Report #3270, Transcript Section #47
(Operation SANDMAN)
©1998-1999 Shane Ivey

[Lundquist and Walter Brenneman have brought Danforth to the nearest hospital.]

LUNDQUIST: I want to give Danforth the standard EMT-style briefing to the best of my abilities.

LUNDQUIST: "Two gunshot wounds, one in the side..." etc etc.

KEEPER: "When did it happen?" He scribbles hasty notes.

LUNDQUIST: "Thirty five minutes ago."

KEEPER: "All right... please stay here, sir, and the doctor will talk to you in a few minutes."

KEEPER: Brenneman waits until the nurse walks off. He shakes his head slightly. "Didn't look good for that kid." He looks down the now-empty hall, where they rolled Danforth away.

LUNDQUIST: "He'll be okay." I try to sound convincing.

KEEPER: He shakes his head again. "So what now? Obviously we're not calling in the big guns."

LUNDQUIST: "I'm going to call the others." Speed-dial Rogers.

KEEPER: He nods and waits. There's no answer at Rogers' number.

LUNDQUIST: I dial Kelley.

KEEPER: It rings... No answer.

LUNDQUIST: A little alarmed now, I try Cabot.

KEEPER: It rings... No answer.

LUNDQUIST: "Shit. We got problems."

KEEPER: Brenneman looks up questioningly. "What now?"

LUNDQUIST: "Good question. I gotta think for a minute."

KEEPER: He nods slowly and keeps silent. He pats his coat pockets idly, then catches himself,

KEEPER: grimaces, and puts his hands in his pockets.

LUNDQUIST: I go to check on Danforth.

KEEPER: He's still in surgery. You can see him on the table through a pair of doors off the

KEEPER: emergency ward, surrounded by people in scrubs and harsh lights.

LUNDQUIST: Is there anyone there I can speak to?

KEEPER: One of the nurses is mainly observing... she notices you at the door and steps over. "Sir,

KEEPER: it's best if you wait in the waiting room..."

LUNDQUIST: "Yeah, yeah, I need some answers immediately."

LUNDQUIST: "How long will it be before I can speak with the doctor?"

KEEPER: She steps through the door and closes it behind her. "It will be at least two hours... maybe more than that. It's really too early to tell."

LUNDQUIST: I go look for a nurse in charge.

KEEPER: You find a nurse's station. The head nurse is drinking coffee and talking to another nurse, both of them laughing about something.

LUNDQUIST: "Who's in charge here?"

KEEPER: The head nurse looks at you, still smiling. "I'm the head nurse this shift, sir."

LUNDQUIST: I show my ID. "I'm with the Justice Department. One of my men was just brought in here with two gunshot wounds."

LUNDQUIST: "I need to know if you've notified the local police yet or not."

KEEPER: Her smile fades. "I don't believe so, sir..." She looks over your shoulder to another nurse down the hall. "Mary? Has anyone called the Sheriff about the gunshot that came in?"

KEEPER: The other nurse shakes her head. The head nurse looks at you again. "No, sir, not yet." She puts her coffee down. "But we'll do that right away."

LUNDQUIST: "Hold off on that for just a moment."

KEEPER: She looks confused. "Sir?"

LUNDQUIST: "I need you to refrain from doing that for a little bit. You see, we are conducting an ongoing investigation and some of my agents are still in some danger."

LUNDQUIST: "We need to keep our presence here as quiet as possible until the situation is resolved."

KEEPER: She starts to pay closer attention. "I-- I see."

LUNDQUIST: "I know this is outside of your normal operating procedures but I assure you it is necessary for the safety of my men."

LUNDQUIST: "I will take responsibility for it."

KEEPER: "Well... we can hold off until the doctor is finished in surgery. I don't think we can wait longer than that, though."

LUNDQUIST: "Look, I have to leave right now. I will be back shortly, hopefully within the hour."

LUNDQUIST: "It is absolutely vital that you do nothing until I return."

LUNDQUIST: (Persuade)

OnlineHost: Keeper rolled 1 100-sided die: 49

LUNDQUIST: "Lives are literally at stake here."

KEEPER: "Sir? But, the doctor..." She looks around, then nods. "I understand, sir. I'll inform the doctor when he's ready."

LUNDQUIST: "I know this is probably the most interesting thing that's ever happened around here, and you're probably dying to talk all about it. But I need you and your staff to keep quiet for a little bit. You'll be able to talk all about it in a day or two. But until then, it's got to remain very very quiet."

KEEPER: She nods again. "All right."

LUNDQUIST: "And I'll take care of notifying the sherriff myself."

