Author: Mirrordance

Title: For Every Evil

Summary: Legolas is a policeman in 2004. His colleagues start to wonder why the 10-yr veteran doesn't age & more trouble ahead after he runs across the Fellowship & some friends in modern incarnations, resurrected along with a new world-threatening peril.

33: Whodunit

A Motel,

Sinop, Turkey

The very breath he closed the door behind him, Legolas scrambled to reassemble all of his equipment. He was soaking wet with the rain, but it bothered him little, for his mind was certainly occupied elsewhere.

The elf was a born multi-tasker, and as his right hand worked to put together the wires of the laptop, his left hand grabbed the cellphone from inside his coat pocket and speed-dialed Elrohir's number. The Rivendell elf answered at half the first ring with an urgent, inquisitive Mellon-nin?

"Where are you?" Legolas asked.

"A block away from there," Elrohir replied dryly, "You're rather impatient, my prince."

Legolas refrained from replying for a moment, as the screen of the laptop was activated and once again showed the blips representing the locations of his friends all over Turkey.

"I'm getting us back on line," Legolas said, "I can see you. Comm. links should be up and running momentarily. I'm in the motel now."

"Good," replied Elrohir, "We'll be there in a few, mellon-nin."

"Fourth floor, room 11," Legolas said, "I will see you momentarily."
Legolas ended the call, and minimized the map of Sinop that showed all the locations of himself, Anatalia, Elrohir, Gandalf and Emmett. He also minimized the schematics of the Amazona that showed him where Aragorn, Eowyn, Faramir and Elladan were, just as he did the schematics of the hotel that showed him the unmoving locations of the comm. links Haldir and Goran disposed of. He focused on reviewing the recorded conversation of Bob Baggins with the head of local security.

This Black Sea Expedition was a very big operation headed by Professor Bob Baggins, with mentors Dean and Sean Malcolm as consultants. A team of 32 very intelligent, very eager students from all over the world were part of the expedition as their practicum. The Amazona, their home barge, was manned by a crew of 70 men and women, including sailors and cooks and maintenance people. They had an in-house medical staff of ten. They had a crew of 30 operating the big machinery like cranes to haul up their finds. They had another crew of 25 specializing in specialized robotics, for they used probing machines to look for great finds beneath the once seemingly impossible depths of the sea, where humans could not go.

Security was handled by three local firms: the Kemal, Leucothea and Trebizond Agencies. Kemal Security handled the workings aboard the Amazona-- they were basically there to ensure no one got sticky fingers.

Leucothea handled the docking bay security and also owned the Ino, the ferry ship that staff, crew and artifacts used to get from the barge to the shoreline of Sinop and back. They were there to ensure no artifacts got out of the Amazona without authorization, and no one got to the Ino (and consequently, the Amazona, since it is the only vessel authorized to ship people and things to and from the barge) without the proper passes.

The last firm, Trebizond, handled security in the mainland; the artifacts had to be taken to the display areas safely and securely, guarded when they were there, and then taken back to the docks to return to the Amazona, or to the airport or some museum or university elsewhere.

In sum, Kemal handled Ship Security while Leucothea handled Docking and Ferrying (justly so, for Leucothea was the new name given to Ino when she became the goddess of the sea) and Trebizond handled all land transfers and security.

The rationale was simple; the three firms were all held accountable by location (easier to track and hold responsible), and perhaps more importantly, since they were not of the same companies, the idea was that it would be harder for them to conspire toward thievery.

"So professor," the local investigator said, "Take me through the entire process of getting the display here."

"I locked the case myself," Baggins said, "Aboard the Amazona

"The three of us, together," Sean Malcolm piped in, "We all saw it, and then covered it up with the cloth."

"For a suspenseful element," added Dean.

"Around what time was this?" asked the investigator.

"Around four or five in the afternoon," replied Baggins, "We were all rushing, because we were running late. The visuals for the speech were crashed in my computer, eaten up by some sudden virus, so we needed to make last minute repairs. And when we were drawing up one of the probots—these machines that probe the bottom of the sea for us—the lines got tangled and the clouds foretold rain so we had to hurry, lest we risk damaging our multi-million dollar equipment. Then we had to get formally dressed too for this party, and the investors and sponsors were coming so we couldn't be late… The ship was a madhouse, and this is a terrible, terrible day."

