Dyson Thornwood rode his motorcycle into work at the 39th Police Division. He had received a call from his partner, Erik Lykke, about a disturbance in the Warehouse district they needed to check out once he arrived at the station. Erik, a Dark Fae was assigned to him nearly ten years ago to replace Tamsin as his partner on the force. Almost right away Erik proved a contemporary to Dyson both in personality and in experience, and they hit it off almost right away. Erik had worked in another County for nearly 20 years and had a proven record as solid police officer with a high conviction rate.
Things changed at a rapid pace for Dyson in the last ten years to include his installation as County Regent, which surprised him. He had always served as Trick's unofficial right hand for hundreds of years and the role was a natural follow-on for sure, but still it surprised him. There was a lot to learn, a lot to do, a lot to coordinate. The additional responsibilities challenged him beyond anything he had ever done in his 1500-year old life.
That last thought made him think of Bo and Kenzi as he turned a corner on his bike. He was astounded by the changes in them over the last ten years, a far cry from when they all first met nearly fourteen years ago. He chuckled to himself as he recalled when the Fae community first heard that Trick ceded control of the Dal Riata to Bo and Kenzi. The Elders tried to be respectful given Bo and Kenzi's service to the Fae community, but they were also frank in their opinions about their odds for success. Trick asked for patience for Kenzi and Bo to prove themselves, and they did.
They had built the Dal Riata into the most powerful and effective way station in all the Six Counties. Dyson chuckled again to himself. It was a direct reflection of Bo and Kenzi and their experiences within the Fae world. No longer did they have to scramble for resources, or it would be just the seven of them fighting off a horde of the enemy. Now they had every Fae resource not simply limited to their county, but resources from the neighboring counties as well, and while Trick negotiated the initial agreement it was Dyson's job to maintain it.
Bo and Kenzi's initiatives made the Dal Riata rich, and in a quick fashion. He knew Kenzi had it in her to be a successful entrepreneur; she had the natural skill set. She just needed the opportunity the vision, and the encouragement to succeed. Couple that with Bo's interpersonal skills to pull everyone together he knew they would be successful. The business partnerships they cobbled together to make it all work gave Dyson palpitations, but when the quarterly balance sheets were reviewed all doubt was erased. They continued to invest money and built their wealth up to the point they could fund in capital projects to expand the Dal Riata and construct new facilities for the JFM under the auspice of Ash Pharmaceuticals. Which brought his thoughts to Dr. Lauren Lewis.
Trick informed him he had a frank conversation and that she needed to decide whether to remain with the Fae, regardless of her status with Bo. Dyson was not sure of Trick's intent but he knew for sure that Trick was prepared to enforce regardless of Bo's stance on the matter, which turned his thoughts to Bo.
His relationship with Bo had evolved. They had developed a deep friendship, a kindred bond as warriors, and he was glad for it. He could not see his life without Bo in it. But as everyone was making changes in their life Dyson knew that he too needed to change. It was clear the Gang had reached a point where they determined they could not go on living like a bunch of stray cats and call it a life well led, nor could Dyson continue to pine for Bo in the hopes she may one day return to him. As with everyone else, he knew he had to find to find his own path towards life and happiness. Tomorrow is promised to no one.
Dyson arrived at the precinct, parked his bike, and as he took off his helmet his cell phone rang.
"Hello?" Dyson answered.
"Hello Regent Thornwood, this is Beverly. The Ash would like for you to join him at the Compound this afternoon for a meeting. Two o'clock." Beverly informed.
"I will be there." Dyson replied, hung up the phone, and entered the precinct. When he reached his desk he glanced over at the adjoining desk. No matter how many years had passed since Hale's death he could still envision him there. Instead, Erik was at the desk filling out paperwork.
"Good Morning!" Dyson greeted.
"Hey, D! How goes the morn!" Erik said as he signed his paperwork with a flourish.
"Good. So what is this we have to check out?" Dyson asked.
"There was a disturbance inside the Warehouse District. People who live nearby experienced some type of quake, but described the effect as if they experienced a disorientation in their senses. Like a vertigo attack, rather than a physical shake of their environment." Erik replied.
"Really? Never heard of that before."
