New Game

In his wake

Agent Quinn entered the cluster of desks crammed in the center of the crowded offices, tossing his bag onto his desk and flopping back into his chair. He glanced around the bull-pen, noticing that he was the only member of the team currently present. He took a long, contemplative sip of his coffee and looked around the cluster of desks. The office was already bustling with activity. Agents rushed back and forth into the surrounding offices, screaming into phone receivers, and scribbling out hurried lines on mountains of paperwork.

Despite the fact that he was working on a case of homicide, Agent Quinn was technically still a member of the Foreign Affairs Division and the department shared their offices with the branch of the Bureau that handled white collar crime. Aviah Harpaz had previously worked as a detective in the White Collar Division prior to her appointment on the Fetcher investigation.

"Hey Quinn," a light twang he was growing accustomed to snapped to attention. He looked up to find Ida perched on the edge of his desk, a piece of apple strudel balanced precariously on her knee. "Wanna bite?" she offered the pastry to Harold, who shook his head. "Suit yourself." she smiled, taking a large bite of strudel and chewing slowly. The other observed Harold quietly for a few moments before swallowing a mouthful of food and commenting, "What's up? You look like hell."

Agent Quinn flashed her a sarcastic grin, "Thanks for the sentiment, but we can't all be as beautiful as your girlfriend." he quipped, flipping his hair in imitation of what he imagined was a feminine manner. Ida laughed, taking another bite of her pastry and shaking her head.

"Yeah, she's a bit like that." she admitted, smiling to herself. "But I think that's the same reason I love her." Ida noted. She gazed down at the strudel in her hands, lost in her own thoughts. Her eyes began to moisten and Ida shook her head roughly, rubbing her eyes quickly and refocusing her attention. "Seriously, what's eating you?" Ida asked, "You look way too tired for somebody who supposedly got eight hours of sleep last night." she gestured to the dark circles underneath Harold's eyes.

Quinn contemplated whether or not he should tell her the truth about the dreams. Obviously, Ida was a lesbian so he doubted that the knowledge that Harold preferred the company of males would be much of a shock. The man bit his lip. "Well—"

"Hello, Ida. Quinn."

Mercifully, Harold Quinn's thoughts were cut short by the genial voice of another agent. He silently thanked God for the interruption as Ida hopped off his desk and turned to greet the new arrival. Aviah Harpaz walked over towards the two, looking decidedly more rested than the last time Harold had seen her. She nodded to the others and faced Harold, "How are you holding up after meeting with the Countertenor?" she asked, "Scott was really worried about you." she confessed, a concerned expression crossing her features.

He gave her a tired smile and waved his hand dismissively, eschewing the questions. "I'm fine. Stop, both of you. I'm too good to be one-upped by Michael Jackson. Seriously!" Agent Quinn reassured his fellow agents. The other two exchanged looks of slight amusement. "Scott is just over-thinking. Typical egghead." Harold stated, matter-of-factly.

"Well, that's good." Aviah smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes which still held concern. "Hey, have either of you managed to come up with any answers to the riddle that the Countertenor gave us? I don't have any." She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"That fucking asshole!" Ida seethed, stamping her foot on the floor in frustration. "Why did he tell us he had a lead and make Harold go all the way down there if he was just gonna give us some crazy riddle?!" the woman fumed, speaking to no one in particular. "He's just fucking with us while Aisha's life is at stake! I oughtta skin his hide!"

"Those people were marked from the beginning."

"What did you just say?" he asked, furrowing his brow and fixing his gaze on the woman.

Ida gave him a weird look, pursing his lips. "I said I oughta skin his hide." she repeated, more calmly. He allowed the words to sink in a second time. He sat in silence for a few moments, focusing on the statement. Suddenly, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

"The end result isn't very sweet."

"Oh. My. God!" Harold yelped, shooting out of his seat and nearly knocking his coffee to the ground. Aviah and Ida gawked at him. "Call everybody and tell them to get their asses down here and meet up in the conference room!" he demanded, "I need to check on something, but I think I figured it out!" Harold shouted. He ran off. Startling everybody as he zoomed past, nothing but a blur knocking items off the surrounding desks and sending papers flying to form a cyclone that swirled angrily in his wake.