Jade gaped at her friend, "You're reassigned to what?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations." Brantley repeated, "You know, I'll be working with the squints, solving cold cases, etc."
"Yeah, but… why?" Jade asked, "I mean, you were trained for S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops."
"And I'm choosing S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations." Brantley said, finishing off her hot pocket. "Don't make it weird Jade, I like working with the squints, they're jerks, and stuck up, but hey, whose not?"
Jade groaned, "Aren't the squints the ones who pissed, like, everyone off at Grayson's funeral?"
"Wanna know something even more disturbing?" Brantley asked, "They didn't even realize they were doing it. They thought they were behaving appropriately."
Jade's eyes widened, "Really?"
"They sacrificed people skills for ridiculously high IQ's." Brantley laughed.
Brantley's phone lit up, and she held it up to her ear, "Agent Evans."
"You need to get down here, now." Cam's voice stressed.
Brantley nodded, "Gotta go Jade."
Brantley ran all the way to the Forensics platform, "Hope you got a juicy one for me Cam! I'm back in the game."
Jason actually looked up from his microscope, "Wow, with a new uniform an everything, huh?"
"Yeah, I heard. Try not to get to excited over murder Brantley." Cam warned.
"Yeah, yeah Came, not excited, just… uh, ready and willing." Brantley batted off, looking down at her new uniform, a suit. "Ya, I hate the new uniform too."
"So don't wear it." Jason advised, "You're a teenager, defy the man a little."
"Jason, it's her first day on the job." Cam warned, looking Brantley up and down, "And the suit looks fine."
"Conformist, but just fine." Jason added.
"That's enough Jason." Cam said firmly. "And Brantley, I hope you're in the mood for rail roads."
"Rail Roads?"
HALF AN HOUR LATER:
Brantley stood beside Cam as she leaned over the rail road tracks, a few other Investigations agents bumping around, looking around the train tracks.
"The guy who called this in was doing regular track maintenance, though these bones were the remains of a deer." Brantley told Cam.
Cam scoffed, picking up the jaw bone, pointing at the teeth. "These teeth look nothing like a deer! See, that is a perfect demonstration why our country's education is slipping."
"Yes, because our country's number one priority should be making sure to teach everyone how to recognize skeletal remains by their teeth." Brantley said sarcastically. "So, this guy was tossed out of a train?"
Cam shook her head, "No, if he was, he wouldn't be on the train tracks, he would be away from the tracks, scattered around in nearby foliage."
Brantley paused, "Drunk? Suicide!"
"Don't make assumptions." Cam chided. "Wait until we have all the variable to start solving the equation."
"I was never one for math." Brantley mumbled.
Cam sighed, "Well, there's no sign of hemorrhaging, so the victim was dead before he was hit by the train."
"You know, I'm getting my own office tomorrow." Brantley said.
"These remains were dragged by the train, and scattered over several miles." Can said, "All the trains need to be told not to run on these tracks until we get all of the bones."
"Got it." Brantley said, "I'll just text Agent Hill, and she'll send out the orders."
"You still report to Agent Hill?" Cam asked.
"Well, yeah, I'm still part of the team." Brantley explained, "I'm just working in a different area of interest."
Cam nodded, "Seems to me like Fury isn't willing for you to quit Special Ops."
Brantley paused, "What?"
"Well, going from your new rank, you're of no use on a response team." Cam explained, "Sounds like Fury still wants you in Special Ops."
"Well I didn't expect him to take the news well." Brantley shrugged.
"Hmm. How'd Clint take it?" Cam asked.
"He just stared at me when I told him, and then went down to the shooting range." Brantley admitted, "So, not well."
Cam nodded, "He seemed like a man who looked down on anyone who couldn't hold their own in a fight against him."
"Clint's not like that." Brantley protested, "He's a good guy, he just…" Brantley paused, sighing. "I guess he just expected more from me, that's all."
Cam held up a bone, "There's a cist on this femur, the result of a parasitic condition that's extremely uncommon in the US."
Brantley jabbed her pen at it, "Immigrant, illegal!"
Cam picked up a pelvis bone, "Well, judging from this, it's male."
Brantley nodded, "Okay, how old?"
