, standing next to a man in a tuxedo and dark hair. Both wore warm smiles and had their arms wrapped around each other.
The more recent photos were those of presumed grandchildren, toddlers and a teenage boy with spiked up hair sitting on a bench while a Border Collie rested on the teen's lap.

However, upon closer inspection Elysian's keen eyes would notice that the photo had been altered, for something or someone had been cut out of the photo altogether.

LindsMagee

 

[GhastlySquash]

The Mad Queen

For a second, both Emmas looked shell-shocked.

The younger Emma shook her head, finally answering. “I guess not a lot...I mean I don’t remember when I was born. But I remember riding my bicycle. I remember going to school for the first time and I was so scared.” Her eyes were watery.

“I remember that I picked on Charles Fletcher because he was different and I didn’t want to be ousted as a weirdo. So I picked on him. I had to pick on someone. I kept doing it. And it felt better...”

She was shaking in her seat. “I was a bully. I pushed people. I taunted them...and then...I just blacked out.”

Meanwhile, the older Emma was shaking her head. “Wow, that seems like a cheap trick. I mean...I remember that too. So what’s that leave us?”

 

[The Mad Queen]

"I do not think it's a trick." Vera told the older Emma "If she was trying to copy you, to steal identity then why bring up something so meaningless like picking on a weird kid?"
Charles Fletcher was a name Vera would try to remember, making a strong mental note of it. Perhaps he was connected to all of this, especially if Emma vanished as a child. She stood up from the table and gently skipped towards the door, resting a hand on it and opening it just enough for her head to peak though.
"You." She called at a random rookie, a baby-faced man with stubble who's eyes told Vera everything she had to know: he hadn't seen the worst of it all yet.

He pointed at himself.
"I need you to bring me a file on an American called Charles Fletcher."
"B-but, ma'am..." He stammered out "Lots of Americans could have that name."
"Just a second." Vera smiled, ducking her head back inside the room "What school did you go to? What town? I need details or neither of you are going anywhere. Or worse...The TFF might want you back."

If she could still feel the cold, let alone still shiver, the very idea would have sent multiple down her spine.
"I only wish to help." She tried to smile, to seem welcoming and warm but the Vampire had failed, instead looking a demented escapee from the nearest mental asylum.

GhastlySquash

 

[GhastlySquash]

The Mad Queen

The older Emma seemed to roll her eyes. “Randywood High. I remember Charles. I’d just take his stuff when he wasn’t looking.”

“It was Ravenwood...” The younger Emma answered. “And one time I dunked his head into the toilet.”

As the file on Charles Fletcher, it was shown that Emma was responsible for both acts, but the school in question appeared to be Randywood High, formerly Ravenwood back when Emma was probably 13.

When Vera offered a compassionate smile, the younger Emma flinched and backed away while the older Emma merely smiled back, grinning like a jackal.

“Sure love my country don’t I? You think customs will be fine if I bring a few beverages back from the good Ol Uk?”

 

[The Mad Queen]

Vera rolled her eyes "You will be lucky if the TFF lets you return alive at all." She told the older Emma, rather plainly and then, while maintaining constant eye contact banged one of her hands down on the table. She didn't like having to resort to threatening people, but the older Emma just didn't seem to be taking things seriously enough for Vera's tastes.

She'd never seen the TFF's brutality first hand, just seen reports but that was enough. Her gaze turned back to the younger Emma "You said you were pushing kids around when you blacked out?" She smiled again, as if her outburst had never happened "And after that you woke up and all this time had passed?"
She sat down next to Emma and smiled again "Was there anything else? Please try to think really hard about this as anything you tell me will be helpful."

GhastlySquash

 

[GhastlySquash]

The Mad Queen

The younger Emma nodded. “I was...chasing Charles. He’d ruined my chances with Darryl when he told him that I had feelings for him. So I...just wanted to finish him once and for all...”

Emma sighed. “It was Halloween. I knew Fletcher was scared of Jack-O-Lanters, so I put one on and a black cloak and chased him.”

The file would confirm that Fletcher was the last one to see her, but he did recall thinking that perhaps Emma ran away, something the older Emma maintained.

“Listen, maybe I put on a costume, but I know for a fact I just needed some air. It was embarrassing to be outed by Fletcher. So I ran away for a bit. What kid doesn’t?” The older Emma shook her head. “This other Emma sounds like she wants to be the headless horseman.”