"So you left the display with whom, as you attended to all these other things?" asked the investigator.

"A Security team from the Kemal agency," replied Baggins, "They take care of the guard as long as the territory is inside the Amazona. That is their jurisdiction, you remember I said this to you earlier?"
"So men from the Kemal Agency were guarding it," said the investigator, "And then?"

"Dressing up and fixing all the technical problems was taking a lot longer than we hoped," said Baggins, "And the clouds looked really bad. We were advised to go ashore at the earliest possible time; there is, after all, a reason why the Black Sea holds many wrecks in her bosom. The storms are legendary and fierce. We feared the loss of the Ankh in case of a disaster, so it was sent ahead to Sinop, before the rains started and the winds whipped at the sea."

"I escorted it," said Dean Malcolm, "Myself, along with a team from Leucothea Security, crossed the sea in the Ino, and then docked in Sinop without incident. The display was turned over to the Trebizond team and I went with them to bring it here, to the hotel. And then I left the display in their charge to go back and help with the problems aboard the Amazona

"Along this entire road," said the investigator, "the cover was never removed, never opened?"

"Never," said Malcolm, "That is the principle of a secret find until it is revealed after all."

"After we took care of all the problems in the barge," said Baggins, "We all rode the Ino together to the shore in Sinop, then to a car here in the hotel. And then… all the rest of it, you surely know."

Legolas glanced up at the knocking on the door. He rose from the desk and opened it without even looking at the new arrivals, knowing it would be Elrohir, Emmett and Gandalf.

"Legolas, you're soaking wet," Elrohir pointed out, "There's bound to be a towel in the washroom, go use it."

"I couldn't catch my death of cold even if I tried, mellon-nin," said Legolas flippantly, "And even if I could, I wouldn't put that towel against my skin to save my life. I wouldn't even touch the bloody bed. You did say the place was seedy, didn't you?"

Elrohir shook his head at him in amusement.

"Elrohir," said Legolas, "Would you kindly test if all the comms are back on-line? I must see to this Ankh matter."

"What do we know?" Gandalf inquired of Legolas, as Elrohir asked everyone to report in on their comm. to ensure it was in proper working order.

"Eowyn, over," they heard in the background.

"The display passed by too many hands," said Legolas to the wizard, wincing, "Three local security agencies. The Kemal agency while aboard the ship, The Leucothea Agency while crossing the sea, and The Trebizond Agency while on land."

"Elladan, over."

"There is this fantastic gap from when the Ankh was last seen to when it was revealed as vanished," said Legolas.

"Faramir, over."

"The last time it was seen was at four or five this afternoon," continued the Mirkwood elf, "And the loss was known at approximately nine in the evening, when the display was revealed."

And then Aragorn's voice, saying, "We are looking at Merry and Pippin right now."

Gandalf's head shot up, torn from the conversation he and Legolas were having. "Indeed?"

"In the mess hall," came Eowyn's endeared voice, "Eating as if there was no disaster hovering over their heads at all."

"Sam and Frodo?" Legolas inquired, "Boromir?"

"Not just yet," said Aragorn, "But most certainly here somewhere. What of this Ankh?"

"We have a five hour gap in which the theft could have been committed," said Legolas, "Anytime between four in the afternoon to nine at night."

"Maybe only 'til eight at night," said Emmett, "Might even be 'til just seven at night. That display was sitting there on that stage when the guests arrived. Goran was talking about it being guarded by eight men. Someone would have seen a thief trying to sneak onto the stage."

"Indeed," murmured Legolas appreciatively, "A three or four hour gap then. And this is almost certainly an inside job. The display was never left unattended."

"Suspects?" Gandalf asked.

"Dean Malcolm escorted it on sea and all the way to the hotel, he was the one constant amongst all the changing security hands," said Legolas, "But if he is indeed the culprit, he had accomplices because he was never left alone with the display. Ever. He could have taken it while aboard the Ino, which makes the Leucothea Security men as his accomplices. Or he could have taken it on the way to the hotel, and then the Trebizond Security men would have been his accomplices. Or if Dean Malcolm isn't guilty, then it must be the Trebizond men, because he ultimately left the display with them when he went back to the barge."