KEEPER: "I'll tell the doctor what you said... but he may contact the sheriff when he's finished in

KEEPER: surgery... To protect the hospital, at least."

LUNDQUIST: "Will you do me a favor? Have him call me here first." I give her my cell phone number.

KEEPER: "All right." She takes it down.

LUNDQUIST: "Thanks." I go find Brenneman.

KEEPER: He's not far away. "What's up?"

LUNDQUIST: (Wow, if that doesn't get the whole town talking about this thing then I don't know what would)

KEEPER: (Heh heh...)

LUNDQUIST: (Don't see what else to do though)

LUNDQUIST: "I can't reach the others. Something's gone wrong. We need to get back out there, ASAP."

KEEPER: "No telling how long that nurse will keep them from calling the sheriff," he observes.

KEEPER: "So what's next?"

LUNDQUIST: "Actually, I was thinkin we should call the sheriff."

LUNDQUIST: "Like you said, no telling how long it will be. So maybe we should get him here and speak to him ourselves, rather than having him arrive in our absence and draw all sorts of invalid conclusions."

KEEPER: He nods. "That makes sense. With your friends out of touch... if we leave, we might be gone a while, you know?"

LUNDQUIST: "Yeah. We'll be leaving real soon, though. I gotta make a call."

LUNDQUIST: I'll find a phone book and call the sheriff.

KEEPER: He nods and takes a step back.

KEEPER: An operator picks up on the third ring. "County Sheriff."

LUNDQUIST: "Hello, I need to speak with whoever's in charge there, please. I'm calling from the Department of Justice."

KEEPER: "Oh, all right. One moment, please." You hear a click as she puts you on hold.

KEEPER: Soft music plays.

LUNDQUIST: I pace nervously.

KEEPER: A male voice picks up. "This is deputy sheriff Todd Michaels, can I help you?"

LUNDQUIST: "Deputy Michaels? We have a situation developing right now. I have an agent here in your county hospital. He's been shot."

LUNDQUIST: "Can you come down here right away? I need to speak with someone from your department."

KEEPER: "Shot? When did this happen?" His voice is muffled for a moment: "Vila, get my pad. No, over there." The voice grows clearer again. "What did you say your name was, sir?"

LUNDQUIST: "I need to speak to you in person. I'm at the hospital right now."

KEEPER: "I'll be right there. What's your name and phone number?"

LUNDQUIST: "Thanks. I'll be in the lobby." Click.

KEEPER: Brenneman stands a short distance away, hands in his pockets, watching the halls and nurses station. The hospital is not busy.

LUNDQUIST: Now I'll use the emergency channel to call MEREDITH.

KEEPER: It rings three times; you hear a click & a warbling hiss as the encryption signals connect.

KEEPER: Then a masked, genderless voice: "Yes?"

LUNDQUIST: "Hello, this is MARK."

KEEPER: "This is MEREDITH."

LUNDQUIST: "We have a serious situation." I fill her in, with details of what went on at the farm, Danforth's condition, and the loss of contact with the team.

LUNDQUIST: (And I make sure I have a quiet spot to do this in, away from Brenneman)

KEEPER: There's a long pause. "What's the status of the other assets attached to the cell?"

LUNDQUIST: I tell her what I have on my person (do I have an OICW in the car?). I summarize what's

LUNDQUIST: still at the safehouse. "The rest is with the team, and contact has been, ah, lost."

KEEPER: "Not materiel. That's expendable. What are your human assets?"

LUNDQUIST: "Wait one."

LUNDQUIST: "Hey, Brenneman... Take the car a ways down the street and wait for me, will ya?"

LUNDQUIST: "I don't want a cop arriving here and shining his flashlight on the mess in the back seat."

LUNDQUIST: "I'll call you in a moment."

KEEPER: He takes the keys and heads off. "On it."

LUNDQUIST: (Back to the phone) "I have Mr Danforth and Mr Brenneman with me. I cannot reach

LUNDQUIST: the others."

LUNDQUIST: "Brenneman and I are uninjured."

KEEPER: "There were other Friendlies attached to this operation--Barry Knight and Donna Wang."

LUNDQUIST: "They are still in New York."

KEEPER: There's another pause.

LUNDQUIST: "I intend to get out to the farm right away, to look for the others, but wanted to report in first. You know, in case."

KEEPER: "Have you reported the incident to any other agencies?"

LUNDQUIST: "I called the local police. The hospital was going to call them anyway, and I want to speak to them myself, to put my spin on events."

KEEPER: "What about the four disappearances? Will those be noted in public records?"

