After lunch at the Harbor Diner, the pair took a walk around the city. They got a sense of the scale of the problem, spotting decrepitated neighborhoods and parks that seen better days. From gathering, it appeared that the city became a prime spot for the homeless, and judging from the mayor and Cassandra, they didn't want to remain as one for long.
The weather proved favorable for the homeless, so it wasn't easy to wait until winter and freeze them out of the city.
Cassandra's agency showed an affect since they've started, some areas looked repaired and others showed signs of stains and other unmentionables.
The non-sickly homeless would've taken the first bus out of the city in an attempt to survive the Drekker, but it's apparent that if they're aware of the actual causes behind their peers' deaths, nobody either believes them or wanted to listen.
Glimpsing to the power lines above, Ripley spotted something eerily.
There's black birds, fourteen of them, and normally Ripley wouldn't think much about them, but these were ravens, large ones, and they're looking down on the people as they go about their day.
Looking at them from below didn't give her a good look, but Ripley saw them subtly looking between people, their coppery red eyes glistened in the sunlight.
These would've been normal ravens if not for them stopping what they're doing after one spot a man walking down the sidewalk and they all started staring at him.
They stared at him intently and flew off, following him, presumably to his residence or where he's going. They'll keep following him until tonight and disappear, but for the man, by morning, he'll disappear.
"Rip?" Matt touched her shoulder, getting her attention.
Snapping back, Ripley looked down at him as he looked at her, concerned.
Ripley frowned as she grimly remarks, "Might be sooner than later when they start hunting more than just homeless and strays."
A strong indication when there's a Drekker presence, the presence of ravens, not just any ravens, these ones have their own purpose, and they're quite different from normal ravens, if someone were to get a look up close.
It's unknown how or what the Drekker do, but they often capture ravens, not to kill or eat, but to do something to them and make them their eyes.
Each raven represents a Drekker, so with fourteen ravens, it'd mean there's fourteen Drekker including the big one.
It's unknown to Ripley how interconnected the ravens were to the Drekker, but she's aware of stories of people and animals going missing shortly after attacking or killing a raven.
Matt continued to look at her and she sighed.
"I don't like this one bit," Ripley rubbed her eyes.
Comforting her, Matt said they'll put an end to it, but Ripley doubted it.
Sure, maybe the flock moves on, but they'll move to the next available place and start hunting again. Again. Again. And again. Until they naturally die or someone foolishly kills them.
With them getting bolder, it's only a matter of time before they just descend on sickly people without fear. Maybe they won't start hunting in the day, but at night, with the cities lit up, they'll have no troubles, then.
It's a matter of time and Ripley feared it more than anything.
"Sometimes we just have to find a silver lining," Matt replied as he nudged her cheek with the knuckle of his index finger. "Even if it's meager."
There's no doubt there'll be a happy ending in this adventure, but not all adventures got a happy ending, and it's their interest to work through it and finding a silver lining, however small.
It is the way of the Doctor.
"Even so, I'll strangle her myself," Ripley's eyes showed fire as she grew agitated about Cassandra causing this mess. Ripley won't promise Matt that she'll remain cordial around the woman, it'll be too hard to do it.
Matt led her away and they continued looking around when they started noticing the sun slowly setting, giving the city a red hue.
Seeing how they're far from the TARDIS, Matt had them go back, before dark.
Matt got a phone call from Johnnie telling him that he's coming by with some information he uncovered. He's reminded by Matt where to find the "blue police box" and when he hung up he relayed the information to Ripley as she sat on the stairs.
"Only a few hours," Ripley mused.
Matt mused that Johnnie worked fast as he closed the door behind him and went towards her.
"He made sure to put some rosemary on hm," Matt told her as he took a seat by her.
Even though Johnnie's skeptical about the whole thing, seeing how sincere Ripley was as she talked about the Drekker, helped coxed him into following along. If only in case she's correct, which she is.
"It's just like home," Ripley remarked that it'll be just like her universe.
Every government used the Drekker for their own uses. The difference, in Ripley's universe, the government used the Drekker until the Children showed up. When they did, they used their tricks and got their men and women into offices, then, used the Drekker against the remaining humans. All a part of the alliance forged between the Children and the Matriarch.
The ignorance of the human government allowed the Drekker and in return, Sabbek, to grow in numbers.
It's likely, what the Children didn't take into their armies, the Drekker and Sabbek took for themselves. Which only served to bolster the numbers further.
Not surprisingly, the Blues had good fun feeding the ignorant politicians who lied about their health to the Drekker. A grim irony.
"Do you suppose they're from the same flock?" Matt proposed.
Ripley shook her head.
Like birds, there's numerous flocks headed by a Drekker Patriarch and a Sabbek Matriarch. They've their own methods in capturing humans and defending their hovels. Make no mistake, there's different flocks and the numbers of its' members varied.
