Game weas 7/17/20; the Friday following our last game. The game has shifted to Fridays for the short-term, as Paul's weekends are now consumed by baseball.

At 2:30 in the morning, Sergeant Richard MacLeod is writing reports in his hotel room when he receives a call on his cell phone. He answers immediately and Officer Lee Gordon says, "Sergeant." Officer Gordon explains in clipped tones that he, Officer Graham, Officer Curry, and Officer Davidson all gathered to head down to the crime scene at the Northampton airport. He states, "Thanks to the military, I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. I wanted to check the mini gun to see if I knew who set it up. I gathered the others and we headed down, intending to check in with the off-duty Massachusetts State Police officers, but when we got there everything was silent and still." Gordon goes quiet for a few moments, and then asks, "Do you remember the giant wolf?" MacLeod says, "Yes," so Gordon asks him bluntly, "Are vampires real?"

Gordon explains that when they arrived, they found three exsanguinated Massachusetts State Police officers, three vampires, and all the blood gone from the crime scene. MacLeod immediately asks, "Is everyone alright?" Lee replies, "We're mostly OK, but we did pee ourselves!" He then explains briefly that five wolf-like monsters including one with a pink stripe charged in to save them. He adds, "And the one with the pink stripe patted Graham on the head as it went by!" He concludes, "The next thing we knew we were waking up. We can't explain what happened because we're missing time."

MacLeod immediately assures them, "None of you are crazy. That's the only thing I can say over the phone. Sit tight, we'll be right down." He hangs up the phone and then calls Chief Alicia Vandernoot. Vandernoot wakes up to MacLeod's special ringtone, grabs the phone, and growls, "What?" MacLeod replies, "I have good news and bad news." Vandernoot demands, "What's wrong?" MacLeod explains, "Those four cops on the special squad? They were rescued tonight by werewolves, apparently from vampires! I'm on my way down there, should I pick you up?" Vandernoot growls something and MacLeod says, "That's what I thought. I'll keep you appraised, and I'll see you in fifteen minutes."

MacLeod again hangs up his phone and heads for Isabelle, his big red truck. He hits a Cumberland Farms first to get Vandernoot a coffee milkshake and then drives to her home at 67 Vernon St. He's not even out of the truck when Vandernoot comes out fully dressed, so he simply hands with a milkshake as she climbs into his truck. They drive off and reach the airport at 3:15 in the morning. They find the four cops waiting for them, and MacLeod refers to them as 'the kids.'

They get out of MacLeod's truck and head over to join the officers. They note that Officer Graham's hair is messed up, but the four officers say nothing. They silently lead Vandernoot and MacLeod into the area between the farmhouse, the barn, and the outbuilding. There Vandernoot and MacLeod discover three corpses of Massachusetts State Police officers, pale as fish and clearly without any blood. However, they notice that there were no wounds on the corpses. Once again Gordon explains, "The blood is all gone from the farmhouse."

MacLeod and Vandernoot examine the scene carefully, both outside and in the farmhouse. They discover, to their horror, that the officers were correct: all the blood that stained the floor, the ceiling, and the walls is gone. They do however smell some sort of handcrafted and expensive perfume. This scent is new and tells the two senior officers that whoever was here clearly had money. They exit the farmhouse and returned to the kids only to find Officer Curry trying to comb Officer Graham's hair. MacLeod demands, "What are you doing?" Rachel Curry replies, "We are in a situation with no rational explanation. We have no control here. I am focusing on something that I can control!" MacLeod comes up short, and replies, "I really cannot argue with that."

Vandernoot looks at Graham and demands to know why his hair is messed up. Graham explains, "I was petted by a werewolf! I don't want to comb it in case she comes back." MacLeod retorts, "She'll just pet you again!" Vandernoot interjects, "Did this wolf have a pink stripe?" Graham's face lights up and he exclaims, "It was so cool! It must have been my manly charms!" The others roll their eyes, but Graham hotly retorts, "We were not eaten or exsanguinated!" MacLeod pulls Vandernoot aside and says, "Between this one and the Troy boy, dumbassery will get you everywhere!"

