CH 1: Once Upon a Time...

Liam looked over at Pepper, "well apparently Hope set off some fireworks and was threatened to have his DS taken away. That's about all I got from that," he responded taking a sip from his coffee.
 
"Yo! I got a few hits here," Hope calls out. Hope downloads the data and sends it to the printer. Once ready, Hope grabs the pages and walks over to the wolf. "Here ya go! Did I do a good job or what?" Not waiting for a reply, Hope heads over to Pepper's desk and slides her a few wrapped caramels before tossing a wrapped peach gum drop at Sammy. "I don't wanna do paperwork, so I'm just gonna color."


Hope sits on the floor in front of his desk, adjacent to Humby's before pulling out some paper and crayons. He "drops" the crayons, having to lean over to slowly pick them up, one by one, not caring about the fact that his skirt could only cover so much of his rear.
 
Fenric accepted the printouts and set them aside to be read.  Then, Hope started coloring.  On the floor.  Fenric glanced down, spotting the Pan's semi-exposed panties, and rolled his eyes, returning to his paperwork.  As responsible as he tried to be, and as good an example as he tried to set, Fenric haaaaated the constant reports they had to file.  Even in offices where computers could be used, there was no such thing as a paperless office.  But at LIBRIS, where everything had to be done the old-fashioned way...


 The dull silence was broken by Director Putnam walking into their office. The Director was glad to see them working--except for Hope, of course, but he'd long ago given up on the weird, age-hopping boy.  Frankly, if he'd had his way, Hope would've been locked up.  But then, so would Fenric, who would be taken out on a leash to track down other dangerous stories.  


 Fenric looked up and  spotted Putnam.  "Director Putnam," he said, "what brings you here?"


"As glad as I am to see you *finally* doing paperwork," Putnam said, "we have a serious problem."
 

Pepper Monigan
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Pepper just looked at Liam. Really? He didn't pay attention at all? Oh come on! She wanted to have something funny to talk about.  She pouted at him as she stood up fully. "Oh come on Liam! That's all you got out of that? That's no fun at all." she whined at him. Why did she rely on him to keep track of this sort of thing?
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She watched as Sam went to her desk avoiding Humbert's gaze. She shook her head and walked over to Samantha's desk giving her the coffee she brought for her. " Here ya go Sam, thought you would like some coffee," she told her with a smile. From the look Scruffy gave Sam she was going to need it. After that she headed for her desk and sat down at it.
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Humbert mentioned the toads and that got Pepper's attention right away. Everyone there knew how she was towards animals. Hell one of her powers allowed her to communicate with them. She looked to Humbert. "...The toads weren't hurt were they...?" she asked quietly.
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Things changed rather quickly as just one word from their leader. The dreaded P-word. She heard a collective groan from her coworkerts. "Scruffy! You know I'm allergic to that stuff! You can't go saying the P-word around me! I'll break out in a rash!" she joked as she gathered the papers on her desk to start working on. Sure she hated the chore but it had to be done. It was the one part of this job that she hated. No that was too nice a word. She despised it. Loathed it with all her being.  
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As she was working on her paperwork Hope soon finished with what Humbert had him do and headed over to her. She looked up at him to see what he wanted. He gave her some candies and she grinned at him.
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"Aw, Hope you shouldn't have! You know Scruffy's going to get all jealous that I have candy and he doesn't." She laughed. She watched as Hope grabbed his crayons and then 'dropped' them purposly bending down in front of Humbert's desk. Pepper covered her face as she tried to hold in laughter. Oh that was too perfect. She was about to say as such when the Director decided to show his face.
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She was silent when he was in the room. She was confortable with her team mates but she wasn't as confortable around him. She remained silent when he said that there was a serious problem. What could this be about? Couldn't be anything good if the Director decided to grace them with his pressence. 
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Liam just shrugged, "I like to stay out of people's business. Less drama there is the better I feel," Liam responded taking another sip of coffee. "Paper work, no problem. You know what else is fun? Watching paint dry," he added coily. 
 
