Play@YSDC

Being part of the phone chain, Stanyard offers to be there early as well.

Nik

“I don’t think this is an ambush. She helped us before, even though her reasons aren’t very obvious. They could have moved against us at the cabin, I don’t think she’s associated with those NSA guys. I agree with Stanyard, let’s go early.”

Rue listens to the arguements trying to dredge up a case from his past.

"Guys, do you remember that Maxwell case back, oh some five year or so back, where we were getting anonymous tip-offs from someone? Turned out it was from a rival gang of arms dealers led by some German whose name escapes me at the moment. Anyhow we were getting these tips because they wanted us to remove Maxwell's group who they saw as their main rivals. So although she, if it is indeed a she, has proven helpful so far, it may not be the case. Just keep an open mind is all I'm saying. Krause, that was the name of the German, who I think Interpol managed to let escape if I remember rightly, bloody amateurs."

OOC:   Silver Priest, If this improv is against what you want then feel free to ammend or delete as you see fit.

"Yes, I was just thinking that she has her own agenda," says Vanessa. "That's why we need to get there ahead of time."

The Hall of Flame museum was rather modest in size, looking more like a small warehouse than anything else. The team arrive here at just after 10:30. They scan the surrounding streets, but find no signs of observation.

Entering they come to a receptionist.Tickets were 15$ a piece. "Ms. Green" had said nothing about compensating them for the admission.

Assuming all buy tickets, they are ushered into one of the two side halls. Inside is a wide open space filled with firetrucks and equipment. The exhibits start out from thousands of years ago but quickly grow more modern, and all have a brief plaque outlining when the tool was introduced and where.

There are only a few people wandering the hall this time of day. A middle aged man gawks at the exhibits, seeming enraptured with them. Every now and then he takes a picture. A family is over in the corner, tending to an excitable child and pointing at a particular firetruck. They are speaking loudly.

The last guest is a woman. She's in the center of the hall, turned away from the group. Her attention seems to be fixed on a particular exhibit, an early 1920's firetruck from Chicago. Even only seeing her from the back, Nik recognizes her as the woman he had seen on the tape. She's a dark skinned woman, tall and slender, and wears a slick suit. She makes no move to approach the team. Indeed, she does not even appear to notice them.

Nik

"Ms. Green" Nik calls out to her. "We came. Do you have some answers for us?"

Vanessa suppresses a groan. Much could have been gained by observing Ms. Green, or whatever her name was, before drawing attention to themselves, as well as by observing the crowd to see if anyone was paying undue attention to her. Vanessa looks around now to see if anyone is doing so. She had clearly come here early as well, and she might not have come alone.

As soon as Nik calls out to Ms Green, Rue shakes his head as he starts to separate himself from the group in the direction opposite the entrance, watching in case there are any unwelcome visitors.

Nik is sure that Ms. Green has chosen this place for a good reason. There's hardly anyone here. She's much too careful to do anything which would attract attention. The easiest way to get information is to ask her directly who she is. She wants to communicate, after all.

"Who are you?" he asks.

"Ms. Green" turns around. She's wearing John Lennon style dark shades and dreadlocks. She smiles knowingly at Nik.

"I had a feeling you'd come early. Curiosity is a powerful motivation. Dangerous, but powerful." She looks towards the other agents. "Let's not insult each others intelligence here. I invited you here for a talk, not this cloak and dagger nonsense. Still, I suppose I can't blame you after what you've seen." She gestures for the team to join her.

"If it makes you feel better, you can call me Ms. Green. As for what I do... let's just say I represent an organization that fights things like what you saw in San Carlos."

"Tell me, have any of you heard of the town of Innsmouth? It's doubtful, unless you're big into conspiracy theories. but I'll provide you with a brief history lesson. In 1928, the US government heard some disturbing rumors coming out of the town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts. A raid was organized. It was expected we'd find booze runners or Reds, but instead the raid uncovered horrors you can't even begin to fathom. The town had been subverted, the elite and even many of the ordinary citizens having inbred with an alien intelligence. Their hybrids ran the town, and by the time the government had intervened had it fully under their thump. Their activities were directly subverting national security.

Conflict followed, and lives were lost on both sides.The town was essentially destroyed and wiped from the history books. But certain men in government had seen what was lurking out there, and they figured out there were worst threats than communists or tax evaders. They formed an organization within the government, and we've been fighting back against the sort of things we encountered in Innsmouth ever since.

"Sounds farfetched, I imagine. But you saw what was in Santana's body. That thing came from the stars, just one of many horrors out there. We've dealt with a few of its kind before. But we wanted to see how a team of the uninitiated would do. Think of it as a job interview. You all handled it well and knew enough to keep your mouths shut. So I'm here to offer you a job with the agency I work for. You'd be tasked with combating these sort of threats wherever they showed themselves. You'd never get credit for it or your name in the paper, but you'd be doing more to protect America and the human race then anyone else. Just think carefully before accepting. This is not the kind of club you get to quit.

"I'm sure you have questions. Ask, and I'll answer what I can."