The younger Emma narrowed her eyes. “Fletcher didn’t know it was me. And I did not run away. I woke up...still in my costume...alone.”

 

[jones573]

“You don’t need to call me ‘sir’, Walsh,” Daniel reminded Chloe with a sigh. He didn’t really like going by ‘Walker’ either, but he supposed junior agents weren’t always comfortable using first names, especially if they had law enforcement or military background. Or at least, the very new junior agents- At a certain point, most people in the office learned they could refer to Daniel pretty much however they liked.

“I got other stuff today,” he told her with a shrug, looking through a stack of papers. Like going out and burning some fairy rings, it looked like. Fun. “But you know how to reach me if it gets weird, yeah? Best a’ luck,” he said absent mindedly.

He actually respected Walsh somewhat and probably wouldn’t have made her life overly miserable if she ever got assigned to work directly under him, which a rare sentiment for him to harbor towards the newer recruits- He usually waffled between resentment and pity. Not that he didn’t pity her a little bit. She was clearly a smart woman, eager to learn, and the Albert Branch was all too willing to take advantage.






“Anyone seen Vera?,” he asked aloud, and got pointed in the right direction by a junior agent who was saying something else that Daniel was already tuning out as he took another sip of his coffee, having already forgotten how subpar it had been. And also, that it was empty. Damn.

He knew she wasn’t much for socializing, but he was hoping he could badger her into meeting with his Mr. Hotshot Billionaire Vampire before the guy flew back to his own continent. Moraes had been pushing TFF out of the areas of his family’s control in South and Central America and was interested in ‘a more mutually beneficial model of community structuring’, which the Albert Branch was keen to showcase for him. Especially if it meant they might have access to his resources, which were rumored to be… Impressive. Vera was one of the oldest personnel, and had certainly been through her share of different ‘models of community structuring’, so Daniel figured she’d be a good place to start.

“Hey, Vee, you want to come to the airport with me later today to pick up the Collective’s guest, I think this guy could really use a reality check about the issues of- Aaaaand you have civilians, sorry,” he said as he turned around, realizing that the junior agent had probably warned him of this very fact and he’d ignored it.

They seemed a bit too close in age to be mother and daughter, but they were definitely related. “… Can I get y’all some water or coffee or something,” he offered after an awkward moment. They looked like they might rather be shown the door, but that wasn’t in his power to provide.

 

[LindsMagee]

As Tempest sifted through the file for the nursing home case yet again, something caught her eye. Though it may have been an insignificant detail to the average eye, Tempest’s training at the Branch made her notice the little things that seemed “off”. The victim of the case had a pristine record, which was unusual for a case like this. A case in which there had only been one victim so far, not mass fatalities. The detail that seemed so out of place was the fact that the victim had a grandson who died of a heroin overdose around six months ago after being freed from prison. This seemed odd to Tempest, what had made him the black sheep of this seemingly picture-perfect family?. Whether the two events were connected in the sense that both the grandma and grandson were both victims, or if the grandson happened to be the creature who did this, Tempest didn’t know. But she felt as if the two events were connected.

“Her grandson died of a heroin overdose a few months ago” Tempest stated to the agents in the car, pondering over the words. She wondered what her coworkers would make of this, whether they would dismiss it as an insignificant detail, or find it to be a clue of some sort. Again Tempest’s mind wandered to the possibility that this was a fellow undead. If she had been granted a strong power as a result of her resurrection, then just what could this creature, if it was a zombie, be capable of? Tempest didn’t like playing guessing games, especially when it involved the lives of innocent people, and the people around her.


Moving about the room, Elysian briefly wondered if he would know any of the agents assigned to this case, He hadn't spoken to Oliver, and only knew a selective amount of agents for security purposes. All usually high-ranking as well. As he observed the crime seen, Elysian felt a wave of disgust come over him. Not only disgust at the crime committed, but disgust regarding the victim herself. How could she let herself waste away , ruin her body with her gluttonous habits? If there was one thing Elysian despised, it was humans and creatures who made the choice to ruin themselves for the sake of the instant gratification of the sin they overindulged in. He was sure that if this event had not transpired, the woman would have died soon due to complications with her weight and food intake. Shaking his head and moving on, Elysian bent down to pick up soil that surrounded the bed. Crumbling it with his fingers, Elysian found it odd that such a thing would be in this place. Not to mention the tag that he couldn’t make sense of, couldn’t tell if it was a tag from the police, or something dropped by someone or something that had entered the room. He bagged some soil and the tag up for later testing and made a mental note of it before noticing that the window was open. He strengthened his vision until it focused on the window, zooming in until he noticed the fact there there was soil residue on it. Peculiar. Walking over to the window, Elysian looked out of it, and to the ground below, seeing what looked to be indentions in the dirt, but the rain of the day had washed whatever the shape was away. It could’ve been shoe prints, animal prints, or nothing for all he knew.