Hope's ears caught the word serious, which he did not like. Hope was never fond of having to be serious, it completely went against his carefree attitude.  Hope stood up from where he sat to look at Putnam. "This better be for reals cereal Pooty and not the Oh Hope set trip wires in the hallway again," Hope said with a pout. Putnam was always complaining about him, hence earning the nickname Pooty. Hope bet he was the one who told Humby about the prank on the driver, thus robbing him of sweet sugary coffee. Hope benches a thought of getting him back by setting off the sprinklers in his office for the time being to go and check on his systems at his desk. He sends Pepper, Liam and Sam a group text on how Pooty was a poopyhead and waits for their reactions.
 
Samantha, who had stared off into space after being glared at by Fenric, was taken back when a peach gum drop was thrown her way, landing on her desk.She nodded to Hope with a smile. " Thanks. " She said as he bent down showing off his butt. She sighed shaking her head, though she didn't get to do anything else for Pepper had turned to her. When Pepper said she thought she would enjoy a coffee. 


" If we are dealing with the P- Word than I'm gonna need coffee. Thanks. " She said with a smile, as she looked back at her own paperwork, prepareing to get started before she got distracted. Right as she was about ready to get started The Director walked in. She frowned as Fenric asked what brought him here. She frowned further at his answer. 


" What's up?" She asked raising her eyebrows so they could be seen above her glasses. Right about then she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, but ignored it, knowing that is she got on her phone she could get in even more trouble than she already was. 
 
"We just got a report of a homicide," Putnam said, glaring daggers at the Pan--whom Fenric absentmindedly swatted on the head with a rolled-up file.  "And this time, it was one of our own: Doctor Reynard Redmond."


Fenric blinked at that.  He knew Redmond.  The man was a psychiatrist who specializes in helping ME's deal with Narrative struggles.  


"I want your team to take over the investigation," Putnam continued.  "Your glamoured IDs should get you around the local authorities "
 
Thankfully the file wasn't too thick, making the Wolf man's swatt passable enough not to earn a yelp from the excitable and inappropriate Pan.


At the news of the doctor's passing Hope looks down with a frown. "No...not Doc Ray Ray." Hope loved to sneak into his office and color on his files or take naps on the recamier seat.
 
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Pepper Monigan
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Pepper was shocked at the news. She had often gone to his office just to blow off some steam that she couldn't at her team mates. They didn't deserve that kind of stuff. Well except Scruffy but still. And never judged her. Ever. He was always calm and understanding. The office was going to be an entirly different place with out him.
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At how uncaring and cold he said the words she couldn't help but get angry. How could he be so insensitive?! One of their own, killed in cold blood. And he just talked about it like it was a normal case. Oh yes, nothing to worry about here, just another case of raining cats and dogs. Nothing strange at all. 
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The redhead stood up from her desk slamming her hands down on to it, not able to stay silent any longer. "How could you be so insensitive about this?!" She demanded. "You act like this is just another random case of raining cats and dogs or something! Dammit! Do you even care?!" she was so hurt and angry about this. She liked Dr. Rey. He had been really nice.
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Her eyes were cold as she stared at bassically their Commander in Chief. She just couldn't understand why he didn't at least act like he cared. It seemed like he didn't care about any of them at all. Like if any of them died it wouldn't matter. Oh well, just have to find more gullible morons to fill the spaces.
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And if she finds out that the man has pets and they are doing dammit to help them she's going to be furious.  Of course she would take them in, she wouldn't let an innocent animal to just be ignored and forgotten. Not when they wouldn't understand why their owner wasn't coming back for them. Her teeth were clenched and her hands were curled waiting for his answer.
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(Hope it's okay :) )
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"Pepper," Fenric hissed, but Putnam silenced him with a glance.  


"Agent Monigan," the Director said in a very calm, measured voice.  "Do not presume to know my mind.  The loss of Doctor Redmond is a blow to us all, and if I did not care, I would not have pulled the necessary strings to assign this case to this team.  You will find,  Agent Monigan, that a degree of detachment is required when dealing with homicides, as I'm sure your team leader was no doubt about to tell you.  This detachment is all the more necessary when the deceased is...was a trusted friend and colleague.  Let your emotions cloud your judgement, and a killer could escape justice.  And we don't want that, do we, Agent Monigan?"
 
Sam stopped, and looked down at her lap, when the Director said who had been killed. She remembered the doc. She didn't know him all that well, but she had a place for him in her mind. When her friend became and ME he was one of the ones who helped both her friend and herself. He was the one who lead her to her job. She heard Hope speak, then Pepper shout at the director. Sam just sat there listening to them. She sighed as she looked at the Director as he spoke. 