LUNDQUIST: "Well, somebody's going to miss them, right? I mean, they've all got lives, day jobs, friends..."

LUNDQUIST: "And right now, we don't even know what's happened to them."

LUNDQUIST: "If they've been killed out there, and the local cops find them first, then it's going to raise a lot of questions."

KEEPER: "All right. The incident will be a matter of public record, in one form or another. At the least, three federal agents were involved and one was shot. If you include the others, then the investigation will be much more serious."

KEEPER: "Unless they surface."

LUNDQUIST: "Well, shit, let's just hope they do then, right?"

KEEPER: "Of course. I'm trying to look at our cover, our capacity to maneuver outside the system."

KEEPER: "All four of them are deniable, if necessary, unless there are records that they went to that farmhouse. Justice Department records."

LUNDQUIST: "After the safety of my people, that's foremost in my mind too, believe me."

LUNDQUIST: "There shouldn't be any records from Justice."

KEEPER: "Then we can choose whether to involve the authorities in a search for them, correct?"

LUNDQUIST: "And right now, may main concern is to mask our involvement here."

LUNDQUIST: "Yeah, I was choosing not to, if it can be helped at all."

LUNDQUIST: (Not to involve the authorities, that is.)

KEEPER: "All right. Then keep your discussions with the locals to the gunfight with you, Danforth, and Brenneman. Figure out a way to explain such a small group going in."

KEEPER: "Assuming our agents don't resurface, we can bring covert help in to search the area, once

LUNDQUIST: "I'm already on that."

KEEPER: the official investigation is done."

KEEPER: "Obviously, the less the locals and the FBI inspect the area, the better."

LUNDQUIST: "If I can get some help on this one, I have a few requests. They should be easy."

KEEPER: "I'll see what I can do. What requests?"

LUNDQUIST: "I want a fake crime scene. Some shell casings, some bullets. Some blood, of Danforth's type, splashed on the ground."

KEEPER: "Where?"

LUNDQUIST: "My story here is that Brenneman and I were going to meet Danforth, an undercoverg guy who was going to introduce us to a new CI. But it was a setup, and a shootout ensued. Danforth was hit."

LUNDQUIST: "His partner, another Justice agent, is still in place undercover and in danger."

KEEPER: "Understood. What location?"

LUNDQUIST: "Hence the need for continued secrecy, until we can pull him out."

LUNDQUIST: "Location, I don't know... Maybe you can find a rural spot, twenty or thirty minutes from the hopsital, and nowhere near the actual farm?"

LUNDQUIST: "If not, I'll find one and get back to you right away."

KEEPER: "It'll take a while to get a team there. Estimate... one moment."

LUNDQUIST: "That's quick enough for me."

KEEPER: "Hold on... estimate, an hour to activate, two hours transit, minimum, two hours work."

KEEPER: "Can you stall for that long?"

LUNDQUIST: "I can stall for longer than that, easy."

LUNDQUIST: "But look, there's one more factor here..."

KEEPER: "Yes?"

LUNDQUIST: "Deveraux's people have Danforth's description, and are looking for him very keenly."

LUNDQUIST: "He needs to be put into hiding right away. Can you assist on that?"

LUNDQUIST: "They are mad at him over the bombing incident at the hopsital in New York."

KEEPER: "Yes, but the hospital might have photos. And surveillance tape, when he was brought in."

LUNDQUIST: "Leave those to me."

KEEPER: "All right. I'll have our people ready to retrieve him when you send word."

LUNDQUIST: "It will be very soon."

KEEPER: "They're still in the region. Call me when it's time. Allow an hour for pick-up."

LUNDQUIST: "Right. Anything else?"

KEEPER: "Watch your back. And take notes. Things are getting sticky, even more than you've seen."

LUNDQUIST: "Need-to-know things?"

KEEPER: There's a pause. "Something like that. Send word when you need the pick-up."

LUNDQUIST: "I'll contact you as soon as I have news." Hang up, look for the nurse.

KEEPER: The nurse is still at the nurse's station, filling out forms. She laughs at something another nurse says nearby.

LUNDQUIST: "Hey there. I need to speak to you again, in private, if that's okay."

KEEPER: She looks up, still smiling. "Of course." She sighs, puts her pen down, and steps around the counter to follow you.

LUNDQUIST: Once we're alone:"Things have changed a little bit. I just got off the phone with my boss."

KEEPER: "Hmm hmm?"

LUNDQUIST: "The man we brought in is being placed into the Federal Witness Protection Progam, effective immediately. I have to know if you took any pictures of him at all, including any X-rays that include his head or skull."

