"My name is Catherine Bell. Three years ago, when I graduated from NYU with the highest rank and a double major in European History and Archeology, I was recruited by a secret branch of the government, known as DUI, the Division of Unknown Intelligence.

At first it was too hard, too much to take in. This cell of the CIA studied the paranormal, historical artifacts, biblical miracles, and anything that appeared clairvoyant in today's society.

I was a person bent on finding the truth, the factual. I did not sign up immediately, until they forwarded me evidence of the Da Vinci Code, and it was then that I began to take interest in the subject.

Two weeks ago, as my team raided a black market artifacts store (which, by the way, contained the infamous Holy Grail), I stumbled upon a book that turned my world upside down." She paused, taking in a breath. The head of the CIA glanced up from his desk, his left eyebrow raised.

"Please continue, Ms. Bell". She glared, her wrists desperately scraping against the cuffs attached to her.

"Forgive me for being prude, but what I'm about to say, your not going to believe."

He read through her file. "Try me."

********

"Base, this is Gambler." The walky talky scrambled.

"What's your position, Gambler?" She looked around. Her partner had a gun to the owner, while her team looked through various files and boxes.

"We have the Package."

The voice at the other end sighed. "Good work, Gambler."

She wiped the sweat off her brow with her left arm. A few strands of black hair brushed her eye, and she blew them off. Her eyes stung, as dust seeped through.

The raid went as planned. They had been tipped off that the Russian Mafia, the GSA, was after the Holy Grail, and it was hidden in an antiquities shop just south of Prague. This bust was a huge deal, and she smiled at her partner.

"Kat, what do you think of this?" The voice belonged to her partner, William Hunter, a middle aged man obsessed with all things mythological.

She took the book he held, and wiped off the dust. There was no markings on the cover or side.

Opening it, the first page was a map. More specifically, a map of Rohan, a fictional land in the famous Lord of the Rings books. She raised her eyebrow slightly. "Its just a copy of one of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels." Saying this to Hunter was like giving beer to a college kid.

"May I?" He asked, his blue eyes shining wide. She couldn't refuse.

He flipped through the first few pages gently. "Strange."

She peered over him. "What?"

"This doesn't appear to be a book about anything written by Tolkien. It has dates and numbers in every corner. Kat- this is…this could be his journal."

He held it like it was the Holy Bible. Kat peered around. The rest of the team was unloading boxes into the van outside. All of a sudden a black van came raging around the corner.

"Hunter, we got company." He quickly placed the book inside his jacket, and together they went towards the back of the store as gunshots sounded. Kat held the Holy Grail in her hand, a cloth over it.

She heard the sounds of screams, and she signaled to Hunter to go out the back door. He shook his head, loading his gun. She peeked under her hiding desk to see a pair of black boots nearby.

"Find the Package. Kruschev needs it immediately." His voice was deep, with a hint of a Russian flaw.

"Kruschev!" she mouthed to Hunter, who was hidden behind a basket. He nodded.

Guns cocked, and she gulped. Footsteps were coming closer. She bit her tongue til it bled. Signaling to Hunter, she revealed her hiding spot, her arms up.

"Don't shoot!" She said, making sure she herself fained a Czech accent. "I am the owner's assistant! Take what you want!"

Two arms seized her, and she was brought to the front of the store. Two, no, three guards and the main man stood before her.

The man with the deep voice walked over to face her. He was surprisingly young, maybe in his mid thirties, his shaggy blonde hair giving him the appearance of an evil looking Brad Pitt.

"Do not play tricks with me. You are American." He stuck a gun to her forehead and cocked it. "Why are you here?"

Someone searched her. The artifact was taken from her and put in a briefcase. He smirked.

"I remember you." She paused, her eyes narrowing. There WAS something very familiar about him. "I can see your trying to remember as well." He passed the briefcase to one of his associates, who put it in the van outside.

"Venice. Two years ago. I was recovering a book that revealed an apocalyptic weapon, when I ran into you." He unrolled his sleeve. A huge red scar ran along his forearm. Her brain clicked. She had clipped him with a nearby antique 17th century Samurai sword when he fired on her. She had saved the book from his reach, but the place was destroyed in an explosion, as well as the book. His hair was longer now, and before he had a mustache and gote.

"I remember." She spoke normally now, with no hint of an accent. He nodded, a slight smile still evading his broad face.

"You are quite a firecracker. Too bad we had to meet under such stressful circumstances."

"Too bad." She repeated, her eyes never wavering. A gunshot sounded, and she ducked as her enemy dropped the gun and clutched his left shoulder. The other men now let loose their bullets, and she ran as fast as she could to the rear of the store, where the back door was open.

"Kat, get outside, I'll cover you!" She jumped the steps and opened the door to her car. Soon Hunter followed, and they screeched down the street as gunshot fired on them.

***Back at DUI headquarters…2 days later…****

Kat sat at her desk, her pencil lightly tapping on her report paper. "Kat!" Hunter exclaimed, jogging to her desk. He put that same book open in front of her.

"Your not going to believe this." His smile was wide, his eyes dreamily giddy.

They walked towards the conference room, a room that contained one huge long table, twelve chairs, and a screen in front of each. Mr. Stephen Windsor, their boss, welcomed them in.

