"I would much rather be at home and in my own bed..." Agent Jane Doe muttered to herself with a wistful sigh as she shifted uncomfortably on the lumpy hotel mattress. While the Bureau paid well, especially for their division, it wasn't uncommon for them to cheap out on travel accommodations- economy hotels, cheap seats on the plane (unless it was an emergency; speed trumped cost in some situations, after all)...

She was almost tempted to dip into her personal funds just for a better bed- though, honestly, it was unlikely she would find something that could match her bed at home...

With another sigh, she crossed her legs, the swish of her silk pajamas a soothing sound to her ears. While everyone at work knew her as the serious and dedicated Agent that she was, in private, she preferred her comforts. So, while her plain looking black pajamas almost mirrored the professional suit she wore every day, they were far more comfortable.

Not that she would ever admit that her suit could be uncomfortable. And truthfully it wasn't... Most of the time.

Settling her work laptop across her folded legs, she idly flicked through the file she was working on. There was less to it than she had expected as, by all appearances, the subject of the file was... normal. Incredibly, almost boringly, normal.

Up until the last six months.

"Oliver Silk. Father went missing when he was thirteen. Mother died of cancer when he was 22... After graduating high school, he spent the next four years caring for his sick mother while working part-time to help with bills. Started college the year after she passed... Good grades, perfect attendance, multiple extra-curricular activities- most of them music related in some way..."

"And a bitch of an ex-girlfriend that cheated on him with Carl Hardeman Jr before dumping him in favor of the same guy..." She shook her head sadly at the rather succinct, if depressing, breakdown. By all appearances, Oliver was a good kid that got dealt a shitty hand but still managed to push forward. But something still felt... off.

"This is where things start to feel different, isn't it?" She muttered absently as she pulled up another report. "Hospitalized over night for a head injury. Multiple witnesses to the attack, all stating that Carl hit him from behind with some cartoon statue..."

"And then... nothing was really done about it. Carl gets a slap on the wrist and walks free the next day." Disgust crept into her voice at the obvious levels of corruption. "The local PD just washes it all away because of a rich family. Then they turn around and start harassing Oliver..."

"Wait..." Pulling up another file, she quickly read through it. "The harassment didn't start immediately. Carl continued to antagonize him, but... Ah! The report from when he was attacked in the woods!"

"...one witness stated that Oliver's behavior seemed to have changed slightly. Before, he had mostly ignored the provocations... But, after being hospitalized, he started to push back and even got into a physical altercation with Carl... 'Beat the stupid out of him' they were quoted as saying..."

"And then, that same night, the forest incident... Carl Jr. goes missing... And the harassment from the police started..."

Closing her eyes with a sigh, Jane leaned back against her favorite memory foam pillow- she refused to travel without it, if at all possible. "It makes sense for him to become confrontational after that, though. So why does it feel like something is off?"

"And him leaving town for a couple weeks to get away from the harassment wouldn't normally raise any red flags, even if we do have an idea of what he may have been doing... Speaking off..." Quickly opening her email, she fired off a second request to the CIA asking for information of Oliver's recent trip out of the country. While she doubted they would have anything, as he wasn't flagged for them to watch, it was still a possibility... Though it was more likely that they didn't pay any attention to him at all. A college kid going to an area of South America known for beaches? Far too common for them to bother watching all of them...

A knock at the door broke her train of thought.

Given the late hour, and on a Saturday, it likely wasn't housekeeping... And there was only one person in town that even knew where she was... So, unless it was a lost drunk...

Setting down the laptop, she climbed out of bed and stomped over to the door and opened it only as far as the small security chain would allow. "What do you want, Smith?"

When his eyes skittered down her silk pajamas, her look of annoyance quickly morphed into a thunderous scowl. "And I swear, if this isn't important, the sexual harassment seminar they make you sit through will be the least of your worries!"

"Aw, take it easy Janie! This is important, I swear!"

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Seeing the rising smirk on his lips, Jane glowered at him. "Keep in mind that I have a gun... And that no one would doubt me when I tell them it was a 'misunderstanding'."

His smirk vanished in an instant as sweat beaded on his brow. "Ok, ok! No need to threaten me... This really is important, though! I just got an update from Ears."

A hint of surprise flashed across her eyes before she unlatched the door to let him in. Ears was the nickname- terrible as it was- for the listener that they had. Specifically the listener that was monitoring the card she had given to Oliver Silk. "So she heard something we can use?"