Moving on, Elysian made his way over to a wall of photographs, it was clear to see that most were of the victims family, a fewer number being ones of her friends and their families. Scanning the photos, Elysian’s gaze fell upon a ripped photograph. It was odd, considering the other pictures were in mint condition. He picked the photo off the wall and pocketed it for future reference to see if her could find out what was missing later. However, Elysian was almost certain that the victim hadn’t been the one to obstruct the photo. This was because of the perfect condition of the other photos along with the fact that a grandma wouldn’t ruin a family photograph, it must have been someone else entirely.


The Mad Queen Foster Eliasdagood ​

 

[Foster]

Magic was a funny thing. An Eldrich, otherworldly energy that in the right hands could bring about unheard of levels of destruction. Or, as was the case today, a genie could use it to summon a cup of coffee.

"Cheers Aziza." Said Fletcher as he graciously brought the steaming hot beverage to his lips. Magic in its own right coffee. The thought amused Fletcher, to think that such a mundane thing could be referred to as a magical potion of sorts.

"Do I look that tired?" He chuckled softly, a faint smile on his face. It was relatively safe to chat about anything with Aziza when it came to missions as the genie rarely, if ever, left the Albert Branch without a rank 2 agent accompanying her. Tempest had quietly showed up and slid into the backseat as well but she was entitled to have access to the same information that he did. Keeping this in mind Fletcher indulged a little information to Aziza.

"Dr Schwartz from cryptozoology needed a little help tracking down a few invasive species last night. Loveland frogs. It was almost morning by the time we'd wrestled the last of the buggers into the van."

He didn't mind indulging her with a little small talk, after all being stuck at base most of the time must get tiresome. She was probably glad to get a chance to be involved with field work, even if there was a corpse in play.

 

[Eliasdagood]

Aziza smiles at Fletcher, chuckling softly. “Ah. If I was allowed time manipulation I’d love to let you have a nap.” She says, shrugging. “Must be a pain, having to sleep. That’s what… a third of your life spent unconscious?”

Not that humans have very long lives in the first place. She muses. No wonder their societies change so quickly. They have to get everything done in such a small amount of time. “Anyway, I don’t suppose anyone was injured?” She doesn’t really think the frogs would be much of a threat.
Foster LindsMagee

 

[The Mad Queen]

"Of course." Chloe paused, having to hold herself back from addressing Daniel as 'sir'. "Good luck with your business." She nodded at her superior, and started to make her way over to the car. She wasn't going to ask about what he was up to, assuming it would be classified well above her own rank that, and she wasn't about to keep the others waiting. There was barely enough room for her legs in the backseat, with the tall woman having to push her knees together and tighten her stature. Not once did she raise a complaint, simply facing forwards as she listened to Tempest and the others discuss theories.

From the little she knew about ghosts those who experienced violent or unfair deaths tended to stick around, so perhaps the grandson was enacting a revenge? She had heard about some higher level ghosts draining their victims, but nothing like this. He could have faked his death or even been returned to life by outside forces among other things. Something definitely felt off, but that was just a normal day at the office when it came to the branch.

At least that's what Bóideach kept trying to tell her.
"We should check in with the other family members. They could be at risk."
Even if there was a slim chance, the branch had to take it.

Eliasdagood LindsMagee Foster jones573

"What are you doing?" A voice came from outside of the bedroom. If Elysian were to turn around he would stand face to face with a middle-aged woman in a dark blue tunic, a nurse with her hair tied back.
"You can't be in here." She snapped

LindsMagee

The disappearance just had to happen on Halloween, didn't it? Vera let out a sigh of frustration, and threw her head back. Samhain was when the old magic was at it's most powerful, when the walls between the human realm and others were at their weakest. To the average human, it was little more than an opportunity to get drunk while wearing a hastily-thrown together costume.

She didn't care for it.
"Why would you want to be a headless horseman?" She asked the younger Emma "He is not the most pleasant to be around."
At least, according to a small number of classified files she had access to. She didn't need to sleep, at least not like a human being did which gave her plenty of time for extra reading.