"Who isn't a suspect?" asked Aragorn wryly.

"Well Bilbo," replied Legolas, "when he was last in the presence of the Ankh, he was with a whole bunch of other people, and I'm sure witnesses can testify he's not been near that display until his speech. The same is the case for Sean Malcolm."

"Yet you do not trust him," Gandalf said, reading the elf-prince's face.

"I've not been…" Legolas said uncertainly, "I've not been such a believer in the power of changing for the better as of late. You understand. This is the creature Gollum, still, somewhere within."

"So we're looking at Dean Malcolm, Leucothea and Trebizond as suspects then," said Emmett, frowning, "Where do we go from here?"

"We're going to check at who was on shift within our time frame," said Legolas, "And then we're going to give them a bit of a visit."

"Wait one moment," Eowyn said, suddenly, "I have a thought but I cannot quite…" she sounded nervous, as if she was on the verge of something that could truly be an epiphany but could not quite grasp it, "You say that the men we… put down at the docks are supposed to be the Leucothea Security men, right? Because Leucothea is in charge of the dock security and the Ino?"

"Yes," replied Legolas.

"So they are supposed to be trained, theoretically," she continued, "But we managed to put them down so easily, didn't we? They were sailors, not fighters. And… and the watchman, when we broke into the Amazona. He said something to me that sounded funny. He said something like, why did Leucothea keep changing staff. Do you understand what I am trying to say?"

"It seems," Legolas murmured, "It seems the Leucothea Security men are not suspects at all. Perhaps… perhaps even victims."

Emmett looked at him thoughtfully. "What do you mean?"

"Indulge me," said Legolas, "I'm trying to find a way around this heist, if I was the thief. Pretend I'm Dean Malcolm. I bug the computer and sabotage the lines of the probots to keep Baggins and co. occupied. I volunteer to bring the Ankh ashore, accompanied by Leucothea security. But it's a trap. I get the Trebizond men to ambush the Leucothea men when we dock, maybe toss the bodies over the sea. I take the Ankh, and Trebizond heads to the hotel with an empty display. I hire local sailors—not hard to find along the shore of Sinop—to take me back to the Amazona, and then take myself, Bilbo and Smeagol back to Sinop for the evening's affair later as well. That's why the watchman asked why Leucothea kept changing staff—he encountered a different team when Dean Malcolm left, a different team when Dean Malcolm returned, and then a different team when he saw Eowyn. That's also why you folk encountered sailors while trying to accost the Ino, rather than the Security men who were supposed to be there instead."

"So we end up with Trebizond and Dean Malcolm," said Emmett.

"And we end up with the Ankh being either in Dean Malcolm's person--" said Elrohir, "Unlikely since he would surely expect to be searched—hidden inside the Amazona, hidden inside the Ino, or hidden somewhere along the road from the docks to the hotel."

"That's a whole bunch of places," muttered Legolas.

"But all this also means one thing," Gandalf said softly, "All the suspects—Dean Malcolm and the Trebizond guards—are inside the Hotel Ballroom."

The Hotel Ballroom

Sinop, Turkey

Jimmy Goran was anxiously wringing his wrists. They've already been searched and of course, the security folk discovered nothing suspicious on their persons. But he hated being out of the information loop—he was a hacker, knowledge and revelation was a grave calling he could never deny. But since he and Harding rid themselves of their comms, he had absolutely no idea what was happening to the other teams, or what Baggins was telling the security people.

"Relax," Haldir told him coolly, sliding a half-empty glass of brandy to him. Goran's glass was emptied long ago.

"I can't," muttered Goran, downing the remaining contents of Haldir's glass in a gulp, "I hate not-knowing."

Haldir glanced all around them; Goran wasn't the only one bothered by this, of course. Naturally, he himself was, but he's learned to handle the waiting better. But folk unused to the lulls before the storms, as most of the people in the ballroom was, gave the air a bit of an electrifying, contagious nervousness that was bound to implode in a space that was seemingly shrinking little by little.

The delectable open bar, he reflected wryly, Will be out of contents in no time at all…

Some of the people in the room were worried—they surely had other places to go, children to look after, work to do, et cetera. The more paranoid ones were anxious about being wrongly accused. The curious folk somehow managed to find each other and share wild theories, while the more adventurous ones sat back, ate their food, and happily awaited the unfolding of events, pleased to be a part of something so 'big.'

