“Timothy Tanaka at your service. Or T2 if you prefer,” he said.
I shook his hand and debated on whether the nickname deserved a response. I decided on a more pressing question.
“How old are you?”
He gave a slight scoff before answering, “I’ll be nineteen in two weeks B-man.”
I attempted to ignore the lame nickname. I guess we didn’t have an age limit. I have always appreciated an organization that recognizes skill above and beyond age and experience. That being said, I still worried about taking a kid into battle, so I turned towards Dutton.
“Isn’t he kind of young for this line of work?”
Froedrick of course was the one to speak up.
“Mr. Tanaka is a master hacker. He has over ten years of experience and has probably forgotten more about electronic security systems then most of us will ever know,” he squealed.
It was clear that Freddy didn’t appreciate me questioning the abilities of the team. As if he had a sense of ownership, he took a great deal of pride in the team. It was in that moment that something frightening occurred to me, they expected him to be our leader. That would not do.
“What a minute, are you in charge?” I asked him.
Freddy gave a smile and stood up a little straighter.
“That is correct Mr. Chang. If you were to look back throughout the history of our organization, I think you will find that most often the Keeper of Lore is the lead member of a GHOST Team. We have, after all, devoted our entire lives to the study of the supernatural,” he finished with his head held high.
“Freddy, I in no way doubt your Dungeon Master skills. It’s simply your combat prowess that I am a little worried about. Have you ever actually met any of these creatures that we’re going to face?”
“Of course. As part of my graduate work I studied the Highland Brownies in their natural habitat. Did you know that the mating cycle of the female Brownie is perfectly synced to the phases of the moon?” he asked.
“No, I didn’t know that and I’m kind of sad that I know it now. Exactly how big and scary are these Brownies?”
Freddy laughed, “They are not scary at all. The Brownie rarely grows over five inches tall. In fact when I was there, I noticed a rather fascinating…”
“So, you think that prepared you to battle vampires and trolls and such?”
“I uh,” he started, a complete lack of confidence in his voice, “I’m very well read on vampires and over a dozen species of troll. In fact, of the three species of troll native to this area, only one…”
“Relax Freddy,” I said patting him on the shoulder, “I’m sure you’ll do fine. Let the Brownies of the world beware,” I finished with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.
Several members of the team tried to hide their laughter. Freddy turned towards them and was about to re-explain himself when I stopped him.
“Just giving you a hard time pal. What do you say we go save the world now?” I grinned.
That brought a smile to Freddy’s face. I gave Dutton a quick salute and started towards the door, the team falling in behind me. It was then that Dutton spoke up.
“Chang, we are not done yet. The rest of you may go,” Dutton barked.
I didn’t like the sound of that. I’d just met my team and already I was in trouble. I guess I shouldn’t have flirted with the girls until we were out of Dutton’s office, an important note for next time. I waited while the rest of the team made their way out of the office, the double doors closing behind them. Turning to face Dutton, I made my next statement with as much respect as I could get into my voice. After all, he was the boss.
“Yes sir?”
He took a couple of puffs on his cigar and leaned back further in his chair causing the appropriate creak. He pulled the cigar out of his mouth and held it between his fingers, using it to point at me while he spoke.
“Give em a chance, they are a good bunch,” he said.
“You mean the bookworm who fights brownies or the computer nerd just out of diapers? Of course I guess they are better than the mentalist who can’t read a mind without letting the subject know. Is that the good bunch you’re referring too sir?” I stated as matter-of-factly as possible.
I added the sir so he would know that I was trying to be respectful. In my defense, I never had a boss before, so I was using TV cop shows as the basis for how I was allowed to talk to him. Luckily for me, he seemed somewhat amused by my rant, the barest hints of a smile playing on his lips.
“What they lack in combat experience they make up for in knowledge. You have seen enough bloodshed for ten lifetimes. You cannot expect them to possess the same amount of experience. They will learn, given time,” he replied slowly.
“And in the meantime I am supposed to follow Freddy into battle?”
“On paper Mr. Blair is in charge. But you are responsible for their safety. Keep em alive Chang,” he said.
“Yes Sir,” I couldn’t help but sigh when I said it.
He put the cigar back in his mouth and spun slowly around in his chair.
“Dismissed,” he snarled.
With that I spun on my heels and walked out the large double door, letting it close behind me. They were standing there waiting for me, curiosity on all five of their faces as they wondered what Dutton’s parting words were about. I felt that in the spirit of teamwork, I should probably tell them something.
“Dutton says you ladies need to stop flirting with me, we have serious work to do,” I said straight faced.
Both ladies gave me a look and rolled their eyes, before turning towards each other as if saying something in secret inaudible girl talk. Danny snickered and Freddy looked lost. I really hoped that Danny wasn’t going to be the only one who ever found me amusing.
“Okay team, let’s roll out,” I said.
Timothy giggled and gave me a nod. Clearly he was happy to be part of the autobots. Freddy smiled and appeared to take my statement as a cue that we were following his lead. He stood up straight and led the way back towards the elevator.
“Okay GHOSTs, it’s time to get started,” he gleamed.
