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

[Shannon Trevor]

"I can take a look," Rachel offered. The three agents in the room had arrived well before her and she doubted there was much she could add to what they had already covered. On top of that, the room had a subtle but obvious tension that she hand Steve had apparently just missed. No one had said anything Chloe's body language told her as much and Rachel had no wish to get involved.

She gave Steve a friendly pat on the shoulder as she left the room, taking care to count down the doors on the floor while walking back to the stairs. The nurse behind the reception desk was resolute in her desire to avoid eye contact as Rachel passed her station and out into the morning sun.

The dew was still wet on the grass as Rachel stepped off the driveway and onto the lawn. The Albert Branch was relaxed on clothing standards, meaning Rachel's casual attire of a light sweater, jeans and boots were suited for the task at hand. The sun glinted off her Rolex as she raised her left hand to count across the rooms on the second floor. From a number of the windows she could see residents watch her, their expressions ranging from blank, to curious, and in one instance, unmistakably hostile.

She ignored them, moving to stand below room four. As she drew closer, she could see Chloe was likely right in her assertion. The killer had been sloppy. A flower bed ran the length of the wall and the topsoil had been clearly disturbed. Whoever had trampled the plants had also left a trail of soil from the flower bed and across the lawn.

Before investigating the trail, Rachel turned to an old drainpipe that ran up the wall next to where she stood. Tugging at it, she found the pipe to be steady enough although she wouldn't have been confident it would have taken her full weight if she had tried to use it to scale the wall.

Moving her attention back to the soil. Whoever had left the trail had either been in a rush or not cared about leaving a trace. The soil ran across the length of the lawn and into a small copse of trees that bordered the property wall.

The copse was dark, in stark contrast to the bright morning. As she reached the first tree a sudden shiver flashed down Rachel's spine. She shook it off and scolded herself for being jumpy without a reason. She pushed deeper into the trees, following the trail until it ended abruptly a foot shy of the high property wall.

Eliasdagood Foster LindsMagee RayPurchase

 

[RayPurchase]

Steve Fletcher

​

Steve folds his arms, remaining back as the agents on the seen are already underway interrogating the suspect. He returned Chloe’s nod, a smirk appearing as he came across a familiar face. Not overly familiar, but she was ex PSNI, so at least they had a similarity here, even if he’d gone on to find that Northern Ireland was a whole different kettle of fish compared to the streets of London. Still it was a hint of normality from which they could share some sort of bond, anything like that was needed, especially with all of the lack of normality around Albert Branch. He nodded towards Agent Corvade.

“Steve Fletcher, heard you could do with some backup boss,”

Keeping his arms folded, he glanced at the three blokes. Clearly something was going down, you could cut the air with a butter knife. He nodded at Rachel as she made her way outside. At this point he reckoned that his best move was to stay here, at the very least his presence as backup could potentially defuse the situation here. He maintained eye contact with the male doing the talking.

 

[Foster]

Despite greeting both Rachel and Steve with a curt nod Fletcher was honestly somewhat surprised to see them, this was a large amount of agents to be assigned to a case like this. Must be a slow morning back at base. At least the duo were a competent pair, both ex police if he remembered correctly. Not an uncommon career trajectory that, it was far rarer to see an agent who hadn't served in one way or another.

Before he could even respond to Tempest's remark about the dirt trail Rachel had offered to follow it herself, leaving the room the same way she'd entered. She was certainly eager that one. Although he admired her enthusiasm it was clear she hadn't been with the Albert Branch for longer than a few months, her roots MI5 shining through with this direct approach, not even considering the use of magic first. Then again Fletcher wasn't even sure if she knew about his particular brand. Steve on the other hand had clearly noted the tension radiating from the other men in the room and was quite prompt to offer assistance. Determining that this room had more than it's fair share of spooks Fletcher had just the job in mind.

"Steve if you wouldn't mind going with her... at least until we know for certain what we are dealing with here. Much appreciated." Asked Fletcher as he nonchalantly gestured after Rachel. It wasn't that he didn't trust the capabilities of any agent in the Albert Branch but humans, as he well knew, are rather lower on the food chain than they like to think they are. He had no intention of anybody here becoming a happy meal today.

Now able to respond to Tempest he informed her of his findings. "Sadly I checked the dirt when I came in, standard Irish soil through and through. But there could be more to it that my sight can't tell us. Any news on lab findings?"