"Her flock left back with them, don't know where, but she's got what she wanted," Ripley shrugged.
Matt asked if it's possible to talk things over with the big one, if at all, and Ripley shook her head.
"The Big One, he's not the talkative type. His job isn't luring people, his job's just leading his sons and protecting the nest. That's it. You can't exactly expect to change the mind of a creature that's relying on basic instincts since the species' conception, even if at one point, they were us," she responded.
Reminded of what happened a while ago, Ripley roused.
Raising the sleeve of her arm, Ripley saw something peculiar.
The mark left by Hera and changed by Cara when Ripley brought her to Hera, it's gone!
It's not healed by any stretch or altered, it's as if she never had the mark to begin with, not even an indication of scar tissue. She even pushed down on the arm to feel for it, but it's not there, and she knows she encumbered scars that the AID didn't touch.
Matt noticed the look in her eyes as he looked at her arm.
"The scar… it was here… it's gone now… but it was here…" Ripley blinked as she lowered her sleeve.
Matt touched her shoulder as he brought up the chance the AID touched it, but she wasn't convinced.
"Still had it when I got out," Ripley mentioned.
She's not crazy, her arm hurt like hell when Hera dug her claw in and gave her a bloody scar. It barely hurt when Cara reshaped it.
Matt brought up that it just healed, but Ripley didn't buy it.
"It's like I never had it," Ripley flinched.
Cara said that the altered mark would've kept the two species from attacking Ripley, but her mark's completely gone, vanished, and it meant that she didn't have clout if she had to play truce with a towering tarry fiend.
Before Ripley could think on it more, she heard knocking on the TARDIS' door and Matt stood up from the stairs and went towards it.
He opened it to a bemused Johnnie who stared at him.
"I really thought you were pulling my leg," Johnnie pushed up his thick framed glasses.
Matt showed him in and he's bewildered by the sight of the interior. He couldn't help but pinch himself just to be sure he wasn't dreaming.
"What did you find?" Ripley stood up as Johnnie shifted the box he carried as he walked through the interior.
Johnnie replied that he had sources from the docks tell him that an unknown private firm bought one of the large warehouses furthest away from all the others. The warehouse itself's condemned and the owner before it wanted to tear it down and make a boat yard. No windows, water stained shutters, it's a miracle it's still even standing, to be honest.
The building's still intact, regardless, and looks like nothing's really changed.
Except armed guards patrolling it in the day.
Johnnie investigated the private firm that bought the warehouse, but found no public information, and it made him curious, as it's illegal to not disclose the name of the private firm for the records.
"Armed guards, what're they guarding?" Matt wondered.
Johnnie shrugged his stout shoulders as he told him he wasn't sure, but they had every intent to keep people from getting inside the warehouse, there was a police report of two teenagers trying to break inside the warehouse.
Apparently, before it sold, some local teenagers used the condemned warehouse for improvised raves and others schemes teenagers partook in.
When the owner sold the warehouse, the heavy presence dissuaded the teenagers from trying it, but as the tradition holds true, there's always the ones that rebel against the new restrictions.
"Didn't get far, they were trying to break in through the back," Johnnie mentioned how the teenagers ended up caught. They tried to break in through the loading dock, but couldn't pick the lock in time before the guards caught them, and yanked them away.
"They don't want anyone getting in," Matt mused.
Ripley roused as she asked, "They bring anything to the warehouse?"
Johnnie replied that there haven't been any trucks except the guards' and that's just it.
"Interestingly, there's CTV cameras posted nearby, keep the riffraff down, and there was two pointing at the warehouse. Heard the owner had to move those cameras away from the warehouse," Johnnie mentioned a source's personal account.
When the owner sold the condemned warehouse, the private firm became agitated by the CTV cameras on the nearby warehouse for a freight. So much, they ordered the owner of the warehouse to move the cameras or face court.
"Said it was bull, but we're having a bit of slow season for freights, the last thing the owner wanted was to waste time in court, so he settled and moved the cameras," Johnnie glimpsed around the TARDIS, amazed.
Matt asked if it's the HQ for Cassandra's agency and Johnnie said that it's not, hers is occupying the old theater building. It led to Ripley realizing, "Out of the way, no lights, and heavily guarded so no one sneaks in."
It makes sense.
The warehouse's big enough for them to comfortably live and probably take their prey there when the sun's coming up. Without anyone bothering them, it's perfect.
"Anything else?" Ripley inquired.
Johnnie smiled as he replied he didn't get into the business for nothing and went on to tell the pair about the other things he found out.
Six months ago, the first homeless death's reported to the police due to the mangled body discovered in a park. The police said it was a rabid animal and that was the end of it. It happened to another within days and this time far worse. The police concluded it was another animal attack. By the third death, Cassandra took a great interest, and led an investigation on her accord.
"Which, is how she got her agency. She found out it was them," Ripley gestured.
