author: Lucinda
rating: pg13
main characters: Riley, Fenner, Dr. Walsh
Faith and Second Chances 11:
disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fenner is mine.
distribution: Wic, Paula, Cat - anyone else ask first.
set in season 4, just after the body-switching has been reversed.
"You're sure the guy was brought here, not to one of the local parlors?" Fenner asked, his short hair somehow still managing to look wild and unkempt.
"I'm sure." Riley reminded himself to remain calm, trying not to show that he had any emotional stake in his questioning. "The soldier - Forrest Gates - was killed in the field, by one of the HST's. It was a bit too much to try to pass of and explain away, so he came in here. Now, thanks to a couple of the stun-guns not getting recharged properly, I'm stuck making certain all the forms for deceased soldiers have been properly filed."
"Ah. Glad I don't get passed into other areas for problems. Then again, mine don't generally get up and try to walk away." He nodded to himself, and rubbed over his knuckles, eyes going unfocused. "But I can't remember all the names, do you have a picture, or a description?"
"Yeah." Riley could feel his throat getting tight as he produced a photo of Forrest. "He was on my team."
"Ahh, yes. He was the one with the chest wound." Fenner nodded, and pulled a deck of half crumpled file cards from one pocket. "No way that could be passed of as wild dogs. He should be in... give me a moment..." He pointed to the left side of the row of morgue drawers, "Right in drawer number fifteen."
Riley could feel his hands shaking as they slid the drawer open. There was the large black body bag, but something didn't look quite right. Riley desperately wanted Graham to be wrong, or for Forrest to have just been out for something, an autopsy, or... anything. He reached out, and pressed lightly on it, right about where he guessed Forrest's stomach should be.
The bag flattened, the sort of flat that makes it clear that there's nothing solid or even substantial inside.
"What the hell?" Fenner moved over, pulling the zipper open and glaring at the inside of the bag. There were some bloodstains, and a powerful and unpleasant smell, but no body. No body parts. "What the hell... he's supposed to be in there."
Fenner moved over to the computer, and his fingers stabbed at the keys, moving rapidly. After a few tense moments, he swore again. "Fucking hell. He's not in the system. My computer says the drawer's been empty all month, since that big blue thing with the scales. I can not believe someone could lose a damn body and the computer records for it. Some paperwork a bit behind, yeah, but the whole damn file?"
He typed a bit more, and paled slightly. "Shit. There's no record of him even dying. He had his medical at the end of the month, got the vitamins refilled, and then nothing. Just regular assignment at the start of the month that he's remaining on Alpha team. This is seriously fucked up. It must have happened on one of the other shifts."
"Do you normally get informed when the bodies are removed on other shifts?" Riley asked, feeling lightheaded and full of a feeling that he couldn't define, but it felt like his insides were full of killer bees in a windstorm.
"There's a form that's supposed to be filled out for any of the soldiers. Different one for the HST's if the whole body's taken." Fenner shrugged, and then started typing something else, muttering to himself.
"The whole body? As opposed to what, just an arm?" Riley blurted, unwholesome images dancing in his mind.
"Some of the lab scientists like to do their dissections. Something about the muscle and bone densities varying from human, and some weird internal organs. Considering that the Initiative's supposed to be finding out how to fight these things, that's not too weird, you know? And once the parts are too carved up to wrap neatly, they just haul them over to get incinerated. That's not my department. Happens all the damn time." Fenner glared at his computer, and shook his head. "Who the hell is fucking up the records, and why? They finally got the computers to stop crashing all the time, and now this starts up…"
"Damn." Riley shook his head, and then an unwelcome thought crept forward. "Maybe we should check to see if there's anybody else missing?"
"Right." Fenner glared, and started shuffling his cards. A portion of the stack returned to his pocket, and then he started comparing with the computer, leaving Riley time to think ugly and unhappy thoughts. "Can you check twenty? And number four? The computer says they're both empty, but they weren't a couple days ago."