It was quite unlike Fletcher to ignore the trail of a beast like this but with half the team already focused on it there was no need for him to step in. Sadly he and Tempest were stuck with the less exciting roles that often lent themselves to command.

 

[LindsMagee]

Elysian kept his mouth shut and observed how the agents worked with one another. It was clear that the original man and woman who were in the patient’s room were in charge, though the girl looked rather young to be in a position of command which made him assume she was a supernatural. He knew Aziza wasn’t one to care about rank and would take charge when needed, but the blonde agent seemed pretty eager to be on the case. It was a good team, their different methods and personalities balanced and reflected off one another. Elysian, on the other hand, preferred total control which wasn’t uncommon in his position of command over most of the supernaturals in the UK and many other countries. However, he could be a team player when needed, he just had better knowledge of the supernatural happenings around them.

Two new agents walked in, a woman and a man. The Albert Branch must perceive the threat level pretty high to be wasting so many agents on it, that or there was a lack of other priorities to attend to. Whichever it was, he didn’t care, he was only here to help with the threat and resume his usual business with or without the agents in the picture. Almost as soon as the brunette entered the patient’s room, she left and was followed shortly by the man she came in with. The brunette seemed to miss the small detail that she wasn’t a lead agent on the case and it was clear she wasn’t used to how the agents at the Albert Branch interacted within their hierarchy. The man seemed complacent in doing what he was told, after all it was a job and necessary to complete every task thoroughly.

Turning to Aziza, he offered “If your head agents allow it, you can go with me to the morgue to observe the body. That is where my team is heading.” He paused before turning to the blonde “You and other agents are welcome to come as well if you so please.”

The Mad Queen Eliasdagood ​

 

[LindsMagee]

Tempest didn’t turn in the direction of the door as the two new agents entered, busy making note of the family pictures on the woman’s dresser. The woman left to follow the soil trail, not minding to ask where she was needed. Though she didn’t mind it and admired the enthusiasm, Tempest made note of it as the Albert Branch had a typical way to preform cases and that wasn’t standard. When the man entered, he went straight for agent Fletcher and Tempest had to hold back a quip as the agent greeted Fletcher as “boss”. Of course he went straight for the only male agent in the room. That tended to happen even though the two co-lead this case. She guessed it was not only because she was a woman, but also because of how young she looked. Tempest had to work hard to get where she was so every time it happened it irked her greatly. Both of the new agents managed to make a bad impression in just under five minutes, record time. However, she probably wouldn’t hold it against the two because she knew how difficult it was for people coming from other professions to get used to everything at the Albert Branch.

“The lab came up with almost nothing. Traces of sulfur found in the soil, not anything to raise concern about at the moment. Not even sure how that could be a useful detail yet, but it is something.” Tempest thought of what the most sufficient way to proceed from here was. Turning to Fletcher, she briefly wrote down a few more details of the roman then looked up.

“I’m thinking we should split the team. We need to check out the morgue, the grandson’s apartment, and look into the disappearing cop. Splitting teams can be dangerous, but if we pair at least one supernatural with each sector then it will give everyone decent chances at fighting whatever this creature is. That, and everywhere we need to check out is within a few kilometers of the next so calls for backup can be answered quickly.”

Waiting for Fletcher’s input, Tempest began sifting through possible ways to split up the group for maximum efficiency. She didn’t know what many of them were capable of, but she was confident that if they were agents at the Branch, they were a pretty skilled bunch despite their rank.
Foster​

 

[The Mad Queen]

With the room firmly locked down, and the stranger suggesting that they actually work together Chloe stepped back and just listened to her superiors like a good officer. Her gaze followed Rachel as she made her way outside, watching from the window as she made her way into the grounds surrounding the home. It didn't make sense for the culprit to still be there.
After all, he'd taken care to cover his tracks but perhaps something could be made of the trail.
She was about to follow her fellow agent outside but stopped herself, listening to Tempest's order and nodding in response.

"I'll check in with Agent Porter. Maybe there's something else the investigators missed." She trusted the intuition of the woman, and surely if the culprit made one mistake perhaps there was evidence of others.
"I'll meet you back at the car." She told the group
Making her way outside, she jogged along to catch up with Rachel. The police uniform may not have been the most comfortable wear, but it was effective and easy enough to maneuver in. The extra protection was a bonus, but Chloe just hoped it wasn't a needed one.