Cam pointed to the femur, "Take a look, what do you think?"
Brantley squinted at it, "The fusion around where the knee should be tell me he was in his late teens… just a kid."
Cam nodded, "Very good, and for the record, you're just a kid."
"Yeah Cam, sure."
"The bones suggest a rugged lifestyle, even for an immigrant. I need to get these back to the lab." Cam said, placing the few bones she had into a cardboard box.
BACK AT THE LAB:
Brantley walked over to Jason, holding a box, "Here Jason, Cam found bone shards in this, uh-"
"Flora!" Jason said excitedly, pulling the small dead bushel out of the box, "Oh Brant you shouldn't have!"
Brantley paused, staring at Jason, "Dude, how excited you get over a bush? Its… its weird man."
Jason shrugged, "I am a man of odd interests."
Brantley paused, "Hey, Jason, the clothing scraps we found, they were hand stitched, like his mom made them. That makes it sadder somehow."
Jason looked at her, "Are you okay?"
Brantley sighed, "His age, where we found his body… it makes me feel like we're dealing with a runaway."
"So?"
"I was a runaway." Brantley added softly.
Jason's eyes widened, "Oh… Oh! Uh, you ran away from home?"
Brantley shook her head, "No, I ran away from foster care."
Cam looked up from the examination table, casting a look at Jason. Brantley had never talked about her past to them before. Jason and Cam had just assumed it was private, that she hadn't even told her friends. Cam had a hunch she had told Clint though, the bond between them was unmistakable. How quickly Clint had jumped to her defense when he thought there was something wrong… Cam could see he was trying to be a father to the girl.
Brantley sighed, "I made it, but… this kid didn't."
Jason cast a helpless look at Cam. Cam got the message, "Uh, Brantley, I have something that might help you with identification!"
Brantley nodded, "Alright, what's up?"
Cam tossed Brantley the skull, "Take a look at the dental work."
Brantley examined the teeth, "Uh, his cavities look weird…"
"His water wasn't filtered." Cam answered, "The reason they look deformed is because of the sediment and other flaws in his drinking water. He may very well have been from a different country, like you assumed."
Brantley nodded, "There's something else too, there's no sign of pesticides being in any foods he ate, or processed food."
Cam frowned, "Really? I… must have missed that."
Jason chuckled, "Kid's getting quick. Better watch your back Cam, Fury might have her replace you."
Cam glared at Jason, "But, the geology of his bones matched the mid-Atlantic states."
"I don't get it." Brantley admitted.
"Our victim was a teenage boy, who died two months ago, but according to the data he grew up in the early eighteen hundreds." Cam said, "Nothing adds up."
Brantley paused, staring off into space. Jason and Cam cast looks at each other, before Jason poked her shoulder, "Uh, Brant?"
Brantley smiled, "I've got it! He died two months ago, was in his late teens, and found in the mid-Atlantic states!"
"I just said that." Cam pointed out.
"But I know why!" Brantley persisted, "He was Amish!"
Jason paused, "Oh."
Cam stared at Brantley, "Amish.. How did I not… see that."
Brantley shrugged, "Look, I'm gonna check missing persons from the last two months, and check for Amish teenage boys."
She walked out of the lab, dialing a number.
Jason turned to Cam, "Well, I think we're raising her right."
Cam shook her head, "Clint's raising her right. I'll say one thing for that soldier, he's got an interesting angle of observation."
WITH CLINT A THE SHOOTING RANGE:
Natasha gave Clint a look, "Are you pretending to shoot Brantley or the squints?"
Clint sighed, "A combination of both actually."
Natasha rolled her eyes, "What do you have against he being in Investigations? Investigations helps catch cold case murderers."
Clint shot another arrow, "Despite the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations has the same level of authority an FBI Agent!?"
"So you're worried about her career choices?" Natasha asked.
"She's not going to get anywhere in Investigations!" Clint complained. "She'll never take down a dictator, or bring peace to a third world country, or-"
"Or any of the stuff you do ever other week?" Natasha asked.
"Yeah!" Clint agreed.
Natasha shot him a look, "Clint, think about what you just said."
"… Oh." Clint mumbled.
"Exactly." Natasha smirked, "You want her to be a mirror of you."
