Episode 2 - Turning Mirrors into Windows

INT. F.B.I. MOBILE COMMAND CENTER - DAY

Agent Jim Sorreyo is leaning over a table. The smart screen that makes up its surface is displaying a map of Middleburg, VA. As he drags his finger across, areas become highlighted in different colors.

"Deputy, you and your officers will search this area south of town," he tells a man wearing a Loudoun County Sheriff's Department uniform. "Chief, you'll head the first volunteer team and form a line here to go through the woods west of town," he instructs a middle-aged woman wearing a Middleburg Police Department uniform. "Sergeant, you'll take the second volunteer team and go through the fields to the north," he tells a third officer, this one wearing a Virginia State Police uniform.

Agent Sorreyo straightens up and adjusts his F.B.I. blazer. "I don't have to tell you all what's at stake here. We have one victim already, luckily not one of the missing-"

He's interrupted when the door to the mobile command center is thrown open. Another deputy of Loudoun County pokes their head in with a concerned expression on their face. "Agent Sorreyo. We've found another victim."

"It it...?"

"Yes," the deputy answers, "it's one of the children."

EXT. McMANSION - DAY

A group of civilians has already gathered near the isolated McMansion. A line of police officers behind a roll of police tape is keeping them from getting closer to the crime scene. The media has also made it before Agent Sorreyo, and are setting up their cameras.

The F.B.I. agent ignores them as they rush to bombard him with questions he doesn't yet have the answer to. He ducks under the tape and walks around the house to the backyard. The treehouse sits in a large oak tree. It is well built, made of smooth, varnished planks of cedar without any gaps. There is a small window, its shutters open, on its east side. Wooden stairs lead up to its door.

Agent Sorreyo climbs up the narrow stairs. As he reaches the top, he sees the small body lying within the treehouse. His eyes scan the single room. They ligner on the broken latch, the water puddle underneath the corpse, the small muddy footprints.

The agent climbs back down where a group of officers in diverse uniforms wait for him expectantly, eager for orders, for something to do. "Tell the coroner to expedite the autopsy. This isn't just a kidnapping case anymore. We've got a serial killer."

OPENING CREDITS

The screen is dark. Then, flashes of lightning illuminate roiling clouds. The third bolt reveals the title card. AGNOSTOPHOBIA is sprayed over a Yin-Yang symbol with a Dragon on one side and a Phoenix on the other.

Cut to a very large man as he steps out of the woods and looks down at a small town. He is wearing jeans, sturdy boots and a checked lumberjack shirt. He carries an old leather backpack. He looks tired. "THELONIUS as MANGAS". With a sigh he continues walking, the camera stays and sees him walk away towards the town. Shadows creep in from the bottom of the frame, spreading across the ground, reaching towards him.

Sophia is drinking tea on her family home, the figure of a small dragon in bluish white light curled around her and on the back of the room a small altar can be seen with her parents’ photograph on it. "NIGHTINGALE as SOPHIA CHEN". The altar catches fire behind her. It consumes her parents' picture and quickly grows to engulf the whole wall.

Getting ready montage in close-ups. Bullet proof vest, buttoning up the suit. Checking the 9mm and putting it in the holster. Getting in the SUV. And finally seeing Matthew's face/eyes as he adjusts the rear view mirror. "DONQWAF as MATTHEW LEONS". He picks up a pager to look at a message on it. In the mirror, a ghostly face opens its mouth wider than any living creature could.

Eshe is training by herself in a bare room, her staff in a corner. She is striking at non-existent opponents and dodging their blows in turn. A momentary loss of balance leaves her on the tips of her toes and she transitions into a few ballet moves to catch herself, before coming to a stop, laughing breathlessly. "ANOTHER AKA as ESHE MESERET DANIAT". In the window behind her, the sky turns orange and what looks like dozens of asteroids come raining down from it.

Ominous images flash across the screen. A corpse, hanging by its feet from a tree with writhing branches. A man running from a mob with glowing green eyes. Hands pushing out of the wall as a child reads nearby. A statue weeping blood as it strangles a priest.

We see the four hunters surrounded, fighting a group of thugs with fire surrounding their fists. Mangas fights with a stop sign, torn from the ground, cement still hanging onto its base. Eshe twirls her staff, parrying and counter attacking. Sophia, her spear crackling with lightning, drives some of the thugs back with powerful thrusts as Long Wang surrounds her body protectively and snarls. Matthew fires his 9mm, taking out some more thugs who were rushing in.

