Mosley sighs and polishes his glasses before speaking on. "But I may have been hasty. Judge not, or you too will be judged. You do look like a decent lass, and I doubt that Nazi agents would be interested in me. Very well, I'll trust you."
"Several days ago, just after Christmas, a handful of beggars and vagrants that used to eat in our soup kitchen went missing, all at the same time. No one had caught scent of them, and I asked the other churches whether they had seen her, but I got no response. I don't think that they would have just left for the countryside, not all of them; some of them were good friends with the folks around here, they would have stopped to say bye. Then, three days ago, the thirtieth of December, poor Annie McKinney, one of those who had disappeared, was found floating face-down in the Lagan. Police ruled it as an accident, said she had no wounds. Next day it was Patrick O'Rafferty, dead under a bridge."
"And now I've just received word from a friend that Michael Kelly was found dead over in Arnon Street. I just can't believe it's a coincidence, I think someone's kidnapped those poor souls and he's murdering them. I'm heading to Arnon just now."
"Oh, but perhaps you had come here for another reason. Do you need me for something?"
He's still looking at Mina with a degree of suspicion, but he seems to be open and honest.
Mina's eyes start to well up with tears as the man jerks his hand away and begins making insinuations, but the tears change to those of gratitude when her friends stand up for her, and have vanished entirely as the priest begins telling his story. "It's understandable to be vary," She replies, thinking of her own father's role in this war - what little she even knew of it. Would James and Pierce have stood up for her if they knew, or would they look at her the same way the priest did? She hoped she wouldn't have to find out. "You may not believe it, but I vould also die before betraying Britain - Or Ireland, or America."
With his display of trust, she feels as though she should follow suit, and opens up as well. "In truth ve came looking for you," She nods to Thomasz, "One of our own came across a factory that had housed many homeless, now left abandoned. He can tell better what he saw, but... it vas enough for us to look into. Someone must care for the less fortunate, ja?"
"Vould you mind if ve accompanied you to Her- Mr. Kelly's? It may give us more about vho vould be doing such things."
The priest's story is all to familiar to Tomasz, though the names and places changed.
"My sympathies for your losses. Now, the factory: abandoned, yet still filled with clothings and food. Far too many to overpower, and all left everything they owned. Yes, I think I would like very much to accompany you to Arnon Street - while I doubt a serial killer, something strange is happening in this city. It is best that we discover what, and quickly."
Tomasz motions for the priest to lead the way. "You will have no further trouble with the police, with us. We may also be able to have your friends bodies returned to you for burial."
Pierce adds his two cents to the end, seeing that most of what he was going to say was already said "assuming of course that they haven't already been returned to you"
"Calm yourself," Sam says with an edge of warning to Agent L. "Give the man a moment to breathe; we're all friends here, right?" She turns away from Doherty for a moment and whispers to L, "The effect I used makes him friendly and agreeable, but it will not make him mindless; you must take care not to push him too much."
She turns back, smiling pleasantly. "Let's get away from such things for a moment; Private Doherty, do you know anything about the recent disappearance of homeless populations?"
Shrike gives Agent Brosnan a slightly sharp look. Now that the priest had been galvanized into helping them, there was little cause to rake him over the coals further.
Shrike's limp was getting more pronounced now and was lagging to the rear of the group. The day's walking was taking its toll and making the old wounds ache infernally. Dealing with such concerns was second nature to him by now so he gritted his teeth and relied on his cane more and more as they progressed.
As you move northwards , Mosley speaks again. "Arnon Street- that was a real mess, twenty years ago. I'm no fan of Catholics myself, but butchering civilians that way... Ireland might have won that war, but common folks on both sides surely lost it."
Shrike did not speak up but between the flashes of discomfort from his leg playing across his face, it was clear he knew more about the situation than he was saying. He stared at the buildings, idly wondering if the next person to take up his mantel would dream of the Arnon Street Killings.
"Such things leave a mark, in more ways than one." It seems no accident that the body was left here... we should map these places where bodies were left. I'm aware of no significant geometry in Belfast's streets, but we may still learn something.
