Report #3270, Transcript Section #17
(Operation SANDMAN)
©1998 Shane Ivey

Keeper:
Fire is crackling merrily in the voodoo house, and a small army of confused police officers surround it. A block away in either direction, crowds and news crews are gathered at the picket lines set by the police. Several ambulances and fire trucks are parked haphazardly along the street among the squad cars and unmarked cars;

Keeper:
ambulances have already taken survivors from the earlier firefight off to the hospitals, and another is preparing to rush the surviving ESU/SWAT officer away.

Keeper:
Capt. Ramsey of the 116th precinct has begun spinning the incident to the press. On your team, Danforth and Lundquist remain shook up badly: Danforth is unharmed, but in shock, while Lundquist is woozy from the beating he took at the hands of a berserk SWAT officer.

Keeper:
Kelley has planned to remain on site to try to keep it secure until DG friendlies can be gathered to suit up and inspect the place.

Keeper:
What do you do?

Rogers:
I had intended to head back to base and contact Osbourne to get him to sort out Agent Morgan.

Rogers:
Is Kelly physically up to keeping the site 'secure' until we can get some friendlies in to do the inspection?

Keeper:
Kelley seems fine--he hasn't been hurt, just shook around a little the last couple of days.

Keeper:
You head back with Danforth, and possibly Lundquist (I'll figure that out when he gets here). Driving past the barricades your car is swamped by news crews, shining brilliant camera lights through the windshields at you.

Rogers:
I assume we are covering up as much as possible

Keeper:
You hear a cacaphony shouted questions: "What's your role in this?" "How many are dead?" "What caused the shootings?"

Keeper:
The news crews crowd around your car, knocking on the windows and shouting.

Keeper:
They knock on the car window again. Several crowd around the front of the car for a better view.

Keeper:
"Can you give a statement?" "Who was the subject of the raid?" "How many police officers were hurt?"

Rogers:
"No comment"

Keeper:
Reporters still crowd around the front of the car, blocking the path, but you nudge slowly out to the street.

Keeper:
A few minutes later you are away from the chaos and en route to the safe house.

Rogers:
Can I help Danforth out with some psychological help?

Keeper:
The drive is quiet, after the confusion and bloodshed of the last few hours. On the way you talk to Danforth, but he's still pretty closed-off. He's not comatose, just unresponsive and jittery.

Keeper:
It's around 10:30 when you reach the house.

Keeper:
What's next?

Rogers:
"I'd better contact Osbourne and fille him in."

Rogers:
rings Osbourne

Keeper:
He answers after three rings: "Osborne."

Rogers:
"Michael here."

Rogers:
"I need to get some things sorted out with you."

Keeper:
"Yeah," he says. "What's your status?"

Rogers:
"The team's intact, thankfully."

Keeper:
"What about the crime scene? Is it secure?"

Rogers:
"The case may have gone very public though, were in full damage control mode over here"

Rogers:
"I've left Kelly in charge of keeping the scene clear untill we can sort out a tema of so called USARMIID technicians down there."

Rogers:
"Kelly's organising that as we speak."

Keeper:
"Kelley doesn't have the clearance to organize that. Look, we have a team of friendlies already on-hand, FBI techs looking at the Breckenridge evidence. I'll arrange for them to come inspect that site."

Rogers:
"Excellent, I'll alert Kelly. Agent Mark is slightly the worse for wear and Danforth is not in the right frame of mind, I'm going to dose him up on sleeping pills and leave him for the night"

Rogers:
"I'll try and sort Agent Mark out here, Do you supervise Agent Morgan of the DEA?"

Keeper:
"Fine. You're the doctor. Yeah, I'm Morgan's supervisor. She's already called to yell about the situation. I'll keep her occupied. All right, here's the thing: the FBI team is led by Special Agent Donna Wang. She'll work with Morgan and the NYPD on the official investigation."

Keeper:
"That should buy a couple of days for you team to conduct a covert investigation. But you'll have to coordinate it as tightly as possible so you can stay clear of them."

Keeper:
"What's your next point of investigation?"

Rogers:
"Believe me I don't want anything more going wrong on this. It's too exposed already for my liking. I think we will have to concentrate on the Breckenridge Corporation and the two guys that tried to kill us for a start."