The neighbors of Haldir and Goran, sitting on the table nearest to them, belonged to a mix of all these categories. One of them had a video camera, and he was playing back the revelation of the theft over and over in his LCD. He was speaking in Turkish, and he kept insisting that perhaps if they all just looked close enough, they'd see who took the Ankh. The companions who looked over his shoulder said he was filled with bull crap. So he changed his tack and said that, all right, maybe not the theft itself, but if they all looked close enough, watched all the reactions, they'd see who looks guilty or nervous.

Haldir shook his head in amusement, and turned his attention to the stage, where the display case was being dusted for prints. He was torn from his observations by his ringing cellphone.

"Haldir?" It was Legolas.

"What's wrong?" the ex-elf asked the other at once.

"You recall the eight burly Turks guarding that case?" Legolas asked him.

"Yes," the Interpol agent replied, "What of them?"

"Did you have a good look at them?" inquired Legolas, "Such that you can spot them in a crowd?"

"I'm not certain," Haldir replied, "Why?"

"Are they there?" Legolas asked, "Can you see where they are?"

"I did not have that good of a look," Haldir said, turning to Goran and asking in a low voice, "Gimli, the eight Turks guarding the display. Can you see them?"

The hacker looked about, and his brows furrowed and shook his head. He did not know what was happening and fervently desired to know, but he bided his time.

"It seems…" Haldir murmured, "It seems that they've vanished without a trace."

"They would be questioned first, I reckon," said Goran, "Maybe they are being interrogated somewhere. Why?"

"But there was not very many security here earlier in the night, other than themselves remember?" Haldir pointed out, "They'd have first secured all the exits to ensure that any thief couldn't get out. They'd have had the run of the place." Haldir looked around him anxiously. "Legolas…? What of them?"

"We've lost our suspects then," the elf breathed from the other end of the line, "Our suspects for now are Dean Malcolm and those men. Perhaps they took the opportunity to escape when they closed everyone else in that hotel."

Haldir's eyes drifted to the local from earlier, the man with the video camera who was rapidly loosing the attention of his audience.

"Do you need photographs, Legolas?" Haldir asked.

"If you have them, that would help," replied the elf, "I can try to hack into the Trebizond Security files but that is of course Jimmy Goran's forte, and these older firms might not even have an electronic database updated in real-time for names of employees and shifts and locations."

"I will secure your photographs," Haldir said, "I will call you back." Haldir ended the call and turned to the local from earlier, asking to borrow the video camera and view the event in Turkish. 'Your theories intrigue me,' Haldir lied.

The man, as expected, yielded the video camera and spoke at length about his theories. Haldir decided not to listen. He rewound the tape to early in the evening, and found the footage of the eight security men guarding the display.

Now to get this to Legolas…

Goran, ever the digeratti, handed him his cellphone. Like the latest models, it was equipped with a handy camera that enabled the sending of photographs as MMS, rather than the plain-text SMS. Haldir suppressed a smile as he aimed the lens toward the video camera's LCD…

But the local abruptly wrenched the video camera from his hands, saying, 'What are you doing?'

Haldir wracked his brain for a decent reply. 'I am sending the photos to my editor. I am with the Press.'

'I'm selling this to CNN, C-SPAN, NBC, FOX…' said the local man, 'You are not getting anything for free.'

Haldir frowned at him. Of course, he and Gimli could always toss the stubborn man out on his ass. But such an act was more trouble than it was worth, these days. These days, you could get arrested, and sued, even if the stubborn lout you socked desperately deserved it…

Goran stared at the Interpol agent, awaiting a signal, likely thinking along the same lines. But Haldir, as always, had something else in mind.

"He wants to sell the footage to the big news companies," said Haldir, "I believe we both know someone with a big, bad press card."

"And a bigger checking account," Goran said with a glint in his eye, grabbing his cellphone from Harding's hand and calling for Anatalia Craxi.

It was out of a bit of vindictiveness that Jimmy Goran, always the master of second-story work, palmed the invitation from the local man's coat pocket. He supposed he wanted the feeling of having taken something from the man, after having been so denied the video they needed.

