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Chapter 2
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"So what's the good news for today, oh great and fearless leader" Pete Lattimer asked expectantly of their boss who sat before his computer, dark eyes trained on the images flashing before him.
Arthur Nielsen didn't deign to turn around or acknowledge the latter half of the comment beyond giving a brief deep-chested grunt. His hands danced over the antiquated keyboard for several seconds then strayed over to the large black touch-pad nearby. Soon his fingertips were skating over the dark surface, one hand sliding vertically, the other horizontally in a coordinated ballet of movement as he sought to isolate images racing over the monitor before him. Those images, many of them live feeds from security cameras, surveillance equipment, and even cell phones, flashed and disappeared as Artie discarded them one after another.
Not bothering to try to make sense of what he was seeing, Pete just watched the deft movements of his superior's hands playing that pad like it was a finest violin ever made, saving this, discarding that almost as fast as he eye could register it. "How does he do that?" he wondered, not for the first time, or the fifteenth for that matter. "Crazy gift," he amended, pondering how his 'vibes' bore some similarity to Artie's, except as a different manifestation of it.
A thumping up the stairs from the main warehouse floor alerted Pete to the presence of Claudia Donovan, tech extraordinaire, followed by Myka Bering, his partner in crime. The latter languidly strolled up to him and glanced over Artie's shoulder. Claudia, sometimes far too bouncy for her own good, dumped her tool belt and parked her rear end onto a table.
"Did I miss something good?" she asked with a bright smile and a quick toss of her red hair to clear it out of her eyes, then continued hopefully. "More leads?"
Artie's back stiffened visibly though his hands didn't stop their tango across the pad. He carefully curbed the anger that surged fiercely into his heart and mind. There was no hostility toward the questioner, only at the object of the question itself. Lately, everything boiled down to one word…one name. "MacPherson," he growled low and rough, "has been flying under the radar for weeks. I decided it was time to get back to the business of saving the world from its own evil impulses."
"You're starting to sound like Batman," Claudia smirked. "I mean, look at this place. A steampunk version of the batcave, don'tcha think?"
"Listen, Batgirl, why don't you run along and find me my cowl, while I run these images through the bat computer."
"Hey geezer, I got news for ya. Even if I find the cowl, you ain't gonna fit in the batsuit without a seriously intensive exercise program."
The hands stopped their motions, and a curly-haired head swung ever so slowly in her direction. Instinctively, Claudia started to back away. There was never any doubt that Artie would avoid harming her physically. However, one of those disapproving parental glares could turn her insides gelatinous, if only because the punishments he conjured up were usually unbearably tedious and interminably time consuming. For a hyperactive teenager, that was a fate worse than death as far as she was concerned.
Slender hands raised submissively, she hollered, "Okay, okay, I give up. No more teasing…for today." She back-stepped some more. "um…for a couple of hours." A few more steps. Almost to the door. "Well, for an hour at east." She bolted for the opening, dashed down the length of the open platform, and hopped down the steps two at a time. Whatever Artie was up to, she'd find out about it soon enough, she decided. She'd gotten good at coercing Pete to fess up.
As soon as Claudia had made good on her escape, Artie turned back to his work. Myka and Pete closed in once more.
"That was easier than expected," Artie commented conversationally.
Pete scratched an itch on his shoulder but wasn't as successful at reaching it as he'd hoped. He tried again. "Things are not exactly as they appear," he informed Nielsen.
"Oh?" Artie's hands had slowed to a very up close and personal waltz. Several more images were separated out and tucked onto one side of the screen.
"Myka would you—" Pete said pointing over his right shoulder. As she complied, seriously digging her nails in, Pete added, "Oh yeah, right there. Uh, Claudia will try to get it out of me later. It's all part of the game, ya know? I'll tell her whatever you tell me to tell her. No no, left, go left…up, up, just a bit more." He was definitely squirming now, trying to move his back to the position he wanted be in beneath her short but perfectly manicured nails.
Artie sighed forcefully enough to ruffle the fine hairs covering his forearms. "No need. For your information, I'm really not looking for MacPherson this time. He'll show up eventually, we can bet on it. But for now, I have received some…uh...strong suggestions from Mrs. Frederick to get back to Warehouse business and that means a return to the usual routine."
"Okay, fine with me. I'm getting really tired of inventory." He waved off Artie's expected explanation on the necessity for such activities. "Hey, hey, I get it, 'inventory important'. But I'd rather not be cooped up if I had a choice."
"You are indeed lucky today," Artie replied. His left hand had taken to gently pulling some of the silver hairs of his goatee, while the right one was manipulating data, pulling up newspaper articles previously isolated, and scanning televised images without benefit of sound. He selected one such news program and enlarged it, while simultaneously turning up the volume.