"Ach, me colleagues told me you might show up. Father Molly, was it? Nothing of interest here. Mister Kelly froze to death while squatting in this place."
"It's Mosley, you ******." bites back the priest. "An' I've got every right to be here for the third murder in my flock."
"Perhaps you can take your beggar's flock and..." the officer's suggestion is cut short as he sees your uniforms, a spark in his eyes. He salutes quickly.
"Ah, sorry for that, Sirs, Ma'am. Have you been assigned to these deaths? To the best of our knowledge, they are just cases of hypotermia, I'm sorry if this kook's ramblings made you waste time. But is there anything I can assist you with?"
"Tell us more of this group you are a part of."
"Sure thing, Sir. Just behind the corner."
Kelly's corpse is lying in an alley over a pile of muddy snow, covered by a sheet.
Shrike flips the sheet back and looks over the body, "I don't believe this was hypothermia. There aren't even signs of frostbite but I'm not seeing anything else. Granted, from the accounts I've read, hypothermia is notoriously tricky to diagnose post-mortem."
Uncovering the body, Tomasz briskly checks the eyes and fingernails for things unusual.
Not versed in medicine herself, Mina watches the others examine the body, herself trying to discern any clues from the surroundings. She frowns when James mentions the difficulty with diagnosing post-mortem deaths. "Perhaps our Mr Brosnan could be of some help. I believe he has medical training as well."
Pierce chuckles as she points out his medical training "seems someone read my file... yeah, this is clearly not hypothermia, look at the extremities and in particular his left thumb, no frostbite, and he got cut on his thumb just fine, but the real stickler is the eyes, there is definite magic there. Unless your homeless friend was some sort of undocumented sorcerer, I'd peg that as what killed him"
"Well, that is very helpful. Thank you so much, Private Doherty. If my companion doesn't have any other questions, I think we're done here," Sam says. She glances over at L. "Anything I'm forgetting?"
Tomasz re-covers the body, talking all the while. "An autopsy - particularly of the heart and brain - would confirm our suspicions but we lack the time. I believe our next step is to recover the locations the other bodies were left at; I do not believe Arnon Street's history to have been a coincidence. We may learn something."
He steps back outside. "Both of you, thank you for waiting. Officer, is there anyone nearby who may have seen Mr. Kelley arrive? A waiter, or a bored grandmother? And Father, I have a map of Belfast here. Would you mind please highlighting where the other bodies you mentioned were found?" He passes over the map, and an architect's pencil.
"No." L answers bluntly as he turns to leave.
Once outside of the room, he waits for Sam to also exit.
"Agent Korematsu, should the IRA be dealt with or should we attempt to look for the others? My person is at your disposal."
Sam considered Doherty. 'Once the spell wears off he could just go off and tell his buddies. But if I kill him now and we need more information out of him it would be a real kick in the pants. Best to lock him up for now.' She leaves the room and looks for an officer to arrange just that.
She returns then to L. She speaks quietly to him so they are not overheard. "Not what we were looking for but not unhelpful. I think it would be wise to report back to the others and develop a plan. This meeting tomorrow night could be key to disrupting the IRA's activities in Britain, or at least learning more details of their plans. One of us could infiltrate the meeting, but I want plenty of backup if we go that route."
Queen's Bridge is even more uninteresting. Nothing interesting has happened around it.
Tomasz turned, addressing the priest. "It is not appropriate for me to say, but know that this is not the end of our interest. Thank you, Father, for your time - if you could refrain from speaking overmuch about this you would have double my thanks. In days like this it is all the more important that people come together, and they cannot do that if they suspect a killer in their midst. Officer," - he turned back around - "Mr. Kelley's body is to be returned to Reverend Mosley's parish. Quickly, please, before it becomes a health risk."
Checking his notebook, the officer answers Tomasz. "Apparently there weren't any people around here. The body was found by a baker coming home from work earlier today, nothing suggesting foul play. I'll have the body moved to the parish, if it's so important, if you can please sign here..." he produces a couple of documents stating that you examined the scene and gave the all-clear.
"Thank you for this" says Mosley, a bitter smile on his face. "And thank you for caring about them. I'll be at my parish, should you need anything else."