Rogers:
"But our first priority now has to be the building that just burned can you get me into the FBI team you've arranged to search the site?"

Rogers:
"I assume they are going in tonight."

Keeper:
"All right. Breckenridge has already issued statements. They're planning to cooperate fully with the police to get to the bottom of it."

Keeper:
"You can get into the FBI group, sure. Just be on site when they suit up."

Rogers:
"Right I want to find out what happened, I'm going to talk to Agent mark now to get the full story of what went on then I will at least have some idea of what to look for."

Rogers:
"When the rest of the team are up and around again we'll start in on Breckenridge and the guy in the hospital."

Keeper:
"All right. It may take a couple of hours for the techs to get there."

Rogers:
"It'll give me a chance to talk and debrief Agent Mark and get prepared."

Rogers:
"I'll contact you when I know any more or if Mark comes out with anything important."

Keeper:
"Contact me again when you have an update."

Rogers:
"Right"

Rogers:
calls Kelly

Keeper:
He answers. "Kelley." His voice is low. In the background you hear sirens and shouting voices.

Rogers:
"Hello, It's Michael here, Osbourne has arranged the FBI lab boys to come down to go over the building, I'm going to go in with them, just hang on untill we get there."

Keeper:
"Right."

Rogers:
"What's going on, no one's trying to go in are they?"

Keeper:
"I've been butting heads with the cops. They want their people to get inside, and the firefighters want to get in to put out the fire and look for survivors. So far the toxic substance warnings have kept them clear."

Rogers:
"Ok Osbourne should be handeling it via an FBI team shortly. Can you talk at the moment and tell me what happenend inside?"

Keeper:
He's silent for a moment. "Something was in there."

Rogers:
"Wonderful, I really needed that. Don't suppose you've seen anything similar before?"

Keeper:
"No, not really. A long time ago, maybe, but not really the same."

Keeper:
"If you're going in, just stay sharp. It was big and fast. I think it's what got to Lemonde."

Rogers:
"OK, thanks for the warning, can't use that to keep the cops out mores the pity."

Keeper:
"Yeah." He chuckles ruefully.

Rogers:
"I'll have a chat with Mark and see what he got and then I'll be down to you ASAP. Do you want to come in to the building again or just wait outside, I'll have to get you a suit if you want in?"

Keeper:
"Whichever," he says. "I'm not itching for the shot, but I'll back you up."

Rogers:
"Hey we can decide later. Best not push things to much I've seen the state Danforth is in."

Rogers:
"Right I'm going to talk to Mark, I'll see you soon. Good luck."

Keeper:
"Be seeing you."

Keeper:
He hangs up.

Rogers:
"Right lets get our house in order."

Keeper:
It's about 10:45

Rogers:
"Ok Conner I need to talk to you and Mr. L about what happened in the building."

Keeper:
Danforth is inside, now. He's taken up his post at the surveillance equipment and computers, but he seems to mostly be staring at the screens.

Keeper:
He looks up for a second. He shrugs and says nothing.

Rogers:
"Lets start from the begining and backcheck each other who wants to start?"

Keeper:
(Let's stick with Danforth--Lundquist is either back with Kelley or laid up for a few minutes)

Rogers:
get a tape recorder running.

Rogers:
"Just tell me, and take your time, what happenend when you entered the building, everything feelings, impressions, actions the whole story"

Keeper:
Danforth shrugs again. "We went in after the cops," he mutters. "Then we saw this geek inside. Kelley was about to take him out, then the ceiling crashed in. We took off."

Rogers:
"What caused the ceiling to collapse like that."

Keeper:
"I don't know what. Some big fucking thing. Some kind of animal, maybe, I don't know. I didn't see too well."

Rogers:
"Describe the geek for me the best you can?"

Keeper:
"He was this little black guy. Looked like he belonged in that rat-hole."

Rogers:
"Any distinguishing features, scars what have you?"

Keeper:
He shrugs again. "I don't know. Like I said, we didn't see too well."

Rogers:
"Can you describe the animal for me at all, and do you remember where Mark and Kelly were at this time and what they were doing?"

Keeper:
"They were in the hall. Mark was next to me. Kelley was trying to send tear gas into the place."

Rogers:
"What about this animal what did it do after it's unexpected arrival from above?"

Keeper:
He looks away. "Shit, I don't know. We got out of there."