"Right." He opened the drawers, not opening the bags to discover that they also flattened in the way that said 'empty.' The whole thing was going past strange and right into creepy. "Both bodiless, but the bags are here. Should the empty bags even stay in the drawers?"
"Not really. They're supposed to get cleaned out between uses. " Fenner ran his fingers through his hair, and sighed. "Damn, this is a mess."
Riley nodded, closing the drawers again. Something was definitely going on, and he didn't like the feel of it. Missing bodies, people not knowing what was happening, computer records vanishing... "An ugly mess. But I'm going to need to go file some of these... Hopefully I can figure out how to answer a couple of those questions."
He left the morgue room, and stared for a while at some papers on his desk. Missing bodies. Forrest was missing. They'd be getting a new person to integrate into Alpha team, to keep their numbers up, and that wouldn't be the same. None of that told him who would take bodies away, or what they could possibly do with them. The fact that Forrest wasn't the only body to vanish was deeply disturbing.
"Sir? Doctor Walsh is looking for you." The nervous man was dressed in civilian clothing, but carried himself like a soldier. He must have been one of the guys who'd just transferred in, there had been about a dozen of them last month.
"In her office?" He asked, feeling dread tighten inside him, and frowning. There was nothing wrong, he'd just been doing basic paperwork, all of which was even actually his job. But such a poorly expressed idea that something was wrong, and with such shaky evidence in support was not the sort of report that she'd approve of. He'd just have to stay quiet about it until he had something more substantial.
"Yes." The man gave a small salute, and retreated, going towards the practice ranges.
Riley made a deliberate effort to walk normally to Doctor Walsh's office. He had no reason to worry, so there was no reason to act in a way that would make anyone wonder. Tapping at the door, he spoke, "You wanted to see me, Dr. Walsh?"
"Yes, come inside, Riley." She had that faintly unhappy edge that he knew meant she was unpleased with something.
Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him, glancing at the room in hopes of a clue to the cause of her displeasure. Her desk was almost empty, only a few computer disks and a pale folder, like the sort that held personnel records.
He sat down, feeling remarkably tense and stiff. "I was just finishing up the reports for last week."
"I didn't ask you here about reports, Riley." She glanced at the file, and then back at him. "I... I think it would be best if you broke off your relationship with Miss Summers. She's undisciplined, and I'm concerned that she could have a detrimental effect on your performance. She clearly does not understand the order and commitment required from a soldier."
Part of Riley wanted to argue about that. Buffy understood responsibility, she was a Slayer. He did his best to serve his country, but he wasn't out single-handedly defeating prophecies of doom. Another part wondered just why Dr. Walsh was so concerned about his involvement with Buffy. She should only see her as another freshman girl. "Actually, Buffy and I have split up. There was an argument after... Well, I suppose it doesn't matter what it was about."
"I see." Dr. Walsh smiled, looking oddly pleased. "I can understand you wanting to date a little, to enjoy your time away from the HST's and their dangers, but you must remember not to endanger the project or our secrecy. This project is a matter of national security, and that is a matter that we dare not risk."
"Of course not, sir." He murmured, his mind wondering just what threat Dr. Walsh believed Buffy could possibly be to the Initiative. A freshman girl should be of no danger, especially considering that she had no resources to permit any sort of effective information passing. Unless Dr. Walsh knew that Buffy was the... a Slayer. But why should the Initiative fear the Slayer? Weren't they the good guys?
"I'm glad you understand, Riley." Her voice was smooth again, and she stood up, a signal that their little talk was over. "Don't worry too much about the paperwork, I'm sure you'll handle it with your usual competence."
As Riley left her office, he couldn't help but feel like this was yet another puzzle piece to the mysterious things going on. Things were getting more ominous. He just hoped they could figure things out before they got eaten by whatever was going on. This was Sunnydale, that sort of thing happened a lot in this town.
end F&2nd 11: Dark clues.