//------------------------------// // Chapter two: Stopping a threat and the trip begins // Story: Gleaner Chronicles // by sevenofeleven //------------------------------// Gleaner Chronicles L. A. Jacques Bistro A few days ago The silver and white kitchen at Jacques Bistro was humming. And just like a hive, to an untrained eye things might look chaotic but it was far from that. Jose Fernandez, one of the cooks, was finishing up shredding some parmesan cheese. “Yo, Marg, are you done with that beef?” He looked at a tall, gray eyed, blonde who was across a silver table from him. She was slicing up some meat. Margot Summerholt looked up and replied. “Almost, just two more pieces and I’ll be done.” Then she went back to shaving off another paper thin piece of pinkish beef. “Seriously, Marg. Don’t use calipers this time,” Jose joked as he put the cheese away and reached for some olive oil. Brown haired and brown eyed, Andrea Cardoza walked by and said with a wink. “Marg uses laser calipers now!” “Guys, if it is worth doing, it’s worth doing right!” Margot said while handing the plate of beef to Jose. Margot worked for an alien organization called D-core that protected worlds in different universes from outside threats. She was a field agent on standby. Since D-core knew about the problems idle hands could get into, they had a policy to put agents to work in between missions. Working in a busy French restaurant was no big deal for Margot, at least she could go home at a decent time. Any mistakes did not cost anyone’s life. At the worst maybe some money from her paycheck. On the other hand, there was less excitement. Margot missed the life or death stakes in some of her earlier missions, but now she was content. It helped that she met a nice guy name Brad Turow. Margot’s cellphone vibrated. For a second she thought about ignoring it, but then she wondered if it was a call from Brad. She pulled out a black cellphone from her dark blue jeans. There was a terse message from H. G., Harris Goldman, the D-core Station Chief for L. A. It just said, “Come in.” She thought that maybe there was a new mission for her to execute. The good news was that Jacques Bisset, the guy that owned the bistro,was an ex D-core agent and would not ask questions. Margot slid the phone back into her pocket, and went looking for him. It did not take her long to find the short man with the short brown hair, he was working on some desserts while wearing green gloves. She watched as he ran a small blowtorch over the custards to make a crust on the surface. Margot licked her lips, she remembered how tasty the Blood Orange Creme Brulee desserts were. Jacques faced Margot and locked his brown eyes on her. “What?” Margot looked away from the desserts to look Jacques in the eye. “I have to come in. Family problems.” She did not have to say the family part but in a crowded kitchen, it would make more sense. Jacques stuck out his gloved hand. “I wish you well. It’s been an honor.” Margot shook his hand while a realization dawned in her head. Maybe this was a mission offworld and she was never coming back? Margot did not want to end the relationship with Brad this early. She decided to wait until she knew all of the facts. L. A. D-core LA Station D-core’s L.A. station building was a shabby six-story walkup next to the warehouse district. The faded yellow bricks had seen better days. Margot looked around at the empty street around her. No one was there. Then she focused her attention on the rusty door and keypad at the station entrance. She typed in the code then the door opened and beeped. Margot stepped inside. Once Margot was inside, she sighed. The peeling, white paint on the walls was still there except for the chips on the floor. The grey steps beckoned her to climb, sweat, and pant. The idea of having to walk up five flights of stairs in a hot stairway added to her resentment of D-core. First make her sweat and then send her away. It did not seem or fair to her. Margot started up the stairs. A more logical part of her mind replied that she owed D-core a lot. They found her when she ran away from home. Margot shied away from thinking why. It was complicated. Then D-core taught her how to use her abilities for Invocation(energy manipulation), Divination and some other magical abilities she picked up while in the field. While she walked up the stairs, she knew she was being monitored. There were probably all sorts of surveillance devices locked on her, but Margot did not care. As long as she did not stop to magically scan anything, no one would care. The stairway was quiet, that was probably because the rooms had sound blocking magic or tech. Margot figured both. On the fifth floor, there was a gray metal door and a keypad right next to it. Margot typed in the code for the fifth floor and the door opened with a click. A bead of sweat fell from her brow. Margot ignored it as a blast of cold air hit her. She sneezed and wondered why they cranked up the air conditioning while she walked down the hallway. No peeling paint here, the light green hallway was dust free but the framed prints of abstract artwork were ugly. Margot could easily spit up stuff that was prettier after a night of partying. Most of her stuff would be in