Graham overhears and exclaims, "I'll call the Troys!" Vandernoot shakes her head at first but then decides it's actually a decent idea. She pulls out her cell phone and calls William's landline first. She gets the answering machine and leaves a message, so she then calls William's cell phone. A creepy, distorted female voice replies, "This number cannot be completed as dialed." Vandernoot hangs up the phone feeling worried as this was not the normal Verizon woman, and in fact it was a scratchy voice that sounded like it was talking through glass.¹⁾ She turns to MacLeod and asks him to call William as well. Confused, MacLeod complies, and again tries the house first. He leaves another message and then calls William on his cell phone. Just like Vandernoot, he gets a creepy voice explaining, "This number cannot be completed as dialed." It's a similar distorted female voice that sounds like it's speaking through glass, but it's actually a different voice then the one that answered Vandernoot!

MacLeod decides, "Call a bus." Vandernoot agrees but points out, "We need to let the staties know first, they're going to want this." She then calls Lieutenant Arroyo of the Massachusetts State Police. He answers immediately, sounding bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Vandernoot explains that something has come up, and Arroyo immediately asks, "Is this about the National Guard in Springfield?" Vandernoot replies, "No, that is news to me. I need you at the airport crime scene. Something's happened to your men, they seem to have run out of blood at the same time!" Lieutenant Arroyo immediately replies, "I'm on my way."

Lieutenant Arroyo arrives about half an hour later, with several other members of the Massachusetts State Police Department. Vandernoot walks them through what they have but concedes that this particular crime is theirs, after all, these were his men. She and MacLeod then gather the four kids and head over to the Bluebonnet Diner to get them food. As they settle in with their early breakfasts, Benjamin Graham takes the lead and explains, "So as you know, Gordon had an idea that he wanted to check out, so he got the three of us since no one should go on to this crime scene alone. We get there, we park, then we check the command center, but there's no one there, right? Now we know there's about three staties on guard here, so we head out to find them. We get to that spot between the three buildings and see each statie being drained of blood by a vampire! There was a woman in like, a fancy old dress with one, some weirdo in a top hat and mask with another, and finally some like high school kid or college student with the third."

Vandernoot mumbles, "Even our monsters are extra. Why is that?" MacLeod shrugs, but Curry leans in and hisses, "Northampton!" as she does jazz hands. Graham continues, "The vampires had just finished with the staties when we showed up, so then they came after us! The lady in the fancy dress was ten feet away, and then suddenly she was right in my face! The weirdo with the top hat went after Gordon and Davidson, while the college student chick went after Officer Curry. I could feel her fangs touch my neck and I genuinely thought I was going to die. We then heard howling and five wolf-monsters came charging in! The one with the pink stripe stopped long enough to pat me on my head and then I heard bones snapping. I don't know what happened next."²⁾

At this point Gordon interjects in the same dry tone, "These five wolves charged in and changed into some sort of primordial monsters! The three vampires ran like hell to get out of there; the woman in the fancy dress just literally zipped off like the Roadrunner! The Phantom of the Opera reject exploded into a group of bats and flew away! The college kid just ran off and the five wolves chased her. I then lost consciousness and woke up about fifteen minutes later. We have no idea what happened in that meantime." MacLeod says carefully, "It sounds like you disassociated a little later than the others, so you saw a few seconds more."

Graham makes a comment about petting the dog and Vandernoot counters, "In a friendly way, not an offensive way." A shadow passes over Graham's face, and he replies, "I had enough offensive material from my last partner." Officer Curry looks confused, but the others just nod quietly. By 6:00 o'clock in the morning, everyone has eaten their breakfasts and Vandernoot tells the four officers, "Go home, go to bed, get some rest, and don't speak of this to anyone else. I'm proud of your modicum of self-preservation. Many modicums, in fact! Be safe!" MacLeod adds, "Next time you head out, just let us know!" Graham retorts, "We weren't expecting vampires!"

Back at the Troy household, William enters another lucid dream. He looks around and realizes he's in the Vatican, sitting on the chair of Saint Peter! He is surrounded by the College of Cardinals, speaking to him in Latin, and calling him the Pope! He gets up and looks around while the College of Cardinals continues to talk about city-states that are long gone and political figures who are long dead. He realizes they're calling him Honorius III and recalls from his lessons from Veltis that Pope Honorius III reigned from 1216 to 1227. He looks down at his hands and sees many rings on his fingers, but thankfully no knife. He exits the room suddenly, walks down the corridor, and exits the building onto a portico overlooking the square below. Hundreds of pilgrims are gathered there despite the cold, and they let up a hue and cry when they see that the Pope is here!