"Have you found anything?" She asked, only to stop in her tracks. A shiver moved down her spine, but Chloe didn't ignore it. PSNI were taught to follow procedures but also to listen to their guts. Call in the cardboard box if you think there's a chance, even a slim one of it being a bomb.
She placed her hand on her waist, so that her firearm was just within reach.

"Who's there?" She called out
There was a gust of wind through the trees, blowing a few leaves in their direction. She looked over to Rachel slightly, but kept her gaze on the trees.
"I'm going to count to ten." She called out once more "Step out and we can talk."

The leaves in the tree shook once more, gently yet as Chloe wetted one of her fingers and stuck it into the air there was no breeze, no wind coming from the trees. She gazed over at Rachel once more.
"No wind. There's definitely something there."

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[RayPurchase]

Steve Fletcher​

Steve nodded towards Corvade.

“You got it boss, I'll be on channel 2 if you need us,”

He tapped the radio clipped onto his trouser belt, setting it to the requisite channel. Once again he found himself jogging after Rachel. Even if he hadn’t caught sight of her, the trail was easy enough to follow, even for an urban copper like himself. His polished shoes were soon dulled as he made his way through the dew covered grass. Call it force of habit, but he still dressed like was in the Met. Shirt and tie, grey waistcoat, suit jacket and trousers. Unless it was an undercover job it was his go to style, air of professionalism, got him into a good mindset when he stepped out of his front door each morning. He wearily eyed the copse as he made his way through. Murky and dark, with plenty of cover, if the perp was still about it would be a great spot to lie low.
He emerged from the thicket besides Rachel, he brushed some detritus from his shoulder.

“Afraid you’re stuck with me for now. Tough luck all round,”

He grinned cheekily and looked from the end of the trail to the perimeter wall.

“it's a bit of a climb, but doable. Think we may have his escape route,”


(Interaction: Shannon Trevor )

 

[Shannon Trevor]

Rachel jumped as a twig snapped behind her. Instinctively her hand went to the pistol concealed at her waist as she wheeled around to be faced with Steve sporting a cheeky grin. "Afraid you’re stuck with me for now. Tough luck all round.”

"Awful luck," Rachel replied, her tone deadpan as Steve studied the wall.

Chloe's approach was louder, her heavy Police-issue boots crunching the dead leaves underfoot as she slowed from a jog when she caught sight of the pair. "Have you found anything?" She asked before stopping dead, clearly on alert.

"What is it?" Rachel asked quietly, her hand going to her waist once more. Slowly, she raised her sweater to reveal the pistol in its concealed holster, her hand resting on the grip. The leaves rustled as if they were replying to Rachel reaching for her gun.

Chloe challenged whoever, or whatever, was in the copse with them to reaveal itself. Rachel stepped away from Steve, mindful to keep space between the three of them. "No wind," Chloe said. "There's definitely something there."

She was right. The copse was deathly still. Rachel hadn't noticed before but somehow no sound carried itself into the trees. No noise from the road on the otherside, not even a bird chirping. Her thumb flicked the copper button to release the strap holding her glock in place.

The leaves rustled louder, angrier.

Rachel scanned the dark tree tops, her eyes moving quickly from one to the other.

Her breath suddenly caught in her throat, just for a second. "There!" was the only warning she had time to give.

 

[RayPurchase]

Steve Fletcher
​

Any smile or signs of ill timed humour on Steve’s features had slipped away now. It was quiet, too quiet. It may be incredibly cliched, but in this case something was truly wrong, they weren’t that far removed from the road, and yet there was no noise from it to be heard, no animals, not even any wind, it felt as if they were a million miles away. As Rachel took a step to one side, he followed in the opposite direction, creating a 3 sided triangle between the three of them. He slowly dropped his right hand to his belt, drawing back his jacket, revealing the black holster containing the standard issue Glock handgun, popping the bronze catch and placing his hand on the grip.


