Convergence

[Silver Priest]

Nik and Vanessa

The team returns from solving the haunting of the Spooner house, aware that things could have ended much worse. Even as is, Vanessa had nearly murdered a fellow agent and had lost part of her soul in the dark realm behind the mirrors. She only barely avoided becoming another victim of the house. And Nik knows well that had the house had succeeded in possessing or tricking him in their final confrontation they would both be dead. But they had been competent and lucky. Maybe they would be the next time as well; thinking about the alternative was distressing.

So they go back to their normal lives and try to live them. Nik focuses on learning more about art, hoping to sell the furniture they now owned for a good price and profit from their work for a change. He does enough digging to realize that the market for these particular antiques is fairly small, and selling the furniture would be somewhat time intensive. On the plus side, if he took the time and carefully sold them, they could be worth quite a lot. Enough for both him and Vanessa to comfortably split. He could probably take Debbie on a vacation and help their relationship. But he realizes actually learning how to sell the furniture by himself is a difficult process; worse, he neglects one of his parents and ends up harming his relationship with them. Nothing he could not smooth over later, hopefully.

Vanessa meanwhile tries to shake off the ennui she has felt for a few months now. She spends more time with Malcolm, improving their relationship from the dumps it had been in since she had seen how the unnatural could destroy an other wise healthy one. It's not as close as it had been in the past, and even now it feels slightly forced on her end, but it's a large improvement. But it's still a surprise when after dinner one night he gets down on one knee and proposes.

"I know your job is difficult honey, and it's been wearing at you lately. I've seen that struggle first hand. But I've never been happier than when I am with you,and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, for better and for worse." He waits for an answer.

OOC:   In game whatever Vanessa decides here won't impact her bond rating, it just seemed like a good time to have him pop the question. Do what you think is best.

But eventually the other shoe drops, and the agents are called into their real duty once again.

July 28th, 2000

McRay calls them into his office. "I've got new orders for you. A-Cell wants you down south. You've both been booked on the next available flight to Knoxville, Tennessee. A car will be waiting there to take you to the FBI office within the city. There you are to meet with our contact, Agent ROBERTS, who will have further instructions for you.I have no details on this one, but I've developed a good eye for reading these things, and the message seemed urgent. Be careful out there."

[Silver Priest]

Floyd and Jose

Meanwhile, the two paramedics receive their messages by email. A throwaway address invites them to A Night at the Opera. They recognize it as code for an operation.

Your assistance is required down south. A matter of interest to national security has arisen, and you have been assigned to check it out.

Take the next available flight to Knoxville Tennessee. A car will be waiting there to take you to the FBI office within the city. There you are to meet with our contact and your handler for this mission, Agent ROBERTS, who will have further instructions for you.

Be Seeing you,

-ALPHONSE .

Both Floyd and Jose know that they will have to make their own arrangements for taking off work and making whatever excuses they need to to get out of familial obligations. They'd also have to pay for the flight out of pocket; sometimes the agency would compensate their travel with a check that showed up a few months later, or a late night call to head to a certain locker, inside of which they'd find an envelope stuffed with cash. But both had been warned not to rely on this generosity or to take it for granted.

OOC:   feel free to introduce your characters and rp out making the arrangements for the trip. Both of you don't know one another, unless you specifically want to.

[HoneyDog]

Nik nods and sets out to call Debbie and prepare his travel bag. Maybe the mission will take his mind off furniture for a while. It’s all he seems to think about, lately.

[Mr. Handy]

Vanessa's face lights up, and she gratefully accepts the ring. "I love you, Malcolm," she says, "and I want to spend the rest of my life with you too. Of course I'll marry you. I have been going through hell lately, but knowing you're there makes it all worthwhile."

* * *

"Yes, sir," says Vanessa in McRay's office. "We'll head out there right away, and we'll take care."

[jp1885]

'Bling... bing bing bing...'

The PC in the corner of Floyd 'Griff' Griffiths' kitchen boots up with it's usual annoying Windows 95 jingle.

It's owner sighs. He hates computers, but his employers (no, not the ones at the hospital, his other employers) insisted he got one so that they could stay in touch via email.

Sure enough, amid the Friends Reunited requests and AOL adverts, there it was.

"What poor sap needs patching up this time?" Griff wonders as he munches his cereal.

Thankfully, he had prepared for moments like this. Acquiring a job as a paramedic at a large city hospital means that there is always extra staff to cover for his short-notice absences, while a fictitious older sister (courtesy of some Delta Green computer whizz-kid) with a long-term medical condition gives him the excuse to shoot off at inopportune times.