KEEPER: "Oh. Oh. Umm... there may be some in the operating room, yes... But the doctor is still in surgery, and he might need those."

LUNDQUIST: "Look, I know it's a lot to ask, and you're trying to save his life, but I'm trying to do the same thing. I really need to take them. Maybe someone could cut off the parts showing his head?"

KEEPER: "Uh... Well, I can ask. I'll go ask."

KEEPER: She steps nervously away, her hands fidgeting.

LUNDQUIST: "Thanks, that'd be a really big help." I follow her towards the operating room but I won't actually go inside.

KEEPER: "Charlene..." She approaches another nurse, younger, in surgical scrubs and a hairnet.

KEEPER: "Charlene, Agent Lundquist needs the photos of his partner, in the O.R. It's for the Witness Protection Program."

KEEPER: Charlene is resistant, but she and the head nurse confer for a moment. Finally, she masks up and enters the operating room. She emerges with an old folder which contains several thin film sheets.

LUNDQUIST: "And please, the fewer people who know about that part of this thing, the better."

LUNDQUIST: "As I'm sure you can understand."

KEEPER: She offers the folder. "The doctor said he wouldn't need these."

LUNDQUIST: "Are there any others? Or any negatives?"

KEEPER: "I--no, I think this was it."

LUNDQUIST: "Are you sure? It's very important." Persuade, as needed...

OnlineHost: Keeper rolled 1 100-sided die: 58

KEEPER: She nods slowly. "I--I'll check, but I think this was it."

KEEPER: She heads back into the operating room.

KEEPER: Through the doors, you can see Danforth laid out on the table under bright lights, half nude, thin and bloody.

LUNDQUIST: Poor kid...

KEEPER: The nurse speaks to a technician in the operating room for a moment before she finally comes out again.

KEEPER: "They dispose of the negatives down the hall. Those are the only pictures they took."

LUNDQUIST: "Okay. And the negatives have already been destroyed?"

KEEPER: "I think they're in the trash."

LUNDQUIST: "Show me."

KEEPER: She leads you down the hall to a small complex of offices, into one with photographic equipment. She looks around for a minute before finding a covered bin filled with film negatives.

LUNDQUIST: I'll take the whole trash bag.

KEEPER: "It's here for recycling--oh." She steps back.

LUNDQUIST: "Thanks for your help."

KEEPER: The bin is heavy, far heavier than it looks.

LUNDQUIST: "Now look, oof... I don't want to sound like a jerk here, but I need to let you both know about a few things."

KEEPER: They look at each other a little warily.

[Part of the log is missing: Lundquist instructed the nurses about the dire consequences of talking to anyone about the Witness Protection Program, and he made a sufficient Persuade roll that they were convinced...]

KEEPER: They listen nervously and nod. "I--yes, sir." "I understand, sir."

LUNDQUIST: "Good enough then. Again, I don't want to be a heavy about this, but I need to do my job."

KEEPER: They nod nervously.

LUNDQUIST: All right then, I'll wait for the local constabulary.

KEEPER: What about the very heavy bin of photo negatives?

LUNDQUIST: Erm, that will go into the trunk of the car. Until then, I will stash it in a corner of the lobby. Where I can keep an eye on it.

KEEPER: You get it into the lobby. Within another five minutes, a sheriff's car drives up, fast, with sirens flashing. A middle-aged, portly man in blue jeans and a khaki shirt, wearing a sheriff's department jacket and badge, steps into the lobby.

LUNDQUIST: I go up to him, ID in hand.

KEEPER: He looks around, his demeanor gruff, and grunts as he spots you.

LUNDQUIST: "Are you the Sheriff?"

KEEPER: "Sheriff Dunne Wilson. You with the Justice Department?"

LUNDQUIST: "Yessir. My name is Brian Lundquist. I need to speak to you, to tell you what's going on." (I'll try to be personable and friendly, to get him around to my side, if I can)

KEEPER: "I'm glad to hear it. I have to tell you, Agent Lundquist, I don't appreciate not being informed of things, if you have some kind of thing going on here."

LUNDQUIST: "Well, I'll tell you, Sheriff, unitl about an hour ago we didn't."

KEEPER: "Is that so?" He doesn't sound overly suspicious, just dubious.

LUNDQUIST: "It came up quite suddenly. We're conducting an ongoing investigation out of New York. Initially, we were trying to run down some narcotics traffickers."

LUNDQUIST: "But it grew. I can't say much, but now we're after some dirty cops. Feds, actually."

LUNDQUIST: "I came out here to meet with an undercover agent of mine. He was going to introduce me to an informant he'd gotten to agree to testify for us."