William is hit with a wall of noise as the crowd of pilgrims calls out for his benedictions, his blessings, his help in healing the sick, and so on and so forth. He acknowledges the crowd quickly and looks around to see several of the buildings that are ancient in 2010 are brand new here! The crowd goes wild with his acknowledgement, but he slips back into the main building without causing any further trouble. He rejoins the College of Cardinals, only to hear them grumbling as a nun barrels through them as if they're completely unimportant. This nun reaches him, leans in, and says very quietly, "Your Grace, we have a problem. Your guest is getting agitated."

William replies, "I must have lost track of the time. Where is my guest?" She looks at him strangely and replies, "Your guest is in your quarters, Your Excellency. Shall I bring you there?" William immediately agrees and notes the College of Cardinals are grumbling that a mere secretary can bypass them to get to the Holy Father. William follows this nun through the hallways of the Vatican before she stops in front of a painting of a Pope William just does not recognize. She slides the painting aside to reveal a secret passage and leads William inside.

She leads him up the stairs and into his private chambers. Once inside, William immediately recognizes the voice of the person singing something blasphemous and offkey. He turns to see Veltis in his incubus form, dancing lewdly around the room contained by demonic wards! Veltis gives William an exaggerated bow and says, "Your hat, Your Grace!" William eyes the papal hat warily, and Veltis asks, "What next, Your Grace? Should I fluff your balls?" William retorts, "Is my hat clean?" Veltis immediately snaps, "You can eat out of it! But don't. You look unsettled, Your Grace!"

William replies calmly, "I don't feel myself." He walks in a nearby mirror to see Pope Honorius III looking back at him. The Pope is shorter and rounder than he is and has a mustache. As he looks around the room, William notices two daggers on a nearby table, just outside of the demonic ward pinning Veltis in place. William wanders over to examine the blades and realizes that these are the daggers Veltis warned him about in the future. He spots sigils on the blades that are not present in the modern day, and examines them carefully, despite Veltis trying to distract him. With a sinking feeling, William recognizes some of these glyphs from Merat Su's library in Cummington!

Veltis eyes William carefully while also keeping an eye on the daggers and simultaneously thrusting lewdly at the nun. William asks innocently, "So can you get out of that ward?" Veltis glares at him and snarls, "You're feeling mighty dickish today!" William retorts, "I will take that as a no." Veltis insults William a few more times, but William replies calmly, "You know, I think I might leave now! I can do that. I can just leave."

Veltis gets an evil gleam in his eyes and asks, "So are you going to abdicate?" Nearby, the nun chokes at that very thought, while Veltis mocks the Pope's great and powerful hat. William takes the hat and replies cheerfully, "Oh no, I'm certainly not going to abdicate. I meant that I could leave this room whenever I want, and I shall do so now that I have my hat!" Veltis howls with rage and slams into the ward but cannot get through! William waves, turns around, and walks out of the room. As soon as he is out of the room, he wills himself awake.

William wakes up to the phone ringing but checks his bed first. There is no papal hat in his bed, so he looks at the clock and sees it is 9:30 in the morning, meaning he's only gotten two hours of sleep! He answers the phone with a groggy, "Hello?" MacLeod answers, "William! I wasn't expecting anyone to answer. So where have you been? Asleep or just not around?" William replies, "I had a long night and I got to bed late." MacLeod presses, "So you've just been asleep? Since when?" William retorts, "I have no idea! I didn't pay attention to the clock when I got into bed."

MacLeod sobers and asks, "Can you come down to the station?" William replies snidely, "I assume she made you call? When do you need me there?" MacLeod doesn't rise to the bait and just says, "Now." William sighs and says, "I'll be down soon. Probably twenty to thirty minutes." He hangs up the phone and heads for the shower. After taking a quick shower he heads downstairs to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast, before heading into the living room to check on his grandson.

William stops dead when he sees Josh curled up on the couch with the papal hat! William decides that he's not going to think about this and retrieves the keys to Josh's Ford Explorer from the table. He heads out to starts his grandson's car. Inside the house, Josh wakes up briefly as he hears his Ford Explorer drive away. Emotionally he feels numb, and physically he feels like he's just piloting a meat suit, and then he notices the ornate hat he's cuddling. He simply puts it on his head and goes back to sleep.

William drives to the station and arrives at about 10:00 o'clock in the morning. He walks in and the cop manning the front desk looks up and says, "No offense, but you look like shit, sarge!" William simply shrugs and the cop motions for him to head upstairs to Vandernoot's office. He immediately heads up there and walks in to find Chief Vandernoot, Sergeant MacLeod, and Sam Shepard already waiting for him. They all look up and note immediately that William is clearly exhausted. MacLeod raises an eyebrow and asks, "Busy night?" William replies, "It was a very long night."

