The Monsters Of D.C.

An insightful teenager, a testy boss, and never ending days...

Chapter 3

As Tommy and Agatha arrived at the first crime scene they were both surprised to see just how savagely the victim was shredded. The grass and dirt where the body had been was still stained brown with dried blood, the area where the man’s body had been found had blood spattered five feet all around it.

Agatha put a hand to her mouth and nearly gagged as she spared Tommy a glance saying “didn’t Jack say they were eaten alive?”

Tommy nodded and, without having to look at her, said “yes he did...listen Sweetie, I know it is hard to look at things like this but it does get easier. You’ve only been here nine months, your stomach hasn’t learned how to deal with things like this yet; if you need to take a minute then take a minute.”

Agatha shook her head softly and brought her hand down from her mouth to cross over her chest with her other arm protectively before saying hazily “no, no I’m fine now...let’s just get our job done; Mark is cooking dinner tonight and I’d like not to miss it.”

Tommy frowned and began to walk down the small ditch to get a better look at the scene while saying “Mark?...He’s your fiance right?”

Agatha smiled at the title and said “yes he is.”

Tommy nodded and offered his arm out to Agatha as she too climbed into the ditch, holding onto her just a moment longer than he probably should to get a better look at her. Agatha had coal black hair that came down to just under her shoulder blades and gently framed her pale face, she had deep green eyes that looked like grass on a summer day, and she was wearing boot cut jeans, high top converses, and a pale blue T-shirt that came down just low enough to show off her cleavage. Tommy held her gaze for a long moment even after he had released her arm, observing as Agatha became flushed and her breathing became just a heartbeat faster, before she turned her head away quickly and went back to observing the scene of the slaughter.

Tommy had to take a moment to remember how to breath, and how to restore blood flow to his brain for most of in was in his pants, before he too turned to get a better look at the scene saying “well, whatever we're dealing with it is most certainly not friendly, you see the way the blood is spattered everywhere shows that it was quite a violent attack. My guess would be that our little friend got him down here, he tried to run, the alien tackled him, and then began to eat him, when he tried to squirm out of it’s grasp  the alien bit down on a major artery...hence the blood spatter sprayed on that tree.”

“God Tommy, don’t you even know the poor man's name?” Agatha stated with anger and remorse showing on her lovely features and in her voice.

Tommy looked dumbfounded and took a moment before saying “n-no...I don’t; Jack didn’t include it in the briefing, he never does…”

Tommy trailed off as he realized just what Agatha had said, three people were eaten alive, died scared and in horrific pain, probably missing their loved ones, and all that mattered to him, to the rest of the team, was that it was a case that came across their desks and got them paid...they never even bothered to learn their names.  Tommy fell silent and went back to looking at the ground, though this time in a whole new light, before changing the subject in saying “we should…probably get to the other scenes; we’ve seen all we needed to here.”

Agatha felt a pang of guilt in her stomach for snapping at Tommy but quickly shook it off, knowing it was something he needed to hear, that they all probably needed to hear. Sighing, Agatha followed Tommy out of the ditch and towards the next horrific scene that would play through her mind at her dinner tonight.

The ride back to the base was tense and absolutely silent with Jack staring straight out the front window and Michael sending quick worried glances towards his boss frequently as he tried to contemplate just how he was going to make things right with the man again. Michael sighed and let his head fall back against the seat as he wondered where the past three years of his life had went, untensing his shoulders and jaw as the World War II memorial came into view and Jack pulled the car into a spot on the side if the road just a short distance away.

Evangelista was walking around somewhat aimlessly before she turned to Melissa and said “so where are we anyway?”

Melissa looked over her shoulder at Evangelista from her place at her beloved computer before saying “sorry Evangelista but I can’t tell you that; it’s a long story, but it is just better if you don’t know.”

Evangelista nodded understandingly before saying “do me a favor, call me Eve okay?”

Melissa nodded before turning back to the computer screen only to hear Evangelista say “so what’s the deal with this Excala place?”

Melissa turned her head to see Evangelista staring at the wall that had the word Excala painted on it in black letters before beginning “Excala is the name of our team, and the team that was here before us that started this place.”

“Oh really, well what’s the story there?” Evangelista asked, having now turned and sat down on  the couch near the med bay.

“Oh now that is quite a story,” Jack beamed as he removed his jacket and tossed it to a nearby hook, having now just got back into HQ.

“Hi Jack, Tommy and Agatha have just about made it to the second scene. How did it go on your end?” Melissa asked as Jack walked towards the kitchen and immediately began to make some coffee, only to see Michael stop by her chair and shake his head in a warning not to go where she was taking the conversation.