KEEPER: He whistles. "Well. Looks like you been through the ringer. How's your boy?" He gestures toward the operating room.

LUNDQUIST: "It doesn't look good. The docs aren't saying much. Even if he lives, he's got some pretty powerful enemies right now. Because of that, my superiors haved decided to put him into the Witness Protection Program, to try to keep him alive."

KEEPER: He nods. "What's the situation, then? Who shot him?"

LUNDQUIST: "For that reason, I need to keep this whole thing as quiet as possible."

LUNDQUIST: "You see, I still have another man out there... The injured guy's partner."

LUNDQUIST: "We know they made my man here. We don't know if they know about his partner yet."

LUNDQUIST: "We're going to try to pull him out, but we need to keep the attention off of this thing until we can do so."

LUNDQUIST: (Persuade, so that he can see things my way...)

OnlineHost: Keeper rolled 1 100-sided die: 70

KEEPER: He shakes his head appreciatively. "Well, I'll help you along how I can. I'd appreciate a little background on this thing, though. I have my own people to take care of. A county of 'em."

LUNDQUIST: "Sure, I understand that entirely. Hell, I thought we'd be in and out of here in like twenty minutes. I didn't expect them to be waiting for us."

KEEPER: "Even so, if there's violent perpetrators in my county, I want to know about it."

LUNDQUIST: "Look, by now, the perps are long gone. They operate out of the city and just set this thing up out here to trap us. They're not going to stick around and wait to get caught once they've sprung their trap."

KEEPER: He nods, accepting this for the time being.

LUNDQUIST: "I'd like to tell you more, but until we get my guy out, I've sort of got my hands tied here. Is there anything specific you need to know?"

KEEPER: "Well, I have to be careful how I handle the press on this, but if you move things along quickly, we ought to be all right."

LUNDQUIST: "Look, I think I can have things wrapped up by morning. As for the press... Well, the less said about my man here, the better. It really complicates things for the Witness Protection people."

KEEPER: "Well, there's no New York Times desk around here. The local news won't come around til morning to look into this, anyway."

LUNDQUIST: "Great. Can you put a man or two on him here, keep an eye on things?"

KEEPER: "You bet."

LUNDQUIST: "Look, I really appreciate your cooperation here. I know this is a screwed up scene and you're sort of getting the short end. It means a lot to me, especially with my people in harm's way like this. I won't forget it, Sheriff."

LUNDQUIST: (fast talk)

LUNDQUIST: (so as to leave him in a favorable state of mind)

OnlineHost: Keeper rolled 1 100-sided die: 39

KEEPER: He shakes his head and holds a hand up. "No need. I been in the field a time or two, myself."

KEEPER: "I'll watch your boy here, til morning. If you can get him out of the way by then, things ought to be all right."

LUNDQUIST: "Thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go check on a few things... If you need me, you can reach me at this number."

KEEPER: He takes the number and nods.

LUNDQUIST: With that, I call for Brenneman.

KEEPER: He answers. "Yeah."

LUNDQUIST: "Hey, time to go. Can you pick me up at the lobby entrance?"

KEEPER: "On the way."

KEEPER: He pulls around promptly.

LUNDQUIST: I collect that heavy-ass bag and head out the door.

KEEPER: He steps out to help you, his eyes glancing around a little tensely. You get the bin in the car.

LUNDQUIST: (Hey, was there a liner in the bin, or did I really have to haul the whole damn thing?)

KEEPER: Whole thing. The liner would have torn.

LUNDQUIST: (All right then)

KEEPER: Brenneman gets back in the car. "Well?"

LUNDQUIST: "Are you okay?"

KEEPER: "Me? Yeah, I'm swell. What's the next move?"

KEEPER: His fingers tap the steering wheel nervously.

LUNDQUIST: "Good. We've gotta get back to the farm, look for the others. You feel like driving?"

KEEPER: "Yeah, no problem." He puts the car in gear and heads for the road.

LUNDQUIST: "And in case it isn't obvious... We're in a hurry."

KEEPER: He nods and leans on the accelerator. "Any idea what's up out there?"

LUNDQUIST: "Not a fuckin clue. They had the house secured, I thought..."

KEEPER: "Yeah, not a creature stirring."

LUNDQUIST: "No word, no call for help or sitrep... They must've been hit hard."

KEEPER: He nods. "What's our plan?"

LUNDQUIST: "Get close in the car, then move in on foot, real quietly, to look around."

LUNDQUIST: "If the place is too hot, we'll back off and call for help. The local sheriff is a real nice guy."

LUNDQUIST: "If not, we'll see what we can learn."

