Persecutio

It really had been hell for the agents. A lot of people knew about the strange locations that were scattered all over the world, and it was common for these folks to disappear. They were places where things happened that couldn't be explained, and no soul could explain them. Some of those locations held dangerous or even deadly events—things such as strange creatures, weird beings, and unearthly traps. And some of those places also contained powerful artifacts and relics that had been collected by the government entities all over the world.

And for the last few hours a group of men in suits had been chasing a loose end who knew too much. Actually, three loose ends. They were still out there somewhere, but they wasn't stupid enough to stick around long, or they were just hiding in plain sight.

"Where are they?" one of the men asked furiously. He was tall with sharp features and dark hair cut short on the sides but longer along the top. He looked like someone who might work in finance. "I want to see her. We have to occupy the sacrificial envelopes if we are to have any diplomatic progress, and we don't want Anna to screw it up. It was a mistake to outsource activities in the past. She is not seeing the bigger picture"

The agent next to him nodded and pointed at the bedroom door they'd just come out of. The man rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, I know she's gone now. The Gamma protocol has started."

The arrival of the Europa outsiders had interrupted human activities a little, so the campus was empty, leaving the agents to search Anna and Emily's room more calmly. They were lucky to find something incriminating, some rifle ammo. Looks like in a few minutes they'd get another arrest warrant. But he wouldn't let them leave until they got even more clues. There had to be something else here.

One agent continued down his search, and soon he found a notebook full of illegal content. It was Emily's. It had lots of porn. She must have been using it while Anna was away. That girl was either a slut or an exhibitionist—or both. Then again, maybe she was just horny. With a quick look at the pictures, he discovered that the woman in the files was definitely not Emily. It looked like they were illegal downloads.

"Do you think this will matter, based that we under martial law?" the first man asked, looking at the bullet casings. He was shorter than his companion, and thin-faced. He wore a light gray suit and tie. "We can stop anyone from leaving the country, and we've already been told we can have anyone we want arrested without recourse. We're going to lock down the entire city. No one gets out."

"You do realize that this isn't a military operation," the second man said. He was tall and balding, with a thick mustache and goatee. His voice was calm. "This is an intelligence operation. We aren't even supposed to arrest anyone. We need to keep what we've found secret."

"Maybe, but I'm sure the president won't care, if the theory that Anna is coming back to the place to leak everything to the world is right, we can kill two birds with one stone and use the girls as a bargaining chip with the outsiders. We already have the three arrest warrants we need, the judges are going for their families way more more than justice after the arrival of the squids."

"What do you mean?" the taller man asked.

"I mean that technically these women are criminals, and we're under martial law, which means we can use them." The second man laughed. "Sorry, but I'm not worried about that. If the president gives us the order, we'll follow it."

"Okay, well, let's get ready. You know what to do when we call the local cops. Lets see if we can find the girls at the cave"