We get a nice, final shot of the four hunters grouped together, each in their own fighting stance. Strange, shadowy shapes hang above them, looking akin to puppeteers.

INT. CUSTODES SAFE HOUSE - DAY

The Custodes' safe house in Denver is a spartan thing. It's a large loft build in a disused industrial space with a small kitchen area, a small living room area with mismatched couches and a tv, a large open area with a handful of workout equipment, and three other rooms: 2 rooms with 4 bunk beds and a large bathroom. It could easily house a medium sized strike team and provides ample space for the hunters.

Mangas is sitting on one of the couches, watching the news on tv. The workout equipment wasn't enough to do much for him. He quickly found he could lift the heaviest weights without effort. The news caster is giving an update about missing children in a suburb of DC. One of the children has been found dead, the second victim in this ongoing story.

Eshe and Sophia are sparring in the open area. The two women circle each other, looking for an opening. Staff clashes against spear as they test the other's defense.

Matthew is exiting the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel, having just showered following his morning workout. He notices the light on his pager is flashing and walks over to see what his superiors have in store for them.

Eshe dodges a thrust by Sophia, her hair tingling and standing on end as the crackling weapon passes within inches of her head. Suddenly, the Chosen's perception shifts. Her surroundings are blurred, full of lights and noises. There's carnival music playing, overlaid with a cacophony of voices. She feels like she's getting jostled by something and feels mounting outrage.

Sophia was about to strike when she notices Eshe's eyes lose their focus and the other woman start to sway on her feet like she's about to fall.

Matthew presses the button on his pager in a very specific pattern. In response, it displays the following message: MIDDLEBURG, VA. UNKNOWN. 2 VICTIMS: ONE ADULT STABBED, ONE CHILD DROWNED. 3 MISSING CHILDREN. ORANGE.

For the life of her, the Custodes' safe house made Eshe think of a cross between a rec center and a summer camp. Oh neat, bunk beds!
***

As she and Sophia spar, Eshe periodically catches glimpses of the television, the light from Matthew's pager, and Mangas' massive form. For his sake, she hopes that this next case will be a bit more straightforward - one where the monsters were truly monstrous. Not that that would be much better. She puts the thought out of her mind and returns her focus to Sophia just in time to dodge a thrust that left her scalp tingling. Eshe really enjoyed having Sophia as a sparring partner; she could give as good as she got.

As they continue to circle one another, weapons at the ready, the flashes from Matthew's pager dance at the edge of her field of vision, getting brighter and taking up more and more of it.   By the time Matt enters her line of sight to check the device,  Eshe cannot see him or anything else in the bunker for the dazzling lights.  Where was she? Where were the others?  When did everything get so loud?
"Hey, watch it!" She yells, her words unheeded by whoever or whatever keeps bumping into her, and unheard by her companions in the bunker. Eshe turns to look for the source of her growing aggravation, but the motion coupled with the lights and the din are so disorienting that she begins to feel dizzy.
"Almost like I'm about to faint," she thinks as darkness sweeps over her.

Sophia's spear stops masterfully centimeters away from hitting Eshe and taking one step in grabs her from the shoulders to stop her from falling.

"Hey, you ok? Where did you go?" She is looking around just in case someone or something sneaked in and was attacking them, going into alert mode.

NightingaleJ wrote:

"Hey, you ok? Where did you go?"

Eshe did not know where she was, but could feel the warmth and weight of Sophia's grasp drawing her back to where she ought to be.  Blinking slowly, she looks at her friend and nods. The motion sends a familiar spike of pain through her sinuses and she grips Sophia's arm to steady herself.

"Thanks. I'm... I'm okay.  My bosses," she squeezes the bridge of her nose.  "Don't use pagers.  There were bright lights and carnival music.  So many voices. I kept being bumped into too.  It was so annoying.  All together, I think that we might end up at a circus or a fair.  Oh geeze, I need to sit down." Eshe staggers over to the couches and places her head between her knees.

Matthew looked over the message again, throwing the towel at the hamper.

"Time to suit up..."

He pauses in the middle of what he was saying, seeing Eshe leaning against Sophia.

"Hey, are you ok?"

