forward. "If we'd known he was one of yours we would have extended an invitation…"
"He's not." VonGunn said quickly. "He is not one of us, but he's been a person of interest for some time in an... internal matter. If you will... collect him, and send him on to us, we feel sure we can keep you informed of anything he might say regarding his… activities."
"If you weren't aware of any of that, what do you want him for?" Yasi asked directly.
VonGunn hesitated again, and Keeper put a hand out quickly. "Principal, my Security Chief has a valid point, but we can see you're obviously unaware of what Owen was up while he was here. If you can allow us time to insure that there is no threat to us because of his time here, we would be happy to make the whole mess be your problem."
VonGunn fiddled with his goatee again. "Yes… I see your point. However… His presence here is required… most urgently. I think that it takes precedence over any trouble you're having with the man. We would… send him back, once we were done with him."
Yasi and Archivist both looked to Keeper.
"Finders keepers." Keeper cracked suddenly, fierce as a whip crack, and disconnected. An instant later, they were alone at the Round Table.
Keeper spun on Yasi. "Yasi, Niklos might not be a problem for us, but best to find out now."
The Shinobi Captain was already thinking. "Long shot. It's a big city, Keep. Finding one guy that doesn't want to be found..."
"I know." Keeper nodded. "But Berlin want him for something. Something serious enough to break a sixty year streak of not calling us. VonGunn is scared. Find out why, Yasi."
"When I find Owen Niklos, what do I do?" Yasi asked.
"For now, nothing." Keeper said, sending a look to Archivist who nodded agreement. "He hasn't done anything to us, and until that changes, he could be here because he's scared of VonGunn. All our information on Berlin Below is sixty years out of date."
Archivist agreed. "We can't plan out our next move or put our pieces on the board until we know what game we're playing."
Yasi stood. "I have to talk to Wotcha."
~oo00oo~
Officer Grey waved his badge at the Beat Cops laying out the Crime Scene Tape along the Hudson River. They checked it and waved him through. "What have we got?"
"Three bodies. Two male; one female." The Medical Examiner told him; leading the way over. "None of them over thirty. The bodies are stripped; but that's the least bizarre part of this crime scene."
"Tell me." Grey responded; lighting up a cigarette.
"The bodies washed up on shore; but this area was patrolled by the Beat Cops last night before high tide."
"So they didn't wash up; they were dumped."
"That was what I thought too, but there would have been tracks in this kind of mud. Plus, there's very little mud on the bodies; so they had to come from the water; not the road. Harbor Patrol swears that there were no boats on the water that time of night."
"So... what?" Grey drew the timeline in his head. "They washed up after the tide?"
"Best guess is that they came up from under the water at the wrong time."
"Then they must have been down there a while. Mob hit?"
"Cause of death is hard to pin down. No poisoning I can see; no wounds of any kind. The bodies are untouched. There's some bruising around the arms, knuckles and torso; but not enough to kill. Before they died; they were in a scrap."
"Well, check..." Grey trailed off as he got a closer look at the corpses. They were all ghostly pale; all without a single hair on their bodies. The bruises were small but showed up brilliantly against their impossibly pale skin. "Whoa."
The ME nodded. "Yeah; there it is. Their skin has no pigmentation. At all. I have never in my life seen that. If they were alive they'd probably be screaming in the sun right now."
"Well, that's strange." Grey scanned around the Crime Scene, getting a feel for the area, and noticed a small boy sneaking under the tape; trying to get a closer look. "Hey!" Grey shouted.
"He's not." VonGunn said quickly. "He is not one of us, but he's been a person of interest for some time in an... internal matter. If you will... collect him, and send him on to us, we feel sure we can keep you informed of anything he might say regarding his… activities."
"If you weren't aware of any of that, what do you want him for?" Yasi asked directly.
VonGunn hesitated again, and Keeper put a hand out quickly. "Principal, my Security Chief has a valid point, but we can see you're obviously unaware of what Owen was up while he was here. If you can allow us time to insure that there is no threat to us because of his time here, we would be happy to make the whole mess be your problem."
VonGunn fiddled with his goatee again. "Yes… I see your point. However… His presence here is required… most urgently. I think that it takes precedence over any trouble you're having with the man. We would… send him back, once we were done with him."
Yasi and Archivist both looked to Keeper.
"Finders keepers." Keeper cracked suddenly, fierce as a whip crack, and disconnected. An instant later, they were alone at the Round Table.
Keeper spun on Yasi. "Yasi, Niklos might not be a problem for us, but best to find out now."
The Shinobi Captain was already thinking. "Long shot. It's a big city, Keep. Finding one guy that doesn't want to be found..."
"I know." Keeper nodded. "But Berlin want him for something. Something serious enough to break a sixty year streak of not calling us. VonGunn is scared. Find out why, Yasi."
"When I find Owen Niklos, what do I do?" Yasi asked.
"For now, nothing." Keeper said, sending a look to Archivist who nodded agreement. "He hasn't done anything to us, and until that changes, he could be here because he's scared of VonGunn. All our information on Berlin Below is sixty years out of date."
Archivist agreed. "We can't plan out our next move or put our pieces on the board until we know what game we're playing."
Yasi stood. "I have to talk to Wotcha."
~oo00oo~
Officer Grey waved his badge at the Beat Cops laying out the Crime Scene Tape along the Hudson River. They checked it and waved him through. "What have we got?"
"Three bodies. Two male; one female." The Medical Examiner told him; leading the way over. "None of them over thirty. The bodies are stripped; but that's the least bizarre part of this crime scene."
"Tell me." Grey responded; lighting up a cigarette.
"The bodies washed up on shore; but this area was patrolled by the Beat Cops last night before high tide."
"So they didn't wash up; they were dumped."
"That was what I thought too, but there would have been tracks in this kind of mud. Plus, there's very little mud on the bodies; so they had to come from the water; not the road. Harbor Patrol swears that there were no boats on the water that time of night."
"So... what?" Grey drew the timeline in his head. "They washed up after the tide?"
"Best guess is that they came up from under the water at the wrong time."
"Then they must have been down there a while. Mob hit?"
"Cause of death is hard to pin down. No poisoning I can see; no wounds of any kind. The bodies are untouched. There's some bruising around the arms, knuckles and torso; but not enough to kill. Before they died; they were in a scrap."
"Well, check..." Grey trailed off as he got a closer look at the corpses. They were all ghostly pale; all without a single hair on their bodies. The bruises were small but showed up brilliantly against their impossibly pale skin. "Whoa."
The ME nodded. "Yeah; there it is. Their skin has no pigmentation. At all. I have never in my life seen that. If they were alive they'd probably be screaming in the sun right now."
"Well, that's strange." Grey scanned around the Crime Scene, getting a feel for the area, and noticed a small boy sneaking under the tape; trying to get a closer look. "Hey!" Grey shouted.
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