Chapter 1 -

"Hey, Check this out," Darien said to Bobby as they did some surveillance on a suspect wanted for money laundering. Darien handed the binoculars over to Hobbes. They were both sitting in Bobby's van across the road from a beachfront house. Bobby had a pair of headphones hanging around his neck.
"What am I supposed to be looking at here?" Bobby asked.
"The cute chick in the blue dress," Darien replied. Bobby grabbed the binoculars and scanned the area.
"I don't see any chick in a blue dress," he grumbled as Darien laughed.
"There wasn't. I was bored. Thought I would liven things up," Darien said with a grin.
"Fawkes, Surveillance is a serious business," Bobby said bringing one of the headphones up to his ear.
"It's boring. The guy comes out. Buys a newspaper. Goes back in. Calls his dentist. Comes back out. Gets a coffee. Reads the newspaper. Goes back..."
"All right Fawkes. I get the idea," Bobby said interrupting his partner's rant.
"I mean. How much more boring a life can you lead," Darien said rubbing his temples. "Besides I have a headache."
"You're what? I thought you only got a shot this morning?" Bobby said looking at his partner with concern.
"Not one of those headaches. Normal common garden-variety headache. So The Keeper told me anyway," replied Darien.
"Common garden variety headache!" repeated Bobby keeping an eye on the house.
"Yeah. That's what she called it," replied Darien. "She said she didn't think it had to do with the gland. That all I need do to is take it easy. Can you imagine that? If I went to The Official and told him that I had a non-QSM headache and needed time off. Coming to think of it I do need some time off. Do you think he will give it to me?"
"I don't think so partner. I think you need to be seriously injured or dead to get time off. Do you know I haven't had a vacation in..." Bobby went off on a rant about not getting any time off. Darien took up the binoculars again.
"Hey now there's a cute chick," he said watching as a woman walked toward the suspect's house.
"No start that again," Bobby said.
"No seriously. Phew...She IS a babe," Darien said.
"Let's see," Bobby said grabbing the binoculars. "She's hot."
They watched as their suspect let the woman in. Bobby had the headphones back on his head. He chuckled after a while.
"What?" Darien asked as Bobby kept laughing. "What?"
"They're doing it, man," Bobby laughed.
"Doing what?" asked Darien not really wanting to know the answer.
"They are having sex," Bobby chuckled.
Darien tried to grab the headphones from Bobby but Bobby took them off.
"It's their personal business," Bobby said.
"Well I'm not waiting around for them to finish. I'm going back to the office. This is a waste of time," Darien said. Bobby nodded and started up the van.

"I'm telling you man. JFK and Lincoln died a hundred years apart. Lincoln died in 1863. JFK died in 1963..." Bobby said to Darien as they walked through the Agency's hallways.
"That's just a coincidence," Darien replied stopping outside The Official's office.
"Coincidence or not. Here's another..." Bobby started to say but stopped short inside the office when he saw The Official glaring at him.
"What are you two going on about now?" The Official asked gruffly.
"Well sir Hobbesy here thinks there is a weird connection between..."
"I don't want to hear about," barked The Official. Eberts was hovering over the Official's shoulder.
"It really is fascinating, sir," Bobby said with a wry smile. He looked over at Darien who was sitting in the chair in front of the Official's desk.
"You sat down?" asked Bobby.
"What?" asked Darien.
"You sat down without him telling you to," replied Bobby.
"He doesn't have to tell me to sit down. I sat down because I wanted to sit down," replied Darien grinning.
"You looking for some brownie points or something?" asked Bobby.
"No I wasn't in the brownies," replied Darien looking at his partner.
The Official looked at the two men arguing in front of him and sighed in exasperation.
"Shut up both of you," the official said to them cutting Bobby off in mid sentence. The two men looked at each other and smirked.
"Did you get anything from your surveillance this afternoon?" he asked.
"A headache," muttered Darien trying to avoid The Official's glare.
"Well sir. From our observation we observed that the suspect was observed leading a very boring life," Bobby said.
"A very boring life," repeated Darien nodding in agreement.
"There is nothing to suggest from the said observation that he is involved in money laundering. The lead we got was a bum one," Bobby said.
"So you learned nothing," The Official said.
"That's not quite true sir. The said suspect had a visitor," Bobby said.
"A lady visitor," Darien said looking at Bobby who sniggered.
"And?" asked The Official.
"They were doing the old horizontal limbo, sir," Bobby said.
The Official sighed and then stood up to look out the window. He turned back around to look at Bobby and Darien.
"The Department wants us to get this guy," he eventually said.
"Oh really and which Department is this then?" asked Darien with a small laugh. Bobby sniggered as well.
"You know which Department. Any more of your nonsense and I'll suspend the both of you," the Official almost shouted. This was like dealing with a pair of teenagers he thought to himself. "I want you both back out there now." The Official pointed his finger out the window.
"Ah, right chief," Darien grumbled as he stood up. Bobby looked at The Official and then followed Darien out the door muttering under his breath.

