by Justin Bell
CHAPTER FOUR
Washington, DC.
In the small conference room, Agent Grace leaned back slightly in his chair, lacing his fingers together. He looked closely at Directors Davies and McKie trying to gauge what their reaction would be to what he had just told them about the first week of surveillance at the Strickland household.
Davies was the first to speak, as he expected. "That wasn't a Goddamned bear, was it?"
Grace didn't lose his composure. "We are working with local law enforcement to gather the evidence," but before he could even finish, Davies smirked and shook his head in disbelief.
"Save the horseshit for your 'local law enforcement.'"
Grace couldn't help but notice that he hadn't curbed his language in that particular rebuttal.
McKie decided to speak next. "So where is Strickland now?"
"He's back at home, sir. By the time the bodies were discovered and we were notified, he was at home performing his normal morning routine."
"What does the video surveillance tell us?"
"Video surveillance tells us that he woke up at around 3:30 a.m. from some kind of nightmare?but then we had?some technical issues."
Davies drew his head back. "Technical issues?"
"Yes. Interference of some sort. We believe it scrambled the night vision goggles the two patrol men were using, and it also disrupted our video feed."
"How long did it last?" was McKie's question.
"About three hours. By the time everything resolved itself, Strickland was brushing his teeth, looking none the wiser."
Davies pushed his chair back slightly and stood, keeping his eyes firmly directed upon Agent Grace. "So let me get this straight. According to your little story there, these two rookies blew their cover? made assholes out of your team. And now they're dead? By an animal?"
"You wanted the latest information, Director. I won't pretend to give you an analysis. As you well know, I never got the chance to examine the situation myself, as I was directed to return here."
"So with you here, who is holding down the fort back there?" asked McKie.
Grace answered. "Agent Burndock, sir. Great field instincts, but needs some development. Things have progressed slowly in the past week, and everything is under control."
"What has the subject been up to?" McKie elected to stick with 'subject' rather than bringing the name into the conversation. The less personal this was, the better.
"Since the incident with the security team, not much. Maintaining his rigorous workout schedule, very routine-oriented, nothing out of the ordinary. Brooklyn Security has filled the two positions and supplemented with some extra bodies as well. We've increased surveillance to a true 24x7-schedule."
Both Directors seemed to be chewing on this for a little bit.
McKie spoke first. "Thanks for the report, Agent Grace. Keep in contact with Burndock and your agents in the field, but we'll need you to remain in Washington for the time being. Director Davies still has some elements of his investigation he will require your cooperation."
Grace grimaced but said nothing, and stood from his chair. "Understood. You know where to find me."
He walked from the conference room, his cold, dark eyes narrow slits, and his anger a barely contained smolder underneath his tight grimace.