Jack came back out of the kitchen, mug in hand, before coming to stand near the couch as he began to say “Mr. Johnny Excala founded this place in 1982. He knew of The Tear and of aliens, as well as the fact that people needed to be protected from such things. A group of handpicked contractors, who all mysteriously died at the end of the construction, spent eleven years building this hidden base. After the fact, Mr. Excala carefully selected an elite group of five people to be his team; for the next seven years his team thrived and kept the world safe from many a threat...until the new year of 2000. Mr. Excala had suffered a mental break from the trauma of losing his wife recently, and at ten minutes to midnight on New Year's Eve  in 1999 he murdered his entire team and killed himself...and that was the end of Excala team one.”

“That’s horrible, but how did this team come to be if the base was a secret and no one from the team was left?” Evangelista asked as Jack finished his story.

Jack smiled at her sadly before saying “here’s the plot twist, one member of his team survived under miraculous circumstances and, ergo, became captain of the team. He then spent the next twelve years trying to handle all the cases by himself, until he lost one too many lives because he didn’t have the proper man power; and with that Excala team two was born.”

“Well, who was he,” Evangelista asked as Jack continued to sip his coffee.

Jack smirked at her and said “you're looking at him; I was recruited in 1998,” before sending her a wink and santurnig up towards his office.

Michael, Melissa, and Evangelista watched as Jack walked into his office before Michael turned towards Melissa and said “I believe you had some questions about our findings?”

Melissa nodded from her chair towards the archivist before saying “well, it wasn’t really a question more just and inquire about what you discovered.”

‘if you make any more inquiries about my personal life you will be looking for a new job; do I make myself clear?’ Jack’s words rang through Michael's head and he couldn’t help but feel some anger rise in him about Jack’s behavior, seeing as how he never did anything to deserve the treatment he got...Melissa was the only one who ever showed him and respect; sometimes he wished she wasn’t so painfully in love with Tommy. But, when he actually thought about it he was happy about the crushes that were all through the office, spun like a spiderweb going from person to person until everyone was trapped in it in one way or another, it was the only thing about his work that seemed normal...human.

“We can get into the morgue at nine P.M. tonight to take a look at the bodies, other than that no new information. What luck did Agatha and Tommy have?” Michael asked as he did his usual of changing the subject so he didn’t have to show emotion in front of the others.

Melissa shrugged and gestured to her computer screen that had two moving red dots on it before saying “they haven’t contacted me, I have just been sending directions to their phones and monitoring their location with the tracking chip in said phones.”

Michael nodded and said “well, I’m going to make some coffee would you like a cup?”

Melissa shook her head and answered politely “no thank you Michael, I just had some a few minutes ago.”

Michael nodded and turned to Evangelista, who was still sat on the couch and looking quite in a world of her own, and said “how about you, Eve, you want anything?”

Evangelista looked up from the floor and smiled at the nick-name before saying “no thanks, nice of you to offer though.”   

Michael smiled and nodded before walking off towards the kitchen to make the coffee that calmed him so, unaware of the gears turning in the teenagers head as she began to re-write the plans for her future.  

Meanwhile, Tommy and Agatha were almost at the second crime scene when Agatha, much to Tommy’s amazement, began to speak saying “Tommy, you know what you were saying about the man being lured to the kill sight?”

“I didn’t think you were speaking to me, you know, after…”

“It’s fine Tommy, I didn’t mean to snap at you; just answer the question,” Agatha said kindly as the two continued down the sidewalk.

“Yes Agatha, I do recall that statement; how is it of relevance?” Tommy asked sending her a quick glance.

Agatha paused for a moment as she tried to find a way to make what she was trying to say sound reasonable before she began “well, those attacks occurred in the middle of the night in Washington D.C. anything that is capable of doing that much damage to a human being has to be big and, ergo, easy to spot. Now, how do you think something like that could lure a adult person to come near it? I mean; there aren’t exactly any trees for it to hide behind, and I know for damn sure that the kill wasn’t quiet…”

Tommy sent Agatha a sideways glance before saying “Honey I don’t follow; just tell me what you think is going on.”

Agatha sighed before saying “something like that can’t lure a person to it on it’s own, so that means one of three things. One the alien is a shapeshifter, two the alien has some type of a decoy, or three someone is luring the victims to the aliens to be killed; though that seems the most unlikely of the three.”