They headed down the hall towards the elevator and I brought up the rear. Big things were coming. I could feel it. This morning Vlad felt it too. He said there were heavy vibrations on the ethereal plane. A large battle brewing between good and evil and I was about to be flung into the middle of it. I wasn’t too proud of the last few years of my life, but today was when I started to set the karmic balance right. This was going to be an exciting day.
Chapter 2
A three-hour meeting, an hour-long car ride, and staring at a dead body were not quite the high-octane start that I expected to this adventure. The meeting was unnecessarily long because Freddy decided to demonstrate his vast knowledge and provide a tangent ridden explanation of the situation. Erika drove the van, and although her abilities behind the wheel seemed impressive, traffic leaving DC was being especially harsh today.
The crime scene was just past one of the scenic turn offs on the GW Parkway. We were in a nice wooded area, slopping downhill towards the Potomac River. The body wasn’t visible from the road, but once we got out of the van and looked things over, the situation seemed to confirm what the three-hour meeting had taught us, the guy was dead.
According to the little bit that I gleaned from Freddy’s ramblings, this was the problem. This particular man was immortal, a fact that seemed to be in direct conflict with his current state. As the six of us approached the crime scene a uniformed Park Police Officer checked our IDs before ushering us under the police tape. A tall, heavyset, black man in his mid-forties, slightly graying hair, wearing a blue suit and gray trench coat turned to greet us.
“Detective Thomas Shaw,” he introduced himself, “and as much as I appreciate you boys deciding to help us poor park cops with our crimes, I’m gonna tell you what I told your boss. We can handle one dead body,” he stated sarcastically.
This type of reaction was to b
e expected from the regular police on the scene. In their mind, we were the enemy. We weren’t actually at odds, but as you’ve seen accurately portrayed on TV, cops hate it when someone claims jurisdiction and steals their case. But according to our badges, we worked for the SIA, which meant that we could basically claim jurisdiction anywhere and anytime we wanted. Such is the power of National Security. Even though the Park Police were basically federal cops, they still had to step aside once we swooped in. I was hoping that the officer would understand and just leave it at that. But once Freddy opened his mouth in an attempt to explain things, I had a feeling that his people skills were going to make matters worse.
“Detective Shaw, while your efforts are appreciated, you must understand that as a matter of National Security this case could not simply be left up to the Park …” he was cut off.
“Why, is he a zombie or something?” Shaw scoffed.
Shaw was speaking loud enough for the uniformed cops in the area to hear, which caused a chorus of laughter to surround us. It was understandable. I should probably explain what the SIA originally stood for. The Supernatural Investigations Agency was created in 1937 by an Executive Order from FDR. Roosevelt believed that Hitler’s obsession with the paranormal needed to be dealt with, thus the SIA was born. That order still stands today, giving the SIA supreme jurisdiction over every other law enforcement agency in the US. Unfortunately the rest of the law enforcement community considers us a joke. After all, to the regular citizen, there were no such things as ghosts and goblins. In the late sixties the name of our organization was officially changed to the Special Investigations Agency. They thought that it would help us gain more respect. But memories last a lifetime and people haven’t forgotten our roots, so we were still considered by many to be the joke of the policing community.
“I’m afraid the situation is a little more complex than that, Detective Shaw,” Freddy tried.
“Oh, I get it. Us simple cops could never understand the complexity of your job. A crime of this caliber is too big for us dumb detectives. Is that it?” Shaw said, anger building in his voice.
“I think you misunderstand. I was just stating that there is a certain level of training required for this type of work,” Freddy said tentatively.
I almost wanted to step in, but I was so amazed at how fast Freddy was digging himself into a hole, that I couldn’t move. It was like watching a train wreck. I knew that jurisdiction or not, our lives would be easier if the other cops wanted to work with us. But before I said anything, I figured it was only fair to give Freddy a few more chances to make it right. After all, how else was he going to learn?
“Oh, so we don’t have any training. I have been a detective for fifteen years. But please come on in and show us how its done,” Shaw mocked.
Freddy was starting to sweat as the detective made it clear that he didn’t want to cooperate with him. He ran his finger inside of his collar, as if his bowtie was becoming more restrictive. It was obvious that Freddy was unaccustomed to such anger being directed his way. This did not bode well for his first monster encounter. He took a deep breath before continuing.
“I assure you that my intention was not to insult you, detective. I was just trying to inform you that for this particular situation…” Freddy was cut off again.
“Let me tell you about your situation…” Shaw started.
“Detective Shaw, perhaps I could have a moment of your time,” I interjected.
He glared at Freddy, holding his gaze long enough to make our fearless leader squirm in his own skin. Then after it was clear that Shaw had established dominance, he waved me over to the side. We wandered a few steps away from Freddy before he started speaking to me.
“Let me guess, you’re about to tell me this case is above my pay grade and I am on a need to know basis and all that other such nonsense right?” Shaw asked angrily.
“Absolutely not, I just thought it was important that the two of us had a moment to make fun of his bowtie. Seriously, who wears a bowtie anymore?” I said straight-faced.