MacLeod nods and turns to Sam. He says, "Sam, you're probably not going to want to hear this." Sam immediately nods and heads out to do paperwork. MacLeod turns back to William and says bluntly, "So vampires!" William looks at him and replies, "Vampires." MacLeod explains, "So vampires took out three staties last night." Vandernoot introjects, "They drained them like Capri Suns!" MacLeod shudders and snaps, "Alicia!"

Vandernoot shrugs, so MacLeod turns back to William and continues, "So the four-man idiot squad from the airport? They went there last night and found vampires. They were then rescued by multiple monsters that looked like wolves! Oh sidebar, the one with the pink stripe is apparently good with idiots." William grumbles, "That sounds right. Good thing they were saved. Are they OK?" Vandernoot says coldly, "They've been traumatized, but they're all still alive, and not exsanguinated. So, were there vampires involved with this thing in the first place?" MacLeod frowns and also asks, "That bald dude, the one who carried five women?" Vandernoot nods and asks William, "Was he a vampire?"

William replies "He was not; he's not a vampire or a werewolf. I'd say a mummy, but that sounds completely absurd." MacLeod snaps, "That's not even in the same jurisdiction as absurd anymore! How did the vampires get the blood out of them? There was no blood and no wounds on the staties." William explains, "Fang marks can heal very quickly." Vandernoot's eyes narrow as she asks, "The corpse we found with at Smith College, with no blood. Vampires?" William nods and replies, "Yes." MacLeod growls, "The goon squad says they saw three. Do you know of anymore?" William replies, "I actually only know of two, you know more than I do in this case." Vandernoot and MacLeod Look at each other, and mutually decide that they do not like that at all!

William says dryly, "You had a choice." Vandernoot retorts, "Yes, but I don't have to like it." MacLeod adds, "At least this way we can mitigate some of it." William asks, "What do you need me to do?" MacLeod demands, "We need to know what you know." William retorts, "That is all I know." MacLeod snaps, "And the hoo-ba-joo³⁾ at the airport? Were vampires involved in that?" William replies firmly, "No." MacLeod snarls, "So there were weird artifacts, werewolves, and a mummy?" William says, "The mummy was on our side." Vandernoot mumbles, "Maybe we should call him a daddy?" MacLeod's face reddens as he snaps, "Vandernoot!"

Before they can continue, someone bangs on the door to Vandernoot's office. Lieutenant Arroyo comes barging in, his face almost purple! He snaps, "Homeland Security just swooped in and took the crime scene! We're kicked off this whole thing!" Vandernoot demands, "Was this from a guy named Templeton?" MacLeod looks at her and confusion, and Vandernoot explains, "Some Homeland Security asshole who keeps taking our scenes. He took over Shelburne Falls a couple of years ago, and this whole thing with the parking garage is clearly him." While the police officers argue, William tries to look tired and unobtrusive. Vandernoot derides Templeton's attitude as basically the locals are nothing more than dirt and they need to fuck off.

William suggests quietly, "Well, you didn't want this. Why don't you just let them handle it?" Vandernoot snaps, "I want coordination!" MacLeod sighs and asks, "You're going down there aren't you?" as Vandernoot is already standing up and reaching for her coat. Lieutenant Arroyo gripes, "They took all of the corpses, all of the evidence, then they sealed the scene!" William suggests, "Sam can help you out!" MacLeod retorts, "What, he's going to take on the feds?" William retorts, "You sent him after me!" MacLeod nods and raises his voice to say, "Sam! Take William to the airport; we've got feds!" At that point, the men realize that Vandernoot is already gone, and a moment later MacLeod hears Isabelle's horn. He grumbles and ushers the men down to the carpool.

MacLeod and Vandernoot climb into Isabelle and take off, followed by Sam and William in an unmarked car. They head down to the Northampton Fairgrounds, but are stopped at a roadblock at the I-91 underpass! Six soldiers with M16s surround the cars and the squad leader tells Vandernoot, "This area is off limits for the moment!" Vandernoot flashes her badge, but the men will not let her pass. She demands to speak to their supervisor, but the soldier says simply, "He's not here right now." Vandernoot growls dangerously, "Fine. We can wait." William realizes that this isn't going to end well for anyone, and he gets out of Sam's car. The six men with guns turn to him but then stop and lower their weapons. The leader heads over and asks William, "Are they with you?" William nods and replies, "Yeah, just give me a minute, OK?"