shades of brown though since she just drank whiskey or vodka. Her focus went back to the hallway. Harris’s office was just a few steps away. Margot had been to his office a few times. She hoped it would not be the last. Harris’s door was open and he sat at his desk. Harris Goldman had red hair and gray eyes. She noticed that his white shirt had sweat stains around the neck and armpits. In front of his desk was a plain black metal chair. He smiled a quick smile as Margot entered the room then he pointed toward the door. She closed the door and sat down. Harris raised his hand and did the ‘wait’ hand signal. He reached under the desk and hit a button. Margot cringed when the security field came online. She hated the cold clammy feel of the spell. Now nobody could spy on them using magic or tech. Harris waited a few minutes then he ran his hands through his thinning hair. “Ok, lets do this. I have a lunch date. We have a situation that requires your knack for getting into trouble. Precogs upline have seen that an unknown organization is planning some sort of attack at several areas on planet Earth. You will be assigned to a group that is going to protect the Mall of America from an attack at 2 p.m.” Margot’s eyes narrowed, “Really? Thats it? I hope that I can sense their weapons or things are going to go pear shaped real quick.” “Well, that is what we have now. When more info becomes available, you will know. Due to the fact that the attacks are all over the world, we will be making some of our operations public. You will be working with Homeland Security and the FBI,” Harris said then he opened a drawer. A few seconds later he handed Margot a large yellow folder. She went through the folder. Inside there were some forms, a gold badge and a gun. “Working with the locals can be...” “Yeah, I know. Upline strongly suggests that you do not use the word ‘magic’ on this world because it will reduce credibility even though that might be the truth. On other worlds, people would accept magic but here not so much. Use ‘alien tech’ instead. I know it’s a bad way to begin, and sustain a working relationship but these people have to listen to us first,” Harris said while searching through his desk for a pen for Margot’s forms. “That stuff will bite us in the end,” Margot said then she looked over Harris’s desk. What happened to your pens?” she said when she sat back in her chair. “Oh I dunno. I got two. Give me a sec while I check that they work. Yeah, I hear you. My kids watch a show about magical ponies. If you were there, they would take the magic explanation without blinking, but in this world that is not going to happen without lots of evidence. Even then there will be people who will not believe.” “I doubt that there is a world with sentient ponies. We would have heard about it,” Margot said with a dismissive shake of her head. “Well, I read a paper in which the writer theorized the existence of an Equine Multiverse. He said it was possible that beings with a primate brain would not exist there or they would be changed. It’s possible somewhere sentient ponies could be living out their lives wondering about humans,” Harris said while handing Margot two pens. Margot wanted to reply that ponies had more interesting things to think about than humans, but the change in Harris’s voice made it clear he was back to business. “Margot, you are now a FBI agent, try to reduce the mayhem.” He locked his gray eyes on Margot’s face. Harris’s piercing gaze did not waver. Margot looked away and then back. “Fine, I will find who is responsible for the bombs or whatever and stop them with a minimum of collateral damage.” Margot smiled. “I promise to leave half of the city standing.” Harris looked away. “Fine. That’s the best anyone could do. I will give you a transport slip and you will take the transport ring to the temp local station outside of Bloomington, Minnesota. There you will meet the staff onsite. Fill out your forms first then head to the ring.” Bloomington, Minnesota Mall of America Parking Lot Section C5 Present It was a warm June day at the Mall of America. Crowds of shoppers flowed through its white and silver doors to take advantage of the bargains to be had. Others were there to meet and greet. A much smaller group inside had more serious business in mind as they searched for threats. Undercover Homeland Security agents carefully watched the people inside. Outside, more undercover agents were preparing to assist in the search for threats. Margot watched the white and silver doors at the front of the mall open and close. She was dressed like a tourist, white blouse with a grinning pink pony with bright blue eyes on it. The bright blue text under the pony said, "Smile." For some reason, when she picked out the shirt, it seemed to resonate. Blue jeans and cheap white sneakers finished her fashion statement. Her Glock 43, a 9mm pistol, was a cool weight against her back as the warm breezes played with her hair. Margot looked at Mark Strickland, one of the FBI agents she was working with. He was bald with bright blue eyes. Today, he was undercover and wore a white T-shirt and khakis. Shiny black sunglasses protected his eyes from the bright sun. He grimaced. “I guess its time to dance.” A quick glance