"What's going on?" She looked to both of the two men, then took a seat. The screen in front of her flashed on.

"First, I wanted to let you know we recovered the artifact GSA stole from you a day ago, but unfortunately, the man you had a run in with got away once more."

"Any intel on him?" she asked, her finger twisting her black hair around in a circle.

His face appeared on screen. "His name is Michael Mikolav, second in command of the GSA to Kruschev. He's responsible for the theft of over 12 black market antiquities, all clues relating to the whereabouts of a key. What this key does, we do not know. But that is not why we are here." Windsor scratched his head.

"We are here because Mr. Hunter discovered something the DUI finds very…well…impossible. It is the journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, but in it it contains evidence that Middle Earth, is in fact, a real place."

Her eyes widened, and she smiled slightly. "Mr. Windsor, I signed on to the DUI to discover truth, not chase after fiction. Obviously this text is just another fiction novel for pleasure reading."

"See, that's where your wrong, Ms. Bell. Tolkien, we have come to learn, was a prophet of the early 20th century. In his journal, he predicted things that happened in the 1980s, the 1990s, all the way up until 9/11. In his journal, he also reveals the truth about Middle Earth. He was, in fact, a Wizard of Mithrindar. You are familiar with the books, correct?" She nodded, her mind shaking in laughter.

"Good. Now, Hunter has deciphered the Elven language parts, and it reveals that the War of the Ring, was also a prophecy. In fact, according to Hunter's calculations, it is going on right now." Her mouth was open her eyes still held in disbelief. Did she really work for an agency that believed in the Lord of the Rings?

She spoke out, "With all due respect, Mr. Windsor, Hunter…this is madness. Shear madness." She expected them to laugh and say April Fool's or something. Only two solemn faces stared her down. "So you really think this is true?"

"You should know by now, Ms. Bell, that truth is in the eye of the beholder. We don't know for sure anything, but I received other intel that is of more importance."

The screen changed. "This message was recorded yesterday when we seized the Holy Grail from Mikolav."

She watched. It was Mikolav on the phone, and she could hear his conversation. "Yes, we got the Grail. No, We could not find the book as well……no, no sir, I'm sure we can get it back….I'll call you tomorrow when I have it in my hands."

Mr. Windsor began talking again. "Now, perhaps this is just coincidence, but that book was stolen last night from the archives. An inside job. If the GSA is planning what I think they are planning, Kruschev wants the One Ring."

"Has the whole world gone insane?" She rose from her chair. "This can't possibly be true-"

"I assure you, Ms Bell, that if it isn't you can gloat all you want. But before the book was taken, Hunter wrote down a very- shall we say, powerful message that Tolkien wrote at the end of the journal. We believe that message to be a code to..er…transport the person that says it, to Middle Earth."

She looked at both men. O good God, she thought. I'm wasting my life.

"We are to find the Ring before the GSA does. No doubt they will send men in t take it." Hunter looked down.

"Go to Middle Earth, you say? Steal the One Ring?"

Hunter exclaimed. "Of course not! We are human, after all. We must accompany Frodo to make sure the Ring is destroyed."

Frodo? Oh God. Perhaps she was dreaming. She had seen strange things these past three years, but this one tops it off. Still, if this was a dream, it would be quite an adventure.

"When do we leave?" she asked as she sighed. Hunter smiled.

"Tonight."

***

"Guns?"

"Check."

"Ammo?"

"Check"

"Sword?"

"Hunter!" She hit his arm. He laughed outright. They were located in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains, a high place where Hunter thought they could transport best from. She rolled her eyes at the thought.

In the few hours she had before the 'journey', she spent at the gym, kickboxing with her trainer. It always cleared her head.

"Let's get this over with so I can get home in my soft bed." she exclaimed. He raised an eyebrow, then took out the piece of paper. It was in Elvish.

"Of course," she murmured. He started speaking, and suddenly she became deaf. She looked to her partner, whose eyes were closed, his hand resting on hers. Then a wave of nausea hit her, and the mountains began to spin. Had Hunter slipped her something in her canteen? Her eyes became weary, and her body felt heavy, but still Hunter held her strong.

She fell to the ground, her eyes closing. She blinked, then felt the grass beside her head. She was sprawled out in the middle of a green field, and Hunter lay beside her, though he was fully awake. Both sat up.

"No way." she gasped. Her partner stared wide eyed at the scenery before him.

"Its like I imagined,' he whispered.

A forest lay behind them. Struggling to get up, Hunter helped Kat to her feet. "If this is true, I hope you know where we're going. The last time I read Lord of the Rings was in high school."

A low grumble bellowed from the forest behind. "I do believe this is the edge of Fangorn Forest."

She looked to the West. "It looks like something's coming our way, Hunter."

He tore his eyes to where she looked. He gulped. "Well, I know when we are in the book, Kat. This is the part where a stream of orcs take Merry and Pippin and rest at the edge of the Forest." Her memory was coming back to her, and she closed her eyes in frustration.

"Why couldn't it have been during Aragorn's coronation or sometime after the Ring was destroyed?"

He peered to the road that would lead the orcs to them. "I don't know, but we have to decide what to do fast here."