William walks up to Isabelle and looks into the cabin as MacLeod raises an eyebrow. He turns back to the soldiers and says, "Yeah, they're with me." MacLeod retorts, "Do you know how many milkshakes you just cost me?" William shrugs and says, "Apologies for the other night." The police officers hear chatter over the soldiers' radios and at one point someone says, "Agent Grandpa incoming." MacLeod snickers, "Agent Grandpa? That's almost worth all this." However, the soldiers move the blockade and wave the two cars forward.

They drive around the Northampton airport to find that the feds are burning the farmhouse! MacLeod stares and grumbles, "Well, that's happening. And she's out of the truck already!" He turns to Lieutenant Arroyo and demands, "How did she get past you?" Arroyo looks back at him dead in the eyes and says, "I wasn't going to stop her." MacLeod opens his mouth to reply, but then just turns away. They park their cars and get out.

Vandernoot purposely marches towards the nearest soldier, but the men managed to reach her and stop her. MacLeod turns to William and says, "Hey, Agent Grandpa, make yourself useful!" Vandernoot draws herself up to her full height in front of the soldier and demands, "I'm with Agent Grandpa. I'm here to speak to your manager!" The soldier looks over to William before turning back to Vandernoot and saying, "Wait here, ma'am." He heads off and returns a few moments later with Agent Chelsea O'Malley. O'Malley looks at William and demands, "Why aren't you in bed?" MacLeod mutters, "You clearly had an interesting night." Vandernoot immediately demands an explanation, but O'Malley turns to William first and says sarcastically, "Agent Grandpa? You can tell them whatever you want."

O'Malley and Vandernoot get into a serious argument before Vandernoot storms off, frustrated that she can't get anywhere. MacLeod demands, "Is there a Federal Reserve for milkshakes so I don't get killed?" O'Malley pulls out her wallet and pulls out $200 that she hands to MacLeod without a word. Sam watches the entire confrontation warily but relaxes as no one is explicitly supernatural. During this whole confrontation, three fires rage behind them as all three buildings burned to the ground. Sam mentally prepares the necessary paperwork and intends to get give it all to William. He and MacLeod head back to their cars.

O'Malley asks William, "A moment of your time, please. How much do they know?" William replies, "The two in the front know a little. The two in the back don't know anything. It should stay that way." O'Malley nods and replies, "Two things to let you know. Your friend Caleb is an emergency surgery. He took a turn for the worse last night. Also, we've cleared out about fifty percent of the parking garage at Smith College. If everything stays on track, we should be done with it by Saturday afternoon. How much do they know about that fiasco?"

William admits, "They don't know anything." O'Malley shrugs and says, "Tell them whatever. We don't always have the luxury of playing nice." William assures her, "I understand. I understand what you have to do sometimes." O'Malley relaxes a fraction and then asks, "How is your grandson?" William checks his watch and replies, "Hopefully he's still resting." O'Malley nods and says, "Very well, I won't keep you." She walks away, and William heads back to the car at about 11:00 o'clock in the morning. MacLeod has already driven Vandernoot away, so William gets into the car with Sam and they head back to the station.

At Leta's apartment, she is awakened when Veltis shudders in his sleep and then sits bolt upright! Veltis turns to her and says, "I just dreamed about William. I dreamed he was the Pope!" Leta retorts, "He'd be a terrible Pope! No, wait. He'd make a good Pope! He's Catholic and he's got a dick. That's all that matters, right?" Veltis grumbles, "It's a little more complicated than that." Leta shrugs and replies, "Hey, I only had three days of high school, and they were nonsequential!" Veltis grumbles, "Well, William would probably make a better Pope than Benedict is!"

At the Montoya Botanica, Anita is exhausted while her younger sister Del is irritated. Anita makes espresso for them both and whiles away part of the morning doing some inventory. As this is the post-Dias de los Muertos slump, they don't have any customers at the moment. Anita calls Officer Peter Sweets to update him and doesn't bother hiding anything from Del now. Peter answers, "What's up?" Anita says, "Ninety-eight percent of the hallway dead are back." Peter is surprised but Anita explains, "We went downstairs by accident last night, me and the Troy cell. You know, the other gringos." Peter demands, "How did you end up downstairs by accident?"