Anatalia Craxi was smartly dressed in her dark traveling suit made evening/formal-ready by glinting diamond jewelry and a clever chignon in, Haldir noted, eight minutes flat.

The Interpol agent and the hacker met her at the main doors, and though the pair was ready with their stolen invitation, the security men who were manning the entrance let her inside, not even asking for one.

The woman, Haldir mused, must have been born with blue blood and a bratty, unquestionable streak that made itself known at will.

She passed by the security folk with barely a glance of acknowledgement, and breathed relief only when she was inside.

"So where's my video man?" she asked.

"You know," said Goran, suddenly uncertain, "You don't actually have to buy the thing. We just have to make a show out of buying it so that we could have it. Give him a check, write out as much as you want, and then get me in front of my computer later, give me two minutes, and he'll never get that money. You ah, can even have some of his own if you want."

"Oh but I do believe in paying for extraordinary news footage," Ana said, "I'll give him the going rate, and then the reel goes to Craxi Multimedia after we use it. We'll make millions. I'm a practical woman."

A Motel

Sinop, Turkey

"Oh for the love of the Valar," they heard Elladan mutter over the comm., just as Legolas' phone received a series of MMS's from Jimmy Goran.

"What's wrong?" Legolas asked the Rivendell elf, his heart pumping in anxiety. He hated to be thus so cut off from the danger his friends were in, and they were literally a sea away.

"Oh nothing," Elladan muttered, "Was it too hard to ask her to stay still? What is she doing in there with them?"

The Mirkwood elf frowned, unsure of what the other was talking about. Because the rest of the Amazona team remained silent, and Elladan was referring to a very pointed, helplessly frustrated she, Legolas decided it was more a personal matter.

The Mirkwood elf reached for his cellphone and viewed the files from Goran. The reception was not quite crystal clear, but it was certainly clear enough. He uploaded the photographs of the eight Trebizond Security men from his phone and into the computer with another one of Jimmy Goran's fancy cords, and showed the pictures to Elrohir, Gandalf and Emmett.

"'Dan," asked Elrohir, "What were you talking about?"

"The man who took all the shots of the suspects wasn't willing to lend it to Haldir and Gimli," said Elladan, "So Craxi Multimedia, represented by my stubborn Ana, went and bought it on the spot. They sent me a courtesy heads-up. A bloody photograph of the three of them smiling jauntily at me—are they not apologetic at all?"

"I'm sure she'll be safe, mellon-nin," Legolas said easily. He dialed Haldir's number. "I've received your message, thank you."

"It will be of help?" Haldir asked.

"Yes, very," Legolas affirmed, "Ana's still there?"

"Yes," Haldir answered, and Legolas imagined him wincing by the tone in his voice, "We can't get her to leave. She said she's here already and so she really might as well stay."

Legolas frowned in… well, envy. Soon enough, Gandalf, Elrohir and Emmett will be away, searching for the fugitive guards. And he'd remain in this seedy little room, alone and out of the action again.

"Just try and keep each other alive," he sighed, ending the call.

"Send the photos to my mobile," Emmett murmured, looking over his shoulder at the eight men featured on the screen.

"Accomplices in a theft as great as this," said Elrohir, "They'll likely be on the way to the airport, if they are not there already. They'd take the first flight out. Any flight out. I certainly would."

"Perhaps the rains will delay any travel," Gandalf said, "We must get there at once."

The wizard gave Legolas an assuring pat on the back, just before he led the way out the door.

The Mess Hall,

The Amazona,

The Black Sea

They watched the two hobbits dine discreetly. It was a bit fanciful, seeing them so tall and lanky, and young and as sprightly as always. Save for the height, and the clothes, very few things changed of Merry and Pippin. They surely charmed Andan into extra servings, and amused each other with jokes of all sorts that reverberated in the quiet dining hall.

Once in awhile, the pair glanced up at the only other party in the room, and gave them cautious smiles and nods of acknowledgement. It was, Elladan reflected, rather surreal. As surreal as when he saw Legolas in a Los Angeles hotel drinking fancy coffee. As surreal as shaking hands with Estel ages after his much-mourned passing. As surreal as Mithrandir in a squad car. As surreal as a Boromir alive and walking, as surreal as Eowyn and Faramir finding each other across generations and across shores, or Haldir of Lothlorien once again alive except for the fact that he was human, or Gimli the dwarf now being the tallest amongst all of them…

His mind was reeling. The 'normal' life he's led over the centuries seemed so distant, even as he knew it was only days ago. Things have changed, were changing still, and he found himself wondering who he will be tomorrow.

