IC - 13 - Day Trip to Oxford - Jocelyn & Simon

[Mr. Handy]

"I didn't know that," says Jocelyn. "I see him more as Robson Green in Wire in the Blood. It's been a pleasure talking to you, Professor." She turns to Simon. "It's interesting, but in Exodus, Pharaoh had his magicians try to replicate the plagues. They managed to do it with a few of them, but others they couldn't mimic. Shall we grab some lunch while we're in Oxford? I'm sure you know all the best places to eat here. We can give DC Sapru a call on the way and see if he's had any luck."

[Silver Priest]

"Annabelle and I also briefly dated, before deciding we enjoy antagonizing one another too much to make a happy couple." Simon tells Jocelyn. "And who do I see myself as? Sherlock, of course! I always did have a rather big ego. And being frank, half the enjoyment is the thrill of the chase, unraveling the mental puzzles behind some of the most heinous crimes in the nation. Perhaps in a time I will be happy to settle down behind a desk and with a dusty old bookshelf, but for now, this life appeals to me more."

"Lunch sounds excellent," He tells Jocelyn. "I know this great Indian place if you are in the mood for curry."

[Mephistophilis]

After a short walk to the Marston area of Oxford, Simon takes Jocelyn to the students' favourite, Jamal's Indian Restaurant. The food is pretty decent and cheap and there are quite a few groups of young people enjoying themselves. Mostly sports teams from the look of it.

On the way Jocelyn calls Kris to see how he's getting on in Aylesbury. She receives an automatic response saying his phone is busy and he will call her back.

[Philulhu]

Kris dialled Jocelyn’s number and waited for her to pick up.

[Mr. Handy]

Jocelyn answers the phone. "Thanks for getting back to me," she says. "Have you had any luck with the emails?"

[Philulhu]

Kris glanced around, making sure he wasn’t being overheard. ”Nothing in the emails per se,” he replied. “But I’ve got the IP addresses of where she last accessed her account so that might give us a lead on where she is.”

“How are you getting on?”

[Mr. Handy]

"Excellent," says Jocelyn. "If she accessed it from wherever she's hiding, then we might be able to track her down. Simon and I spoke to Professor Annabelle Brock. She had a book from about a century ago called Africa's Dark Sects, by Nigel Blackwell. That's S-E-C-T-S, so it's not what you're thinking. Well, maybe it is. Blackwell seemed to have it on his mind when he was describing the rituals he witnessed in Kenya. There's something called the cult of the Bloody Tongue that may or may not be linked to Red Trumpet. They did a great ritual at the Mountain of the Black Wind every five years, but he saw the ritual in 1916, so this isn't a ritual year. And Simon mentioned that Balfour in his book referenced a theory by scholars who were trying to explain the plagues of Egypt scientifically. It occurred to me that Balfour may have been interested in their work because he wanted to find a scientific way to duplicate the plagues. That could explain the plague phenomena that we've witnessed, like the animal illnesses and the rashes. I speculated that they could be caused by a low-grade chemical or biological weapon used by Balfour. There's no proof of this yet, but it's something to keep in mind. I'm just concerned he may have gotten his hands on something even more dangerous for when he claims the world will end next Tuesday. It's not so far-fetched. In 1995, Aum Shinri Kyo carried out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo underground. I think I should alert MI5 to the possibility."

[Silver Priest]

"Excellent idea," Simon offers. "Though I'm not sure how seriously they'll take it. We don't have any hard proof at the moment, and public pressure is on to find Regina. But if they seem dismissive, perhaps we could offer an anonymous tip to our friends at GNS. I'm sure they'd love to run with it, and it might spook Balfour enough to delay it yet again. This is the third time he's declared the world would end, after all. He seems most flexible."

[Philulhu]

”You think Balfour’s messing around with chemical weapons?!” Kris said, trying to keep his voice down. “Hang on...”