Anita explains as best she can and says, "Did you know there are weapons out there that can cut through reality?" Peter mumbles, "Well, my dick just retracted into my torso." Anita gives him a brief breakdown of their misadventures into the Underworld last night, and how they exited Court Square at about 4:00 o'clock in the morning. Peter interjects, "Wait! Was this whatever the National Guard was doing at Court Square last night?" Anita confirms and admits, "Not only did we rescue the hallway dead, but remember that stuff up at Shelburne Falls I told you about? An entire unit of Alabama National Guard had fallen into the Underworld but along with some Hedge stuff. We got out of there with one hundred and twenty-five soldiers out of the original two hundred plus. We also had to cross the Flood, and we had an issue in an abandoned River City where things got really, really weird."

Peter retorts, "Are we talking giant eagles and the one true ring?" Anita replies, "Well, there was a large flying thing at one point, but not something of the Underworld." Peter mutters, "OK?" Anita gives him another very brief explanation. Peter can tell Anita is utterly exhausted and says, "You sounded dead. Why don't you just close shop for the day? You're in your slump anyway." Anita retorts, "If I'm here, Abuela won't bother me!" Peter retorts, "If you go home and pass out, she can't bother you then either!" Anita laughs aloud and replies, "Oh yes! Oh yes, she can!"

Peter offers, "Isobel has the day off. She can come down and run the store for you if you need to go home." Anita replies, "No thanks. I've got this, so don't send the doctor with any sedatives." They chat for a few moments longer, and Peter's death comes up. Anita asks him, "Are you still annoyed about the car?" Peter grudging replies, "Yeah," and Anita jokes, "But we wouldn't have met otherwise!" Peter sighs but then asks quietly, "Any word from Silas Black?" Anita sobers and replies, "That is a story for in-person. I don't want to say anything over the phone." Peter replies simply, "I'll leave you to it, then." Anita ends the call and finds her sister glaring at her.

Del demands, "Who were you talking to?" Anita reply sarcastically, "The guy you cordially introduced to my fender!" Del goes very silent for a moment before asking, "Wait, did he survive the car crash?" Anita retorts, "Well, he's here, isn't he?" Del snaps, "Yes, but did he come back like you?" Anita smiles nastily but doesn't answer. Del slumps back looking quite upset, and says quietly, "Great, now I have to deal with the fact that I killed a guy." Anita mocks her for being young and stupid, and Del says, "I was young and stupid." Anita retorts, "You're still young and stupid!" Del snaps, "So are you! Jordan had what, four brain cells and a gerbil running around up there?" Anita can't deny that and admits, "Pretty and dumb are our weakness." Del frowns and grudgingly admits, "Is that why I want to bang Josh?"

Over the course of the day, Anita and Del only have a few customers, until 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon when Doctor Ranjip come striding in. Anita exclaims, "It's good to see you south of Holyoke!" Doctor Ranjip laughs, although he's clearly still exhausted. He turns to Del and says, "You take charge up here. You, downstairs for an exam." Anita retorts, "How about buy me dinner first?" Doctor Ranjip sighs as he terms to Del and asks, "How have you not murdered her yet?"

Once down in the basement of the store, Doctor Ranjip has Anita strip down and he performs a quick examination. He concedes, "You did receive adequate medical care last night. Fortunately, your 'post-life' physiology helps a great deal." Behind the good doctor, Anita can see The Witch grabbing at Dr. Ranjip's rear end. She sighs and Doctor Ranjip looks up in confusion. Anita shrugs and replies, "Not you, just my geist. She's groping you. She's kind of an equal opportunity perv." Doctor Ranjip sighs and mutters, "How did I just miss Verdun for a moment?" He offers her a goblin fruit, but Anita politely turns him down. Doctor Ranjip nods and admits, "I'm not entirely sure it would do to you in the first place, so I'm fine with that."

Anita asks, "Can I talk to you for a moment? When we were Down Below last night, there was definitely some Hedge-y shit." She explains the River City and the vines and the shadows and the fruits with eyes; she laments, "This has been the week of hell." Doctor Ranjip listens carefully and concedes, "There's a very likely possibility that the Hedge is bleeding through. Did I ever tell you about the first time that the Troys brought me down there? I gained something, and I ate a scorpion to save Abby's life. That scorpion gave me some insight, which would lead us to have a meeting at Mount Sugarloaf where we formed the beginnings of this strange alliance."