Her attention span went from Headless Horsemen to another agent, Daniel Walker. The two had barely interacted in the past, but at the very least Vera knew of him. He'd been in the branch for what was quite a long time in human years, which did earn him some respect.
"What do you want, child?" She asked the younger Emma.

Any other objectives Walker laid out would have to be secondary, at least for now. If things got worse or she was simply ordered to by someone with power over her she'd go along with whatever it was.

GhastlySquash jones573

 

[GhastlySquash]

jones573 The Mad Queen

The two girls just looked at Daniel with a slightly embarassed, confused look in their eyes that seemed surprise to see him here.

“Uhhh...” The Elder Emma stood up. “You could get me a nice shot of something. Maybe a beer. You guys drink beer right? Coors maybe?”

“I wasn’t a headless horseman! I was Jack the Magic Lantern.” The younger Emma sighed. “I still have it too...oddly enough.”

She looked at Vera and tilted her head. “What do I want? I don’t know...maybe my life back!

 

[Sylvio]

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Jack’s Glock had just emptied and felt he was done for the day. He pushed the button at his firing station and his target was drifting too him. Wasn’t bad, the shots found themselves within the pectorals and a few headshots were landed. Another good day for target practice. He ensured the chamber was empty and put his pistol in his vest.

He made his way to the kitchen where he prepared himself some tea, hibiscus to be exact. A few junior agents passed my him and he waved hello to each one. As his tea was complete he went to look for Daniel to see if he had some field work or something. Though he was one of the junior agents, he was well known by many of his peers. Jack looked up to Daniel who trained him for the first month of Jack’s time in the agency. His carefree demeanor and dedication to the agency is what he admired. Though his poorly timed witty comments prove to be a bit of a bother. But there were a few times where Jack protested some of Daniel’s decisions because how ‘impulsive’ he thought they were, and almost costed them a mission or two. But still, he felt they both held a mutual sense of camaraderie to one another despite the difference in rank.

As Jack took a few swigs of his tea, he approached a junior agent walking in the opposite direction. “You know where Agent Walker is?” he asked in his Edinburgh accent.

“Interrogation room.”

“Why’s he there?”

“Went to find Agent Vera, but she’s in the middle of an interrogation herself.”

“Thanks lad, be seein ya.”

As they parted ways, Jack made his way to the interrogation room. In all honesty, Jack didn’t know Vera existed until he was 7 weeks in as a Class 2. Which happened to be a time where he bumped into her and got coffee on her. Though it was room temperature, it was still an awkward experience. They’ve only ever exchanged a few glances and nothing more. By the time he arrived, he tapped Daniel on the shoulder for his attention, while at the same time drawing attention from Vera and the other two strangely similar looking females in the room.

@jones537

 

[LindsMagee]

Elysian turned to find a middle-aged nurse had entered the room. The good thing was that he quickly noticed that she was just an average human, the bad thing he observed, however, was the wedding band on her left hand. So his good looks and charm wouldn’t get him out of this one without a little extra work, some people did tend to be unfaithful. No, he wouldn’t try to sway another married woman with illusions of interest. But he was prepared for this, always had a plan when things went awry. Casually, Elysian whipped out a business card and squared his shoulders, “I’m William Roth, I am a representative of the family of the victim. My firm sent me to look into the events that transpired in this very room as they’re looking to sue the nursing home.” Usually this sort of thing worked, people tended to listen to him and take his word without a second thought. He hoped that it would be a success this time, as he dreaded the use of compulsion, it was just so barbaric. “The secretary informed me that she would be sending someone to the room shortly to go over the details of what exactly happened to the victim, and the actions the staff took when everything happened. Would this representative be you miss…?” He trailed off, as she didn’t have a name tag visible. Oh how he was waiting to hear what good explanation Aleksander and Emilio had as to why neither of them spotted a nurse heading in his direction.

The Mad Queen ​

 

[The Mad Queen]

Vera shook her head, a sad look in her eyes from the young girl's words. A few decades ago, she would have wanted nothing more than for the child to be able to return to her normal life, to go to school and to have her parents tuck her in at night but it was all too far away now. Over a decade had passed and two agencies were involved, one of them probably wanting to dissect a potential Changeling.

She sighed, and her eyes met that of the younger Emma.
"I understand." Her voice was soft "But we both know that's not possible."
Her gaze went to the older Emma next "For either of you."

