Kirah

Sector X (Invite only)

Neil Maxwell

Neil sighed and closed his laptop, resting his head on it for a moment before reaching for his phone. The director would need to be called, and hopefully by the time he got off the phone with her Alex would be back from getting dinner. Neil stood up and stretched while the phone rang.

“Neil, please tell me you have good news. Today has been interesting, and honestly, if you have bad news, hang up and call again tomorrow.” The director sounded tired, and very curt.

“Well I wouldn’t call it good news, but I did get into contact with Pixie, she’s alive.”

“I’m guessing that is the name of the technopath you and Alex are after? Well good, alive is good. What isn’t the good news but not bad news then?”

“She’s painfully uncooperative. I told her we wanted to help and she demanded a car, well a ‘69 Impala. Not even as a way to help, but just a in order to work with me.”

“Why do people keep asking for cars? We’re not Oprah!” There was a sigh on the other end. “A ‘69 Chevy Impala? Really?”

“I have no clue, and yeah.” Neil shrugged. “I explained we just wanted to help, not that we were trying to hire her unless she wanted it.”

“Our benefactor is not going to be happy that I’m asking for another car, but fine. If she’s going to play it this way and be an idiot and demand things for our help, alright. Just ask her what color and where she wants to meet you with it. Friggen psychics…” The director trailed off a bit at the end, grumbling a bit.

“I’m gonna guess she wants it to be black, and she’s here in Albuquerque.”

“You know. I’m not even going to ask why black. I’ll pull some strings to try to have the car to you by tomorrow afternoon. However, if we do pull this off and she takes the car and decides not to join us… let’s just say no one is going to be able to get a car. No deals like this ever again. We already made an exception once, and while he’s proven useful… I’m not sure I like the idea of just giving things as incentives. Make sure this Pixie knows that she’ll be better protected with us. Not that we just give cars away.”

“I’ll do what I can Ma’am.” Neil paced the room.

“I know. Also make sure Mercede is up to speed as well. He might be able to pull off the negotiation without a hitch. Not that I don’t have faith in you,” there was a pause, “He has been in the field longer.”

“Truer words were never spoken. He should be back soon. I have to call Chris and see if he was able get a good track on Pixie.”

“Keep me in the loop. I must go.” There was a click and then the line was dead. Neil sighed and flopped over onto a bed.

Wolf Manor

I'm going as an inside joke that like three people (other than me) were there for.

Northwood Academy

Okay everyone the plot post is up and that'll be it for plot posts for a bit. Soon you'll get answers from the headmistress but some of you have some other clues you need to follow. And of course figuring out that you can't leavr. Some people I suspect will notice wellington and some will have to figure it out on their own. Either way feel free to get some single person posts or collab up. I know everyone is busy with sector x or real life but don't forget good old Northwood.

Wolf Manor

@AuntFlaviawow that's.... just wow

Wolf Manor

@AuntFlavia congratulations on the new computer!

I'm doing well. Got some awesome compliments from my bosses yesterday so I'm still beaming about those.

Wolf Manor

@AuntFlavia How are you?

Sector X (Invite only)

Niah Bautista

Niah was left alone with a horrific sound and an even worse smell. It dissipated quickly and most people probably couldn’t even smell it. Yeah, that solidified it she would never travel that way, definitely not. She shook her head and headed up, swinging by her desk for a bag with her travel supplies, and a field CSI kit. She was good, but her memory wasn’t perfect. Niah could find fingerprints but she couldn’t add them into IAFIS.

“Our target might be in the Arlington Museum of Art. There are reports of an invisible person assaulting museum patrons. B, can you check it out maybe? I’ll head that way as well. N, the scene is all yours. Tell them you’re with Ms. Page.”

Oh goodie that meant she’d be there alone, she’d have to be careful when looking.

Niah took her own car to the bank, it didn’t take long, though not as short a drive as just ‘popping’ over there. She shivered at the idea. Niah was parking when her phone beeped and buzzed. The combination was necessary because she wouldn’t hear anything if she was focused on sight.

Niah entered the bank, crossing under the police line with a flash of her badge, a brief thought that she was thankful she had forgotten to take off her lab coat. People always respected people in uniforms, even ones as simple as the lab coat.

“Ma’am?” One of the police officers started to intercept her.

“Hello, I’m Niah Bautista I am here to investigate the scene I belive this has already been cleared through Ms. Page.” The police office blinked for a moment and then another man walked over.

“I am Lieutenant Harrington.” The man said holding out his hand. Niah bowed slightly over it instead of taking it. If the man had been bothered by that he didn’t show it on his features when Naih stood back up.

“I’m here to check the scene for anything that may help in our investigation. Once I’m done you’re team can have it back. I won’t be long, and I won’t mess anything up I promise.”

“Right. Follow me. You’ll have to forgive me, but I’ll watch to make sure there is no contamination.”

“Fair enough.” Niah nodded and entered the bank, as she pulled on a set of latex gloves. For a moment she was taken aback by the smell. Those people. She shook her head to dispel the queasiness that rose. Niah glanced at Harrington; he was watching her, as if trying to catch her in a lie.

She ignored him and let herself focus on looking. Her vision sharpened, which was saying something, but now she could focus down to a micro level. The downside of course was she couldn’t hear. If Harrington spoke to her she’d have no idea.

Niah followed subtle signs. A hand on top of a leg, that person fell first, a quarter turn, someone had tried to run. She made her way into the vault. The auditor’s paperwork still laid out on the table, but no body in there. That meant he was still alive, which meant there was a witness. Niah glanced up, video cameras, they’d have to get a copy of the day’s recordings.