Rogers:
"Can you describe the size of the animal, colour, smell anything, I'm going into that building shortly and would like to know what to look out for?"

Keeper:
He looks at you for a second. "Big and black and wet," he says. You notice his fingers start shaking again. He looks around.

Rogers:
What's the likely hood of me being able to dose up Conn here with some truth syrum and get some unambigious answers or do I think I'll have to wait for his psyche to recover?

Rogers:
"Hmm sounds similar to something I saw in a hospital room a few days ago."

Keeper:
Well, truth drugs won't sharpen his memories or perceptions any--they'll more likely only muddle them. They'll only make it harder for him to think clearly and intentionally dissemble.

Rogers:
I was thinking about maybe reducing his stress level to hopefully get a bit more info about the big black wet thing out of him

Rogers:
"OK so you decided discretion was the better part of valour and headed on out, what happened to the old Guy?"

Keeper:
"I don't know. "

Rogers:
"Fair enough, anything else you remember about the building? And what did Mark and Kelly do when you got out?"

Keeper:
Danforth shrugs. "Mark was with me. I didn't see Kelley til afterward."

Rogers:
"Fine now how are you feeling at the moment?"

Keeper:
He shrugs again. "I'll cope."

Rogers:
"Right I'm going to have to go and relieve Kelly soon, I'm leaving Maddux in charge here and I'm going to give you a mild sedative to help you get some rest."

Keeper:
He looks up at you again. "I said I'll cope."

Rogers:
"And I said a sedative, and I'm in charge here. Your perfectly safe I just don't want you dwelling on what you saw too much I've been there and it's not a good idea."

Keeper:
He sighs. "Whatever."

Rogers:
"Right, get some rest and we can have another talk in the morning with Mark and Kelly to see what they saw as well."

Rogers:
gives Danforth a sedative.

Keeper:
He does not look happy about it, but he doesn't put up a fight.

JTRogers waits and checks that Danforth is out for the count.

Keeper:
It takes a few minutes to take effect; then you notice the usual symptoms present themselves, as he becomes more sluggish and finally relaxes and lies down to sleep.

Rogers:
"Right, lets talk to Maddux."

Rogers:
"I've got to go back to the scene now, I've dosed Danforth up on a sedative that should keep him out of your hair but keep an eye on him for me." "He's been exposed to a strange situation and I don't want to take any chances."

Keeper:
Maddux nods.

Rogers:
"Anything happen here while we were at the opera?"

Keeper:
"Nope. You guys got all the action."

Rogers:
"Great, typical of my luck, all bad."

Keeper:
He smiles. "Let's hope it improves. It didn't sound good, over there."

Rogers:
"Danforth described an animal; Big, Black, and Wet, ever come across anything similar?"

Rogers:
"I somehow doubt you have" ;-)

Keeper:
"That could be anything. But if it spooked him that badly--I don't know."

Rogers:
"Me and Kelly get to go back in to where it was last seen in a while, what do we have in the way of serious firepower?"

Rogers:
"Bearing in mind half of the NYPD is on scene."

Keeper:
"Not much. Just the small arms. They didn't send us with any demolitions equipment."

Rogers:
"Ok just have to go and face the music then, Keep an eye on Danforth and take care of yourself." "This could be a rather dangerous situation if anything happens contact Osbourne and don't come after us."

Keeper:
He nods grimly.

Rogers Leaves and drives to the scene

Keeper:
Things are as hectic there as when you left, if not more so. The crowds have grown. It's around 11:30, and there are more news crews all around.

Keeper:
There are more cops, too, from the nearby precincts, and several high-ranking officers from Headquarters.

Keeper:
Pressing through the crowds and the barricade, you see Kelley in conference with several very frustrated police officials.

Rogers:
Any news on the FBI team?

Keeper:
Not yet.

Rogers:
Where's Mr. L?

Keeper:
You see one of the police officials stomp angrily away from Kelley. He turns to another and seems to be talking hard and pointing to different locations around the house and the block.

Rogers walks over to Kelly and the cops quickly

Keeper:
Lundquist is sitting in the back of one of the ambulances with his eyes half-shut, all but ignored.

Keeper:
Kelley turns to you as you walk up. He interrupts the police official. "Any word on the techs?"

Rogers:
"Not yet, Osbourne's on it, what's the captain here up to?"