" Any clue what got him? Any leads? " Sam asked looking at the director. She doubted they had any yet, but it would be nice to have something to start on. She knew that they had to catch the killer. 
 
Putnam looked at Sam.  "it was only reported an hour ago," he said.  "So, I want you all down there as soon as possible." He dropped the file on Fenric's desk.  "Here's the address.  It isn't too far from here."
 
Hope grabbed his gear and placed them in his backpack in silence. There was something bothering him but at the moment he couldn't tell what it was just yet. After sething his gamin/hacking stuffs on his back, Hope finalizes his preperations by arming himself with his yo-yo in his pocket and his back of smoke bomb marbles.
 
Liam didn't really know the man, sure the doctor wanted Liam to come in and talk to him by the young man refused. He was not one to open up about his life and how he was feeling, standing up he nodded. "Alright everyone, let's go and investigate. The sooner we get down there the sooner we can find out what happened to one of our own and put away the lowlife that ended his life." 
 

Pepper Monigan
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Pepper looked down at her desk and listened to his words. Yeah, yeah, she's heard it all before. Gotta be cold and detached so not to cloud your fucking judgement. Blah blah fucking blah. She got it. It was just hard to do that. To just act as if she didn't care if a friend just got killed in cold blood. Yeah, didn't have to tell her twice. She looked back up at the director, her cold look still on her face, and sighed. "No sir, we don't want that at all. " she said, saying sir about the same tone as the way he had said her name. "You don't have to tell me twice."
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She crossed her arms and sat back down. She had said her part. She would allow the others to have their say. She was silent keeping to herself. She had nothing else to say. She watched as Hope gathered things from his desk and was packing things that he would need. 
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She stood up gathering the things she may need for this and remained silent. She just knew that Scruffy was going to chew her ass up and spit it back out again when he got the chance. "Well I'm as cold and detached as I'm going to get. Let's go investigate a murder scene." 
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Putnam left, and Fenric put on his jacket.  "Let's go, people," he said, and led them to the garage.  They got into one of the big panel vans, which was kept stocked with the standard investigative accoutrements: evidence bags, handcuffs, bullets, fingerprint kits, a secured case of potions, a selection of one-shot spells and talismans--the usual.  And, of course, a condensed copy of the Index.  Fenric made sure everyone had their glamoured ID badges, and drove towards the scene.


***


Doctor Redmond had worked with LIBRIS, but he also had a small private practice.  His private patients were seen in a small office at his home.  Redmond had lived in a surprisingly cute old Victorian house in a sleepy neighborhood.  Red maples were planted in the picket-fenced front yard, and a small vegetable garden grew in the back, where a crop of pumpkins waited to be harvested.  


Some neighbors had been crass enough to actually observe the police coming and going at Redmond's house from their front yard, but most watched from behind discreetly twitched aside curtains.  


When the LIBRIS van pulled up, Fenric had to flash his glamoured badge, which fuzzed over any objections the police might have had over their legitimacy.  Fenric spoke with the police detective in charge, getting the lowdown on what they'd discovered so far.  


After a few minutes, Fenric returned, looking grave.  "Okay, just to warn you," he said, "it's, uh...it's a bad one, people."
 
Liam took a deep breath and stepped out of the van, he never seen a dead body before well at least not in person. Sure he's seen it all on t.v. and was never one to shy away from a good horror flick but when you see it in reality that is different, he slowly made his way towards the scene of the crime. "You know, blood has never bothered me before but I know it's going to be different when I see it up close." He commented, was Liam starting to regret joining this team? Maybe a little, he thought he was going to be behind a computer and not on the field. Oh well he will have to man up and deal with what lies ahead.
 
Humbert went to the small cabinet of potions and took out something that looked like an old-fashioned compact.  He handed it to Pepper.  "You and especially Hope should dab some of this on your faces.  It's a minor glamour spell.  While it's conceivable Sam and Liam are old enough to be on an elite investigation team, you two look way too young." He also picked up a small blue jar.  "You all might also want to apply this to your upper lip to block the smell.  As I said, it's... bad."


Fenric wished he had the option.  But his enhanced sense of smell would be needed.  He just wished he couldn't smell the blood from here.
 