He listens and then watches as she sits down.

"Rest up a moment while we start getting things sorted. Lets get moving!"

He moves into one of the bedrooms and starts packing his things.

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” She waves a hand in his general direction without raising her head.  “Where are we going? What’s up?”

Eshe isn’t too worried about having to pack her things. She had always traveled light. You can’t lose what you don’t have was a multi-purpose expression when she was growing up, often serving as a reminder to keep what you carry to the necessary minimum. Moreover, she seldom unpacked. Being the Chosen of tricksters had taught her that a go-bag was of no use if it wasn’t always ready to go.  In fact, before joining up with the others, she used to sleep with her bag and had been working on a way to waterproof it sufficiently to be able to shower with it. Not a fact that she was keen on sharing.

Mangas sits still on the sofa staring at the TV. He is sitting still for a long time already. Only his jaw is moving as he grinds his teeth in suppressed anger when watching the report about the killed children.
Children always trigger odd reactions from him, his friends knew that. He behaves oddly around them and it is impossible to see whether he hates or loves them. Just hurt kids consistently anger him. Whether it is because he hates to see kids get hurt, or whether he hates that he did not get to be the one hurting them is unclear.
Eshe's experience with Mangas and Becky in the junk yard was the clearest indicator of the torment kids cause in him, on the one hand love of the innocent lives and on the other hand a reminder of his own children he had to abandon and then outlive (by a stretch).

When Matt calls them to leave, Mangas just continues to stare at the TV. It's not clear whether he did not hear or is ignoring Matt.

Between sparring, the vision and her splitting headache, Eshe had not noticed Mangas' tense stillness. As she gingerly starts to straighten up, she sees him and is at somewhat of a loss as to his demeanor until she follows his gaze to the television.  

"Hey bud," she says in a soft but strained tone, placing a hand on the massive shoulder closest to her. The softness of her tone is as much for her headache as it is out of a measure of caution. The big guy was out of sorts and that could make him harder to predict than usual. "Matt got a call. We're moving out." Eshe stands, faces Matt's general direction and - despite knowing that she would regret it - calls out.  "It'd be nice to know where and for what!"

Squeezing the bridge of her nose, Eshe takes a few breaths and then goes to help pack the SUV.

Sophia only nods at MAtt, sending Eshe a worried look but letting her go so everyone can get ready.

She picks up her own bag and spear, bowing respectfully to their make-shift training space, and then waits for Mangas to move. If her doesn't she will pull him from the arm and try to drag him to the car.

About a minute after Eshe's attempt to cheer him up Mangas abruptly gets up, flipping over the coffee table by sliding his hand under its table top and jerking his arm up. Then, without additional words, he marches to the door, punches it so hard the lock breaks out of it and the door flies open. After having walked through, he slams it close, but lacking the lock, it just swings open/shut a few times until it stops half opened, looking very sad.
He walks over to the SUV, sits in his dedicated seat, the car leaning clearly to the side he is sitting. Then he continues to stare outside.

INT. SUV - DAY

The hunters arrive in Middleburg, VA two days later, after having spent an ungodly amount of time on the road. They are able to follow the story on the radio and their phones, and learn that the three (formerly four) missing children all attended the same school.

Since they left, a fifth child has vanished, also a student at the same school, Middleburg Community Charter School. Class has since been suspended and the police has begun questioning the staff, but no arrests have been made.

As they drive into town, they pass by a memorial at the entrance of a familiar McMansion. It had been heavily featured on the news and they know it is where the body of the first child to go missing was found.

The town is busy. Volunteers have come over from surrounding counties. The hunters are assumed to be further volunteers, and are pointed to the Middleburg Community Center parking lot, where the F.B.I. have set up their mobile command center.

As they make their way through the small town, they pass by another, smaller memorial. This one is in front of a humble bungalow and features the smiling picture of a young woman. One of the missing children's mother, who was murdered when her child was abducted.

Matt had given them a brief rundown in the safehouse, but hadnt had much else to say about it on the drive. Missing children was always a hard thing to deal with and Mangas seemed to be taken it particularly hard.

The drive had been a fairly quiet somber affair, with little small talk, so seemed to stretch out.

When they finally arrived, Matt had looked around at the other volunteers and saw a usual spread that often turned up to these things.

