Log:Wonderland TF, Log-001

2013/05/28 	 Danyelle Dark Horse Jennifer Ten Anthony Quinn|Quinn 1

The Wonderland Task Force Office
As the team members arrive they are directed into the coffee room. Drinks and snacks have been arranged. Jennifer is there already, and greets each member she knows.

Dark Horse steps inside and waves to Jennifer, "Hey there. Ooo...snacks."

Jennifer nods to Dark Horse. "Yep. I find it's easier to give a briefing uninterrupted when the listener has his or her mouth full.

Danyelle comes into the office. "Which one of you is Miles..?" she asks. "Not you, I'm guessing," she says to Jennifer. She looks over at Dark Horse. "Hmm."

Anthony arrives a bit early so that he can talk with Jennifer about his position with the team. As Dark Horse arrives he smiles and gives him a wave. "The secret of successful meetings," he says.

Ten comes into the room to find peope already there. "Hope I'm not late!"

Jennifer stands and turns to the new comer. "Hello. You must be Danyelle? Miles was called away to Washington. I'll be giving the introductory briefing, such as it is. Oh, and by the way, do you have a letter of introduction?"

Dark Horse waves to the others as they arrive, and grabs a donut from the snack table. He then pulls his mask up enough to allow him to eat relatively unhindered.

Ten gets some coffee but forgoes the snacks.

Jennifer says, "Hi, Anthony. Good to see you. Let me make introductions. Danyelle, this is Ten, Q, and Dark Horse. Guys, meet Danyelle, from England I believe, and recommended to Miles by a friend of his."

Quinn nods to Danyelle and flashes her an easy smile. "Pleased to meet you," he says as he leans forward to snag a bagel from the selection of snacks.

Danyelle pats a pocket on her belt, indicating the location of the letter to Jennifer. "It's not often you get an actual letter nowadays. I might have it framed." She smiles.

She tilts her head and looks at Quinn. "Aren't you supposed to be in space or something?"

Ten says, "In space? Have I missed something?"

Jennifer grins, "If I could have the letter, please, Danyelle. Oh, I'm Jennifer Markham, Miles' assistant."

Quinn chuckles a little bit as he tears off a piece of his bagel. "Most of the construction is taking place on Earth," he says to Danyelle. "It's a modular design. Then I lift the section up and into orbit. In my exploration suit it's actually a pretty quick trip."

Dark Horse pours himself some coffee and well, and takes a seat at the table, quiet for the moment, since he's still eating.

Danyelle's belt jangles a bit as she reaches into the pocket for the letter. She offers it to Jennifer. "Easy commute, then," she says in response to Quinn. She raises an eyebrow and asks Ten: "Who are you supposed to be?"

Ten tilts her head. "I'm supposed to be Ten. Why, do I look like someone else?"

Jennifer reads the letter. And just to be sure, compares Danyelle's appearance to the photo in the file she has on her. She then waits for the initial chatter to ease off.

Danyelle shakes her head. "Not someone else. Something else... I think the Victoria's Secret shoot is a couple doors down..." She glances briefly at Dark Horse before heading to grab herself some coffee.

Jennifer clears her throat after a few moments, then speaks, "Thank you all for coming. Some of you know this but just to go over the highlights, the FBI investigates cases which have or may have a federal element. This usually means a crime that crosses state lines. Our record is pretty good. But every now and then there's a case that just defies rational explanation. Such files get labeled Q-files, and it's those that this section is looking at."

Ten just smiles and sits with her coffee.

Dark Horse raises a brow, and quietly sips his coffee. "Hmm."

"Jennifer has assured me that the name is purely coincidental," Quinn says with a slight smile as he takes a sip of his own coffee.

Ten grins. "It managed to lure you in, though?"

Danyelle hehs and has a sip of coffee.

Jennifer says, "The section is the brainchild of Miles Fuchs. I've worked with him on a number of occasions before I joined the FBI and the results we got were excellent. Sufficiently so that when Miles proposed this section be established the the powers that be agreed. Most of them. I won't hide from you that there are some who oppose us."

Quinn shakes his head to Ten and grins. "No, not really," he says, "but having a background in multi-dimensional physics I thought that my knowledge might come in handy now and again with some of these cases."

Ten says, "Hm. Having someone who knows about magic would be handy too."

Jennifer continues, "Miles and I will be vetting the case files, and filtering out only those we feel are suitable cases for you to investigate. We already have several such cases for you to look at. However, you remember I mentioned there is some resistance to this section's existance. As a part of that a senior administrator has demanded that you spend a day at the FBI training Academy going through the agent evaluation process."