His buddies are all in similar jobs to his, so random absences from their infrequent get-togethers will be expected.

Of course his parents are a different matter, but they’ve always been supportive of his career and, even though they're old and infirm, they can cope well enough.

"Hey Pop, I've gotta bail out on tomorrow. Yeah, another training course - you know how it is. Give my love to Mom okay? Love ya both."

It doesn't take long to book a flight, though the cost makes him wince - why does everything have to be so damn expensive these days? Hopefully the organisation will compensate him this time...

Long story short, it's not long before Griff is hauling his baggage (which, despite the 'specialist' medical kit, handgun and ammunition, always seems to avoid any scanners), off the carousel at McGhee Tyson airport, Knoxville.

Heading outside, he looks for the car and wonders, not for the first time, what terrible injuries he'll be treating and, more importantly, how the hell he's gonna forget them afterwards...

[Mr. Handy]

Vanessa lets Malcolm know that she has an urgent case that requires her to go to Knoxville, Tennessee immediately.

[Silver Priest]

OOC:   Going to move us on, Anatomist feel free to post retroactively.

Vanessa,Malcolm's eyes light up, and he embraces her. In that moment Vanessa feels happier than she has in along time. [ooc]Since this is a big milestone, Vanessa gains one san.[/ooc]

The agents prepare and head out. Neither Debbie or Malcolm seem too concerned by their partner's assignments, but then they really had no reason to be. For all they knew it was business as usual.Nik and Vanessa of course were aware this could be the last time they'd ever see their loved ones.

***

The team arrives in Tennessee in the early evening. The McGhee Tyson Airport was located twelve miles south of downtown Knoxville. As they make their way out of the airport, the agents see a man holding a sign that reads ROBERTS, party of 4. The man looks youngish, and seemed to be fidgeting in his suit. Nik and Vanessa can tell he's an FBI rookie just by looking at him. He couldn't be more than his mid 20's, and the earliest age one could join the bureau was 23.

As they approach the man, they see two other men also following them. Neither looked like FBI, and neither was trying to conceal their presence, suggesting they were the other two members of their party.

OOC:   Anatomist and jp, please feel free to make introductions and introduce your characters if you like.

Once the group all seems to have gathered, the young rookie offers a hand. It is clammy with sweat. he introduces himself as Probationary Agent Steve Menendez. It's clear just by hearing him talk that he has no idea of Delta Green, and was instead only sent to ferret them to the office. He opens the door and gestures them into the backseat, though one of the agents would have to sit up front with him.

[jp1885]

Griff casts a wary eye over his companions. He could tell that this may have been the rookie's first rodeo, but the others... well they had that certain look that comes to those who have seen certain things...

"Call me Griff," he says, by way of introduction. "So who's riding shotgun?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Special Agent Vanessa Marchand," says Vanessa, shaking Steve's hand. She remembers just starting out at the FBI when she had been his age. She hadn't been this nervous then...had she? "Pleased to meet you. I'll ride shotgun."

[HoneyDog]

Nik gets into the back, not attempting to speak to anyone. After what happened to their last team member, he is wary about trusting newcomers.

[Anatomist]

"Hey Jim. I've been called to get up north to some bs course in wound stitching, yeah i know, again... leadership seems to have collective amnesia as they forget that they send us to the same course every year." José laughs as James Hut, José's friend and almost adoptive son as James points out that its also the cheapest course "yeah but we are to take two courses a year, so they can again check at least one this year, yeah so, back in a week or so buddy, behave and be kind". José hangs up and grabs a long time prepped suitcase from his attic, once in the street he takes a cab to the airport with destination Knoxville, Tennessee.

Inflight José takes the opportunity to sleep as he suspected that this time, he would need all his strength.

Once in Knoxville and leaving the protective airport hall, the humidity his him in the face, at least it was not a super hot day.

He notices the sign "ROBERTS" and three other probably agents hanging around as he was the last one out of the airport.

"Hi all, Im José López, and let me get over with it just out of the gate, so to speak. No, i'm not related to Jenifer López, and yes you can call me J-Lo, all my friends do" he shakes hands and gets into the waiting car. "lets go buddy"

[Silver Priest]

Once they all get inside the car, Agent Menendez begins the drive back to the FBI headquarters. He babbles a little about work, and the mundane matters he deals with seem all the more alien for it. He does briefly mention that they had apparently been called in to consult on a case, but has no further details than that. Anyone who makes an effort to strike up a conversation with him finds him friendly but also eager for any advise from longer serving agents. He seems a bit over his head right now, though both Vanessa and Nik know this was not an uncommon feeling for new agents. No red flags stick out to them, and once he gets over his jitters he should be fine.