The anger softened just a bit and I almost caught the beginnings of a smile. But he quickly regained his composure as he remembered that we were here to steal his case. I guess I could understand his point of view. If someone was trying to steal my case, I wouldn’t be very happy about it either. Add to that the fact that Freddy was annoying as all hell, and it was easy to see why Shaw was upset.
“You are a rag tag looking bunch,” he replied.
“Would it make you feel better or worse to know that this is us dressed up?”
He gave me a small smirk. His guard was still up, but at least I had calmed the situation down enough to have a normal conversation with him.
“Look Shaw, I know you don’t need our help and you know you don’t need our help. But just like you, we have to answer to a higher power. And unfortunately for our budding new friendship, my boss is forcing us upon you and pulling the jurisdiction card. We are happy to share as much as we can, but I can’t promise anything. I wish I could offer more.”
I extended my hand in an attempt to salvage a little bit of a working relationship. He seemed to appreciate my honestly and shook my hand.
“I appreciate that. Any chance you can tell me why the SIA is interested in this guy?” Shaw asked.
“All I know is that his name came up in some database. We won’t know more until we examine the body,” I replied.
“I look forward to hearing what you learn,” Shaw smiled.
I smiled and gave him a nod. Shaw handed me his card before turning and starting down the hill. I nodded towards my team to follow and headed down after him. Once we were standing over the body, Shaw pulled out a little notepad, and flipped through a few pages before he found the one he wanted. He then started telling us what they had found.
“He was discovered by a local fisherman at around five forty five this morning. The body is lying exactly as we found it. I figured you all might want to take a look before we carted it off,” Shaw smiled, “He had a wallet on him with a few bucks, a couple of credit cards, and a UK drivers license. Nothing appeared to be missing which makes us think this isn’t a mugging gone wrong.”
“Thank you detective, please clear your men out…” Freddy started before I cut him short.
“Detective Shaw, we would appreciate it if your men could give us the area for a few minutes,” I said.
Shaw shot Freddy a dirty look before waving his men back up the hill.
“Come on guys, they don’t want us to see them whip out the Ouija board,” he hollered.
There were a handful of uniformed cops and a few members of the forensics team in the area. They all started laughing at Shaw’s comment as they made their way up the hill. I glanced out over the water, noting the small police boat and it’s two uniformed occupants. They were talking to a scuba diver, whose head was bobbing up and down in the water. I assumed they were searching for murder weapons or clues to the crime. Their attention seemed to be fully involved in whatever they were doing, so I looked over at Freddy.
“I think that’s about as much privacy as we’re going to get,” I said.
Freddy glanced around the area, nodding his head as if he agreed with my assessment. Then he turned towards the team, gave them a broad smile, and started dishing out orders.
“All right, this is what we trained for people, let’s hop to it,” Freddy stated enthusiastically, before dropping his voice to a whisper, “Kara, if you would check the local manna levels. We shall need to know if there was anything else magical in the vicinity. Erika, sweep the area, and see if you can find any unusual tracks or other signs of recent paranormal passage. Timothy, log into the local networks, figure out if there are any cameras looking in this direction, and what, if anything, they observed in this vicinity. Also, secure this area from any external surveillance while we are working here. Danny, if he was killed in this locale, then there is a chance that a psychic residue was left behind. Let me know if you
pick up anything. Bruce…”Freddy hesitated a moment.
I’ll admit that I was in shock. Freddy had been so weak and timid when dealing with Shaw, that to see him now, with all of this confidence, was a pleasant surprise. Perhaps that was his gift, the ability to delegate responsibilities. Then again, this was our first mission. Maybe he had been planning that speech for months. I was about to ask him about it, when he continued his instructions towards me.
“Bruce… good job with Shaw,” he said before patting me awkwardly on the shoulder and turning to watch Kara’s progress.
Freddy kept a straight face when he thanked me, which actually made the situation even more comical. But to my credit, I managed to contain my own laughter. I debated on whether or not I should be insulted that he didn’t have anything for me to do. But in the grand scheme of things, I guess it was to be expected. After all, I was the team muscle. My position on the team, referred to as the Knight, has the simple task of neutralizing threats. Their job was to locate the threat and mine was to deal with it. On the plus side, it meant that I hardly ever had to do paperwork.
Having nothing else to do, I figured that this was as good a time as any to observe my teammates while they worked. I was hoping that it would give me a better idea of their talents and abilities. Unfortunately, it quickly turned into me staring at Erika as she walked away. I forced myself to stop thinking about her form fitting jeans and focus on what exactly she was up to.
Erika started by the river, walking slowly along the bank, her eyes scanning the ground. She was very methodical in her search, almost as if she had mentally sectioned the area off in grids and was working her way through each one. As she moved, I noticed two other very interesting things about her. The first was in the way she walked. The weight of each foot was perfectly balanced, leaving hardly any track upon the ground and making almost no sound. I wondered if that was part of tracker training, walking without leaving a trace. When I was a kid, we were forced to walk on rice paper to achieve a similar effect. Maybe the two of us could have quiet walking contests.
G.H.O.S.T. Teams: Book 1 - Magic Page 2
