Disclaimer: Magnificent Seven (TV), Hellboy (2004 & 2008), Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988) and Terminator (1984), do not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit. Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious. Modern AU
Story Title: The End of All Things?
Tagline: If you could see your destiny, would you really want to know?
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Chapter 1: Debriefing and Denials
a little subtlety is in order…
"This stupid meeting should have already started," muttered Mary.
The slim young woman was unable to keep a peevish tone from her voice. Mary looked at the email on her laptop again. Chris's cryptic message had specifically stated the large administrative conference room. She was here. Now where was her boss?
"This is a waste of my time."
She tucked a loose strand of her blonde hair behind one ear. Mary left Wyoming two years ago for this job. Her big break. Pah! Chris didn't seem to take her, or her work, seriously. As Public Records and Services Unit Administrator for the Four Corners Police Department, Mary had a ton of communiques to write and distribute before her holiday break. Standing in the corridor outside the locked door to the conference room wasn't getting any of that done.
"Talking to yourself Ms. Travis?"
Mary looked up in surprise at the unsettling sound of a southern drawl. She felt an uncontrollable flutter in her stomach at the sight of the auburn-haired witness. She forced herself to remain still. It wouldn't do to let him, or anyone else, realize how much the witness's very presence unsettled her.
"Good morning Mr. Standish," greeted Mary in a cool voice.
Ever since Marshall Vaughn brought Ezra Standish to the Four Corners police department, Mary had been having dreams. Dreams that featured this man. Dreams she hadn't told Doc about. Especially the dreams, or visions, that occurred when she was awake. She wasn't having a mental breakdown! And it didn't matter if Josiah or those folks on the run from BPRD seemed to think she was a psychic, or a seer, or… or… something. She wasn't! Mary glanced away, forced herself to pretend to seem indifferent to Standish's approach.
"Chris sent an email about a meeting," continued Mary. She gestured to the door. "I would go in, but the door is locked."
"Perhaps I may be of assistance," smiled Ezra.
Mary watched in amazement as a small piece of metal appeared in his hand as if by magic. Where had it come from? Ezra, if that was actually his name, inserted the object in the keyhole and wiggled it. The door unlocked and swung open. Mary blinked. The metal object vanished from his hands.
"How did you do that?"
"The P in Ezra P. Standish stands for prestidigitation," smirked Ezra. "Or so I tell people."
Hmmph. Magic tricks wondered Mary? Or actual magic? Sometimes it was hard to tell ordinary people with talent at sleight of hand from beings with actual paranormal abilities. Most places, even in a progressive state like Arizona, paranormal beings who could pass as human kept their abilities hidden. The federal witness extended his hand in a graceful gesture.
"After you."
"You're coming to the meeting?" asked Mary in surprise. "I didn't see your name on the email distribution."
"Personal invitation," smirked Ezra.
Hmmph! Mary's pale green eyes flashed at his words. Why was Standish included in today's meeting? Chris's email hadn't even said what the meeting was about. She hated feeling out of the loop, not knowing what was going on. Mary was the senior communications officer for crying out loud! And this man, a federal witness with lockpicking abilities, wasn't even really part of the Four Corners Police Department. Standish was only here because Marshall Vaughn arranged his job placement at the police station. A criminal witness in charge of departmental budgets? What was the Marshall thinking? What was Chris thinking? Keeping her face impassive and striving to control her voice, Mary delved for more information.
"Chris personally invited you?" prodded Mary.
"Well, no," admitted Ezra. "Actually…"
Ezra's voice was interrupted by the raucous strains of Jingle Bell Rock. Both Mary and Ezra turned to see the door at the far end of the corridor open. Chris entered from the ready room with Buck at his side.
"I don't know why Berniece is allowed to blast the radio through her front office, the break room, and the ready room," huffed Mary.
"Tis the season," smiled Ezra.
Mary couldn't stand the local station's non-stop December program of festive songs. Thankfully, at least the administrative offices remained carol free. JD limped in after Chris and Buck. The obnoxious music stopped as the door shut behind him. Mary sucked in a breath at the sight of JD's battered visage. She hadn't seen the young patrolman this morning, only heard about the SUV rollover yesterday.
"Should JD even be working today?"
"He's the reason we're having this meeting," replied Ezra.
JD was the reason? Mary huffed in annoyance. Then why was she here? The weekly operational meetings were for active-duty police officers. She had already written, and re-written, a press release on the accident yesterday. Three times! A simple enough assignment, but Chris kept having her revise the notice. By the time Chris was satisfied, the finished document was less than half the length of her original article. Certainly not front-page material. The local paper published the little blurb on the bottom of page four. The Tucson paper didn't even bother to print it.