"Me, neither."
"Sounds right up our bailiwick though."
"That is why we're investigating. Oh and did Tamsin get a hold of you?" Erik asked.
"No. What's up?" Dyson asked.
"She left word wanting to know if you can stop over for dinner tonight." Erik said.
"I'll call her. Let's get to the morning shift-change brief, and then we can check out this disturbance." Dyson said.
"Right with you."
After the shift-change brief, Dyson and Erik took a squad car and drove to the area in question within the Warehouse district. They got of the car and surveyed the area.
"This is where they said the quake happened." Erik said. Dyson looked around and sniffed the air.
"There was definitely Fae activity here. I can smell it. And there is a familiar scent too." Dyson sniffed again. "Julia."
"Julia Jenkins Julia?" Erik questioned.
"Yes." Dyson replied as he looked around some more.
"Everything looks as what a warehouse district should seem to look, but the scent is strongest coming from that tunnel opening over there."
"Let me grab a couple flashlights and let's take a look."
Erik went and grabbed two flashlights and then handed one to Dyson upon his return.
They turned them on and proceeded inside the tunnels as Dyson sniffed out the trail.
As they proceeded deeper and deeper Erik said "Yuk! Are you sure your nose is not dazed and confused? This tunnel is disgusting!"
"I have smelled worse, trust me."
"I don't think that is even possible." Erik said. Dyson laughed but as they proceeded deeper even he had to put the inside nook of his elbow up to his nose a few times.
Eventually, Dyson stopped at an open area, and said, "This is where the scent ends."
Erik who had his shirt up to his nose pulled it downand looked around with the flashlight.
"I see or smell nothing remarkable other than filth."
"Neither do I. But both smells are strongest here at this point."
"Hm. Let's call Julia." Erik pulled out his phone, and realized as soon as he had done it there would not be any signal. Sure enough he saw he had no bars. "No dice. Have to wait til we hit the surface."
Dyson took one more look around, and then he saw a gooey like substance on the ground.
"Hey! Take a look at this?" Dyson said to Erik.
Erik went over as they bent down and Dyson bent a little closer to get a good smell.
"Dude! You get any closer to that and you might as well lick it up."
"Smells like a…Selkie, but not quite." Dyson said.
"Good enough for me buddy." Erik said as he stood up and took another hard look around. "I see nothing that would indicate anything seismic, but then again if there was a seismic attack I would not be able to discern it from the cracks that already exist in the walls."
"Agreed." Dyson replied.
Dyson took his pen and a piece of paper from his pocket, dipped it in the gooey substance, wrapped it up and stood up.
"I think we are done here. Yeah, once we reach the surface as you say, we can put in a call to Julia. See if this is something she is investigating." Dyson said.
"Great!"
They made their way back up to the surface and while Erik tagged the gooey substance for evidence in the trunk of their squad car Dyson called Julia.
"Hey Julia! It's Dyson."
"Hey D! What's up?"
"Erik and I are at a location inside the Warehouse District and wanted to know if you happen to be working a case in the area."
"Yeah, I was just there earlier today. Why are you there?" Julia asked.
"We received several reports of a seismic disturbance. The effect was disorientation on people rather than any physical rattling. Sounded like something Erik and I needed to investigate."
"Good call. They are probably right about the disorientation, although I did not experience any disorientation myself."
"What happened?" Dyson asked.
"Something I have never before seen in my life. Hey, can you swing by the Dal?" Julia asked.
"Yeah, sure. Why?"
"This is related to a case I am chasing down for Bo and Kenzi. I called Kenzi after I experienced what I saw this morning to meet with her to get her opinion. Love to have you there as well."
"Sure. What time?" Dyson asked.
"Kenzi said she had a budget meeting this morning but could meet afterwards. High noon works for you?" Julia asked. Dyson smiled. Kenzi was such the businesswoman now.
"Sure does. Erik and I can catch lunch there too."
"Cool! See you then!" Julia said. They hung up.
Dyson turned to Erik. "Yep. It was a case Julia was chasing down, and she wants us to meet her at the Dal so she can tell us about it, and what happened here." Dyson said.
"Great! Let's jet!"