"A," Bobby said as the two men sat in the van watching the house again.
"What?" asked Darien keeping his eyes on the house.
"It's a game. You go down the alphabet and you have to say an animal which corresponds with that letter. 3 points of you get it right. 0 points if you don't," replied Bobby.
Darien looked at his partner thinking he was mad and rolled his eyes.
"Come on. It will keep us occupied," Bobby said as he turned up the volume on the headphones.
"Hobbes, Do you think you could think of something more, Oh I don't know adult, to discuss," Darien said.
Bobby sighed. "I don't think his lady friend is still there,"
"Is anyone there?" asked Darien.
"I don't hear anything," replied Bobby looking out his van window.
"Well I don't see anything," Darien said getting out of the van.
"Where are you going?" asked Bobby.
"To do a bit of invisible recon, my friend," Darien said. He made sure there was no one around and then he quicksilvered as he crossed the road. He was just at the front door to the beach house when he heard a car coming up the driveway. He watched as the man they were watching and the woman who visited him earlier climb out of the car and walk to the front door.
"Do you think it's working, Bernard?" the woman asked.
"I don't know Cristelle," Bernard replied opening the front door. Bernard paused at the front door and looked across the street to where the van is parked.
"I have a feeling it may be though," Bernard said as he went in. Darien just about made it through the front door before it shut.
"Why?" Cristelle asked. Bernard looked at her and put his index finger to his mouth. He went into the lounge room and looked out the front window. He had a clear view of the van. Cristelle followed him. Bernard then went over to the stereo. He selected an opera CD and put it on. He turned the music up to the maximum level.
Out in the van Bobby jumped with the sound of the opera coming through the headphones.
"Goddamn it," he said taking off the headphones. He rubbed his ears trying to get the ringing sound out.

Inside the house Darien watched as Bernard went over to a cupboard. Bernard opened it. Darien looked in disbelief as the cupboard revealed a small room filled with all sorts of guns and ammunition.
"This is what it's about," Bernard said.
Darien looked around for a way out of the house. He saw that the door to the beach was open. He walked slowly towards the door. As soon as he was on the beach he let the quicksilver flake off him as he ran to the van.
"Let's get the hell out of here," he said as he jumped into the van.
"What? What's going on? Apart from the fact that my eardrums are nearly busted," Bobby said switching on the engine.
"Guns, man. And lots of 'em. He has enough to start an army," replied Darien looking back as Bernard came out of the house. The van tore off down the road with the breaks squealing. Bernard grinned when he saw the van take off.
"Is that them?" Cristelle asked coming out of the house.
"Yes," Bernard replied. "The Official must be taking it seriously if he sends his two top men." Bernard went back into the house.
"So the plan is in motion then," Cristelle said smiling.

"Chief, I saw enough guns and ammo in that house that warrants the FBI down there," Darien told The Official.
"Fawkes. I can't get the FBI in," replied The Official.
"Why not?" asked Darien. He looked over at Bobby who shrugged.
"You were in the house illegally," replied The Official looking through the report.
"I was invisible," Darien said.
"That may be so but it was still illegal," The Official said standing up.
"What?"
"I asked you two to watch the suspect. That meant outside. In the Van. With no listening equipment. The job did not require you to use the quicksilver," The Official said throwing the file on the table.
Darien laughed. The Official glared at him. "This is no laughing matter Fawkes," he said.
"That's a crock of shit," Darien said getting angry.
"Fawkes, anymore of that and you'll be suspended," The Official said.
Bobby looked over at his partner who looked like he was about to rip The Official's head off.
"Hey Partner, calm down," Bobby said. Darien looked at Bobby.
"Do you think there is something else going on here?" Darien asked Bobby. Bobby nodded.
"Yeah. Thought so from the moment we got the assignment. Chief what the hell is going on?" asked Bobby.
The Official sighed and opened his briefcase. He opened it and took out a manila envelope.
"This is strictly confidential. It doesn't leave this room, " he said handing the envelope to Bobby. Bobby opened the envelope and looked through the contents. Bobby sighed and looked up with a worried expression on his face.
"Is this for real?" he asked.
"Yes," replied The Official as Bobby handed the file over to Darien.
"So what now?" asked Bobby.
"I want you two to stay on the assignment. I'm also going to brief Agent Monroe," The Official said taking the envelope back of Darien and putting it back in his briefcase.
Darien and Bobby looked at each other and stood up. "Stay alert," The Official said as they left the room.
Darien and Bobby were silent for a while as they walked down to the street. They met Alex coming in.
"What's up with you two? You both look like you lost a dollar and found a cent," Alex said when she saw their faces.
"Oh. The Chief wants to see you," replied Darien.
"I know. I got the call. I'll see you guys later," replied Alex and went off in the direction of her office.
"Are you going home?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah. I'm beat. I need to get some sleep," replied Darien.
"Ok meet you outside you tomorrow usual time," Bobby said walking off.
"Hey," Darien called after him. Bobby turned and saw the expression on Darien's face.
"What?" asked Bobby but Darien said nothing at first.
"Nothing," he eventually said. Bobby watched as Darien drove off.

Darien took his keys out of his pocket as he walked up to his apartment. He was about to put the key in the lock when he noticed the door was slightly open. He looked around but saw no one. He quicksilvered as he pushed the door open. He went inside and looked around but there seemed to be nothing out of place in his apartment. As he closed the door he let the quicksilver flake off him. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck and he blacked out.

TBC