Tommy stopped in his track and turned to face Agatha before saying “those actually do seem like logical assumptions, but shapeshifter can probably be ruled out because they don’t tend to be that aggressive and decoy doesn’t seem to be possible because, like you said, there isn’t really any place for it to hide and anything with that kind of a prey drive isn’t capable of having partners; so I guess that leaves…”

“Someone is controlling it,” Agatha finished as Tommy trailed off.

“One point for you green eyes,” Tommy said as he pulled out his mobile.

“Who are you calling,” Agatha asked as she saw Tommy scrolling through his address book.

Tommy ushered her forward as he began walking again and answered “I’m calling HQ to let them know about your little theory.”

Agatha fell silent and let her gaze fall to the ground as she saw yellow crime scene tape coming into view and instead listened to Tommy’s call as the phone was answered.

Melissa jumped and let out a rather adorable squeak as her phone suddenly began to ring next to her. She sighed as she saw Tommy’s name flashing across the screen before she picked up the phone and heard Tommy say “Mells, Agatha has an idea about how our little friend gets its victims. What if, someone got a hold of whatever this things is and brings people to it to kill them?”

Melissa furrowed her brow and said “well, first of all, that would be a damn good way to murder someone, no fingerprints, no recognizable DNA, and no loose ends. It seems as close to a perfect murder anyone could get.”

“Oh do I sense a little Lizzy Borden in you my dearest Melissa?” Tommy chuckled into the phone as he heard Melissa plotting into the line.

“Oh shut up Tommy, you know I could never hurt a flea or a fly,” Melissa answered before continuing “Jack and Michael set up a meeting to get us into the morgue and nine tonight we should be able to get more of an idea of what we’re dealing with then.”

“Cool, bye Mells.”

“Bye Tommy, I’ll leave the light on,” with that they both hung up the phone, Melissa smiling dreamily, just as she always did after a conversation with Tommy, and Tommy smirking at the thought of the sweet Asian woman.

Agatha glanced at Tommy as they came to a halt at the crime scene tape on the side of the road, once again, just below a ditch before saying “so...what did Melissa have to say.”

Tommy smiled as he climbed down the incline saying “well, first of all, there is indeed a sexy evil side to her. Second, the part that is actually of relevance, she thinks it is a logical guess; Michael and Jack are getting into the morgue to look at the bodies tonight. With any luck they will bring me along and I can get a better idea of just what we're dealing with.”

Agatha nodded to the crouching man, though he couldn't see as he was observing the scene, before saying softly “right...sounds good.”

Agatha shook herself and began to look around as she said “notice how both of the scenes have been just below a ditch on the side of the road…”

Jack sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face as he gazed mournfully at the paperwork on his desk, knowing there was no possible way he could focus with certain problems invading his mind. With that thought Jack stood and walked onto the catwalk before saying “hey kid, can you come up here please; I want to talk to you.”

Evangelista watched from her place on the couch as the captain walked right back into his office, quirking an eyebrow at Melissa and Michael as she did. They both shrugged in answer to Evangelistas silent question, leaving the girl on her own as she cleared her throat and stood to walk up to Jack's office.

Evangelista took a deep breath before knocking on Jack’s door, as she walked in she swiveled her head to get a better look around; this was exactly how she thought Jack would keep his quarters plain, neat, and strictly for business.

“Please, sit,” Jack said to Evangelista as the teenager froze and looked around the room as though she didn’t know quite what to do with herself.

Evangelista nodded and sat down in one of two leather chairs in front of Jack’s desk before taking a long moment to compose herself and saying “you wanted to see me Mr. Harper?”

Jack smiled and said “please, stop with the formalities; just call me Jack.”

“You wanted to see me Jack?”

“Yes I did, Evangelista is it?” Jack waited for her to nod before leaning forward on his desk and continuing “so, tell me about yourself Evangelista Connolly.”

Evangelista quirked an eyebrow before warily speaking “I’m...not sure I follow…”

“Who are you? What’s your story?” Jack clarified leaning back into his chair and bringing his feet  up to rest on his desk, once again speaking words of authority with the actions of his body.

“Question for a question?” Evangelista asked through a smirk as she too leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest in a daring gesture.

Jack narrowed his eyes at the teenager but nodded in defeat and said “okay, kid, what’s your question?”

“Why are you so unsettled by me?” Evangelista asked accusingly.

“Unsettled?” Jack quoted with raised eyebrows.

“Unsettled, put off, uncomfortable, whatever you want to call it. All I know is, any time your around me you take protective or power assertive stances; which translates to me as I make you uncomfortable...am I getting warm Big Shot?” Evangelista asked, smirking all the more when Jack’s face started to turn crimson with anger.