"She is a mirror of me!" Clint protested. "You tell me, Agent hill tells me, Fury tells me, even Galaga Guy told me! All the time, all of you!"
Natasha sighed, "Just because her skills and personality mirror yours, doesn't mean she's going to choose to same way to apply herself."
"Well she should." Clint mumbled.
"Maybe she would if you told her." Natasha prodded.
"If I tell her the truth, she'll flip out and try to kill me!" Clint snapped, "And I know, because I would have done the same thing! Natasha, if I was in her shoes, and I found out, I would hate me… she would hate me."
Natasha shrugged, "Maybe she would, but at least she'll respect your honesty."
Clint gave Natasha a look, "Things like that only happen on TV."
Natasha stared at Clint, "Is something else bothering you?"
Clint sighed, "She's just... she's got so much potential! And she's wasting it, S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations hardly does anything! For the lvoe of God, she's got a desk job!"
Natasha frowned, "Clint, you really think S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations does nothing? That she won't be helping people? Follow me."
IN THE LAB:
Brantley smirked, "Cam, I know what happened."
Cam looked up, "What?"
"I identified the victim, his name was Levi. His father owned a farm, right next to a cotton plantation." Brantley said, "The owner of the cotton plantation was trying to buy Levi's father's land. Levi's father has arthritis, bad arthritis. He couldn't keep the farm up without Levi. So, the developer figures the only way to get the land he wanted was to kill Levi. His father would have had no choice but to sell the land."
Cam nodded, "Alright, interesting idea, but you have no proof behind that-"
"You found a bullet hole in the skull, right?" Brantley asked, "Well, Jason identified the type of bullet, a 22 long riffle. The developer has one, and I had Jason check it too. It's been recently fired."
Cam nodded, "Not exactly enough to convict him-"
"But enough to scare him." Brantley said, "I've got him in questioning. Wanna watch him squirm?"
"Love to."
IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM:
Brantley stared down the developer, Paul Bryan. "So, Mr. Bryan, did you ever meet Levi?"
"No." Paul answered smoothly. "I heard his father talk about him though, had a lot of pride in the boy. It's a shame he's dead."
Jade spoke over the com link, "Wow, this guy is pretty relaxed. Guarantee you, if he did kill Levi, he's not a stranger to the method."
"Do you own a 22 long rifle Mr. Bryan?" Brantley asked.
"Yes, I use it for duck hunting." He answered.
Jade laughed through the ear piece, "A 22 long? Not for duck hunting, you'd need a more accurate shot, considering you shoot at them when they're flying."
"I really doubt that sir."
"You calling me a liar?" He asked.
"And a bad one at that." Brantley added. "A 22 long for ducks? Not likely. Why lie about it?"
He shrugged, "I don't know much about guns. A 22 isn't for duck hunting? That would explain why I can't shoot any."
"I don't think you killed him." Brantley said.
"What?" Jade asked from behind the one way mirror.
"You don't?" He asked.
"No, I think someone snatched your gun and shot him with it. Who has access to your gun?" Brantley asked, "And how could they have gotten it without you noticing them sneaking in?"
"Well, my wife has access to it, but she was gone that weekend." He said, "It could have been the hired help though."
Brantley nodded, "And the gun, where is it kept?"
"In my study." He said, "The maid cleans it every other weekend-"
"And when was the last time you used the gun?" Brantley asked.
"About a month ago-"
"Do you know where Levi was the night he was murdered? It would have had to be somewhere the maid could have easily got to him."
"Well, he was coming over to try and talk me out of buying his father's land, again. But you know how the world works, progress. There's no room for Amish country in today's society."
"Liar." Brantley said firmly.
"What?"
"You. Liar." Brantley repeated. "Duck season ended five months ago. There are no legal shooting ranges in Amish country, and your property isn't big enough for you to shoot there legally. And not only that, you said you never met Levi, yet you also just said he was coming over to talk to you, again."
"Well-"
"So." Brantley said, scribbling on a piece of notebook paper, "I'll just put illegal handling of fire arms down on the list of charges, along with obstructing S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigations. And that maid you were talking about, she cleans it every other weekend? She'll be able to tell us when you used that gun, how long you took it out, and if you cleaned it afterwards. Hired help usually jumps at the chance to get their employers arrested. Especially she will, seeing as several of your maids have filed sexual assult charges, she'll be more than willing."