Danyelle nods. "That'd be me, sweetie." She raises her coffee up as a nod to Ten. "Though I'm surprised that you don't know anything about it..."

Dark Horse chuckles quietly, "FBI Training Academy? Phenomenal."

[To Danyelle] Ten says, "Oh, I know a litttle - mostly from being on the receiving end."

Jennifer says, "This doesn't apply to you, Anthony. As your role of consultant shields you from this requirement. However, before I can issue FBI credentials to the rest of the team I'm afraid you need to go through this pointless exercise."

Quinn arches an eyebrow. "I've never been to Quantico before," he says. "Any problems with me tagging along?"

Dark Horse shrugs, "I guess knowing how to fire a gun wouldn't hurt. So to speak."

Danyelle shakes her head slightly at Ten. "Hope it was worth it, honey..." . o O ( Magical bodylift I'm guessing... )

The day starts on the firing range. The basic rules of gun safety come first. Then you are given tutition in firing the FBI handgun of choice, the 9mm Glock 17. After an hour of practice, and several hundred rounds, you have to shoot for qualification. With the physcial attributes of meta heroes, that's easily passed.

The remainder of the morning is devoted to physical fitness. This is even sillier, as you all pass with the greatest of ease.

Danyelle catches her breath at the end of the mile run. "Gordon... you are going to owe me for this... Big time..."

The afternoon session is more interesting. A legal expert gives a talk on the rights and powers of FBI agents. She discusses when and how to make arrests in the field, how to get warrants, arrest, search, etc, from Federal Judges. The fine details of who ranks who in interactions with local law enfocement. There's a question and answer session at the end.

Given that most of his abilities are tied to his suit Anthony actually does have at least some difficulty, especially on the firearms portion where he scores well enough to pass but is only slightly above the level of the average agent. With the test of physical fitness he does much better, especially in areas of endurance. There are some minor hiccups though during the physical exam when his pulse rate is recorded as 0 beats per minute and he has a blood pressure of 0 over 0.

Dark Horse has been pretty non-chalant through the physical stuff. Despite not being familiar with a firearm before starting, he seems to be a natural. He pays quite a bit more attention when the group more to a classroom.

Ten managed the physical stuff without apparently even exerting herself. It's not so clear whether she took in the legal talk though, despite note-talking. She has no questions.

Danyelle raises her hand. "Does the Miranda Act apply to other-dimensional or inhuman suspects?"

The female legal expert nods, "That's a good question. The answer is maybe. But as a general principle I strongly suggest you give a Miranda warning in all cases. If it's not needed it does no harm. And if it is applicable then the defense can't get evidence dismissed on the grounds of no warning."

Dark Horse nods. "And as a follow up to that, how does our jurisdiction compare with that of SGGs?"

Danyelle peers over at Ten's notepad to see what she's writing down. Dany doesn't take many notes herself.

The agent humms over that for a moment. Then she smiles, "Are any of you SGG members? If the perps are aliens or extra-dimensional then Starguard has jurisdiction. However if you're on the scene and Starguard aren't, take whatever action is needed and we can argue over it later. Our duty is to serve and protect the public."

Ten nods. "I'm in SGG, part time."

Anthony thinks for a minute and raises a hand. "What do we do if Zzzyorax, King of the dark dimension of Thrth'k'brk declares that he has diplomatic immunity?" he asks.

Dark Horse chuckles. "I think that can be looked up with the state department, can't it?"

Ten's notes do seem to be on the main legal points, in rather flowery handwriting.

The agent nods to Ten. "We're on the same side, with the same objectives. Then she laughs as Anthony asks his action. "Dark Horse has the right idea. There are certain complications when diplomatic immunity comes into the picture. But you always have the right, in fact the duty, to prevent criminal acts being committed, even if that means arresting such a person. We might have to let them go afterwards and be unable to press charges, but that's a separate issue."

The agent asks, "Any other questions? If not I'll bring this session to a close. I'm sure you want to get back to Colonial Bay."

Danyelle sees Ten's notes and rolls her eyes. o O ( Seriously? She even writes all cutesy... )

Dark Horse shakes his head, "No questions from me."

Quinn shakes his head as well.

Ten also shakes her head.

Danyelle shakes her head. "Nothing here."

The agents nods, "Then I'll close by wishing you all good luck. You're the touch-stone for such sections. If you're successful I expect other similiar sections will be established in other cities."