Her head spun around at the sound of the door opening and she came face to face with Agent Langley. He'd mostly been keeping his distance ever since he spilt coffee over a nice cardigan she owned, and she involuntarily hissed at him. It was under her breath, but she was sure he'd heard her.
"Hello. Can we help you?" She asked the agent.

GhastlySquash jones573 Sylvio

The nurse's eyes widened, and she took one step away from Elysian.
"Oh shit." She whispered under her breath, then shook her head as she tried to snap back into focus "Well, is there anything I can do to help? If you're looking to sue the home you'd need to take it up with management, but she'll not be in for another hour or so. I just work here, and only got in an hour ago. The police were wrapping up, and I just heard." She rambled, then took a deep breath to compose herself "I'm sorry, I just...I wish I could have done something."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do now."

LindsMagee

 

[GhastlySquash]

The Mad Queen

That wasn’t enough. Emma was shaking, tears forming over her eyes as she wanted to scream. How could she say there wasn’t a chance? How could she be so nonchalant about not going home?

Emma missed her parents. Her annoying little brothers. Her father who was always toying with some new idea that never panned out. Sure, it annoyed her at first. But now, would she ever see him?

“How can you say that?” Emma stood up. “I want to go home! I’m not some monster! Please I just...I just want to go home.”

The older Emma rolled her eyes. “Jesus you make a pretty convincing liar, miss. But seriously, who put you up for this? Cause the real Emma has been happily avoiding her stupid father for quite some time and I’d personally like to keep it that way...”

Turning back to Vera, she winked. “Well that leave us in quite a bind. But who knows. We could work together you know.”

 

[jones573]

“It ain’t that kind of establishment,” Daniel told the older Emma, already regretting have intruded on this conversation. He was peering over Vera’s shoulder at her notes- These were not just average civilians who’d seen something they shouldn’t have.



“…I’ll have someone bring you waters,” he offered, grateful for Langley’s interruption. “We’ll see if we can’t have someone dig up something tangible,” he told Vera. They could try and find the girl(s)’ father maybe, though it seemed unlikely he’d be easy to locate.



“What did you need,” he asked Langely once they were back out in the hallway. “Bóideach got another corpse he wants me to play ‘Magic or Murder’ with?”

 

[Sylvio]

“Was gonna ask you about something but I thought of something else when I saw those two American girls. I looked over their file once and saw mention of the Clerk Family. It was noted that the fey responsible for that changeling had a connection to the Clerk’s.” Jack said as he lead Walker down the hall. To an office with a bunch of case files.

“They’re a crime syndicate based in Ireland and have a considerable presence in the UK and US. PSNI thinks the boxing center not far from here is open passed closing times to hold illegal prize fights, most definitely Clerk activity. Thinkin we get in there ask the man who runs the place about the girls’ dad.”

 

[Foster]

"Well Schwartz will till you he almost drowned. Drama queen." Fletcher grunted, his mind flashing back to the scientist thrashing around in waist deep water with a football sized tadpole squirming in his grasp.

With Tempest and Walsh now in the back of the van it was time to talk shop again. It seemed that the next course of action was to do the rounds with any relatives they could find. Fairly standard procedure, it was often the fastest way to determine if there was a supernatural element involved. After all if the sibling of the victim happens to be a little less human than usual it stands to reason that the victim was as well.

"Alright then. Walsh you've got a list of relatives back there right? Set the GPS to the address of the nearest one and we'll be on our way."

Whilst waiting for the GPS to be set up (A task Fletcher handed off primarily because it would have taken him longer than necessary) the young man turned the key in the ignition. The engine jumped to life and the vehicle strained slightly, eager to move.

 

[LindsMagee]

"I believe a few of the family members are visiting the nursing home to collect details sometime today if we would like to start there. However, the apartment of one of her grandchildren who died a couple months ago hasn't been touched. It's about 30 minutes away, maybe we could go there?" Tempest offered. It was odd...why hadn't his apartment been cleared out if his death was months ago? Something felt very off about this entire case, something she couldn't quite out her finger on.

Tempest didn't know if she wanted to find out what exactly was awaiting the group. There had been no shortage of sinister creatures in the time she had been with The Branch, but she didn't prefer the times she had to encounter a being she knew nothing about. Thinking about the negatives would only make her overthink, however, so Tempest calmed her nerves and waited for what everyone else thought they should begin with.