Rue shakes his head in disbelief and crosses his arms defiantly;

"look lady, and I mean no disrespect at all, but what may or may not have happened back in 1928 at wherever it was, just how does that affect what we experienced in San Carlos. And just what the hell was that anyway? We got our toes stepped on hard by them NSA creeps, I sincerely hope that you ain't affiliated with that mob 'cause it may have escaped your notice that there ain't no love lost between the two organisations."

"Does your organization have official sanction, Ms. Green?" asks Vanessa.

"We are," Ms. Green responds to Vanessa's question. "Though you're forgiven for not having heard of us. The work we do is by its nature vary secretive. Folks like your boss have been evaluated for recruitment, and for whatever reasons deemed unsuitable. Not everyone can handle it. We've been sanctioned since 1928 to deal with alien and unnatural threats to America. This planet's still here, so I'd say we've done a decent job at it.
"If you do join us you'd remain in your FBI. Due to the unique nature behind our work, our agents retain their day jobs. It has the added bonus of ensuring that if something unusual comes up, we're the first to know. And we find it's simpler to solve problems using the same agencies we recruit from.

"Your skepticism is warranted, Mr. Rue. What you saw was an alien race. It's not the same type that we encountered in Innsmouth; at least, we don't think it is. But its goals were equally a threat to national security. I know we've encountered that creature a few times, though it seems to be a rare visitor to our planet. Be very grateful for that. One was enough of a nuisance to deal with. If you want a name or a history of where it came from, we don't do that. Our focus is on eradication, not education. That's a dangerous road to go down.
"The men you saw were with another governmental agency. They claimed to be with the NSA, but that's doubtful. They masquerade as whatever's convenient. We know for a fact they posed as CDC workers at an earlier crime scene to steal away the bodies for research. It's probably why they let you keep Santana.
"You know how the best families can have the worst fights? That's sort of our relationship. Our philosophies are different. We want to stop these things above all else. They're interested in researching and trying to control them. Some of them are ardent cold warriors who never realized the conflict was over. Others want to turn the type of entities we encounter to their own ends. But you saw what that creature could do. I hope you all realize nothing good can come from doing anything but destroying it."

She pauses here, taking the moment to remove a newspaper clipping from her pocket. She shows it to the group. "If you need any further idea as to their intentions, take a look at this."
The paper is dated from that day. It's a short article.

Sheriff Mangos Colorados, the embattled Chief of the San Carlos State Police is reported to have shot himself yesterday evening.

Colorados left a note confessing his guilt as having harbored serial killer Emmanuel Santana to hide within the San Carlos Reservation for decades. His wife found his body in the family's car ... the article cuts off.

"My condolences. But you knew the man well enough not to believe the official story. Colorados to his credit refused to stop digging. So someone silenced him. Three guesses as to who. Shame, he'd have made a decent agent. But you can still honor his memory. Or you can decide this is too dangerous and go back to your normal lives. No harm in that; you're still doing important work. But this is a commitment unlike anything else. ."

Nik is incensed. "And what did you and your organization do to help him? Or any of his deputies as they were getting murdered? You knew all about this thing! And you tell us it was all a test? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Having been quiet all through the meeting, Stanyard gets up. "I'm late to an appointment. Lose my contact information and let me be, I'm back to my day job. Besides, I have a sister to visit." He nods at the companions and leaves.

Ms. Green listens to Nik's tirade silently, her face hiding behind her shades.

"I understand you're upset. But the sheriff was proven unsuitable for our line of work. He seemed unable or unwilling to keep silent about what he observed. And that's the number one criteria in our profession. We could not risk attempting to bring someone in who would jeopardize the work that we do. I do regret what happened to him, but there's a reason our competitors dealt with him and left you alive. You know the importance of secrecy, and that's why we're meeting here today.

"I know it may seem frustrating, but think about it. How many people could handle what you saw out there if it was on CNN tomorrow? Or fishmen breeding with humans? Do you think the public could handle that? Do you think they could," here she nods towards the happy family, who are currently stopped at an exhibit while their child points in excitement, "deal with having their safe and secure reality crumble? What about your family or loved ones? Do you want them to know what's really out there? If even a fraction of this stuff got out it would cause great upheaval in society. We've made the determination that we can't handle this being exposed. Maybe someday, maybe if God forbid we have to. But that day's not today.

"That's why we tested you. If I came up to you earlier, before San Carlos, and explained this to you none of you would have believed me. Our line of work has to be seen to be believed."

She watches Stanyard as he starts to leave. "Fair enough. You won't be contacted again."

"I guess most people can't handle this sort of thing," says Vanessa. "If it got out of control, though, they'd find out the hard way. I guess that's why people like us who can handle it have to keep that from happening, to protect those who can't."

Nik

"Alright, I'm in."

He watches Stanyard depart in silence.

" I want to know more about what we're up against though. You'd better be prepared to tell us more about the opposition, both human and... other" he finishes, with heavy emphasis on the last word.

He can't believe he's saying this, but that creature was awful. If there are more, they have to be stopped.