Sitting within a cramped office within S.P.E.A.R, Tom Harris sighed. After the failed ambush of Casseus, the former cop found himself once more reviewing the Moreland File. Unfortunately, he seemed to be making little to no progress.
Tom had reviewed the file dozens of times, going over the important details. Elite vampire of Tepes attacked Connor, Tepes family denied it, the suspect known as Rick Morgan was found dead. Tom could do little more than rub his eyes. He was going in circles at this point, all evidence pointing to the long held belief that the Tepes family was responsible.
"Ugh this is hopeless." He sighed. Standing up, the man now stretched, rubbing his beard. He needed coffee. Making his way to the break room, Tom continued to ponder the case. There was something he was missing, he just knew it. What was it though? Maybe he just needed a momentary distraction.
Heading into a surveillance room, Tom noticed Agent Michelle Wong. Michelle was an interesting case. One of the original members of S.P.E.A.R, Michelle at the time was the youngest members brought in by the previous director Sarah McMillan. While brilliant, Michelle was a bit naive. It eventually led her to participate in a very dangerous undercover mission.
Infiltrating the Normal, Michelle found herself regressed into infancy before joining a magical girl group known as the Dark Garden. The Dark Garden aligned themselves with the Normal at the time and looked to increase their numbers by recruiting Michelle; the agent transforming into Poison Lotus.
Amanda switching sides was a farce. With the help of Dr. Ivy her future husband, Michelle maintained her adult memories. She then became a double agent, working for S.P.E.A.R by providing intel on the Normal. Michelle's actions helped in defeating the Normal but it came at a cost. Michelle was forced to grow up again from the age of 16.
"Agent Wong, didn't realize you were working tonight." Tom stated.
Amanda smiled, stretching before pushing her glasses up her nose.
"Just doing Director Meyers a favor," she said, the 33 year old undoing her bun, shaking out her ebony hair. "Hailey didn't realize she approved time off for both night shift agents. Told her I would do her a favor so Alex and I could get away for a long weekend."
"Must be nice," Tom said, glancing at the surveillance screen. "So what's on the video tonight?"
"S.P.E.A.R has access to numerous camera systems around the world," Michelle replied. "But we only watch for anomalies that would fall under our jurisdiction. You know ghosts, ghouls, vampires, and the like. Any supernatural entity that could be causing problems."
Tom nodded, glancing at the video footage. There were several screens, filtering through areas that were prototypical for supernatural. Abandoned warehouses, derelict buildings, and isolated communities. Each image giving Tom the creeps. "I've seen this movie," he smirked. "Isn't this the part where the ghost leaps out of the screen to kill you?"
Michelle laughed, casting Tom a impish look. "Always thought the same thing." she said.
"Hey quick question," Tom said. "How come you still go Wong? Haven't you and Dr. Ivy been married for years?"
"Well considering Alex defected from the Normal we thought it better to keep my name," she said. "At least when I'm on the job. Outside of work, I took his last name."
"Gotcha," Tom said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "You know after talking with Dr. Ivy I'm surprised he actually got married. He seems like he's married to his work."
"You wouldn't be wrong," Michelle laughed. "But, that's just Alex. If you scratch the surface, you find out he really is a very caring person. He's just really bad expressing himself...kinda like me."
"Really?"
Michelle nodded, glancing up at Tom. "I'm sure you're well aware of what happened to me," she said, to which Tom nodded. "It was...not an easy transition honestly. My teenage years the first time we're not exactly my favorite. I wasn't exactly Miss Popular. Being stuck at 16 and having to grow up again wasn't exactly on my to do list."
"So what happened?"
"I met someone who was even more awkward than me."
Michelle sighed, a soft smile spreading across her face as she spoke of her relationship with Alexander Ivy. Alex was petrified of speaking with people on social situations in his youth. He kept to himself mostly, focusing on his work. When he found out that Michelle would be stuck as a teenager, he felt guilty. After all, it was his invention that caused Michelle's regression. He wanted to make amends, so he worked up the nerve to ask Michelle out for an apology lunch.
"The idea of being asked out was completely foreign for me," Michelle stated. "Even more so for Alex. So there we were, two socially awkward teenagers, eating a bland lunch in the middle of the S.P.E.A.R cafeteria. We spoke maybe a dozen words during the entire 30 minute meal."
"I've had worse dates," Tom smirked.
"I haven't," Michelle chuckled. "And I also haven't had better. Is it weird that it was both the best and worst date I've ever had?"
Tom shook his no, understanding what Michelle was saying. Some of his most memorable dates with Lynne had been absolute disasters. It just depended on the person you were with.
"After that, Alex and I slowly became friends," she sighed. "The funny thing is, most of our conversations started out talking about work. Eventually it was our interests. Turns out Alex and I have similar tastes, we're both Disney dorks. We still argue about which animated movie was better, Snow White or Cinderella and don't even get us started on what Star Trek was better. He still thinks TNG is peak when everyone knows it's Voyager."
"Sounds like you two have a lot in common." Tom said.
"It does," Michelle replied. "Still, considering the two of us aren't exactly great at making the first move, we remained close friends. At least until prom."
"Prom," Tom exclaimed. "What prom? When did you two go to prom?"
"It was actually Agent MacGregor that talked us into it," Michelle stated. "Despite all of the ugliness with the Morelands, Alex kept trying to help Connor with his recovery. The Morelands may not have a good opinion of vampires or S.P.E.A.R but they liked Alex and I. Heck, I think they just felt bad for two teenage misfits stuck working for the government."
"So how was prom?"
"Awkward," Michelle laughed. "I mean in retrospect it was very sweet, but at the time Alex and I just nervously ate our dinner before awkwardly dancing with each other. As the last dance ended, Alex leaned in and kissed me."
"That is cute," Tom smiled. "Must have been a heck of a post prom."
"You would think so but no," Amanda stated. "We ended up going to a diner. Ended up sharing a milkshake before going back to S.P.E.A.R and calling it a night. Now our wedding night..."
"I'll take your word on that," Tom said quickly, not wishing to hear the details of Alex and Michelle's honeymoon. As they turned to the monitor, Tom's eyes went wide in shock.
"Look!"
Michelle turned to where Tom was pointing. On the screen was video footage of a large man entering a hardware store. Although Michelle didn't recognize the man, Tom immediately did.
"That's Hannibal." he whispered.
"Hannibal?" Michelle asked, peering over her glasses at the screen. "Who's Hannibal?"
"He's an elite vampire," Tom exclaimed. "He used to work for the Tepes family. He's also the one who supposedly attacked Connor Moreland."
"He's supposed to be dead." Michelle gasped.
Tom now quickly checked to see where the footage originated from. Obviously the belief of Hannibal's demise were greatly exaggerated. "Northwest Territory, Canada," he said softly. Quickly checking to make sure the footage was being recorded, Tom now sprinted from the room.
"Where are you going?" Michelle asked.
"Gotta make a few calls," Tom replied. "I think I may have finally found a lead in the Moreland assault."