Veronica Topple and the Machine of Deluded Dreams

Chapter 7 - Fugitives

Fate could be both terrible and kind at the same time. While I fled the evil intentions of Doctor Preston to the unknown that lay beyond the doorway, not more than a few hours later, the American FBI raided the facility and freed all the captives. If I had known they were coming, perhaps I might have stayed, but then, who knew what Preston would have done if I was there for him to use as a valuable hostage.

***

Mandy and Trent stood to one side waiting to be told if they would be allowed to join the taskforce. After a harrowing couple of hours in detention, Sheriff Kent finally gave the okay for him to return to Ofu island and resume his cover. After Sid's initial confirmation of the deceased's identity, it was later confirmed with DNA testing. The samples he had taken were quickly tested and one of the hairs came back as a match for Veronica.

As soon as Mandy and her partner were informed, they checked out of their hotel and took the boat back to Ta'u island, hoping to join the taskforce that was gathering there to raid the base. They could have stayed on Ofu and waited there, but Mandy thought it best they be introduced to the FBI team before the raid had begun. With their status kind of unknown, the FBI officer in charge wasn't quite sure what to do with them. After a few phone calls and some diplomatic hurdling, he came and gave them the good news.

"It seems you two have made same powerful allies," Agent Bradley Jones said. He was dark skinned with black hair and wore a set of dark glasses that he had an annoying habit of peering over at people. Like the rest of his men, he wore a flack jacket over his loose fitting formal attire. Like typical G-men, the black suite, white shirt and black pants seemed to be the standard uniform for the FBI agents. In stark contrast, Mandy and Trent were wearing casual clothes over the top of their operations suit.

Both inspectors looked at each other puzzled by the statement as neither of them knew who he was talking about. Certainly, the Captain had no authority that would make the FBI take note.

"It seems the Director of National Intelligence was impressed with your detective work, even if you were breaking the code of trust between the US and the RA. He's agreed to let you tag along as special consultants," Bradley said. The RA was the abbreviation for the Republic of Australia and its territories.

"What exactly does that mean?" Mandy asked.

"It means you stay on the transport until the swat team has secured the facility. After its safe, you'll have free reign to conduct a search for the missing child," Jones explained.

"I guess that's more than what we could have hoped for," Trent said.

"One more thing, the Director insisted that you're not be put in the line of fire and I'll have to insist that you wear a vest with a dampening field," Bradley continued.

"We have no need to wear a vest," Mandy said. "Our operations suits take care of that," she said, lifting up her shirt to show the black suit she wore under her clothes.

Bradly whistled and nodded his head, "if only we all had such cool toys," Bradley said with some envy.

"Standard issue for all Inspectors in the NPF," Trent said. The NPF, or National Police Force, was formed out of the old Federal Police and were responsible for investigating crimes that took place across state borders or involved foreign civil investigations. Unlike the FBI, the NPF called its officers Inspectors rather than Agents. While the FBI could only conduct investigations within the borders of the United States, the NPF had jurisdiction to conduct investigations that extended past the Republic's borders. There were special protocols that had to be followed when dealing with such overseas cases, Mandy and Trent had just about broken all of them with this investigation.