Quietly, he said to the others, "Well at least we have a reason for being here and wont be asked...."

As they waited, he spoke again quietly, "Lets see what the feds have to say about this and then maybe we can start doing our own kind of investigation. Do you think any of you guys can....you know....."

He made a gesture with a pen he pulled from his pocket, mimicking a wand.

The drive from Denver had been miserable. Not only had Eshe's headache not subsided for most of it, her stomach was in knots as she took in details of the case. In hoping that their next case be one where the monster was more obviously monstrous, had she somehow made this happen?  Had one of the Tricksters decided to "gift" her with a straightforward case? It seemed ludicrous to imagine, but she could not entirely shake the nagging sense of dread.

When Matt asks if there is anything preternatural they can do, Eshe cannot bring herself to meet his gaze and shakes her head.  "Uh, no… But, uh do you think maybe we should split up?"  She hates how uncertain she sounds but cannot help it.  "We could cover more ground and avoid all being seen by the Feds and could use the group chat to keep each other up to date and... and uh... no that's it," she finishes weakly, managing to refrain from adding that Mangas would likely prefer to avoid law enforcement, federal or otherwise.  Not to mention that a crowd of well-meaning but ultimately ovine volunteers could quickly turn on the large, short tempered stranger in their midst.

'' Yeah, I agree with Eshe that we shouldn't be all seen by the feds" Sophia looks at Mangas and then at the other two. "I imagine Mangas will be on the team outside the feds' radar and Matt will be on the one dealing with the feds. Which one do you want to join?"

Sophia is pretty much relaxed, for her, this case is no different from any of the others they have taken, arrive, investigate, find the monster, kill it.

EXT. MIDDLEBURG COMMUNITY CENTER PARKING LOT - DAY

A large black RV occupies the center of the parking lot. There are a number of other vehicles, mostly cop cars, but also civillian-looking trucks and SUVs. Tables have been set up under canopies with food and drinks. Cops and volunteers are clustered in small groups resting or talking in hushed tones.

When the hunters arrive, they are approached by a Loudoun County deputy. The officer seems surprised by Mangas, their eyes wandering across is oversized form with a look like they can't quite understand what they're seeing. They shake their head and focus on Matthew instead, his look and demeanor more akin to what the deputy is used to. "I don't recognize you. Are you here to volunteer?"

The deputy's eyes flick over to an area of the parking lot where a bunch of media vans are clustered. "Or are you with the Fourth Estate?" They ask with a disdainful tone.

NightingaleJ wrote:

Sophia is pretty much relaxed, for her, this case is no different from any of the others they have taken, arrive, investigate, find the monster, kill it.

Eshe drinks in Sophia's calm, cool demeanor, allowing it to quench the worst of her anxieties.  There was work to be done and she could only really be responsible for her own actions. Right?[i/]

Which one do I want to join? I’d probably have more fun with Matty… but that is not what we are here for.  Where could I be the most helpful? Well, neither of them actually need my help, caught up in her own thoughts, Eshe is startled by the Loudoun County deputy’s seemingly sudden arrival. The combination of their apprehensive look at Mangas, their deference to Matthew and their disdainful reference to the media gets her hackles up a bit - which in a way is a positive; annoyed as she was, she was no longer as worried.  Ugh.  Eshe bites her tongue, not wanting to get the team off to the wrong start.

Matthew nods solemnly.

"Yes sir. We were in the area on some private business when we heard about what has been happened. Myself and Sophia," he gestures at Sophia," would like to volunteer to assist if you will allow us."

"My other colleagues still have some other business they need to look into, but may join us later."

The deputy gives Matthew a dubious look. "What possible 'business' could they have in Middleburg, of all places?" He shakes his head.

"Alright, you and Sophia, follow me. I'll take you to the volunteers table to get your info and give you an assignment." The deputy turns and starts walking, talking as he does. "With one of the kids turning up dead, we've shifted our focus from searches to patrols. We'll provide you with pictures of the missing kids, a route and a schedule. We have an app you can download on your smartphones to report any sightings."

Once they get to the volunteers' coordinator's table, Sophia and Matthew are asked for their names and phone numbers, then shown how to download the app. Finally, they are given a sheet of paper with school pictures of the missing children as well as their names.

"Alright, you got your assignments. There's food and drinks over there," the deputy says, pointing at another table. "All free, so don't hesitate if you need a bite."

