Chapter One
"No. There is no way you're getting me to wear that, Keep. Sorry, it's just not gonna happen," a 20-some year old young man with brown, spiky hair stated firmly, hands in front of his torso with palms facing out. He held them up as signs of protest and backed slowly away when he saw a blonde woman advancing towards him with a rather strange-looking black hat with wires dangling from the top in her hand.
"Come on, Darien, it's only going to be on for a couple minutes, then it will all be over," Claire Keeply reasoned, her thick English accent calm with experience, as though she were talking to a child. And in many ways, she felt she was. Not only was he whiny, but he liked to play tricks and usually had a mischievous, goofy smile on his face. She wondered why she even put up with him. If it weren't for the fact that she was his doctor/Keeper at the Agency which refused to let him go, she might have just ignored him. But luckily for her she hadn't done that. He had proven to be loyal, and a good friend. Although at times, such as that very moment, he could be a very aggravating patient.
"No!" he responded, continuing to back away from her. "Why the Hell do you want me to wear that anyway?"
She paused in front of the computer that sat to the side against the wall of her laboratory, and placed her hand on her hips, her other hand holding the hat out in front of her. The room was fairly small, but the small agency didn't have enough money to afford a larger one. Besides, she seemed to be doing fine with her small room.
Darien Fawkes stood, palms against the brown, reclined, dentist-like chair that sat in the middle of the room. He was ready for anything, and had no intention of giving in to her demand. One thing about Darien is that he was always a very stubborn person, and he was not about to allow that hat anywhere near his head.
"Look, I've already explained this to you." She held the hat out towards him. "Put this on, and we'll be able to make sure the gland is functioning correctly. It's almost like an x-ray, but more advanced."
Darien shook his head firmly. "There is no way you're getting that on my head."
The door to the lab opened and they both turned their attention to the doorway and watched as a medium height bald man walked in. Immediately The Keeper and Darien began talking to him at the same time.
"Bobby, would you please…"
"Come on, Hobbes, you have to…"
"… some sense into him. It's for his own good."
"… out of her mind. Back me up, here!"
"… need to know if everything is going…"
"… one ugly-ass hat…"
"… so if you would please tell him to wear this."
"… keep her off my back for once."
Bobby stood still and moved his head back and forth between the two and blinked. When they both stopped to take a breath, he moved on. "Ok. Anyway, The Fat Man wants to talk to us, Darien."
Darien raised one eyebrow quizzically. "I didn't do anything this time."
Hobbes shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just the messenger." He straightened his brown suit and held out his arm in front of him. "After you?"
After one final glare at The Keeper, Fawkes walked past his partner and into the hall as the older man commented, "That really is an ugly hat…"
While they walked up to The Official's office, Hobbes shot Darien a curious look.
"So what the Hell was that all about in there? Something about a hat?" He looked up at the slightly taller man and waited for an answer, an amused grin pasted on his face.
"I don't know, but if they don't stop coming up with new inventions, I am seriously gonna have to do some damage to this agency."
"Ohh," Hobbes said with a nod of understanding. "It's like that. I completely understand."
"How would you understand? At least you're here of your own free will." Darien felt himself getting angry already, even though he tried not to. He was sick of working here as some lab rat that no one really cared about, unless it involved 'the gland' in his head. Sure, it had its advantages at times, but he would gladly give that up just to be free again.
"Hey, partner, didn't mean it like that." Hobbes' New York accent was strong, but full of remorse. He hadn't meant to bring up that subject. He felt bad for his partner, and he knew that subject was touchy. He tried his best not to go anywhere near there.
Darien took in a heavy breath, and breathed it out as he walked. "Sorry, Bobby, I'm just kind of edgy today."
"No big deal."
"So what do you think he wants to talk to us about?" Darien asked, wondering if he was in trouble again, or if it was just another mission. He wasn't looking forward to either, but decided to face it anyway.
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"That's not reassuring."
At the end of the hallway, they arrived at a door with a big glass window, and went in, awaiting a lecture of some sorts.
"Hey, boss. What's going on? Hey, is that a new suit?" Darien was very forward, both out of nature and because he saw how much it annoyed the older man in front of him. He invited himself to sit down, and he crossed one leg over the other, getting comfortable in the brown couch-like chair, while Hobbes assumed his position in the identical chair to the right of Darien.
The Official didn't look amused, and with a short glare, ignoring Darien as usual, he began. "There's been a murder south of Rachel, Nevada in a small town called Hafen. It's so small that it's not even on the map. A rest-stop town. Which is strange because nothing ever happens there."
"That's great. Really is," Darien said with a touch of sarcasm. "What does it have to do with us?"
"Not much, except the Agency's being paid to investigate."
Bobby raised an eyebrow. "That's a first. What's so great about this town that we need to investigate? I mean, I'm sure that the Feds are there and they probably have it handled."
"That's not important. All you need to know is that the victim is a young woman about twenty years old. She was fairly well-known, so the town's in a bit of an uproar trying to find the murderer. Keep an eye out for anything."
Darien nodded, and stood up. "Will do. Is that it?" He looked ready to bolt out of the room, obviously bored.
After a moment's pause to annoy the younger agent, The Official waved for him to leave. "That's it. Oh, and Claire will be joining you as soon as she's done with a little project I have asked her to work on. So she'll be seeing you in two days at the latest. In the meantime, I suggest you don't disappear too much." Without a second glance, the man looked down at the papers in front of him and started writing something as Eberts walked in the door, a little late.
"You started without me…" Eberts began while the two agents made their way out the door, giving Eberts a strange look.
Darien walked out with Hobbes right behind him. He walked at a steady, but pretty fast pace, and Hobbes jogged for a second to catch up to his partner.
"So, Nevada it is, huh, partner?" Hobbes felt awkward for some reason, and tried to make conversation.
"Yeah, I guess." Darien seemed less than enthusiastic as Hobbes was. He kept a straight face and walked out to his car in the parking lot. Hobbes continued by his side until they reached Fawkes' green car.
"What's wrong? You of all people should be glad to be getting out of here for a while." Bobby stood next to Darien's door as he got into the seat and shut the door.
"I'm just not excited about taking another trip for these people. Besides, it's almost Easter. I shouldn't be spending it in some small town that possibly has a murderer hanging around."
"Yeah," Hobbes agreed. "But who were you planning on spending Easter with?"
"That's not the point." As soon as that was said, Darien stepped on the gas pedal and sped away, leaving Hobbes standing in his smoke, confused and heartbroken for his unfortunate friend.