The agent holds a chip up. "Agent Markham has transmitted the first Q-file selected for investigation. Who should I give it to?"

Quinn looks to the other three. "Officially I'm just a consultant," he says.

Dark Horse shrugs, "I can take it."

The agent hands the chip over to Dark Horse.

'Q-file case: Juliette Gillette. Died May 28th 2063. She vanished from her home in Greenville and was found three days later in a ditch several miles outside of Powhatan, Virgina. She was found fully dressed but with both legs broken. The cause of death was combustion. It appears she burned from the inside out. Her clothes were only slightly scorched despite third degree burns on every inch of her skin. No tracks or forensic evidence was found on the scene and the mud under her body showed no signs of exposure to heat. '

'During the background check into the victim the computer turned up a statistical anomaly. Of the 109 students graduating from the Julius H Rose High School in 2058, of which Juliette Gillette was one, in total six have died in the years since 2058. Five of these six died on the same date as Juliette Gillette, May 28th, in separate years. All the fatalities on May 28th, including Juliette Gillette, had an affiliation with the high school's football team, the Rose Rampants, listed in their yearbook entries for 2058. '

The Deaths so Far --- Reuben Evatt, 5/28/2058 - Libbie Bish, 5/28/2059 - Weston Matz, 5/28/2060 - Kristeen Spina, 5/28/2061 - Juliette Gillette, 5/28/2062 

Dark Horse gives the case information to the others, so that they can look it over.

Ten says, "Hm... I wonder how the others died."

Dark Horse looks over the details. "Okay...so, assuming we have to open this up to any weird cause, I'd assume that it's a revenge thing. Could be a ghost, I suppose?"

Dark Horse says, "Someone wronged by those particular other folks? Perhaps there's something in the police or school records from say...2057 or 2058? I'm assuming that's an important day for the vengeance-seeker. Could be a day of death for a ghost? Could be a birthday? Or a day where horribly wronged?"

Dark Horse smiles, barely visible beneath his mask, "Since we have clearance now, I suppose it shouldn't be a problem to check police records. School records might be more of an issue."

Quinn shakes his head. "Could be lots of things," he says. "Could be an event with a regular recurring period."

"Sure," Dany says. "I could see a revenge thing. They were all associated with the football team? I want to see a copy of the yearbook. We can get one, yes?"

Danyelle says, "May 28th... that gives us 2 more days."

The yearbook for 2058, the graduating class, tells you that all the deaths on May 28th were either players or cheerleaders in the school football squad.

Dark Horse checks the yearbook for a mention of anyone who died that year, students or teachers, in addition to Reuben. He then checks the same for the 2057 yearbook.

Ten says, "So the first death is graduation year..."

The sixth death was on June 16th, a mugging gone bad. The muggers were caught and are serving time.

Ten searches for news articles around the time of the first death - admittedly not expecting to find much of interest, because any obvious connection would likely have been spotted at thr tome.

Dark Horse rubs his chin. "Hmm. No luck. It probably is something that wasn't reported in the yearbook."

In the school paper after the first death, which occured very shortly after graduation, the Principal mourns the loss of Reuben Evatt, one of two in the football team who were expected to get full football scholerships at the state University.

Anthony nods. "So the sixth death is probably a non-connected event," he says. "Not surprising. Has anyone checked out where all the students currently are? Maybe someone's death was overlooked?"

Looking through the entire yearbook there is indeed a group photo chapter. Reuben Evatt is shown in a group of six, five of whom are the May 28th fatalities. The remaining person shown in the photo is listed as Loraine Stallcup.

Ten promptly does a websearch on the name.

Quinn nods. "That's a good idea, Ten," he says. "I'd probably start with Loraine right here and see if she had a narrow escape."

Dark Horse does a search in the local paper's records for May 28th, 2057, looking for anything that jumps out at him. Failing that, he tries the same day, 2058.

The Websearch come up with hundreds of possibilities. Narrowing it down by age, school, etc, there's one left. She lives in Colonial Bay as it happens, working as a store assistant in an electrical store in the Mega Mall. You do not find a home address.

Ten says, "Well, gives us someone to check - oh, we still need to find out how the others died, too."

Nothing that leaps out in the 2057 papers. There's a report of Reuben Evatt's death in the May 29th 2058 local paper.