Keeper:
The captain interjects, "This is our city, and we have a duty to search that place for survivors."

Keeper:
Kelley looks at him. "Not while the place is still hot," he says angrily. "Not until we get some experts to check it out."

Rogers:
"Who should be here shortly sir."

Keeper:
The captain shakes his head in disgust. You hear shouts from a corner, down the block, as police shove a group of reporters away from the barricade.

Keeper:
A few minutes later you see another van drive up to the line. After a moment the police wave it through.

Lundquist has joined the conversation.

Keeper:
Lundquist, you've been sitting in the ambulance feeling woozy for the last hour or two while Kelley has tried to keep the voodoo house secure and Rogers took Danforth to the safe house.

Lundquist:
Ohhh, my aching head...

Lundquist:
So, are you coming back to the scene of the crime(s), Rogers? Or staying at the safehouse?

Rogers:
I'm back here already.

Lundquist:
OK, sorry then. So we're just waiting for the space suit guys then?

Rogers:
yep

Lundquist:
Is anybody clamoring to talk to us, or does Kelly have them under control?

Keeper:
In fact, they just arrived: the FBI van just pulled through the police barricades.

Keeper:
The van stops nearby and four harried-looking people step out, all of them wearing dark business suits and looking far more clean-cut than any of you two or Kelley.

Lundquist:
How's our fire doing, Keeper? How much of the buiilding is still standing?

Lundquist:
(REMF's)

Keeper:
The overall structure is still there, but it looks like the fire has done a good number on the inside walls. Fire crews have doused the flames, however. Smoke still rises here and there, but mostly now it is soggy and dark.

Keeper:
(REMF?)

Rogers:
Rear echelon Mother Fuckers

Keeper:
LOL!

Lundquist:
Oh, good, nothing lovecraftian ever happens where it's soggy and dark...

Rogers:
True ;-)

Keeper:
(Sorry, still giggling at REMF)

Rogers:
it an army term

Lundquist:
(Yeah, it's what we field agents always say when someone with a clean set of clothes shows up)

Lundquist:
(Helps us overcome our own insecurities over our bad appearance, you know)

Keeper:
OK, back to the REMFs. . . One of them, an Asian woman about forty years old, approaches your group. "I'm Donna Wang," she says, "FBI. I understand we have a hot area here to inspect?"

Keeper:
She looks at each of you, waiting to see who answers.

Lundquist:
"Yes, that's correct... We believe that there's some unknown chemical contaminant present." Yadda yadda, explain what I told the ESU guys.

Lundquist:
"Were you briefed on this at all?"

Keeper:
She nods and gives the house a good, long stare. She looks less than enthusiastic about it. She glances at you again. "We've worked on the drug."

Lundquist:
"Okay, well then you probably know more than we do. We believe that this building housed the gang which was distrubuting the stuff here in New York."

Rogers:
"Good shall we begin the onsight work then. How many suits do you have?"

Keeper:
"We have a couple of extras," she says to Rogers. "Come on."

Keeper:
Kelley says, "These guys weren't the distributors, though."

Lundquist:
"What's that, Kelly?"

Rogers:
"You coming in Kelly?"

Keeper:
Kelley nods to Rogers. "Yeah." To Lundquist: "You said there was a street gang spreading the shit out here, right? Third Court Warriors? These weren't them. This was a church."

Lundquist:
(To Kelly, quietly... "Yeah, but we make up some fake links between the gang and the church... Gang using the church for cover, that sort of thing... The place burned and the people who know more (Lemonde) are now dead.")

Keeper:
Kelley grunts and nods. He follows Rogers and Wang to suit up.

Rogers:
"Should we ask one of the cops in?"

Keeper:
(Who are you asking, Rogers?)

Lundquist:
"You know, Rogers, I'd love to go in there with you, but... I'm feeling a little under the weather right now."

Rogers:
"What exactly did you see in there?"

Lundquist:
"Nothing, really... Some old guy, Pere Daniel, I think. He acted like he owned the place. That, and... Just a shape, really. But a big one. A large animal, or something."

Lundquist:
"It came though the ceiling right on top of us. I didn't stick around for a closer look."

Rogers:
"Great a large animal, that comes through ceilings, what a day."