Matt added, "When she found out, she went to the mayor."
Johnnie then concluded the revelation, "Seems to be O' Mayor Lew knew about them and realized if he didn't do something, Cassandra was going to cost him his reelection."
Digging around, Johnnie discovered that the city's mayor, Mayor Lewis, became aware of them, too.
His constituents kept bringing up the deaths and how bad they'll be for the city's image, but Lewis didn't want to hear a word of it. Something or another happened and he realized that there's a real threat.
"Word around the campfire says he fancies redheads," Johnnie summed. "Turned out the one he visits disappeared not too long ago."
Johnnie dug deep when he started investigating Mayor Lewis. At first, he thought it's just bribes and such, but discovered that Lewis' had an affair with a prostitute. Something or another happened and she disappeared. Lewis though she might've gotten killed by her pimp or moved on.
"Until they found a woman's body, making her description, on the beach with her looking like a cut pig," Johnnie revealed he intersected the uncensored reports.
Using Ripley's information, he concluded that the prostitute must've carried a disease to attract the Drekker. They chased her down and killed her, like Ripley said, they dissected her and consumed the affected organs and flesh.
"Sounds to me Lewis has a reason for not wanting his hand caught," Ripley caught on.
Johnnie nodded, affirming her suspicion.
He confirmed that Lewis' sought treatment for his "ailment" and since he figured out what the Drekker did, he knew he better avoid the city until they're gone.
"He's always out of town," Johnnie revealed that the mayor's takes leave of absence many times out of the year, visiting hospitals, and trying to get a clean bill of health.
Cassandra likely found out, as Johnnie mentioned that Lewis had an altercation with someone on the phone, and pale as a ghost when it ended.
Blackmailed, he had to give Cassandra what she wanted in exchange for her silence.
"Politics for you," Johnnie sighed.
The trio compared notes and the picture's clear as can be for Johnnie's first foray into the Drekker story. It helped he already had evidence of corruption in the mayor's office so it cutdown on the time it took to obtain the new evidence.
"We could always get one to rat the other out," Ripley suggested to Johnnie.
Both Cassandra and Johnnie have dirty hands in this and no doubt would've turned on the other to keep the public from knowing about the corruption.
"What if it doesn't work?" Matt asked her.
If one gets found out, it won't take long before the other's found out, too.
"Of ye with little fate," Johnnie smiled.
He can easily get Lewis to sing like a canary by threatening to send along the test result and the intimate pictures to his wife. Even if his wife wasn't infected, the damage's enough that poor Lewis wouldn't know what to do by the time she threw out his Yankee cards.
If Johnnie really felt vindicated enough, he'll pass the information along to the nighttime television programs.
Hosts would've torn Cassandra and Lewis apart and, in their setting, the crowd believed them.
Matt asked about the reasons Cassandra and Lewis wanted to use the Drekker against the homeless. Johnnie responded with that the mentally ill and drug addled homeless brought down the quality of life for the city. Blocks filled with fecal matter and used needles, violent homeless that attacks the citizens of the city, and parks overtaken by them. It started getting bad until the Drekker moved in and started preying on them.
"I'm not condoning what they did, but this city's choked with homeless. Some genuinely need financial help. Some need a mental institute, not prison," Johnnie made it clear that he didn't approve of what transpired. He felt pity for the homeless and wanted them to get help, but some are beyond help at this point, but they didn't deserve prison.
Johnnie guessed in a twisted way, Cassandra and Lewis had their hands tied back, which resulted them in turning to creatures they didn't fully understand.
"You can't force a sick homeless man to take his pills," Johnnie brought up.
Unable to force the sickly homeless to seek help, the pair thought the Drekker were their answer.
It's obtuse, but the city was in a bad state before the Drekker roosted. The parks that the homeless overtook have begun returning to their former glory, people can easily walk down the streets without getting harassed for money or attacked, and the city felt a little safer without the used needles scattered everywhere.
Unfortunately, as Ripley told Johnnie, they've bitten off more they can chew and now lost control of the situation.
The Drekker aren't just content with sickly homeless, they'll attack anyone sick, and that means anyone!
There's nothing any parties can do to dissuade the Drekker short of risking the city by keeping the lights on during the bushfire season. They'll keep coming out until the end of bushfire season when the city safely kept their lights on until the next season.
"Do you think we can get into Cassandra's agency?" Ripley asked Johnnie.
Johnnie replied that Cassandra kept it under lock and key and only her agents can get in. She's got scanners and the like, body and all, IDs, the whole nines, all in an attempt to keep people like Johnnie from sneaking in. Even the agents know better than to try anything, she'd give them the pink slip and much more for breaking her rules.
So, it meant that Ripley and Matt couldn't simply use their CSSs and it's guarded enough that nobody can break in.
"Never say never," Ripley told Johnnie.