LUNDQUIST: "That's just my initial thoughts... I'm way open to suggestions..."

KEEPER: He shrugs. "Well, we ought to be pretty careful. You know, we just have us, and they had the four of them..."

KEEPER: He checks the rear-view mirror. The landscape is pitch-dark under a sky more overcast than you last saw.

LUNDQUIST: "That's why if we run into anything, we're going to back off, fast, rto reasess."

KEEPER: "Yeah, okay." He simply nods and keeps driving.

KEEPER: Time passes slowly and dark miles drift by.

KEEPER: Finally, Brenneman slows the car. "Coming up on the right," he mutters. "How far out do we stop?"

LUNDQUIST: I check my weapon and psych myself up for combat.

LUNDQUIST: Then I call Meredith and give her a short, final sitrep... Let her know what we're doing and where we are.

LUNDQUIST: "We'll want to be able to get back to the car quick if we need to. Try to creep in close with the lights off."

KEEPER: Brenneman nods and stops the car.

KEEPER: You get Meredith on the phone and make your report. "Are you sure about this, Mark?" The voice is still masked, as ever. "You can hold off until we get reinforcements."

LUNDQUIST: "How long?"

KEEPER: "Three hours."

LUNDQUIST: "Shit. No, can't wait. They may be injured in there or something."

LUNDQUIST: "But I'm going to change the plan a bit. I'm going in alone."

KEEPER: Brenneman looks your way, startled.

LUNDQUIST: "I'm going to leave Brenneman back with the car, and keep an open channel with him."

LUNDQUIST: "If I run into trouble, I'll have him come get me. Or, if it's too bad, he can bug out and report what happened."

KEEPER: Brenneman shakes his head. "That's not smart, Lundquist."

KEEPER: He reiterates, "That's not smart, man, going in alone here... you're not Rambo, Lundquist."

KEEPER: "If there's killers out there... that's not too sharp."

LUNDQUIST: "Shit, man, I was in ROTC. But Rambo's got nothin to do with it.

LUNDQUIST: "If that place is still hot, having you there won't make any difference. We'll just both get wacked. But if it's quiet, I can establish that fact by myself.

KEEPER: He shakes his head doubtfully.

KEEPER: Meredith, on the phone: "Report back when you have an update, Mark."

LUNDQUIST: "Regardless, you can take off if it's too ugly, and live to tell the tale."

LUNDQUIST: "You'll hear from me within 30 minutes, boss, or something is way wrong."

LUNDQUIST: I note the time.

KEEPER: "Acknowledged."

KEEPER: Brenneman just shakes his head again.

KEEPER: He's not arguing, but he plainly disagrees.

LUNDQUIST: "Besides, I'll be on the phone with you the whole time, keeping up a steady stream of conversation. If anything happens, you'll know right away, and can be in fast with the car."

KEEPER: "Let's hope so. You wearing a vest?"

LUNDQUIST: "I just don't want us so bunched up we're an easy target."

LUNDQUIST: "Shit, yeah, I'm wearing a vest... It's chafing like a motherfucker too!"

KEEPER: He grins weakly. "Learn to love it. All right, I'm on the radio, here."

LUNDQUIST: (And hey, have I got an OICW in the car with me or not?

KEEPER: (OICW, yes.)

LUNDQUIST: "Okay." I step out of the car and dial Brenneman.

KEEPER: He nods and picks it up.

LUNDQUIST: "Look, just to get this straight... If any shooting starts, unless I specifically

LUNDQUIST: say otherwise, I want you to get out of here. If there's a platoon of mercs

LUNDQUIST: in there you're not going to tip the scales enough to save the day.

LUNDQUIST: If I do call for help, come runnin... Otherwise, beat it. Okay?"

KEEPER: He sighs. "I got it."

LUNDQUIST: "My plan is to get in there and get back here fast. No loitering. Just a quick look."

LUNDQUIST: "Here I go." I make my way in towards the farm, paralleling the driveway/road.

KEEPER: Your footsteps sound thunderous in the dry summertime twigs and leaves of the forest floor. It's very dark, even as your eyes slowly adjust. There's no sign of that weird hole in the clouds that you saw earlier tonight.

LUNDQUIST: "Still moving, Brenneman, still no sign of anything... Sure is dark out here..."

KEEPER: The OICW does have a night-sight, but only in the scope's field of vision.

LUNDQUIST: I'll pause every so often to sweep with that, awkwardly juggling my phone with one hand.

KEEPER: The place is quiet. Your senses are ready to fool you, with so many soft sounds from the woods, but the sights pick up nothing hot.

LUNDQUIST: "Still nothing..."