at his watch showed that there was only fifteen minutes left before the attack happened. Margot put her earpiece from her headset in her ear. Mark put in his earpiece too. Margot nodded then she put on her shiny black and gold sunglasses. Mark started out across the parking lot to the doors of the mall, Margot followed him. When she reached the front double doors, for a few seconds, Margot thought she saw pink fur on her arm, then the fur changed to her regular skin color. What the hell, Margot thought. She paused for a moment, staring at her arms. Mark bumped into her. That caused her to push that weird image to the back of her mind to fuss over later. Every second counts and Margot already felt she’d wasted some. With a quick yank, she opened the door and held it for Mark Cold air that smelled of pizza and other snack foods hit Mark and Margot. The sounds of people talking and cellphones ringing threatened to deafen them. A glance upward showed eight floors. An idea surfaced in her mind about how difficult it was to find the threat in such a large place. Using magic to cast a spell was out, if the enemy was sensitive to magic, they would set off the bomb. Its better to go quiet and not attract attention. Margot closed her eyes and tried to passive sense magic. Nothing came up and she opened her eyes. She moved toward the escalator. Margot desperately hoped that they would get more clues because there was no way to logically find the threat. Of course they did not know the nature of the threat either. A nagging worry surfaced at the back of her mind, maybe they would not find the bomb or the threat until it went off. Margot shook her head to get rid of that thought. Near the escalator she tried again to feel for alien magic. This time she caught a quick feel of something. It’s like catching a whiff of frying bacon in a perfume factory. The slight hint of magic was upstairs somewhere. Margot went on the escalator while Mark followed. “Why are we going upstairs? We didn’t finish downstairs,” Mark asked with a quizzical look on his face while he rode upwards. “I think what we’re looking for is up here,” Margot replied while trying to sense more of the strange magic. That attempt failed. When they reached the next floor she checked out her watch, eight minutes left. Margot walked by a Target store while trying to think how to find the alien artifact. It would be a shame if what she sensed was not related to the attack. A crisp authoritative voice filled their headsets. “This is Supervisory Special Agent Monica Williams. We just received more info. The attack is bomb related. Also the ones responsible are wearing black and green with backpacks. Make the last eight minutes count.” Margot focused again, and this time she sensed the alien magic. Again it faded away, but she had some ideas where to go.. Ahead there were some tables and chairs next to a glass wall. Two sets of teens were sitting down. One group was a bunch of girls fussing with their phones while the other table had one teen drinking something orange from a bottle. She made a beeline for the single teen. Mark followed Margot while checking out the other people. Her subject was a male white teenager with pale skin and black hair. His green eyes looked at Margot and moved on to other sights. She noticed he wore black and green, but Margot was not sure he was the target. The pulse of alien magic was in the area though. She would have spent more time trying to get more clues when her second sight flared up, and showed what the teenager really looked like. She saw a black pony like creature with insect-like green eyes and a gray mane and tail. Also, the creature had fangs and a twisted holey black horn sticking out of its forehead. Margot stepped back in surprise. She took no chances. "FBI! Put your hands up!" Margot said then smoothly grabbed her gun and pointed it at the creature. The teen’s left hand moved like it was reaching for something. Margot did not give the creature a chance to do anything, she put a shot through its head. Scattering like spooked pigeons, the people near the ‘teenager’ fled screaming. "What the hell! Summerholt! What th-" he stopped when the body transformed. One second, it was a teen wearing black and green and the next it was a strange looking pony with an oozing red hole in its head. Mark looked at Margot with confusion and fear in his eyes, but Margot was looking at the creature’s knapsack. She walked to the bag and knelt down next to it. After a quick magical scan for traps that came up negative, Margot carefully opened the knapsack. An blackish-green oval shaped object lay inside. A square box was connected to the object by some black wire-like stuff. Margot could not understand all of the magic emanating from the device. Some of it she did understand. She cast a locator spell to find more objects.The spell came back quickly. Four more objects were in the mall. A feeling of dismay filled her. Margot turned the item over and saw the display. There was just one small green alien symbol. It seemed to be shrinking. Margot did not understand the symbol, but she was willing to guess it was part of a countdown sequence. Margot felt when the symbol faded away, it would not be a good idea to stand next