In the end, Cat and Faith picked up a lot more than coffee on the way to the station. "I never got to the food court, tiger. Once you ran out, me and T went toe to toe." Only her dimples kept Cat from apologizing - again. "If ya' don't feed me soon, I might start nibbling on your arm."
She'd laughed openly when Cat flushed.
Feeding a Slayer was apparently a daunting task. Cat staggered behind Faith, both of them loaded with bags of food and coffee mugs. The conference room held only the core team, all of them focused on a red-haired woman projected onto the wall.
"...anyway, I decided to do a little digging myself. The Boston office isn't new. They just don't have as much experience as we do," she announced, her voice emanating from the speakers hooked to Frost's laptop. "Did you notice a reference to Master Phillip in the transcripts from Detective McLearen's visit to the Legion meeting?"
With complete disregard for the conversation in progress, Faith dumped her bags onto the conference room table. The thud and rustle earned a glare from Jane; the woman on the wall peered into the room (through her webcam). "Still thinking with your stomach, Faith? I thought Tara would put a stop to that."
Faith whipped around and pointed at a video camera on a tripod, a new addition to the room. "Push me, Red, and I'll pay a visit to Janna. You told her about that thing with the new kids, did you?"
Oh, that appeared to be a low blow. Cat spotted the intricately worked leather collar on Red's neck. Threatening a sub with calling their Dominant was bad form. The woman's reaction, however, showed that the teasing (and threats) were simply part of her relationship with Faith.
"You wouldn't! Besides, she probably already knows. Damned mind reading witch." Red pouted dramatically and then grinned so widely all her teeth flashed across the screen. "So you missed the first part of my presentation. Start grazing and I'll fill you in on what we found. Otherwise, you'll ask a bunch of questions I answered while you were obviously raiding every fast food restaurant in Boston."
As if her words were a starter's pistol, everyone leaped for the table and the plethora of food. Cat got dragged to a chair between Faith and Tara, and Faith guarded all the best selections until Cat filled a plate to overflowing.
Cat picked at her food and leaned back in her chair. There were new photos and information on the white board at the far side of the room. A picture of Alina was connected by dotted lines to Dominik and Reid. Allison Parker, Senior Vice President of Madison Streeter Investments. Dierk Armin, Financial Analyst of ReiseBank. Reid Fletcher, former Navy Seal.
The pieces were falling into place. And Red was there with the glue. "When I started reading the transcript, I assumed Master Phillip was some Dominant member of the Legion. Then one of the local Slayers mentioned a new power broker in the area."
"Let me guess," Korsak interrupted. "Master Phillip."
"Exactly." Red disappeared from the screen, replaced with a series of newspaper clippings. "Before the murders started, the Boston office was tracking an influx of demons. A few of them were…persuaded to talk about why."
She kept talking as Faith leaned over to Cat. "I'm good at the persuadin' stuff. Vamps always tell me what I want to know."
"Really?" Cat murmured back. "Do you flash your dimples and ask nicely?"
Pushing up the sleeve of her sweatshirt, Faith flexed her arm. Muscles bunched into a perfectly displayed bicep. "Not quite."
"Girls!" Tara spoke softly and gave them a narrow-eyed glare. "Pay attention. Willow has important information for us."
"Sorry, Tara." Faith wasn't very remorseful. She winked at Cat before turning back to the images on the wall.
Cat bit back a chuckle and dipped her head. "Sorry, Ma'am." She thought she heard Tara sigh but it was hard to tell over Willow's, or Red's (Cat preferred Faith's name for the other woman), rapid-fire delivery of facts.
"…setting up as the leader of the group. We think he's Sired several of his top lieutenants," Willow finished.
Maura's hand shot up, "Ms. Rosenberg?"
"Yes, Doctor?" Willow somehow made it appear as though she looked directly at Maura and not into the lens of her webcam.
"Even if this Master Phillip recruited or created more demonic followers, how does the First Legion fit in?" Maura asked. "And how does that explain the way the victims were murdered? Why draw attention to vampires with the faux bite marks? Why drain the blood?"
After the previous rush of information, Willow's silence was telling. She didn't know. "We aren't one hundred percent sure." Moving away from the camera, Willow sorted through books and papers on a nearby table. "Master Phillip is the easiest part of the equation. Obviously, he's trying to establish a power base in Boston. The First Legion... He's financing it. Or they're financing each other. And the financial footprint is global. German banks, Boston investment firms. Not your run of the mill bad guys."
"Will, do you think Master Phillip is Turning members of the Legion? Is that how they're connected?" Tara asked.
Why would anyone want to become a vampire? Cat didn't want to look stupid. She'd ask Faith later.
Willow nodded. "It's the best explanation we have, and it fits with the purchase of all those blood bars. This is more organized than most. Not even the Master in Sunnydale pulled in this much support from the demon community, and he didn't bother to recruit humans."
"The whole setup reminded me of guerilla warfare or terrorist attacks," Cat felt compelled to add. She closed her eyes and thought back to the Legion meeting. "All the rousing speeches, designed to build a frenzy. All of us from a single type: submissive Red Cuffs. As a group, we don't have a lot to lose and we're angry." It felt weird, almost wrong, to discuss her own emotional issues so openly. She had to focus on the case, though. "Once we were screaming for blood, they broke us into small groups. Cells. And the leaders, the Cohort Commanders, didn't encourage sharing."
"Soldiers of the Legion," Korsak said. He leaned back in his chair, hands folded over his stomach. "Soldiers for what cause?"