LUNDQUIST: I press onwards.

OnlineHost: Keeper rolled 1 100-sided die: 65

KEEPER: You keep moving. A long while passes, fifteen minutes that seem like hours.

LUNDQUIST: Shit, now he's rolling dice at me...

LUNDQUIST: "Still nothing..."

KEEPER: Brenneman: "How far you going in?"

LUNDQUIST: "Up to the house. I need to see if they're in there."

KEEPER: "You know the way?"

LUNDQUIST: "Yeah, from reviewing the maps before the mission. Hold on, I'm gonna take another look with the night sight."

KEEPER: Still nothing.

LUNDQUIST: I pick up the pace a bit, perhaps... Gotta get back in time to make my call to MEREDITH.

KEEPER: Your head starts to throb.

LUNDQUIST: I'm still paranoid as hell, though.

LUNDQUIST: "Shit, my head is hurting..." I'm backing off, heading back towards the car, fast.

KEEPER: You shuffle through the woods, stirring underbrush noisily with each step.

LUNDQUIST: What about my head?

LUNDQUIST: Any other symptoms?

KEEPER: The lump where that cop fractured your skull is throbbing painfully.

LUNDQUIST: "Shit. I got one hell of a headache here. Got knocked a couple days back."

KEEPER: "Take it easy, then."

LUNDQUIST: I pause. Is that all it's doing?

KEEPER: Yes.

LUNDQUIST: "All right, I'm pressing on. If it gets any worse I'm going to back off."

KEEPER: You hear a light, giggling sound.

LUNDQUIST: Aw, hell no. "Brenneman, stand by."

KEEPER: "Roger."

LUNDQUIST: I look around for some glimmer of Truth.

LUNDQUIST: Or something like that.

KEEPER: Nothing.

LUNDQUIST: Fuck. I keep going. I need to get to the house. "Still moving towards the house."

KEEPER: You trudge back toward the house again, following the rise of the landscape.

OnlineHost: Keeper rolled 1 100-sided die: 32

LUNDQUIST: (That sounds promising, I hope it was for me...)

KEEPER: After another ten minutes, you spot a road marker, ahead and to the left, reflecting through the trees from dim moonlight.

LUNDQUIST: "I see a road marker here, with a reflector on it...

LUNDQUIST: "I'm continuing towards the house."

KEEPER: Using the marker you can keep parallel to the house. Five minutes later, you come to the clearing and you see the house and barns ahead, all dark lumps in the field.

LUNDQUIST: "Okay, I see the house now." Any sign of the others?"

KEEPER: No sign of anybody.

LUNDQUIST: I stop next to a big tree and survey the whole scene with the night sight.

KEEPER: It's cold; there's nothing above ambient temperature.

LUNDQUIST: "Looks dead here. I can't see anybody. I'm going to move in towards the house now."

KEEPER: "Careful..."

LUNDQUIST: "You know it..."

KEEPER: You move cautiously toward the house; still there's no other disturbance, not even any wind.

KEEPER: You first see a crater in an outside wall, several yards from the end of the house, where a door stands open.

KEEPER: You see the silo over the barn is a jagged shell, blown to bits.

LUNDQUIST: "Shit."

KEEPER: "What?"

LUNDQUIST: "Signs of a firefight here. The silo's been leveled. There's a big hole in the house."

KEEPER: "Your boys came loaded, right?"

LUNDQUIST: "Yeah, and we'd pegged the silo for a likely machinegun nest."

LUNDQUIST: "They could've done this.

KEEPER: "Makes sense."

LUNDQUIST: "I'm going to take a look into the house through that hole."

KEEPER: The hole itself is not large, maybe three feet across, with jagged, splintered beams and broken brick extending several yards.

LUNDQUIST: I cautiously peer inside.

KEEPER: Inside, you see a massively mauled room, destroyed by an explosion. Through a hole in the far wall and the gaping doorway you see a hallway that passes it.

LUNDQUIST: "Wow, somebody wrecked this place. I'm going to go inside now."

KEEPER: You get inside. A long hall runs past that room and a few others, to a central corner.

KEEPER: The house is "L" shaped; you entered through the long leg.

LUNDQUIST: I move through it quickly, keeping an eye out for booby traps. I don't step on any loose material or anything. I want to establish as quickly as possible if the others are here or not.

KEEPER: The house is solid, and you don't find any other signs of explosion inside.

KEEPER: When you reach the corner, you see an open door to stairs leading down, in an alcove to your right.

LUNDQUIST: "There's stairs to the basement here." I'll finish the ground floor, then move down there.