Anita exclaims, "You ate a scorpion? From the River of the Dead?" Doctor Ranjip nods and replies, "I wouldn't recommend it! Especially for your friend Peter. However, the insight from the scorpion venom showed me the holes in the various realities. That's why we formed an alliance at Mount Sugarloaf, it was an information-sharing thing. We learned a lot there; a lot was put into context. Ironically, most of those same groups were at the asylum back in April. In fact, we're going to need another coalition like that to go after Sethic the Hunter! We need to talk to the werewolves again, and we're definitely going to need Josh's help here. Luckily, he's my next stop."

William and Sam return to the Northampton Police Department and head inside. Although William just wants to go home, Sam hands him a large block of paperwork to close out the case despite the Feds taking it from them. William shrugs and plays along, and he sits down to work. After a few moments, Sam realizes William's intent is genuine and joins him to help. They work for a while and do their best to clear everything out as much as possible.

MacLeod spends the afternoon hiding in the evidence locker, avoiding Vandernoot at all costs. He speaks with the cop on duty down there and learns that the Feds have already been through here to secure all the evidence from the airport. However, to his surprise, MacLeod discovers that the Feds left detailed notes on what they took, which is a rare occurrence. The cop explains, "They showed up, but they were polite. Usually they're in and out in like ten minutes, but this time they were here for an hour, and the guy was pleasant albeit impersonal, but he like triple-checked everything he took against our records and made sure everything was noted down." MacLeod nods, and notes that all the federal paperwork is signed only with the initials 'EJ.'

By midafternoon, Josh has regained enough coherency that he takes a picture of himself in the strange hat and sends it as a picture to the hunter cell. In the text, he asks, "Am I wearing a hat?" Leta and Anita text back simultaneously, "When did you become Pope?" Veltis sees the picture and immediately texts, "Be sure to wash it thoroughly!" He adds, "I need to murder… talk to your grandfather when he gets back. Oh, you're going to want to give me that hat later." Josh agrees while Anita texts, "What, did you poop in it?" Veltis retorts, "I did so much more than that!" Josh texts, "Should I be worried?" Veltis replies, "Have you ever thought of shaving your head?" Abby immediately vetoes the idea, so Veltis text back, "It's been eight hundred years, so it should be OK."

Up in her office, Vandernoot fills out more paperwork now that the Feds have taken over the investigation. Her phone rings at about 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon, from a restricted number. Vandernoot answers the phone, and a male voice says, "Chief Vandernoot? I'm Director Templeton. Are you free for an early dinner? Eastside Grill in half an hour?" Vandernoot snarls through gritted teeth, "Sounds great!" Templeton hangs up, so Vandernoot opens her door and yells out, "Where is MacLeod!" Someone yells back, "Downstairs, hiding from you!"

Vandernoot immediately heads down to the evidence locker and unlocks the doors to the cage with her own keys. MacLeod and the cop on duty both look up in terror, but Vandernoot asks MacLeod, "Are you hungry? Come on! We're going to Eastside Grill with Templeton!" MacLeod concedes, "Sounds like a nice dinner." They head out and climb back into Isabelle. As they drive from the police station to Eastside Grill, they argue on the way. MacLeod favors taking a softer approach to the matter, while Vandernoot intends to go all in, guns metaphorically blazing.

When they reach Eastside Grill and park, they find that they're the only car present. Vandernoot mutters about the federal government compensating the restaurant for lost business, and MacLeod brags about the $200 he scored for milkshakes. They get to the front door but instead of a maître d', they're greeted by a soldier in dusty battle armor who says, "Follow me." He brings them down into the dining room and says, "Have a seat, please." They head to the one occupied table and eye Director Austin Templeton. He's in his late 30s with a sandy brown crewcut, and he motions for them to join him. They sit down, and MacLeod immediately scoots away from Vandernoot.

Templeton says flatly, "Get whatever you want. I recommend the porterhouse steak." MacLeod approves and also orders some appetizers. When the appetizers arrive, along with some wine, Templeton dives straight in. He says, "I'm not going to beat around the bush here. I know you're upset with me, however, would you like a job? Vandernoot and MacLeod stare at him in surprise, and Templeton explains that he works for a branch of the federal government that deals with things come from the shadows. Vandernoot asks, "So the X-Files division?" Templeton grumbles, "I hate that show. But, essentially." MacLeod and Vandernoot boggle at the thought of a sanctioned government agency that deals with the supernatural, but Vandernoot counters, "Why us? We're old!"