Lundquist:
Keeper, I'm not going to go in with the team, but I'm going to get suited up anyway. That way, if a crisis develops, I can respond if I'm needed.

Lundquist:
I'm sure these suits feel extra comfy when you've got a concussion.

Rogers:
"Mr. L do you think it might be worth exposing Agent morgan to the scene?"

Lundquist:
"Tricky question... She might play ball if she sees what might be in there... What do you think, Rogers?"

Rogers:
"How long would it take her to get here, or is she still here?"

Lundquist:
(BTW, I can handle Morgan and the cops... I'll speak to them when my hangover passes here)

Keeper:
Morgan is still around. She's mostly been on the phone.

Rogers:
"Well lets get her suited up then."

Rogers:
"she wanted co-operation let her have it with both barrels."

Lundquist:
"Okay, then, we'll give her the opportunity to poke around, if she wants it."

Lundquist:
I'll go hunt down Morgan. "Agent Morgan?"

Keeper:
She looks impatient. "Yes?"

Lundquist:
"My colleague told me what you said. I understand you're feeling a little out of the loop here."

Keeper:
"Let's just say, if you want to start killing drug users, you might want to send word to the DEA ahead of time. They said this was an Army thing. Is that right?"

Lundquist:
"Hold on a second. We were attacked tonight, by an organized gang which had just killed a New York police officer. We defended ourselves accordingly. Why are you making it sound like we came down here and started something?"

Keeper:
"I'm not blind, Mister--What did you say your name is?"

Lundquist:
"Lundquist, Brian Lundquist. I think there's a lot of misunderstaning here about what's been going on. You all seem to think that we in Justice have an ongoing operation here, that we've been sneaking around behind your backs. That simply isn't the case."

Keeper:
"Then you tell me what's going on. Your friends over there said the Army and Justice were looking into this drug. You guys show up a couple of days ago, and suddenly the bodies start piling up. Coincidences make me real curious, Mr. Lundquist."

Lundquist:
"What happened is this: We became aware of this new drug, the Dreaming Man, spreading around in the Carribean. It got our attention because of its odd side effects, which Mr Rogers says he told you about."

Keeper:
She nods.

Lundquist:
"Well, I heard that the drug was also starting to appear here in New York. So I came up to check into those reports, see if it warranted further investigation. One of the things on my agenda was to speak to you."

Keeper:
"And?"

Lundquist:
"I was here for a day or two and this reverend, Ezekiel, gets himself assasinated under some very fishy circumstances. That got my attention. I began talking to this cop, Lemonde. He semeed to know what was going on."

Lundquist:
"At any rate, the next thing I know I had a couple of private eyes following me around. When I tried to question them they opened fire on me and my companions."

Keeper:
She listens closely.

Lundquist:
"That got my attention. I have one of them under arrest right now, and believe me, I can't wait to speak to him. However, Lemonde contacted me earlier tonight, and told me there was something going on which I had to see."

Lundquist:
"He said it was urgent, that there wasn't time to bring in backup. He sounded very reluctant to go through channels, which made me suspicious."

Lundquist:
"Well, when we arrived here, we were just in time to witness his murder at the hands of these loonies. We tried to help him but they turned on us."

Lundquist:
"That's when I'd had enough. I called in the troops, and here we are."

Keeper:
She looks at the house, then at the van, where Rogers and company are suited up and about to head inside.

Keeper:
"Are your friends with Justice?"

Lundquist:
"Yes, they are."

Keeper:
She nods. "Are you sure about that? They said they were with the Army."

Lundquist:
"Yeah, those guys are with USARMIID. Mr Rogers and Mr Danforth work with me at DoJ. Col Kelly is the head military guy there."

Keeper:
She still looks dubious. "What's next?"

Lundquist:
"At any rate, it seems that USARMIID is even more concerned about the Dreaming Man than we are. They seem to know more about it, too. We've mainly focused on where it's being manufactured and sold, but they've been looking more closely into its effects."

Lundquist:
"Well, I wanted to offer to let you go in there with the team, see things for yourself."

Lundquist:
"They have a couple of extra suits. You'd be safe."

Keeper:
She nods. "Sure. Lead the way."

Lundquist:
"Over here, then. I'd be going in myself but my head is still throbbing."

Keeper:
She follows.