Paul sat there, stunned.
Brantley smirked, "Paul, this little routine you do whenever someone brings you in for murder charges, playing it cool, saying just the right things, only answering what's asked, not providing any other details, it won't work with me."
He raised an eyebrow, "And why is that exactly?"
Brantley leaned back, crossing her arms and looking at him with a smirk on her face. "Because, I'm really good at pretending to be dumber than I am."
BEHIND THE GLASS:
Jade looked over her shoulder at Clint, seeing him standing there, pride written all over his features. "Not bad for an Investigations unit, huh?"
Natasha gave him a pointed look, "And this isn't over yet."
Clint just smiled through the glass at Brantley.
IN THE ROOM:
"So, do I have to get your maid in here, who I'm sure will have plenty of others crimes you've done she can testify against, or can I just get a confession for this murder?" Brantley asked.
Paul leaned forward, putting his head in his hands, "How did… you're just a kid."
Brantley just shrugged, "Hey, you get 'em young and the possibilities are endless. Now how's about that confession?"
Paul rubbed his forehead, "Fine, I killed Levi. Shot him in the head, and then dumped his body in front of the train."
Brantley nodded, "Mr. Bryan, you're under arrest for the murder of Levi Twain. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."
He nodded, standing up, and Brantley cuffed him.
She led him out into the hands of two other agents, and as he walked away, an older couple approached Brantely, the man speaking up. "Excuse me, are you Miss Evans?"
Brantley nodded, "Yes, sir."
The man nodded, "Levi was... my son, and... I just wanted to thank you, thank you for finding out what happened to him."
"It's my job." Brantley siad, "By the way, it seems as if you need a ranch hand, right? Well seeing as Paul is going to be in prison for twenty-five years to life, a lot of his own ranch hands will be looking for work."
The man nodded, smiling, "Fine idea. If there's ever anything I can do for you, you let me know."
Brantley nodded, "Yes, sir."
Natasha turned to Clint, "Now you tell me that she isn't making a difference."
Clint waited until the couple finished their thanks and walked they had away, before approaching Brantley, "Hey, kid?"
Brantley looked over at him, "Clint?"
Clint smiled, "Look, I know I wasn't exactly… enthusiastic about your transfer, but… I'm proud of you."
Brantley smiled back, "Thanks."
LATER THAT NIGHT:
Jade took a chug of her Coke, before looking at Brantley as they walked down the hall, "So, you're really doing this, huh? Leaving the team."
Brantley shook her head, "If the team ever needs me, I'll be there, and you know it. But Jade... I feel better working with Investigations. I'm not killing people, I'm... I'm tracking down people who kill people. Our line of work Jade, it's a two way street. I've been driving on the same side four years now, it feels good to drive the other way."
Jade sighed, "Fine Brantley, just be careful, there's a lot of turn offs on your side of the road. Dishing it out it one thing, you just take the shot when they tell you to. Dealing with the after math, you have to know the people, learn about the victims, their families, you're going into a very dark part of the human nature Brantely. Take a shovel."
Brantley stopped at a door, opening it, "Sure Jade, but why would I ever want to dig my way out of this sweet office!?"
Jade walked in, seeing a room with light grey painted walls, white carpet, and a metal ladder leaning against on wall, up to a small platform with a desk on it. Brantley scurried up the ladder, onto the platform, and nestled herself on top of her desk, gesturing to on of the old leather chairs on the ground, "Take a seat Jade!"
Jade rolled her eyes, "You and your mentor are taking this bird thing way to far."
Alright guys, here's the scoop. so far, this story has been reveiwed 182 times. which for me, it's just... amazing.
So to celebrate, I'm hosting a contest! I'm bringing in a minor character, who won't be around for that long, and I need a name. Our contest is to try and break the two hundred reveiw mark! If eighteen people reveiw, we will.
In short, review, and leave your name, your real name, in the review, for a chance to have this new character weild your name! Even if you don't win that prize, I'll be sure to drop your name as a random S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. If you want your character to look a certain way, say so in the reveiw!
Good luck!