Hope looked around, taking in the pleasant neighborhood sight as he waited for the others to get ready to head inside. Death of an adult began to bother him less throughout his leader days, especially with his second line of work, one that never had been brought up. Hope pushed that all aside and turned his attention to Humby and Peppy. After a brief explination, Hope did as instructed and used the potions that the wolf man picked for them. Once done, Hope took a moment to save his game data as he was playing video games during the car ride, and switch his 3DS from game mode to what Hope named "Awesome Computer Mode."
 
As Hope patted his face with the enchanted powder, his face changed, slightly.  He was the same height and build, but his overall appearance gave the impression of a petite woman of about thirty.  


The salve in the blue jar, applied to his upper lip, made everything smell strongly of vanilla and green onion. Not pleasant, but better than death.
 
The smell was really starting to get to Liam, he's always had a strange sense of smell. "Okay I really think I'm going to hurl, thought I could handle and breathe through my mouth but I was wrong." He spoke hurrying to the van and grabbing the goop putting it under his nose, "ah that's slightly better. Okay back to work," he walked back to the scene examining every inch of the area.
 
Sam sighed as she followed her team to the vehicles and headed out to the crime scene. Once there she waited for Fenric's instructions, who had gone to get a laydown on the scene. She looked at Liam, though didn't speak. She didn't trust her own voice at the moment. She watched as Hope applied the powder to his face and as he changed to look older. She shook her head as she grabbed the blue jar and applied some  of the gel to her upper lip. SHe grimaced at the smell, but it was better then the smell of blood, which had a habit of making her sick. Putting the blue jar done she looked at Fenric. " What's first boss?" SHe asked softly. She needed to be ready for whatever job he gave her. She just hoped she would. 
 

Pepper Monigan
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Pepper was silent the entire car ride there. She had climbed into the vehical and went to the very far seat. Away from all of them. If she was going to keep up this whole bullshit of being an emotionless zombie she wanted as far away from possible conversation as possible. Thankfully that never happened. The only noise came from Hope's game. She wasn't sure what the Pan was playing and at that moment she didn't care.
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Once they arived she climbed out of the vehical and stood there waiting. Her hands were in her pocket and her hood was pulled up. She did this to keep her long hair out of the way. That and to feel secluded from everything else around her. She watched as Humbert went to find out just what was going on around the place. She noticed that the people that lived in the area were not minding their damn business. She wouldn't say anything though.
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Humert went over to her and Hope and handed her a compact. She looked up at him a little confused but then he explained. "Oh, right... That makes sense..." she said quietly. Pepper didn't think that she looked really young but for something like this she supposed it made sense. She had never investigaed a murder scene before. And she wasn't looking foward to this. At all. She  patted her face with the compact and then put the gel on her up lip. 
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Sam asked Humbert what was first and Pepper remained quiet. Had to be cold and detachted. Couldn't distract herself with small talk. She still didn't like the idea of having to be so cold and emotionless when one of your own was murdered in cold blood. Some one who cared enough to keep what was spoken in his office to himself and not tell anyone, unless he felt he had too. Someone like him didn't deserve this. He had been so kind and caring. It just wasn't right...
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Fenric noticed Pepper's behavior, but didn't comment.  This was going to be ugly enough without added conflict.  Fenric made sure everyone had their gloves and booties and that everyone's hair was secure, then led them into the house.


 Everything was done in cozy autumnal colors: reds and browns and golds and rich, well-polished woods.  Everything was tidy and comfortably old-fashioned.  Somewhere, there was a scented candle, or an air freshener, filling the home with the scent of gingerbread.


There were no overt signs of foul play in the small foyer, other than the smell of blood and offal overlaying the artificial gingerbread.  The others wouldnt smell it, and Fenric envied them.  


Through a door off the foyer, however, was the room Redmond used as an office when he saw patients privately.  The autumnal decor was highlighted by the scarlet splashes across the walls and furniture.  Here, the slaughterhouse stench was even heavier.  


Redmond's body was in the process of being removed, having been photographed in situ, but it was involved, as they didn't want to leave any pieces behind.  


 The coroner's people were loading the covered body onto a gurney, but Fenric asked them to wait a moment.


The doctor had been behind his desk, and that was where most of the blood was.  a few fingers were covered, on top of the desk, while his left arm and right hand had fallen to either side--also, thankfully covered.  As was the doctor's head, which had rolled a few feet away.  
 
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