With a population of around 150k within the city, Knoxville itself was not a particularly big one. Especially after living in New York it may have seemed downright tiny. The city had apparently been a major manifesting center up until the 1920's, but had never really recovered from the Great Depression. The biggest local attraction was the University of Tennessee. Agent Menendez did assure them that the city had great barbecue, and told them they'd need to check it out if they had time. He has a few recommendations.

But soon enough, the Agents arrived at the FBI building, and the reality of why they were called here is brought back into view. Agent Menendez walks them through the sign in process and leads them to a meeting room on the third floor. A large conference table fills the room, with twelve or so chairs situated at various parts of it. There's only one other man inside though, and he's currently standing. He's a tall athletic figure with dark hair and rich ebony skin. He looks to be in his early 40's but is still incredibly good looking. He shakes each of the agents hands with professionalism, inquiring as to their names in turn. Then he looks up at their guide and dismisses him with a small smile. The smile leaves his face as soon as Menendez leaves the room.

"Right. I'm SAC James Derringer. ROBERTS in our shared social club. I'd ask you how your trip was, but I think we'd all feel better if we skipped the small talk and cut to the chase. Please, have a seat, and let's get to it." He walks towards the front of the room, where a TV and VHS is visible. Grabbing an unmarked tape, he slides it inside.

"The video I'm about to show you was shot four days ago in a gas station in Alabama. No sound, and grainy quality, but I don't believe either will be needed for you to get an idea what we're dealing with here."

***

A blurry black and white picture appears of the insides of a gas station. For a moment, no one is visible save for the clerk, a bored looking Asian man. Then another person comes into view. He looks young, probably still in high school or just graduated. He's pudgy and rather sloppily dressed, wearing untied sneakers, ripped jeans, and a stained and ripped Metallica tee.

The youth appears to say something to the clerk, though none of the agents can make it out. What is obvious is that he has a look of anguish on his face, and seems in distress of some sort. The cashier just stares back at him, as if uncomprehending and having little desire to do so.

A half second more goes by, and then the customer lashes out and punches the clerk directly in the face. His meaty fist goes right through the clerk's head and out the other end. The man's skull collapses and what's left of his head is torn right off his shoulders by the force of the blow, falling right behind him on the floor like a deflated basketball. The now headless body staggers for a moment, blood already gushing out of the stump. Then it joins the head on the floor.

The young man steps back, looking shocked, then panicked. He takes a moment to look around the empty store then reaches over the counter, pressing keys randomly and haphazardly on the cash register before it shoots open. He grabs all the money from it before running further back into the store and off camera. He return a few minutes with several pill bottles before running towards what is presumably the exit. Then the tape ends, cutting back to a pitch black screen.


***
Derringer retrieves the tape. "You may be starting to see why you were brought in."

ooc,Please roll for san, 0/1 for violence. If you're hardened to violence you don't need to make this roll as you auto succeed. If you do make the roll and fail, check off one box on your adapted to violence quality. If you lose san from 3 violence related causes without going insane or reaching your breaking point, you may become adapted to it.

[Anatomist]

success SAN 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

"No CPR im aware off could save that guy..." he looks around as his comment may be perceived as harsh reading the others faces "sorry... but the kids seems surprised he punched a hole in the clerck head, he might have not been ware of his power until this moments maybe?... and what pills are those Mr. Derringer? have you done a count of meds?"

[jp1885]

SAN 65,[dice]0[/dice]

Maybe it's the poor quality of the video footage, or maybe it's the fact that Griff has been to the aftermath of more than one RTA, but he manages to hold his nerve.

"Jesus H Christ... Did you see that? Like a damn watermelon... You're right though José, it looks like it came as big a surprise to the perp as it did to that poor clerk."

He turns to Derringer.

"I don't suppose there's any other CCTV footage? Cameras across the street and such?"

[Mr. Handy]

"You're right," says Vanessa, completely unaffected by the video. She's seen worse before. "He clearly didn't know his own strength. The question is, how did he get it? We'll need to identify him, both to apprehend him before he can harm anyone else or draw more attention, and to retrace his movements and figure out how he got this power without even being aware of it. I've heard of a new computer technology called facial recognition, but it's in its infancy. We may have better luck doing things the old fashioned way, looking at mugshots to see if we can find a match. This guy almost certainly has a record."

[HoneyDog]

Nik blinks. Despite having witnessed many bizarre events, the sight of someone having their head punched off is shocking, although outwardly he gives no sign. He wonders how such a person can be safely apprehended.

He clears his throat.