Together, all three agents listened to the newscaster saying, "…murdered tonight on Argyle Avenue. Autopsy reports indicate the death to be the result of some sort of animal attack. This is the second such attack in two days. Citizens in those neighborhoods are advised to be cautious when venturing outside at night."
"And this one," Artie pointed. "More reports of a dog or wolf attacking humans and feeding on the bodies. Coroners also think 'wolf' or a dog of similar size." He took a sip of cold coffee, made a face at it, but swallowed anyway.
"Local animal control can handle this one, don't you think?" Myka asked leaning around Pete, trying to catch Artie's eye. If there was one thing she didn't want to do, it was go on a wild dog chase just because the behavior of some animal was somewhat aberrant. "Hungry dog eats people, I understand that. But what makes you think it's something…bizarre. I'll bet stuff like this happens all the time. And don't tell me it's unusual for a wolf-husky mix to be found in a city. Besides, that city borders the forest land. Marauding animals are bound to wander in now and then."
Artie selected another report. When it filled the screen, Myka was able to read that a bag lady had been mauled to death by something at least as big as a bear, and partially consumed. "So what? If feral dogs can end up on the streets, so can a bear…I suppose."
"There haven't been reports of animal attacks in Coeburn, Oregon for several years. And none for about ten years before that. Now, we are seeing two distinctly different animals killing people in a very short span of time. You don't think that's unusual?"
"Freaky, maybe," Pete said, silently agreeing with Myka. He couldn't fathom what kind of artifact might be capable of summoning animals or why anyone would think it was useful, except for murder. And in these cases, one was a harmless old bag lady and the other a young man making out with his girlfriend. "But artifacty? I don't know. Why do you figure it needs our attention?"
Artie gave him a look similar to the one he typically reserved for Claudia when she irked him. "How long have you been working here, Pete?" he inquired mildly.
"Oh boy," Pete muttered under his breath. "Nearly eight months." He was starting to feel like a school child about to get detention for fooling around when he should have been studying.
"And have I ever sent you on an assignment that didn't contain the words 'weird occurrences' and 'probable artifact involvement' in the same sentence?"
"Uh, no?"
"And have I ever been wrong?" Artie's half-smile appeared.
"Not so far," Pete supplied innocently and realized belatedly how sarcastic it sounded.
The smile quickly turned to a frown. Pete jumped on his mistake and made a hasty effort to correct it. "I mean, no never. You are always right, master. You are the font of all wisdom. Speak and we obey." He genuflected with multiple hand flourishes and deep bows that simply looked silly. It made Myka smile and even Artie had a hard time maintaining a straight face although he still heaved an exasperated sigh in their direction.
"Trust me on this one. Let's review what we know so far. The girl involved with the first murder claimed to have witnessed the attack while trapped in the guy's car. She swore it was a wolf though as you pointed out it was most likely a wolf mix canine. Huge according to her but that could be terror talking."
He turned back to his screen and waved one finger at another article. "The other reports about the bear said pretty much the same thing. Another street person saw the bag lady being ravaged by something looking like a grizzly. He may have been plastered for all we know but according to the news article, he was very specific about the species of bear. I, however, would take that report with a grain of salt because the last grizzly in that state died in the 1930s. Of course, if it was an escapee from a zoo or wildlife compound that would be a different story."
Nodding her comprehension, Myka leaned in for a closer look at his face though she knew there probably wouldn't be much more to it than what Artie had already told them. "Four attacks all told?"
"For now." She saw his curly head nod. "But I suspect there will be more. Police captain met with some of his detectives and brainstormed this. To date, they have no leads. Animal control has scoured the surrounding forest for signs of a bear or wolf and seen nothing conclusive although spoor for larger dogs was found. Hard to say if it's the dog or just another stray running wild."
Myka tried to catch Artie's eyes so she could look into them. She found when she was staring pointedly at him, he was more likely to be forthcoming with vital information.
Ultimately, it wasn't her movements that distracted him but her silence. His dark gaze flicked her way, catching her green eyes momentarily. Setting upon that brief lapse in his concentration, she asked, "What kind of artifact could do such a thing…call in wild animals, I mean?"
Shrugging expansively, Artie shook his head. "I have no idea. Nothing I can think of at this moment actually summons animals in general. There have been a few amulets claiming…claiming to summon a particular beast but most of those creatures were mythological. In other words, take your list and stay vigilant."
Myka's expression clearly said, "Oh no! Please! Not the list!"
Pete scrunched up his nose in agreement but opted to voice the obvious question instead. "Okay, so when do we leave?"
Artie spun in his chair to face them. He reached under his vest to his front shirt pocket and whipped out two envelopes. He handed them over. "Two round trip tickets to beautiful downtown Coeburn courtesy of our government. So get packing."