Foster The Mad Queen Eliasdagood


"No need to worry miss, nothing is set in stone yet. The family may simply drop their curiosity rather than going through a nasty legal battle." Elysian added in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Ah yes, help. If you are willing I have a few questions I was hoping to find answers to." he answered, looking around the room once more. Settling his eyes on the nurse again as she mentioned her regrets at not being able to prevent the death, Elysian sighed. Using compulsion, his pupils widened pulsed as he convinced her "There was nothing you could have done for the patient, do not trouble yourself over it". There were some exceptions to his general "no compulsion rule", which included easing people's minds. Smiling, Elysian tapped his foot as he awaited a response to his request for help and wondered if Emilio and Aleksander had discovered anything worthwhile.

The Mad Queen ​

 

[The Mad Queen]

"In that case, I think we should check out the nursing home first." Chloe suggested, entering the address of the nursing home into the car's GPS and nodding over at Tempest "Ma'am."
She looked over her notes, checking to see if there was something she missed and then double checking just to be sure. Still, all she had to go on were small files and theories by her superiors. Chloe still held onto the theory that it could have been the vengeful spirit of the grandson, in which case they'd need to get to the nursing home as soon as possible. If most of the family was going there, and his ghost still lingered it could quickly turn into a bloodbath.

She looked over at Aziza.
"Is there any way you could get us there quicker, avoiding the traffic."
It would be the morning rush hour, and although it was easy enough to just turn the sirens on and race their way there the agent was well aware that would draw unnecessary attention. If they pulled up to the nursing home like that it could set the ghost off as well. He'd been arrested in life, after all so it could be a potential trigger.

-
The nurse blinked several times, gently shaking her head as the compulsion sunk in. She looked back up at Elysian, and smiled.
"I'll gladly answer any questions. What would you like to know?"

Just then, he would hear back from Emilio and Aleksander who informed Elysian that a police officer had been on the scene immediately after the call was made to emergency services, but upon checking with the nearby station he had not called in once his shift ended. They were still trying to track down his vehicle, but it appeared as though it's GPS had been removed or destroyed.
The actual body of the woman could be found in the morgue of the Ulster Hospital, and had not been released to the family yet.

LindsMagee Foster Eliasdagood

Vera's eyes moved back to the girl, and the Vampire let out a heavy sigh.
"I never said you were a monster, little one." She went to reach a hand out to comfort the girl, but pulled it away. Gently, so not to cause any alarm. "You are just...An unfortunate victim of things beyond us."
How much could she actually say without making things worse?

With a look of annoyance she turned to the older Emma.
"Do you really think a child her age is capable of all this? What would she have to gain? I mean, sure if she was impersonating the child of a leader or some kind of television person, but you..." She stopped herself, shaking her head "How do I say this without sounding horrible? Ah, you are not that important. Not enough to have all of this anyway."
In the human world, none of this made sense but Vera had seen and lived within what was beyond the eyes of the average human being. There were no natural humans alive that were her age, after all and that was just scratching the surface.

"Ask yourself that and it will probably make all of this go easier. You don't care about her, and why would you? But I know you care about yourself. Everybody does."

-
Outside of the interrogation room, a rather flustered looking Oliver approached the two agents, cleaning his glasses.
"Sorry, lads. This Task Force Franklin guy was bein' a a bit of a, well...I'm sure ya can imagine."
He leaned in closer, and whispered "Between the three of us, Vera's out on assignment." There was a look of cold fire in his eyes "Are we clear?"
Oliver let out a deep breath, and placed his reading glasses back on "Now, what's this I'm hearing about a crime family? Isn't that PSNI work?"

GhastlySquash jones573 Sylvio

 

[Eliasdagood]

Aziza hums, thinking about that. “Yeah… I think this could warrant teleportation, but we would have to be very sure no one saw it. We don’t want to accidentally expose someone to all this just by appearing out of no where. If you have a place in mind where absolutely no human civilians could see us appear, then yes, I can get us there.” She explains. She’s not particularly fond of the idea of being stuck in this car for long either, but she can’t break the rules.
The Mad Queen Foster LindsMagee

 

[Sylvio]

Jack was startled, he didn’t expect Oliver to pop in unannounced. “Mr. Bóideach...uh yes. But considering recent events and suspicions, we can take this case.” Jack never got used to hanging around Class 4’s and above. He acted formal all the time around them. “The dossier on the two changeling girls Vera is interrogating mentioned a fey who was part of a powerful crime family. One that came to mind were the Clerk’s. Considering they traffic things from the US to the UK and vice versa through Ireland, I figured they helped the girls father into the country.”