Entering the room, John plopped down in one of the chairs- he was tempted to sit on the edge of the bed just to needle Jane a bit more, but her threat... He didn't think she would follow through, but it wasn't worth the risk. Waggling his hand in an ambiguous motion, he shrugged. "It wasn't so much something we could use as it was something kinda... fishy."

"Just spit it out, John. No need for the theatrics." She sighed.

Pulling out his phone, he glanced at the email as he spoke. "Since you gave him the card, there hasn't really been anything of note... Not a hint of anything even slightly illegal, or even so much as an argument between Silk and his girlfriend, Ramirez..."

"That's a bit unusual by itself..." Jane muttered. "But not that unusual, really. Some couples rarely argue... And, considering she was a cop, it's unlikely she breaks the law often..."

"True." John nodded as he scrolled down the report. "They also had a cookout today with some of his friends and her mom in attendance. Again, nothing there worth note... But it's what happened after the cookout that got Ears a little suspicious."

Jane motioned for him to hurry up, and he could see she was on the verge of snatching the tablet from him. "Apparently, Ms. Ramirez invited a friend of her own. One that didn't show up until afterwards."

"A friend she called 'Lyn'..." Waving off the rebuke he knew was coming, John pushed on. "I know, it's a common name and definitely not enough to go on."

"But, when Ramirez mentioned that Silk would be returning shortly, this 'Lyn' became agitated and tried to leave quickly... And, when he showed up before she could leave, things turned confrontational."

Flipping the tablet around, he held it out for Jane to look at. "Apparently, Silk had met her before... and, based off his statement of 'I told you what would happen if I saw you again' and the fact that he was yelling and obviously furious... That previous meeting was clearly antagonistic."

Jane sighed softly as she read the report. "Yeah, it is a bit suspicious... But not enough for us to really work with. Sure, this 'Lyn' could be Evelyn Hart. But it could also be someone else... And, even though none of the information we've gathered has linked another 'Lyn' to Mr. Silk, we can't rule out the possibility..."

"Though, considering his reactions... The speed at which Ms. Ramirez moved the discussion away from the card is arguably more suspicious. Especially if you pair it with how little we've picked up otherwise. If I didn't know any better, I would think they knew we were listening in..."

"Have you found a chance to tag them with the scanner? It would help if we knew whether or not they were magical beings..."

"Only Ramirez, and she is definitely not magical... Though she is wearing a couple pieces of magical jewelry. No idea where she got them from."

"As for Silk..." John shrugged. "I swear he must be paranoid or something with how much he varies his routines. He never leaves home at the same time, takes different routes wherever he goes... Honestly, he acts like some sort of spy or special forces sometimes, always scanning the area for problems... and I'm pretty sure he notices when something is off, even stuff as simple as a strange car being parked on their street."

"Unless I want to camp out in front of their house and be seen doing it, it's going to be a challenge to get close enough to scan him."

"Has he noticed you watching him?" Jane asked sharply.

"Relax, Janie. I've been using the feed from public cameras for that, not actually following him around... Though that does give me an idea..."

"What if one of us just kinda runs into him at the store? It wouldn't be weird for us to be buying some stuff, and it would let us get close enough to check him. Even if he is a little paranoid, something like that shouldn't set him off. I mean, there's only like three grocery stores around here anyway, right?"

"That could work... Keep an eye out for the opportunity. And let Ears know to inform us immediately if anything else like this comes up."

Scanning the email from Ears one more time, Jane frowned slightly. "This all happened thirty minutes ago?"

"Yeah. Think we should head over there and see if we can get eyes on this 'Lyn'? The public cameras won't help much with how dark it is, but if we go ourselves..."

"No." Jane said decisively. "If Mr. Silk really is wary, or on to us, in any way, doing so could shift things further against us. Maybe even make him antagonistic... And, while his actions and behavior are a bit suspicious, I don't believe he is a threat to us or the country..."

Jane frowned as her phone started buzzing at her. Picking it up, she glanced at the number displayed and a small smile flashed across her face. "Or... maybe he could be an asset..."

A hint of surprise flashed in John's eyes. "Wait, are you saying..."

Hitting the button to answer, Jane quickly switched to a neutral tone. "This is Agent Doe..."

"Oh, Mr. Silk?" John was impressed by her acting ability as a hint of surprise entered her tone- if he didn't know better, he would have thought she actually was surprised. "I wasn't expecting a call from you, especially this late on a Saturday. What can I do for you?"

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