As the rustling grew louder he furiously glanced amongst the trees for any sign of the source of the movement. As Rachel cried out he began to turn, his hand already raising the Glock, finger resting against the trigger guard. Judging from the sound whatever was out there, it was making a beeline for them, and fast.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Chloe unclipped the holster of her Glock 17, preparing to draw it should something attack. Her eyes sharply moved over to where Rachel was pointing, and she stepped in front of her. At the very least her vest would provide some protection if she was about to get jumped by something. Her blue eyes frantically scanned the trees in front, at first not seeing anything.
They widened however, at the sight of a humanoid figure moving out of the trees. Smaller than her, at around the same height as Rachel and although there was a a faint, white glow to it Chloe couldn't make out any features. In fact, there weren't any features at all, like the shape was a blank canvass for a human being.

She glanced over at Steve.
"Don't shoot it." She whispered "It looks unarmed."
At the sound of Chloe's whispering, the shape tilted it's head to one side as it stared directly at her. It's gaze moved between the three agents, studying each one despite the lack of eyes.

"Mr Cotton?" She asked, gently. It was a hunch, of course.
The shape took a few strides towards the agents, arms by it's sides. Chloe stood her ground, staring the creature down even as it approached.

Eliasdagood Foster LindsMagee Shannon Trevor RayPurchase

 

[Shannon Trevor]

Rachel's eyes widened as the entity approached. Human in shape but in no way a person, it approached the three agents, its head turning towards each in turn.

Steve and Chloe already had their guns drawn. Rachel slowly lifted her hand from her own weapon. As Chloe had noted, the creature, or Mr Cotton if Chloe's hunch was correct, was unarmed.

Rachel moved to stand beside Chloe. She had noticed how the younger woman had stepped in front of her to offer some measure of protection. She give Chloe's arm a quick squeeze as a silent gesture of thanks as the creature continued toward them.

"Mr Cotton?" Rachel said softly, holding up both hands placatingly. She wasn't sure where Chloe had got the idea the thing was Mr Cotton but she was happy to go along with it, figuring the other agent had information she wasn't privvy to. They had no idea if the thing was dangerous but it was unarmed and showing no signs of aggression. If they could communicate with it, Rachel felt it would be best for the person without a weapon in hand to do it.

"Mr Cotton, we're not here to hurt you. We're here to find out what happened." She took a small step forward. "Can you tell us?"


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[LindsMagee]

Before Aziza answered him, the distant feeling that something was wrong overcame Elysian. He usually got this sense when dealing with out of control supernaturals or when something bad was about happen. Turing to Aleksander and Emilio, Elysian directed “Aleksander, come with me. Emilio stay here with them” he said as he pointed to the remaining agents. He didn’t leave them alone out of both mistrust and for their own safety in case anything happened in the building. Walking out of the building, Elysian spotted the agents with their guns drawn, pointing at a figure on the edge of the tree-line. He motioned for Aleksander to go to the left side of the agents while he went to the right, gun drawn and pointed at the figure. Mr. Cotton? The thing didn’t appear to be human so he wondered why the agents were referring to it as that. Without further questioning in his mind, Elysian stepped just a few inches ahead of Chloe and the other agent to the right, as to not block the pair but just ahead in case he needed to stop an attack from the creature quickly. His blood ran cold as he realized that none of the agents beside him were supernaturals and could get much more hurt than he and Elysian could, not to mention how long the average human could last in a fight…let alone against a creature with strength and unexplainable power. Elysian tensed with his gun and waited for something, anything to happen.

Shannon Trevor Foster The Mad Queen RayPurchase Eliasdagood ​

 

[The Mad Queen]

The shape focused it's gaze on Rachel, and pointed upwards towards the nursing home when she asked her question.
"Are you trying to say you saw what happened?" Chloe asked
It shook it's head. Chloe figured as much, otherwise the ghost would have tried to stop it and more evidence would have been found at the scene. Traces of sulphur, perhaps even ectoplasm would have been found at the scene.

"But you are Mr Cotton, the grandson?"
With it's gaze fixed on Chloe, the shape slowly nodded it's head, but sharply turned at the sight of Elysian. He raised one of his arms, preparing to strike but Chloe moved in the way again, both hands raised. "Alfie, wait. He's with us."
Although he lowered his arm, the ghost of Alfie Cotton still had his gaze fixed on the man.

"Alfie." Chloe spoke softly "I'm just going to call my boss, alright? I have to let him know that we've found you. You're not in any trouble, but we're going to need your help to figure out who hurt your grandmother."
Alfie slowly raised one of his arms, yet Chloe stood her ground. With one of his fingers he made a circle in front of her. After a few moments of staring back at the shape Chloe spoke into her radio.