"Sorry for the delay folks," greeted Chris. "KC will be here shortly."
Chris's hazel eyes settled on Mary. The inquisitive woman met his eyes briefly and then glanced away. While he had been on medical leave, Mary had enjoyed the freedom of writing press releases without Chris critiquing her articles. Buck had no problem with her writing. A niggling worry crossed her mind. Or maybe Buck didn't even read the briefs.
"You want to maybe move on inside?" suggested Chris
"After you Ms. Travis," gestured Buck.
Mary shook herself. Buck's hand extended in the same motion Ezra had used. She realized the men were waiting for her to enter the room first. A wry smile spread across her face. The fine art of old-fashioned gentlemanly manners, realized Mary. It seemed chivalry wasn't dead in Four Corners. At least not yet.
"Certainly."
Mary walked down the right side of the long rectangular table. She quickly settled into the seat next to the end. Chris usually sat in the empty chair at the head of the table facing the door during their regular departmental meetings. The chair on her left pulled out. Mary looked up to meet Standish's smile.
"Would you mind if I sit beside you?"
The witness's hesitation seemed to indicate Ezra was as unsure of his place in the meeting room as Mary. The strategic woman reached for her laptop. She held up the power cord.
"Of course not," dissembled Mary. "Just scoot over a bit so I can plug this in."
Standish moved his chair slightly away from Mary. She ran the power cord between them and plugged it into the outlet behind her. Mary flashed a bright smile as she straightened up in her seat. The other men still stood by the door. Maybe she could nudge them a bit.
"What's this meeting about?" asked Mary.
"We'll wait until everyone is here to start," replied Chris.
Mary's eyes widened as Chris gestured to JD to take the seat facing the door. JD limped past the vacant chairs on the other side of the table until he reached the end seat. Mary heard a small sigh from the injured man as JD sank down into the chair on her right. Buck moved to sit down in his usual place opposite Mary, while Chris sat down at the middle of the table opposite Standish. Mary glanced at the big round clock on the wall. Like the archaic clock in her elementary school, it was a relic from the last century. Hands pointed to ten past the hour.
"KC should…," began Mary in a critical voice.
"KC is bringing Nate," interrupted Chris.
Mary blinked in surprise. The only Nate Mary knew worked with rescue services. And his name hadn't been on the email distribution either!
"Nate Jackson?" asked Mary. "Why is an EMT coming to a police departmental meeting?"
Mary glanced at the man seated to her left. Might as well see what else she could find out.
"For that matter, what is Standish doing here?" she challenged. "The witness doesn't belong in an official police meeting."
Chris's lips curled back. His teeth showed in a bit of a snarl as he frowned, but before he could answer, Standish spoke.
"I assure you I have a vested interest…"
"Ez," sighed JD. "I got it."
Dark eyes peered out from his bruised face as Mary turned to look at the patrolman. JD started to answer, but the blaring sound of Santa Baby sounded as the door from the ready room opened.
"Wait," order Chris. "That's got to be KC and Nate."
The division commander shot a glare at Mary.
"We only want to do this once," explained Chris. "Then get JD home for some rest."
Mary glanced at the men surrounding the table. JD flashed a small smile, or maybe a pained grimace might be a better description. The muscles on his bruised must have hurt at the motion.
"Fine," huffed Mary.
Footsteps and voices echoed down the corridor.
"My report on the accident was quite thorough," groused Nate. "There's no need for me to come to your dang meeting."
"Chris wanted you here," reminded KC's soft voice.
"I don't work for Chris," huffed Nate.
The petite policewoman entered the conference room first. KC pointed to the seat beside Standish. Nate moved to sit down next to Ezra. KC pulled off her hat, releasing her shoulder length sandy blonde hair from its constraints. She set her hat on the table then slouched down in the chair beside Chris.
"Appreciate you coming…," started Chris.
"Not like I had much of a choice," huffed the EMT.
Chris's hazel eyes glanced at KC. She shrugged.
"Told him he was needed for questioning. If he didn't want to come along peaceably, I would cuff him."
Mary dropped her gaze and pressed her lips firmly together, trying hard not to smirk. She hadn't liked answering the moralistic EMT's probing questions when the ambulance took her to the hospital after her… her what? Mary had passed out at work last month. She was determined to put that little… episode out of her mind. If anything, her passing out was possibly caused by low blood sugar. With her slender build, not eating right was certainly a better explanation than Nate's prodding about anorexia or illegal drug use.
"Police brutality! You ain't got no call saying something like that," protested Nate. "Especially not in front of…"
"Uh, folks," interrupted JD.