Lundquist:
"Now, as for this talk of a cover up... I'm sure you understand the need for secrecy in an ongoing investigation, Agent Morgan?"

Keeper:
She greets Rogers and the FBI team perfunctorily, then she starts zipping into the orange suit under their direction.

Keeper:
She looks up again. "Yes, I do. I also understand that there are lines to cross, and lines not to cross."

Lundquist:
"Well, this is most certainly an ongoing investigation. We're trying to roll up this whole Dreaming Man organization, before things can spread."

Lundquist:
"It's not our intention to cover up anything. But we need to get to the bottom of this. We never meant to keep you out of the loop. Quite the opposite, in fact... We'd value your assistance."

Lundquist:
"It's just that some rather extraordinary events have gotten the better of us. Quite unexpectedly, I might add."

Keeper:
She nods again as she slides the suit's helmet in place. "Let's see what we'll see, then."

Lundquist:
"So from now on, you're on board. We're going to need your help, Agent Morgan. We're going to need DEA's help too. We've got to stop this stuff."

Rogers:
"Does everyone's suit check out Agent Wang?"

Keeper:
Wang nods. "We're ready to go in."

Rogers:
"Well let us begin then.

Keeper:
Kelley carries his submachine gun. His pistol is holstered on the outside of his suit.

Lundquist:
"Okay, you guys. Be careful in there."

Rogers:
I'll take a shotgun and my pistol

Keeper:
Cameras flash from a block away in either direction.

Rogers:
"Do these suits have radio's?"

Keeper:
The house is quiet and still as you approach it. The fires have been doused, but steam and smoke rise from several places. The structure looks black and charred; truck-mounted floodlights show gutted walls inside.

Keeper:
They do have radios.

Keeper:
Rogers, are you entering the front or back?

Rogers:
"Kelly take us to where you saw the animal last."

Rogers:
How many of us are going in besides myself Kelly and Morgan?

Keeper:
He glances back at you, then at Wang and her team and Morgan. He heads for the front.

Keeper:
Morgan says over the link, "Animal? What's that?"

Keeper:
There are four FBI techs, Kelley, Morgan, and Rogers heading for the house.

Rogers:
"When Kelly was in here last he saw some kind of large animal, don't know if ot was the ffect of the drug or not. It's as good a place as any to start."

Keeper:
She doesn't comment. Kelley walks up the steps. The front door has fallen away from its hinges. Inside you can see the front hall, blackened with soot.

Keeper:
Just inside the front door you see a flame-charred corpse, twisted in the muscle spasms of the fire's heat.

Keeper:
The corpse does not appear to have any remnants of body armor or other police gear.

Rogers:
"Let's keep moving we can't help this man but there may be others."

Keeper:
Ahead, the hall is laden with debris. In several places the ceiling overhead collapsed in the fire.

Keeper:
The FBI team looks around the lower floor first; one of them inspects the corpse, then two others move upstairs.

Keeper:
Kelley heads upstairs with them, as does Morgan.

Keeper:
Lundquist, you hear their reports from the radio: "Moving to the upper level," says Kelley's crisp voice. "Careful--the structure looks real weak."

Keeper:
"It's dark in here, but everything's cold. Nothing's coming up on thermal but a couple of heat pockets."

Keeper:
"There's nobody alive up here. They're going into the debris."

Keeper:
There's a long pause. Then you hear one of the techs: "I don't see anything up here. How many ESU officers came up here?"

Keeper:
Kelley: "Maybe ten." The tech: "You said there was a gang in here, too. There should be bodies all over the place. "

Rogers:
"We should be getting some remains."

Keeper:
Tech: "You made a mistake. Maybe some big ones. There's no bodies at all."

Keeper:
Tech: "Just that one downstairs. The others must have got out."

Rogers:
"Where were those heat pockets?"

Keeper:
Another tech: "I'm checking the basement."

Rogers:
"Kelly, you seeing anything you recognise?"

Keeper:
Kelley: "Heat pockets are up here in the walls. Looks like natural remnants the water didn't get. No, I don't see anything."

Rogers:
"Have you checked where you saw the animal yet?"

Keeper:
Tech #2: "Got the door open to the basement. We're heading down."

Keeper:
Kelley: "Yeah. Just a hole in the floor. I must have imagined it."

Rogers:
"Kelly how stable is the upper floor, anything above you?"