"Fletcher. Tempest. Do you read me? We've located the ghost of Mrs Cotton's grandson. I think..."
Her hunches hadn't been wrong yet "Whoever did this used some kind of ritual to keep the him away."

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[RayPurchase]

Steve Fletcher
​

Steve lowered his sidearm by a fraction, just pointing away from the figure that stood before them. It was disconcerting to say the least, it had no features, no eyes, nothing to discern it as human other than the vague silhouette. And yet he could of sworn when it turned his way he could feel its eyes boring into his own. It was all he could do to stop an involuntary shiver down his spine just thinking about it. But his training held up, and his backbone remained unwavering.

He took position with Chloe, heading off the new arrivals, wearily eyeing Elysian firearm. He still had not idea who these guys were. He assumed another agency, but at this point this was an Albert Branch operation. His now near permanent frown furrowed deeper.

"Ritual to keep him away... that's some pretty powerful stuff by the sounds of it, above my pay grade,"

Shannon Trevor Foster The Mad Queen Eliasdagood LindsMagee

 

[Foster]

Fletcher nodded in agreement with Tempest's suggestion, running a weary hand through his hair as he mulled over their options.

"Agreed. I'll tak...hm?"

The buzz of a radio blaring into life cut Fletcher off before he could finish his sentence, a brief but crucial message from Chloe who had left the room only a few minutes prior. Thumbing the transmit button on the radio the agent brought the device to his mouth, speaking clearly into it's microphone.

"On our way Chloe, don't engage until we arrive. Just keep it occupied." He replied calmly, striding over to the window as to try and get a good look at what was happening. Quite the little crowd had gathered out there and even from here he could see that weapons had been drawn. His brow furrowed in agitation. If any of the civilians here caught a glimpse of that all hell would break loose. Glancing at Tempest for a second to assure she was on the same page as he was Fletcher turned on his heel and sprinted out of the room, boots thudding heavily against the floorboards. Spotting a member of staff as he ran the hunter came to a sudden halt, an idea forming in his head.

"Tempest you go ahead, I'll make sure you have some peace and quiet out there."

Although running directly into the action was tempting Fletcher knew he could count on Tempest to deal with this situation, she was after all just as qualified as he was. Perhaps even more so in this case as his diplomacy skills were... lacking to say the least. Somebody had to stay behind and make sure that ghosts wouldn't be making the headlines of tomorrow's news.

Addressing the member of staff he'd found in his best "polite yet firm" tone of voice Fletcher instructed her to move all mobile patients into the dining hall temporarily, as a suspect had been spotted on the grounds.

"Keep that last bit of information to yourself though, we don't want to cause a panic. We have our best officers handling the situation as we speak so there really isn't anything to worry about."

 

[LindsMagee]

A concerned look flickered across her face as Chloe’s voice came across the radio. As Fletcher responded, Tempest went over to the window with him and saw that some of their agents were there in addition to the lycanthrope and one of his lackeys… with their guns drawn. Tempest caught Fletcher’s look and sprinted after him, nodding when he said he’d take care of the staff and patients inside the nursing home. Headlines about a phantom would not be great thing to find in the national news tomorrow. As she rounded the corner towards the front desk and the doors, Tempest began to speed walk instead of sprint as to not worry the woman at the front. However, as she disappeared from her line of sight, Tempest ran to the scene of the spirit and her fellow agents. Instead of walking through the middle of the pack and straight to the front, Tempest went to Elysian’s side and put her hand on his arm, forcing the gun down “Stand down. This is unnecessary, you can keep your weapon ready but you will not point it at him. Direct your guy to do the same, am I clear?”, she demanded coldly. Tempest would not have the grandson feeling frightened into running back to where he came from, or doing something he would later regret out of fear of her company.

