Heavily wooded hills rose up and framed the multistory buildings of the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services compound, a high tech center of data and information held by the feds. It was used to track and identify not just criminals but missing persons and educated other law enforcement agencies and the public about the process of DNA analysis and biometric identification. The sun was just over the hills in the east, illuminating the dull beige brick and gleaming off the panels of glass along the side of the central building. 

Outside there was a small cluster of men and women, dressed professionally and sipping coffee from styrofoam cups. Some carried laptop cases and others had notepads and one older man had a yellow steno pad under his arm of his ill fitting suit jacket.  Away from the main cluster was a small, nearly walled off nook under the shade of an oak tree where smokers gathered.

Dr Laine stood under the tree, dressed in a black skirt over black tights  topped with a form fitting deep grey sweater that hugged her hips and a Djarum between her fingers. Her blazer hung over her arm, the West Virginia summer morning already promising the day would be hot. 

"You should really quit, it'll kill you."

The voice belonged to Dr Alex Bakker, forensic medical examiner for the crime lab at the academy. He sniffed at the stink of cigarettes, the sweeter smell of her cloves mingled in the acrid smoke. 

“Yeah, well death is my [i]aesthetic[/i],” Laine said, rolling her eyes then flicked her ashes, “Besides, it didn’t seem to bother you before.” 

“Because you only smoked after...ah, well if a funeral is what you’re after you’re always dressed for it,” Bakker quipped, running his eyes over her then glancing away towards the building. “I brought you a coffee.” 

“Did you?” 

“Black like your heart.” 

“Funny,” Laine took the coffee and looked at him, “How’s your girlfriend, Linda? Babysitting still?” 

“[i]Funny[/i] and it’s Lily, she’s a kindergarten teacher,” Bakker replied, giving her a sharp look.  “And she’s doing well, thank you for asking. We’re engaged now.” 

“Congratulations,” Laine said, tipping her cup slightly to him. “Now for a two story house in the suburbs  and a white picket fence. Of course, on a civil servant and public school teacher salary that might be difficult.” 

Bakker took a drink and nodded, looking pensive at the hulking building across the parking lot. “That is a problem. She thinks maybe if I went back to practicing medicine on the living we could afford it.” 

Laine raised a brow, a flicker of concern crossing her face. “You’d leave all this? I always thought you enjoyed your job. You’re good at it.” 

It was a genuine compliment, no matter what feelings lay between them, Dr Bakker was a brilliant forensic medical examiner and they often worked on cases together. There was no one else she trusted more with a body.

“Maybe, things change. I’ve been doing this awhile.” 

“If you were really going to do it, you wouldn’t be here,” Laine pointed out then snuffed the clove cigarette out in the sand of the ashtray. 

“I said I was thinking about it, I would make a lot more money going back to surgery and saving lives rather than after the fact,” he said, falling in step with her as they walked back to the CJIS building as it grew closer to the time the seminar would begin. 

“You would miss the mystery, the puzzles,” Laine said, tossing her bobbed dark hair as she shook her head emphatically. “I know you.” 

“You knew me, things change. I’ve changed, I’m thinking about a future, you know? Marriage, kids, the things that you...” he bit back the words that would have come next, the same things they had argued about and ultimately drove them apart.  “Anyway, I’m still with the Bureau.” 

They finished their coffee and tossed the cups before entering the building as the other people, men and women from field FBI offices, city and county detectives, biologists and forensic examiners filed in to the lecture hall. Like high school, they tended to group up in knots of likeness, locals with locals and feds with feds. The science nerds off by themselves. Laine tried not to smile at the thought and found a seat at the back and Bakker slid into the desk next to her. “Sitting in the back with the cool kids now? Think you’ll get a handy from me if they turn off the lights?” she said, giving him a sly look as he blushed, unable to hide the reaction with his strawberry blonde coloring that reddened easily.  

“Knock it off, [i]Heather,[/i]” he muttered. Bakker coughed and cleared  his throat as he attempted to smother the laugh. “Pay attention, I’m not letting you borrow my notes.” 

Just as the seminar began, Laine felt a buzzing of her phone. Not the one she used everyday but the secret phone. She froze, unsure she had heard it but it went off again causing her to fish around in her purse before fetching it up and checking the message.

 [i]Working Group UMBRA is activated. Blackriver, WV.[/i]

“Shit,” she hissed, staring at the simple sentence, “I gotta go.” 

“What’s going on?” Bakker leaned over, whispering though  few heads turned their way with looks of annoyance. 

“Take notes for me, I need to run.” 

Laine got up, giving an apologetic nod to the geneticist who glared at her from the podium and she slipped out into the morning light. Blackriver County was not far from Clarksburg, she could drive and be there in an hour. Laine replied back, “[i]omw[/i]”

The road was familiar and it brought back unpleasant memories as Laine steered around the turn of the mountain road heading toward the safehouse. She checked her speed on the rental Hyundai when she passed a Blackriver county cop tearing off to whatever methmergency was going on. 

Behind the beauty of the wilderness there was the haunt of industry, the urban decay and ghettos replaced with trailer parks with blank eyed women scratching at their pale skin, watching dirty tow headed children playing in the weed choked yard. Hunger existed here, hopeless lives of poverty and violence as hard as any in Watts. Bikers and family meth dealers rather than gangs and crack, but it added up the same. 

She passed in a flash, the sadness of the scene left behind as quick as she could, her mind on what might have caused Donnelley to activate them again. Excitement tempered with apprehension built up as she caught sight of the cabin, pulling into the parking area. Stepping out of the car, she reached for her regular phone. A message from Bakker, asking what happened. Laine turned off the phone and headed towards the door.