"'Ey!" Pip Took greeted them with a wave, making his voice louder as he and Mark Brandy were seated in the other end of the room.

Shall I reply 'Yo?' Elladan thought wryly, Or was that the norm way back in the early 90's?

"'Ey," Aragorn said more hesitantly, ill-at-ease with the street language/lingo.

"Who are you?" Pip asked, munching on his food.

"We're stranded," Eowyn lied.

"The rains are that bad?" Mark inquired.

"It's a nightmare outside," Eowyn said, "The Captain was kind enough to let us stay awhile."

"We're kind of stranded too," Pip said.

"You are not sailors?" Faramir felt compelled to inquire, though he of course knew the answer.

Pip snorted a laugh. "No. Eh, Mark. Remember that only time we wore uniforms like that was for the jig with that YMCA bit for that program?"

"That was a bloody nightmare," Mark muttered, "One I would not only rather not share with people we do not know, I want to forget about it completely."

"We had a bit of a laugh about it," Pip said, suddenly wistful, "I kind of miss school."

"Well I would too," Mark said wryly, "If I saw as little of it as you, eh?"

"Clever lad, are you?" Pip said impishly, not bothering to deny.

The familiarity of the laughter was making Aragorn smile, warming him all over, strengthening his heart. He knew then, that things will never get so bad, as long as they are all together.

The Deck,

The Amazona,

The Black Sea

Things of course, oft got worse before they got better.

The roaring of the ship's maintenance and operations facilities would have drowned out the sound of the approaching craft, if the whipping storm winds and the waves they've invoked did not. The pilots of the three heavy-duty helicopters were a bunch of mavericks, and handily maneuvered the craft to land on the helipad of the massive Amazona despite the murderous weather. The team in the mess hall below decks couldn't have heard it, or if they did, the sound was dulled and mutated, and they likely wouldn't have recognized it anyway.

Grissom Warrington stepped down from the craft, flanked by a security force that was armed to the teeth and numbered in the 30's. No watchman met them immediately (for a reason that only Eowyn and company knew), and Warrington frowned in displeasure.

They waited a breath, and he ordered his pilots to settle down awhile, made sure they secured the crafts on the ship. He expected the pick-up to be fast and efficient, but absolutely no one was entertaining him.

A minute or two later, an officer garbed in a rain coat stepped toward them, asking, "May I help you?"

"I am expected by Professor Malcolm," Warrington replied coolly, "Where is he?"

"He's not returned from the hotel, sir," said the officer, "I'm going to need some identification, please. You cannot be here without the requisite passes."

"I am expected—" Warrington said again, only to be cut off by the officer.

"I must ask you to leave," the man said, "You cannot be here without the—"

Warrington drew out a gun from beneath his coat and shot the man right then and there. The storms barely permitted a recognizable sound, not even the thud of the lifeless body upon the deck.

"Clean it up," Warrington told his men, as he grabbed his cellphone in irritation, saying to the man on the other end of the line, "Where the bloody hell are you with my goddamn prize?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Hey guys!!! Thanks so much for the c&c's…

I warned you it was a crazy chapter, didn't I? :) I hope I didn't drive you just as crazy. I worked real hard on this the past few days, because I wanted to post it in the soonest possible time— I don't want to keep you guys waiting too long (since I hate waiting myself, haha). I know I don't respond to reviews but I DO READ THEM and because I have so little time, I figured you'd want me to get on with the fic first and quick-posting is, in my own way, a BIG MASSIVE THANK YOU to all you guys. But I will put up all the responses at the end of the fic, which is nearing day by day :)

I also wanted to say a big, bad HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! to my super wonderful reviewers Mischa Kitsune and Starlit Jewel. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!!!

THAQNK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all who read and all who reviewed. I know we all have so little time and I truly appreciate it that you spend some of it with me and my fic.

So… chapter 34 will see Legolas coming to some pretty stubborn decisions, as well as some action for Elrohir. Expect everything and everyone to begin to converge into the Amazona… 'TIL THEN!!!!