"Those are all nice ideas, but do we have his fingerprints on file?" he asks.

[jp1885]

“I guess no-one’s been admitted to hospital with bones and teeth embedded in their fist?”

[Silver Priest]

Derringer takes the questions in turn. "The pills were pain relief, mostly. Extra strength Tylenol, Advil, that sort of thing. He left behind pills that would have sold on the street for more, so we assume this was not a robbery motivated by money. No other cameras at that location, but we've had several more opportunities to study him. His name is Billy Ray Spivey, 18 years of age. In the past two weeks he's held up six gas stations and drug stores in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. This was the only one that resulted in a fatality, thankfully. But he's demonstrated his immense strength over and over again.

"After the incident in Alabama the FBI got involved, and we managed to apprehend him two days ago after a brief chase. An FBI Agent put four bullets in him before he went down, and that was after he snatched a gun out of the hands of a patrolman and bent it like a pretzel. Due to this being deemed unnatural, we've been keeping him in a secure part of the building utilized on occasion for our particular activities until we can figure out what to do with him. I'd like you all to meet him."

He leads the group up two floors and past another ID checkpoint. The agents are led down a long hallway to another room with an card reader. Derringer swipes his ID and the door opens, revealing a barebones interrogation room. The only furniture is a large table in the middle of the room and two seats across from one another, only one of which is occupied. It's the same man on the tape, wearing the same outfit, but he's heavily restrained, with chains wrapped around every part of him. It would be a miracle if he could move at all. He looks up as the agents enter, his gaze unfocused.

""We're keeping him drugged with enough medicine to put an elephant into a coma," Derringer explains. "Better safe than sorry." The agents also notice three other men in the room. All are equipped with body armor and assault rifles, and all of them are pointed at the teenager. None of them have taken their eyes or weapons off of him, even when the agents first entered.

"Meet Billy Ray Spivey. As best we can determine he's a scared young man with unusual capabilities. We've made it our mission to find out just why that is."

Billy Ray lets out a moan; Derringer ignores it.

[Mr. Handy]

"Has he said anything?" asks Vanessa.

[Silver Priest]

"Mostly moaning and talks about how much pain he's in. But we've edited records to make him appear to be still at large, which allowed us to get such information on him from the regular FBI when they went to interview his family. According to his mother, Mr. Spivey went missing 18 days ago when he was coming back from a visit to his girlfriend. He showed up next at his family's house two days later, appearing dazed and having no idea that he was missing time. He seemed in pain, so his parents put him to bed and called the town doctor to look him over. He found Mr. Spivey to be in inexplicable pain and stress. The doctor prescribed Tylenol and told his parents to keep check on him.

"Two days later Mr. Spivey went into some sort of fit; When his father attempted to restrain him, he apparently punched a hole through the man's chest. Apparently distraught he ran out of the house, stopping only at the town gas station to steal a bit of money and some aspirin. Then he took off in the cashier's car, and since then he's been robbing gas stations and convenience stores for the past few weeks. We caught up to him a day ago, using Friendly assets in law enforcement to safely secure him and bring him in so we could take a look at him. What we found was very concerning.

"To begin, his colon and bladder have been removed, but he apparently needs neither to function; though he produces no waste, he's incredibly hungry and we need to feed him a full course meal every few hours lest he become agitated. We've been doing it by IV, along with a healthy dose of drugs. In addition, we've discovered that the muscle tissue in his arms and legs is entirely... gone. We can't even find traces of it inside of him. It's been replaced by another material that mimics the tissue, but under close examination possesses a number of non-human characteristics. For one thing, he possesses tremendous inhuman strength. But his skeletal structure has not been changed. So while he could lift a car small distances and even throw it, his bones would break before he could lift it fully above his head.

"Further examination found scars all over Mr. Spivey's body. They're nearly invisible to the naked eye, and were clearly both a sign of extensive cutting and medical expertise to cover them so thoroughly after the surgery. But the interesting thing is that analysis of the material used to close the incisions shows it to be the same strange tissue that now has been placed in his arms and legs and given him such tremendous strength. Whatever this thing is, it seems to have many uses. We're putting all assets into identifying more about it, but for now know little else.

"Based on all of the odd... qualities within Mr. Spivey leads us to believe someone or something modified him into what you saw on the tape. That's a concern to us. We can cover up one person throwing cars around and punching through heads. When a hundred do the same, we have a problem. This needs to be stopped before it becomes one."

"Feel free to ask him questions if you want. We've found him to be largely incoherent, but I welcome the effort. After that, I have one more video to show you. It explains some more about why this case has attracted our attention."