Hadji…are you there…help me…there's so much pain…HADJI…HADJII!!
Hadji woke up on his dorm room floor gasping for air, covered in sweat and vomit. Someone was pounding on his door.
Not again, he thought, burying his head in his hands. He had this nightmare many times before, but it had been a few weeks and he had begun to hope…
The pounding stopped, and Hadji was vaguely aware of someone messing with the handle. His door was flung open and several students ran in.
"Hadji, are you ok man?" Steve, his chemistry partner, pulled him to his feet. "You've been screaming for, like, ten minutes."
"Sorry," he tried to smile, but only managed a grimace, "I think I was having a nightmare."
"Who's Jonny?"
"I'm sorry?" Hadji looked at the inquisitor in surprise. She was a petite blond Hadji remembered seeing in the hallway from time to time. He thought her name was Kiera
"You kept screaming the name Jonny over and over," she said with a shrug.
Someone draped a blanket over his shoulders and he pulled it tightly around him, trying in vain to suppress the chill running through him.
"He was my brother."
"Was?" she pressed, oblivious to the glares from Hadji's friends.
"He is dead," Hadji whispered, not sure if he was trying to convincer her, or himself.
Phil Corvin's intercom buzzed. "Yes, Jamie?" the I-1 director answered, absently.
"Sorry to interrupt you, Sir, but Special Agent Martin Colburn here to see you."
Phil's face brightened, "Send him right in."
Scarcely a minute passed before his door opened. Phil jumped up and reached his hand across his desk.
"Marty!" he exclaimed, "It's been a while. How are things at the Bureau?"
"Same as usual," Colburn replied, sitting in one of the plush chairs in front of the desk, "bureaucracy and red tape, but we managed to get some good done in between. How about you?"
"The same. How are Trish and the kids?"
"Trish is fine. She's in Tampa visiting her folks with the kids. Marla's fifteen and Jake's ten now. Are you still a confirmed bachelor?"
Phil shrugged, "Married to the job." He eyed a folder in Colburn's hand, "But this isn't a social call, is it?"
Colburn grinned sheepishly, "Not completely." He handed the folder to Phil, "That's a missing persons case that landed on my desk last week."
Phil flipped through it absently, "Missing persons aren't really my thing, Marty."
"I know that, but there was something odd about this one, and I thought you'd be interested. As far as missing persons go, this one's a little unique. Brandon Holmer, son of oil tycoon Frederick Holmer, went missing sometime before Christmas. No report was filed until the middle of February."
"Why not?"
"The parents were on a three month cruise and the sister was at school in France. Apparently, it's not unusual for them to go weeks without talking to each other. His sister began to get worried and finally flew to NYU to look for him. She was told he hadn't shown up for any classes since the beginning of the semester and no one had heard from him. She filed the first report and her parents filed a follow up when they got back the following week."
Phil shook his head, "How do you not know your son is missing for two months?"
Colburn nodded in agreement, "Tell me about it. But what I thought you'd be interested in is on page five."
Phil found page five and began scanning, "I don't see what…" He looked at Colburn, his mouth hanging open. "Is there a photo?"
"In the back."
Phil flipped through the folder until he found it. One look and he smacked his intercom so hard it almost flew off the desk.
"Yes?" Jamie answered.
"Jamie, I need you to book me on the next flight to Rockport, Maine."
"Are you in here, Doc?" Race called as he entered the lighthouse.
"Over here," Benton waved from around the corner.
Dr. Quest had been working on a system upgrade for IRIS for the better part of two weeks now and spent more time in the lighthouse then in his office.
"Sorry to bother you," Race said, "But I just got a call from Phil Corvin. He's on his way here. He says he needs to see us both immediately."
Benton raised his eyebrows, "Sounds serious. Any idea what it's about?"
Race shook his head, "I can't imagine, but he'll be here in about twenty minutes so I figured I'd give you a heads up."
"Thanks. I'll be there in just a few minutes."
A cool March breeze blew across the compound, carrying the scent of spring and salt water. Race paused, feeling a sense of calm that had avoided him for months. Life in the Quest house was finally regaining some normalcy. Benton was working again, and Hadji and Jessie were done with mid-terms. They were both due back tomorrow morning. Bandit was the only member of the family who had not adjusted. He still slept in Jonny's room and wandered the house at all hours of the day and night crying for his human.
Race was barely in the door when he heard the roar of a car engine. Phil's early he thought, not a little surprised. Phil Corvin was one of those annoyingly punctual people who always arrived exactly when he said he would. If he was early, whatever he was here to talk about must be important.
"It's good to see you, Phil," Race said, letting him inside.
"You too," Phil scanned the room, "Is Dr. Quest home?"
"Right here," Benton answered, coming in through the kitchen. "How have you been, Phil?"
"Same as usual, Benton. And you?"
He shrugged, "Coping. I've had enough work to keep me busy and distracted. Hadji and Jessie are back tomorrow, so hopefully this place won't feel quite so empty." A sudden fear entered his eyes, "Hadji and Jessie are fine, aren't they? You aren't here to tell us…"
Phil interrupted him, "No, nothing like that."
Benton lowered himself into a chair, looking sheepish, "Sorry. Ever since the night Sam dropped by, I equate surprise visits with bad news."
"That's understandable," Phil said, settling into a chair opposite Dr. Quest. Race stood off to the side, leaning against the wall.
"If the kids are fine, what brings you here in such an all-fired hurry, Phil?" Race asked.
Phil pulled a folder out of his briefcase, "This is a missing persons case. An old FBI friend of mine showed it to me this afternoon."
Race raised an eyebrow, "I didn't realize I-1 was handling cases like that now."
"We're not." Phil related the details of the case.
Benton shook his head in disgust, "Some people just shouldn't be parents, but I still fail to see what any of this has to do with me."
Phil took a deep breath, "According to Brandon's sister, he had a unique tattoo, one he designed himself and got during a trip to Thailand last summer." He handed a photo to Benton. "A tattoo of two dragon heads wound around the upper arms connected by a snake's body across the shoulders."
Benton stared speechless at the photo in front of him. The young man had the exact same tattoo they had seen on Jonny's body all those months ago.
"Phil," Race looked at him with wide eyes, "What does this mean?"
He shook his head, "I'm not sure, but we need to exhume Jonny's body and run a DNA test as soon as possible. If there is the slightest chance the body you buried isn't Jonny's…"
Race nodded, "Do whatever you need to do."