“You spying on me?” Jack asked trying to will away the anger he felt rising because he knew Evangelista was, in fact, spot on.

“It’s called behavior analysis, you act, speak, or present yourself in a certain way and that tells me things about you. Take this morning for example, I saw you coming out of the elevator but when I asked about it you gave me a short stern answer, crossed your arms, and rolled back your shoulders. All of which make you seem bigger and stronger than you really are, it is a natural response to try and make yourself not look like prey when you feel threatened, so that tells me you are protecting something...it’s not spying; it’s merely observing one's behavior to learn things you otherwise might not know,” Evangelista finished, holding back laughter as she watched Jack shift uncomfortably under her scrutiny.     

“How do you know all that, about behavior and what not?” Jack asked, stomach clenching at the fact that he was even considering what he was considering.

“I didn’t exactly take any kind of class if that's what you're asking...I’ve always just been good at reading people, I can tell when someone's lying, if I know them well enough I can sometimes figure out what there thinking, I can get people pegged easily; I don’t see why it’s of relevance though...” Evangelista answered honestly as she watched the gears turn in Jack’s head.

Jack smiled at her and said “well, Evangelista, up until about two seconds ago I saw you as a threat but now,” Jack stood and walked around to perch on his desk in front of the teenager before continuing “make no mistake, I don’t hire children, but if you prove you can do this job then maybe when you get older…”

“Really?” Evangelista asked, a bright spark in her young eyes as Jack trailed off.

Jack smiled before answering “yes, if you want to of course, you couldn’t start now and I’d have to take it up with the rest of the team but maybe we could start training you and when you turn say...sixteen; you could start officially?”

Evangelista broke out into the biggest grin she had smiled in months and said “I-maybe-I don’t...yes, yes I would be happy to do it.”   

Jack beamed at her in return and said “okay; well let me talk to the rest of the team about it...then we might be able to start getting you trained.”

Evangelista stood up and clasped her hands over her mouth, but still couldn’t stop a rather adorable squeak from escaping her, she did stop however to ask “why me...why are you asking me?”

Jack’s smile fell and he said “honestly? I don’t know, but it seems like...there is just something about you that seems...right.”

Evangelista nodded in acceptance of Jack’s answer before all but skipping out the door, and nearly tackling Michael on her way out of Jack’s office; a smile back on Jack's handsome face as he watched her.

“Might I ask what that was about sir?” Michael asked as he set a coffee mug down on Jack’s desk.

Jack smiled and picked up the mug before taking a long sip and saying “If I didn’t know any better, Michael, I would think you brought me coffee just as an excuse to talk to me...and no; you might not ask...I’ll tell you later.”

Michael nodded and was silent for half  a moment before saying “well if you need me I’ll be in the archives,” and dismissing himself from the captain's office.

Jack squinted and rubbed a hand through his hair as his thoughts strayed back to the files he had taken from the archives the previous night. “Let’s just hope Michael doesn't make sure all the files are where they're supposed to be today” Jack thought as he watched the back of Michael’s head while he descended down the staircase.

“Notice how both scenes have been just off a ditch on the side of the road?” Agatha asked Tommy as they continued to observe the second crime scene

Tommy looked up and said “well...yes, but I don’t see how it’s of relevance.”

“Well just think about it,” Agatha began “those people were horrifically murdered, there is no way a kill like that would be quiet, as I said before, so why not go somewhere private to kill someone? This is...unneeded; overkill...think of how much time and energy someone would have to spend to catch whatever this is and get is to kill those people,  these attacks weren’t random...I think this is about revenge not just death. This person, whoever it is, caught and alien, did something or another to train it to kill others but not them, hid it in a ditch, and lured people to it to be slaughtered...but why in a ditch? Whoever it is wants these people to be found, to make sure the world sees them mutilated and left in a ditch like trash, now having heard all that can you really tell me that this doesn’t sound like revenge to you?”

Tommy looked at her dumbfoundedly before nodding and saying “well when you put it like that...I think we should look at the last scene and then go back to Excala, I’m pretty sure we have all we need; you must've been a helluva cop Agatha Right…”

Agatha sent Tommy a small smile in acceptance of his complement before offering him a hand as he climbed out of the ditch and they headed to the third scene.  

Jack sighed and paced his office some more before walking onto the catwalk and saying “when Tommy and Agatha get back I want to see all of you in the conference room.”

Melissa and Michael exchanged glances as Jack walked back into his office and sat down at his desk to continue the paperwork that he had been putting off all day.