'May 28th, 2058, a wide receiver in the successful Julius H Rose High School football team, African-American Reuben Evatt, died the night after a big game in a car accident. Evatt appeared to have lost control when the front left tire blew and swerved off the road into trees. Evatt was the driver and only occupant of the car. An autopsy found negliable blood alcohol levels, which was surprising as Evatt had been at a party earlier in the evening where drinking was suspected to have taken place. Evatt was expected to receive a scholarship at the state university, along with his friend and fellow African-American Taylor Kirton, who had been the star quarterback of the team. His death was, in the words of the school's principal, a great loss to the scool, the community and football. '

Dark Horse shakes his head. "There's something important about the date. I just can't figure out what it is. Probably something that wasn't reported."

Danyelle looks at the group photo. "Hm. The only one left alive? It's fishy."

Dark Horse nods. "I think we should probably interview Loraine. She might remember something important. Alternatively, we might want to look up this Taylor Kirton."

Ten says, "I wonder if there's any signficance to his being surprisingly sober. Not sure what it can be though."

Dark Horse tilts his head. "I wonder if it was something that happened at that party?"

Dark Horse says, "Either way, it's a safe bet that Loraine was there, if she was part of the same crowd.""

Reports on the Other Deaths 

'May 28th, 2060, Libbie Bish was killed by a hit and run driver near her home in Greenville. She was walking home from a evening class related to her job of junior librarian when a car mounted the sidewalk and ran her down. Libbie Bish had been a cheerleader at Julius H Rose High School. The car was found abandoned nearby the next day and had been reported stolen before the incident. The car's owner, Walton Buzzton, had a solid alibi for the time of the incident. No forenic evidence was found in the car. The police investigation went nowhere. One unexplained fact which aroused suspicion of drug involvement was a series of cash deposits by Libbie Bish into her account, eight payments of $5000 in the first week of each month for the previous eight months. '

'May 28th, 2061, Weston Matz died in a freak accident in the Greenville library when a rack of books collapsed on him as he was walking past. Weston had been a running back in the same team as Reuben Evatt and Taylor Kirton. He died of crush injuries on the scene. Weston had joined the Marines and was scheduled to leave for boot camp the following week. CCTV recordings from the library showed nobody else was near the bookrack when it collapsed and Weston had not touched it. The official verdict was collapse due to uneven weight distribution on the bookrack. The manufacturer disputed this and attempts to replicate the collapse by loading another bookrack of the same type with a matching load were unsuccessful. '

'May 28th, 2062, Kristeen Spina was killed by a single shot to her head from a hidden sniper while working in the East Greenville gas station and all night hunting supplies store. The bullet was identifed as a 308 calibre but strangely it had no rifling marks and the base of the bullet had no power residue on it. Backtracking the assumed projectory of the bullet pointed to the roof of a multi-story car park about two hundred yards away. But the window of the gas station between the suspected firing point and Kristeen Spina's location was unbroken. '

Dark Horse looks up information on Taylor Kirton, to see where he's ended up.

Ten says, "Hm. Different strangeness in each case."

It seems Taylor Kirton had a stellar college career and was snapped up the draft last year. He's now a reserve quarterback for the Oakland Raiders.

"Hmmm..." Anthony says as he looks over the data. "Did Libbie Bish work at the same library that Weston Matz was killed at?"

Checking up in the records the group discovers it was the same library in both incidents.

Ten says, "Maybe telekinesis could be used to cause the various deaths? Except maybe this last one: burning from inside is odd/"

Dark Horse nods. "But...it might connect to another mental power. Pyrokinesis.

Ten says, "Or we could be dealing with the supernatural. Or more than once cause... too many possibilities."

Danyelle says, "Let's go talk to Lorraine."

Ten nods.

Anthony shakes his head. "There's something in the pattern connecting these beyond the dates," he says. "Car accident to a football player, hit and run on a librarian. Library accident to a Marine, shooting accident to the next person."

Ten thinks. o O (I'm feeling out of my depth - I said I had no investigative skills!)

Anthony gives a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know, but I wonder if there's a connection between someone burning and someone who works at an electronics store, but the pattern seems reversed," he says.

Ten nods. "Yeah. The pattern's there but it's hard to make sense of it."

Danyelle says, "What if she was electrocuted?"

Danyelle says, "Anyway, let's get down to that store."

Dark Horse nods. "True. It was described as burning, but it could have been electrocution."

Ten says, "Yeah. Talking to her might narrow down the possibilities."

Quinn nods to Danyelle. "But then Lorraine should have been killed before Juliette," he says.

Dark Horse nods, "Yeah, let's go speak to her. That might clear some things up. Or, more likely will just bring up more questions."

By the time you get back to Colonial Bay the business day is finished and the store is long closed.