As Sophia and Matthew depart with the deputy, Eshe looks to Mangas.
"Well Matty said that we had 'other business', so we should figure out what that is, eh?" The bungalow and its small memorial were top of mind for her, but regardless of whether or not Mangas agreed, this did not feel like the right place to discuss where they should begin their investigation.  

She jerks her head away from the crowd, saying "Shall we?"

Sophia nods her way through the process, looking at every other detail she can on the way and paying attention to the kind of people volunteering or simply hanging around.

Watch the watchers and all that, once they are alone she asks Matt. "Anything caught your attention partner? We can't trust the people volunteering either, the culprit could be hiding among them."

There is something about the smaller memorial that makes Eshe particularly sad. Not only was this young woman's brave death was being overshadowed by the missing children, her sacrifice did not prevent her child from being taken.
"Whoever or whatever is doing this is going to regret it," she mutters, almost vibrating with anger. She looks to the bungalow and sighs - she was not looking forward to speaking with those that this tragedy had left behind.

EXT. BUNGALOW - DAY

The small memorial consists of a few pictures, flowers and candles. A handmade sign, written in Sharpie on a piece of cardboard reads "IN MEMORY OF JOANNE MORRIS".

The bungalow has seen better days. It could use a fresh coat of paint and the lawn needs to be mowed. A child's bicycle with training wheels lies on its side near the handful of steps up to the stairs. One of the latter is loose, shifting slightly under Eshe's foot and groaning under Mangas'.

Police tape adorns the front door. Knocking and ringing the doorbell yields no answer. When the hunters peek trough the windows, they don't see anyone or any sign of recent activity.

Eshe snaps a picture of the memorial and of the bungalow's exterior.  The photos were probably unnecessary, but taking them made her feel useful. With what looked like most of the town volunteering to look for the kids and no houses behind the bungalow, Eshe figures that they could afford to take some initiative.  "Going around back; maybe we can let ourselves in more discreetly than in broad daylight.  She nimbly hops over the small handrail by the stairs, and walks towards the back of the house.

Matt nodded.

"You are right there. At this point we don't have any idea who it could be."

Matt looks around for any maps that show locations of interest and routes that patrols and search teams have already taken.

"If we can find a map of some sort, that shows where they have been or anything like that it might give us a good start."

Sophia whistles. "I don't see them having that in plain sight. Does this mean we are done playing nice? We might need to break in or get the info out of someone." She cracks her knuckles and shakes her arms as if warming up for battle.

Mangas looks at Eshe a bit confused. "Why don't we just use this door?"
He had been very relieved to leave the busy area at the search party center. Too many people, too many noises, too many looks. Over the centuries he had tried out many ways of living. Leading a tribe of Vikings on raids in France, total solitude during the dark ages, living under the radar during times when people where critical of those that are different and trying to integrate into a community at times of liberation. But he realised, he fared best with few close friends. Too many people meant too mslany voices, too many comments, too many annoying numbnuts that drove him crazy.
This part of the mission fits him much better and he is curious whether they can find anything helpful inside. With a bit too much enthusiasm he pushes down the door handle and subsequently pulls the door towards himself. With short groan and crack of resignation, the lock breaks out of the frame and the door opens. He offers the open door to Eshe. "See, it's open."

Eshe's laughter rings out in a few happy peals until she remembers that they were not looking to draw attention to themselves; Mangas getting them into this house with such ease felt like a much needed win. "So it is," she says with a wry smile, returning to Mangas' side. "I didn't think that I could open the door without making a lot of noise."  Eshe walks past Mangas into the house, performing a playful bow and scrape and she enters. "Thank you kindly."

Once inside, Eshe scans the bungalow to try to make out where law enforcement had prioritized and start to figure out what they might be looking for.

INT. THE MORRIS' HOUSE - DAY

Eshe and Mangas make their way into the bungalow. The entryway sports hooks on the wall with multiple coats, some adult and some children-sized. Shoes and boots clutter the floor. There's a closet on the right side, its door only half-closed, some of the haphazardly shoved-in content keeping it from closing any further.

The hunters emerge from the vestibule into a small short hallway. The air inside is stale, dusty, heavy with a faint odor of death. To their right is a living room. Toys are scattered on the floor. A laundry basket half-filled with clean clothes rests on the ground near the couch. On an ottoman is a number of folded clothing, the task left unfinished.