A hair. Long and blonde. She knelt beside it, pulled out a pair of tweezers. Everything focused deeply on that hair, for a moment nothing else existed. Niah couldn’t see DNA or anything that small, but she could see that the hair had to be human due to the texture. There was a bend part way up it, probably from repeated use of hair ties.

Pulling herself from her focus she looked up at Harrington as he spoke, “-you are.” He looked irritated, and Niah suspected he’d be even more pissed off if there wasn’t still some of Autumn’s pheromones around him.

“I’d like a copy of the security footage from the whole building for the day.” The man paled a bit.

“Did you not hear a thing I just said?”

“Actually no I didn’t. I tuned you out. Was it more important than finding murderers and kidnappers?” Niah said a whole lot braver than she felt. Maybe it was some of Autumn’s pheromones making her feel braver than usual.

“I’ll get you a copy of it if you explain who you are.” He crossed his arms, blocking her way out of the vault.

“I’m Niah Bautista. I already said that. I work for Sector X, and I am investigating a person of interest. Did you need to know something else?” Niah turned around and with a small slight of hand she bagged the long blonde hair. No way in hell was she going to let the regular cops get ahold of this woman. She was in too much danger to be locked up in jail, Shadow had tendrils everywhere.

“Who are you investigating?” Turned back around to face Harrington.

“That’s classified.” That was technically correct, and the allowances Sector X had, even not being a government agency was enough that this man’s clearance wouldn’t be enough. ”If you don’t mind those tapes.” Niah could only hope that at this point Autumn and Hearne had found the woman. Lucky for her Harrington turned on his heel and left her alone in the vault, now for a closer look at those eyes.

That was where Harrington found her several minutes later. Niah didn’t know how long he had been there before she let her focus drop. His lips were pursed though, his patience was wearing thin. He held out a disk for her.

“Are you finished?” Niah nodded, and walked out of the bank heading for her car. She’d store the hair and disk in the car and then see if she could find the other two.

Sector X (Invite only)

Neil Maxwell

and special guest Alex Mercede

“Hey where do you want to read that?” Neil asked Mercede, with a gesture to the file they had been given by the director. He watched as Autumn left with two Neil didn’t know very well. He had heard of Bautista, she was supposed the best at field investigations of scenes. He had her being called a walking CSI kit before. Neil wasn’t sure if that was something Bautista cared about. The guy he had seen a few times but he didn’t know him. Cassie headed out too, she had a case by herself.

“Well,” Mercede replied as he grabbed the file off the desk, “It sounds like there’s a flight we have to catch, so why don’t we read over it while one of us drives there?”

“Fair enough. I get car sick so I guess you’re reading.” Neil let Mercede lead the way out of the director’s office, and past Autumn who was asking about the nearest computer or TV. “Also if we’re going to be gone any length of time I need to stop by my apartment and get a travel bag. I don’t go on missions usually so I don’t have a bag ready. Actually to be honest I’ve never been on a mission before.” Neil snapped his mouth shut. He was telling Mercede that he was a rookie. He was going to die of embarrassment right then.

“Okay, that’s fine,” his newly ordered partner said in a surprisingly unperturbed tone, “Everybody has their first. Just follow my lead for the live-action and remember the book is mostly guidelines and you’ll be fine. Oh, one second.” Mercede ducked into his own office as they passed by and re-emerged with a black duffel bag slung over his shoulder a minute later. “Okay, to your place then?”

~~~several hours and hundreds of miles later~~~

The two landed in Albuquerque, it was hot. It was late in the day, but it was hot. Neil had forgotten how oppressive the heat could get in the west. It was a dry heat though, he rolled his eyes at the idea. They barely knew anything about this person Pixie. Chris, one of the technopaths back at HQ had tracked Pixie a bit closer, but at the moment they didn’t have much to go by.

“Hm, I think I’ll play,” Neil flicked open the file to glance at the list of games Pixie was known to play, he looked at the top one. “Hero League.” He pulled his laptop out of his bag and set it up on the desk in the hotel room. It was a nice hotel, not five star, but there wasn’t signs of a body under the bed. Neil had at least played Hero League before. A few times, but he wasn’t a total n00b at the game, and that could be enough to get him in a game with Pixie.

“That’s…” Alex began to say before his face gained an incredulous look to it, “That’s actually a good idea. Could you trace him if you got into the game? Using your ability, I mean?” he asked as he looked up from the pile of papers and the state map in front of him on the table.

“I can’t, but Chris might be able to. I’ve already got him linked up to my laptop. I’m only good if you need something in code, or something that is in code not in code. Well that’s not to say I’m not good with other aspects of computers, but my power is for code. Honestly I didn’t even notice that much of a difference after the change.” Neil shrugged. Okay that wasn’t entirely true. He had gotten scores better of understanding codes after the change, but he had been one of the top already. He felt a little cheated on his power sometimes. “Anyway, Chris will be watching and if Pixie pops up he’ll follow them.”

Neil paused and glanced up at Mercede, “Well there is something my power would be good for. If Pixie is good enough he’d be able to pick up a message from me if I sent him through the game. I might be able to get him to trust us without even ever having to find him.” Neil blanched a bit. “But only maybe, there’s no telling if he could decode something I sent to him, and if he got it it’s possible Shadow is watching him close enough that they get it and if they have someone with my power on their team...” He trailed off.

Mercede seemed to ponder that for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of the idea. “Judging from how much trouble our techs have finding him, I think it’s safe to say he’s got good defenses. If you can get that message to inside of those defenses, it should be okay. Either way, I’ll leave it to your discretion. My part of the game comes a little later.”

Sector X (Invite only)

@Siaya Dragalorn I love your header!

Sector X (Invite only)

And Niah's backstory has the added element of how she was recruited