Brannock, Back in the Saddle?

Part 3

They got home just in time for the new show that Thistle wanted to watch.  Brannock chuckled to himself as she seated herself in the middle of the couch, popcorn bowl in her lap, awaiting the beginning of the program.  He started to speak and tried to squeeze in next to her, "Hey did you. . ." but was quickly sushed by Thistle.  He tried again, pointing at the couch.  "Did you want me to. . ."  "SSSHHHH" Thistle responded.  He raised his hands in surrender and seated himself in a side chair across the room.  The show was entertaining; Thistle loved it.  The rest of the night consisted of a detailed analysis of each of the characters and how similar and different they were from ones played on other, previous shows that the various actors had been on. 

After settling Thistle in bed, Brannock contacted the agents designated by his bosses for the night's search operation.  It was rare that captured or missing agents were recovered alive, but there was another concern; that the agent's remains not be used in occult ceremonies or turned into creatures.  So the bodies were always searched for carefully.  As the agents gathered at the agreed upon location, Brannock cursed under his breath.  This was a motley group, to say the least.

Porter was in decent shape and was young, but the others did not look up to much.  Edwards was a tall black guy, but he was older and did not appear to be very fit.  Dalton was perhaps 30, but he walked with a slight limp.  Oh well, Brannock thought, these guys should be okay for this kind of operation.  It is doubtful that we will find this guy alive anyway

"Okay, so we don't have time to play any kind of getting acquainted games, so let's just get going here.  Finch and Porter, stick close together, and Edwards and Dalton pair up.  We'll always have you guys flank out to my right, and Finch and Porter always flank to my left if I call for it.  Make sense?"  All four of the other men nodded, so Brannock continued.  "How is everyone armed?"  Each man displayed a small variety of weapons, and Brannock concluded they were at least pretty well equipped.  He was perhaps the least well-armed, carrying only an extendable baton and his dirk; he wanted to be able to move quickly to protect the newbie agents if needed.

The missing agent had been patrolling in a residential neighborhood when he disappeared.  That in and of itself was unusual, since adversaries tended to favor seedier parts of town and industrial zones where there were lots of shady people to hide among, and plenty of empty warehouse space to set up shop in.  This could be a difficult search, he thought; they couldn't very well go door to door or anything.  But, in case he saw anyone, he had a photo of the missing man, a young white guy, smiling for the camera.

As they rode in a mini van (the only available transportation that would hold all of them) it was obvious the other men were fidgety and nervous.  Brannock made some small talk to try and keep the air from getting any thicker, and as he chatted he tried to think about what types of creatures would hole up in a regular neighborhood.  Vamps will live anywhere, but to capture an agent would have taken probably 20 of them, and no way would a group that size cooperate with one another.  Werewolves might, but they were so rare in the city that was unlikely to be the answer.  Splayers would sometimes live in basements or other damp places since they preferred moister environs.  A few more rare creatures occasionally lived in normal houses, but the ones that he recalled were so uncommon it probably wasn't them either.  Of course there was the 117, who Brannock figured might show up anywhere, but surely that was not it.  It was also possible that the agent had already been taken someplace else, or had been killed and dumped right away.  In any event, a search would soon be underway.

It had been a while since he had worked in a group of this many operatives.  Agents tended to work alone or, more infrequently, in pairs.  The old adage "safety in numbers" certainly applied to agents, but numbers also attracted attention and that was bad news.  The bosses could get agents out of most legal messes but not all, especially if local law enforcement was a little overzealous.  Brannock had generally been pretty lucky that way except out in the country, where boredom often made sheriffs and deputies gun-happy.