To their left is a child's bedroom. It is messy, but not unusually so. More toys litter the floor, posters of whatever children's show is currently popular adorn the walls. The covers on the bed are thrown open. The window is shut. There doesn't seem to be any sign of struggle.

Further down the hallway, passed the child's bedroom, the hunters find a small, unremarkable bathroom. There are pictures hanging on the opposite wall. A man and a woman at their wedding. The man and the woman together, beaming, the women very pregnant. The man feeding a baby. A selfie taken by the woman of her sitting on a blanket in a park with the man and a toddler. The man is pale, tired-looking. The child, surrounded by other kids at what seems to be his birthday party. A portrait of the wan, looking younger and healthier. Another selfie by the woman, the child is smiling as he holds up a large Christmas present. A simply decorated Christmas tree in the background. There are no other gifts under it. The man is nowhere to be seen. A school picture of the child. A picture of the woman and the child at a barbeque, smiling performatively at the camera.

Past the bathroom is the master bedroom. A chair is piled over with clothes. There's a vanity with makeup and a hairbrush resting on its surface. More pictures are stuck to the mirror. One side of the bed has the covers thrown off, the other is undisturbed.

At the end of the hallway is a kitchen. There's a large pool of blood and the outline of an adult body near the patio door. Little cardboard pieces with numbers are placed in various spots near it. There are dishes in the drying rack near the sink. A child's drawings are stuck to the fridge with magnets. A bowl of fruit rests on the table, most of its contents getting wrinkly and will have to be thrown away soon.

Matt chuckles.

"Lets not go breaking into places after we have just arrived. WE already had enough trouble with the police last time."

Matt ponders for a second.

"You do your thing and have a look around se what you can hear or find. I will go and see if I can get some information from someone who looks to know more than your average joe."

He looks at his watch.

"meet back here in 5-10?"

It does not take Eshe long to do a walk-through of the bungalow, even while stopping to take the odd photo.

"All of the doors were locked and there's no sign of forced entry. It looks like the kid, Frederic, voluntarily met the kidnapper over here at the backdoor and Joanne was killed when she tried to step in.  And look at this, " she says holding up a class photo while taking out her phone.  "The kids were in the same class! I'm sending this to Sophia and Matty."

She shoots off a few texts
[went to house of murdered parent (Joanne Morris)]
[Frederic Morris (kid) went to meet kidnapper at backdoor]
[Joanne got got when she tried to stop it]

and captions the class photo
[all in the same class?!?!]

Eshe looks at Mangas to see how he is processing the information.

DonQwaf wrote:

Matt chuckles.
He looks at his watch.
"meet back here in 5-10?"

Sophia shrugs. "Sure, won't promise to play nice but I can get by." She waits for Matt's response and then takes a walk around, subtly following other volunteers to look for anyone suspicious. She keeps her stance relaxed and looking around as if she is helping with the search instead of checking the people around her.

EXT. MIDDLEBURG COMMUNITY CENTER PARKING LOT - DAY

Sophia follows some volunteers around and eavesdrops. It doesn't take her long to come to the conclusion that the people here are just what they seem: concerned citizens looking to help. Disappointed, she looks around for Matthew to regroup when she notices a disheveled man staring intensely at her from the sidewalk across the street from the parking lot.

The man looks to be in his late thirties or early forties, poorly shaven, his graying hair cropped short. He's dressed in camo, wears a combat vest, carrying a holstered pistol on his belt and a large knife strapped to his thigh. An AR-15 is slung over his shoulder.

When he notices her looking back, he turns, pretending to scan the crowd, but keeping Sophia in his field of vision.

Sophia tries doing a roundabout, trying to sneak on this stranger, if she manages she will just say. "See anything interesting, pal?"

Following Eshe, he also walks into the bungalow and looks around. Walking through the house without much care, he ends up in the kitchen, with Eshe. Stepping over the outline on the floor, he opens the fridge and takes out a beer. It opens with a loud fizz and he drinks down half in one go. "Man, am I thirsty. Must be the air or something." he grabs a second bottle from the fridge and armed with the two bottles walks back to the hallway and the picture gallery. "Did you see this? What happened with the father? First dead sick, then healthy as a babe and then gone. D'you think he might have made a pact with something? Maybe the kids are payment?"

