CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Catching Sight of the Suspects

ICOSA Team

Malcolm and Jorge were awaiting the arrival of the Council members at the private airstrip they themselves had arrived at not 24 hours earlier. How, did things get so screwed up in such a short period of time, Malcolm kept asking himself.

He had left Sterling and Daniel in town, looking for signs of Alex and the mysterious Lycan that had taken her. They had strict instructions to report in every 30 minutes; but so far, they had come up empty handed.

In fact, there seemed to be no sign of any supernatural activity whatsoever. But, considering what they had found back at the subway, and their more recent discovery at the train station, the lack of lycans and vampires in the area was not surprising.

They had gone out early that morning, after having gotten a very little sleep. Malcolm had decided to check out the train station and airport, hoping to catch a glimpse of their missing comrade. The airport had turned up nothing, and they found no sign of her at the train station either. But, they had found an empty railcar full of dead vampires. The vamps had obviously been attacked by a large group of lycans: their throats had been torn out and several had been eviscerated.

This mission had turned out very little information; and had only generated more questions. Which made the current situation even more difficult. Why were the vampires and lycans killing off each other? Never had any of them ever seen such massive slaughter amongst these two groups; except during wartime. Of course, a war between the species hadn't happened in hundreds of years, and none of the current Council members or operatives had been alive during those wars.

The radio at his shoulder suddenly crackled to life, bringing Malcolm out of his musings. "No sign of Alex", he heard Daniel's monotone voice clearly reporting. Malcolm noticed Daniel's voice no longer held the tinge of anger that had been present since he had ordered their group to kill their former team member. In fact, it seemed as if Daniel had shut off all his emotions. Good, he didn't need anyone reacting emotionally should they find Alex.

"Have Thomas and Sir William arrived?" Daniel asked.

Malcolm could see a small charter plane circling above, "Their plane is getting ready to land", he answered back , "which means they should be disembarking soon. You've got about 30 minutes before you need to meet back up with us at our official headquarters", he told Daniel. "Just make sure you and Sterling are at the office when we get there.", he instructed the waiting Irishman.

"Okay, that. Sterling wants to look a little closer at some office buildings here in the city. We're gonna go through them then head on over. Out." Daniel said informing his new team leader of their plans, as he signed off.

By this time, the small plane was taxiing down the runway, coming to a stop a hundred yards or so from where he and Jorge stood waiting. He watched the two elder Council members disembark from the plane.

They waited for the two men to walk over, Malcolm noting that Sir William looked gray and tired. Thomas McMillan, walked directly over to Malcolm and held out his hand in greeting. Malcolm grabbed the offered hand and shook it. It seemed that Thomas had aged considerably since he last saw him a mere two months ago. Was it due to Alex's disappearance? Probably.

"Do you have any news"? Thomas asked dropping Malcolm's hand and offering the same greeting to Jorge.

"No sir, there has been no sign of Agent Douglas nor the lycan responsible for her current predicament", Malcolm answered honestly.

"How hard can it be to find them in a city of this size", Sir William asked irritated?

"I'm sure the team is doing all they can to locate them, William", Thomas answered unperturbed. "These men are very good at their jobs, they will do what is necessary to ensure Alex is not a threat to anyone."

"That's what you said about Agent Douglas, and look at where we are now", the other Council member reminded him. "You assured me that if anyone could find the answers we sought, it would be Alex Douglas. Now, not only do we not have any conclusive answers to our questions, but we also have a rouge Agent out there on the loose. There is no telling how many humans she may have attacked", he finished.

Malcolm noted the tight lines that had appeared around Thomas's mouth, and the way he clinched his hands at his side. He was trying to control his anger, and doing a fine job, Malcolm thought.

Surprisingly enough, it was Jorge that replied to the haughty Sir William. "Sir, Agent Douglas has not had the opportunity to turn, as there has been no full moon since she went missing. But, even if she is alive out there, I know Agent Douglas would sooner take her own life than injure or kill an innocent individual", he said objecting to the man's criticism of his fallen team leader.

Malcolm put a reassuring hand on Jorge's shoulder, conveying his approval of the young man's outburst. "I agree with Jorge, Thomas", Malcolm said to the one Council member he trusted. "I don't believe Alex would allow herself to harm another human being. Wherever she is, she will jump on the first opportunity to take herself, and any other lycans around, out of the equation." He had purposely ignored Sir William and his outburst; hoping the annoying Council member would take it for the insult that was intended.

"I concur with Agent Smythe and Agent Garcia", Thomas, said, sorrow lining his face. Turning to face his fellow Council member, he vented some of his anger, "William, we are all concerned with the current situation. But, my recommendation for Agent Douglas to lead this mission was the right decision. There is no other operative I trust more than Alex. The Council knew this was a troublesome issue going into this; there are always chances of agents in the field being injured, killed, and even turned. But with Alex being the victim in this scenario, I am confident she will take the necessary measures needed to ensure the human populations' continued safety." Then ignoring the red blush staining Sir William's face, he turned back to Malcolm, "Where are Agents Jackson and O'Reilly?"

"They are checking out some office buildings in the immediate vicinity. We are to meet up with them at HQ where we can discuss the few details and odd findings we have managed to unearth", Malcolm explained. "In fact, we should head that way ourselves, sir", he suggested.

About that time, the radio on Malcolm's shoulder blared back to life. "We have a visual on both Alex and the Lycan", Daniel called out.

"Where?" Malcolm asked looking over to Thomas. A few moments of silence followed his question. "Agent O'Reilly, we are waiting your position", Malcolm said into the receiver.

"Sonofabitch!", was the response to Malcolm's question. "They're exiting the building we've been staying in. It looks like Alex has two duffel bags with her." Again there was momentary silence on the radio, Malcolm waited patiently, knowing his team would report back to him. It wasn't' long before Daniels voice was heard again, "We're tailing them, it appears they're headed towards the subway", Daniel answered quietly. "We'll lose contact with you if they go into the tunnels", he said, advising his team leader of his intent to continue tracking them.

"Fine, keep a visual on them, but do not open fire in view of the public. Apprehend if at all possible, but only take them down if you find yourselves in an opportune position", Malcolm instructed. "We're on our way", he advised.

"Copy that", Daniel answered then contact was broken.

'Jorge, gather up weapons and let's go", Malcolm ordered as he hurried towards the car he had rented that morning. "Thomas and Sir William", Malcolm said to the Council members, "Our rendezvous point has changed. Agent Garcia and I will head to the subway offering back up support to the two agents we have there now. I suggest you two head over to the office.

"Sorry Malcolm", Thomas said keeping stride with the tall Australian, "I'm going with you. This may be my last opportunity to see Alex. But there is another consideration as well. The Council , would like to try and take her in alive if at all possible", he said.

"I can't let that happen Thomas", Sir William interrupted pulling Thomas to a stop by the car door. 'She is dangerous and a threat to every human alive. She must be put down", he said vehemently.

Thomas threw Sir William's hand off and leaned into the mans face, "I am senior member here William, don't forget that. If we have the opportunity to capture a lycan, we can discover many things about these creatures that could further help our cause. If it also means it would save Alex's life, so much the better.

Thomas turned back and jerked open the car door and climbed into the rear seat; Malcolm and Jorge were already inside with the engine running. William glared at the retreating figure of Thomas McMillan but kept silent for the moment. He would deal with the old man later. Right now, he needed their assistance to bring down Agent Alex Douglas and the Lycan.