MacLeod retorts, "You jumped over Arroyo to get out of that truck!" Templeton adds, "I know, the drone recorded her!" MacLeod grumbles, "Of course there was a drone." Vandernoot grumbles about the federal government having the best toys, but Templeton adds, "Unfortunately, we do have a budget." MacLeod insists, "I'm in!" Templeton frowns and admits, "I wasn't expecting you to jump in so quickly." Vandernoot retorts, "What, did you do your research?" Templeton retorts, "Yes, of course I did."

Vandernoot isn't decided one way or the other but asks why things in Northampton seem to be louder. Templeton explains, "Part of the problem here, is that there was a supernatural war that ended five years ago." MacLeod asks, "Was this the whole thing out in Boston? The riots?" Templeton admits, "No, that actually came after. The war actually started here, in Northampton, about nine years ago. That's why there's so much weird stuff out here, so many things got broken."

They talk a little bit more, and Vandernoot blasts Templeton for how the Feds treated her department. Templeton says softly, "For what it's worth, I agree with you, we do have a culture problem." Vandernoot insists, "Just don't be assholes!" They go back and forth a bit more, but Templeton at least seems to be willing to listen. Templeton does reveal that his organization does have some technology that they might like to play with. He adds, "We do have plasma guns." Vandernoot asks, "What sort of plasma? There's different types!" Templeton says, "The kind that blows holes through rocks." MacLeod perks up at that, and Templeton adds, "We also have glowing bullets that shoot ghosts. And if you're really, really, really, really, really good, we'll even mount a plasma cannon on that truck of yours." Vandernoot grumbles, "You have an attractive carrot on a long string!"

MacLeod reacts to her choice of words with a sigh, and then adds, "So what do you have for helmets?" He jerks his thumb to Vandernoot, who just glowered at him. Vandernoot protests, "I only got hit on the head once by a serial killer!" MacLeod retorts, "Twice, by the same serial killer, once after he died!" Templeton says wryly, "We have several models that have extra padding." Vandernoot glares at Templeton but he retorts, "You do know concussions are bad for you, right? We know all about your medical records. Even the one back in 1996!" Vandernoot growls a warning as MacLeod looks at her; this wasn't one he was aware of.

Templeton asks, "Are you in?" MacLeod nods again, and Vandernoot grumbles, "Again, do your research. If he's in, I need to go as well to protect him." MacLeod protests, but Templeton nods and replies, "Full or part time?" MacLeod immediately replies, "Full time for me!" Vandernoot says, "Part time. I'll will figure it out later, but I cannot leave the NPD right now. There's no one I trust to take it over." Templeton adds, "Or people who aren't controlled by mages etc." Vandernoot concedes the point but agrees to join. Templeton declares, "Welcome to Task Force: VALKYRIE! We'll schedule your implant surgeries as soon as possible."

MacLeod asks, "What about the goon squad?" Templeton admits, "We're a bit tight right now." Vandernoot declares sharply, "Also, we need them where they are, with the NPD, knowing a bit more of what's actually out there!" Templeton agrees and Vandernoot asks, "Wait, McManus works for you doesn't he?" Templeton nods again and says, "As a gesture of good faith, I'm willing to answer one question from each of you to the best of my ability." MacLeod and Vandernoot look at each other but both realize they're going to have to take a pass; today has been long and they are both exhausted.

During the afternoon, Doctor Ranjip checks in with the Troy household.⁴⁾ He examines Josh carefully but concedes, "Like all the others, the medics of Task Force: VALKYRIE did a very good job with Josh. I'm hesitant to give him any goblin fruits right now, as I'd like to let his body's natural healing take over." William agrees completely, and notes that Josh didn't wake up at all during the examination. He and the doctor talk for a little bit before Doctor Ranjip says his goodbyes and departs. William putters around the house for the rest of the evening, keeping a sharp eye on his grandson. Finally, he tucks Josh in on the couch, and heads upstairs to go to bed.

Anita closes the Montoya Botanica at 7:00 PM and heads home. She sits down for dinner but barely speaks to her sister or Abuela. As soon as she finishes her dinner, she heads upstairs and pretty much face-plants directly into bed. She is dimly aware when The Witch takes her cell phone to look at porn, but swiftly falls into a dreamless slumber. William sleeps dreamlessly as well, while Josh tosses and turns downstairs on the couch. At one point he is vaguely aware of someone standing over him, but he never wakes up enough to truly register it. Meanwhile, Leta Mackenzie curls up with her demon-rat Veltis.