When Sophia walks away, the man follows from a safe distance. She turns a corner and ducks into a store entrance. The man walks right past her, hurrying to catch up after losing sight of her.

She steps out behind him.

NightingaleJ wrote:

"See anything interesting, pal?"

The man jumps, caught completely by surprise and wheels around, his hand reaching for his pistol. He freezes, having grabbed the hilt. His wild eyes search Sophia's face and what he sees there seems to urge him to be cautious. Maybe it's her casual stance or the hint of danger in her eye. Either way, he does not draw his weapon.

His eyes narrow in suspicion. "Depends," he says, his voice rough. A smoker. "Who are you with? You a fed? A globalist? Do you actually care about finding my... er, those kids, or are you here to sweep this under the rug?"

"Yeah, it's drier here than in Bar Nunn.  Have you ever been to Phoenix? It's as dry as sandpaper on fire." She looks at the photos and grimaces.
"This photo," Eshe points to the one that Mangas had noted as curious. "Is not a more recent photo.  It is an old one. When the dad died he was probably really sick and they decided to use a photo of him when he was well for the funeral and for memorial stuff, like this. Ah man..." Eshe slams a fist against the wall, as pieces that should have clicked earlier finally fall into place. "Both of Frederic's parents are dead.  I know that life isn't fair, but I hate it. I hate it so much. This isn't fair!" In her futile outrage against a cruel world, Eshe probably seems even younger than usual to Mangas.

Matt smiles.

"Just try not to murder anybody."

He looks around, seeing the black RV, guessing that that might be a mobile command center of some kind. He hopes.

He wanders towards it, and stands at the entrance, knocking on the side of the RV.

"Excuse me?"

EXT. MIDDLEBURG COMMUNITY CENTER PARKING LOT - DAY

The door to the Mobile Command Center is opened by a latino man is his mid-thirties. He's wearing aviator glasses, and F.B.I. jacket, dress shirt and pants. Matthew spots a shoulder holster sporting a standard issue fed semi-automatic.

The man looks over Matthew's shoulder, likely checking for a cameraman, then looks down at Matthew and takes a few seconds examine him. "What do you want? Make it quick," the man says, businesslike.

When Eshe enlightens him about the habit of funeral pictures he replies with a simple and slightly embarrassed "Oh..." but his embarrassment quickly turns into social discomfort, when Eshe excites herself about the fate of the kids parents. Insecurely he taps her on the shoulder and reaching for words simply says "There, there..."
He is very relieved when Eshe collects herself and proposes to continue over to the school.

Matt notices the man looking over his shoulder and turns, having a look himself before turning back to the man.

In a similar business like tone, he replies.

"I'm here to help assist in anyway I can, but have no knowledge of the area. Is there a map I can get hold of? Ideally with points of interest so I can either focus my energy there or avoid it and stay out of peoples way."

Not that it requires much effort, but he stands in a way a secret serviceman might stand, that relaxed but ready pose.

DonQwaf wrote:

"I'm here to help assist in anyway I can, but have no knowledge of the area. Is there a map I can get hold of? Ideally with points of interest so I can either focus my energy there or avoid it and stay out of peoples way."

The F.B.I. agent frowns and scrutinizes Matthew some more. "I'm Special Agent Jim Sorreyo, and you are?" Based on his tone, Matthew infers that the man seems to think that he might be a government agent from another agency, but he expects Matthew to provide him with some form of identification (or a good story) before allowing him inside or giving him with any sort of information beyond what normal volunteers get.

Mangas' awkward attempt at comfort was exactly that: awkward and comforting. She appreciated that he tried, while also feeling self-conscious for being so labile.  Rather than making things worse by apologising or thanking him, she clings to the fact that they had their next step, the school.  They make their way there without speaking and once facing the school she looks to him to say something and thinks better of it.  Mangas probably didn't need to know that it seemed odd to her that most if not all schools had a certain "school-ness" to them.  She smiles to herself at the idea of Mangas wanting to discuss the platonic ideal of the American school.

moarhair wrote:

EXT. SMALL TOWN STREET - DAY

When Sophia walks away, the man follows from a safe distance. She turns a corner and ducks into a store entrance. The man walks right past her, hurrying to catch up after losing sight of her.

