"He's not here."
"What do you mean he's not here?"
"He's gone," the voice replied into the microphone attached to her head. She stood a little longer holding the earpiece more securely to her ear before walking towards the small crowd ahead of her. The team all dressed in black appeared to be falling in and out of focus, well at least that is what the average eye would guess. They were photographing a broken electric tower, with half of its metal frame a mere two feet from the ground. She nodded to people collecting soil samples as she passed, tucking her 5mm handgun back into the back of her belt. The foreigners in the small area were trying to stay inconspicuous knowing that any potential danger was not meant for them.
"What have you got for me?" a gruff voice with all the attitude of someone in charge asked as the dark haired woman came to hear what was being said. She nodded to her superior officer who towered above her slight frame before smiling at the man answering the question.
"Definitely not caused by a Paladin attack," he replied pushing his frameless glasses up her nose before flipping through his collected field notes. "There appears to have been a fight of some kind as the positioning of the soil is erratic, not to mention the electric pylon. There were also two sets of footprints found and one appears to be fresher than the other."
"If Paladins were not involved who owns the second set of prints?"
"More important that that, Jacqueline, how did her get out of his metal cage?" the man beside her turned and smirked. His semi smile was gentle despite his rough voice and intimidating presence. The dark haired figure glared playfully back from underneath her fringe and was about to respond to the use of her full name but the scientist with the glasses spoke up.
"Richard, I mane sir, we also have to consider the fact that he could be seriously hurt."
"Yes, Daniel, that's a good point, get some more people tracking him." Richard turned and looked over the group of men and women as they worked against the backdrop of the warring country. The small dark haired figure was about to move towards the white tent that had been set up behind the mass of twisted metal when a voice drifted her way.
"Jac I want you to go back to the bunker. You know Clara will have my head if you're not back early, safe and sound," Richard shouted as he walked away, "looking after you has made her nervous and delusional. She still sees you as nine and not nineteen."
"Luck me… Don't tell me you're afraid of a woman and a pregnant one at that," Jack shouted back laughing. She jumped back just in time so she did not hear any reply being made.
Jac's next steps were taken on a white tiled floor surrounded by similarly coloured walls. A man behind three inches of glass motioned her forward as he typed away at a keyboard and unlocked the pressure sealed metal doors. Her black steel tipped boots clicked with every step as she walked towards the scanners everyone had to endure.
"Good morning John. Why do we have to do this every time?" Jack complained good-naturedly as she placed her gun and jacket in a plastic tray. The scanners were no ordinary scanners despite their normal appearance as they were used to detect electrical impulses, not metals.
"The war for jumpers is getting more dangerous, you know that Little J. We can't be too careful," the man who had granted her access replied from within his glass working pod.
"Trust me, I would tell you if I got hit with 1000 volts," Jac explained as she walked between the scanner only for nothing to happen. "Besides I'm barely out in the field as it is and if I am I have someone tailing my ass the whole time."
"Not my rules, I just enforce them. Anyway the body's in a delicate balance and tiny shifts in electrical activity could have a dramatic effect on anybody but especially people like us," the man recalled the speech from memory having had to answer this question too many times. "Imagine jumping and only half your body getting there."
"Well there is always that." Jack waved lazily before grapping her stuff and exiting from a door to the left. The door swung closed slowly, the metal clicking together when it finally shut, resulting in the sound bouncing off the shining marble before dying on the ears of the security guard.
"Young people," he muttered before picking up the phone before it had a chance to start ringing. "You've found him? So the illusive Griffin has finally been caught… yes I will prepare the staff for your arrival."
Just a random idea I had after watching the movie. I know this chapter is short but it's needed to help set the scene for the story. Let me know what you think. Until next time. Vain