to the device. "We have to leave now," Margot warned while she carefully closed the bag. Then she placed it on the table. "Let’s evacuate the building first," Mark said while looking at the crowds that were still on that level. He wanted to see what was in the bag, but Margot’s statement made him step back. Mark glanced at the bug eyed pony lying on the floor. He wondered what sort of world would make such a creature. "Tell the others to evacuate while we are leaving the mall," Margot said while she headed to the escalator. Mark followed her while talking to the other agents on the headset. “We have to leave now. Yeah, its a bomb! I am not going to hang around and find out firsthand. Get those people out!” He switched from his headset to yell at the few people around him. “Get out now!” "How much time do we have?" Mark asked as he ran down the stairs. Afterward, he kept telling the people inside to evacuate. "Not enough!" Margot replied. Margot and Mark ran down the escalator while screaming at the people that were still downstairs. At the exit out of the mall, Mark gave output on a sudden burst of speed and was outside the building looking in. He wanted to be at least a thousand feet away, but he wanted to make sure Margot got out. “Come on Margot!” He screamed. It was not safe here, Mark wanted to be hiding behind a car or something. The explosion would probably turn the glass in the windows into flying knives. Ahead of Margot, an overweight woman was huffing and puffing away dragging her poor daughter out of the mall when the poor child flopped onto the floor. She just lay there and cried. Her mother was torn between going back and escaping. She just stood there looking. Margot got the tired child on her feet and her mother came back and carried the child outside. The mother turned and mouthed a “thank you” before running off into the parking lot. Then the bombs or whatever the devices were went off. A wave of greenish black swirling alien magic overtook Margot. The next to last thing she saw was the mother and daughter escaping the building. She felt hooks tear into her head and pull. The pain was excruciating. Margot wanted to wish for death, but then she felt something grab her. The last thing she saw was two sky blue hooves wrap themselves around her waist... Some sort of underground area When Margot woke up, she felt strange. Her hands and feet seemed to be missing. She could not feel them. Margot opened her eyes to look at her arms. Her arm ended in a shiny dark red hoof. Seeing that made Margot wonder if she was sane. She closed her eyes for a few minutes. Being in another form was not a new experience for her. Sometimes D-core needed agents to be in other forms for missions. Margot remembered the time she was a dragon. Then again, they made her sign a form. Once that memory surfaced, she felt calmer. Margot wondered who or what turned her into this form. Margot looked around. She was lying on a brown blanket inside a wide dirt tunnel. Every few feet there were wooden columns made of tree trunks. Most of them still had their bark. Wooden planks stretched between the columns to hold the ceiling up. Small lanterns filled with glowing green specks hung from the columns. Margot noticed that the specks moved around like they were flying insects. Across the uneven dirt floor, a small animal with bright yellow fur lay on a brown blanket. Margot studied the creature carefully. It had four hooves and a bushy red tail. The head threw off Margot’s efforts to classify the creature. It was round like a human’s head and not narrow like a real horse or pony. The muzzle was short and the eyes were not on the sides of the head either. Margot also wondered why someone would tie a bow in the strange creature’s hair. The blood-soaked bandages covering her forehooves showed that the creature had been in some sort of accident. Every few minutes, the creature would moan and thrash her rear hooves making her blue horseshoe necklace jiggle around. In the background, Margot could hear people whispering and groaning. Also in the distance, somebody was screaming. "Hey! Are you alright?" a voice asked with concern on Margot's right. Margot looked over to her right, anything to get her mind thinking about something else. An orange creature with a purple mane and tail looked at her. She also had a blue horseshoe necklace, but unlike the yellow one, this being had small wings. Margot wondered what sort of place had these strange colored animals. Wait, she thought, maybe these are alien ponies. Everything else fit except for the freakishly large heads. "Can you hear me?" the orange female creature asked with some annoyance. Margot could see the pony's mouth move. She was actually talking. "Yeah," Margot said while trying to hide her surprise at seeing a talking pony. The orange pony peered closely at Margot. She could see the suspicion and curiosity in the orange pony's purple eyes. "Fine, wait here while I get somepony to explain things to you," The pony said and turned away from Margot. “Wait! Where am I?" Margot asked. She watched as the orange pony ran away. Was she really here or somewhere in a hospital bed, or worse dying on the floor of the mall? Margot wrestled with these questions as she waited.