Mary glanced towards the young patrolman. JD's dark eyes squinted. Puffy blue-black skin under his eyes seemed to make it hard for him to see. He really shouldn't be at work today thought Mary.
"I'm tired and I want to get this debriefing over with," continued JD.
"Yeah," KC nodded in support. "I promised Berniece I'd get JD home in time for lunch."
"Can't believe Doc released you! You ought to be in bed already," grumbled Nate.
The EMT turned to look from JD, to Chris and Buck. Nate had a sour expression on his face. He glanced at the man seated beside him. The expression on his face tightened. He turned back to KC with a frown.
"Official police business with him here?" scoffed Nate. "Tell me KC, why did you drag me here? Cause this sure doesn't look like a police department debriefing!"
"You need to know…," began JD.
Nate's head snapped around. This time the EMT's glare was on the young patrolman.
"Know what?" demanded Nate.
"I'm a warlock."
Mary's eyes widened. Josiah's brother HB had made the human world quite aware of the paranormal presence on earth several years back. But why would JD tell everyone? There was still a lot of prejudice against people with magical abilities. Arizona might be a better place to live than most for paranormal beings. It helped having a Senator married to a sentient plant, a congresswoman who was a practicing witch. But paranormal abilities were rare, less than five percent of the population according to some sources. Until Josiah's revelations this Thanksgiving, Mary hadn't thought there was anyone in Four Corners with paranormal abilities. And Mary wasn't! She wasn't a seer, she wasn't paranormal…
"Yesterday's accident was due to the fact that Alastor Heath hired himself a wizard who tried to use a possession technique on me," continued JD.
Chris, Buck and Ezra didn't respond to JD's surprising news. Mary understood that meant they already knew. The sharp inhalation from Nate meant, like Mary, he hadn't been expecting this announcement. But what surprised Mary most was KC's reaction. The young policewoman stared at JD as if she'd never seen her partner before.
"You've been in Four Corners over a year now," growled KC's low voice. Her sky-blue eyes narrowed, "When were you gonna tell us?"
"I wasn't planning on telling anybody."
"Never?"
Mary couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine. KC's voice had a dangerous tone. Sweet, friendly little KC, who knew everyone in Four Corners, and showed Mary around town when she first moved to Four Corners… Mary had never really thought of her friend KC as dangerous.
"Not ever," answered JD.
Mary watched KC's face. Her friend went totally still. KC's quiet was unnerving, but Nate didn't seem to notice.
"I wasn't on the lookout for possession techniques in a little town like Four Corners," stated Nate.
His voice softened. Mary recognized the soothing tone Nate used with patients.
"Possession is rare."
"Illegal too," added KC a hard tone in her soft voice.
Mary doubted that Nate even heard KC. The EMT's sole focus was on JD. It was as if Nate expected the young man to collapse at any moment thought Mary.
"You should have told me, or at least Doc, about that," grumbled Nate. "We can get you some treatment to combat the possession…"
Oh… Mary glanced at Chris. The lean man started to speak, but JD was quicker.
"I don't need treatment," protested JD. "I wasn't possessed when you saw me."
"You weren't?" asked Nate. He looked puzzled. "What about now?"
"Not now either," spluttered JD. "That fella… he couldn't hold…"
JD took a deep breath.
"I took control, gathered some information."
Mary's eyes widened as she realized what JD's casual phrase 'took control' might mean. It was hard to think of their youngest police officer as a warlock powerful enough to fight off possession. Apparently, KC also had trouble with the idea.
"You ever take control of anyone here? Get into someone else's mind?" challenged KC. "Gather information?"
JD looked shocked at his partner's suggestion. His dark hair swung in front of his eyes as he shook his head in a negative response.
"Never," exclaimed JD. "I don't normally use possession techniques, but I know how to defend myself…"
JD looked from KC's hard gaze to the other people seated at the table.
"Seriously, you don't want other people's thoughts in your head!"
While Mary could understand JD's sentiments, KC looked unconvinced. JD's voice ratcheted upwards, trying to convince his partner.
"The only reason I'm telling all of you about me being a warlock is so you will believe the information..."
The dark-haired young man turned to look at Standish. The witness shifted in his seat.
"Did you get a call from Marshall Vaughn yet?"
"Yes," confirmed Ezra. "The trial against Alastor Heath has been delayed."
"Why?" asked Mary.
Standish turned towards Mary, a worried expression on his face.
"Because Heath escaped."
"What?"
"Marshall Vaughn will be arriving later today," continued Ezra. "Charleston, DC, and now Four Corners. It appears that someone in the Witness Protection program might be working with Heath."