Though she didn’t always use her power for diplomatic purposes, she decided this potentially dangerous situation required the slight use of it. As she walked towards the creature, Tempest made sure to exude a light illusion of calm on every agent and creature present around her. It was so slight that they wouldn’t notice anything had happened, but it would keep tension and fear at a lower level than usual. They all needed to act and think with a calm clarity in this confrontation. Walking past Chloe, Tempest stopped about 4 feet in front of the creature, asking “Mr. Cotton, Alfie? My name is Tempest. These people,” she paused to motion around her, “want to help you and keep you safe from whoever did this to your grandmother and you. Is there any way for you to communicate with us that you know of?” She questioned in a smooth, yet friendly tone. Though some spirits could not move objects or communicate with the outside world, the fact that he was in a visible form meant that there was a chance that he could find a way to communicate with them. Hell, she had seen spirits use a pen and paper, even hack her tablet in order to communicate with her and other agents. The key was to find a medium in which Mr. Cotton would be able to explain what he knew, how he ended up here, and what had happened to him.​

 

[Eliasdagood]

Aziza Just teleports a couple meters behind Chloe, far enough away that she won’t seem like too much of a threat. She leans against a tree, furrowing her brow slightly. The others appear to have this covered for now, but she is prepared to get between them and that spirit at a moment’s notice. Obviously there’s some trauma here, and she worries they’ll push too hard, and make the poor kid snap.

 

[Shannon Trevor]

It had looked like they were making progress. Alfie, as Chloe had named the spirit, seemed to understand their questions and replied by gestures. In short order however, the arrival of others on the scene agitated Alfie to the point Rachel was sure he was about to strike out. Not that she could blame him, the man she had seen in Mrs Cotton's room had approached with his gun already drawn.

Thankfully, Tempest ordered the man to lower his gun. Potential crisis had been averted for the time being but there were too many cooks here as far as Rachel was concerned. Although her experience with the supernatural was minimum, she felt herself and Chloe had the situation well in hand. Tempest had now moved forward to engage with Alfie, rendering Rachel's input somewhat unnecessary.

She moved to stand next to Chloe. "You mentioned a ritual?" She asked, keeping her voice low. "What kind of creature could do that?"

 

[The Mad Queen]

"Anyone with access to magic, if they knew what they were doing." Chloe suggested "Depends on how powerful our friend is." She nodded back over at Alfie Cotton. That sort of question couldn't be answered by a simple yes or no, but Tempest did give her an idea.
"She's right, we're just here to help. The only reason some of us. Myself included were spooked is because we are here looking for..." Before she could continue, the ghost nodded "Are you able to travel, or are you stuck here? Nod if you, shake if it's the latter."

If he was bound to Mrs Cotton's location then it could make things difficult, or at least cost the team some valuable time. Alfie seemed to pause for a few moments in response to the question, but then nodded once more.
"Ma'am." Chloe looked over at Tempest "With permission I'd like to bring Alfie Cotton back to HQ and find out what he knows."
-
Inside of the home, the nurse's eyes widened at Fletcher's warning but she nodded to say she understood.
"Okay. I'll get on that."

She started to move around the home, speaking to nurses and carers, some of who had only recently started their shift in a way that tried to emulate Fletcher but rather than tell them about the suspect she instead said there was a chemical leak. Most of them followed protocol but one started to panic. A shorter man with brown hair marched up to Fletcher, his eyes widened and sweat tricking down his brow.
"What's going on?" He asked, his voice shaken

The others had started moving the residents, many of who were still in their nightwear into the dining room. People in wheelchairs, with rellator frames and walking frames were all escorted quickly into the room, with one carer grabbing a set of keys and preparing to lock the doors once everyone was inside.

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[LindsMagee]

Releasing a breath she didn’t know she had held, Tempest felt relived as the ghost—Alfie, responded with nods or head shakes. As Chloe asked her about taking Alfie back to HQ, Tempest thought for a moment and then agreed. “Yes of course, he is responding well to you. I think you are relaxing him and I trust you to get information out of him without setting him off” she responded evenly. Though Tempest generally didn’t like giving too much lenience to newer agents out of fear for their safety and the safety of others, she believed in Chloe and knew it could be a chance for her to prove how valuable she is to the agency, and how much she learned over her time there. Nodding towards the parking lot, Tempest added “You, Agent Rachel, and Elysian can go back the headquarters. Steve will remain here with us until further directed seeing as we have more places to investigate.” Elysian offered to take the two other agents in his car to the agency, so Tempest turned to walk back towards the nursing home as everyone cooperated.
“Agent Aziza, would you like to take you pick as who will go to the morgue with you? I will either be attempting to track down the lost officer, or investigating the nephews house. And the lycanthrope seems to have left one of his men to follow our orders.” Tempest said, motioning to the man waiting just inside the nursing home doors. Aziza, being a higher-level agent and supernatural, was given the ability to chose agents to go with her. Though the spirit was returning to HQ, Tempest would keep her calming influence on Alfie from afar, though it might strain her physically. She also sent comms to a few other agents at the Branch to keep tabs on Chloe, Elysian, Rachel, and the ghost seeing as something could go wrong or even be a trap.

