Three days after the hatching of the egg in Tel Aviv.

John tiredly stepped out of the jet bridge that connected his plane to the airport. He had only been gone for three days, but he was glad to be back in America. He was almost just as glad to be able to walk around freely after his eleven hour flight.

Aside from a distant look at the dragon that came from the egg, he did not encounter any Zerg during his trip. He was disappointed, but he hoped that what little he did see would be worth something to the Department of Defense.

John made his way through the busy airport to his car that waited in a parking garage. A parking garage with a hefty daily fee. After paying the bill for keeping his car in the garage, John began to make his way through the parking lot.

He was on the third story, where his car was parked, when a large black van drove up next to him. The sliding door in the side of the van opened, and a man dressed in a black suit spoke.

"John Dillinger?" The man asked.

"Who is asking?" John replied anxiously. These guys were obviously working for someone with power. The question was, we're they with the U.S. government or not?

"DTRA. Are you or are you not John Dillinger?" The man asked with impatience.

"I am." John answered.

"Get in."

John furrowed his brow. He didn't like this.

"Look," the man in the van said, "if you want to get paid for your trip to Tel Aviv, then you need to get in the van."

John silently climbed into the van and sat down in on a chair that was bolted to the floor. The man in the suit closed the van door and sat down. The van lurched forward and began making its way to the lower levels of the parking garage.

For several minutes, John sat in silence, but after about fifteen minutes in the van, his curiosity got the best of him.

"Where are we going?" John asked the man in the suit.

"Fort Belvoir. Virginia" The man replied.

John deadpanned. He had just stepped off a plane with cramped seats, and now he had to sit in a van for two and a half hours. John pit his head into his hands and groaned.


The sliding door to the van opened with a thud. John climbed out of the van and found himself in the middle of a parking lot.

"Follow me." The man in the black suit said behind him.

John turned around and quickly began to catch up to the man who had already begun walking away. As the two walked away from the van, the driver began to drive away.

They began walking toward a large building. The entrance and lobby was walled with glass, and John could see the inside. The rest of the building, however, was mostly brick, excluding the first floor which was made of a white material.

The two entered, and John was given a visitor badge. A short elevator ride and many hallways later, they were standing in front of an office door.

The man in the suit knocked.

"Sir, Mr. Dillinger is here to see you." The man said to whoever was on the other side of the door.

"Let him in." Came the reply.

The man in the suit opened the door, and John walked through.

Inside was a surprisingly large and we'll furnished room. The floor was carpeted with the seal of the DOD, and at the back of the room was a massive wooden desk. Sitting on the other side of the desk was a woman with short dirty blonde hair that hardly made it past her ears. She was wearing a tan ladies suit, and she appeared to be in her late forties or early fifties.

"Good morning Mr. Dillinger," The woman said, "I and director Durand of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. I have heard a lot about your work recently."

"I am sure everyone has, unfortunately." John replied.

"I'm going to cut to the chase. Nobody knows what the Zerg are, and you have the most first hand knowledge of them. I want to hire you to find out everything you can about the Zerg. I can pay you sixty two thousand per year."

"What will I be doing?" John asked.

"You will need to figure that out yourself." The director stated.

"Then I'll take it."

The director smiled a little as she extended her hand to shake. "Good to have you aboard."

"What do you need me to do?" John asked after shaking the director's hand.

"You will be working closely with this man," she said as she slid a file forward, "Scott Peters. He'll be your partner and he'll show you the ropes until you know what you're doing. I will expect a report on everything you find out, as soon as you find out.

"Mr. Peters' office is just around the corner to the right. We will worry about all of the paperwork later. Until then, you have work to do." Director Durand made a shooing motion with her hand as she turned her attention to the paperwork in front of her.

John turned around and exited the room without saying another word. He had just been given a new job. A job that paid significantly more than his old one.

He smiled as he made his way to Mr. Peters' office. No matter what he had to do, this was going to be many times more fulfilling than working at a grocery store.

John quickly found Mr Peters' office and knocked on the frame of the open door. The man who sat at the desk quickly looked up. He was an older man, or at least he looked like it in some ways. His face appeared to be fairly young, but his hair and eyes said otherwise. Mr. Peters had a head of white hair that was receding from the front, but he when he stood to greet John, he stood straight. He even appeared to be rather fit in the way he walked to shake John's hand.

"Good morning. Mr. Dillinger I presume." Peters said as he shook John's hand with a cocky smile that John felt was out of place. He sounded young. Perhaps his hair greyed early. Very early.

"That's right. Are you Mr. Peters?" John asked.

"The one and only, aside from all of the other men named Peters." This guy was a character. "I'm told that you, sir, are going to be investigating the Zerg threat."

"I am here to investigate the Zerg, but I wouldn't call them a threat just yet." John replied calmly.

"First thing that you need to get into your head is that if you aren't sure that something is a threat, then you treat it like it is a threat. We can't afford to get lazy around here. Murphy's Law is what we work to combat, so until we know that the Zerg isn't a threat, we will call it one. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now we can work."

"What's first?" John asked.

"If I knew that, then you wouldn't be here." Peters replied.

Brilliant. First few minutes in a new job, and not a clue about what he was supposed to do. Except...he just needed to find out anything about the Zerg, and he knew that May Flowers had something to do with their first appearance. He might as well start there.

"There is a girl. Her name is May Flowers. Let's find out everything that we can about her." John stated.

"Then that, Dillinger, is what we shall do first." Peters replied.

Why did he always end up with such strange coworkers?


I am sorry! I am so, so sorry! Forgive me please! I have failed you all for so long! Even now I am failing you by posting this miserably short chapter. It really is a disgrace. Unfortunately, it can't be helped. School, work, schoolwork, and writers block. Well, not quite writers block. I just really did not want to write this chapter. It is so boring! That is part of the reason why it is so short. Don't worry. I promise to make it up to you in the next two chapters. They will not be boring...hopefully.

To Akshka: I think that you are the second or third person to say something about a Mass Effect crossover. Hmmmm. I guess this story reminds people of Mass Effect. *sigh* I guess I should play Mass Effect sometime. But I am broke. Maybe I could look up the cutscenes on YouTube. That sounds like a good idea.

As for making this a crossover...I can't bring myself to do that with this story. I feel as though I would alienate all of the people who haven't read/played/seen whatever the crossover is of. Thank you for your feedback and continual support! It means a lot!

To ThirdAscendant: shhhhhh. You aren't supposed to talk about that yet.

Thank you guys for your support, and I apologize for the stupid long time between posts!