JD slouched lower in his chair. He gave an involuntary hiss of pain at the movement. Chris shot a sharp gaze at his youngest police officer.
"We've got trouble," sighed JD. "Heath is in London and we don't know who's helping him."
"Lots of trouble," nodded Buck. "And not just Heath. Don't forget BPRD is after some folks we got under our protection here in Four Corners."
"I think HB, Liz, Abe and Josiah can handle anything BPRD might try to throw at them," said JD.
Buck glanced at Chris. His worried eyes were still watching JD.
"Would think so," agreed Chris.
Ezra leaned forward. He tapped his fingertips on the table. Chris's hazel eyes turned to face Ezra.
"There are children involved," reminded Ezra.
"Yeah," added Chris. "And we don't want to endanger them…"
"But if they've got powers like HB and Liz…," began Nate.
"We don't know if they have powers," interrupted JD.
"My daughter plays with Beth Anne and Trevor," added Ezra speaking at almost the same time. "I assure you they are just children."
Nate pursed his lips as if he wasn't sure about that, but JD nodded in agreement.
"Don't matter if those kids or their family have powers or not," stated Buck.
The dark-haired man straightened in his seat and glanced around the table from one person to the next.
"Our job is to keep the peace," reminded Buck. "To protect folks."
Chris flashed a smile at Buck. The division commander nodded his agreement.
"We should probably speak with Josiah," added Chris. "His family and friends might need our help for more than just getting rid of that van."
Chris's hazel eyes turned back to Nate.
"With Heath using illegal paranormal techniques, you might want to make sure your team is up to date on their paranormal training…," started Chris. "Especially since we've got…"
"Demons," grumbled Nate. He frowned. "And whatever that green fella…"
"Abe is an amphibious humanoid," interrupted Ezra. "And Josiah and HB are half human, cambions, not demons. The children have even less demonic…"
Nate raised his hands. He shook his head with a rueful smile.
"Shouldn't have said it like that," conceded Nate. "My team and I are up to date on our paranormal training, but you gotta know this makes our job harder. I trained on humans, not trolls or elves or whatever…"
"Huh?"
Mary pressed her lips together quickly. She was mortified that she had blurted out the first… not even word… that came to mind.
"Little things," shrugged Nate. "Supplies mostly. Like aside from carrying normal saline, we gotta carry holy water, salt water, fresh water from a running stream, and vinegar."
For a moment everyone just stared at each other until Buck broke the silence.
"Don't reckon JD's going to need any of that," chuckled Buck.
"Reckon not," agreed Nate. "Anything else I should be watching out for?"
Chris opened his mouth in denial, but stopped as Buck began shaking his head.
"I heard you on that phone with the lieutenant from California," reminded Buck.
"Yeah," sighed Chris.
He turned back to face the people seated around the table.
"Sarah Connor's stalker may be coming to town. She thinks an article featuring her son John in the student newspaper might have revealed their location."
"Really?"
Mary couldn't keep a sound of doubt from her voice.
"Sarah and John left town yesterday," added Buck. "But that don't mean this fella ain't coming to Four Corners."
"He might have paranormal abilities…," growled Chris. "To hear Sarah talk about him is unbelievable. She said he's big, strong, might wear body armor, and can be anywhere, anytime..."
"Instantaneous apparition?" JD's voice sounded doubtful. "That technique is even rarer than possession."
"Maybe he has a time travel machine," suggested Ezra with a smirk.
Buck shook his head and frowned at Ezra.
"You're not helping," objected Buck.
"Actually, time travel might be more likely than apparition," objected JD.
The young patrolman's worried face glanced around the table.
"Today's scientists make things that seem like magic," explained JD. "Not so long ago, they might have been accused of witchcraft."
The warlock slumped tiredly against the table. KC stood up abruptly. Her face was closed off, all business. Mary couldn't tell if KC was still angry about JD's revelation or not.
"We're done here," said KC. "Come on JD, time to go."
The tiny blonde turned to Ezra.
"Oh, I almost forgot," continued KC. "Berniece said to tell you some man stopped by looking for his niece. From the description he gave Berniece thought he was looking for your wife…"
Ezra's face blanched.
"You know that's a security breach," reminded KC.
"Folks in the Federal Witness Protection Program aren't supposed to contact anyone from their past," chided Buck.
"I assure you there has been no security breach on the part of my wife, my daughter, or myself…," began Ezra.
"Maybe Lee didn't realize that meant not even family unless they're included in with the program…"
Standish shot to his feet.
"My wife doesn't have an uncle!"
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