KEEPER: To your left is the other wing of the house. In the walls around you here you see several bullet holes.

KEEPER: The basement stairs creak. It's pitch black--well, almost.

KEEPER: Your eyes have adjusted enough that you can tell it's not totally dark. There's a little ambient light coming from another set of stairs leading out of the cellar.

KEEPER: You feel a wave of fatigue.

LUNDQUIST: "There's another stairway down here... Maybe an escape route or something?"

LUNDQUIST: "Man, I'm gettin tired."

KEEPER: "Maybe... maybe just a back door. It's a farm house, right?"

LUNDQUIST: "Yeah, that's what I'm thinkin too."

KEEPER: The cellar's dank and musty. You can't make out any details with the naked eye.

LUNDQUIST: "I'm going to risk a quick look with my flashlight here." I pull out the mini-mag and shine it around.

KEEPER: The light shines brilliantly along thick motes of dust, illuminating a dirt floor, cinderblock supports, a wooden table and workbench, rusty tools, a dusty plastic tarp.

KEEPER: You hear something nearby, a soft, exhaling sound. The air feels warm.

LUNDQUIST: I roll the light away from me and drop into a defensive crouch.

KEEPER: The earth seems to give, slightly, spongily, as you crouch. The light lands with a thud and rolls crazily. You hear a broad hissing noise.

KEEPER: It fades.

LUNDQUIST: ?? I look at the ground...

KEEPER: It's brown earth, dry... but porous... it looks more like fungus, like mushroom, almost, but harder.

LUNDQUIST: "Shit, I just found something in the cellar... Looks like a fungus or something..."

LUNDQUIST: Trying not to inhale, I hurry up the other set of stairs out of the cellar, fast.

KEEPER: The air grows warmer still. It smells strange--damp, almost moist. As you look up:

KEEPER: The stairs are gone.

LUNDQUIST: "Shit, Brenneman, you still there?"

KEEPER: You hear another soft, low breath.

KEEPER: Silence from the headphones.

LUNDQUIST: I go for the other stairs.

LUNDQUIST: "Brenneman, there's something down here, I may be in trouble. Give me a minute."

LUNDQUIST: (Dust motes indeed!)

KEEPER: You step across the increasingly uneven and spongelike ground.

LUNDQUIST: Yeah, this is good.

KEEPER: You see the other stairs as you cross the dim room, leading up. The stairs shiver.

LUNDQUIST: I focus on them and keep going.

KEEPER: The stairs melt as you approach them, becoming a lump of a ramp of soft wet tissue leading up to a dark, shifting hole. You hear a hissing voice, or what sounds like a voice, deep: "Shhhhhhhh."

LUNDQUIST: I force myself to scramble up that ramp.

KEEPER: As you reach the top you find yourself staring into hot, moist darkness.

KEEPER: It smells of... something unidentifiable. Something alive.

LUNDQUIST: I get out of the house, the way I came in, as fast as I can.

KEEPER: You feel your hair stirred by wind as you step into the darkness.

KEEPER: Your feet land in mossy moisture, and you sink until it covers your head.

KEEPER: You feel pressures undulate across your submerged body.

LUNDQUIST: Did I make it outside?

LUNDQUIST: Or am I still in the house?

LUNDQUIST: "Shit! I'm drowning! Jeezus... It's alive!"

KEEPER: Before you sank, you couldn't tell if you had stepped outside or not.

LUNDQUIST: I claw my way to the surface.

KEEPER: You push your head up into the fetid air. Your feet are gripped, your legs, loin, stomach.

KEEPER: Held by shifting pressure, not quite painfully hard.

LUNDQUIST: I grope for something to hang on to, to try to pull myself free.

KEEPER: There's nothing to grasp.

LUNDQUIST: Well, I keep lookin... :-) And kickin, and squirming.

LUNDQUIST: I'm probably also yelling somthing about now, too...

KEEPER: You feel the oily stuff rise around you, pressing against your face, hair...

LUNDQUIST: "Nooo!" I fight it, struggling to get free.

KEEPER: After a moment you feel it seeping into your mouth, eyes, every opening, filling you, blocking breath and sight.

KEEPER: (Make a SAN roll for me, by the way.)

LUNDQUIST: Yeah, I was wondering when we'd get to that...

OnlineHost: Lundquist rolled 1 100-sided die: 33

OnlineHost: Keeper rolled 1 6-sided die: 1

KEEPER: (Friggin dice!)

LUNDQUIST: Heh heh... "I got yer Shuggoth right here! Hoo ah!"

KEEPER: In any event... let's call it a night.

LUNDQUIST: Shit, man, you wanna call it HERE?!?