IC - 19 - Debrief - Everyone

[Mephistophilis]

10.50pm Saturday 13th March 2010, High Wycombe Police Station

Three hours since Regina Balfour was rescued.

After a few hours break to get treated in hospital, get some food, and to drive back to High Wycombe, Jocelyn, Kris, and Simon arrive at the incident room. Bates has gone on ahead.

When he goes into the bathroom to take a look at his bleeding arms Kris is surprised to find that under the encrusted dried blood and yellow discharge the welts and boils seem to have largely disappeared. But it's not all good news. It's probably just the impact of seeing those DVDs but Kris has been having the disconcerting experience of seeing images out of the corner of his eye, like a black figure, turning to try and look at it directly it is gone.

While in the hospital, Jocelyn is surprised to find that her rashes and boils have largely healed up. But it's not all good news. It's probably just the impact of seeing those DVDs but Jocelyn has been having the disconcerting experience of seeing images out of the corner of her eye, like a black figure, turning to try and look at it directly it is gone.

When he goes into the bathroom to take a look at the rash on his arms, Simon is surprised to find that the welts and boils seem to have largely disappeared. Interesting, it looks like Balfour's chemical or biological agent has a limited duration of action.

The incident room is largely deserted except for one flustered looking officer stood beside a smoking computer. There is no sign of Bates but as they enter the room a man comes out of an attached office and approaches them, it is DI Malone with his disconcerting blond quiff.



'I've taken DS Bates off the case, she was ranting and raving about this angel of death come to smite the firstborn. She's on stress-related leave. Sounds like that siege was pretty hairy. Still, well done for getting the girl back. Against my better judgement, with Bates out of action, that means you know this case best DC Sapru, so I'm reinstating you. Lucy has applied for this warrant for the Balfours' church, do you really think they pose a risk? I'm not sure all this talk of terrorists isn't just a sign of Lucy losing it.'

Before anyone can respond there's a cry from the officer at the back of the room. Everyone heads over to see that his computer is spewing black smoke. 'I just dunno what happened boss!' he prises open the front of the computer to reveal the twisted and melted DVDs jammed into the multi disc trays of the large audiovisual workstation. It is possible to just make out that they're marked #1, #2, and #3.

[Philulhu]

”That’s important evidence!” snapped Kris. “Tell me you haven’t just melted the only copies?!”

[Mephistophilis]

'I was making copies like DS Bates asked. I don't understand it. I've used this thing hundreds of times. It's just a freak accident. But you guys already saw them right?'

[Mr. Handy]

"I was hoping to send copies of the videos to MI5," says Jocelyn. "The terrorist threat is very real, but I don't know if I can get my superiors to take it seriously without the evidence that was on them. I have to try, though."

[Philulhu]

”Is there anything left?!” asked Kris, with evident frustration. “Did you copy the files into a hard drive?”

[Silver Priest]

Simon is rather relieved to be free of all that itching and the unsightly scabs. Part of him hopes it means Balfour's attack would not be as serious as he feared if the worst were to happen. But he knows he cannot rely on that, especially given the savvy with which the man appears to operate.

"A pity about Bates," He tells Malone, interjecting even if not invited as they all head to the back of the room. "But she's not the first to fall pray to paranoia during this mission. To be fair it's not entirely her fault, Balfour possesses a significant operation--" His voice is cut off when he observes the smoking computer.

"You inept buffoon!" He snaps, visibly furious. "That information was priceless!" He addresses the DI. "Balfour must have known about the tapes and put some sort of virus on them as a safeguard, I wouldn't' put anything past him at this point and he has the technology. Regardless, everyone who saw the tapes can confirm their contents; Balfour was leading a sermon and his Passover Angel was seen on them all, using some very advanced CGI that confirms the man has some rather deep pockets. In essence the thing said he was coming for the first born."

[Mephistophilis]

The officer looks abashed and continues to mutter, 'But it's never done that before...I didn't get the chance to copy anything before it all started smoking.' He takes out the DVDs, they are burned twisted, and melted. No one is getting anything useful off these.

'Yes, well, we have your accounts of what's on them. To be honest I hadn't quite believed Bates's description, although she added some nonsense about something trying to get out of the television.' He gives a little laugh and then catches himself, 'I mean, poor Lucy.'

He straightens himself and gives a cough. 'If I'm going in to bat with the magistrate for that warrant I need to know what the risk is and what evidence we have for it.'

[Mr. Handy]

"We had the evidence on the DVDs," says Jocelyn. "All of us who watched can attest to that. Balfour said it, in his own words, that they were coming for the firstborn. He wants to replicate the ten plagues of Egypt, and that's the final one. We also have Lindsay Peale's statement before she was killed. Her uncle had infiltrated Balfour's church for years in an effort to gather evidence, and that's how those videos were recorded. We have the statements that Regina Balfour herself made in the hotel room, though those may not be admissible without an Appropriate Adult present. Balfour is planning to sacrifice his daughter with a so-called magic knife on Tuesday evening to kick off his apocalypse. He believes God will bring her back from the dead, of course. There's also that phone call that Sarah Balfour made. As to the risk, there is the possibility of chemical or even biological weapons being used. The rashes and boils that we developed after visiting Lindsay's uncle's house could have been a result of inadvertent exposure to a chemical agent. Boils are one of the plagues that Balfour may be trying to reproduce. I don't think he can kill all the firstborn children in the entire world, but we could be looking at a mass casualty event if his plans aren't stopped."

[Silver Priest]

"He also attacked me and threatened Jocelyn when I brought up Red Trumpet, the extremist group he has ties with. So we know he is capable of violent action.

[Philulhu]

“Sir, the evidence we have seen would lead me to assess the threat as CRITICAL. As colleagues in MI5 would put it - the threat is both imminent and highly likely. The warning signs are there - if we ignore them, we do so at our peril,” said Kris firmly.

”The Reverend Balfour, his wife and his congregation, are clearly planning a terrorist attack - we don’t want to left holding the baby on this one when the Home Secretary starts asking why we didn’t act sooner.”

[Mephistophilis]

'Okay, okay, no need for hyperbole. You've convinced me to get the warrant. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, this still sounds farfetched. I want your statements written up tonight. And Officer Leigh, please update your employers about your findings. Give me thirty minutes to talk to the magistrate and you'll have your warrant' says Malone. 'I hate disturbing them after they've had a chance to get drunk, more belligerent then.'

Anything else to do or are we off to the church?

[Philulhu]

Are there any loose ends we need to chase up?

[Mr. Handy]

"I'll do that, DI Malone," says Jocelyn. "I just hope they take it seriously. At the very least, they have to consider how it will look if something does happen and they don't do anything."

[Mephistophilis]

Everyone is moving here