She steps out behind him.

NightingaleJ wrote:

"See anything interesting, pal?"

The man jumps, caught completely by surprise and wheels around, his hand reaching for his pistol. He freezes, having grabbed the hilt. His wild eyes search Sophia's face and what he sees there seems to urge him to be cautious. Maybe it's her casual stance or the hint of danger in her eye. Either way, he does not draw his weapon.

His eyes narrow in suspicion. "Depends," he says, his voice rough. A smoker. "Who are you with? You a fed? A globalist? Do you actually care about finding my... er, those kids, or are you here to sweep this under the rug?"

moarhair wrote:

EXT. MIDDLEBURG COMMUNITY CENTER PARKING LOT - DAY

DonQwaf wrote:

"I'm here to help assist in anyway I can, but have no knowledge of the area. Is there a map I can get hold of? Ideally with points of interest so I can either focus my energy there or avoid it and stay out of peoples way."

The F.B.I. agent frowns and scrutinizes Matthew some more. "I'm Special Agent Jim Sorreyo, and you are?" Based on his tone, Matthew infers that the man seems to think that he might be a government agent from another agency, but he expects Matthew to provide him with some form of identification (or a good story) before allowing him inside or giving him with any sort of information beyond what normal volunteers get.

EXT. MIDDLEBURG COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL - DAY

Middleburg Community Charter School is a small, L-shaped building sitting on Madison Street, near the edge of town. The shorter branch has a single story and a flat roof, the longer one has two stories and a gable roof. The parking lot out front is mainly empty, its only occupants being a small single car and a van emblazoned with the logo of the Loudon County Public Schools.

When the hunters get closer, they notice a number of small, muddy footprints leading to the main entrance. One of the door is open and shows clear signs of having been forced. As they reach the threshold, they hear a loud, metallic bang echo through the hall, followed by a scream.

MCCS:

Eshe swears under her breath and flings the door open, taking off at full speed in direction of the scream.

moarhair wrote:

"Depends," he says, his voice rough. A smoker. "Who are you with? You a fed? A globalist? Do you actually care about finding my... er, those kids, or are you here to sweep this under the rug?"

Sophia keeps her posture relaxed, hands inside her pockets and the shades Eshe one gave her resting on her head made her look like a tourist to people that wasn't paying attention. Though the contrast between her and the man was definitely going to attract some. She had to be quick.

"I'm here to get answers and stop the killings. Are you going to stand on my way or be of help?

Mangas follows Eshe closely without a grunt or comment. He is not as agile as Eshe is, but his long strides let him keep up.

EXT. SMALL TOWN STREET - DAY

NightingaleJ wrote:

"I'm here to get answers and stop the killings. Are you going to stand on my way or be of help?

The man relaxes slightly. He removes his hand from the grip of his pistol. "I want answers too. The feds say it's a serial killer, can you believe that? What kind of serial killer kidnaps a bunch of kids over the span of a week? No, no, no, no, no... This is something else. Something they want to cover up!" His eyes start to move in their sockets as he considers the possibilities. "Aliens, maybe... or mole men... The elites harvesting adrenochrome wouldn't be this sloppy..." As he talks, he relaxes some more. He seems to have accepted Sophia as a fellow conspiracy theorist.

"What's your theory?" He asks. Sophia senses a bit of tenseness in his voice. He is testing her.


INT. MIDDLEBURG COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL - DAY

Eshe and Mangas rush inside. The low, flat-roofed branch of the building seems to lead to some administrative offices. The track lead to the other branch. The two hunters push their way past some double doors and find themselves in a long hallway. On the ground, near some stairs, is a janitor sitting in a growing pool of blood. He's still alive, his breathing pained and shallow. He's pressing a dirty washcloth against his chest with his right hand, trying to stem the blood flow from a deep gash.

He turns his face, pale from the blood loss, to the hunters. Painfully, he lifts his left arm and points up. "They're... after... Miss... Fuschetta..." he manages to say. It is clear to Eshe and Mangas that unless they do something to help him immediately, the janitor will not make it.

Mangas runs past the injured man on the floor and continues up the stairs in the direction the man pointed. He will expire very soon one way or the other, a few decades tops, but the hunt could be decided in matter of seconds, if he didn't hurry. He races up the stairs, his feet stomping forebodingly, like a war drum.