Chapter Nine:

"I know this is right!" Jay Malloy insisted urgently into the portable phone carried by the leader of his team. Jay heard Quentin Travers sigh heavily on the other end of the line, ten hours ahead and hundreds of miles away from Colorado. He and the other Council elders were listening to Jay by speakerphone, and he knew some of them would be cranky for being awoken at this late hour in England.

"Jeremiah," Travers said complacently, "I know you have great faith in your gifts and your visions, but you haven't found any solid evidence of who this perpetrator is...let alone where he is going..."

"She," Jay replied firmly, "The perpetrator is a she. Her name is Charlie. She not a demon or a ghost and neither was the boy I saw. I don't know how to explain it...it wasn't like anything I'd ever felt or seen before but I know this is right!"

"Please watch your tone, Jeremiah," Travers said sternly, "There's no need to get hysterical."

Jay bit back a remark and massaged his eyes with his fingertips. He was not going to win his argument with the Council if he lost his temper.

"I apologize, Mr. Travers," he said calmly, "I understand the Council's hesitancy, considering my lack of experience and our current distance from a supervising base..."

That's it, Malloy, Jay thought to himself, Kiss a little ass...give 'em what they wanna hear...

"...however," he continued, "You were right in saying I have faith in my gifts. Utter, irresponsible confidence would be a better description in the eyes of many of the elders, I'm sure."

He could hear some of the elders chuckle at that on the other end of the phone, and Jay grinned. He imagined Travers would be fuming at that, but he was not the Head of the Council, so he would grin and bear it.

"I believe we should give the boy a chance," a light female voice chimed in and Jay sat up straighter in his chair, "After all...we allowed him to join the others in order to test his gifts."

"This investigation would be an ideal situation considering his abilities," a gruff male voice agreed. Jay recognized the voices of the woman and man as those of his teachers, and he felt a wave of relief pass over him as they supported his request.

A moment of tense silence passed for Jay, until he heard Travers's voice speak again.

"Very well," he said, though obviously with some doubts, "Jeremiah, inform Parks of your findings. Tell him that I, and the others of the Council, agree that the team should follow your lead and take the investigation east."

Jay resisted the urge to laugh aloud in triumph, but was unable to conceal the self-righteous grin on his face. He hoped Travers could hear it when he spoke.

"Thank you," Jay replied respectfully to the listening elders, "I appreciate this chance to truly test my abilities in the field, so that I may learn to use them effectively for the Council in the future."

"Report back immediately on any findings," the female voice spoke again. Jay agreed respectfully before wishing them a good night and hanging up the phone.

Jay exited the private room where he had made his phone call and found Parks, Giles and the rest of the team waiting for him patiently. He handed the phone politely back to Parks and informed him of the Council's decision.

Some time later, as the team prepared to leave, Giles found Jay packing and muttering to himself. He regarded his friend with skeptical amusement.

"So tell me, Jeremiah," Giles asked slyly, "Where exactly are we going? You said east...more than three hundred times since your vision back in River Mead. But there is quite a lot of east until we hit the ocean..."

Jay glanced over at his friend and grinned, "I'll know where we're going when we get there. Have you really lost all faith in me, Ripper?"

"No, because I never had any to begin with," Giles replied with a wicked tone that greatly contradicted his proper and brooding exterior, "Actually...I came to tell you there's another call for you..."

"Oh, God," Jay said, suspecting that Travers had thought of another lecture to give him, "Just tell whoever it is to piss off, will you?"

"Certainly," Giles replied, "But I don't know if your mother would appreciate that..."

Jay blinked with surprise and then laughed, "Appreciate it? If my mom's on the phone...you don't want to know what she'd do if you used foul language on a public phone line. Those words are for bars and broken toes. That's one of her favorite sayings."

Jay wandered out and found another member of the team minding the phone until he arrived. Jay smiled warmly as he picked up the receiver.

"Tell me one thing, Jeremiah Malloy," a softly weathered voice asked before he could even say hello, "It is too much for a young man of the world to let his family know his flight has landed safely when traveling across the ocean from Oxford?"

Jay shook his head. He had not realized how much he missed his mother's voice until she gave her quiet inquiry. Her mid-western drawl brought back a thousand memories of the fields and the farms, and a sudden twang of homesickness surprised him.

"Actually, mom," Jay said, "It was. You see we were ambushed by a pack of werewolves in O'Hare international airport and..."

"Oh, stop," she replied with a laugh, "You're going to make me worry about wolves chasing you now."

"How's dad?" Jay asked, "Is he there?"

"No, he's out helping Mitch Boredman fix that old combine of his," his mother said with exaggerated impatience, "But he's fine. And so's your brother. Your father's had him busy all this month getting ready for plowing. Do you think you'll be able to come home for harvest?"

"I don't know," Jay replied honestly, "I was told this investigation should only take a few days but...I have a feeling it might last a little longer..."

There was a pause before his mother spoke again, and he could almost see the worried frown forming on her weathered face.

"I have a feeling, too," she replied softly, "I worry about you, Jay. I know Council life can be dangerous...and you have a habit of finding trouble for yourself."

Jay smiled again, "Not everywhere can be as safe as Gatlin. I'm with professionals, ma. We'll be fine."

"I'll believe that when you are home eating a meal with your family," was his mother's curt reply.

"I can smell the cornbread already," he replied with a laugh.

"Just be careful runnin' east," his mother said with finality, "News said there was a big bus fire on some highway near Chicago...never can tell what'll happen on the road..."

"We'll be careful," he insisted, impatient to get started, "Thanks for calling, mom. I'll be home soon if I can."

As he hung up the phone, Jeremiah Malloy frowned as he thought back on his mother's last few words. Be careful running east, she had said. Had he told her they were going east?

Bus fire outside of Chicago. Thanks for the advice, ma., Jay thought quickly, and a broad grin spread over his face as he ran to find Parks. He finally knew exactly where they needed to go.