Evangelista was half way back to her room when she realized what working here would mean. It would mean staying put, going to work everyday, staying out of trouble, and not going to Mexico. All the happiness Evangelista had been feeling for the last few minutes instantly went out the window, clasping a hand to her mouth as she stopped mid stride in the middle of the hallway. She stood there, frozen, for a moment before beginning again; heading full throttle towards her bedroom door.

Once she was inside, she shut the door and scrambled to get her mobile out of her pocket before finding Clara’s number in the address book and hitting the dial button. She rubbed the palm of her left hand over the rough denim of her jeans as she paced and waited for the phone line to connect.

“Oak,” Clara greeted as she answered the phone.

“Clara, first off stop answering the phone with your last name, second; we have a what could be a big problem or a huge blessing,” Evangelista said hurriedly into the phone.

“Whoa, slow down, what do you mean ‘a big problem’?” Clara asked, hearing her friends panting breaths from the other end of the line.

“You know this place I’m at? It’s a long story but I just got offered a potential job...the only thing is, if I do it I can’t go to Mexico. Which means we’d have to re-think things, but I could probably get you somewhere to stay here...” Evangelista answered, a lump in the pit of her stomach solidifying as she heard nothing but silence on the line.

“Eve, don’t worry about me right now babe...I’ll be fine,” Clara answered gently.

“Clara, I can’t just not worry...we weren’t going to Mexico because we were bored. Your father has been beating you for weeks now, he isn’t gonna stop. I’m getting you out of there if it is the last thing I do,” Evangelista answered sternly.

There was more silence before Clara answered “fine, if you insist, when you get out of wherever you are you come get me; we’ll go to Mexico. But you're not staying, you are gonna go back, take that job, and carve yourself out a life, do I make myself clear?”

“Clara, you will more than likely need somebody's help to get on your feet-”

“Do I make myself clear?” Clara cut in, Evangelista had been looking after her for years, though she did that to anyone who would let her, and she didn’t want her friend to give up her future for her...not when she could accomplish so much more if she didn’t have so much baggage weighing her down.

There was a long pause, and with an understanding sigh she answered “fine, Sweetie, I’ll get my life together; after I get you somewhere safe.”

“Okay...bye Eve,” Clara answered, voice soft again.

“Bye Sweetie...hey, I love you like a sister; you know that right?”

“Of course, you're the closest thing to a sister I’ve ever had…”

“Okay, just wanted to make sure it was said, be careful Clara.”

“I will...goodbye; Evangelista,” a faint beeping replaced Clara’s voice as she hung up the phone, Evangelista sighed and leaned against the door before sliding down and wrapping her arms around her legs. She closed her eyes tight and had to hold her breath to keep a sob from escaping her lips, all she wanted was someone to love her and for her friend to be safe; why was that so much to ask?

When Tommy and Agatha got back to the World War II memorial it was already going on two o’clock. It amazed Agatha how much foot traffic there could be in D.C. at two in the afternoon, the walk back to Excala had been pretty much silent. Both Tommy and Agatha contemplating just what was happening as they made their way back to the base.

The clunk of Tommy and Agatha’s shoes echoed through the base as they descended the staircase. As always, Tommy went straight back down to the med lab; Agatha went over to the coffee machine where she was greeted by Jack.

“So, what did you guys find?” Jack asked as he came to lean on the counter next to the coffee machine.

Agatha blew into the mug before taking a sip and sighing as she tried to compose her words. It’s not like Jack wasn’t a good person or anything, you just had to be careful how you made things sound when you spoke around or to him. None of the team knew exactly what all went on in Jack’s past but they had all seen him fly off the handle a few times because on of them said something the wrong way.

“Me and Tommy believe that someone got whatever this creature is and is luring victims to it. I think this is a revenge driven serial killer who found an alien and trained it to kill...violently,” Agatha answered calmly.

Jack nodded slowly and said “well we may or may not be able to put that theory to the test, I got us-”

“Into the morgue tonight at nine; I know Jack, Tommy told me” Agatha finished for him with a small smile.

Jack nodded and patted her on the shoulder before saying “hey can you tell Michael and Melissa that I changed my mind, we’ll just have the meeting later; after work.”  

Agatha raise an eyebrow but nodded back at Jack before walking down the staircase towards her own workstation. Jack smiled as he watched her set her mug down on her desk and go whisper something to Melissa and Michael.

Author's Note

Sorry about taking so long to update, the Ju-Ju-Bees were not as forthcoming as I would like...
Please review and tell me what you though, they always make my day ;-}
H.