Keeper:
Wang: "Careful going into the basement. Watch the floors."

Keeper:
Kelley: "Just the roof overhead. A lot of it fell in."

Rogers:
"I'm moving to the basement."

Keeper:
Tech #2: "Right. Looks like the fire didn't spread down here."

Keeper:
Rogers, you head down the stairs. Within a minute you catch up with the two techs who went down.

Rogers:
"I'm coming into the basement anything I need to be aware of?"

Rogers:
"Agent Morgan where are you?"

Keeper:
Morgan: "Upper level."

Rogers:
"OK be carefull"

Keeper:
As they said, there doesn't appear to be any fire damage in the basement. The place looks barren as you walk down the stairs. Your flashlights pick out empty boxes and moldy piles of paper. Then your flashlight shows corpses.

Rogers:
How large is the basement?

Keeper:
It looks like a dozen bodies or so, piled into a corner, glaze-eyed and still. They look like refugees from the cult rite which the team interrupted. Their flesh looks cyanotic.

Keeper:
Tech #2: "Found some bodies. Looks like they suffocated."

Keeper:
The basement is small, maybe twenty feet square.

Rogers:
"Lets check them out carefully."

Rogers has a good look round

Keeper:
As you inspect them, it does look like they probably died by suffocation. Tech #2: "Need to do bloodwork to be sure. Looks like they came down here to get out of the fire, and it just sucked the air out."

Rogers:
"Kelly, Agent Morgan you should come down here"

Keeper:
Tech #1: "That's it, then. We got no cops at all in here."

Keeper:
Kelley: "On my way."

Keeper:
Kelley and Morgan come carefully down the stairs and to the basement.

Rogers:
"Mr. L you in the loop here?"

Lundquist:
"Yeah, go ahead, over."

Rogers:
"if you are can you check and see how many ESU officers were in here?"

Lundquist:
"No problem." I'll go find the precinct captain.

Rogers:
"I'm going to have a look at the papers in here"

Keeper:
He says there are six ESU officers unaccounted for.

Lundquist:
I pass that along to Rogers.

Keeper:
Four remained outside the building; two left the house during the chaos. One of those who went inside was still alive at last report.

Keeper:
Six ESU officers and two patrol officers.

Rogers:
"Ok everyone hear that? We've got another 6 bodies to find no fire in a building is going to consume 6 people without a trace."

Keeper:
Tech #1: "If you see any bodies, you say the word. I'm telling you, there's nothing up here."

Rogers:
"Well you heard the report as well as me." "Maybe some sort of fireball could have burnt the tissue completely but what about the guns and stuff start looking for melted objects"

Keeper:
Morgan: "Well, gentlemen? You have anything else you need to share?"

Rogers:
"I know that's a bit hard in a fire scene but I mean body armour stuff like that."

Rogers:
"Mr. L what's the scene in the yard?"

Rogers:
"Agent Morgan are you heading to the basement?"

Keeper:
Tech #1: "Kevlar melts. It leaves residue. There's not any. Your cops aren't here."

Keeper:
Morgan and Kelley come down the stairs to the basement.

Rogers:
"OK anyone have any ideas on where 6 ESU cops just dissapear to then?"

Lundquist:
"The yard is the same as before."

Keeper:
Nobody answers, Rogers.

Rogers:
"Kelly recognise any of these corpses?"

Keeper:
Kelley: "Not really. They might have been in that crowd. There were too many of them to tell."

Rogers:
"So one of them isn't the man you encountered inside then?"

Keeper:
Kelley: "No."

Rogers:
"Lets have a quick look at these papers then and then we can let the police in. I assume that from a chemical viewpoint the fire would have destroyed the drugs?"

Keeper:
Wang: "Yes."

Keeper:
Rogers, you look at the papers, but they are mundane. They look like household records from some previous occupant, years ago.

Keeper:
Lundquist, your phone buzzes in your pocket.

Lundquist:
"Lundquist."

Keeper:
"Lundquist, this is Daniels, Internal Affairs Bureau."

Rogers:
"I want all the papers boxed up and moved out with us and the corpses to the lab."

Keeper:
Wang: "Affirmative."

Lundquist:
"Yes, hello Mr. Daniels. What can I do for you?"