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[Eliasdagood]

Aziza hums, trying to decide if she even needs aid in the morgue in the first place, but she knows it’s better to work in pairs. She beckons Elysian’s man over with a wave of her hand. “We’ll take care of it.” She says with a smile at the other agent.
LindsMagee

 

[The Mad Queen]

Chloe nodded, but approached Tempest as the other agents prepared to leave.
"Ma'am." She whispered, having to bend down slightly to meet Tempest's height "Are you sure it's a good idea to bring him back to HQ?" She nodded towards Elysian "I mean no disrespect, but are you sure we can trust him?"
She didn't like questioning orders, but Elysian was going to be a problem on any day. It didn't help that HQ still had TFF agents crawling around, interrogating Bòideach and looking for any kind of flaw they could exploit.

She hated it when agencies focused on petty politics instead of actually helping people, but had thankfully managed to give any agents the slip that morning.
"And did you see HQ this morning? I'm not sure Bòideach would appreciate it if we brought an informant back now." She continued to keep her voice low, barely a whisper in case she was heard by anyone, but especially the informant.

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[LindsMagee]

“I’ve seen him at the HQ before, I believe he has clearance” Tempest responded. It was a safe question, making sure all boxes were checked to ensure everyone would be safe. “He’s more valuable than just an informant” she added after Chloe’s last comment. It was above her clearance to know of him, so Tempest didn’t want to reveal too much about his relationship with the agency. Meanwhile, Elysian’s man went over to Aziza after Elysian gave him the go-ahead. Surprisingly, Elysian stayed silent during the interaction, trying to not cause problems as the agents decided what to do. “We have to cover all bases as quickly as possible to prevent more injuries or deaths, whether it means separating or not. I trust you all will follow protocol and do well to get useful information” Tempest commented, already pulling up a map to the grandson’s old place.​

 

[The Mad Queen]

She looked over at Elysian. It wasn't her place to ask about why he was so valuable, or why he had clearance. The answer would probably be 'above your pay grade', as it was with other superior agents. Bòideach often said 'I'll tell ya later', which was basically his own polite way of saying 'wait till your clearance is higher'

She'd gotten used to it at this point, after all the PSNI had it's own level of secrecy. Undercover operations, informants and other things going on behind the scenes Chloe was never let in on. If Elysian had a higher purpose in the organisation then she had to go against her gut and trust him, but she would be keeping an eye on the man just in case.
"Of course." Chloe nodded "If we take a few back roads from Bangor to the HQ we'll avoid the traffic. Get back quicker."

Rush hour had descended, and right now the last thing the time needed was to get caught in the middle of that. With Alfie following her, Chloe walked over to the car Rachel had arrived in. The agent looked towards Alfie Cotton. With his glowing shape, he was a walking violation of about four or five department rules.
"Alfie, I hate to ask but would there be any way of you concealing yourself? The general public can't be allowed to know that ghosts exist."

The shape slowly nodded, and started to dissipate as he floated inside of the car, taking a spot in the back. Invisible to the naked eye, the only telltale sign of him even being there was the condensation that started to form on the windows.
"Will you drive or shall I?" Chloe asked Rachel

Eliasdagood Foster LindsMagee Shannon Trevor RayPurchase

 

[Shannon Trevor]

"I'll drive," Rachel said, fishing the car keys from her pocket. As she waited for Chloe to get herself comfortable in the passenger seat, Rachel glanced at the rearview mirror. As requested, Alfie had mafe himself invisible. The older woman turned to Chloe with a smirk. "Hope he doesn't decide to ditch us. We'll have a hell of a time knowing if he's still there or not."

Chloe's idea to take the back roads was a good one and they made solid progress towards HQ. It was the first time Rachel had spent a significant amount of time in her company. "Good to finally get out of the office," Rachel said as she slowed at a set of traffic lights. "And now I'm driving into Belfast with a ghost in my backseat. Life can be funny."