The overcast sky is darkening, evening approaches.
"No witnesses? Shame. If you would, Officer, please have a car pick us up at the corner of... Peter's Hill and Townsend Street. Both of you, thank you again for your help."
Agent L bows slightly, "As you wish Agent Korematsu."
"Why of course. Just keep an eye on the body while I look for a phone."
Within an hour, the whole RUTHLESS WIDOW team is back together at the Barracks, while Doherty is locked in the brig, looking decidedly confused.
"Do any of you have any tricks to ensure privacy?" Shrike asked the assembled team of spooks while giving the room a quick once over.
"I can obscure visual perception but not audio, sorry. Not much of a wizard"
Sam frowns. "Unfortunately, my talents aren't in that area. Nevertheless, I trust you gentlemen to pick up on any fly on the wall." She then takes a seat and starts smoking a cigarette.
Agent L has found a corner and is standing very statue-like.
Tomasz reaches into the poacher's pocket inside his jacket and pulls out a strange device - almost like a pocket-watch, but with no face. He winds it, listens for a moment, and then tosses it into the middle of the table. Instantaneously, a curving, slightly-sickening field surrounds the group as the sounds of the city dim and warp beyond recognizing.
"Would you two care to start?"
Sam smiles, and taps her cigarette. "The man trailing you was one Private Doherty. He's currently in lockup, got some good information. The gist of it is that he knows nothing about the abduction of the homeless population. He's part of the IRA, and was watching you because the cell in this area was concerned you might interfere. Got out of him that there's to be a meeting tomorrow, along with a password for getting into the meeting."
Shrike takes a seat and rubs his bad leg with a wince, all the walking having taken its toll on him, "That's a good place to start, we need sources of information our opposite numbers don't think we'll be able to tap. The IRA might have access to channels we don't. Agent L, you're our infiltrator, what kind of support would you need to get inside that meeting and pump people for information? I know you're typically a lone operator but I'll have to insist on taking at least one more person in with you and having another act as support outside if things go south."
"I could plop myself on a rooftop near the entrance, maybe you could take my psycryatal in with you, keep in communication in a way I doubt they can trace "
"I hope that they do have access to these 'channels'; we seem to have hit a dead end. The homeless in this city, they are vanishing by the wagon-load and have begun to re-appear - dead; killed by magic and left scattered throughout the city. The IRA, perhaps, with their knowledge of the hidden ways through the city, may be of help to us."
Agent L speaks in his traditional monotone from the corner "Given that I know nothing of the capabilities of the two new members, I would choose Agent Korematsu for part of the inside team and Agent Brosnan on a nearby rooftop. As for the information gathering, what is the desired tactic? I can retrieve the leader to bring back here or attempt to con information."
"I feel like con would be our plan A, but be prepared to retrieve if needed. Anyone able to drive a getaway vehicle?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
Mina considers the information quietly. "I'll be nearby if anything goes wrong inside, as Mr. Brosnan may not be able to get over quickly from ze rooftop." She grins, "I may even find cause to slip inside."
"Should I position myself on the ground should a more direct intervention become necessary?" Shrike asked. Agents L and Brosnan as well as Ms. Korematsu had gotten a chance to see him in action during that unfortunate business under Kew Gardens. His particular talents were flexible and he was the closest thing they had to a dedicated short range combatant they had save for L's talent with a garrote.
"I would like to requisition a parachute or wing suit if possible"
"I have some tricks for messy situations, I can turn myself or somebody else invisible for around five minutes, a few times a day. Additionally, I am fluent in Gaelic, and Doherty seemed to be using it patriotically." Sam taps her fingers along her arm. "I could create a disguise for myself magically, and pose as Pvt Doherty. L could be a local recruit to the cause. As for your exit strategy, Agent Brosnan..."
Sam reaches under her collar and pulls out a small amulet on a string. She removes it and holds out the Snapleaf. "By breaking this in half, you and you alone will turn invisible for five minutes, and if you are falling, you will descend at a safe speed for about thirty seconds, long enough to safely descend from most buildings in this area quite easily."