Keeper:
Daniels: "I thought you'd want to know: Joseph Pace is dead."

Lundquist:
"What? How did it happen?"

Keeper:
Daniels: "We took him to Rikers this morning to hold him until his arraignment. Somebody put a shiv in his chest a couple of hours ago. Nobody's saying nothing on the inside."

Lundquist:
"Good lord. That is a surprise. Any leads on who shivved him?"

Keeper:
Daniels: "Like I said, the inmates aren't saying a word. Nobody saw nothin'. The guards say they aren't too surprised, though."

Lundquist:
"Well, that is a tragic blow to your investigation... Thanks very much for letting me know, Lieutenant. If you need anything from me just give me a call."

Keeper:
Daniels: "Well, how about we meet tomorrow for a few minutes? I'd like to double-check a couple of things with you."

Lundquist:
"Sure thing. When's good for you?"

Keeper:
Daniels: "Two o'clock ought to be good. Uh, outside the office might be best. I'll let you know when I find out where I'm going to be."

Lundquist:
"No problem. Just give me a call."

Keeper:
Daniels: "Thanks."

Keeper:
Rogers, the FBI team starts hauling bodies and boxes up.

Rogers:
"Right Mr. L I think we should start to examine the outside of the building now where we encountered the trouble."

Lundquist:
"Yeah, good idea."

Keeper:
In the end they load twelve corpses into the van. None of them appear to be those of police officers.

Rogers:
"Kelly stay here just in case anything turns up when they move the boxes and corpses out"

Keeper:
Cameras flash and pop again from a distance.

Rogers:
"Agent Morgan would you accompany me please."

Keeper:
Morgan follows you.

Lundquist:
I want special care taken with the badly burned remains. Hopefully, the forensics team can still learn something from it.

Lundquist:
Err, them.

Rogers:
"Mr. L this situation seems safe enough do you want to meet us in the garden for want of a better word."

Lundquist:
"Yeah, I'm on my way.

Rogers:
"Agent Wang can you meet us outside please."

Keeper:
She reiterates a couple of orders to the other three agents, then she comes out to the back to join you.

Lundquist:
"We need to gather up these braziers... They may still contain hazardous substances, and ought to be analyzed."

Rogers:
"Best do a dig of the area as well could be stuff buried."

Keeper:
Wang looks around and nods. "I'll have the team take care of this area."

Rogers:
"Might need to do that in the basement as well."

Keeper:
The back "yard" of the house is still undisturbed since the battle: the corpses have been hauled away, leaving only deep bloodstains across the yard. Lemonde's remains have been removed, as well.

Keeper:
Morgan asks, "Well, what's going on?"

Lundquist:
To Rogers: "We'll want to bring in NYPD as early as possible out here, let them do most of the forensic work. That way, they won't feel like we're hiding stuff from them."

Lundquist:
"I'm going to try to get a multi-agency task force put together to investigate this incident and the spread of the Dreaming Man drug in general. I think there's a lot more going on here than meets the eye."

Rogers:
To Mr. L "Yeah lets check on the position of the braziers and that of Lemonde's corpse, we'll need a full autopsy on that"

Lundquist:
"We need to start pooling our resources here."

Keeper:
Morgan looks back at the house. "Mr. Lundquist, you have half a dozen cops who went in there and didn't come out. What is going on?"

Lundquist:
"I'd love to know the answer to that myself, Agent Morgan. Right now, your guess is as good as mine." (total sincerity here!) "Whatever it is, it warrants a closer look."

Keeper:
"All right. We need to tell Captain Ramsey and the Deputy Commissioner. They'll want to start searching for their men."

Rogers:
"Agent Wang if you come across any remains or anything strange which could be related to those ESU cops give it top priority"

Rogers:
To Mr. L "We'd best get to that guy in the hospital, and ask some questions."

Lundquist:
"We need to start looking for tunnels, maybe access to the sewer or something. Those cops must've gone _somewhere_."

Rogers:
"Need to dig out the plans for the building"

Keeper:
Morgan nods and sighs. "I'll go tell the others. Call me if you need me."

Lundquist:
"Also, question the neighbors... See if the church did any construction, maybe something they didn't have permits for..."

Keeper:
(Note: it was not technically a church--more a residential house that was used for worship ceremonies.)

Keeper:
Morgan nods and heads for the police brass.