He stepped out of the office into an adjacent corridor where he wasn’t going to be overheard, and continued. “Is Balfour a chemist?”

[Mr. Handy]

"I've no idea if he is or not," says Jocelyn, "though one or more of his followers could be. Anyway, there's no proof of any of this yet. It's just speculation on my part, but it would explain what we've seen with the animals and the rashes. If it is a weapon, it's not a deadly one - though there's no telling what will happen on Tuesday."

[Silver Priest]

"Was there anything else in her files?" Simon inquires. "That was our main realization on our end, and as you can see, it remains a hypothesis. Albeit I believe a good one. "

[Philulhu]

”Not a thing,” said Kris. “If she had notes about the Balfour case, they were very well hidden. I did get the IP addresses where she’s accessed her account so we have an idea where she’s gone. I just need to check those out.”

[Mr. Handy]

"All right," says Jocelyn. "I'll alert MI5 to the possible danger while you work on that."

[Mr. Handy]

Jocelyn calls Giles at MI5.

[Mephistophilis]

Kris,I moved your last post back to the Social Services thread

Giles answers, his tone is a little sharper than usual, 'Jocelyn, always a pleasure of course my dear, but I didn't expect to hear from you quite so soon.'

[Mr. Handy]

"I've come across some new information, Boss," says Jocelyn. "It has led me to a new hypothesis, and while there's no proof of it as of yet, I felt it best to warn MI5. Balfour, in his book, cited some sources he had consulted that claimed that there were scientific explanations of the plagues of Egypt and detailed those explanations. We've noticed several phenomena similar to the plagues of Egypt: rashes, animal illnesses, flies, lice, and the like. My speculation is that Balfour or some other member or members of his doomsday cult, may be using low-grade chemical or biological weapons to mimic some of the plagues. So far they haven't been very harmful, but he may be saving something worse for his predicted end of the world on Tuesday. I think it's worth keeping an eye on him and his group, just in case. Maybe it's nothing, but if I had kept my peace and something did happen, I'd have been remiss."

[Mephistophilis]

'Quite, quite' mutters Giles. 'You're worried the good Reverend Balfour is actually plotting some kind of terrorist attack using an as yet unidentified biological agent?' he continues, his voice rising in pitch, 'And you feel that he may already be starting with this plan through using chemical agents to mimic the Biblical plagues of Egypt. Have I got that right?' His tone becomes harsher and a little sarcastic, 'And, am I to take it that you don't actually have any substantive evidence to support these conjectures? Or how they have any connection with the disappearance of little Regina Balfour?' He sighs deeply, 'Thank you Officer Leigh, I will of course give your concerns the consideration they deserve' and he ends the call.

[Silver Priest]

"Their reaction is unsurprising," Simon tells Jocelyn if she informs him of the phone conversation. "We do have no hard information, and no one wants to accuse a reverend of plotting a terrorist attack, even a fringe one-- the papers would have a field day.

"We could pass it down the chain to GNS to at least get the story out there and hopefully put Balfour under enough scrutiny he won't try anything, but you'd likely fall under suspicion of causing the leak, which could be detrimental to your job, so It's up to you."

[Mr. Handy]

"No, we won't be telling GNS or any other media outlet," says Jocelyn. "If Balfour's fanatical enough to try this, I doubt a mention of it in a tabloid would dissuade him. People who read about it would either not believe it or panic, neither of which would be helpful. I did my duty by reporting it to my boss. If an attack does happen, then he'll be the one in trouble for not listening to me when I specifically warned him. In the meantime, it's up to us to prevent it. Let's catch up to DC Sapru and see what he's been able to learn by the time we reach him. If he gets a location, we'll all need to be there."

[Silver Priest]

Simon looks dissapointed but nods. "Very well. I ask that you keep it on the table, however, especially if we find more evidence and your employers prove stubborn. I am beginning to think something is very off about all this." He gets up and follows her.