Faith and Willow shared a glance through the webcam. "If it's vamps looking for power, odds are ending the world as we know it is at the top of the list." The comment was outrageous. Cat noticed Korsak and Frost smile - until they realized that none of the Council members looked amused. "Might be something simpler. Great way to get a free food supply."
Cat might have believed that if there hadn't been six murders. "The dead bodies say food probably isn't the answer."
"Not necessarily," Jane disagreed. "There was that guy in your group." She flipped through a copy of the transcript. "Gary. The one who tried to pick a fight with the Cohort Commander. What if the victims were all in the Legion but failed to complete a task?"
"We can't connect any of the victims other than Avery Little to any Legion activity." Frost tilted his head toward his laptop. "We've run financials on all the victims; questioned friends, family, and co-workers. A few of them attended social events backed by the Legion. Nothing beyond those events. No phone calls or additional events. No money changing hands."
The projection screen flickered and changed again. The camera swung to one side before honing in on a whiteboard. It held the same glossy photos as the one Cat had been studying; although the board held no writing. Willow's voice sounded without her being physically in the viewing area. "I think we have to start with the three people Detective McLearen met at the North End session. They offer our best shot at connecting the dots to the money." Her arm popped up on the wall and she drew a chart beneath the photos.
In red, there was: What We Know. In blue, Questions. And in green, How Do We Find Answers.
Colored Expo markers. Cat turned her head and found both Tara and Faith watching her, smiling. "I'm not like that," she muttered. "I'm not OCD about colors or pens."
Neither seemed convinced. "What do you think, T?"
"If the pens and colors match..." Tara's eyes twinkled with laughter.
With a scowl, Cat turned her attention back to the projector screen and Willow's show and tell of their information.
"Well, we know all three are recruiters for the Legion." Frost must have recreated the chart on his computer. He typed as he talked – and Willow scribbled on her board. "Allison and Dierk connect through money, probably. How and why?"
"And what does Jonathan Stewart have to do with any of it?" Cat asked. "He's definitely in the middle of it all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met him the other night." Tapping her fingers on her knee, she tried to remember everything. "Were you able to find any of the other Legion members? Maria or Tammy? Gary? How do they fit in, and are they linked to any of the victims?"
She'd talked too fast. Willow and Frost were frantically documenting her questions (which far outstripped anything they knew).
"Marie's restaurant is used for a lot of the smaller Legion-hosted social events." Maura turned to Cat. "Invitation-only, from what Jane and I discovered."
That brought up another line of questions. "Anything more on Allison?" Cat was very careful to avoid the dreaded "cronies" label.
Maura's eyes narrowed as if she heard the unspoken word. "She's well connected. A dozen charities, donor to the Mayor's reelection campaign. Nothing out of place." Then she smiled wryly. "Except for her tendency to recruit for the latest cult."
It was the first time any of them had used that particular phrase. It fit…almost. "Cult or terrorist group?" Cat put the question to the entire group.
"A rose by any other name…" Korsak quoted. "They brainwash; they have ex-special forces members; they have money."
"And they kill." Jane stood and paced restlessly. "That's the part we need to focus on. The rest is window dressing. We're still missing too much information." Pointing at Willow's display on the wall, she said, "We've overlooked something. Somehow, somewhere we have all the facts. We just missed the key piece of evidence."
Great. Cat sighed and rubbed her eyes. Faith and Tara had arrived nearly a week ago, and they were in exactly the same place with the investigation. "Another go around with witness statements and financials?" She'd need more than coffee to stay awake for that.
"That's regular cop stuff." Faith was clearly not planning to help with anything so mundane again. "Red, anybody gone on a fact-finding mission lately?"
Willow nodded. "Did you miss the part where I mentioned the Boston team finding out about Master Phillip?" Her words were caustic. "Or did you think you could do better?"
Slouching in her chair, Faith turned a cocky smile on the camera lens. "Duh, Red. And you think so, too, or you wouldn't be talkin' to us now. Didn't you say something about all your experience?"
Even over the internet and the projector bulbs, Willow's blush was evident.
"Time to visit a few vamp hangouts and chat with the locals. Wonder if they'll remember me after fifteen years?" Faith stood in one smooth motion and stretched.
Cat might have enjoyed the display of tanned skin showing between the hem of Faith's shirt and the top of her jeans. Instead, she was too busy hearing Faith's comment echo in her head. Faith had been in Boston fifteen years ago. Cat knew Faith was from Boston. But fifteen years ago? She'd been in Boston and then left fifteen years ago.
Something had happened to Faith fifteen years ago, and whatever it was had to have broken their bond.
"Earth to Cat. You with us, tiger?" Faith eyed Cat with concern.
Cat faked a yawn. "Zoned out during all the boasting."
Willow's giggles filled the room, drowning out the rest of the team's laughter. "She's got your number, Faith. Be careful or she'll discover your Slayer mystique is all a front – and then what will you do?"
With a grumble that did little to hide her grin, Faith replied, "Not gonna worry about it. By the time we get back from the bars and sewers tonight, Cat'll be convinced Slayers are superheroes. And I'll be wearing the big 'S' on my chest."
She and Tara walked out, leaving Cat staring after them. Sewers? They were hunting vampires in the sewers?
"You don't hurry up, I'm leavin' your ass behind, tiger." Faith's voice grew fainter with each word.
Giving a regretful glance at her favorite pair of boots, Cat obediently trotted after them.